The Life and Times Mother Tucker

I really want to post about something I am passionate about, and that is healthy, organic and/or natural cooking and eating. I didn't personally start eating mostly organic until i became pregnant. While researching natural pregnancies most of my books stressed that I must eat organic, natural or local, cut out harsh household products loaded with chemicals (and even known carcinogens!), cut down on processed foods and start using natural cosmetics and toiletries. I never realized how what I eat, put in and on my body effects all of my body's functions, albeit my unborn child. Once I educated myself I decided to go what I call, 80/20. 80% of the time I do my very best to eat organic or natural foods, and 20% or the time I don't. I could never, and will never be one of those extremists who don't use Tylenol and make their own Kefir but I try my best to use natural remedies when my family or I are sick and I try to use natural products on my body and my daughters body(more on those later).

While I know that buying organic or all natural isn't always cheap and it is also hard to find fresh, organic produce, meat and other foods it is in my opinion, what is best for your family. Many people will tell you that organic food is no better for you than regular food. They are wrong and right. Organic food is not more nutritional than regular food, yes, that is true, however organic food is not infested with pesticides, chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Many of the additives that are in non organic food have been linked to health problems and disease. It always astounds me how some people don't see the benefits of not eating something that is loaded with things that are terrible for them. But I digress. Here is a great article that explains the harmful effects of pesticides from a website that I love and refer to often.
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/effects-of-pesticides/effects-of-pesticides

It's important to mention if you cant eat something organic at least try to eat local. In New Jersey this is very hard to do in the winter but in the summer we go to local produce stands for the freshest, tastiest produce. The Garden state is loaded with large scale produce places and little Mom and Pop type, road stands. I know that most of the produce is not organic but at least it hasn't been shipped from halfway across the world, it promotes local business and it lowers my carbon footprint and most importantly, I actually know where my food is coming from. Food bought locally also lasts longer and takes longer to ripen, so you don't have to worry about spoilage!

An invaluable resource I use exclusively in the winter (unless they have something particularly delicious that week that I am not growing in our garden) is the incredible service called Door to Door Organics. Door to Door Organics is a company that provides fresh, organic and natural produce, meat, poultry, baked goods and other tasty treats that are delivered directly to your door! Each week they search for the freshest local food and provide a menu of the products they offer. For $25 a week I receive a box full of fruits and veggies. I use most of it for myself, dinner or to make baby food. Door to Door is great too because they fully back their products. For instance, last summer I purchased organic strawberries from them. When I took them out of the package to wash them, I noticed that almost the entire package was rotten. I shot an email to them and not only did the give me a new package of strawberries the next week, they apologized for the inconvenience. Not many companies do that anymore. Check out their website and if you decide to try their products please tell them I referred you!
Door To Door Organics

Lastly, if you have the room, grow a garden. Even if its small. If you don't have room and perhaps just a small balcony, buy a few potting plants and grow tomatoes or fresh herbs. They require minimal room and are so easy to cultivate. I cant tell you how wonderful it is to eat food from something in your own backyard and from your own hardwork. It someone makes the produce taste better.

John and I have started strategics and planning for this summers crop. As I mentioned earlier we started growing our peppers in a small green house which we will transfer to the garden in a few months. John also started the rototiller up and re cultivated the soil. I loved having our garden last summer. The lettuce, spinach and tomatoes were so tasty. I loved our green beans that we grew (sometimes I ate them right off the vine, they were so delicious). We use natural bug repellents and organic fertilizer (mostly manure, lol) in our garden. No pesticides there, much to the chagrin of my husband who would love to just dose the whole garden in chemicals and be done with it. But part of John enjoys the challenge of keeping the garden and plants healthy without the help of chemicals. I cant wait to start planting. We may even have a chicken coop but we'll have to see if that happens. I'm in all honestly slightly afraid of chickens but I think my love of having fresh organics eggs available to me at any time is very enticing.

Here's picture of our garden last year. It's nothing fancy but we had so much great produce as a result of it. I also included our wildflowers and flower beds. I worked hard on them last year, right at the height of my pregnancy. I hope that my hydrangeas come back in particular. They are my favorite flower and John bought me the plant on Easter Sunday which I later transplanted.