The Paleo Mama

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City Girl to Farm Girl: The Transformation Within

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Picnic basket in one hand, my son’s hand in the other, we open the rusty gate and head out to find a perfect spot to lay our blanket. The autumn leaves crunch beneath my farm boots – I still snicker when I look down and see rubber boots instead of polished, tan toes that compliment my $1 Old Navy flip-flops. Paleo farm girl runs ahead of us and asks to let the chickens out. Her wavy hair dances in the mountain air and sings a song as the sun flickers off her fading summer highlights.

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Paleo son giggles when the chickens break free from their coop – their eyes eager to find a juicy bug outside the coop walls. Do I know that feeling! Paleo farm girl picks up her favorite chicken, Susie Sunshine, so delicately and gently. This is the second Susie Sunshine. The first Susie Sunshine met her unfortunate fate when Paleo farm girl accidentally stepped on her. I felt the crush and blow with her and we held her fading body as she slipped away from this world. This was our first hard lesson of farm life but we knew the pain of death already.

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My son slips from my hand and brings me back to this moment. I watch as he runs ahead and I know where he is going. He is fascinated with “wish flowers” and they cover our pasture. He counts to three and blows and I watch the white florets surround my son and I watch as his eyes follow the florets up in the air above him. The moment is perfect and I thank God that I am here in it. I remember my life when it was crushed, stepped on…like the first Susie Sunshine. My life was fading away and I felt like I couldn’t breath. My bones were broken and I couldn’t hold my head up. My spirit barely was holding on and I could not get past the pain my body had felt._MG_7785_MG_7798_MG_7788

I stood in the hallway broken and crying out for help, I felt it. I felt someone pick me up and over time He began to, every-so-carefully, put me back together. I watch my children in our new life and think of how my life has so, drastically, changed. But it didn’t happen all at once…it was piece by piece…by piece. And now I walk hand-in-hand with my child whose birth painfully reminds me of the death of my sister. My life has been a life of parallels; plagued with celebrating the life of my son, but burdened, at the same time, with grieving the death of my younger sister. It’s been two years and I’ve walked these parallels and I’ve been burdened with grief and guilt. I’ve been screaming into a pillow and felt trapped in this life. I thought this is how it would feel forever…but here I am…I’m watching the wish flowers surround my son and fly up into the mountain breeze. I’m looking at the mountains that surround us and admiring the way the sun forms shadows on in the crevices of the distant peaks.

I hit my knees and a wave of peace comes over me. I don’t feel God anymore so I don’t know if that is what this is…but it is something so close that it leaves me believing that I will feel Him again. I reach my hand up to grab my sister’s necklace and, for once, I know it’s ok. My sister led me here because I know I wouldn’t be here…in the middle of the mountains of North Carolina…if it wasn’t for what happened. My life wouldn’t have gone through such trauma. I wouldn’t feel like I do now. I wouldn’t be this alive.

Cause now I feel things. I see things I never saw…

like how beautiful the florets of the wish flower are.

Or how my daughter’s hair dances in the air.

Or how beautiful the leaves are as they are changing from green to their autumn color.

I wouldn’t feel peace because to truly feel peace, you have to know what war is. 

I pull the checkered blanket from our picnic basket and we sit down to enjoy this day that was given to us. My daughter says a prayer and thanks the Lord for her chicken. My son throws his little arms in the air and screams, “AMEN.” We break bread together, as a little family that has been through a tough few years but has come out of the storm. I had a feeling this place would help me continue to heal and I’m thankful that it has held up to that expectation.

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My heart has always had a calling for more than what a city could offer me and living in it was like a prison.

I’m thankful to be set free.

I’m blessed to be able to treasure this moment.

…because now I know how fast life is.

…now I know that I can be broken…and happy…and it’s ok.

This crushed and broken city-girl is gone. A vibrant and peaceful farm girl has arrived. 

My soul is…

quenched.

 

Protecting Your Health While FDA Food Inspections are SHUT DOWN

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Quality test

The government has been shut down for nearly 2 weeks now. However, with all the hype and news of this current shutdown, I see one major issue not being talked about much. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has furloughed HALF of their employees…which means half the work is being done on inspecting our food. Let’s be honest, even when the FDA is operating in full capacity, there are still many, many food problems that still happen. This is scary. And until Congress get their act together – the FDA has suspended food safety inspections.

What is and isn’t being inspected right now?

  • “There are 626 total FDA investigators excepted and reporting to work, and 976 who are furloughed,” Steven Immergut, the FDA’s assistant commissioner for public affairs, said in an email on Tuesday. “These investigators work across the agency portfolio, not just on food products.”
  • “During the lapse in appropriations, FDA will not be conducting routine domestic or international inspections of food facilities,” Immergut said in the email. This means that those inspectors who normally will do in-plant inspections, both domestically and abroad have stopped.
  • There are 700 employees who are regulating 300 ports of entry in the United States – those inspections are still going on.
  • Meat, poultry, and egg inspections will continue, but according to a Department of Health and Human Services memo, the majority of FDA food inspectors have been deemed nonessential. 

UMMM, are you worried yet?

Which foods are the biggest concern? 

The biggest concern right now is IMPORTS. Since there are currently no foreign food inspections going on, this poses a HUGE health risk for foodborne illnesses. However, you can still protect yourself. The Center for Science has a great article on the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the FDA. Now would be a GREAT time to learn which ones those are and avoid them.

10 Riskiest Foods and Their History of Outbreaks:

  1. Leafy Greens – 363 outbreaks, 13,568 reported illnesses
  2. Eggs – 352 outbreaks, 11,163 reported illnesses
  3. Tuna – 268 outbreaks, 2,341 reported illnesses
  4. Oysters – 132 outbreaks, 3,409 reported illnesses
  5. Potatoes – 108 outbreaks, 3,659 reported illnesses
  6. Cheese – 83 outbreaks, 2,761 reported illnesses
  7. Ice Cream – 74 outbreaks, 2,594 reported illnesses
  8. Tomatoes – 31 outbreaks, 3,292 reported illnesses
  9. Sprouts – 31 outbreaks, 2,022 reported illnesses
  10. Berries – 25 outbreaks, 3,397 reported illnesses

What should I eat right now?

 Local Food from Local Farms – search for local meat from local farmers. Search for free-range  eggs and poultry. Don’t eat any fruits or vegetables that are from another country. I wouldn’t trust much else right now…even organic labeled foods aren’t being inspected properly. Go to Farmer’s Markets near you. Look up sources for local food on Local Harvest or Eat Wild. Look on Craigslist for local farmers…research!

Wild Caught Seafood – The percentage of imported seafood is…brace yourselves…91%! Hello…91% of all our seafood is imported! That is un-friggin-believable. DO NOT EAT ANY SEAFOOD that is imported right now! NONE. Look in your grocer for WILD-CAUGHT seafood and check your canned tuna/salmon for it’s origin…as well as frozen seafood.

NOTHING from the 10 Riskiest Foods list unless you have grown it yourself or purchased it from a trustworthy source. Oh, and FYI – these were the 10 riskiest foods BEFORE THE SHUTDOWN! Can you imagine how terrible they could get right now?

NOTHING imported PERIOD. 

Even though meat, poultry, and eggs are being inspected, they are still threats to our health. Kirkland Rotisserie Chicken had a Salmonella outbreak 2 days ago! Foster Farms had a Salmonella outbreak last week! The workload of inspections on the functioning FDA workers that aren’t furloughed is enormous. They cannot keep up. I would not even buy storebought chicken, meat, or eggs right now.

Conclusion:

It’s a hard road ahead of us, but I do believe, that this may be good for Americans. We need to be more aware of what we are eating and I think this is a wake-up call. Most Americans don’t care where our food comes from…as long as it’s at the store when we need it. Our health is at risk, friends, and it’s time for us to wake up.

Grow some food. Raise some livestock.

Buy local.

Look at the source.

And then hug your local farmer who is giving you peace of mind during this government shutdown.

 

Sources:

  • https://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/08/20873175-routine-fda-inspections-of-food-facilities-suspended-due-to-government-shutdown?lite
  • https://www.dailyfinance.com/on/10-riskiest-foods-avoid-while-fda-inspections-shut-down/#!slide=1263992
  • https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/fda-shutdown_n_4086299.html
  • https://www.fishwatch.gov/farmed_seafood/outside_the_us.htm

 

shared on Holistic Squid

 

How Are You Protecting Your Children from Predators?

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frankiememe

  • Sixty-seven percent of all victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were juveniles (under the age of 18) 34% of all victims were under age 12.
  • One of every seven victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement were under age 6.
  • Convicted rape and sexual assault offenders serving time in State prisons report that two-thirds of their victims were under the age of 18, and 58% of those–or nearly 4 in 10 imprisoned violent sex offenders–said their victims were aged 12 or younger.
  • 80% of inmates serving time in State Prison for intimate violence had injured or killed their victim.” (Criminal Offenders Statistics)
  • “The median age of the victims of imprisoned sexual offenders was less than 13 years old.” (Bureau of Justice Standards.)
  • “96% of female rape victims in 1991, younger than 12 years old, knew their attackers. 20% were victimized by their fathers or step-fathers.” (US Department of Justice)
  • 3 in 4 child victims of violence were female.
  • 4 in 10 child victims of violence suffered either a forcible rape or another injury

Do you have a pit in your stomach like I do? I could keep going with these scary statistics…I haven’t even mentioned child pornography which is rampant.

The truth is, we all have known someone who has been sexually molested or raped. And the possibility that even one of us has been molested or raped is 50%. That’s sick. It just makes my skin crawl. It makes me want to live off the grid somewhere and shelter my children from any harm. Why aren’t there more people talking about this? I am always the odd-ball when I say that my 4 year old already understands this stuff. No, I’m not teaching her about sex and things people can do to her. I’m teaching her how to be a little lady. I’m teaching her about secrets. I’m teaching her about how to understand danger.

It is never too early to teach your kids about “good touch, bad touch.” I think we, as parents, need to stop shying away from things that make US uncomfortable. This isn’t about us. This is about protecting our children. This is about saving them from years of hurt, confusion, and anger. This is about saving them from going down a dangerous path of drug addition, of being so hungry for love that they will sleep with anyone to find it. This is about rescuing our children.

Our children need us. They need us to be that superhero for them. All little girls want a hero, and if they aren’t getting it from us (from dads), then they are going to look for it elsewhere. As girls, we fantasize about this…why do you think all fairy tales involved a princess and a savior? Who is her savior?

Let’s not wait for something to happen to save them. Let’s start now.

How can we protect them NOW? 

I stumbled upon Pattie Fitzgerald website while watching the news a while back who teaches “Tricky People” not “Stranger Danger,” because a tricky person could be someone that your child knows. Here are some things that I have learned from her Prevention tips and a few other things that I suggest:

  1. First we need to realize that from the statistics, most of the abusers, or “Tricky People”  come from close relationships with the family. With child molestation, not only are the children being duped into keeping quiet and believing whatever lies the abuser is saying, but the parents are being duped to. As parents and protectors of our young, we need to stand up when we are uncomfortable and say no.
  2. Second, we need to be willing to be uncomfortable…willing to possibly offend another adult. My daughter has a good friend. Her friend’s dad wanted to take the two girls out for ice cream one day. I remember when the question was asked to me. At first, I felt it. I felt the uneasieness and I didn’t want to say no because I was going to be uncomforable saying no to someone. Yes, maybe, he was just trying to do something nice. But, guess what?! I don’t know him from sin. So, I worked through those feelings of uneasiness and I, politely, declined. It’s better to feel uncomfortable than to live with a burden of guilt.
  3. Third, we need to teach our kids that IT’S OK TO SAY NO TO ADULTS. I think we, too often, in trying to teach our children to respect their elders, we teach them that an adult is always right. WRONG! Don’t teach them this. Teach them that if something doesn’t feel right, then to come to you. We need to create a level of respect and trust among our kids. And if you are teaching them that they should do whatever an “adult” says, then there is so much risk in that. Teach them that adults are human too and if an adult wants something from them, then they need to come to you and ask.
  4. Fourth, we need to stop forcing our kids to hug and kiss someone. Don’t make your child do something that they don’t want to do. How are we teaching them to be cautious of pedophiles if we are just going to force them to be affectionate with someone that they don’t want to? Isn’t that the same thing that pedophiles do?
  5. We need to talk to them. My daughter is only 4, but I am, already, trying to create confidence in our relationship. I don’t want subjects of sex and touch and affection to be awkward. I want to be able to talk, openly, with her about sex, about healthy touch, about relationships with the opposite sex. How many of us learned what sex was from friends, internet, or TV? Thankfully, I had a mother who I, oh so vividly, remember teaching me about sex. In fact, the image of her drawing it out is forever branded in my mind. But, I learned from someone I TRUSTED what it was. I learned what healthy sex was. I learned that it was something that I could talk about with my parents.
  6. Listen to your child. If they don’t want to be around a particular person, a babysitter, a family member…this may be a red flag. Don’t force them to do things they don’t want to do.
  7. Look up local predators on your state’s database. All states post predators and where they live. You can select a 1 mile radius and see how many live around you in that area.

Let’s do this better. Let’s do it better together. Let’s be more alert. Let’s be willing to be uncomfortable. We can’t save everyone, but we can do our best to be the hero that our kids need. Let’s do it now!

There are some great children books that we can read to our kids that teach them different aspects of understanding danger:

What measures do you take to make sure your kids are safe from predators? 

 

 

 

 

Wait…You’re Christian and You Eat Paleo?!

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caveman

Throughout my week, I get quite a few emails and Facebook messages from my followers. The truth that I am a Christian bleeds out onto my blog posts and often into my daily encouragement to others. I just can’t help it! 😉 Many say to keep your beliefs and political opinions off your page, but I can’t sometimes, and never will change who I am…let alone what I want to say. I am not very good at holding my tongue…in good situations and in bad. A majority of my emails are from others who are confused on how I can be a Christian at the same time as being Paleo. Many give me encouragement for being the first Christian Paleo that they have ever known. And then others are, well lets just say, are not so nice. You see, people link Paleo to evolution.  You might be surprised to hear that I do believe in the evolution of some species. I do not believe in the evolution of our ancestors from mangy looking, hunched over, cavemen to straight and upright human beings. I don’t know how old the earth is, nor do I very much care or ever want to end up in a heated debate over it.  I do know how long it took to be created.

Whatever the case may be…

I am Christian.

I am Paleo.

You can be both.

You can be Christian and you can be Paleo because Paleo, is just a way of eating…nothing more.

So before I write anything else, here’s my disclosure: I am not writing this to debate religions, creeds, or claims. I am not writing this to convince you that Christianity is the only way. I am not writing this to start a fight or argument.

I am writing this because I want to encourage those who are Christian that eating Paleo can compliment a Christian lifestyle.

But how can I be a Christian and follow Paleo? 

1. Paleo is not a religion . First of all, I’ve never scrutinized this before…nor I have I ever thought that I couldn’t eat Paleo because I am a Christian. I don’t think Paleo is a religion, thus I feel I can be a Christian and follow the Paleo way of eating without betraying one-or-the other. Both are completely different. Christian is who I am. Paleo is what I eat. Christian is what I believe. Paleo is something I just credit as useful and makes my body feel good. One is something I cannot change…not even on a bad day. The other is something that DOES and CAN change, depending on if I want to indulge and eat a brownie. One I can’t walk away from. The other I can walk away from….and very easily.

2. “Well, didn’t Jesus eat grains?” I don’t hate bread, nor do I think it’s evil. I just don’t eat bread and grains because they are, to me, an inferior source of nourishment. They are, mostly, genetically modified and DO NOT resemble the grains that were spoke about in the Bible days. After eliminating them from my diet, then adding them back in moments of “indulgence”, I am now aware of the effects they have on my body. So, I choose not to eat them. This article at Wellness Mama talks in-depth about what, specifically, the Bible says about grains. A few points:

  • the grains of the Bible are much different from the grains of today
  • the grains of the Bible were prepared much different from the grains of today
  • grain consumption didn’t begin till after the Fall
  • grains were eaten in times of hardship
  • meat is linked with times of celebration or redemption
  • Jesus is the Bread of Life

3. I believe my body is a temple so I treat it well. I am attracted to eating Paleo because it is a very clean way of eating. Eliminating processed foods, growing and harvesting your own food, eating foods that are good for your body…all fall under the eating Paleo. Eating Paleo has grown in me a love for real food…a love for our local, hard-working farmers, and a love for cooking good, healing foods for my family. It has made me conscious about what I feed my children, about what I feed my pets, and about what I feed myself. I’ve had amazing results from eating Paleo. It has helped with depression, it has helped me lose over 60lbs, it has helped my energy levels and helped me sleep better. Should I discredit those results because some people believe that the Paleo diet is the same diet as our “pre-human” ancestors?  When you hear testimonies like mine, does it matter if I believe in evolution or creation? 

4. There is nothing in the Bible that tells me not to eat a Paleo diet. In fact, in Genesis 18 God, personally, sits down and has a meal with Abraham. What did he eat? He ate red meat, butter, and raw milk (He, also, ate very high quality, properly prepared bread…this is how things have changed). I believe that God has given us a perfect menu on this beautiful earth He has created. I believe He gave us things to eat that would nourish our bodies, grow our bodies, keep our bodies healthy, and build strong beings. I believe He created natural remedies for sicknesses and that the food He created should be our medicine. I don’t believe in changing the genetic molecule of our foods. I don’t believe in filling our foods with unnatural preservatives. And I don’t believe in filling our foods with garbage.

5. Eating Paleo complements my Christianity. It has taught me to appreciate the whole animal. It has taught me to consume all the animal and not waste anything. It has brought about a respect for God’s creation that just, simply, being a Christian never did. It has taught me to source our meat and love our food that we eat. The day will come that we will start butchering our own chickens, rabbits, pigs, and cows. Paleo has taught me to treat them well and to show gratitude to them for providing nourishment for our bodies; to give them a good life for the food they will provide for my family. As Christianity bleeds onto every aspect of my life, so has eating Paleo.

Conclusion

Paleo is not a religion and to treat it as one is just ridiculous. The main reason people cannot get over the whole “how can you be a Christian and Paleo?” is because of the evolution aspect. Once again, Paleo isn’t a religion, nor is evolution a religion. Just as grains should not be the focus of Christianity, evolution should not be the focus of Paleo. The beautiful part of eating Paleo is that you are eating the cleanest your body, probably, ever has. You are making steps towards limiting processed foods, sourcing good, sustainable meats, shopping as organic as possible, and, maybe, you are even growing a garden now.

Paleo changed my life. Christ has changed my life. Because of Paleo, we are now homesteading, raising goats, chickens, and growing organic food. Because of Christ, we are living our life to the fullest, acting upon our dreams, and celebrating the beautiful life God has given us. Christianity fulfills me spiritually, whereas, Paleo fulfills me morally and ethically when it comes taking care of God’s creation. It also fully fills my belly!

For more reading on this topic: 

 

 

 

My Rainbow Baby that God Gave Me After the Storm

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I’m breaking my summer blogging sabbatical because I’m feeling very emotional tonight and feel like writing. My son turns 2 tomorrow and my emotions are a whirlwind because of that. I’m not sure why…well, I have a few ideas why. First, he is my baby and 2 marks the end of “babyhood”. Second, as we draw closer to his birthday, we draw closer to the anniversary of my sister’s death.

I asked God so many times why He would take my sister from me at the time I had a newborn baby. It was nearly impossible for me to care for my kids while grieving the loss of my sister and without my husband (who was incredible through it all), I’m pretty sure I would not have endured it.

A friend of mine who also went through a intensely tough storm said it perfectly when she said that she felt like she was living a life of parallels with her newborn. I, too, have felt plagued with the same feelings. It has been 2 years of parallels…2 years of life and 2 years of death. At many times I felt so confused as to how I was supposed to embrace this precious new life that God had given me, while being broken and hurt over the life that I had loss in my sister.

I felt God whisper to me many times that out of death comes life.

He knew before my son, Frankie, was even conceived that my beautiful sister would pass away from this earth around the same time as my son’s birth. There was a purpose to these parallels and what is so beautiful is that I am only beginning to see it.

Frankie brings me so much joy that it is almost unbearable. The first year of his life I dealt with guilt over so many things…our broken breastfeeding relationship…laughing at him when I should be grieving…and, most of all, feeling as if the beginning of his beautiful life was overshadowed by my sister’s tragic death.

Frankie is my rainbow baby. He was conceived shortly after a miscarriage that my husband and I had. He was my promise to God that followed a very difficult season of our lives.

Frankie is my rainbow baby that followed a very difficult storm…a storm that raged so hard that it shook the foundation of my faith and brought me to my knees in desperation. God knew I would need Frankie. God knew what exact moment I would need him. He was there with me and there was a reason for it all.

Frankie suckled at my breast 10 minutes after I found my sister. I held him and gave life to him when death was surrounding me. And in the darkest hours, in the blackness of the night, Frankie was there next to me, wrapped in my body and warmth, reminding me that out of death came a much needed significant life.

When I look at Frankie, I think of the promise God gave Noah. He will always calm the storm.

So, today, and always, I celebrate my Frankie!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

 

frankie17

 

Frankie, Jr. born beautifully into Mommy's arms.
Frankie, Jr. born beautifully into Mommy’s arms.
Big sister holding him for the first time <3
Big sister holding him for the first time <3
I think this was the first picture I took of Frankie after my sister died. I remember thinking, "how can I be sad when I have this little boy to look at."
I think this was the first picture I took of Frankie after my sister died. I remember thinking, “how can I be sad when I have this little boy to look at.”

frankie 2

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