eggs

How to Ditch the City and Start a Farm

March 27, 2014 by Jackie Ritz 130 Comments

Well, it’s been nearly 8 months since we gave up our big city-living and moved to the backwoods of Western North Carolina. My husband and I were both raised in large cities, so raising our children the same way just felt normal.

However there always was this itch and this itch just started to grow and grow. It would be in small ways at first…like me traveling hours to visit small farms to let my kids play with the animals or to pick blueberries. Then it grew much bigger…we started searching for homes in the suburbs that allowed chickens and possibly goats. Our realtor thought we were crazy and didn’t understand us. We hit roadblock after roadblock and after *almost* buying a very expensive house on ONE acre (which we thought was a lot of land), because that was all there was, we felt like our dreams of homesteading were crushed.

What If

I remember the first time we played the “what if” game. My husband said to me one night, “what if we moved somewhere else.” At first, I was caught off guard that he was entertaining the same thought I was. Then I played “devil’s advocate” and said that we were raised in Orlando, this is where our families live, this is where we *should* live……….right?

This went on for months and we started going deeper with our feelings. My husband asked me where I always dreamed of living…he knew my answer but it’s just a dream….right? I mean, it’s just a game you play, like MASH as a little girl. You don’t really go and live in your dream place. You just dream about it...right?

Ok, so you get the drift of how confusing of a time this was for us. We both loved Western North Carolina. We loved visiting it and we even rented a cute little cabin near Asheville one year. We finally agreed that WNC was our dream place to live and we finally entertained the thought that we had the choice to move there *one day*. Sigh….one day….there it is again.

And then I said it. I said, “Why one day?” And my husband looked at me and felt the same way. Let’s do this NOW! Life is too short to not live and do what you dream of doing! And that was how it all began!

How We Ditched the City and Started Farming

1) We Found a Job

This is much harder for some people…I know that. But, it’s worth trying, right? So, we drew a 100 mile radius around our dream city, Asheville, NC on a map and my husband applied at all the jobs in that radius that fit his career. We heard back from a few and we chose one! We came and visited the nearby city and we fell in, complete, love with the place. Actually how it really happened when we sealed the deal was like this: we went to a nearby vineyard and sat down and looked out at the beautiful mountains. I looked over at my husband and said, “let’s do it“!

2) We Found a Rental Home

We still weren’t ready to buy. We have been aggressively paying off debt for a year now following the Dave Ramsey plan. So, we knew that we needed to find a rental home that allowed us to start doing our homestead dreams. We found a perfect home on Craigslist that had 4 acres of land, a barn, a huge chicken coop, and a beautiful fenced pasture. We plan on staying in this home for a few more months till we are ready to buy.

3) We Said Our Goodbyes & Sold a Ton of Stuff

This was the hardest part of the move. It’s hard to leave your family, but it’s so rewarding to follow your dreams. So, we downsized and sold a lot of stuff to make the move easier. We sold our king set (we just sleep on a mattress on the floor now!), dining room table, and all our large furniture. This isn’t necessary but we wanted a fresh start and we needed the money for the move. In fact, we are just now (8 months later) starting to buy furniture again! We waited till we were 100% out of debt, which we are now!

4) We Ordered Chickens!

Seriously, I had the chicks ordered and planned for delivery before we were even in the state! I was so excited to start homesteading and couldn’t wait for my own pastured eggs! Chickens are the best way to start homesteading. They are the easiest animals to care for. It takes about 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night to care for my chickens. As chicks, you need a few things, like a brooder area (we use stacks of straw for this), a heating lamp, and food and water bowls. Start-up costs is under $100 and that is including ordering the chicks online and paying shipping. You usually can find chicks local at a feed store for pretty cheap too!

5) I Found My Goats

I had my goats planned, as well, before we even were in North Carolina. I knew I wanted fresh, raw, goat milk. Goats are MUCH easier to keep than cows and I am more keen on goat’s milk than cow milk. I found a lady on Craigslist who was selling a goat-in-milk and her doeling. I arranged for us to pick them up about a week after we moved. It actually is a hilarious story if you would like to go read about it! I watched You Tube videos on how to milk a goat for hours but it did NO good. You have to just learn it hands-on and it does take a little practice! However, it’s so worth it. My goat has been giving us nearly a half gallon a day for the past 8 months that we have had her. Sadly, I’m drying her off right now because she is pregnant (and so is her baby!) and needs a little break before her babies come in the early summer.

6) We Started Composting

There is a local furniture store near us that gives away pallets and these large pallet containers. We grabbed them and started using it to hold our compost in. We definitely planned on a spring/summer vegetable garden so we started composting right away. We throw most our vegetable and fruit scraps to the chickens but we compost everything else! Composting is so easy.

7) We Started Raising Meat Rabbits

I don’t even know how we started doing this but it has become my husband’s favorite thing so far. We have 3 does (the moms) and 2 bucks (the boys) and we breed them every other month or so. Actually they are due any minute now for this round! The benefit of meat rabbits is that they reproduce a ton and have short pregnancies. Their meat is like chicken too! One set of meat rabbits (one buck and one girl) can give you 400lbs of meat a year! We pasture the offspring before they are ready to be butchered, that way they are living as natural as possible and eating lots of fresh grass.

8) We Slowed Down & Relish Our Life

This has been THE HARDEST thing for me to do since we have moved away from our city life. You never would have thought that slowing down would be so difficult, but it really is…especially if you are used to hurry, hurry, hurry everywhere you go. The drivers here drive me crazy…they are so pokey! It’s all a mindset and just truly realizing that being rushed is pointless. It doesn’t’ get you anywhere any faster. It just stresses you out and causes anxiety.

Conclusion

We couldn’t be happier with our decision to ditch the city and start a farm. Our kids absolutely adore their new life here. They miss their family, of course, but we are our own family now and it’s important to us to do what is best for them. The city was scaring me more-and-more and the thought of raising my kids there just kept me up at night.

Now they are able to cherish simple things like the joy of collection eggs, and planting seeds and watching them grow, and watching animals give birth! It is amazing to see how they thrive in this environment.

Websites I Recommend: The Prairie Homestead | Weed em’ & Reap | The Elliott Homestead | Blue Yurt Farms

Have you ever thought about ditching your city life and starting a homestead or a farm? Leave a comment and tell me about it! I’d love to connect with you!

Eggs and Cholesterol – How Many Eggs Can You Safely Eat?

February 7, 2014 by Jackie Ritz 5 Comments

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet.

Just imagine… a whole egg contains all the nutrients needed to turn a single cell into an entire baby chicken.

However, eggs have gotten a bad reputation because the yolks are high in cholesterol.

In fact, a single medium sized egg contains 186 mg of cholesterol, which is 62% of the recommended daily intake.

People believed that if you ate cholesterol, that it would raise cholesterol in the blood and contribute to heart disease.

But it turns out that it isn’t that simple. The more you eat of cholesterol, the less your body produces instead.

Let me explain how that works…

How Your Body Regulates Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol is often seen as a negative word.

When we hear it, we automatically start thinking of medication, heart attacks and early death.

But the truth is that cholesterol is a very important part of the body. It is a structural molecule that is an essential part of every single cell membrane.

It is also used to make steroid hormones like testosterone, estrogen and cortisol.

Without cholesterol, we wouldn’t even exist.

Given how incredibly important cholesterol is, the body has evolved elaborate ways to ensure that we always have enough of it available.

Because getting cholesterol from the diet isn’t always an option, the liver actually produces cholesterol.

But when we eat a lot of cholesterol rich foods, the liver starts producing less (1, 2).

So the total amount of cholesterol in the body changes only very little (if at all), it is just coming from the diet instead of from the liver (3, 4).

Bottom Line: The liver produces large amounts of cholesterol. When we eat a lot of eggs (high in cholesterol), the liver produces less instead.

What Happens When People Eat Several Whole Eggs Per Day?

For many decades, people have been advised to limit their consumption of eggs, or at least of egg yolks (the white is mostly protein and is low in cholesterol).

Common recommendations include a maximum of 2-6 yolks per week. However, there really isn’t much scientific support for these limitations (5).

Luckily, we do have a number of excellent studies that can put our minds at ease.

In these studies, people are split into two groups… one group eats several (1-3) whole eggs per day, the other group eats something else (like egg substitutes) instead. Then the researchers follow the people for a number of weeks/months.

These studies show that:

In almost all cases, HDL (the “good”) cholesterol goes up (6, 7, 8).

Total and LDL cholesterol levels usually don’t change, but sometimes they increase slightly (9, 10, 11, 12).

Eating Omega-3 enriched eggs can lower blood triglycerides, another important risk factor (13, 14).
Blood levels of carotenoid antioxidants like Lutein and Zeaxanthine increase significantly (15, 16, 17).

It appears that the response to whole egg consumption depends on the individual.

In 70% of people, it has no effect on Total or LDL cholesterol. However, in 30% of people (termed “hyper responders”), these numbers do go up slightly (18).

That being said, I don’t think this is a problem. The studies show that eggs change the LDL particles from small, dense LDL to Large LDL (19, 20).

People who have predominantly large LDL particles have a lower risk of heart disease. So even if eggs cause mild increases in Total and LDL cholesterol levels, this is not a cause for concern (21, 22, 23).

The science is clear that up to 3 whole eggs per day are perfectly safe for healthy people who are trying to stay healthy.

Bottom Line: Eggs consistently raise HDL (the “good”) cholesterol. For 70% of people, there is no increase in Total or LDL cholesterol. There may be a mild increase in a benign subtype of LDL in some people.

Eggs and Heart Disease

Many studies have looked at egg consumption and the risk of heart disease.

All of these studies are so-called observational studies. In studies like these, large groups of people are followed for many years.

Then the researchers use statistical methods to figure out whether certain habits (like diet, smoking or exercise) are linked to either a decreased or increased risk of some disease.

These studies, some of which include hundreds of thousands of people, consistently show that people who eat whole eggs are no more likely to develop heart disease. Some of the studies even show a reduced risk of stroke (24, 25, 26).

However… one thing that is worth noting, is that these studies show that diabetics who eat eggs are at an increased risk of heart disease (27).

Whether the eggs are causing the increased risk in diabetics is not known. These types of studies can only show a correlation and it is possible that the diabetics who eat eggs are, on average, less health conscious than those who don’t.

This may also depend on the rest of the diet. On a low-carb diet (by far the best diet for diabetics), eggs lead to improvements in heart disease risk factors (28, 29).

Bottom Line: Many observational studies show that people who eat eggs don’t have an increased risk of heart disease, but some of the studies do show an increased risk in diabetics.

Eggs Have Plenty of Other Health Benefits Too

Let’s not forget that eggs are about more than just cholesterol… they’re also loaded with nutrients and have various other impressive benefits:

They’re high in Lutein and Zeaxanthine, antioxidants that reduce your risk of eye diseases like Macular Degeneration and Cataracts (30, 31).

They’re very high in Choline, a brain nutrient that over 90% of people are lacking in (32).

They’re high in quality animal protein, which has many benefits – including increased muscle mass and better bone health (33, 34).
Studies show that eggs increase satiety and help you lose fat (35, 36).

Eggs also taste amazing and are incredibly easy to prepare.

So even IF eggs were to have mild adverse effects on blood cholesterol (which they don’t), the benefits of consuming them would still far outweigh the negatives.

Bottom Line: Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They contain important brain nutrients and powerful antioxidants that can protect the eyes.

How Much is Too Much?

Unfortunately, we don’t have studies where people are fed more than 3 eggs per day.

It is possible (although unlikely) that eating even more than that could have a detrimental effect on health. Eating more than 3 is uncharted territory, so to speak.

However… I did find an interesting case study (a study with only one individual). It was an 88 year old man who consumed 25 eggs per day.

He had normal cholesterol levels and was in very good health (37).

Of course, a study of one doesn’t prove anything, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all eggs are the same. Most eggs at the supermarket are from chickens that are raised in factories and fed grain-based feeds.

The healthiest eggs are Omega-3 enriched eggs, or eggs from hens that are raised on pasture. These eggs are much higher in Omega-3s and important fat-soluble vitamins (38, 39).

Overall, eating eggs is perfectly safe, even if you’re eating up to 3 whole eggs per day.

I personally eat 3-6 whole eggs per day (about 30-40 per week) and my health has never been better.

Given the incredible range of nutrients and powerful health benefits, quality eggs may just be the healthiest food on the planet.

*Eggs and Cholesterol originally posted by Kris Gunnar and is republished with permission.*

Silk-dyed Easter Eggs

March 21, 2012 by Jackie Ritz 3 Comments

These were so much fun to make! A little intricate, but so worth it. They came out beautiful!

This is a project that takes a few days, especially if you don’t have any of the supplies you need. I started accumulating old men’s silk ties, boxers, and women’s silk blouses. I went to Goodwill and another consignment shop that was near me and I bought a bunch of different men’s ties in cool designs. It must be 100% silk for the pattern to transfer onto the egg.

The benefit of using silk dye (or acid dye) is that it isn’t poisonous like all those other dyes out there. You can actually eat these eggs after you dye them.

Items you’ll need: silk fabric, kitchen twine or twistie ties, white eggs, vinegar, 100% cotton sheet and some vegetable oil.

Step 1: Gather, gather, gather! Raid your husband’s closet and take those old ties he never wears. Go to your nearby consignment shop. One tie makes 2 eggs. So if you are making 24 eggs then you need 12 ties.

Step 2: This is the tedious step that you might want to do beforehand, especially if you have little hands helping. You need to unravel the ties. So, cut the thread and start taking the tie apart.

Step 3: Cut the fabric into squares. Make sure they are big enough to cover the whole egg and have enough fabric left to tie it together. Then wrap them around the egg, as tight and as flat as you can without crushing it, with the fabric inside out (bright pattern is against the egg). Secure the kitchen twine at the top of the egg. Here’s a picture of my eggs all tied up:

Step 4: Cut your white cotton sheet into squares and then wrap the cotton squares around each egg. This keeps the dye from each egg bleeding onto the other eggs. I forgot to take a picture of this step. Sorry. I did, however, save on the tieing of twine and used twistie ties.

Step 5: Very carefully place each egg in the bottom of a big pot. Only put them in one layer. You might need to use 2 pots or do them in batches. Cover the eggs with water, with 1/2 inch of water on the top. Then add 1/4 cup of white vinegar into the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Take the eggs out and set on paper towels to cool and let the color set. No peaking!

Step 7: Unravel the eggs and behold the beauty!!! Wipe them dry with a paper towel and then rub a little vegetable oil on them (this is the only thing I have used vegetable oil on in years!).

All done! I got so many comments on them. They are so beautiful and people will think you are so artistic! Little do they know!!!

eggs

How to Ditch the City and Start a Farm

What If