A month with-out Monsanto

     I do not usually post other articles but I felt this one warranted the share. I have mentioned one of the grocery stores I frequently shop is PCC. I received My month without Monsanto: My GM Free Experiment from their blog.

     The Monsanto article was very eye opening to say the least. I found it thought provoking, informative, and down right scary. I had no idea that to have my family GM Free I would need to make extremely drastic changes. I thought I was doing really well by making sure there were no processed foods served at our table. I try to buy organic and local as much as I can. But when I read that Monsanto pretty much has their fingers in the entire AG business seed packet I was appalled. How did this happen? Who let it happen?

          "70 to 80 percent of American non-organic processed foods contain genetically engineered ingredients, according to the Grocery Manufacturers of America. A large percentage of the cotton in our clothes and homes begins in Monsanto’s labs." WOW! 

     April Dávila, states that "By day two of my attempt to remove Monsanto from my life, I realized I was in way over my head. For the past 10 years Monsanto has bought up seed companies around the globe. It now owns a majority of the seed lines in America, including a large percentage of organic seeds."

     But it does not stop there. Now I need to think about our clothing. I have been close minded about buying organic cottons. I always thought that was taking things a little bit too extreme. Please accept my apology if this offends anyone. Not my intention, just being truthful of my close mindedness. Now I completely understand and congratulate them for being so forethought on GM in our clothing. 

     I applaud Ms. Dávila in her attempt to keep Monsanto at bay. No wonder 1 out 133 people have celiac disease, being diagnosed at unprecedented rates of autism, and allergy diagnoses continues to rise at alarming rates.

     "Eat and buy local. Know where your food is coming from and who is growing it. Eat more vegetarian meals. Limit your amount of meat. Wear organic clothes." Good advice Ms. Davila, very good advice.

    

 PLEASE TAKE NOTE: This post is not singling Monsanto out as the cause for everything. I am not slandering Monsanto. Just perplexed at how tightly closed my eyes have been. 

Super Easy Veggie Casserole

I started homeschooling 13 years ago. Golly has it been that long?! When we started homeschooling I joined our local homeschooling group. Once a month we would meet and share dinner. Afterwards the Moms would share what they were working on with their children. They were instrumental to those of us green behind the ear. I was so impressed with their passion homeschooling their children. Their love for God and sprinkling it through each days lessons. Over the years they became friends and my hero's.

Any who, there were several woman right from the very beginning I found most inspiring. Their homes were always spotless, children well mannered, laundry never piled high as Everest and severed 3 meals a day (from scratch) to their families. They made homeschooling look like a breeze.

One of those wonderful women is April Hager. April is an amazing woman. Her kids are so awesome, she cooks like a chef and is has impeccable taste in home decor. Just to name a few. :0)

It is my pleasure to have April as my first guest contributor! April recently shared the following recipe. It is GF and can be CF if you leave off the cheese she suggests to top the casserole with at the end. I have already put it on the menu for this week. I hope that you find it a blessing to your family table.

P.S. April asked me not to credit her for the recipe but her friend Sue. Thanks Sue!

A Super Easy Veggie Casserole

Lentil Rice Casserole by Sue Gregg

I always double this for our family:

Lentil Rice Casserole by Sue Gregg

3 C water (or broth or throw in a couple bouillon cubes)

3/4 C uncooked lentils

1/2 C uncooked brown rice

1/4 C instant minced oniion

1/2 tsp basil leaves

1/4 tsp oregano leaves

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Put all in a covered casserole dish and bake at 300 degrees for 2-2 1/2 hours until tender and water is absorbed.

Top hot casserole with grated cheese before serving.

I love serving this with steamed veggies and some sort of bread for a complete meal. Leftovers make great burritos the next day!

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something GOOD to eat!

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, give me something good to eat!  

 When I was a little girl I grew up in West Virginia. My neighborhood was made up of three giant circular hilly streets and then there was the “top of Lyndale”. I never went trick or treating there because quite frankly it was so stinking steep that by the time you reached the top of the hill trick or treat would be over! That would only be about 25 houses. In Charleston to this day trick or treat is held the last Thursday of the month from 6-8 pm. If we trick or treated throughout the remaining part of the neighborhood we could hit almost 100 houses. That's a lot of loot!

 I would think that it would really stink if I spent hours trick or treating and then have it all taken away. Not even getting ONE piece of the delicious milk chocolate. 

Last year, before my youngest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease I came up with a bright idea. Why not “buy” her candy from her and allow her to purchase something awesome instead of tooth rot! I wondered what would be a reasonable amount to offer her. I had a figure in my head and then went to the bargaining table. The youngest daughter loved the idea! I even got by on less than what I was offering. We agreed on a pack of pokemon cards and ten pieces of “legal candy” to be spread out, not consumed in one day! She was happy, I was happy and I know her dentist would have been happy. You might be wondering what “legal candy” consisted of for her. Having asthma she is not allowed any chocolate. Having ADHD she is also not allowed any red dye so that narrowed the list down quite a bit. She was happy to be able to eat skittles and starbursts. What a treat to eat contraband candy!

 

Halloween is once again upon us. I have wondered what is considered “legal” in the great big world of GF. By the way my DD has already asked if I will be “purchasing” her candy again this year. :0) I researched what is legal GF candy and came up with this link. I plan to give this list to my son’s teacher so she will know what can be given out for parties and rewards at school. I must tell you I cannot stand the thoughts of candy being given out as rewards at school, I am just sayin. For our son I plan to have a goody bag for him with legal candy.  He would not understand trading candy for money. He is just happy to get candy! Now we just need to decided where to get the best treats...

Pumpkin Fries

Pumpkin is a main stay in our pantry. We use it for soups, breads, cake, and muffins. The most recent post at Gluten Free Gobsmacked Kate posted pumpkin fries. Why had I not thought of that?! The very next day I purchased a pumpkin. I made both the savory and sweet fries. Our home smelled so unbelievable while we wanted with bated breath for them to come out of the oven. I did not have any parchment paper so I used extra olive oil for the savory pan and Pam for the sweet. i think if I had used the parchment paper they would have been crispier. They were still totally and completely awesome.

Don't forget to save the seeds for roasting.

Lightly toss with olive oil and seasonings.

Parchment paper lined cookie sheet will make fries crispy. Single layer, giving a toss 1/2 way through cooking.

One a side note: I sprinkled powder sugar on the sweet fries. Ketchup is optional!