New Life Makes Loosing Life Easier To Understand....

In the words of Jack Johnson "New life makes loosing life easier to understand"

Our 5 year old goat Billy was not doing well, I told my 10 year old son Hudson that we would have to put him down, he was unable to walk because of his disease and he is suffering.

Billy was a very friendly goat, because he had such a hard time walking he would lye down a lot. Hudson would sit on the ground outside for hours with him, rain (underneath the tree fort) or shine.

He had this bond with him, chatting away about things, petting him and just being.

Billy was rescued from people that just did not know how to take care of goats, he was fed a diet of corn only and developed severe arthritis from malnutrition. We got him when he was 2 but he looked 20. We were able to keep him comfortable for a few more years with mass doses of Glucosamine but because of the malnutrition his bones were deteriorating and he completely lost his ability to walk.

Upon Billys death we knew we would need to get a companion for our newly acquired bottle baby Sheep Lyza but with an upcoming annual farm sale it was not a priority. 

The farm sale came and went and as we were about to leave a woman came up to me and introduced herself as one of the members of a farm board I chat on. As we were talking she mentioned she had goats, I asked if she had Nubian goats (super friendly, long ears, cute) and she did. So I took my 7 year old to look as Hudson was feeling a bit down. I asked what the cost was and she said we could just have one because he would be a loved pet. Theo picked out the spotted one despite his first choice because Hudson likes spots. I carried our newly acquired boy to the van and away we went home with three very excited smiling children all the way.

When we arrived at home my mother, who with the help of Hudson named the new boy Elliot, was smitten. She had taken on our bottle lamb as a baby of her own and Elliot was to die for cute as well.

Hudson wanted to immediately go out to see how Billy was doing and bring him a marshmallow, his favourite. I insisted on going with him, I know now it was intuition, as he normally goes out on his own. When we reached the barn there was Billy, in his favorite stall, gone.

Hudson was upset, he pet him and said goodbye. We headed toward the house hugging each other to deliver the bad news. And as we arrive who runs up to greet us but Elliot. 

It was so sad to loose our Billy, but the new life in Elliot helped to soften that blow and make it easier to understand. The universe works in mysterious and wonderful ways, giving us Elliot on the exact same day our Billy was to leave us was one of those wonderful ways. 

We loved you Billy.  

Billy with my son eating his marshmallows;)

Givin the love...

Egg Head, Kids Smoothies, and My Dad's Take On The "Family Change room"

Egg Head, Kids Smoothies, and My Dad's Take On The "Family Change room"

EGG HEAD

I guess it is possible to scare the Egg out of a chicken! I first hand had the pleasure of experiencing this as I walked into the ladies coop and apparently scared them so much one pooped out an egg and it landed on my head and rolled off to the floor. I have never had this happen before and probably never will, I hope...

KIDS SMOOTHIES:

I love smoothies for my kids. I love that I can ensure that the first meal of the day is full of protein, greens, fruits, fibre, omega oil and probiotics makes me feel like a good mum!

Protein first thing in the morning shows better clarity and focus and is important for growing children. Omega oils are needed for the body to work properly, they are important for cognitive development, respiratory, circulatory, brain, organs, skin etc etc.. and probiotics helps stabilize the normal flora of the intestinal tract and stimulate resistance to harmful pathogens, they also treat a number of digestive illnesses.

So we did a little taste test with the kids today. It was a big Smoothie recipes day in the kitchen. With awesome surprising EASY recipes that I can totally do everyday:

Theo enjoying "The Chocolatey Icey Theo"

CHOCOLATE ICEY THEO: (my son named it)
-5 Ice Cubes
-2 Scoops Chocolate Whey Nutrimeal Shake (Usana)
-1 Tbsp Hemp Hearts (great source of good protein)
-1 Scoop Greens Powder
-1 Tbsp Omega Oil (I use Usana OptOmega)
-1 Tsp Fibre powder (I use Usana Fibergy)
-Probiotic (I use Usana)

STRAWBERRY BANANA AWESOMENESS:
My son who does not like bananas LOVES this one.
-5 Ice Cubes
-1 Banana
-1 Scoop Strawberry Nutrimeal Shake (Usana)
-1 Tbsp Hemp Hearts (great source of good protein)
-1 Scoop Greens Powder
-1 Tbsp Omega Oil (I use Usana OptOmega)
-1 Tsp Fibre powder (I use Usana Fibergy)
-Probiotic (I use Usana)

STRAWBERRY BERRYGOOD: (my 3 year old daughter named...)
-5 Ice Cubes
-1 Cup Mixed Frozen Berries
-1 Scoop Strawberry Nutrimeal Shake (Usana)
-1 Tbsp Hemp Hearts (great source of good protein)
-1 Scoop Greens Powder
-1 Tbsp Omega Oil (I use Usana OptOmega)
-1 Tsp Fibre powder (I use Usana Fibergy)
-Probiotic (I use Usana)

My Dad's "Family Changeroom" Philosophy

My husband and I decided to take the kids to the local swimming pool for a Saturday swim, my sisters 2 kids joined us a well as my 68 year old father to "help"... If you knew my dad his version of help it's more like bringing another child who is adult size, opinionated and doesn't have to listen to you.
We arrive at the pool and enter the "Family Changeroom" and start getting the very excited 5 kids under the age of 9 ready and in the stalls to change. I noticed my father started getting ready right in the middle of the Family Changeroom. Here's how the convo went:
Me:" dad, this is the "family Changeroom" that means an adult woman can walk in now and see you, it's the rules to use the change rooms provided only."
Dad: ""Family change room"... Well, the "families" can see me undress then"! As he takes off his pants and underwear...

Bathroom Hot Boxed, Smoothies and Bee Pollen

HOT BOXED IN THE BATHROOM:
So I was hot boxed while having a shower today by my 67 year old dad... We share one bathroom in our house where we have anywhere from 9 -18 people using it on any given day. This bathroom has a toilet, two sinks and a shower with one way mirror doors, the toilet is hidden in a coved area so having a shower and someone using the loo is not really an issue, unless while your having a HOT shower they decide to use the loo for number 2 and leave it... This is how the conversation went. My dad walks in and says " I have to Poo" .... "Uh, It won't flush...I'm leavin it".
I was a little dizzy coming out of my shower, haven't felt like that since I was a teen!!;)


SUPER SMOOTHIE TO THE RESCUE!!
There has been a lot of talk on smoothies for the past few years. I have been using this same gluten free anti inflammatory recipe for years now and just love it, so do my kids, so thought I would share.

-frozen berry blend (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries) organic preferred
-banana (or mango or pear)
-protein powder (I use sun warrior chocolate, it vegan, and gluten free)
-hemp hearts
-chia seeds ground
-turmeric (helps with inflammation)
-greens powder
-probiotics (I use Usana Health Sciences brand)
-bee pollen (an amazing remedy for allergies, (http://www.envirobee.com/beepollen.htm)
-omega oil (I use optomega from Usana Health Sciences)
-ground flax
-pure juice (I use knudsen cranberry, pomegranate, blueberry)

My one sister said one time as she saw me drinking it on the go in a clear glass, um, that looks like poo ya know. I can only imagine what drivers think I'm drinking at stop lights!


BEE POLLEN:
Almost by whole life I suffered from allergies, asthma and eczema. Had stomach problem especially with milk products etc etc..

I will go into more detail about this on my next blog but for this blog I wanted to share with those of you who would benefit from the use of Bee Pollen. I use Dutchmans Gold, they are local which is extremely important when choosing a supplier.

Fighting Disease:

By increasing the body's healing power, the body can help build resistance to disease. It has been successfully used with allergies, asthma, chronic rheumatism, colitis, arteriosclerosis, insomnia, depression, failing memory, hay fever, to normalize intestinal activity, to lower cholesterol levels and stimulate appetite, lower high blood pressure, offset the effects of drugs and pollutants, anaemic conditions and attention deficit. It is especially useful in times of pregnancy, lactation and intensive physical or mental work. It maintains the high levels of energy required to keep up with hectic schedules, deadlines or long hours. Pollen brings back vitality without the dangers of artificial stimulants like caffeine, ephedra or quarana and can be taken safely at any time. It is a natural product, admirably tolerated, and compatible with other therapies. Bee pollen is a powerful food supplement for children, growing teens, and adults of all ages. Bee pollen is the only natural food that contains almost all of the 22 elements of which the human body is composed. Today, more than ten thousand tons of bee pollen is consumed as food or medicine all over the world every year! Everyone can benefit from taking Bee pollen!

Check out this amazing site for more information on Bee Pollen (http://www.envirobee.com/beepollen.htm)

Turkey Beards, Kale Chips and Does a Baby Shit in the Woods?

Heritage breed "Beltsville Small White" Vinnie

So, I was holding my Turkey Vinnie today (yes I am aware that that sounds super weird, they are lovely creatures and quite smart and friendly and make great pets) to show one of the kids friends how friendly they are, the air he holds in his chest to look all big and how when you press on his chest and the air is pushed out he sounds like a horn, the skin under his chin is a wadle, the long skin on his nose is a snood etc..
Then I noticed something on Vinnie's chest, it felt like a burr so I asked my 6 year old Theo to pull it off, but when we looked closer it was attached and looked like a clump of very hard wire like feathers growing from the centre of his chest. I was worried he had a growth so I rushed to the house asking if anyone had heard of this! my brother in law quickly googled and found out it is his "Beard" and only the most handsome Toms get them and they can grow quite long. learn something new every day;)

A picture of Beltsville Small White with a prominent "beard"

Turkey Fun Fact:

Turkeys are the only birds that reproduce a sexually, AKA parthenogenic. Ok, that means they can have fertile eggs without a Man around, but they will only have boys! Crazy!

A specific line of hens was discovered and developed to lay eggs which will hatch into clone "sons" since in birds the female is XY and males XX. Which is the opposite of us mammals.
   
Ben Franklin wanted the turkey as the USA bird but the bald eagle won the vote.... I think the turkey would have gone over well?



Kale Chips:

We grew Kale in our garden this year for the first time. It grows like a weed, and we love Kale so this is a good thing! I have heard about how amazing the Kale chips taste so I decided to experiment. Well, good thing I did because I have now found my new addiction, and it's a healthy one!

Pre-heat oven to 300 degree celcius
Bunch of Kale with the heart removed to leave the green leaves only no center.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Sherry or Wine Vinegar
Pinch Sea Salt 
Mix in a small bowl to help disolve salt.

Coat the leaves completely with the mixture, use your hands in a bowl or shake in a bag.
Place on cookie trays
Cook for 35 minutes

Spicy Kale Chips:

Add a dash of Tobasco Sauce or Cayenne Pepper to the mix


Kale Nutritional Facts:
"One of the healthiest vegetable around"
-Cholesterol Lowering benefits
-Risk-lowering benefits for cancer
-detoxifying power
-at least 45 different Flavanoids in Kale which provide ANTI-INFLAMMATORY and anti-Oxidant benefits
 1 cup of cooked Kale equals:
Nutrient                                   %Daily Value
vitamin K1327.6%
vitamin A354.1%
vitamin C88.8%
manganese27%
fiber10.4%
copper10%
tryptophan9.3%
calcium9.3%
vitamin B69%
potassium8.4%
iron6.5%
magnesium5.8%
vitamin E5.5%
omega-3 fats5.4%
vitamin B25.2%
protein4.9%
vitamin B14.6%
folate4.2%
phosphorus
3.6%

vitamin B33.2%
Calories (36)2%

THATS AMAZING!

Great site to get more info on how awesome Kale is:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38



Poop:

We recently went berry picking which took us about 2 hours. Well, my 3 year old had to "poop"... this is a farm, with no washroom, and I didnt happen to have a potty, or extra clothes for her in case I told her to hold it and she couldnt.
SO, what do ya do! Well, baby had to shit in the woods! She did very well, she could have cared less and a nice doggy poop bag cleaned everything up so as not to leave our "poop" print on mother earth;)

Free Range and Free Range, Kids Meals and Crazy

As I was out this morning letting our chicks out into the field I looked across at our dog Ruby guarding them and thought how this is what the true definition of "free Range" should be!

Our chickens are out from dusk till dawn roaming in the grass field, only put in at night for safety from predators. So much room so that you can hardly see that there are over 40 in this picture alone!

Ruby guarding the flock

Maeve with Blue

I sat with my favourite one named Blue, my dad and then Maeve when she woke up to come out for awhile. It was so peaceful and calming, it was in that moment so very glad and proud of our decision to raise our own.

As we were talking I decided to write a post on the topic of what "Free Range" meant in the farming industry and this is what I found.

Free Range

The term “free range” has not been legally defined in either Canada or the U.S. but generally, it refers to poultry that has been permitted to graze or forage outdoors. Since there is no hard and fast definition of this term, speaking to your butcher or grocer about what exactly is meant by free range, especially when buying chicken in the winter or early spring as chickens cannot be raised outdoors in most Canadian winters is the only way to know for sure.

Free Run

Free run is different than free range in that chickens do not necessarily need to be raised outside but they are required to be able to move around freely within the barn. Though there is no legal definition of this, all chickens raised for meat in Canada are considered free run.

Chickens not kept in cages are often housed in shelters where the floor doubles as a giant litter box. As a result, hens have direct contact with bacteria and microorganisms that grow in the litter, which can greatly increase health risks, said the study, available on BioMed Central's journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.

Grain Fed

This term is typically just used for marketing purposes. Chicken labeled as “grain fed” is stating the obvious, though some brands boast special types of grain, such as vegetarian grain.

  

Free range Chickens

Basically the laws/regulations surrounding Free Range/Free Run are non existant. Meaning, chickens can be raised on a poop (POOP!) covered field of dirt in cramped quarters and boastully advertise "Free Range!"

Not only does a grass fed truly free range chickens and eggs taste better! They live the life most of us dream of.
The nutritional value is uncomparable to any other as well, the average free range egg results showed:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene
• 21 times more omega-3 fatty acid

Keep in mind that these eggs were from hens that are considered legitimately free range. They spend all or most of their lives outdoors, roosting in trees if they choose, eating bugs, grass, running and "attempting" to fly;)

A picture of what eggs look like in comparison

Kids Meals:

We had dinner the other night and thought I'd write a post on what our munchkins eat on a regular day.

Our kids tend to like veggies not cooked, which is a better way to eat them anyway so we just let them!

We always give them a reasonable portion so it doesnt look so overwhelming to them

-Spinach Salad
-Red boiled Potato
-Raw Carrotts and Broccolli
-Steamed Brussel Sprout and Kale from the garden
-Chicken -the kids get the dark meat because of the nutritional content and they like the moist texture much better.
Chicken provides:
*Protein, magnesium, phosphorus, niacin, choline,calcium, iron and potassium
*Chicken dark meat has more B vitamins, iron, and zinc than their lighter counterparts and 3X the amount of vitamin A!
*Dark meat is an excellent source of the antioxidant seleniumWe have a few mealtime rules;

1: You must try everything on your plate if you dont like it you can spit it in the garbage, this goes for every meal so if they tried red pepper yesterday, they try it again today! It has shown to work at expanding their palate as taste budds change so rapidly in children. The average adult has about 10,000 taste buds, and they die with age so it is only known that children have many more then the average adult.


2: No complaining! About what you DON'T want on your plate. I was getting sick of hearing "I don't want that and that and that" so this has become our rule, eat what you do want and we will talk about the rest at the end of the meal. By the end of the meal almost all the foods gone and no more negative complaining at meal time! Worked like a charm!

POOP!

I don't have a poop comment this time but a cute little thing my 6 year old said about being "crazy"...

My 67 year old father is a man of his time. By this I mean crazy. He thinks it's ok for a 4 year old to walk to school on his own 5 miles and own a BB Gun and pocket knife in order to make him a man type of crazy.

So we are always telling the kids "Puppa's crazy" in a funny cute (secretly serious) way so they understand that sometimes he makes somewhat unsafe decisions and to always use your own better judgement when hanging out with him.

One day my mother told him Puppa was crazy and he said "yeah, but crazy is fun!" A matter of fact like. Puppa was very proud of his Theo and chuckled to himself.

Cows, Kale Soup and Llama Spit!

My 2 year old daughter chowing down on her favourite soup at lunch time.
We leave out a tray of fruits and veggies for the kids to much on as they please and it's always gone by end of the day!

Kale, Leek & Mushroom Soup:
-Bunch of Kale
-3 large Leeks
-1 Shitake
-2 cups of Button and Cremini Mushrooms
-8 cups of strong Chicken Stock (MSG & Gluten free) we make our own.
-2 Tbsp Olive oil
-Salt & Pepper
-dash Cayenne Pepper
Pre sear in the Olive Oil the Kale, Leeks, and Mushrooms each separately with salt and pepper before adding to the stock and cayenne.
Let simmer for about an hour and your all set!!

Food Facts:
Kale: Not only is anti-inflammatory but antioxidant as well! It is very high is vit A & C and provides iron and calcium. An amazing veg! Check out it's stats!
• Vitamin K (Very high %DV over a 1000%)
• High in carotenoids (antioxidant)
• Vitamin A (190 %DV)
• Vitamin E & C (antioxidants) (Vitamin C 80% DV)
• Vitamin B-1, B-2, B-3,and Folate
• Manganese, copper, calcium. potassium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Protein ( 7% of DV)
• Tryptophan
Leeks: Anti-inflammatory and antiseptic high in
Mushrooms: Great source of vitmain B's, iron, anti-inflammatory, antioxidantm antibacterial pretty much anti anything!!

Fifi our Galloway Cow and Rosie our Tamworth Pig behind her.

I was talking to the man who we are getting our 2 meat cows from today on the phone and telling him about our place, he is a bird expert and well known in the farming community. I continued to tell him about my favorite chicken Moe, and how she sits and has coffee w my mom every morning. He said he was surprised we drank coffee because it sure didnt sound like I needed anymore energy and that because we were "back to the land" people that we would make our own tea etc... Caught me off guard but got me thinkin.. Could we make our own Tea??


Farm Facts: Did you know that some cows are neither male nor female! Yup, the farm term is Free Martin which just means hemaphrodite. My sister was trying to figure that one out with our little cow Fiona. We plan to make her a momma this fall so we kinda need to know whats shes made of;)
More cool cow facts:
-90% of wild Bison have cow blood from cross breedings done by the pioneers, aka Beefallo;)
-Bull semen is SO potent that it is diluted to 1/200 for insemination purposes! When you puirchase the semen to get your cow preggers you get them in "straws"...It's just that simple!
-The Holstein dairy cow is the most inbred of all agricultural animals, the second of all domestic animals, the first is research rodents.....


Poop: Llama spit smells worse then poop! I know because I was at a petting farm with my hilarious aunt one time and she was, what seemed to be , getting along really well with the Llama! Until she ran up to me yelling he spit on her and her face smelt like poop!
Lesson learnt, no Llamas for the farm...

Spring is Here! Easter Eggs & Dinner

Spring is Here!

Easter Eggs:

This one was named Bob

The chicks hatched over the easter weekend. It was amazing to watch the kids get so excited to watch the process from the time they "pipped"(once the chick picks it's first little hole) to the full hatch and fluff up. They pip around in a circle on the inside of the egg through the membrane then a little hole through the shell and pop, literally some of them popped right through while we were watching! My 2 year old daughter was jumping and clapping her hands. 9 chicks hatched and each grandkid was able to name one and see it grow from the time we started the incubator to the cuteness in the picture below:)

Farm Facts:
While the kids were in music class I was talking to the owner about our farm. I love our conversations and he is a valued customer of ours too! He had a question about chickens and said he thought it might sound dumb and apologized for his ignorance (which I think is hilarious because I have had this question before and when I corrected them the person said I didnt know what i was talking about..)


He thought that in order to have a chicken lay eggs you needed a rooster. You do not need a rooster to have a chicken lay eggs, you only need a rooster if you want fertilized eggs. Just like in Humans! When I put it that way almost always I get an "aha!" Again, I've had this one come up many times in my life!


NO farm question is dumb, lemme tell ya!


Dinner:
For Easter dinner we had 35 people for a sit down dinner.

This is the Buffet

All gluten free except the yorkshire pudding top left.

The only items I did not eat were the mash potatoes, processed meat and pepper salad due to the fact that they are inflammatory foods.

This is my plate

Clockwise starting at top:

Home made Ceasar Salad (no croutons), Broccolli/Cauliflower salad, Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Our own Pork, Beef with gravy and horseradish, Garlic Shrimp

Yes, ALL Gluten Free and anti-inflammatory!

I stuck to the 80-20 rule when it came to the meat, I eat very little because of the saturated fats and inflammatory properties but only eat our own home raised or organic practice/free range meats.  

Food Facts:

Broccoli, Romaine Lettuce, Green Peas are anti-inflammatory

Cauliflower is anti-inflammatory and high in vit K

Carrots, Sweet Potatoes are anti-inflammatory and high in Beta Carotene and Vit A

Brussel Sprouts are anti-inflammatory and HIGH in Vit K, C Omega 3

Shrimp are anti-inflammatory and high in Vit D and Omega 3

Organic practice free range meat has more Omega 3 and less Saturated fats then feed lot and grain fed meats.

(Great site for anti-inflammatory foods to avoid http://theconsciouslife.com/top-10-inflammatory-foods-to-avoid.htm)

Poop:

We had a discussion at dinner that I just can't share with you all online this week, along the lines of how a man surgically becomes a woman, and yes, it was my 67 year old father that went into detail about the medical procedure of the whole process while we were chewing on our meat...you'll just have to come for dinner for the details!!