Posted by Cindy on July 19, 2008
Our Creation Club (nature club) is going really well. The kids are having fun and seem to be learning so much. We get to learn outside and, if nothing else, that sparks great enthusiasm for the activities. 
During the nature workshop at the CHEK convention, I talked about some of the resources I use for choosing activities during our club meetings. I forgot to add a few of those resources to the workshop handout, so I promised I’d post them here.
The book that got the ball rolling for the club is the Creation Club Idea Book. In it are all sorts of ideas for particular broad themes in nature. You will find Bible references, active games, craft ideas and more.
During our club, though, I typically try to focus in on one or two aspects within a broad theme. For instance, instead of a study on water, we studied ponds. In fact, we even limited that study to life around a pond and just within the water’s edges. Because the Creation Club Idea Book’s themes are broad, I use other resources to round out a particular study’s focus.
Of course, the #1 resource is the internet. I’m amazed at the worksheets, diagrams, activity ideas and information that pops up when I do a quick search of the topic!
The #2 resource is the library. Depending on the topic, I’ve found all sorts of activity books and information books that fit the bill perfectly.
Below are some other books I’ve found useful for adding activities that are suitable for groups.
I’d LOVE to hear about a nature club that you start. If you already take part in a nature club, I’d love to hear about that, too!
FYI – I’m working on another post to answer some MSG questions and pass along a few recipes. I probably won’t be able to complete it until next week sometime, so stay tuned. I’ve really appreciated those of you who have shared – even the ones who disagree with me about MSG’s overall negative effect in our food supply. 
Posted by Cindy on July 17, 2008
Why am I sharing this? I come across so many people who share the same struggles that I used to have and I want to be sure they understand that getting MSG out of their diet can potentially be life changing. It was for me.
I grew up in the 70′s and 80′s. Eating Little Debbies, Big Macs, Doritoes and ranch dressing was just a normal part of life. It still is for most people, in fact. I never struggled with those foods until I reached my early twenties. I really have no idea why something “snapped” at that point, but it certainly did. Maybe it was years of ingesting a dangerous food ingredient and my body finally said. “No more!” Maybe it was four years of college when I probably ate WAY worse than I should have. Maybe it was being under a ton of stress planning a wedding and trying to find a job.
Whatever the case, my body began going a bit crazy. Not all of me, just my bowels, but it effected my entire being. It started with horrible stomach and bowel pains after I’d eat at a restaurant. Usually, I’d either have to run to the bathroom with explosive diarrhea before leaving the resaurant, or I’d be in horrible pain hoping I could “hold it” until I got home.
Before long, it started happening even at home. Often, I’d wake up in the middle of the night with cramps and spend an hour or more in the bathroom praying that I’d figure out why in the world this kept happening. Many times, the pain would be so bad that I’d have a trash can in front of me ready to throw up at a moment’s notice. Of course, the next day left me feeling sore in my bowels and extrememly tired after the “episode”.
I lost close to 20 pounds over time. Eventually, I had a colonoscopy. Irritable bowel possibly, colitis maybe. Vague. Unacceptable. I set out to find real answers. I simply couldn’t live with just a “title” - I wanted help. Where to start? Prayer, of course. “God, please show me the reason! I know it has to be something I’m putting in my body. Please help me!”
In a matter of days, I had found my answer. I “stumbled” upon www.msgmyth.com. (I say stumbled, but we all know I was led there purposely!) I simply couldn’t get enough of the information I was reading. I knew this was my answer. I hadn’t even tried removing it from my diet yet, but I knew this was it.
It didn’t take long to realize I was right. After removing all the MSG from my diet, I literally STOPPED any and all episodes of painful diarrhea. The only time it would return was after mistakenly ingesting MSG. When I say it was life changing, I really mean that. Both in good and bad ways.
Good changes: I was healed! The pain, explosions, middle of the night trips to the bathroom, lethargy the following day and everything going along with my problem competely disappeared. Completely.
Bad changes: Finding the source of my problem came with a huge price. MSG is in many, many, many products. Not only in products that say MSG or monosodium glutamate, but in hidden ingredients like textured vegetable protein, spices, broth, and so much more. I found myself, by necessity, in the middle of a complete dietary change. If I wanted to be healthy, no longer could I shop for just anything. In fact, for a diligent few months, I read the ingredient list on each and every product I bought. I had to begin learning to cook from scratch, something I hadn’t done much of previously. I had to learn how to question restaurants, something they still don’t appreciate this many years later. And worst of all, I often had to learn by trial and error the products that are safe for me to eat. Oh, and maybe even worse than that, I had to learn how to politely say no to food offered to me by friends or family when visiting their homes.
But let me say this very loudly: The effort it took to make changes was (and is) completely worth it as opposed to being sick and unhealthy.
And let me say also as loudly: Once the intial work was done and I got used to the new lifestyle, IT’S NOT THAT HARD anymore.
Do I have to cook everything from scratch? No way. But even the things I do cook from scratch don’t take nearly as long as you’d think.
What are some examples of things I can never ever buy again? Campbell’s soups (most soups, really); flavored or seasoned food like chips, stuffing, rice mixes, prepared seasoning packets (taco); many salad dressings; prepared or pre-seasoned meats; anything in a gravy or sauce; dry roasted peanuts; and bottled bbq sauce. These are just examples, the list is long.
I have to be very careful at restaurants to make sure they don’t pre-season meats or sprinkle seasonings other than plain old salt and pepper on my food. Of course, all special sauces and gravies are out, too. Chinese restaurants aren’t the only MSG culprits, believe me!
What can I eat? Almost anything I want as long as I prepare it (or someone else) with MSG-free ingredients. In other words, I can still eat casseroles that call for a can of cream of mushroom soup, I just have to make my own white sauce with mushrooms. I can still eat tacos, I just have to prepare my own taco seasoning. And talk about saving money! I can make about ten packet’s worth of taco seasoning for the cost of one that I might buy in the store. I can still eat stuffing at Thanksgiving dinner. It just has to be old-fashioned homemade stuffing. By the way, the taste of prepackaged stuffing doesn’t come close in comparison!
As far as prepackaged things, there are some companies putting food out there without any hidden MSG. It’s simply a matter of reading the ingredients on every package that goes into the cart. For instance, we don’t buy the name brand french-fried onions, but Walmart’s brand is MSG-free. We can’t buy just any sour cream, but the Daisy brand is natural (and much yummier.)
Have I found acceptable replacements for anything? Like I mentioned before, I have been able to make all my own seasoning mixes for packets that I normally would have bought. Making my own salad dressing is simple, but there are several organic companies that put out yummy MSG-free dressings, too. And I believe the tide might be changing for some of the major companies lately. I’ve been finding more and more products that are safe to eat. 
)
Does eating MSG-free cost more? No. In fact, it usually costs less because I’m not buying nearly as much “convenience food”.
This is just my story. Not everyone reacts to MSG the same way, which you can read about at the MSGmyth website. Either way, whether you react visibly or not, MSG is a nasty little filler that’s only included in your food to enhance the taste so that the manufacturers don’t have to include as much of the real ingredients for taste. That’s pretty sad.
I hope this story helps someone in some way. I’m always happy to answer any questions you have, so bring them on. If you have an MSG story, I’d love to hear it.
For the record, I bought the cookbook from the msgmyth website and it was SUPER helpful when I first began sorting out how to live my “new” life. Also, I plan to post some of my most favorite mix recipes soon since a couple people have asked.
Posted by Cindy on July 16, 2008
Over 100 quarts of beans have been canned, and I’ve decided to stop! But the kitchen was still a busy place one morning last week as Mahayla and I prepared many of our homemade mixes for the year. I’ll be telling you my MSG story one of these days, but basically I can’t have it in any form or fashion. Finding spice mixes and such without MSG is nearly impossible. So, for several years now, we have been making our own mixes.
In less than two hours we made everything from taco seasoning to shake-n-bake mix to Emeril’s BAM. Here are a few pictures from our morning.
I find the cheapest possible spices. Usually, I can find most of what I need for 50 cents to a dollar at Save-A-Lot or Walmart.
I try to recycle old containers as much as possible. Empty spice containers, baking powder containers, oatmeal boxes, sherbet containers and even yogurt containers all work well. If I plan to use something a lot, like pancake mix for instance, I’ll usually designate a hard plastic container (like Rubbermaid) for that mix. Sometimes, I’ll simply use zip top bags.
I always write the name of the mix and directions for using it on the container. That saves a lot of time when using it, so you don’t have to pull out any cookbooks or recipe cards. If you write neatly the first time, the containers can be used over and over again and you will save yourself a lot of work for future mix making days, too.
Although we make other mixes, these are what we accomplished in less than two hours. Really, it was probably closer to one hour’s time. Most of these will last me between six months and a year. We made shake-n-bake, fajita seasoning, not-so-hidden valley ranch mix, cajun seasoning, french and sweet Italian dressing mixes, taco seasoning, a meat rub, chili mix, BAM, and fish fry batter mix. I can’t begin to tell you how much better these taste than most of the pre-packaged mixes and foods you might buy!
What other mixes do we prepare? Pancake mix, biscuit mix, brownie mix, hot cocoa mix… My mind is drawing a blank on others, but we’ve found mix making to be economical and easy. A little preparation in buying the ingredients will keep your pantry well stocked with foods of which you know ALL the ingredients.
Instead of writing a post with my mix recipes, I think I’ll just pass on a few websites to you. If there’s a specific recipe you’d like from me, please let me know and I’ll be happy to post it!!
Posted by Cindy on July 15, 2008
Well, I’m back from the CHEK Conference in one piece, but with lots of unpacking yet to do. Besides clothing bags, I packed three BIG baskets/boxes full of things for my workshops! I’m a very visual person and like to share visuals with others, too. Sadly, if I had taken everything I’d wanted, I probably could’ve packed six or more big containers. Yes, all for two one-hour workshops! LOL
I don’t know whether it was my heavy containers or the very busy job of chasing a toddler all day Saturday, but my hubby threw his back out and has been out of commission for two days now. Surely it wasn’t my boxes!!
The workshops went really well. Thanks for those who prayed! A very special thank you goes to Melissa, Nora, Jenny, Anne and Bonnie for being there to support me!!
The first workshop was called “Adding Easy and Creative Touches to Your Homeschool”. Just about everything I talked about I have written a blog post about before. A lot of the ideas focused on learning centers, learning spaces, creative character ideas, living math and creative writing. What I haven’t blogged about before, will surely turn into posts eventually! LOL
The second workshop was called “Creative Nature Study” (I think.) Melissa and I shared this workshop. She spoke about why we should do nature study, shared some of the creative things she’s been doing (which she also shares on her blog), and led the ladies to many wonderful resources. I talked about how to keep a nature journal, what to pack in a nature bag, some creative activities to do in nature and how to start a Creation Club. The time went fast for both of us, so we talked a blue streak! I sure hope we didn’t overwhelm those poor ladies (and one husband)!
Some questions from the workshops have led to a little list of things I will be blogging about soon:
- Creation Club resource books
- Nature study resources for various ages
- Creatively homeschooling older children
- How to say no to some of the lessons in a textbook without worrying that you’ll ruin your children
- Some of my favorite blog tutorials and websites
While I’m at it, here are a few more blog post ideas that have been floating around in my head that will most likely find there way into print before long:
- Homemade mixes
- My MSG story
- Our red food coloring story / why we are a semi-Feingold family
- Planning for the upcoming school year
Now that the nature e-book has been sent to the editors and the CHEK workshops are behind me, I hope to be posting more. With VBS this week and the corn coming on, the posts may still come slowly for a while, but I hope I won’t disappear too long at a time.
Oh yeah. My parents are really cool grandparents. They took the older kids for the weekend and visited the Louisville Slugger factory/museum, the Falls of the Ohio and the Squire Boone Caverns. What makes them really cool, though, is the fact that they willingly dressed up like cows for the Chik-Fil-A promotion. Yes, my children mean that much to them. Truth be told, the kids only had to ask once - I think my parents secretly enjoyed dressing up for free food! :)
Posted by Cindy on July 9, 2008
This isn’t the first time I’ve found gum in the dryer. The barber just loves handing out handfuls of gum to the kids as they leave. Sadly, the gum rarely finds its way out of Caleb’s pockets and into his mouth.
This time, HE was the one who had the lovely job of scraping the gum out of the dryer. Hmmm….I’m afraid it didn’t turn out to be the punishment I’d hoped. It seemed he was having way too much fun. In fact, the fun didn’t stop with Caleb. Eli brought his tool and was ready to help, too! Aack! My dryer!!
