Speer Family Unpackaged: We did it!

Our family successfully survived (dare I say enjoyed) our week without chemicals!  

Today, the kids had nuts and fruit for breakfast.  Paul had a bunch of bacon.  The bacon was the only meat they ate at home this week that was not from our farm.  But, it was from our bee friends' at the farmer's market's pig, so that was ok with me.  They had nuts and fruit and Terra chips in the car on the way to Max's birthday party.  

We made garlic and cherry tomato studded baguettes this morning in preparation for our dinner with Carl this evening.  

At Max's party, I let the kids (and myself) eat what they wanted.  We had freeze pops and chicken fingers.  Good stuff too, fruit and veggies.  I felt sort of like we were cheating, but I had really intended this to be about what we did at home anyway.

We had a delicious dinner with Carl when we got home, our baguettes and organic spelt pasta with homemade tomato and sausage sauce.  It was SO good!

Paul had brick cheese slices (deli slices - no anti-molding agent) and dried cherries for bed time snack.

"Exit Interviews"
I asked Shawn to answer some questions about the week to sum things up.  He thought I was crazy at first but it was a nice way to review our week.  I thought I should answer the same questions too.  Here are the results:

What did you like the best?  

Shawn: Eating fresh everything.  Not being able to eat crackers and junk food.  Breaking into our homemade wine.

Cheryl: I liked having an excuse to spend a ridiculous amount of time cooking!  I also began to think in new ways about food and developed a new interest in food and cooking history.  I'm so curious about how people fed their families in different time periods (before there was a Giant Eagle).  I ordered a book on the subject and it just came today.  

What was the worst part? 

Shawn: All the dishes

Cheryl: All the dishes

What surprised you? 

Shawn: That I really didn't miss cheese and crackers and all the other stuff.  Also that I didn't lose any weight

Cheryl:  That it was as easy as it was with the kids.  Except when their routines outside of the home were interrupted (grandma popsicles, farmer's market snow cones), they really didn't complain a bit.  They ate a TON of super healthy food, and I felt great about feeding it to them!  They ate cabbage and noodles and venison casserole and more and I didn't have to cajole them a bit!  

What food did you miss the most? 

Shawn: Chocolate and turkey pepperoni on my grilled cheese
Cheryl:  My Earth Balance buttery spread on my bread.  Neither butter or olive oil really did it for me.

What change do you think you might keep up with after this week? 

Shawn: Having chemical free snacks like watermelon and bananas.  Eating no bake cookies.

Cheryl: Coating my grilled cheese in garlic oil is yummy!  Making a large batch of oatmeal for the week for breakfast is easy and a great alternative to Fruit Loops.

What is one thing you learned?  

Shawn: I'm not as hungry throughout the day.  Our homemade wine served us well.

Cheryl:  The biggest revelation of the week was that I truly realized the cracker addiction was really about convenience on my part and not a preference on their part.  I also learned I was not nearly as hungry through the day.

Trends We Observed

Money:  Eating this way is definitely cheaper for us.  I would say we could eat without chemicals for half to 3/4 the cost of our usual grocery bill.  Even considering we didn't have to buy meat for the week, I can still confidently say it is cheaper.

Weight:  Paul and I lost 1 lb, Shawn gained 2 lbs.  He thinks it was the no bakes:)  Note to self - next time make oatmeal cookies or something with less than a whole stick of butter.

Children's Behavior:  I really don't think it had much of an effect, maybe just a slight effect.  Paul had good days and bad days and Joy was her usual 2 year old self.  

Stress Level:  At the beginning of the week it was very busy trying to get things prepared, but by the end of the week I could really cruise and depend on what I had already made.  I would say the added work was offset by the fun of all the new culinary adventures.  Stress = neutral.  I'll be glad to not feel like I need to blog every night, though.

An Unusual Observation: Paul has had an abscess on his tooth since May; he is having surgery in November to extract the tooth.  This morning Shawn and I both observed that the abscess had decreased substantially in size. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence or whether it is due to the decrease in sugar and the absence of anything gummy or sticky (except for dried fruit).

Thank you for joining us on this adventure!!!  I have really enjoyed the conversations I've had with my friends about our experiment.