My Boys' Toxic Lunches

Since attending the South Georgia Sustainable and Local Growers Conference in Reidsville, Georgia, last month, my husband and I have been paying more attention to the ingredients in our food.  Yesterday, I was reading posts from Food Babe,  100 Days of Real Food, and stopkillingmykids.com.

This morning, I started looking at foods from my pantry that we regularly eat.  I did not know until yesterday that we were eating such horrible things:  MSG, also known as yeast extract;  Partially or Fully Hydrogenated Oils, also known as trans fats; High Fructose Corn Syrup;  Soybean Oil; ...

Today, in my kids' lunches, I sent sandwiches made with

Hydrogenated oils, Mono- and Diglycerides

 and

Corn syrup, HFCS, maybe Sodium Citrate is bad and
I just haven't figured that out yet!

They also have this for a snack

Animal Crackers - Soybean oil, HFCS, Soy Lecithin,
Natural flavor - I'm suspicious of that not, too.

 Furthermore, I looked at the bottle of ketchup.  I love ketchup, and this is my favorite.

HFCS, Corn syrup. I suppose I'll be learning to make
my own ketchup this summer!

I am so mad right now.

I miss Williams-Sonoma + a Giveaway

I did not realize how much I miss Williams-Sonoma until this Christmas season. Mr. Perfect and I always went there and picked up some treats for our kitchen around this time of the year. Their products are not the least expensive ones around. However, any time we had a problem with something we bought there, they made it right. Also, whenever you go into a W-S store between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, there is something yummy baking or brewing. It smells so good there!

We gave this to our moms last year. I hope they are using them. If not, they should feel free to send it my way. LOL

I LOVE nutcrackers. I'd like to have a Christmas table set with this one day.

I'm afraid that if I had a box of these right now I'd eat the whole thing!

I'm thinking about trying to make this at home this year. Anyone have a good recipe?

We buy these to use December 26th after our Boxing Day dinner.

If you like to make espresso drinks at home, I recommend giving Illy a try.

In previous years, we've stocked up on mulling spices once they go on sale near Christmas. I cannot find them on the website now. I also can't find any cocktail mixers. I used to buy one each year to put in Mr. Perfect's stocking - kind of a joke since he didn't drink them, but just mixed them for me. I don't see them either. I wonder what happened? Maybe they are still in the stores. I think I'll take a drive to Augusta this weekend to check it out...


Now, for some fun: monogramchick has a super giveaway going right now. Drop on by her blog to check it out. Winners will be announced Sunday, so hurry!  Don't you love these cut travel mugs?

¡Feliz Navidad, amigas bonitas!

On My Mind

    Well, there's no getting around it:  I'm super ready for fall.  My brain has been tuned to the fall foods station for several days now.

    Back when we lived near Sam's Club, I kept a good stock of this pumpkin spice bread mix. They only sell it in the fall, so I bought several boxes and enjoyed them throughout the winter.  It's even better if you add a few extra chopped, toasted pecans to the mix.

    Hot or cold, it doesn't matter to me, I just love apple cider. One of my fav things to do in the fall is simmer apple juice on the stove with some of Williams-Sonoma's Mulling Spices. Again, when I lived near W-S, I bought a couple of these after Christmas when they were on sale, and pulled them out in the fall once cool weather hit.  I know apple juice and apple cider are not the same thing, but my boys don't like all those yummy pieces of apple that sneak into the cider.  So, I go with the juice.

    Soup is great, but I really only want it in the fall and winter when it's cold. One of my favorites is French Onion Soup, which I do know how to make from scratch. It takes a while, but it's so worth it.

   I know I already mentioned apple cider, but really, apple anything is great this time of year. Here's a batch we picked at an orchard last fall. There are no orchards around here, so we'll have to remember to plan a trip next year.

    I'm already wondering how many Thanksgiving lunches and dinners there will be before the actual Big Day. Between work, school, church and family, I'm sure it will be several. Who's complaining?

   What's your favorite fall food?

   I hope you all have a super day and a glorious weekend.