The Answers

I've had a few things on my mind besides the baby. (That in itself could be another whole post, because I've had the strangest dreams about her!)

My family's health is really important to me, as I'm sure it is for any mom. Moms are usually in charge of the cooking, so they make most of the health decisions for the family. I never thought that it would be such a big responsibility. I can cook, yes, but who's to say that what I cook is really worth the time and effort? I hadn't studied a whole lot about the quality (nutrition) of the food I make until a few years ago when Joseph was starting to eat solid foods. Something prompted me, in a way, to search for answers to this question,

"How can I feed my family foods they like while effectively balancing cost, nutrition, and time?"

I've read lots of books, some pretty nontraditional when it comes to nutrition. I've tried to make everything that I can from scratch that I don't consider to be a huge pain. For the most part, I'd say we eat "real food", which, along with the Word of Wisdom, best describes how we eat on a normal basis. I spend a lot less than the government says I should be...about 55% of their definition of "frugal". Yet still, something nags me that I could be doing better.

My husband is not normal. (Really!) Due to a chronic health issue, he deals with malabsorption. I've struggled with the thought that it may shorten his life, but also that what I feed him may have a whole lot to do with how long that life is. Since spending more money isn't really an option, I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to make the quality of food we already eat even better.

The answer was clear and simple and came to me while I was studying about food storage (for the long term, which I will be writing about on my other blog).

Sprouts.

I've been at work sprouting everything in my kitchen that has the ability. And guess what? No matter what I sprout, it increases the nutrition by a TON. I've been doing a lot of research on it, and I can't believe that it's not a more commonly explored topic. I realized that even if we can only store basic grains and beans in our long-term storage, that's okay, because sprouting them provides a wealth of vitamins and minerals that otherwise would be locked up. It also increases digestibility, a huge advantage for a person who doesn't digest well, and decreases cooking time, which is always a plus. I can't believe that the answer was staring me in the face this whole time.

My goal now is to sprout all the beans and most of the grains we eat from now on. Ever since eating some sprouts today, I've been craving more. I love healthy cravings, because it feels doubly good to give in to them. That's definitely something I can live with. ;)