Switching to a non-GMO diet

Posted by Annie on Sep 28, 2013 in Parenting, Seasonal |

Oh my, I can’t believe I haven’t written since May.  Those of you who have been homeschooling as long as I have, wait…I think I might hold the record.  I’ve been homeschooling since 1984. Now I’m getting off topic.

English: Green tomatoes nestled on the vine.

Green tomatoes

We’ve really been doing our homework… our GMO homework.  Our household is in the process of switching over to a totally non-GMO diet.  It’s a process and it’s not easy.  I’ve been learning to make several kinds of breads, different styles of pizza, and learning to eat less meat.

Good news though.  We are starting to see the prices come down on grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables.  The more we buy, the cheaper they get.  Our co-op has great prices on fruits and vegetables right now, too.

Have you been canning? The fruits and vegetables are looking very good this year. This is a wonderful time of year to get involved, and whether you’re putting up apple sauce or pickles you’ll be glad you did. It’s a learning experience and great for homeschoolers to learn some life skills.  As a child I remember canning with my aunts and grandmother.

English: Bread and butter pickles with the bac...

Bread and butter pickles

I put up 3 cans of Bread and Butter Pickles, to take a sort of test run.  They turned out beautiful.  The last time I canned I was just a little girl.  The pressure cooker was more than a little intimidating. I soon got over that. So, I tried my hand at beans and canned 7 quarts of Pinto Beans.  I don’t know what I did wrong, but the seals broke on every single one of them.  Tomorrow, I’ll have to hunt down the reason why and try it again.

It might not seem like much, but every can I put up is one less I have to buy.  We hardly shop at the grocery store anymore. It feels great to support our local farmers. We actually know where most of our food comes from.

If you tried eating non-GMO, you’ll know it’s harder than you might think.  Genetically modified foods are everywhere.  I have always stocked up on things, so I’m still using up things like mayo and chocolate syrup.  But once it’s gone — I’ll miss my Ritz Crackers, and my Saffron Rice — it’s gone.  We are committed to going all non-GMO.

I’ve been calling around and found that the brand of lettuce we buy is non-GMO, the Orange Juice we used to use contains GMO, yet oranges are not one of the items listed as being GMO.  Go figure.

Get the kids involved, have them write letters, make phone calls, teach them to can and how to store food properly.

One fall, probably 25 years ago, I put up tomatoes.  That year we had a late drought or something.  I actually had fresh tomatoes until March that year.  The vines were thick with big huge GREEN tomatoes.  They never ripened fully.  I made Fried Green Tomatoes until they were coming out our ears!

Finally, I had to pick them, we had a frost warning.  So, we picked most of them, we left some for the pigs. I had three bushels of tomatoes.  I washed them all in a cupful bleach, dried them and put them all carefully back in the basket.  I kept them in a cool, dark corner of the kitchen.  The ones on top would ripen, and we had fresh tomatoes until Spring.  It was really nice to have fresh fruit, and I never would have thought it possible.

You might enjoy my Homemade Apple Sauce story.

 

 

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