Eating to Live

I am currently reading, "What the Bible Says About Healthy Living," by Rex Russell, M.D. It has been extremely eye opening as he goes to each different food group and shows how the foods that God specifically condones for eating are in fact the healthiest ones for us. He also shows that the ones that he forbid the Israelites from eating are the worst...and most dangerous for us.

His premise operates on 3 principles. 1. Only eat the foods God gives us to eat. 2. Eat them in the most natural way possible. 3. Do not let food become your God. America has abandoned all of these principles. We eat almost anything, we use hormones and pesticides that are detrimental to our animals and plants, which in turn harm us, the consumers, and we "live to eat, instead of eating to live." Food is an idol for most of us.

Eating naturally is an outflowing of a self-sufficient lifestyle. This book has been an encouragement and I recommend it to you all.

Side note: This isn't one of those christian books that say we're supposed to eat a pre-fall diet of only vegetables. Meat is good for you as long as it is clean and not stuffed with unnatural substances. Also, he isn't a legalist. He doesn't operate under the assumption that eating "unclean" substances is a sin, just that it's not God's intended way to live.

Michael Pollan has come highly recommended to me as an authoritative author on the subject of eating habits. These books below are the next on my list.



Haven't seen this movie yet, but added it to the blockbuster online queue...looks interesting.

2010 Garden

2009 was my first year to have a vegetable garden. We had just bought a house that had a small plot and for a while I had been contemplating self-sufficiency, so before we even moved in, I started working on the garden. I had no prior gardening experience so I learned a lot about what NOT to do. This year this will be different. I had time to read and to research. Instead of planting a little of a lot of different kinds of vegetables, this year I am going to plant a lot of a few types.

On the list for this year:

• Corn
• Tomatoes
• Bell Peppers and Hot Peppers
• Onions
• Pole Beans
• Sweet Potatoes
• Zucchini
  

If I have room I would also like to plant squash, okra, and lettuce (although I may build a hydroponic system for this.)

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts concerning these veggies please let me know.

Here are some pictures of last years garden:

Until recent reading I have not really understood how our diet parallels our ability to be self sufficient. My next post will be about eating according to our design.

Just Starting Out

Over the past few years I have been extremely interested in the subject of personal self-sufficiency or sustainability. It seems that this was something that our great country was founded on, but sadly this idea has been lost in the airwaves of time.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of self-sufficiency:

"The term self-sufficiency is usually applied to varieties of sustainable living in which nothing is consumed outside of what is produced by the self-sufficient individuals. Examples of attempts at self-sufficiency in North America include voluntary simplicity, homesteading, survivalism, and the back-to-the-land movement."

From everything I have read on the subject, becoming self sufficient is a grand task. It takes time, money, and a lot of research to survive, especially if you are a city-boy like I am.

This blog is dedicated to that move toward a more simple life. It will highlight my families journey to find it. The founding fathers knew that a self-reliant people was the only true way that our democratic republic can exist. It's obvious that they were right. Our hand-out country is falling apart in it's own gimme gimme hands. We have decided not to contribute (unless of course they re-instate the homestead act :) )

I hope to point out many of the positive things that a self-sufficient life can bring to your life. Maybe we will discover some negatives as well. We will just have to wait and see.

The first two items of the year are:
1. Vegetable Garden
2. Chickens and Coop