Monthly Goals - September 2011

Not sure I'm ready for it to be September already!  I think I blinked and the summer was over.  Although in some ways I'm happy it's September.  I am looking forward to some of our regular activities to be starting again.  I think both Rebecca and I really need them :)  We'll be starting "school" at home.  And Justin will be taking a trip to Germany.  September is also a crazy busy month for food preservation.  I have already gotten my canning under way (7 1/2 pints of salsa and 14 quarts of peaches as of this morning).  There is plenty more to come.  Plus we'll be getting our fresh chickens this month.  I'm also gearing up for some GAPS experiments.  I love September and the early fall weather.  I know this month will be super busy as usual, but it should be fun.  And for the first time in 6 years Justin does not have to start class next week!!!  That will be a wonderful change.  Here's what I'm planning.  I'll start with food as usual.  Lots of goals this month.  Hopefully I remembered everything I wanted to try.

FOOD

1. Eat full GAPS-legal food minus dairy.

2. Have savory snacks on hand - make a go-to snack list and make sure there is stuff available so I'm not tempted by unsafe food.  Keep things like zucchini cakes, pesto, soup, cooked eggs, salad ingredients, fresh fruit, etc. on hand.  I'll try to remember to post the list when I complete it.

3. Eat plenty of healthy fat daily (coconut oil, lard, EVOO).

4. Avoid foods that I'm sensitive to or that Abram is sensitive to - coconut flour, dairy, tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, dried beans.

5. Continue Sunday night fun/finger food night, and do breakfast one night a week.

6. Fermented veggies - Continue eating sauerkraut and fermented veggies regularly.  I think I'll have to make a new batch of sauerkraut soon since I eat it daily.

7. Food preservation - beans, peaches, zucchini, peppers, salsa, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, pearsauce, pears.

8. Eat in season - enjoy things fresh while we can (even if they show up on the menu almost every night of the week :P). Let's see if I can be creative with some of our produce this month :)

9. Cut down on nuts.  This is something that I've been telling myself to do for quite some time now.  As many people do when they first cut out grains, I've been eating a lot of nuts instead...either plain or in the form of baked goods.  Nuts (especially crispy nuts) are healthy...but in moderation.  They do have a fair amount of polyunsaturated fat.  And they can cause inflammation.  Not to mention they are expensive!  I think my nut consumption has been getting a bit out of hand lately since I love to snack on them.  And I've been feeling it in my gut.  So I want to cut way back.  I have actually already been doing this for the past week or two.  And I think I feel a lot better.  I think this will help my gut and save us money.  Win win.  On the down side it cuts down my snacking options even more.  Which is why goal #2 is so important.

10. Make/freeze broth in preparation for intro.  I still haven't decided for sure when I'm going to attempt intro.  Sometimes I think I should hold off until Abram is older.  I wouldn't want it to impact my milk supply.  But then sometimes I wonder what I'm waiting for...why I keep playing this guessing game and waiting when I know what I need to do to be healthy and fully available for my family.  I think my next two goals will help me decide this.  But in any case I want to start stocking up on broth and soups so that when I am ready for intro it will be easier.  Goal #13 should help with this as well.

11. One week family GAPS challenge.  So anyone that reads my blog knows I follow GAPS.  But my family does not.  Do they eat a lot of GAPS food?  Sure.  But they also eat a full WAPF/whole foods diet.  Sometimes I wonder what impact this has on Rebecca.  I know she would benefit from a diet closer to full GAPS.  So I want to challenge our family to a one week full GAPS diet...all of us.  It will take some creative meal planning on my part.  But I want to give it a try.  I'll talk more about it in my weekly meal plan post for whatever week I decide.

12. One day GAPS intro challenge.  This one is just for me.  I keep debating about when to do GAPS intro.  A big part of my debate is my hesitation...because it sounds hard!  So I want to keep taking baby steps...and do one day of intro eating.  Just to see what it's like.  My goal to start is one day this month.  But depending on how it goes I may bump it up to once a week.  Then when I am ready for intro it won't seem so bad I don't think.

13. Chicken - We will be getting 6 or 7 fresh chickens this month.  I'll have to cut them/freeze them.  And of course make some good chicken broth!

HEALTH

1. Exercise - I can tell I feel better when I exercise, specifically things like jogging. It really helps my digestion. And having strong abs/a strong core helps as well. So I'm trying to really work on my core this month and continue jogging most mornings. I have heard good things about rebounding. But I don't really know anything about it. I'll have to look into it. I also want to look into other types of exercise, like strength training and yoga/pilates. I pretty much do all aerobic exercise. I would like to add other elements. Currently my strength training includes wearing and carrying a baby :P I want to be more toned and more flexible.

2. Healthy lifestyle series - baby wearing, cloth diapering.

3. Continue to push myself out of my comfort zone/defeat OCD - friends, outings, playdates.

4. Homemade health and beauty products.  Between feeling rotten during pregnancy and being busy with a new baby I've been slacking lately with homemade toothpaste and deodorant.  I still use a natural version of deodorant (won't ever go back to the stuff with aluminum).  But I would like to get back on track.  So I need to make a new batch of each.

FAMILY/PERSONAL

1. Activities and Outings - some stuff we hope to do this month.

a. orchard/apple picking
b. Abram's 4 month check up
c. Justin's trip to Germany
d. MOPS - starts September 23
e. Kindermusik - starts September 6
f. playdates
g. John Ball Zoo
h. Michigan's Adventure (with my brother, SIL and nephew)
i. library
j. nursery cmt - I have one more year on this cmt.  I will be ending my term as chair this month.

2. Rebecca

a. Keep working on potty training. Hopefully at some point soon we can work on doing away with diapers while she sleeps.
b. Chore chart/banks - develop this (implement whenever it's ready...maybe next month).

c. Preschool at home - we'll be starting some more structured learning this month.  I'll make a separate post when we've gotten into a rhythm with it.

d. Fewer grains, more broth - this goes along with the family GAPS challenge I mentioned.  I'd like to gear Rebecca more towards full GAPS.  I know she inherited a lot of my gut health.  So I want her to get a good start on life.  And I especially want to influence her tastes while she's young.  I grew up eating the typical foods for breakfast - cereal, breads, etc.  But if I had grown up eating soup for breakfast it would have always seemed normal instead of such a big change as an adult.  I'm pretty sure Rebecca would eat soup for breakfast if I offered it to her.  And she loves to drink plain broth.  So I need to give it to her more often.  I'm thankful she's already making good choices on her own.  She often requests raw peppers for breakfast :)  I also want to cut back on her grain consumption.  Not that she eats a lot (especially compared to most kids/the SAD).  But I would still like to cut back more than we do right now.  I don't think she needs to eliminate them, but limit them more and replace them with more nourishing food.

e. Family/house/nap time rules - we have already gotten our reward/daily task chart going.  And Rebecca seems to like it.  And it's helpful for her to know what is expected of her.  So this month we will continue that by making family rules.  I have already started them, but I want to go over them with Rebecca and see if she wants to add any.  My focus is to keep the rules positive and to make sure Rebecca knows what acceptable behavior is.

f. Behavior - Rebecca's and ours - I am working my way through "How To Behave So Your Preschooler Will Too."  And I see that I have a lot of changes to make myself and hopefully in turn that will help Rebecca.  I need to model the behavior I expect from her.  It will take changes from all of us.

3. Abram

a. Work on development/milestones - sitting.

b. Infant probiotic - I need to get into a routine with this and do it daily. Then see if I notice any differences in the next few weeks.

c. 4 month check up.