A food/diet challenge

My wife recently set forth a "challenge" of sorts for our household, and I think it's a great idea. Basically, we are going to try to avoid:

1. Any form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
2. Any MSG
3. Any "bleached" products. That means whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, whole wheat tortillas, etc...
4. Any nitrates or chemically-altered animal byproducts

The primary purpose for this challenge is for health reasons - all of these products are known to be totally unhealthy, and unfortunately, highly prevalent in nearly all American's diets. This is especially true of HFCS - that stuff is EVERYWHERE.

The "why" of this challenge is pretty obvious, but the "how" is a bit more interesting. We've been inspired by a combination of (1) living in a fairly health-conscious town, (2) watching some interesting documentaries, (3) reading some persuasive books, and (4) being motivated by friends. Here are a few more details about how we came to this decision:

- As we get ready to move away from here, we're realizing more and more what a great town Eugene is. One cool thing about this place is how it seems like nearly everyone is fairly healthy and active, and there are a ton of great healthy options for eating out (for example, tonight Missi and I are going on a date to a vegetarian/vegan bistro called Ratatouille)

- There has been a series of interesting and high-profile documentaries lately on the food industry. These include Super Size Me, and more recently, King Corn. Another example that I haven't actually seen is Fast Food Nation, based on the book by Eric Schlosser. King Corn focuses on high fructose corn syrup and its unbelievable prevalence in the American diet.

- I can't remember if I blogged about this or not, but while in Mexico I read the book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. In this book, he describes his diet, and he avoids anything "white" - white flour, white sugar, white rice, etc...Considering the fact that he is probably one of the fittest individuals on the planet, I thought this was pretty good advice. Another book that Missi has read that I guess is pretty enlightening is Skinny Bitch by
Rory Freeman and Kim Barnouin.

- As in lots of other areas of our life, we were encouraged toward this move by our good friends the Zimels. They live down in Austin, TX, and have been eating this way for quite awhile.

We'll let you know how this "challenge" goes.

Climbing Spencer Butte

Today we climbed Spencer Butte, one of the "experiences" that appears on our list of things to do before leaving Eugene. This wasn't the first time we've all climbed the Butte, but this time Sam actually walked to the top rather than ride in a backpack, and we also, of course, had a certain large Alaskan Malamute come along this time. We had great weather and the kids did a fabulous job on the hike.


We made it! I love Sam's expression in this photo. You can tell by the kid's attire that camo is a big deal in our family.

The fam

Our little climbing princess.

Photo by Sam. Notice Drew peeking his head in between us.

When we were getting ready to leave the top, Drew laid down on a rock to tan himself and said "Can't we stay up here just 15 more minutes?" Sam had to follow suit.

Note to self...

Always wear long pants when blackberry picking!!! Or else you'll end up with legs like this:

Flag Football Recap

I organized another flag football game last Sunday evening and it was one of the best games to date! Of course, I was feeling very sore for 2 days afterward, but it was totally worth it. Thanks to all the guys for coming out.

We are officially renters...

We closed on the sale of our house yesterday and we are officially "renting back" the home from the new owner. We'll stay here until September 19 or so, when we'll close on the purchase of the house in Newcastle and move there. After being a "homeowner" for the last 6 years or so, it feels a bit weird to now be renting...

Photos from Suttle Lake

We had a great time camping! We were there for 4 days and 3 nights and we filled our time with boating, tubing, fishing, hunting, archery, biking, running, building fires, hiking, and hanging with family members we hadn't seen for quite awhile. The weather was a bit chilly and windy for a few days, but we bundled up and didn't let the weather diminish the fun we had. Here are some photos...

Heading Out...

We're off to go camping at Suttle Lake for the next few days. I'm sure there will be lots to blog about when we get home.

More Summer Fun

Here are some pics from the past few days. Each day we're trying to do some type of "experience" with the kids. In my opinion, this creates a more fulfilling, enriching summmer, rather than just playing the Wii or watching a video.

ACTIVITY - Painting the Bike Tires
This came about after Drew and I were watching the X Games one night on ESPN and he saw these crazy tricks being performed on BMX bikes and motocross motorcycles. I built a jump for him and used some silver spray paint to mark his route over the jump, and he got the genius idea to paint his bike tires this sweet silver color. He was SO proud of himself. Note that Drew is wearing his all-white Star Wars Clone Trooper outfit. I'll write a blog post about that sometime.





ACTIVITY - Indian Fry Bread
I don't have a great memory, but I do have a vague recollection from my youth about making Indian Fry Bread. For some random reason, I thought about it and decided to try to make some for ourselves. I found a very easy recipe on the Internet and the kids loved being able to knead the dough and roll it out. After it is prepared, it is fried in oil, and then toppings like honey are added. It seemed to be a hit!








ACTIVITY - Oregon Ducks First Football Practice and Spirit Slogan Unveiling
The Oregon Athletic Department always has this big "tailgating kick-off" event on the first day of football practice. They have the band and cheerleaders there, the Duck mascot signs autographs, and they have some giveaways (like free ice cream!). They also unveil this year's "spirit slogan," which is printed on hundreds of T-shirts and sold as a fundraiser for the band and cheerleaders. Past winners have included "Lightning Strikes," "Get In-Duckted," and "Feel the Earth Quack." This year's slogan was "Live Green - Yell-O," which refers to the "Ooooooo" sound that everyone in Autzen yells on kickoff (not to mention the 'O' logo that Oregon currently uses). To make a fun event even better, our friends Ryan and Susan were there with their two kids.




ACTIVITY - Blueberry Picking
We braved 90+ degree temps to go blueberry picking and we got a pretty good supply of berries. We freeze them and use them on cereal throughout the year. We also made an incredible blueberry crisp that we all enjoyed that night.