For the Love of Food

Last week hubby and I ventured to San Francisco to visit my sister and her fiancé. My sisters fiancé is currently attending the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, and this guy loves food! The perfect guide to have when in search of excellent food and drink. Our first night in the city they took us to a one star Michelin restaurant call Flour and Water. Ummmm... amazing! If you are ever in the city, you need to go here! The food was amazing, the homemade pasta was tender and delicious, the wood-fired pizzas melt in your mouth and the ambiance was comfortable and casual, and all for a
reasonable price.

After dinner we ventured to the Tenderloin to visit a speakeasy called Burbon and Branch. Burbon and Branch is an actual speakeasy from the Prohibition era in the 1920's, it was open illegally from 1921 to 1933. In keeping with the original atmosphere, you must make reservations ahead of time and provide a password (given to you when you make your reservation) in order to get in. You are then ushered to your table, given a menu of hand-crafted cocktails and asked to follow a series of house rules. The whole experience is fun, authentic and worthwhile if you are ever in the city!

As you can imagine the next few days were filled with good food and even better company, we traveled to Napa for wine tastings, walked the city, ate clam chowder, walked through Grace Cathedral, and even visited a roof-top restaurant on our last night in the city.

The Human Experiment

Last night I watched a documentary on Netflix call "The Human Experiment." It was both eye opening and chilling as it described how untested chemicals have infiltrated our homes, food and bodies. Shocking statistics about the rise in autism, cancer and infertility were revealed and discussed. Seeing that we have been trying to get pregnant again since L was born (about 3 years), the issue of infertility strikes a cord with me. I was astonished to hear that since 1988 there has been a 49% increase in infertility in women under 25!!!! "The Human Experiment" suggests that the chemicals we are surrounded by daily may be having a profound impact on these growing statistics.

As a mommy, I want to give my child the best chance to succeed at life. As parents, we consider the neighborhood we live in, the school our children attend, activities to involve our children in and even the food we consume. But do we consider the chair we sit in, the cup we drink out of, the makeup we wear and the cleaning products we use. All of these things contain untested and potentially unsafe chemicals. If you are feeling outraged, you are not alone!

In our household we have started making changes in the foods we purchase and some of the products we use. We have started replacing some medicines with essential oils, using homemade cleaners and hand soap, and changed our pesticide methods (I still can't just deal with spiders and ants). However, is it enough??? Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring and considering the products we purchase and how they might be affecting our health.

The Human Experiment has a webpage that has a section dedicated to finding safer products for your home and family. The products listed on their website have been tested and found to be better options.

Here is the link: http://thehumanexperimentmovie.com/switch-to-safer/

If you have made the switch to safer products I would love to hear about what you are using and why!