Lightly

Just realized my last several posts have been pretty heart heavy, not exactly afternoon reading material so I decided it was time for a lighter one.  This one is really more of a plea for help!

I have always been interested in healthy sustainable eating, but since A was diagnosed with all his food allergies, a healthy diet has taken on a whole new meaning.  He has to avoid so many foods and nearly all additives to any foods.  It has now become so much more important that we know exactly what is in our food and where it came from.  We have begun buying more of our food from local farmers in an effort to support the local economy, reduce the impact we have on the earth as well as be able to talk to the people who grow or produce our food.  We have also needed to explore local farms in order to find more options of foods since eliminating so many common foods from A's diet. You just simply cannot find elk or duck eggs in a supermarket but it is surprisingly easy to find from local farmers in the Midwest.  I have discovered so many new and delicious foods I would never have even heard of if not for the food allergies that have turned our household upside down.  Who knew my family would love quinoa, buckwheat, homemade Brazil nut milk and elk?

I am also learning to become a better cook and baker as nearly all of A's food must be made from scratch.  I have learned to make my own ice cream, crackers, salad dressing (homemade bleu cheese dressing is incredible and I don't even like bleu cheese dressing), laundry detergent, deodorant and toothpaste.  We are working really hard to eliminate as many toxins from our environment as possible by eating whole foods and using natural ingredients.  We have recycled for years, used cloth diapers, purchased local and organic foods, driven fuel efficient cars, run our thermostat on 60 degrees in winter and 82 degrees in summer, washed laundry in cold water and even raised our own chickens for awhile.  The one thing that has eluded me as a part of the sustainable lifestyle is growing my own food.  I absolutely cannot grow anything!  We have a very steep sloped yard so an actual garden isn't really possible.  I have tried to grow potted herbs and killed them. I have tried the upside down tomato planters things and no tomatoes ever appear on the buds.  I tried a strawberry pot and dropped it on our deck shortly after planting the seeds.  Terracotta pot in pieces all over the deck.  I absolutely do not have a green thumb.  I cannot keep any plant alive for more than a few days.  I would love for my kids to be able to pick fruits or vegetables and eat them straight from the garden but I am at a total loss at  how to do that.  I want to be able to teach our kids how to live lightly on earth.  I want them to have that connection to their food.  I want A to thoroughly enjoy the foods he CAN eat because he has helped to grow them himself.  I am open to any and all suggestions!