Answer to a question and a recipe

To Joy Comes in the Morning~

Having researched the homemade formula for awhile, cost was an important factor. I have a local source of raw Jersey cow milk for $6 per gallon. There is another farm that is selling it for $5 a gallon as well. If baby goes through two per week, well gee that's only $12. A large container of Enfamil cost me around $25.

Now the extra ingredients are expensive the first time you buy. If you buy the kit on the radiant life website, it's over $100. However it averages out to about $4 a day. Similac costs $4 a day. I got around the large amount by purchasing as much as I could locally, and then order what I couldn't find.

So, $12 + $28 (7 days x $4) = $40 a week. Considering the superior nutrition she is getting, this isn't bad. Plus, I don't buy disposable diapers every week. In fact I've only bought one package so far because we use cloth and she is really starting to fit in them good. I do use some for outings and occasionally at night though. Eventually when she starts drinking more (like this morning, she drank a 4oz bottle and still acted hungry and drank 2 more oz!) she'll go through the milk faster. But then it won't be long before she starts eating some solid foods and that will cut down the milk consumption a little.

For three days in the evening Samantha would gulp down her bottle (7-8pmish) then immediately start crying off and on for several hours. We usually didn't get her back to sleep till midnight or so. It was her tummy or gas because she wanted to eat but would start crying, then burp tons, calm down a minute, then start up again. I didn't have all the ingredients for the formula yet, but I had about half of it. I really felt like I should go ahead and mix up what I had and then combine it with the Enfamil. She has done so much better- no crying jag because of gas.

It made me feel really good to listen to what I was being told (by the Holy Spirit) and act on it. I admit I did feel a little nervous about making the formula, because of all we've been conditioned to believe about milk etc. But after reading many articles from www. westonaprice.org about it and the testimonies from other parents, I felt it was the right thing to do.

When the rest of the stuff gets here this week, she'll be on the homemade 100%. I haven't figure out how I'll travel with it yet, I guess I'll just need to pack it with ice packs or something. Anyways, I look forward to seeing how she does in the coming weeks and will be sure to update. By the way, she is 4 weeks old today! Wow...

I didn't get a chance to make any home remedies yesterday or take pictures- I was just plain ole busy with other stuff and didn't get to it.

However, I will share a recipe I tried yesterday for salmon cakes. The only problem with them is I didn't make enough! Next time I need to double it :)

Salmon Cakes

1 can of wild Alaskan salmon
1 medium baked potato, peeled and smashed with a fork
1 egg
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1 t dijon mustard
1/2 t sugar (I forgot this)
1/4 c of chopped onion
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup or more of grated parmesan cheese
oil for frying (I used coconut oil)

Just mix everything up in a bowl from the top list with a fork. Spread the breadcrumbs and cheese in a shallow dish (like a pie plate). Scoop the salmon mixture with an ice cream scoop, pat it into patties in your hand, then roll in the cheese/crumb mixture. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet and cook the patties 2-3 minutes on each side or till browned.

My family literally gobbled these up, with ketchup of course. I served it with a macaroni salad with a homemade creamy dressing, steamed and buttered broccoli and raw milk.