On August 13, 228 million salmonella-tainted eggs were recalled. That recall has been expanded to now include more than half a billion eggs produced by two Iowa companies. This is the biggest recall in U.S. history and it certainly makes me glad that I get my eggs from a farm 2 hours from my house.
My eggs come from organically fed, pasture raised hens that truly do get access to the outdoors. The farm has converted old school buses into chicken coops that travel around the farm, giving the hens fresh pecking grounds and spreading their waste as fertilizer all over the farm. And my farm isn’t afraid to send me images of how they care for their hens.
Where do your eggs come from? How are the hens treated? Have you bothered to find out more about the kind of producer you are supporting? Try looking into supporting a local farm. It’s quite easy for us to do this as the eggs come to a delivery location in our neighborhood. And they cost about what we’d pay for organic eggs at the grocery store.
Filed under: Food and Nutrition on September 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »
The August 9, 2010 issue of Time magazine had an interested blip about the importance of routine for young babies. I know many parents think babies are so portable and that putting them on a schedule too soon is unnecessary. But the article claims that “keeping young children on a stable schedule of activities–with consistent wake and sleep times, regular play periods and reliable intervals between meals–can make them less anxious about new situations and environments as they grow older.” A University of Pittsburgh study found that babies who had more dependable routines at one month were less likely to be anxious at age 10. Personally, I think it also helps them be less anxious when they’re babies and toddlers as well! Of my three children, the ones that I’ve had a more consistent routine with starting from a couple weeks of age have been more smiley, happy babies and have had less separation anxiety.
Filed under: Children on August 31st, 2010 | No Comments »
I am addicted to Vaseline, aka petroleum jelly. I have been using it on my lips at night before bed since I was 14 years old. I have never used an alternative, despite my desire to eliminate all petroleum products from my household, because I don’t like flavor or scents in my nighttime lip balm. But then I read The Essential Green You! This is what Deirdre Imus has to say about Vaseline: “Petrochemicals are an inexpensive way to soften and protect skin… Unfortunately, ingredients derived from petroleum can also cause allergic reactions and contain impurities that cause cancer and liver toxicity. As a result they’ve been banned for use in cosmetics by the European Union.”
This motivated me to find an alternative. Today I purchased a product made by Alba called Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly. It is made of castor seed oil, coconut oil, beeswax, hydrogenated castor oil, and vitamin E. Amazingly, it has a texture like petroleum jelly and no scent or flavor at all. I’ve finally found a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative!
Filed under: Personal Care Products on August 27th, 2010 | No Comments »
Deirdre Imus has written three books in her bestselling Green This! Series. The first volume is Greening Your Cleaning, an excellent resource on how to clean your home and clothes with fewer chemicals. The second volume is Growing Up Green, a book that covers plastic baby bottles, vaccines, etc. Probably my favorite in the series is her third book, The Essential Green You! In this book, she discusses how to detox your diet, body, and life.
First, Deirdre tackles food, explaining the importance of organic food, eating less animal products, and eating more fresh produce. While this information isn’t new or hard to find, in this book it is concise and easy to read. Then she moves onto personal-care products, listing ingredients to avoid and giving examples of products that are high in dangerous chemicals. This is the best book I’ve found on the subject. I appreciate her exhaustive lists of safer products out there. Finally, she moves onto clothing and medication. Both topics are interesting, but not covered in much depth. Read more »
Filed under: Book recommendation, Personal Care Products on August 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »
We’re on vacation until mid August. I hope to come back with some good book reviews, as I have several books I plan to read.
Filed under: Random on August 7th, 2010 | No Comments »
The New York Times has an interesting article about vitamin D.
Filed under: Supplements on August 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »
If you support the Safe Cosmetics Act, which would expand the FDA’s ability to regulate cosmetic ingredients and require companies to list ALL their ingredients, consider signing this pledge or donating to the EWG.
Filed under: Personal Care Products on July 30th, 2010 | No Comments »
This blog is almost 3 years old and I’ve only written about nursing once. I believe it is one of the most important things you can do for your child, so I’m adding another post about it.
Recently, I recommended the book Real Food for Mothers and Babies by Nina Planck. Now I’d like to borrow some information from her chapter on nursing. It really confirms why I believe babies shouldn’t just be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life, but why you should also consider nursing past one year. I nursed my first son until 15 months, my second until 21, and plan to nurse my third until as close to 2 years as I can. In addition to being the best possible nutrition for baby, there are many benefits to extended nursing for ME: I don’t have to worry as much about what he eats (one or two nursing sessions a day are my form of insurance against lazy mothering), I stay skinny, I reduce my chances of having breast cancer, and I get extra bonding time with my child. Here are some other amazing facts about nursing:
- Even a small amount of formula, or other food, in baby’s digestive tract causes bacteria to set up camp. These bacteria resemble the kind found in an adult stomach, not infant, and leave baby more vulnerable to infection.
- Oligosaccharides, or milk sugars, in human milk are indigestible to baby but they are great for the good bacteria in her intestines. There are at least 130 known oligosaccharides in human milk and none in formula. In addition to encouraging the development of good bacteria in her gut, they also head to the respiratory tract, where they fight pathogenic microbes.
- “The immunity breast milk provides is tailored, reflecting the unique ecology you and your baby share. Within hours of encountering a pathogen, you produce antibodies which you pass to your baby through your milk. That’s why it’s natural for mothers to nuzzle, rub, kiss, and even lick their babies. You gather her germs with your mouth and skin, so that your breasts can make the antibodies she needs.” I find this so amazing!! Read more »
Filed under: Children on July 26th, 2010 | No Comments »
Check out this 7 minute movie about the Story of Cosmetics.
Filed under: Personal Care Products on July 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »
I just read a book by the author of Real Food, Nina Plank, but this more concise version is specifically about nutrition as it relates to pregnancy, babies, and nursing. It’s not really any new information from her previous book, but I did enjoy reading about her advice to mothers, her humorous experiences as a mother, and her honest accounts about what motherhood is really like (even she gives her baby crackers!)
Nina believes that we should be eating “real food,” stuff your great grandparents ate, and not any new age concoction made from corn and soy products. She promotes a diet full of meat and dairy from pastured animals, fruits and veggies, and no imitation products (i.e. soy milk). Readers of my blog know that I don’t completely agree with her, but the book is still a very good read. Unlike Nina, I think that meat should be used more sparingly, as suggested by the author of Blue Zones. However, I do agree with her stance on breastfeeding, the importance of omega-3’s, and feeding baby real food from your plate rather than pureed baby food from a jar. Women pregnant for the first time will especially benefit from hearing her birth story and experience with nursing–she’s honest, funny, and gives really good advice to first time moms.
Filed under: Book recommendation, Children, Food and Nutrition on July 20th, 2010 | No Comments »
