It is a really well organized, well attended show featuring amazing products made and sold by Canadian mompreneurs. Everything is high quality, unique, gorgeous and geared to babies, moms and kids. We are one of the few retailers there, as most booths feature suppliers who make their own items.

We always enjoy the crowd, meeting new customers and chatting with loyal, repeat customers and networking with the other vendors.  This time out, we’ll have our new baby boy in tow so that should make things interesting!

So please, if you are in the Toronto area, come on out and support us, and the show.  It’s a great chance to get started on your holiday shopping and you know you’ll be supporting parents in small, local businesses. Plus, there are always lots of great deals!  This year, we’ll be having a big sale on the ever useful, durable, super-safe Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottles.   Get them while they last!

details:

• when: Fri. Nov. 6, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sat. Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• where: The Fermenting Room in  Toronto’s Distillery District: Buildings 6 & 7
  55 Mill Street.
• www.thedistillerydistrict.com

Hope to see you there!

But now that my baby is nearing four months I’m trying to be more conscious about what I eat so I can lose these last pounds of pregnancy weight!  So while I’m still going through a bag of black licorice a week (!) I’ve been taking advantage of the fall harvest here in Ontario and eating a lot of greens. Which I happen to like.

But I must admit, kale, although pretty, is a tough sell around my home with my meat-loving man and two little boys. I once tried to put it on pizza, which even I found horrid. I’ve tried stir-frying it as well, but no matter how much garlic I sautee along with it, it still is hard to get down.

But I know it is so good for me and for baby too, so I wanted to share a kale recipe I’ve found that I actually love!  I find myself eating it even as I’m making it, it’s so good, and for kale, that’s saying something!

It was given to me by my friend Caroline, who eats kale all the time. Her mom grows rows upon rows of it in her garden up near Haliburton. Caroline even made this salad for me once late last spring when I was heavily pregnant. It’s super easy and flexible, and even if your kids won’t eat it (mine don’t) you and your partner probably will!

• one head kale (curly or black, although I like the black or dinosaur kale best)
• one avocado (or two if you want)
• juice of one lemon
• generous sprinkling of sea salt
• tablespoon of flax oil or olive oil (you can omit this if you want)

1. Wash kale, pat or spin dry, then cut away from the spines or stems and cut into thin ribbons
2. scoop out avocado flesh with your hands and squash and mush it into the kale mixture coating the leaves.
3. Add lemon juice. Mush some more
4. Add oil bit by bit, adjusting to your taste
5. Sprinkle with sea salt
6. Enjoy!

This salad tastes great a few hours later and into the next day as the flavours marinate and penetrate the kale.

Today we have a guest post from Barbara Nyke, a Toronto interior designer who specializes in eco-friendly design:

Children have been experiencing an unprecedented rise in chronic disease and illness such as cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD / ADHD, and learning and developmental disabilities. The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has linked many of these outcomes to unregulated toxic chemicals that we use in our homes.

The benefits of choosing a sustainably-manufactured product for your home are numerous. The top three reasons are:

1. the product has been made by not depleting the earth’s resources 
2. the company is practicing responsible manufacturing methods 
3.   the product can help to improve your home’s indoor air quality; particularly of importance for a newborn and children. 

Indoor air quality can be, and typically is, many more times polluted than outdoor air because of the hundreds of items we bring into our homes.  The important sources of air pollution in the home include, but isn’t limited to: furniture, vinyl flooring, new carpets and carpet adhesives, paints, vinyl wallpapers and household cleaning products.

Some products contain VOCs, volatile organic compounds, which are chemicals like formaldehyde, styrene, toluene, formaldehyde, and a variety of benzenes found in carpeting, dyes, pesticides, fungicides, fire retardants and anti-stain coatings; These are frequently released into the air indoors.  Considering that we spend 90% of our time indoors, this is an important element to address.

All consumers would be better off to avoid chemicals like these that are known to be carcinogenic, toxic to reproductive organs and endocrine disrupting.

Decorating green on a budget

We all want to save money.  When it’s time to decorate a nursery, there are ways to save money, but there are also areas that we shouldn’t scrimp on.  Earlier generations relied on hand-me downs for cribs, clothing and toys.  I don’t think this sharing has ever waned in popularity, primarily for the sake of saving money, because children grow out of these items quickly and due to the benefit of recycling clothes and items.  Nowadays, there are plenty of stores that have taken this idea commercial and resell used products.

Visit  garage and antique sales to find lamps, rocking chairs and dressers to refinish and repaint.  An environmental and cost-effective paint would be a mid-cost, good quality eggshell, low-VOC, water-based paint, approximately $40.  Going this route is a an inexpensive way to have a non-odorous room, that with standard paints and oil paints can take up to a couple of months to off-gass depending on the level of ventilation.  Naturally-made milk paint is another alternative, but is costlier.

For flooring, an economical way to get broadloom on a budget is to choose an end-of-roll piece that has already off-gassed and is cheaper than buying a new cut.

-Barbara Nyke, Eco-Designer, NIKKA DESIGN, www.nikkadesign.ca

For more information on designing healthier rooms for kids, visit the Kai Kids Fall Trunk Show in Toronto this Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. At 11:30 a.m. Barbara will be doing a free half-hour session for parents with time for questions afterwards.

When my helpful mother-in-law painted Kai’s room for us, I bought her a low VOC, fairly non-toxic paint to use that wouldn’t off gas hazardous chemicals into the air my baby-to-be was about to breathe. I recall it was called Eco-Spec and I had to hunt high and low to find it. However, just a few years later,  there are now many easily available lines of chemical-free paint and greener reno supplies on the market.

If you are adding a new addition to your family of either sort - a beautiful baby or a new family room, there is a lot you need to know if you truly want to make an interior non-toxic and healthy for your family and the planet.

Over the next week, we will have a guest blogger writing about how to Design Healthy Rooms for Healthy Kids. Barbara Nyke of NIKKA DESIGN in Toronto is an interior decorator who specializes in eco-friendly design.

Barbara believes that incorporating green and healthy living into our lives on a daily basis affects every aspect of what we buy, the products we use, how we dispose of items and the air we breathe.

Check back, as she will be addressing:

•  
  

  What makes a healthy room?

• How do you know the products you’ve chosen are eco-friendly?

• What does eco-friendly mean?

• Can you have it all? What are your environmental priorities when selecting products for your children’s bedrooms?

• Are you finding the style of furniture you want that’s also eco-friendly?
  

Once a week we eat a vegetarian entree for dinner. The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health suggests just one day a week without meat can reduce your consumption of saturated fat by 15% and reduce your chances of heart disease.

The other night, as we were tucking into a tasty Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew over brown rice,  I explained to my two older boys (4.5 and 2.5) the reasons why we were eating a vegetarian supper:

• it helps reduce our carbon footprint. Less of the planet’s resources and energy is used to grow plants than to raise animals
• vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some cancers.
• going meatless saves money. It’s a frugal, yet tasty and healthy way to curb your grocery bill, which is especially helpful right now during a recession

When my boys were babies and toddlers I would often just open a can of black beans or chick peas, rinse and serve as their protein that meal. It was quick and convenient, not to mention healthy, and helped vary their diet. Something must have stuck as now I’m fortunate that my kids love peas, beans, chickpeas etc.

I must admit, I’m not a tofu lover, so vegetarian night at our place tends to involve beans and legumes. Here is a great recipe we tried last week; easy, flavourful, cheap and nutritious. Plus, otherwise my sons won’t go near Swiss Chard (my husband is not a fan either), but they didn’t even notice it in this recipe!  It is quite thick, so you can serve it as is, over rice, or thin it out with more broth to eat as a soup.

 Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 onion, sliced

-5 tsp. curry powder

-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used 1/8)

-42 oz. vegetable broth

-1 bunch chard, chopped

-2 1/4 cups red lentils

-1 can chick peas, rinsed

-yogurt or sour cream for garnish

In a large soup pot saute the onion in oil over medium high heat for 10-15 min or until golden. Stir in curry powder and cayenne.

Add the broth and chard and increase heat to high. Bring to boil

Reduce heat to medium and stir in lentils and chick peas. Cover pan and simmer for 10 min or until lentils are tender.

Divide soup into bowls  and top with garnish if desired.

Today was one of those days. I get an e-letter from a newish Canadian site called Everythingmom.com. It’s a gorgeously-designed, fun, useful social networking site for moms and bloggers featuring advice, reviews, product directories, community, blogs, printable meal planners etc. I haven’t spend enough time on there yet since giving birth has kept my focus away from my computer for the summer, but I keep meaning to add myself and Kai Kids to their directory of mom-owned businesses.

As I quickly scanned it my eyes tripped across their Mothercraft Tip of the Week, and it really hit home with me so I thought I’d share it:

 Moms are often praised for their multi-tasking abilities. But for all our “doing” throughout the day, many among us go to sleep feeling like we’ve accomplished nothing at all. More and more research shows that multi-tasking only gives the illusion of productivity and efficiency. Replace your multi-tasking with the discipline to return your wandering attention to what’s happening right now. Sometimes it’s not about what you’re getting done, but rather what you’re missing when you’re on the phone, folding the laundry, watching Oprah and checking email all at the same time. (HINT: Your present moment!)

As a mom of now three boys under 4.5 years old, like many mothers, I’m a whiz at multi-tasking!  Nurse the baby and read to my two-year-old while coaching my eldest to clean up his spilt milk . . . you’ve got the picture. Throw in housekeeping, trying to be a supportive/fun wife and run a successful online business, and it’s juggle, juggle, all the time.

But I realize I can get too caught up in trying to accomplish multiple tasks and crossing items off my endless list of daily to -do`s. I’m a do-er, and sometimes I try to do too much, and I think I miss out on a lot along the way. Having another baby has added to my load, but it’s also made me realize my limits. There is only so much I can do, if I want to do things well.

Plus, having a soft-cheeked, twinkly-eyed two-month-old who is fascinated by the wind rifling the leaves in the trees has made me stop and enjoy more moments, more often. It has slowed me down, and instead of letting that frustrate me, I`ve decided to try and embrace it! This is most-likely my last baby, and these special moments go by oh so quickly!

But with September around the corner, the back to school feeling has put me in the mood for new beginnings and getting back to my regular schedule, so here I finally am!

There is so much to catch up on, so tune in over the coming weeks as I write about:

• new non-toxic products for packing a litterless lunch
• 7th Generation eco products ( a review)
• how to select a tree to plant in your yard
• how much has changed on the organic/eco-friendly front since I had my first baby 4.5 years ago

Any suggestions for topics you’d like me to explore in this blog are always welcome; same for product suggestions for our online eco store, kaikids.com.

This Friday, May 29, Kai Kids will be at the always fabulous Children’s Trunk Show at the Distillery District in Toronto.   This will be our third time at the Trunk Show and it is definitely our favourite shopping show: well organized, featuring gorgeous unique products for babies and kids, and a bunch of really nice parents: both vendors and customers.

We will be there with our Kai Kids booth and will be hauling our pretty, eco maternity and nursingwear so you can try it on,  our standard bestselling stock such as Bambu, Bamboosa and BabySoy, plus a bunch of excellent new items we’ve added to our online store:

•  handmade bamboo and organic cotton baby rattles
• new stainless steel feeding trays, perfect for baby
• organic mesh produce bags just in time for farmer’s markets
• natural, chemical-free hand sanitizer
• new spring styles of sweet and funky non-toxic baby and toddler shoes from

The Children’s Trunk Show is an exclusive shopping event featuring high-quality fashion, jewellery and art made by moms and geared exclusively towards kids and families. 50+ vendors are hand-selected to ensure a wide variety of goods—so you’re sure to find unique and useful gifts for all the children in your life in one place.

Come on out and join us this Friday, May 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., in the Fermenting Cellar at the Distillery District, 55 Mill Street, Toronto. We’d love to see you there!