Green and Natural Parenting

Organically Raised – Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers

Tiffany — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:52:10 +0000

Ever tried the little jars of baby food from the store? Yuck! Even before I knew much about whole foods I knew that those little jars were nasty. Not only do they taste quite bad IMO and not at all like the like real foods they are imitating, they are not fresh foods and they are packed with preservatives usually. From the beginning of my career as a mom I bypassed those jars as much as possible and opted to feed my babes what the rest of us were eating… pureed of course. I have a video of my youngest eating his first real meal at about 8 months old (breastfed before that). He devoured a puree of 13 bean stew… and I mean devoured. On the video he is trying to dive into the crock pot and he screams when the food is out of his reach. This is significant because this was just after my cancer diagnosis and my release from the hospital. My family was taking care of the little guy while I couldn’t and the breast milk bank was now permanently closed. They tried to feed him some store bought baby food and he did NOT like it. But the 13 bean stew? The boy was screaming (literally) for whole foods.

Recently I was sent a copy of the book Organically Raised – Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers and I can’t say enough good things about it. Not only is it a beautiful book with tons of gorgeous pictures that had me drooling for baby and toddler food… the concept is so important for parents of young ones to grasp. Chemical laden baby food from jars is not really easier and more convenient than making wholesome organic, baby food yourself from whole foods. In my experience the opposite is true. I also believe that the BEST way to get your kids eating healthy whole foods, and tons of fruits and veggies as kids is to start by feeding them these foods as a baby in the freshest forms available. Is it any coincidence that my kids all ate REAL food as babes and that I now have zero problems in the getting kids to eat veggies department? I don’t think so. We went to a buffet recently and attracted much attention when my kids filled their own plates with broccoli, green beans, peas, mushrooms, and various fruits. Around me I saw several kids eating Jello and drumsticks for dinner… nuff said.

Also because they are so little and vulnerable, they benefit greatly from organic foods. They don’t need any more chemical exposure than they already get from their environment. This book gives lots of advice for feeding kids consciously with many delicious recipes. The toddler food is also great for encouraging adventurous eating. Greek falafel bites with cucumber-dill dipping sauce and quinoa primavera are healthy foods sure enough but they are also FAR from what kids who eat the SAD (Standard American Diet) are used to and that is a very good thing. Kids who are exposed to many different and unique foods as children will try more foods overall and have a more diverse diet as adults. That is code for saying they won’t be picky eaters. We all know those picky adult eaters don’t we? The ones who think anything but meat and potatoes is exotic and foreign.

I can’t wait to make some of these tasty toddler dishes for my youngest and thankfully there were lots of non meat recipes in the book because the boy isn’t big on eating things with faces. I know we will all love the food and I especially loved reading the book. The pictures alone made me sad that my young kiddo days are almost gone. If you are prone to baby fever you may not want to read it… the pictures of the babies and toddlers are just as delicious as the food ones.

This is THE cookbook for parents who want to feed their babies and toddlers organic, real, nourishing, whole foods. Thank you Anni Daulter for an amazing book!

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

Farm to Table or Why I LOVE Summer

Tiffany — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:12:47 +0000

Farmer’s market produce, herbs and veggies from our own garden, grass fed butter, apple pie, Amish egg noodles, and homemade blueberry or peach frozen yogurt. Can summer be any more delicious??? Ask me again in Fall when I may just be singing the praises of apple butter, cider, and pumpkin pie… but for now summer is the yummiest season ever.

What are you eating this summer?

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

Green Home Energy Savers

Tiffany — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:00:41 +0000

Just a few energy saver projects this week. When peak summer and winter electric bills come in I always get on a kick like this. I am going through a big box of goodies sent to me by a great sustainable goods company called Practecol. You can find their products at Target starting this month.

I started with a big energy hog… my bad ass pink computer. This lovely lady was custom built for me (she whose fingers are lightning fast and must have a computer that is equally fast) and is attached to other gadgets like a high speed router, HD monitor, iPod, printer, back-up hard drive, speakers, etc.

All the cords were plugged into a Foot Switch – 6 Outlet Surge Protector.

Nice bit kind of ugly… so I pushed all the cords behind the desk and left out the Foot Switch.

Nice! This product was made to help reduce energy costs by allowing you too turn off power going to all electronic products at once AND make the area less cluttered looking by giving you the nifty foot switch. And not having to reach down under the desk each night to flip the switch is nice. The foot switch has a green light that you can see in the dark so when all is shut down you just tap the switch with your foot and go to bed. Viola! Practecol estimates a savings of $84/year by cutting standby power to power sucking electronics. Even though I am good about turning stuff off, the groovy green light is a reminder for me to flip that last switch.

Next up I put the Practecol dryer balls to use. I have used dryer balls before, though not in awhile. Here they are posing next to my husband’s stinky and not-so eco friendly dryer sheets. Aren’t they pretty?

These heat-resistant dryer balls lift and separate your clothes to better circulate heat, reducing drying time and lowering energy costs. The company estimates that these save you 15% (or $20 per year) on energy costs. If you currently use dryer sheets, then the savings would be more.

What is Baby Sign Language?

Tiffany — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:53:29 +0000

Baby sign language is American Sign Language, only cuter. And there’s often some drool thrown in for effect.

Seriously though, American Sign Language is the official language of the deaf community in the United States. You probably learned the American Sign Alphabet at some point in school.

The baby version of American Sign started in the 70’s when Joseph Garcia observed that the hearing babies of deaf parents learned to talk at an earlier age than the hearing babies of hearing parents. This intrigued Garcia, and prompted him to start a program that trained hearing parents to teach their babies sign language.

And Garcia’s original observation held true. Babies who learned to sign learned to speak at an earlier age than those who didn’t learn to sign. But that wasn’t all. Many other, unexpected benefits popped up. Babies and toddlers who signed showed less frustration, seemed to enjoy closer bonds with their parents, developed larger vocabularies early on, and even learned to read faster and more easily than their non-signing peers. I know, crazy right?

And it’s so simple! It is easy to teach your baby to sign. You don’t have to be fluent in American Sign Language. You can take it one sign at a time (or two, or three)!

A baby’s cognitive development is always ahead of his speech development. Many babies show proof of understanding what we say long before they are able to speak. Baby sign language can bridge this developmental gap. Signing with your baby will help her to communicate her thoughts long before she is able to verbalize them.

Many parents and caregivers choose to only teach a few signs, and that is fine! Some parents teach their babies to sign “diaper,” “down,” “eat,” and “milk” and stop there!

Imagine how much easier it would be if every time your baby wanted to nurse, she simply signed “milk.” She could sign before she cried. Wouldn’t that be great?

And many parents and caregivers teach their babies dozens of signs, so your baby could actually sign, “More applesauce please!”

Speaking of which, baby sign language is a great way to teach manners early. The signs for “please” and “thank you” are very easy to teach, and just as easy for your baby to learn.

A popular misconception is that babies who learn to sign will have no need for speaking, but this just isn’t the case. Study after study has shown the opposite to be true. Baby sign language encourages a baby to communicate, and fosters the skills and builds the confidence that he needs to do so.

It is easy to teach your baby sign language. The signs are all available for you at Baby Sign Language. If you are even thinking about it, you should give it a whirl. Your baby will thank you. She might even do it with a sign.

Guest post by Misty Weaver, Chief Editor, Baby Sign Language

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

Let the Children Lead the Way

Tiffany — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:00:16 +0000

I am a big fan of child led learning. Many school principals and I have squared off over this issue. For some reason they just don’t like it when they come to you to complain about how your child doesn’t want to work on the assignments given to them and you say in return… “Well, perhaps it is boring them to tears. Have you tried reaching them by finding out what THEY want to learn about?” Often this is met with a sigh and look of pity about my apparent naivete. But I know it in my heart to be true. I know it because when the words “let’s go the library” are uttered in this house my children scream in happiness like wild banshees. Why? Because they are in charge. They get to follow their passions. For some bizarre reason adults think that kids shouldn’t have that right. But I delight in seeing what my children are interested in and then doing what I can to facilitate that learning.

My nearly ten year old son has been on a big time history kick for long while. Part of our recent trip to DC was to facilitate his learning about American history and the political system. At the library this week he got books about September 11th, The Perfect Storm, military tanks, and his biggest passions currently… Titanic and WWI. They boy can spend hours poring over books about these topics and on the rare occasions when he watches TV, it will almost always be the military channel.

This weekend we took the kids to the local science center, COSI. I spent hours in this place as a kid and now my own kids do too. The husband kindly took the two youngest kids to the play center and my oldest son and I got our boarding passes with White Star Lines for our journey on the RMS Titanic. Unfortunately they do not allow photos in the exhibit but it was quite awesome. On our boarding passes we got new identities as passengers who were actually on the Titanic. I was a 48 year old chicken farmer and mom of 5 from Sussex who was jilted by her husband and decided to go to the US to live with an older daughter. My son was a two year old child who was kidnapped by his father and was running to America.

We walked the halls of Titanic… seeing the first class and third class state rooms, looking at people posing as passengers and White Star Lines employees, seeing artifacts that were at the bottom of the ocean for decades. There was even a complete replica of the grand staircase. As you entered the dining Hall the music from the movie Titanic was playing. It was an awesome experience and my son was in heaven. At the end of the exhibit we perused the names of the passengers. My son, Master Edmond Roger Navratil, survived the sinking… I did not, Mrs. Edward Ford. All of the stuff he learned that day will be with him forever because he is passionate about it. Maybe what he learned is not important in the eyes of government or prospective employers but it is important to him and what is more important in life than to persue our passions? NOTHING.

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

The Story of Cosmetics

Tiffany — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:00:30 +0000

I am a big fan of Annie Leonard’s work and her original video The Story of Stuff… which she followed up with an awesome book. This is her latest video called The Story of Cosmetics, and it comes at a VERY important time, when we could impact groundbreaking safe cosmetics legislation – the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.

What do you need to do? Ask Congress to get behind the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010!

And in the meantime check out some of my safer products posts:

The Toxic Bubble Bath Debate

Ditch the Nail Polish Nasties

The Green Beauty Guide

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

Why I Love Ohio

Tiffany — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:00:06 +0000

One of the best things about my state is that it is so diverse and beautiful. You can wake up to city life, walk outside and see something like this:

Then you may decide that you need some country air today or perhaps a nice cool swim in one of the many natural streams, waterfalls, rivers, or lakes here. You NEED some nature. Well, within minutes you can be swimming under a gorgeous waterfall.

Or maybe you just want to explore the woods and wade in the crick (how we say creek in Ohio). That is only minutes away too.

I never get tired of exploring this lovely state and being amazed about how much there is to do in our extended backyard.

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

Keeping Your Hospital Birth Safe, Healthy and Yes – Even Natural

Tiffany — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:00:53 +0000

Birth today in the U.S. is often treated as a risky, over-medically-managed event. In reality, birth is neither a disease nor an injury. For the majority of women, birth is a safe, healthy and very normal bodily process. If you’re seeking a more natural, low intervention birth, but aren’t quite comfortable with home birth or don’t have access to a birthing center, there are effective ways to keep birth in a hospital natural, safe and healthy. It will take some effort, planning and perseverance on your part, but the potential payoff is huge!

Inform – Whether you’re planning for your first, second or fifth birth, becoming informed key. What does a healthy birth look like? What are the risks to typical medical birth interventions? How can I give my baby the best start? Learn specific tactics to simplify the birth process and help alleviate fears and manage pain by watching short videos that describe six healthy birth practices: Let labor begin on its own; Walk, move around and change positions throughout labor; Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary; Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your body’s urges to push; Keep mother and baby together – It’s best for mother, baby and breastfeeding.

Investigate – Interview your care provider before you become pregnant or in the early days of pregnancy. Take a hospital tour early in your pregnancy. Research your hospital’s intervention and cesarean rates and research customer feedback. Find a mother-friendly care provider in your area (learn what makes a mother-friendly provider). And remember that it’s never too late to change your care provider or place of birth if you are unhappy.

Educate – Take a childbirth education class from a certified childbirth educator. Sometimes, hospital-based education courses are not taught by certified educators and instead simply prepare you for birth by teaching hospital procedures and guidelines. Seek a certified educator to learn evidence-based education on the healthy and normal process
of birth. (I hear that Lamaze offers excellent childbirth education classes, wink, wink!)

Plan for Support – While labor and delivery nurses can be helpful during birth, they must attend to several mothers during their shift. Further, with the high rate of cesarean section and epidural use in the U.S., many nurses are not accustomed to assisting women through natural birth. Designate a person (or more) to support and advocate for you during labor and birth. This can be your partner or spouse, a dear friend or mother, or consider hiring a birth doula. Whoever you choose, make sure that they know your wishes for birth and are able to provide continuous, positive emotional and physical support.

Remember that birth is a natural, normal process that your body instinctively knows how to do. Become an informed and empowered mom-to-be, surround yourself with positive influences and have confidence in your body’s ability – the rest will fall into place.

Cara Terreri is the site administrator for Lamaze International’s Giving Birth with Confidence—an online community and blog written for and by real women (and men) with a variety of trustworthy, timely and appealing stories, articles and tips related to pregnancy, birth and parenting. The goal is to help women achieve healthy pregnancies and safe, satisfying births by offering a meeting ground to obtain information and support from other women, Lamaze-Certified Childbirth Educators and other knowledgeable experts.

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

5 Ways to Channel Your Inner Farm Girl When You Live in the City

Tiffany — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:00:35 +0000

Not all of us can live in the country raising chickens and growing all of our own food. Some of us more natural mamas choose to live in the city, either because we have to or we just want to. But that does not mean we don’t also value the same things and want the same things for our lives and family, it just means we have to approach these things differently. If we don’t have land of our own to plant rows of corn… we can look for a community garden where we can or perhaps we patronize the farmer’s market booth of the farmer lady who lives the next county over. We get the same thing… non GMO, organic corn on the table for dinner.. the road to get it there was just a bit different , but no less important.

Here are 10 ways to channel your inner farm girl when you live in the city:

1. Cook from scratch – It is tempting to eat out when you live in the city. You may be tired after a long day and the idea of those vegetarian burritos from Chipotle just sounds too good. Well, that is okay sometimes but cooking from scratch is cheaper and healthier in the long run. Look up up some recipes on Sunday and maybe even do some prep beforehand.. chopping vegetables, kneading dough, making vegetable or chicken stock, letting mushrooms marinate, etc. Then when dinner time comes during the week you know what you are making and you can get it done in short time.

In addition you can also see how many store bought items you can replace with homemade. You can buy a yogurt maker and replace the plastic cups from the store. Can your own fruit for jam and avoid the preservative laden varieties at the store. Make your own milk or water Kefir, Kombucha, and sauerkraut. Making food from scratch gives you a real sense of farm girl accomplishment.

2. Set the table with vintage thrift store finds – One of the things that I loved about my grandparents farmhouse was the fact that they had old mismatched dishes, milk glass salt and pepper shakers, and the drink cups were mason jars. But old and mismatched aside, we always ate on a nice tablecloth with nice hand sewn place mats. It was so homey and perfect and that can be created in a city dwelling with minimal effort.

3. Decorate like a farm girl – No mater where you live, you can enjoy the comforts of a handmade home. Mason jars can be converted into hanging lanterns for candlelight. You can take cover at night underneath a cozy quilt, with hand-knit socks on your feet. Stop alongside the road and pick widlflowers to put on your kitchen table. Shop for vintage linens, doilies, and tablecloths at flea markets and antique stores. Personally I cannot stand the modern version of country decor.. with gaudy colors, and roosters or ducks on everything but the simple, frugal elegance of real farm decor is something you can re-create anywhere.

4. Shop Local – When you can’t make something on your own, the next best thing is to buy from a local neighbor who can. Money spent locally goes twice as far and you are helping the people who need it the most, putting your dollars directly into the hands of your community and not those of a corporation. Buy groceries locally from the farmers at your farmer’s market. Not only can you get fresh fruits and veggies you can also usually get farm fresh honey, eggs, grass fed butter, and baked goods. If you shop at Whole Foods, look for the little brown signs that say “Local” and buy those before you buy a non local brand. My local Whole Foods has those little signs everywhere because they know that the local foods sell the best. Go to You-Pick farms during the growing season and harvest your own food. The farmer did all of the planting and weeding and you get to do the picking!

5. Join a herdshare – For an annual or monthly fee you can pay a farmer for your part of the upkeep of a herd animal, such as a cow. This pays for feed and general care for the animal and in return you get fresh milk (usually raw). This may be the only way to get raw milk in your state and it is soooo worth it! You can also buy a share of a beef cow or pig and when it comes to butcher the animal you get your share of the meat. This is a great way to get lower cost, organically fed, humanely treated meat products.

City farm girls can have the best of both worlds!

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!

The Downside of Local Organic Corn?

Tiffany — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:44:50 +0000

Or is it really a downside? The kids sure loved finding these guys and finding new homes for them in our yard. It certainly is a huge plus to be able to go to the local farmer’s market and buy 2 dozen ears of non GMO, organic corn for dinner and chit chat with the farmer that grew it. Bugs or not.

Hi there! What are you doing reading this in your feed reader?? Stop being anti-social and come visit me and leave a comment or two!