A Simple Apple Dessert

We went apple picking last weekend.  We do this many times in the fall and I am sure you'll do it once or twice, if not you'll take advantage of all the apples that are for sale around this time of year.   This is a very quick and simple dessert that pleases everyone and might be fancy enough for company.  All you need is an apple corer (worth every bit of the $6 or so you'll spend) and some oven proof individual dishes (though bigger than ramekins). My mother needs the credit for this dessert.... she makes it all of the time.

Basically, you core the apples (do not peel them). Place them in the small dish and fill the hole with maple syrup. I use real maple syrup, but I have never tried it with pancake syrup, so I am not sure if it would work as well.  You could also just use brown sugar if you don't have real maple syrup. Place the apples in the oven (about 350F or 375F, it doesn't really matter) and wait 30 minutes or so. They will start to melt down and bubble. The more time you leave them in there, the more melted the apples will become. Eat them as is or if you would prefer: top with ice cream (rice dream ice cream is fine), heavy cream or add some brown sugar. Adding dried cranberries or nuts would also be nice.  Its like eating apple pie without the crust and it takes no preparation or work, aside from coring the apples and opening the oven.  This dessert has always been a hit, and is a great and easy way to use all those wonderful fall apples. Enjoy!

A Green gift for those hard to buy for people...

2 posts in one day!!  Yeah for nap time.

My sister-in-law was just visiting these past two days and mentioned that her friend had a great green company that sends gifts.  These would be great alternatives to sending flowers (I love flowers, but most of the one you send tend to be laden with pesticides and have been grown in 3rd world countries with terrible working conditions for those who work in the greenhouses).

In any case, if you need a baby gift, a graduation gift, a thank you gift, a christmas gift for Uncle Ned who is impossible to shop for, check out their website:

www.greensender.com

They price range from $12 for an organic t-shirt to gift packs that are in the $4o range... which is pretty much what you'd pay if you sent someone flowers.

(And no, I don't know the guy and haven't gotten a free gift box- I just thought it was cool.)

Trash and toilets.

I have used reusable bags for my shopping for over two years (maybe three?) and though I feel good about this, I always squirm when I need to purchase trash bags. They are plastic and in purchasing them I am knowingly sending them to a landfill, which is both ironic just to buy something to throw away and environmentally unfriendly. Same with toilet paper. Not only is it something that really goes to "waste" but it is even harder to pay more for the environmentally friendly kind when you see your 22 month-old trail it from the bathroom through the kitchen and into the living room.  So what to do? 

You can compost, recycle, reduce trash by purchasing things in bigger (and recycable) packaging, but it is very hard to completely remove the need for trash bags. The other day I was in the commissary (military grocery store) and I found degradable bags by Presto that didn't cost a fortune. Supposedly they degrade in 12-18 months. I impulsively bought them and  then came home and started using them.  They aren't bad, I don't have that much garbage so they haven't leaked yet. The problem is that I paid for and am using something I thought was good for the environment.  They really aren't that much better than regular trash bags.  For things to degrade, they need exposure to sunlight and oxygen, two things which are not abundant in a landfill.  Frustrated, since I had thought I had found a solution to my trash bag problem, I did a bit of research and found that the best thing you can do (once you have recycled, composted, and reduced) is to buy recycled trash bags.  This way, though the bags will still not degrade in the landfills, you at least aren't using NEW plastics.  7Th Generation sells some that are made with 65% recycled plastic and according to their website, if every family in the US would use just one of package of their bags instead of regular trash bags, then we would save 39,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat 2,200 US homes for ONE year.  I will be on the lookout for these bags the next time I hit the grocery store and update you on what I have found.

7Th Generation also sells recycled paper products, a solution to the toilet paper (and paper towel) predicament.  I have also found another company that uses recycled paper for their paper products, Marcal.  Their items are usually low cost, but some of their individually wrapped toilet tissue is wrapped in plastic, so not as environmentally friendly as purchasing individual rolls all wrapped in paper.  Green Forest also sells recycled toilet paper and paper towels.  One blogger suggested buying the 7th Generation toilet tissue in bulk; at Amazon.com you get a case of 48 for $47.99 plus shipping.  The rolls have 500 2 ply sheets.  In comparison to regular toilet paper, also at Amazon.com, you can purchase 45 rolls (5 packs of 8 rolls) of Charmin Ultra for $41.49, however you will get only 250 2-ply sheets per roll. Thus in some stores and online, it is possible to buy environmentally friendly paper products that are actually cheaper than conventional products.  

And for the curious or those picky about what comes in contact with the sensitive back end, I have found that the green forest, Marcals and 7Th Generations are all pretty soft and hold up rather well. Marcals are the least soft, but my girls like them because they have hearts. They are not as soft as a package of kleenex, but not irritating or harsh.  If you have any opinions or reviews about any of these products, I'd love to see your comments posted. I am not too picky and my kids haven't complained.

As for paper towels: the greenest option would be to only use cloth (napkins, dishtowels, rags) rather than paper products, but sometimes, for certain things, paper towels are nice to have and if you do need to use them, might as well be made from unbleached recycled paper.  

In conclusion, if you can find toilet paper made from recycled paper and trash bags made from recycled plastics, you will reduce your dependence on foreign oil, reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment.  Perhaps, you may even help your wallet!

Wheat, Soy and Milk-Free Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is a great, hearty fall and winter meal that I used to make frequently. Unfortunately, it usually calls for butter, cream and milk along with regular flour.  Since I am trying to spare myself from making 2 dinners, I have finally made a good milk-soy-wheat free version that the 2 youngest kids can eat. If you like a bit more kick, be a little more free with the seasonings, particularly with the garlic salt and pepper, or add some mustard later.  This version was meant to be easily prepared... so you could spend more time and add real garlic and bacon if you wanted to. I wanted it prepared in under 20 minutes and something I could also prepare during nap time and pop in the oven at 5 pm.

5 small (or 3 large) potatoes, peeled. Halve the large potatoes, but you can leave the small potatoes whole.

3 large carrots (peeled and cut into smaller sections)*

*(2 cups of baby carrots that are already peeled work as well).

1/2 large onion or 1 small onion, chopped.

1 pound ground meat (turkey, beef, lamb, pork, etc)

1 cup sweet rice flour

2/3 cup of rice milk

2 tbsp of lard (or oil)

salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic salt and nutmeg

1. Peel and boil potatoes and carrots together.

2. In a large skillet, soften the onions.

3. Once the onions are soft, add the meat. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. Let the meat brown on medium-lower heat. Stir it around so it crumbles nicely.

4. In a small sauce pan, make the white sauce.  This is a quick and focused sauce. It can easily burn, so have your whisk handy and don't answer the phone!  First, melt the 2 tbsp of lard in the saucepan over medium heat.  Add the rice flour and whisk it all together. It gets very clumpy and sticky. Slowly add the rice milk as you whisk.  Soon you should have a smooth white sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Place the browned meat in a casserole dish (either a round or square one, the rectangular ones are too big) and pour the white sauce on top and add a dash of garlic salt. Mix it together a bit to have the sauce really cover the meat.

6. Remove the potatoes and carrots from the stove. Drain the water, keeping about a tablespoon of the liquid with the vegetables.  Mash them together using a potato masher.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a dash each of nutmeg and garlic salt.  

7.  Spoon the mashed carrots and potatoes on top of the browned meat/ white sauce mixture.

8.  Bake in an oven for 25 minutes at 325, or until the mashed vegetables are browned a bit.

The kids like to eat it with Ketchup, while we like it with some Dijon mustard.  You could also vary it by adding different vegetables to the potatoes.  Spinach is nice, particularly with pork or lamb and would make a great green St.Patrick's Day meal (or some other green-themed day).

Soy, Milk and Wheat Free Waffles and Pancakes

Hello all,  as promised after 4 months of perfecting these recipes, here are our recipes for milk, soy and wheat-free waffles and pancakes. (They really aren't that hard!)

Milk, Soy, Wheat-Free Pancakes:

1/2 cup sweet rice flour*

1/2 cup brown rice flour*

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

1 tbsp oil (safflower, etc).

up to 1 1/2 cup of rice milk

1. Heat your griddle, I like using one of those electric griddles since we can make a bunch at a time.

2. Mix your dry ingredients.

3. Add the egg and oil.

4. Add the milk until you get the batter to more liquidy  than in the waffle recipe, so that you can pour it onto the griddle and it spreads out. (But not so thin they are like crepes! Which are good too, but not as easy for a small child to eat.)

5. Pour a small amount of batter onto the griddle, they work best when they are mini-sized, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.

6. Flip the pancakes over when they start to bubble, wait a minute or so more and voila!  rice-flour pancakes.

Milk, Soy, Wheat-Free Waffles:

1/2 cup sweet rice flour*

1/2 cup brown rice flour*

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 egg 

2 tbsp of oil (safflower, etc)

up to 1 cup of rice milk

1. Preheat your waffle iron.

2. Combine all dry ingredients, mix.

3. Add egg and oil. Start stirring.

4. Add  rice milk slowly, until you reach the desired consistency, which is to say, a smooth but still thick batter (it will stick to your spoon).  Its about 3/4 of cup. 

5. Pour/ Spoon batter into waffle iron and follow the waffle iron's directions.

 

* If you don't want to make them wheat-free, just use a cup of regular flour instead of the 1/2 each of sweet and brown rice flours.

Enjoy!  You can also always add some Enjoy Life! Brand chocolate chips to vary the recipe a bit.  If you don't know about Enjoy Life! chocolate chips and you have a child that has soy and dairy allergies, google them. You can buy them on-line, but I can find them at my local health food stores, Hannefords, and Wegman's.  They are near the Gluten Free section.

Water, Grass and Beef

I haven't blogged in exactly 4 months.... June 11th- Sept 11th.  That is a long time. It isn't that I did not have things to say, its just that moving, broken arms, allergic reactions, making flower girl dresses and going to 3 weddings in 5 weeks (one in Belgium) took precedence. 

In the coming days I will post a few more wheat-soy-milk free recipes. Today, however, I want to talk about grass, water and beef.  I just read in my low-impact living e-newsletter that it takes 2,000 gallons of water to produce ONE POUND of conventional ground beef. I stress conventional because most of that water is used watering the corn grown to feed that cattle.  One more reason to buy grass fed beef. (Which is not that readily available commercially, I know.)  I know a wrote about this earlier, but I wanted to elaborate.

Why grass-fed beef?  I will note that my sources range from the documentary "Corn King" to Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemna to many internet sites. If you have time, read The Omnivore's Dilemna or watch Corn King (available at Blockbuster and Netflicks).

Back to grass-fed beef.  There are really three issues at hand: environmental, ethical and those that are health related.  First, you must understand how conventional beef is produced.  Cattle spend the last 60-120 days of their lives in feedlots where they are fed grain, predominately corn.  "60-160 days, that isn't too bad..." you think.  Consider two things: 1) that cattle usually go from birth to slaughter in less than 18 months, sometimes less than a year and 2) if fed grains longer than 160 days, they would die regardless.  Cattle are ruminating animals; they have a special digestive system with four stomachs, designed to process grass.  In The Omnivore's Dilemna, Michael Pollan describes what happens to grain-finished cattle:

"Perhaps the most serious thing that can go wrong with a ruminant on corn is feedlot bloat. The rumen is always producing copious amounts of gas, which is normally expelled by belching during rumination. But when the diet contains too much starch and too little roughage, rumination all but stops, and a layer of foamy slime that can trap gas forms in the rumen. The rumen inflates like a balloon, pressing against the animal's lungs. Unless action is promptly taken to relieve the pressure (usually by forcing a hose down the animal's esophagus), the cow suffocates.

A corn diet can also give a cow acidosis. Unlike that in own highly acidic stomachs, the normal pH of a rumen is neutral. Corn makes it unnaturally acidic, however, causing a kind of bovine heartburn, which in some cases can kill the animal but usually just makes it sick. Acidotic animals go off their feed, pant and salivate excessively, paw at their bellies and eat dirt.The condition can lead to diarrhea, ulcers, bloat, liver disease and a general weakening of the immune system that leaves the animal vulnerable to everything from pneumonia to feedlot polio."

Conventional/ Feedlot beef is always grain fed, and that grain is predominately corn.  Additionally, the major problem with feedlots, whether the beef variety or the "fish farm" is that by cramming so many of same animals together, it becomes a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria, and so for the beeves (plural of beef) to be able to live to their "processing" date, they are administered routine antibiotics. I could go on at length here, but you can read my earlier post about fish farms and antibiotics.  Suffice it to say that currently antibiotics can be found in our drinking water  (along with antidepressants and other medications that we flush down the toilet) and there is as of yet no way to remove it from our drinking water.  We really don't need it added to the ground water.  Another problem with feedlots (where the grain-finishing happens) is that the waste produced by all of the animals becomes an issue.  While grass-fed cows produce manure, grain -fed cows produce something akin to toxic sludge that is completely unsuitable for any use.

Moving on, as nap time is only so long... They are so many people that I know who refuse to eat veal because of ethical concerns over their treatment, but happily buy and eat conventional beef.  I see feedlots and grain-feeding as unethical. Cows are meant to walk around, eat grass, not stand shoulder to shoulder, knee-deep in sludge. I understand that it is a cheap and efficient way to produce more meat and that demand is high.  However, consider this, it would be healthier for us to eat a little less meat and pay a little bit more for the grass- finished beef.

Finally, is there a difference in the quality?  Some would argue that the "quality", the marbeling of grain finished is better in grain-fed beef... but I would argue that taste is always acquired. Before the second world war, all beef was grass-finished and our grand-parents and great-grand-parents never complained. So, rather than discuss taste, which is subjective, I want to look at the health quality of the meat.  Grass-finished beef is higher in vitamins, omega-3's and lower in saturated fat.  It is considerably lower in fat, somewhere between 1/2 and 1/3  the amount of fat as grain-fed beef.  That is comparable to chicken!  What is more, Pollan argues that the current imbalance of Omega-3 fatty acids in the american diet has led to the increase of many chronic ailments that plague our society: diabetes, cancer, heart diseases, etc.  While not a great source of Omega 3's when you compare beef to salmon, it is still a source that we have moved away from in the past 50 years as food production has become more and more industrialized.

Additionally, Pollan would argue, there is a greater likelyhood to have E.Coli tainted grain-fed beef because the E.Coli have become adapted to a more acidic environment.  Remember that a cow's rumen is usually at a neutral pH, all of the little microbes that thrive in it can not survive the much more acidic human stomach. So, during the slaughter process, if some of the contents of the grass-fed beeves' rumens come in contact with some of  the meat, it should not pose a great danger to us. Our bodies can kill the bacteria.  Not so with bacteria that has been able to thrive in the higher pH rumens of grain-fed beeves.

What can we do?  As much as possible, buy local, pasture raised/ grass-finished beef (meat in general).  Go to localharvest.org,  select farms and type in your zip code. Hopefully there is a local farm not too far away from you that sells pasture raised meat. Invest in a freezer and buy part of a cow, pig, lamb and stock up. It will save you many trips to the grocery store, and you will be helping the environment and your family in the long run.  As for price, as corn has become in higher demand for ethanol, the cost of grain-fed beef has risen...  For those of you who think it is too "gamey", it really is all about the cooking.  At my brother's rehearsal dinner, my parents served venison. The bride's brother in law was sitting next to me and stated that he really did not like the gamey taste of venison... until he ate his first bite of that venison.  It was very well prepared by the caterer and he ate it all.  Perhaps in one of my next posts I will discuss that!  (And speaking of venison, it is a great local grass-fed form of meat... perhaps more in yet another post.)

Broken Arms, Casts and Water...

I actually forgot to post this blog entry I wrote in the middle of the summer, so here it is:

So within a week of moving into our new home, in the middle of summer, and only 2 days after discovering the local swimming area, our 4 year old broke her arm. Within 4 days, she had a new cast since she got it wet "watering" (AKA drowing) my potted vegetables on the back patio.  Being frustrated that I couldn't take all 3 kids swimming (It was about 85 degrees an 97 % humidity) and that I may have to cancel beach plans, I googled "waterproof cast cover" and found a cool product that cost less than $35. Its called a XeroSox cast cover and claims to be fully waterproof, so much so that you can fully submerge your broken appendage in the water, whether you are swimming, snorkeling or just taking a shower. I ordered it and it worked, despite that it was a bit too big.  I would not give it rave reviews because a) it was a bit too big, and we had ordered the smallest size and b) my daughter found it painful to have all of the air suctioned out of the cast.  It caused a certain amount of pressure which pained her.  Still, with waterproof tape around the top of the arm we were able to make an airtight seal that held despite not fully removing all of the air.  She was able to go to the beach and play round in the water as well as play on the slip and slide in the backyard and not have to get a third cast.  We did not brave fully submerging it underwater since it was a bit too big.

THEN, I got an e-mail from a former neighbor who told me her daughter had had a waterproof cast. I googled that and found you can line a fiberglass cast with something else than cotton. The product is called Gore Procel Cast Liner and for a small childs full arm would have cost $51 (plus $20 for next morning delivery) and a large adult full leg was about $125 (plus shipping). Of course, the Army was too cheap to use that, but if ever in the same situation, I would insist on it and probably pay for it. I bet many hospitals and orthopedic offices carry it. It would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about her ruining the cast or getting it wet.  Of course, if the break was severe and there were skin wounds involved, it would probably not work since the risk of infection would be too great.

Anyway, a heads up that hopefully none of you will need!!  

More about laundry... line drying

For all of the laundry that I do, I have been slow at embracing the drying rack.  First, I only had one, it was rickety (the dog chewed one of the legs) and I could never get one entire load on the rack.  It was just easier to move everything from the washer into the dryer, press start and walk away.  And leave it there until the next opportune moment to deal with the pile of (now wrinkled) clothes.  Usually what would happen would be that I wouldn't have time to fold the clothes between loads and end up with 2-3 large baskets full of laundry to fold.  I hate folding wrinkled clothes. So, I just hated folding clothes since they were always wrinkled.  This is why I like diaper laundry... no wrinkles and no folding.   Don't get me wrong, I was (and still am to the extent that time allows) a bit neurotic with folding laundry.  I like it to be well folded (E will tell you happily about the time I bought a flip-fold) and I am especially funny about my sheets.  My mother always ironed our sheets (and I think starched them a bit) and I always did, even in college. I am an ace at folding even fitted sheets...  As I said, I was somewhat neurotic about it.  I love crisp, wrinkle free sheets. However, with 3 kids, 2 dogs and a host of things to do, laundry never gets the attention it needs and ironing sheets and  the flip-fold went out when child #2 was born.

The choice to cloth diaper was one I made for two reasons: helping the environment and our budget.  My friend M line-dried her BumGenius diapers and they always looked a lot better than mine.  Of course, line drying was better for both the environment and our budget (albeit just a little on our budget).  Apparently your average electric dryer consumes 875 kilowatt hours a year or assuming you do about 148 loads of laundry a year, it releases about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. I should double that number...  Aside from the stand alone freezer, it is the home appliance that has the greatest carbon dioxide output. Obviously limiting its use would help lower my carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse emissions.

And so inspired by my friend M, I took the plunge. I bought another drying rack and started finding sunny places to dry the diapers. They did look better and when I realized the puppy wasn't going to play with the rack outside and was going to leave my laundry alone, I started drying everything.  I have plenty of space in the laundry room for when it rains, and so for the past several weeks, I have been completely neglecting my dryer.  At this point it only gets used for emergencies (ie: someone's special doggie is soaked and bedtime is in 15 minutes).

The best part about line drying is the sheets.  I strung up a cord between two trees in my backyard and hang the sheets to dry.  They dry almost wrinkle free and they are nice and crisp, almost as if I had ironed and starched them.  The same can be said for tablecloths and cloth napkins (which with 3 kids, get washed ALOT). Most of the clothes also dry wrinkle free and crisply and I fold them as I pluck them off the rack. I am not sure if this saves time or not, but I probably won't have 3 baskets of wrinkled clothing waiting to be folded anymore and I enjoy laundry so much more than before.

The one downside would be towels.  As much as I like crisp sheets, I don't really embrace sand-paper towels... some have said the feeling was invigorating in the morning.  True, I guess, but it must be a feeling that has to grow on me.  I have noticed that the higher quality towels dry better and with a bit of shaking and wringing they soften up considerably.  So, I will work on the towels and my first purchase once I move will be an umbrella drying rack. Let me know if you have any tricks for softening line dried towels.

Fish...

I am a sea food lover.  Until I got married and moved around the country, I never lived more than 2 hours away from the sea and usually, it was less than 1/2 hour.  I love fresh water fish and salt water fish as well a host of other sea foods... lobster, clams, mussels, crab, shrimp, crayfish. I will eat it cooked in a number of ways and I love it raw or "cooked" in acid, such as lemon juice- ceviche style.   We try to eat fish at least once a week in our house. I believe it is an excellent source of protein and evidence shows that the Omega-3 fatty acids they provide are key to our health. I think a varied diet of whole, natural foods is essential for good health. 

Eating fish, however, does have its complications.  Which is better for the environment? Wild Caught or Farm-Raised?  What fish are high in mercury or PCBs? Sometimes it is easier not to buy fish than to sit there at the fish counter and debate which you should take home for dinner.

The problem with farm-raised fish.

Due to over fishing, certain fish populations have declined. Raising fish for consumption seemed like a great idea, fish would be available for consumption without endangering the wild populations.  However, farm-raised fish face similar health problems that cattle in CAFOs (feedlots) do.  CAFOs are Confined Animal Feeding Operations, and essentially, fish farms are just aquatic version of this.  Farm raised fish are fed a diet of pellets that are not nutritionally equivelant to their natural wild diets.  Furthermore, the fish do not have room to move about freely and because of their close proximity to each other, they are more prone to diseases... so farmed raised fish are administered preventative antibiotics. By weight, farmed raised salmon, for example, has the highest amount of antibiotics administered than any other livestock.  What is more, the fish pellets fed to the fish are made of wild caught fish (thankfully not corn!) but farm raising fish does nothing to stop overfishing since it takes almost 3 tons of fish to make 1 ton of farmed salmon.   The biggest environmental concern is the escape of these farm raised fish, many of whom have been genetically modified to grow faster, into the ocean where they compete with wild fish for the same resources. Another concern is that of the toxic waste that is produced by these "farms".

The Problem with Wild Caught fish:

A study published in Science in November of 2006 state that by the year 2048 the population of all species of seafood could collapse to a tenth of their record highs.  This is extremely concerning.  Overfishing plays a  large role in the decline of the fish populations, but so does loss of habitat, pollution and the loss of filtering water vegetation.  What is encouraging is that when sustainable practices are employed, the fisheries seem to rebound.  So, it as important as avoiding PCBs and Mercury to buy fish that have been fished/harvested sustainably or from populations that are not declining.

So which fish are the best?  Since one of the benefits of eating fish is I consulted a few websites that I will list at the bottom of this blog and came up with this list.  All the fish below fall into the "low mercury" category and is safe to consume 2-3 times a week. Also, they are harvested or fished in a sustainable manner. The number next to the fish's name is the content of Omega 3's for each 3.5 ounce of fish:

• Mackerel- 2.6 (Not King Mackerel)
  
• Wild Caught Salmon- 1.5
  
• Herring- 1.7
  
• Sardinnes- (canned OK)- 1.5
  
• Freshwater trout- (2.o for lake, .6 for brook, rainbow, etc)
  
• Whitefish (lake)- 1.5
• Anchovies-1.4

I don't mean to imply that other fish are not good for you, there are many that have low mercury levels and despite being lower in Omega 3's, they still have some as well as a whole host of nutrients.  This was just a list I came up with to make my shopping easier.

The Green guide has several articles as well as a printable guide, but it does not list the Omega 3's.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/gg/pdf/fishpicks0607.pdf

I found the Omega 3 information in a reader's digest article:

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/omega-3-rich-fish/article16092.html

Delicious Organics has a longer article regarding Farm Raised and Wild Caught:

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/controversies/wildvsfarmfish.htm 

Books, Cows and Corn

As you all have probably noticed, I have taken a break from blogging, because I didn't have too much to write about, I was busy reading and getting ready to move.  In this blog, I want to address what I have been reading.  I belong to two book clubs and have read many books I would recommend... but I have also done some reading on the side. In this blog entry, I want to talk about two books I found fascinating and would recommend to anyone who is interested to know about food, its origins, its role in the ecology of the planet and its impact on our health. 

Most of you know that with two children who can't tolerate milk or soy,  for me to buy processed foods is virtually impossible.  I never really thought I bought much that was processed to begin with!  Being faced with making so much from scratch I started to wonder about food and its impact on our health.  Of course, its obvious from previous posts that I am also concerned about our environment... so reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, was a natural step.

First, I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  In her book, Barbara Kingslover chronicles her year eating locally and growing and raising as much of her own food as possible.  Being an excellent writer (she has written several fiction books such as The Poisonwood Bible, Bean Trees, and Pigs in Heaven), she writes about her year with humor and adds quite a bit of information while keeping it easy to read and understand. Her chapter on raising turkeys so that they reproduce naturally (an act no longer left to turkeys on even most organic farms) had me laughing out loud.  Mostly, she made me want to go to the farmer's market and cook. From her I learned how to make mozzarella cheese, a skill I regrettably don't get to practice much considering the milk allergies that my children have! One day, perhaps 15 years from now, when Eric has retired from the army and we have settled down somewhere, I hope to be able to do the same; grow and raise my own food.

From Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I jumped to Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, which is an excellent cookbook that teaches you not only how to cook, but how to do so while eating locally and respecting the seasonality of food.  I highly recommend it. In it there are some simple and delicious recipes, but the book is more about the food and how to prepare it properly than it is a list of recipes.  Alice Waters is the chef at Chez Panisse, a California restaurant that is often regarded as a pioneer in the slow food (local, sustainable, etc) movement. Here is a link to their website, if you are interested:

 http://www.chezpanisse.com/pgglance.html

Most recently, I have read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.  In the book, Michael Pollan examines the dilemma that we, as omnivores face.  Unlike most animals such as the cow, the lion or the koala who have a highly specialized diet and can eat only one kind of food (grass, meat/prey, eucalyptus leaves, etc), we have to choose what to eat everyday from a huge selection of foods.  In a time when most food is grown on an industrial scale and packaged and sold to us, do we know what we are eating? What we are eating (organic, local, fast food, low carb, etc) Is it all that healthy for us and the planet?  In the book he goes about making 4 meals, one fast food, one he calls "industrial organic", one that is locally farmed and raised and one that he hunted and gathered. There is an amazing number of facts mixed with philosophical and political discussion. One huge shock to me was in his first chapter on the corn industry. (And yes, industry is the right word). After reading the book, you will never look at food in the supermarket in the same way, and yet I didn't think it came off soapbox-ish.  Perhaps, it is because he may be preaching to the converted (I admit I am); you probably would not pick up this book if you are the CEO of McDonalds or General Mills... but I really found his book interesting without feeling that he was hitting me over the head with the phrase "Eat local, Eat Organic".

 In The Omnivores Dilemma, M. Pollan is mostly concerned with the big picture, but he just published another book, In Defense of Food, An Eater's Manifesto (that is currently checked out at the library so I have not yet read it) in which he discusses what it is we should eat considering the world we currently live in.  He asserts that as Americans we are have no national cuisine that helps us navigate our food choices and therefore we are prone to following many fad diets and eating in ways that are not healthy for us.  We have moved away from food to food science...  I am intrigued, having read The Omnivores Dilemma, and so I will probably check it out as soon as I am able to.

I really wanted Eric to read these books, but he had his share of reading for school to do and is admittedly not the bookworm that I am, so I heard about this PBS documentary, King Corn, which focuses on the corn industry and interviews Michael Pollan. I imagined that he might be more interested if he saw the documentary.  I would recommend it to anyone, its 90 minutes long and available at Blockbusters in the new release section.  I imagine Netflicks has it as well.

Here are some facts I gathered- hopefully I got them straight...

1. 70% of antibiotic use in the US is used on corn (grain) fed cows in CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations... AKA Feedlots).  Basically, if we didn't slaughter the beef at 18 months or so, they wouldn't live another 6 with the type of diet that they are being fed.  Cows were meant to eat grass and their stomachs and rumens don't handle corn  or grain well.  Without the antibiotics they would get something called Acidosis, which would eventually kill them. And you wonder why we have so much more drug-resistant bacteria....

2. Because the cows are being corn fed, their meat is higher in saturated fat than grass fed beef.  Also it is considerably lower in Omega-3 fatty acids.  The rise of corn/grain fed beef has led to an imbalance of Omega-3 vs Omega-6 fatty acids. Both are essential fatty acids, but the imbalance can lead to a host of health issues such as high cholesterol, weight gain and the myriad of issues surrounding that. The concept of the feedlot is to limit their movements and give them unlimited access to high carbohydrate corn to fatten them up fast for slaughter... but the meat that is produced in such a manner is inferior to pasture raised animals. And you know the phrase..."you are what you eat".

3. Additionally, eating corn and grain causes the acid in their rumens to rise. Cows usually have a neutral pH level in their rumens, so that when they are slaughtered, any of the intestinal bacteria that may end up on the meat is easily handled by our more acidic stomach acids.  Now that most beef is grain fed, intestinal bacteria like E.Coli have flourished and can handle living in a higher pH and our stomach acids can't kill them... hence E.Coli outbreaks.

There are so many other issues with grain-fed Feedlot beef such as issues of animal welfare and environmental concerns regarding waste.  I don't remember the specific number but it was something like one feedlot produces as much waste as a city of 1.7 million people in a year.  It could be 1.7 billion people...  

If this subject intrigues you, I would encourage you to read Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver's books. I found them interesting and well written.  Here are their websites and one for the documentary King Corn, if you would like to investigate further.

http://www.michaelpollan.com/

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/cows.html

http://www.kingsolver.com/home/index.asp

A more eco-friendly birthday party

Last weekend we had Caroline's birthday and we decided to do it at the local nature center. They have a large barn and the staff runs a nature walk and crafts. It was perfect- Caroline loves being outside and doing crafts. I didn't have to have a whole bunch of kids running around my house and someone was entertaining them.  Seeing as it was at a nature center, I really wanted to make this party eco-friendly.  Eric made bread for PB&J sandwiches, we added some fruits and veggies for a lunch and he also made a cake  (soy and milk free so Claire could partake).  We brought cloth tablecloths, our own silver and used biodegradable plates.  To decorate, I had some potted Gerber Daisies and found biodegradable balloons. That last was an accidental find- who knew they made biodegradable balloons?

Anyway, the only trash we had from the party were some half-eaten pieces of cake and 10 flattened juices boxes and one gift wrap. Most of the girls brought gifts in gift bags, which we always regift. The rest I either washed or composted. 

  The best, though, was the party bags I made for each girl. I found a great pink dragonfly print (with sparkles) at Joann's Fabrics and I made the treat bags.  The girls really enjoyed them and each mom said that they would reuse them again.  They were super easy to make.  I bought 1 1/2 yards of 45 inch wide fabric- that was enough for 16 bags. (We didn't need that many, but I wanted to have some extra if someone showed up with a younger sibling or had not RSVPed).

This is what I did:

1. I folded the fabric length wise and cut down the middle, so I had 2 pieces of fabric 1 1/2 yards long, about 22.5 inches wide.

2. I them hemmed along the long sides of each fabric. I made sure the hem was wide enough to accommodate a ribbon for the draw-string. My hem was about 3/4 inch wide.

3. I then folded the hems together and then cut 6-7 inch wide bags. To make sure they were all the same size, I folded (the already folded) fabric in half the other way, keeping the hemmed sides together but bringing together the end pieces. I cut along this fold, and then folded each section in the same way and cut along that fold...

4. Once all my bags were cut, I sewed down each side starting at the hem, leaving room at the top for the drawstring.

The whole process took me about half an hour.  Here are some pictures of the bags...

One pictures the first section, where I hemmed along each length and the other is of the

 finished bags...

Another BPA article

Though I have written about BPA before, I thought I'd post a link to an article that my mother in law sent me. 

http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050200&ct=1

I do like the Thermos sippy cups, though they leak a little bit.  I will probably get a Klean Kantene soon and I will review compare the two.

Making Dresses for the girls

At last- a non-f00d, non-eco topic...

I have a new hobby... though I guess it was an old hobby that I fell in love with again. I have sewn as long as I can remember... I made Barbie dresses and dresses for my dolls.  When I got married, I made curtains and bedspreads.  I even tried once or twice to make a dress for Caroline. I had a machine that had a terrible problem with the bobbins... so I didn't sew as much.  When I got a new machine (an Elna 3500) several years ago (thanks to a birthday present from my aunt), I sewed more, but stuck with household items.

Lately, I was making nursing covers. And I was making one for my friend Sarah who was having her fourth child. When shopping for fabrics I found the Apples and Pears fabric and I felt I had to make something more than her nursing cover with it.  I didn't need any more curtains, so I decided to make dresses for the girls.  Claire's was first, it is tiered so it spins (she loves "spinning dresses" and she was with me when I found the fabric.  Caroline's came next. Since she was turning seven, I decided to make a more grown-up dress, and copied one she already had. Then I made pants and a skirt for Claire and Emma and appliqued t-shirts (the same friend Sarah being my inspiration) to match.  At this point, we were discussing flower girl dresses for my brother's  upcoming wedding. His fiancee had a beautiful, simple flower girl dress in mind. Ready to order, I hesitated... I could make the dress. And so I volunteered... I found a pattern, and made a practice dress for Emma. It was too big in the bodice and she hated it. (Despite the fact that she isn't even 1 1/2 yet- she has shown an obvious preference for more colorful and bold fabrics).  So, I made the last apple and pear dress in the same pattern as the flower girl dress, changing the bodice to a size 12 months and keeping the skirt in the size 24 months. And it is almost perfect.  She loves it... Caroline and Claire love theirs as well.  The best part- Caroline is outside sewing with a real needle, trying to make a skirt for her American doll.  Maybe in 10 years, we'll be making her prom dress together.

Here are some pics...

Matching pants and skirt with appliqued t-shirts...

The too big flower girl dress...

Same dress with the sash... she really did not like it!

The girls in their "matching" dresses... 

Emma's apples and pears dress. Same dress as the flower girl dress.. just different fabric!!

What is "green"? What works? What is just marketing? Where to find the answers

Have you noticed that many new hair products have "Sodium Lauryl Sulfate- Free" or "Paraben-Free" written on their bottles?  Now that Clorox has come out with its Green line, do you wonder whether to try these or other "green" products rather than use your old standby Tylex or Pine-sol? There are so  new many "eco" or "green" products out there that it is hard to figure out what is better, worth paying a bit more or whether to stick with what you know.  What threatens the environment and/or  poses a risk to you or your family's health and what is just marketing? I was and still am asking myself these questions and I came across a few resources I thought I'd write about.

I looked up Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Parabens on Wikipedia, and they didn't seem all to concerned. They acknowledged that there is controversy, but their articles weren't at all as in depth as the ones regarding the Bisphenol-A and Pthalates.  So I dug a little deeper.  I bought a book, checked one out of the library and found a couple of websites.  I won't reiterate everything I have read since it would take me about 500 pages. I will recommend the books:

Raising Baby Green, The Earth Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care by Alan Greene, M.D.

This book I recommend you borrow from the library or a friend.  It is simple and easily read, but it doesn't offer much in depth discussion of the topics.  It lists good ideas of how to live "green" but seems more focused on what you can do rather than on the why.  Why was one of my first words... I like to know why!! 

GreenGreenerGreenest- A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life by Lori Bongiorno.

This is a nice little book that is handy as a guide, it is printed on 100% Recycled Paper and printed with vegetable based ink.  I would recommend buying it as it does outline the problems and then  it lists the green, greener and greenest choices. It is small and could fit in a purse.  It is much better suited to someone who wants to understand the issues. Yet, its just under 300 pages, so a lot of it is condensed.  Still it gives a nice overview of the issues and good discussion on what you can do.

A great website is by National Geographic. It is called the www.GreenGuide.com.  This site has real science and is run by a reputed and known company.

This site had the best answer to my question about personal care products.  Both books discussed at different length the increase risk of cancer associated with the chemicals in these products, but not in any detail.  What I found at the greenguide.com is that while Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and parabens could potentially be cancerous, the real issues deal with formaldyhide and polyethelynes.  Sodium Lauryl Sulfates is grouped with the later and these compounds are can become contaminated with 1,4 dioxane which has caused liver cancer in mice.  Some other ingredients, such as diethanolamine and triethanolamine, can react with nitrites (preservatives) inside the shampoo bottle to form carcinogenic nitrosamines, which can be absorbed through the skin.  The list goes on and I would rather you check out the website than retype what is already well explained.

Another website that is good is called Skin Deep: www.cosmeticdatabase.com. There you can see how your personal care products rate in terms of safety and sometimes read reviews.

A third website you may be interested is by CHEC's HealtheHouse.  www.checnet.org/HealtheHouse/myehome/index.asp  You can take an online test and it will give you an analysis of the state (healthy or not) of your home.

My thought is this:  If I keep myself reasonably educated, I can make better decisions for my family.  When I buy any product more than once, I consider it an endorsement of the practices that the company selling the product employs.  So when I buy local, organic or something that is "eco", I do it for myself and my family, but I also think of a way to buy interest in the future. I am endorsing that company's way of doing things and voting against large companies who look only at the bottom line. 

Seventh Generation is a great company who develops ecologically responsible products. They also have a great webpage you should check out.

On the back of the Seventh Generation Dishwashing liquid they say that if:

"Every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 25 oz petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our (Seventh Generation's) vegetable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 4,600 U.S. homes for a year!"

I like this approach.  I can't afford to install solar panels, I still need to drive places, clean my house, etc so I try to do as much in the rest of my life to offset my carbon footprint and reduce my contribution to pollution and waste. If a product is non-toxic, biodegradable and can help offset my carbon footprint, I'll pay the roughly 50 cents more.  The more "natural" shampoos/ soaps are also more expensive, but precisely because they are I try to waste less. This helps offset their higher costs but also reminds me of how "expensive" household and personal care items often are.  Conventional items may be cheaper on the wallet, but for the most part have a higher environmental and health cost. 

So do I have any recommendations?  I haven't done any major product testing, but here are a few things I have tried and liked.

For household items:  I like Seventh Generations' stuff, but I haven't used Clorox yet.  Since Seventh Generation's company was founded on the principle of providing non-toxic and biodegradable products, like to support them by rather than Procter and Gamble (sorry Tom).

Also, I like Method's bathroom scrub (it comes in a cool bottle with a great sponge) and their toilet bowl cleaner.

For the laundry, I like soapnuts, and also Seventh Generation's laundry detergent.

For personal care:

Aside from Dr. Bronner's soap (now even available at Target) and vegetable based loosed soaps found at Wegmans' and a lot of natural foods stores,  I haven't yet hit the jackpot.  I really like the soaps, but I haven't yet found a shampoo/ conditioner that works for my hair... which is short, straight and fine, nothing too crazy! I am toying with trying the kids shampoo! If anyone knows of one that works well, please let me know.  

For the kids, I have found California Baby, which is great for Emma since not only does it not contain any of the chemicals listed above, but it is soy, gluten and dairy free.  Since she loves to suck on her wash cloth, she isn't getting any of those in her system and hurting her and also keeping us up at night. So far we have tried the baby wash/ shampoo and a cream that works wonders.

What next?  I would like to switch to biodegradable trash bags and freezer storage bags. If not biodegradable, at least made with recycled materials and without harmful chemicals. A post to come!  I will let you know what I find. So far I can't really afford the biobags at $5 for 12... but I am sure there will be some options sooner rather than later!

Monsanto, rBGH, RR corn, and Crop Shares

I have heard of Monsanto before, it is hard not to come across it when looking into food allergies and eating local and organic.  Today however, as I searched the internet about hot dogs and possible allergens, I came across more articles condemning Monsanto and its genetical modified organisms.  

First, let me explain, Monsanto is a biotech corporation, a huge multinational one at that.  It is the company that owns Round-Up as well as the company that developed Agent Orange and a host of pesticides and plastics.  It made the move from chemical company to agricultural biotech company slowly.  In the 1990s it developed a vaccine that helped increase milk production in cows (now knows and r-BGH- recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) and also genetically modified corn, soy and cotton.   What is amazing is how little we know about this and how infiltrated these items are in our foods.

I won't go into huge details, partly because it is above my science for non-science major course work, and partly because you can google and find all of the specifics just like I did.  Essentially, Monsanto has altered mostly corn, soy and cotton seeds in one of two ways.  Either they are considered Round-Up Ready (RR), meaning that they can withstand being sprayed by round-up, or they have been modified with a virus that attacks and paralyses the gut of the insects trying to eat any part of it.  If you think I am exaggerating, look it up for yourself!  Doctors associated with Allergykids.com argue that the increase in Asthma, Allergies, Autism and ADHD is directly correlated to the abundance of these GM foods in our diet.  

For example, the incidence of Milk Protein Allergy has increased so much that in 10 years (coinciding nicely with the introduction of r-BGH) it has become the #1 food allergen.  Also breast and prostate cancer rates have risen; I saw statistics that 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer...  the cows that are vaccinated with r-BGH have shown increase in infertility, birth defects, fetal loss on top of cases of Mastitis that led to greater use of antibiotics.

The correlation between antibiotics and intestinal issues is well established.  But intestinal issues and autoimmune disorders (most of which involve the gut) have also risen in recent years.  According to one site www.rhinebeckhealth.com/rhc/4-a%disorders.php, over the past two decades, Autism has increased 1500%, ADHD 400%, Asthma 300% and allergies 400%.

Most of these disorders are immune related and 70% of our immune system is associated with our intestinal tract. Consuming corn (or soy) that has been modified with a virus that causes gut paralysis in insects seems like it would lead to the increase gut disorders that we and our children are facing today. Most people have never heard of this, nor of Monsanto; it is not news headline material. Actually, two Fox News reporters where fired when they wanted to disclose all of this information.  Not knowing much about the case, I can only presume that Monsanto threatened Fox with a libel suit.

In any case, if there ever was an argument to eat more organically, locally grown foods, this is it! Aside from being obviously better and more sustainable for our planet, of course.  But if you think it will be easy just buying organic corn tortilla chips, think about all of the things that have high fructose corn syrup in them.  Even before this, I thought I was being good about avoiding it. We've made our own ketchup and chicken nuggets.... but neglected to make our own mayonnaise.  I can make mayonnaise, but fresh mayonnaise does not keep since it uses raw eggs.  So I have just bought hellman's or Krafts or Miracle Whip for sandwiches... one more thing to buy organic!

As for buying more locally grown foods, we are going to buy a crop share this year.  A few people I know have been doing this around here and it is great.  You can buy either 1/2 or a full share for somewhere between $250-$650 and you get fresh produce (and sometimes more, such as eggs) every week. They are usually organic or using organic practices and getting certification.  The eggs are usually free range and have not had antibiotics or hormones.  In the northeast they run from June through the end of October. Sometimes, you can also help at the farm and the cost of the share goes down.  You can check out localharvest.com and look for CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture).  They also list all of the farmers markets that are available in your area.  This way, you reduce your carbon footprint; the tomatoes or turnips or strawberries you eat have only traveled the distance from the farm to your house rather than from Chile or California. If you think your kids won't eat parsnips or turnips, think again. Claire likes them and so does Emma (AKA the child that lived off baby rice cereal, oatmeal and alphatots for months).  Caroline loved the pasta sauce I made with swiss chard. 

Of all the things I would buy organic, corn and corn products would be at the top, along with milk and meat. I don't buy soy, since Emma is so intolerant to it. And most soy milks are organic anyway. Usually, I try to buy all my fruits and vegetables as well.  Sometimes this is not possible, and it is expensive.  However, I find that we eat more healthy proportions when we think about the cost of food, which has benefited our waist lines as well!  We'll save on the number of "diets" and medicines we will take in the long run.

Making Paper- fun craft for kids

I can't believe its been a month since my last post!!  Life moves quickly!  At the end of February Caroline had a science and art fair. So, to bridge the two we decided to make recycled paper. I remembered doing it in art class as a child... Caroline really enjoyed it and was very proud of her project at the fair. Essentially, there are a few steps:

1. tear the paper (we used tissue paper- but any would do)

2. Put in the blender along with some water, blend and make pulp.  You'll have to repeat this step several times.

3. Fill a basin or sink with the water/pulp mixture.

4. Take a screen that you have stapled onto an old picture frame and place it in the basin or sink. Swish it around until the pulp is evenly distributed.

5. Remove the screen with the pulp from the basin, and place a piece of cloth (cut to the size of your frame- We used left over fabric from an old project).  PLace it over the pulp and carefuly flip the screen over onto a tray or cookie sheet.

6. Take a sponge and dab it all over the flipped over screen.  Absorb as much water as you can. 

7. Slowly remove the screen, leaving the pulp onto the piece of cloth.

8. Lay the pulp covered cloths on a flat surface to dry overnight.  I placed ours next to the heater in our laundry room.

Banana Oat Muffins- Wheat, Soy, Milk and Egg free

Today we hosted a playgroup and I wanted to make some muffins that all the kids could eat- including Emma and another toddler who was allergic to egg and milk. So I got out the mini-muffin tin again and Claire helped me make these muffins. This recipe makes about 30 mini muffins. At the end of playgroup there were 3 left. I am not sure I would say they are the best, but the kids liked them and Emma could eat them as well.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/3 cup oat flour

1/3 cup rice flour (or ommit the rice and make it 1 2/3 cups oats)
2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer (or 1 egg)
1/4 cup of water
2 tsp baking powder
2 bananas (ripe)
1/3 cups oatmeal (preferable not the quick cooking kind)


1. Beat the oil and sugar together.
2. Add the dry ingredients (except oats), mix using the blender
3. Add the water and the bananas, mix using the blender again
4. Add the oatmeal, stir.

Place about a tablespoon or so in each of the mini-muffin cups and bake at 350 until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (about 15 minutes.... sorry I forgot to keep track of the time!)

Trying to get to a 1 trash bag a week... cloth diapers and hankies

This week was Claire's birthday and we of course had a birthday party for her. This time we did not use paper or plastic cups, silverware or tablecloths. It seemed silly to be doing cloth diapers and then going and buying $20 worth of of paper or plastic party wear when I had plenty of dishes and tablecloths to go around. I did also have some biodegradeable bowls I had left over from last year's party that we used for the chili and some cake. Since we are moving in a few months, it seemed silly not to use them. We emptied their contents and threw the bowls into the composter. In any case...not a single dish was broken. I did cheat and used juice boxes... I hesitated but then thought that they were less likely to spill those since 11 kids plus babies running around tend to spill things.

It has occured to us (Eric and I) how much of a convenience-centered, throw-away society we live in. Everything is disposable... diapers, dishes, napkins, mop heads, cleaning products... etc. We spend alot of money on those products just to save a few minutes of maintenance. And the landfills grow daily. Last fall, the girls and I took a tour of the local garbage dump and recycling center. If I remember correctly, 17 tractor trailers of garbage leave their facility DAILY. Our town is not that big.... So Eric and I are shooting for having 1 garbage bag a week.

Sadly, we failed this week. We'll try again next week. Between the birthday party, cleaning out our house to get it ready to sell and finally admitting that the kids' toy chairs were beyong repair, we ended up with at least 4 trash bags and the chairs on the side of the road. But we should not have more than 1 trash bag... we recycle, we compost, we use cloth diapers and wipes, and I try to buy our dry goods from the bulk bins and in doing so, reusing the containers. Still, we have never had just 1 trash bag a week.

This is where I am going to make a plug for both cloth diapers and hankerchiefs. I love both and they really aren't that gross. Lets talk about the hankies briefly... the girls love them since I found some very pretty ones on ebay and had some cute ones (hello kitty) from when I was a little girl. They carry them around with them all day and drop them in the hamper at night. I used to find nasty kleenexes all over the house and the dog would eat them and then I'd have to pooper scoop them. Now, I don't. They just get dumped into the wash. I don't bother ironing them. Also, they don't rip and leak or ooze. The contain the mess quite nicely. If you don't have any hankies, check them out on e-bay. They are usually $1 or so for 2-3 and about that much for shipping.

Cloth diapers.... many of my friends and family thought I was insane to try cloth diapering. The only way I talked Eric into it was using pure economics. I spent $400 for 2-3 years worth of diapering. I had to practically sign a contract stating that once I purchased the BumGenuis 2.0 diapers at $18 a piece, I would use them until potty training. Eric now wishes we had used them for all of the girls. He HAS done his share of the diaper laundry and does not hesitate to change a diaper. He tells any one that this is the way to go. First of all, it is much better for the environment... we don't use that much more water. We are billed on a 3 month cycle. I checked our water bill and for the 3 months prior to Emma's birth our usage was 12. The three months before that was 10. After that our usage has stayed in the 9-12 range. I am not sure exactly how much water that is, the number simply reflects changes in our meter. Now I use soap nuts (see my entry form earlier this month- but I LOVE them) and so I don't even put chemicals in the water.

Second, the chlorine and absorbent materials they put in disposables aren't that healthy. Studies have shown that they contain dioxin which in much higher dosages is a known carcinongen. You can buy some that are chlorine free. My friend uses 7th Generation ones and they don't leak for her little girl. We used 1/2 a pack when we traveled to Belgium for the airplane ride and they worked really well. I still prefered the cloth diapers, though.

I like the cloth diapers because I can adjust the absorbency. First, you should know that I use what are called Pocket Diapers. The outside is made of a waterproofed polyester and the inside is made of a micro fleece. (Not very biodegradable- I know- but at least I'll only throw away 24- and one of my siblings will probably use them for their kids before that happens). The fleece is great since it lets the urine through to be absorbed by the insert, but at the same times prevents it from coming into contact with the babies bottom. They fasten with velcro, but have a pocket in which you stuff an absorbent insert. I have hemp and micro terry inserts. At night, I use 2 inserts. The double stuffed diaper is bulky, but Emma doesn't seem to mind since she is only sleeping. She actually doesn't seem to mind at all since she walks around the house before going to bed. With just one insert the diapers last about 3-4 hours. The key to keeping that absorbency is to wash them with the smallest amount of detergent or even better, using the soapnuts. Once they have detergent build-up, they leak. Sometimes adding a water softener (like Calgon) to the wash helps, but I have not had to do this since I started using the soapnuts. Did I say I loved Soap Nuts!?!

As for the grossness factor... I can't be the judge of your tolerance... but I presume you do wipe your baby's bottom, and so in a way are already handling the BMs. Once Emma started to eat solids (and stopped eating Soy, Wheat and Milk products) I was able to shake the BMs into the toilet. There were many months when this was not possible... and everything went into the wash. I wash the diapers 2x, once on cold and then once on hot. My washing machine is no worse for the wear. I use gloves and then wash my hands with the gloves still on to clean them. I wash my hands again, just to be sure. At some point you need to separate the insert from the rest of the diaper. I used to do it as soon as I took it off of her, but now I just do the separating in front of the laundry machine.

Another thing, I bought one size fits all diapers that fit 8lbs-35lbs. For a while, when Emma was still a newborn, Claire wore them at night (as an almost 3 year old that weighed about 31lbs) . So both my kids, 2 years 9 months apart, used the same diapers at the same time. I didn't need to worry about sizes or running to the store. As long as I do diaper laundry every 2-3 days, we have diapers.

You can find out more about cloth diapers and read reviews on different brands at http://www.diaperpin.com/. I bought the BumGenuis 2.0 from http://www.cottonbabies.com/. They made the adjustment from disposable to cloth really easy. I have since checked and they have made a 3.0 version, which is almost identical but has some minor improvements that seem to be more helpful for boys than girls (they added a waterproof strip on the top of the inside so that ther would be no leaks coming out the top- we have never had that issue). Some people swear by Fuzzi Bunz or Happy Heinys. I didn't want those since I don't want to buy multiple sizes. Now, I think I could handle most cloth diapering systems (including pre-folds, which is what most of us think of typically when we say "cloth diapers"). Though Prefolds are by far the cheapest diapering option, I still think $400 for 2-3 years of diapering isn't at all bad!

Here are some early pics of Emma in her BumGenius diapers... she was about 3-4 weeks old and maybe 9-10lbs. These are the green ones, but we also have pink, yellow and blue.

Below are some pictures I took of Emma today, wearing the same diaper... in pink. She is now 15 months old and just under 21lbs. She is on the move!

Homemade Chicken/ Turkey Nuggets

Saturday, I decided to try my hand at homemade nuggets in the hopes of getting Emma to eat some meat. She liked Ian's allergy-free chicken nuggets, but they are super expensive (almost $5 for 16 tiny things) and I am trying to have the girls eat the same things. So, I decided to make my own so that all my kids could eat them. Also, I am trying to avoid buying too many processed foods. Making them myself also allows me to control the ingredients and use organic and/or locally grown meat and remove corn syrup. Also, I could use olive oil instead of a soy oil blend, since Emma doesn't tolerate soy, at all.

You could just as easily subsitute regular wheat flour instead of oat flour and feel free to add veggies to the meat puree. The concept behind homemade nuggets is rather simple: puree the raw meat in the food processor, add a few spices (and veggies if you so desire) make little balls out of the puree. Then dip the pureed meat balls in flour, then egg, then flour. Fry in a sauce pan with 1 1/2 cups or so of oil. Nuggets are just glorified meatballs that are fried and tend to be made with chicken or turkey rather than beef.

This time, I used ground turkey and oat flour, so they were slightly darker. I also added a raw carrot. Claire and Emma liked them but Caroline refused to eat them. This is rather atypical of Caroline- she is usually the easiest kid to feed, but she wasn't feeling 100%. Also, she doesn't typically eat that many chicken nuggets since she eats lunch at school. Claire has them once a week at least, so I really wanted to make them healthier for her.

Once they are cooked, you could freeze them... I would have, but they are all gone. To freeze them you could place them on a cookie sheet, cover them with wax paper and stick it in the freezer for an hour or so and them place them in a bag or other storage container.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast (or about 1 lb of ground turkey, chopped pork, etc)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp EACH of parsley and oregano,
1/4 tsp Each of Pepper and onion powder
1/4 vegetable of choice (carrots, broccoli, etc)- This is optional, but a good way to sneak some veggies.

2 Eggs- beaten (to dip)
1 cup or so of flour (I used Oat flour, but you could mix oat and rice and/ or add some corn meal for texture)
about 1 1/2 cups of oil

1. Heat oil in a heavy duty skillet or sauce pan on medium-high heat while preparing the nuggets.

2. Cube meat (chicken, turkey or pork)- skip this if you already have ground meat

3. Place meat, spices and vegetable (if using) into a food processor and blend until it is a fine paste.

4. Place the flour on a large plate and the eggs in a small bowl, ready to work with.

5. Roll the chicken/ turkey/ meat paste into 30 or so small balls (smaller than golf balls- the smaller the easier they are for a toddler)

6. Roll the chicken balls into the flour, then the egg and then the flour again. Press the ball down to make a nugget. Repeat with the rest of the chicken/meat paste.

7. Test the oil to see if it is ready. To do this, sprinkle a bit of flour into the oil. If it bubbles quickly and right away, the oil is ready. Place as many of the little balls as possible into the pan. Fry until the bottoms are golden and then turn and fry again. Each side will t ake about 4-5 minutes.

8. Remove the nuggets from the oil and place them on a towel lined plate.

9. Enjoy. They are great with some homemade ketchup!

Emma's Oat Pancakes (wheat, milk and soy free)

I am sure its hard to be a toddler, looking at your big sisters digging into a stack of Daddy's homemade pancakes and not being able to eat some because of food allergies/ intolerances. So, Eric came up with a pancake recipe for Emma. Since she does not have celiac's, she can tolerate oats.... this is a small recipe, it makes about 5 silver dollar sized toddler pancakes.

3 Tablespoons Rice Milk (I am sure regular milk or soy would work if you weren't allergic)
3 Tablespoons Oat Flour*
1/4 tsp Baking POwder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp sugar
little dash of salt
1/2 egg replacer (Ener-G)- though if need be 1/2 egg would work as well. We still have a huge box since she initially tested slightly positive for egg allergy. If you were making scrambled eggs, you could use part of that- then mix it in with the milk.

1. Mix dry ingredients
2. Add the milk
3. Let sit for 5 minutes
4. Cook as you would other pancakes

These pancakes aren't super light and flufffy and have a slightly nutty flavor... but they pass the toddler test! And they are among the limited amounts of non-fruit food items that go into Emma's mouth!

* I found that buying the oat flour from the bulk bins tends to be much cheaper than the fancy packaged kind in the organic/ gluten free section. That is the same for most specialty flours. In order to save on packaging and to get the amount I need, I have been buying lots of things in the bulk dry foods section: raisins, chocolate chips, dried currants, oats and quick oats. Wegman's section is in the organic food area and most everything is organic... which is a bonus. I also found a natural health food store that sells similar dry goods in bulk. You could bring your containers back and reuse them. Some stores have paper bags that are available and you could compost those.

A bit more about BPA in plastics....

Not to sound alarmist... but yesterday, Eric mentioned to one of our neighbors (who happens to have a PhD in chemistry) that we were concerned about plastics and asked if all the hype was true. He gave Eric a brief description of the history and to sum it all up... it is true and it is scary. He added that the plastics also emit these chemicals into the air and atmosphere. Studies have shown that seals living in the poles (north and south) have higher concentrations of it. I then decided to check it out on Wikipedia, if you'd like I've linked the article.

Here is the article...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A


To summurize it briefly and (without plagiarizing!)
Studies in laboratory animals have linked variying levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) to the following conditions:

Permanent changes to genital tract
Changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to hormones and carcinogens
30% increase in prostate mass
Signs of early puberty
Decline in testicular testosterone
Breast cells predisposed to cancer
Prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer
Insulin resistance
Decreased maternal behavior
Damage to eggs and chromosomes
Hyperactivity
Reversal of normal sex difference in brain structure

BPA is in many things, many of which are not food related, such as polyesters and PVC and is used as an antioxidant in food and cosmetics. BPA has been known to leach out of the plastic lining in some canned goods and from polycarbonate plastic containers after they have been used to contain high-temperature and highly acidic foods or cleaned with harsh detergents. First of all, I didn't realize that some cans are lined with plastic! One way to identify whether or not there is BPA in your plastic is to look at the recycle code at the bottom. Generally those labeled 2, 4 and 5 are considered safe. Those with 1,3,6 and 7 are not, 7 being the one that typically has the highest levels of BPA.

But here is another scary statistic: those people found with the highest concentrations... scarily enough are bottle fed infants as they consume most of their formula by way of plastic bottles that contain BPA. Liquid Formula cans are among the types of cans lined with plastics that leach BPA. Some infants consuming the liquid formulas can get up to 13 µg/kg/day, doses that in animals have been shown to have some of the effects listed above. If you use formula to feed your baby, try to avoid using the canned liquid kind and use glass bottles or ones that are BPA free.

Of all of this is in the wikipedia article. Again, only animal studies have been done, so this information isn't conclusive... but we decided that it really wasn't worth the chance to wait until scientists figure it all out. They have known since the 193os that BPA has had effects on the female reproductive system. They called it an "estrogen receptor antagonist". In any cases there also links to it in regards to cancer.

We have already gotten rid of most of our plastic food related items, as much as we can (the thermos sippy cups have plastic lids, though they are BPA free) and I think I'll be checking into wax paper as an alternate to Saran Wrap.

One more note: Some other dangerous chemicals commonly found in plastics, mostly vinyl and PVC, are called phthalates. (That "New" car smell... those are phthalates leaking into the air). Researchers have found that many baby care products contain certain phthalates that may lead to developmental and reproductive toxicity in infants. Such baby care products include soaps and lotions and shampoos. Additionally soft vinyl toys also contain phthalates (add that to the recent "Made in China" scare...) Again, a wikipedia article discusses this and you could google it and find out more for yourself. I think I will be a wiser consumer from now on, less plastic will come into our house and some things will just not make the next move.

A second thought: After re-reading this post, I thought it sounded a bit soap-boxish. I can't imagine life totally without plastic- I'd have no computer, vaccuum, refridgerator (and all other house-hold appliances for that matter). I still think though that we need to be aware of what we are putting into the environment and into our bodies. I am going to be a wiser consumer when it comes to food and body products and the containers they comes in. I am still in shock after having read that article. I didn't realize to what extent it already had been studied and how these chemicals are in so many things. I probably won't be posting too many posts like this one (not a very happy blog!!)... but I just had to talk about it since it was so surprising to me.