Organic milk. Is it worth it?

Every week I stand in front of the dairy section and debate my kids' health.   Is paying $5.99 for a gallon of organic milk versus $3.29 for a gallon of Trader Joe's no-Rbgh milk going to save them or haunt me years from now?
Here's a great break down from Healthy Child Healthy World on all the reasons I feel guilty when I walk out of the store and why tomorrow they'll be getting organic again.  (PS I never get it for myself, but why not when I am nursing?

No Poo - Am I brave enough?

For the past year I've treaded the "No Poo" waters...
It might be time to dive in.
Here are a few of the fabulous posts I'm visiting and re-visiting to build up my courage.
Want to join me on my swim into the world of No Poo?

BabySlime - a great break down on "fixes" as well

SimpleMom -  has short hair like me. (note - this is not me =)
Kitchen Stewardship -  my life wouldn't be the same without Katie and her tireless research into all things green and important to me now =)

Hyland's BellaDonna

I recently went to Rainbow Acres, a local health food store, and found a homeopathic fever and inflammation tablet from Hyland's.  They make the teething tablets that I told you about before.  I was amazed at how many products they have (Hyland's).  They even have a tablet for nausea and vomiting....hmmm...maybe I could have a fourth child after all...
Here's a link from Amazon.  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=hylands+belladonna&x=0&y=0
I just couldn't stomach getting back into bed with Tylenol after the recalls...
Happy Weekend!

Free Shipping on CleanWell

CleanWell is having a free shipping offer! Don't miss it.  If you're not sure why to get it, read this previous post heralding the product =)
Enjoy!

Here's the info:

"It's summer time - you've got your flip flops on and you're ready to get out and explore. Those outdoor adventures might make your feet more than just tired. New York Magazine's Summer Beauty Survival Guide recommends CleanWell wipes when your exposed dogs need a little refresh!


Use discount code "shipsummer" at our webstore and you can easily take us along on picnics, beach outings, wading in the creek, and on family BBQs!

• Kills 99.99% of germs

• No Alcohol

• No Triclosan

• Kids safe formula

• Safe for sensitive skin

• Never tested on animals


Clean feet AND clean hands! Remember enter discount code "shipsummer" at checkout! Good until midnight July 1, 2010.

A lean, mean, green smoothie drinkin' machine! Or "Can I do this without a VitaMix b/c I'd rather spend $300 on a Silhouette?"

I've had this link on my favorites menu for ages and with my ADD setting in tonight, I decided to check out what other food ideas I want to try with the kids this summer instead of making my 4th batch of strawberry jam.

I know this one is going to be at the top of my list and the bottom of the boys'.  This Green Smoothie from Happy Foody.    My friend KDGW impresses me every day...most recently b/c she claims states that her kids will drink whatever veggies are left from that week's CSA box.  How nice.  My kids eat their veggies, but I doubt I could convince them to drink anything that's not white and starts with an "m."

At KDGW's Mother's Day gathering, her sil also claimed touted the amazingness of a smoothie-a-day in her three's diet.  At the risk of using too much of our CSA greens in yet, another, salad (please, no) I'm going to test out their exaggerated state of happiness claims and see if it can indeed produce the same results here at the P Ranch.

Here's my shopping list for this coming weekend's test run.  (i.e., Mr. P get ready to drink the leftovers)

Frozen bananas
Whole peeled orange
Fresh pineapple
just enough water to blend it at this point

and finally...

Baby spinach (She also recommends swiss chard, mustard greens or romaine).  I tried this in my first batch and obviously put tooooo much greena bit of sweetener, like Stevia

I don't have a VitaMix but she did recommend blending it for 2-3 minutes.  Green smoothies shouldn't have chunks...20/20 hindsight, right?



Note - wide straw helps the kiddos...

She says that, "Adding a green smoothie to your day is the BEST thing you can do to get on the path to a healthier you. When you drink a big green smoothie in the morning, it fills your body’s need for those vital nutrients to function throughout the day. You will slowly STOP CRAVING junk food."


I'll drink to that...

Free bottle of Safe and Effective Cough Syrup

Zarbee's is giving you a free bottle of their Honey Natural Children's Cough Syrup if you post on their Facebook page or email them a picture of your recalled Tylenol or Motrin. You know you probably had 5 of them, but they're all tossed now...no worries at $9.95 a bottle, trying something new and safe won't break the bank, especially if you factor in the cost of peace of mind after all the problems with Tylenol the past year.

I signed up for the bottle swap, but couldn't wait long enough to see it supplies were still available, so I jumped the gun and ordered a bottle for myself and a bottle for a friend whose kids are frequently sick. Although my kids don't get coughs that much during Spring and Summer, I know we'll put this bottle to good use before it's 2011 exp. date.

My Mommy&Me class has been brainstorming other safe remedies for fever....let's hope Zarbee's gets the memo.

I'll let you know when we use it for the first time!

Healthy personal care products for babies and kids

Great list for starters =) from Healthy Child, Healthy World. My online BFF. You should also check your products for these hazardous ingredients.

Brusha!

Took the two little ones to Target today and did major damage. But not to my boys' teeth. As we strolled up and down the aisle, Spike gnawed away on an apple. I was so proud of myself for grabbing that snack on the way out and not relying on the Annie's Bunny Snacks that I knew were in the diaper bag.

Spike was very helpful and picked out a new toothbrush for himself and each of his brothers. Up until now, I've been getting the Oral B Stages brushes because I know they are BPA free.

Inhabitots has a great review of eco-friendly and safe brushes and I think I'm going to take the Preserve route once and for all. They sparkle at me from the Trader Joe's aisles, but I love the idea of a ToothBrush Subscription plan that the boys can look forward to getting in the mail. The price isn't too far off from what I paid today for the Oral B and we're helping the planet keep cavities away too =)

If you want some fun toothbrush songs and a chart to help them (and you) remember to brush twice a day, check this out. We sing ours during breakfast and I make up silly ones while they're actually brushing.

As for toothpaste, we use Tom's of Maine for Mr. P and I and Weleda Children's Gel for the kiddies. I've actually caught Mr. P using it too =)

Toxic America

The Hubsters hadn't seen Food, Inc. yet so we watched it last night while dining. Thank goodness we didn't have chicken...
I'm really happy to see that the toxic bandwagon is getting bigger. Less people are calling me crazy lately...
You may want to know what's in your stuff too. Check out this special on CNN tomorrow and Thursday nights. Great site for information too. Let's hope Sanjay doesn't goof this one up though, like he did when he called Dementia a form of Alzheimer's...

TruKid Rocks! Coupon code too!

In this previous post, I heralded the wonders of TruKid's products. Since ordering a lifetime supply of their Sunny Days sunscreen, I've also added the chapstick, the HeroStick, Happy Face and Body Lotion, Friendly Face Wash and the Bubbly Body Wash. Is there anything else to order?
Oh, yea, the conditioner and shampoo. The former of which I desperately needed until I donated my hair...but should order anyways. But I digress...

While patiently awaiting my order, I received a message on our machine from some girl named Jennifer who was calling about a problem with the security code on my credit card. A day or two later I got around to calling back and she answered the line. I assumed she was some college student working in their shipping department to avoid pole dancing and we casually chatted.

Now picture my jaw dropping to the floor as she mentions that one of her 6 kids is playing on the ground as she's taking my order. A nanosecond passes and my brain realizes that I am talking to none other than THE Jennifer, my ProductCrush, the creator of TruKid.

Holy Moley - she probably obtained the restraining order the next day. I could not STOP thanking her for calling me herself, for creating such a wonderful line of trustworthy products and finally, for giving me a 20% off orders of $25 or more to share with ALL MY FRIENDS.

That means you. So use the money you save to donate to my legal defense fund when I'm arrested for stalking this amazing woman.

Oh, the code. PICK20. That's right. My new BFF loves me so much that she put part of my name in the code.

Wonderfully complete wheat-free grocery list

Monica at HealthyGreenMoms recently shared a terrific wheat-free friendly grocery list. Check it out and subscribe to the blog cause you know you will want to after this!

In her words,

"One major key to healthy nutrition is to eat food as close as possible to it’s original state. Simple Real Food. Food we recognize and ingredients we understand. My grocery list is pretty simple. Notably absent are products made with corn, soy and wheat – this also includes avoiding products that use these ingredients as livestock feed – organic or not! If it makes the animals sick, why would I eat it? We rely as much as possible on local suppliers and ask a lot of questions. If I were to describe our meals these days? Real foods, local fresh foods, organic, wheat free, reduced dairy, 50% raw and cooked from scratch."

Here at the P house, we're not wheat-free but I am aiming for simple real food as often as I can. Realistically, Mama loves her some carbs. But the ease of this list and the mere organization of it along with the fact that someone else typed it up and it reminds me of what all is available to my family all equal brilliance in my book.

Bless the beasts, the children and Monica.

30% off my favorite hand sanitizer!

I blogged about CleanWell a few weeks ago.
Lucky us! They're offering 30% off their products until Monday, April 23rd. Just enter code ED10 (as in Earth Day 2010).

Shipping is reasonable and I compared their prices with the discount to ordering off amazon.com and direct from CW is the way to go.

Best parts: alcohol free, safe for kids, leaves hands soft, fresh citrus scent, safe for sensitive skin, easy to use flip-top, never tested on animals.

CleanWell is all natural and non-toxic. It is made from rapidly renewable botanical sources and is part of a sustainable solution.

Now we're all stocked up on hand soap and sanitizer until Earth Day 2011!

I can't wait to try the new Orange Vanilla "sprinkles" (as the boys and I call it). Maybe this will help Mr. P stop moaning that our car smells like CleanWell all the time =)

Eat this one up soon....

It's a thought...National TV Turnoff Week 2010

Start with just one night =)
My kids think that tv is for UCLA sports and nothing else!
For links and stats that make you sad, click here

Get outside people!

Entrance fees will be waived at all 392 national parks April 17-25 for National Park Week.
Details

Interesting article about mothers' influence on daughter's eating habits

Quick but important read here

"Food is never just food. Food is love. Food is solace. It is politics. It is religion. And if that’s not enough to heap on your dinner plate each night, food is also, especially for mothers, the instant-read measure of our parenting. We are not only what we eat, we are what we feed our children. So here in Berkeley — where a preoccupation with locally grown, organic, sustainable agriculture is presumed — the mom who strolls the farmers’ markets can feel superior to the one who buys pesticide-free produce trucked in from Mexico, who can, in turn, lord it over the one who stoops to conventionally grown carrots (though the folks who grow their own trump us all). Let it slip that you took the kids to McDonald’s, and watch how fast those play dates dry up. "

Orange you glad you eat well?!

Ever since starting the CSA, I've had a new interest in making dinner. My mom worked full-time and still had the energy to put a four-course meal on the table every night. I loved eating her pasta sugu, her porkchops, stuffed artichokes and especially Breakfast-for-Dinner! I hated that she wouldn't let me drink my glass of milk until I was all finished with it, but I loved the majority of what she made. Except beef stroganoff. Yuck.

When I moved into an apartment with roommates in college, we set up a system where we each cooked for the 4 of us one week-night and didn't have to worry about anything but eating the other 3 nights of the week. Sweet!

Sour. Well, sheepishly sweet for me, but probably still sour for them. Their moms all stayed home with them while they were young and, for the most part, cooked from scratch. So did mine, but she still had a realistic relationship with Hamburger Helper.

(Our "Orange" meal from last week. We hit all the food groups - even had an orange jelly bean to show how little sweets we "need."

So one of my first presentations for my dinner debut was just that. Cheeseburger Macaroni. To this day, they tease me about how, um, healthy, and happy that meal was. I think 2 of them had never heard of Hamburger Helper. Or Pop Tarts.

For my birthday that year, they presented me with a hand-made cookbook with all their recipes written out on cards along with memorable quotes of our year together. I treasure that book. For the memories it brings, but also for the dinner ideas and simple ways to make something special for your family. Recipes calling for 5-7 ingredients and not a little time. I've added my favorites from my mom as well as a few from my mother-in-law and some close friends.

When I started cooking for Mr. P, I was so excited to use some of these recipes. He ate them. He also started insisting on cooking more and serving less. I didn't get his new obsessions with portion controls. And who doesn't want applesauce and a starch with their meal? My mom was an expert at providing a healthy-balanced dinner so I assumed I had to do the same. How dare Mr. P risk his health and my ego but refusing his carbs?

When I got pregnant with our first son, he started eating less of what I made, I started throwing up more of what I made and my cooking days were numbered. Mr. P gladly took over (for various reasons) and I let him. Happily. I'm embarrassingly admitting that up until last year, I probably cooked once or twice a month for almost 3 years...toddlers don't require "cooking" and most of my vegetables were frozen from Trader Joe's. Not unhealthy.

Enter the preschooler, the husband who isn't available to cook and time. Well, I don't have more time, just more motivation. I have two real eaters in the house now, besides myself and $15 a week going towards the most deliciously fresh picked vegetables in Orange County.

Even I am blown away by all that I've conquered in the past 3 months - kale, bok choy, swiss chard. The list goes on and on. So does my receipt from Trader Joe's where I do 99% of our shopping now. I cook with fresh ingredients, often using a "starter" from TJ's (whole grain mix, turkey meatballs, etc.) Lunch is rarely PB and J and can even be handfuls of samplings from each food group.

We've been talking every day about the 5 food groups and "eating a rainbow" each day. Something that I have taught first graders for over a decade but didn't take to heart until I was teaching it to and feeding it to my own precious boys. When the CSA box comes each week, I let them sit on the kitchen counter and help me sort, wash and chop up the "vegetibles" as Curly calls them. We've been to the farm twice, most recently for a strawberry tour. This past week, Curly asked me if we were adding "green onions" to our lunch as he pulled them out of the fridge! Green onions! My kid knows what a green onion is! Jamie Oliver would be proud! (Love that show, by the way. SO inspiring).

I also put handouts in a clear, plastic sleeve and we cross them off with a dry-erase marker each night. This one from MyPyramid.gov will personalize it based upon your child's weight, height and age. Brilliant. Here's another one.

The boys are benefitting and so am I. Healthier eating and a healthier relationship with food for a healthier LONG life.

Won't their roommates LOVE me? =)

Sunny Days are here again!

I'm so excited! I've been waiting patiently for my favorite kids' sunscreen to be re-released. It was so popular that it sold out everywhere. Then it was being re-formulated with a Winter 2009 delivery date.

Waiting...
Update: Spring 2010 =(
Waiting...worth the wait, but anxiously trying other products in the mean time...
April 8th! As in two days ago? Sweet!
Order placed for two!

What is this fantastically-smelling, smoothly-spreading, sun-blocking sweetness? TruKid's Sunny Days SPF 30+.

We used it all last summer and the globby stuff I found in the meantime was a far inferior second, but it did achieve paleness like only kids of mine can.

AND...I found a coupon online - "JSMA" gets you 50% off orders of $25 or more.
AND...they throw in a bottle of their Friendly Face Wash if you select FedEx Home Delivery, which was only $2 more than USPS delivery for me, so why not?

I got a free bottle of Friendly Face Wash when I posted a review for them on Yelp! No need to sway me with the swag - I wholeheartedly support this product and this wonderful mother of 6's mission to support charities in the Bay Area. (6 kids!) She did the research and development so that we don't have to =)

They've also got a cute TruKid songs page to promote healthy habits.

From their website:

TruKid products are BPA and Phthalate free! We make safe products that families can feel good about; our certified organic and natural ingredients are always SLS, paraben, 1-4 Dioxane and Gluten-free!

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has awarded TruKid's entire line the safety rating of 0-3! THE SAFEST RATING of all kid's skin care lines!

Can't beat that! Eat this one up - coupon expires 4/15/10.

Prepare to be queasy, but avoiding it all is easy...=)

Don't read this article about germs while multi-tasking at email and eating your lunch..

I'm a germaphobe of the highest degree. My kids know what to do when I spray their hands with "Sprinkles" i.e., CleanWell. I have bottles of it in both cars, all diaper bags, my wallet tote and individual wipes stashed in every crevice.

Why? Because I've been a teacher for almost 10 years and I've seen it all?

No.

Because I had younger brothers and I've seen it all?

No.

Because I'm a mom of three boys and I've seen it all?

No.

Because I've had my dogs crap in the house and I've seen it all?

No.

All of the above, frankly, but most importantly I have a vivid imagination tossed in with my OCD.

I was the first person to toss my paper towel on the floor outside the restroom door because I used it to touch the handle when exiting. I've been squatting over toilet seats since the mid-80's. I clean, spray, re-spray, wash, wipe, re-spray, wash my hands so much that during the winter, they crack and bleed.

I hate germs. I hate my germs and other people's germs. I hate your germs.

Sorry. I can only imagine where your hands have been or more where they've touched and the unsanitary habits of the person who touched that before you. No offense.

My kids don't go in sandboxes unless I'm drunk. At the park. And if they do, I hose them down with CleanWell for 30 minutes afterward. Kidding. Sort of.

Am I neurotic about it? Yes. Am I healthier than the average bear? Yes. And so are my kids. Is it all a crapshoot? Maybe. But I'm not taking that chance with RandomGuy's fecal matter. Are you?

By the way, the cafeteria and drinking water spout rating doesn't surprise me. There is a fountain right next to the door of my classroom and the germs wave at me as I pass. If you want to make friends with these creatures, be my guest. But don't come over to my house for a playdate.

Dying over dyes.

The timing of this couldn't be more perfect! I have our Easter Egg dye kit out on the desk (after the fact) because I wanted to check the Food Coloring #'s to see if I had just poisoned my children in my pursuit of some hide-n-seek fun...

Healthy Child Healthy World has a fabulous article about the dangers and unknown secrets behind artificial food dyes.

Last Easter I saved lots of links to natural dyes thinking that THIS Easter I would be a better mother. One thing led to another and there we were, friend and her 2 kiddos present, looking for something to entertain the kids. With Daddy unable to join us for Easter this year, I figured that last thing I'd manage was juicing my frozen blueberries so I picked up the PAAS Color Cups kit.

Image courtesy of PAAS


Naturally, I started to second guess myself when the kids' fingers were still green two days later..

Thanks to this article, I can see that the 5 dyes listed on the back of the Food Color Tablets package: Blue #1 and #2, Yellow #5 and #6 along with Red #3 are all bad. Very bad? "Avoid" or "Caution" aren't the terms you like to read after you put Green Fingers and Blue Thumb to bed, are they?

Now that I've scared you, here's the link I saved last year to the Natural Dying we'll be doing for the rest of our short, chemically-shortened lives.

BIG CRUMBS - you have to bookmark this site: The Food and Food Coloring Database! Check it out and see why...

You Know You Deserve It

SpaFinder's Deal Days is back! Think DineLA but with your body and not your taste buds.

March 8th - March 14th ONLY $50 gets you a variety of 50-minute treatments from participating spas nationwide. Yes, for just $50 each. "You will be able to choose a sampling of a variety of treatments, like a mini facial and mini massage or a manicure and pedicure combination, or full 50-minute treatments such as facial, massage, pedicure, or body treatment. Spas with medical treatments will be offering laser hair removal, and dental spas will be offering teeth whitening."

$50.

Yes, just $50. That's like a dollar a minute. You KNOW you are worth more than that, but you can justify that at least once.

Besides, your toddler charges more to walk on your back and the spit-up mask the baby gave you last night clogged your pores.

Click here to sign up for email notices starting Feb. 26th.

Eat this one up!