Why All Natural/Organic? Part 3

Ok, so now on to the fun stuff.

What to eat!

If you Google organic recipes or toddler organic food you will get a lot of great options and websites.

Organic Valley Recipes

Whole Foods Banana Bread - check out the rest of Whole Food's site for TONS of great recipes. 

Easy Toddler Snacks

Organic Recipes and Snack Ideas for Babies and Toddlers - scroll to the bottom for some great, simple recipes like hummus and mini muffins. Plus some ideas for tag-along foods.

Veggielicious Mom - a great vegetarian/vegan blog with TONS of yummy recipes.

Obviously any recipe can be organic by simply substituting organic ingredients. Start taking a look at the labels of everything you buy. Not everything has evil offenders in it, but you would be surprised what does.

I needed some beans and checked the can, I was a little horrified to see that my beans were floating around in high fructose corn syrup. Thus, I ended up buying organic beans, which was something I thought I could maybe slide on.

I know all the commercials say "it's natural" and "ok, in moderation" but it's impossible to be moderate about it when it's in EVERYTHING. I had trouble finding bread with no HFCS. Nature's Own is a company that does no HFCS.

Make sure to consult the two websites I mentioned in yesterday's blog for lists of additives and preservatives to watch for and also for the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15". It's so expensive to go organic, so know what you can buy non-organic. These lists can help.

You can buy items in bulk at natural food stores, like flour, sugar and other baking items. Pick a day to make some baked snacks for the week to have on hand. This can be WAYYY cheaper than trying to buy organic cookies, crackers, etc.

Go to your local farmers market and eat produce that is in season. You will save tons, support local farmers and you will get the best and tastiest produce. I spend about $10 a week on produce at the farmer's market. This is much less than trying to buy all organic at the grocery store.

Remember that you don't have to do it all at once. It takes time to figure out how to do it affordably and the right way for your family.

I hope this has been somewhat educational. Next up...Holiday decorating...WEEEEEEEE!!!!

Why All Natural / Organic? Part 1

So before I get started on this, I'd like to preface this by saying that I don't like to push my opinion on these kinds of things on people and I don't think really highly of people that say "oh ___ is the only right way" or "your child will won't be as smart or whatever if you don't do ___"

I do not fit the bill for the typical all natural, crunchy mommy. I had an epidural, I didn't breastfeed, I didn't babywear, I didn't make all of their baby food and I didn't make sure that all of their clothing was made of bamboo.

This is just me simply sharing what's going on in my life right now, it's not a judgment on what others do.

Ok, enough of that. A couple months ago we noticed some overly hyperactive, uncontrollable behavior with my son (3 years). We were having lots of discipline issues and it seemed he was just out of control. Of course I looked to some new parenting methods, but I also felt the Lord pressing on me to look at what we ate.

Now we don't eat tons of junk foods, candy, etc...But I did notice probably a few too many trips to Chik Fil a and after doing a little research on the link between hyperactivity and exposure to pesticides, artificial flavors, dyes, sweeteners, and processed foods, I decided to try my hand at going as natural/organic as we could afford.

It took a couple weeks before we finally realized there was a change, but I noticed that I wasn't as frazzled by the end of the day and we were able to get a handle on some of his behavior issues. Still an energetic 3 year old, but without the craziness (if that makes any sense to anyone).

So a week or so ago on a particularly crazy evening, I told my hubby to just order a pizza. The next day at preschool, my son hit another child. Now I have NO IDEA if there is really a connection between going weeks with no processed foods and then one pizza later, crazy boy returns. But something in me said, "Hey, you are doing the right thing."

We still have a bouncy boy, who has bad days, but I KNOW there is a difference. And to me, that's worth the slight increase in my grocery budget.

So that's OUR reason for choosing all natural/organic. Every family's reason is a little different, maybe a little similar. 

Tomorrow I will be sharing a bit on some of the medical reasons to go organic, it might not interest some of you so feel free to skip it!

I will say if you choose to comment, please keep it positive and not "preachy".

Thanks!

Natural Food Faves

I think I could say that my kids eat pretty healthy. But recently, I have been trying to switch to a diet that is mostly organic and free of artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives.

I don't like to get on a soapbox about these kinds of things, but there is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest that children are very susceptible to the pesticides and artificial "junk" in food because their systems are not fully developed and they tend to eat the same things, therefore are exposed to more of the bad stuff.

Ok, so let's face it, your kids still want the yummy stuff. And sometimes all-natural, organic treats are not so yummy. Now the best way to limit exposure to harmful things is to make everything...but that's not always possible. Here are some faves we have picked up along the way. 

 Annie's Cheddar Bunnies (these last longer for us than Goldfish)

Pirates Booty Aged White Cheddar Puffs (I think I just like hearing my son ask for "pirate booties". It's hilarious.

Stonyfield Yo-Kids Squeezers

Country Choice Organics Sandwich Cookies (AWESOME!)

Cascadian Farm Fruitful O's (my kids LOVE these)

Tree of Life Grape Fruit Spread - pricey, but it tastes incredible and a little goes a LONG way. If you have a PB&J addict, it's worth it.

We also like Van's Natural Foods frozen breakfast products like their waffles. They are only $2.99 so a great deal.

I mentioned these particular items because most of them have coupons readily available. Mambo Sprouts is a great place to get organic coupons. Whole Foods also has lots of coupons too.  You can request coupons from many organic food companies as well.

Organic IS more expensive. BUT the upside is that I find that I am doing LESS impulse buying of snack foods and focusing more on spending those extra dollars on a few quality treats and organic produce.

It can be a hard adjustment, because I am SOOOO cheap, and we can't go organic with everything, but every little bit helps.

I am looking forward to posting on Monday because I am going to try my hand at some all natural baked goods this weekend :)