Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well. I’ve missed blogging but have found the balance I was looking for. It has been difficult, as I suspected it would be, to keep my observations to myself. I still have tips, tricks,and information that I want to share….in addition to the occasional musing about the amount of crap that’s being fed to our kids.
So follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/thenontoxicmom
Hope to see you there!
Ever feel like a “human doing” instead of a human being? Are you functioning in automatic mode? I am. So I’ve made a decision. It’s time to restructure my time so I can actually live the life I am living. So I can read about all the health stuff I’m interested in. So I can attend classes given by holistic practitioners. So I can practice the non-toxic activities that I know are important and love, like yoga and meditation. So I can enjoy my family without a to-do list running through the back of my mind. Unfortunately for my blogging career, I kind of hate technology. Sure I use it; it’s a modern convenience. To a point. But lately I’ve found myself sitting at the computer way too often, hunched over, squinting, and tired.
Am I stopping to blog? For now. One never knows what the future holds. Am I stopping my quest to learn all that I can and educate and inspire others? NO WAY! I am as committed as ever.
It is hard for me to stop blogging. It will be even harder for me to hold all my sarcastic observations in my head. But I know a break is what’s best for me; if I don’t take care of myself, my family doesn’t stand a chance. I’ve never been a fan of the modern day Supermom who does it all, and I don’t care much for our society which seems to encourage it.
But listen up! If you ever have a question, a suggestion, an idea- please share! I’m still here. I’m just trying to find some balance….
Hope you can too
Here we are in October; the month where ridiculously oversized bags of candy not only occupy their usual space in the candy aisle, but also receive an extra special additional aisle in case you missed them during the earlier moments of your grocery shopping experience. And where will all that candy end up? Why, in your house, of course. So I’d like to help you with that. In fact, I’d like to help everyone who has ever received an abundance of unwanted junk food, whether from parties, holidays, carnivals, grandparents, house guests or school. I’d also like to help the people who bring their excess of junk to their jobs, where the entire office is subjected to the logic of “I’m sorry guys but I have all this junk and I just have to get rid of it….”
So here you are with junk food that you don’t want either because it’s full of fat and calories, or because you know it’s full of chemicals, or because you’re trying to raise your kids to know that there’s other stuff in the world to focus on other than food. What do you do with all the crap that comes into your home?
I’ll tell you. There’s a great place to put it. It’s free, it’s accessible, and you probably have one in your house. Any guesses? That’s right, the garbage. Say it with me: “IF I RECEIVE FOOD THAT IS BAD FOR ME, I SHOULD THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE.”
Here’s how it works. You take the bag of poison “food” and you throw it into the trash can, where it will sit next to all of the other stuff that you’ve gotten rid of because it serves you no purpose, like dirty diapers, used tissues, and worn out shoe laces. Then, on garbage collection day, you take the entire bag outside and leave it on your curb. The nice man with the truck will take it away for you, and you’ll never have to see it again. It’s that simple.
“But wait!” you may protest. “I cannot throw food in the garbage! I was taught that throwing away food is wrong. I was taught to clear my plate. I was taught to be grateful for what I have. What about all the starving children in the world?”
Yes, we should all be grateful for what we have, and YES, there are starving people in this world and we should make every effort to help those who are less fortunate than we are. But I’m not suggesting that you discard broccoli and apples or any food that would actually benefit malnourished children. The starving children are not deficient in the nutrients provided by M&Ms, Gushers, Oreos, and all the other stuff that finds its way into our homes. And don’t worry about throwing away food, because this stuff isn’t food. It’s “food.” It’s stuff that can technically be ingested, but that doesn’t mean that it should be ingested. All it means is that some company put it in a fun package and marketed it as food and now society has come to accept it as such. But all the packaging, marketing, advertising, soliciting and eating of these products still does not qualify them as food.
The next time you find yourself standing in your kitchen with a bag full of poisonous treats, give yourself the following affirmation: It is okay to throw garbage in the garbage.
At a recent community gathering I found myself reminiscent of the one movie that makes seemingly levelheaded men cry; Field of Dreams. I myself was nearly moved to tears of happiness as the movie’s famous words played over and over in my head; “If you build it, they will come.” Something magical was happening right before my eyes, and I couldn’t have been any more elated than Kevin Costner was when he saw that all those baseball players actually showed up. What I witnessed was the proof that there is hope for us and our kids; that people really do eat what’s put before them and can survive without an excess of junk.
At this particular gathering, historically, there’s been an abundance of treats for everyone, especially the kids. It’s a fun night and I encourage my kids to look forward to it, junk food and all. This year, the cotton candy that is usually provided could not be for technical reasons, and I wondered what the replacement would be. I saw huge chocolate bars being handed out, and I saw taffy, but I had little time to care about that stuff because I also saw the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen; apples. Not just a few. Lots and lots of apples. Everywhere I looked was a man, woman or child chomping down on an apple. And it wasn’t just one bite. I saw cores. I saw seeds. I saw a kid cry because the last apple was handed out to the person in front of her.
Someone told me there have always been apples, and suggested that maybe I didn’t notice it in the past because all the kids were so busy shoving their faces with candy. I couldn’t remember what was served in the past because I was too wrapped up in the present. Imagine the excitement I felt in this stuffy crowd of people where all I saw where apples being eaten. Here I was, in my own sort of…. orchard of dreams.
People often scoff at the idea of serving fruit, vegetables and other healthy snacks to kids at events that are supposed to be fun, claiming that the kids will be disappointed and not eat those foods, especially when they’re expecting junk. Is it possible that we adults are projecting our own issues onto our kids? Is it possible that we don’t give our kids enough credit to be able to handle the idea of eating somewhat decent food even at a party, a carnival, or a fair? And is it possible that we need to check our own attitudes, because kids pick up on our energy, and are not likely to get excited about healthier food if it’s offered with a pitiful face that indicates that we somehow feel sorry to be offering such food in the first place? Just wondering.
Kevin Costner was told that if he’d build it, they’d come.
And I’m telling you, if you serve it, they’ll eat.
Go with your gut. Use your brain. Follow your heart. I don’t care which body part you use as long as you’re using some part of yourself (above the belt) to make decisions. “Duh, ” you might say. “Who else would be making my decisions for me?” Sadly, there are lots of people making our decisions and influencing the choices that we all make. These people have one interest in mind; money. Guess what? Trusting people who continuously buy their products keep the makers of these foods in business.
Can I always trust my instincts? I am still human. If I’m driving to a new place and trying to find my way, my gut does little good. There could literally be a sign on the road with my name and the words TURN HERE and I’ll still second guess the next move. But when it comes to the foods I eat, the personal care products I use and the cleaning supplies I buy, my instincts serve me well.
Why should you use your common sense? Because you’ve got it. Why waste perfectly good logical skills that have been implanted in your brain simply because it’s less work to listen to companies, advertisements, government groups, political organizations and the media?
So when should we use our common sense? I use mine as part of my quest to rid the world of evil, toxic industries. How do I define an industry as toxic? Well, if there’s a huge association that produces a product and that product either makes people sick immediately as a result of consumption or it contributes to a host of ailments in the long run, and that industry is very wealthy and politically connected and goes to painstaking efforts to frequently lobby in attempt to keep themselves in business and downplay the harmful effects of their product with little regard for the human beings who purchase that product, then I declare that industry as evil. A mouthful, but true.
Are you a meat eater? Sorry if you are, but I’m not going to spend the next few minutes trying to convince you to stop eating cooked flesh. I’m not even going to describe, in painful details, the ordeal that the majority of cows endure as they await inhumane slaughter, standing ankle-deep in their own crap and the crap of their fellow cow neighbor. I won’t mention the horrible living conditions, disgusting grains thrown on the ground as a cheap means of fattening the cows to maximize production, the sad painful mooing sounds emanating from the cramped feedlot, or the generally insensitive treatment of the animals. Why not? Because I’m sure you’ve heard all this already. So use your common sense before biting into that burger. Know where it comes from. Know that there are beef producers who don’t want you to know how the cows are treated, what the disgusting meat they’re selling is actually comprised of, how much of it is actually tainted with harmful bacteria, and the slaughterhouse and packing plant operations and conditions.
How about the dairy industry who has us all drinking 3 glasses of milk a day in fear that if we miss a glass our bones will completely shatter into a million pieces? The industry that capitalizes on our fear of osteoporosis and has us believing that dairy equals calcium? Quick, ask yourself for the first association that pops into your head when asked to name foods that contain calcium? Is it milk? Cheese? Yogurt? Ice cream? (I was told by my doctor to enjoy lots of ice cream when I was pregnant because it would provide me with calcium). Guess what? There are lots of other foods that provide calcium and don’t have the negative effects of dairy. And I can guarantee you that many of the stupid celebrities who don those idiotic milk mustaches to support this propaganda campaign don’t put too much dairy into their own bodies. What’s wrong with dairy, you ask? We’ll get to that another time. Just know that there’s more to learn, especially if you are not a fan of having an acidic body or your kids are frequent visitors of the pediatrician’s office due to ear infections, snotty noses and coughs.
What do you think of the sugar industry, who lobbied heavily to make sure that the maximum daily allowance of sugar is a whopping 25%, instead of the World Heath Organization’s recommended 10%? Sounds like a good way to keep people sick, fat, and addicted to sugar, and a great way to keep sugar producers in business.
How about the Corn Refiners Association? They’re off to change their name from high fructose corn syrup to corn sugar. They are sick of the bad rap their product is getting, and don’t like the fact that sales are falling. Also a topic for a future post, but for now just understand that there are many many industries out there, and they control not only what we eat, but how we think. At the end of the day, even though they should know better and should be regulated much more honestly, it’s not totally their fault. It’s our fault. We need to know better. We need to look out for ourselves.
Does it make you angry to hear that you’re not as protected as you thought? It should.
Does it piss you off to know that many of the decision makers in the government have ties to these industries, and that time and time again, whether decisions are being made or results of studies are being reported, that those people making decisions or conducting studies have long standing relationships with these industries and are completely unable to make unbiased, honest decisions for the American people? It should.
I’m not trying to make you paranoid. I’m not trying to convince you of conspiracy theories. But look into it further. You’ll see.
There is absolutely no substitute for the logic and instincts that have been given to you. Listen to your common sense. It’s the only thing that’s looking out for your well-being.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-stoneman/post_868_b_720398.html
http://www.grist.org/article/healthy-schools-with-a-big-lump-of-sugar/
Which type of YoCrunch is poison? The title of this post doesn’t specify. Well, I thought I’d make it easy on everyone’s memory. So if you’re in the supermarket, shivering your way past the dairy aisle, and you see a product called YoCrunch, just move on. Keep walking whether the illustration shows m&ms, oreos, reeses pieces or any other candy. And here lies my issue with YoCrunch. Sure, the ingredients aren’t great, what with the modified food starch and potassium sorbate. But I’m not going to dissect ingredients today; as much as they nauseate me, it’s the concept of YoCrunch that annoys me even more.
Yes, I get the idea of a product like YoCrunch. Why not take something that’s supposedly healthy, like yogurt, mix it with something that kids love, like crappy candy, and sit back and watch millions of satisfied moms and kids. It’s a great accomplishment. But we get into serious trouble when we start assuming that the only way to motivate kids to eat somewhat healthy food is by adding junk food to it. The concept is ridiculous.
How about chicken fried in cookie crumbs?
Why not broccoli with chocolate sauce?
Maybe some brown rice and beans with rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream?
We’re teaching our kids the very message that many of us were taught; the message that plagues our eating habits and has us shoving our faces with sugar laden foods all day. We’re teaching our kids that every single item of food that they put into their bodies has to be sweet. Breakfast cereal must be sweet. Drinks must be sweet. Snacks must be sweet. And apparently dairy products, from flavored milk to candy yogurt, must be sweet. We’re also confusing the hell out of our kids. We call them over for a meal and then hand them yogurt with candy. Suddenly the definitions of words like food, meal, snack, healthy, and junk are all blurred. And our kids walk away feeling very unsure about which foods are healthy and which foods are total garbage. The future diabetics of America will not look back lovingly and thank us.
“But what should I do?” you may ask. “My child will only eat yogurt that has another food substance sprinkled in it.” Well, if that’s the case, try thinking of any other thing that you can sprinkle into yogurt. How about plain unsweetened cereal or granola? Frozen blueberries? Even a few flakes of oatmeal will do. I’d rather you sprinkle sawdust, lint balls, or pencil shavings into your kid’s yogurt than candy.
What we feed our kids is about much more than just ingredients. It’s also about the messages that we send. It’s a sad sad day when kids think that the yogurt with m&ms that they just ate will make them grow up big, strong, and healthy.
YoCrunch? More like YoCrap.
Avoid.
It’s that time of year again, and whether you are celebrating a cultural new year or the simple fact that your kids are back at school, there’s a feeling of new beginnings in the air. Sometimes, with new beginnings, come resolutions or goals. So, let’s try something. I want to know your health goals, but I’m willing to make this very easy (for now); you won’t actually be held accountable. You don’t have to work toward the goal, I’m just asking you to verbalize it. All you have to do is share a wish, a hope, something that you’d like to do, something you’d like to move towards in the hope of eating better or living better.
Submit your goal as a comment on the blog. You don’t even have to use your real name….it’s your chance to be anybody you want to be. You can use your first initial, your real name, a superhero name, a porn star name…it really doesn’t matter. I just want to see where we’re all at, and it really helps for people to see that others are struggling with similar issues. There’s power in numbers. So tell us one thing you wish you could do, or you hope you will do, in the next 6 months.Remember, don’t be afraid, because you don’t have to do it just yet. All I’m hoping to accomplish is to get some goals into our awareness and into our minds. After that, change may follow.
My goal is to stop eating sugar. I keep saying it, keep trying it, and haven’t been as successful as I’d like to be. Maybe I’m not ready, but it’s a step in the right direction to just say it out loud.
What is your hope/ wish/ dream/ goal?
PS- If nobody responds, I’m not going to feel very very very sad or depressed or cry or feel like a loser or like nobody cares or like I’m all alone or anything…..don’t worry about me…..I’ll just assume that nobody has any hopes of eating or living better. And those of you whom I know personally, or whom I call friends…I won’t start avoiding you or ignoring your calls or anything crazy like that
I’m waiting…..
It’s tough to say good-bye to a food item that is a staple in your home. Duncan Hines Brownies; what’s not to love? They’re so versatile, so delicious, and they make you look like a domestic goddess who has time to bake in addition to all the other things you do in a day. Whatever the occasion, brownies are appropriate. New neighbors move in, you bring them brownies. You entertain friends, you bake brownies. Invited to a gathering, you bring brownies. Duncan Hines brownies have it all covered; they help you save time, they make you look like a good hostess or guest, and they taste great. Once in a while, someone won’t even realize that the dessert you’ve baked has come from a mix, and once in a while you let them believe you whipped these brownies up from scratch. Now you look even better.
I could never count high enough to tally the number of Duncan Hines brownies that I’ve eaten in my lifetime. I have so many fond memories of them. Once my husband baked a box and slightly undercooked them so they were all gooey and fudgy. We put ice cream on top….mmmmm. I used to mix them with fluff, peanut butter, or pretty much anything I had in the pantry. There’s nothing that can’t be paired with a box of Duncan Hines Brownie mix. And sadly, on occasion, when I couldn’t wait the twenty-five minutes for the brownies to bake, I’d mix the contents with water, microwave it for twenty seconds, and experience happiness.
I know, it’s mean, I’m building this item up just to tear it down. But once I turned the box on its’ side and looked at what comprised this fluffy brown powder, my love affair came to an end. And here it is:
Ingredients- Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix: Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour [Enriched with Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Malted Barley Flour), Powdered Sugar (Sugar, Corn Starch), Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil). Contains 2% Or Less Of: Wheat Starch, Dextrose, Salt, Cornstarch, Artificial Flavor, Carrageenan, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate).
I’ll make this short and sweet. Pun neither intended nor unintended. The first ingredient, which means this item is used most in the product, is sugar. OK, it’s brownie mix. I’m not expecting it to be made out of carrots. Still, I’m pretty sure that even when you bake your own brownies from scratch, you use more flour than sugar. Next we move onto enriched bleached wheat flour. Now I understand that you might have bleached flour in your pantry, and that you reach for this type of flour each time you bake. It seems that people simply ignore the word “bleached” when it’s listed as the title of a food item. The flour company does not try to hide the fact that your flour is bleached by calling it “flour.” They are honestly and openly telling you that the product you are about to buy, eat, and serve your family is “bleached flour.” What do they mean by the word bleach? I’ll tell you. When they say bleach, what they mean is bleach. Why many of us ignore the word bleach and proceed to use this crap is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps we’ve never really thought about it. Perhaps we default to the old faulty logic that says, “If it really had bleach or something harmful in it they wouldn’t sell it.” But we all know that this assumption is a crock of you know what. Bleach is a chemical. It cleans things and makes things white. Don’t eat it.
I’ll top off my gripe with a quick mention of the partially hydrogenated oil and artificial flavor. Unless you’re a fan or clogged arteries, heart attacks and other cardiovascular ailments, stay away from the hydrogenated stuff. This fact is bordering on common knowledge at this point. As for the artificial flavor, it’s there to tell you that the chocolate-like flavor your tongue thinks it’s eating is not from anything resembling a cocoa bean or from the cacao tree; it’s just more fake garbage made by your old friend, Mr. Scientist in a lab coat.
So what are you supposed to do? You need this stuff. You rely on this stuff. And there’s no way in hell that you’re going to spend hours in the kitchen baking brownies. I hear you. All I can do is tell you what I’ve done. First, I got over it. I stopped whining about how I much I needed Duncan Hines Brownie mix and how much harder my life would be if I had to give it up. Then, I did three things. First, I found a replacement mix that costs a drop more but that I considered reasonable since I don’t bake a box of the stuff every day. Second, I found an easy brownie recipe that doesn’t take a lot of time to make from scratch. Third, I found other dessert recipes and started to make things other than brownies. For me, the bottom line was that I refuse to buy a product that is comprised of fake, toxic, harmful ingredients.
So if you like eating bleach, fake chemical “chocolate” flavor and oil that’s infused with hydrogen and converted to a solid fat that sits in your arteries, then crack an egg, stir in your toxic powder and whip up a batch of Duncan Hines Brownies. Otherwise, move on. Choose to not eat this stuff anymore.
And take comfort in the fact that if one late night you’re craving bleach and need a quick fix, you’re bound to find some in your toilet cleaner.
Lately I feel like the word organic comes up fifty times a day. People ask me why I prefer organic food, make excuses or give reasons for why they don’t, and lure me into a whole heated discussion about how organic food is just another trend that will surely pass any day.
But I have news for you. Organic isn’t new. Organic isn’t a trend. Organic was here first. Organic food means food that comes naturally, as in from nature. As in untouched by chemicals and preservatives. Those of us who prefer organic produce are not all that different from the first people on earth.
Sadly, what has become very trendy is the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals on our fruits and vegetables; on the food that we put into our bodies every day. It’s seriously pathetic that the food that remains untouched by this crap has to be given a special label, organic, so consumers know that these foods are non- toxic. It seems to me that the “organic” produce should be the mainstream, and if somebody is looking for special produce that’s been sprayed with chemicals, they can go to the “toxic crap” section of their grocery store. Or instead of having to run over to “Whole Foods” for non poison produce, it would be easily found at every conventional supermarket, and those who want unnatural foods could make the extra trip over to ”Poison Foods” or “Partial Foods” and pick up whatever is needed for that night’s dinner.
It’s unfair that organic often costs more. Why am I paying more money for the special privilege of eating foods that occur naturally and have been untouched by man? There’s something very logical to organic food; you plant a seed, your crop grows, you pick it out of the ground, you eat it. For people who try to make organic food seem like some mysterious enigma, I have to tell you, organic couldn’t be simpler. It was here first, and it’s here to stay.
And as soon as everyone decides that they’ve had enough of toxic poison being sprayed on their food, conventional produce will be gone as quickly as every other stupid trend out there. It might be hard to imagine now, but remember, people once thought shoulder pads and Milli Vanilli were cool.
Trends fade; ingested toxins are forever.
I don’t have any pets, but I can understand the concept of pets needing a certain kind of food. I can comprehend that there are specific foods that are good for animals and others that are not. And it makes sense that animals have different needs than humans.
Although some cranky elders might disagree, children are people. They are humans; the same species as the adults who raise them. So it confuses me when I hear adults talking about “kid food” as if children are unable to consume the very same products that their parents eat.
What is “kid food” anyway? As far as I’ve seen, “kid food” is made up of things like chicken nuggets, bologna, little hot dogs, white pasta, American cheese, yogurt with candy for sprinkling on top, and a whole array of frozen or boxed meals. Sounds yummy.
Are some kids picky? Sure. Do we sometimes have to modify adult meals to meet the satisfaction of our kids? Yes. But for the most part, kids eat what we introduce to them. Kids can’t develop a love for processed chicken nuggets if they’re never put on the table in front of them.
I say this as the formerly most picky kid in the whole entire world. It’s taken me well into adulthood to get over my unwillingness to even try certain foods, and I’m still not totally over it. So I get the idea that kids can be really picky and I get how frustrating it can be to deal with this as a parent. Still, we can set higher standards for the food we feed our kids.
Our kids are what they eat. Who wants their kid to be comprised of candy topped yogurt, frozen chicken-like animal shaped nuggets and processed luncheon meat? ”But that’s all he eats, ” I’ve frequently been told. That’s because he’s been allowed to eat it. We can do better. We can choose not to bring certain foods into our homes. Our kids may not be ready to try all the vegetables that we serve, and they might stick to the same boring meals, and that’s fine for now. But there’s no reason for them to be hooked on foods that are blatantly bad for them.
There are options for even the pickiest eaters. I know everyone who’s addicted to white pasta throws a hissy fit when the whole wheat version is placed before them, but I must tell you, it’s an acquired taste that we can all get used to. Try overcooking it initially if you must, so it’s extra soft, and choose macaroni or spaghetti which more closely resemble white pasta even in the whole wheat form. If your kid is addicted to sprinkling candy on top of yogurt because it was introduced to him that way, buy regular yogurt and sprinkle cereal or granola or frozen blueberries on top. And look for cheese slices that don’t blatantly admit that they’re totally processed by including the word processed in their title, as in American Processed Cheese.
Kids eat what they are used to eating. Again, I know there are picky kids, but is it possible that we overuse the concept of pickiness as an excuse to feed our kids garbage, make mealtime more convenient and never try anything new?
Kids might suffer from pickiness, but we don’t have to totally feed into that.
