Starting Fresh - and Delicious!

Banana, pineapple, and avocado pudding. Roasted golden beets with quinoa and feta. Ginger chicken with coconut. This is definitely not your mother's baby food. But what else would you expect from chef, Food Network star, cookbook author, and Sprout Organic Baby Food co-founder Tyler Florence?

Dad Tyler has just released his new cookbook, Start Fresh: Your Child's Jump Start to Lifelong Healthy Eating. His commitment to real, healthy food for kids (his and yours) is evident through Sprout Organic Baby Food, a Sponsor of the Holistic Moms Network, whose gourmet flavors and upcycled packaging are just what green and healthy moms are looking for when you don't have time to make your own. But when you do, this fabulous new cookbook is just the ticket to a delicious and healthy food experience.

"As parents, we are bombarded by marketing intent on convincing us that we don't know how to feed our children," writes Tyler Florence in his new book. "Food producers would have us believe that the Big 5 (pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries, and burgers) are the only things kids will eat, and that chicken nuggets pressed itno the shape of a dinosaur are a healthy part of a meal. It's insulting." Amen! Real kids will eat real food and treating them to some of these delicious creations is a great way to get the ball rolling.

But Start Fresh is not just about tasty baby food. Recipes in the Toddler section include great family meals such as Roast Turkey with Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, and Cranberries and Maple Roasted Pork Chops with Butternut Squash and Beets that will satify mom or dad, while also making delicious purees or chopped meals for the kids. Stage 4 brings Everyone to the Table with Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese, Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, and an original, fun savory cupcake dish of Barbeque Turkey Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting.

Navigating the road to starting solids can be confusing. This great book will give you some inspiration. Holistic Moms can help give you support! Connect with your Local Chapter and share your story with other holistic moms and dads - discover what worked, how to keep your milk supply up, or how to deal with food allergies.

This is a cookbook you won't want to miss and Holistic Moms is giving away THREE autographed copies to some lucky winners! You can be entered into our random drawing by posting a comment on this blog. Tell us what was your child's/children's first food and his/her/their favorite food(s) now. Leave your comment and we'll pick three winners on June 15th!

MOMS ROCK!!

The Go Green Expo in New York City this past weekend was packed with fabulous exhibitors with services and products for living healthier and living greener. But HMN was especially honored to meet and get acquainted with Joy Rose, Founder of Mamapalooza. The mom of four, Joy founded Mamapalooza "to enlighten and empower all women to claim their voice" by creating a space to celebrate mothers, give them an outlet for their artistic and literary talents, and to host sustainable opportunities and events to showcase the amazing talents of moms. Their mission is a big one: "MAMAPALOOZA’s mission is to change the way modern mothers think about themselves. By giving voice to the daily struggles, joys and triumphs women face as mothers, we are providing a platform for women to discover (and re-discover) their creative selves." As moms, we have all experienced that identity shift that comes with motherhood and recognize how easy it is to lose ourselves, our passions, and our outlets in the day-to-day of motherhood. Mamapalooza helps mothers to regain their souls, find their creativity, and showcase it in powerful ways. The creative talents of moms reach far and wide, and it is time that we help reveal them!

In addition to hosting stages and events, Mamapalooza is dedicated to eco-consciousness and sustainable businesses that are mom-powered. They also celebrate the herstory of mothers with the founding of the Museum of Motherhood (M.O.M.) honoring the experiences, work, and art of moms. MamaZina, the new publication of Mamapalooza, gives voice to mothering. What fate and honor it is to have shared some space and time with an organization who is also passionate about empowering, supporting, and celebrating mamas! We look forward to connecting our mama communities and invite you to check out Mamapalooza!

Getting Back on Track: Food and Influence

No matter what your political leanings, if you are a holistic parent you have reason to applaud recent efforts by the Obama Administration to refocus our attention on real food. First came the White House garden - a remarkable project spearheaded by the First Lady and designed to remind us of the value of natural, whole foods and the joys of getting back to the land. Simple acts of donating produce to local food banks and bringing in elementary school children for a lesson on nutrition may be written off as publicity stunts by critics. But, in fact, such actions make a bold statement about the power of individual efforts and how we can each produce change. Heads of State have been inspired by the garden and its message, as have gardeners and families across the country.

Now the Obamas are taking another step - this time toward ridding our school systems of junk food. According to the New York Times, the Obama Administration is introducing legislation to remove candy, soda, and other toxic foodstuffs from our educational institutions. With childhood obesity rates increasing from 6.5% in 1980 to more than 19% of children by 2008 according to the CDC, this is an important step in the right direction. Our schools should be committed to helping children learn and highly processed, artificial foods have no place in that commitment. A nutrient-deficient diet has been linked to host of learning problems, including ADD/ADHD, hyperactivity, and mood disorders. Recent studies are also finding a link between junk food diets and violence, yet another issue our schools battle to manage. And, just the other day, a new study was released indicating that soda consumption is correlated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Is this what we want to teach our children?

Not surprisingly, the American Beverage Association is opposed to the efforts but more shocking is that resistance is also coming from school administrators and parents. Schools earn money by promoting junk food within their buildings and both parents and administrators find a bit of twisted logic to explain how kids will miss out on programs and supplies if deprived of the things that rob their bodies of good health. Fortunately, some schools have already decided that the price to kids is simply not worth it and others have found healthier, greener options to raise money for school programs. One smart group of students in Florida protested an effort to sell candy and potato chips for a school trip after learning about their less than stellar nutritional profile in health class - a protest that resulted in a $16,000 donation from the widow of Robert Atkins, ensuring that their trip would be held.

As parents- and as the President - we need to set an example about the value and importance of real food for our kids and for our future. Love them or not, the Obamas are in a position of influence and thankfully they are throwing their weight behind a healthy and sustainable future.

How Clean is Too Clean?

As a parent, I gave up on serious cleaning a long time ago. But then I have never been blessed with a penchant for cleaning. Commercials of sparkling kitchen floors, shimmering countertops, and spotless bathrooms always fascinated and repelled me at the same time. And now, thanks to Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE), I feel better about lacking the clean gene.

WVE's new report, Disinfectant Overkill, demonstrates the dangers of overuse of antimicrobial chemicals in the home and beyond. Despite the report's contention that "old-fashioned cleaning with soap and hot water has been scientifically proven to keep most homes sanitary," many of us are on a quest for something stronger, more powerful, or more thorough to rid our homes of dirt and germs. As a result, we are welcoming products into our home that were intended for sterile hospital settings, with a great deal of risk to our own health and well-being.

More than 5,000 antimicrobial products are currently registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and many of them are classified as pesticides. However, recent efforts to "streamline" the approval process for such products may remove the more stringent warnings about these chemicals and expedite their approval for public use, allowing even greater numbers of antimicrobial products to flood the market. Of concern is that these products are not only dangerous to human health, but may be ineffective and may lead to "increasing acquired bacterial resistance" while also polluting groundwater.

A number of conditions, from asthma to skin rashes, are associated with antimicrobial chemicals. Newer studies indicate that antimicrobial agents may act as hormone and endocrine disruptors and may mimic both estrogen and testosterone in the body. These pollutants are also passed through breastmilk to babies and are stored in fat cells among women.

Of course, the cleaning industry is big business. According to WVE, "analysts project that the global disinfectant market will reach $2.5 billion by
2012." As consumers continue to demand cleaner, germ-free environments, the number of products containing antimicrobial agents will continue to grow. Estimates show that nearly 70% of all liquid soaps currently available contain antibacterial agents, despite the research indicating that they have essentially no benefit over plain, standard soaps.

Reducing our exposure to these chemicals is as simple as using or making your own natural cleaners. Simple, safe ingredients such as baking soda, castile soap, and vinegar can become your primary tools for effective home cleaning. Both HMN cookbooks, Growing Healthy Families and Many Paths, One Journey to Health include easy recipes for natural cleaners to use in your home. Gather your friends or fellow holistic parents and host a green cleaning party - it's easier and more fun than you might think!

A Day of Education and Empowerment

With the growing popularity of all things green and natural, there seem to be expos and conferences popping up each month to support holistic living. The Holistic Moms Network's own 2009 Natural Living Conference is just a few short days away, coming up on Saturday, October 17, 2009 in Basking Ridge, NJ.

Why go to a conference? I have heard from a mom I know that she's "just not a conference person." As a person driven to research, education, and community I find this a bit baffling. What are the reasons you might want to go to a conference? For starters, education is the foundation for change. When you attend a conference, a lecture, or even a Holistic Moms monthly meeting you have the opportunity to learn and raise your awareness. Without awareness, there is no change or desire to improve. But if you are seeking better health, positive ways to parent, or want to live a greener, more sustainable lifestyle the possibilities out there are endless. Interestingly, I have found that even when I think I know the topic at hand whenever I attend a conference or expo, I discover a new piece of information or a new product that alters how I live or what choices I make.

Certainly there are great websites, books, and magazines that we can all learn from. But there is nothing quite like being surrounded by like-minded people, by feeling the energy and enthusiasm of others, or the opportunity for face-to-face conversation to learn, teach, and share. Sometimes the most valuable thing I take away from a public event is a five minute conversation with an exhibitor who helps me find a new service or product, a ten minute exchange with a mom who has similar challenges with their kids, or one tidbit of information that I pick up in a lecture that leads me down an entirely different path. Or, it may be that I am the one doing the giving. Perhaps I can share my own experiences with my holistic journey, help another parent struggling with food allergies or special diets, or recommend a practitioner or product that I have used - enabling a new hope or a reassuring word that can have a significant impact. We cannot anticipate what gift we may receive (or give) by opening ourselves up to such interaction, but should know that there is always something that we can benefit from whenever communication is possible.

Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to be a participant in a conference or event is the sense of empowerment that you can experience as a result. Empowerment, according to Cherly Czuba of the University of Connecticut "is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important." The inspiration you get from "being there" translates into the confidence to act on your instincts and to produce viable change. That sense of empowerment is worth every minute of having to rearrange schedules, set up travel plans, or negotiate babysitting. There are always excuses not to be there, but what you miss is always more than you can even anticipate.

Allergies: The Silent Epidemic

A silent epidemic is sweeping through our children's generation: food allergies. According to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network approximately 1 in 13 young children in the US has a food allergy and more than 11.4 million Americans (children and adults combined) suffer food allergies (more than the number inflicted with cancer).

As the parent of two children with food allergies, I know how tough this road can be to navigate. From school snacks and birthday parties to simple family outings, danger may be lurking around any corner. And much to the frustration of many parents, these allergies are not taken with the level of seriousness they deserve. The common refrain of "Oh, it's just a little taste" or "We wanted him/her to feel 'normal'" are frightening red flags for parents of allergic kids.

Many have theorized about the rise in food allergies - a dramatic increase from generations past. Authors Dr. Doris Rapp and Dr. Anthony Kane propose a "toxic load theory" which outlines how collective exposure to toxins and stress can push the allergic child too far resulting in an allergic reaction. Others have questioned the role of genetically-modified foods (GMOs), the rise of pesticides in our produce, and the popularity of processed foodstuffs - all of which could also contribute to the toxin exposure of an allergic child.

What's more, food allergies can manifest not only in physical reactions (i.e., hives, eczema, anaphylaxis) but also behavioral ones. Dr. Benjamin Feingold, founder of the Feingold Diet, notes that as many as 50 percent of his hyperactive patients have benefited from diets free of artificial colorings and flavorings.

Thankfully, there are also an increasing array of resources available to parents, as well as networks to empower them to meet these challenges. One such resource is A. Anderson's new book Flourishing with Food Allergies: Social, Emotional, and Practical Guidance for Families with Young Children. Ms. Anderson's book highlights the journeys of 15 families dealing with food allergies, while also providing a wealth of information about how to make educated school choices, how to survive social situations, and offering links to in-depth studies on allergies and children. Anderson also includes action plans for parents who want to get involved and contact government officials to help address this growing concern.

Given the rise of allergies and the state of our food supply, it's high time to take note and start making changes for future generations. Until we acknowledge this silent epidemic, however, we cannot begin to confront it.