simple steps to eating healthier

although we've just started to take steps toward eating healthier, this isn't new to me. i've known what is bad, and why it's bad, for quite some time; although, it wasn't until i was pregnant with river that i actually cared. we started looking into not only eating healthier, but living healthier - we researched vaccinations, homebirth, the meat industry, cleaning products. we've learned that there are a lot of unhealthy things out there - in our clothing, in our particle board furniture, in our cosmetic products, and even worse, in the very food we consume. by far the easiest way to live healthier is to eat healthier.

when you start to eat better, you feel better. i experienced this during my pregnancy when i was dealing with very bad morning sickness. as soon as i switched from frozen meals and fast food, and started eating fresh fruit, grains, and veggies, my morning sickness became more manageable, and eventually, faded away. throughout my entire pregnancy, i realized my nausea came back when i chose to eat foods packed with preservatives, trans fats, and artificial flavors. knowing where to start can be overwhelming. here are some some steps we've taken:

1. stop buying foods with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), hydrogenated oil, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and artificial sweeteners. some of the worse things you could put in your body. if you cut out these, you're cutting out a lot of bad foods already. HFCS is highly processed and is linked to the obesity epidemic of our day. your body doesn't digest and use hydrogenated oil (transfats) like it does natural fat. MSG is known to cause neurological problems in some people. and artificial sweeteners are also highly processed and some can cause cancer. reasons enough to stay away?

2. cut out processed foods (that you can) and all heavily processed junk foods. of course, we still buy some processed foods, like pasta, but we have nixed the oreos, barbecue sause, lunch meat (unless it is all-natural or better, organic), and store-bought bread - pretty much anything that has a long shelf-life. when we do have to eat food prepared, we try to buy organic, or at least as natural as possible. 

3. don't eat out. this one is hard. not for john - he would be fine if we never ate out again. i, on the other hand, had chickfila last night. it's so easy to spend a few bucks here and there on quick, easy fast food, and so nice to eat out every once in a while, spending upwards of $35 or more for just two people. i try to keep in mind that the money we don't spend eating out - even if it's something from the dollar menu at mcdonald's - is money we can put toward buying organic food. and that usually makes it worth it to me. except for last night. (dangit!) not to mention most food at most restaurants (not just fast food) has been cooked with hydrogenated oil and topped with taste bud pleasing MSG.

4. switch to whole-grain. not multi-grain. whole-grain. i no longer buy white flour, or anything that contains white flour. we have completely switched to whole-grain, and while it has taken some getting used to whole-wheat pasta and tortillas, it is so worth it. and using whole-wheat flour to bake with is fine too - even in the recipes that call for half white and half whole. white flour has little nutrients, and it is also chemically bleached (like a lot of our food) to look pretty. 

5. prioritize your organic purchases. i didn't think we'd ever be able to eat organic. it's so expensive! eating completely organic is out of the question, as we are on an extremely tight budget, but by not eating out, we have the money to buy more healthy food to cook at home - which is so good! 

6. eat less meat, poultry, fish. and for me, cut out beef altogether. the meat industry is disgusting. i have considered going vegetarian, but i'm currently not creative enough in my meal planning to come up with enough meat-free meals without eating tons of dairy (fattening) and soy (most soy products are heavily processed, and 90% of soy here in the US is genetically modified). i don't mind eating grass-fed beef, but i don't really care for beef that much anyway (until i see a barbacoa taco or some spicy chili), and we don't have the money to spend on organic or grass-fed any kind of meat, so we try to buy chicken that was not raised on antibiotics or hormones, and is free of preservatives. i won't give river any kind of meat, poultry or fish until he's at least two years old.

7. drink green smoothies! i've heard so often, if you don't do anything else to improve your diet, drink a green smoothie every day. you'll get tons of fresh fruits and veggies your body needs, and it's so quick and easy and refreshing. i make my green smoothies with any kind of fruit and spinach, which has a very mild taste and is soft and easy to blend up so it's not chunky. even my eleven year old sister likes green smoothies! if it's not sweet enough, try adding honey, agave nectar (my favorite, because it dissolves well in cold liquid and is 3x sweeter than sugar) or raw stevia.

8. cut out refined sugar. one i haven't done yet, and will be extremely hard to do. i have a sweet tooth like no other. sugar is so bad for your body. it messes with your immune system and is a big factor in weight gain. i don't want river to have the same problem as me! i wish i didn't love sugar so much. eventually, i want to switch to using only raw sugar or stevia at home, along with honey and agave nectar - it buying these will be more expensive - so we'll eat less sweets to save money, and our bodies will thank us.

of course, there are things you could do to be even healthier, but these were the easiest, and seemed like the best for our family. they are simple, but it takes discipline. and after a while, you start passing up the oreos at the super market - i promise! i could go on and on about each of these things, so i will save each point for a later blog. if i ever get around to it.

perfect

you know what is perfect?

when i hold river up, a few inches from my face.... and he gets this look, this smile ... 

he smiles so big, with his little tongue between his gums, almost like he wants to laugh, scrunches up his shoulders, reaches out his arms, and gently touches the sides of my face with his tiny fingers. [as if he's saying, yes, you're my mama. i like you, mama.] just for a second. before he gets distracted. but he does it every time. it never fails. two minutes later i can hold him up, and he'll do it again. like, i'm his very best friend, or something.

yes, that is so

very

perfect.

hello, perfect day

when i was fifteen we lived in tampa, florida. people told us tampa had unpredictable weather. um, no. you want unpredictable, come on over here. after many cold, gray, wet days, sunday was gorgeous. windy sunny warm gorgeous. take you shoes off and stick your feet out the car window gorgeous. 

we were driving out to the country. the windows were down as far as they could go, it was bright and sunny in the car on the way to visit river's grandma. the wind whipped little wisps of river's hair - so funny!

river's first encounter with nature. crawling around grabbing handfuls of dirt and leaves, trying to eat flowers. the colors, the smells, the textures! this kid loves being outside. when we go on walks, sometimes we'll just sit at the bottom of the stairs outside for a while before we leave. me on the step and he in his stroller. and he's fine and content. just sitting there. in nature, in the sun. most babies like being outside. it's so interesting - i have this theory that when you're in nature, you're as close to God as you can get. you're in this environment, this beauty, that is out of our control. something that is there, alive, well - that we had to nothing to do with - it is what it is. how it is, is how it is. it's how he intended things to be. being in nature is so good for people, it changes people. that's why it breaks my heart that this beautiful earth is in the state it is today. 

river's first time on a swing. he loved it. of course.

 

this is the face river made when he tried to stick the flowers in his mouth. i'm so glad i caught it on camera.

there was no point to put a blanket down. he had no intention of staying there, and even the funny feeling of the sticks and leaves didn't keep him in one place.

the dog park - again!

oh, how this family loves the dog park.

we were all glad it was a dry weekend. 

river's nursery

river's nursery wasn't complete until he was about three months old. you should have seen the room when i was pregnant. it was a disaster. i'm serious. i called it our giant closet - it was packed with things without a place. and not just in a corner of the room. literally, the whole. room.

after river was born, i spent time getting rid of all the "stuff" we had, and attempting to organize the rest. tons of junk: lamp shades, furniture, cards and letters, stuffed animals, even baby girl clothes (because i was convinced he was a girl). you name it, we had it. so finally, i was able to call the room officially river's about three months ago. it is my favorite room to be in. it gets the most sunlight, throughout the entire day. it's bright, white, and happy. we were able to create his nursery with mostly second-hand furniture - waste not, want not! :) there are still a couple things i want to do, but for the most part, it's complete.

i just had to take pictures yesterday morning, because the sun was pouring in. since i'm not usually up at the ungodly hour of, ahem, 7:00 am, it kind of surprised me. notice our ghetto one-armed rocking chair. it was getting thrown away, but we saved it. uh, i have plans of ... well, somehow making it look nicer. but until then, it's just there, and it's convenient for breastfeeding.

river's crib that one of our friends from church gave us. she works at a daycare, which was getting rid of it. if she hadn't offered it to us, we probably wouldn't even have a crib! river co-sleeps most of the time, but for naps, and at night when he's having a hard time settling in our bed, he sleeps in his crib. the fabric for the quilt hanging on the crib totaled about $20.

his crib friends, and colorful pillows. the yellow one was a pillow i made a few years ago for my bed. the others were just old pillows i recovered. my little sister embroidered the smaller elephant on the red pillow, which makes it extra-special. 

the giant R ($2 - and that i still have to paint), the prints ($15), and the embroidery hoops ($4).

the changing table that we found on craigslist for $20! hardly used, very sturdy and in near perfect condition.

the chair was john's, handed down from a family member. i wish i had taken a before picture. it was not very pretty, so we painted it and reupholstered the cushion, and now it's good as new.

another old pillow i recovered. after i embroidered "sail away" on it, john pointed out that it's the title of an enya song. dang it. now that bugs me.

an old, chipped, light yellow dresser probably from the 30s, that my parents found at a garage sale years ago, with the intentions of painting. but i like how it looks. the book of fairy tales was my mom's when she was little. the frame holds a picture of john when he was a baby. 

another garage-sale find. i love it. it was $free. :)

this bookcase was my grandmother's - it held towels in her bathroom.

now it holds toys! on the left, john's old dr. suess books. on the right, my grandma's "breast cancer bear" that a friend gave her during her fight with breast cancer - underneath the scarf is a ribbon tied around its neck, with all her little pink ribbon pins - and my uncle's fisher price school house from when he was a kid.

yay! because most everything was given to us or something we already had, we spent just about $60 total for the entire room. an easy way to be creative, save money, refuse to be sucked into our culture of consumerism, and live green, all at the same time! don't you just love vintage and second-hand?!?! 

when i was done taking pictures, i noticed river had pulled up and was emptying out his changing table. oh the things a baby can do when he discovers he can sit, crawl, and pull up - all within one week!

the face of innocence?

diapers? hmm..

yum!

 i'm fine naked, thanks.

 

my favorite way of doing diapers lately - gDiaper covers with an infant prefold as a liner (both, also second-hand!). it's quick and easy, which is a must with a kid who is as squirmy as river. that is one cute diapered bum.

finches

there are two new beautiful and noisy members of our family. i have had a bird cage for the past two years, just sitting and waiting to be a home to a couple of birds. i was completely surprised when john very randomly bought me two birds one night. i love them. they are easy, sweet, and clean, minus all the bird seed they kick out of the cage. and their "noise" is not loud, and it keeps me company throughout the day. they have only escaped once. i'm hoping this isn't a new habit of which they are fond. i was not fond of running around the apartment for thirty minutes trying to catch them.

scout, the mama bird, at the entrance of her nest (that john spent two hours making the other night. it is a very nice nest). she posed quite sweetly for pictures. i think she rather enjoyed it. atticus, however, is a bit of a spas. this is the only good picture i got of him:

they have laid four eggs. well, seven - but the first three were cracked when river knocked over the cage. oh yes, did i mention that's how they escaped? he seemed quite pleased with himself. zebra finches lay an egg a day for about a week, but poor scout was completely shocked when a hurricane named river came through and killed her children, that she (in john's words) had a miscarriage and stopped laying eggs for about a week (call me evil, but i'm laughing as i type this). once she recovered, she and atticus spent many days and nights, ahem, "getting it on", and a few days ago, she resumed her egg-laying, and we now have another four nice little eggs. we'll see if they fertile, and if they are, then i guess we'll have some little chicks to send back to the pet store. or, we could have some tiny omelettes. 

cloth diapering: saving money

one of the first things you'll hear about cloth diapering is all the money you'll save, not having to buy diapers and wipes every week. but there are skeptics out there who say you probably won't save much, or any at all. figuring out the numbers takes time and patience (especially if you're like me, and your mind withdraws to a hiding place whenever you see numbers), but i decided to do it, and this is what i came up with. it is quite detailed, so stay with me - it gets a bit confusing!

drying diapers in the sun helps with stains

when we were using disposables, we preferred pampers over any other brand, and for wipes, we prefer walmart organic wipes. we don't change middle-of-the-night diapers, which saves us about two extra diapers a day - so a pack of each lasted us just short of a week, usually about five days. 

$10 (pampers) + $2.50 (organic wipes)

total for five days = $12.50

365/5 (days in a year, divided by days 
between diaper/wipes purchase) = 73

73  x  $12.50 (cost of dipes/wipes)

total for one year of disposable diapers and wipes = $912.50 

we also bought a diaper genie at walmart, 

and about every two and a half weeks, 
we'd have to buy another refill.

52/2.5 (weeks in a year, divided by 
weeks between refill purchase) = 20.8

20.8  x  $11 (cost of refill) =

total for one year of diaper genie refills = $228.80

$228.80 + $912.50 = 
$1,141.30 total in diapering cost per year

on average, a child is in diapers 
for about two and a half years. 

$1,141.30   x   2.5 years = 

total disposable diapering cost for one child = $2,853.25

john and i want five children. so -

total cost for five children 
in disposable diapers 

= $14,266.25

figuring out the cost of cloth diapering is a little bit more complicated. the initial cost of cloth diaper supplies can be pricey, but year by year, it is significantly lower than using disposable diapers. it would be impossible to write the exact cost, because most people don't just buy one type of diaper and a couple covers - starting off is very trial by error. here's (generally) how we (plan on) doing it (river has an odd assortment of cloth diapers currently, and we didn't CD him in the first 4 months). also, understand that this is not including the occasional splurge of a cute diaper cover. ;)

little-lions ($6.75 S&;H) unbleached 
prefolds in three sizes (basically, SML):

infant ($17.95), regular ($18), and premium($23)

3 dozen infant + shipping = $60.60

2 dozen regular + shipping =$42.75

2 dozen premium + shipping =$52.75

total for prefolds = $156.10

guesstimated cost for covers at about $12 each, 
and spending about $30 in shipping:

4 small, 4 medium, 4 large, and 3 one-size

total for covers = $210

i was planning on making some wipes out of second-hand XL shirts at goodwill for $2 a shirt. i was going to buy 4 shirts, and estimated about 9 wipes per shirt, so it would have cost me about $8 - however, a friend gave me some hand-made wipes, so...

total for cloth wipes = free

i use snappies as closures instead of pins, because they are way easier. i don't expect a snappi to last through five kids, so i think i'll buy 2 new snappies per kid. two $4 snappies x 5 kids 

total for snappies = $40

$40 (snappies) + $8 (cloth wipes) + $210 (covers) + $156.10 (prefolds)

total for diapering supplies = $406.10

now we have to add the on-going cost of water (in our case, the laundromat) and detergent. we use charlie's soap to wash the diapers, at about 20 cents per load. charlie's soap isn't disinfecting, so to make sure i get the diapers really clean, i add a little oxygen bleach (never chlorine bleach) to the wash once a month. you must wash cloth diapers twice per use. for the cold wash, i hand wash and for the hot wash, i use the laundromat. it costs $1 per wash. we wash diapers three times a week, on monday, thursday, and saturday.

$0.20 (cost for detergent per load)    
x 6 (number of washes per week)

total cost in detergent per week = $1.20

$1.00 (cost per hot wash at laundromat)   
x 3 (number of hot washes per week)

total for laundromat washing per week = $3

oxygen bleach added to the laundry once a month

estimated total for oxygen bleach per month = $0.20

$1.20 x 52 weeks = $62.40

$3.00 x 52 = $156

$0.20 x 12 months = $2.40

total laundering cost per year = $220.80

$220.80 x 2.5 years

total laundering cost per child = $552

$552 (laundering) + $406.10 (supplies)

total diapering cost for one child = $988.10

going back to the laundering cost per child, multiplying by five (for five children) and then adding the initial cost of diapering supplies (because you can use the same prefolds and covers with every child):

total cost for five children 
in cloth diapers 

= $3,166.10

now, back to disposable diapering cost

= $14,303.25

that looks like a good amount of savings to me!

we have limited line space, so we dry some of river's diapers on our crib, saving us $3.75 a week.

now, this is how OUR family is planning on cloth diapering. it's not exactly how it's going to go (i'll tell you already that i've only purchased green mountain prefolds and have yet to buy any little lions :) we will probably have to replace worn covers, we may experiment with different kinds of diapers, snappies will get lost, products may be purchased from different websites where shipping is less or more, and washing them is not always going to cost a dollar a load (especially if we have our own washer and dryer some day!), but any way you look at it, there will be money saved. 

perhaps a family buys only second-hand prefolds at a cloth diapering store for a dollar each, make their cloth wipes for pennies out of garage-sale t-shirts, and use gerber diaper covers, which are about $4 for a pack of 3. or say there's a family who will buy all-in-one diapers in small, medium, and large, thirty of each size, at $25 per diaper, plus 36 factory-made cloth wipes that are $10.75 for half a dozen - you're at $2,314.50 for supplies. and of course, there's the number of babies a family plans to diaper. there are many, many ways of doing the cloth diapering thing. and i'm pretty sure all of them are going to save you some money. ;-D

simple toys

you know how kids always seem to like the cardboard box more than the toy? i have seen river become more enthusiastic over a piece of fabric, or a bell, or embroidery hoops, than he has with noisy toys that light up and move. while river does have a lot of plastic battery-operated toys made in china, it is my and john's goal, when we are purchasing gifts for him ourselves, to only buy toys that encourage open-ended play, are american made, and made with natural materials, such as wood. we've thought about it, talked about it, and argued with ourselves a lot over this decision. we've come across the whole "but what if a family member gives it to him?" thing, and decided that, well, if that does happen, it's really not that big of a deal. a couple plastic toys aren't going to kill him. and as he gets older, of course, he's not going to want to play with wooden trucks and wardolfian dolls, but hey, we can at least try to give him a good start.

this wooden stacking toy was given to river from family.

while it is made in china, this is considered an open-ended toy.

melissa & doug offers a stacking toy very similar to this target-brand one.

(i'm pretty sure they were first ;-)

1) simple, imaginative play. dr. dimitri christakis defines open-ended toys as "toys that foster children's imagination, that have the potential to be different every time they play with them." a child is a sponge - soaking up everything they see, feel and hear, and turning it all into a learning experience of some kind. the first seven years of a child’s life are the most crucial when it comes to education and character development. the other day, river learned how to ring a bell. it was heavy for his chubby little arms, and it was difficult to move it back and forth, but when he did it on accident the first time, he learned - when i do this, that happens, and when i stop, it goes away. and he did it again and again. it was the coolest thing to witness. i could tell right then and there that by ringing the bell, he was learning far more than he does when he pushes a button on his toy ipod (yes, toy ipod) and it lights up and plays a melody that continues for a while. toys like these are great baby-sitters. in fact, this toy ipod is our on-the-road toy. whenever river is crying in the car and there isn't much i can do about it, i whip it out and he is happy. toys like these can overstimulate (the same way someone can only find entertainment through movies and video games - i don't want the only time river is entertained to be when he has a noisy, bright toy, nor do i want to give him a thirst for that), but i believe open-ended, simple toys encourage imagination and learning.

2) supporting american-made. not just american-made, but supporting a culture. why? the answer is simple: sweat shops and child labor in china, and the fuel and carbon emissions it takes for the toys to actually get here. no, we can't avoid all products made in china (or other countries) - frankly, we don't have the money. inexpensive products made from cheap labor in other countries are everywhere. it is almost unavoidable, especially for low income families who need affordable items to get by. but if we can support american made products in any area of our lives, than why not? it's the same with local food - it goes beyond just eating healthy. by eating local, we are supporting our local farmers and a more honest food industry (not to mention truly organic produce). the documentary food inc. said it pretty well - when you eat organic, you vote yes for organic foods. or something like that. it sounds cheesy, but it's true. whenever we purchase an independent-ma-and-pa-american-made toy for river, we are voting yes to natural fiber, american made toys! (how many times can i say american-made?)

3) another step towards being "green". remember all those recalls the last few years because the lead in the paint of these plastic toys (made in china!) was high enough to be considered toxic? not only do you have to worry about lead in paint (among other things), but also what type of plastic your child's toys are made out of. many infant toys are made out of PVC and BPA, which are known to out-gas toxic fumes that can cause cancer. the big thing these days is steering clear of BPA, so many companies are switching to BPA-free bottles, pacifiers, sippycups, etc. but not many people know about the dangers of PVC. PVC is vinyl, and most likely what your shower curtain is made out of (i know ours is). these plastics are so dangerous that they have been banned in parts of europe and canada, and even walmart has switched from using petroleum-based plastics in their packaging, to corn-based plastic. yet, many of our children's toys are still made from these dangerous plastics. and, i might add this reminder: plastic is forever. every time we buy and use plastic, we are contributing to hundreds of years of plastics piling up in our landfills.

4) living simply & buying less... stuff. because toys made in america with natural materials are a hell of a lot more expensive than plastic toys made in china, we can't buy a boat load. and this is a good thing. we are discovering the idea of living simply, believing less is more. we want river to appreciate what he has, what he is given. we also want to give him the option to be creative. he doesn't need toys to be entertained - he needs to learn to use his mind and his hands, to build, to write, to reuse, to construct, to take apart, to put back together, to learn.

one of my favorite mama blogs is totally smitten mama. she encourages this type of play with her boys, and posts great ideas for crafts and learning activities.

a great company that offers inexpensive, natural and non-toxic toys is melissa & doug (although most are not made in the US). of course, there are many, many more toy companies out there but these are [[actually affordable.]]

and i just found a blog post where a mama discusses "untoys" - coolest thing ever, and really does remind you how creative kids can get with simple toys. or rather, untoys.