It's almost here - my favorite holiday! I love it not because of the candy, but because I get to make costumes. I love to dress up and I especially love to get creative and make something fun for Halloween. But lately Halloween has become another cause for concern for moms. The number of Nestle products, candy containing high fructose corn syrup, and lack of fun, healthy alternatives is frustrating.
In the spirit of transparency, my son will be eating candy on Halloween and I will be, too. However, I appreciate that not all families do eat candy, and many moms feel required to turn off the porch light rather than hand out apples to kids. Not to mention that apples are expensive and homemade is out. A lot of other green Halloween guides suggest pencils or small toys or crayons, but as a reader pointed out the other day many of the cheap toys contain parabens and plastics she doesn't want to hand out either. What's a holistic mom to do?
In July 2009 I decided I was making the switch to sustainable menstrual products. It seemed a bit hypocritical of me to promote cloth diapering while I tossed pads and tampons out each month. I recall thinking before my revelation that mama cloth was just gross and it would be such a pain and what if it didn't work? And then I realized all those arguments were the same ones being used against cloth diapers. Well after this brilliant revelation, I got busy and made some cloth liners. The tutorial is floating around on this blog, but since it embarrassingly poor, please skip it! So I whipped them up eager to start my own cloth stash, and wouldn't you know it but this happened:
We all want to give our families the best, and making changes to our lives now to positively effect the future of the planet is in ours and our children’s best interest. But at the frantic pace that family life seams to move in this day and age it’s not always easy to do so.
There has been a lot of hype recently about eating locally, and cutting down on the processed goods in our diets. Both of these trends can have major positive effects on your family’s health, and the carbon footprint you generate.
This came as a jarring realization to me personally. The journey my food took to my plate never registered with me past my involvement from grocery shelf to refrigerator. But from the resources needed to ship ingredients, to the chemicals and practices used to process and package convenience foods, the decisions we make about our diets have huge impact on the world around us.
I have since found that eating a local whole food diet can be really rewarding, and experiencing what your local economy has to offer from season to season is exciting. But it can also be rather daunting.
In many parts of North America, my own included, there are long seasons where nothing grows, followed by short bursts of productivity and only one big harvest per year, so having fresh local ingredients through the winter means a lot of planning, preserves and a large freezer.
In many places the way agricultural systems are set up makes it less profitable for farmers to sell their produce locally. For me in Canada, this often means that the ‘fresh’ produce, like corn for example, at my local super market was grown in the United States even when the local corn crops are in harvest, which results in having to make several trips to different locations to obtain all of the local goods I need.
The same systems that effect who farmers sell their produce to can also drastically affect the variety of produce in a hundred mile radius; If your local farmers rely heavily on profits made from say, soy beans it stands to reason that diversity will be set aside for the sake of profits, so locally grown ingredients other than soy beans may be more elusive.
Many people who wish to eat a more sustainable local diet have great success growing their own ingredients in their gardens. This is an awesome resource if you have it, but with more and more people living in urban environments and policy trends towards privatization resulting in the loss of public land including community gardens, this is not always an option for people interested in eating their way to a smaller carbon footprint.
So how can you and your family eat a more local and whole food diet despite the obstacles? I have 5 suggestions:
1. Talk about it!
In my case this step was a series of discussions, mostly in the super market, with my husband. Oliver isn’t yet old enough to give us his impute past ‘mmmm’ or ‘ick’, but if your children are older it is important to involve them in the decision to change your family’s diet.
Talk to them, in an age appropriate way, about the importance of choosing foods that are good for their own health and the health of the planet. It will be much easier to make changes when the whole family is on board, and many children will be more open to change when they are prepared and involved.
Even if a switch to locally grown goods wouldn’t mean a big change in the kinds of foods your family eats (you’d be surprised what you can find locally with a little bit of detective work), it is still really important that we talk to our children about the effects that our choices have on the environment.
2. Set a standing dinner date
Schedule a little adventure and pick one night every week to try new things. In our house we aim for Wednesdays. Every Wednesday we explore our local farmer’s market and find something fresh and local to eat for dinner. On those days we aim to have everything on our table come from the province that we live in, though occasionally small additions from within Canada are made. (As Oliver grows we plan to involve him by allowing him to choose new ingredient from the market.)
Committing to just one day a week is a really easy way to get the ball rolling, as you start to explore new ingredients and recipes the feedback you get from your family, and your own taste buds will guide you. When you find a dish that the whole family likes, add it to your regular menu and all of the sudden you’re eating a local whole food diet twice a week!
Just one meal a week WILL make a difference! According to World Watch the ingredients in the average American meal typically travel between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers to your plate. According to the American Census, in 2003 the average American commute to work was about 25 kilometers one way. Eating local whole foods for just one meal would save as much fuel as walking or biking to and from work every day for about 50-80 days!
3. Make it fun
When I was talking about our local food nights with a friend of mine the other day she seemed amused. “That may work now, but good luck getting Oliver to eat any of it in a year or two” I understand where she’s coming from, I’ve personally tried feeding her child, he’s a pretty particular little guy, and when I cooked for my family as a teenager I remember the upturned nose of my baby sister and the frustration that resulted very clearly. (She’s now 16 and still turns up her nose at my cooking, some kids are just stubborn)
But one way I plan to capture Oliver’s interest in whole and local foods is to involve him in the process. By letting him choose or grow his own ingredients and help with the preparation, I hope that he will have a sense of pride and ownership over his meals.
I also think it’s very important not to make food a battle ground. Food is for nutrients yes, but it is also pleasurable. Food should be fun, and part of keeping meal time fun and light is remembering that some people just don’t like certain foods. There is nothing wrong with that, and it is important to understand and respect this fact. Eventually, in their own time, they may even come around about foods they claim to hate. (For example: I only started eating asparagus a year ago, I was convinced it was gross and now it’s one of my favorites)
Have a particularly picky food critic? Let him be a critic! Give him a crayon or pencil and have him write or draw what he did and didn’t like about the meal, get him to score it like a food network judge, and make suggestions about what could have made the meal better.
What if he thinks that your roasted chicken would have been better with rainbow sprinkles? Then serve it up with a small shaker of rainbow sprinkles on the side next time. (If you can find locally made sprinkles that’s great, but I am sure you could make an exception for a pinch of rainbow sugar) He’ll quickly realize that those two flavours don’t really go together, or maybe he’ll think it’s delicious, there’s nothing wrong with letting kids explore with taste and texture. Food is FUN!
4. Make it easy
Let’s face it, there’s a reason many of us keep reaching for the convenience foods even when we know the harm they cause to ourselves, our family, and the planet. It’s because they’re convenient! (Crazy I know, how could I have guessed?)
At the same time that I try to make health and planet conscious decisions when putting food on my table, I am not ashamed to admit that there’s a box of Itchy Ban Noodles sitting in my pantry waiting for a busy day when neither my husband nor I feel like cooking.
One way that I’ve found to resist the appeal of those types of convenience foods is to make my local ingredients into more convenient options. If every dish you make on local whole food night takes 5 hours of slicing, dicing, cooking and seasoning then there’s no way that healthy choices will compete with processed convenience food after a long day. I have two ways in which I try to make local whole foods more convenient.
First, I find that making double batches of our favorite local/whole food recipes and freezing individual portions is like having the best ever TV dinner at your finger tips. Thawing out a container of hardy chili or soup is just as easy, if not more so, than boiling up a pot of starchy noodle goodness.
Second, I avoid recipes with more than 3-4 steps unless it’s a special occasion. Most foods are tastiest and healthiest in their natural state. The more saucing, steaming, or combining you do the more nutrients you loose in the process and the natural flavours of your ingredients start to fade away. While my family never shies away from the spice cupboard, I try to remember as often as I can that the flavours nature intended are often just as delicious and satisfying as the most balanced curry or elaborate sauce.
5. Eat out!
As eating locally becomes more and more popular, I am finding that more and more restaurants in my area are featuring locally farmed and produced options on their menus. You may have to do some searching, but you might be able to find one or more of these establishments in your area too. If you do, support your local economy by making it your go to date night spot, or your family’s special occasion eatery for birthdays and achievements. There’s nothing better than eating great healthy locally grown food that you didn’t have to prepare yourself!
Even if you haven’t found a way to eat locally grown whole foods at home on a regular basis, treating yourself to local fair while you’re out is a great option when you think about the impact that just one local meal can make.
Do you know where your food comes from? Would you like to learn more about whole foods? Join me on The Connected Mom Community! I have started a thread under ‘Nutrition for the family’ called ‘Sustainable Nutrition’. Come talk about making healthy and sustainable food choices for your family!
your pocketbook. By using a few basic, inexpensive products, you can reduce your global footprint while reducing the amount you spend on cleaning products. Here's some easy ways to go green inexpensively while simplifying your
cleaning routines.
1. Make bathroom cleaning a breeze! Keep a bottle of natural disinfectant on hand along with some rags and give everything a quick clean after you brush your teeth. I keep a spray bottle near the toilet filled with diluted Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaner for a quick wipe down every evening. Mrs. Meyers is concentrated so I keep diluted bottles of it handy and can easily make more at a moment's notice. Sometimes I even let Connected Son have a rag and the bottle while I do my hair. It keeps him occupied and its safe for him to handle!
(Photo credit: Daniel Foster)
2. Switch to cloth! If they make a disposable version, you can make a cloth version. We recycle old t-shirts and socks into rags for cleaning. I keep stashes in the bathroom and kitchen. After use I toss them in with the laundry. Using old clothes this way reduces dependence on paper towels and reduces waste.
3. Freshen things up! My favorite green tip is for a natural air freshener. Simply put a few drops on a cotton ball, place it in your vacuum filter and vacuum. Your house will smell fantastic without your family choking 0n aerosol fumes!
4. Soften and deodorize towels naturally by adding a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar kills all those yucky germs that leave towels smelling musty even after a thorough wash. I add a downey ball of vinegar to every load to keep towels dinfected and fresh.
5. Befriend your local thrift store! We all need to simplify our lives and one of the easisest ways is to reduce clutter. While it can be tempting to dump it, consider dropping it by the local thrift store or putting it up on your local Freecycle.
6. Harness the power of the sun! Cloth diaper moms know there's no better stain buster than leaving diapers out in the sun for the afternoon. I've discovered it works to brighten my clothes and even removes food stains from shirts and pants (chicken curry, anyone?) While a clothesline is ideal, you can also lay things out on your deck. In the winter, hang items in windows that see a lot of sun.
7. Recycle your morning cup o' joe! Coffee grounds can be repurposed for use in your garden. Simply use them like any fertilizer. You can also utilize grounds to make natural body scrubs - some people even claim applying it to skin for 30 minutes can act as a natural tanning solution! Simple mix the grounds with a couple pinches of kosher salt and an egg white and smooth onto clean skin. Wash off 20 minutes later. (Photo credit: DeaPeaJay, Creative Commons)
8. Think outside the bottle! Preventative methods aren't just for medicine. Instead of waiting to clean once a week, take steps to prevent dirt build-up by adding a few quick things to your morning or evening routine. Sweep all hard surfaces daily. Keep a spray bottle handy and wipe down bathroom counters with the washrag from your shower. And my favorite? Hang a squeegee in the shower and simply squeegee off the extra water and soap residue before you step out from your morning shower!
9. Disinfect naturally! Ditch the bleach and harsh cleaners and invest in vinegar and tea tree oil. Both naturally disinfect without damaging skin or leaching toxic chemicals. Love the convenience of cleaning wipes? Make a green alternative by cutting wipes from a non-raveling fabric, rolling them up and putting them in a mason jar. Then wet them with the following mix: 1 cup water, 1/4 cup vinegar, and a couple drops of tea tree oil or another essential oil.
10. Stock up on the basics! Make sure you always have vinegar, baking soda, castile soap and essential oils in your cupboard and you can make almost any cleaning product quickly and safely. Not only are the products inexpensive, they have a long shelf life. Some can even serve double duty as cooking ingredients!
Going green doesn't have to be a hassle and it could be the perfect way to make your home the clean house you've always envisioned.
September is Green Family Living month on Connected Mom! Join us on Facebook to share your green tips!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Mrs. Meyer’s blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate,click here.”
I need one of my local friends to get pregnant....need it, because I am dying to throw a green, AP-friendly baby shower. I love baby showers, but too often the party celebrates what my husband calls "the worst in parenting." Diaper cakes made from disposable diapers, games featuring bottle feeding, and measuring the poor mama's waist with toilet paper (ok, this isn't technically anti-AP, it's just kinda mean). So here are 10 awesome ideas for a baby shower that promotes eco-friendliness and attachment!
1. Forgo the traditional diaper cake and make one from cloth diapers! Let's face it, old school diaper cakes with their plasticy look and smell are so last century. Consider using prefolds, which are easy to work with, and the mama-to-be can use them as diapers or burp cloths. Colorful cloth wipes can be rolled to make flowers to decorate it and diaper pins can be used to help hold it together. Not up to making one of your own, check out these cloth diaper cakes from I Dream in Green on etsy!
2. Lose the plastic cups, paper napkins, and throwaway forks and invest in some reusable party wear or borrow some from a friend. Growing up my mom had three sets of awesome glass vintage party plates. These glass plates were big enough to hold cake or food and had a grooved spot where a matching punch cup sat. Totally chic and you'll never have to buy paper plates for another function! And let's face it, they immediately class up any function. You can find them at antique malls, ebay, and estate sales, or maybe even your grandma's house!
4. Dying to send something in the mail? Make your invite a cherished keepsake by crafting a beautiful portrait of the mom-to-be that guests can frame. Use an old baby photo of the parents or take a few shots that showcase her pregnant glow. Keep the event details to a minimum and put them on the back, so the invite can be framed or places in a scrapbook. Or consider including a place for a survey or a spot to answer a question about the mom that each guest returns to the party for a keepsake for mom's memory book! Websites like tinyprints.com have customization options at affordable prices on baby shower invitations.
5. Make it a green theme and ask gifts to each bring one cloth diaper to build mom's stash! Not only will this get your mom a leg up on her cloth diapering, it will educate guests on how far cloth has come. Many online cloth diaper sites now offer baby registries!
6. Play attachment-friendly games! Get a couple of wraps and baby dolls and challenge guests to wear their "baby." Afterward demonstrate an easy wrap mama can use with her newborn. Play "Musical Baby" - while the music plays everyone dances with their baby, when it stops, grab a chair with sleeping baby doll, remove a chair each round like musical chairs, start the music back up when "baby cries." This game promotes great calming techniques.
7. Ask guests to share a memory book! Everyone has advice for a new mom, but rather than bombarding her with good intentions, create a book for guests to share their happiest memory of life as a mom/dad or big sister/brother, younger kids can share their happiest memory of their mom. It will be a beautiful reminder for the new parents to treasure each moment.
8. Choose eco-friendly prizes for your shower games. Burt's Bees baby wash, a bouquet made from reusable cloth wipes, or a food mill to make baby food are all inexpensive, useful gifts to award as prizes for shower games.
9. Build a breastfeeding support basket with items to smooth the transition to breastfeeding for the new mom. Include items like a water bottle, granola bars, nipple cream, and magazines/books. You don't have to spend a lot. Just include some supplies she can keep near her glider for a quick snack or to entertain her during those initial long stretches of nursing.
10. Give reusable bags as favors. Skip the cutesy plastic bottles and baby pacifiers you'll find for favors in the party aisle and pick up canvas bags to decorate (how about painting them with "love your mother"). If you're crafty, sew up quick bags. Attach a card with info on how much one reusable bag benefits the planet. Getting guests to switch even to one reusable bag each creates a lasting legacy for the child and helps protect the planet for him or her. Coffee Pot People has directions for making a 1 minute bag from upcycled tank tops here.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a Tiny Prints gift code worth $50, plus 25 FREE Tiny Prints greeting cards—a total gift value of $149.75! For more information on how you can participate,click here.”
All rights reserved by 
everything a quick clean after you brush your teeth. I keep a spray bottle near the toilet filled with diluted 
