Maybe I should re-name my blog "Erin's Down with the Food Industry Blog." Catchy?

Just had to post this after my last post about Levi and Monsanto. 

You know, I am not good at politics AT ALL.  I had a test in 5th grade on the subject, and that was the ONLY test growing up I ever had to re-take.  I hated it.  It was boring, confusing.  Just not my thing.  When I became an adult I wished I was good at it, I felt a need to do something - to be blessed with freedom, I need to preserve it.  But I still never really got it.  I think I've found my political niche.  What America is doing to our food supply is sick, sick, sick.  And we're all just accepting it, growing up with it being "normal" (because everyone eats it, and we're all okay, right?), walking around, falling prey to the industry.  Maybe someday I'll make a difference in this area.  Right now I'm just doing so for my family (slowly, but surely). I'd love to do this:

Conspiracy Theorist

This is really funny.  Keep reading.

So, I try to teach my kids about keeping their bodies healthy.  I think if I express ideas, time and again, maybe it'll sink in.  And if they rebel, and eventually only want to eat Cheetos, I guess that's their right (hey, it's not like they're going apostate).  I believe that pre-puberty, and shortly post-puberty is the most important time to eat healthy, and it gauges your health for the rest of your life. Also, if/when the day comes that my kids have kids, and they decide that, yes, they do care about health, they will have a wealth of knowledge.  I've had to work hard for what I know and do, and I'm glad for my kids it can hopefully come naturally to them.

Well, I saw this documentary today on the site (sorry, I don't know how to post youtube videos on my blog), and I thought it'd be fun to watch part of it with Levi during Dana's nap.  So we did, and he was super interested.  I had to explain it all to him, so I explained, "Monsanto is a bad company.  They put bad things into our food.  They know that it's bad for us, but they do it anyway to make money.  And they don't want us to know about it so we will keep buying their food."  Levi ran to the fridge and got out a Clementine.  "Is this bad for me?"  "Well," I explained, "it's pretty good for you.  It's not organic.  I wish we had enough money to buy organic." [sidenote: I would normally just say yes but since the documentary was about GMOs and pesticides, I was probably being too detailed with my answer].  So he peeled it and started eating it and he found a seed.  "Mom, look a seed!" Me: "Oh, yeah.  That's weird.  Those usually don't have seeds."  Levi sat there playing with the seed for several minutes, then said, "I think I figured out what happened.  Monsanto put it in there."  I was laughing and explained that Heavenly Father put the seed in there, but the things Monsanto puts in there you can't see.  And I'm still laughing.

But seriously, that company ticks me off.  The whole food industry ticks me off.  I wish, oh, I WISH we had the money to buy the kind of food I want to buy. Now I want to gather all my foodie friends around and talk about this documentary. It wasn't as interesting as Food Inc, just the way it was put together, but it is still interesting. Is it a date?

Best Mothering Blog

 

I'd never thought of Mother's Day as being a gifting holiday, but since my wants list always exceeds our budget, I always take Jason up on his offer.  I'm getting this book for Mother's Day, since I've expired my library renewals.  It is so so interesting, but it's taking me forever to get through since I read it only while nursing, and I always fall asleep.  I want it, anyway, since it's a cookbook.

Guess what my favorite blog is?  I'll give you a hint: it's not a nutrition blog.  It's a mothering blog. Askingjane. Oh, how I love it.  I've always felt I wanted to be everything for my children, and I've always tried to keep my cool (ha ha, but trying does help), show affection, cherish them, and all that. But this blog has helped me transform my parenting in dramatic ways.  Some of her entries shock me (mostly her sleep posts), but then I find myself doing them later on.  And it's been so good.  She loves her children into doing what's right.  She doesn't discipline, hardly ever.  She teaches.  She gives example after example of how this works on her blog.  So many times when handling situations with my kids I think, "What would Jane do?"  And I can't think of how she would handle it, because "this situation is just... well, I just need to threaten."  It's true, it's hard to get used to this kind of parenting, and it's hard to see exactly how it works.  But I'll tell you, when I do it (and I'm getting better at it - have been reading her blog a year and a half), it ALWAYS works.  Jane doesn't post often anymore, so just go back and read the archives.  I think I will, too.  Happy Mother's Day!

With our fun neighbors, dolled up in Dana's hair accessories, and Levi with underwear on head.  I don't know why all our pictures are blurry.  I'm sure some setting on our camera is off.  Been going on for months.  Help anyone?

I know, I keep writing about health.  It's funny because I am learning such interesting things all the time, and I think, "I should blog about it..."  But then, I realized if anyone really cares, there are PLENTY of blogs w/ nutrition information on them, so I certainly don't need to spend the time to share what I'm learning. And if I spend all the time blogging, that's less time learning.  But it is interesting.

I did want to share one thing.  Sugar Blues, by William Dufty, he says mosquitoes are attracted to sugary blood.  "[J]ust as spilled sugar in our kitchens attracts ants and insects, so does sugar in our bloodstreams attract mosquitoes, microbes and parasites.  One of the great joys of being sugarfree is to be able to lie on the beach or loll in the mountains without being bothered by mosquitoes or other creatures.  Once off sugar for a year or so, try it and see if it isn't true for you, too.  If you take along a guest who's still addicted to sugar, lie side by side.  See who the mosquitoes go for and who is left alone."

In 8th grade, I went off sugar for a year.  I had no sweets, no jam, no syrup, no sugary cereal, no natural sugars except fruit.  I did have bread and things, but no intentionally sweet things and treats.  It was pretty strict. All year long all I got was a piece of my birthday cake and a piece of my dad's because my bet was with him.  A lot of really interesting things happened at that time.  It took about 3 months to be totally cured from my desire for sweets; when I tried chocolate again, it was nasty; and I have never been able to stand soda ever since then, something I'm sure my body is thanking me for.

Another thing, and this is true, is I really did notice that I never got bit by a mosquito or spider.  I had never heard this idea of William Dufty, but I did start to notice that I never got bit.  Probably for a year at least following this sugar bet, I never got bit - not once.  I remember saying to people, "I wonder if it's because I don't/didn't eat sugar."  But my idea was shot down every time I suggested it.  Well, I get bit now.  I'm willing to place my dollars on this actually being true.

Favorite Conference Weekend Quote

Legos are the best toy ever.

Levi:  Is that a prophet?
Me: Yes
Levi:  Is he old?
Me: He's pretty old.
Levi:  How come he's not dead, yet?

Also, Dana's quite a good talker.  She blows me away every day with her 5-6 word sentences that she uniquely constructs (she just barely turned 2).  For example, Dana and I were sitting at the kitchen table, and Levi was at the computer watching the Disneyland Splash Mountain Youtube video.  Dana said, "That sounds scary from over here." 

Don't eat margarine

Camille doing tummy time in her blessing dress (the same dress Dana wore, the dress her grandma made 29 years ago).  I've been attacking this reflux problem very actively and naturally, and I THINK I have it under control, now.  But I keep thinking that, and then she phases back into it, so I'm waiting to make sure it's all good for several weeks, before I tell you about our experience.  But this is remarkable, because my other kids would never be on their tummies like this without crying.

My next door neighbor from Nigeria came over to show me how to do a back carry with an ordinary blanket.  That's what they all do there.  Camille was asleep almost instantly when put on my back.  It's so much easier to do things where I need to bend over (cleaning, etc.) with her on my back than front.  I definitely need more practice getting her on there.  Jason was pretty excited about it.  Being straight from Nigeria, he exclaimed, "This is legit!"

Now on to my post, which has nothing to do with those first pictures.  I guess I just feel like blogging right now. 


Someday I might stop changing my mind so much and once and for all decide what I think about food, and what I believe is really healthy.  And when that day comes, I will tell you all, because I know I have a few of you foody-nerd friends out there, and you actually are interested :)  But in the mean time, I'll just say I'm starting to really become a real-foodist, more than I was in the past.  The way God made food is trump, well over vitamin-fortified "healthy" food.  Anyway, so I wanted to get this word out there, immediately because everyone should know what margarine is made out of.  According to the FDA, to lower Jason's cholesterol, he should be eating margarine fortified with plant sterols and stenols.  Well, here's how margarine is made (any margarine, not just the fortified kind):


"Hydrogenation: This is the process that turns polyunsaturates, normally liquid at room temperature, into fats that are solid at room temperature - margarine and shortening.  To produce them, manufacturers begin with the cheapest oils - soy, corn, cottonseed or canola, already rancid from the extraction process - and mix them with tiny metal particles - usually nickel oxide.  The oil with its nickel catalyst is them subjected to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor.  Next, the soap-like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed into the mixture to give it a better consistency; the oil is yet again subjected to high temperatures when it is steam-cleaned.  This removes its unpleasant odor.  Margarine's natural color, an unappetizing grey, is removed by bleach.  Dyes and strong flavors must then be added to make it resemble butter.  Finally, the mixture is compressed and packaged in blocks or tubs and sold as a health food."  Nourishing Traditions p. 14.  


And partially hydrogenated is worse, as we have all been told.  But we've only been told to eat the stuff w/o trans fat.  Well, there it is, as described above.  Seriously?  I've been back and forth on the margarine thing for a while, mostly because I was scared for Jason's cholesterol.  But no longer.  I'm just wishing I'd read this process before.  I grew up on margarine andI never want to put that stuff in my body again. 


Everyone should know this.  Pass it on.  

My favorite thing

Babywearing.  It's the concept that a baby wants to be carried, not put in a stroller or toted in a car seat.  It is how people have been carrying babies forever, how women could still be productive and find food, build shelter, while caring for their young.  It is said to regulate baby's breathing, build security, and (I testify on this last one) give you the convenience of a hands-free carry.



Maybe you already know about this, but for some reason I didn't.  The first time I was introduced to this concept, was when I was in NY with some friends.  We were living in NJ and had taken the train up to the city for some shopping.  I was with two girl friends and Dana.  I brought our nice Phil & Teds stroller, and Jessica and Courtney helped me lift it onto the train, up the stairs, etc.  So no big deal, right, when there's 3 women and 1 baby!  Dana was 4 months old at the time, and I slipped inside a little fabric shop to nurse her.  A woman came in carrying her sleeping 2 1/2 year old son on her back.  I suppose she thought babywearing would be right up my ally, since there I was breastfeeding in (sort of) public.  She said to me, "You know, if you get a carrier, you don't need to lug a big stroller around with you everywhere you go." I thought that was cool, she was running her errands around New York City, and her son was sleeping away.  So I asked about her carrier, she said the name and I asked again, because it was unfamiliar to me.  She said, "It really doesn't matter what kind of carrier, there are lots of different kinds."  That was our conversation.  She never said the term "babywearing" and I didn't really find out exactly what it was until a few months later. 

I had a Baby Bjorn when Levi was a baby.  I hardly ever used it.  It was very uncomfortable.  I suppose it would be considered babywearing to use one of those, but they are so uncomfortable, I don't know if anyone uses them enough to be called that :)  I found this website that gives more information than you will ever want to know, but is so very helpful.  When Dana was 8 mo old I was considering doing babywearing (it's much easier to start with a newborn, though) but was so overwhelmed with the information on this site, I gave it up.  Who has hours to spend researching which type of carrier to use?  There are SOOOOO many (and why everyone only has a bjorn, is beyond me :).  But the idea is there is no one right carrier.  It really depends on what your needs are.  I chose a stretchy wrap for a few reasons: reflux baby, back problems/comfort, and cost effectiveness.  But even within stretchy wraps, there are so many options.  I went with the standard Moby Wrap, which is even for sale at Target, so definitely getting popular.  I probably would have gone with the Sleepy Wrap, which is the same cheap price, but I found the Moby at the consignment shop. In a few months I'll probably get a woven wrap.  It all depends on your needs.

Anyway, I am so so glad I put in a few hours to find a carrier that is right for me, and to actually go through with babywearing.  I think I tell Jason every night how much I love it.  I get stuff done (and get to snuggle with her at the same time, and kiss the top of her little head), Camille's reflux is soothed (YES, she does have reflux, and I WILL do a post about our experience later), my back doesn't hurt, even after wearing her for hours, and guess what?  We still have only 1 car, our little economy car, and all 3 5 pt harnesses fit in the back seat.  But we can't get the infant carrier out, it's so squished.  But who cares!  I take her out of it and put her in the wrap anyway.  And when we go to the store, I don't have to take up a huge portion of the cart to put in a car seat. Speaking of shopping, the only time I ever wished I formula fed in the past was when I was walking around the grocery store and the baby was crying, and I had to check out prematurely so I could get to the car and have a place to sit and nurse.  Well, when I went into Walmart a couple weeks ago, Camille woke up hungry just on our way into the store.  I just pulled up my shirt, and nursed her while I walked around the store, and I promise no one could even tell.  How awesome.

The only draw back I have come across so far is she wakes up a little when I get her in and out of the car seat.  But she'll get used to it, and she always goes right back to sleep.  Also, if clothes shopping, I suppose I will have to find a place to lay her down to try on the clothes.  Maybe I'll bring a bouncer?  Just thought I'd pass along the good news.