What Baby Parker eats

Parker is 9 months old. People have been asking me what Parker eats. I feel like my life is centered around feeding him. I made all Christian's baby food (even yogurt) using the book, "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. I would definetley recommend this book! I do make a lot of baby food for Parker too, but not all. I still use the principles from the book in planning his meals. I think that it is important to buy or make organic food for our babies. Their bodies are so little. I still nurse on demand so this is a loose schedule, he has 3 meals a day. He eats about 1/4 Cup of food at each meal, sometimes more, sometimes less. This is what I TRY to do.
Here is a day of food:
7-8 Wake up and nurse
10:30 nurse and eat breakfast plain yogurt, pureed fruit, water. Stonyfield Farm is a good brand of organic yogurt, I feed him plain with nothing in it but milk and cultures. For fruit I mash up a banana, or a pear, or I give him some organic store bought puree. One day I'll give him an egg yolk and the next I'll give him a little bit of kale powder.
1-2 nurse and lunch. I give him a vitamin A vegetable and a baby grain (think beta carotene, then think carrot, then think orange)Vitamin A veggies are carrots, sweet potatoes,pumpkin spinach, broccoli, kale, ect. The baby grains are millet, brown rice, barley, and oats. There is instructions for mixing them together in the book.
3-5 nurse again
5-7 nurse and dinner. Super green veggie and baby grain, water. For veggie I do peas, green beans, or sometimes a mixture of things that are put together in his store bought puree.
He was getting constipated, so I now make sure that I give him as much water as I can after every meal. (which is only about 2 ounces). He is doing better now.
9-10 I let him nurse as much as he wants and then he goes to bed. He still wakes up about every other night and I just nurse him and he goes right back to sleep.

Pink Slime

I saw this news article of abc4 yesterday about "pink slime". Pink Slime is animal carcass that is being ground up and added into our ground beef as a filler. In order to make it edible they have to add lots of ammonia NH3 to the pink slime. This stuff is not good for consumption, and this amount of ammonia is toxic for our bodies. If you eat ground beef, I would suggest buying organic or having the butcher grind it for you. (you can buy the beef at the meat counter and they will grind it for you).
http://www.abc4.com/mostpopular/story/Pink-Slime-The-Inside-Story/vm2n3PWs60uax36dzhsNGQ.cspx

Banana Berry Smoothie

Breakfast today!
1 ripe banana (I use frozen)
1 C Orange Juice
1 C frozen berries (I use organic, berries are the worst offenders!)
1 C plain yogurt (stonyfield brand)
1/4 C rolled oats (not instant)
1/4 C honey
1 swig of kale (can't even taste it)
blend until smooth

Making my own toxic free baby products

Baby Wash:
1/4 C Castile Soap
3/4 C water (distilled)
8-10 drops essential oils for scent

Organic Wipes solution:
2 TBSP Baby wash (from above)
2 TB Olive Oil
2 C Water
2 drops tea tree oil

Massage Oil:
1 part Coconut oil
1 part shea butter
1-2 drops lavender essential oil (I like lavender because it is suppose to be calming for sleep)

Side note: I really like BabyGanic's diaper ointment and eczema cream, I love their wipes too.

Making my own toxic-free cleaners

I am slowly changing over to all homemade products. I have had so much fun making my own toxic-free products (everything from baby wipes to toothpaste) with my mom this month. There are several reasons to make your own stuff including; saving money, healthier for you and your family, safer for the environment, and a lot of times they work better than the commercial products you are replacing. There are several different recipes online and in books so you just have to play around with them and see what works the best.

My mom has more expensive essential oils from doterra. They claim to be the best because you can eat them. I am cheap, so I just bought these on amazon. They seem to be really good. I don't think that I am going to regret getting the cheaper ones.


The best pergo or laminate floor cleaner: I looked for this for a long time as our kitchen and hallways are pergo. I used to never clean them because it was so hard to get them looking good.
1 C Water
1 C white Vinegar
few drops Castille soap
few drops orange essential oil
I love how the vinegar makes my floors shine! A lot of the recipes in books and online call for rubbing alcohol, but I omitted it because of the smell and that it is toxic to drink. This combo works amazingly!

Glass Cleaner
1 C water
1 C white vinegar
few drops of essential oils

or
3 tablespoons cornstarch in 1/2 cup water. Mix ingredients well in a bowl. Dab a soft rag into the mixture and rub on the window. At first there will be a film, but as you keep rubbing, the window will become so clean you feel you could walk through it. (from 'Clean and Green', by Annie Berthold-Bond)

Multipurpose Cleaner, hand sanitizer too!: I spray this on my toys, high chair, counters, everywhere! For the hand sanitizer I have it in a little spray bottle in my purse.
3 C water
2-3 drops tea-tree essential oil (disinfects)
2-3 drops lemon (disinfectant smell)

Bathroom scrub: (to be made just before cleaning and discarded afterward)

1 cup Baking Soda
Lemon juice of one Lemon
Enough water to make a thick paste
5 drops Tea Tree essential oil (optional - to disinfect)
3 drops Lemon essential oil (optional - for fresh smell and additional cleansing)
+ White Vinegar in a spray bottle

Laundry Detergent:
This recipe is all over the internet. I have used it for about a year now and I really like it. I like to pour white vinegar in just before the rinse cycle for a fabric softener. \
1 C Borax
1 C washing soda
1/2 C grated fels napha soap.
1-2 drops essential oil of choice (for smell)
I want to try to recipe with castille soap, so I'll let you know how it goes.


trash pails:
borax or baking soda

dishwashing detergent
1 part borax
1 part washing soda
1 C vinegar during rinsing

Drains:
1 C Vinegar
1 C baking soda
will foam up and eat anything that's obstructing. I even have used this in my toilet bowl when it was clogged.

That's all I can think of for now.

75% diet 25% exercise

Here are some things that I don't like to tell people to their face, but since this is my blog and my soap box here is goes. By the way this is just my opinion, but It works for me.
This is totally my un-expert opinion, but I hate it when people start exercising to lose weight and then don't get the results they are looking for. I hate to say it but exercise doesn't burn that many calories:

*Examples: calories burned/ half hour for a 150lb person
Walking, brisk pace: 150
Running, 6 miles/hour : 320
Swimming: 144.
aerobics: 250
*source: http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/blcalorieburn.htm

It is very easy to eat an extra 200-300 calories. Just cutting calories isn't going to help us either, unless you have amazing self-control. We are told that losing weight is a simple equation of less calories in and more calories out. The problem is we are still hungry after eating too many empty calories. We are overfed and undernourished. We cannot use self control when the body is starving to death.

Here is what I try to do: I never count calories. I eat 3 healthy satisfying meals per day. I try to eat until I am 80% full. I try to eat enough so that I am not hungry until the next meal. If I am eating junk, I can never make it to the next meal . I eat healthy snacks whenever I want them although it's not that often. I eat when I am hungry, not when I am bored or tired. Right now I am not trying to lose weight, I just want to maintain my weight, and be as healthy as I can. oh and I drink a full glass of water with every meal.

Here is what I ate yesterday: (it was a pretty good day, but I have been having awesome days after starting this blog) oh and I don't worry about portion sizes, I just eat until 80% full.

Breakfast:6oz Kale green drink glass of water, 1-chia-flax muffin, 1-banana, 1/2 nectarine that Christian started.

Lunch: Spinach salad with apples, strawberries, chia seeds, and bean sprouts. 1/2 Apple, Piece of whole wheat bread, glass of water

Dinner: Big Salad with spinach, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and lettuce. small plate of spaghetti, 5 broccoli pieces (or so), glass of water

Snack: I ate about 2 handfuls of air-popped popcorn with light butter and salt before bed. Christian wanted it and so it was a fun treat. I ate an Apple sometime yesterday too.

Think of exercise as the icing on the cake. There are so many benefits to exercise including increased cardiac function, increased mobility, increased flexibility, increased lung capacity, increased cell function.

Muffins

*update: Christian has eaten 6 of these today!*
Chia-Flax Muffins. I like fast healthy breakfast. 1 muffin, banana, water and your on your way.
I know it doesn't sound that enticing but try them for yourself, they just taste like regular bran muffins. I made these muffins yesterday for a fast breakfast this week. Christian was asking for one this morning and I thought that was a good thing especially considering how good they are for you. I store these only a few days in the fridge because the flax seed goes rancid quickly.

1 C water
2 TBS flax seed
2 TBS chia seeds
1/4 C coconut oil
1/2 C pure honey
2 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch ginger
pinch cloves
1 C grainmix flour (if you don't have a mixed flour just use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp real salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Blend water and flax seed in blender for 2 minutes
2. add chia, oil, honey, eggs, and spices pulse very slightly
3. measure dry ingredients in a separate bowl
4. pour dry ingredients into blender all at once and stir with fork until incorporated
5. pour into greased or lined muffin pans
6. bake 350 for 20 minutes
   

Yields 12-16 muffins.

Kale green drink

Kale is super healthy for you but hard to get down. Try this blend for a green drink in the morning.
2 sprigs kale
2 cups water
1/2 apple
1/2 peeled lemon
1 small carrot.
blend until smooth.

How to make bean sprouts

Some of the Benefits of Sprouting:

1. Sprouting multiplies Vitamins and minerals (as compared to just eating the vegetable or grain)

2. Biogenetic- alive energy (helps with digestion and gives you energy)

3. Gives body a rest

4. Uses enzymes for healing (catalyzes hormones in the body to work like they should)

5. Highest quality protein (plant)

6. Lowers the toxicity in the blood (caused by illness)

7. Antioxidants (cleansing)

8. Low Calories for high nutrition (great for weight loss)

9. Easy to Store and Grow

Try sprouting these beans:

Beans	Benefits
LENTILES (only green, red won’t sprout)	Fiber and Protein
ADZUKI, (red)	Regulates estrogen
MUNG (sm. Green)	Molybdenum helps liver
GREEN PEAS	Regulates Blood Sugar

Sprouting Instructions for beans:

Keys: air circulation, defused light, rinsing, draining

1. Measure ½ C grain or beans in a wide mouth mason jar and cover with a mesh lid

2. Wash: Cover with room temperature water, shake, and dump out the water

3. Soak: Add 2 C water and let it soak for 8-12 hours

4. Rinse: Pour off water (can save to water plants) , add more water, shake, and dump out the water

5. Set the jar at a 45 degree angle

6. Rinse again by adding water and pouring it off every 8-12 hours (morning and night)

7. Sprouts should be ready in about 3 days. The roots will be about 1/4 inch long

8. Dry with paper towel and store in the refrigerator up to a week

Cabbage and Carrot Salad

Salad:

2 C. grated purple cabbage

2 C. grated green cabbage

2 C. grated carrots

1 C Bean Sprouts

Dressing:

½ C. Apple Cidar Vinegar

1 T agave or other sweetener of choice

1 T water

1 C Olive Oil

1 T orange juice

1 Packet of Good Seasonings Italian Dressing Mix

Mix together salad and dressing separately. Pour the dressing over the salad to coat.

Lunch Today

I feel so good when I eat healthy! You probably think I am just ubber healthy all the time, but sometimes I eat ice cream and other bad things just because they just taste good or I'm hungry and it's fast. Nobody is perfect at their diet. I focus on yummy, healthy, good foods that I like to eat, instead of what I shouldn't eat. I like to think about what the food is doing for my body.

Green Salad: really anything goes!
spinach
apples
pears
blueberries
sunflower seeds
chia seeds
strawberries (Christian ate all mine but I love them with this)

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing:
1/4 c Vinegar
good seasonings package
1 T agave
1/2 olive oil
mix together and pour over salad