Parents Night 8-21

Parents Night #2 was a success! We met a Fuddrucker's and had a wonderful time.

Yan and Abby made an appearance



Abby showed us how to accessorize




Sandra showed us how to grind baby food




....and Buzz just smiled!



We also had two new people come and we hope to have even more next time. I don't have a date yet, but I am thinking Italian Cafe for next time. (I'll try not to schedule it on BAMOM night.) We are also going to have a baby food making night and Sandra has kindly volunteered to host it. Even if you aren't interested in the baby food, we hope you will come for the company and the wine.

As a follow up to the last post, Stephanie I. sent me a video that talks about what happens to our garbage. It's a great video and really makes you think. Click here to watch it.

I hope you have noticed the awesome new header! Teal very kindly made that for this blog and it looks great!!

Have wonderful week, everyone!!

Green with Confusion

When I became a parent I decided that I was going to do my best to keep things green, organic, and simple. (I can hear you all laughing right now.) I'm not going to lie and say that I am 100% organic granola mommy, but I try my best. One hurdle I came up against was the glut of information, much of it contradictory, about organic products. If it says natural is that the same as organic? What is organic, anyway? Is anyone regulating this? In the interest of passing on information, I put together a few bits of what I found to be the most helpful information.

What does it all mean??

100% Organic - product contains only organically produced ingredients. They can contain added water and salt

Organic - Must have at least 95% organically produced products.

Made With Organic Ingredients - Must contain at least 70% organic ingredients, but cannot use the USDA organic seal.

Free Range or Free Roaming - Poultry must have outdoor access, but this can also mean limited space or a fenced in area. (Wouldn't you always put a fence around chickens??)

Natural - Cannot contain artificial ingredients or added color and should be minimally processed. That means that the raw form of the product cannot be fundamentally altered.

No Hormones - Something I did not know is that you are not allowed to use hormones on pork or poultry at any time, so watch out if you think that a company is trying to market "hormone free chicken" It's all hormone free, organic or not. Beef, however, can contain hormones that are used on the cattle.

No Antibiotics - This applies to beef and poultry. They have to provide documentation that no antibiotics were used.

What about produce? I always thought that I should buy everything organic. That can be very pricey. As is turns out, some fruits and vegetables have a natural barrier to pesticides in the form of thick skins.

Lowest in Pesticides (after being washed):
Onions, Avocados, Pineapples, Mangoes, Asparagus, Kiwis, Bananas, Cabbage, Broccoli, Eggplants

Highest in Pesticides (consider buying organic, if possible):
Peaches, Apples, Sweet Bell Peppers, Celery, Nectarines, Strawberries, Cherries, Lettuce, Grapes (imported), Pears, Spinach, Potatoes

Want some more information? Follow the links below!

The Organic Center

USDA Organic Program

Organic Authority

Source: Clean Eating Magazine: Organic Chemistry
Summer 2008, pg.64