vegeater.com

Natural Baby and Childcare

So I’m about halfway through this book, Natural Baby and Childcare, by Lauren Feder, MD.  She is a naturally-oriented MD who also practices homeopathy.  I heard about the book while riding in the car with my mom listening to Dr. Oz on satellite radio.

So far, I resonate with a lot of what she says regarding medicine, childhood illnesses, home remedies, nutrition (with a few exceptions, one being: she advises parents to avoid coconut oil — that’s a fail in my opinion), and breastfeeding, among other things.  Some of the parenting advice I don’t necessarily resonate with.   That’s in part because I am not totally sold on the whole Attachment Parenting philosophy, although I think it definitely has aspects I intuitively agree with, and I certainly want to parent mindfully and intentionally.  I find I resonate with AP’s overarching philosophies, but not so much with some of the particular approaches they preach.  For instance, I don’t really see my husband and I doing a long-term co-sleeping thing or forgoing sleep training altogether — but that’s us; everyone is different and will land in a different place in making these decisions.

But, I’m really glad I’m reading this book.  I feel like, despite the sifting I find myself doing, I’m learning some useful things about baby and childcare.  And, from a holistic medical perspective, I’m getting some decent advice from Dr. Feder.

How about you? Has anyone read this book?  Do you love it?  What do you think about Attachment Parenting?  Do you have other parenting philosophies you like?

Posted in Baby/Child | 4 Comments »

Newsflash: Breastfeeding Saves Money

Not only does it save families money, but one study shows that if 90% of new moms in the US breastfed exclusively for the recommended 6 months, the US could save around 13 billion dollars a year, and prevent nearly a thousand deaths annually.  Check out the story.

Posted in health | 4 Comments »

Anatomy of a Vegeater

From International Vegetarian Union

Posted in General | No Comments »

Life Lesson from Mom

You know how annoying it is, when you only need a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, but to get it you have to open up a whole can?  Then maybe you put the rest of the can in the fridge, but it doesn’t turn out that you’re making anything that calls for tomato paste within the next week, so a few weeks later you find a moldy container of tomato paste lurking in the back of your fridge?

I hate that.  I mean, I know the little can of tomato paste only costs $0.79, but still, so wasteful.

Well, wonder of wonders, you can freeze it!  You can either freeze it in two tablespoon increments wrapped in plastic wrap (which is the amount many recipes call for), or just dump the remainder of the can in a freezer bag. You can also roll it into a log shape so you can slice off the amount you need later. Serendipity!  No more wasted tomato paste!

I learned that from my Mom, who just told me recently because she forgot to tell me ten years ago.

ps: don’t forget to label and date it.

Posted in General | 3 Comments »

Our Friend, The Freezer

Let us turn our thoughts today to our friend, the freezer.

A long time ago my mom gave me a book called Dinner’s in the Freezer.  This was before we went veg.  Basically it’s a bunch of recipes that you can make a double (or triple) portion of, and freeze most of it so that you always have something wholesome to heat up when you’re rushed or don’t feel like cooking.  At the time, I got all excited about it, and made several of the recipes, freezing vast quantities of turkey-rice casserole and Tally-Ring*. Despite the fact that we got tired of only having turkey-rice casserole or Tally-Ring in the freezer, having a freezer full of home-made heat-and-eat meals is definitely convenient, money-saving, and much more healthful than processed fast-food or tv dinners.

So, the freezing-meals habit has stuck with me, although I’ve tweaked the original plan a little bit.  Here’s how I do it:

• I freeze proactively: Whenever I’m making a freeze-able food, like a pot of stew or curry or a casserole, I immediately freeze at least two single-serve portions as soon as the pot cools a bit.  I’m usually only cooking for two, so I usually have generous amounts of leftovers from any recipe. Plus, it keeps us from getting tired of eating a dish before all the leftovers are gone (=less waste).

• I only freeze single-serve portions: This way I can take one out in the morning on my way to work to reheat for a quick, one-container lunch.  Single-serve portions take less time to thaw.

• I don’t make extra for the express purpose of freezing it: I found that was too much trouble.  If there’s extra, I freeze it; if not, we gobble it all up. (Except when I’m making Chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon; those I make extra just to freeze.  Yum.) If you double or triple a recipe, it means your precious freezer space is full of only one or two dishes = boring.  If I freeze a couple servings of whatever I’m making, then after a while I have a smorgasbord of dishes to choose from when Lazy Day comes around; I can choose what I’m in the mood for, and so can Hubs.

Ok, if you’re gonna do this, here are a couple things to remember:

• Label each container with the date and what’s inside.  You will forget what it is.  Or one will get stuck way in the back behind the popsicles and you’ll forget to eat it before it’s too old. I like to just write on the container with a dry-erase marker; it usually stays.
• Don’t freeze dishes you didn’t like.  You won’t like them when you re-heat them either.
• Don’t forget about food safety.  I like to freeze things when they’re still a bit hot, so they haven’t had time to grow an unfriendly microbe.  It’s best to thaw in the fridge, or to quick-thaw with warm water or the microwave.  (sometimes I fudge on this, oops).
• You can also freeze things like bean-burgers, muffins, fritters, individual slices of cashew-cheesecake, waffles, and flourless fudge brownies.  I usually wrap these individually in plastic wrap, then put them all in a freezer bag.

I should mention, this is an especially good habit to be in when you know that you have a time when you’ll need ready-made meals around.  I’m currently working on filling my freezer with yummy goodies for when our baby girl comes and Hubs and I take our Babymoon in a few months.  We had eaten up all our freezer-goodies before we moved, so I’m starting with an empty freezer.  I’m going to think of it as giving myself little baby gifts

Next time you’re laboring over a large pot of black-eyed pea gumbo or leak and bean cassoulet, set aside a couple of servings for your freezer.  Later, when you’re vegging out in your fuzzy slippers, eating yummy comfort food that you didn’t slave over that day, you’ll thank yourself.

Do you already do this? Do you have veg-friendly recipes you love to have hanging out in your freezer? Leave a comment!

Posted in General | 4 Comments »

Why I (try to) stay away from artificial fragrances

Part of my renewed interest in replacing my commercial deodorant with an all-natural one is the dangers posed by artificial fragrances.  Fragrances contain many ingredients which are untested for safety — the FDA doesn’t test them; it doesn’t have to by law.  One ingredient in artificial fragrances, pthalates, have been demonstrated in rats  to have harmful effects on fetuses.  These chemicals block fetal androgens, and have been shown to affect humans in some studies, infants in particular. Pthalates are banned in many countries, but not in the US.

Fragrances also contain synthetic musks, chemicals which have been shown in laboratory studies to be linked to cancer, skin sensitization, skin irritation, and fertility problems in women. According to the Environmental Working Group, “In the US, all musk chemicals are unregulated, and safe levels of exposure have not yet been set.”

Some health researchers believe that chemicals in cosmetics are partly to blame for the high rates of hormonal imbalances, particularly in women.  In addition, allergies and chemical sensitivities are on the rise — many people suddenly find themselves allergic to products they’ve been using for years.  My advice is: if you know you have hormonal issues, or find that you’re becoming more sensitive to personal care products, replace all your cosmetic and personal care products with all-natural, non-toxic, fragrance-free versions; many of these can be made at home.

On an environmental note, most of the chemicals in fragrances are petroleum-based compounds; this means, our use of them doesn’t decrease our dependence on a petroleum-based economy, which I think most people agree is a good idea. Not to mention, all these chemicals go down the drain and get into the water supply.

For more info, check out the Environmental Working Group’s stance on artificial fragrances.

Instead of artificial fragrances, use plant-based essential oils.  I have a few that I always keep on hand for fragrancing homemade cosmetic and bath products, and for use as natural pharmaceuticals.  Here are a few I like, and what I use them for:

• Tea tree oil: natural antiseptic and anti-fungal.  Dilute and use on cuts, scrapes, pimples, even some rashes.  Important to dilute, or to test your tolerance of this.  I find that tea tree is irritating to my skin unless its well-diluted with coconut or olive oil.  Also great to put a few drops in a bath if you’re dealing with an issue such as a yeast infection.
• Eucalyptus: great for colds and sinus issues.  I put a few (maybe 5 drops) in a bath to clear sinus problems.  Or I might add a couple drops to my neti pot. Rosemary oil has a similar effect.
• Lavender: the ultimate calming, soothing scent.  I add this to coconut oil that I put around my house in baby-food jars for use as moisturizer and lip balm, as well as minor first aid such as kitchen burns.  I’ve also been using this on my belly to prevent stretch marks.  (For more on preventing stretch marks, check out my friend and fellow nutritionist Jessica Forbes’ blog post on the subject.) And, lavender is my go-to bath addition – for me, no hot bath is complete without the scent of lavender.
• Lemongrass: I keep lemongrass around simply because I love the scent of it.  I add it to my homemade laundry starch spray so that our clothes get that fresh lemony-herbal scent.
• Peppermint: this one’s great for flavoring homemade toothpastes/powders, and anything else you want to smell minty.  Sometimes I mix it with lemongrass in homemade fabric refresher.  It also has some antiseptic properties.  (Side note: I have always loved the scent of Aveda salon products.  I found that I could mimic their scent by combining rosemary, peppermint, and lavender oils in my oil diffuser (the kind you burn a tealight underneath), to fragrance my home)

There are so many essential oils to experiment with, and they all have different properties.  For more info on the properties of essential oils, check out Aura Cacia, an Iowa-based company that sells quality essential oils and products.  Try a few out in place of your artificially-fragranced products.  You can even use them as perfume–I especially like rose and jasmine for this, and sandalwood is nice for guys!

If you have other essential oils you like to use, or have experience with the toxic effects of fragrances, leave a comment!

Posted in Misc (not veg blogs), health, personal care | 7 Comments »

Non-Toxic, Homemade, Completely Edible… CocoDeo

I’ve tried all-natural deodorants in the past, and always been very disappointed in their performance.  So for a while now (I hate to admit it) I have just been using regular old Dove.  But I was doing some reading about aluminum and other ingredients in commercial deodorant/antiperspirant products, which include links to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer among other toxic effects, and I have resolved to give natural another try.

My plan is to try this recipe for a few weeks and see how it works — I’ve also read some good reviews of it online. It’s a mix of coconut oil, baking soda, and arrowroot or corn starch (I used arrowroot); and I added a few drops of lemongrass essential oil for fragrance (I LOVE the scent of lemongrass; you could use whatever you like best). I have dubbed it CocoDeo.  I’m enthused to find yet another use for my favorite all-purpose, cooking/baking/frying, moisturizing, healing, everyday healthful coconut oil.  If you haven’t heard me soapbox about coconut oil yet, just wait.  Honestly, it was the coconut oil that sold me on trying a switch again — coconut oil has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Plus, I live in San Francisco now, where it is never hot (except occasionally when one is hauling one’s pregnant ass up a big hill), so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to only use Dove on special occasions and keep the CocoDeo for everyday.

If you’ve tried this or other non-toxic deodorants, homemade or store-bought, and were pleased with them, leave a comment to let us know what’s worked for you.  And I’ll post an update in a couple of weeks about the CocoDeo.

*the next day, the CocoDeo got me through a very warming 1.5 hr prenatal yoga class stink free!

Posted in Misc (not veg blogs), health, personal care | 3 Comments »

Blogs I’m Loving Lately

As I settle in to my new life in San Francisco, in my small urban apartment, I’m finding myself still thinking about Stuff and De-cluttering. Amazingly, I’m still getting rid of things — if I can’t find a home for it, it’s outta here. And not amazingly, I’m still unpacking and figuring out how to make our space functional.  I’m also thinking about the baby girl I’m expecting in November.  Being currently unemployed (I’m planning to stay home with baby full-time for a bit, so it didn’t make sense to look for a job when I’m 5 months pregnant), I have plenty of time to read.  I have been thoroughly enjoying these blogs:

Design Mom
Simple Mom
Small Notebook

And here are a few I’m going to get to know better:

On Simplicity
Down to Earth
Laurel Plum Online

What are your favorite blogs on eating well, parenting, and/or living well?

Posted in General | No Comments »

Tips for healthy budget eating

Check out this post on Simple Mom.

http://simplemom.net/11-tips-for-eating-healthy-on-a-budget/

Posted in General | No Comments »

Candle 79, Vegan Restaurant in NYC

Finally, the long-awaited Candle 79 post! The trouble is, I hate downloading photos. It is such a pain. Sure there is an easier way.

Anyway, the photos are bad anyway. They in no way do justice to the deliciousness and imagina-tivity of the food. What a great birthday dinner.

Cousin Tracee had the avocado Salad with Quinoa:

along with the Polenta fries, which we all sampled:

Mom had the Mediterranean Tempeh Cake:

This was a fancy guacamole app we had:

I had the Carribbean Jerk Seitan:

And somehow I didn’t get (or somehow lost) a photo of Cousin Christopher’s Raw Enchiladas. Oh, and we each had a yummy made-from scratch juice-soda (you’ll remember my post on their ginger soda).  If you go to NYC, and you love good vegan food, Candle 79 is a great place to get it.  Don’t let these sorry photos deter you.

PS: We even caught a glimpse of Alec Baldwin waiting for a table!

Posted in General | 4 Comments »