One More Reason to Avoid CAFO Meat

You have all probably heard of the swine flu outbreak by now. I came across a blog post today at Food Renegade. Scary and gross!

For those of you still buying CAFO meat (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) because you can't fathom spending the higher prices of CAFO-free meat, this news may scare you into making the switch.

If we all stopped buying CAFO meat, maybe the powers that be would get the message, make some much needed changes, and things like this wouldn't happen (swine flu is spread person to person - but appears to have started with CAFO pigs)...

What do I think about the higher price of CAFO-free meat? Spend the same amount as you usually do but buy less of it. Most of us could probably easily cut back on our meat consumption anyway. Not only will you feel better, you'll be helping to save our environment. CAFO animals are sprayed down regularly with antibiotics (that get into our environment) to help prevent the diseases they are extremely susceptible to because of the inhumane, dirty living conditions they are in!

Here's the link:

Deadly Swine Flue Outbreak Linked to Smithfield CAFO's

Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Meats

Recently, I began following Food Renegade. As most of you know, I've been slowly making changes to our diet. That includes purging most (not all) pre-packaged foods and making wholesome foods from scratch. A little bit more time-consuming in the beginning - but, now that I'm getting into the grove, I am finding it so much fun and worth the health benefits! Food Renegade is a great blog I've begun to use as a valuable resource for tips, recipes and information. Which brings me to the topic of today's post (mostly, I'm going to provide links):

Most of the meat we find in grocery stores is CAFO meat (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation). Read Food Renegade has a great article about CAFO meat here. It is my opinion that everyone should know what they are eating and where it comes from...

After you read the article, you may decide to switch to grass-fed meat. Food Renegade has an informative post explaining the health benefits of grass-fed meats. The post also has embedded links to where you can find it. You can read the post here.

This is a bit of a sensitive subject because grass-fed meat is pricey. We don't eat a lot of meat, therefore, I don't mind paying extra money for good quality, healthier meat (I get mostly organic, free-grazing meat here).

After you read the articles, I'd love to know what you all think on this subject.

Cupcake Courier Review

I love this handy cupcake/small tiered cake/muffin carrier/mini-cheesecake carrier. I don't know how many times I've wanted to bring muffins or cupcakes to a playgroup in the recent past and couldn't find a good way to transport them. I had seen this on the Rachael Ray show a while back. I knew I needed a carrier for 20+ cupcakes. Many of the holders out there only hold a dozen. This carrier holds 36!

The Cupcake Courier latches snugly and the handle is low-profile, so you can, if need be, store in the fridge. The trays easily stack together and there is enough room in between each tray for generous frosting.

There downsides:

• It is a bit heavy. However, how often do we have to walk very far with baked goods? It is not so heavy that it would ever be an issue for me.
• It's large. However, it serves more than one purpose, so I can justify the room it takes up.
• If your cupcakes don't rise very high, they can be hard to get out of the cups without touching the frosting. The solution: add flat marbles to the bottom of the cups (the kind you get at craft stores. Some have also used pie marbles (most of the reviews for all other cupcake holders had this issue).

A teacher friend of mine saw this the other day and jumped for joy when seeing this product. She said it would be perfect for bake sales too.

You can find these at Amazon.com, Target.com and The Cupcake Courier website (currently out of stock on the CC website) from $24 on up (Target is the lesser priced). Comes in several colors.

Discussion: Being a Good Guest When Eating Healthier

Cathy, over at A Life Less Sweet recently posted a blog entry entitled, Being a good guest when eating healthier.

In the post she quoted Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food. He's quoted saying,

I really care where my food comes from, but I also care about being a good guest. So I eat whatever is put in front of me and don't make special requests.

As a mother who does not allow trans fats and HFCS in my home (heck, I don't even allow juice in my house unless it's a special occasion or we make it ourselves with our juicer. My kids eats eat so much fruit a day, I'm surprised the don't smell fruity!), I'll blog about what I allow and don't allow and my reasons behind it. I've recently seen the wonderful and drastic health benefits of eating healthier (my weight loss, specifically) and I'm proud of the way my family eats and blog about it, like many other parents do.

I do not, however, make a fuss when I am visiting well-meaning friends or family members (I even try to hide disappointing facial expressions - something not easy for an opinionated, outspoken person like myself). Some people haven't caught on to a healthier way of eating, some people are in the process and haven't quite got to where I am, and there are people who eat above and beyond better than we do (we're still a work-in-progress when it comes to healthier eating).

Unless someone asks me, specifically, about how I cook and buy food for my family, I try my darnedest to keep my mouth shut when we're guests in someone else's home. I think it's rude for people to bring their kids over to a playgroup and then make a fuss about what is or isn't being served (allergy issues aside). I try to urge my kids to eat the healthier options at guests, and I'll limit how much juice or cookies they are given. I draw the line right about there.

That doesn't mean I'm not concerned or feel a sense of alarm when some parents serve food I would never allow, but, I made it a point, months ago, to worry about what we eat in our home. Since our family eats about 80% of our weekly meals at home, and I am (I hope) teaching our girls life-long healthy eating habits, I don't think it's necessary to be overbearing and rude about it outside of the home.

What do you all think? Do you say something? Should we say something? Thoughts in general?

Healthy Eating Blogs

Here's some links to a couple of blogs I'm now following that I thought I'd share with all of you who are trying to cook healthier for you family and would appreciate some recipes, tips and healthy eating information (click on links for the jump). I'll also add them to my sidebar for easy reference.

Super Healthy Kids
Check out her Master Muffin Mix recipe (she also has a pancake one) and browse through her recipes. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and inspired to spend some time in your kitchen.

A Life Less Sweet
"One Family - No High Frutose Corn Syrup - Eating Healthier"

Padraig Slippers

I have been a big fan of these hand crocheted wool slippers for a few years now. I found them a natural parenting/living store in Alaska. I bought Olivia her first pair when she started walking and they've since been handed down to Lila - in excellent condition. They hold up amazingly well.

These slippers are made of 100% New Zealand wool and hand crafted in Canada. The slippers are durable, machine washable, breathable, incredibly soft and oh so warm.

I recently bought a pair for my husband. He is not easy to please, especially when it comes to his footwear. Here's what he said about these slippers:

"These slippers are so comfortable, I want go on a run so long and so hard that I tear my feet up. I won't mind because I'll know I have these to come home to."

Wool has been known for it's antibacterial properties for centuries, therefore, these are especially good for a foot soldier like my husband. Any wife of an infantryman knows that her husband needs all the help he can get in regards to healthy feet!

I bought Lila a pair of animal slippers recently and she prefers her Padraig's over her bunny slippers. That's saying a lot because she loves bunnies!

These slippers are worth every penny and are a great China-free option.

Comes in infant, toddler, children and adult sizes at Padraig Cottage.

Prices start at approximately $16.

Looking for Chore Charts?

I've really been enjoying reading Just for Fun. Sandy has great art project ideas for toddlers and young children. We've enjoyed doing a few of projects and I look forward to all her great ideas as I am an uninspired mother, when it comes to art projects. I need all the help I can get!

Her latest post, Bedtime Struggles, highlights chore charts that she printed out online at DLTK. You can find the charts by clicking here. You can customize these by season, character, chore, etc. Your child can then color the picture above the chore chart and then you can laminate it and reuse it!

I did just buy a Melissa and Doug Responsibility Chart. I haven't used it yet and may try DLTK's chore chart as a test before I pull out Melissa and Doug's Chart.

I've been looking for printable chore charts online for quite some time and am happy that I finally found one!