Happy Easter

No matter what your religious beliefs, Easter is a sign of spring.  Rebirth - human spirit, hope and tulips.  Easter makes me think of tulips, forsythia and eggs.  Hey, I am a mother of two young kids - what can I say.

So as I have discussed in the past, I am trying to eliminate artificial dyes from our diet.  So I thought I would try to dye some eggs naturally with ingredients like blueberries, red cabbage and spices.  So I did some research and immediately started to stress out!  The ingredient list for 3 colors was something like 20 ingredients!  And my grocery store probably wouldn't have 1/2 of them.  And the time involved to actually create the dye?  Holy cow!  Okay.  How about plastic eggs?  NO!  I won't do it.  I have wonderful memories of dying eggs with my mother as a kid and I don't want to deny my kids those same memories. 

So what was I going to do?  It really was a dilemma for me. Then a light bulb went off.  Don't laugh...I realized that we didn't have to EAT the eggs.  My daughter and I love hard-boiled eggs so the waste was hard to deal with but I went out and bought the cheapest dozen of white eggs I could find and a dye kit.  I am so glad I did.  We had a wonderful afternoon coloring eggs with dye and paint!

It really is a good lesson for me and all working moms.  We have to keep our priorities straight.    Throwing out 11 (I ate one pre-dyeing) eggs is such a minor issue to the quality time I spent with my kids today.  

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter.  It's going to be a beautiful spring day in the northeast.  Perfect for Easter services, Easter dresses, Easter egg hunts and time spent with family.  Enjoy.

Stress Relief

I have not been sleeping well lately.  I always have so much going on in my head.  As any multi-tasking mom knows, there are so many things to do and so many things to remember.  Laundry, meal planning, shopping.  Remember lunch boxes, snow pants and boots (for us northerners), fresh water for the pets.  I forgot to close the door to our pantry this morning and the dog helped himself to a box of cereal bars!

Last night I couldn't fall asleep, as usual.  I know it is stress related and I needed some stress relief.  So I got out of bed last night at 12:30 AM and did some yoga.  Not a lot and nothing fancy - child's pose, downward facing dog, cat's pose, triangle.  You may or may not be familiar with the names, but they are all good relaxation stretches.  

Yoga forces you to slow down.  To do the moves correctly you have to think about every part of your body.  Breath slowly, bring your heart rate down.  Stress relief at its best.  I crawled back into bed, laid down on my back, arms by my side and palms up and woke up 5 hours later when my alarm went off.  I was tired but felt good.

So I encourage you all to give yoga a try.  Check out Yoga Tutor.  They have on-line instruction for everyone from beginners to masters.  Breath.  Stretch.  Relax.  Good night....

Artificial Dyes - Did you know?

Hello ladies.  As I mentioned in my first post, I feel it is important that I share some of what I have been learning about the food we eat and the food we feed our kids.  Pesticides bother me a lot, but I think I want to talk about artificial colors or food dyes today.

Artificial food dye, synthetic food dye, food coloring, FD&C Red No. 40, or Tartrazine (a.k.a. Yellow No. 5)…  Artificial food dye is made from petroleum (yes,  the same petroleum that fuels our vehicles) and unfortunately a whopping 15 million pounds of food dye is used in the U.S. per year (5 times more than in 1955).   

Here are some interesting (and disturbing) things I have learned about these food dyes.  As I already mentioned they are made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum, a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar.  Ick.

• NPR.org: “Artificial food dyes are made from petroleum and approved for use by the FDA to enhance the color of processed foods.”

They’ve been linked to long-term health problems such as cancer. If you’re a child of the '70s and ‘80s (like me) do you remember that rumor about red M&Ms causing cancer? Hmmmm...

• CSPInet.org: “The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens, says CSPI. Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply.” According to Wikipedia, “A carcinogen is any substance … that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer.”!

How about this? Apparently food products containing artificial dye are required to have a warning label in the U.K.  Interesting.  The label states that the food “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” So speaking of M&Ms, they aren't as brightly colored in some other countries besides the U.S. because manufacturers would rather do away with the artificial dye than have to put a warning label on their products.

• Mercola.com: “This is why if you eat a Nutri-Grain strawberry cereal bar in the United States, it will contain Red 40, Yellow 6 and Blue 1. But that same bar in the UK contains only the natural colorings beetroot red, annatto and paprika extract. In fact, the UK branches of Wal-Mart, Kraft, Coca-Cola and Mars have removed artificial colors, sodium benzoate and aspartame from their product lines as a result of consumer demand and government recommendations. In the United States, however, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to allow these toxic ingredients in countless popular foods, including those marketed directly to children.”
• CBSnews.com: Many Grocery Manufacturers Association members (like Pepsi, Kraft and General Mills) “have switched to natural colorings in their products in the U.K., where warning labels are required, but they’re not doing that here for the most part. That’s because no one’s making them do it, and switching would cost a lot of money.”

I think the reason I wanted to share this information the most (besides the fact that some of these dyes are carcinogens!) is that synthetic food dyes have been shown to cause an increase in hyperactivity in children as well as a negative impact on their ability to learn.

• Washingtonpost.com:”Artificial food dyes (in combination with a common preservative) could make even children with no known behavioral problems hyperactive and inattentive.”
• CSPInet.org: “The science shows that kids’ behavior improves when these artificial colorings are removed from their diets and worsens when they’re added to the their diets.” and “While not all children seem to be sensitive to these chemicals, it’s hard to justify their continued use in foods—especially those foods heavily marketed to young children.”
• Mercola.com: “According to scientific studies, these dyes are causing behavioral problems and disrupting children’s attention.”

Who would have thought anything that I found in my mom's baking cabinet could be so bad for us?  Anyone else remember those cute little, colorful plastic bottles?  Well, food coloring/artificial food dyes today are used in SO many foods.  I expect to find Red No. 40 or Yellow # 5 or Blue #1 in things like icing on those fancy kids cakes at the grocery store.  But can you believe they put Blue #1 in mini marshmallows?  WHITE marshmallows have food dye?  WHY?!  Or Red #40 is in Kellogs Strawberry Frosted Mini wheats?  WHY?!  How about Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Minute Maid Lemonade, Lunchables, Fruit Roll Ups, Cheetos, and even “Light and Fit” Yoplait Yogurt - they all have food dye.  

I must credit Lisa Leake at 100 Days of Real Food for doing the hard work on this research.  I have learned a lot from her.  I have decided to try and protect my kids from these chemicals.  I must admit, I have been fooled a couple times (like the marshmallows) but I am getting more diligent at looking at labels, no matter what the food is.  Unless USDA Organic, I will look at the label of the foods I am buying for my kids.  I am really sad about losing M&M's but I don't need the calories and plain 'ole chocolate keeps my kids happy.

My first blog, my first post!

So here we go.  This is my first blog.  I figured if I was going to blog about something, it should be something I know a lot about.   I am a full time working mom of two children, a wife and a home owner.  I am a multi-tasking Master Mom!  I have so many things to do, why have I decided to add a blog to that list?  Because, like every mom I know, I want to do the best I can for my family.  I want to raise healthy, active, happy, kind and bright kids and do as much as I can to provide for them.  I figured there are a lot of mothers out there that want to do the same.  I see so many mommy blogs that are created by stay-at-home moms.  I think stay-at-home moms are wonderful and lucky (sometimes). But stay-at-home moms and working moms have such different lifestyles and demands on their time that I frequently can't relate.  So I am creating a working mom blog to reach out to, and help (if I can) other working mothers. 

So, that brings me to my first topic and one that I have begun to feel rather strongly about.  Food!  I love food, but I have become convinced that a lot of what we eat is what is ultimately killing us.  I'm not talking about obesity and the health problems associated with it.  I am talking about cancer, asthma, autism, ADD/ADHD (and the drugs used to treat it) and uncontrollable allergies.  Allergies to wheat, peanuts, eggs, beef.  It goes on and on.  

Why?

One day, while looking for recipes and menu ideas on-line I came across a website about eating only "real" food.  I had to join the blog to get the last menu list, so I joined.  After reading about this "real food" concept and following this blog for a while, I feel that it is important that I spread the word on some of what I have learned - share the wealth, so to speak.

I have believed for a long time that cancer must be something environmental.  Our pets are suffering from it just as much as humans.  I think it is the food (and associated chemicals) we are eating.  I also believe that the junk we feed our kids has a direct impact on the various mental illnesses they suffer from, as well. Food dyes, "natural flavors", artificial flavors, GMO's, pesitcides....  

You may know about some or all of it, but do you understand the magnitude?  Probably not (no offense).  I didn't, and I still don't - but I am learning more and more and feel compelled to tell others.  I feel it is important.  So stay tuned.