Reflect. Re-Evaluate. Reconsider.

            

            After spending this lovely Sunday with my family outdoors, in the woods, making a bonfire and drinking snow-melt tea I find myself in a reflective state (although when am I not?!).  Reflecting on how this lust for sustainable living has become quite suddenly tangible. How did the couple who used to drive to Ikea on a Sunday afternoon for something to do develop into the two that chopped wood, made a bonfire, boiled down snow for tea and sipped on it for hours all so the Mr. could bury a metal file in the coals to achieve the appropriate heat & consistency so he could then turn it into a camping knife?! I even write that in disbelief. Not only did it get me thinking about the development of our lives but also about the well renown 3 R’s we all grew up learning about. Listen as they so naturally roll off your tongue: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

            So, the majority of us recycle, right? It would feel weird if we didn’t. It has become such a part of our lives that we would feel guilty throwing a plastic bottle into the garbage. And we are all familiar with the feeling that comes from throwing a recyclable item in the garbage and then digging through the mess once we realize the atrocious move that was mistakenly made. Recycling makes each of us feel good; like we’re doing our part; like we’re saving the world. And it’s true, it most certainly helps (although there is some question about how loyal recycling companies are). BUT, what about those other two R’s? How did R number three jump to the front of the line making one and two nearly obsolete?

            If you ask me, Recycling belongs third. We should only be in the place to recycle after we have tried to Reduce and Reuse. Reducing the quantity and quality of what comes into the house is the first move. Do we need that extra item in the house just because it comes in a pretty bottle, or because we’re feeling extra bloated, wrinkly, or the house is in disarray that day? Think of how many things you’ve purchased and hardly use? Just stuff, clutter, money spent, and dust collected. One way to reduce is to repurpose things (ie. Vinegar is an excellent cleaner, coconut oil for sunscreen, oatmeal as an anti-itch remedy, etc.) Once you start thinking this way it’s amazing how many things double up.

            Once things do come into the house, we need to shift our thinking once again. When we’re done with an item how could we reuse it? Today I made a necklace and earring combo for one of the neighbour’s kids from a combination of old necklaces that still had great beads. It’s always fun to make some money on your (or your kids) nice but unworn clothes (& toys) by selling them at consignment stores or donating to someone who may need them.  Old files can apparently turn to camping knifes, old furniture can look brand new with the proper care/funky adjustments and old toys (from way back when you were little) are the ones my kid loves the most!

            Recycling is the safest R of them all. It involves little change; just adding a little blue bin to our household and adjusting to garbage separation. Media, industry, markets and consumerism don’t want us to think of the first two. If we all started reducing and reusing, ‘their’ pocketbooks would become much lighter. When you have kids, it is so easy to consume ( look at parent & tot trade shows) because just like every other important moment of our lives ‘they’ have turned it into a market industry. 

            Similarly to recycling becoming habit, we can Re-evaluate (the prerequisite R if you will) our lives and work the other R's in until they too, become the norm....Well, I'm off to sew my old teddy's armpit up as he's the new fav around here!

Let’s support each other in this by sharing links, ideas and encouragement:

Consignment Stores I shop at/give to:

Once Upon a Child: http://www.onceuponachild.com/

Zoe’s Attic (thrift): https://www.facebook.com/zoesattic

ReFind: http://refindclothing.blogspot.ca/

Mom & Me: http://oldsab.towntracer.com/mini_me_consigment_store_olds_ab

Reduce:

Simple Life Celebrations: https://www.facebook.com/simplelifecelebrations

Buy some chickens! They help with composting and deliver an abundance of eggs!

Reuse:

1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/creative-reuse-project-wants-your-ideas.html

Upcycling Ideas: http://toponlineengineeringdegree.com/?page_id=116

                                http://www.dwell.com/articles/Danny-Seos-Upcycling.html

Pinterest: pinterest.com- great ideas on here!

Not Fancy, Just Healthy.

            I'm astonished by how many people have commented on what I feed our baby lately. Hmm….breast milk and real food, ya know, the kind that you and I eat? (Well, as real as we try to eat anyway… a topic for another day). I’d like to preamble, by announcing that I make zero attempts in coming across snobby or that I have the only way to do things but merely to provide an alternative should it be of interest. I honestly thought that most mamas were aware of the simple solutions to baby food- but the recently provided puzzled looks and inquiry that presents itself when I whip an avocado out of my purse tells me differently.

            Raw fruit is a given; bananas, avocado, oranges, and so on. Not hard to prepare, carry or serve those (avocado even has it's own built in dish!).Veggies however, may seem a little more daunting and for meat lovers, even more so. I do see how it seems easiest to grab a jar of beef and peas (or whatever) in the grocery store. Dump it, heat it and spoon it in. An alternative approach is that your baby can eat what you eat. When you’re preparing your meal, just make a  little extra or a variation of what your eating. As example, tonight we had huevos rancheros wraps (gotta eat all these eggs somehow!)  and baby had tomato, a hard boiled egg and cooked spinach. It wasn’t any harder to add her meal to my cooking than it would have been to heat something in the microwave. All the same ingredients, same knives that cut, same pots on the stove. For lunch we both had toast, mango and cottage cheese and for breakfast a banana and puffed wheat. Puffed wheat, by the way, is my (and baby’s!) new found favorite- there are zero additives as opposed to other cereals.

            It may become tricky when you’re out because as I’ve found people (restaurants and friends) don’t always serve baby friendly food. Ordering for the baby in a restaurant has become my last resort as I like to avoid paying $2.00 for them to boil and egg or toast one slice of bread. Making your own portable baby food is as simple as pie. As you're cooking supper, just boil some of your kid’s favourite veggies (carrots, beets, spinach, beans, broccoli, etc). When you’re ready (it can wait until the cutie is in bed) drain the veggies and toss them in the food processor. The adult sized food processors are the best; I wouldn't want to do up a bunch of stuff in the tiny Baby Bullet although I’ve never tried it so I’d be open to reviews. If it needs extra liquid, I'm a big fan of using the water you boiled the veggies in to retain the nutrients. Once the veg. is ground to the desired texture pour the veggies into ice cube trays and set to freeze for 12 hours. After frozen, place the cubes into a freezer safe storage container and mark with the date. These delicious little portable cubes are good in the freezer for 8 weeks!  Take a second to think about it; doesn’t 8 weeks in the freezer seem like a more realistic shelf life for a fruit or vegetable than the 1-2 year expiration date on the baby food jar? (And I don’t even want to think about the meat).

 

            Although our family is not huge on meat, when we do eat it, we just chop up bite sized bits and put it on the high chair tray for the baby. Depending on their age, babies can have lamb, turkey, chicken (6-7m), pork, veal, beef, liver, salmon & other fish, bison (7-9 m), tofu, seafood, cold cuts, canned fish (12m +). If you’re cooking meat for your family, perhaps set aside an unseasoned cooked piece that you can keep in the fridge for your child for the next couple of days. For example, we had pulled lamb in the slow cooker the other day but before coating it in delicious sauces we saved some in a container in the fridge so it was good to add to the baby's meal or toss it in the diaper bag to go!

            There are a lot of recipes out there, and a lot of baby food cook books. These will be useful to some, but if you’re like me they are used for the once-in-a-while-feelin’-creative times. Baby food doesn’t have to be fancy, just healthy. Enjoy!