The Nagging Mom

About once a week I will let Austin have a Root Beer however I demand it is made with real sugar as opposed to a Mug or a Barqs. Inevitably this leads to a little fit being thrown but I always win with the "Take it or Leave it" approach. And always have to explain to him why as a responsible and loving mother I cannot allow for him to have one made with corn syrup. Here is why:

HFCS is made by a bunch of corn syrups that are processed to increase their Fructose level, resulting in a sweeter and cheaper substitute to its Real Sugar counterpart. Because it cost so much less HFCS has essentially taken Sugar's place in everything. Now the bottom line is Sugar is Sugar regardless of its source, may it be Fructose or Sucrose and they will BOTH lead to obesity,liver damage and/or heart disease if over consumed.



But like I said about Soy, Sugar comes in it's natural state. And the body processes HFCS differently than it does Cane and Beet sugar. Fructose elevates triglyceride levels messing with the metabolic regulating hormones this forces the liver to release fats into the bloodstream.

Also with Real Sugar,the glucose is then stored as energy. Whereas with Fructose it is not which will allow you to keep eatting. In addition to the overeating though the fructose will sneak pass the insulin response thereby confusing our body as to how to cope and storing itself into our cells just as extra fat. From one muffin top to another ;)

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We love our Pizza and Movie nights in but its impossible to find an inexpensive, good, gluten free pizza so we have taken our "bonding" nights one step further and make the pizza together. Obviously we omit the cheese unless Im willing to deal with the mood swings that dairy brings to our home. Tell me what you think of this one

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Trails of tissue throughout my house keep leading me to one very puffy eyed and red nosed little boy. It has been very disheartening to see that my son has adopted the seasonal "allergy" and even more so being a mother who HATES the idea of giving my child any form of western world medicine my heart breaks every six hours as I hand him over the little pink pill. Unfortunately I realize that he is miserable and needs an immediate fix; the antihistamine provides this. One other alternative is to give him a vaccination OR I can apply those same principles and build up his immunity to the allergenic pollens using a gentler and more holistic approach: Honey.

Now as there are no conclusive studies to show that Local Honey really is anecdotal there are enough reports to be convincing to me. I look at it as a vaccination; Vaccines invade your body with a "germ impostor" to trigger your immune system to respond with the production of antibodies to fight off the germ when it really does invade.

A spoonful of honey a day is kind of like slowly vaccinating the body against allergens, immunotherapy. And the local honey has the same pollen spores that you're sneezing and sniffling to but introduces these spores into your body in tiny amounts making the body accustomed to their presence and decrease the chance an immune system response like the release of histamine but too low to trigger an allergic reaction like smelling a flower might do.

Obviously this method is not as quick of a cure as it's sleep inducing counterpart but its a much safer method. UNLESS for an infant: Children 12 months or younger do not have a fully developed immune system and are subject to Infant Botulism. They should not be fed honey.

Im still studying the ways of keeping bees, I hope to have some next year and then Domestic Diva will be able to sell Local Honey. In the mean time I just picked up a
4 Ounce jar at Market of Choice for $4.50. Farmers markets are a great source too!

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Yeah, a gardening post! As the warm front begins to push it's way in I have been doing a lot of planning for my garden this year. I am a tried and true organic gardener. That being said I know the value that vermicompost has on my garden. Not only is it nutrient rich for your plans and fertilizes them in an Earth friendly way but it also helps reduce waste going into the landfill.

What it is: Worm cast and decayed organic matter.

How its made: The worm will eat its own weight in organic matter (Vegetable scraps, paper, egg shells. You do not want to dispose of animal bi-products other than egg shells) then they will digest the waste meanwhile killing any pathogenic bacteria providing casts that contain eight times as many micro-organisms as their feed, the ones that help your plants grow. The cast has perfect PH balance,five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus, and 11 times more potassium than ordinary soil, the main minerals needed for plant growth.

How to use it: Dig some into your plantings, for seedlings it is said to incorporate 25% of vermicompost into your mixture or you can make "compost tea" by adding some compost and water into a spray bottle, letting it sit for a few days and then spray your plants with it and watch them grow!

Being that Im trying my best to cut cost and reduce garbage it only makes sense to make my own! If you go online you can find local companies who sell vermicompost worms however they are close to $30 a pound, fortunately once they are established in their new damp and dark home they will double their population within 6-8 weeks.

Well to lessen the expense even more and to provide an educational experience for my son's classroom I went and ordered Red Wiggler cocoons. Apparently, it has become a learning experience for me too so Ive decided to share it on my blog and hope to provide weekly updates on their growth and development.

Cocoons can stay dormant for years from my understanding and will only hatch in the most optimal of conditions: Dark, damp place with food. Mine arrived to me in a plastic bottle with dry papershreds so I moved them into a Tupperware container, threw in some vegetable scraps and moistened the bedding. Now we wait....

Their first picture:

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I can recall once when my son opened the refrigerator and saw a package of Tofu on the shelf, in full dramatics he slammed the door shut and ran off yelling that, "Tofu will kill him!" Months later I came to him and told him that he was correct.

When I took the Dairy out of our home the only natural inclination was to replace it with Soy products. Soy milk, cheeses,whipping cream,yogurts,ice creams and coffee creamer, putting little thought into how soy could adversely effect either me or my child. I've learned a thing or two. Allow me to K.I.S.S. this out here:

1. The most obvious-In it's non-fermented state it is processed and Soy is genetically engineered for mass production (Just say no to GMO).In the processing toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are produced as well as high levels of aluminum and MSG.

2. Soy foods can cause deficiencies in calcium and Vitamin D and the Vitamin B12 found within Soy products actually cannot be absorbed by the human body.

3. Lastly and the biggest reason why I chose to black list it from Austin (...I still use the Silk Hazelnut Creamer, I do admit)is that Non-fermented soy is high in phytoestrogens which will decrease sperm count for males (granted this is certainly a LOOOOOOOOOOONG term concern) and that Genistein, the main phyto-estrogen in soy will replace human estrogen and speed up the onset of puberty. Frankly, I'd like to postpone this as long as humanly possible.

Now mind you there are many healthful benefits to soy as well but like anything else I think it is best to consume it in it's natural state. As for the Dairy replacement; We just omitted it entirely.

Examples of Fermented Soy Products (The Good):
natt
miso
tempeh
traditional soy sauce

Examples of Non-Fermented Soy Products (The Bad):
soy milk
tofu
modern soy sauce (which is actually mostly wheat!)
soy oil
additives to thousands of commercial shelf products

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Sorry for the delay between post, the Mortgage J-O-B becokened, been ill and my son's birthday. Will get caught up tomorrow, promise!

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