NY Times article about Pa Dept of Agriculture making the following labels illegal on milk and dairy products starting Jan 1, 2008:
"No rBGH"
"From cows that haven’t been treated with artificial bovine growth hormone"
"Pesticide Free"
"Antibiotic Free"
Looks like Im buying my dairy in NJ.
Just remember, if you buy organic milk, it automatically means (at least until the organic standards are decreased) that it has no pesticides or antibiotics, and the cows have to have access to pasture...so despite this labeling law, you can still know you are doing the right thing.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Call your Congressman about the US FARM BILL
The House is dangerously close to passing a bill that's almost identical to the current unfair Farm Bill -- the one that's been paying subsidies to millionaires and dead people instead of local farmers.
Support for farmers transitioning to organics and working family farmers. Healthier school lunches. More funds to feed hungry children and seniors. Protection of water and wildlife. The 2007 Farm Bill could do it all, but time is running out for reform.
I just joined the Environmental Working Group Action Fund's campaign for a fair Farm Bill by calling my Representative and asking them to support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment. Call your Representative today and ask them to support it, too!
The "Fairness Amendment," offered by a bipartisan group of legislators, will put America on a new course for family farm and food policy.
It will provide a more reliable safety net for America's organic and family farmers at less cost to taxpayers and provide new resources to address our country's hunger, health, environmental, and fiscal priorities.
Call your Representative today and ask them to support the Fairness Amendment!
For more information, visit www.ewg.org/farmfairness or www.ewg.org.
Support for farmers transitioning to organics and working family farmers. Healthier school lunches. More funds to feed hungry children and seniors. Protection of water and wildlife. The 2007 Farm Bill could do it all, but time is running out for reform.
I just joined the Environmental Working Group Action Fund's campaign for a fair Farm Bill by calling my Representative and asking them to support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment. Call your Representative today and ask them to support it, too!
The "Fairness Amendment," offered by a bipartisan group of legislators, will put America on a new course for family farm and food policy.
It will provide a more reliable safety net for America's organic and family farmers at less cost to taxpayers and provide new resources to address our country's hunger, health, environmental, and fiscal priorities.
Call your Representative today and ask them to support the Fairness Amendment!
For more information, visit www.ewg.org/farmfairness or www.ewg.org.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Improve Your Self Confidence
Improve your self confidence in 15 minutes
I used to be frighteningly under confident in social situations. And although people who know me now would never believe I used to doubt myself so much I literally had to learn confidence until it became a natural part of me. I can tell you relaxed optimistic confidence is just, well so much more fun.
Here I'll tell you about the things that made the most difference to my confidence levels...
Some people have naturally high levels of confidence but everybody can learn to be more confident
Firstly, it's important to get a clear idea of what self confidence really means, otherwise you won't know when you've got it! So, self confidence means:
1) Being calm. For every situation in life you need to run on the appropriate level of emotion. Too much emotional 'leakage' into a experience can spoil the experience. You make great strides towards confidence when you begin to relax in a greater range of situations.
2) Being cool. The second part of self confidence is about being able to relax with uncertainty. To be 'cool' in a situation really means relaxing with not knowing how things will pan out. If you truly tolerate uncertainty, you can do pretty much anything.
3) Not being too concerned with what others think of you. You know when you imagine what some place is going to be like before you go there but when you get there it is totally different to your imagination? That's how reliable your imagination is! Stop trusting your imagination so much. I've long since stopped bothering to imagine what others think of me because so often I've turned out to be wrong.
4) Being specific - where do you want confidence? 'Confidence' is meaningless until you tie it to something specific. You are already confident that you can read these words or can switch a light on and off. So you don't need more confidence everywhere. To get what you want in life you have to establish exactly what you do want. Where do you want confidence in your life? Think about the specific situations now and write them down. You beginning to steer your brain towards confidence.
5) Understanding that what you expect is what you get. Your brain is an organ that needs clear goals to work towards. When a task has been set in your brain it will do everything it can do to bring about the completion of that task. If you've tried to recall someone's name but can't, hours later you'll often find their name pops into your head.
The 'trying to recall' experience set the task or blueprint for your brain's future subconscious behaviour which eventually produced the name for you - when you weren't thinking about it consciously. You can use this natural mechanism to start feeling more confident. But, to ensure you set the right task for your subconscious mind, the next point is vital.
6) Don't task your mind with negatives. Instead of: 'I don't want to screw up' (which sets the task of 'screwing up' for your brain), set the blueprint for what you do want! Your brain doesn't work towards what to do by being told what not to do. And nature has given you a wonderful natural tool to set the right task blueprints with.
7) Use nature's goal-setter: Now you understand how vital it is to set the right task for you brain, you need to know how to do this reliably. Good hypnosis will strongly 'program' the right blueprint in your mind through the use of your imagination. If you powerfully imagine feeling confident and relaxed while in a relaxed hypnotic state it will be hard for your unconscious mind to do anything else. The blueprint for relaxation has been set firmly into your subconscious mind.
3 simple strategies to get you feeling confident quickly:
1) Think specifically of the time/place/situation you want to feel confident in. Remember 'confidence' doesn't mean anything until you attach it to something specific.
2) Focus on words in your mind right now that describe how you do want to be in that time and place. Maybe words such as 'calm', 'relaxed' or 'focused'. Remember your brain works on clear positive instructions.
3) Close your eyes for as long as you like and think about how those words feel. Then, imagine the situation itself and rehearse it in your mind feeling confident and relaxed. This way you set the right blueprint or 'task' for your unconscious mind.
You can repeat this often to make it more effective and use it with as many areas of your life as you need to. If you listen to a hypnotic cd or download that can make the benefits even more powerful (see my profile below). So if you feel like you'd be blessed with less confidence than some other people you can start redressing the balance by using your mind in the right way right now.
It took me years to learn how to be more confident - now you can do it in a fraction of the time. Good luck!
Boost your confidence now at HypnosisDownloads.com
Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
The How Tos of Composting
According to Wikipedia:
Composting is the process of producing compost through aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter. The decomposition is performed primarily by aerobes, although larger creatures such as ants, nematodes, and oligochaete worms also contribute. This decomposition occurs naturally in all but the most hostile environments, such as within landfills, extremely arid deserts or cold weather such as boreal winters or polar regions, which prevent the microbes and other decomposers from thriving.
Composting can be divided into the two areas of home composting and industrial composting. Both scales of composting use the same biological processes, however techniques and different factors must be taken into account.
Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Rather than allowing nature to take its slow course, a composter provides an optimal environment in which decomposers can thrive. To encourage the most active microbes, a compost pile needs the correct mix of the following ingredients:
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen (in the case of aerobic composting)
Water
Decomposition happens even in the absence of some of these ingredients, but not as quickly or as pleasantly. (For example, vegetables in a plastic bag will decompose, but the absence of air encourages the growth of anaerobic microbes, which produce disagreeable odors. Degradation under anaerobic conditions is called anaerobic digestion.)
The goal of a composting system
The goal in a composting system is to provide a healthy environment and nutrition for the rapid decomposers, the bacteria. The most rapid composting occurs with the ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio of between 25 and 30 to 1 by dry chemical weight. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 25 to 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. For example, grass clippings average about 19 to 1 and dry autumn leaves average about 55 to 1. Mixing equal parts by volume approximates the ideal range. Commercial-grade composting operations pay strict attention to this ratio. For backyard composters, however, the charts of carbon and nitrogen ratios in various ingredients and the calculations required to get the ideal mixture can be intimidating, so many rules of thumb exist to guide composters in approximating this mixture.
Materials for composting
Given enough time, all biodegradable material will compost. However, not all compost feedstocks are appropriate for backyard composting. Most backyard systems will not reach high enough temperatures to kill pathogens and deter vermin, so pet droppings, non-vegetarian animal manure, meat scraps, and dairy products are best left to operators of high-rate, thermophilic composting systems.
Certain substances should not be composted by the average homeowner, as they require more sophisticated systems.
These substances include non-vegetarian animal manures and bedding, by-products of food production and processing, restaurant grease and cooking oils, and residuals from the treatment of wastewater and drinking water. Composting will also break down petroleum hydrocarbons and some toxic compounds for recycling and beneficial reuse. The use of composting for such purposes is most commonly referred to as a form of bioremediation.
High-carbon sources provide the cellulose needed by the composting bacteria for conversion to sugars and heat, while high-nitrogen sources provide the most concentrated protein, which allow the compost bacteria to thrive.
Some ingredients with higher carbon content:
Dry, straw-type material, such as cereal straws
Autumn leaves
Sawdust and wood chips
Some paper and cardboard (such as corrugated cardboard or newsprint with soy-based inks)
Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content:
Green plant material (fresh or wilted) such as crop residues, hay, grass clippings, weeds
Animal manures (choose vegetarian horse manure, cow manure, llama manure, etc.)
Fruit and vegetable trimmings
Seaweeds
Coffee grounds
Poultry manure provides lots of nitrogen but little carbon. Horse manure provides both. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.
Mixing the materials as they are added increases the rate of decomposition, but it can be easier to place the materials in alternating layers, approximately 15 cm (6 in) thick, to help estimate the quantities. Keeping carbon and nitrogen sources separated in the pile can slow down the process, but decomposition will occur in any event.
Greasy food waste and wastes from meat, dairy products, and eggs should not be used in household compost because they tend to attract unwanted vermin and they do not appropriately decompose in the time required. However, eggshells are a good source of nutrients for the compost pile and the soil although they typically take more than one year to decompose. If recycling of meat and dairy products is desirable, Bokashi is a suitable alternative, which uses fermentation. However, even in Bokashi, liquids like milk and oil should not be used. Manure from non-vegetarian animals should never be used, and neither should human or pet waste.
Composting techniques
There are a number of different techniques for composting, all employing the two primary methods of aerobic composting:
Active (or hot) composting allows aerobic bacteria to thrive, kills most pathogens and seeds, and rapidly produces usable compost. Aerobic bacteria produce less odour and fewer destructive greenhouse gases than their anaerobic counterparts. In addition, they are usually faster at breaking down material and the faster material is broken down, the faster compost is created for your garden.
Pasteurisation in a hot compost (such as the Compost Oven) will occur in any garden compost bin if the temperature reaches above 55 C (131°F) for three or more days. To achieve it, you need to keep your garden compost bin warm, insulated and damp since this encourages the cultivation of actinomycetes, a vital bacteria in the pasteurisation process.
The pasteurised soil naturally created through heat in the garden compost is valuable for the composting home gardener, since the pasteurisation process is otherwise both expensive and complicated, and adding chemicals to produce the pasteurisation effect makes the compost less healthy.
Passive (or cold) composting allows Nature to take its course in a more leisurely manner, while leaving many pathogens and seeds dormant in the pile.
Cold composting is the type of composting done in most domestic garden compost bins in which temperatures never reach above 30 C (86°F). Cold composting is characterised by individuals putting their kitchen scraps in the garden compost bin and leaving them untended. This "scrap bin," having a very high moisture content and without aeration, is likely to turn anaerobic and generate foul odours, including significant adverse greenhouse gas emissions.
When composting this way, a gardener can improve the process by adding some wood chips or small pieces of bark, leaves, twigs or a combination of these materials distributed throughout the mixture. This material helps to improve drainage and airflow.
Such composting systems may be either enclosed (home container composting, industrial in-vessel composting) or in exposed piles (industrial windrow composting).
Home composting
Home composters use a range of techniques, varying from extremely passive composting (throw everything in a pile in a corner and leave it alone for a year or two) to extremely active (monitoring the temperature, turning the pile regularly, and adjusting the ingredients over time). Some composters use mineral powders to absorb smells, although a well-maintained pile seldom has bad odors.
Microbes and heating the pile
An effective compost pile is kept about as damp as a well wrung-out sponge. This provides the moisture that all life needs to survive. Bacteria and other microorganisms fall into a variety of groups in terms of what their ideal temperature is and how much heat they generate as they do their work. Mesophilic bacteria enjoy midrange temperatures, from about 20 to 40°C (70 to 110°F). As they decompose the organic matter they generate heat, and the inner part of a compost pile heats up the most.
The heap should be about 1 m (3 ft) wide, 1 m (3 ft) tall, and as long as is practicable. This provides a suitable insulating mass to allow a good heat build-up as the material decays. The ideal temperature is around 60°C (140°F), which kills most pathogens and weed seeds while providing a suitable environment for thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria, which are the fastest acting decomposers. The centre of the heap can get too warm, possibly hot enough to burn a bare hand. If this fails to happen, common reasons include the following:
The heap is too wet, thus excluding the oxygen required by the compost bacteria
The heap is too dry, so that the bacteria do not have the moisture needed to survive and reproduce
There is insufficient protein (nitrogen-rich material)
The solution is to add material, if necessary, and/or to turn the pile to aerate it.
Depending on how quickly the compost is required, the heap can be turned one or more times to bring the outer layers to the inside of the heap and vice versa, as well as to aerate the mixture. Adding water at this time helps keep the pile damp. One guideline is to turn the pile when the high temperature has begun to drop, indicating that the food source for the fastest-acting bacteria (in the center of the pile) has been largely consumed. When turning the pile does not result in a temperature rise, there is no further advantage in turning the pile. When all the material has turned into dark brown or nearly black crumbly matter, it is ready to use.
Worm Composting
Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going into burgeoning landfills. Worm composting or vermicomposting is a method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting. The worm then excretes a soil-nutrient material called worm castings. This is why wise farmers have historically wanted to have healthy worm populations living in their fields. Worms are at the bottom level of the food chain, and thus are critical to healthy soil. In a nutshell, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. Some good gardeners have developed a radical composting product, made through a brewing process which runs distilled water through Red Wiggler worm castings. The nutritious elements and microorganisms of the castings are captured in a concentrated liquid form, named worm tea. By using worm tea on your plants and gardens, you put healthy microorganisms back into the soil where they thrive and multiply, creating a much healthier growing environment for your plants.
Industrial composting
Industrial composting systems are being increasingly installed as an alternative form of waste management to landfill along with other advanced waste processing systems. The industrial composting or anaerobic digestion can be combined with mechanical sorting of mixed waste streams and is given the term mechanical biological treatment. Industrial composting helps prevent global warming by treatment of biodegradable waste before it enters landfill. If this waste is landfilled it breaks down anaerobically producing landfill gas that contains methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Most commercial and industrial composting operations use active composting techniques. This ensures a higher quality product and produces results in the shortest time (see compost windrow turner). The greatest control, and therefore the highest quality, is generally achieved by composting inside an enclosed vessel which is monitored and adjusted continuously for optimal temperature, air flow, moisture, and other parameters. See In-vessel (also en-vessel).
Large scale composting systems are used by a few urban centers around the world. Co-composting is a technique which combines solid waste with de-watered bio-solids. The world's largest co-composter is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which turns 220,000 tonnes of residential solid waste and 22,500 dry tonnes of biosolids per year into 80,000 tonnes of compost using a facility 38,690 square metres in size (equivalent to 8 football fields). The aeration building alone is the largest stainless steel building in North America (the size of 14 NHL rinks).
Other ingredients
Some users like to put special materials and activators into their compost. Adding commercially available Effective MicroorganismsTM helps to keep the balance between "good" and "bad" bacteria. A light dusting of agricultural lime (not on the animal manure layers) can curb excessive acidity that can slow down the fermentation. Seaweed meal can provide a ready source of trace elements. Finely pulverized rock (rock flour or rock dust) can also provide needed minerals, as opposed to clay (which is trace mineral-poor and/or leached rock dust).
Animal manure should only be collected from vegetarian animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, llamas, etc. Pet waste, human waste, and non-vegetarian animal waste should not be used in the average compost heap.
Human waste can be collected by composting toilets (in this case, human feces). However, such compost is usually not used as a fertilizer for plants that are directly edible (e.g., salad crops). Most composting toilets do not allow for the thermophilic activity needed to completely kill off the pathogens and bacteria. However, if these high temperatures are reached, there is no danger of contamination, and the resulting compost can be safely used on food crops. Most composts heaps are unable to reach those temperatures. Composting toilets should only be used as a way to reduce waste in the environment, not as a fertilizer; in the case that they are used with crops, they should only use human waste for non-food crops, or with careful filteration, food based crops.
And from the G Living Network, comes more insight (http://gliving.tv/theroots.php):
Container Composting
There are sound reasons for composting in containers, although there is debate as to whether slatted or closed sided bins are preferable, for this will affect air circulation within the compost pile, as well as the potential for heat loss. The Indore method developed by Sir Albert Howard and the Shewell Cooper method favour slats, while the New Zealand Box method advocates the use of closed sides.
Mike Morrison's (Australia)approach has been a departure from traditional methods with the Compost Oven comprising of patented bubble film with an embedded self aerating and heating device to keep the compost warm, damp and insulated against heat loss.
There are also differences between these techniques in terms of activators (that is, high nitrogen content organic substances to stimulate high bacterial activity within the heap, e.g., urine, grass mowings, comfrey leaves, etc.) and materials used. However, most agree that a good mixture of carbon and nitrogenous materials, usually created in layers and on a base consisting of rougher, stemmy material (to encourage air circulation) that is in contact with the soil are essential to all successful composting processes.
For those who do not have a lot of space, composting can be carried out with good results by using cylindrical bins provided that attention is paid to the all-important issues of aeration and C:N ratios. Such bins are available proprietarily, and are often supplied by local authorities at low cost to encourage recycling.
Composting is the process of producing compost through aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter. The decomposition is performed primarily by aerobes, although larger creatures such as ants, nematodes, and oligochaete worms also contribute. This decomposition occurs naturally in all but the most hostile environments, such as within landfills, extremely arid deserts or cold weather such as boreal winters or polar regions, which prevent the microbes and other decomposers from thriving.
Composting can be divided into the two areas of home composting and industrial composting. Both scales of composting use the same biological processes, however techniques and different factors must be taken into account.
Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Rather than allowing nature to take its slow course, a composter provides an optimal environment in which decomposers can thrive. To encourage the most active microbes, a compost pile needs the correct mix of the following ingredients:
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen (in the case of aerobic composting)
Water
Decomposition happens even in the absence of some of these ingredients, but not as quickly or as pleasantly. (For example, vegetables in a plastic bag will decompose, but the absence of air encourages the growth of anaerobic microbes, which produce disagreeable odors. Degradation under anaerobic conditions is called anaerobic digestion.)
The goal of a composting system
The goal in a composting system is to provide a healthy environment and nutrition for the rapid decomposers, the bacteria. The most rapid composting occurs with the ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio of between 25 and 30 to 1 by dry chemical weight. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 25 to 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. For example, grass clippings average about 19 to 1 and dry autumn leaves average about 55 to 1. Mixing equal parts by volume approximates the ideal range. Commercial-grade composting operations pay strict attention to this ratio. For backyard composters, however, the charts of carbon and nitrogen ratios in various ingredients and the calculations required to get the ideal mixture can be intimidating, so many rules of thumb exist to guide composters in approximating this mixture.
Materials for composting
Given enough time, all biodegradable material will compost. However, not all compost feedstocks are appropriate for backyard composting. Most backyard systems will not reach high enough temperatures to kill pathogens and deter vermin, so pet droppings, non-vegetarian animal manure, meat scraps, and dairy products are best left to operators of high-rate, thermophilic composting systems.
Certain substances should not be composted by the average homeowner, as they require more sophisticated systems.
These substances include non-vegetarian animal manures and bedding, by-products of food production and processing, restaurant grease and cooking oils, and residuals from the treatment of wastewater and drinking water. Composting will also break down petroleum hydrocarbons and some toxic compounds for recycling and beneficial reuse. The use of composting for such purposes is most commonly referred to as a form of bioremediation.
High-carbon sources provide the cellulose needed by the composting bacteria for conversion to sugars and heat, while high-nitrogen sources provide the most concentrated protein, which allow the compost bacteria to thrive.
Some ingredients with higher carbon content:
Dry, straw-type material, such as cereal straws
Autumn leaves
Sawdust and wood chips
Some paper and cardboard (such as corrugated cardboard or newsprint with soy-based inks)
Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content:
Green plant material (fresh or wilted) such as crop residues, hay, grass clippings, weeds
Animal manures (choose vegetarian horse manure, cow manure, llama manure, etc.)
Fruit and vegetable trimmings
Seaweeds
Coffee grounds
Poultry manure provides lots of nitrogen but little carbon. Horse manure provides both. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.
Mixing the materials as they are added increases the rate of decomposition, but it can be easier to place the materials in alternating layers, approximately 15 cm (6 in) thick, to help estimate the quantities. Keeping carbon and nitrogen sources separated in the pile can slow down the process, but decomposition will occur in any event.
Greasy food waste and wastes from meat, dairy products, and eggs should not be used in household compost because they tend to attract unwanted vermin and they do not appropriately decompose in the time required. However, eggshells are a good source of nutrients for the compost pile and the soil although they typically take more than one year to decompose. If recycling of meat and dairy products is desirable, Bokashi is a suitable alternative, which uses fermentation. However, even in Bokashi, liquids like milk and oil should not be used. Manure from non-vegetarian animals should never be used, and neither should human or pet waste.
Composting techniques
There are a number of different techniques for composting, all employing the two primary methods of aerobic composting:
Active (or hot) composting allows aerobic bacteria to thrive, kills most pathogens and seeds, and rapidly produces usable compost. Aerobic bacteria produce less odour and fewer destructive greenhouse gases than their anaerobic counterparts. In addition, they are usually faster at breaking down material and the faster material is broken down, the faster compost is created for your garden.
Pasteurisation in a hot compost (such as the Compost Oven) will occur in any garden compost bin if the temperature reaches above 55 C (131°F) for three or more days. To achieve it, you need to keep your garden compost bin warm, insulated and damp since this encourages the cultivation of actinomycetes, a vital bacteria in the pasteurisation process.
The pasteurised soil naturally created through heat in the garden compost is valuable for the composting home gardener, since the pasteurisation process is otherwise both expensive and complicated, and adding chemicals to produce the pasteurisation effect makes the compost less healthy.
Passive (or cold) composting allows Nature to take its course in a more leisurely manner, while leaving many pathogens and seeds dormant in the pile.
Cold composting is the type of composting done in most domestic garden compost bins in which temperatures never reach above 30 C (86°F). Cold composting is characterised by individuals putting their kitchen scraps in the garden compost bin and leaving them untended. This "scrap bin," having a very high moisture content and without aeration, is likely to turn anaerobic and generate foul odours, including significant adverse greenhouse gas emissions.
When composting this way, a gardener can improve the process by adding some wood chips or small pieces of bark, leaves, twigs or a combination of these materials distributed throughout the mixture. This material helps to improve drainage and airflow.
Such composting systems may be either enclosed (home container composting, industrial in-vessel composting) or in exposed piles (industrial windrow composting).
Home composting
Home composters use a range of techniques, varying from extremely passive composting (throw everything in a pile in a corner and leave it alone for a year or two) to extremely active (monitoring the temperature, turning the pile regularly, and adjusting the ingredients over time). Some composters use mineral powders to absorb smells, although a well-maintained pile seldom has bad odors.
Microbes and heating the pile
An effective compost pile is kept about as damp as a well wrung-out sponge. This provides the moisture that all life needs to survive. Bacteria and other microorganisms fall into a variety of groups in terms of what their ideal temperature is and how much heat they generate as they do their work. Mesophilic bacteria enjoy midrange temperatures, from about 20 to 40°C (70 to 110°F). As they decompose the organic matter they generate heat, and the inner part of a compost pile heats up the most.
The heap should be about 1 m (3 ft) wide, 1 m (3 ft) tall, and as long as is practicable. This provides a suitable insulating mass to allow a good heat build-up as the material decays. The ideal temperature is around 60°C (140°F), which kills most pathogens and weed seeds while providing a suitable environment for thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria, which are the fastest acting decomposers. The centre of the heap can get too warm, possibly hot enough to burn a bare hand. If this fails to happen, common reasons include the following:
The heap is too wet, thus excluding the oxygen required by the compost bacteria
The heap is too dry, so that the bacteria do not have the moisture needed to survive and reproduce
There is insufficient protein (nitrogen-rich material)
The solution is to add material, if necessary, and/or to turn the pile to aerate it.
Depending on how quickly the compost is required, the heap can be turned one or more times to bring the outer layers to the inside of the heap and vice versa, as well as to aerate the mixture. Adding water at this time helps keep the pile damp. One guideline is to turn the pile when the high temperature has begun to drop, indicating that the food source for the fastest-acting bacteria (in the center of the pile) has been largely consumed. When turning the pile does not result in a temperature rise, there is no further advantage in turning the pile. When all the material has turned into dark brown or nearly black crumbly matter, it is ready to use.
Worm Composting
Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going into burgeoning landfills. Worm composting or vermicomposting is a method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting. The worm then excretes a soil-nutrient material called worm castings. This is why wise farmers have historically wanted to have healthy worm populations living in their fields. Worms are at the bottom level of the food chain, and thus are critical to healthy soil. In a nutshell, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. Some good gardeners have developed a radical composting product, made through a brewing process which runs distilled water through Red Wiggler worm castings. The nutritious elements and microorganisms of the castings are captured in a concentrated liquid form, named worm tea. By using worm tea on your plants and gardens, you put healthy microorganisms back into the soil where they thrive and multiply, creating a much healthier growing environment for your plants.
Industrial composting
Industrial composting systems are being increasingly installed as an alternative form of waste management to landfill along with other advanced waste processing systems. The industrial composting or anaerobic digestion can be combined with mechanical sorting of mixed waste streams and is given the term mechanical biological treatment. Industrial composting helps prevent global warming by treatment of biodegradable waste before it enters landfill. If this waste is landfilled it breaks down anaerobically producing landfill gas that contains methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Most commercial and industrial composting operations use active composting techniques. This ensures a higher quality product and produces results in the shortest time (see compost windrow turner). The greatest control, and therefore the highest quality, is generally achieved by composting inside an enclosed vessel which is monitored and adjusted continuously for optimal temperature, air flow, moisture, and other parameters. See In-vessel (also en-vessel).
Large scale composting systems are used by a few urban centers around the world. Co-composting is a technique which combines solid waste with de-watered bio-solids. The world's largest co-composter is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which turns 220,000 tonnes of residential solid waste and 22,500 dry tonnes of biosolids per year into 80,000 tonnes of compost using a facility 38,690 square metres in size (equivalent to 8 football fields). The aeration building alone is the largest stainless steel building in North America (the size of 14 NHL rinks).
Other ingredients
Some users like to put special materials and activators into their compost. Adding commercially available Effective MicroorganismsTM helps to keep the balance between "good" and "bad" bacteria. A light dusting of agricultural lime (not on the animal manure layers) can curb excessive acidity that can slow down the fermentation. Seaweed meal can provide a ready source of trace elements. Finely pulverized rock (rock flour or rock dust) can also provide needed minerals, as opposed to clay (which is trace mineral-poor and/or leached rock dust).
Animal manure should only be collected from vegetarian animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, llamas, etc. Pet waste, human waste, and non-vegetarian animal waste should not be used in the average compost heap.
Human waste can be collected by composting toilets (in this case, human feces). However, such compost is usually not used as a fertilizer for plants that are directly edible (e.g., salad crops). Most composting toilets do not allow for the thermophilic activity needed to completely kill off the pathogens and bacteria. However, if these high temperatures are reached, there is no danger of contamination, and the resulting compost can be safely used on food crops. Most composts heaps are unable to reach those temperatures. Composting toilets should only be used as a way to reduce waste in the environment, not as a fertilizer; in the case that they are used with crops, they should only use human waste for non-food crops, or with careful filteration, food based crops.
And from the G Living Network, comes more insight (http://gliving.tv/theroots.php):
Container Composting
There are sound reasons for composting in containers, although there is debate as to whether slatted or closed sided bins are preferable, for this will affect air circulation within the compost pile, as well as the potential for heat loss. The Indore method developed by Sir Albert Howard and the Shewell Cooper method favour slats, while the New Zealand Box method advocates the use of closed sides.
Mike Morrison's (Australia)approach has been a departure from traditional methods with the Compost Oven comprising of patented bubble film with an embedded self aerating and heating device to keep the compost warm, damp and insulated against heat loss.
There are also differences between these techniques in terms of activators (that is, high nitrogen content organic substances to stimulate high bacterial activity within the heap, e.g., urine, grass mowings, comfrey leaves, etc.) and materials used. However, most agree that a good mixture of carbon and nitrogenous materials, usually created in layers and on a base consisting of rougher, stemmy material (to encourage air circulation) that is in contact with the soil are essential to all successful composting processes.
For those who do not have a lot of space, composting can be carried out with good results by using cylindrical bins provided that attention is paid to the all-important issues of aeration and C:N ratios. Such bins are available proprietarily, and are often supplied by local authorities at low cost to encourage recycling.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom
A NEW DAWN
GRAIN OF SAND
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
GO WITHIN
GRAIN OF SAND
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
GO WITHIN
Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom
A NEW DAWN
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Concerned about childhood obesity? The Media Isn't!
From Campaign for a Commerical Free Childhood:
Today, the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Digital Democracy released a new report that documents how major food, soft drink and fast food brands are deploying a panoply of new techniques--including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video, and three-dimensional virtual worlds--to target children and adolescents, often under the radar of parents. The report - "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age" - is available at http://www.digitalads.org/
The report is a wake-up call for policymakers and anyone concerned by the escalating epidemic of childhood obesity. Even as junk food marketers claim to be cleaning up their act, the food industry is exploiting the latest technologies to target children in new and insidious ways.
A coalition of advocacy groups - including CCFC -- submitted the report to the Federal Trade Commission today, calling on the agency to expand its investigation of food and beverage marketing to include the full of range of digital marketing to children and adolescents.
Examples cited in the report include:
To "create a compelling way to connect with the younger demographic," 600 McDonald's restaurants in California launched a mobile marketing campaign, urging young cell phone users to text-message to a special phone number to receive an instant electronic coupon for a free McFlurry dessert.
Coca-Cola's "My Coke Rewards" program offers special codes in its products that enable young people to access a website, where they can earn such rewards as downloadable ring tones and "amazing sports and entertainment experiences." This technique is part of a strategy for behavioral profiling, where marketers compile a detailed profile of each customer, including demographic data, purchasing behavior, responses to advertising messages, and even the extent and nature of social networks.
Food marketers are commercializing online communities by aggressively moving into MySpace and other social networking sites. One technique is to create "branded profiles" that invite children and teens to become "friends" with popular spokescharacters. "Welcome to the King's Court," beckons the Burger KingMySpace profile. "The virtual home of the Burger King. He's giving away free episodes of the Fox shows '24,' 'Pinks,' and 'First Friend.'"
Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one viral video, "Molly Grows Up"--which generated more than 300,000 views--a young girl is shown ordering "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty."
The Mars candy company enlisted the musical group Black Eyed Peas to make a series of "webisodes" called "Instant Def," in order to promote Snickers bars to teens, an example of brand-saturated environments that weave products seamlessly into interactive entertainment content.
To learn more, please visit http://www.digitalads.org/.
Thanks,
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=347609204&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialfreechildhood.org%2F
Today, the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Digital Democracy released a new report that documents how major food, soft drink and fast food brands are deploying a panoply of new techniques--including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video, and three-dimensional virtual worlds--to target children and adolescents, often under the radar of parents. The report - "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age" - is available at http://www.digitalads.org/
The report is a wake-up call for policymakers and anyone concerned by the escalating epidemic of childhood obesity. Even as junk food marketers claim to be cleaning up their act, the food industry is exploiting the latest technologies to target children in new and insidious ways.
A coalition of advocacy groups - including CCFC -- submitted the report to the Federal Trade Commission today, calling on the agency to expand its investigation of food and beverage marketing to include the full of range of digital marketing to children and adolescents.
Examples cited in the report include:
To "create a compelling way to connect with the younger demographic," 600 McDonald's restaurants in California launched a mobile marketing campaign, urging young cell phone users to text-message to a special phone number to receive an instant electronic coupon for a free McFlurry dessert.
Coca-Cola's "My Coke Rewards" program offers special codes in its products that enable young people to access a website, where they can earn such rewards as downloadable ring tones and "amazing sports and entertainment experiences." This technique is part of a strategy for behavioral profiling, where marketers compile a detailed profile of each customer, including demographic data, purchasing behavior, responses to advertising messages, and even the extent and nature of social networks.
Food marketers are commercializing online communities by aggressively moving into MySpace and other social networking sites. One technique is to create "branded profiles" that invite children and teens to become "friends" with popular spokescharacters. "Welcome to the King's Court," beckons the Burger KingMySpace profile. "The virtual home of the Burger King. He's giving away free episodes of the Fox shows '24,' 'Pinks,' and 'First Friend.'"
Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one viral video, "Molly Grows Up"--which generated more than 300,000 views--a young girl is shown ordering "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty."
The Mars candy company enlisted the musical group Black Eyed Peas to make a series of "webisodes" called "Instant Def," in order to promote Snickers bars to teens, an example of brand-saturated environments that weave products seamlessly into interactive entertainment content.
To learn more, please visit http://www.digitalads.org/.
Thanks,
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=347609204&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialfreechildhood.org%2F
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Two Angry Moms Talk about School Lunch
FOOD FIGHT
THE SCHOOL LUNCH REVOLTION WILL BE TELEVISED
www.thefamilygroove.com (May 2007)
Asthma. Allergies. Type II diabetes. Obesity. Behavioral issues. Many of us are aware of these conditions because children we know are afflicted by one or more of them. And while it seems like we as parents have no control over these conditions affecting our children, in reality, we do. We know that by paying attention to what our children are eating and helping them to make healthier choices at home, we can make a difference in our children’s health. But what happens when your kids aren't at home?
In their documentary, Two Angry Moms, about the battle to change school lunch programs across the nation Dr. Susan Rubin, a dentist, holistic nutritionist, founder of Better School Food (www.betterschoolfood.com) and mother of three, and Amy Kalafa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, health counselor and mother of two, have drawn a line in the cafeteria sand, exposing what your children are being served five days a week, the long-term effects of such poor nutrition and the fight they've encountered while seeking to foster a school lunch revolution.
Additionally, these two angry moms traveled across the country filming examples of school food programs that do work, proving that change is possible. The movie highlights the fact that when communities support local farms, when kids get connected to where their food comes from, when school buying power is used to promote educated, healthy children, there is a positive effect not only on our children, but on the environment and on everyone in the community.
Here our resident nutrition expert, holistic health counselor Kelly Scotti talks to Dr. Susan Rubin, one of two women on the front lines of our children's future.
Why should parents care about the food served in school?
Schools have a responsibility to create a healthy, supportive environment for kids. Schools that model better food on campus report higher test scores, fewer behavioral problems and less absenteeism.
Studies have shown that what kids eat now will impact their lifetime eating habits. Since one to two meals a day, five days a week for nine months of the year are eaten at school, there is a significant connection to the what children are served at school and their overall health and nutrition for the rest of their lives.
If those school-based habits are poor, then our children could suffer from ill health, nutritional deficiencies, depression, disease and more, especially if those habits are not counteracted in the home. Additionally, the sad reality is that even if children have healthy habits at home, many times they have no healthy options in school. The fact is that most schools buy the cheapest food they can, so even the healthiest at-home eaters are forced to eat poorly for a quarter of their childhood (notwithstanding those that bring their lunches).
“We need to flood our schools with fresh whole fruits and vegetables. Partner with the local farms and get fresh, inexpensive produce for schools. Limit the processed foods that are allowed to be served at school. And maybe even outfit school kitchens with cooks and appliances so things can be made from scratch with quality ingredients. At a minimum, mandate full nutritional disclosure for school foods to allow for informed parental decisions,” says Dr. Rubin.
Dr. Rubin also tells us that many children suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, where there is a disconnect between a child’s understanding of food and where it comes from, causing them to make poor nutritional choices. Many children nowadays don't know that meat comes from animals like the cows they see on the way to school, salad leaves grow in the ground or that apples grow on trees. Only when that disconnect is addressed through education and hands-on experience can we see children taking more of an active role in making good food choices. In schools and at home, we can teach our children about planting their own food and let them take ownership for helping to feed themselves and their families.
What is so bad about school food?
School foods have lots of harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated or poor quality oils, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified fillers and tons of sugar. Schools are not required to disclose the ingredients or additives in the food they serve. Nowhere on the weekly lunch menu in an average school in America is an ingredient list provided for each (or any) of the food choices offered daily, so many parents choose their kids' meals blindly, not knowing if the choice they make is a healthy one. For most parents, the only way to ensure their kids’ meals are healthy is to pack lunches for them; however, brown bag lunch is a luxury not afforded to many children in America.
In addition to the obvious lack of nutrients and overabundance of junk food our children are being plied with on a daily basis, one must consider the message all this poor nutrition is sending to our impressionable youth. (What does a 10 to 15-minute lunch period tell them about the importance of proper eating habits?)
Dr. Rubin emphasizes that this movie-come-movement is not about taking cupcakes away from school parties, it's about ensuring that a core basis of nutrition is available to our children in schools. Rubin says “it’s not just about taking out the bad stuff. You’ve got to put good food in, along with food education. The food IQ of parents, children and the schools needs to be raised.”
Why can’t someone else change the system?
As Rubin and Kalafa have found through experience, the system is hard to change for a number of reasons. State and federal legislation is too slow and food industry lobbyists have too much clout. Food service companies make too much money serving poor quality, nutritionally deficient food. And school boards don't feel that the school lunch program is a priority, as they have so many other issues with which to deal.
What can you do?
So then, it comes down to the parents to foster the school lunch evolution. Contact your congressman and tell him to support the Farm Bill (click here to find out about the Farm bill). Contact your school board and let them know you want healthy, fresh food served at your children’s school. Let your demands be known and make your voice be heard.
Texas Agriculture Secretary Susan Combs said it’s going to take two million angry moms to change school food. Rubin and Kalafa were the first two to wage the fight—now it's up to you to join the battle.
Want to be one of the two million Angry Moms? Go to www.angrymoms.org.
Two Angry Moms will be in select theaters this summer and available everywhere via DVD.
THE SCHOOL LUNCH REVOLTION WILL BE TELEVISED
www.thefamilygroove.com (May 2007)
Asthma. Allergies. Type II diabetes. Obesity. Behavioral issues. Many of us are aware of these conditions because children we know are afflicted by one or more of them. And while it seems like we as parents have no control over these conditions affecting our children, in reality, we do. We know that by paying attention to what our children are eating and helping them to make healthier choices at home, we can make a difference in our children’s health. But what happens when your kids aren't at home?
In their documentary, Two Angry Moms, about the battle to change school lunch programs across the nation Dr. Susan Rubin, a dentist, holistic nutritionist, founder of Better School Food (www.betterschoolfood.com) and mother of three, and Amy Kalafa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, health counselor and mother of two, have drawn a line in the cafeteria sand, exposing what your children are being served five days a week, the long-term effects of such poor nutrition and the fight they've encountered while seeking to foster a school lunch revolution.
Additionally, these two angry moms traveled across the country filming examples of school food programs that do work, proving that change is possible. The movie highlights the fact that when communities support local farms, when kids get connected to where their food comes from, when school buying power is used to promote educated, healthy children, there is a positive effect not only on our children, but on the environment and on everyone in the community.
Here our resident nutrition expert, holistic health counselor Kelly Scotti talks to Dr. Susan Rubin, one of two women on the front lines of our children's future.
Why should parents care about the food served in school?
Schools have a responsibility to create a healthy, supportive environment for kids. Schools that model better food on campus report higher test scores, fewer behavioral problems and less absenteeism.
Studies have shown that what kids eat now will impact their lifetime eating habits. Since one to two meals a day, five days a week for nine months of the year are eaten at school, there is a significant connection to the what children are served at school and their overall health and nutrition for the rest of their lives.
If those school-based habits are poor, then our children could suffer from ill health, nutritional deficiencies, depression, disease and more, especially if those habits are not counteracted in the home. Additionally, the sad reality is that even if children have healthy habits at home, many times they have no healthy options in school. The fact is that most schools buy the cheapest food they can, so even the healthiest at-home eaters are forced to eat poorly for a quarter of their childhood (notwithstanding those that bring their lunches).
“We need to flood our schools with fresh whole fruits and vegetables. Partner with the local farms and get fresh, inexpensive produce for schools. Limit the processed foods that are allowed to be served at school. And maybe even outfit school kitchens with cooks and appliances so things can be made from scratch with quality ingredients. At a minimum, mandate full nutritional disclosure for school foods to allow for informed parental decisions,” says Dr. Rubin.
Dr. Rubin also tells us that many children suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, where there is a disconnect between a child’s understanding of food and where it comes from, causing them to make poor nutritional choices. Many children nowadays don't know that meat comes from animals like the cows they see on the way to school, salad leaves grow in the ground or that apples grow on trees. Only when that disconnect is addressed through education and hands-on experience can we see children taking more of an active role in making good food choices. In schools and at home, we can teach our children about planting their own food and let them take ownership for helping to feed themselves and their families.
What is so bad about school food?
School foods have lots of harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated or poor quality oils, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified fillers and tons of sugar. Schools are not required to disclose the ingredients or additives in the food they serve. Nowhere on the weekly lunch menu in an average school in America is an ingredient list provided for each (or any) of the food choices offered daily, so many parents choose their kids' meals blindly, not knowing if the choice they make is a healthy one. For most parents, the only way to ensure their kids’ meals are healthy is to pack lunches for them; however, brown bag lunch is a luxury not afforded to many children in America.
In addition to the obvious lack of nutrients and overabundance of junk food our children are being plied with on a daily basis, one must consider the message all this poor nutrition is sending to our impressionable youth. (What does a 10 to 15-minute lunch period tell them about the importance of proper eating habits?)
Dr. Rubin emphasizes that this movie-come-movement is not about taking cupcakes away from school parties, it's about ensuring that a core basis of nutrition is available to our children in schools. Rubin says “it’s not just about taking out the bad stuff. You’ve got to put good food in, along with food education. The food IQ of parents, children and the schools needs to be raised.”
Why can’t someone else change the system?
As Rubin and Kalafa have found through experience, the system is hard to change for a number of reasons. State and federal legislation is too slow and food industry lobbyists have too much clout. Food service companies make too much money serving poor quality, nutritionally deficient food. And school boards don't feel that the school lunch program is a priority, as they have so many other issues with which to deal.
What can you do?
So then, it comes down to the parents to foster the school lunch evolution. Contact your congressman and tell him to support the Farm Bill (click here to find out about the Farm bill). Contact your school board and let them know you want healthy, fresh food served at your children’s school. Let your demands be known and make your voice be heard.
Texas Agriculture Secretary Susan Combs said it’s going to take two million angry moms to change school food. Rubin and Kalafa were the first two to wage the fight—now it's up to you to join the battle.
Want to be one of the two million Angry Moms? Go to www.angrymoms.org.
Two Angry Moms will be in select theaters this summer and available everywhere via DVD.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Everything I needed to know about eating I learned from my son
Before my son was born, I imagined all of the wonderful foods to which I would introduce him. First, I imagined him
drinking from my breast and getting all of his initial nourishment from my body. Then I imagined his first spoonful of solid
food and his reaction to it. I even imagined teaching him about how to use a fork and spoon. However, not once in my
imaginings did I picture him teaching me about food and eating—but he has, and in doing so, has taught me about life and
how to live.
A little less than a year after my son was born, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to learn about nutrition, dietary theory, how to feed my son a healthy diet and how to teach him lifelong healthy eating habits. During my studies, I also learned about pesticides, genetically modified foods, dangerous food additives, labeling laws that side with the food manufacturers, the perils of processed foods, mercury and PCBs in farmed fished, factory farming and on and on. For the first time in my life, I was truly frightened by the current state of our food. I was also really confused as to what I should feed my son to protect him for all of the aforementioned dangers and how to give him the nutrients required for his growing body.
I begin to eat rigidly, avoiding all processed foods, all fish that wasn’t wild Alaskan, all beef that wasn’t grass-fed, all chicken that wasn’t free range and antibiotic free. I obsessed about food and how to protect my family from its many insidious dangers. I no longer enjoyed food because I was afraid of it. I no longer savored the smells from the kitchen because I would think about unlabeled additives that might be in it causing the food to smell that way or the coloring added to the meat to make it look the way it does. How could I teach my son to love all aspects of eating—food shopping, preparing, cooking and then sharing an amazing meal with family and friends—when I couldn’t do that myself?
Little by little, he taught me how to teach him. By paying attention to how he explores the world, I was able to recognize the things he needs from me to make good choices and feel safe about those choices. Here are some of the things I learned from my son:
Forget the scary, food should be fun
It's fun to smell food, to let it run down your chin, to throw it at the dog. It's fun to experiment with different tastes, textures, smells and combinations. It's fun to put a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. It's fun to throw caution to the wind with recipes and see what happens. How do you have fun with your food?
Exploring your food adds to your enjoyment of it
My son loves to put things in his mouth, especially food. He loves to experience what things taste like and how things feel on his tongue. He explores the shape of things, the texture of it, the soft or hardness of it. He looks at it and plays with it. My son reminds me that food can be a joy for all the senses.
He also loves to expand his abilities and create new things. He helps me in the kitchen by stirring the meal, adding in vegetables and spices and even by naming a new dish. And he is much more willing to eat something he has helped prepare.
Be consistent
Most of us know that our children thrive on routine and that applies to eating as well. I have found that that my son feels most safe and free to try new foods when I stick with the routine of cooking with him close by, allowing him to help with food preparation and then eating with him at the dining room table, rather than in front of the TV or in the car. When his routine is consistent, he is able to explore his boundaries, learn what behavior is permitted and what is not and feel comfortable asking questions and trying new things.
Be a good role model
At this stage of my son’s young life, my husband and I are his primary role models. It is important that we live up to that responsibility. Rather than disparage the state of food in this country, I need to talk about all of the amazing options we have for food in our area, including community farms, breeders of organic meat and food cooperatives. I need to show him how food is grown and let him grow his own food in our garden. I need to use positive words when I talk about food and all that it encompasses. I need to be able to put aside my food fears and show him that food can be nourishing and fun.
Lighten Up
If I continue to feel negative about food, my actions and thoughts may teach my son to be scared of food, to abuse it or to use it for more than the nutrients and calories it provides. I need to trust that the experiences my son has with food will teach him to enjoy it and to explore it without fear or baggage. I need to be his guide, to teach him what I know, and to allow him to choose the direction he takes. No matter what his age, it is important that I provide him with respect for his decisions and his intelligence rather than force my opinions on him (outside of sticking that fork in the outlet, that is).
Have Patience and Fortitude
My son’s attitude about food and his willingness to experiment with it is variable depending on his mood. I have learned that it is important frequently present those good-for-him foods that he refuses to eat, since he will actually eat them every now and again. Yes, I get frustrated when my son throws his food or spits it out or smacks it away, but that’s where patience comes into play. As parents, we need to be willing to keep trying and not assume the worst (he’s not going to eat it no matter what). I only give up after 10 exposures, which is the time is takes for the palate to change. If he still refuses it then, I can feel more confident that he really does not like it and that it is not just his willfulness.
No matter what, though, I do not reward my son’s food behavior with more food, like dessert. If a child learns that he can only get dessert after he eats his veggies, then he will know that dessert is a treat and veggies are not and that can be counterproductive to his eating healthy. Heck, why not make vegetables dessert?
Be Prepared
My son cannot choose to eat well unless I have healthy choices on hand when he gets hungry. Toddlers have smaller stomachs than adults and need to eat less at each sitting, but more frequently than adults. Because of that, I always carry healthy snacks with me wherever we go. My son loves raisins and dried cherries, trans fat free wheat crackers, chopped carrots and peppers, mixed fresh fruit (apples, oranges, applesauce cups), veggie chips and, of course, sippy cups filled with filtered water to keep him hydrated.
I also make sure that I have healthy food on hand at home that it is easily and quickly prepared once we arrive home from our day. I like to cook with my slow cooker, so a fresh meal is prepared every day and the time preparing the food is easily accomplished in the morning. I also like to cook a big batch of the staples I use all week in my cooking, such as quinoa and chicken, as well as cut and wash all the vegetables at once, so the preparation of the foods that do not go in the slow cooker is done ahead of time. That stops my son’s hunger tantrums and allows us time to have a nice meal as a family before his bedtime.
Most of all, my son has taught me to trust my instincts. Deep down, each one of us knows that we are good parents. Why would you be reading this article if you weren’t? We love our children and instintively we know what is good and bad for them. Just as they know the same about themselves, though we need to guide them to that knowing. We know what foods will nourish us and them and commit ourselves to learning everything we can in order to make this world a place that is satisfying, sane and healthy for our children.
drinking from my breast and getting all of his initial nourishment from my body. Then I imagined his first spoonful of solid
food and his reaction to it. I even imagined teaching him about how to use a fork and spoon. However, not once in my
imaginings did I picture him teaching me about food and eating—but he has, and in doing so, has taught me about life and
how to live.
A little less than a year after my son was born, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to learn about nutrition, dietary theory, how to feed my son a healthy diet and how to teach him lifelong healthy eating habits. During my studies, I also learned about pesticides, genetically modified foods, dangerous food additives, labeling laws that side with the food manufacturers, the perils of processed foods, mercury and PCBs in farmed fished, factory farming and on and on. For the first time in my life, I was truly frightened by the current state of our food. I was also really confused as to what I should feed my son to protect him for all of the aforementioned dangers and how to give him the nutrients required for his growing body.
I begin to eat rigidly, avoiding all processed foods, all fish that wasn’t wild Alaskan, all beef that wasn’t grass-fed, all chicken that wasn’t free range and antibiotic free. I obsessed about food and how to protect my family from its many insidious dangers. I no longer enjoyed food because I was afraid of it. I no longer savored the smells from the kitchen because I would think about unlabeled additives that might be in it causing the food to smell that way or the coloring added to the meat to make it look the way it does. How could I teach my son to love all aspects of eating—food shopping, preparing, cooking and then sharing an amazing meal with family and friends—when I couldn’t do that myself?
Little by little, he taught me how to teach him. By paying attention to how he explores the world, I was able to recognize the things he needs from me to make good choices and feel safe about those choices. Here are some of the things I learned from my son:
Forget the scary, food should be fun
It's fun to smell food, to let it run down your chin, to throw it at the dog. It's fun to experiment with different tastes, textures, smells and combinations. It's fun to put a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. It's fun to throw caution to the wind with recipes and see what happens. How do you have fun with your food?
Exploring your food adds to your enjoyment of it
My son loves to put things in his mouth, especially food. He loves to experience what things taste like and how things feel on his tongue. He explores the shape of things, the texture of it, the soft or hardness of it. He looks at it and plays with it. My son reminds me that food can be a joy for all the senses.
He also loves to expand his abilities and create new things. He helps me in the kitchen by stirring the meal, adding in vegetables and spices and even by naming a new dish. And he is much more willing to eat something he has helped prepare.
Be consistent
Most of us know that our children thrive on routine and that applies to eating as well. I have found that that my son feels most safe and free to try new foods when I stick with the routine of cooking with him close by, allowing him to help with food preparation and then eating with him at the dining room table, rather than in front of the TV or in the car. When his routine is consistent, he is able to explore his boundaries, learn what behavior is permitted and what is not and feel comfortable asking questions and trying new things.
Be a good role model
At this stage of my son’s young life, my husband and I are his primary role models. It is important that we live up to that responsibility. Rather than disparage the state of food in this country, I need to talk about all of the amazing options we have for food in our area, including community farms, breeders of organic meat and food cooperatives. I need to show him how food is grown and let him grow his own food in our garden. I need to use positive words when I talk about food and all that it encompasses. I need to be able to put aside my food fears and show him that food can be nourishing and fun.
Lighten Up
If I continue to feel negative about food, my actions and thoughts may teach my son to be scared of food, to abuse it or to use it for more than the nutrients and calories it provides. I need to trust that the experiences my son has with food will teach him to enjoy it and to explore it without fear or baggage. I need to be his guide, to teach him what I know, and to allow him to choose the direction he takes. No matter what his age, it is important that I provide him with respect for his decisions and his intelligence rather than force my opinions on him (outside of sticking that fork in the outlet, that is).
Have Patience and Fortitude
My son’s attitude about food and his willingness to experiment with it is variable depending on his mood. I have learned that it is important frequently present those good-for-him foods that he refuses to eat, since he will actually eat them every now and again. Yes, I get frustrated when my son throws his food or spits it out or smacks it away, but that’s where patience comes into play. As parents, we need to be willing to keep trying and not assume the worst (he’s not going to eat it no matter what). I only give up after 10 exposures, which is the time is takes for the palate to change. If he still refuses it then, I can feel more confident that he really does not like it and that it is not just his willfulness.
No matter what, though, I do not reward my son’s food behavior with more food, like dessert. If a child learns that he can only get dessert after he eats his veggies, then he will know that dessert is a treat and veggies are not and that can be counterproductive to his eating healthy. Heck, why not make vegetables dessert?
Be Prepared
My son cannot choose to eat well unless I have healthy choices on hand when he gets hungry. Toddlers have smaller stomachs than adults and need to eat less at each sitting, but more frequently than adults. Because of that, I always carry healthy snacks with me wherever we go. My son loves raisins and dried cherries, trans fat free wheat crackers, chopped carrots and peppers, mixed fresh fruit (apples, oranges, applesauce cups), veggie chips and, of course, sippy cups filled with filtered water to keep him hydrated.
I also make sure that I have healthy food on hand at home that it is easily and quickly prepared once we arrive home from our day. I like to cook with my slow cooker, so a fresh meal is prepared every day and the time preparing the food is easily accomplished in the morning. I also like to cook a big batch of the staples I use all week in my cooking, such as quinoa and chicken, as well as cut and wash all the vegetables at once, so the preparation of the foods that do not go in the slow cooker is done ahead of time. That stops my son’s hunger tantrums and allows us time to have a nice meal as a family before his bedtime.
Most of all, my son has taught me to trust my instincts. Deep down, each one of us knows that we are good parents. Why would you be reading this article if you weren’t? We love our children and instintively we know what is good and bad for them. Just as they know the same about themselves, though we need to guide them to that knowing. We know what foods will nourish us and them and commit ourselves to learning everything we can in order to make this world a place that is satisfying, sane and healthy for our children.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Just Veggin' Kids
HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI TELLS US IF A VEGETARIAN DIET IS ENOUGH
FOR A GROWING CHILD
Lately my son has been on a vegetarian diet. Not that you
should call it vegetarian, since it is primarily a fruit and
yogurt diet, based on his youthful impulse to eat the same foods at
every meal for weeks on end. His choices,however, have
caused me to ponder the benefits of a vegetarian diet for him
and wonder if he could get all of hisnutritional requirements fulfilled with such a diet.
When I think of vegetarians, I think of people that eat no meat.
There are actually four types of vegetarian diets. A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy products and eggs, but no meat,poultry, or fish. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, but no other animal products. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products, but no
other animal products and vegans eat food only from plant sources.
Research has shown that the benefits to following a vegetarian diet are many: decreased incidence of type II diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, decreased cholesterol levels, decreased cancer incidence and decreased exposure to pesticides and antibiotics, especially if the diet is organic. Additionally, some families have found that following the more restrictive vegan diet has decreased their child’s incidence of ear infections, digestive issues, and respiratory issues such as chest congestion and asthma. But are these restrictive diets appropriate for a rapidly growing infant or toddler?
Most dietary experts agree that a balanced, whole-foods based, well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet is a great choice for people of all ages, including infants and toddlers. Though certain vitamins and minerals are only found in meat and dairy products naturally, supplementation can be used to provide those nutrients just as well as animal products.
For children, well balanced means it has to include foods or supplementation that contain the following nutrients, which are essential:
Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, turnip and mustard greens and Watercress
Nuts and seeds, including sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios
Beans, including chick peas and pinto beans
Grains, including amaranth and quinoa
Tofu processed with calcium sulfate and tempeh.
Cheese, milk, yogurt and eggs
Dried figs
Blackstrap molasses
Calcium fortified beverages, including soy milk, orange juice, etc.
Please note that the following things decrease the calcium stores in your body:
Soft drinks
Refined sugar
Excess salt
Nightshade vegetables including tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all contain the calcium inhibitor solanine.
Seeds, such as mustard, flax, and pumpkin and oils from those seeds
Soybeans/soybean oil (always choose brands labeled non-GMO)
Walnut oil
Green leafy vegetables
Whole grains
Spirulina and other vegetarian marine algae
Canola (rapeseed) oil
Fortified eggs and grains
Using iron cookware when cooking acidic foods can also contribute to dietary intake of iron.
As well, vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so offering citrus fruits with iron-rich foods can also contribute to amount of iron in the body.
Please note, breast-fed infants of vegetarian/vegan mothers need B-12 supplementation, as B-12 deficiency can result in permanent neurological damage in infants.
In addition to nutrient requirements, there is also the issue of caloric intake. While most vegetarian children eating a balanced diet do not have an issue meeting their calorie requirements, it is a concern for vegan children. Fruits and vegetables tend to be very fibrous, and can fill up your little one’s tiny stomach quickly, thus leaving little room for higher calorie foods. As such, if your child follows a vegan diet, it may be necessary to give him peeled fruits and vegetables, which are less fibrous. To increase caloric intake, you can add some refined grain products, pure fruit juices, or healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and seed butters into your child’s diet.
It is also important to ensure that the produce you buy is organic. Not only is organically grown produce more sustainable and environmentally friendly, it is safer for your children. When you choose non-organic produce, your child may be exposed to pesticides and genetic modification without your knowledge. Non-organic produce that is genetically modified is not required to be blatantly labeled to indicate such. The only way you know that a product has been genetically modified is if it has a five-digit number that starts with an 8 on its label (conventional produce is four numbers starting with a 4 and organic is 5 numbers beginning with a 9). Pesticides from non-organic produce are visually non-detectable and can be absorbed right into the root systems of the plant, where the pesticides cannot be washed off. Because children are more susceptible to pesticides and toxins in their bodies due to their decreased fat stores, it is essential to choose organic for their health.
Please make sure to discuss your child’s diet with your pediatrician if making a switch to vegetarianism or veganism. Your doctor can provide you with information on supplementation and things to look for in the case of malnutrition, as well as information regarding foods listed in the table above that have allergen potential or could cause choking.
A well-balanced, well-planned, vegetarian or vegan diet can meet the needs of your children as they grow and are healthy options in this day of super-sized, fatty, sugary fast food, factory farmed, antibiotic-ridden meat and dairy products, and mercury and PCB polluted farmed fish.
Some menu ideas for the vegetarian child:
Pizza crust topped with tomato sauce, vegetables, and rice cheese
Veggie stir fry with brown rice
Quinoa salad with greens and garlic
Pasta with marinara sauce
Veggie meatloaf
Banana and strawberry smoothies with organic soy yogurt
Celery with peanut butter
Cashew butter sandwiches
Fresh or dried fruit
Noodles with peanut butter sauce
Raw vegetables with hummus
Mashed potatoes with garlic and olive oil
Flaxseed muffins with carrots and raisins
Veggie burgers with salsa on whole grain bread
Tofu hotdogs
Guacamole on pita bread
For more veggy good ideas and information, go to:
www.vegetarianbaby.com/nutrition.shtml (Articles galore for vegetarian children and parents)
www.healthybelly.com/articles/pickyvegetariankids.htm (Vegetarian school lunch recipes)
www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_diets_for_children.html (Vegetarian diets for children with recipes, sample diets and more)
www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Diets/vegetarian_kids.html (Rationale for going vegetarian, with recipes and sample lunches)
www.vegansociety.com (Great general information site)
www.vegfamily.com (Great general information site)
www.vegsoc.org/youth/youngveggies.html (Great general information site for kids)
www.vegforlife.org/kid_parents.htm (Great general information site)
www.kidshealth.org (Great general information site)
Or check out these books:
Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman and Reed Mangels Ph.D., R.D
Leprechaun Cake and Other Tales: A Vegetarian Story-Cookbook by Vonnie Winslow Crist and Debra Wasserman
Raising Vegetarian Children : A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony by Joanne Stepaniak,Vesanto Melina
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Drink diet soda, gain weight?
From Mercola.com
Artificial Sweeteners Ruin Your Body's Ability to Count Calories
A study revealed that eating artificially sweetened foods and drinking sweetened beverages might hinder your body's ability to estimate calorie intake, thus boosting your inclination to overindulge.
Artificial Sweeteners Ruin Your Body's Ability to Count Calories
A study revealed that eating artificially sweetened foods and drinking sweetened beverages might hinder your body's ability to estimate calorie intake, thus boosting your inclination to overindulge.
First Study on Artificial Sweeteners
The first group of rats were given two liquids, both of which contained natural high-calorie sweeteners. The second group of rats were given two liquids, one that was sweetened with saccharin. Both groups were given a sweet, high-calorie chocolate-flavored snack after 10 days into the study.
Findings From the Study
Rats that were given the artificially flavored liquids had a more difficult time differentiating their calorie intake and displayed the tendency to overeat.
The rats given artificially sweetened drinks were found to consume three times more calories than rats that didn't receive any sweeteners in their drinks.
Second Study on Artificial Sweeteners
For the duration of 30 days, two groups of rats were fed their regular food along with a high-calorie supplement. One group was given a supplement similar the heavy consistency of chocolate pudding. The other group was given a supplement that had the consistency of chocolate milk.
Findings From the Study
The rats that were given the chocolate milk-like supplement experienced a notable weight gain over the rats who received the pudding-like supplement. Researchers concluded that the rats who were given the milk-like supplement had a harder time estimating calories than the rats that were given the pudding-like supplement. Researchers compared the results of this study to the Pavlovian theory where dogs were conditioned to associate the ringing of a bell to food. Researchers also stated that the rats in the study showed a similar relationship between the taste or texture of a food and the number of calories it contained.
More....
Friday, February 9, 2007
THINKING THIN WORKS!
For Immediate Release
February 9, 2007
THINKING THIN WORKS!
Kelly Scotti, CHHC, helps clients manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.
Clients of Flying Dragon Wellness have found success in attaining and maintaining their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction and support from a Holistic Health Counselor.
Kelly Scotti, the Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness (http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com/ ), is a board certified Holistic Health Counselor that helps her clients transform their lives and their weight through individual and group programs based on a whole-foods, organic diet. She teaches her clients about nutrition and the premise of bio-individuality, leads them in cooking classes and health food store tours, and guides them to manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.
The law of attraction is the premise that the Universe provides what you think about and focus on. If weight loss or weight gain is desired, Kelly explains, it is important to focus on an ideal weight, that which is believable and makes the person feel healthy and happy, rather than focusing on the loss or gain that is desired. In this way, you are always focusing and attracting to you that ideal weight. If instead you focus on needing to lose weight, for example, you will always be attracting to you a situation in which you will need to lose weight.
Kelly has found that this novel approach to weight loss has been successful for her clients, if they fully believe and expect to receive results. It is only when her clients doubt the possibility of its occurrence that the desired results are not achieved. She supports them in this process by seeing them for twice-monthly sessions for three to six months.
The premise behind the Law of Attraction is fully explained in the film The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret has been featured on the Larry King Live, Oprah, and Ellen shows.
Flying Dragon Wellness is a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in the heart of Bucks County, Pa. Their truly holistic approach to nutrition counseling encompasses all types of nourishment: food, relationships, spirituality, a fulfilling career, physical activity, and mental health. Sessions take place in person or over the phone, depending on the location and desires of the client. For a limited time, they are offering a free initial health consultation by phone. To take advantage of this offer, please visit the contact page of http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com and reference LOA. Kelly Scotti, CHHC, is also available for lectures, workshops, and corporate wellness programs.
February 9, 2007
THINKING THIN WORKS!
Kelly Scotti, CHHC, helps clients manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.
Clients of Flying Dragon Wellness have found success in attaining and maintaining their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction and support from a Holistic Health Counselor.
Kelly Scotti, the Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness (http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com/ ), is a board certified Holistic Health Counselor that helps her clients transform their lives and their weight through individual and group programs based on a whole-foods, organic diet. She teaches her clients about nutrition and the premise of bio-individuality, leads them in cooking classes and health food store tours, and guides them to manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.
The law of attraction is the premise that the Universe provides what you think about and focus on. If weight loss or weight gain is desired, Kelly explains, it is important to focus on an ideal weight, that which is believable and makes the person feel healthy and happy, rather than focusing on the loss or gain that is desired. In this way, you are always focusing and attracting to you that ideal weight. If instead you focus on needing to lose weight, for example, you will always be attracting to you a situation in which you will need to lose weight.
Kelly has found that this novel approach to weight loss has been successful for her clients, if they fully believe and expect to receive results. It is only when her clients doubt the possibility of its occurrence that the desired results are not achieved. She supports them in this process by seeing them for twice-monthly sessions for three to six months.
The premise behind the Law of Attraction is fully explained in the film The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret has been featured on the Larry King Live, Oprah, and Ellen shows.
Flying Dragon Wellness is a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in the heart of Bucks County, Pa. Their truly holistic approach to nutrition counseling encompasses all types of nourishment: food, relationships, spirituality, a fulfilling career, physical activity, and mental health. Sessions take place in person or over the phone, depending on the location and desires of the client. For a limited time, they are offering a free initial health consultation by phone. To take advantage of this offer, please visit the contact page of http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com and reference LOA. Kelly Scotti, CHHC, is also available for lectures, workshops, and corporate wellness programs.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
The Satisfaction of Enough
I found the satisfaction of enough when I had everything I ever thought I wanted, and realized that I was left wanting. I had a job that was rewarding and paid well, a wonderful family, good health, plenty of friends, the 4 bedroom house with an in-ground pool, a sunroom and 1.5 acres of land, and still I felt empty. Only through recognizing and focusing on my internal abundance was I able to stop, simplify, and feel satisfied.
For me, the satisfaction of enough comes through self-love, about learning to love myself, and recognizing that everything I need is in me, and reflected in my life. I have an amazing husband and two year old son, who support, awe, and restore me, a holistic nutrition counseling practice where I assist others on their path to wellness, and the tools to recognize and decrease the impact my footprint has on future generations.
In my life, enough is educating the public about the dangers of pesticides, genetically modified foods, artificial sweeteners, PCBs and Mercury in farmed fish, and the perils of factory farming. Its about choosing organic and local foods, growing my own garden, teaching my son about conscious eating and the joy of cooking. Enough is about making a difference in peoples' lives.
Enough is paring down my closet to include only those clothes that I have worn in the past year, that fit correctly, that make me feel beautiful. Enough is recognizing I do not need any more clothes. Enough is taking those excess clothes and giving them to people that need them.
Enough is about feeling abundant no matter the size of my bank account, about practicing gratitude as a catalyst for abundant thought. Enough is consciousness, a focus on the breath, each breathe we take. A focus on eating, on each bite of food we take, our mouths chewing, tasting, nourishing our bodies and spirits. Enough is living, truly living through total awareness. Enough is serene, and peaceful, and beautiful, and satisfying. I am enough.
For me, the satisfaction of enough comes through self-love, about learning to love myself, and recognizing that everything I need is in me, and reflected in my life. I have an amazing husband and two year old son, who support, awe, and restore me, a holistic nutrition counseling practice where I assist others on their path to wellness, and the tools to recognize and decrease the impact my footprint has on future generations.
In my life, enough is educating the public about the dangers of pesticides, genetically modified foods, artificial sweeteners, PCBs and Mercury in farmed fish, and the perils of factory farming. Its about choosing organic and local foods, growing my own garden, teaching my son about conscious eating and the joy of cooking. Enough is about making a difference in peoples' lives.
Enough is paring down my closet to include only those clothes that I have worn in the past year, that fit correctly, that make me feel beautiful. Enough is recognizing I do not need any more clothes. Enough is taking those excess clothes and giving them to people that need them.
Enough is about feeling abundant no matter the size of my bank account, about practicing gratitude as a catalyst for abundant thought. Enough is consciousness, a focus on the breath, each breathe we take. A focus on eating, on each bite of food we take, our mouths chewing, tasting, nourishing our bodies and spirits. Enough is living, truly living through total awareness. Enough is serene, and peaceful, and beautiful, and satisfying. I am enough.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Picky Picky Picky Part 2
PICKY, PICKY, PICKY -PART TWO
LAST MONTH HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI TOLD US WHY OUR TODDLERS ARE SUCH LIMITED EATERS. (CLICK HERE TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.) THIS MONTH SHE DISHES ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.
The first rule of life with a picky eater is don't prepare special foods just for him. Make one meal for the whole family. If you do prepare something special for your child, you are leading him to believe that he controls what is served at meal times. Instead, you can modify slightly by altering the presentation of the main course or leaving off the sauce. If your child is hungry, he will eat something no matter what is in front of him—provided he knows he will receive nothing else for the rest of the evening if he does not eat at that time. It's important to set boundaries around family meals now in order to avoid future struggles.
Meal time should be eaten at the table. According to Erin Patterson at Small Bites (www.smallbitesonline.com), this is a great way to get your little ones to try new foods. Kids like to mimic their parents’ behavior, so you can use this to your advantage. When they see what you are eating at the dinner table, they might become intrigued and want to try some. A few nights ago, I made a delicious veggie and bean soup with various spices, a little hempseed and kelp flakes and I wanted Connor to try it. So I offered him a bowl at the dinner table. He saw the green things floating in the broth and refused, pushing the bowl dramatically away from him. When my husband and I continued to eat the soup, however, Connor decided he wanted his bowl back—along with mommy’s spoon. He then ate 10 whole spoonfuls, greens, spices and all.
Patterson emphasizes that the transition to the table may be difficult, especially as your little one may not want to sit in one place too long, but it is something you can and should work on. She creates routine by giving a five minute warning before mealtime and then blessing the meal when everyone sits down. She only offers the family meal, watching portion size for her daughter. If her daughter doesn’t eat the meal, she doesn’t eat for rest of the night. “By having a ritual and setting boundaries, it helps kids feel like they are a part of something and makes being at the table a positive experience for them,”Patterson adds. She goes on to say that kids are constantly trying to assert their independence and push their limits, so it's important not to force foods on them too much, yell at them for not cleaning their plate or pressure them to eat. That could lead to the development of negative food issues in your child.
Make food more fun for your toddler. If he’s not eating try presenting the foods in a unique way, use novel utensils like chopsticks or play games like counting the number of colors on his plate. I put frozen bananas and strawberries in the blender to make what I call “ice cream” and my son eats every bite. Making funny faces with food, like homemade wheat pancakes with raisins for eyes, berries for the nose and half a banana for a mouth, can also work. Or perhaps assign a silly name to a dish. The Gourmet Dinner Service Kids in Sydney, Australia includes in their options “Chook on Wiggly Worms,” a.k.a. organic honey soy chicken on a bed of noodles with zucchini and corn, as well as “Bird in Creamy Maze,” a creamy organic chicken pasta with pumpkin and cauliflower, and “Piggy in the Middle” made with bacon, corn and pumpkin frittata. Not only do these dishes have fun names, but they are mostly foods that let your child explore the meal with their fingers. Finger eating might make a bigger mess, but it's definitely more fun.
Give your child limited choices so he can feel like he is making a decision. It's much easier to have your child pick from two vegetables than you trying to prepare five or six or forcing him to eat the one on his plate. In fact, studies show that your child is much more likely to eat something he picks. Or perhaps include all the ingredients in one easy meal, like the one pot pasta or chicken and winter vegetables listed in the recipe section.
You could also start offering a variety of foods and spices to your child early on, before the pickiness sets in. Evie Failla, of Edie’s Organic Edibles (www.ediesorganicedibles.com), believes early introductions to exotic ingredients made her son a venturesome eater. Some of her best sellers, all tested on her son first, include Portabella Mushroom and Vegetable Risotto, Shepard’s Pie, Sesame Ginger Stir Fry, and Broccoli Casserole.
No matter what, always praise your child for trying new foods and never use food as a reward or punishment.
If children are allowed to turn down foods, are not forced to eat and are given good choices, instinctively, they will come to choose foods that are healthy and recognize their body’s signals for hunger and satiety. Fostering these healthy habits now will help them to not abuse food later on in life.
Getting your toddler to eat a healthy, varied diet can be frustrating, but the ideas listed above can help ensure meal time will not be a battlefield. It will instead be a time your child can feel safe, loved, supported and free to make his own choices—something all of us want in our lives.
One-Pot Pasta
Adapted from One Bite Won't Kill You by Ann Hodgman
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 onion, diced into small pieces (minced)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 red pepper, minced
1 green pepper, minced
¼ cup chopped mushrooms (pieces as tiny as you can make them)
1 (14 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 lb/1 cup pasta
2 cups water
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions.
2. After three minutes, add the turkey and herbs and cook slowly. Break up the lumps of meat and cook until the meat is brown and cooked through.
3. Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and veggies. Cook for three to five minutes, stirring often.
4. Add the pasta and water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Then lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for half an hour. Stir every few minutes to avoid scorching.
5. Add up to ½ cup of water, if too dry. Sauce will thicken and pasta will be ready to serve.
Kids try this: Add a little Parmesan cheese to mommy and daddy’s bowl—and yours too.
Chicken and Winter Vegetables
Recipe provided by Edie Failla of Edie’s Organic Edibles
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Chicken legs on the bone, family pack
FlourExtra virgin olive oil
1 leek, white part only, washed and sliced
1 sweet potato
3 diced carrots
3 diced celery sticks
Chicken or vegetable stock
Directions:
1. Lightly coat the chicken with flour and brown them in a little oil for three to four minutes.
2. In another frying pan that can be place in the oven, sauté the leek and onion in a little oil for five minutes until soft and golden.
3. Put the chicken into the pan with all the vegetables. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables.
4. Cover lightly and cook in oven at 350 for one hour, turning the chicken and stirring the vegetables half way through.
5. Before serving, take the chicken off the bone, chop it into small pieces and add it back to the dish.
Kids try this: Count how many pieces of chicken are in your bowl. Can you identify the vegetables?
Mediterranean Quinoa
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and peppers. Cook and stir for about five minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for about two more minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa, vegetable stock and tomato puree.
5. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until quinoa becomes soft.
6. Stir in the diced tomatoes and add seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.
Kids try this: Count the number of colors you see on your plate. And then count the number of colors you can eat.
Published Feb 2006 in The Family Groove Magazine (www.thefamilygroove.com)
LAST MONTH HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI TOLD US WHY OUR TODDLERS ARE SUCH LIMITED EATERS. (CLICK HERE TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.) THIS MONTH SHE DISHES ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.
The first rule of life with a picky eater is don't prepare special foods just for him. Make one meal for the whole family. If you do prepare something special for your child, you are leading him to believe that he controls what is served at meal times. Instead, you can modify slightly by altering the presentation of the main course or leaving off the sauce. If your child is hungry, he will eat something no matter what is in front of him—provided he knows he will receive nothing else for the rest of the evening if he does not eat at that time. It's important to set boundaries around family meals now in order to avoid future struggles.
Meal time should be eaten at the table. According to Erin Patterson at Small Bites (www.smallbitesonline.com), this is a great way to get your little ones to try new foods. Kids like to mimic their parents’ behavior, so you can use this to your advantage. When they see what you are eating at the dinner table, they might become intrigued and want to try some. A few nights ago, I made a delicious veggie and bean soup with various spices, a little hempseed and kelp flakes and I wanted Connor to try it. So I offered him a bowl at the dinner table. He saw the green things floating in the broth and refused, pushing the bowl dramatically away from him. When my husband and I continued to eat the soup, however, Connor decided he wanted his bowl back—along with mommy’s spoon. He then ate 10 whole spoonfuls, greens, spices and all.
Patterson emphasizes that the transition to the table may be difficult, especially as your little one may not want to sit in one place too long, but it is something you can and should work on. She creates routine by giving a five minute warning before mealtime and then blessing the meal when everyone sits down. She only offers the family meal, watching portion size for her daughter. If her daughter doesn’t eat the meal, she doesn’t eat for rest of the night. “By having a ritual and setting boundaries, it helps kids feel like they are a part of something and makes being at the table a positive experience for them,”Patterson adds. She goes on to say that kids are constantly trying to assert their independence and push their limits, so it's important not to force foods on them too much, yell at them for not cleaning their plate or pressure them to eat. That could lead to the development of negative food issues in your child.
Make food more fun for your toddler. If he’s not eating try presenting the foods in a unique way, use novel utensils like chopsticks or play games like counting the number of colors on his plate. I put frozen bananas and strawberries in the blender to make what I call “ice cream” and my son eats every bite. Making funny faces with food, like homemade wheat pancakes with raisins for eyes, berries for the nose and half a banana for a mouth, can also work. Or perhaps assign a silly name to a dish. The Gourmet Dinner Service Kids in Sydney, Australia includes in their options “Chook on Wiggly Worms,” a.k.a. organic honey soy chicken on a bed of noodles with zucchini and corn, as well as “Bird in Creamy Maze,” a creamy organic chicken pasta with pumpkin and cauliflower, and “Piggy in the Middle” made with bacon, corn and pumpkin frittata. Not only do these dishes have fun names, but they are mostly foods that let your child explore the meal with their fingers. Finger eating might make a bigger mess, but it's definitely more fun.
Give your child limited choices so he can feel like he is making a decision. It's much easier to have your child pick from two vegetables than you trying to prepare five or six or forcing him to eat the one on his plate. In fact, studies show that your child is much more likely to eat something he picks. Or perhaps include all the ingredients in one easy meal, like the one pot pasta or chicken and winter vegetables listed in the recipe section.
You could also start offering a variety of foods and spices to your child early on, before the pickiness sets in. Evie Failla, of Edie’s Organic Edibles (www.ediesorganicedibles.com), believes early introductions to exotic ingredients made her son a venturesome eater. Some of her best sellers, all tested on her son first, include Portabella Mushroom and Vegetable Risotto, Shepard’s Pie, Sesame Ginger Stir Fry, and Broccoli Casserole.
No matter what, always praise your child for trying new foods and never use food as a reward or punishment.
If children are allowed to turn down foods, are not forced to eat and are given good choices, instinctively, they will come to choose foods that are healthy and recognize their body’s signals for hunger and satiety. Fostering these healthy habits now will help them to not abuse food later on in life.
Getting your toddler to eat a healthy, varied diet can be frustrating, but the ideas listed above can help ensure meal time will not be a battlefield. It will instead be a time your child can feel safe, loved, supported and free to make his own choices—something all of us want in our lives.
One-Pot Pasta
Adapted from One Bite Won't Kill You by Ann Hodgman
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 onion, diced into small pieces (minced)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 red pepper, minced
1 green pepper, minced
¼ cup chopped mushrooms (pieces as tiny as you can make them)
1 (14 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 lb/1 cup pasta
2 cups water
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions.
2. After three minutes, add the turkey and herbs and cook slowly. Break up the lumps of meat and cook until the meat is brown and cooked through.
3. Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and veggies. Cook for three to five minutes, stirring often.
4. Add the pasta and water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Then lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for half an hour. Stir every few minutes to avoid scorching.
5. Add up to ½ cup of water, if too dry. Sauce will thicken and pasta will be ready to serve.
Kids try this: Add a little Parmesan cheese to mommy and daddy’s bowl—and yours too.
Chicken and Winter Vegetables
Recipe provided by Edie Failla of Edie’s Organic Edibles
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Chicken legs on the bone, family pack
FlourExtra virgin olive oil
1 leek, white part only, washed and sliced
1 sweet potato
3 diced carrots
3 diced celery sticks
Chicken or vegetable stock
Directions:
1. Lightly coat the chicken with flour and brown them in a little oil for three to four minutes.
2. In another frying pan that can be place in the oven, sauté the leek and onion in a little oil for five minutes until soft and golden.
3. Put the chicken into the pan with all the vegetables. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables.
4. Cover lightly and cook in oven at 350 for one hour, turning the chicken and stirring the vegetables half way through.
5. Before serving, take the chicken off the bone, chop it into small pieces and add it back to the dish.
Kids try this: Count how many pieces of chicken are in your bowl. Can you identify the vegetables?
Mediterranean Quinoa
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and peppers. Cook and stir for about five minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for about two more minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa, vegetable stock and tomato puree.
5. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until quinoa becomes soft.
6. Stir in the diced tomatoes and add seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.
Kids try this: Count the number of colors you see on your plate. And then count the number of colors you can eat.
Published Feb 2006 in The Family Groove Magazine (www.thefamilygroove.com)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The Urban Nutrition Initiative
It is so wonderful to find such important health initiatives in our local area!:
Mission
The Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI) is a university-community partnership that engages K-16+ learners in an active, real-world problem-solving curriculum that strives to improve community nutrition and wellness. It is located in the Philadelphia, Pa area.
Programs
• School Gardens
School gardens offer opportunities for children to become engaged in positive ways to beautify their school and improve the quality of life in the community. School gardens form the base of UNI's peer-education program. Students of all levels can benefit from their experiences in the garden. There's always something new to learn!
• Fruit Stands
School-based produce stands serve as the cornerstone of UNI's approach to nutrition education. These markets, operated by students, combine entrepreneurial education and problem-solving.
• Farmer's Markets
Farmers' markets are an important solution to the problems of America's food systems. From connecting low-income communities with fresh local produce to providing farmers with important avenues to sell their products, farmers' markets encourage a healthy attitude towards eating well.
• Community Fitness
Exercise is a vital component of good nutrition and overall health. UNI's community fitness evenings at University City High School help children and their families to establish regular healthy exercise habits.
• Food Education
Food is a sensory, fun and nourishing experience and at UNI, we create programs that focus on these ideas. Food Education at UNI is a dynamic and holistic program that incorporates the school garden, farmerþs markets, community youth and adults, and communities of faith into the experience.
Goals
• Create and sustain an interdisciplinary K through 16+ curriculum that engages students as agents of school and community health improvement and simultaneously results in increased educational skills and abilities.
• Work with university faculty, students, public school teachers and community residents to realize schools as centers of community health promotion; places where active, healthy lifestyles are an integral part of education.
• Advance an ecological approach to nutrition education that emphasizes the interdependence of food, environment and human health through growing, cooking, eating and selling healthy foods. UNI programs fall into three general categories:
• Increasing food and nutrition knowledge.
• Increasing the supply of healthy foods.
• Encouraging and supporting active lifestyles.
UNI strives to serve as a model for effective school-based health promotion programs that can be adopted and adapted to meet the needs of schools and communities around the world.
Visit http://www.urbannutrition.org to find out more or to get involved!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Young Living Oils
I am so pleased to announce that Flying Dragon Wellness will be featuring Young Living Oils, Nutritionals, and Skin Care in our practice. Aromatherapy is something that I have been interested in for a long time, and I am excited that I can offer such exceptional products to my clients and the general public.
For details about the oils, the Young Living Product line, or how you can add these items to your practice, or even start your own YL business, please email me using the link to Young Living Oils to the right side of the page.
Namaste-I honor the light within you.
For details about the oils, the Young Living Product line, or how you can add these items to your practice, or even start your own YL business, please email me using the link to Young Living Oils to the right side of the page.
Namaste-I honor the light within you.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Paper or Plastic? Neither!
Check out this information from reusablebags.com:
Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?
The answer to the "paper or plastic"? dilemma is: Neither. They're roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution.
Issue 1: Energy and natural resources
It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. ENERGY TO PRODUCE BAG ORIGINALLY (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 594 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 2511 BTUs (Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry.)
Of course, most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.
Issue 2: Pollution
The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. As evidenced by the unmistakable stench commonly associated with paper mills, the use of these toxic chemicals contributes to both air pollution, such as acid rain, and water pollution. Millions of gallons of these chemicals pour into our waterways each year; the toxicity of the chemicals is long-term and settles into the sediments, working its way through the food chain. Further toxicity is generated as both plastic and paper bags degrade.
POLLUTANTS PAPER V.S. PLASTIC Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. Source: "Comparison of the Effects on the Environment of Polyethylene and Paper Carrier Bags," Federal Office of the Environment, August 1988
Issue 3: Recycling
It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15% of paper bags and 1 to 3% of plastic bags being recycled, according to the Wall Street Journal.
ENERGY TO RECYCLE PACKAGE ONCE (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 17 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 1444 BTUs Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry. Although paper bags have a higher recycling rate than plastic, each new paper grocery bag you use is made from mostly virgin pulp for better strength and elasticity.
Issue 4: Degradability
Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills because of the lack of water, light, oxygen and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed. A paper bags takes up more space than a plastic bag in a landfill, but because paper is recycled at a higher rate, saving space in landfills is less of an issue. At the end of the day using reusable bags and containers are the real answer!
Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?
The answer to the "paper or plastic"? dilemma is: Neither. They're roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution.
Issue 1: Energy and natural resources
It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. ENERGY TO PRODUCE BAG ORIGINALLY (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 594 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 2511 BTUs (Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry.)
Of course, most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.
Issue 2: Pollution
The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. As evidenced by the unmistakable stench commonly associated with paper mills, the use of these toxic chemicals contributes to both air pollution, such as acid rain, and water pollution. Millions of gallons of these chemicals pour into our waterways each year; the toxicity of the chemicals is long-term and settles into the sediments, working its way through the food chain. Further toxicity is generated as both plastic and paper bags degrade.
POLLUTANTS PAPER V.S. PLASTIC Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. Source: "Comparison of the Effects on the Environment of Polyethylene and Paper Carrier Bags," Federal Office of the Environment, August 1988
Issue 3: Recycling
It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15% of paper bags and 1 to 3% of plastic bags being recycled, according to the Wall Street Journal.
ENERGY TO RECYCLE PACKAGE ONCE (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 17 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 1444 BTUs Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry. Although paper bags have a higher recycling rate than plastic, each new paper grocery bag you use is made from mostly virgin pulp for better strength and elasticity.
Issue 4: Degradability
Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills because of the lack of water, light, oxygen and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed. A paper bags takes up more space than a plastic bag in a landfill, but because paper is recycled at a higher rate, saving space in landfills is less of an issue. At the end of the day using reusable bags and containers are the real answer!
Monday, January 8, 2007
PICKY, PICKY, PICKY
PICKY, PICKY, PICKY
ARE CHEERIOS AND YOGURT THE MAIN STAPLES OF YOUR TODDLER'S DIET?
HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI EXPLAINS WHY:
Broiled Coho red salmon with millet and black bean stuffed green peppers. Free-range roasted chicken breast with butternut squash risotto. These dishes sound as good as they taste. And yet, my son wants nothing to do with them. It doesn’t matter that the salmon is straight from Alaska and that I spent all day cooking. My son, two this November, wants only yogurt. The same kind he has had for the last 25 meals he has eaten.
When my son requests to eat something, he will systematically reject every choice I offer him. Even though I know that picky eating is a hallmark of the toddler stage, I still wonder in frustration about why only two or three months ago my son was willing to try everything I put on his plate. What can I do to get my adventurous eater back, so that I can make us both those yummy and healthy gourmet meals?
First, let’s explore why a toddler might be picky. Between the ages of two and five, children begin to recognize what they like or dislike, are able to make choices based on those preferences and are able to tell you those choices. So rather than trying new foods or eating a food that touches another food or eating something that mommy and daddy want them to eat, they say no and/or they ask for something else. This nay-saying is a big part of their need to assert their independence and will.
Rebellion aside, children’s taste buds are much more sensitive than our adult taste buds. So, for example, something that is mildly bitter to us could be hugely so to them. In addition to that, extra sensitivity can be caused by a chemical known as phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is found in foods such as such as strawberries, oranges, apples, turnips, broccoli and green beans. PTC causes foods to taste extremely bitter or virtually tasteless, depending on your child’s genetic makeup. A child’s food preference, then, might be out of their control regardless of their assertion of will. That could explain why my little guy spit out the bok choy/apple/date juice I gave him the other day.
In general, people have a genetic preference for sweet and salty foods. This is a survival mechanism leftover from way back when we needed to be protected from eating poisonous foods. In the case of your toddler, however, it is a frustrating fact when you want more green vegetables in his diet. Beyond the tastes of food, things such as texture and appearance also make a difference in food preferences. Children like smooth creamy things, such as yogurt and ice cream because they feel good on the tongue, in addition to their sweetness. Something really spicy, ...more
ARE CHEERIOS AND YOGURT THE MAIN STAPLES OF YOUR TODDLER'S DIET?
HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI EXPLAINS WHY:
Broiled Coho red salmon with millet and black bean stuffed green peppers. Free-range roasted chicken breast with butternut squash risotto. These dishes sound as good as they taste. And yet, my son wants nothing to do with them. It doesn’t matter that the salmon is straight from Alaska and that I spent all day cooking. My son, two this November, wants only yogurt. The same kind he has had for the last 25 meals he has eaten.
When my son requests to eat something, he will systematically reject every choice I offer him. Even though I know that picky eating is a hallmark of the toddler stage, I still wonder in frustration about why only two or three months ago my son was willing to try everything I put on his plate. What can I do to get my adventurous eater back, so that I can make us both those yummy and healthy gourmet meals?
First, let’s explore why a toddler might be picky. Between the ages of two and five, children begin to recognize what they like or dislike, are able to make choices based on those preferences and are able to tell you those choices. So rather than trying new foods or eating a food that touches another food or eating something that mommy and daddy want them to eat, they say no and/or they ask for something else. This nay-saying is a big part of their need to assert their independence and will.
Rebellion aside, children’s taste buds are much more sensitive than our adult taste buds. So, for example, something that is mildly bitter to us could be hugely so to them. In addition to that, extra sensitivity can be caused by a chemical known as phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is found in foods such as such as strawberries, oranges, apples, turnips, broccoli and green beans. PTC causes foods to taste extremely bitter or virtually tasteless, depending on your child’s genetic makeup. A child’s food preference, then, might be out of their control regardless of their assertion of will. That could explain why my little guy spit out the bok choy/apple/date juice I gave him the other day.
In general, people have a genetic preference for sweet and salty foods. This is a survival mechanism leftover from way back when we needed to be protected from eating poisonous foods. In the case of your toddler, however, it is a frustrating fact when you want more green vegetables in his diet. Beyond the tastes of food, things such as texture and appearance also make a difference in food preferences. Children like smooth creamy things, such as yogurt and ice cream because they feel good on the tongue, in addition to their sweetness. Something really spicy, ...more
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Free College Courses for All (from MIT, and others!)
I for one am going to take all of the nutrition courses John Hopkins offers...
By Gregory M. Lamb, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jan 4, 3:00 AM ET
By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted. The cost? It's all free of charge.
The OpenCourseWare movement, begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002 and now spread to some 120 other universities worldwide, aims to disperse knowledge far beyond the ivy-clad walls of elite campuses to anyone who has an Internet connection and a desire to learn.
Intended as an act of "intellectual philanthropy," OpenCourseWare (OCW) provides free access to course materials such as syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations, and so on. So far, by giving away their content, the universities aren't discouraging students from enrolling as students. Instead, the online materials appear to be only whetting appetites for more.
"We believe strongly that education can be best advanced when knowledge is shared openly and freely," says Anne Margulies, executive director of the OCW program at MIT. "MIT is using the power of the Internet to give away all of the educational materials created here."
The MIT site (ocw.mit.edu), along with companion sites that translate the material into other languages, now average about 1.4 million visits per month from learners "in every single country on the planet," Ms. Margulies says. Those include Iraq, Darfur, "even Antarctica," she says. "We hear from [the online students] all the time with inspirational stories about how they are using these materials to change their lives. They're really, really motivated."
So-called "distance learning" over the Internet isn't new. Students have been able to pay for online courses at many institutions, either to receive credit or simply as a noncredit adult-learning experience. Many universities also offer free podcasts (audio or sometimes video material delivered via the Internet).
View the rest of the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070104/ts_csm/cmit .
By Gregory M. Lamb, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jan 4, 3:00 AM ET
By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted. The cost? It's all free of charge.
The OpenCourseWare movement, begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002 and now spread to some 120 other universities worldwide, aims to disperse knowledge far beyond the ivy-clad walls of elite campuses to anyone who has an Internet connection and a desire to learn.
Intended as an act of "intellectual philanthropy," OpenCourseWare (OCW) provides free access to course materials such as syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations, and so on. So far, by giving away their content, the universities aren't discouraging students from enrolling as students. Instead, the online materials appear to be only whetting appetites for more.
"We believe strongly that education can be best advanced when knowledge is shared openly and freely," says Anne Margulies, executive director of the OCW program at MIT. "MIT is using the power of the Internet to give away all of the educational materials created here."
The MIT site (ocw.mit.edu), along with companion sites that translate the material into other languages, now average about 1.4 million visits per month from learners "in every single country on the planet," Ms. Margulies says. Those include Iraq, Darfur, "even Antarctica," she says. "We hear from [the online students] all the time with inspirational stories about how they are using these materials to change their lives. They're really, really motivated."
So-called "distance learning" over the Internet isn't new. Students have been able to pay for online courses at many institutions, either to receive credit or simply as a noncredit adult-learning experience. Many universities also offer free podcasts (audio or sometimes video material delivered via the Internet).
View the rest of the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070104/ts_csm/cmit .
Monday, January 1, 2007
New Year, New You
If you are ready to make a permanent change, I invite you to visit the website www.intentionengine.com . Manifest your wildest dreams into reality. They also allow you to view the entire version of THE SECRET (Rhonda Byrne) under their Top Resources tag.
I am ready to manifest my best self-are you?
I am ready to manifest my best self-are you?
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