Wednesday Walkthrough . . . Oxymoron: Toxic Soap?

Let's take a stroll to your bathroom and check the label on your soap dispenser.

Right now the number-one recommendation to avoid H1N1 is to wash your hands, but is it possible that you could be washing your hands with toxic soap? While the effects may not be as immediately apparent as flu symptoms, the ramifications are worth considering.

The EWG recently posted a great article about choosing a "safer soap." Some of the more outstanding talking points are as follows:

1. When choosing a soap, avoid ones containing triclocarbon, triclosan, or fragrance. Triclosan is one of the EWG's "top seven chemicals for children to avoid." (It has a negative effect on your liver, thyroid, and may cause "bacterial resistance to antibiotics." It is also hard to clear from the water, so it can spread to drinking water and other treated water sources.)

2. Anti-bacterial soaps are just as effective as regular soaps, so they are not necessary. BUT they also usually contain triclosan, which you want to avoid.

3. Hand sanitizers are semi-effective, but they do not remove dirt and dust which can have chemicals in it. If you use a hand sanitizer, it's best to choose one that is alcohol based. And watch out for those frangrances!

To read the entire article, click here.

(Photo courtesy of soapylovedeb.)

Wednesday Walkthrough . . . A Walk Through Your Past

If you were to a write a letter to your 16 year old self, what would it say? I recently read this question in a magazine, and it got me thinking. What would I say to myself before I was a high school graduate? Before I went to college? What do I wish I had known before I moved to Japan, or before I got married? What about before pregnancy? Would I advise myself to do things differently? What have I learned about life that I wish I had known earlier?

A rough draft of my letter would contain some of the following thoughts. . .

Dear Self,

If there was only one thing I could tell you that I'm learning now and wish I had learned earlier, it would be to hold on with unrelenting passion to Truth and refuse to fear. Fear is a cheap trick that has kept many, if not all, people from realizing their full potential. It's a trick that has been played for generations, and despite the fact that I should have learned from the countless people it has crippled before me, I still fell prey to its wiles. Don't do it. Fear not.

Live your life with no regrets. The only regrets I have of my past are the things that I didn't do, or the time that I wasted, the opportunities I missed, all because I was afraid. Do not fear what others will think (Hint: All of the others are dealing with their own fears; they will either respect you for standing up for what you believe in, or they will hate you for standing up for what you believe in. If they hate you, it is because they are insecure. Don't let their hate stop you from moving forward). Do not fear what others will say. Do not fear rejection. Hold unswervingly to Truth and live without fear.

When I saw the shallowness of the "fear factor," I was upset with myself for giving in to such a lame tactic. I won't say that I've conquered fear; but I see its shallowness, and I am determined to not surrender willingly to its predictable maneuvers.

There is a great life to be lived, great opportunities to be had, great people to befriend. Turn your eyes off of yourself and look ahead to the possibilities that await. Go! Live! Love! You won't regret it.

Sincerely and passionately,

Future Joy

. . . what would your letter say?

Wednesday Walkthrough . . . A Word of Encouragement

One of my goals when I started this blog was to provide a balanced perspective on maintaining a healthy lifestyle without getting stuck in a ditch of extremism in any line of thought. I believe the reason people struggle with a healthy lifestyle or quality parenting disciplines is because they get burned out in a line of thinking that's pushes so hard against the norm that they simply tire from being different. There has to be balance in everything, whether you're eating healthier, choosing whether or not to vaccinate, following a certain parenting style, choosing how much to exercise, etc.

These last few weeks have been a good reminder to me about the importance of balance. I am a type-A personality that loves to live by to-do lists and accomplish everything. I want to be super mom, super WAHM, super wife, super friend, super family member, super church member, etc. But in trying to do that, I tend to say yes to everything that fits in my schedule.

But when I say yes just because there's a time slot open on my calendar, that doesn't mean I'm being super; it just means I'm busy and setting myself up for burnout.

Being super is about balance, and it's about saying no too. I can't do everything. Well, I try to do everything (and many times I fit it all in), but that doesn't mean I should be doing everything. And even though I battle the fear that I'm not doing enough, and I dread saying no and disappointing someone; I find that after I turn down an invitation, I actually feel better and more free.

My recent personal goal is to keep play dates/meetings with friends/trips to the zoo/or anything else that requires a lot of planning ahead or other people's schedules, down to one event a week. That doesn't mean I'm not doing anything else with my little girl the rest of the week; it just means we're free to do the normal stuff like grocery shopping, exercise, housework, trips to the pediatrician, errands, etc. and not get burned out in the process.

I know, there are probably some of you who are sure that you CAN do it all. I'm not doubting your abilities. I'm just encouraging you to explore the freedom in saying no and having open slots in your schedule to just sit on the floor and color with your child--times when your to-do list doesn't loom over you because you've already taken care of the day-to-day tasks.

I dare you. Try it.

Wednesday Walkthrough . . . Fading Fruits and Ripe Squash

Tree-ripened peaches, Michigan blueberries, Bixby corn, vine-ripened tomatoes and armfuls of fresh-picked herbs are waving their final farewells as the heartier squashes and versatile apples take center stage. As my baby girl willing explores new tastes and textures on her virgin taste buds, I find it a daily challenge to avoid fall-back foods (Annie's mac and cheese or almond butter/jelly sandwiches) and find new fares for her to try. Today, I reawakened the chef inside and produced a dish that has all the flare of fall: comfort food (lasagna) and fall produce (butternut squash).

As I share my recipe with you, I'll provide hints/substitutions/suggestions along the way to guide your quest to reawaken your stove and enjoy the swell of heat in the kitchen again.

BUTTERNUT LASAGNA

I printed this off a blog over a year ago and cannot remember the source. A deep apology to the person who deserves mounds of credit for this recipe.

(If you are using a food processor, chop the nuts before you make the fillings to save washing and drying between steps. The filling and sauce can be made ahead of time, and you don't need to precook the noodles.)

Lasagna:

9-11 lasagna noodles, preferably whole grain*

1/2 onion, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil**

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups chopped spinach, kale, chard or other dark green leafy vegetable***

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup boiling water

* Since I'm cooking for 2.5, I make two 8 x 8 pans instead of one 9 x 13 so I need at least 12 noodles if I'm making two smaller dishes.

** I used coconut oil so it wouldn't go rancid in the cooking process.

*** This is an excellent opportunity to use kale--so healthy, yet not so common in dishes.

Tofu Filling:

1 1/2 pounds firm or silken tofu

2 eggs or 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dried basil*

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon back pepper

* I used fresh, and it turned out fine.

Sauce:

3 cups mashed, cooked butternut squash*

3/4 cup milk (dairy or nondairy)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon miso**

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (this is where all the flavor comes in!)

* I steamed chunks of butternut squash until they were super soft and a fork could easily pierce the chunks all the way through. Then I scooped out the meat and put it directly in the food processor with the other ingredients.

** This may be one of those ingredients you're not prone to keeping handy in your kitchen--unless you have Asian flare like myself :). If you're having trouble finding miso in your grocery store or if you're having trouble locating an Asian market, you can usually get the miso soup mixes from most big chain grocery stores (in the Asian aisle) and inside you will find small packets of miso. I have a feeling that if you don't add the miso, it wouldn't affect the flavor drastically.

(the butternut sauce and tofu filling)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Stir in garlic and greens. If greens are dry, add a little water. Cover and steam 5 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

(sauteing onions)

(steaming spinach)

Place tofu filling ingredients in food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Remove to bowl and set aside. Place sauce ingredients in food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.

Assemble lasagna as follows: Cover bottom of 9 x 13 pan with thin layer of sauce. Place a single layer of lasagna noodles in bottom of pan. Leave a little space between the noodles because they will expand when cooked. Spread half of the tofu filling over the noodles.

(after the first layer of tofu filling)

Sprinkle half of the cooked greens over tofu. Spread a third of the butternut sauce over the greens. Repeat for one more layer. Place noodle layer on top and cover with butternut sauce. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over squash. Pour boiling water in corners and around edges of lasagna. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

(cooking in the oven, as you can see, the lasagna is fairly thick and fills the pan)

Remove cover and bake 10 minutes. Allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

(yummy walnuts cooked on top)

(view from the side to illustrate the depth of the lasagna)

Makes 8 tasty servings.

Note: To save time, you can buy frozen pureed squash.

Variation: Ricotta cheese can be substituted for tofu. Only use 1 egg or 1 tablespoon olive oil if using ricotta cheese.

Wednesday Walkthrough: Ice Ice Baby (Doll)

My mom recently bought a new baby doll for my daughter. The doll is hypo-allergenic, and it comes with instructions on how to properly clean the doll so as not to stir up allergies or asthma (neither of which my daughter has, but it doesn't hurt to have a clean toy, right?). The first instruction says to seal the doll in a plastic bag and throw it in the freezer for 24 hours.

The freezer? Really?

As I've started searching around on the web, I'm finding that the freeze-the-toys practice is more common than I thought. Apparently it's best for killing dust mites (which trigger asthma), but it's also great for killing germs.

Well, that's easy enough. Another easy, quick step to living a healthier life and not having to spend a ton of money in the process. I think all my daughter's stuffed animals are going to have to start a routine of camping out in our freezer. Hmm, wonder what my hubby's gonna say. :)

Skip the Mask; Grab a Plant

With all the buzz about swine flu going around, the temptation to wear a mask is making people more aware than ever of what they're breathing. First of all, wash your hands! I know, that has nothing to do with breathing, but it seems to be the universal best preventant of H1N1, so do it . . . often!

Okay, back to what we're breathing. Did you know the peace lily ("The peace what?" You know, those plants you get when a baby's born, when you go to the hospital, or when there's a funeral. The ones with long green leaves and one or more white lilies unswirling their white petals as they reach toward the sun . . . yeah, those plants!) is ranked as one of the top ten air-purifying houseplants?

We all learned in elementary school that plants take the CO2 and turn it into oxygen. But our teachers didn't spend much time teaching us that plants can take a lot more than just carbon dioxide out of the air. It turns out, plants are one of the the most effective filters for clearning the air of toxins too. A study in Australia found that air toxicity levels decreased by 75 percent with just six plants added to a room. Seventy-five percent!

It gets better! The same article states: "The World Health Organization blames bad indoor air for nearly 3 percent of diseases. Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, where air is more polluted than outside and can contain more than 900 volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, according to the EPA."

So think about getting some greens to clean up the air in your home. Put one in the office to filter the toxic flame retardants in your PC, laser printer, and TV dust. Make a peace lily a must-have for the baby's room. And consider buying a bamboo palm with your next new furniture purchase to filter all those new-furniture chemical smells and retardants lurking within the upholstery. For an easy-to-read chart that targets toxin sources and the plants to combat them, check out this guide.

Some plants to consider to get you started (you'll have to look these up if you don't recognize their names, but that's why God invented Google, right?): Eureka palm, peace lily, lady palm, bamboo palms, and rubber plant. Happy planting (or in my case, happy trying-t0-remember-to-water-so-my-plants-don't-die-and-my-husband-scorns-my-plea-to-buy-another-plant-to-replace-it-because-"You'll just kill it.")

**And if you're having trouble keeping your peace lily alive (my thumb is more of a murky yellow rather than green), try tea!

Wednesday Walkthrough...your bathroom scale

In the quest to find balance and choose the road (rather than a ditch on either side), magazine article titles with promises to lose "30 pounds in one month" make me cringe. Those theories can't be healthy, and there are usually some serious (i.e. impossible) lifestyle changes that would discourage the normal person from following through, or that would send an OCD person into rehab.

So, when I read an article that claimed to lose an exorbitant amount of fat in a short amount of time, I scanned the bold subtitles with the intent of scoffing at the recommendations. Instead, I found some interesting research that lured me to read the article in its entirety. The article focused on one source of obesity--toxic fat; and it suggested two steps toward eliminating it--increase your omega-3 intake and reduce your refined carbs and vegetable oil intake. The basic premise is that increasing omega-3s will fight the toxic fat in your body (fat from refined carbs and vegetable oil is toxic to your body, so your body creates fatty cells to store the toxins to keep your body alive--fat to store fat, yum!)

One article explains: "the underlying cause of chronic diseases (like allergies, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Lupus, etc.) comes from the increased production of a natural fatty acid called arachidonic acid (AA), which can be toxic at high concentrations. Oddly enough, accumulation of excess body fat is your body’s initial attempt at protecting you, by encapsulating or trapping the toxic fat in your fat cells. The problem is that the toxic fat doesn’t stay trapped forever. Once it begins to spill into the bloodstream, Dr. Sears says you now have Toxic Fat Syndrome (TFS)."

Dr. Barry Sears is the man behind this research, and while I don't agree with all that he says (e.g. "if you're fat, it's not your fault" or "eat less or exercise more is meaningless"), I think there is some good truth to pull from this research--increase your omega-3s. That's something we all can do. This is one of those cases where you don't "throw the baby out with the bathwater." Yes, the Zone Diet (purported by Dr. Sears) is difficult to follow; yes, I disagree that a person can shirk responsibility for their obesity; BUT, yes, there is great value in increasing your omega-3 intake. So, baby step number one: buy some fish or flax oil and add it to your daily routine (I drizzle flax oil on my baby girl's toast in the morning; I take fish oil with my breakfast.) It's easy; it's something you CAN do!

Great sources of omega-3s: Fish oil (if you take capsules, you can freeze them so that the oil doesn't float to the top of your stomach and give you yucky fish burps); flax oil (be sure to keep heat-sensitive flax oil refrigerated, and don't cook it in your food--drizzle it on top of things like salads or breads so that it maintains its structure); walnuts (5 a day keeps the doctor away).

Not bad; not too big of a lifestyle change; feasible; something that you could do/afford.