Organic Debate? Not for me...

I read an interesting article from an LA Times columnist 'Organic' debate goes on, naturally. I have never read his stuff before and am sure his intentions are good, but for me he completely misses the point of organics. Like anything else, nothing is perfect, including organic control boards (and I am sure somebody is making a lot of money off people certifying organic), but and it is a huge but, it is the intention. The writer seems to look for small holes that he can blanket the entire organic industry under to imply it is a farce, or unnecessary.

Reality for me, living in Kitchener, Ontario, is that I can get local fruits and veggies a few months a year and it is a little challenging finding natural / organic even at the local market. Hence, my only choice is to visit local organic grocers and and buy organic products at the supermarket because I want the fewest chemicals possible in my foods, period. I have made the conscious choice to be healthy and try to provide the healthiest environment for kids. This combined with seeing a family member completely reverse a supposedly incurable disease with natural products makes it a no brainer for me and my family.

When I see a writer giving doubt to people who are wavering between organic and "conventional" (weird term consider conventional has only been around a few decades and is constantly changing) it upsets me. The fewer people who choose organics means less of a market for me as demand decreases. The last thing we need in this world is lower demand for natural products. If you live in a California and you have time to visit every farm you purchase products from, that is awesome, but for me I need a designation that at least I know I am doing the best I can! Click Here to Read More..

Recipe: Triple Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Anything that includes cheese, butter and bread is going to be great, but a few simple tips and techniques can take a great sandwich to the perfect grilled cheese!

Recipe:Perfect Grilled Cheese

2 Pieces of French or Italian loaf (substitute your favorite bread if desired).
3 Slices of Mozzarella
2 Slices of Cheddar
2 Slices of Gouda
2 Slices of Swiss
Butter

Preheat a pan to med-low heat. Add cheese to one side of the bread and cover with the other piece. Butter the outside of the piece of bread on top. Place in pan butter side down, you should not have any smoke or your pan is too hot, turn it down if you do. Butter the outside of the piece of bread now on top. Cover with a lid to ensure the cheese melts and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. After about 2 minutes check the bottom to determine colour. Once the bread has a nice golden brown crust flip the sandwich. Careful as the cheese may not be melted at this point, hence the sandwich may fall apart. Let cook for another 1-2 minutes covered, checking the bottom to determine when it is ready. Again it should have a nice golden brown colour to it. Dip in ketchup and Enjoy!!
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Introducing Babies to Foods: Our Approach

As a food lover and a new parent, introducing foods and cooking for my kids has been the focus of my attention over the last few years especially in a world of ADD, diabetes and obesity. I cannot begin to say I am expert, having only raised my oldest to 3 and my youngest is not eating real meals yet, but I think we are doing pretty good. As this always seems to be struggle with parents trying to get their children to eat well I thought would share our experiences. The 3 year old is very active and has only had a few colds, never been to a doctor for illness and never needed any pharmas. He didn't have his first cold until he was over one and half and that was only after we starting giving him grains. My youngest has not had a cold yet and he turns 1 in August. So as parents we are quite proud of our track record.

Without getting too deep here are the principles of what we have tried to do....
1. Introduced food after 6 months (exclusively nursed up to that point)
2. Started with fruits, including bananas, prunes and blueberries intially (except for strawberries, kiwis and citrus which we wait until 2 yrs to introduce)
3. Tried intoducing egg yolks, but neither child was a big fan
4. Gradually continued to introduced more fruits and some vegetables like squash, avocado and green beans
5. Started chicken after the first year
6. We started introducing small portions of grains at about one and half, but I would probably wait until two for the second child as it is very hard for a young digestive track to deal with grains. Delaying the introduction of grains is very, very, very challenging though, especially because my wife and I are addicted to chocolate chip cookies and love nothing better than bread and butter.
7. Introduced unfiltered juice after one year, but water it down (half & half).
8. Start introducing red meat and other meats after two years
9. Would love to avoid any processed sugar altogether, but reality is we started giving little bits of dessert around one and half (goes with the grains)
10. Dairy is only consumed as a treat, with the exception of cheese (mostly from raw milk), I should caveat for all those dairy lovers out there that both my children still nurse.
11. We have tried to consistently use as much organic and natural foods as possible. The hardest challenge with this is eating out as few restaurants offer organic.

Now that my little guy is almost three years old, he not only eats most things that his mom and dad do and has been incredibly healthy, but he also seems to have a great palette. He'll often turn down treats for some fresh cherries or turn down juice for a glass of water.
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St. Jacob's Market Day Lunch

It's been a tradition in my family to make a fresh market lunch after our weekly trip to St. Jacob's Market to pick up our groceries. Our favourite lunch is bagel sandwiches using organic bagels, roast chicken, turkey summer sausage, tomatoes and lettuce. St. Jacob's is great for getting local and organic food especially in the summer time. They even have a small petting barn where the kids get to feed the animals. Click Here to Read More..