No Sugar, So Why So Sweet?

Yesterday I dropped my partner and daughter off at the airport for a little holiday at Great-Nanas. On my way home it happened to be the same time when all the school kids are walking to school. Being rush hour I was stranded at an intersection for quite some time while lots of little groups of high school kids walked past me on their way to school. What really suprised me was that every single one of them was holding some type of soft drink mostly in a 1.25L container, or energy drinks. I couldn't believe that this is the way kids are starting their day at school.

Today as I was walking my little baby around the park I spotted a bus with a huge can of softdrink on it with the words no sugar, and I thought hmmmm......

So what do they use if they aren't using sugar? Honey, stevia, rapadura??
No, try Aspartame and/or Acesulfame Potassium (K). These little ingredients are actually chemicals that are incredibly sweet to the taste buds but also very toxic to the body.
Studies have shown that Aspartame (also known as Equal, NutraSweet and a variety of other names) may cause a number of very concerning problems including: Birth Defects , Cancer (Brain Cancer), Diabetes , Emotional Disorders and Epilepsy/Seizures.

People are generally using "diet" products such as diet soft drinks, artificial sweeteners in their tea/coffee etc. in an effort to lose weight. With so many diet options on the market out there it makes you wonder why obesity is only becoming a larger problem.
This little blurb from Health For You explains why that could be:
Aspartame breaks down into three components: 1. Methanol. This is poisonous alcohol. In the body, methanol breaks down into formaldehyde, which is a poison. 2. Phenylalanine. This decreases the amount serotonin in your brain, which leads to mood swings (depressions) and an increased appetite! That is why aspartame is one of the main causes for the current obesity epidemic. 3. Aspartic acid. This is a neurological toxin comparable to MSG.

It makes me worry for the future health of all those children who are consuming these artificial ingredients every morning on their way to school.

I suggest googling this is you are interested in finding out more on this topic, as there is too much information for me to get onto my little blog.

Sophie The Giraffe

I haven't bought many toys for my baby, but there is one toy which I recommend to any new parents... Sophie the Giraffe, she is French and has been made since the mid 1900's.

Lylah has enjoyed chewing, sucking, bending and squishing Sophie since she was about 2 months old. Now that she is 7 months old, Sophie still seems to be the favourite.

The beauty of little Sophie is that she is free from all the nasty ingredients that seem to afflict so many of the baby products on the market as she is made out of 100% natural rubber. She is the perfect shape for tiny hands to hold as well.

She has helped me out so many times over the last few months, and now that Lylah's teeth are on their way, I'm sure she will continue to be a wonderful companion in the months ahead.

http://www.sophiethegiraffe.com.au/order.html?gclid=CJ6ZmoCYnqECFQaubwodNkUSvw

The Nappies For Me

Ok, maybe not for me (thank goodness), but for my baby. In my decision making, I always think of the health and environmental impact before making a choice. The good old nappy saga has been going on for decades now. Cloth or disposable?

Well, with my first baby I used cloth at home and Naturebaby Care nappies when we went out, and at night. This worked for me, as I didn't mind doing the washing (with natural detergents), and I was happy to be using a disposable nappy that was much safer both for my baby and our Earth.

Six years later, and hooray, there are even more great products out there to try. I've discovered Moltex Eco nappies which are made in Holland I believe. They are the most environmentally friendly nappy available in Australia and have recieved awards for this reason. They are actually compostable and break down in 8-10 weeks, while all the other millions of conventional disposable nappies from the last 50 years are still very much in tact in land fill. This alone is enough to make me a happy mama.

There are also health benefits for my baby as well. Moltex nappies contain no perfumes, lotions, antioxidants, TBT, chlorine or latex all of which to me, are toxins on my little baby's beautiful skin.

I noticed a couple of consumer reviews of these nappies, all positively glowing. A couple of mothers even said that their babies nappy rash disappeared when they switched to Moltex.

They are more expensive, which can be hard some weeks for me, and if that is the case I will buy a packet to use at night (lasts 40 nights so $1/night), and then I buy the Naturebaby Care for during the day, as they are much cheaper.

I also LOVE my little Baby Bee-hinds cloth nappies. They are sooo soft and really absorbant. I definitely recommend them as the best pre-made cloth nappy I have tried.

I just think it's sad more people don't think outside the square and discover alternatives that are going to help make the world more habitable for their grand-children.

Wedding Footprints

Lots of my friends seem to be getting married lately and it's made me wonder what sort of footprint weddings leave on the Earth. Is it something we should be looking at trying to make more eco friendly? If there are 100000 weddings a year in Australia alone it will definitley impact on the environment.

Here are some things we can do to lessen the damage...

Instead of buying a new dress where the fabric will have been sprayed with pesticides in the growing and many other chemicals in the production, how about borrowing one, have one made with organic fabics, buy an eco wedding dress (there are some beautiful websites selling them now) or have a vintage/secondhand one altered to fit you.

Something else for the bride-to-be to think about is hair and make-up. There are people out there that specialise in organic make-up and hair products to make you look so very lovely.

Many people will have a little gift for the guests on the table at the reception, a lovely idea is to give them each a little seedling of a plant. Celebrate with seedlings has a lovely selection of seedlings on offer, wrapped up pretty with a ribbon and fabric.

Do people still use confetti?? Well if you're into that, there is now a water soluble one available that is made out of rice. Beeswax candles are carbon neutral and non toxic. There are also places that will create invitations on recycled paper.

How about food? Mmmm, organic food and drinks are a lovely touch to any function.

And how shall we get to the wedding?? Maybe by horse drawn cart... or eco limosine. Otherwise you can always offset your emissions with Green Fleet.

There seem to be so many options out there now, I've only just scratched the surface., which is wonderful news for all those loved-up eco chicks out there!

Back To School Lunches

My little girl is back to school tomorrow, so we decided to make some easy-peasy and delicious banana bread for her to take for morning tea.
It's a wonderful way to use up those banana's that get too soft to eat...
Being one of the creators of Nature Bub , I also love to eat organic food too, so most of these ingredients are organic in my cupboard.

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 mashed up bananas
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs (organic & free range)
1 tsp soda
4 TBS buttermilk
pinch of salt

Cream butter and sugar, then add bananas. Stir in eggs.
Put the soda into the buttermilk.
Slowly stir in flour and salt and then add the buttermilk.
Bake for about an hour in oven at 175 degrees.

Sunny Mummies

Lots of lovely women find themselves feeling so many different emotions when they become mothers, and some of these feelings aren't so sweet. I came across this gorgeous blog and website today called Sunny Mummy which is a wonderful pick-me-up for all the mummies out there that need some light in their life. The blog posts are so well written and positive, it's given me a nice warm fuzzy feeling to carry for the rest of the day.

http://www.sunnymummy.com.au/index.html