It's Not Easy Being Green

Somewhere along this parenting journey, I've become interested in making my home and family a little more "green". I've never been too concerned about my health, diet or my environment....... that is until Clara came along.

All of a sudden, I can't help but think that all of the "stuff" we add to our food to make it pretty or taste really really good might not be the best thing for us. Or the antibacterial craze that's hit in recent years that's made everyone germophobic might not be the best way to train our bodies to fight illness. Maybe that's partly to blame for our new drug resistant super bugs. Maybe all the good cleaning agents that make our tub and toilet sparkle aren't all that great for our respiratory system. Maybe, just maybe, some of this gunk that we've been inundated with is to blame for the huge rise in Alzheimers, and ADD, and autism, and cancer, and asthma, and allergies. So recently, I decided to slowly start making changes in the way we live. Not huge changes and don't worry, I haven't gone all hippy on you guys. Just slightly hippy.

First thing I've done is stop buying antibacterial cleaners. I'm using up what I have, (mostly bath and body works hand soap), but will start buying regular soap. The problem with antibacterial stuff is that it kills most of the bacteria, but the few it doesn't kill become stronger and more resistant. The other huge problem is that it kills the good bacteria. We need the good bugs to stay healthy. The best way to guard against the bad stuff is regular washing with regular soap, which just washes away the germs, but doesn't kill them. I will say that having hand sanitizer handy when a sink isn't accessible is great. And there are certain cleaning situations that I believe merit bleach, so I definitely don't think it's all or nothing.

Secondly, I've started buying more natural cleaning products. The bonus part of this one is that the environmentally friendly cleaners also are non-toxic to us so that means I don't have to be too worried about you know who getting into them. The brands that I've found at Target are Simple Green, Seventh Generation and Method. Method's website is really funny. I didn't even know that it was an environmentally friendly brand; I always thought it was a Target exclusive brand. I also came across a website that gives all kinds of cleaning tips using vinegar. Who knew? We've always bought our pet accident cleaner, called Nature's Miracle, from Petco but only recently did I read that it's also non-toxic. Go me!

So the cleaning stuff is pretty easy. What's not easy, though is food. I've always been a picky eater and just don't eat much if I don't really like the way it tastes, so this one's been mainly me buying healthy stuff for Clara. It's not a huge stretch since she's lactose intolerant and that's caused me to look into the alternatives. What kills me about the healthy stuff is the price.

Clara has drank soymilk since we discovered she's lactose intolerant. She can have some dairy, but when she hits a certain point, it's not good. She's been having pretty bad diapers regularly, so I decided this past week to remove dairy except when we eat out. (And only then because the only thing she'll eat is grilled cheese or quesadillas.) Sure enough, her diapers are back to normal. I figured that until she can tell me her stomach hurts, I shouldn't assume she's ok. Who knows, maybe her fussiness at times could be attributed to the dairy and not teething or being almost two like I assume.

So, I googled vegan diets. I am not going vegan, nor is Clara, I just figured this was the best way to make sure she's getting all the nutrients she needs. She won't eat meat yet and I've determined that her meatsticks were causing the redness around her mouth, so I've taken them away. Combine that with no dairy and voila, you're a vegan, (as long as your not wearing leather shoes). We picked up some soy yogurt that I saw at the store for the first time and apparently they make soy cheese. Did not know that. Where do you buy soy cheese, you're asking yourself. No idea. We went to the health food store nearby and they had rice cheese, so we picked some up. It's american flavor and looks just like the regular stuff....except for the price tag. Eight slices for $5.69! And we picked up a pint of rice ice cream. The bill was around $10. Ouch!

I made a grilled (rice) cheese sandwich today and she gobbled it up, so I guess it's a hit. I'm guessing a trip to Whole Foods in Houston is in order. Aside from the necessary changes I'm making for Clara's lactose intolerance, I've also tried to buy other more natural items. I don't necessarily need it to say organic on the front, but I do want it to be free of artifical colors and flavors. I love it when I look on the ingredient list and it has only 2 or 3 ingredients, all of which I can pronounce. Like my peanut butter: peanuts and salt. Applesauce: apples and water. Syrup: maple syrup. I buy wheat bread, the leanest meat, and low fat versions of most stuff. Clara only gets juice at home every once in a while and only V8 fusion. It's vegetables and fruit, with no added sugar. She gets Welch's dried fruit packs instead of fruit snacks and an organic brand of graham and snack crackers.

I do try to be flexible with her eating. I don't want food to ever become an issue, so I hope to teach her that the ocassional splurge is just fine. I don't mind treats outside of the house one bit. She gets cake at parties, Sonic drinks and ice cream (dairy free from now on). Just didn't want anyone thinking I'm depriving her of a normal childhood here.

And finally, I'm trying to buy less plastic. This post is way longer than I intended, so I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say, we're seriously junking up the Earth with plastic. It doesn't break down, so for all intents and purposes, it's here to stay. The statistics on the number of water bottles alone that are lying around are astounding. I'm all about wooden toys now. But yet again, wood's more expensive that cheap plastic.

For those of you that made it all the way through this post, wow, I'm impressed.