Planting Seeds of Change

I'm sampling some hand creams right now and will post once I have some real results, but in the meantime I thought I'd share another area I'm passionate about - FOOD!

I'm certainly not the first person to blog about this subject and I know I won't be the last, but I think that what we eat defines us to a certain extent, so here's what happened...

About six months ago I decided to make an overhaul of our refrigerator and pantry. That meant tossing the pizza rolls (really eating the remainder of the bag) to more healthful, whole grain and recognizable ingredients. With this endeavor came more cooking and more interesting meals. Plus, losing ten pounds in the process was a nice bonus. I got hooked on recipes and our local organic market for new ideas.

So a few months ago I was at the airport in the bookstore looking for something trashy to read on the plane. Instead of my usual People magazine (airplanes bring out guilty pleasures) I noticed a book I had heard about and never read, "In Defense of Food," by Michael Pollan.

Please don't stop reading because you saw this guy on Oprah and can't bear to listen to another Oprah-made celebrity. His book (he has more than the one) had me laughing out loud and making notes in the margins. It was that good. I realize that once again I am late to the party, but I'm glad I finally arrived.

Pollan's message is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Seems simple enough. And so I follow that.

So while I have been scouring our local markets for items that are grown locally and trying to find recipes for things like swiss chard (new to me, maybe not to you) I found myself increasingly more interested in where our food comes from, so I kept reading.

Enter the book, "Food, Inc.," featuring Michael Pollan (along with many other food industry and agricultural experts) that accompanies the film of the same title. This one sheds a very harsh light on the horrific practices within the food industry. I'll be damned if I ever grab a quick pound of ground beef without checking the label to see how it was made and where. It's harder than I thought to find meat in Grand Rapids, MI, that hasn't been tortured, by the way.

So I want you to know, one of my favorite things to eat has always been a big juicy burger or a pizza with lots of pepperoni, and I can't say I won't want them again, but somehow the light has been turned on and I can't look away anymore. I want to feel good about what I eat instead of saying, "ew!" every time I open a package of chicken. I will say I am proud that at J. Alexander's last weekend I asked where the fish came from and was given a pleasant response about it's origin, so there is hope.

This is not some sort of epiphany. It's just an awareness that has taken me many years to realize might be easier on my mind and body. I'm not against eating animals; I just don't think we need to raise and kill them with cruelty. It's never as real until you share your thoughts with someone, so here I am sharing my thoughts. It might be a little heavy for a Friday night, but I'm facing a freezer full of Otto's Chicken (the only kind I do eat) and wondering what's going to happen once that runs out. But I'm just planting seeds for thought right now.

Could I be headed for the big "V" soon? We'll see.

Winter break!

Thanks to everyone who shared information about toxin-free products! I'll pass along anything I try. My first order of business is hand cream, though, as my "winter break" hands are starting to look like I juggle knives badly instead of kids and meals. Of course, any suggestions are welcome, but for my smart-ass friends, I do need to keep my hands.

Sand in the Vaseline

I've long heard that parabens and other synthetic ingredients in skin care products and cosmetics may be harmful to our health. I've even swapped a couple of items in favor of slightly better alternatives, but nothing angered me as much as hearing that my trusted jar of Vaseline might be cancerous.

Yup. I caught an episode of Dr. Oz last week where he talked about toxic cosmetics. He said,

Petroleum jelly is a byproduct of oil drilling, and when you spread it on your lips, you end up eating it, which is essentially the same as drinking gasoline.

Holy shit! To which my loving husband, Dino, smirked and said "And you're surprised, why? It's almost plastic. Aimee, you can't win."

Now, I consider myself an intelligent person. So why didn't this occur to me? Why did I think something that could result in plastic was safe for all those years? For that matter, what other potentially deadly daily essentials lurk in my bathroom?

Mind you, "greening" my medicine cabinet is no small task, and certainly not cheap. I use 13 products a day on my face alone, not including makeup. So where do I start? And what the hell are parabens, anyway?

Here's what the FDA says:

Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in cosmetic products. Chemically, parabens are esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid. The most common parabens used in cosmetic products are methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Typically, more than one paraben is used in a product, and they are often used in combination with other types of preservatives to provide preservation against a broad range of microorganisms. The use of mixtures of parabens allows the use of lower levels while increasing preservative activity.Cosmetics that may contain parabens include makeup, moisturizers, hair care products, and shaving products, among others.

And so I checked the labels. It's all gotta go. As I said, I've already changed a couple of items, but the list is still very long. So, over the next few months I will evaluate every product in my house, from diaper creams to deodorants. Everything will either get tossed or traded for a worthy alternative. I do welcome any advice from those who have switched to truly natural products. Here is a partial list of chemicals to avoid from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website:

Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-releasing Preservatives
Nitrosamines
Lead and Other Heavy Metals
Parabens
Phthalates
Hydroquinone
1,4-dioxane

I have only a rudimentary idea what any of those chemicals are, much less how they are incorporated into everyday products. And I expect by the end of this journey that I will know more than I care to. I just hope I can find alternatives I like and that are safe to use, for my own sanity!

What's in a name?

Lapiduli appears to be a loose translation of lapideus, meaning, "of the nature of stone." The word makes me think of something organic and natural, but upon further reading, I found a passage written by Richard Baptist O'Brien in 1871 about the life of Catherine McAuley, founder of The Sisters of Mercy (the organization, not the band, although I do like them).
He said "The events of her life are like the lapiduli of a grand mosaic: each of them is a small thing, but the combination of them makes such a picture..."
I'm not very religious, but the idea that we are all part of something larger is exactly the reason I believe that we should value the little things in life. I believe that all contributions are mighty, however small they may be.