BlogHer - Environmental Influences - Comments

love the local

AdrianaWA — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:29:05 -0500

Hello!

That's funny -- my son wanted to be held all the time, too! And he refused to sleep alone. Now he's a very independent, though still cuddly, four-year-old. It gets easier.

I love eating locally and post recipes on my blog, What I Made for Dinner (ack link function isn't working on my laptop, so http://whatimadefordinner.blogspot.com). I just went to a strawberry luncheon featuring grilled lamb with a strawberry sauce! Kind of a complex dish for a family with a newborn, though.

If I were you, I'd start out simple: snack on the local strawberries, which you can probably wash one-handed ;) Have one of those free-range eggs poached for breakfast with whole-grain bread from your local bakery.

If you have a little more time to cook, or if you can get someone else to cook for you, asparagus buckwheat crepes are pretty good.

Sautee mushrooms and chopped asparagus with garlic in olive oil, thyme, salt, and a leetle red wine. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, 1/3 whole wheat flour, 1/4 t salt, 1 1/2 T melted butter. Let batter sit at least 1/2 hour.

Ladle batter into hot, buttered pan, making sure it spreads to all sides. Cook, then flip. Add some of the asparagus mixture to the center, top with grated local cheese, fold over crepe, and enjoy!

Crepes take a little practice, so make sure everyone is in a good mood, first.

Moms who read blogs and ruin surprises

Denise — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:02:31 -0500

I thought I might get away with the blog post I made about giving my mom the gift of maternal health for Mother's Day. Hah. I should have known better. She read the post, which she loved (it made her cry.)

I sent the actual card yesterday, thinking she might not see it til much closer to Mother's Day because she has a new Dell laptop that wasn't playing nice with her modem and router. And, we all know how long it can take someone to resolve a Dell problem... hah.

But again, I was foiled.

My sister spent five hours working on her system and got her back up and running last night - so she got the actual card....which she also loved.

It was a huge hit for Mother's Day - the blog post first, then the card and donation. I highly recommend both particularly if you have a mom who reads your blog posts. :-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Elections and emissions

Mary Clare Hunt — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:34:49 -0500

Remember how real seeing the hole in the ozone was? Check out

http://www.purdue.edu/eas/carbon/vulcan/index.php and watch the second video. You'll see what CO2 emissions look like from traffic, power plants and manufacturing. That will help focus our choices for a President.

For those of us gluten and dairy-free...

Karina Allrich — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:32:42 -0500

Hemp milk is a fab dairy alternative. I love it!

Unfortunately I'm allergic to flax and eggs (two other possible sources of EFA's). But the good news- for omnivores- is that salmon, sardines, and free range buffalo meat also contains EFA's. Who knew?

k a r i n a

Karina's Kitchen: Recipes from a [Gluten-Free] Goddess

A Painter's Kitchen [art. words. life.]

wipes on everything?

Her Bad Mother — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:11:21 -0500

I have TOTALLY done that ;)

Something New to try....Omega 3 keeps my body on track! :)

Rhonda-at-RecipeCarousel — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:55:08 -0500

What a great article- I have not yet tried hemp, I am going to the heatlh food store today and will pick some up. I think it sounds like a great addition as salmon; fish in general can be quite expensive.

i usally keep a container of toasted nuts and seeds on hand that I use for snacking thru-out the day; in order to get my daily dose

I find that omega 3's keep my skin and hair especially healthyand my mind clear. Nice article

Thank you Rhonda-at-RecipeCarousel

http://www.recipecarousel.com/blog

Amy, The brand I found at VC

amamasblog — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:46:29 -0500

Amy,

The brand I found at VC which had the most Omega 3's was Nature's Way Efa Gold Flax Oil, with 57% Omega-3. I got the 16 oz. bottle and it was about $9. This brand actually had more g/mg of Omega-3's than the really expensive kinds and the Omega-3's is what my Dr. said was so important.

Yes, you can mix it in with juice, or milk, or any drink really. Ryan actually likes it in his milk. For some reason, the taste doesn't bother me too much- it kind of made me mush my face up at first, but now I guess I am used to it, and just pour it on a teaspoon and down the hatch. :-) My sister, on the other hand couldn't stand the taste, even in her milk, so she switched to capsules.

If you mix it in with something, I doubt you would have a problem with it. :-)

Recommend a certain flaxseed oil brand?

amygeekgrl — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:51:02 -0500

Thanks for sharing about flaxseed oil being used to treat PPD. I should probably try taking some myself. I don't think I have PPD, but I have been feeling kind of down lately. It certainly couldn't hurt. Do you have a brand that you recommend that tastes best? Do you mix it in anything?

Thanks! :)

Amy

Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

Dizzy

mama2bna — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:47:42 -0500

It's seriously exhausting to keep it all straight. I have not done a great job on cleaning supplies, still stocking the toxic stand-bys of my youth.

But truth be told when we had that amazing stretch of three months with 2 in diapers at once, I locked the cleaning stuff away and just walked around with a box of wipes. Faces, butts, tables and toilets, they all got the aloe wipe.

Amanda

http://lifewithbriar.blogspot.com

http://toddlywinks.blogspot.com

I'm going to try that!

Kalyn Denny — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:03:26 -0500

I keep reading about them but haven't tried them, and stirring a few into oatmeal sounds like a good way to try them.

Kalyn Denny

Kalyn's Kitchen

Hemp seeds rock

suebob — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:26:22 -0500

I used to turn up my nose at Hempseed, thinking it was kind of a stoner affectation (because everyone I knew who was evangelizing hemp was a stoner)...but then I tasted them and they are delicious - kind of like small pine nuts.

Hempseed is expensive, but I just put a tablespoonful on my oatmeal in the morning.

Omega-3 for Post Partum Depression/Nursing

amamasblog — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:41:15 -0500

When I had post partum depression 3 months after my son was born, my Dr. told me since I was nursing there was no safe meds. for my depression. He encouraged me to to take two teaspoons of pure, organic, flax seed oil a day, along with extra B vitamins. He mentioned that nursing mothers can be very deficient in Omega-3's, since most of it leaves the body in the breastmilk for the baby.

I accidently thought he said to take two Tablespoons a day, and I did. Within two days, I felt like a new person. It was amazing! Accidently taking two Tablespoons instead of teaspoons didn't hurt me, but I did switch to teaspoons. I still take one teaspoon a day. I notice when I forget, I start to feel blue again. (I am still nursing my almost two year old son). Within hours of taking flax seed oil, I feel better.

I think it is so important to let new and nursing mothers know that they need extra Omega-3's, *especially* if they are nursing. Most nursing mothers don't get any nutritional advice other than the basics, like drink extra water.

In my case increasing Omega-3's, and B vitamins cured my post partum depression without drugs. It is an amazing compound.

Heather
A Mama's Blog
www.amamasblog.com

Using Flax Seeds

MealMixer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:22:00 -0500

I keep a cheap coffee grinder and add my own ground flax to a lot of things, especially cookies and casseroles. We don't eat fish.

I've read that there is no difference between the brown and gold, Cherre.

Another thing to check out is the cooking oil you use, some are higher in Omega-3 than others.

Great post!

Kalyn Denny — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:58:08 -0500

I've also found that flax seed is easy to mix into various things like meatloaf or even bread or egg muffins. Haven't tried hemp seeds in anything, I've seen some recipes using them that sound pretty intriguing.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Flax seed is also good for digestion

Cherre — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:36:04 -0500

I find flax seeds really easy to integrate it into whatever meal I'm making by sprinkling on top of salads or mixing into batters, etc. You can also substitute flax seed for fat or eggs in recipes. Haven't quite figured out the difference between the gold and brown varieties...?
http://doesabodygood.blogspot.com/search/label/flax