Mom Goes Green

As if there wasn’t enough debate (and yes, confusion) about the benefit of organic vs. non-organic milk, now “natural” milk is being introduced on grocery store shelves.

I’ve never wavered in my preference for organic milk.  It is higher quality; contains more nutrients; does NOT contain high residues of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics or hormones; and it comes from cows that have an overall better quality of life and receive organic feed.

Now enter: natural milk. What this essentially means is that the milk cannot contain artificial ingredients and additives like sweeteners, colors, flavors, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup, but it CANNOT make any of the claims of organic milk or the absence of all the harmful residues.

The pricing for natural milk will be somewhere between organic and non-organic. And with organic milk being high priced in comparison, some shoppers may be misled into believing that they’re buying a product that is less expensive than organic but getting all the benefits of organic milk.  This simply isn’t true. The difference is simply in the processing after it comes from the cow, not in the quality of the milk itself.

There is already so much confusion about organic milk and its beneficial qualities, and now natural milk will serve only to create more confusion. But be advised that natural milk is not better than organic milk (despite how it sounds), and giving a product the term “natural” is not regulated like the use of the term “organic”.

Just like non-organic milk, natural milk is like a box of chocolates… “you never know what you’re gonna get!”

Yes, that’s right.  Genetically engineered and modified food. Ever considered that one?  I hadn’t, until I read this article.

In a nutshell, genetic modification is a process of recombining DNA in animals (for food sources) to introduce new characteristics or desirable traits. Ummm… I don’t know about you, but I am a heartbeat away from wanting to become vegetarian, and the idea of the meats and animal products we consume coming from an animal that has been “altered” is just frightening to me.

The ideology is centered around things like creating animals that grow faster, contain more nutrients or produce a “more mild” manure (among other “excuses”), but truly, this doesn’t make me feel ANY better… and the FDA has actually given this new practice its seal of approval.  But there isn’t even enough research to assure us that it is safe, and there are now some concerns that this is already happening with produce and grains.

And just as bothersome, these products will NOT be labeled and identified, so you won’t even know if you are buying it!  This is NOT the kind of food I want to serve to my kids, ever.

(Granted, my husband and son came home with leftover “fluorescent green nite crawlers” the other day after they went fishing {and who KNOWS what was needed to create that phenomenon!} but at least I wasn’t planning on eating them!)

So what do we do?  This is again another situation where I have no solution or recommendation.  I just want you to know that it’s happening… and the fact that we may not even know that we’re bringing it home and serving it to our family.  I can only hope that this doesn’t affect organic food… but I can’t seem to find out if it does.

What I do know is that this leaves me feeling very uneasy.  Whatever happened to the simple goodness Mother Nature provided?  I truly prefer my food without all the “science experiments”.

H2O…a requirement for healthy little bodies. Our kids love water, but it can be dull, dull, dull.

When our daughter was about a year and a half old, my husband and I started talking about what a goldmine it would be to package water in a really cool box (like juice boxes) because I truly believe the package is a HUGE part of the appeal.  We even named it “Aqua Box”, but never developed the idea.

Bad move. There are some great products out there now and I missed my boat! There goes my mansion!

Now, as our daughter gets older and has more occasions to be away from us, (although she is a big water drinker) we worry that she’ll get sucked into the vortex of “Juice Box World!”  She’s bound to be surrounded by tons of over-sugared, artificial temptations that will be offered to her.  Good lord, I’m making it sound like a 6th grader is going to corner her on the playground and offer to sell her a juice box!!!

But, honestly, I found a really cool solution for water (that went quite a few steps further) and I had to share.  It’s called bot.  Simple as that…bot.  It’s a vitamin fortified water, made without artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors or preservatives, with 75% less sugar and calories than 100% fruit juice!  It comes in four flavors – grape, orange, berry & lemon – and tastes great to boot.

Top that off with a recyclable bottle made from recycled materials, and a company that donates 1% of their annual revenues to environmental causes, and it’s a green mom’s dream.

The bottles’ characters are way cute, too, and each has a little personality that our kids love.  Now they don’t feel left out when their friends are rockin’ their juice boxes, because they have something cool of their own.

Honestly, it’s great to send to school, on playdates, to sporting events, on the road — and it’s even yummy enough for mom and dad (although our kids won’t let us get near theirs with a 10-foot pole!)

So, if H2O is an H2-NO(!) in your fam, give it a try! It’s like the Cristal of kiddie water and they might just like it!

(*Does the “Betty Botta”-thing make you think I’ve lost my marbles? It’s actually a tongue twister I remembered from being a little kid.  Don’t believe me?  Then check here! 

Our family four-some has developed a little ritual for Friday evenings. We call it “Friday Night Movie Nite”. It includes a stop at Blockbuster, the Pet Store next door, carry-out dinners, jammies, popcorn and a movie while all snuggled up in the family room.

During a recent trip to Blockbuster, one of our four-some (I don’t remember who) spotted the popcorn and this fantastic-looking little shaker bottle perched nearby. We discovered a “white cheddar cheese” topping for popcorn that seemed pretty irresistible, so we bought it.

Honestly, it tastes great. When I thought about it more…there cannot be a single, natural ingredient in that stuff. We have dubbed it: “chemical”. It’s actually funny when my husband asks our kids “Do you want chemical?” and they know exactly what he means. It’s funny, but disturbing too. Sometimes our daughter will beat him to the punch and say “No chemical tonight, Daddy.”

It’s sad but true. We’ve all come to accept food products that are chemically or genetically engineered. White cheddar cheese popcorn topping included. (It says “All Natural” on the label but do you suppose “Silicon Dioxide to prevent caking” is good for us? I’m thinking not.)

A new resolution….get off the Friday night chemical, girl!