Posted on 4th August 2010 by Mish in frugal | green | health
chemicals in plastics, frugal, Glass Bottles, green, health, healthy kids, mason jars, phthalates, plastics, water bottles
I love my Mason Jars. Because of information I’ve been reading lately about the different chemicals in plastics, including phthalates, I’ve started switching most of our food storage and drink ware to glass (a tough decision to make with little kids in the house). I now use a Mason jar to drink out of everywhere. I put my coffee in it in the morning sometimes as it retains heat well, put my water in it all day and can put a lid on it and take it with me on our walks or other outings. Sometimes I feel like an old mountain man drinking moonshine out of a jar, but that feeling usually passes quickly!
Mom’s “jar of water” is now a frequent – and much sought after – site in the bottom of the stroller, especially on a hot day. I’ve also started saving smaller jelly jars for the kids to use. While buying jelly in the smaller jars isn’t the most frugal thing we could do, I buy the “simply fruit” brands because they don’t contain HFCS and because Alex needs a lesser carb count (he’s a Type-1 Diabetic).
So constantly reusing a Mason jar reduces the number of Phthalates we’re exposed to, reduces the amount of disposable cups and bottles (plastic) we use, and keeps me from wasting water washing out 400 hundred cups everyday (it sometimes seems like that!).
It bums me out a little that I constantly miss out on major product reviews and other money-making opportunities on my blog because I don’t ask my readers to buy a new thingy that will make them more frugal, healthy or green. So many blogs I see say – “You can be green and frugal, just buy this thing!” Oh well. I just don’t see the point. Just use common sense. Grab an old Mason jar. Put a lid on it. Use it. Cheap, simple, healthy and green. You can also use larger jars to store dry food and leftovers.
Here’s more info about Phthalates:
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Technorati Tags: chemicals in plastics, frugal, Glass Bottles, green, health, healthy kids, mason jars, phthalates, plastics, water bottles
Posted on 27th March 2009 by Mish in miscellaneous
health, healthy kids
Just comment on any Organically Inclined article – or any article over at Large Families Today – and you’ll be entered to win:
Sinupret for Kids is a plant-based, natural cold remedy that works by supporting the immune, sinus and respiratory functions of the body – rather than just treating symptoms. It helps children by getting them healthier – rather than just treating the symptoms of the cold.
Sinupret has been the subject of a number of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. In one of the largest clinical trials in children testing sinus remedies, Sinupret was evaluated retrospectively in more than 3,000 children by approximately 1,000 physicians. 88% of the physicians found Sinupret effective. A majority of the children who used Sinupret experienced healthy sinus functions.
For more on how to keep kids healthy naturally, read this article by Dr. Bob Sears.
FYI: I (Michelle Kennedy Hogan) don’t often accept review work for OI because I like to keep the information from the site as objective as possible, so I will let you know that I was given a copy of Bob Sears book and a sample of Sinupret for Kids for my family. I am a big fan of the Sears family and their positions on natural living and attachment parenting – otherwise I would not advocate them on Organically Inclined or Large Families Today (they also have a large family, by the way!). I really like the book offered here and I thought some OI readers might enjoy it and the sample too – so I hope you’ll participate!
Thanks!
Technorati Tags: health, healthy kids
Posted on 27th March 2009 by Mish in attachment parenting | health
eating healthy, health
A quick note from Michelle: I have always appreciated the advice of the Sears family as they are wonderful advocates of attachment parenting. I don’t do a lot of reviews and freebies here at OI because I like to keep the information as “pure” as possible, however because I like the Sears family so much I accepted a sample of Sinupret as well as a copy of “The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood” by William, Martha, James and Robert Sears to read and offer as a prize here on Organically Inclined. It’s a great book – and I hope you’ll appreciate the information about cold remedies offered in the following article.
I also hope you’ll enter for a chance to win the Sinupret giveaway pack by sending me an email with your name and address!
By Bob Sears, M.D., F.A.A.P.
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Winter season is here and once again my office is filled with coughs and runny noses. As a pediatrician I expect to be busier than ever for the next few months. And while having a busy office can be a good thing for any self-employed physician, to be honest, this isn’t the kind of extra business I like to see. Parents bring in their sick kids, hoping that nothing is seriously wrong, yet wanting me to at least offer some type of relief. I don’t know who I feel sorrier for – the child who has to suffer through the symptoms or the parent who has to stay awake all night listening to those symptoms night after night. Well, at least parents can give their child a nice dose of nighttime cold and cough medicine so that the parents can get a good night’s sleep . . . oh, and also so the child can feel better, right? Wrong.
Last year the FDA decided that over-the-counter cough and cold medicines should no longer be used for infants and toddlers under 2 years of age because of possible severe side effects and a lack of evidence that they actually work. Just this week, in response to the FDA’s ongoing investigation which has found little evidence that these drugs work, manufacturers have voluntarily decided to change their labeling and advice for children, and state that the drugs should not be given to children under 4.
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Technorati Tags: eating healthy, health
Posted on 23rd November 2008 by Mish in health
carb counting, diabetes, health, type 1 diabetes
I called this blog Organically Inclined back when I started it because I try very hard to do things organically and “green,” but don’t always succeed. However, the one area I thought I had down pat was the frugal area. I have always been the epitome of frugal! I always made the frugal decision. It was one area I in which I felt very confident.
Well, no more! Now that I am the parent of a Type 1 diabetic, I have to tell you that pre-proportioned – well, everything – has become my friend.
Because Alex can only eat two snacks per day that are 15 grams of carbs or less, the nutritional labels on the back of packages are a Godsend. 
I was always anti-packaging girl. If it came in a box, I hated it! I liked snacks that are fresh – and package free. Now, I’m in love with items like individually packaged peanuts, applesauces and string cheese.
Why? Because they are easy for alex to grab and go. And while I know that someday we’ll feel confident enough in his ability to judge a portion size of applesauce out of the jar of homemade, right now – it makes me feel good that he can get himself a snack (he is 12 after all), without “Mommy” having to come and count out the amount of peanuts, or get out the measuring cups for the applesauce.
I still hate the packaging – and am saving all the applesauce cups to start seeds in next February – but for now, while we are still adjusting to coping with Alex’s chronic disease, having some of the little things made easier means a lot!
Technorati Tags: carb counting, diabetes, health, type 1 diabetes
Posted on 28th October 2008 by Mish in health
diabetes, health, juvenile diabetes
I recently noticed several changes in my son, Alex’s physical appearance and behavior. Alex is 12 and recently grew about six inches in as many months, so I was not at first shocked by his tendency to eat everything in sight. I have an older son who went through a similar growth spurt, so I just let him eat and said little.
However, in the last four weeks or so, Alex was drinking everything he could get his hands on. He drained the gallon of milk in the fridge. He drank five pints of water while standing at the sink once or twice (he told me this later). He brought a gallon jug of water to soccer practice – and finished it. Apparently, he was getting up three or four times every night to go to the bathroom.
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Technorati Tags: diabetes, health, juvenile diabetes
Posted on 13th May 2008 by mishakennedy in health
family, health, kids, nutrition
Ah…easier said than done? Perhaps, but I don’t think so.
In Helen Nearing’s book , “Loving and Leaving the Good Life” she talks about an old Eastern medical practice where the town “doctor” would visit everyone periodically and make sure they were well. In exchange, the town paid the doctor well for keeping them healthy. If someone became ill, the doctor stopped being paid by that family until they became well again.
This simple story radically changed how I started to view health care. Wouldn’t we stay healthy if we paid our medical practitioners to keep us well – rather than “fix us” once we are broken? It seems to me that we have been doing things backwards for a very long time! (more…)
Technorati Tags: family, health, kids, nutrition
Posted on 9th April 2008 by Mish in miscellaneous
baby, family, frugal, green, health, miscellaneous, mom, organic
Some new Organically Inclined products now at the OI shop!
I can’t wait to receive my first OI onesie…
Technorati Tags: baby, family, frugal, green, health, miscellaneous, mom, organic
Posted on 7th April 2008 by mishakennedy in breastfeeding
breastfeeding, family, health, mothering, mothers, nursing
This is probably the most frugal and green tip I can give! There is nothing more natural – and cheaper – than breastfeeding. And any mother can do it.
But first things first. Breastfeeding is the cheapest way to feed your
baby. Period. It is estimated that families will spend over $1000 a year on formula and related costs alone. Add in extra money for doctor visits because formula fed babies are more prone to ear infections and food allergies and the cost goes up even more!
Breastfeeding is easy and way more convenient than bottle feeding. One mother I know couldn’t believe that I would nurse my baby. “Isn’t it a pain?” she asked. “Why don’t you bottle-feed?”
I don’t bottle feed, I told her, because I’m too lazy. (more…)
Technorati Tags: breastfeeding, family, health, mothering, mothers, nursing
Posted on 20th March 2008 by Mish in frugal
baby, family, frugal, green, health, mom, organic
I really thought I couldn’t live without baby wipes when I had baby number – 2 or 3. They were so handy to have around. But now that I’m on baby number 6, I barely remember what it was that was so appealing. In fact, when I do buy the occasional package, I find that I use them more for my toddler’s face and hands and less for my baby’s butt!
So, what do I use to clean to my baby’s butt? I have a stack of clean, soft rags- some purchased inexpensively at a discount store, some I made myself out of old towels and t-shirts. We keep them in a drawer in the kitchen and when baby has stinker, before I unwrap her, I wet one or two of the rags in warm water. Then it goes into the diaper bucket in the washroom.
(more…)
Technorati Tags: baby, family, frugal, green, health, mom, organic
I love my Mason Jars. Because of information I’ve been reading lately about the different chemicals in plastics, including phthalates, I’ve started switching most of our food storage and drink ware to glass (a tough decision to make with little kids in the house). I now use a Mason jar to drink out of everywhere. I put my coffee in it in the morning sometimes as it retains heat well, put my water in it all day and can put a lid on it and take it with me on our walks or other outings. Sometimes I feel like an old mountain man drinking moonshine out of a jar, but that feeling usually passes quickly!
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