Common Sense

I have about a month until I have this baby. Yes, I'm feeling a little stressed/overwhelmed that I'll soon be a mom. I think I dream about it almost every night and according to my dreams, it's a boy. I've read more than my share of books in hopes I may feel a little more prepared, but the more I read the more I realize there's so much you can't prepare for.

Anyways, I figure I can at least have the common sense of how to feed kids. Sometimes I wonder where common sense has gone, so I just thought I'd share some feeding common sense that was lacking from a few parents.

1. Can I give my baby cow's milk if I boil it and add cornstarch?
2. No, your toddler does not need infant formula (hence its called infant) even if you never got them weaned off the bottle.
3. Juice is not a replacement for your baby's formula.
4. Your baby's constipation will not be solved by diluted goat's milk.
5. Kids don't choose foods for nutrition...they choose for taste. Hence, you have to offer healthy foods.
6. A breastfeeding mom trying to figure out why her babe is growing well, "Do I need to eat more than twice a day? I don't drink water or milk...should I do that?"
7. We follow a low salt diet...lunch: kraft dinner, pizza pop, or canned soup.

I'm not passing judgement, just making myself feel a little more prepared. Any other common sense to pass on?

Most overused saying (At least in January, it is.)

I did my regular mail check as I’m walking in from work yesterday, and finally, I got my January issue of Runner’s World which should have came in December. I guess I’ll blame the delay on Christmas mail because I already received my February issue last week. I specifically was looking for January for some added motivation despite being a little disappointed by the magazine lately. After over a year of having the subscription, the magazine can get a little repetitive and tends to recycle the same stuff in a different format.

Anyways, back to my January issue, it had the exact same title as last January and they didn’t even try to jazz up so the readers wouldn’t clue in. Any guesses? I remember this because I made my motto last January, so I could have an excuse to do anything different. For example, I need to go running, I need a vacation, I need to move, or I need a new job because “New Year New Me”. Yes, Runner’s World had convinced me of the old “New Year, New You”, and I NEEDED to change. Although I really enjoyed my motto last year, this year when I read “New Year, New You” again I felt ripped off, and I needed a new theme for New Year’s Resolutions.

Everyone rants about their New Years Resolutions…how they don’t keep them, don’t make them,etc., but I love them. Every year I look back at last year’s resolutions, and say oops on a some and alright on some. Then, I start up list for the next year with a combination of repeats and some new. This year is not New Year, New Me because c’mon I’m really just trying to make some improvements, and I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’m “new”. I’m falling back on my old motto for a theme of my resolutions, “Young and spontaneous”. If the resolution does not seem young and spontaneous, I’m not doing it!

Juice, it's no better the pop

Your child doesn't like apples, oranges, bananas, and every other fruit under the sun, so you go for the next best alternative juice. He loves it and in fact he can get all 6 servings of fruits and vegetables just by drinking 3 cups of it. There's one problem juice isn't exactly equal to fruit.

For juice to count as a serving of fruit it must be labeled as '100% fruit juice'. Juices labeled as 'drink', 'beverage', 'punch', 'cocktail', or 'ade' are mostly made of sugar, flavouring, and water, so there is little or no actual fruit juice.

If you buy the 100% fruit juice, you'll get your vitamin and minerals, sounds good so far. Unfortunately, the sugar and calories in juice are comparable to soft drinks and you're missing out on the fiber in fruits that keeps us full. Guidelines suggest limiting to 125ml per day. Unfortunately, the juice companies didn't get the memo and will continue to make 250ml juice boxes and 591ml bottles of juice. Thank goodness for Junior Juice -the only juice (I know of) in 125ml box. Even better yet, keep juice out of the daily routine and let them get excited when juice comes around.



100% pure fruit juice 1 can (355 mL)
165 calories
11 tsp sugar

vs.

Regular pop 1 can (355 mL)
156 calories
10.7 tsp sugar

Get Motivated!

Running is my exercise staple, but I have not been for that last month. Why? No, not because it's getting a little colder and darker, and I'm a wimp. I have plantar faciitis which is really annoying because I've never had a real running injury. I still sneak a short run in every week or two to see if still hurts and yep, it does. Now, I'm left lazy and bored needing an alternative workout.

Go the gym; it seems easy enough, right? But I like to be outside listening to some good tunes not inside watching TV and listening to heavy foot runners on treadmills. Even though I knew I would probably get bored, I got my membership anyway. I figured if got enough good tunes I could learn to love the gym, so here's my favorite motivating workout songs for the moment, and the gym is slowing growing on me. What are favorite 'get moving' songs?

1. Walcott, A- Punk - Vampire Weekend
2. Mercy - Duffy
3. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
4. The Thanks I Get - Wilco
5. Love Lockdown - Kanye West
6. Human - The Killers
7. The entire CD of 80s movie hits
8. Do your thing - Basement Jaxx
9. Heart Songs - Weezer
10. Blue Eyes -Timmy Curran

Organic Foods...Don't Believe the Hype

When people ask me if I buy organic food, I say "No because it's too expensive", but that is not the only reason.

Secondly, I don't think organic foods taste any better. Although the Food and Agriculture Organization reported some produce to receive higher tasting scores, I've tasted plenty of conventional produce that was delicious enough for me. As well, some organic food may actually taste more bitter due to high levels of antioxidants. Of course, I would agree better tasting if its fresh from the garden, but unfortunately, organic produce at the grocery store is usually not local.

My third reason is there is little difference in the nutritional value between organic and non-organic foods. Consumers are being misled by claims that organic foods are healthier than ordinary foods. "It is a fantastic opportunity to make money out of people because you can charge more for the food", said by Tom Sander, the professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kings College London. Sanders goes to claims organic food has no higher nutrition value compared to conventional food. While organic food has been shown to have higher vitamin C and antioxidants and perhaps iron and magnesium and less unwanted and potentially toxic nitrates. However, the difference of nutrients amounts is categorized as insignificant by the Food Standards Agency. Possible reasoning for this is organic produce may have lower water content, so nutrients may be more concentrated in organic produce. As for me, a well-formulated diet, organic or not, will meet all your nutrition requirements for health and longevity.

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Lunch is out

I'd like to think I'm still up with style, but I've been notified by numerous teens, school lunches are out. I'd probe to see if they replaced it with buying food- cafeteria, fast food, or even convenience stores. The answer was no. Like it's not bad enough hassling kids to eat breakfast. Now, they're going until 3 or 4pm before they eat anything at all. Why does something so enjoyable as eating end up being a chore?

A month without diet coke

Confession, I have 3 addictions: diet coke, chocolate, and running. I'm glad I'm addicted to running because nothing makes me feel better soo early in the morning than running, and its good for me. The 2 other addictions I could go without. I'm not brave enough to eliminate chocolate which is just too delicious to quit. For now, I'm focusing on the refreshing diet cola I've come to love over the last 3 years and save the chocolate for later. I've tried to cut back or limit to certain days, but I always fall back into my routine. So, I stopped completely. I prepared myself by tucking advil liquid gels in purse for the 3pm cola headache. I'll admit the first week awful and I began to wonder if I would become addicted to advil instead. I couldn't give in after making a big scene that I was "quiting diet coke" temporarily of course. (Really in my mind, I didn't know how long I would last so I didn't set a date for failure, but hoping for a month). After the first week, the cravings subsided and the diet cola turned from a necessary drink to an enjoyable thought. Now a month later, I feel empowered, and just might hold out on the diet cola for few more months. I feel ready for any change; I might even tackle my chocolate addiction.