Book Review! Book Review!

Halloooooo all! Here we are, on Earth Hour... eve? Haha! Sorry, here's another reminder. I think it's so cool. Too bad it's on a Saturday though.. I think a lot of people would be a lot more willing to turn the lights out on a quiet Monday night instead of on a well-observed party-hour. Oh well! Maybe it'll make the point all the more appreciated. Anwyays: www.earthhour.org for more details. I'm so into it.
Other things! This is going to be a short post because my last one was so terribly, terribly long, and because there's just one thing that I really want to do: give a hoot about a book that I recently read called Buddhism For Mothers, by Sarah Napthali. Now, this book pretty much is what the title describes it as: a thoughtful and beautifully written book about how the properties and lessons of Buddhism can be applied to Motherhood. It's realistic, insightful, true-to-life and really quite brilliant. I ended up picking it up because the mother of the children that I nanny for owns it, and the title was an instant pull. Also, it was well-thumbed-through and probably read and re-read, borrowed and lent, a number of times.. I couldn't help myself. In those precious little five-minute intervals when the children were actually safely occupied by themselves, I'd read a few pages at a time and soak it up like the words themselves were delicious. It's a fantastic book! I'd recommend it for mothers of course, but it's really for everybody. It's quite a find.
Getting to the point, there was a little summary list at the end of one of the chapters that I found myself going through again and again with relish, and I thought I'd post it up here.. I hope it's not some kind of horrible copyright infringement bad-karma to do this, but going with the spirit of the book, something tells me that it's probably not a horrible idea.

Excerpt from 'Buddhism For Mothers', by Sarah Napthali

* Realise that deep and lasting happiness can only come from within. Stop relying on the world outside you to deliver.
* Stop postponing happiness and enjoy your present moment.
* Make time to stop 'doing' and just 'be'. Meditation, for example.
* Realise that slavishly attending to your self-image does not lead to happiness. Don't get locked into any particular image of yourself.
* Attachment to youth and beauty causes suffering because aging and death are inevitable. [It's so true.. why spend so much energy fretting about something we have no control over?] Work on letting go, and acceptance. Realise that aging doesn't hurt you! Only your resistance to it does.
* It's okay to accept death as a reality; it only helps you live more consciously.

I like it; real, not sugar-coated, but optimistic, like the whole book. There's a chapter on the 'self', about how anyone's 'self' is not a static being, but an ever-changing entity that is never the same from day to day, or even minute-to-minute... moods, experiences, realisations, so many things contribute to the ever growing, changing thing that we call our 'image' that trying to pin ourselves down into some kind of description, definition, or 'way-that-we-are' and then trying to maintain that self-image is a life-long pain-in-the-ass energy waste. Just be! Are 'you' simply the sum of your parts? Are 'you' your physical attributes? Are 'you' your resume? Are 'you' simply the descriptive-words that other people might describe you as being? Just coming to the realisation that we DON'T have to fit ourselves into some kind of mold and then maintain that shape forever in a frenzy to fit in, or be appreciated is so... liberating!

I feel like I learned a lot from that book. If you've got any good reads that you'd reccommend for Daisy readers, feel free to leave a big healthy book review as a comment! Happy EarthHour everyone, and stay tuned for next week... I've got a couple of delicious posts on the way.

Hearts!

DaisyBabies!

Hello, folks! Thanks for hitching a ride back to The Daisy. Now, today's post may not concern everybody who reads it at the present moment, but it's info that somewhere along the line, may prove quite valuable... at least to one special little person. That's right.. I'm talkin' about...

BABIES!

Babies. Different people have some pretty different responses to the word! We've all seen people's eyes light up on the topic (especially when they're going to be an aunt or uncle instead of the mummy or daddy.. heh heh), and we've also seen a lot of people's eyes roll in terror at the thought of filthy diapers or a galaxy of spit-up down the back of someone's shirt. As for myself... well, let's just say that although I can feel my arms almost reaching out on impulse to cuddle the big-eyed, chubby little creature sitting in the shopping cart in line ahead of me, (I'm reminded of those nature documentaries where every female chimp in the clan are climbing all over themselves to adore the new baby of the group) I can safely say that I'm quite content with the company of cats at this point in my life.

Nevertheless, babies, childcare, and other such things have been at the forefront of my thoughts lately for a few reasons. Firstly, because I've been employed as a nanny for a 15-month-old and a 3-year-old since January, and with the end of my contract is coming up soon, I feel like I've learned a lot, and have come to the heavy conclusion that environmental concern and babies (and small children) go hand in hand like no other segment of the population. Another reason, is that just recently I've noticed that the birth rate among my closer acquaintances has skyrocketed, bringing the whole topic of birth and baby-rearing closer to home.. our little ones are the most vulnerable among us, and the most deserving of protection. Being small, their tiny, delicate systems accumulate a higher level of toxins than adults, but are less able to deal with it. Even a baby's skin is way more absorbent! It's painfully easy to see that childhood cancers and defects are on the rise, along with respiratory illnesses, among many other ailments.

That being said, baby-rearing is an occupation with a huge potential for waste. Looks like we've gotta protect our babies from the environment and protect the environment from our babies!!!

When you're choosing soaps, lotions, and other body-care products for your baby, toddler or child, don't get suckered in by cute packaging or even a popular brand. Read that ingredients list!! Don't buy anything for them that you wouldn't slather on yourself. Just because it's 'made for babies' doesn't mean that it's even close to baby-friendly. Check out the previous post on crap that ends up in toiletries, and avoid those things. Go for organic, basic, and natural. Don't buy anything with sodium laurel sulfate or anything like it - as I've added before, it's a cheap industrial cleanser, and it's too harsh for the body. On a baby's skin, it can lead to irritation, dryness, and rashes.. and when it's rinsed into our waterways, it strangles aquatic life. There are a lot of people washing themselves, and this stuff adds up!

On that note, forget about petroleum-based products too. Not only is a lot of pollution created in its manufacturing, it's really no good for anyone's skin. When used for diaper rashes and skin ailments, it may feel soothing at first, but it blocks air and clogs pores, stifling the area and making matters worse. Watch out for alcohol and ammonia in baby-care products too... I've read some pretty scary labels in my time. We wouldn't put those ingredients in their raw form on baby.. why mix it in with their lotion? Fragrances and colourants are usually nasty substances, too... they're unnecessary and add to the chemical bath. Egad.

On a brighter note though, I can say with a ton of confidence that there are a lot of people out there who are sticking to their belief that natural is better for baby, and are producing some high-quality, affordable alternatives. The environmental shop that I've worked at has a bustling baby section, and I've heard rave reviews from parents on natural products.. not only do they work like a charm, but they're concentrated and last longer. Check out these brands for ointments, shampoos, soaps, lotions and all sorts of other baby-friendly products!

-Aubrey's (makes a lovely shampoo for children)

-Butterfly Weed (Rave reviews! Especially for their nappy-rash ointment)

-Burt's Bees/Baby Bee (A plethora of baby products.. watch for 'fragrances' though)

-Druide (Smells so good.. I want some.)

Taking care of baby's delicate skin doesn't have to be pricey. Check out some of the recipes for body care products I've listed before.. they're gentle as can be, and make some hefty batches. I can guess though that you'd probably want to cut down on essential oils though for wee ones.. babies are sensitive in many ways, and strong scents of any kind are probably gross-outs.

Moving on... what goes in, must come out. And that's why we need diapers.

Ugh. Diapers. I've changed SO many in the last four months. Weirdly, I've gotten quite used to it. It's almost like a scientific miracle.. baby poop doesn't bother me anymore? I never thought I'd see the day. Anyways, we've got to take care of it somehow, and if we're gonna do it, we'd might as well take the most environmentally and baby-friendly route.

A note on disposable diapers: they're convenient, they're less yucky because you deal with the contents a little less, and they're widely available. But. The average kid goes through as many as 7000 diapers before they're potty-trained. They're plastic, they're bleached with chlorine, and they're going to sit in the landfill, outliving us all, for thousands and thousands of years. Awful! If every kid goes through thousands of diapers, imagine the millions and millions and millions of disposables taking up space, leaching nasty chemicals, and forever adding up, all over the world! They don't let your baby's skin breathe, worsening diaper rash, and exposing little guys to the bleach and chemical compounds used on them. Luckily, there are some great alternatives to this problem.. and they're not new. Just ask your grandma!

Cloth diapers! They're not really all that bad! I've dealt with them, and yes, you have to face up to poop a lot more, but it's really not as horrendous as I thought it was going to be, and it's not even that hard with all the updated stuff out there right now. Also, you relieve yourself of a huge guilt-trip (Heh heh... "relieve"). Hoorah! Check out health, environmental and baby stores for cloth diapers. Sure you can get the old fashioned kind that you fold, but some of the updates for cloth diapers are pretty fun. A lot of them are pre-folded, and stitched to stay that way, with velcro and snaps to do them up! Companies are making them from breathable, organic cotton and other natural fibres, with really cute patterns and colours. Kushies is one brand that makes cute-as-a-button cloth diapers, and Hankettes is another, both available across Canada. Of course, there's an environmental burden associated with cloth diapers too because of the need to wash them frequently, but if you use plant-based, biodegradable soaps and biodegradable peroxide bleach instead of chlorine to do the job, you can rest assured that you're taking care of a reusable product and avoiding - literally - tons of trash. And don't forget.. cloth diapers are a one-time buy, compared to the packages and packages of costly disposables a kidlet goes through!

Somewhere in the middle between disposables and reusables, is the new "gDiaper" that I've seen lately. It's kind of neat. (www.gdiapers.com) A starter kit comes with pre-folded, fitted cloth diapers that you can keep and continue to wash, but they come with bioderadable liners (from wood pulp I think) that stick in to absorb the poop, etc, which you can then remove and either flush or chuck. You don't have to wash the entire diaper as often that way, because the diaper itself doesn't get a lot of mess on it. It's got all the convenience of disposables, with some of the goodness that comes with reusables. I think it's an interesting idea for busy parents. You do have to check with your city if it's okay to flush the liners though..

Yep, cloth diapers are a good thing. But let's be realistic for a minute. Today's families travel and get about a lot more than in days past, and there's a lot of high demands on busy families. Even for the most dedicated cloth-diaper users, there may be times when a strategy isn't available to use them somewhere. Seventh Generation makes a line of disposable diapers that aren't bleached with chlorine or treated with any chemicals, which is good for sensitive skin.

What's one baby-related environmental topic that's been all over the news lately? The whole plastic thing. Baby bottles and sippy cups made from plastic are the standard choice these days, but that may not last for long with all the recent confirmations that plastic in general is a health no-no.. heck, with Mountain Equipment Co-op pulling all of their plastic Nalgene bottles, a big seller, off the shelves because of alarm over drinking from plastic, it seems very plausible that baby and child supply stores will follow suit.

Check out the post on the horrors of plastique from a few pages ago for more info, but here's the quick breakdown on plastic types:

- Plastics numbered #1, #2, #4 and especially #5 are okay for drinking from.

- #3 is the worst. Effects organs and bones and is probably carcinogenic.

- #6 is highly toxic and exposure messes up the brain and nervous system.

- #7 wreaks havoc on the reproductive system. Yikes.

Plastic smells repulsive when heated and creates deadly pollution in processing.. it's no wonder people seriously started looking into it. #5 is your best bet for plastic that is more inert and doesn't release junk into liquids.

Better yet, heck with plastics all together. Glass baby bottles are still out there, (check pharmacies, health-type stores, baby stores) and newer ones are shatter-proof even when dropped on the kitchen floor. A good bet for sippy cups are those great stainless steel ones available these days made by Klean Kanteen, etc. Environmental stores will stock these, or check the internet. They're selling like hot-cakes! Both glass and stainless steel are wonderful, durable, non-leeching alternatives to le plastique.

A few more environmentally friendly baby n' child carin' tips that I've picked up along the way:

* The lady that I nanny for buys only certified organic jarred baby food for her tiny kidlet. It's only a few cents more expensive, and if it's properly certified, guarantees that the fruits and veggies within weren't exposed to pesticides. That's something to nom nom on. Great books full of nutritious blender babyfood recipes are available too! They advise that you make a big batch of baby food in the blender - that way you know exactly what goes into it - and then freeze it in ice-cube trays in the freezer for perfect portions. It's such a fun way to introduce behbeh to new foods, it's economical, and it's super-handy.

* Buying second-hand clothing and using hand-me-downs for l'il 'uns is a great way to recycle! Especially the way kids blast through clothing. Lots of clothing companies are making kid's clothes from sustainable materials these days too! Check the 'net and local shops for organic cotton, hemp and bamboo stuff for babies.. additionally, these materials are super-soft and breathable, making them ideal to swaddle babies in. The designs are insanely cute, too. (Check out http://www.underthenile.com/ for organic, fair-trade kids n' baby clothes... the little stripey onesies are too much!)

*The plastic rule should be taken into account when buying toys for babies and toddlers too! Face it.. they shove EVERYTHING they can into their mouths and chew it to death. It's part of the learning process. Noshing on chemical-laden, off-gassing plastic is no way to grow up.. try focusing on toys made from natural, sustainable materials like wood, and plush toys made with friendlier materials. http://www.barefoot.lk/Toys.htm is an amazing place to look - Barefoot Toys employ men and women in Sri Lanka to made adorable toys for a living wage, with everything made from super-friendly kapok fibre and natural dyes, so kids can chew the hell out of them without making parents and gift-givers fret. The colours and designs are unreal - lions, elephants, octopi, caterpillars... actually, I want one of those little mice. They even have tiny bloomers under their dresses!

Whelp, that's about it for now. It's time to stop thinking about rugrats and start considering the fact that I'm at my mom's house and her immaculately clean bath tub is calling me for a soak. What is it about parents' bathrooms that are ALWAYS cleaner and nicer than your own? It's like they stay that way by magic. Anyways, happy Spring, happy Easter, happy Chocolate day and happy everything else.

PS, don't forget about Earth Hour coming up on March 29th, at 8pm. Visit the website for some great info - this is gonna be REALLY neat!! (http://www.earthhour.org/) Hey.. you can get T-shirts too. Nifty.

HEARTBEAMS!

Oh, Audrey!

Hello, all! It's a bright Sunday afternoon, and as I look out my window as I type, the icicles dripping in the sunshine (melting at an alarming rate!) reminds me that Spring will soon be here. How great will that be?? Suddenly, I'm dreaming of shorts, tanned skin, and sun-kissed hair by August... my thoughts always turn to the concept of beauty as Spring approaches. As I dug out my old bathing suits in premature anticipation today, my thoughts lingered on many sorts of beauty... natural beauty, the beauty of the first Spring flowers... the sun sparkling on these icicles is beautiful too. And, eventually, I found myself kind of lost in contemplation over what beauty really is.. all of the different ways to see it, that make beauty impossible to define. And, of course, that train of thought led me to inner beauty.. which is too elusive to describe in so many words. Maybe that's why I like pondering it so much.
Getting to the point of today's post, due to popular suggestion, I thought I'd put something up on here that touches on the concept of beauty in an unexpected and gleefully fulfilling way. Back in the day, Audrey Hepburn wrote up a list of her favorite "Beauty Tips", which I found not too long ago, and subsequently passed on happily to as many people as I can. Coming from a celebrity beloved for her own special brand of demure glamour and distinctive beauty as much as her talents, I find the fact that she wrote this list makes it all the more special. It's not what you'd expect.. there's quite a lack of hair-care and make-up tips here. Clearly Audrey Hepburn's mind was as thoughtful as her beauty was inspiring.

AUDREY HEPBURN'S "BEAUTY TIPS"

* For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
* For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
* For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
* For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
* For poise, walk in the knowledge that you never walk alone.
* People, more than things, have to be restored, reclaimed and redeemed; never trow out anyone.
* Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
* The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.
* The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but the true beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, and the passion that she shows.
* The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.

Nice! I never get tired of typing this up. Spring's just around the corner, everyone... it's never too early to get excited! Stay tuned to the Green Daisy for more Greentastic articles n' tips!!

The Mystery of Tofu... SOLVED!!!

Hey folks! Apologies for it being more than a week between Daisy Posts.. between work and beloved friends visiting from afar, I haven't had the time to blob out with the ol' laptop and conjure up a post! Until now, that is... it's a sick day for this little blogger, and what better time to post another healthy-food article than when you really need some?
A few posts ago, I mentioned that if someone wants to try eating less meat, a variety of protein substitutes are available. Well, one of them just so happens to be... *drum roll*... TOFU! Surprised? Didn't think so. Grossed out? Maybe. A lot of people take one look at a fresh, white, squishy block of tofu, and think "Uh, how can that be a meat substitute? It doesn't even look like food!" I tried to get into tofu years ago, and back then, couldn't quite make it. Mind you, I wasn't really trying very hard. I'd read that tofu takes on the taste of whatever you marinate it in, or cook it with - just like chicken does. So, I'd take a million slices of tofu, dunk them in soy sauce (and soy sauce alone), throw them in the oven, and then hope for the best.. but they'd come out tasting like one big soy accident. So I'd feel bad for it, crumble it into something where it'd be unidentifiable (sauce) and lament for my inability to make tofu edible. Le sigh.
Howevah...
Just recently, I'd been noticing friendly ol' tofu sitting on the shelves of every grocery store I went. Sitting there... beckoning to me... it had an irresistible pull for some reason. Something deep down in the part of my brain that makes me want to eat certain things was craving it... as sad and failure-ridden my past experience had been with it. So I tried it again.. but this time, with more effort. I thought about how tofu and raw chicken have so much in common.. they're both pale, squishy, unappetizing and near-tasteless unless you cook it right. I was encouraged, and tried a new recipe every week, until I found a group of ingredients that I thought really suited it. I like tofu baked also, but there's something about fried tofu that just tastes like a million bucks. I never thought I'd be successful enough with tof' to get to this point, but I can safely say that I now consider tofu... a treat! I crammed all my favorite additives into one, and would now like to present to you...

JENNIE'S FAVORITE TOFU RECIPE!

I have pictures of this particular recipe as well... I'll see if Blogger lets me publish them or sends me into an oblivion of download errors instead. [Note: Blogger let me publish the photos but they showed up at the top of the post for some reason. Oh wells!] It's tasty, somewhat spicy, and has a meaty texture. I added it to a stir-fry recipe that I'll note at the end!

What you need:
- One big classic block of extra-firm tofu
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- A tablespoon or two of sesame oil
- A drizzle of maple syrup
- Chinese chili garlic sauce (I love the Lee Kum Kee kind), a teaspoon or tablespoon (or more) depending on how much heat you like
- Olive oil
- A few green onions, diced

What you do:
1. Cut up the tofu into smallish cubes. Stir-fry sized cubes.
2. Turn the stove element up to medium heat. Add enough olive oil to cover most of the bottom of a largeish frying pan. Add the minced garlic and the onions, and cook til it smells really nice.. a few minutes or so.
3. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and chili garlic paste in a bowl while the garlic cooks.
4. Add the chopped tofu, and the bowl contents all in one big good-smelling go. Mix it all together, and then drizzle the maple syrup over top.
5. Now, we cook it. And cook it. And cook it some more. Keep stirring, and don't let anything get stuck to the bottom, or you'll lose the crispy coating that'll form! To get it crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, I had to keep frying it for a lot longer than I thought I would. Wait until all the sides of the tofu cubes are browned. Do some taste tests too! When it's nearing completion, snack a few, and if you want to add more of a particular ingredient, go for it. I tend to add a lot of that garlic chili sauce, or throw in a bit of curry paste!! The sesame oil adds something really tasty to it too.

Voila! There are two ways that I like to eat this kind of tofu.

1. The Simple Way. I tumble some into a dainty Chinese bowl and dip it in plum sauce. It's out of control.
2. In A Stir Fry! I kept the same pan going, but threw in broccoli, red pepper strips, lots of mushrooms, (zucchini and eggplant work well too) and some of those really big soft squishy Japanese noodles (precooked), a bit more oil, a dash of water, and some more seasoning, and cooked the whole thing into an incredible stir fry that almost made me die of food-joy.

Finally. Tofu tasted like FOOD! Like, really GOOD food! Food that I wanted to have all the time. A lot of protein-rich food is gross in its unprepared form. We don't let that deter us from enjoying meats, beans and lentils.. tofu's no different. It just needs some attention to make it delicious.

Got some amazing tofu recipes?? Send them to me, or post them under comments! There are so many out there! Stay tuned for the next 'Daisy post... if you enjoy any sort of cleanliness in the home at all, you may be interested. Hearts!