Health

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My Toddler’s 1st 5 K… He Just Felt Like Running!

March 11, 2013 at 11:40 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

Here’s the most flattering picture I’ve ever taken of you. (Sarcasm.)

There you are in the back seat on Saturday afternoon, indulging in a vegan chocolate cookie from Whole Foods Market.

You didn’t seem to notice there were no eggs or dairy in your cookie. All you knew is that for some reason, I was letting you pig out on a treat which you didn’t have to earn by going potty at the house.

As for the reason the cookie was vegan, that would be because, well… this is me officially coming out of the vegan closet.

I have suffered from severe allergies and sinus problems since 1992, when I was only 11; I’ll be 32 next month. But a week ago I decided to see what would happen if I stopped drinking milk with my coffee.

About two days into using coconut and rice milk instead, I noticed that my constant sinus pressure cleared up.

Then I became addicted to that version of life. It’s been 21 years since I’ve breathed so easily and have been able to think so clearly. The fog in my brain has lifted, in more ways than one.

I decided that if it meant going vegan (no dairy or eggs, in addition to no meat) to continue my heightened state of well-being, I would be willing to make the appropriate lifestyle change. Watching the documentaryVegucated on Netflix solidified my decision.

Granted, our family has been vegetarians for 15 months now. So I’ve been living an alternative lifestyle this whole time anyway. Here it is; the last picture of us together before I became a vegan. The following day I would become even weirder.

Just to be clear, the vegan thing is just for me; not for you or Mommy.

Though when I think about it, the only thing keeping you from being a vegan is Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese and your Chobani Champions Tubes of yogurt.

You don’t like eggs. You don’t like milk. But you’ll eat cheese and yogurt so I want you to keep enjoying them.

Or at least I should say, enjoy them while you can.

I’ve already learned that you and I have basically the same medical issues. The only reason you and I don’t currently still have eczema is because A) I make sure that none of your soaps or lotions contain sodium lauryl sulfate or artificial dyes and B) other than special occasions, I deprive you of processed sugar; even 100% fruit juice.

So don’t be surprised in about 9 years when you turn 11, that you’ll suddenly get this sinus pressure that gets worse at night and any time the weather changes. It will feel like you desperately need to blow your nose, but there’s nothing there when you try.

Son, I hope the best for you. I hope you haven’t inherited my severe allergies and sinus problems, but if you have… at least you’ll have a vegan dad to help teach you have to live the peculiar life of no eggs or dairy, in addition to no meat.

Mmm… did somebody say vegan chocolate cookies?

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

How I Choose Kids’ Medications

March 6, 2013 at 11:33 pm , by 

2 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

It’s that time of year again, when I as a your parent have this constant worry in the back of my mind that your daycare is about to call me to say I need to come pick you up because you have a fever.

Mommy and I both save our own sick days from work for the days you will have a fever and one of us will need to stay home with you.

On top of wanting to know I can help restore you back to health, I also want to be able to have confidence that the medicine I give you is as natural and healthy as possible.

You know how passionate I am about our family not consuming products that contain red food dye. I’ve mentioned several times now that the popular food dye Red 40 is made from petroleum  while Crimson Lake is derived from the powdered and boiled bodies of insects including the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal.

In fact, back when you were only 13 months old, I wrote “Why This Dad Despises Red 40 And Crimson Lake Food Dyes” here on The Dadabase.

As a parent blogger, I have a solid track record of denouncing illegitimate food and medicine ingredients in my writings. One of my goals is to actually help make it taboo for any food or medicine companies to have Red Lake or Red 40 as one of their ingredients.

I want every parent to understand where those dyes come from; they’re simply not fit for human consumption.

Companies can legally be vague when it comes to listing their ingredients. That’s why, and I’ve said this before, if I see “artificial flavor” or “natural flavor” on the ingredients list, I won’t buy it; because any ingredients generically listed as “artificial” or “natural” could be… anything.

Because after all, anything is definitely “natural” and/or “artificial.” That’s always a red flag for me. (Pun intended.)

In addition to my skepticism of artificial colors and flavors in regards to what I allow you to consume, I have to be honest, my conscience isn’t clear when it comes to giving you medicine with alcohol, either.

It goes without saying that as your parent, I have incredibly high standards when it comes to what food and medicine I let you consume. I wish I could say there are several brands of medicine that gain my approval, and therefore, that I have actually given you. Unfortunately, there are very few.

As far as a brand that is very forth-coming about being both dye-free and alcohol-free for all their products, Little Remedies is the only one I’ve come across so far.

Mommy and I actually used their Gripe Water (to relieve discomfort from hiccups and gas) when you were an infant. Sure enough, it was the very first medicine we ever gave you.

Even if as an “extreme ingredients-aware parent,” I only represent a minority of the market, I’m just glad to know there are options I can give you.

I will never stop being mindful of the ingredients that go into your medicine, because medicine that has unnatural and questionable ingredients in it isn’t really medicine, if you ask me.

Love,
Daddy

 

P.S. I invite any other readers of this letter to share your additional pointers, personal stories and struggles regarding the avoidance of artificial colors, artificial flavors, and alcohol in children’s medicine; feel free to leave a comment.

This post is sponsored by Little Remedies— makers of children’s medication without artificial colors, artificial flavors, or alcohol.  

Photo: Child receiving medication, via Shutterstock.

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, Uncategorized

Review Of Toddler Mum-Mums: Apple, Banana, And Strawberry Rice Biscuits

I love reviewing food products! Today I am featuring Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits, by a brand called Hot Kid.

For the review, I was sent 2 boxes of the banana, 2 boxes of the apple, and 2 boxes of the organic strawberry.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

To meet the criteria for my review, the food could not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; which in my opinion, is the easiest ways to identify junk food.

With that being said, Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits do not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; nor do they contain preservatives, gluten, egg, or peanuts.

If you are a strict vegan or vegetarian, please note they contain gelatin, which is an animal by-product also found in pudding and marshmallows.

My niece Calla really loved Mum-Mums… all July 4th weekend. My sister, her mom, said she wouldn’t stop eating them!

Toddler Mum-Mum review

As the name implies, Toddler Mum-Mums are especially intended for toddlers and older. (My niece just turned 3, though.)

While at the grocery store yesterday, I looked at the competition. Turns out, unless you’re at Whole Foods, most grocery stores contain mystery ingredient filled versions of Mum-Mums as the competition.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

In other words, Mum-Mums stand out in the crowd in that their brand cares enough about its consumers to not include a long paragraph of ingredients you have to Google to even find out what they are; only to find out those ingredients shouldn’t even be considered as food to begin with. Mum-Mums only contain about 6 different ingredients.

For more informations, you can check out the Mum-Mums website at mummums.com.

Thanks for visiting Family Friendly Daddy Blog today. I wonder what I’ll review next?

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My Kid Wants To Eat The Same Few Meals For Dinner Every Night

February 6, 2013 at 10:41 pm , by 

2 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

After you bought groceries by swiping Mommy’s expired debit card on your high chair, you proceeded to bring a box of Annie’s macaroni and cheese to your Thomas the Train play table, along with two plates and two spoons.

“I make Jack and Daddy dinner,” you casually proclaimed.

You shook the closed orange box upside down and stirred the invisible pasta into a plate, then served me.

I ended up having seconds, then thirds.

To you, dinner means Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese. Period.

It’s not that your parents haven’t tried to introduce you to other options. You’ll eat rice and beans, quesadillas, pizza, bananas, goldfish crackers, bananas, raisins, pureed fruit, cereal, and… well, actually, that’s pretty much it.

However, if we gave you macaroni and cheese every single night for dinner, you would never complain or ask for anything else.

Tonight, Mommy decided to mix things up by making Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes, based on a recipe she found online from Giada of The Food Network.

We substituted fresh carrots for the chicken that the recipe called for, meaning your macaroni and cheese for tonight was full of vegetables.

You liked the Mac and Cheese Cupcakes. We will be repeating this recipe.

So here is the takeaway:

Don’t be surprised if we start tossing broccoli, carrots, and zucchini into the other few menu items you eat, like your rice and beans, pizza, and quesadillas.

As your parents, we no longer have to feel slightly guilty about only feeding you the few select meals you will actually eat.

We will simply begin enhancing your “bread and cheese” meals with whole veggies. If you don’t like it… then you can eat cereal.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

Children’s Yogurt That Is All Natural, Vegetarian, Kosher, and Affordable

February 3, 2013 at 11:42 pm , by 

2 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

I have trust issues with major yogurt brands. They have a nasty habit of throwing in mysterious ingredients that I can’t feel good about you consuming, as your health freak dad.

Like I mentioned yesterday in “Buying The Family’s Groceries Based On Ingredients, Not Calories,” I’m a stickler for finding out what’s in food, then researching the ingredients I’m unsure of:

“When we’re buying groceries, the first thing we look for on the front of the package is ‘No artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, or high fructose corn syrup.’”

This past weekend I did my homework. I went to different grocery stores comparing their yogurt brands.

Here’s what I learned:

Even aside from all the fake red food dye which is derived from their petroleum or bugs, the well-known yogurt brands put gelatin in their product.

That means that their yogurt contains a mixture of the skin, cartilage, horns, and bones from animals like pigs and cows; or fish, if it’s labeled “kosher gelatin.”

Interestingly, the more expensive organic brands of yogurt, often aimed at babies and young children, do not contain gelatin.

It’s not just because we’re vegetarians that we avoid ground up animal bi-products in our foods. The way I see it, a hundred years ago when people ate yogurt, they probably didn’t go through the efforts to sprinkle their yogurt with gelatin.

Since I’m very deliberate that our family avoids processed foods as much as possible, I feel that a non-meat food product that requires ground up animal bi-products to taste or look right is too processed for us.

What is the alternative to gelatin in yogurt? Locust bean gum, which is derived from the seeds of trees; I assume they cost more than the animal bi-products that gelatin comes from.

However, there was one brand of yogurt that met all my strict qualifications: It had to be all natural, healthy, vegetarian, kosher, and yet still as affordable as the competition.

The winner… Chobani Greek Yogurt!

So I bought you an 8 pack of their Champions Tubes, which are portable pouches of their Greek Yogurt.

You had no hesitation in trying it. In fact, your immediate response after your first taste was, “I can like it!”

Then I grabbed a tube myself and realized just how good it was. I’ve never tasted yogurt that was so pure and “unchemically,” which is a word I just made up.

You immediately got upset that I ate one of yourChobani Champions Tubes.

Jack, just realize how epic that is. You got upset with me because I took from you the only all natural, vegetarian, kosher, and yet still affordable yogurt on the mainstream market.

We both win.

My congrats to Chobani Greek Yogurt, who I’m sure have no idea who I am, for earning my trust and becoming the only yogurt brand that shares my same high standard and beliefs in what good food should be.

I can like it.

 

Love,

Daddy

Chobani Champions® quick facts featured on their website:
  • Only natural ingredients
  • No synthetic growth hormones, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners
  • A good source of protein
  • An excellent source of vitamin D
  • A good source of bone-building calcium
  • Five live and active cultures, including three strains of probiotics
  • Gluten-free and Kosher certified
  • Free of nut, soy, wheat, and shellfish allergens
  • Available in four delicious flavors that kids will love. (Verry Berry, Honey-Nana, Orange Vanilla and Vanilla Chocolate Chunk)