baby food recipes, any idea?
July 25, 2010
my son is 6.5 months (28wks) and has been on solids since he was 14wks old, he has been fine on them and i done all my research before starting him on them early, i’d spoken to my doctor about it too who also suggested trying him, he was fine so i carried on (this is for anyone who wants to lecture me on starting early)
so i’ve been giving him organic baby food jars (which contain natural ingredients to preserve the food) he never really took to the proper food ones like bolognese, pastas, chicken dinners, cottage pies etc, he only liked the puddings and fruits which i didn’t blame him as the foods tasted horrible, now he’s on 2/3 jars of food a day and he still doesn’t enjoy the foods so i’m thinking about feeding him proper food like making my own stuff so it tastes better and he might enjoy it better.
What kind of foods can i make for him? I’m worried about salt and sugar levels in foods i eat, even although i eat healthily, some things do have alot of sugar/salt bad things for babies to digest basically. He is also on finger foods so anything i could give him in his hand would be great too (i know fruit and veg sticks, i’ve tried rusks and he loves them, i just want more variety for him)
Brittney he’s got 5 teeth.
Go to netmums.com they have great recipies, also read up on annabel karmel, i used her foods with both my boys, they are healthy and easy to cook, and you can freeze them.
Do you think that Organic or Intensive farming the best method of fulfilling the food needs of the UK? Why ?
July 25, 2010
unfortunately it has to be both,
the UK has for far too long taken farm land to build on, this has reduced the available land to farm & so the production required from it also goes up to feed the growing population.
for far too long the uk had a very complacent meat & potatoes kind of attitude to food which gave us a very poor worldwide reputation both as consumers and chefs.
with the advent of mass production, transportation, storage & advertising that has happened to the uk food industry primarily since the end of WW2, but mainly in the last 20 years
there is also a huge requirement for products that cannot be grown in the uk due to climate which need to be imported from overseas so even if they are organically grown they could be from unsustainable sources or have a huge carbon footprint due to the amount of energy it takes to package & transport the goods to market where ever it may be.
Modern Greenhouse Gardening – Learn Its Various Benefits
July 23, 2010
Greenhouse gardening can seem a little old fashioned these days. It is so easy to jump in the car and drive to the supermarket where we can find every kind of fruit and vegetables flown in from all over the world. You want fresh strawberries in winter? No problem, there they are on the shelf. May be you need some green beans for dinner. Pick up a little plastic wrapped tray that were growing three days ago in Kenya.
But these are the very reasons for moving to greenhouse gardening. Driving and flying burn up increasingly scarce fossil fuels and release greenhouse gases into the atmopshere. More and more people are waking up to the dangers of global warming.
Fresh fruit and vegetables have never been easier to buy than they are today. We live in an age of convenience and immediate gratification. A greenhouse seems to entail just too much work and the gratification is postponed for too long. Greenhouses seem pointless until we begin to think about the wider picture and the kind of world our children and grandchildren will inherit.
Getting into greenhouse gardening can be an ecologically and socially responsible choice. You will be eating fruit and vegetables that have grown in your own backyard. They have not been flown half way round the planet to get to your plate. What’s more you did not have to drive to get them. You took a short walk and got some healthy exercise every day when you walked out to the greenhouse to check on them.
We have got used to those convenient little packages in the supermarket. We like the idea of having our vegetables ready prepared and washed. But we have also got used to poor taste. The fruit and vegetables we buy in the supermarket have lost most of their natural sugars that give them their flavour. Even the varieties are chosen for their shelf life rather than their flavour.
When you experience home grown fruit and vegetables fresh from the greenhouse you will enter another quality of flavour. A fresh picked tomato explodes in your mouth with flavour. Growing your own in the greenhouse means that you can select varieties that have the best flavour.
A whole range of unusual varieties exist that are rarely grown commercially are available to you with a greenhouse. With your own greenhouse you can explore these lesser known varieties of familar fruit and vegetables. You can even become really adventurous and try the kinds of fruit and vegetables that you only get in specialist stores.
A greenhouse opens the world to you rather than bringing it to you at great cost to the planet and everyone on it. Your carbon footprint will be smaller but your horizons will be wider.
“But I don’t have time.” I hear you say and it is true we are all short of time. But a little time spent in the greenhouse has enormous personal benefits. It is incredibly therapeutic to go into the greenhouse after a hard day and just work quietly for an hour or so. Spending time with growing things is a recognized antidote to depression and anxiety. A greenhouse is a tranquilizer with no side effects except a healthier diet.
If you have kids, what better way to spend some quality time with them than in the greenhouse. It gives you and them unpressured time to talk. You are engaged in a joint task. A greenhouse can become a bonding experience for the family.
There is the added benefit that working with you in the greenhouse gives them the kind of practical hands on lesson that is seldom provided in school. They are learning about how things grow. Each session in the greenhouse is a biology lesson in itself. They are learning about the plants and about the insects that feed on them and pollinate them.
They, and you, will learn a lot about organic chemistry when you mix your plant foods, insecticides and other chemicals. You will undoubtedly learn a lot about electronics and handling basic tools as you get the control systems of your greenhouse working and rig up plant supports and irrigation pipes.
A child who finds academic lessons a difficult will often shine at tasks they can learn by experience. Plants are very forgiving and even children who suffer with problems of concentration can experience the satisfaction of achievement growing a few simple crops in the greenhouse.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/modern-greenhouse-gardening-learn-its-various-benefits-753817.html
Is organic farming a realistic alternative when the population is so large??
July 15, 2010
I recently heard a radio interview with the head of a large farming co-operative in the mid-west who said that while there is no doubt that organic farming is better for the land, and does produce healthier consumer products, it simply is too expensive, labor intensive and un-predicatable in the amount produced on an annual basis to ever replace the methods used in commercial farming. Basically, it could not produce a sufficient amount of food to feed the people it would need to. I am interested to hear how proponents for having the US go totally organic respond to that statement. Thanks.
Hmmm…some interesting points. I tend to agree that going totally organic would cause major problems in the lower income brackets…they simply could not afford to purchase the produce or have the space to grow it on their own. And I do agree that it is time to force commerical farmers to be more responsible in how they grow and in the end results of what they grow..this world is too big and too many families are hungry to justify throwing away any produce that is usable. Thanks for the input!
IF ALL THE FARMERS WERE TERNING ORGANIC AND IF ALL THE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD THAT IS OK
TO NOT HAVE WATERMELON IN WINTER
EVERY BODY WOULD BE HEALTHIER WITH OUT BEING OBIS BECAUSE OF THE HORMONES IN THE VEGETABLE AND THE FRUITS!!!!
ORGANIC BIRTHDAY CAKE RECIPES..!?
July 15, 2010
My husband’s birthday is next week and we are really into all natural and all organic foods. Does anyone have any really good all organic cake recipes? Something delicious and very unique.
Thanks!
organic cheesecake: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/classic-creamy-cheesecake-recipe.htm
organic pound cake:http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipes.recipeListing/filter/dianas/recipeID/3417/Recipe.cfm
organic lemon cake:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/lemon-cake-with-whipped-cream.html
organic chocolate cake:http://organictobe.org/index.php/2008/07/14/she-takes-the-cake-with-organic-flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe/
organic chocolate fudge brownie cake:http://www.grouprecipes.com/78866/organic-chocolate-fudge-brownie-cake.html
