Homemades To Do

I just got home from my friend Rob's house and, boy, have I met my match! He threw on a expert batch of moka stovetop coffee as he told me about a from-scratch tiramasu he'd just whipped up and had me try his latest batch of habanero sauce and new method of fat-sealing pesto. If I am anything in the homemade world - he is king.

So it got me to thinking about what neat homemades I've done:

• yogurt
• maple syrup
• soap
• grape juice
• salsa
• pickles, pickles, pickles
• red pepper jelly
• tomato sauce
• buns

And ones I still hope to do (probably with his help!):

• hot sauce
• beer
• wine
• mozzarella, ricotta, mascarpone, paneer

It's amazing how many things in this life are readily available in a ready-made form. If we want a quick dinner we pull out premade and dried pasta noodles and a jarred sauce, we spoon some premade pre-grated parmesan cheese on top and bust open a can of ginger ale. We're saving money and time in the short run at the expense of losing money and life in the long run. As I continue to figure out time- and money- management I want to move closer to being someone who makes homemade pasta noodles, and sauce, and cheese, and ginger ale. I've actually done two of those things - noodles too if you count a failed attempt; and cheese as of noon today.

What homemade things have you attempted?

Twin Pines Orchards

Last Saturday night Calvin, Oliver and I were invited by friends to attend Twin Pines Orchards' "Christmas Open House". Twin Pines is an apple orchard, cider house and estate winery (hard cider) in Thedford, Ontario. It is a 50 acre property full of incredible plant and animal life, that houses a flourishing business that now supports 3 generations.

As we pulled up to the gorgeous property we could already smell fresh apple doughnuts being fried for guests. We parked amid rows of apple trees and stepped into their market building. Warm cheese dips and homemade fruit preserves were out for sampling, and a jazz band was planted at one end of the building, making the whole event feel like a bit of a wonderland. Friendly faces maneuvered through the crowd, offering samples of hot apple cider - which truly tasted like biting into a fresh apple.

We got word that one of the family's grandsons was sampling ice apple-wines upstairs so we quickly found our way and were charmed by his incredible palate and knowledge of their operations. We tried 5 wines and were enchanted by their incredible flavour. We especially loved the Hammer Bent Red, a 6.8% alcohol apple wine that was very fruity and bright. They were reasonably priced at $10 for a 1 L glass bottle, or $20 for a liter of ice wine. You typically see ice wines sell at $50 for less than 500ml, so we vowed that this would be our new source.

We finished the night with a moonlit hayride that Oliver slept through, but what can you expect from a 3 month old baby?


After visiting I was excited to look further into Twin Pines' philosophies and was happy to discover that they have reserved a portion of the farm that is completely grown without pesticides. This area includes pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, nectarines, peaches and assorted varieties of apples. The remainder of the farm is considered IPM (Integrated Pest Management). Through this commitment they are able to determine when spraying is not necessary.

I invite everyone in the area to take a trip to this inspiring orchard!

Borscht for Ben

Mom and Julie

A few short weeks ago my mom and her friend Julie had a great idea. My aunt (a good friend of Julie's also) was weighed down with the burden of her five-year old son's cancer diagnosis and the financial stress that comes along with it. They decided that the emotional challenge was enough for her to weather and set out to plan a fundraiser that would alleviate the expense of driving to and from out-of-town chemo treatments, parking there, and the lost wages for her husband, Garry. My mom and Julie's idea was to cook borscht, a traditional German cabbage soup, and sell it at the local Mennonite Brethren church in St. Catharines. The price was set at $10 per 1 L jar, a Facebook group was made, and they quietly hoped that between the two of them purchasing the ingredients and finding a bit of chopping help, that maybe they would raise a bit of money to help the family out.

Too many cans!

And then something incredible happened.
Read more »

Eco-Friendly Footwear

Shoes aren't the first thing that come to find when you resolve to making your life more environmentally-friendly. In fact, going shoeless is often my modus operandi when I'm at my hippiest. But every few days when the fruit basket gets low or some library books near their due date, my little size-7 feet need some cover to brave the sidewalks.

You've heard of Toms - the shoe company that vows to donate a pair to a child in need everytime you purchase one. Love them - own a pair in pop-bottle green. But here's another great company that I've stumbled across:

Where Toms promises a human-rescue-plan, Chipkos supports a planet-rescue-plan. I don't have a pair yet, but I'm able to offer 10% off to my readers using the code AHIMSA at the checkout. And I'm sure "my readers" includes myself :)

It's great when outer apparel can also help a cause. I can't wait for the day when baby onesies help save whales or something.. because with the way Oliver's growing we'd have the ocean saved in no time.

Everyone check out the link and use your feet to do the talking.

Try it Tuesday: Best & Worst Produce to Buy Organic

Unless you're made of money transitioning to organic won't happen overnight. Despite my frequent fantasies of throwing out all of our things and restocking with organic, we still house garbage like Heinz ketchup and Old Spice deodorant.

So if you, like me, want to go-orgo over time you should know which fruits and veggies should be your priority and which can take some time.

The Environmental Working Group has come out with a list of 12 fruits and vegetables, known as the "dirty dozen" that should be the very first that you transition to organic with. They are notorious for high pesticide levels.

The offenders are:

1Apples

2Celery

3Strawberries

4Peaches

5Spinach

6Nectarines – imported

7Grapes – imported

8Sweet bell peppers

9Potatoes

10Blueberries – domestic

11Lettuce

12Kale/collard greens

Here are my suggestions.

There are 8 items on this list that you need to begin growing in your own garden right away (celery, strawberries, spinach, bell peppers, potatoes, blueberries, lettuce and kale). If you don't have land, rent through the Community Gardens program in your city. Though they don't keep long fresh, most of these fruits and veggies can be put by with a few easy steps. Chop celery or bell peppers into the size pieces that you'd use for a stirfry or other similar recipe, then freeze as such in a freezer bag. Strawberries and blueberries can be made into jam or sauce and canned in mason jars. They freeze well also. Spinach and kale can both be blanched and frozen in glass storage containers. And potatoes should last in a cool, dark place but if they go green, throw them out. Lettuce is the only trick... try growing it indoors all year ground with a simple grow light that you can purchase in any hardware store.

Organic apples can be u-picked at Avalon Farms in Innisfil (near Barrie) which is my recommendation, or any organic farm in your area. Peaches, nectarines and grapes are often found organic in the grocery store. If you don't see them there, request them.

These 12 items are a great place to start when transitioning to organic.

Make it Monday: Compost!

We have two problems: we waste too much and our soil sucks.

Luckily, if you have a box you have a solution.

I have been composting since I was old enough to throw a banana peel. When I was in elementary school our compost actually lit on fire due to an abundance of dry materials and a lot of sun, and it burnt down a tree and some of our neighbour's fence. This didn't slow me down. When I moved to an apartment in February of last year, I continued composting, although out of used ice cream buckets, and only enough to nourish a balcony sized garden.

I might not be able to convince you to eat wild mushrooms or throw out your shampoo, but I beg you to take my advice on this one. Start today. Never contribute perfectly good food scraps to an ever-growing land fill again.

Here's how.

Start with your box. You can buy one, or you can be that much more interesting of a person and build it yourself. Procure wood boards (ship wreckage or an abandoned barn will do) about 2 feet long each. Use a log cabin method to build up your composting bin, about 3 feet high. Long nails will be of help, and a solid, level piece of ground to work on will prove helpful also. You can also create a lid or simply deal with the ... aroma. But keep in mind: a good compost smells great. Keeping gaps between the boards will allow air to reach the lovely brew.

You may now laugh uncontrollably at my ability to explain carpentry.

At this point if a box has actually been created you're off to a good start. It's time to fill it. Start with a layer of bricks to further promote air circulation. Then alternate wet and dry materials.

Wet: any kitchen scraps such as vegetable peelings, spoiled non-animal foods, egg shells, coffee grinds, tea leaves, pet litter, failed plant growing attempts...

Dry: dead leaves, dead branches, newspapers, compostable coffee cups, cardboard...

You can add tiger worms to encourage the process but remember they're fussy. They need the right amount of light and moisture to really bury and thrive. Also, with this method your best compost is at the bottom and the top will take a long time to decompose, so it's best to have a box with a bottom feed opening. You can buy these at Lee Valley.

Your compost is ready when it is deep brown, crumbly, moist and earthy-smelling. You may want to have 2 composts going so there is always one ready (much like sprouting!) This delicious concoction will nourish all of your future plants and will constantly thank you for saving it from certain death.

How to Use Google Reader

It won't boost my credibility but I'll say it: I learn a lot from blogs. Okay, okay, I also went to University for nutrition and am currently a student of holistic nutrition so don't lose hope in me, but truly: blogs are an incredible way to stay current and discover things that you otherwise wouldn't. As you can see from my Resources page I love food blogs. I also love to look at home design blogs, crafting blogs and anything about parenting pre-crawlers.

If you're not one to bookmark or memorize all your favourite links and visit them sequentially (be honest: how strange and dorky is that?) you should check out Google Reader. It keeps track of all of your most beloved blogs and shows you which have new posts. I recommend it to you, not only so that you'll add me to your queue and visit my posts more regularly, but because it's been a dream for me. It's easy to use.

1. Visit the link above, and sign into your Google account or make a new one.
2. Visit your favourite blogs. Check their page for an RSS link (Really Simple Syndication - it's a way of subscribing to a blog) and click it. Mine is here: My Idea of Happiness RSS Link. If given an option, choose Google.
3. Simply click Subscribe.

Now every time you visit your Reader page you'll get all the latest updates of new posts. For this blog, that's about 3 times a week so enjoy!

If you want suggestions for blogs to subscribe to, visit my Resources page. If you've got a cool blog I'd love to see it! Post your link in a comment below.

Wellness Wednesday: How to Fight the Flu ... Naturally!

Let's get down to it right away. The flu is out there and you don't want to catch it. Here's what you can do, naturally, to fight it:

• Vitamin C - research is inconsistent regarding the effectiveness of vitamin C to shorten the duration of a cold, but most of the studies are in agreement when it comes to its ability to prevent catching a cold in groups under stress (the actual study I'm referring to was done on marathon runners). I love the dissolvable packets of Emergen-C that taste great and contain 1000mg of vitamin C.
• Vitamin D - a study by Nature Immunology discovered that T-cells (white blood cells involved with immune response) will extend a receptor, looking for vitamin D, when they encounter a pathogen, and it isn't until the T-cell receives vitamin D that it can be activated and fight the pathogen. You can find it in fish, eggs and fortified products (like milk) or simply bare some skin and get sun exposure. I take Now Vitamin D 1000 IU chewables and I give Oliver the liquid Baby D Drops, 400 IU.
• Probiotics - there's nothing like good bacteria to fight off bad bacteria. If you're the type that is constantly sick you may be in a state of good bacteria deficiency. I recommend a probiotic that is enteric-coated, refrigerated, and contains multiple strains of bacteria. Renew Life makes a great one with 50 billion CFU (colony forming units - a way to measure bacteria).
• Oil of oregano - a great little liquid extract to have in the house, it is anti-microbial so beyond fighting infection, it can sanitize your toothbrush, clean out a yucky wound, and add fighting power to your homemade countertop cleaner. Place 3 drops under your tongue (really, on your tongue is not going to taste pretty), allow to absorb for 30 seconds, then wash down with a glass of water.
• Netti pot - Many bugs going around have incubation periods, meaning they enter your body and then take a bit of time to actually infect you and begin producing symptoms. Flushing your nasal passages may rid you of a bug before it sets in. Do it every few days for best results. Each model is different in its instructions but you basically flush a saline solution up each nostril and allow to drain out. See below for my saline solution recipe.
• Echinacea - a prominent researcher, analyzing years of studies, concluded that taking echinacea cuts your risk of catching a cold by more than half, and reduces its duration by 1.4 days on average. Try an alcohol-based tincture or look for immune products that contain it. Because it is a product thats effectiveness is very much based on its quality, make sure to buy a reputable brand. I recommend A. Vogel: one of the single greatest supplement companies in the world.
• Zinc - a zinc-deficiency is probably the leading cause of immune dysfunction. T-cells cannot function without this mineral. You can find zinc in a variety of lozenges.
• Homeopathic "Influenzium" - this preparation is available as a liquid that can be taken (away from food and drink) to essentially immunize you from current flu viruses. Make sure the product you purchase is current or else it will contain ingredients not specific to this year's flus.

What might be causing you to be prone to illness? Here are some things that depress your immune system or promote the spread of illness, that you may want to consider addressing:

• Lack of sleep and high caffeine intake can cause adrenal fatigue
• Poor sanitation skills
• Over-sanitation (using chemical cleaners, alcohol hand sprays and constant antibiotics creates an overly "clean" environment which is just as risky)

And what about when it's already hit? Here are some nice remedies:

• Slippery elm is excellent for a sore throat, pick up a pack of the lozenges for instant relief
• "Oscillococcinum" is a homeopathic flu remedy that wows me every time I hear of its miraculous effectiveness
• Elderberry syrup is a delicious remedy that actually severs the flu molecule's ability to attach onto healthy cells
• Umcka Coldcare - anything from this line is pure magic and I have no idea how to explain the mechanism by which it works - just trust me

How to make your own saline solution for a netti pot:

Boil water in a kettle, then measure out 8 oz. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt (table will work, Himalaya is better) and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Allow to dissolve, then cool. Slightly warm water is most pleasant for using a netti pot.

Try It Tuesday: Serve Beer in the Right Glass

The beer enthusiast would argue that each sparkling glass contains an array of B vitamins and all the glorious benefits of fermentation, but let's be frank: beer isn't the healthiest thing on Earth.

Even so, there's something to be said of being dedicated to a craft and becoming a master of your interest. I myself laugh at the research articles that claim coffee is harmful to your overall health and choose to, instead, spend my time perfecting the classic French press.

In hopes of inspiring you to elevate your nightly brew to more than just a one-dollar can, I bring to you: How to Serve Beer in the Right Glass!

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Inspired by the wildly entertaining book: Show Me How
A compulsive library-grab from last week that has proven to be most aesthetically pleasing and strangely inspiring. It offers illustrated instructions on a variety of tasks, from quite necessary to ultimate party trick, including: How to Install a Tire Swing, How to Defend Against a Shark Attack, and, How to Tango.

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A Belgian ale or barley wine goes great in a tulip glass. The bulbous body and flared lip will make the most of its hearty aroma.

The Weizenbier glass is great for wheat beer because its shape showcases fluffy foam and golden hues.

A strong ale is great in a snifter because the big bowl captures aromas and concentrates them at the glass's lip.

In the US, ales and lagers are typically served in a straight-edged "poor man's pint" glass measuring a measly 475ml.

In England it's illegal to serve a pint less than 600ml and they use a glass with a slight bulge to allow for more head.

Anything with a malty flavour will taste best in a goblet as it traps the flavours and retains hearty head.

Lastly, a flute's elegant form, often used for champagne, boosts carbonation and will compliment fruity and lambic beers.

No matter what your favourite style of beer is it deserves the right glass. Serve anything from a hefty Guinness to a Bud Light to the new Rickard's Blonde (in sampler packs now!) and you're sure to impress. Just be sure that one of your guests knows they're on dishes duty.

How to Close Down Your Garden for Winter

My sad little plot before the annual "closing ceremonies" began

We've been blessed this year in Southwestern Ontario to be snow-free by mid-November, but don't go sprinkling another round of carrot seeds just yet. It has already begun frosting and that means it's time to close down your garden for the winter. Although somewhat emotionally challenging, the act itself is easy to accomplish. All you need are a shovel, some mulch and this guide.

1. Harvest whatever's left.

• Broccoli can be pulled all the way up until it flowers. Once it does, it's only good for seed.

Gathering tomatoes



Pole beans all dried and ready to be saved

• Eggplant can be pulled when it's about 6 inches long, and shiny.

• Garlic should have at least the lower half of leaves brown.

• Squash should be the right colour depending on their variety and the vine should begin withering.

• Cabbage are ready when they feel hard.

• And tomatoes: well it really doesn't matter! At this point, pull them green if you need to. When frost is threatening it's best to get your tomatoes inside to ripen in a sunny window.

Gathering

Letting tomatoes rot in a ditch in hopes
of having some self-seed next year

2. Pull remaining plants and layer in an inch of compost. Of course you can leave your perennials (all I leave are berries and anything I'm going to overwinter - this year, carrots).

3. Protect perennials or plants to overwinter with mulch cover. Raked leaves make nice mulch.

4. Plant bulbs. For me this will be garlic and paper whites (if I can find them buried under Christmas decorations in the cold storage).

5. Plant green manure. Click here to learn how.

6. Make notes of what worked and what didn't so that you can do better next year. A garden journal is an incredible resource.

Allowing sunflowers to dry out

7. Preserve your harvest.

• "Sun-dry" tomatoes in your oven on low heat - or make a batch of salsa or tomato sauce
• Leave winter squash and root vegetables in a cold storage for months
• Dry beans for use in soups (or to use as seed next season)
• Make fruit into jam
• Make vegetables into pickles

Spring and summer are not the only important times for your veggie crop. What you do before winter hits can have just as much impact as what you do after it. Closing your garden down the proper way makes spring planting that much more glorious. Take the time - you won't regret it.

My garden assistant - Oliver, age 3 months

Canning Party 2011

Not long ago Mom & I had our canning party 2011. A little smaller than previous years but with a 3 month old things change. We decided to just go pickle crazy.

Here are some photos from our creations:

Gathering the ingredients

Sweet coined pickles

Sterilized jars

End of season pickling cuc's

Cabbage keeps them crispy

For our method, look to my old blog post, here.

Processing

Try it Tuesday: Green Kitchenware

Cooking your own meals at home is eco-friendly in itself but what if you're whipping up batches of millet & mushroom cakes all while releasing toxins into your food? You may not even know you're doing it.

So here are a few easy swaps to make to avoid poisoning your healthy food by using unhealthy kitchenware:


Stove Top Cooking

Trade in your non-stick frying pan, your electric griddle and your casserole dishes for one cast iron skillet. It's an all-in-one kitchen tool that is safe, easy to clean and even makes your food more nutritious. Scientists believe frying in a cast iron skillet will transfer dietary iron to your food - sounds good to us prone to anemia! I've been a die-hard skillet-fan for some time now but the key is to get a nice old one. New skillets have not been seasoned and tend to stick. See if a family member has one that they'll part with, or check the second hand store. If you must buy new, oil the skillet often and bake it for a while with a layer of oil. Never wash with soap, or in the dishwasher. Keep in mind a hardy skillet can wreck the nice finish on those fancy flat top stoves so it would be better suited for the BBQ. 


Storing 
It goes without saying that almost all plastic is a no-no, especially when you plan to reheat certain things in a (*hushed voice*) microwave. So many parents make an effort to pack their kids a healthy lunch for school, and then ruin it with a container that leeches yucky chemicals into the food. For storing food, choose glass. It's also nice and easy to pop into a hot oven for reheating. The glass storage containers I've seen are pretty tough and not prone to shattering easily.



Cutting 
Slicing can cause fragments of your board to chip off and enter the food. Now this is on a microscopic level so it's nothing you'll taste or hurt yourself on, but if you're cutting on plastic it's not the best thing to expose your body too. I love using a wood cutting board. There are, however, two considerations when switching to wood: cleanliness and sustainability. Wood is a bacteria-promoter and needs to be thoroughly washed after every use. Use hot water and soap. Or, for less threatening items like red bell pepper, wipe down with half a lemon. Allow to dry fully. With any wooden item we need to be cognizant of its environmental impact. Choose a product that is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council.


Wiping 
If you're still using paper towel, it's time to stop! Disposable products like this are unnecessary and brutal for the environment. With each use you transfer a beautiful piece of our forests to garbage in a land fill - not pretty. A simple kitchen cloth can handle any of the messes that paper can, and a dirty cloth will take no space at all in your weekly laundry load (or rinse and dry for simple messes). If you really want to go all the way, purchase a cloth made of organic cotton. Cotton's one of those things that is just nasty when it's not organic.

When you're ready to convert more disposable products to reusable check out my posts on diapers and diva cups.


Lastly, Filtering
The best water system I've seen is the Santevia. The countertop model fits nicely on any flat surface and uses gravity and a layered filtration tube to remove most toxins (not fluoride however), alkalize and mineralize.

The kitchen is a great place to change the world, but you've gotta change your tools before you can do it!

Make Up's Dirty Secret

You may have heard of conventional produce's dirty dozen (the 12 fruits and veggies you really should buy organic) but you probably haven't heard of the cosmetic dirty dozen.

With books like There's Lead in Your Lipstick becoming best sellers people are more aware of what's in the products that they smear on their faces daily. Here are some of the worst additives in make up today, according to the David Suzuki Foundation:

- BHA, BHT
- Coal tar dyes
- DEA
- Dibutyl phthalate
- Formaldehyde-releasing chemicals
- Parabens
- Parfum (fragrance)
- PEG compounds
- Petrolatum
- Siloxanes
- SLS
- Tricolsan

If any of your cosmetics contain these ingredients it's time to hit the natural foods store & pick up a better brand. Or - an even greater solution is to make your own. (Wow, who thought I'd say that?)

Email or comment me your favourite face, body & hair products and I'll see what nifty homemade recipes I can scrounge up.

For more posts on cosmetics click here.

How to Take Homeopathic Medicine

1. Choose the right remedy and the right potency. A low potency (30c) is recommended when you're starting out - it is effective on a wider range of symptoms. Higher potencies are more specific and you'll need to be sure you have the exact one, which requires the help of a homeopath.

Check out this comprehensive list of remedies by symptom.

2. Transport them home, and store them, safely. Keep your remedies away from electromagnetic fields (laptops, cell phones). When you take them, pop them directly from the package to your mouth, don't touch them.

3. Dissolve 3 pellets under your tongue, at least half an hour after eating or drinking (other than water). Wait another half hour til eating/drinking again. The worst things for decreasing a remedy's effectiveness are strong flavours - think coffee, peppermint, etc. Some toothpastes are available mint-free for this very reason.

4. You can take this dose every hour for an acute case. On a regular basis 3 times a day is enough.

5. Stop taking the remedy when you feel better.

How to Bake Fresh Buns

November 17th is National Bread Baking Day and what better way to celebrate than by whipping up a batch of these yummy buns. Maybe you can even share with your scruffy-faced husband a la No-Shave November.

Ingredients:
1 cup warm milk
2 T water
2 T sugar or honey (stevia won't work - it does not provide food for yeast)
2 T margarine, butter or oil
1 pkg yeast
3 c flour
1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Mix together first 5 ingrefients and let sit.
2. After 5 minutes, mix flour and salt together and mix in with other, wet ingredients forming a ball of dough.
3. Divide into how many buns you'd like to make (I recommend 6 or if you're doing mini-buns for sliders than 8 - 10). Put these smaller balls onto a cookie sheet.
4. Let rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

I like to add extra ingredients like sesame seeds on top for a burger bun or caraway seeds for a sandwich bun. You could also top with olive oil and rosemary, or try mixing shredded cheese into the dough.

Enjoy your National Bread Baking Day!

The Most Satisfying Five Minutes of Your Life

I just read this article in the January 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine and it's a great little list of extremely satisfying things you can do if you have five minutes to spare.

Call your dad.
Check your voicemail.
Move the random files on your computer desktop to the correct folders.
Refold your sweaters and stack them by colour.
Floss your teeth.
Water the plants.
Sew on a button.
Pitch three expired items from the refrigerator.
Put to-be-donated clothes in a bag by the door.
Untangle a necklace.
Find that top that got lost in your closet.
Test pens or markers and toss the dead ones.
Arrange your hangers so they face the same way.
Clear off the top of the refrigerator.
Remove gum wrappers, receipts and ATM slips from your purse.
Test your smoke alarms.
Write a thank-you note that you've been putting off.
Walk around your house with a can of white paint and do touch-ups.
Download the pictures on your camera to your computer.
Throw out old coupons.
Empty the bathroom wastebaskets.
Match up socks and throw away solos.
Transfer dates from invitations and flyers to your calendar.
Return that movie.
Locate all your critical pot tops and nest them together.
Check your magazine stack and eliminate half.
Read an old journal entry.
Ditch old or finished shampoos from your shower stall.
Neaten up the freezer.
Do two yoga poses.
Reply to three pressing emails.
Charge your portable devices.
Sweep under the kitchen table.

Try It Tuesday: The Vaccination Book by Dr. Sears

Choosing whether or not to vaccinate your children is an important decision, the outcome of which can affect their ability to attend public school and travel globally. Vaccinating your child without doing ample research runs you the risk of suffering severe consequences, on the flip side being cavalier about not vaccinating your child could hold equal risk. I have seen both sides of this dilemma. One friend now parents a child with mental and social delays that she credits to additives in her young boy's vaccination. Another lost her newborn to a preventable disease after choosing to opt out of its vaccination. Which is worse, a loss caused by action or inaction? These are the questions I've weighed since becoming pregnant last November.

Oliver is nearly 3 months now. With his 2 month pediatric appointment come and gone, and his next one in a few days, I am knee deep in this decision. Even if he receives all of his shots this Friday he will still be on a "delayed schedule" as we opted out last time. Currently our decision stands that we will choose to vaccinate him (on the basis of preventing death, but also making access to future school and travel easier) for only severe illnesses. This means we will opt out of the chicken pox (varicella) vaccine and all seasonal flu vaccines. We will, however, boost his immunity through the homeopathic flu shot which you can read about on one of my earlier blog posts. He will, therefore, be receving the mandatory DPTP and MMR but I have to say I am not looking forward to helping him through this tough appointment.

Recently I read "Your Child's Best Shot" by Ronald Gold and was very disappointed to see how biased it was. It was essentially 400 pages of assurance that there are barely any risks or side effects of vaccination, and scare tactics about the potential risks of the relevant illnesses. The book also featured information about past, subpar vaccinations put out to the public and how we've miraculously (note my sarcasm) improved them. By my logic, if a previous shot was, at that time, promoted as safe and is now seen as risky, could we not assume that future editions of this book will feature information on how 2011's vaccination versions were inadequate? We never know what future research will show us about things that we currently have confidence in: see thalidomide.

But here's a book that's worth its weight in gold: Dr. Sears' The Vaccine Book. He is a brilliant man, promoting concepts and philosophies well before his time. I believe future generations will look back on his books and say "This is what changed everything." Because the public library does not offer it, I recommend purchasing it now!



What a hard decision for any parent, but how lucky we are to have this information at our finger tips.