Natural Family News

This article from Arizona discusses the lengths that people are going through to get raw milk in the state, and the obstacles that are being put in their way. The quote that got me was from the chief executive of the United Dairymen of Arizona, who said that “dairy products can be guaranteed to be safe only if they are pasteurized.” Really? Because the last time I checked, there were still plenty of people getting food-borne illnesses from pasteurized dairy products. You can read the article here.

As parents, we are all concerned about what our children are eating and how it affects them. Growing number of parents are turning to organic foods over concerns about pesticide levels in conventionally grown foods. A recent study shows high levels of pesticides in the bloodstream of children fed conventionally grown foods. However, these levels drop very quickly when the children’s diets are switched to organic produce. The government and representatives of the food industry say that it’s nonsense to be worried, that there is no problem with these pesticides, but, come on– how many times have they been wrong before? You can read more about this growing trend here.

HOMEMADE BABY LAUNCHES WITH LINE OF FRESHLY PREPARED, ORGANIC, KOSHER FOODS FOR DISCERNING PARENTS OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Unique Meal Integrity System Tracks Each Ingredient “From Field To Fingers”
To Ensure Purity And Safety Of Each Serving

Delicious Dishes Available Exclusively Through Homemadebaby.Com Retail Website For Greater Convenience, Freshness And Quality Control

Los Angeles – October 24, 2005 – Homemade Baby, a new company focused on health and nutrition for babies and toddlers, today announced the company’s launch and the debut of its initial product line of freshly prepared, organic, kosher baby foods. Using only seasonal, 100% organic ingredients, Homemade Baby creates delicious dishes for children aged 6 to 24 months. Each dish is individually prepared, slowly kettle-cooked and pureed under a Chef’s supervision and delivered fresh to a parent’s home the next day. The announcement was made by Homemade Baby founders Theresa Edy Kiene and Matt Kiene.

“Research suggests that life-long eating habits are established during a child’s first three years,” said Theresa Edy Kiene, who co-founded the company with her husband, Matt Kiene, after the homemade foods she prepared for their three children were a hit with family and friends. “By creating great-tasting, nutritious and natural foods for babies and toddlers, Homemade Baby helps parents give their children a head start toward making smart food choices for life.”

Although Homemade Baby will launch with six varieties of vegetarian baby food, the product line will expand over the next year to offer new choices as well as seasonal specialties. Homemade Baby dishes are available in three distinct textures – So Smooth, Good Mushy, and Kinda Chunky. The first stage, So Smooth, features smoothly blended, single-ingredient foods for the beginning eater such as Just Apples, Just Pears, Just Peas and Just Squash. The Good Mushy stage is for babies who are ready for a more adventurous texture and taste, and includes varieties such as Piwi (pears and kiwi) and Squapples (roasted squash & apples). The Kinda Chunky stage is created for older babies and toddlers who need to exercise their developing chewing muscles and includes recipes such as Baby Tex Mex (corn, kidney beans, peas, carrots and brown rice) and Yummy Yammys (sweet potato & lentils).

Homemade Baby maintains strict, comprehensive records during the production of its foods, according to its Meal Integrity System. Through the Meal Integrity System, the company can trace each ingredient inside each serving all the way back to the specific fields in which those ingredients were grown – literally, “from field to fingers.” All ingredients for every Homemade Baby dish are certified organic (by Oregon Tilth) and kosher (by Kosher Overseers of America: KOAOA). Homemade Baby purchases its ingredients from only the most reputable vendors, whose suppliers comply with the Fair Trade Laws, and then accepts only ingredients that are certified organic, kosher and GMO free. Every meal is prepared and manufactured according to the HACCP program, the strictest safety system implemented by the FDA. In addition, a portion of every batch of food that Homemade Baby manufactures is submitted to a professional laboratory for microbial analysis to certify an absence of microbes before the entire batch is released for sale.

“Because of these high standards, health-conscious but busy parents who might wish they had the time to cook tasty, nutritious meals for their children can trust Homemade Baby to do the cooking for them,” said Matt Kiene.

Homemade Baby is sold exclusively over the Internet at www.homemadebaby.com in order to offer 24-hour shopping convenience to busy parents. The company will initially focus on the Southern California and Nevada regions. The dishes are kept fresh during shipping via a customized, biodegradable 10-degree gel pack inside unique high-tech insulation to provide a constant 35 to 40 degree refrigerated environment during delivery. All of Homemade Baby’s packaging is recyclable.

Homemade Baby has enlisted an all-star team of consultants to advise the company regarding food safety and nutrition, including internationally known microbiologist and food safety expert Melissa Calicchia, M.S.; nutritionist and USC School of Pharmacy faculty member Dr. Roger A. Clemens; veteran food technologist Dr. Kathleen Nelson Feicht; Cal Poly food science and nutrition professor, and renowned organic certification expert Dr. Joseph Montecalvo, Jr.; and certified nutrition specialist and national lecturer Debra K.W. Topham, MS, CNS.

The Homemade Baby kitchen is located in Culver City, California, and features a baby “tasting room” where parents are encouraged to bring their infants for a free sample of the latest Homemade Baby creations. Homemade Baby believes that all children deserve good nutrition, and plans to donate 15% of the food it prepares to charities serving undernourished children.

Media Contact:

Taffy Miller
mPRm Public Relations
323-933-3399
tmiller@mprm.com

This was really exciting news to me. The Green Guide, which is an excellent resource for healthy living tips, eco-friendly product advice and green home news is having an open house next week from October 24-October 30. ALL their online content is FREE to browse for any 24-hour stretch during that week. I really recommend checking it out, and if you like what you see, think about subscribing. Visit the Green Guide and check out their open house here.

I shouldn’t have to choose whether to buy organic or imported produce but, apparently, I do. It seems that a lot of organic foods are now being grown overseas, in order to decrease costs. Funny, I haven’t noticed that my food bill is any less. Read more about it here.

There is a proposal for a new label on food– “sustainable produce.” While the farmers utilizing this method will be allowed to use pesticides, they will use methods that are better for the land and aimed at preventing soil erosion, burns fewer fuel, and they do think about what pesticides are used. You can read more about it here.

A recent study found that the levels of certain pesticides tested for in children’s urine dropped to undetectable levels in as little as 5 days on an organic diet. The study proved that the children’s exposure definitely came from the food that was being eaten, rather than from any spraying in the children’s homes. You can read more about the study here.

What: Organicfest 2005 ~ celebrating everything organic!

When: Saturday, September 10 from 10:00 am ~ 6:00 pm

Where: Pack Square, Asheville NC

Producers: Pure Food Partners and co-sponsored by Asheville Parks & Recreation, local and national businesses & organizations (see list)

Why: Organicfest 2005 is a celebration of everything organic! A FUNtastic day of live music, dancing, drawings for baskets of fabulous organic goodies and gift certificates, free organic samples and giveaways, an Organicfest Market on the Square featuring the finest organic: food and refreshments, clothing, herbs, flowers and natural arts and crafts. Environmental organizations will share informative conversation and help with organic living, organic gardening, farming and other earthcare matters. Fun activities for kids including the Organicfest Garden Parade at 1pm. Join the celebration on Saturday, September 10th from 10am to 6pm in Pack Square, downtown Asheville!

Special Note: The Organicfest is presented in September to celebrate natitional organic month. The organic industry is one of the fastest growing, consumer driven industries in the United States. This special event, (co-sponsored by Asheville Parks & Recreation and other local businesses and organizations) is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, highlight and promotethe pure, organic food and products available in our community, create a connection to the people who grow and supply organic, and find out why organic is good for people and the planet

For more information, including entertainment schedules, visit www.organicfest.org.

So, far this lecture tour is not coming anywhere near me, but I so wish that it was. What a great idea! Leave it to Whole Foods and Mothering to start promoting the organic lifestyle to Moms before they give birth. I would have loved a Whole Baby kit, instead of the formula-endorsed bags we were given at the hospital. The lecture tour will educate mothers about nutrition, including information on how to make your own baby food. You can read more about the Whole Baby program here.

For better or for worse, 73 year old organic farmer Arthur Harvey has succeeded in a lawsuit which will require organic manufacturers to use even stricter standards. Many organic companies are upset that the ruling will mean that they can no longer use the organic label if their product contains any synthetic products. Will this help or hurt organic consumers? At this point, it’s hard to say. Will organic manufacturers forced to label their products “made with organic ingredients” cut back to the bare minimum of 70% organic ingredients? Or will they find ways to produce organically those ingredients, such as pectin, that are now unavailable in an organic form? read more

Black Rhino organic coffee is teaming up with CureBreastCancer.org to develop co-branded packaging for a line of coffee that will soon be available online. A percentage of the proceeds will go to breast cancer research. Read more.

The costs of eating organic can be intimidating, particularly if you have a large family. However, there are ways that you can trim some of the cost. From joining a co-op to growing your own produce, this article outlines 17 ways to lower your organic food budget. (read more)

This article was perfectly timed for me. I was just thinking about this very topic this evening. I have recently joined a CSA co-op, and I’m eager for that to start up in the fall. I was thinking that if I started buying beans in bulk and based meals around beans for protein and the fresh produce we’ll be getting that perhaps I could cut our astronomical food bill by at least 10-20%.