Friday Favorite- Here Come the Hawks!

All of Chicago is celebrating today as the Blackhawks parade through the city.  One reporter on Channel 7 estimated 2 million fans flooding the Loop.  In a city sometimes violently divided by baseball loyalties, a uniting Championship is certainly something worth cheering.  Some highlights: Bobby Hull, star of the 1961 Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks team, congratulating this year's champs; fans around Chicago celebrating everywhere; as we walked down the street with Tye in her jersey and Mico, overhearing a tell his girlfriend, "I don't know who's cuter, the dog or the baby in the jersey"; dancing with Tye to the Hawk's score song; and laughing at Tye's similarities to some of the players, including Duncan Keith, who lost 7 teeth and has been dubbed "ruthless and toothless," 

and Jonathan Toews, who shares the same complexion and lack of facial hair with Tye.

But since I can't leave you with those disturbing images, here's one to remember.

Teaching to Cook

The Chicago Tribune ran an article yesterday titled Make this recipe and call me in the morning: Doctors hope to fight obesity by teaching patients how to cook healthfully.  In it Janet Helm explains how Dr. David Eisenberg of Harvard Medical School is trying to teach doctors how to cook healthfully so they can, in turn, teach their patients to cook healthy meals.  I loved this excerpt: 

The definition of cooking has changed...  Now it's more likely to mean assembling and heating — and probably in the microwave, which has experienced a surge in popularity in the past few years, along with frozen foods.  For the first time, the lasagna eaten at home is more likely to be thawed from the freezer rather than made from scratch. If food doesn't come in a box with instructions, many people are just not sure what to do. 

While they may constantly hear about the virtues of fresh, whole and unprocessed food, and are told to eat more vegetables, whole grains and plant-based meals, people often feel ill-equipped to implement this advice. 

Even with the wildly popular television cooking shows, many people are not active in their own kitchens.  Has cooking become a spectator sport? 

I'm still left wondering, though- whose responsibility is it, really, to teach Americans how to cook?  I have a hard time believing that a program in which doctors diagnose, treat, and give cooking lessons during a ten minute appointment is going to be successful, especially without a sample kitchen in the exam room.  I'm all for treatments that include food over prescriptions and wish more doctors healed that way.  On the other hand, good doctors are a wealth of knowledge in their area of specialty, and I'm not sure I trust one to tell me how to bake a souffle- or even an egg.


So, to whom does the responsibility of teaching cooking skills belong?  


Is it our failing education system?  Home Economics classes have been cut along with music and arts classes in many school districts, or made optional, as it was in my high school.  


Is it the parents who don't cook?  Many individuals who cook would say they learned how growing up.  But in a world in which most families rely on at least two incomes, getting dinner on the table often means quick fixes and little real food preparation.  


Is it the Standard American Diet and the food system that supports it?  As seen in Food, Inc., a family living in poverty can eat fast food for less cost than fresh produce.  


Is it ultimately the responsibility of the individual to figure it out or figure out how to learn?  Sure, we can't all recreate the masterpieces on Top Chef, but following a show like Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals is fairly simple and reasonably healthy- especially when compared to fast food.  An even easier place to start would be Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade.  Cookbooks can be checked out at the local library for free.  There's even a Cooking Basics for Dummies book, with used editions available on Amazon.com for only $1.  


I am in agreement that knowledge is one of the main components holding Americans back in the battle for healthy eating (with cost being the other lead contributor).  I'm all about any program seeking to educate Americans and teach us how to cook healthy meals, especially if we can throw in some lessons on the benefits of local, organic produce.  I think we need to keep looking for a solution, though, and let the physicians do what they do best.  Until we educate the rest of America, they'll be busy dealing with the problems caused by poor diet.

Learning to Giggle

Some video of Tye giggling at Mico that has me cracking up.  By the way, what a great friend do we have that lets us bring over our baby and our dog when he cooks amazing meals for us?  Thanks, John!
 

Ask Mama Em

Hey Em,
Love your blog! I wanted to ask if you have any preferences or recommendations for shampoos for either you or Tye that are organic or "better" :) Thanks, Zainab


Hi Zainab!  What a great compliment!  Thank you so very much.  I find it amazing that other people think my life and my thoughts are interesting enough to read about (besides my mom!).  


For Tye, we use California Baby Calming Shampoo & Bodywash.  I love the gentle, all-natural essential oils used to fragrance it.  The price seems expensive for such a small bottle, and I had a hard time putting out the money initially, but it's so super concentrated that I think it's worth it.  In six and a half months, we've barely made a dent in the bottle.  That could also be because we don't bathe Tye daily.  In fact, for her first six months, we only bathed her once every 5-7 days (making sure, of course, that her diaper area was well-cleaned between baths).  Babies that young don't get dirty, and frequent baths can irritate skin because they strip away the skin's natural protective oils.   We are constantly hearing people say that she has beautiful skin, so I think it worked well for Tye.  Now that it's summer, I'm sure she'll be needing more frequent baths- after swimming, sunscreen, dusty dirt, or just mama's sweat from being pressed together in the carrier (poor girl!).  


When Tye was first born, she had some dry skin, so we used California Baby Calming Everyday Lotion.  I don't know yet if Tye has sensitive skin, but she wasn't sensitive to anything in this gentle lotion, also scented gently with essential oils.  Tye doesn't need lotion any longer, but I've stolen this from her and use it almost daily I love it so much.  It's my absolute favorite for the gentle scent and thick but non-greasy texture.  I make sure I don't use anything on my skin that Tye shouldn't eat, and I trust this to pass that test.  I've only tried these two California Baby products, but I love both and I especially love the story of the creative mom behind the company.  


I'm in the middle of switching hair care products for myself right now.  I've been using Aveda products, which is the most natural of salon brands and free of parabens and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, but not organic and not as natural as I'd like.  I'm doing some research on the Skin Deep database (an awesome resource that ranks the toxicity of personal care products) to see which products are safest, but I'm finding it somewhat depressing!  That's how I learned that Aveda's signature "pure-fume" fragrance is actually not any safer than other conventional fragrances.  Bummer, since I love the way Aveda products smell!  Overall, Aveda scored decently (4s and 5s out of 10, 1 being safest and 10 the most toxic), but I'm still on a shampoo search.  I've heard of many women who "no-poo," meaning they use baking soda to shampoo and apple cider vinegar and water to rinse.  I'm curious, but nervous to try it, especially with sweaty workout hair.  


I'll let you know what hair care products I decide to test out.  I'm also always open to suggestions!  My hair is super fine, meaning each strand is very skinny but I have a lot of it, and the ends need a good deal of moisture because it's so long.  My roots, on the other hand, get sweaty after my runs and need a shampoo after workouts.  If I don't work out, I wash my hair every two or three days.  I will say, I'm going to try Tye's California Baby wash on my hair and see how it goes!  I already stole her lotion...


Thanks again for the note, and let me know what you think!


Xoxo,


Em


Do any of you readers have a solution to my haircare conundrum? Please don't be shy and help me out!  Thanks!

Staycation

Tyler took some personal time off of work this past week to spend time with us and relax at home.  Our little staycation was such a great way to spend time together as a family that I'm super sad to have Monday fast approaching.  We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, grilled out, watched the Blackhawks, became members at the Shedd Aquarium, took walks around our neighborhood, and enjoyed the weather at outdoor cafes in our neighborhood. Tyler wasn't the only one on vacation, either- I didn't fold the laundry all week, and Tyler woke up with Tye one morning to let me stay in bed.  Looking back, though, some of the best memories were just hanging out at home together, watching Tye in amazement.  What a great week together.

On the Chicago River

Obama's administration and the EPA have called for Chicago to clean up the Chicago River, making it safe for recreational use.  In case you're not from Chicago, this is big news because the Chicago River has has long been more of a moving waste collection area than a body of water.  In 1900, engineers changed the direction of flow of the river to prevent sewage and waste from flowing into Lake Michigan, where drinking water is sourced.  Until the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act, the river was treated as disposal by Chicago's industrial and shipping polluters.  The Chicago River has been largely exempt from all clean water standards, to the extent that sewage isn't even disinfected before being dumped into the river.  Of course, this call for clean up has received severely negative backlash from Chicago's industries and even Mayor Daley, who said the feds should "go swim in the Potomac."  

Chicago's movable bridges.  Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/spudart/452035169/

I, for one, am thrilled that someone is finally putting pressure on Illinois to clean up our act.  When our waste enters the Chicago River, it (much like our garbage) doesn't just go "away."  It goes into our river systems, diluted by Lake Michigan water, which lowers the Great Lakes water level.  For being such a "green" city, Chicago needs to make the Chicago River's health a higher priority.  We have a beautiful lakefront that attracts tourists, and our river could easily be an extension of the lakefront, drawing more sport and recreational users.  The eyesore, currently reputed as toxic and infamous for being dyed green each St.Patty's Day, could become another natural attraction in Illinois.  

The currently poor health of the river is no reason to ignore it.  Riverside industries have no right to destroy the river, even if their pollution has been overlooked for years.  I'm thrilled that the president's administration and EPA are forcing a long-overdue clean up of the river, because Daley obviously wouldn't initiate the change on his own.  My hope is that Tye and my grandchildren will be able to enjoy a beautiful Chicago River some day.

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Tye attended her first Cubs game.  Since we aren't Cubs fans, Tye wore her Blackhawks jersey- and a pink hat to ensure proper gender identification.

We spent most of the weekend visiting Tyler's family, including celebrating his mom's birthday...

and lots of swimming in their pool.

At home, we took a walk along Lake Michigan before the morning fog burned off...

...and a trip to the zoo, where Tye watched the jaguar, a few monkeys, and the flamingos, but clearly preferred watching the other children.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekends as much as we did ours!