I have just come across a recipe for making your own baking powder. Love it! Just this past New Years, us wisemommies made a cheese, meat and dessert foundue, together, for 9 people. We used baking powder for some of the recipes and talked about possibly finding a substitution, since most commercial baking powders contains the aditive aluminium sulphate, as well as, genetically modified corn.

Well, at New Life on a Homestead, I came across a recipe just for that. Now, I haven't tried this receipe, plan to soon, but let me know how it turns out for anyone else who tries it.

For 1 cup of baking soda, mix…

• 1/4 c. baking soda
• 1/2 c. cream of tartar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch or arrowroot (optional: only necessary if storing; anti-caking agents)

Or, for a much smaller batch…

• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp cornstarch (optional)

She also has a nice post on baby sign language.

Also linked up today with Jen Ferguson over at Soli Deo Gloria finding heaven today and Laura at playdates at wellspring. I enjoyed reading through several of Laura’s posts titled “playdates with God” (catchy) and found them all very calming and sweet.

Could be a nice place to find some encouragement for a quiet time.

Jen at Soli Deo Gloria has a category, with numerous posts, on grieving which is just fantastic.

To follow-up with yesterdays post, I recently read where Jessica Alba, as a first time mom, was horrified by all the harmful chemicals found in her baby’s products. Therefore, she started a company, honest.com, where moms can find safe, eco-friendly, and affordable products. I have checked this website out but have not tested her products or looked further into all the ingredients, but I’m thinking about it. If anyone else has, please let us know.

It’s sad that we moms, we families, have to check so diligently for harmful ingredients. I always assumed our government wouldn’t allow such, but the more I actually research and find out the more I realize just how pro-active we moms, parents and families MUST/have to be!

Did you know that the U.S. and some other countries around the world are not setting industry limits for certain toxic chemicals within our personal care products being sold and used? On that note, some companies, such as J&J, are selling formaldehyde-free baby products in other countries but not in the US. Why is this a double standard for babies? Some countries compared which have found formaldehyde preservatives in products sold by J&J were the US, Australia, Canada, and China compared to countries with non-formaldehyde products such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Japan, South Africa and the U.K. All babies, toddlers, adults, humans should be protected from toxic chemicals and carcinogens when given a choice.  

In addition to these ingredient listings that you should look for in your products, here are some other safety precautions that could help:

1. Always try to choose products with the fewest of ingredients.
2. The more no’s the better: no dyes, no fragrance, no chemicals (this can be false and misleading so you still have to double check ingredients)
3. Search EWG’s safety database for updates and to find safer products
4. Be aware of all ingredients,
5. Write manufactures, J&J, to let them know that you will only be a returning customer after they remove toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, from all baby products in all countries. Use your money to speak by purchasing products which have already made that safety commitment to your family
6. Write your congress

Some further resources: safe cosmetics article #1, safe cosmetics article #2, safe cosmetics article #3, , safe cosmetics article #4,   green deals , ewg article, ewg article #2,  natural news article #1

 natural news article #2

Toxins in your baby’s shampoo with cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens), how about your facial products, are you pregnant and eating off of plates washed in substances that could be potentially harmful to your fetus, washing your child with chemicals that could be causing eczema or bringing on allergies, are you putting lead on your lips….?

According to EWG, Environmental Working Group, “everyday children are now being exposed to an average of 27% personal care products” that have NOT been found safe for developing bodies which may lead to diseases later, or rather sooner, in life. Our children’s little immature organs, which are less capable of fending off these toxins, are being polluted and affected with outcomes that we have yet to foresee.

We know everyone gets advice from feeding to baby proofing but so many are still unaware of the toxic chemicals they are using, daily, that are NOT safe and the chronic diseases that could develop. Diseases such as asthma, ADHD, cancer, liver toxicity, brain tumors, and nervous system disorders.

There are products as harmful as formaldehyde in popular baby products such as Johnson and Johnson, Baby Magic, Sesame Street, Huggies and Grins & Giggles. Yes, the companies are aware of this. Some of them are willing to stop producing their products with such toxins but in the years to come. Well, I don’t know about you but that leaves distrust for me with those companies, and I don’t want to wait years to use products free of cancer-causing chemicals for my son. Therefore, we have gone through all products in our wisemommies’ homes to check for the harmful toxins, listed below.

** Important to know:

1. You can’t trust products that say “all natural”, use the following list as a constant reference and start by going through all your used products, today.
2. Unfortunately, some harmful chemicals are exempt from labeling laws because they are considered contaminants not ingredients. That means that you will need to look for ingredients which could contain other names, which I’ve also listed below.

The following are the top toxins to avoid in all your personal care products.

1. Phthalates: dibutylphthalate (hormone disrupters, male genital abnormalities, liver/kidney lesions, childhood asthma/allegies)
2. Formaldehyde preservatives: quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea
3. 1,4-dioxane: ethylene oxide, ethoxylation, PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20; chemicals with “eth” in the name
4. Parabens (estrogen mimickers)
5. Petroleum by-products: mineral oil, petrolatum, liquid paraffin, toluene, xylene (often contaminated by 1-4dioxane and other cancer-causing impurities and can be found in many products including soaps/shampoos)
6. Triclosan: (hormone disruption) usually found in anti-bacterial soaps
7. Lead & Mercury (brain function) (most of us know since we’ve been hearing these two words for a long time now…still double check your lipsticks, ear, and eye drops)
8. Fragrance: methyl cellosolve, methoxyethanol (skin irritant, neurotoxin, developmental toxicant and possible DNA mutations): If an ingredient has just “fragrance” listed, this can include any toxic chemical and trigger allergies. Try to use products which list each fragrance ingredient so you can see exactly what ingredient it is.
9. Nanoparticles (untested ingredients that can penetrate cell walls and are highly reactive: found in lotions, moisturizers, make-up, sunscreen and more) …I did a small search on this website and even found some “organic baby skin products” containing nano “material” http://www.nanotechproject.org/

I use the EWG’s Skin Deep database to search for all my household products or to find baby products that don’t contain toxic chemicals. www.safecosmetics.org/skindeep

This post has been written with the hopes that you will make better informed, “healthier living” decisions by becoming aware of the chemicals in your products and to choose products without toxic chemicals.

We Love Persimmons

I’ve only seen persimmons four times this year in our local grocery store. It is a rare, mostly due to the fact that they have not been domesticated, but an exciting find for us because we just love persimmons. When we find them, in the store, especially if the price is right, we buy several and freeze them. You can freeze ripe persimmons without them losing their taste. Similar to the look of a tomato in shape and sometimes color. Usually the color is a deep orange to yellow. Color can also vary depending on the variety found in your local market. This fruit is sweet and non-astringent, if ripe. You should eat them before they are too soft but when you push in a little, to the touch.

Preparation: wash, peel (like you would a pear or apple), and serve. Sometimes, especially if washing under water, you can remove the peeling with your hands like you sometimes can with a kiwi. I’ve never come across a persimmon with seeds so the whole fruit can be eaten once peeled.

Some nutrimental value of the persimmon: Vitamin A & C, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, Carbohydrates, Protein

Major benefits of Persimmons: Help prevent cancer, used as home remedies for hemorrhoids, asthma, hiccups, lung infections, diarrhea and current studies showing it even protects cells against oxidative damage aka aging.

It is one of the fruits that I often pair with Iron for better Iron absorption. The American Persimmon packs in 66mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams compared to an orange which is 53mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams. However, the Oriental Persimmons are 40mg per 100 grams.