Girl, you know black folks don't...

You know, over the years as I've explored ways of living naturally I've had my "blackness" questioned many times by my own people. When I became a vegetarian, I got comments like, "Girl, as much poke (pork) as black folks eat? You gonna want some fried chicken in a minute!" Some people genuinely didn't believe me and would encourage me to just "eat the sausage" anyway. When I stopped chemically straightening my hair, people would say, "You'll never get a job like that. You know [white] folks won't take you seariously if your hair is nappy." Not surprisingly, when I got pregnant and started to embrace more natural parenting methods like low-tech birth and cloth diapering, I got comments like, "You're gonna get sick of them cloth diapers," or "Most women have an epidural. Your mama had an epidural. You'll be hollaring for that epidural, watch!"

I've learned it's not my "blackness" that they question. It's the appearance that I think I'm too good to do what my people had been doing for years. Why isn't the way we've always done things good enough for you?

Thankfully, I find that most people I know who are of my generation support natural, eco-friendly living and many practice it themselves. It seems I mostly get the sideways comments from my elders, sadly. I was speaking with a lady in my church who saw me feeding my daughter some Happy Baby Organic Apple Puffs.

She told me she would tell her daughter-in-law about them because she's so "picky" about what her child eats. I could hear the condescension in her voice when she said, "picky." It made me laugh, because I'm that "picky daughter-in-law" who feeds her baby organic food, breastfed exclusively for 5.5 months, wears her regularly instead of using a stroller, only uses cloth diapers, and prefers not to let her have table food or certain snacks until she's a year old. I smiled, looked her in the eye, and said, "She should be picky."

The funny thing is that when you set out to do things naturally and are successful, the elders are often amazed. When we visited family in Ohio the other weekend, I swear I brought Layla's entire diaper stash with us. My aunts and uncles marveled at how far cloth diapers have come and how easy it was to work with them. They were sure we would have given up on that by now. But seeing how we raise her naturally, and seeing how healthy, happy, and well-adjusted our daughter is, they understand it now. My aunt even told me she was proud of me.

Eventually, the elders accepted my diet and have seen how heartily I can eat with no meat on my plate. They got used to my hair and even begged me never to cut it. And now when they see how we raise our little tree-hugger, they seem to get it. Maybe these new-fangled black folks with their new-fangled ideas and practices might have something here.

Layla's Favorite Home-made Baby Foods

Mrs. Cocoa Confections asked if I would share my experiences with making home-made baby food. I have to give credit where credit is due... I get a lot of my recipes from http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. They not only have great recipes, but they also tell you about the nutritional content of different foods and when they should be introduced. Definitely worthy of a bookmark if you intend to make your baby's food yourself.

Here are some recipes Layla likes:

Sweet Potatoes
I prefer to bake her sweet potatoes, mainly because I can leave them in the oven, run off to do something else, and they never burn because the delicious smell always lets me know when they're ready. Plus if you bake them a little longer than you intended, it usually doesn't hurt them. In fact, it can make them more tender and workable, not to mention sweeter.

To bake a sweet potato in the oven, scrub it very well with a brush under running water. Take a fork and poke holes in it for ventilation. Wrap it nicely in aluminum foil and bake it at 400F for about 45 minutes (I usually leave mine in for an hour).

Once you take it out of the oven, let it cool down and then cut it length-wise. The "meat" should be really mushy already and you can easily scoop it out with a spoon. If it's not mushy enough, wrap the potato up and bake it a little longer.

Scoop out the potato and spoon it into the Magic Bullet cup or food processor. You'll then add your water. When I use the Magic Bullet, I usually fill it with just enough water to be level with the sweet potato pulp. Remember, you can always add more water, but you can't take any of it away so add it gradually until you get the desired thickness for your baby. Blend it until you get an even consistency and serve it to baby!

Green Beans/Peas/Carrots
I use the same method for all of these vegetables, and Layla loves each of them. I use frozen veggies for the convenience, but of course you can use fresh veggies if you choose.

Take a small sauce pan, add about a quarter of a cup of water (you don't need much more because the vegetables have their own water), add about 2 cups of frozen veggies and bring them to a boil. Once you get a rolling boil, turn down the heat and simmer them for about 10-15 minutes or until they're tender. Cool them and puree them in the Magic Bullet or food processor, adding water until you reach the desired consistency.

Steaming your vegetables helps them retain their nutritional value, so you may prefer that method to boiling. You can also microwave, but I would not suggest microwaving ANY food for baby.

Those are just a few of the most commonly-used recipes in our household. Making baby food is really easy to do, and it's cost-effective as well. You tend to pay less for a big bag of vegetables than a bunch of jars/containers of prepared baby food. Remember, most baby foods can keep in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days, so plan your baby's meals accordingly. And if you plan to make your own baby food, it helps to invest in some serving-sized storage containers like these:

These are Stay Fresh Baby Food Containers and can be purchased at http://www.onestepahead.com/. Of course, you can always re-use old store-bought baby food jars and containers, which is what we do.

Well Mrs. Cocoa Confections and everyone else, I hope this helps you out!

I have a pet peeve...

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why some people regard organic foods as luxuries. I understand the price of some organic foods make them cost-prohibitive for many people. However, I don’t understand why food grown the way it’s supposed to be grown, free of some of the harmful additives commonly found in food, should somehow be reserved for only the most affluent of us.

For those who may not know, there is a program by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC. Their mission, according to their web site is “to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, & children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.” WIC is actually a very wonderful program that provides nutrition education and encourages new mothers to breastfeed. It also has a Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program that encourages the consumption of locally-grown foods from small farmers. It fills in the gaps for many women and children who may not otherwise have access to nutritional food and information.

For all the good it does, however, WIC has some shortcomings. It is a program of the Food and Nutrition Service, yet each state has its own individual guidelines on how to administer it. Currently, organic foods are not approved for WIC in most states. Some states may approve only certain organic foods, such as organic milk. My state, Maryland, currently does not include ANY organic foods on their WIC-approved list. While some state agencies have argued that organic foods are no better for you than non-organic foods, most states cite cost as the determining factor of whether or not organics are included in WIC food packages. And if you’re vegan, well, you may be even more out of luck because soy and rice milk are not on the approved list at all. I cannot stress the amount of good WIC does for the health of women and children, but I think they’ve dropped the ball here.

To fail to include organic choices on the WIC- approved list of foods is to tell “low-income” families they do not have the option of optimizing their health and well-being. Why should WIC families be excluded from potentially the most beneficial of foods, especially when there is research to support the assertion that organics are in fact healthier dietary choices? How can you tell a mother that because of her socio-economic status she cannot give her children every possible nutritional advantage? Many WIC families also receive food stamps, which can thankfully be used for organics and non-organics. But depending on your allotment amount, your food stamps may still not be enough cover the cost of organic choices. So, again, families are limited in their options.

Considering that one in 10 African-American mothers receive WIC benefits (as opposed to one in 16 Caucasian women), I’m even more concerned. Not only are organic choices off the table for most of these moms, but studies have suggested that WIC counselors are also less-likely to encourage African-American mothers to breastfeed. Therein lay the suggestion that WIC might even be systematically marginalizing a segment of the population in a very fundamental way – after all, if you don’t have your health, what have you? I know that’s a strong statement, but the fact remains that WIC could do a lot better by mothers and children, especially those who are African-American.

I’ll continue my thoughts a little later because I’m getting a little irritated just thinking about this. Perhaps we can vibe in the future about how to light a fire under the proverbial behind of WIC to get some of these things changed.