Health & Wellness

What’s Your Food Philosophy?

June 17, 2013

If someone had asked me this question a year ago, I would not have thought twice about my answer: I espouse the basic philosophy of Slow Food — that food should be good, clean, and fair. I talk more about these ideas on my FAQ page here:

I support the local food and wine movements and believe that farmers and food producers are key to a thriving civilization. While technology has linked the world and changed the way we eat, we must find ways to preserve and celebrate local and regional food culture, traditions, recipes, land, and seeds.

I’m still all about this. I buy from local farms and food artisans, farmers’ markets, and a local buyers’ club I launched four years ago. I’m a big fan of CSAs. I try to eat in season. I frequent farm-to-table restaurants when I can. I love traditional recipes and experiencing cuisines from other regions and cultures.

The Slow Food philosophy is definitely close to my heart, but recently it dawned on me that there’s a deeper belief that guides my food and recipe decisions, my thoughts about what I eat, and my actions. And it’s this:

Food is medicine.

When it comes right down to it, I eat for health. How it tastes, where it was grown, all of that is important to me — but it ultimately comes second. I don’t eat as healthfully as I’d like sometimes– and I do treat myself — but this is my underlying approach to what I buy, what I eat, and what I cook. It’s what I nag my loved ones about. It’s what I read about. It’s the reason I have maca powder, chia seeds, and camu camu in my cupboard. It’s the reason I feel happy every day when I see my VitaMix. I don’t know why I’m just realizing that my dominant approach to food is through a health lens, but I suppose when something is intimately part of you, you don’t always notice it. For various reasons, health is one of my top values in life — and food is a major component of that.

I think it’s helpful to know your basic food philosophy, because it allows you to understand why you make the food choices you do — and why you may clash with others in this area, including people you love.

In your life, is food primarily about what makes your taste bugs sing? Is it about novelty and experience? Is tradition or culture or comfort at the heart of how you eat? Perhaps, when it comes down to it, food is a bothersome part of life you wish would go away so you don’t pay much attention to it. Most of us approach it in more than one way, but I think each of us has a primary philosophy that guides most of our decisions and choices related to food. What’s yours?

Image: Zoe Saint-Paul

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Postpartum Fitness

June 11, 2013

by Ann Waterman

Postpartum Exercise

I always count down the days to my first postpartum appointment so I can get clearance from my OB/GYN to start exercising again. Getting back into my workout routine after having a baby has become less about losing baby weight and more about feeling like my life is returning to some kind of normal — especially since it’s such an important part of my life, and even moreso now that I’m a mom.

Pregnancy and parenthood take a toll on your body — as evidenced by the stretch marks on my belly and the ache I have in my back from hoisting the infant carrier into to the car — and I feel it’s more important than ever to stay in shape, not only for my own physical and mental well-being, but also for my family, who benefit from a healthy mom. In spite of the growing demands of family life, I make it a priority to carve out a little time for exercise each week.

Even with the green light from my doctor, I need to slowly ease back into my workout routine postpartum, especially since I don’t work out at nearly the same intensity when I’m pregnant — not to mention I’m coming off 6-8 weeks of rest after giving birth to let my body heal. Here are a few of my favorite exercises to help my body recover from pregnancy and endure the rigors of parenthood:

Sahrmann Exercises

I don’t know about you, but gestating a baby for 9 months leaves my abdominal muscles a little shot. To get my stomach back into shape, I like to do Sahrmann Exercises, a series of 5 progressive abdominal exercises developed by Dr. Shirley Sahrmann especially for postpartum bellies weakened by the strains of pregnancy. I love these exercises for their gentle progression, and my tummy feels taut and strong in no time. (Now if I could only find an exercise to get rid of the loose skin, I’d be really set!) Here is a video of Kara Thom from Mama Sweat demonstrating these exercises. And in case you’re wondering, I’m still on Sarhmann exercise #4. Exercise #5 is a real toughie, I hear.

Squats

As you may recall, my recovery from my first VBAC delivery alerted me to the problem of Pelvic Floor Disorder and the importance of strengthening your gluteal muscles as a preventative (or even restorative) measure. Thanks to Katy Bowman, I made squats a regular part of my workout routine even during pregnancy. My hard work paid off, as I hardly had any problems with (ahem) leakage after John’s delivery. Naturally, I was quick to get back on the squatting bandwagon as soon as I was able. Here’s Katy demonstrating how to squat properly.

Postpartum Exercise -- John

Wrist Exercises

Supporting unwieldy newborn heads while nursing used to give me sore wrists until I found these exercises online. I don’t know that I actually had carpal tunnel, but these exercises worked like a charm, and I’ve been pain-free every since.

Walking

While I love to run, walking is what I like to do after having a baby since it’s so easy on my body. It’s especially nice to get out during those first few weeks postpartum when I’m home-bound and feeling a little cooped up; even a short turn around the block with the stroller can do wonders for my mental state. I’ll lengthen the duration of my walks in preparation for running, which I start as soon as my doctor gives me the go-ahead.

Postpartum Exercise -- John and Mom

Couch Potato to 5K

I’m not one of those ladies who can run marathons while pregnant. In fact, I can barely run a few feet without feeling like I need a potty break, so I just cut running out completely and switch to walking or using the elliptical machine after seeing those two little pink lines. After a 9-month hiatus, it would imprudent to start training from where I left off, so to avoid injury, I ease back into running using the Couch Potato to 5K training plan. I upgraded to a smart phone after Peter’s birth, and I’m in love with the C25K app, which tracks my runs and tells me my running intervals in real time — a big improvement over writing them on the back of my hand. If you’re looking to try running, or to get back into your running routine after an extended break, this is the program for you.

What about you? Do you have any exercises that help you get back into shape after pregnancy?

Images: Ann Waterman

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Why We Only Drink Water at Our House

May 28, 2013

by Ann Waterman

Pouring Water

A friend emailed me a while back to ask when I start giving my children juice. Apparently, a lady she met at a playdate expressed concern when my friend mentioned that she only gave her toddlers milk and water, remarking, “And your pediatrician hasn’t said anything about that?” Even though my friend’s gut told her that holding off on juice was the right thing to do, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t completely off-base.

I assured my friend that her decision was perfectly sensible and that her pediatrician would probably agree. In fact, I did, too. My husband and I made the decision long before our kids were old enough to spear a straw in a juice box that we would only offer water at home. It was something we felt strongly about for a variety of reasons and something we’ve been able to stick to in spite of food marketers’ insistence that juice should be a part of every well-balanced meal.

I have to confess that part of the reason for the juice ban stems from laziness: I’m not interested in cleaning up sticky juice stains from the floor or carpet. I don’t mind if the boys walk around the house with a sippy cup or bottle of water; if it spills, no big deal. The water-only rule also makes my life simpler: When we go out and the boys tell me they’re thirsty, it’s easy to find a water fountain or keep a water bottle on hand — they’re used to drinking it, so they never balk.

Another practical reason is space. With three boys and a husband to feed, fridge space is at a premium, and there simply isn’t room for jugs of juice. And because I’m cheap, I hate spending money on something that has little nutritional value when there’s a better, free alternative. To date, I’ve never bought my son juice boxes for his school lunch; he gets a stainless steel bottle of cool, refreshing water, and he’s never once complained.

Drinking Water

Aside from my own personal hangups with keeping juice in the house, though, the main reason we only offer water is for our children’s health. Experts agree that juice is mostly empty calories. If you haven’t had a chance to see Dr. Robert Lustig’s talk about why sugar — found in the ubiquitous juice box that so often replaces water at mealtimes — is one of the leading causes of childhood obesity, do yourself a favor and check it out. You’ll learn why he considers the sugar in juice not only empty calories, but toxic calories.

Getting our boys to drink water was simple: It’s all we offered when they weaned. Without sugary drinks to distract their taste buds, they quickly developed a taste for water. Now that they’re older, we make it easy for them to help themselves by putting out chilled bottles at mealtime and making cups easily accessible so they can get water from the fridge anytime.

Bottled Water

And to answer my friend’s original question, now that water has been established as the default beverage, I don’t mind if they have juice when we go out or if it’s offered at a party, because then it’s a treat. Even then, my boys will sometimes surprise me by asking for water instead.

Do you have any rules about sugared drinks in your home?

P.S. — In case you were wondering, we did try offering our boys milk when they weaned, but no dice: Neither of them would drink it, even after multiple introductions. They eat their weight in cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and sour cream, though, so I decided not to fight it, since those are all perfectly legitimate sources of calcium. In the end, it was more important to me that they drink water. Sometimes you have to pick your battles!

Images: Ann Waterman

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Book Tour Stop: Honey, Do You Need a Ride?

May 20, 2013

Today I’m participating in a virtual book tour for Jennifer Graham’s new book, Honey, Do You Need a Ride? Confessions of a Fat Runner, published by Breakaway Books.

“Fat” and “runner” are two things I’m not, but I love good writing, books that make me laugh, and inspirational stories — and Jennifer’s memoir is all that. If you’re a runner, or if you’ve ever aspired to run, you’ll love it. Her book speaks to anyone still trying to figure out how to get fit once and for all, or who has ever struggled with body image or a painful past.

I asked Jennifer to share a bit about her new book, and I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did.

Zoe Saint-Paul: Jennifer, this is a well-written and entertaining read — and I mean that in the best way, because you write about some painful stuff. Why did you write the book?

Jennifer Graham: First, thank you so much for your kind comments, and for having me here! The book grew out of an essay I wrote for Newsweek magazine a few years ago. The essay was called “Confessions of a Fat Runner,” and in it, I talked about what it was like to run my first half-marathon, feeling like a walrus among a herd of gazelles. At the time, it was a bit unnerving, but it turned out that walruses and gazelles get along just fine, and nobody stopped me and said, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

After that essay was published, I heard from a lot of people who are like me — runners who don’t look like the archetypical runner — and several of them encouraged me to develop the idea into a book.

I’m one of those readers who, halfway in, looked at your photo and thought, “Fat? What is she talking about?” I’ll grant that you may be bigger than your tribe of runners, but I’m surprised at the strong identification of yourself as fat (which you say began in childhood). Do you think a woman can truly change her body image?

Oh yes, I do, and it’s because mine changes every week! Fat is a state of mind, not a state of body. I know this because there have been times when I weighed 180 pounds and felt like a glob of mayonnaise in human form, yet there have been times when I weighed 180 pounds and felt like a feather. The reality didn’t matter. This is one reason I’m not a big fan of reality.

As for the photo, I’ll share a little story. When we were still brainstorming ideas for the cover of the book, a friend of mine who is a photographer spent a day with me, taking pictures of me running. When we tried to make a selection, every one I liked, she thought I looked too thin, and every one she liked, I thought I looked too fat! (We did wind up using one of those on the back cover, by the way.) Anyway, while a realistic picture of me might give more credence to my credentials as a fat runner, ego prevailed.

In running, you found a passion, an outlet, a way to cope, and something to achieve. How has running changed you as a person over the years?

How many hours have you got?

The first thing that comes to mind is a line from a song that’s on my running playlist, “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers. It’s this: “Man, I ain’t changed, but I know I ain’t the same.”

At a casual glance, my body hasn’t changed all that much. I’m still overweight, still can’t fit into clothes that I couldn’t fit into when I first started running. Look closer, though, and I see I’ve got legs that are as strong as Sequoias, I’ve got blood pressure that shocks and amazes my doctor, and I’ve got a resting pulse rate in the 50s, which is that of elite athletes. In short, even though I’m still fat, I’m undeniably fit.

Most importantly, though, running has made my default emotional state that of joy. This is not to say that I’m not ever despairing, or angry, or grumpy — I am those things, a lot — but those are the aberrations. As long as I’m running regularly, usually I’m stewing in contentment. That’s because the runner’s high is not just a state of euphoria that you experience on the road, but it stays with you long after you stop moving. In fact, sometimes it’s hours after a run, when I’m feeling all clean and relaxed and accomplished, that running gives me the most pleasure.

What are the spiritual lessons you’ve learned from running?

I read an essay on running this morning in which the writer said that when she runs, she’s running to God. I think that’s a beautiful way of expressing the spiritual side of the run. So many times, when I’m out there, it’s like I’m running from something…running away from the noise of my children, the mess in the house, painful memories of my divorce. But it’s true that runners are also running toward something, and often, it’s that big, inexplicable, holy thing that animates us, a thing that I happen to call God.

Has being a runner changed the kind of mother you are?

If I didn’t run, I know I would be a lot more explosive, a lot less patient, a lot less loving, a lot less willing to snuggle and read Harry Potter at the end of a long, tiring day. So there’s no question that it’s made me a better mother. And my kids are aware of it, too. When I start to get cranky, inevitably, one of them will say, “Mom, how long has it been since you went for a run?”

I’ve tried to like running and just can’t seem to do it. I’d rather be dancing or doing yoga or just walking. But you can’t beat a form of exercise that only requires a proper pair of shoes and the great outdoors. Should I keep trying since I like the idea of it, or do you think some people are just not born to be runners?

This question vexes me greatly, because I really hesitate to encourage people to do things that they hate! And if you find joy and fitness in dancing, then that’s your thing, and you should probably focus on that. But I do believe that the human body is meant to be in motion, and that it thrives from being in motion to the point of exhaustion. As William James said, “The strenuous life tastes best.” Also, I think there is great value in being able to run faster than zombies. Yoga will not help you at all with that. So running is not just a form of exercise, but a potentially life-saving skill.

What do you wish someone had told you about being a runner before you ever started?

That what other people think DOES NOT MATTER. That there will always be skinnier and faster people out on the road, but it doesn’t matter, because 1) they’re not paying any attention to me, and 2) if they were, they would ADMIRE me, because it takes a lot more courage for an overweight person to lace up and run down a public road than it does a skinny person. Fat runners are the bravest people I know.

What’s your current dream for your running life?

Well, I gained 10 pounds and got much slower over the winter, so right now, my dream is to get back to the level of fitness that I had just six months ago. Beyond that, of course, the Olympics. (Reality is highly overrated.)

Barring that, I would love to run the Boston Marathon, given that I’ve been a lowly spectator now for eight years. And I would really love to be competitive in my age group some day, although that may not be until I’m in my 90s.

How are your donkeys, Jo-Jo and Foggy?

Unfortunately, they’re still happy and thriving, and continuing to be a useless drain of resources on the family — kind of like teenagers who happen to bray. But they don’t seem nearly as much work since we got a Border collie, which constantly needs exercise and grooming and tooth brushing and walking, plus with the added negative of pooping on the basement carpet, something that donkeys never, ever do. So the life lesson is one that also extends to running: When something seems hard, just keeping adding more stress and pressure, and after a while, what you previously thought was difficult will seem easy. P.S. — I’m having a sale this week: Buy 100 copies of the book, get two free donkeys and a Border collie.

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Jennifer is just as hilarious and honest in person as she is in her book; you can read more about her here, and be sure to check out Confessions of a Fat Runner. A big thanks to Jennifer and her publicist, Emily Hedges, for asking me to participate in this book tour!

Images: Debra-Lynn Hook

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The Secret to Perfect Quinoa

May 14, 2013

by Ann Waterman

Quinoa

Quinoa has been a staple at our house ever since curiosity led me to pick up a box at the grocery store to help my family escape our starch rut of rice, couscous, and orzo pasta. It’s been a welcome addition to the dinner table that everyone enjoys — and it doesn’t hurt that it’s a high-protein superfood with loads of fiber and important minerals like iron and calcium. Sometimes it’s even the star of the meal, if I dress it up using a recipe like this from Lauren at CrumbBums (which incorporates spinach, tomatoes, and two kinds of cheese — oh my!).

Recently, though, my culinary world was shaken after coming across a post over at Alexandra’s Kitchen telling me I’ve been cooking my quinoa all. wrong. Gasp! My mistake? I was treating quinoa like rice, cooking it in a specific ratio of water until it was all absorbed. Instead, I learned I should be treating it like pasta, throwing it in a large pot of boiling water and cooking it for exactly 9 minutes. After straining the quinoa and letting it sit for a while to dry, it’s ready to eat.

The difference in the cooking treatment is dramatic. Instead of a mushy consistency (which I liked well enough until I tried it the new way), the quinoa is much more firm — almost crunchy — with a delicate nutty flavor that I hadn’t detected before. Inspired by this discovery, I created my own quinoa salad recipe to celebrate my enlightenment. And since I think good recipes should be shared, here it is:

Quinoa Salad with Corn, Tomatoes, and Roasted Pepitas

Quinoa Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa, prepared as described above (yields about 3 cups)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (I really like Trader Joe’s Pacific Northwest Super Sweet Cut White Corn — it’s also amazing in this sweet corn pudding)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup roasted pepitas (also from Trader Joe’s)

Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 shallot or red onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss the quinoa, corn, tomatoes, and pepitas together in a large bowl. For the dressing, whisk the red wine vinegar, shallots, salt, and pepper together in a separate bowl, and then whisk in the olive oil. Pour over quinoa mixture and mix gently until evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Whatever you do, don’t skip the pepitas: They add a delightful crunch and really make this salad. And for a great summer meal, serve it with chipotle-lime grilled chicken and watermelon, feta, and arugula salad with balsamic glaze. It’s definitely a company-worthy meal and dead easy to make.

What are your favorite quinoa recipes?

Images: Ann Waterman

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Why Is Breastfeeding So Controversial?

May 13, 2013

S&H With Their Babies

My blog post last Monday – and the explosion of comments that followed — got me thinking about why breastfeeding is such a controversial subject. I know that letting adopted preschoolers nurse is not exactly what anyone thinks of when breastfeeding comes up!, but the topic in general often generates strong reactions: Should you cover up or not? Nurse in public or not? Impose weaning or allow the child to wean? Climb Mount Everest to induce lactation or let it go and move on? Allow tandem nursing or not? When is a child too old? And when exactly do you go from loving, conscientious mother to big hippie weirdo?

Not everyone can breastfeed, but we all know that breast milk is nutritionally suited for children and that nursing is a powerful way mothers and children bond. Given this — and the fact that our culture’s sacred virtue is tolerance — why are discussions about breastfeeding so frequently fraught with emotion? And why does it make so many people uncomfortable? Here are my theories:

We’ve over-sexualized breasts.

In our culture, breasts are primarily sexual objects: They’re for sexual allure and pleasure. It’s not necessarily that breasts have been isolated from the rest of the body; we’ve over-sexualized the body in general, viewing it primarily through a sexual lens. We are sexual beings, of course, and breasts are part of a woman’s beauty, but that’s not who we are in our entirety. Our bodies allow us to act, to love, and to give — and we do this in so many ways. Elevating sexuality above everything else is a skewed way to live. If breasts are primarily sexual, it’s hard to see them as something meant for children. Which brings me to my next point…

We’re disconnected from nature.

How many of us live on the land? See animals giving birth and nursing their young? Grow our own food? I don’t (at least anymore). I live in the city, with concrete and steel around me, high rises and storefronts. The majority of us are removed from nature and the natural rhythms of life, and we’re often going so fast we’re not in touch with what’s happening in our own bodies. A woman’s breasts primarily exist to nurture any children she may have; any other purpose they have is secondary. For people disconnected from nature and the natural order of things, this can be a hard concept to grasp.

Walters Art Museum Piece

It’s a cultural thing.

I’ll never forget the story I heard from a Norwegian professor and former government official — a sophisticated, successful, intelligent woman — about the time she attended an important board meeting in the States…with her nursing infant in tow. In the middle of her presentation, he needed to eat — so she asked if they’d pardon the interruption, picked up her baby, and began to nurse. She didn’t realize this would be considered totally bizarre in America. (Needless to say, I would have paid money to see the faces in that boardroom…) Perhaps we’d be more open if we simply knew more about other cultures and how children are nurtured in other parts of the world.

Most people — including parents — don’t understand how bonding and attachment works.

Breastfeeding is not simply about supplying milk to a baby; it’s a way for mother and child to bond. It allows for skin-to-skin contact, physical closeness, and lots of eye contact. This helps a child securely attach to his or her mother, which affects the brain and overall development. (Bottle-fed children attach, too, but that’s because virtually the same thing is happening: The child is sucking a nipple while being held close.) If we understood the role nursing plays in bonding and attachment, we would be more open to the idea of older children wanting to “dry” nurse.

We’re insecure about our parenting decisions.

All parents want to feel like they’re making the best decisions for their children. I know I do. When other parents do things differently, it can sometimes feel like your own choices are being challenged, which can make you second-guess yourself and wonder if you’ve done the right thing — especially if it was a hard choice to make in the first place (such as deciding to go with formula after having trouble producing milk). We can easily feel judged if people in our circles — including online communities — make different choices. Parenting topics simultaneously touch on the most important thing to us — our kids — and the thing we feel the most out-of-control about: how to raise them.

So what do you think about my theories? Do they ring true to you? What would you add to the list?

Images: Zoe Saint-Paul, S & H with their babies and a Walter’s Art Museum piece

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Motherhood Is a Battlefield

May 1, 2013

No one told me motherhood would be so…treacherous. Not only did I spend the first four months of the girls’ homecoming sick with one virus or another, I’ve pretty much not been able to make it through a day without sustaining some kind of bodily injury. I’ve never had so many bruises and nicks, scrapes and cuts, sore muscles and achy joints as I do now. Is this normal?

Of course, it’s possible I may have been called a graceful klutz once or twice in my life. That, combined with the fact that our house is nine feet wide (so there’s always something in my way) — and that I’m not 25 anymore — probably accounts for some of the problem here. But as for the rest of it, I can only conclude one thing: Trying to be the best mom you can be gets you beaten up.

It all begins at night. Apparently we adopted a nocturnal gymnast: Her adorable little head may be asleep, but the rest of her body is doing a complicated floor-mat routine or trying to grab at some parallel bars. I’ve been punched in the head, poked in the eye, kneed in the pubic bone, hit in the face, kneed in the back, elbowed in the throat, pinched in the arm — all in the middle of the night while sleeping next to my daughters. (I’ve never been bitten, so at least I can be grateful for that.)

During the day, it’s a bit better, but I’m still lucky to make it to bedtime without something hurting. My legs always have bruises, my back is often sore, and my hips ached for about three months straight because I couldn’t lie in my usual semi-fetal position when I was sleeping with the girls — which was pretty much all the time. (Our new mattress has brought some much-needed relief here, thank goodness.)

Then there are my breasts. Surprisingly, they’re still here, in spite of being yanked, pulled, smooshed, pushed, stepped on, and subjected to other such treatments that are hard to describe — and for no other reason than they get in the way when my daughters decide it’s time to wrestle or play donkey or jump on me or climb over me.

Did I mention I’m a relatively small and delicate person?

B may have entertained the thought at one point that I was being a little melodramatic with my daily tales of injury — until he got an elbow to the hollow of his throat four times in one weekend and couldn’t swallow without pain. And while I am prone to exaggeration once in a while, I actually have medical proof that my body has been under siege: I was diagnosed with a hernia a few weeks ago. Medical consensus is that carrying around between 40-80 lbs for months on end is the most likely culprit.

None of these injuries is intentional: Our daughters are empathic little creatures who hug and kiss their mommy as soon as they notice she’s stubbed her toe again, cut her finger with another dull knife, or taken yet another finger in the eye. But they’re also active preschoolers whose hands and feet and legs end up in the wrong places on a constant basis. I just never knew I’d have so many injuries as a result of mamahood.

Am I the only one? Do you have physical injuries and scars from parenting?

Image: First Aid Flask by Cool Material. I think I may need to start carrying one of these at all times…

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Confessions of an Infrequent Coffee Drinker

April 23, 2013

I am not a coffee drinker and never have been. The sleep deprivation of motherhood hasn’t changed this, much to some peoples’ surprise. Even during my university years, I guzzled water to pull all-nighters (it really seemed to work!).

The weird thing is, though, I love the taste and smell of coffee. As a child, my favorite ice cream flavor was coffee. No other kid I knew chose coffee ice cream over chocolate or strawberry. Any chance I got, I chose coffee-flavored stuff. By any estimation, you’d think I would have turned into a big coffee drinker as an adult.

My big problem has always been the caffeine; it just doesn’t agree with me. It makes my already-fast ticker race out of my chest and gives me digestive problems. The caffeine in tea has a much milder effect, and I don’t notice anything when I eat chocolate. But coffee…it’s not a mutual love affair, unfortunately. (Decaf has never appealed to me because the process of making it usually involves chemicals.)

All that said, I’m suddenly tolerating coffee a little better in my old age, and over the past couple of months, I’ve been treating myself to a small cup or two on weekend mornings. I take it with cream and no sugar — but I like to drink it with something sweet in hand, like a pastry or even pancakes. I’m married to a big coffee drinker who’s experimented with more coffee makers and beans than anyone has a right to; his brews keep my house filled with a lovely coffee aroma, which also delights our daughters (who, true to their Ethiopian roots, love everything about coffee).

If you didn’t already know, Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. It’s the country’s pride and joy, as well as its biggest export. According to a fascinating (and gorgeously shot) travel piece in one of my favorite magazines, AFAR, Ethiopia has a greater variety of beans than anywhere in the world. By some estimates, 99% of the world’s arabica coffee can be traced to Ethiopia. When we were there, B and I drank coffee at various coffee ceremonies, which are an integral part of the culture there. He loved it — whereas I took small sips and then kept my eyes out for the bathroom.

I’d really like to try more Ethiopian beans, and luckily they aren’t hard to find (though the best stuff remains in Ethiopia). I tend to like medium, nutty, full-bodied roasts, and because it’s such a treat when I do sit down to a cup, I want the best. My favorite brand is Counter Culture, followed by a local cafe’s Mexican coffee, and the beans from another local roaster — Zeke’s. Organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee is important to me, since beans can be heavily sprayed (which diminishes their health benefits and doesn’t help local farmers as much).

I am completely fascinated with this BulletProof coffee recipe ever since a good friend raved about it. Have you heard of it? Crazy stuff like this always calls my name. Likewise, this past weekend, I made a java quinoa smoothie. Coffee and quinoa? I know — but it was tasty. Since I still don’t know how to brew a good cup of coffee, mine was too weak, diminishing the coffee flavor in the smoothie, and I added too much quinoa. Nevertheless, it was a pretty yummy — and nutritious — alternative to a hot cup of Joe.

Are you a coffee drinker? An aficionado or just a grab-and-go person? Got any favorite coffee rituals to share?

Images: Zoe Saint-Paul

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Postpartum Care Kit

March 19, 2013

by Ann Waterman

John and Mom

Before I had children, a friend who’d recently had her first baby confided in me that, while she had prepared for the pain of childbirth, she had not been prepared for the pain — especially the pain down there – that comes after childbirth. She couldn’t help but feel a little blindsided and wished someone had clued her in to the potential difficulties of recovery from a vaginal delivery — hence, her girlfriend-to-girlfriend talk with me.

I escaped that kind of pain with my first when I ended up having an unexpected c-section. Of course, I had a lot of pain in other places, but remaining intact down there was one of the few silver linings to what was otherwise a miserable experience. When I had my VBAC with my second child, everything was better about my labor and delivery experience. I did incur a second-degree tear, but thanks to my friend’s forewarning, I was more prepared to handle it.

One thing my friend warned me about were the frequent (and frequently painful) bathroom trips. Since these became more than just a quick stop, thanks to all the care involved in cleaning and tending the lady parts, I put together a portable kit with all the paraphernalia I needed to complete the task. For me, it was a real lifesaver to have everything close at hand, especially since our home has four bathrooms on three different floors; it saved me from getting stranded or having to yell for my husband to bring such-and-such an item. For further convenience, I also added some nursing supplies and medications to create a total postpartum care kit and used an old diaper caddy that had lots of compartments to keep things neat and organized.

Here’s what my caddy contains (along with a few helpful tips I’ve learned along the way) — though depending on your own postpartum needs, your kit may look slightly different:

Sanitary pads. This goes without saying. I keep an assortment of pads for both lighter and heavier flow.
Perineal bottle. This is the little plastic spray bottle they give you at the hospital to clean your lady parts with water whenever you use the bathroom; it helps avoid infection and irritation from toilet paper. If you tear, the affected area can also burn when you pee, so a stream of water sprayed as you urinate can greatly reduce the pain. (Warm water is best.) Another tip: Drink lots of water! At one point, peeing hurt so badly that I avoided drinking too much water to reduce my number of potty trips. That only made things worse, though, since it made my pee more concentrated, which stung more. (Re-purposing note: These bottles make great bath toys for the kids after you’re done with them!)
Hemorrhoid cream. As much as you hope they won’t happen to you, they probably will.
Witch hazel pads. These help cool and soothe the perineal area and hemorrhoids.
Arnica. A friend introduced me to this homeopathic remedy that’s supposed to help reduce bruising, swelling, and soreness — all things you’ll definitely experience in childbirth.
Stool softener. Only if you need it; otherwise, just make sure you keep up on your fiber intake.
Tylenol or other pain meds. Don’t be a hero: Take the dose recommended by your doctor until you no longer need it.
Prenatal vitamins. Babies can really deplete your vitamin stores, especially if you’re nursing, so be sure to continue taking these.
Nursing pads. Lansinoh are my favorite disposables; if you’re looking for cloth, Homestead Emporium makes some great ones.
Lanolin. Perfect for protecting nipples from the rigors of breastfeeding.
Hand-operated breast pump. This is helpful for pumping off a bit of milk to soften nipples when your milk comes in and you’re engorged, so baby can latch more easily.
Hair bands or ties. Keeps your hair our of your face when you’re nursing.
Lip balm. What can I say? It just makes me feel a little more human, especially when I haven’t had a chance to shower.
Kindle reader. At this point, you may not have any room in your care kit, but if you do, it’s nice to have during those late-night nursing marathons!

Experienced mamas, is there anything you’d add to this list? What made your postpartum recoveries smoother?

Image: Ann Waterman

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Surprised by Frugality

March 12, 2013

by Alissa Lively

Recently, in an effort to finally eliminate our student loans, my husband Dan and I decided to buckle down in the budget department. We’ve been doing intense debt repayment for a while now, but in the last year our dedication to the cause of financial freedom has wavered a bit.

We re-resolved to pare down our expenses and return to greater economy in our household. It’s been a little bit of a challenge (apparently recreational shopping does not deserve a line item — who knew?), but it’s also been extremely galvanizing. We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how a little frugality has helped us reorient our family to the slower way of life that we’re constantly aiming for. In the short time on our new budget, we’ve found a few positive aspects of thriftiness that have (almost) taken the sting out of some of our bigger changes:

Recommitment to Better Eating

One of our first alterations was to our grocery budget. Our grocery bills have been steadily increasing without a corresponding increase in the size of our family or our enjoyment of food. We realized that we could scale back, but we had to revisit some philosophical choices that we’ve made. When the only consideration is monetary, it makes it hard to justify buying a half-gallon of milk from grass-fed cows (as we’ve been doing) when a full gallon of regular milk costs less. It would be so easy to just pick up the full gallon and be happy with the lower bottom line at the checkout.

Instead, we had to sit down and reevaluate what food choices we’ve made. Discussing our reasons for purchases like grass-fed dairy, humanely raised meat, and local produce made it surprisingly easier to spend that money, since we’re not just considering the financial costs. It also made it much easier to cut out some of the junk that we’d slipped back into purchasing. As a result, our grocery bills are lower, we’re eating healthier, and we’re appreciating our food even more.

Lower Consumption of Resources

In order to lower our monthly bills, we decided to drop the temperature in our house a couple of degrees during the day and ten degrees while we’re sleeping. This might not seem like a lot to most people, but to me, it’s been a serious adjustment. I like to hang out in spring/fall-type clothing, regardless of the weather outside, and I keep my thermostat set to maintain this level of comfort year-round. However, after just a couple of weeks (I know, I’m a baby), I realized how ludicrous it is for me to walk around barefoot in the winter when a pair of socks will drastically reduce our use of the heater, not to mention save us a significant amount on our gas bill.

In addition to using less gas, we’ve started conserving energy by running our dryer as little as possible. Instead of drying every article of clothing that we own, we now reserve the dryer for socks, undies, and t-shirts only. Hanging up most of our clothes to dry was a pain at first, but now it seems silly to pay money and use electricity to do something that will occur naturally anyway. So, while we conserve electricity and save money, we’re cutting down on the wear and tear that machine drying causes, thereby extending the life of our clothes. Win, win, win!

Renewed Appreciation of Family and Personal Time

In trimming the little extras out of our budget, we’ve found happiness in unexpected places. Instead of picking up burgers on the way home after a long day, we make a quick breakfast for dinner and still have a family meal together around the table. We’ve cut down on renting movies, which translates into more family reading and game nights. And since we’ve been trying to walk more instead of driving, we’re not constantly flipping radio stations in the car. By eliminating the “time savers” and reducing some of the background noise in our lives, we’re more available to what we want to be focusing on anyway: each other.

I know we could have made all these changes without an eye toward saving money — but we didn’t. Refocusing our budget has helped us renew our commitment to some of the things that matter most to us: our family, our impact on the world around us, and our health. Definitely more than I expected from some attempted thriftiness!

What about you? Has budgeting or cutting back in other areas reaped unexpected rewards for you?

Image: Alissa Lively

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