Tuesday, October 19, 2010

New blog name

Well, in another 3 months we will no longer be L & C Plus Three, but we will be Plus Four... so any ideas for a new blog name, let me know!

Friday, September 3, 2010

News!

NEW House:




And soon to be NEW Baby:



That's all the news I have for now. Between the house and the baby on the way and school starting, it has been busy, but all very good!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

July

Why is summer going so fast?? We thought it would be a fairly quiet, relaxing summer... and instead we have been incredibly busy. We've had a great time and the weather has been beautiful. The girls really enjoyed the 4th of July, fireworks, and the re-introduction of cheese and milk this month. It was a good experience to try to go vegan, but definitely not something we are going to try permanently at this point in our lives.

Here are some new pictures, and we will be posting some exciting news soon... !!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Calcium

The next most common question we get is in regards to Calcium. Oh my! Without MILK, how on earth can you get calcium? The milk-calcium connection that everyone has learned is drilled into our heads every day. Got Milk? I can assure you that we are not giving up milk permanently, but even in doing so for 30 days really changes the way that I view it.

Surprisingly there are many healthier options for getting Calcium.

Calcium Requirements:

Toddler: 500mg
Preschool Age: 800mg
Older Children: 1300 mg
Adults: 1,000mg per day

These are very rough numbers. The requirements are much debated. I've also heard that as a society, Americans consume the most amount of calcium, but also have tons of problems being deficient. How can that be? When your body is highly acidic, it leaches calcium from your bones. So, for example if you drink pop I've heard you can almost never get enough calcium. I've also heard that osteoporosis is a made up disease that does not really exist.... More on that later.

Other shockers:

1 cup rice milk has the EXACT SAME amount of calcium as cows milk! 300 mg per cup

Other good sources: White beans, Oatmeal, Broccoli, Oranges, Sweet Potatoes

Monday, June 7, 2010

Protein

The most common concern we got when we originally went vegetarian was about how we would get enough protein. I definitely did a lot of research before we changed our diet to make sure we could easily get enough nutrients.

I have always been tempted, but never had the nerve to reply by asking "where do you get your protein?" "Where do you get your vitamin A or iron?". What nutrients are in that fast food burger you are eating? What chemicals are in that so-called nutrition drink? Etc., etc., etc.

Apparently when people make changes for the better it really opens doors for attack, but if I did the opposite and really questioned people directly about their diet, that would be rude, right? I very commonly state my opinions about health & wellness issues, but I never have asked another parent directly about a specific nutrient or vitamin source for their children. I find it very interesting... I guess the obvious reason for this is that if you go with the flow, even if the "flow" is toxic sludge, then you are fine... but do something different than the norm and be prepared for the onslaught of questions.

To talk about protein sources specifically, here are some facts:

Protein Requirements:

Baby: 13-14 grams
Toddler: 16 grams
School Age: 24-45 grams
Adult: 50-60 grams

Sources for protein:
Quinoa: 24 grams
2 TB Peanut Butter: 8 grams
Kidney Beans: 8 grams
Lentils: 9 grams
Chickpeas: 10 grams
Split peas: 8 grams
Brown rice: 5 grams
Pasta: 7 grams
Avocado: 3 grams

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Veganism, Day 1



Day 1 Success! It really is more of a mental battle then anything else. The kids addiction to cheese is going to be difficult to break. We did completely cheat for breakfast because I had breakfast with my sisters and Dad and we had pancakes. Okay, so we started the day with what surely contained some milk & eggs... BUT, we did not have a glass of milk or scrambled eggs. Our goal is 75% vegan, we are not trying to drive ourselves crazy. I don't want to cheat like that again due to lack of planning!

Elise had a few requests for dinner- Mac & Cheese or Pizza. lol! She also REALLY wanted some ice cream. This is going to be a long 30 days with requests like this everyday coming from the kids.

Our new item for the day: vegan ice cream. We tried some rice dream "ice cream" a few weeks ago and the kids weren't too keen on it (I wasn't either). In order to try something different, we bought coconut milk ice cream sandwiches and they were YUMMY! They were delicious and tiny, yet surprisingly satisfying.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Laughs for Lilly


If you live in the Columbus area, please mark your calendars!!

Life Community Church is holding a family fundraising event on June 5, 2010.



Hours: 10am-7pm












  • Lots of SHOPPING!
  • Door Prizes!
  • Face Painting
  • Snacks
  • Visit from Norwich Township Fire Station
  • All Day Scrapbooking Event! (9am-9pm)
  • Bouncy House
  • Visit the Chick-fil-A cow!
  • Clippers Mascots!
  • Make a get well card for Lilly!
There is something for everyone at this event and it is all to support a good cause! The money raised will go to the Webb family, and they will donate 10% to Kids 'n Kamp. Lilly is doing great, but the family needs help to cover the cost of missing work during her times of treatment. She was diagnosed in March with Leukemia (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) at the young age of four. She goes to our church and I decided I wanted to help and organize a fundraiser for the family.

Kids 'n Kamp supports children with cancer and their families with counseling, family outings and activities, tutoring and more. To visit their website go to: www.KidsnKamp.org.



For updates on Lilly, please visit:
www.CaringBridge.com/visit/lillywebb

For more info on the fundraiser, please email me at: lyndsiobrien@sbcglobal.net

Friday, May 14, 2010

Vegan Challenge

Our family has decided to challenge ourselves this summer, similar to what we did in 2009. Last summer we chose to do a 7-day technology free week. No tv. No cell phones. No internet. I think I like depriving myself of things, it is fun. :)

This summer, we are again canceling our cable indefinitely. I can't do without all technology due to my business, but I want to stay off facebook and not watch tv, etc. There really is no need for these things anyways, and summer is a perfect time to cut back or give it up entirely and spend more time with family!

Our big challenge for the summer is to try to go vegan for 30 days. Now that we feel it has been fairly simple to go vegetarian (giving up all meat), we are going to take that one step further and cut out dairy and eggs too. This might have to be a 90/10 situation where if we are eating something one time and it has one teeny tiny ingredient we are not going to stress about it. But, for the majority of the month we are going to try to avoid all animal products. Plus, to make it even more challenging, we also avoid soy in all products. This is an ingredient I've been staying away from for a while. If you pick up any processed food in your house, it probably contains soy. If it is a conventional product then the soy is most likely genetically modified. Also, soy can mimic estrogen in your body. Did you know that soy formula is banned in some countries? I have read that a baby that drinks soy formula is taking in the equivalent of several birth control pills every day! I do not like to eat things that mess with my hormones, just like I don't put things on my skin that mess with my hormones. A lot of "fake" meat, cheese and milk products contain soy.

I do not want to replace animal products with processed junk food products. The goal is to find healthier options, eat more vegetables, grains and nuts. Whole, raw, organic food is always our goal!

You are probably wondering why. Yes, we all care about animals and that is a great reason! My main reason is to see how we all feel! I have heard that if you go vegan, even for a few weeks you won't want to go back. Maybe we will feel so fabulous getting all that cheese and butter out of our systems that we will want to incorporate more vegan meals into our normal routine. We'll see.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is not working out very well for most people. We are striving to try something different.

It is a challenge.
It is an experiment.

Wish us luck!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Food Revolution

Before we cancel our cable again, I decided I had to check out this new show- Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

"Welcome to the world of American school food, it's shocking!"

Jamie Oliver is a british chef who has decided to come to the US to try to change some of our eating habits. This first episode was focused on children and school lunches. He visited Huntington, West Virginia, the "unhealthiest" city in the US.

When he arrived and went to a local Elementary school he was met with some very defensive and offended lunch ladies and some students who were being served PIZZA and CHOCOLATE MILK for breakfast!

Everything the school served was processed. His message to the parents of these children: "If I were you, I would be really pissed off!"

The head cook Alice Gue said "He's thinking we should do more 'fresh', there's no way".

Jamie went to a local church to finally find one person in the city who was on his side.
"How we treat our bodies matters to God... Honor God with your body". The pastor Steve Willis explains to his congregation that the CDC reports Huntington as the most obese city in the world. he can go through the church directory and point out person after person who has diabetes, other diseases, recently had heart attacks, etc.

The end of the show cut off due to the breaking news on the healthcare bill, but I set the DVR to record the entire show on Friday on ABC.

Spring is here!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Amy Butler





I had the pleasure of meeting the very famous Amy Butler!

She is an artist who designs fabrics and sewing patterns. She just so happens to be from right here in Central Ohio, but her fabric is sold worldwide.

She visited a local fabric store and I was able to go with my mom and meet her! I even bought one of her books to have her sign it!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Snow Days!




We are enjoying our FOURTH snow day of the year today!







Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy V-Day!

The girls have "crazy" hair for Awana tonight!

Corey's craft project! :)


Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Corey and I celebrated on Saturday by going to the #1 ranked vegetarian friendly restaurant in Columbus. It is called Dragonfly and we went for their lunch buffet. Really, the buffet was the bread, soup and salad, then you still pick your entree. It was very good, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the vegan items were also. Corey tried the "Mac & Cheese" which was actually couscous. I tried the Vegetable Risotto. It was Yummy!! Very expensive for just lunch, but we really enjoyed it and it was nice to have a quiet meal, just the two of us!


Corey at Dragonfly


Thursday, January 28, 2010

New blog

Since I am overloading this "family" blog with a lot of articles, I decided to create a new blog!
It is still under construction, but here is the info-

It is called: HarmLESS Beauty
LESS toxins
LESS carcinogens
LESS hormone altering chemicals

Beauty should be harmless not harmful!

www.harmLESSbeauty.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Scientists 'hide formula risk'

In case 100 reasons to breastfeed are not enough, here is another one.
This article below says that researchers often "shy" away from talking about the health risks associated with formula.

The article states "“This is not helping properly informed health professionals and mothers,” Dr Smith said. “We looked at the findings of nearly 80 authoritative studies, all of which highlighted that formula-fed babies tend to be at higher risk of poor health than children fed on breast milk.""

For the full article see:

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20091003-18890.html

Thursday, January 14, 2010

"Safe for Kids" ???

"Wouldn't it be nice to relieve your child's itchy skin without a prescription?"

Yes, it would, but it would also be nice to relieve it WITHOUT subjecting your child to dangerous chemicals that cause cancer, reproductive problems & neurological problems!!



Please excuse my messy handwriting on this ad, but I got out my permanent marker to write down the overall score off the Cosmetics Database, and it was such a new product I had to look up individual ingredients. Here is the full list, straight from Curel's website- (http://www.curel.com/itch_defense.asp)

Water, glycerin, petrolatum, tapioca starch, cetearyl alcohol, peg/ppg-17/6 copolymer, behentrimonium chloride, dimethicone, isopropyl palmitate, propylene glycol isostearate, cyclopentasiloxane, ppg-15 stearyl ether, cetyl-pg hydroxyethyl palmitamide, bis-methoxypropylamido isodocosane, panthenol, tocopheryl acetate, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, methylparaben, propylparaben, benzalkonium chloride.


Pretty disturbing to say the least. How on earth is this product given the "Seal of Acceptance"?

I guess the National Eczema Association does not care if a product marketed to children contains ingredients that are banned in other countries!!


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Tips for Safe Water

You can look up your tap water and see what pollutants are in it, and how it compares to the national average!

Here is the link for the City of Columbus water supply:

http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/whatsinyourwater/OH/City-of-Columbus-Department-of-Public-Utilities/2504412/

What is so amazing to me is how many of the chemicals listed in a lot of our tap water are common ingredients in our products such as forms of pthalates from plastic or "fragrance", or pesticides from farming. We could all do a small part in helping this situation. Think about the chemicals you dump down your sink every day while you shower, wash your face, and wash your clothes & dishes. If we all used non-toxic products think of how much of a difference that would make!

EWG found 38 contaminants in 10 popular brands of bottled water. It is best to drink filtered tap water.
  • Use stainless steel water bottles
  • Check your city's water
  • Make sure to use fluoride-free, filtered water for your baby bottles if you use formula