 For many, choosing clothes for their kids isn’t complicated. Whatever is available and inexpensive is the name of the game. Maybe those are the only considerations they have the luxury of making. But, for others, there are a few more factors that come into play: How long do I need it to last? What kind of value am I getting for my money? Is style important to me? How do I want to show up and support this industry? Having dressed two kiddos of my own and experiencing, first-hand, how quickly we jump from size to size, as well as what brands feel good while standing up to toddler play, I am becoming more and more aware of clothing waste, quality and source. This week, I had the pleasure of completing a guest post for Pingo Apparel, one of my favourite sustainable, eco-friendly clothing stores for children (plus some great pieces for mom and dad--check out the adult panthera sweater I'm sporting below). Head over to their site to learn 3 Reasons To Go Sustainable When Outfitting Your Kids. This year, more than ever, let's support businesses doing it right--who follow fair and ethical production practices and consider the long-term health of our planet. And, of course, support local when you can. Small businesses need us now more than ever. Related: 10 Things I Don't Buy Anymore
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11/24/2020 1 Comment Festive Chia Seed Pudding Recipe
+ One For The Grinch
It's not even December yet, but sign me up for some early 2020 Holiday cheer. I love me some Christmas baking, and I definitely have some in the calendar, but why stop there? There's no reason why we can't bring festivity to breakfast! With the classic combination of chocolate and mint, this chia pudding recipe is so simple and yet nutritious with a hint of decadence. Chia seeds are full of fibre, so if you (or your kids) are struggling with constipation, I love recommending making chia seeds a regular part of your diet. You can enjoy them as a pudding, like I am here, you can throw them in a smoothie, in oatmeal, in pancakes, or even in your water bottle. That gelatinous goodness is a great way to get those bowels moving! They are also a wonderful source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. Truly a superfood. 
Related: 5 Holiday Nutrition Survival Tips
Learn how to enjoy your holiday meals without feeling the stress of added indulgence.
To create the mint flavour, I used Doterra peppermint oil, which is one of my most-used oils. It's amazing for baking, but I also diffuse it on the regular and use it as an afternoon pick-me-up by putting a drop in my palms, cupping my nose, breathing in deeply and then rubbing the rest on the back of my neck. It wakes you right up! I used this trick all the time when I was pregnant and limited to a small amount of caffeine. It's ironic because you could never use an extra coffee more than when you're growing a baby. The exhaustion is like nothing else, but of course, only a very small amount of caffeine is suggested. So, peppermint oil is a great tool to have in your back pocket when you need a little kick to get you through the day. For this recipe, 1 to 2 drops max is all you need.
Ok, so this recipe isn't actually for The Grinch... just someone who doesn't like peppermint. And by someone, I mean Dave, who assures me that a dislike for peppermint is a thing. I didn't want to leave him out of the chia seed goodness, so I came up with another classic chocolate combination, using almond butter and banana. I have to admit, if we're talking day-to-day, this would definitely have to be one of my go-to chia seed pudding recipes. You really can't go wrong. The best part is that I was able to make the chocolate chia seed base, let it sit over night and then separate it into two servings and top them according to the varying preferences of my family members (even though I felt strongly that we should all be indulging in the festive recipe and maximizing the joy opportunity).
Don't feel like holiday decadence needs to be limited to dessert (although this chocolate chia seed pudding is so good, it could totally count as a healthy dessert). Add a little festive cheer to your morning and give this recipe a try!
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Eczema is a common skin condition that many people can relate to. And more and more, we are seeing it show up in our children. In fact, Authors, Kathrine Erlich, M.D. and Kelly Genzlinger, M.Sc., C.N.C., C.M.T.A. of Super Nutrition for Babies say that, now, 1 in 2.5 (40%) of children have allergies (often presenting as eczema), compared to 30% of adults.
I started to do a deep dive into eczema treatments when my son turned two months old and broke out in eczema from head to toe. It was an extreme case that, like it would any parent, caused me extreme stress. I worked very closely with my naturopath and paediatrician to get to the root cause, as well as treat his immediate symptoms. Today, Austin is 10 months old and is clear skinned and thriving. We still deal with a few patches of eczema here and there, but it is nothing compared to the case we were managing several months ago. And we did it naturally. So, how did we get here? First, it’s important to address how common eczema is today. Why is that and what can we do about it? The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care notes that there has been a major shift in disease patterns over the course of just two generations. Genetically, it would take thousands of years to change as much as we’ve seen. The authors attribute this shift to the many dietary and lifestyle changes that have occurred over the last 50 years. Children spend far less time outdoors, exposed to fewer germs and less dirt; they have fewer close encounters with peers and animals and live in highly sanitized environments. As a result of this shift in lifestyle, our immune systems do not get to flex their muscles as much as they need to fight microorganisms when they come along. We are far more likely to experience a negative immune response because of this.
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Using soothing oatmeal baths to help control inflammation.
Most people, when faced with the challenge of eczema, immediately turn to a cream or other topical treatment to heal a flare up. And although this can be helpful in the short term, it’s so important to understand that skin inflammation is a symptom of something bigger that must be addressed. Otherwise, you will forever be treating the symptom--a band aid solution to a larger issue. If a person’s gut flora is not thriving, due to things like a c-section delivery for babies, poor diet, a high amount of pro-inflammatory foods, additives in vaccinations not properly detoxed by the body, use of antibiotics, chloride and fluoride in water, etc. the cell-to-cell junctures of the gut are weakened. The villi become damaged and flattened and can’t do their job. Healthy villi produce enzymes called disaccharides, which break down foods like grains and milk products. Without them, digestion of these foods becomes difficult and the body gets run down with immune system dysfunction, allergies, rashes and asthma. We see holes or leaks in the gut lining, which allow allergenic proteins into the bloodstream. The immune response to these foreign bodies in the bloodstream can show up as--you guessed it-- eczema.
This helps us understand why going deeper than the skin outbreak is important in solving the problem of eczema. First, we must figure out why the body is having an immune response and begin there. For many people, this will be a trial-and-error process, as it was (is) for us. This can be frustrating, but a necessary part of the journey. If you’re experiencing eczema with your little one, know that your journey might look different than ours. But by sharing our story, you may have some fresh tools to try out or to talk to your healthcare team about.
"It’s so important to understand that skin inflammation is a symptom of something bigger that must be addressed. Otherwise, you will forever be treating the symptom."
Austin was born via emergency c-section, meaning he didn’t get that push through the birth canal that I had hoped for him, which helps populate a baby’s gut with healthy bacteria. So, even before his skin issues came about, I put him on a probiotic. I used this one. When his eczema began to flare up, I worked with my naturopath who also put him on a second dose containing additional bacteria strands.
He was exclusively breastfed, so knowing that what I was eating may cause him inflammation, I removed all dairy and eggs from my diet, common inflammatory foods. If your child is older and experiencing eczema, removing pro-inflammatory foods is a great place to start. These include: dairy, eggs, gluten, refined sugars, and bad fats like hydrogenated oils. Specifically in the case of foods like dairy and eggs, which may be a big part of your food culture, try removing for at least a month and then slowly reintroducing one at a time, to see if a reaction occurs. In Austin’s case, he still seems to have minor reactions to both of these foods in prolonged doses and will break out in a new (although, thankfully not severe) patch of eczema. So I continue to cycle them, trying small amounts at a time every few weeks. Since we know gut health plays a primary role in healing eczema, I put a lot of emphasis on feeding Austin nourishing, gut-healing foods. From the day he began food, I made meat/bone broth to feed him on its own, as well as mixed it into purees. By slow cooking organic bone-in, skin on chicken legs, it draws out important nutrients and minerals that are incredibly nourishing to the gut. He still loves my homemade broth and eats it regularly. I also use fermented foods and high quality oils to nourish the gut and skin, like flax seed and coconut oil, and use supplements like cod liver oil. With these protocols in place, we watched as Austin's healing began. 
A common dietary treatment for intestinal dysfunction like what I have described above is implementing the GAPS diet. This is a great place to start if you’re not sure where to start. The Weston A. Price Foundation lays this concept out well: “Whether we are talking about foreign food antigens (food allergies), or auto-immune reactions, the issue is not so much stopping the toxic skin reaction that results in the eczema, but rather sealing and healing the gut in order to stop the leakage of foreign proteins into the blood stream, either from food or other sources. Healing the micro-flora of the gut, healing the micro-villi of the gut, and stopping the absorption of antigenic proteins is the key to stopping the vicious cycle that results in chronic eczema. All of this points to the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet), the modified traditional diet, to start healing the gut and restoring the micro-ecology in our GI tract. From a epidemiological perspective, when we moved away from our traditional diet, with its emphasis on lacto-fermented foods, good fats, bone broths and properly prepared grains, we created the situation that has allowed chronic illnesses like eczema to flourish.” There are other treatments you can try to help the body detox like giving sea vegetables in capsule form, which bind heavy metals and other toxins and promote excretion through the bowels. If your child is vaccinated, you can use supplements that help boost the health of the body's systems and decrease inflammation from additives in vaccines that very commonly lead to eczema outbreaks (we use this one). Additionally, the authors of Nourishing Traditions suggest using a topical that includes Sephora as the primary ingredient, a shrubby plant used as an herb in Chinese medicine to counteract allergies by stabilizing the mast cells. And although many people turn to treatment options like steroid creams, although they control the symptom, they will never heal the individual suffering from eczema or fix the root of the problem. They may also lead to other negative side effects that complicate health later in life. Personally, we do keep a very low dose of cortisone cream on hand for any outbreak emergencies, but we use it sparingly and very infrequently with Austin’s long-term health in mind. Homeopathics are another option to incorporate into a treatment plan. We tried sulphur pellets with Austin, and although we didn’t see much improvement, others have had great success. You can also explore psorinum, graphites, and arsenicum album. In terms of treating the immediate symptoms (because no one wants to see their child in discomfort), here are a few topicals that we tried with varying degrees of effectiveness:
Again, this will be trial and error in order to find the topical that provides your little one with the most relief, but the key to comfort is to keep the skin hydrated and prevent any open sores. In the case of open sores in the height of Austin's outbreak, we used Correct-X by Doterra. This was a natural solution to prevent any infection and promote healing. 
If you or your child has eczema, know that you must begin the healing process from the inside out. Otherwise, you will forever be chasing the symptom. Gut health is paramount for long-term health and we all deserve to achieve this. If you are currently on this healing journey and would like a little more guidance, reach out to me. I would love to support you. 
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