My feature in Nov/Dec 2011 Natural Life Magazine – fermented foods and how to make your own small-batch sauerkraut.  

(originally posted in August 2010 – dusted off without any edits ) It seems like these days the breast pump has joined the ranks of baby registry basics: every new mother assumes that she needs one. Like most spaces where breastfeeding and consumerism meet, there are good and bad aspects to this. The fact that it’s automatic is a big YAY!: it means that breast milk is what mothers assume their babies will drink. But breast milk doesn’t equal breastfeeding – and there are important [...]

Toronto’s Conscious Food Fest came across my twitter feed this week and when we were wondering what to do on Saturday afternoon, it seemed like a perfect fit for a sunny afternoon. As it worked out, it would have been worth it even in the rain – history lesson and all! The festival isn’t exactly kid-focused – though there were a good number of kids there and the Real Food for Real Kids tent had some cool activities. Isabelle and Tom had fun grinding their [...]

CDC says hospitals not promoting breastfeeding: With only 3.5% of facilities having at least 9 of the 10 baby-friendly steps, you can see how they came up with this headline. But it’s actually worse than this – because in fact, it’s very likely that hospitals are promoting breastfeeding. They tell mothers about all the “benefits” of breastfeeding and all how very important and normal breastfeeding is to their infant’s short- and long-term health. And then they take none of the steps that have been shown [...]

Smack! The sound of a palm striking flesh is such a distinct sound – clean, sharp, focusing. Even in a busy restaurant, it stung my ear and I looked across to the little hand – the chubby, dimpled one of a toddler who reached for an empty wine glass. Now, I was exhausted after five jam-packed days at BlogHer. I was eating alone reading news on my phone because I was schmoozed out and needed to feel a little bored. I was missing my littles [...]

We got to eat the first of @girlmeetsfarm ‘s beautiful chickens tonight. It was delicious, as you might expect from a chicken raised in a such lovely setting by Susan and her husband, Chris on Bakin’ Dance Farm.  

This is the first in a series that I have had percolating for a while: the stuff that women need to know about breastfeeding because no one else does. If maternal and infant health was really a priority and breastfeeding was really the norm, these posts wouldn’t be necessary because you’d either already know this stuff or wouldn’t need it to begin with. But neither is true (for now!), so settle in for a little anatomy lesson. Back in July 2007, I attended a session [...]

I’ve seen the ads for the Toronto Zoo’s overnight educational programme a couple times and decided to finally give it a try as mother-daughter adventure after my exam this week. At almost $200 for a single night for the both of us, it was a bit of a splurge and not something that everyone can spring for. The evening starts with a personal tour of the zoo’s African area with two well-trained guides, Chris and Sarah-Lynn. With kids ranging from about 6 to their late [...]

he was tucked into my Hotsling as a four month old… now he’s almost outgrown the SIZE 4 t-shirt I bought there.