I will say I am saddened by what I read. Birth has become such a medical procedure. What happened to the beauty of birth designed by God? I am not saying all medical interventions are completely unnecessary, as they have saved lives, but are they overused? And are we doing ourselves a favor to embrace them or should we avoid them?

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, nor am I giving medical advice. I am just a mama sharing evidence-based articles so other mamas and mamas-to-be may also learn and make educated decisions of their own.

1. This is a great article of 10 decisions parents must make concerning their newborn. Decisions like delayed cord clamping, koala care, eye ointment, Vit k injection and more. I love that she gives both sides and is not biased in her delivery.

2. Consumer Reports even chimed in. They have a list of 10 pregnancy/birth procedures to avoid, as well as a list of 10 things to do when you are pregnant. One of those things includes considering a midwife. So excited to see such a list from a more mainstream media. The fact of the matter is of all developed countries, the US has the highest infant mortality rate. While no one is sure why, it is true that the US has the highest medical interventions of these countries. Poor diet, obesity are other factors that have been tossed around.

3. Delayed cord clamping. Did you know that 1/3 of the baby’s blood volume resides in the placenta at the time of birth? That blood is the baby’s, so should have the rights to it, but immediate cord clamping has become common practice. Here is a great article debunking common myths about cord clamping. Even the World Health Organization recommends delaying cord clamping. Some recommend delaying 3-5 minutes, others recommend waiting until the cord stops pulsating, usually 10-15 minutes. Others decide on a Lotus Birth where the placenta stays attached until the cord and all fall off on its own. Now, I personally can’t see toting around a placenta and a baby for that long, but this is a common practice in some countries.

I will be posting more articles, but right now, this mama is too tired to think anymore!

I used:
2 onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 box vegetable stock (organic)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp basil
1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes
4 cups of water (use more as needed)
4 cups organic mixed frozen vegetables (green beans, peas, carrots, edemame)
1 1/2 cups frozen black eyed peas
8 oz pasta (optional, but you’ll want to add a little more water if you do)
4 medium potatoes, diced

In a large stock pot, heat 2 tbls oil. Sauté onions until tender, during last minute, add the garlic. Then add vegetable stock and other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour (or longer to let all the flavors blend together more). Next time I am going to try fresh celery (and eliminate the celery seed), and sauté with the onions. Either way, this soup was yummy!

Create your own lunchable. Ham and cheese slices, whole wheat crackers, organic Oreo, strawberries, grapes, yogurt.

Same for my boy…with popcorn too

Oranges, ham, carrots, strawberries, grapes, chocolate covered pecan.

Pizza quesadilla, pears, strawberries, carrots, kiwi.

Same for my son.

Pizza quesadilla once more, kiwi, oranges, strawberry, pecans.

Pancake peanut butter and jelly sandwich, kale chips, grapes and kiwi.

Yogurt, granola, carrots, apple slices and peanut butter

Turkey on homemade whole wheat roll, red Bartlett pear slices, tangerine slices and Annie’s bunny Graham’s (from Halloween).

My son had mostly the same but with avocado and tomato on his turkey sandwich.

Peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls (used lavash), blueberries, pineapples, pears.

Same as above for my son only added cucumbers too. He loves them!

Pumpkin waffle sandwich with cream cheese and strawberry fruit spread, boiled egg, pineapple, and kiwi, oh and raspberry yogurt covered pretzels. She asked me to pack this lunch for her every day.

Son didn’t think he’d like the sandwich (not much he doesn’t like, so surprising), so I gave him a sample sandwich and cut his pumpkin waffles up and gave a little container of syrup.

Ham & romaine lettuce rolled in whole wheat tortilla, yogurt with granola, apple slices with peanut butter and water. Oh and a couple M&Ms my parents got the kids against my request (we are about to be hit with Halloween candy.)

Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat cut into hearts, orange slices, grapes and homemade sweet potato chips.

My son also had a PB&J on whole wheat but I cut his into a Mickey Mouse shape. And I ate the extras off their sandwiches… No waste!

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

Making your own lunchable with healthier options of real, minimally processed cheese, no hormone and nitrate-free meat (organic is possible), and whole wheat crackers make a better option. Certainly, a lunchable style lunch is a little more fun too.

It’s actually easy and not as time consuming as you would think. My DIY lunchable was Canadian bacon (ham) cut into triangles, cheese slices and whole wheat crackers. I also included yogurt, granola, strawberries, grapes and an organic “Oreo” for our special treat. Our drink was a treat too, took a break from our usual water and offered raspberry lemonade.

My son had the same, no granola, but I gave him a little popcorn.

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

OK, enough about egg benefits. Today’s lunch box contained a scrambled egg wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with a little Earth Balance “butter,” watermelon flower on bed of pineapple and grapes, fresh peach slices and carrot sticks.

The yummy treat is a pumpkin donut for her snack. The recipe is here.

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

With her pita pocket, I included grapes, a gingerbread man shaped watermelon slice, some fresh green beans and marinates asparagus. Our treat was a bit of pumpkin pie. She LOVES the asparagus. You can easily cut the asparagus into 1 inch sections and marinate in Garlic Expression dressing, however, I didn’t have time to go get this, so I created my own knock off version. I used roughly 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbls olive oil (canola may be better), 1 large minced garlic clove, salt, pepper, onion powder and celery seed to taste. I whisked it all together and let the asparagus marinate until we were ready to eat. She loves it!!

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

I packed her pumpkin waffles, maple syrup, boiled egg, Canadian bacon rolls and mixed berries. Pumpkin waffle recipe here. They are soooo good.

Today’s lunch was by request, it was a peanut butter and banana roll up, blueberry yogurt, pineapple and Pirate Booty. Pirate Booty you ask? It’s an all natural “popcorn” style snack with aged cheddar cheese flavor. Pretty good and no icky stuff, even if it is processed, but it’s an occasional treat so I don’t fret. Oh her little treat is chocolate covered almonds.

My son had the same only strawberry yogurt and no chocolate covered almonds.

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

Pizza bagel with all natural pepperoni on whole wheat bagel, orange slices, fresh pineapple chunks, honey Dijon almonds and a few chocolate chips as a treat. I made the pizza bagel with a whole wheat bagel, used a heaping tablespoon of natural pizza sauce, arranged pepperoni on top, then shredded desired amount of mozzarella on top of that. I put in the toaster oven on 400 for a few minutes until cheese was melted. Whaalaa! Lunch!

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.

She had rice and beans (rice, black beans, onions, with bits of sausage and bacon). Plus peanut butter and strawberry jelly roll ups. The apple was her snack.

Today my son packed daddy’s “concoction,” cucumber and cream cheese roll ups, tomato slices and plum slices. So you are wondering what concoction is? Something my husband invented after learning more about the Paleo diet. He (OK, I) take romaine (or other dark leafy green like kale), carrots, onion, bell pepper, cucumber and broccoli and run it through the food processor. Just use your desired amount of each item. We top that with sun dried tomatoes, sun flower seeds, apple cider vinegar, tobacco and sometimes extra virgin olive oil. My son usually prefers it without the ACV, so basically just eats a bowl of shredded veggies! And he absolutely LOVES it.

See other lunch box ideas.

Keep checking back daily for more healthy lunch ideas.