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Allergy Friendly Pancakes

February 1, 2010 By Wendy 15 Comments
When my two year old daughter was 14 months old she was tested for allergies. We discovered that Lani is allergic to eggs, dairy, and beef. Just a few weeks ago she was retested during her one year checkup. We were pleased to find out that her egg allergy is pretty much non existent. The next words out of the allergists mouth were that her beef and dairy allergies had worsened. WHAT?

We now have to be even more careful with Lani’s allergies and diet. She used to be allowed milk baked into foods such as pancakes, waffles, cookies, etc. since her allergy wasn’t too severe at the first appointment. Now she can have NO dairy in her food at all.

With this in mind I went in search of a pancake recipe that was allergen friendly. For each recipe I needed ingredients that I didn’t have in my cupboard or refrigerator. So, I decided to adapt one of the recipes in my old cookbook. I used an egg replacer that I found online last year when we first found out about Lani’s allergies. Here is the recipe: [Read more...]
Filed Under Breakfast, Food, Health Tagged With allergy free breakfast, allergy-free, allergy-free pancakes, breakfast, healthy living, recipes

10 easy ways to incorporate green living within your family

August 30, 2009 By Mom Spark 8 Comments

sunf

There are many ways to make a difference. Recycling is one major well known way to reduce waste and help the environment at the same time,  but there is so much more we can do! I have put together 10 easy ways to incorporate green living within your family

1. Buy local produce.

There are so many wonderful local farms and farmer’s markets in most cities and towns. Not only is it more nutritious but it tastes so much better than produce that has traveled long distances.  Food travels an average distance of 1500 miles so buying local also reduces our petroleum usage.

2. Use cloth diapers and/or reusable feminine products.

This is a huge waste reducer!  The average amount of diapers used from birth to 2 1/2 years will equal an estimated 6,500! This is based upon an average of 7 – 8 changes/day (10 – 11 for newborns and between 5 – 6 for toddlers

An estimated 16,800 sanitary pads or tampons will be used within four decades just from one woman. That is 250 to 300 pounds of waste! In just the United States alone, around 12 billion pads and 7 billion tampons are thrown out every single year. The problem is, many women have never heard of reusable feminine products. and there are many different options out there. Reusable cloth pads have been gaining ground as have products such as The Diva Cup & The Keeper. Etsy is another great place to find well made organic pads.

3. Eliminate plastic bottles as well as plastic containers and use stainless steel products as substitutes.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the dangers of plastics. Reusing plastic bottles can leach toxic chemicals such as BPA in your water. BPA has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. BPA has also been known to have an adverse affect to children’s developing systems. [Read more...]

Filed Under Family, Health Tagged With green living, healthy living

Why I Created Mom Spark

July 19, 2009 By Mom Spark 23 Comments

amy-retro

Since this issue is floating around the blogging scene right now, I thought this post would be appropriate to share with you.  I wrote this a few months ago when I was suffering from MAJOR burnout and obviously needed to refocus my blog and myself.  Feel free to share your thoughts.
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One night over dinner, a friend asked me, “So, why did you create Mom Spark?” My first response was, “Well, I thought it would be fun.” The conversation then quickly moved on to other normal topics in our lives and I had forgotten the  whole “question” until later that evening. Why did I create Mom Spark?

Mom Spark was originally set up as a community blog, where anyone (hopefully a mom) could jump on and post whatever they wanted. Of course, in the beginning, this was mostly done by good, or soon to be, local friends of mine who liked to offer tips, recipes, and pics of their kiddos. It was fun, but was that the only reason why it was there? Not hardly.

I needed Mom Spark. Why? Because I was an overwhelmed SAHM of a difficult newborn, a strong-willed eight year-old, and a wife of a husband who worked a lot. Need I say more? I NEEDED the companionship, advice, and support from other moms, even if I had never met them in “real life.” It became my therapy; my way of connecting with the world amidst the chaos in my head, home, and heart. Please let me note that I LOVE my children/husband and WANT to stay home with them and NEVER regret doing so AT ALL, but when I started Mom Spark, I especially needed that extra boost of confidence, assurance, and HOPE.

When I first took a look at the mom blogging world scene, I was very impressed. There were so many lives being shared, spirits being lifted, and good being done that I had to be a part of it. I wanted to learn the ways of the “mom blogger” and begin my journey, but did I loose my mojo along the way? In some ways, yes, I think I did.

I soon believed that in order to become a good mom blogger, I needed to host several reviews, giveaways, and paid posts. I worked hard to attain these goals, and was successful, but why did I feel they were necessary? There is nothing wrong, at all, with reviews, giveways, etc., and I trust a mom’s opinion over anyone else, but why was I trying to fit a specific mold? I started looking at Mom Spark as a business more than my therapy, and I needed my therapy back. I didn’t want to be like everyone else, or at least the ones I thought I wanted to be like. It just wasn’t ME. Did this mean I would never hold a giveaway or review again?  Not at all! Would I hold as many? Probably not.

I felt like I had failed my followers and readers because they deserved so much more from me as a blogger. My heart had been closed due to worldly distractions and my obvious family obligations, and if it weren’t for my outstanding contributors, this blog would have been hanging from a thread.

I appreciate each and every one of my contributors, and you, the reader, for continuing to support Mom Spark and me. I am on a new journey to not only “spark” new conversation and ideas around here, but to be true to myself and YOU.  YOU are what keeps me going. YOU are my social outlet. YOU are my friends.

Thank you for listening, as always.

-Amy

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Filed Under Amy, Blogging, Contributors, Family, Health, Help & Advice Tagged With Blogging, healthy living, reflections