The Pure Baby Loves SMOOTHIES!

The Pure Baby (PB) greatly enjoys eating and has a new favorite! PB absolutely adores smoothies! I have a lunch-time smoothie each day, and PB's sampling of my smoothie led to his smoothie love :)


The Pure Baby Smoothie

Ingredients:
2 bananas
3/4 cup frozen peaches
3/4 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons rice protein powder
3/4 cup milk

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in blender, in order listed - and then blend. Recipe will yield 1 larger mom-sized smoothie and 1 smaller baby/child-sized smoothie :)

First Day of School!

Today was our first day of homeschool!  We're getting an early start, in an attempt to have a year-round school schedule - which will allow us to take time off throughout the year.  We're not big hot weather/summer fans, so we will much more enjoy travel and trips during the cool and crisp seasons :)

Vaccines, Brain Changes, and Autism

Researchers from both the University of Pittsburgh and Texas' Thoughtful House Center for Children have found that infant monkeys who receive the vaccine schedule used in the 1990s have amazingly similar brain changes to those seen in children with autism. 

Through use of scanning techniques that evaluated brain growth and function, the researchers were able to observe distinct differences in the brain development of vaccinated versus non-vaccinated animals. 

Through the entire study, vaccinated animals were found to have an increase in total brain volume.  Interestingly, this is also a common attribute of children with autism.  After the 12 month vaccines, two notable findings were made: (1) the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with emotional response, began to show abnormalities, and (2) extraordinary differences were seen in the brain scans of the vaccinated versus the non-vaccinated animals.

Additionally, the study found that animals vaccinated with hepatitis B on their first day of life had delayed acquisition of vital brain stem reflexes, when compared to non-vaccinated animals.

The findings were recently published in the journal Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis. 

Barbecued Ribs, Part 2

For the Fourth of July, my husband cooked another dinner of barbecued ribs!  Another messy, yet fun, meal :)  Here is a recipe for another Feingold Diet-acceptable barbecue sauce:

Maple Syrup BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup  beef stock
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander (optional)

Preparation:

In a saucepan, bring stock to a boil.  Slowly add flour, stirring constantly until blended.  Add all additional ingredients and stir.  Reduce heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.  Cool.  Store, covered in refrigerator, for up to one month.  Makes about 4 cups.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!  We had a fun day, filled with our local patriotic parade as well as beautiful driveway fireworks :)  The Pure Baby's (PB's) brothers and dad were part of the parade, while PB and I sat in the shade and watched.

PB's brother at the parade:



Our Fireworks:

Swine Flu - The Epidemic That Never Was

According to Fox News, 40 million doses of expired swine flu vaccine will be burned, at a total loss of $260 million (to the American people!).  And that is not all.  Another 30 million doses are standing by, waiting for their upcoming expiration.

I guess the good news - or possibly great news - is that all of the crazy paranoia about swine flu is over!  For so long, many people were quite on edge about swine flu.  Those bottles of hand sanitizer were everywhere, with the premise that hand sanitizer would prevent swine flu.

Additionally, there was worry on the other side as well.  Non-vaxers were concerned that the swine flu vaccine would become mandatory, surpassing the legal protection of vaccine exemptions.  All kinds of scary possibilities go along with the potential for mandatory vaccine, and non-vaxers needed to be prepared.

In the end, pharmaceutical companies clearly made a good profit from the swine flu.  And, the American people had big losses, both in the form of wasted money and swine flu vaccine-injuries.