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Mom dreams…and reality

This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Organic; all opinions are my own.

One of my dreams when I thought of my life as a mom was that I’d have a backyard garden. I pictured my kids helping me through all the stages of planting and harvesting fresh vegetables. I pictured teaching them about caring for the earth and the soil.

I never knew that we’d end up living in a city with a postage stamp sized yard that is completely shaded. And perpetually dug up by our energetic labradoodle. Not conducive to that whole backyard garden dream at all.

But I have such warm memories of gardening with my parents and grandparents in both their gardens as a kid. I delighted in carrying a colander out back, with my bare toes in the garden soil, picking fresh green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes off the vine. 

Now that I think back to it, I’m grateful that my family was very careful about what they used to treat the plants and the soil, knowing that my brother and I were always snacking in the garden and literally rolling around barefoot. While they didn’t strictly follow organic farming standards, I know they aimed to use safe and natural methods to keep the garden healthy, and to minimize the use of any pesticides that would be harmful to us kids playing back there.

On organic farms, farmers have many methods of keeping healthy crops and preventing pests. While pesticides can be used, organic farming regulations mandate that they are used as a last resort. Regarding pesticide use, organic farmers have a much smaller set of pesticides to choose from than conventional farmers. Important to note — pesticides approved for use on organic farms must undergo careful review to make sure they do not have negative impacts on human health or the environment.

I don’t know about you, but I feel good knowing that those rules are in place. It shows the farmers’ dedication to safety for the environment and the people working in the fields.

I appreciate when farmers show great love to their crops, and in turn to the people who will be consuming them!

Organic dairy farming benefits

The same thing goes for dairy farmers, too. Something really cool about organic dairy products is that they have more omega-3 fatty acids than conventional dairy. This is due to the diet that the cows are fed. The reason this is important is that studies show that consuming omega-3s is associated with decreased morbidity and mortality. Major health benefits right there! 

And, organic dairy products have a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3s. A diet that has a higher ratio of omega-6s relative to omega-3s can promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune disease. So it’s a good idea to promote higher intake of omega-3s for our little ones (and ourselves), and overall lower intake of omega-6s.

Other foods that are high in omega-3s are flaxseed and fish.

We love Stonyfield Organic yogurt, my kids have been eating it since they were babies! Find it in a store near you here.

Stonyfield has a mission to avoid contamination of soil, rivers, drinking water, and air with toxic, persistent chemicals. Which also means organic farmers themselves and their neighbors aren’t exposed to potentially carcinogenic herbicides.

And of course the nutrition is great! Babies around age 6 months and up can begin trying whole milk yogurt – it’s a perfect easy meal or snack for babies and toddlers.

Since my kids go through yogurt like crazy, we usually buy the big 32 oz tub of whole milk plain. But if you have a baby or don’t go through it as quickly, these individual 4 oz cups are the perfect size. 

The Stonyfield Organic YoBaby yogurts were the first ones I bought for Teddy when he was a baby! I felt really good about serving those to him. Because of my nutrition knowledge, I was really focused on making every bite count when he was a baby, packing in as much nutrition as possible.

It wasn’t quite as easy when Emilia came around, because feeding two kids is way harder than feeding one (and feeding one is hard). But I was grateful for products I could buy, like Stonyfield yogurt, that I felt good about, and made it a little easier on me!

1 Comment

Rakhinationwide · April 23, 2021 at 1:06 am

Such a wonderful post. Thank you so much!!

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Kacie Barnes holding an apple
Hi, I’m Kacie!

I’m a mom of two and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. I offer e-guides and e-books (go to my Shop page), workshops, brand partnerships, and nutrition counseling. Check out my blog for nutrition and feeding tips for your little ones.

Disclaimer:

This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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