EWG's Best Beach & Sport Sunscreens

Spring sports are back up and running. The kids are outside much more, and we all need to be reminded to use sunscreen. Now, I use sunscreen everyday, but it is sometimes difficult to do the same for our kids. I leave the sunscreen bottles in a basket by our front door to help the whole family remember to take care of our skin. The best protection from the sun is a hat and clothing that covers your body, but when skin needs to be exposed, use EWG's guide to sunscreens to find your best match.

EWG's top-rated sunscreens all contain the minerals zinc or titanium. These are the best choices for people who want the best UVA protection without potential hormone disruptor chemicals.

Enjoy your fun in the sun by being smart about skin protection.

Earth Day at the National Zoo

Earth Day is Sunday, April 22, 2012, and I am planning a visit to the National Zoo with the family. From 11:00 A.M.-3:00 P.M.the National Zoo will hold a free public event to celebrate Earth Day and the Zoo's commitment to green practices with crafts, music, and conservation related games. I'll be sure to document our day with photos.


Let's celebrate with a party for the planet!


Earth Day at the National Zoo

Jackson at the National Zoo, January 2012 

China to Ban 17 Artificial Food Dyes

This is amazing! Now if only the FDA would get on board.

The Plan to Ban: The Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China Plans to Ban the Use of 17 Artificial Food Dyes

by WhyDye  |  on April 10th, 2012

According to the April 9th, 2012 Shanghai Daily article,  Ministry Bid to Take the Color Out of Sweet Treats, the Ministy of Health of the People’s Repbulic of China proposes banning 17 artificial food dyes based on recent expert examination.

In January of this year the Ministry sought expert opinions on the topic of the “safety and necessity” of various food additives. Based upon findings, the Ministry proposes that it will  ban  17 artificial food dyes along with other additives following a public comment period which ends on April 20th.

One food safety expert, Mr. Wu Chuanye, from the Hunan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that “Long-term consumption of such coloring could affect people’s health,  especially that of children”.

The Vice Director of the Shangahi Food Safety Office, Mr. Gu Zhenhua, stated “If an additive was not necessary for a type of food, it should not be used”.

The seeking of expert opinion on the safety of artificial food dye is reminiscent of the 2 full days of the Food Advisory Panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public hearings held in the U.S.  in March of 2011 (See manuscripts from March 30th and March 31st FDA hearings) . However the outcomes of the Ministry review of dyes vs. that of the FDA are very different.

Whereas the examination by the Ministy of Health led to a resolve to ban 17 artificial dyes from food products, the U.S. FDA  hearings were inconclusive. According to the Washington Post (clickhere for story), the Food Advisory Panel of the FDA rejected even a suggested call for warning labels on foods containing dye and suggested that more study be undertaken before concluding that dyes cause any health issues in children.

China is not the first country to suggest manufactuers remove artificial dyes from food. According to the BBC news, a study in 2007 linked hyperactivity in children to artificial food colors and U.K. consumer response led to the Foods Standard Agency (FSA) to recommend a voluntary ban on use of artificial coloring in foods.

Based on the FSA recommendations and on the consumer demands, manufacturers have produced various foods using only natural colorings for the U.K market. These exact same manufactuers produce the same foods for the U.S. market with the difference being that the U.S. foods contain artificial dyes. The Center for Science in The Public Interest makes interesting comparisons of ingredients of well known products sold in the United Kingdom vs. those sold in the United States in the article CSPI Urges FDA to Ban Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Behavior Problems.

For the well-being of their children, both China and U.K. regulators have taken notice and have taken action to remove artificial dyes from foods. The U.S. can’t be far behind………..can it?

I Just Can't Get Enough

A Facebook friend has introduced me to the cutest family ever...

Dicken feat. Milah & Korben: "Everything Counts"

Dicken Schrader and his adorable children Milah and Korben are having a lot of fun together making beautiful and videos of their covers of, already great, Depeche Mode songs. Dicken wins my award for coolest dad. I hope this Columbian family continues to have fun together... They could teach us all a little something about quality time with our kids.

To see more, check out http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2AB6252942132321.

Is it too late to try this with my boys???

Year of the Dragon: Parade in DC January 29th at 2pm

The Chinese New Year Parade celebrating the year of the Dragon will take place on January 29, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. Starting at Sixth and I Street NW, the parade lasts approximately 2½ hours and runs rain or shine.


Route Map


Info About the Chinese Dragon Zodiac Sign

Creamy without Cream Lentil Soup (vegan recipe)

It's a rainy and cold December day... I'm totally in the mood for some delicious soup!

What you need:
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup red lentils
8 cups organic vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

What you do:
Rinse the lentils well and set aside.

Heat oil in a large stock pot, add onions and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the celery, carrots and the garlic powder. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the lentils, 4 cups of vegetable stock and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 25 minutes.

Add juice from lemon. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Carefully pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth.

Transfer the soup back to the pot. Add the remaining 4 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in salt, white pepper, and cayenne.

Serve with a sprinkle of cayenne. Enjoy!

Experiment with Almond Flour: Almond Flour Banana Bread

Again... we were stuck with too many over-ripe bananas. This time I decided to experiment with almond flour. I haven't baked with almond flour before, so I wouldn't call this recipe perfect. I'm already thinking that I could eliminate the whole wheat flour... Anyway, I'll keep tweaking it and hopefully update my recipe the next time I need to get rid of some bananas.

This was also an experiment with SparkRecipes.com. This is a cool website that I stumbled across which allows you to search, share, and save recipes. This site has many options for searching recipes by dietary needs including gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, low carb, and more. That's not all... my favorite feature is the recipe calculator. Simply add each ingredient of your recipe, then click the "calculate info" button to find out the nutritional content of your recipe.

A later experiment will be to compare my regular banana bread recipe to my almond flour banana bread recipe. But maybe somethings are better left unknown.

See my recipe below, or visit http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1871535.