Organic Food Products

I promise I won't inundate you with everything there is to know about Organics, but I do want to point out some of the reasons we eat a lot of organics at our house:
1. Free of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, growth hormones, or chemicals.
2. For a food product to call itself "Organic", at least 95% of its ingredients must be free of the things I named above, as regulated by the USDA and other organizations.
3. It is undisputed that Organics are better for you.
4. The first year of life is the most important for brain development, and so we will only allow Avery to have Organic Formula and Organic Baby Food.
I found out I had Crohn's disease in November 2007. Crohn's is an intestinal disease that causes lesions on the inside of the small intestine. In severe cases it can lead to dehydration, malnutrition and death. Mine is luckily, very mild, but did involve extreme bowel distress to the point of hospitalization. It can come and go based on a number of factors. But in order to keep it from worsening, I read a lot of books and medical articles on the subject. They recommended learning what triggers my attacks (liquor, green tea, and fried food) eliminating them, and switching to organics. So I slowly began incorporating them into my weekly grocery trips. Now, our meals are about 70% organic. Some things are impossible to find, so we do the best we can. We eat free range chicken, and we receive a bi-weekly shipment of fresh, locally grown organic fruits and vegetables from Grow Alabama ( http://www.growalabama.com/). Publix has a great selection of "Green Wise" foods that are better than non-organic. I have not had a Crohn's attack since that initial one and I believe it is because I started eating healthier and organically.

Avery has just begun to eat solids. She has only had rice cereal and applesauce. I will begin to incorporate more fruits and veggies when she is old enough. I will make her baby food myself. I just learned how easy it is! Take whatever leftover organic foods I have and steam, blend, and then freeze in ice trays for perfect little one ounce servings. Very exciting! The last organic topic I will discuss is Organic formula. Breast milk is best, but I had to wean Avery for very selfish reasons...I needed sleep and time to myself! (Sorry kiddo, but happy Mommy means happier Daddy and Baby in the long run!) So if you do switch to formula like I did, be prepared for expense and a lot of choices. Currently, we are using Similac Organic, and I liked it just fine until I read that it has cane sugar in it which makes it sweeter than other formulas, which can lead to overeating, and childhood obesity. So, we are making the switch to "Vermont Organics" as soon as we finish up this can of Similac. I am also hoping it is a little easier on her stomach (as she has had a little constipation.)