Soda is one those hot button topics for many. Health minded parents think of it as thorn in their side…something always there to tempt kids into drinking tons of sugar. Many people could care less and they happily consume it in mass quantities and cry foul whenever legislation arises to tax it or limit it. It is a hot topic because it is a hugely controversial product and hugely unhealthy.

Now this is not to say that my own kids never have soda. In fact they do. It is our rule that soda is not to be consumed at home but if we eat out (which is not very often) they can order soda. If we go to someone else’s home who has soda we require they drink a full of glass of water before they drink the soda and typically this means they cannot finish the soda, which is a-okay with me. For some reason it never occurred to me until JUST now that we could also do this at restaurants. Hello? New rule!

Why don’t I ban it completely? Well, I don’t want my kids to lose respect my words of wisdom when they inevitably see other kids all around them who are allowed to drink the sugary stuff. I don’t want them to think I am some hippy dippy overreacting mom and thus make the soda even more powerful in their minds. Whether or not  this is a good idea remains to be seen (letting them have ANY that is). I am hoping that they develop a keen eye for the dangers of soda and that they end up liking so many other beverage options they don’t need it later on in life. I also hope to turn out kids who can make wicked back of home brewed Kombucha!

I was encouraged recently to read an article about how soda makers are reporting lower revenues and how the production of high fructose corn syrup is declining. This is great news in my mind although this is also why the soda companies are now buying out companies that make healthier drinks, like my Zico coconut water I can no longer drink thanks to them being bought by GMO supporting Coke. Ugh! At any rate if soda profits are falling then people are getting wise to just how bad this stuff is. Another article came across my radar this morning about a 31 year old woman who died due to what her doctors call a Coke addiction. She was drinking 2 gallons of the stuff a day and even gave birth to a child who had no tooth enamel, thanks to the soda. Scary stuff!

The part that stuck out to me in that article was how her family feels she was addicted and had withdrawal symptoms whenever she tried to stop drinking it. I had a similar experience when I stopped drinking soda. It was 2-3 days of terrible flu like symptoms and headaches. That stuff really is addicting and I have no doubt that years from now it will be common knowledge that soda companies formulated products with that in mind.

So what you can drink instead of soda? Here are some of the things we drink. What do you drink?

Flavored Water – Add ginger, citrus fruits or berries (can also be frozen), herbs, cucumber, vinegar.

Water Kefir

Coconut Kefir

Milk Kefir

Coconut Water

Tea

Kombucha - Can make tons of different flavors by adding fruit/juice

Fizzy Juice – Use a soda stream and concentrated juice

Fruit Smoothies

Green Smoothies

Green Juices

The above drawing was done by my spunky little girl. I asked her if she would draw me a picture of the tooth fairy and she drew a picture of her “personal” tooth fairy… because there are many don’t ya know? There would have to be to make sure that tooth coverage is extended to every child on earth. Ginger here covers my daughter’s room apparently and I hear she pays pretty well too.

I am going to enter this lovely fairy in the Tom’s of Maine Be a Tooth Fairy Hero Sweepstakes. The idea behind this initiative is to help increase access to oral care for those families in your area who need it most. I worked for a couple years at a dental office that had a large pediatric customer base and I saw personally how much dental care is needed in my own community. While I personally believe that nutrition is not played up nearly enough (or at all) in regards to healing dental problems and avoiding dental problems in the first place there is only so much you can do where education is concerned. Access to the dental help you is of great importance and sadly there are many without means.

The Dental Health for All™ program is celebrating over 1 million dollars that has been donated to community dental clinics over the past 10 years. They are dedicated to providing more families with regular screenings and check-ups and to date the company’s funding has helped make more than 200,000 additional patient visits possible.

The Be a Tooth Fairy Hero sweepstakes is getting kids involved in the process. Just have the child(ren) in your life grab their crayons and some paper and have them draw the Tooth Fairy hero who needs to help those smiles in need. You can also use the coloring page provided at the link above. Then attach it to the entry form and you are entered into the sweepstakes. Ten entries will be randomly selected with Tom’s of Maine awarding a $10,000 donation on each winner’s behalf to a dental clinic, plus providing toothpaste for the child’s school.

The last day for entry is March 15, 2013 and the winner will be chosen in late March. Good luck!

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

After coming back from my mini vacation in NYC I have been feeling like I am coming down with a cold. It is probably equal parts exposure to germs and letting my diet go off the paleo wagon while traveling. I was in New York though, I had to have bagels and pastries!!! It’s practically the law.

Anyway I made chicken soup the other night and wanted something else equally nourishing today but didn’t have time for chicken soup. In the end some of my farmer’s market goodies helped me decide. Pastured eggs, green onions, garlic… yeah, Egg Drop Soup.

Provided that you have chicken broth/stock on hand… either homemade or canned, then this can be made in 20 minutes. Chicken stock made from your leftover pastured chicken can be frozen for use weeks and months later too.

Ingredients: Chicken broth (6 cups), green onions (1/2 Cup), garlic (1 T), ginger (fresh or powdered), 4 eggs, salt, and grassfed butter.

Instructions: Melt a little bit of butter at the bottom of your saucepan and saute your chopped garlic for a minute or two. Add your broth, ginger, salt, and onions…bring to a boil. Whisk your eggs together well and when the soup comes to a boil reduce heat to simmer and add the eggs. Add them slowly and use a spatula to make ribbons. This will feed 3-4 people. Serve and enjoy!

Yesterday I decided to try a recipe I found on Primal Palate. It was soooooo darn yummy that I made it again today. It is actually really easy too, it just takes 45 minutes to cook and it is best if you let it cool and stew in the sauce/juices for awhile but the actual cooking part is a piece of cake. I edited the original recipe to make a few slight changes and I doubled the recipe to make more chicken. OMGoodness!

First you melt two tablespoons pastured butter in an oven safe skillet along with two teaspoons of powdered ginger, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and one cube of frozen garlic (I got mine from Trader Joe’s). Add two teaspoons fish sauce and 1/2 cup of Coconut Aminos and bring to a bubble.

I just started using Raw Organic Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce (which often has wheat) and I LOVE the stuff! Where have you been all my life?!?!

After salting and peppering all the chicken legs (skin on, pastured) I throw them in the skillet with the sauce, making sure to coat them well. They get baked for 45 minutes at 425 degrees. About halfway through I take a spoon and scoop up the bubbly sauce and drench the legs with it again. Let them sit for about 20-30 minutes and serve. Yum, yum!

I used my Xtrema ceramic skillet for this recipe. Perfect!