I'm so impossibly busy, I just have to blog!

Do you know that feeling? When you have so many things to do that no one thing takes precedence over the other and you become paralyzed and end up doing something else altogether that isn't even on your LIST OF URGENT THINGS TO DO!

That's where I'm at. We're heading overseas (to Hawaii!!!) in four days, and before we go I have to write two 2-hour Contract Law Lectures, organize everything for my organic business stall at the Going Green Expo in Melbourne June 5-8, clean the house (actually we've outsourced that to the fabulous folks at EASLI), and pack a number of items to keep the toddler entertained and organically fed on the way too long plane trip.

As far as entertainment goes, I've been collecting books that are small and light, but will keep him amused for a long time... Katie from We Heart Books (a fabulous blog about kids books) has been a great source of ideas for what books to bring. I've also bought some new Charlie & Lola books, including one filled with stickers, which will definitely provide hours (or at least half an hour) of amusement, but I'm a bit worried about the toxicological effects of being covered in stickers (him and me). Has anyone done any research into this?? If so, please leave a comment!

As for food, I'm sure Qantas hasn't added an Organic meal into their selection of special meals, at least not in economy. I have a hard enough time arranging a meal that is Gluten AND Dairy-free (some airlines will do it, others just laugh at you). For me I think I will just stock up on yummy, organic "health" bars with lots of chocolate in them to keep me going, but I can't give that to the BABY!

One of our staple "convenience" foods is banana muffins, which are not so convenient, as I have to bake them from scratch, but it's a great recipe for people with multiple allergies:

1 cup organic brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flower
1/2 cup amaranth or quinoa flour (high protein, gluten-free south american grains)
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp sea salt
mix these dry ingredients and then separately mix:
4 ripe mashed organic bananas
1/3 cup of oil (I use rice bran oil, but olive oil works too)
1/4 cup honey (I use pear juice concentrate)
Add all ingredients together and add some liquid if necessary (I use rice milk or juice).

Bake for 15-20 min in a moderate oven (160C or 320F). Makes 12 yummy muffins. They go stale pretty quickly, so any that I'm not eating right away I freeze for later. I'm going to make a double batch right now... to get us through this week and the trip to Hawaii!

I'll also need to make sure we all consume lots of antioxidants to counteract the high radiation levels associated with air travel.

Personally, I have a drink made with Berry Radical most days, which is a yummy organic chocolate, berry concoction, that gives me lots of energy and a full day's worth of antioxidants.

But I can't give that to the BABY because he is very sensitive to salicylates, a naturally occurring chemical found in many fruits and vegetables, especially berries. More on that later...

Why I’m still buying (organic of course) bananas…

For those of you not living in Australia, I must explain that due to extensive banana crop damage from Cyclone Larry in March this year, the price of bananas in Australia has gone way up to $AU12-14/kilo (that’s approximately $US1.50/banana). Because of this bananas have become a luxury item and many people have rationed them or stopped eating them altogether. I think this is so funny, given how many other things we are willing to spend two dollars (or more on), like a chocolate bar, or a coffee, and what an amazingly yummy and nutritious, not to mention conveniently packaged, food the banana is… to me this is representative of so many choices we make about our health and our spending habits… about what is affordable, and what is a luxury, about what is convenient and what’s too much trouble. There are so many ways that we can change our habits to make us healthier, and to have more money to spend on important things (like organic food) and stop wasting our money and the environment by buying over-packaged, over-processed things that we don’t really need (like take-away coffees in throw away containers!!!!). Besides, when I did the big detox I realised that I had more energy when I stopped drinking caffeinated beverages anyway! One good thing about the price of bananas going up is that organic and conventional bananas are now the same price, so there’s no excuse not to go organic! Even better, my local organic shop sells the bananas at half price when they are looking a bit over the hill, but they still taste great :)