Environmental Health Archives | Zoe Weston

Make Your Own Organic Baby Food

Zoe Weston — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 21:56:31 +0000

Make Your Own Organic Baby Food

As parents increasingly prioritize their children’s health, homemade organic baby food has become a popular choice. By preparing nutrient-rich meals with ingredients like oats, rice for congee, vegetables, and fruits, caregivers can ensure their little ones get a wholesome start.

Why Organic?

Organic ingredients are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, offering a cleaner, safer option for babies whose digestive systems are still developing. Oats, rice, vegetables, and fruits are versatile staples that can be transformed into delicious, age-appropriate meals packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Oat Porridge: A Gentle Start

Oat porridge is an excellent first food for babies, typically introduced around 6 months. To prepare, grind organic rolled oats into a fine powder using a blender or food processor. Combine 1 tablespoon of oat powder with 1/4 cup of water, or breast milk, and cook over low heat, stirring until it thickens (about 5-10 minutes). For added nutrition, mix in mashed organic fruits like bananas or steamed apples. Oats provide sustained energy and support healthy digestion.

Congee: A Soothing Rice Porridge

Congee, a traditional rice porridge, is another gentle, easily digestible option. Start with organic white or brown rice (white is softer for younger babies). Rinse 1/4 cup of rice, then simmer it in 2 cups of water or broth for 30-40 minutes until it breaks down into a creamy consistency. Stir in pureed organic veggies like carrots or peas for a boost of vitamins A and C. This simple dish is minimally processed, best to nurture growing bodies.

Adding Vegetables and Fruits

Organic vegetables like sweet potatoes, zucchini, or spinach can be steamed and blended into smooth purees, then mixed into porridges or served standalone. Fruits such as pears, peaches, or blueberries—rich in antioxidants—add natural sweetness and encourage a taste for healthy flavors. Always introduce new ingredients one at a time to monitor for allergies, a cautious approach that supports long-term wellness.

By making organic baby food at home, parents take control of what goes into their children’s bodies, fostering a generation that’s stronger, healthier, and less reliant on industrial food systems.

Tips for Success

Use fresh, seasonal produce from local farmers’ markets for maximum flavor and nutrition.
Store small batches in BPA-free containers or ice cube trays for easy portioning.
Avoid adding salt, sugar, or honey (for babies under 1) to keep it pure and natural.

Making organic baby food with oats, congee, veggies, and fruits is more than a meal—it’s a commitment to raising thriving kids.

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Therapy Level Organizing

Zoe Weston — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:56:19 +0000

Altering your living or workspace might seem silly to some. However, with just a few tweaks you might change the course of your life. As your consultant my goal is to help you create a space that serves as your sanctuary. It could be a work sanctuary or one for your home life. I want you to feel uplifted when you step into this space. I want you to feel as though life is easy there because of how efficient everything is set up. It is also important that you feel calm, safe, and comfortable. I want you to look around your space and actually be in love with everything you set your gaze upon. I want to level up your overall sense of wellbeing. I call this therapy level organizing.

To fully assess the health of your space we will examine how every one of your senses is stimulated. We might talk about feelings, sensations, and energies.

First we’ll discuss how your house smells and go on from there. Is it dark in your house during the day? Are doorways and walkways blocked? How are the colors in your home making you feel? We’ll decide if the images in your home are aiding or hindering the vision you have for your life.

Not your average designer

I do design different. Beyond the design aspects I already mentioned, there is one more element I offer that is perhaps unique. I am a claustrophobic HSP (genetic trait of 20% of the population). This means I see and feel space differently than most, causing me to design in a way that creates the most spacious feeling. Every time one of my clients feels this change occur in their space I always see the same facial expression – it is the look of wonder and amazement. This is why I do what I do. They all tell me I have performed a miracle.

I am now offering online consultations. You are going to walk me around your house or office and I’m going to tell you how to start your upgrade immediately. I’ll take notes while we go through the space, and send you the step by step plan. Are you ready to level up? Schedule your consultation here.

Stay up to date on all of my offerings, there is always something for everyone, sign up for my occasional newsletter here.

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Proud Tree Hugger

Zoe Weston — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 06:00:11 +0000

I’ve Always Been a Proud Tree Hugger

Trees are our friends. I’ve always been a proud tree hugger and so can you, but why stop at hugging? Hug a tree, plant a tree, give a tree, eat from trees, nap under a tree, climb a tree, listen to trees, love the tress. Trees are the oldest living beings on our planet. They are the wise ones, the ancient seers, the eternal givers. When all humans on the Earth speak the language of the stars, the seas, the trees, thy work will be done. If you haven’t ever connected with a tree, give it a try. Try meditating under a tree, listen closely for bird song, the breeze against the leaves, and any other natural sounds in and around your chosen tree. Touch and smell your tree, then say hello. Is it strange to talk to trees? Perhaps for some, to others it is as natural as talking to another person. It is another being after all. The tree of life, the trees give life, what would December be without our beloved Christmas tree?

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Use Reef And Skin Safe Sunscreen – Protecting Our Oceans

Zoe Weston — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 06:00:32 +0000

Reef and skin safe sunscreen, both are important.

As a Maui beach girl, I’m in the sun and the ocean a lot. So, to protect my skin I wear sunscreen. Seems like a no brainer right? Well, the thing is, your average sunscreen is actually toxic, not just to you, but also to the ocean reef and other marine life. The good news is there are plenty of companies making conscious, healthy, safe sunscreen so that we can protect our skin and our beloved ocean. This is what I call a win/win situation. Anything else, simply doesn’t make sense. One of my favorites is Sun Protection Cream by Bee Boys, but there are many other companies that make a reef safe sunscreen. If you haven’t switched over yet, all I can say is, it’s better late than never. Let’s do as much as we can to keep our oceans clean and safe. We are a water planet and we are a water people. Cheers to those perfect beach days!.. Zoe

Help Save the Planet with Waste Management Reform

Zoe Weston — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 06:00:02 +0000

In Switzerland you pay for every bag of trash you produce. And guess what, this helps to reduce the amount of trash produced. Imagine if everyone in the U.S. had to pay for every bag of trash. I think we would have some radical changes overnight. For starters, companies would start to produce less packaging. My dream is for us all to go radical and adopt the Unverpackt ( German grocery store) model, where everything is sold in bulk, and you bring your own reusable bags and food containers.

I have another idea that I would love to make popular. For this to work I would need an engineer to develop the technology. Here is the idea – in every home there would be a small compacting machine that would be able to gather different kinds of materials, for example, glass, plastic, paper, aluminum and crush/melt it down to a small cube that would then be collected weekly by the waste collection service. These cubes would then be delivered to appropriate recycling factories for reuse. If you are an engineer who would like to create this technology, contact me.

And lastly, don’t forget to turn your organic waste into compost. This has been getting easier to do with products like the FoodCycler.

I think the combination of composting organic waste, easy efficient recycling, paying for each bag of trash, reducing or eliminating packaging, using reusable grocery bags, and reducing the usage of certain kinds of materials such as paper and plastic could create a huge impact on environmental health. If you have any other ideas to share, I would love to hear them. Thank you.

All the best, Zoe

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