A little while ago, after my youngest turned 6 months and we are started to try to give him things like yogurt, ice cream, products that had a milk base essentially, he really struggled with.
I already had a difficult time with dairy, however, the things I would normally swap with for things like granola bars, weren't exactly an easy snack for him to consume. Most of the baby products on the market like the "teether wheels" or even some of the "puff" products unfortunately, in some fashion were riddled with dairy (usually whey).
This continued for him up till he was about 18mths of age. No matter what I did, it seemed like the items he could have from the store were a little difficult to eat at times but I wanted more for him than just fruits and veggies.
I set out to see if there was a recipe swap for granola bars that I could make him that would be tasty, simple to eat, and be free of dairy.
I found one and ran with it.
Fast forward to now and he has outgrown that dairy issue but we are still making granola bars from home. It has been slightly more cost effective for us as a family because we have chosen to purchase ingredients in bulk which has saved us more in the long run rather than just the smaller containers you can get from your local Walmart.
Overtime we have swapped out more items and they have only seemed to really benefit our family. From bread to stain remover, I have learned that I don't need to shop at a big box store for everything and that I am completely capable of making certain things at home.
I recently created a free recipe guide that contains 5 recipe swaps with a comparison chart attached to it so that you can see the cost analysis breakdown. 
The goal here is that not only are we potentially reducing monthly grocery cost for the family, but also, we are swapping out sometimes toxic ingredients for non-toxic & less harmful ingredients.
It's not that big of a secret that the government here in the states is not as stringent on ingredients that are approved to be in our food systems as well as our other regular grocery products.
You may have recently seen that California banned 4 harmful chemicals that are commonly found in candy like skittles!
This is a great 1st step at recognizing that what is in our food as well as in the products that we use regularly matters.
So many other countries have banned ingredients that the US continues to utilize and promote in their products as safe and reliable.
Frankly, it's ridiculous. For a country so advanced, we are so far behind in the health and wellbeing of our people.
A big thing that I have realized though is that, as hard as this might be to hear, we in the United States have become a country of citizens, willing to put blinders on because of, in my opinion, poor education & complacency. If we all opened our eyes just even a little bit more, we would see that while the "better" ways of doing something might take longer, it's far better to take the time then to lose the time filling your life with things that are more harmful to you in the long run.
Know also that I'm not saying you have to change everything in one day. I sure didn't, but small changes over time have a larger and lasting impact.
That's another rant for another post though.
If you would like this 5 free recipe guide, comment "RECIPE" below and I will send it over to you. If you like this content, subscribe and follow along for more Lessons from the Rocking Chair.
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