Mom Goes Green

Did I just sense some of you cringing?  Yes, I’ll admit… the latest news reports had me a little squeamish too, but let’s keep it in perspective and DO NOT let ourselves be led to think that reusable bags aren’t the right choice (it still IS absolutely the right choice!).

If you haven’t heard the buzz:  “A study from the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University in California found that most people who bring their own bags to the grocery store don’t wash or clean them regularly – and the researchers also discovered a large number of bacteria present in the reusable bags.”  Take a look at the study but you can also read more about the topic at Earth 911.

Admittedly, I’m not a frequent-reusable-bag-washer either. But I do have a fairly simple plan for combatting these cooties!  First of all, I have a set of bags dedicated to grocery shopping.  I tied a red ribbon on the handle of the bag meant for only meat products.  On the handle of the produce-dedicated bag, you guested it… a green ribbon.  It’s easy to just let the cashier know where you need your items placed (sure, sometimes they aren’t thrilled, but oh well!).

I have a whole second set of bags especially for all of my non-grocery purchases.  That absolutely eliminates the concern since there isn’t anything that goes inside to cause the contamination.

If this still leaves you a bit unsettled, well, there’s another simple way to ease your mind… (hold onto your hats!)… wash… your… bags.  

And in all reality, even the EPA admits that most of the bacteria doesn’t even pose a health threat.  Afterall, there’s more bacteria on the handle of the gas pump you just used to fill-up your car!

So, my green friends, do NOT be deterred.  Reusable bags are, and always will be, the way to go. (The harm plastic bags create is much greater!)  Just periodically let them go for a little swim in your washing machine and, I promise you, all will be well.

Indoor plants are a fantastic way to bring the outdoors inside, no matter what time of year it is (and, with temperatures starting to drop, windows and doors will likely be spending more time closed!).  Not only can plants breathe life into a room, but did you know they can also, literally, breathe fresh clean air into your home as well?!?

Sadly, our indoor air can become even more polluted than outdoor air(!) due in part to everything from VOCs in paint to all of the horrible things we track in on our shoes and then send airborne!

Just take a look at what some of the most common household plants can “do” for your home!:

• Areca palm – this one is the top purifier and also humidifies the air as it cleans!  (Lady palm and bamboo palm also do an amazing job!)
• Peace lilies – also a great all-around air purifier, and incredibly easy to maintain.
• English ivy – fantastic for removing airborne mold (up to 60% of airborne mold in just six hours, by the way!).
• Spider plants – great at removing 100% of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the air in only 24 hours.
• Boston ferns – another great over-all air purifier but especially for removing formaldehyde from the air.
• Rubber plants – great for cleaning out those VOCs.

To reach maximum effectiveness, it’s recommended to have at least one 6” plant per 100 feet of living space.

Amazing, isn’t it? Actually, it’s exactly what I would expect Mother Nature to provide… something to clean-up our dirty work (and dirty air!).

Yes, friends… once again I’m working on understanding labels and knowing exactly what they mean (or in many cases, DON’T mean!).

I’ve talked about pesticide-free & chlorine-free, non-toxic labeling, fragrance-free vs. unscented, PLU produce labels and certified-organic vs. organic ingredients.

Now I have a few more that you should know about:  “Green”, “Renewable” and “Certified Organic”.  (Have a guess about which ones actually mean something?)

Well, it appears that “Certified Organic” is the only trustworthy label in this group.  Certified Organic is strictly defined and regulated by the USDA.  “Green” and “Renewable”, on the other hand, mean NOTHING! They are undefined and, once again, completely unregulated.

Like some of the other terms I mentioned, any manufacturer can place these words on their label to give you peace of mind about what you’re purchasing.  And ONCE AGAIN they can do it, just because the terms aren’t regulated.  That doesn’t mean that ALL products that use these terms aren’t legitimate, but the problems is that it’s sometimes difficult to really know.

There’s so much greenwashing happening… the best thing to do is to only select products that have legitimate, regulated terms associated with them.  Otherwise, like that box of chocolates, ‘you never know what you’re gonna get’!

So, it’s time again to break out that notepad, just to keep it straight since, sadly, we can’t always believe what the labels are attempting to tell us.

So, I’ve reviewed and given away some fantastic eco-products over the past weeks.  Congrats to the winners – I hope you’re enjoying your prizes! – and don’t forget that a few of the giveaways are still open for entries!

Now I need to move on to something that has always been high on my list of concerns… the foods I feed my family.  It’s been no secret that I favor organic foods (and I’m an avid supporter of CSAs).  I also try to steer clear of anything processed and shop the perimeter of grocery stores where fresh foods are often found. But, more and more, genetically altered foods are finding their way into our daily “eats”!

One of my previous posts talked about all of my biggest concerns with these foods but, for a simple explanation: genetic modification is a process of recombining DNA in food sources to introduce new characteristics or desirable traits. Ugh. Changing DNA?!?  There is also no long-term and/or conclusive research about the consumption of these “altered” foods and the effects on the people consuming them… doesn’t that just make your stomach swirl… yea, in a big way!

Would it bother you more if I told you that, currently, these genetically engineered foods have no labels identifying them as GMO.  The FDA simply has no requirements.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Just Label It campaign has a petition to the FDA demanding that genetically engineered foods are labeled… if you’re so compelled, sign it and tell them you want to know what you’re eating!

A dear friend of mine taught me that “silence is compliance”… when it comes to my family’s food, I don’t want to be silent! Sign with me?

First of all, I haven’t given up the mission… contrary to how it seems, I am not buried underneath an unforgiving pile of recycleables, I didn’t trip on a barrel of distilled white vinegar and inflict an ongoing bout of amnesia on myself, nor have I decided to give up my title of Mom Goes Green.  I did, however, decide that I needed just a bit more of a break.

Maybe it was my spring trip to the ER that made me decide I needed to take some more “me time”. Perhaps it was also a tad of sadness before sending my kids back to school and wanting to make the most of our last weeks of summer.  Or maybe (quite possibly) it was because I have never taken a break over the three+ years of writing this blog… all of that made me say to myself: “Self, you NEED to take a real break!”

So, I did.  I will now (and I do mean it this time!) be back to my regular posting. I’m sure each of you can relate to the need for giving yourself some simple time… thank you for sticking around for my return!

xoxo, Mom Goes Green

No kidding.  Mom Goes Green went to the ER.

Long story short… it started with an “Ugh-oh… what is happening to my vision?… Ugh-oh… wow, now speaking is becoming an issue” kinda-thing.  (No, I wasn’t drinking too many cocktails, it was actually some crazy migraine thing that created quite a frightening set of side effects … but ANYHOW…. I need to tell my amusing part of the story!!!…)

During the “50-question-how-did-you-get-here” portion of the evening I was asked the typical questions that delve into your lifestyle: Drinking? (socially) Smoking? (not any more) Drug abuse… prescription or recreational… ?!?!  Well, you would have thought they asked me if I was willing to eat my young(!) because my response was, well, a bit over the top!

It sounded a little bit like this?:

“Drugs?  God NO! Are you kidding me?  I eat all organic food. I won’t even eat FOODS that do drugs! Disgusting.  Really.  I’m all organic, no steroids, no growth hormones and all that junk.  Do you have any idea how bad it is for you??? So drugs, for me?  Yea, no… not even in my FOOD, my man!” (His blank look was priceless.)

It’s kind of funny how my love for organics came bursting through, even in the most bizarre moment.  I guess I am, and will always be, Mom Goes Green… the funny thing is, that dialogue probably made me sounds like I WAS on drugs, didn’t it?

Oh well… I am Mom Goes Green… at home, in the market, on the go and I guess… in the ER too!

Well, it isn’t often that I have to make an update so soon… I just sent everyone to Environmental Working Group’s list and rating of sunscreen products… and it’s JUST been updated again for 2011!

We know the concern with sunscreen is the presence of some nasty chemicals (that part certainly doesn’t change) but, like our ever changing lives, products get changed too and I would be remiss if I didn’t share the latest findings with you…

So here… without further ado is THE latest listing: EWG’s 2011 List of Suncreens!  Maybe you want to head right over to their Best Suncreens list… and hope that what you’ve been using didn’t make their Hall of Shame!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program… get your BEST suncreen and GO PLAY!

So, I’m at it again… looking at labels and learning… a lot!

I’ve talked about the non-toxic labeling, fragrance-free vs. unscented, PLU produce labels and certified-organic vs. organic ingredients.

Now I have two more that you do need to know about:  “Pesticide-Free” and “Chlorine-Free”.

Maybe you’ll be surprised and maybe you won’t, but the reality is… NEITHER of these labels or terms mean a thing either.  They are undefined and, once again, completely unregulated.

Like some of the other terms I mentioned, any manufacturer can place these words on their label to give you peace of mind about what you’re purchasing.  And ONCE AGAIN they can do it, just because the terms aren’t regulated.  That doesn’t mean that ALL products that use these terms aren’t legitimate, but the problems is it’s sometimes difficult to really know.

I can add a good note though… it just so happens that the term “Dolphin Safe” IS strictly defined, so when you see this term, you can rest assured about your purchase!  As a life-long dolphin lover, I’m happy that this actually means something positive.

We have quite a list going, don’t we??? Maybe it’s time to break out a notepad, just to keep it straight since, sadly, we can’t always believe what the labels are attempting to tell us.

(Okay, Mom Goes Green is BACK from my little Mother’s Day hiatus, so…) I’m now thinking summer! The kids have started the countdown to the final days of school and we’re ALL thinking summer fun, the pool, beach vacations and lots of outdoor time!

But every parent knows that fun-in-the-sun also means extra precautions to make sure our precious ones (ourselves included!) don’t get fried during “the fun part”, so sunscreen is sure to be a purchase in the very near future.

The concern with sunscreen is the presence of some nasty chemicals that we really don’t want to apply to our bodies daily, or even “frequently” for that matter (since they absorb into our skin and accumulate). Many are believed to cause hormone disruption, cell damage and allergies, amongst other things. They include vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), Oxybenzone, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Mexoryl, Avobenzone… augh!… just a bunch of things that we could really do without!

So instead of laboring over labels and trying (sometimes in vane) to decipher the ingredients… (drumroll, please….)  Environmental Working Group has a list and rating of over 500 sunscreen products.  Believe me, it is much easier to find one on the “best” list and just know you have a good product to keep you safe from the sun AND the nasty chemicals.

You can also look-up the products you have been using to see how they rate.

Last year (via this list!) I discovered a great product:  Blue Lizard.  It was fantastic and we didn’t have a burn in the bunch (or exposure to nasty chemicals!).  Fortunately, EWG has done most of the work for us, so the answers are just a few clicks away.

(Boy, I sure have come a long way from those teen-days when my friends and I applied baby oil(!) in HOPE of sizzling and frying!… WHAT were we thinking?!?)

Now check it out, buy some, slather on the good stuff and GO PLAY… summer is almost here!

The idea of chicken nuggets turns my stomach. I know they have (somehow) become a staple of American kids’ diets, but for my entire life, I have found them disgusting.

Recently there has been a bunch of hub-bub about what’s really in those chicken nuggets… and patties too (and I really wonder if they are worth of having “chicken” in the name at all!).

My kids, like me, consider them fairly gross.  Have you SEEN this photo? Yes, that pink stuff right there (that looks like strawberry soft-serve ice cream) IS the stuff those nuggets are made of.

Want to know what’s in them? It’s called “mechanically separated chicken”.  A machine actually removes all of the disgusting leftovers after the quality parts are removed… it removes the tendons, tissue, cartilage, organs, and other chicken extras, and grinds them into a fine poultry paste. An ammonia wash is used to kill the bacteria and, because it looks (and now tastes!) horrible, artificial colors and flavors need to be added to make them edible.  In reality, with all of the other additives, only about 50% is even some chicken “part”… and that doesn’t even get into the nutritional side of the story. The sodium and fat content is appalling.

I tried to show this to my kids and my daughter said, emphatically, “No… Mom! I can’t watch!” If you want your kids to break-the-habit, try to get them to take a look. (I actually have two videos… this one shows the kids rejecting the nuggets, but I will warn you… the embedded video below shows kids STILL willing to eat the grossness they saw… a testament to how we’ve allowed this “food item” to become acceptable!)

Just like any other food item, not all chicken nuggets and patties are created equal.  There are some semi-decent products out there but, buyer beware. If it says “mechanically separated chicken” on the package, throw the box and RUN! … because that icky pink stuff is what you’re buying.

Instead, pack up some healthy food (in reusable containers!) when you’re on the go… or serve up a rainbow of healthy foods in a muffin pan when you’re at home.  Just reconsider chicken nuggets.

Truly, there are so many better, healthier, nutritious options… chicken nuggets are not really chicken nuggets.