It seems the moment cooler weather arrives our skin and hair feel the affects; dry, rough hands, tight skin and fly-aways. Not to worry, there are remedies for these problems. By adding a few products or ingredients to your existing regimen, you will be flake and fly-away free in no time.
The competition winner of Chic Eco’s 2009 Best Eco-luxury Infant Clothes Designer poll is Carrie Jekogian for LolaBabiez Organics. Congratulations Carrie!
What’s really fun about taking nominations is to read favorable comments. Carrie’s got a fan club. Read on for testimonies.
Unless you are lucky enough to send your child to a school with organic lunches and a farm to school program, you probably pack your child’s lunch. We’ve reviewed numerous lunch boxes and lunch systems, but in the end, I usually just grab random items and throw then together in my hurried mornings. Despite my haphazard lunch packing routines, I am really excited about the Munchgear Soup to Nuts Kit (so are my kids who are fighting over who gets to use it tomorrow.
The Munchgear Soup to Nuts Kit made by Citizenpip (such a cute name) is an “everything in one kit” that, in my opinion, provides more flexibility and durability than a Laptop Lunch. The Soup to Nuts Kit includes:
This post is going to be another struggle for balance. The threat from this particular mycotoxin in the food supply is a so large that it makes the risks that worry most people look tame. It makes the subject of one of my previous posts about another mycotoxin, vomitoxin, look like a virtual non-issue. Aflatoxin is one of the most potent acute toxins known and one of the most carcinogenic. Because of this the average international tolerance for aflatoxin B1 in food is 4 parts per billion (PPB). The average tolerance for food for children is 0.2 PPB and for milk 0.05 PPB (USDA ERS publication source for this data). These are seriously low numbers. I want to accurately represent the seriousness of this risk.
At the same time I also want to accurately represent the extent to which the commercial food supply is now protected from that risk. The same ERS document above reported US crop losses in 2003 from mycotoxins in corn, wheat and peanuts of $932 million and another $466 million for testing. That is all for preventing this toxin from getting to us. There is a lot going on in the background that few people recognize.
Folks in the food industry may well ask “why even bring it up!?” First of all, this is no secret. My Google Alert for “Aflatoxin” sends me articles nearly every day. Also I raise this issue to try to “calibrate risk.” I saw an entry in a comment string on another blog the other day where someone wrote, “I hope this is a move towards chemical-free food.” I’ll give that person the benefit of the doubt that they know that all food is made of chemicals (proteins, fats, carbs…). Their concern was about synthetic pesticide residues. I doubt that they know about “chemicals” like aflatoxin. They should. It is thousands of times more toxic than a typical pesticide residue.
Ask the average kid where milk comes from and he might very well say a jug. Bread? The grocery store. According to research by Kingston University in London, kids need more farm visits to dispel the ignorance and misconceptions about farming and where food comes from. Scientist Frances Harris, the author of the report, wants schools to take action to organize these visits.
Even if your child knows that milk comes from a cow, does she know that there is more than one variety of cow? A hands on approach at the farm could also help kids understand which foods are real and which ones are processed. They won’t see any Pop Tarts or red, blue and green grains that could make up their Fruit Loops on the farm. Showing your kids where food comes from could set them up for a lifelong, healthier lifestyle. And actually being able to reach out and touch a cow is invaluable compared to watching a farm DVD or playing a video game.
In celebration of their newly obtained organic certification, Bubble & Bee Organic is giving away a of couple fabulous (and brand new) products. Get a free Rude Raspberry Lip Balm with any purchase. Purchase over $35 worth of goodies and get a Lotion Stick as well. Buy over $65 and they will even throw in free shipping.
The large-scale Organic dairy cooperative, “Organic Valley” has just sunk to a new low in the practice of “I will market against my farmer neighbors by stoking consumer’s fears.” They announced that they have launched an on-line calculator that is supposed to show you how much pesticide and fertilizer use is avoided when you buy their products. The news release essentially boils down to the message, “buy our products or you will probably die!” It also essentially accuses the 97.5% of us who don’t buy Organic of destroying the planet.
When talking about pesticides the press report says: “For adults, exposure through diet has been linked to infertility, Parkinson’s, testicular cancer, birth defects and much more. More than one million children in America age five and under ingest at least 15 pesticides daily. Early exposures are suspected in the sharp rise in health problems including autism, obesity, asthma, brain cancer and other childhood cancers.” This broad-brush assertion is misleading on so many levels that it is hard to know where to start. I’m not saying that there have never been any health issues with any pesticide anywhere, but we also have sufficient food in part because of pesticides. Though many people don’t know it, there are pesticides used on organic crops as well. Actually, the EPA has done a very good job of regulating pesticide use over the years so that people don’t need to be frightened about their food.
If there is one thing everyone can agree on it is that water is all important to our health and good looks. Sure, sometimes you feel like something a little more exciting than a glass of straight up h20. But it can be difficult to avoid sugar and sugar-substitutes in flavored waters, ingredients you definitely do not need to add to your health plan. Fortunately, there are two great (and healthy) alternatives for flavored water lovers.
So, most of us are waxing something these days. Whether your eyebrows, bikini area or some other unmentionable, you may wax via a professional or even in your own home.
Admittedly, I did start with professional waxing (eyebrows are as far as I go) but after a few sketchy results, decided to take on this grooming ritual myself. And I do not mind a bit. It is easy to get the hang of, you can get the look you want without having to explain it to someone else, and can deal with the temporary redness while sleeping rather than walking around that way for a day.
That said, I was uncomfortable with the ingredients in the product I was using. And then, along came MOOM. Made with USDA certified 100% Organic and beneficial food-grade ingredients: Cane sugar, Lemon Juice, Chamomile Tea, and essential oils. This hair remover has the consistency of honey and smells like something you could spread on toast.
The Candle Cafe was established more than 25 years ago. Now located on 307 Third Avenue Between 74th & 75th, shown on the map here, it’s an organic and vegetarian cafe that was once a natural foods store.
If you live in New York, then check out the fine dining too at Candle Cafe’s sister restaurant Candle 79 on 79th and Lexington. It is one of NYC’s premiere vegan dining spots on the upper east side.
This comes on the heels of a UK study that said just the opposite. According to the AFSSA study, organic foods are not only more nutritious, but they’re safer. Here are the study’s main findings:
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