Healthy and Green Living » Smart Shopping

How Safe is Non-Organic Milk?

Annie B. Bond — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:00:52 +0000

If just 10 percent of dairy cows in America were injected with a dye that produced blue milk, it would be hard to find products made from white milk.

Green Gift Guide for Father’s Day

Jana Ballinger — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:00:35 +0000

He taught you how to ride a bike, then later how to drive. He cooked his version of omelets, the “cheesy dadlet,” and made peanut butter sandwiches for you and your friends. He dropped you and your futon off at college and smiled proudly on graduation day. With Father’s Day upon us, it’s time to give [...]

Pollan Count

Eric Steinman — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:00:56 +0000

�Once our personal connection to what is wrong becomes clear, then we have to choose: we can go on as before, recognizing our dishonesty and living with it the best we can, or we can begin the effort to change the way we think and live.� –Wendell Berry, author and environmentalist Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore�s [...]

Bye-bye Juice Box: Reusable Lunch Bottles

Terri Hall-Jackson — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:00:52 +0000

Juice boxes and water bottles dominate the school cafeteria landscape. However, I don't think any of us are interested in having them dominate the landscape outdoors where they both become more garbage to be disposed of in landfills or even our rivers and oceans.

Juice boxes are typically made up of six layers of paper (24 percent), polyethylene (70 percent), and aluminum foil (6 percent). Because the layering of paper beverage containers cannot be easily separated, they are not recyclable in many communities.

Additionally, the plastic that makes up most water bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) is likely to leach hormone disrupting phthalates.

Teach Kids Good Eating Habits

Annie B. Bond — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:00:20 +0000

Eating habits are learned behaviors. They're not intuitive, so what your children learn to eat at home early in life sticks with them well into adulthood.

Today we are disconnected from our food sources in a way that is unprecedented in human history. Fewer and fewer Americans cook meals from scratch because it's easier and faster to throw a frozen dinner in the oven or grab something from a fast-food restaurant on the way home from work. Most parents know that their kids are under continuous assault by corporate food advertising but feel frustrated by and even powerless against it.

Enjoying Being a Girl: Primer on Play Make-up

Annie B. Bond — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:51 +0000

Dressing-up and putting on make-up&#151isn't that part and parcel of little girl fun? On her fifth birthday, my daughter received an endless platter of play eyeshadow, lipstick, lip gloss and shimmery nail polishes from a very "girly" buddy as a birthday gift. She loved putting the colors on, and I had some hearty chuckles as I looked at her heavily-laden blue eye lids and ultra-frosty lips. Her attitude was the icing on the cake: She looked good and she knew it!

Feeding Baby: Transitioning to Solids

Terri Hall-Jackson — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:00:54 +0000

With a full gourmet spectrum of options of baby foods on the market, how do you choose foods that are nutritious and safe?

First foods usually include a cereal, such as rice cereal, mixed with some water, breast milk or formula. This is usually followed by the introduction of single mashed or pureed fruits, such as bananas, apples or pears. When purchasing any baby food product, read labels in order to be sure that you are avoiding preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, unnecessary salt and sugar, and fillers. The organic baby food market is booming and it is easy to find a number of organic brands of baby cereal and jarred food available at most supermarkets.

Soft Drinks: Easy Greening

Melissa Breyer — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:00:18 +0000

America�s first sodas were made by pharmacists for curative purposes and were flavored with ingredients like birch bark and dandelions. Today�s soft drinks are chock full of artificial ingredients and are proven to increase health risks. Soda vending machines are like kid magnets, and with school starting it's a great time to think about alternatives. (For us adults, too!) Here's why you should just say no to soda, and what to wet your whistle with instead.

How To Be an Ethical Investor

Carl Frankel — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:50:55 +0000

Investing is a tricky business, and it's doubly so when you want to limit yourself to companies that are truly socially responsible. If you want to be scrupulously ethical as well as smart, how do you choose wisely?

Kids’ Body Odor and Safe Deodorants

Terri Hall-Jackson — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:32:12 +0000

Did you know that naturally occurring bacteria on the skin, not sweat, is what creates the dreaded funkiness commonly known as BO? As children approach puberty, hormones cause an increase in sweating which then results in body odor. If your child's body is changing and you notice this smell, is it safe for him or her to use deodorant?