Eco-friendly Strollers

July 29, 2011 | Published in Baby, For The Kids, Green Parenting

As new age parents learn about supporting the environment when purchasing household items, it has sparked the trend of Eco friendly strollers.


There’s not as vast of a selection as there should be, but a few companies are emerging as leaders in producing non-toxic strollers for babies and toddlers. These two companies are recognizable for their quality product as well as their initiative in providing a toxic free environment for your baby.

Strollers are going green

Maclaren Strollers
This international company is dedicated to their corporate social policy (CSR), as one of their major concerns is responsible manufacturing. They use recyclable materials as much as possible as well as restricting chemical compounds that harm the environment such as phthalates, lead, PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which have been eliminated from all their products.

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Green Inconvenience

November 10, 2010 | Published in Reduce Reuse Recycle, The Green Consumer

I do a lot of the “usual” green things. I recycle. I compost. I shop second-hand. I carry reusable grocery bags and a stainless steel water bottle. I walk my daughter to kindergarten and back every day. I turn down my thermostat and put on a sweater.

But there is an obstacle to my green efforts – much of the time, I don’t want to be inconvenienced by going green. I bring my reusable grocery bags when I go grocery shopping, but if I occasionally forget, I don’t sweat it. I drink tap water, but when I forget my water bottle at home, I sometimes buy water in a plastic bottle.

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Growing Green Kids

November 5, 2010 | Published in For The Home, For The Kids, Green Family Friday, Green Gardens

As adults we understand the effects of our lifestyle. We can see how eating healthy foods makes a difference in the way we feel and function. We know the responsible things to do are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. But, what about our kids?

My parents raised me and my seven siblings on a very healthy diet of whole foods. We made or bought whole wheat; everything from bread to cookies. We drank real fruit juice and ate real cheese. Dad refused to buy things like cheap hotdogs, bologna, and processed lunch meats. We were taught to be responsible with all our resources which meant not wasting food and supplies, taking care of our tools, cars, and home and of course, never littering.

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Recycling Electronics The Safe Way

November 4, 2010 | Published in Reduce Reuse Recycle

This past week my husband and I finally broke down and bought another computer. It has been almost five years since our last computer purchase. In computer years that translates to one hundred people years. The purchase of a new computer led me to wonder how to dispose of the old one.

Computers and other electronics contain some of the most toxic materials of any other product group. Technology items such as cell phones, gaming systems, and computers contain lead, mercury, plastics harmful to the air, and many other chemicals that can cause serious damage to the environment. Because of these contaminants, disposing of electronic items can be extremely difficult.

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The Dangers of Polyvinyl Chloride Plastic (known as PVC)

November 3, 2010 | Published in Green Science, Reduce Reuse Recycle

In my last article I discussed some of the dangers and chemicals associated with back-to-school supplies. One of the toxins commonly present in school supplies is Polyvinyl chloride plastic (known as PVC). I had not heard about the dangers of this plastic before, so I decided to further investigate the dangers associated with PVC plastic.

PVC is a material that is commonly used in many different forms of products. Toys, vinyl flooring and seating, shower curtains, dishes, and some technology items all use PVC as a form of plastic. Fifty percent of all PVC plastic manufactured is used for building supplies because it is cheap.

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Healthy Peach-Banana Smoothie – Recipe

November 1, 2010 | Published in Eat to Live

1 ripe medium banana
1 cup vanilla low-fat or nonfat yogurt
¼ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup wheat germ
1 cup ice
1 cup sliced fresh peaches or banana slices

Put banana and yogurt in a blender with peaches, orange juice and wheat germ. Add ice and blend until smooth. Garnish with peach or banana slices and sprinkle 2 tsp. wheat germ on top.

Go a little crazy! Put 1 cup of yogurt, ½ cup of milk, and 2 cups of ice in a blender and add any fruit from your basket that’s getting a little too ripe. It’s hard to find a combo that doesn’t taste good together!

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Straws – A Plastic Alternative

October 29, 2010 | Published in For The Home, Great Green Finds, Green Family Friday

If you’re looking to eliminate plastics, you need to check out this post from The Nourishing Gourmet.

Honestly, I never thought of using anything but plastic straws. I didn’t even know there were alternatives.

Thanks to Leah at Abundant Life for pointing out this post.

Now I want some pretty glass straws to slurp down my fruit smoothies!

Image credit: GlassDharma

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7 Tips for a Greener Halloween

October 28, 2010 | Published in Green Holidays, Green Parenting

Halloween is almost here, and I am going to come right out and admit that I am way behind on my preparations. I’m sewing my kids’ costumes, and so far I have … wait for it … cut the fabric for one half of one kid’s outfit. I’m pretty sure I know what I’ll be doing on October 30.

Whether you’re organized (go you!), or you’re procrastinating like me, there are a few things that you can do to make your Halloween a little friendlier on the planet. And you don’t have to sacrifice any fun in the process. Because who wants to do that?

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French Bread Pizzas

September 28, 2010 | Published in Eat to Live

I love to make and freeze french bread pizzas for a quick dinner or lunch. Around here most food is made from scratch and these are no different, but while it may take awhile to make these they are worth it!

First make your bread. I make an Italian loaf because I like it a bit better than French bread but if you have recipe you like you can use it in place of this recipe.

Italian Bread Dough

Ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water (105° – 115° F)
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1.

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Cloth Diapering

August 30, 2010 | Published in For The Kids, Green Parenting, Reduce Reuse Recycle

I am going to confess something. When my first child, Hannah, was a baby we used disposable diapers. We clad her little bottom cheap throwaway diapers that we bought in bulk, then we turned them into little sausages using our Diaper Genie. It was fast and easy – I’ll say that much. But I was not entirely happy with the choice. There was a lot of diaper garbage each week – diaper garbage that is still sitting in a landfill today, 5 1/2 years later. Diaper garbage that will likely still be sitting in that landfill 1000 years from now.

I did some research when I was pregnant with my second child, Jacob.

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