New Blog Alert!!!

I started a new blog. It is really just getting started so don't expect a whole bunch right now. It is focusing specifically on me going green. So you will not see those kinds of posts here anymore. I will probably take the ones here and slowly move them over there. Sshh!! Don't tell anyone.

I am glad that all of you have been reading this blog and I hope you will continue to, but please come check me out at my new home. And make sure you follow me so I won't be so lonely.

Thanks.

Come on over to my Journey to Green. Hope you like it.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard Review: Part 2

Part 1 is here. There you can see my 2 attempts at using KCCC to style my hair.

So its almost a week later and here is my official review of KCCC and KCKT.

Ingredients:

Kinky Curly Knot Today: organic mango fruit extract, organic slippery elm, organic marshmallow root, organic lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric acid, phenoxyethanol and natural fragrance

Kinky Curly Curling Custard: botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), pectin, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural fragrance

Pros: I like that this product uses organic and natural ingredients. That is very important to me. And it allows for the product to easily wash out of my hair. I like the smell of both products. The scent is hard to describe, but it is not perfumey or overpowering. They smell clean and fresh. I like that my hair did not feel crunchy when it dried.

Cons: My hair had serious shrinkage using this product, too much for me. Because of the amount of shrinkage this is only one day hair and for me that is no bueno. I need to be able to wear a hairstyle for a week. Yes, a full 7 days, until wash/style day and this was not cutting it. It just did not give the wet look I was going for.

But, the product is not bad. I wish I would have had the courage to try it when my hair was shorter because it might have worked. I have noticed that my hair is longer and thicker than many of the YouTubers I have seen have success with this...even if our hair is the same hair type. So maybe I have passed my hair length for this product. I do want to try it again, but it is frustrating to spend time doing my hair and then having to do it again. We will see. I am going to keep the products around, so maybe when I have some time off from work I will try it again.

Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair OIl Review

Dabur Vatika Enriched Coconut Hair Oil 300mL $4.99

Ingredients: Each 100mL of oil is prepared from: Mehndi (henna), Amla, Harar, Bahera, Neem, Brahmi, Kapur Kachri, Dugdha, Lemon oil, Rosemary oil, Lecithin, Sugandhit Dravyas, Nariyal Tail

What is all that? They are all ayurvedic herbs that have a variety of benefits.

Mehndi - hair strengthener; dandruff reducer; hair colorant

Amla - a conditioner; controls hair loss, stimulates growth, and controls premature graying

Harar - anti-inflammatory; analgesic; purifier

Bahera - hair rejuvenator

Neem - clears dandruff; natural antiseptic; natural oil balance for scalp

Brahmi - cools the scalp; controls dandruff; makes hair long, dense, dark, and lustrous; strengthens hair roots

Kapur Kachri - stimulates hair roots and growth

Dugdha - prevents graying

Lemon oil - cleans scalp; natural antiseptic; natural oil balance for scalp; refreshens and rejuvenates the scalp

Rosemary oil - is good for treating hair fall or shedding and dandruff. It stimulates the hair bulbs to renew activity and prevent premature balding

Lecithin - protein

Sugandhit Dravyas - improves blood circulation to hair roots and follicles; eliminates dandruff; soothes flaky scalp

Nariyal Tail - coconut oil

Yeah that's a lot. But this stuff is amazing. I found this searching on Amazon for something to help my itchy scalp. Then after I found it there I saw it on every blog and forum for natural hair care. So apparently this stuff is popular and I was just out of the loop. Nothing new. And from what I have found there are two different formulations, but I use the one in the green bottle pictured above.

Typically I make my own hair products, but this has so much stuff in it and it works, so for me to try to make something similar on my own would cost a fortune. I use this on my scalp and to do my 2-strand twists. Others use it as an oil rinse or deep conditioner. There are just so many uses. Even the Hubs tried it and liked it. He has very coarse hair and the products he has used according to him are usually soaked up through the night. He used this one night and he said the next morning his hair actually felt soft. I have never seen his hair feel soft so that is saying something. ;)

I have been using this product for a little over 2 months and I love it.

Pros: No more itchy scalp and my hair is so soft. I can use this product for so many things. I can add it to my deep conditioner (or use it alone as a deep conditioner), as an oil rinse, and as a pre-poo before I shampoo and condition my hair. I know some people will use it on their body too. I'm not there yet. Another pro is that the Hubs loves this for his hair too, so its good for men and women.

Cons: The only negative I can say of it is that coconut oil is a solid at room temperature. So if it is in a cold climate it will become a solid. The bottle is not designed for a solid and it can be difficult to get the product out. Just run it under some hot water and it will liquify.

Kinky Curly Curling Custard

What is that you say? Yes, Kinky Curly Curling Custard, from here on KCCC, is the new product I am trying on my hair. This product combined with Kinky Curly Knot Today (KCKT) is supposed to give all curly hair types amazing, curly, bouncy hair. This can be used for ethnic and non-ethnic hair...all curlies. That is the claim. And the product also says that it is all natural and organic, if that is important to you. It is to me.

All Kinky Curly products contain NO: petroleum, mineral oil, silicone, alcohol, plastics, acrylics, parabens, carbomer, or wax. Yes, all of these ingredients can be found in conventional hair products and are not good for curly hair.

Ingredients:

KCCC: botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), pectin, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural fragrance

KCKT: organic mango fruit extract, organic slippery elm, organic marshmallow root, organic lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric acid, phenoxyethanol, and natural fragrance

So how do they work, you ask?

Well, depending on your curl pattern you can use one or both products to make amazing curls. Some people with looser curls can use KCKT or KCCC alone. Most ethnic curlies have to use the products together. That is what I did.

Trial 1 (which did not turn out the way I expected)

This was done on clean, sopping wet hair.

I did not use enough KCKT on my hair and once it dried you could definitely see that. Also, once completely dry my hair was crunchy, which from everything I read and all the videos I watched on YouTube is not supposed to happen.

Here are some pics.

Just done. Hair still dripping wet.

About an hour later.

Completely dry.

Can we say shrinkage? When my hair is wet, it usually touches my shoulders. This ended up being a big, curly fro. I liked it, but it was not what I was going for and I cannot wear my hair like that to work. That means that I would have to wet my hair and do it again to go to work. I don't think that is going to happen to often.

Trial 2

On clean (shampooed and conditioned) sopping wet hair add KCKT. You have to use a lot of this and I mean A LOT. I have done this process twice and the first time I did not use enough of the KCKT. For my hair length, texture, and thickness I had to use 1/2 of the 8oz. bottle. Yes, half. KCKT does now come in a 32oz. bottle, so if I really like the results I will get the bigger bottle.

After conditioning my hair in the shower, I divided my hair into 4 twisted sections and left it like this as I applied the KCKT. I completely saturated each section in the product. Then I divided that section into 3 sections and clipped the rest aside. I used my Denman brush and worked the KCKT through the section. I took a small amount of KCCC and put it on the root. Then I took a little more and spread it through the section. I again took my Denman brush and worked the product through the section. Then I twisted the completed section to keep it out of the way. I repeated this process with my entire head.

I can already see the difference by using more KCKT. The curls are more defined and have more hang time.

Immediately after. Hair still sopping wet.

About 1 hour later.

Completely dry.

Trial 1 v. Trial 2

Sopping wet.

Completely dry.

Ok. I think I figured it out. I will definitely be trying this one again. Seven years of being natural and I finally figured out the wash and go look. Not exactly wash and go, but it looks like it. And I wish I had video because it moves and bounces and is not stiff. The hardest part was letting my hair dry completely before I started messing with it. I have serious issues with hand in fro.

These products can be bought online and at Whole Foods and Target (yep, just recently).

Also, check out all the videos on YouTube on the subject.

This is the application video I used for Trial 2. From miss HeatherNicole. Definitely subscribe to her videos. She is great.

Check out Her YouTube video.

Are GMOs in your garden?

I try to not be preachy to people about my food choices and why I do and don't eat certain things. One of the reasons is I don't like it when people preach to me and another is that I am not perfect in my decisions. Sometimes I don't do things for financial reasons, like I can't afford to buy everything I eat organic, and sometimes because I just don't wanna. I like syrup. Sorry. I do. I tried using 100% pure maple syrup, but it isn't the same. And sometimes I want waffles with syrup. I have cut back significantly, but sometimes I have a craving. Buuut, anyway, I was having a conversation with co-workers about how much we spend on groceries a month. Well apparently the Hubs and I spend more on groceries each month than some families of 4. This does not bother me because as they always say, you are what you eat. So when asked why we spend so much I went on and on about the dirty dozen and GMOs. It was then mentioned that you could avoid GMOs by buying local and from roadside stands. Well, that is not actually true.

Agrochemical multinationals (read Monsanto) are not just manufacturers of GM soy and corn, they are also in the vegetable seed business. And those seeds can be bought for your home garden. How did this happen? Well, agrochemical companies bought up seed companies. So over the last few decades we went from having hundreds of companies selling seeds to a handful. Yes there are some anti-trust questions that can be raised here, but this is more about the environmental and health effects.

So by having a handful of companies owning the seed supply, diversity is seeds has significantly decreased. This leads to increased attack from insects and disease, which then leads to increased use of pesticides and herbicides. But that's ok because the same companies that own the seeds also produce the pesticides. (That was said in my most sarcastic voice).

This basically means that if you buy conventional seeds or if you buy fruits and vegetables from the local food stand there is a HUGE chance that they could be genetically modified. You always have to ask. There is no benefit of using organic practices in your personal garden if the seeds you purchase are genetically modified. You will be wasting your time.

The best thing to do is buy organic seeds which by definition cannot be GM. Research the companies you buy from. And this part can be hard because companies are bought and sold all the time. But basically, it is all in the seeds.

For more information on this topic, go here. They also have a handy flow chart that shows which parent company owns the smaller seed companies.

...and now you know.

More reasons to eat ORGANIC

Recently I posted about pesticides on fruits and vegetables and the ones that are the worst (The Dirty Dozen). Now there are even more reasons to eat organic fruits and vegetables. A new study in the journal Pediatrics associated pesticides, specifically organophosphates, to cases of ADHD in the US and Canada. Research is suggesting that exposure to these pesticides along with other environmental contributors may be contributing to attention problems in children. In a study of 1100 children aged 8 to 15, those with the highest levels of dialkyl phosphates (a breakdown component of organophosphates) had the highest incidence of ADHD. It is already known that children that work on farms and near pesticides have more neurological problems, but this study is just from regular kids with no added exposure risk.

Does this mean that there is a definitive link? Does this mean that the pesticides are causing ADHD? No. Even the author of the research stresses that this is only an association. However, in my opinion, an association to this degree means more research needs to be done. This research SHOULD have been done PRIOR to allowing these pesticides in the US food supply.

So does organic produce cost more? Yes. But what will the price be for the potential added healthcare costs?

Read the TIME article here.

And now you know.

GMOs and Why You Should Avoid Them

What is a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)?

In my previous post on deciphering produce codes, I discussed briefly how 5-digit codes beginning with 8 should be avoided at all costs. These items are genetically modified and here is why they should be avoided.

Genetic engineering or genetic modification (GM) of food involves the laboratory process of artificially inserting genes into the DNA of crops and animals. The resulting product is a genetically modified organism (GMO).

Scientists engineer certain crops so that pesticides are built-in to every cell. So when an insect bites the plant, the pesticide splits open their stomachs and kills them. What crops can be genetically modified? Well, anything really, but the ones being focused on now are soy, corn, canola, cotton, and sugar. Biotech companies claim that the pesticide Bt, from the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis, is a safe because it has a history of use by organic farmers and it has been used as a natural insect repellent. However, the Bt-toxin found in GMOs is thousands of times more concentrated than the natural spray, is designed to be more toxic, has properties of an allergen, and unlike the natural spray cannot be washed off. Another GMO is engineering crops to be able to withstand Roundup, the weedkiller. So farmers can spray the crops with tons of Roundup and it will kill the weeds, but not the crops. Moreover, studies have shown that Bt even in lower doses found in the natural spray can be harmful.

• Bt is extremely similar to two other bacteria, B. cereus, which causes food poisoning, and B. anthracis, which causes anthrax. That's right, ANTHRAX. It is so similar to both of these it cannot be distinguished without sophisticated testing.
• Bt secretes many of the same toxins as B. cereus when growing. That's the one that causes food poisoning. There is also mounting evidence that the spores can germinate in humans and live for extended periods of time in the respiratory gastrointestinal tract. But because they are so similar, individuals who have gotten sick may have had it attributed to B. cereus when it was really Bt.
• REMEMBER DDT, for 30 years it was purported as a safe pesticide and extremely safe for humans. These same studies have been done on Bt. How long will it take for it to be banned?

Many studies have shown GMOs to be harmful to your health. Doctors are prescribing non-GMO diets to patients with allergies, infertility, immune problems, and a host of other issues. A position paper by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) stated that "several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM foods." The results are ALARMING. Some examples:

• When female rats were feed GM soy, most of their babies died - as opposed to 10% of rats feed natural soy. For the babies that survived, they were smaller and had problems getting pregnant in the future.
• When male rats ate GM soy, their testicles changed color. (yep, that's right.) They had altered sperm. Even the embryos of GM feed mice had significant changes in their DNA.
• In the US, 2 dozen farmers reported that thousands of pigs feed GM corn became sterile. Some had false pregnancies and others gave birth to sacs of water. Cows and bulls became infertile when fed the same corn.

What does this mean for you?

Studies are done on rats and other animals to determine the effect that they will have on humans. GM products caused infertility, altered sperm, and GIVING BIRTH TO SACS OF WATER. Not only does this affect the person or animal eating it, it affects their embryos. That also means that if the animals you eat are feed GM food, it is getting into your system and being passed on to you offspring. YES, it is that bad.

So what can you do?

1. Eat organic, especially where the above mentioned foods are concerned.
2. Read ingredients.
3. Stay informed. Everyday biotech companies are trying to add food to the list of GMOs. They are also legislating to Congress to try to lift restrictions on GMOs. Like, they do not want to have to label produce as a GMO. You can make a change with your vote.

There is a helpful shopping guide that lists GMO-free foods by category and brand from baby formula to candy. It will definitely surprise you and make you a little sad. It can be found as an app for your iPhone or iPod touch or be downloaded and printed as a shopping guide.

My nestie friend SuperGreen made this convenient booklet. The info can be printed here and bound like this. She got it laminated and printed at Kinkos. All photos are from SuperGreen.

Thanks to my nestie friend SuperGreen for this info and pointing me in the right direction.

More info can be found here and here.

The Institute for Responsible Technology has a wealth of information.

Deciphering Produce Codes

I just posted a link to the new list of pesticides in produce. So, how do you know if a fruit or vegetable is organic. There is actually a very easy way to determine that just by looking at it. The price look-up (PLU) code. The PLU code is an international numbering system that identifies each produce item so that cash registers can ring them up automatically.

A 4-digit number indicates CONVENTIONALLY GROWN produce. These products use regular pesticides approved by the FDA, but not necessarily the best thing for you. (That is my opinion).

A 5-digit number beginning with a 9 indicates ORGANIC produce.

A 5-digit number beginning with an 8 indicates GENETICALLY MODIFIED produce. In a nutshell, STAY AWAY from this type of produce. I will go into more detail about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in another post, but basically STAY AWAY.

For example, Pink Lady Apples (one of my favs) have the PLU code 4128. An organic Pink Lady apple would be 94128 (these are the ones I buy). A genetically modified Pink Lady apple would be 84128. Got it? Good.

Why is this important? I have been in stores that have a big sign reading ORGANIC PRODUCE. Then I look at it and it has a 4-digit number. This means it is conventionally grown. Is it harmful to you? Maybe, maybe not. But if your intention is to purchase organic, don't you want to make sure that is what you are buying?

I do. And from knowing these 3 simple rules I can always decipher the code.

Shopper's Guide to Pesticides

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has updated their list of the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 for produce. The old list can be found here and there are some significant changes. I received a preview of the list (it will not be officially posted until May 10), so I am giving it to my few blog readers.

Celery has beat peaches as the most pesticide ridden produce....way to go celery. AND blueberries were added to the dirty dozen. Take a look at the entire list here. This site also explains how the list is determined.

It is also a guide for the budget conscious, like myself. I cannot afford to buy everything organic, but if it is one of the dirty dozen I make sure I do. I save my money on the clean 15.

Hope this helps people make wise and green decisions. Happy and Healthy Eating.

Earth Day 2010

Tomorrow is Earth Day.

Interesting Earth Day Facts:

• Every ton of paper that is recycled save 17 trees
• It takes 50-70 gallons of water for a 10 minute shower
• More than 20 million (that's 20,000,000) Hershey's kisses are wrapped each day. That is 133 square miles of tin foil. All of that can be recycled.
• If every newspaper was recycled, 250 million (250,000,000) trees could be saved each year. Unfortunately on 27% of all American newspapers are recycled.
• If you brush your teeth for the full 3 minutes (which you should if you don't) and leave the water running, you are wasting approximately 8 gallons of water each time.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day and reduce your environmental footprint?

And on top of that there are some Earth Day 2010 freebies.

Target - Mail in 5 plastic bags to Terracycle, 121 New York Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08638 and get $1 back to spend on a reusable shopping bag.

Disney Store - Bring in SIX empty plastic bottles or soda cans to the Disney Store on 4/22 and get a free Friend for Change and Disney Store youth sized baseball cap (made out of 100% recycled materials). Limit 1 per guest, while supplies last.

Hanes - Buy 3 Hanes products and mail-in a rebate for a free Earth Day T-shirt. And, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree, up to 20,000, on Hanes behalf. Offer good until May 15th.

BBC Earth - Free download of the First Episode of Planet Earth "Pole to Pole" on iTunes. Offer good until April 26th.

Babies R Us - Get a free reusable tote bag with printable coupon through 4/22, plus 25% off all clothes and shoes you can fit in the bag.

Pottery Barn - Earth Day Celebration at Pottery Barn Kids with giveaways, activities, and story time on 4/22.

Happy Earth Day Everyone!! Enjoy.

The Battle with my Skin

Back in February about a week or two into the Blizzard of 2010 my forehead started breaking out. I have never really had issues with acne so this was new to me. I mean, I have gotten the occasional bump here and there, treated it, and it was gone. But this was different. My entire forehead was breaking out and no matter what I did it would not go away.

I knew it had something to do with my anxiety over all the snow. I don't know what my issue was, but I just felt like it (meaning the snow) was never going to go away. I started thinking maybe I had SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) or whatever that commercial is about how the cold and winter affect your mood. I don't know, maybe I do. But anyway, my forehead was breaking out and it was not going away.

So I had to think of something. Several of my nesties use the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) and they say it is great for acne so I thought I would give it a try. The method involves mixing oils to clean your skin. I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it does work. Anyway the method calls for using sunflower oil and of course I am allergic to that so I had to try something else. Several nesties said that they used jojoba oil instead. Bet, I had that in the house anyway. So I used the jojoba oil a couple of days to clean my skin. OMG, what a mistake for MY skin. The rest of my face looked great, but my forehead got even worse. It was not the substitute oil for my skin. Huge no no for me. I was about to give up this method, but I thought I would give it another try. So i mixed EVOO and castor oil and added a couple of drops of tea tree oil. OMG, wonders for my skin. The acne started drying out and clearing up.

I also to some micro-retin-A from the Hubs that he got from the dermatologist and started putting that on the affected area.

I also was coming to the end of my conventional moisturizer for my face, so I went ahead a bought the number 1 rated moisturizer by the EWG from Keys. While there I also bought their Healing Foaming Face Wash. I have started using both every day and my skin is 95% back to its old self.

So now I am a person with a face regimen. So every day I clean my face with the face wash and moisturize. Then once a week I do the OCM. It works for my skin. I will go into more detail about my version of the OCM soon. I am so happy to have my skin back. It has been a little over a month, but it has finally happened. So that has been my battle. I have made some mistakes but now I have products in my life that will be there for a long time.

Review - Homeade Laundry Detergent

I have been using my homeade liquid laundry detergent for a couple of weeks now. So what do I think? I love the stuff. I did make too much of it. That was my fault for not fully reading the directions. It was very easy to make just too much. I was trying to keep it in the pot until I needed it, but the Hubs made me throw it out. It is very cheap to make so he said I was not wasting that much money. So ok I threw it out.

I did make some modifications though. I could not find the Dr. Bronner's Mild Baby Soap, so I used Burt's Bees soap, no fragrance. The mildest I could find. I cannot remember the actual name of it. Also, I think the recipe said to use 1/4 c for each load and I felt I needed WAY more than that. I used 1-1.5 c per load. So out of the 4 quarts of detergent I kept (the recipe made 10 quarts I think) I got 18-20 loads of laundry.

One positive I did have from this is our clothes smell great. The other night I was laying next to the Hubs and his shirt smelled so good. I love the smell of fresh laundry.

This time I am going to try dry detergent.

Here is the recipe I am going to use (modified from The Good Wife):

1 bar of soap (I will be using the Burt's Bees again. It is easier to find)
1c borax
1c baking soda
1c washing soda

Each load will use 2tsp. of detergent. I might cut this recipe down just in case we do not like it, but I have heard nothing but positives.

I will let the Hubs decide which he likes best and that is the one I will use.

My Battle with "Being Green"

It is not emotional, spiritual, or even financial (and that is usually the issue for me). So what is the issue...it's immunological. That's right, my own freakin body is fighting my quest to be green.

A little backstory: Sometime in my early 20's I started developing food allergies. I don't know why or what happened, but there they were. It started with bananas, i think. But in that list of food allergies are sunflower seed/oil/etc. and almond nut/oil/etc.

So what does food allergies have to do with being green? Well, sunflower oil and/or almond oil are in probably 90% of organic products for your hair and skin. Why? Because they are so great.

Benefits of sunflower oil: It is very high in essential fatty acids; helps moisturize, regenerate, and condition skin. Good for sensitive skin (just not mine).

Benefits of almond oil: It is a great emollient for softening and conditioning skin; rich in essential fatty acids.

Therefore, it is used for lots of stuff; lotions, lip balm, soap, conditioners, etc.

That means I have to read the ingredients of everything. It can be very annoying. So I finally found chapstick that does not contain either of these oils from Dr. Bronner's. This is great because I can buy it at target. And soap Shea Moisture (also can be bought at Target). Conditioner: Giovanni (also at Target). Does anyone else see how much I love Target. And yes as I am writing this I am pronouncing it Tar-jay because it is where I get all my fancy products, so its better. Duh.

But other items are not so easy. It took me months to find a facial moisturizer with SPF that was "green" and did not contain sunflower and/or almond oil. But, with persistence I finally found it. The issue is I have to buy if off the internet and I don't really know how great it will work. But I am optimistic. Keys Solar Rx Moisturizing Sunblock SPF 30 was voted the number 1 Moisturizing Sunscreen by the Environmental Working Group for 2009. That means it is the best green product in the category. AND it does not have sunflower or almond oil. So I am off to order this product.

Review to follow.

Going Green: Laundry Detergent

As I have to replace my traditional products I am buying "green" ones. I personally think it is a waste to throw all the old stuff away and I have been using it my whole life so using it for a little longer is not going to have any more detrimental of an effect on my health than it already has. So I am getting "green" laundry detergent. In fact, I am going to start to make my own. I am a chemist at heart, so this is right up my alley...and it is like 10x cheaper than the free and sensitive products i was buying before.

There are several recipes for DIY detergents here. I was going to do the powdered detergent...easier, but the Hubs says he would rather have liquid so I will give it a try.

The recipe I am going to use is:

• 1 quart water (boiling)


• 2 cups of bar soap (grated) I am going to use Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Organic Bar Soap


• 2 cups Borax (found in the laundry aisle)


• 2 cups Washing Soda (found in the laundry aisle)

Very basic and if I don't like the results, I haven't wasted much money. And there are several recipes so I will just try another...maybe powder.

I will show my results when I have them.

Going Green: Buying Organic for the Budget Conscious

I am the type of person who buys organic without thinking of the price. I know, bad, bad. But right now it is just me and the hubs so we do that. It most likely will not be that way forever and I will have to put myself on a shopping budget. I still want to buy organic, but what if it does not fit into my budget? Well, there are some things that you should buy organic (whether you are trying to go green or not) and there are some that it does not make that big of a difference. So when should you make the investment to go organic.

The Environmental Working Group scored food pesticides levels on a variety of produce from 1 to 100 (1 being the lowest). These pesticides can cause a variety of health problems including risks of cancers and hormone imbalances.

These fruits and vegetables have higher rankings due to pesticide use or absorption:

The Worst (you definitely need to buy these organic)

• peaches


• apples


• bell peppers


• celery


• nectarines


• strawberries


• cherries


• kale


• lettuce


• grapes (imported)


• carrots


• pears

The Cleanest (save the money if you cannot afford it)

• onions


• avocados


• sweet corn


• pineapples


• mangoes


• asparagus


• sweet peas


• kiwi


• cabbage


• eggplant


• papaya


• watermelon


• broccoli


• tomatoes


• sweet potatoes

Check out the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides here. Happy and Healthy shopping.

Going Green

The Thornton household is going green. This can be extremely overwhelming, but we are going to take baby steps. There are already some green things we did in the household, some intentionally and some not. We use some eco-friendly cleaning products. I use EF hair products, but that was more for my hair than the environment, so its a two for one. So as we use up our products, we will be replacing them with EF ones. We will be changing the soap we use, the food we eat and where we get it, and many other things. So we will be going to farmers markets and trying to buy local and organic, etc. I somehow convinced Eddie to be on board with this, which is good. So I have been reading so much info and some things I just cannot do. But we will see. I will be updating my progress.