The Healthy Parenting Blog

Blog Action Day is here

Today, for Blog Action Day, I thought I’d write about some of the things that we do (or strive to) to tread lightly on our earth. 

Recycle - Reduce - Reuse!

Its important that when we do use plastics and other recyclable containers that we take the time to recycle.  In NJ, recycling was mandatory and picked up with the garbage.  Where we live in NC, its not so easy but still just as necessary (though not required). There’s a recycling drop off that we take our empty containers and cardboard to every other week or so. To find local recycling resources in the US, the National Recycling Coalition can help with their local resources database.  The issue is not only on how much we’re putting into our landfills and how long it will be there but the energy and cost involved in NOT recycling.  Our earth just can’t afford it.  The following information comes from  Earth911.org ;

• Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours.
• If you toss an aluminum can, it will still be an aluminum can in 500 years
• Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy and 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore.
• Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space
• In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 38 bottles per person, which equals about 50 billion plastic bottles consumed, with only 23% being recycled. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.
• A plastic bottle tossed out will not even start to decompose for 700 years.

Recycle your batteries, cell phones, old clothes (via Freecycle or Craigslist) or unwanted items, eyeglasses, AND more.  We haven’t fully switched over to rechargeable batteries and we’ve had a few mishaps with our rechargeables getting recycled (oops) but we’re working on it.

If we are in need of a household item, we first check Freecycle and Craigslist.  This way, we’re recycling by reusing someone else’s “treasure”.

We turn lights off, ceiling fans are used only when we are in the rooms, turn water off and the many more little tips you can find that put together, CAN and DO make a difference.  So lets all get with it!  :)  And do what we can to put whats important first. 

Blog Action Day - October 15th

Thousands of people blogging on the same day about one of THE most important issues, our environment.  So c’mon, register to participate NOW. Use your blog, your myspace page, your LJ….where ever you speak your mind. Let’s all be united for one day…for one cause. 

Have a Healthy Fair Trade Halloween!

Yikes, how did it get to be October already?? I swore last year that I’d have my fair trade organic chocolates early “next” year. Right. Well, its too hot where we are in NC right now to order anything chocolate unless you do overnight delivery - so there’s still time for procrastinators like you and me.

If buying Fair Trade chocolate hasn’t weighed heavily on your mind, you might want to think about it this year. As far back as Summer 2001, it was reported that the cocoa industry was using child slave labor to pick the cocoa beans on the farms. The number of children slaves forced to work in terrible conditions is around 300,000. The chocolate giants admitted to such and vowed to end the practices but years later, nothing has been done and nothing has been demanded of the chocolate corporations who are still profiting from child slave labor.

It is imperative that we send a message to the chocolate industry that we will not stand for this. Please make sure the chocolate you buy this year is FAIR TRADE! Here is a table of chocolate that is slave free. And if you have the time, send a note to Nestle, M&M and whoever else will listen telling them WHY you won’t purchase their products.

Organic and Fair Trade Halloween Candy

Thompson Candy has organic halloween colored chocolate coins and halloween chocolate pops. Call to order; 1(800)648-4058
They sell retail only through their retail outlet factory store.

College Farm Organic Candies offers a nice assortment of hard candies in many flavors including; vanilla caramel, strawberry cream and their favorite “Naturepops”. You can find where to buy on their site on or try Amazon and veganessentials but they also now have their own online store and a 50count Halloween Lollipop bag (on sale for $5.95 right now);

Peanut Butter cats and Chocolate Bat Cookies by Dancing Deer. Great for if you’re planning on making your own little goodie bags. 28 cookies costs $25 or you can buy them wrapped in pairs; 12 pairs for $20. Some new gifts, including “candy corn” sugar cookies.

Sunspire Sundrops (like M&Ms). You can get a box of 24 individual serving bags for $24.00..same price as last year. Sweetened with cane juice and no dyes (beet juice, etc…used for coloring)

Sweet Earth Chocolates
Organic and Fair Traded chocolate coins in wrapped in halloween colors.
Milk chocolate or 65% bittersweet….100pc bag at $22

Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Halloween Store
Some chocolate coins and a few other halloween treats.

Equal Exchange
Organic fair trade chocolate bars. Ships UPS (so temperature must be below 75 degrees to get delivery)

Endangered Species ChocolateSpecializing in natural, ethically traded sweets, donating 10 percent of its net profits to “help support species, habitat and humanity.”

A Greater Gift.org is selling Divine Chocolate. A case of 30 bars for $24.50.
Divine Chocolate is a farmer owned fair trade company; http://www.divinechocolateusa.com/about

On top of the children’s slave trade issue, remember that there’s GMOs to contend with. Nestle has admitted to using GMO ingredients in such common items as toll house chocolate chips and Kit Kat bars.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/71/nestle

Cool Halloween Stuff

Halloween Clipart.com

Free Halloween Screensavers

Kaboose Halloween Clip Art

Free Halloween Fonts

The Yard Haunter
A cool site teaching you how to haunt your yard properly.

Pumpkin Recipes (including Vegan Pumpkin Pie)

Free Pumpkin Carving Templates/Patterns

More Patterns

Extensive Listing of Halloween Crafts

Homemade halloween treat ideas

Homemade VEGAN Candy Corn Recipe

Do you have any healthy, organic or fair trade Halloween tips and/or links? Please share them!

Dr. Fuhrman - Live Wed 10/10

If you are interested in optimal health and haven’t heard Dr. Fuhrman or read his books, now’s your chance to get to know him! He’s on the radio LIVE tomorrow (Wed 10/10) at 11am ET. Listen online here.

His topic is Nutrient Density, which you can read about on his site. You can also check out his blog, Disease Proof. Or you can go ahead and buy the book I KNOW you want to read, Eat to Live. I have read it a multitude of times and refer to it along with his other book, Disease Proof your Child.  You really can’t go wrong with these books, as they offer smart “goals” for you to strive for nutrition wise.

Dr. Furhman himself believes a vegan diet is healthiest but is quick to point out that many vegan/vegetarians are unhealthy eating packaged/processed vegan/vegetarian foods.  Even if you eat meat, you can still use his life plan for eating to improve your overall health.

Inspiring Magazine!

The new issue is available and so worth the read. I’m betting this mag won’t always be free! It comes with its own soothing energy.

Kite Magazine - October 2007 Issue

Chemicals in Personal Care Products

This is one of those things that I just can’t get past.  As many know, on this natural living path, there are many times that you have to weigh out what is important to you.  Its near impossible to eliminate all toxins and/or chemicals that we are exposed to.  Propylene glycol in ice cream and Entenmann’s is one of those things for me that I can’t get out of my head enough to be able to consume them (not that I eat them anyhow). 

The chemicals in personal care products is another for me.  Let me show a statement made by EWG recently and see if it has as much impact on you as it did on me;

98% of all products contain one of more ingredients never publicly assessed for safety.

Not only that,

More than 750 personal care products sold in the U.S. violate industry safety standards or cosmetic safety standards in other industrialized countries.

EWG states the following in regards to their massive and extensive analysis of ingredients in over 23,000 products sold in the U.S. ;

We found nearly 400 products sold in the U.S. containing chemicals that are prohibited for use in cosmetics in other countries, and over 400 products containing ingredients that cosmetic industry safety panels have found unsafe when used as directed on product labels, including the U.S.-based Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) and the International Fragrance Association.

If you’ve read through the HP site’s space on Personal Care products, you know my stand on this already.  There’s so much tossed at us that we all just assume is safe because otherwise it wouldn’t be permitted to be sold to us.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  The cosmeceutical  industry is largely a SELF REGULATED industry. Do your research on those ingredients you are putting on your family. Will it kill them?  Probably not but it certainly isn’t helping them any. 

Natural Bubble Bath?

There’s really not alot out there in the natural arena that has what I would consider acceptable “natural” ingredients. SLS is a common ingredient in most natural bubble baths which is safe according to The American College of Toxicology as long as its use is brief, discontinuous and rinsed thoroughly from the skin. Hmm….sounds like the exact opposite of bubble bath, heh?

Anyhow, we started using the Children’s Shampoo as Bubble Bath! It works really well (as long as I force the tap to shoot the water out with more force by holding my hand on half of the faucet) and is quite inexpensive if you consider how much natural bubble bath WITH SLS costs.

Conventional, Organic or GMO?

Many of us already know to look for the “9″ on produce stickers that indicates ORGANIC!  But what I didn’t realize is that we can also use this sticker to know if the item is Genetically Modified.  Instead of a 9, GMO foods are prefaced with an “8″.  Here is an example of what to look for;

For example, a conventionally grown banana would be: 4011
an organic banana would be: 94011
a genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011

Green is the new Black!

I saw that recently and just loved it.  So if you need a daily fix of eco warrior here’s a site for you;

The Daily Green 

Help the Monks!

Have you heard? Monks and nuns in Burma embarked on a peaceful protest after decades of brutal dictatorship. Thousands upon thousands of ordinary people are joining in.  Yesterday, the Burma military started shooting into the unarmed crowd, killing monks and journalists. 

There is a petition about that is aimed at the United Nations and calling the world to stand alongside the Burmese people.  We should not let this happen and something as small as your name on a piece of paper CAN make a difference. 

The last peaceful demonstration in Burma in 1988 ended with thousands dead.  Let us NOT let this happen again. 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/