Because natural isn't always possible — or easy.
Posted in Beauty, Consumer Packaged Goods, Going Green, Health, Illness, Safety, Toxins on Mar 12th, 2013
A woman posted a For Sale on my local Facebook selling group: Naturals Kids Bath Time Finger Paints. Draw designs on wet skin, inside tub, or in bath water for colorful bath time fun. My daughter loves these, especially writing with them or squeezing out swirly designs and making art! For ages 3 & up. [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Safety, Toxins on Oct 18th, 2012
Do you use detergent pods? If so, you may want to wash them out of your laundry process. Kids have been mistaking them for candy, causing many to ingest them or play with them with serious results, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Not familiar [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Environment, Going Green, Toxins on Oct 10th, 2012
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its Guide to Healthy Cleaning. The results really shocked me. I searched the database for some of my tried and true — and green, I thought! — cleaning products. Many of them have horrible ratings. Heck, my beloved Trader Joe’s liquid laundry detergent scored an F. Yes, an F! [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Environment, Going Green, Health, Toxins on Jul 24th, 2012
There has been plenty of news lately about the dangers of Tricosan, but many people are still puzzled about the chemical. I interviewed Dr. Larry Weiss, chief scientist and founder of hand sanitizer and soap manufacturer CleanWell about the topic. Here are his answers. KB: What is Triclosan? Dr. Weiss: Triclosan and the closely related [...]
Posted in clothing, Consumer Packaged Goods, Environment, Going Green, Toxins on Jul 19th, 2012
A few weeks ago Little Girl ended up in one of my old t-shirts at bedtime. It’s a long story, but the end result was that she loved sleeping in a “nightgown,” and wanted to know why she didn’t have one. The answer, of course, is that her mother doesn’t like nightgowns. I can clearly [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, Siblings on Apr 24th, 2012
One of my most popular posts is one I wrote about WhoNu cookies last fall. To reiterate, the manufacturer says they have: as much Vitamin C as cup of blueberries as much iron as a cup of spinach as much calcium and Vitamin D as a glass of milk as much Vitamin A as an [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, parenting, Safety, School and education on Apr 9th, 2012
Let me start out by saying I can’t consume caffeine. It gives me heart palpitations and makes me feel jittery. However, I understand that there are scores of people out there who depend on a caffeine fix to get them going in the morning and keep them up late at night. I get it. I [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, parenting on Mar 13th, 2012
I am not a big fan of Girl Scout cookies, although they are a little better this year. No more high fructose corn syrup or artificial colorings, but they still use palm oil. Anyway, last year I wrote about how, as a Girl Scout leader, I find this time of year very challenging. Yes, I [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, Health, parenting, Reviews on Feb 23rd, 2012
Pros: Gluten-free. Contains a variety of grains including flax, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat. Contains omega-3s and has three grams of fiber. Tastes really yummy. Cons: Contains seven grams of sugar, which is on the high side for something marketed as a “healthier” cereal. My Big Girl is in an anti-cereal phase. She won’t eat her [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Environment, Food, Going Green, Health, Illness, parenting, Preventative medicine, Safety, Toxins on Feb 15th, 2012
By now, you’ve probably heard about Bisphenol-A or BPA, a chemical that’s used to manufacture non-rigid polycarbonate plastics such as take-home food containers as well as epoxy resins, found inside cans and the lids of glass bottles. It can also be found in cash register receipts. This week, The Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine [...]