Because natural isn't always possible — or easy.
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Environment, School and education, Shopping on Sep 22nd, 2010
One of the most wasteful places, in my opinion, is the school lunchroom. Lots, and I do mean LOTS, of single-serve containers, wrappers, and packages. Take fruit leather, for example. They usually come in a box, each fruit bar individually wrapped. The boxes cost $4 for eight. (Or about $.50 each.) Recently, I came upon [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, Health, toddlers on Sep 15th, 2010
When Big Girl went to preschool, I sent a snack for her every single day. EVERY day. I wanted nothing to do with the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers that the school doled out. Thinking back, I was probably extremely forceful about it. Extremely. That’s why, when Little Girl walked into the classroom last week, the [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Favorite Things Friday, Food, Health on Jul 30th, 2010
I’ve been complaining about the quality of kids’ snacks for a while now. Many traditional manufacturers seem to put little if any thought into the ingredients. High fructose corn syrup. Preservatives. Artificial colors. Artificial flavors. Hydrogenated oils. The more unpronounceable the ingredient, the better. Case in point: traditional General Mills Fruit Roll-Ups. Check out the [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Environment, Going Green, Health, Safety, Toxins on Jul 27th, 2010
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) isn’t going to take it anymore. The environmental action group today filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for, “failing to issue a final rule regulating the chemicals triclosan and triclocarban, which are commonly found in antibacterial soaps.” I’ve written about the topic many times before, [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Health, Illness, Safety, Shopping, Toxins on Jul 13th, 2010
You have, no doubt, heard about the 28 million box Kellogg’s cereal recall. The company recalled select boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Froot Loops and Apple Jacks cereals. Consumers said there was an “off” taste and smell. Oh, and that they were giving some people nausea and diarrhea. Kellogg’s said the packages were [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Cool sites, Favorite Things Friday, Reviews, Shopping on Jun 25th, 2010
I started my career writing about technology and business. I was on staff at several computer pubs including PC Magazine where I wrote one or two product reviews daily. When I left to finish my master’s and freelance (on October 16, 1999) I was extremely lucky. I continued writing reviews and product-related stories, seeing my [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, Health, Organic on Jun 23rd, 2010
Ask my sister and brother if I can cook. As my husband. They are probably going to tell you no, she can’t. My mother, too. I usually concede the point. I am the person who, one time, made cupcakes and forgot to add eggs. The one who, two days ago, almost burned down the house [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Going Green, Recycle, Reduce, Sustainable on Jun 17th, 2010
I don’t really use a lot of makeup. A little lipstick, maybe. Some blush. Occasionally, mascara. Still, I end up with lots of little plastic tubes and packages that can’t go into my recycle bin. I don’t throw them out. I just leave them in the bathroom hoping to find a way to recycle them. [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy, Food, Friendship, Organic on Jun 9th, 2010
As many of you know, I belong to an amazing community-supported agriculture program called the Golden Earthworm Farm. This year, in fact, I am a drop-off location, which means my house is the place where 19 people come to get their just-picked organic veggies. While the price is pretty reasonable — about $20 per week [...]
Posted in Consumer Packaged Goods, Eating Healthy on Jun 1st, 2010
This isn’t a shocker. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that television ads promote poor, imbalanced diets. Researchers analyzed 84 hours of television on the big four networks — ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. According to researchers, if someone selected only foods advertised on TV during that time [...]