"Organic" may not mean healthier

One of the first lifestyle changes that people make when going green is switching to organic foods. They're so much better for you, right? An article that was published yesterday on Your Total Health says that might not be the case.

"According to a British review of studies done over the past 50 years, organic and conventionally produced foods have about the same nutrient content, suggesting that neither is better in terms of health benefits."

Now, because this information was gathered from a variety of sources, there isn't a lot of detail in how these studies were conducted. (And I tend to believe that you can make a study say what you want it to say anyway...) But my thought on this is: they're likely comparing apples to organic oranges.

If you're comparing wheat bread made out of whole wheat flower to organic wheat bread made out of organic whole wheat flower, yes, you're probably likely to have a similar nutritional content...just less pesticide in your bread (ha ha).

If you're comparing PopTarts with high fructose corn syrup and red dye #40 versus Organic toaster pastries made with organic wheat flower and organic cane juice, you're going to have a very different nutritional content. Wouldn't you think? (This is really a question for you, I'm not stating it as fact. It just seems to make sense to me.)

As the percentage of organic food being purchased in both the US and the UK continues to rise, some questions come up:

Do you buy organic food because (you believe) it's better for you?
Do you buy it because you're green and that's what you're supposed to do?
Do you buy it for other reasons?

I've answered these questions for myself over on Living Simple & Green, the board I lead on iVillage. In the process, I learned a little about myself. We're looking for your answers too. And I know you have them, so please share! :)

APLS: Green on the Cheap

August's APLS topic couldn't be more timely for me -- "Green on the Cheap". The host asks, "Has the economy impacted how you live green? Do you buy fewer green products to save money? Or have you redoubled your efforts to live sustainably? What have you learned about living environmentally friendly on a budget?"

I recently wrote the post Less green in the wallet = Less green at home? about the backsliding we've done during this recession. Things like buying hot dogs for the kids instead of healthier options because they were practically free with the grocery store sale and coupons. Or going back to a regular shampoo/conditioner because I couldn't justify the cost of organics.

I decided to stop hanging my head in shame when my son's birthday came up, and to put my money where my mouth was. Or...put my money back in my wallet and put my conscience where my mouth was. Something like that.

Every kids loves going to a party at Chuck-E-Cheese or fun places like that. It's easy on mom and dad because there's no food to cook, no running around like mad cleaning the house in preparation and, at the end, you just walk away and let a 16 year old do the clean-up. But there is the cost of feeding the kids ($12.95 each - can you believe that???) and probably the adults too.

Instead of having the party out at a Chuck-E-Cheese type place this year, we decided to host it at home. It was a lot of work, but I didn't have to pay myself anything. We wanted to do something fun that the kids would enjoy just as much as an arcade, so Mr. Greenhab planned a treasure hunt adventure. Living in the mountains gives us lots of land to work with and explore. He hid clues along a half mile hike, with a treasure box at the end. How cool is he?

We kept the decorations simple. I've never really been one for plastic banners and crepe paper and themed plates and napkins. Luckily Fletcher doesn't seem to care much about it either. I went with bright, summer colors to make our deck look festive instead.

I made this table cloth (sorry, bad lighting) out of scrap fabric I had around (an old crib sheet of Fletcher's, a sheet from a set I'd bought on super clearance a few months ago to make tote bags out of) and also found a few pieces at the local thrift store and an estate sale. My plan is to finish the back and make it into a picnic blanket for future use. Table cloth: Free + no plastic waste!

Back in June, our Goodwill and Savers stores were having a 50% off sale where I scored a bunch of fun, brightly colored linens and things, which I also used for the party. Two bright yellow place mats sat under the drink pitchers, I used some of the left over green polka-dot fabric from the above tablecloth to cover a smaller table, and the cute floral napkins below were scattered in various places. They all added colorful touches without costing a thing.


Those little tins are vintage jell-o moulds I found at an estate sale 24 for $1 earlier this summer. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them at the time, but they worked perfectly for a tiny fruit salad.

One area where I saved a lot of money was dessert. I made cupcakes. $1.76 for two boxes of cake mix and $1.26 for a can of frosting. One of the dads at the party told us they'd spent $30 on a cupcake cake for their son's birthday this year. Mr. Greenhab gave me a big high five on that one...and he's not a high five type of guy (just a cheap type!).

While boxed cupcakes are not the greenest thing, a foodie I'm not. I'm sure that YOU could make homemade! Will the kids really care if they don't have a store-bought Batman cake? I think they'll just be happy to blow out the candles and eat some sugar.

On to supplies... I really (REALLY!) wanted to be eco-friendly in this area. But I'm cheap. And I procrastinated for so long that I ended up using paper plates. I looked into compostable plates and they really just cost more than I wanted to spend (not to mention the shipping costs, plus environmental impact of shipping). That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The cups we used were made from recycled plastic (then recycled again after the party) and we did use our regular silverware. Instead of napkins, which we don't use at all at home, I put out wash cloths in coordinating colors. I've been using the same set of wash cloths since Fletch was born. The dark colors are bleached, the light colors are stained and they're all just falling apart. I decided to retire them to the cleaning rag pile, and treat him to some new ones. I think I paid $4 for a pack of 18 at the Evil Place.

For food, Mr. Greenhab made chicken - one plain chicken nuggets for the kids and one teriyaki chicken for the adults. (Chicken was on super sale last week!) I made potatoes as the side dish and we had fruit too. That's it. Everyone was happy, and full. Do you go way overboard with food when you have people over? We usually do too. But you know what? No one cares, so keep it simple! We did that with drinks too - a pitcher with water and one with lemonade. No waste, no fuss.

My favorite part was the party favors! At most of the parties we attend the kids get goody bags before leaving. They usually have candy and little plastic toys in them. This year we did aluminum water bottles.

My plan was to make water bottle holders for all of the kids so they could take them on their adventure. I didn't quite get around to that, but they all clipped the carabiners onto their belt loops instead. They were steel grey, so we let them decorate them with Sharpie markers before the hike. Ingenious, I thought!

I found them on Amazon for $2.89 each which, I'm sure, means they were made in China but better that than giving them sugar and plastic crap that will break before they get home that is also made in China, right?

In all, we spent about $75 for a party for 20 people. Everyone had fun - especially the birthday boy - and no one even made fun of me about the missing themed napkins or Batman cake.

Do you have green tips for Back-to-School time?

Back-to-school time is always exciting when you're a kid - shopping sprees for new school clothes and shoes. Going to the store for supplies - pens and pencils, crayons and markers, bottles of glue and glue sticks, rulers, pencil cases, back packs...the list seems endless. And wasteful.

So how do you stay green this time of year, while keeping the kids happy at the same time?

Leave a comment here or, better yet, join us over on Living Simple & Green where you can share your tips and ideas with other green beans.

Dish cloth giveaway winner!

And the winner of the fabulous Sassy Joy dish cloth is... Jenn Motz! Jenn, please email me through my profile so I can get your address. I hope you enjoy this, and that it encourages you to further green your dish washing routine!

Party Planning - WWYD?

Fletcher's birthday party is this weekend and we're planning a BBQ outside with some of his friends. They'll be going on a treasure hunt on our property, so we're sort of going with an "explorer" theme I guess you could say.

Instead of the typical party favors, we bought the kids aluminum water bottles that they can decorate, and some binoculars. We'll be doing pitchers of water, lemonade and tea, instead of bottled water or soda. We're trying to stay away from the usual waste that is created during kids' parties and make it as eco-friendly as possible.

The problem I'm running into is dishes. Since the party will be outside, and there will be children, I'm hesitant to use real plates and glasses. The kitchen is on the other side of the house, so it's not convenient to run dishes back and forth. Not to mention I really don't even have enough dishes for everyone, so it's not actually an option anyway.

So.... Would you go with paper plates that have a chance of actually biodegrading? I guess I could attempt to compost them, although that's a lot of paper to compost. Or would you perhaps buy plastic plates that can be used again and again over the years, but will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere? I hate buying plastic on purpose, so I'm really leaning away from that option. What about cups? Utensils?

Maybe I'll hit Whole Foods tomorrow and see if they have any compostable items.

I'm open to suggestions!

Green your dish washing {and a giveaway!}

So my dirty little kitchen secret is that I use those green Scotch Brite scrubby things. My mom always used them and so I use them too. It's one of those things you just do because it's the norm, ya know?

A few months ago I was talking to some other green beans about what they use in the kitchen. The two most popular tools were hand-knit dish cloths (kind of a cross between a sponge and a wash cloth I guess) and those plastic pot scrubbers that are roughly the size of a credit card.

I honestly didn't think either would meet my needs. The dish cloths certainly wouldn't scrub a baked-on caked-on pan clean and buying a plastic pot scrubber would really defeat the purpose of getting rid of the Scotch Brite in the first place.

After being shamed by my little green scrubbie every time I did dishes, day in and day out, I finally bit the bullet and found both of the recommended products.

These little bamboo pot scrubbers are only $1.95 at Green Feet! They have lots of cool stuff actually - bamboo utensils that would make great stocking stuffers, glasses made from recycled bottles, and much more.


And I found these dish cloths at Sassy Joy on Etsy and was lucky enough to get 3 for $4.50 during her grand reopening sale. Normally they are 3 for $9. They're really gorgeous and high-quality. I almost hate to clean a dirty dish with them!


If you'd like to try these dish towels out, just become a follower of my blog using that "Followers" section over there on the right. Once you have, let me know in the comments section. If you're already a follower, just leave a comment. I'll draw a name next Monday and notify the winner. I know you'll love these!

Less green in the wallet = less green at home?

As times get tighter and tighter here in the Brown household we seem to let some of our green ways go by the wayside. Does this happen in your household too?

Buying organic and/or locally grown food has just gotten too expensive. We still eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, but I buy the non-organic kind at Sunflower Market for dirt cheap. Rather than buying food as we need it, we stock up on things when they're on sale. Of course these aren't always the most healthy things. For example, I bought turkey dogs for the kids the other day because they were on sale for $.99 and I had a coupon for $1.00 off of 2 packages. So $.99 for what could be 2 weeks worth of lunches.

I really need to refocus in the food department. I saw a news clip a few weeks ago where a woman said "Why would spend so much on healthy food when I can get 2 hamburgers for a dollar?" I'm understanding this perspective a lot more these days. Don't get me wrong, times are not that tight. The Browns will continue to eat fruits and veggies and all the healthy food that we love, but I can see why -- especially when times are this tight -- people would make, say, a box of mac and cheese for $.29 instead of making it from scratch with organic ingredients for $3.00 - $5.00.

Another area where I've slacked off is in personal products. Rather than buying Tom's toothpaste, I've been buying what's on sale. A few weeks ago I found Colgate toothpaste on sale for $1 and I had a $1 off coupon. Can't beat free! So I stocked up since I had 3 coupons.

Instead of organic shampoo and conditioner for $8.00 or more per bottle, I bought an all-in-one (Pantene I think?) on sale at the drugstore for 2/$7 plus a $2 off coupon when you buy two. That's a LOT cheaper.

While I'm certainly proud of the money I've been saving by scouting out sales and coupons, I can't help but feel bad about backsliding.

Judging by a recent post by the Conscious Shopper on the Green Phone Booth blog, it seems that I'm not the only one wrestling with these issues. Erin's solution was to cut back in other areas so that she could continue to spend a little more on local and organic food.

How are you fairing in this sad economy? What sacrifices have you had to make? Where have you cut back?

Mountain Living

You might remember our Composting Conundrum from a few weeks ago. We decided just to keep the outdoor compost heap where it was -- about 300 feet from the house on the edge of the woods. After getting this from the HOA yesterday, we are rethinking our humming bird feeders though. This was just down the street from us...

Little gifts ~ Photo Envelope

Whew, July is a busy month! I'm stressing that there are still 8 more birthdays this month and I'm *really* trying to make all of the gifts, some of which have to be mailed out of state.


Both of our moms have birthdays around the 4th. As part of their gifts I gave them some of the family photos that we just had done (see our other blog for more photos!) in a little cloth photo envelope. This way they can carry them around in their purses and show everyone they meet...'cause that's how grandmas roll.

This was a great project for some of the smaller fabric scraps I'd been saving!

This one was for my mom, made from some of the same fabric I used to make her a little wallet for Christmas...


This one was for MIL who likes brighter colors...


And I made a few out of this fabric (actually an "upcycled" skirt) that I love. One is in my Etsy shop!


I think these are perfect for anyone who carries photos around to show - moms, grandmas, aunties, brides, those showing off a new house...anything. They're great for when you want to give someone a little gift to show you care.

I can't wait to try some in felted wool (a la Betz White) with a pretty little applique on the front. Of course, that will come after all of the July birthdays and the bazillion other projects I have in my queue. I did received Betz' book Sewing Green for my birthday (yay for not-so-subtle hints!) so I have all sorts of ideas lined up. Hmmm...maybe I should have asked for more time as a gift instead.