Greening your pelvic exam

I ran across this post the other day and was surprised to learn that there was such a thing as a disposable plastic speculum. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about and the image to the left doesn't ring a bell, a speculum is the thing a doctor inserts in a woman during a pelvic exam, during a pap smear and for generally taking a peek around the ol' puddietat. My experience has always only been with a metal speculum, the kind that gets autoclaved and reused countless times on other unsuspecting victims, er, patients.

A plastic speculum seems to be a giant waste of plastic and a wholly unnecessary one at that. If you think about it, the minimum recommended number of pap smears over a woman's lifetime is something like 23. Add in other pelvic exams and the number is much higher.

As a snapshot, there are currently 150 million females living in the US. If all our doctors used a disposable plastic speculum, that would be 3.5 billion speculums going into the landfill by the end of all our lives. Wow, what a legacy to leave behind, huh? If this sounds like a weird thing to focus on, it's really not, because it's something that has a relatively easy to acquire alternative - the stainless steel speculum. The one that was routinely in use before cheap plastics came along.

So, what to do about this? Well, the next time you get a pap smear, talk to your doctor about your preference for a metal speculum. If you are concerned about it being cold, they can place it in warm water beforehand (that's what my doctor does). Discuss your concern for medical waste. There are some things we can't reuse (IV tubing for example), but this one seems like a no brainer. Plus, there's less risk of it cracking or breaking. The last thing I want are shards of plastic lacerating my lady bits. Finally, the plastic speculums tend to not slide as easily as the stainless steel variety, thereby necessitating more lubrication or resulting in a more painful pelvic exam.

If you are a guy reading this, you aren't off the hook either. I'm sure you have a mother, sister, wife, daughter or female friend in your life that could use some educatin'. And, nothing really brings family and folks together better than getting some helpful tips about pelvic exams from a dude.

What kind of speculum does your doctor use?

Men and carbon footprint reduction

Well, since we were focusing on men yesterday I figure we should do another "all things man" today. As it was clear from many of the answers given, women hold a certain influence over what the man in their life uses from shampoo to soap and beyond.

But, what kind of influence do you have over them when it comes to other things? Have you been able to help them reduce their carbon footprint or are they the one instigating it? And, if you are one of my male readers, are you the one leading the climate saving efforts at home?

Here are some more questions for you (if you are "the guy" answer for yourself):

1. Does your guy help with cooking/food purchase choices? Is he on board for buying local, sustainable, organic or less meat?
2. Is he interested in sustainable yard care - using an electric or push mower, no pesticides/fertilizers, or do you do it all?
3. Does he help if you grow some of your food at home?
4. Does he help with adaptations to your home to make it more energy efficient or environmentally friendly (low flow showerhead, use recycled paper products)?
5. Is he willing to take public transportation, walk/bike, telecommute or otherwise reduce his mileage?
6. Does he help with recycling, food composting and generally reducing waste?
7. Is he willing to turn off the lights when not in use, turn off the water when shaving or brushing teeth, keep the heat low and other conservation techniques?
8. Is he game for more "fringe" things like no poo, cloth wipes and the like?
9. Do you fight with him over these things or is he on board? If so, is he on board just to appease you or because he believes it's the right thing to do?

I'm always curious how people's partners react when their significant other makes lifestyle changes. Do they follow along or just ignore it and hope it goes away on its own? How much grief and/or marital strife does this cause? (I think Greenpa has a thing or two to contribute on this one :)

Doing the dudes

I noticed that I usually only discuss women's beauty products and rarely men's and that's because most of my readers (not all, of course) are women. There are only a few guys I feel comfortable asking about their personal "beauty" routines, so I'm fairly ignorant about what men, in general, do.

And, unless you believe what you read in Details (that currently has an online article, A User's Guide to Man Boobs, which I'm sure is invaluable for those guys sporting a fine rack), I don't have much to go off of.

So, I thought I'd ask you for the real details if you are a man and, if you aren't, gimme the scoop about the dude(s) in your life. Feel free to answer anonymously if you are concerned about giving up the secrets of your (man's) toilette:

1. What kind of shampoo/conditioner does he use?
2. What kind of shaving equipment and products does he use? Does he shave/trim his body hair, too?
3. What kind of antiperspirant/deodorant does he use?
4. Does he use a specific soap, or whatever is in the shower?
5. Does he use a facial toner and if so, what kind?
6. Does he use an aftershave lotion and if so, what kind?
7. Does he use a moisturizer and if so, what kind?
8. Does he use any hair styling products and if so, what kind?
9. Does he use any kind of facial scrub/mask and if so, what kind?
10. Would you describe him as a manly man or a metrosexual or somewhere in between?

I can't believe I haven't asked this before. It all feels so anthropological!

Green makeover show update

For those of you who have been following along regarding my audition for the green makeover reality show, well, here's an update. I was almost going to chicken out of doing it, but since there was so much support from you all, I figured, what the hell, why not just give it a try, no?

I was apprehensive because I haven't done something like this before and I'm more comfortable writing. So, I prepared and had my thoughts together and the audition went well.

Anyway, to make a long story short, the audition must have gone decent enough since I am now officially a cast member of "Mission: Sustainable". My role is the Green Personal Care Consultant and the TV pilot will be shot in August. I guess the production schedule has slowed down a bit because they are trying to accommodate growing media interest about the show.

Since the pilot will only feature three of the nine or so consultants, it is highly possible that I won't be in the pilot, although, at the very least, I will be in the introduction. It is being filmed by ReGeneration Productions, led by the mighty Rose Thornton. I suspect the website will be updated soon with more info.

I'll keep you posted as I find out more and as things progress!

Sleeping Naked Is Green book club

Since it looks like 80 or so people are interested in the book club for Sleeping Naked Is Green, I might as well announce it now so you all have time to get your reading started in time.

I'm planning on starting the book club in August and moving through it fairly quickly with posts every week. I'll be covering the book in sections, with a synopsis and asking any suitable questions. Since you all historically seem to be fast readers and this is a quick read, we'll wrap it up in a month.

So, go get your books now before the Buy Nothing Challenge starts in August! Any questions?

Greenwashing your orange juice?

Yesterday, I was contacted by the PR firm for a large orange juice manufacturing company asking me to help promote something or other in exchange for a giveaway worth a $200 gift card for a high end outdoor apparel company. The hook was that the actor promoting their product was interested in green living.

As tempted as I was (on your behalf, of course), I failed to see the connection between the actor's personal interests and the company being green so I asked, since I had yet to see anything sustainable or organic about their products. I was forwarded some information on the company and how it was going green.

Basically, the primary message was that the company is "dedicated to using the Earth's natural resources in a responsible manner and has made sustainability part of its mission. The company works toward environmental sustainability by reducing, reusing and recycling whenever possible, and overall pursuing initiatives that help preserve the environment for generations to come."

It then went on to say how they have partnered with Cool Earth to help protect the rainforest and that they even went so far as to have the carbon footprint of each half gallon of OJ calculated. All laudable actions, but where's the juice?

Well, their cartons are made largely of a renewable resource (85% paper and 15% polymer). Umm. Okay. How about using recycled materials? That would certainly be considered a bigger commitment. Saying they are using a renewable resource like virgin paper products is certainly better than, say, using plutonium, but is that really something they should be tooting their horn about?

Most of the other things mentioned certainly have a positive environmental impact as a result (like recycling and reducing water usage) but, underlying it all I would gather is the cost savings resulting from reducing operations, packaging and energy costs.

Finally they state, "a driving force behind this mission is Pepsico's Performance with Purpose approach: injecting a commitment to social and environmental performance into all of its businesses."

Would that be... greenwashing?

The thing that would have the biggest impact in showing their commitment to the environment would be to source their oranges from producers using organic or sustainable growing practices, instead of their "save the rainforest" legerdemain. The reduction in pesticides alone would have a more positive impact than buying a few acres of rainforest.

But, that would make their product more expensive and they would lose market share. You see, a half gallon of Organic Valley Orange Juice (in my area) is $5.99. It'll cost ya $6.99 if you like pulp. Compare this to the mainstream stuff made from what I like to call, "downed oranges", which sells for $3.99. There's just not that big a market for high end OJ, methinks. And, it certainly looks better to pretend like you are a green company even if your products aren't so green. Or orange, for that matter.

Commitment to the environment? Maybe. Most likely it's a whole lot of business acumen coupled with a lot of greenwashing.

What do you think?

Buy Nothing Challenge 2009

It's been a whole year since the last Buy Nothing Challenge, and hoo boy!, have I fallen off the wagon. With my hubs back to work full-time as of the end of June, I don't feel as financially strapped and so, well, forgive me people, but I have been spending like mad.

So, it's time to strap down that wallet and do another round of the Buy Nothing Challenge - the 2009 Edition. Last year I hosted two of these challenges and there were hundreds of people that participated. This year around, people are having more economic challenges of their own, so having a gang of readers pledging together to save money by not spending will hopefully help out your finances.

Like last year, here are the guidelines. For the month of August, you can buy:

* No new clothes
* No new gadgets
* No new furniture or housewares
* No salon services
* No makeup
* No tools
* No whatever the hell else people buy

This year I'm giving you a couple weeks to prepare, but that doesn't mean that you should go out and spend and hoard in preparation. In fact, I bet that once you sign up for this challenge, most likely you'll start watching what you are spending now. At least, that's what happened for most of the people who participated last year.

If you must absolutely acquire something non-edible or not essential to growing your own food or for your survival, then you must borrow, barter, or buy it used. If you end up buying something new that is non-essential, I'll be hosting a weekly Sunday Confessional for you to justify your purchase. So, just think about having to confess to the world what you couldn't hold off on buying.

Things that are okay
Necessary items like schools supplies and the like are okay, so don't panic about back-to-school items. Also, items used for canning and food storage are okay so don't worry if you are running low on pectin, mason jars and whatnot. If you have a vacation planned in August, just confess ahead of time accordingly. But that doesn't give you free reign to totally undo your efforts the rest of the month.

If you want to sign up for the challenge, leave a comment on this post and I'll add you to the sidebar under the list of participants. For those of you who stumble upon this later, you can still join. If you want to put the graphic up on your blog, just paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/07/buy-nothing-challenge-2009.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelxmjWeaBHlX-bFkbhmbBIW4SYvvvFt17uXRkdm6erpUoQtJrtHPqV7rxaP2BRxvjewohkzyX32VBnf0VXINtrQhfqlRXNa2mIrlRSygmFzwzMcQAxMpw-uflgFQ2-_i1zVJ_CgtFb8g/s320/buynothingbanner.jpg" border="0" alt="Buy Nothing Challenge - August 2009" /></a>

For me, the hardest part is going to be eating out - mostly coffee shops. But this time, I'll limit myself to only buying drinks (so I don't get kicked out for using their free wifi), but will skip the food.

How about you? Are you ready to save some pennies?

Healthy food porn carnival - Garden scramble

Since Ruchi sort of, kind of, accused me and others of specializing in high-fat food porn, I'm taking her up on the challenge to present to you, my reading audience, a most delicious, yet healthy recipe. In the comments of her post I, and others, argued that there was no such thing as healthy food porn - that most of it looks like a steamy dung pile when photographed.

I wrote the following recipe post months ago when there was little growing in my garden and decided against posting it since the pictures looked, well, gross. But, to participate in Ruchi's Healthy Food Porn Carnival, I'm digging it up for your reading enjoyment. Unfortunately, I can't find the original pictures of the end result - probably because I deleted them since it looked like a steaming pile of crap.

Garden Scramble

Sure, this might not sound appealing to most people but it's what I've got growing in the garden this time of year. In other words, it's pretty slim pickings out there. I went out back last weekend since it looked like my napa cabbage had grown about 3 feet skywards underneath the floating row covers and I couldn't really tell what was going on in there. Needless to say, it had decided to flower, but there were quite a few tasty leaves growing along its girth. While I was out there I noticed that a few turnips were looking ripe for the picking (I planted all of this in the fall), so I pulled one, leaving the rest to get bigger, and clipped some sage.

I was planning on sauteeing the whole lot but, since I'm still in reclaiming food waste mode (from my Food Waste Reduction Challenge), I wanted to use up some of the leftover rice in the fridge. And what better matrix to hold it all together but some local eggs? My son, who was drawn to the pan by the pungent smell of cooking cabbage, exclaimed after looking at it, that it looked "like a mess". Well, he was right. But it was a delicious, and very healthy mess, nonetheless.

The whole point of this recipe is not that I'm expecting you to follow it exactly, since the ingredients are totally interchangeable, but that you can make a meal out of random garden vegetables and eggs. Just don't be shy about what you throw in there.

Garden Scramble

Napa cabage, chopped (about two fistfuls)
1 Turnip, grated
Turnip leaves from 1 turnip, chopped
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs (or more depending on how much egg you want)
2 T tamari soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooked rice (optional)

Sautee the first three ingredients in olive oil that has been heated on medium in pan. Cook vegetables for about 5 minutes or until they look soft. Add in garlic and sautee for additional 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add eggs (you can just break them directly into pan) and scramble until eggs are mostly cooked through. Add leftover rice and heat through, the eggs should finish cooking during this time. Add black pepper to taste.

Going agave: an alternative to sugar

I've been hearing a lot about agave nectar lately and have been eyeballing it in the store for the last few months, but wasn't sure if it was worth purchasing. Basically, agave is more fructose than glucose and, as such, has a relatively low glycemic index which is important if you have special diet considerations.

In addition, the agave nectar products (at least the ones I've seen) are organic and kosher and pretty much give you the sweetness of sugar, but impart none of its own flavor. So, if you like the sweetness of honey, but don't like the way it makes everything taste like honey, then you'll like agave. How do I know this? Well, I had the opportunity to give it a try at my favorite tea bar in Ballard. I was impressed how much it tasted like sugar, went into the solution fairly quickly, but didn't leave an aftertaste or other flavor.

One other cool thing is that it has a long, stable shelf life and will not solidify. It pours quickly even when cold and it blends and dissolves readily in or on all foods. The claim is that it has approximately 1.4 times the sweetening power of white sugar, but I've found that it's more like 1:1.

So, if you are concerned about your consumption of sugar and/or glucose, you might want to give agave syrup a try. And, since it's basil time of the year, I thought I'd throw in a recipe mixing in a flavorful combination, a Basil Gimlet made with agave syrup.

This recipe was adapted from Rye in San Francisco and it is one of their most requested cocktails:

Basil Gimlet

6 fresh basil leaves
3 ounces Gin (I use local Dry Fly or Aviation)
3/4 ounce agave nectar
1 small lime, cut into eighths (or about 1 ounce fresh lime juice)

Method: In a shaker, muddle the fresh basil and the lime pieces. Remove the lime, squeezing out the remaining juice. Add in agave nectar, gin and ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Garnish with fresh basil leaf.

Enjoy.

Related books:
Baking with Agave Nectar
Sweet!: From Agave to Turbinado, Home Baking with Every Kind of Natural Sugar and Sweetener
BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery

Sleeping Naked Is Green - review and book club

Our very own Green as a Thistle (aka Vanessa Farquharson) has written a book, Sleeping Naked Is Green, which is out now for your reading enjoyment. (Are those your legs, Vanessa, or did you use a body double?)

Reading through Vanessa's book, which, in many ways, chronicles her year of blogging about her one-a-day green changes, was very nostalgic for me since I read her blog religiously and remember many, if not all, of the posts she discusses in the book. That's not to say that the book is just a repeat of what's in her blog. Far from it. The book expands considerably on the changes she was making as well as provides more background on the effect the changes had on her life.

Arduous posted a review of the book yesterday as well and, for many, reading this book brings us back to that heady world two or so years ago when some of us green bloggers were just starting out: No Impact Man, Green as a Thistle, Little Blog in the Big Woods and Crunchy Chicken.

Vanessa's voice always stood out for a number of reasons: she represented the young and hip crowd. She's single with no kids and isn't a complete environmental nut job like some of the rest of us. Her writing has always been truthful and witty and made some of the most mundane of eco changes entertaining. She even managed to draw in readers outside the regular environmental circles.

For those of you who weren't reading along back then or are new to trying to green your personal lives and reduce your carbon footprint, then you'll find this book not only highly educational, but highly entertaining as well. I have to say that she's made a big impact in my life and has helped frame my own environmentalism. And, I can honestly say that I was seriously melancholy when she stopped blogging so she could write her book.

I'd like to propose having a mini book club in reading this book. I'd like to bring up highlights to discuss and to showcase some of the changes that she's made that have the most (or, should I say, least) impact. It would make for a great review and plus, it's Vanessa for crying out loud.

What say ye?

Are you interested in a Sleeping Naked Is Green book club?

Edible flowers

We spent part of the day Sunday in Sequim, WA, which has got to be the lavender capital of the west coast, if not the U.S. Who needs Provence when you've got Dungeness Spit? Okay, well, maybe not.

When we got home from our trip from Port Townsend yesterday, we didn't have a whole lot of food in the house and, wanting to eat mostly vegetation after a weekend of eating out, I rummaged around in the garden and concocted a salad of mixed greens, green/red pepper, beans, and leek flowers. Leek flowers you say? Yes, they are edible and taste like a mix between garlic and onion.

Since I'm letting the leeks go to seed, we'll have a bunch more to eat and they are mighty tasty. I haven't had them before and had to search online to make sure they were edible, but I'm glad I took the time. Other edible flowers from your garden that you might like to check out are (some of these are obvious since they are from herbs):

• basil
  
• nasturtium
  
• chive
  
• dill
  
• chamomile
  
• hibiscus (this one I didn't know!)
  
• lavender
  
• marigold
  
• rose petals
  
• borage
  
• dandelion
  
• rosemary
  
• marjoram
  
• fennel (which is good to know since my fennel is starting to flower)
  
• honeysuckle
  
• day lillies
  
• sage
  
• squash blossoms
  
• violets
  
• johnny jump ups
  
• yucca

Just make sure you only eat flowers from plants you can readily identify. Of course, my favorite is lavender. You can check out my recipe for Lavender Honey Lemonade if you are looking for a great summer drink! Since we picked a ton of lavender and I have a bunch to harvest from the backyard, we'll be making lavender shortbread and lavender scones here soon.

What's your favorite edible flower?

Related posts:
Lavender honey lemonade
Edible eco-lawnscaping
Plant therapy: aka fruit tree splurge

Related books:
Edible Flowers: From garden to kitchen: growing flowers you can eat
Edible Flowers: Desserts & Drinks
Cooking with Edible Flowers: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin

Make your own oil lamp

My olive oil lamp article is finally up on Mother Earth News if you want to check out how to make your own lamp using ordinary household materials and olive oil.

Let me know if you've made one before!

Cash 4 Grass

Apparently, California's drought is hitting an all time low (high?) such that the city of Los Angeles is now paying people $1 per square foot to replace their grass with a drought-resistant alternative.

Now, this program may not be as lucrative as the highly esteemed Cash 4 Gold scheme, but if you live in L.A. and you have between 200 to 2,000 square feet of living lawn (they don't want your old, dead lawn), the Department of Water and Power will pay you to get rid of it. This even includes your parking strip as well.

If you live in L.A. and you aren't taking advantage of this incentive program, considering the new drought ordinances that started in June, you are, well, a moron. I'm sorry for saying it to your face, but there you go. Either that, or you really like grass. And tickets.

Anyway, I think if they offered an equal incentive program in the city of Seattle, the turf would be flying so fast it would look like a meteor hit the place. Of course, I don't know where all that good old chemical laden L.A. turf will go to rest. The giant compost bin in the sky?

What about you? Would you remove your lawn if someone paid you to? And, remember, no one is saying you have to remove all of it.

Eco friendly car wash

First of all, let me state that the picture to the left shows what not to wear while washing your car unless you are expecting to use your cleavage to hold the sponge. And, if that's the case, you'll really want to make sure you are using a non-toxic, and non-irritating, soap to do the job.

Anyway, what's the most eco friendly way to wash your car? That is, assuming you still have a car and haven't switched completely over to public transportation or personal modes of transportation (like walking or biking)? There are a number of "eco friendly" products on the market that tout being low phosphorus and the like, but what's the environmental cost of using them?

The biggest issues at hand are those dealing with water usage for starters, but the most striking problem has more to do with what gets washed off your car and goes down the storm drain. In most areas, the water that goes into the storm drain (the drains on your street) doesn't get processed by your local, friendly waste water treatment plant. Most likely it drains directly into your local waterways, affecting fish and other wildlife populations with the soap, grit, grease, salt, oil and pollution that has been collecting on your vehicle as you drive it about town.

How can you mitigate the junk coming off your trunk? Look for a car wash that uses non-toxic soaps and phosphate-free, biodegradable detergents plus one that recycles its wash water. If you don't have a car wash like that in your area, you can get your car washed at a car wash that sends the spent water to the nearest waste water treatment plant for processing.

Another option if the above isn't available or you don't want to pay for it is to wash your car at home using one of the no or low phosphate soaps on the market. However, if you wash your car at home, do it on a flat grass or gravel area that will absorb the wash water before it can run into the storm drain.

If you want to try something quite fancy you can check out the environmentally friendly car washes that don't require any water at all. So, not only do you save money and resources on water, but there's no water runoff. You would just need to clean the cloth you use to wash the car, but the water used for that would go to your waste water treatment facility. I haven't tried these products yet, but The Lucky Earth Waterless Car Wash, Eco Touch Waterless Car Wash, Freedom Waterless Car Wash and Dri Wash are some to check out.

Of course, like many alternative methods, this one requires a lot more elbow (or cleavage?) grease. Finally, when in doubt, I generally just don't wash my car very frequently. It saves all sorts of time, energy, money and resources. Plus, I'm just too damn lazy.

How do you wash your car and how often?

Is there a problem with bananas?

Unless you are my Dad and have a bunch of banana trees in your backyard, odds are that the bananas available to you in stores are in no way local. Even if you do live in an area that supports bananaculture (yes, I made that up), they won't be available year round.

So, what's a banana loving gal or guy to do? Well, the next best thing if you must have bananas is to buy organically grown ones. Even some of the major suppliers (Del Monte, Dole and Chiquita) now provide organic bananas. But, how sustainable are they? We know for a fact that they are shipped in from afar, raising the carbon footprint considerably, but what else is there to consider?

Is there really a difference in taste? I totally think so. The difference in flavors from conventional bananas and organic ones is huge. At least for me. However, there are plenty of issues with non-fair trade bananas, mostly revolving around workers' rights, dealing with terrorists and the like. In other words, fairly nasty business (check out link at the end for more information). The organic major brands are better than conventionally grown, but are by no means an option that will let you sleep soundly at night.

If you are lucky enough to have access to Grow brand organic bananas, you can purchase these bananas that don't cost much more per pound (at least in my area) than the conventionally grown, pesticide, non-crop rotated bananas. What's the difference? Well, let me tell you... they actually give a crap about the farmers who grow the bananas. From their website:

The GROW Fund supports numerous efforts that improve the lives of workers, their families and their surrounding communities. It also requires farmers to use Organic Unlimited's ecologically friendly farming techniques that protect the earth and allow for sustainable agriculture. The GROW Fund ethos forms Organics Unlimited's corporate culture. The company pledges to treat its employees with respect and dignity, provide a pleasant work environment, and be a socially responsible company.

There are other companies that provide fair trade certified bananas that may be available in your area. These bananas are much more available in the UK and Europe so if you live overseas, you'll have better luck buying them. In the meantime, keep your eyes (and your bananas) peeled for sustainably, humanely farmed bananas.

To really read into why Dole and Chiquita are problematic companies (think of the meaning behind "Banana Republic"), you can find out more about the belly of the beast in this article here.

Do you eat bananas or have you given them up for environmental reasons? If you still buy bananas, do you get conventional, organic and/or fair trade?

Two years of DivaCup

This is the first year that I didn't host a DivaCup Challenge on my blog. I have gotten the impression that many of you have already heard about it, but for those of you who haven't, the DivaCup is an internally used, reusable menstrual cup. It's made of silicone (there are other brands made of different materials if you have a silicone aversion), cost about $20 and seems to me to be fairly indestructible.

Of all the things I've done in the name of experimentation for this blog, this has to be the one change that I've been most consistent about. In fact, since I embarked on the DivaCup over two years ago, I haven't used anything else. I've written ad nauseum about it before so if you're curious, feel free to read back through previous posts.

One thing I never did revisit (and because some of you have asked) was my complaints about DivaCup changing their return policy as well as the "lifetime" of the product. Previously, it was stated that the DivaCup lasted interminably, but then it was edited to one year. In my mind, this negates the cost and environmental benefit if you feel like you are compelled to replace it every year.

Fairly immediately after that post, the company contacted me to share their side of the story. I didn't have the time to speak to them over the phone at the time and the information they supplied was the same that was sent out to their suppliers. Funny how in all the time I've been promoting their product, doing giveaways, talking it up like it's the bestest thing ever they never felt compelled to contact me. It wasn't until I had a criticism about the company that they immediately jumped to send me an email. I must confess this irked me considerably.

I later contacted them asking them to refute some other claims made in this article but they seemed reluctant to respond in writing, requesting a one-on-one phone conversation. I never got around to setting up the conference call and, frankly, I wasn't exactly expecting any new information than what was already previously stated.

But, for all that, if I could take only one thing to a deserted island with me it would be my DivaCup. Plus it doubles as a tiny drinking cup if I get real desperate - perfect for shots of coconut milk.

What about you? Do you use a reusable menstrual cup? Or are you still avoiding it like the swine flu?

P.S. There are a lot of reusable menstrual cups on the market if the DivaCup isn't working out for you. This is fantastic news since it means they are catching on! They vary in materials and sizes (Diva Cup is one of the largest out there) and some will replace it if you choose the wrong size, like Lady Cup:

DivaCup
The Keeper
Mooncup
Miacup
Lunette
Femme Cup
Lady Cup (also comes in pink!)
Fleurcup (French) comes in 5 colors
Green Donna
M Power (South Africa)
Yuuki Cup (someone in marketing needs to be fired for the naming of this product)

The Green Teen - book review

It's been a while since I've been a teenager, but I can certainly appreciate their concerns about the environment. Back when I was a teen, the biggest issues that kept me up at night were nuclear war and holes in the ozone. Well, that and Don Johnson. Kids today can add environmental destruction to the list of things to preoccupy themselves.

Having a newly minted teenage niece (well, she just turned 14 less than a month ago), I was interested in doing a review of The Green Teen: The Eco-Friendly Teen's Guide to Saving the Planet, written by Jenn Savedge, a fellow Green Mom and host of this week's carnival.

The book contains super salient information about being environmentally friendly, yet geared for a younger audience. It starts off with a global warming primer and then gets right into tips for how teens can green themselves (food, clothing), their homes (turning off water, lights) and school (lunch, recycling programs). The final sections describe what they can do to get more involved and even prepare themselves for a green collar job, for those teens already planning for their future career. Well, one that doesn't involve living on a sailboat with an alligator named Elvis and hanging out with an overacting partner named Tubbs. But, I digress...

If you know a teen who is interested in green or, really, any color, surreptitiously leave this gem around the house in some inconspicuous (but obvious) spot for them to find. Because, you know, if they discover it and find out the information on their own, it's way better than you telling them to turn off the lights, shut off the water when they brush their teeth, recycle their cans, etc.

The edible schoolyard

I have to say, I'm super excited by the fact that my kids' elementary school has plans to create space for a vegetable garden. The building of the space was underway during June and the kindergarten class helped put in plant starts right before school ended. So far, they've got beans, summer squash, corn, sunflowers and a whole host of other goodies in.

The rest is getting prepped for planting. Since it's being built in an area that was formerly grass, there is a bit of work to do and I really don't want to think of what kind of chemicals or contaminants might be in the soil (I hope someone tested it). But, at the very least, it's showing the couple hundred children that go to school there, as well as their parents, that growing your own food is actually quite easy.

I can't say that I had any part of getting this arranged since it sounds like it was the kindergarten class that got it going. They even have parents signed up all summer to come down and water the plants. Since I live a few blocks away and we use the park and playground next door all the time, it will be interesting to watch how it progresses.

I'm hoping the other classes will integrate lessons into the new space. I know they grow edible plants from seed, so this is very encouraging that they have somewhere to plant them. (We have a pumpkin plant my son started growing in class that now resides in the potato bin - don't ask). The local high school has been selling plant starts every spring in their parking lot for at least the last two years. I believe it's part of the botany class, but they always have a fairly decent selection of plants to buy.

Does your local school system encourage food gardening on their grounds?

Make your own mascarpone

I don't know about you, but I love foods made with mascarpone, even though I inevitably always mispronounce it. It's that triple-cream cheese that's used in making tiramisu and a whole host of very tasty sweet and savory Italian dishes. You can also serve it with fruit or it can be mixed with cocoa or coffee.

Unfortunately, it's also very expensive to buy, that is, if you can find it in stores. However, luckily for us, it's actually quite easy to make yourself*.

Homemade mascarpone

Ingredients:
16 ounces (not ultra-pasteurized) organic whipping cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the water in the skillet.

Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. It will take about 15 minutes of gentle heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. The whipping cream will become thicker and will cover the back of your spoon thickly.

When the cream reaches temperature, keep it at temperature for 5 minutes, then remove the bowl from the water and let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Pour the mixture into the lined sieve. Once it is cooled completely, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate in the sieve overnight or up to 24 hours. Transfer to a sealable storage container. Or your mouth, whichever comes first.

Yield: about 12 oz

*Based on this recipe.

Confessions of an eco-sinner

I know I've discussed this in the past but, as part of the Green Moms Carnival, this month we are posting about our eco-confessions. Things that we indulge in that, well, aren't exactly eco-friendly. It's being hosted by Jenn at The Green Parent so get ye over there on June 24th and check out all the self-flagellations.

To start, just like Diane, we still get the NY Times and a bunch of magazines. So, sue me. There's just nothing that can complete with the printed word. Sure, I'm covetous of the Kindle and it's a heck of a lot easier to read than previous electronic devices, but honestly I hate reading anything substantial online. Maybe that's why my posts are always kinda short.

Like Micaela, I still drive instead of bike and, also like Lisa, I indulge in using plastic produce bags rather than my cloth produce bags. My kids and Karen both have an affinity for tape. And I let them. Hey, it's better than drugs.

Similar to the other Lisa, I drink way too much coffee and eat way too much chocolate. But, what else are you going to do when the skies are dark gray 10 months out of the year? At least this year I'm growing my own tea bush. As for Eco Burban Mom, I'm all down with the soft, lotiony tissues when someone is sick. I just make up for it later with the scratchy, recycled kind.

And, I'll throw in the following for good measure: I don't save my shower warm-up water anymore, the clothing line has gone north for the summer, I've temporarily switched back to an anti-perspirant instead of the Rock, and I don't pee on my plants as much as people attribute to me. But, the rest has remained the same and I still do more rather than less.

What about you? What are your guilty non-eco-friendly pleasures?

Update: Ack! I just realized that the reason why the title of my post sounded so darn familiar is because it's the name of a book I started reading a while back: Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff! Sorry Fred...

Easy peasy makeup remover

I've been trying out all sorts of new stuff this last week, the most recent using coconut oil as an eye makeup remover. And, let me tell you! It's super.... well, you might as well read my review over on Green Goddess Dressing instead of me repeating myself here.

Let me just tell you this: the average person uses as many as 25 personal care products, exposing themselves to upwards of 100 different chemicals before breakfast. So, since the FDA does not test the chemicals in any cosmetic product before it hits store shelves and is not authorized to require recalls of cosmetics that are found to contain toxins, why not give the natural alternative a whirl?

Clean your face with honey

As a follow-up to yesterday's discussion on eco friendly facial cleansers, I gave washing my face with honey a try last night. I also went to town and used coconut oil as a facial moisturizer.

Sound crazy? Go read my report over on Green Goddess Dressing.

Eco facial cleansers

Eventually, I'll stop all this redirecting to my other blog, but in the meantime you can go read about what I do for an eco friendly facial cleanser on Green Goddess Dressing today.

Organic sunscreen

I'm doing a review of Vivesana Organic Sun Care over on Green Goddess Dressing today if you want to see what this sunscreen is all about!

Getting suited for summer

If you are thinking of checking out some organic cotton swimsuits for summer, go check out my post, Organic Cotton Swimwear, over on Green Goddess Dressing.

There's no guarantee you'll end up looking like Gisele on the left if you buy a 100% organic cotton bikini, but it's worth a look!

Drink your roses - make rosolio

I'm reading another book by the same author from whom I got the Asparagi alla Milanese recipe. This one is called, Libation: A Bitter Alchemy and, no surprises here, it's about the origins of different drinks, written in a series of essays.

And wouldn't you know it, before you even hit page 50, there's already a recipe I want to try out using my roses. You see, I've already made rose jam and rose potpourri and I'm hankering to try something new. So, when I ran across the recipe for making rosolio, an Italian liqueur made with rose petals, I knew I wanted to give it a whirl. My brother is the master of making his own lemon liqueur, limoncello, and I've always wanted to try doing it. I've never had rosolio, but it sounds rather tempting and, most importantly, super easy to do. There are other recipes online for making rosolio, but this one sounds way more tasty to me.

Here's the instructions from the book (p. 37):

Pick roses at the hottest point of the day - red roses, for they will impart more color and flavor to the alcohol. (If you do not have your own rose garden, I recommend procuring your roses from a friend or a local grower so that you can be certain that the blooms have not been treated with any chemicals.)

Separate the petals from the flower. Trim the white edge at the base with a knife or scissors. Weigh out 1.75 ounces petals, then steep the petals in a jar of 190 proof (95 percent) pure grain alcohol with a vanilla bean in a large canning jar. Close the jar and set aside in a dark place for two weeks. After two weeks, strain the liquid, removing the rose petals and vanilla bean.

Prepare a simple syrup by dissolving 1 pound sugar and 3.25 cups water. Add the simple syrup to the alcohol, return the mixture to the jar, and store for another two weeks. At the end of those two weeks, filter and bottle. After your first tasting, more simple syrup can be added if desired to cut the hotness of the alcohol and suit your taste.

If you get cracking now, you'll have enough rosolio to give away for holiday gifts this year!

Columnar apple tree update

As you may recall, I recently purchased two columnar apple trees back in March. I bought one Northpole and one Scarlet Sentinel and they are doing just fabulous.

I haven't gotten around to planting them yet and, even though they are still in pots, they are healthy and looking beautiful on my deck. They are pretty much done flowering and are both covered with tiny fruit as you can see in the picture on the upper left. I might just end up planting them in larger pots and keeping them in containers so I can move them wherever I like.

For those of you unfamiliar with columnar apples, the apples on these trees grow along the main branch and they pretty much grow straight up, although you can get them to spread a bit. Mature columnar apple trees average eight to ten feet tall and only about two feet wide. The fruit on them is normal size, but the tree itself takes up much less space.

So, if you have a tiny space and didn't think you could have fruit trees, even on a patio, you might want to give these columnar trees a try. If you don't like apples and have a hankering for peaches, you can get those as well. Too cool!

New blog - Green Goddess Dressing

Okay, so I've started a new blog. I figured I already had a separate food blog, so I might as well start one to compile all my green fashion and beauty posts as well as include additional product reviews and stuff that not everyone here would be interested in.

It's called Green Goddess Dressing and the first week will be re-posts of stuff you've already seen here, but I'll be branching out into more product reviews, beauty related book reviews and green fashion information. I don't have all the bells and whistles going on yet, but that will come soon enough.

I'd certainly appreciate if you mosey on over and check it out and sign up!

SpaRitual polish review

I recently had the chance to check out a salon in my neighborhood that offers nail care services using a blend of their own skin care products. Zerene Salon exclusively uses a nail polish called SpaRitual, which is vegan, DBP, formaldehyde and toluene free.

Why avoid these ingredients? Well, for starters, DBP, or dibutyl phthalate, is a plasticizing ingredient that has recently been banned for use in cosmetic products in the European Union. DBP is a potential developmental and reproductive toxin that may cause a broad range of birth defects. Toulene is a toxic volatile organic compound often used as an industrial solvent and formaldehyde is great if you want to preserve yourself. It is used as an embalming agent.

How well does it work? Initially, the nail polish is a little more liquidy than the "standard" polishes and you might find you'll need an additional coat to get the coverage you like. But, as the product ages and gets exposed to the air, it will thicken up. I found it lasts just as long and is as chip resistant too.

I'm pretty excited to see that there are tons of nail polishes on the market that are removing some of the more insiduous or, at the very least, questionable, chemicals from their products. Is it as good as not using nail polish? Well, no, but if you like to have your nails painted, make sure you buy safer products. And, if you get your nails done and they don't carry these types of products, ask them to start stocking them. Or, better yet. Bring your own.

Asparagi alla Milanese

I've been busy reading this great book, In Late Winter We Ate Pears: A Year of Hunger and Love - Seasonal Recipes and Stories From an Italian Kitchen, and have already run across a couple of fantastic recipes.

Last night I started off making Asparagi alla Milanese and was delighted with the result. I'm usually not a runny fried egg sort of gal, so I cooked them a tad more thoroughly than is probably expected. I also decided to roast the asparagus rather than pan steam them. Since we are up to our ears in asparagus this time of year, I'm always happy to come up with new recipes for it.

Here's my version of the Italian classic:

Serving: One

Ingredients
2 inch thick bundle of fresh asparagus
2 to 3 teaspoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is heating up, snap the tough ends off the asparagus, rinse and pat dry. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt to taste. Roast in oven until cooked but still crisp (about 8 minutes).

In the meantime, heat a skillet on medium-low, adding butter when skillet is hot. Crack eggs into butter and season with salt and pepper. Heat until cooked to your preference.

Place the roasted asparagus on a plate and slide cooked eggs directly on top. Top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

Lavender honey lemonade

We spent last weekend toodling around Poulsbo on the Kitsap Peninsula, just a short ferry ride from Seattle. We started out at the Poulsbo Marine Science Center and checked out their great touch tank and this amazing Giant Pacific Octopus.

It was the most active octopuddy I've ever seen in captivity. Usually they are just hiding in the rocks, but this two-year-old was pissed off (he was going to be released into the bay this week) and chasing after crabs and generally tormenting them. I can see why he was ornery, the tank was pretty small for him so I was happy to hear he would be released. But, also extremely glad I had the chance to watch him up close and personal.

Next up was some pastries at Sluys Bakery and, after checking into our accommodations, a stroll down the boardwalk, stopping to check out some kids fishing off the side. The water was a few feet deep under the boardwalk and we were amazed to see how far out the tide was the following afternoon.

On Sunday we hung out at a local beach on Hood Canal, enjoying some low tide action followed by a quick stop in Port Gamble to visit the "largest private shell collection in the U.S.". And eat some saltwater taffy.

During one of our stops, at the Poulsbohemian Coffeehouse, I had this great Lavender Honey Lemonade. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I found a recipe for lavender lemonade from a local lavender farm and tweaked it to recreate what I had over the weekend:

In sum, a great time was had by all!

Lavender Honey Lemonade

1 cup honey
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender (or 1/4 cup fresh lavender blossoms)
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, strained
Ice cubes
Lavender sprigs for garnish

Combine honey with 2 1/2 cups water in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the honey.

Add the lavender to the honey water, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand at least 20 minutes (and up to several hours).

Strain mixture and discard lavender. Pour infusion into a glass pitcher. Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups cold water. Stir well.

Pour into tall glasses half-filled with ice or refrigerate until ready to use.

Creating a Mediterranean oasis

Last weekend we went to a local cafe that just opened it's backyard patio, replete with tile patio, pergolas and climbing vines, fountains and lots and lots of plants. It was so enjoyably relaxing I was convinced I needed to recreate something similar in my own backyard.

So, since then I've been thinking about how to create a Mediterranean oasis. I'm planning on getting some outdoor furniture, but it's really the plants and other landscaping that completes the deal. I don't want to spend a ton of time waiting until everything is just right, so I've invested in several potted plants to give my backyard patio an Italian feel. In addition to the wine grapes, fig, bay laurel, and Arbequina olive tree I already have potted, I'm adding a border with tons of different lavender, some red rosemary and a few grasses for good measure.

I replaced my lemon tree, this time with a tree that is more of a topiary and taller and will be completing the deal with several dwarf Italian cypress. I want to get a solar fountain for an additional touch, but I think I'll need to thumb wrestle my husband over that one. It's all starting to come together as the weather is getting nicer. We may end up doing some remodeling: making the back deck smaller and the patio larger with tiles rather than concrete. But even if we end up just adding plants and some patio furniture, I'll be a happy camper.

Snappy salted potatoes

My brother came over on Sunday for dinner and whipped up a batch of fingerling potatoes.

Okay, "whipped up" is definitely not the correct description to use because he used a technique his friend Leonardo showed him for cooking salted potatoes that requires very little effort. The end result is that you have salty, snappy potatoes that are cooked to perfection.

Curious? Well, I was too. Basically, you just place your fingerlings (or other small) potatoes in a saucepan and fill the pot with water until the potatoes are just covered. Huck in a handful of salt (anywhere from a few teaspoons to a tablespoon depending on how many potatoes you are rocking) and simmer/boil uncovered until all the water is boiled away and there's nothing left but potatoes and salt. I guess this method is similar to papas arrugadas, which are popular in the Canary Islands.

The potatoes will squeal for life as the water evaporates away, but do not fear. This is part of the process that will result in fabulous potatoes. All in all, it takes about 45 minutes to cook. What you get in the end are creamy potatoes with a skin that snaps when you bite into them.

Serve with creme fraiche (or sour cream) mixed with chopped chives and pepper. Do not add any additional salt as the potatoes themselves are good n' salty. I guarantee you won't be able to stop eating them. Which is a good thing.

Preventing ingrown hairs naturally

If you shave, wax or otherwise remove hair from your body and suffer from bumps, ingrown hairs and the like, it can be extremely annoying. Not to mention painful and very unsightly. There are a number of products on the market that purportedly help prevent or reduce skin irritation and ingrown hairs but they tend to be expensive. They work fairly well but the cost can be prohibitive. If you are African American or have very curly hair, ingrown hairs can be a considerable headache.

I've just started using Whish Flawless Ingrown Hair Serum, but at $22.50 for 1.1 ounces, unless it works miraculously I'm not sure it's a habit I can keep up. Another very popular product is called Tend Skin which is cheaper at $20 for 4 ounces, but many find it to be too harsh.

So, what's a bumpy girl (or boy) to do? Well, I found a recipe for making your own version of Tend Skin, which consists basically of Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, witch hazel, purified water and uncoated aspirin, which are similar to the main ingredients in Tend Skin. It sounds like you can skip the witch hazel and water in the mixture, if you want to keep it simple. The beauty of making it yourself is that if you find the original formula to be too harsh, you can dilute it by reducing the alcohol and/or aspirin and increasing the water.

Anyway, the cost is considerably less to make it yourself so it's definitely worth a try even if it doesn't work out for you. Here's the basic recipe:

5 oz Isopropyl alcohol
15 uncoated aspirin

Add the ingredients to a squeeze bottle and shake to mix. You'll need to shake before use as some settling may occur. Apply with a cotton pad or cloth after shaving or showering or however often is needed. And, remember to exfoliate several times a week and moisturize to help prevent ingrowns.

Related posts:
Sustainable hair removal
Homemade clay mask
Hand rescue cream

Mega food manufacturers go local?

While many of us consider local food to be food grown within a certain range close to home, it also invokes the idea of sustainable agriculture, small, family farms and low environmental impact. Well, mainstream food manufacturing has started to co-opt the term "local", hoping to take advantage of this buzz word that has gained in popularity as consumers attempt to understand better where their food comes from. In other words, getting to know their producer by buying their food at farmers markets, local farm stands and the like.

When Frito-Lay and other mega manufacturers, who have more to do with junk food than sustainable agriculture, announced they were coming out with advertising campaigns to capitalize on this latest trend, many in the local food movement have been less than pleased. Sure, they are advertising the fact that the companies are buying produce and meat local to their manufacturing plants, the end result from the consumer's standpoint is anything but. Unless you happen to live near one of these mega-processors, those chips are still not going to be "local".

From their press release:

In addition to the national and regional television spots, the "Lay’s Local" campaign will be supported by a comprehensive marketing effort that celebrates the local connections of the brand through national print advertising, on-pack messaging and 40,000 in-store displays that are customized for each participating state to celebrate local connections and contributions to Lay's Potato Chips. The brand also will participate in more than 50 local-market events throughout the country celebrating the local communities that play a role in making Lay's Potato Chips.

On one hand, they are lowering the total food miles involved in the manufacturing process. Or are they? Based on Frito-Lay's press release it looks like they have changed little in the way of how they obtain their potatoes, they are just marketing the proximity of their source farms. They've made no changes in the way they grow the potatoes as far as I can tell either. Just another incidence of jumping on the bandwagon and beating the meaning out of it.

What do you think? Do you feel this is misrepresentation by greedy corporations or is this a step in the right direction to more sustainable food, by letting people know where the food source is located?

Image courtesy of The Onion

Getting started with plant starts

The last three years I've gone way out of my way to pretty much start all my vegetable plants from seed. The only exception was tomato plants since I never seemed to get my act together in time (although one could argue that tomatoes are fruits so they don't count).

Anyway, the results have been very mixed with, I hate to admit, less than stellar results. I'm sure a lot of it is just due to my ineptitude, but I think a lot has to do with the fact that we have such weird seasons with it being cold late and then hot with everything bolting. The only things that have been successful have been plant and herb starts that I bought on a whim or out of desperation.

This year I think I'm going to try something different and use more starts just to compare. And, well, out of laziness. It certainly is a heck of a lot more pricey to buy plant starts rather than seeds, but since I've had such poor results from seed starting I figure, in the end, maybe I'll come out ahead since I'll actually have something to show for it.

And, perhaps, by the end of the season the results will be the same and I'll know next year just to stick with the seeds and save myself some money. I've already begun with some spicy lettuce mix and broccoli plants. This weekend I'll get my butt in gear and plant my potatoes and onion sets. And I'll go pick up some plants and jump start my crops.

What about you? Do you start from seed or do you buy plant starts?