ONE! If every household in Canada replaced just one incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light (CFL) like this one pictured, the reduction in pollution would be like taking 66,000 cars off Canadian roads.
Okay, so I'm way behind the 8-ball with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. But like I've said before, better late then never. And I'm very excited to read it. I've been following the book club at Crunchy Chickens blog - and now I actually get to read it!
I've been himmmmming and hawwwwwwing over buying "Ecoholic" for awhile now. So I just bit the bullet and got it - as a Christmas gift to myself. LOL Its geared to the Canadian market so that's great. I'll let you know how that one is once I'm finished. I love the fact that both books are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper!
I only made three kinds of cookies this year. (gasp!!) Time is valuable to me and besides, I find that as the month goes on everyone loses interest in goodies anyways. People tend to overinduldge at holiday gatherings and eventually the blahs start to set in from too many sweets. Sooooo, I thought I would keep it simple. What you see here is a reusuable christmas tin filled to the brim with all three kinds: starting from the left - Vive le Vegan's Carob-Coconut-Pecan Cookies. I used walnuts instead of pecans and these are my favourite out of the three. Next, Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan's Jam Print Cookies - I used walnuts instead of hemp nut seeds, strawberry jam (made by yours truly) instead of raspberry and refined white flour instead of barley flour. Lastly, ED&BV's Tickled Pink Vanilla Sprinkle Cookies - I used a green sprinkle and omitted the beet powder. All three have a 'festive' taste/look to them.
I made up several of these christmas tins and will bring one as a hostess gift to each of the holiday parties we are attending Christmas Eve through New Years. As well, we are having company over a few nights so will keep a tin for us too!
6. Stash Organic Merry Mint: I just bought this one and I LOVE it! It is a green tea with peppermint, ginger, lemongrass, and spearmint. It has a very mild spearmint flavour (reminds me of gum). It is a nice change from regular peppermint tea. It is a holiday tea made by Stash so I won't be able to get it any other time of the year so I'm going back to buy lots more! ha ha
7. Choice organic rooibos tea: I have to admit it took me a long time to get used to rooibos tea. At first I didn't like it at all. And the varieties that make vanilla rooibos teas are gross. If rooibos wasn't so damn good for us, I probably wouldn't bother to make it. But, it is good for me, so I do drink it most days. Because it doesn't have any caffeine in it, I usually drink it in the afternoons or evenings.
Pictured here are a few products my kids use.
1. Green Beaver Winter Lotion: i've posted about this product before - it's great. Pros: No sulfates or parabens in it, made in Canada, and no fragrances. No Cons people!
2. Tom's of Maine children's toothpaste: Pros: the flavour we bought is Silly Strawberry - is a cute name that make the boys giggle everytime they use it. Is fluoride-free. Tastes good enough to make the kids want to brush their teeth. Does not contain artifical sweetners. Cons: has Sodium lauryl sulfate in it! GRRRRR. I missed that ingredient when purchasing it - otherwise wouldn't have bought it. And isn't Tom's of Maine getting bought out by Colgate-Palmolive Co.??? This means that Tom's of Maine, which currently stands at an impressive 16 out of 20 in Ethical Consumer's unique "ethiscore" rating system, would see its score cut to just 5 out of 20, if the takeover goes through. Tom's of Maine has, up to now, been applauded by ethical consumers and has received Ethical Consumer's highest rating for its environmental reporting, animal testing policy and for its paraben-free products. Parabens are hormone mimicking chemicals that have been linked to breast and testicular cancer. Colgate's current score of 5 out of 20 is attributable to its receiving Ethical Consumer's worst rating for environmental reporting and its animal testing policy. Soooo, Colgate isn't a company I would like to support. So once this toothpaste is done we won't be buying any more.
3. Badger Sleep balm: Pros: has organic natural ingredients; organic extra virgin olive oil, essential oils of bergamot, ginger, rosemary and lavender. So it smells great. I rub it onto their temples, face and neck before bed. www.badgerbalm.com Cons: none
4. Preserve Toothbrushes: Pros: the handle is made from the highest quality post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled plastics. Once we no longer have use for the toothbrush they encourage users to return them to Recycline, were they will grind it to make material for recycled plastic lumber. Included was a postage-paid return envelope to encourage us to do so. All of its packaging is made from recyclable materials, and the reusable brush canister provides a sanitary holder to keep the brush clean and portable when travelling. http://www.recycline.com/products/preserve.html
5. Aromaforce Lavender Essential Oil: if the kids have had a particular stressful or busy day i will put a few drops of this into their bath. I find this is far healthier then some of those 'bubble baths' that are out there - full of sulfates.
6. Olbas Salve: I rub a little of the salve under their noses and on their chests when they have a cold. Also, I've been putting it on the bottom of their feet (according to reflexology charts) to help with coughs and colds. I'll post another day about reflexology. Pros: smells like vicks (which we like that menthol smell) without the toxic ingredients. Cons: none
7. baby Derma Med Therapeutic Shampoo: pros: has organic ingredients, made in canada, no sodium lauryl or laureth sulfates. This shampoo works well for now as the kids are still young. As they get older and oiler, we'll likely have to look for something a bit stronger. Cons: no smell, which the kids seem to like smells associated in their bath.
