Friday, April 9, 2010
Fail...so far.
This week I tried an experiment.
You know I'm trying to eat healthier and reduce my impact at the same time. One thing I am trying is giving up my normal shampoo in favor of an organic, non-chemical version. My normal shampoo is a prescription dandruff shampoo which I use regularly on both my hair and eyebrows (yuck). I also have gross dry flaky skin in general and tons of creams for that too. I'm trying to improve my skin and hair through improved diet and vitamins (including a pre-natal multi, fish oil, and biotin). My head itches, but I'm also working my willpower in trying not to scratch.
This whole dryness issue also carries over to my lips, so I'm always in possession of lip balm, keeping a tube in my desk, car, purse, medicine cabinet, and next to my bed. Seriously. I've heard many times that if you just stop using the product, and don't lick your lips, the dryness will eventually go away. I quit cold turkey and Monday and finally gave up about an hour ago. They just didn't seem to be getting any better so I got out my tube and lathered on a layer of sweet soothing protection.
Now, you might ask, why not just zip over to CVS and grab a tube of Bert's Bees since it's so readily available. Well, it's an issue of less is MORE. Part of my resolution here is that I really want to make less trash. Perhaps the tiny packaging of a tube of lip balm is a weird place to draw a line, but I am trying to focus my efforts on buying fewer things that have packaging and when I do, choosing paper packaging over plastic whenever possible.
So I'm going to keep trying not to lick my lips and hope that when another week passes, I'll be permanently free of my many many tubes of lip balm.
You know I'm trying to eat healthier and reduce my impact at the same time. One thing I am trying is giving up my normal shampoo in favor of an organic, non-chemical version. My normal shampoo is a prescription dandruff shampoo which I use regularly on both my hair and eyebrows (yuck). I also have gross dry flaky skin in general and tons of creams for that too. I'm trying to improve my skin and hair through improved diet and vitamins (including a pre-natal multi, fish oil, and biotin). My head itches, but I'm also working my willpower in trying not to scratch.
This whole dryness issue also carries over to my lips, so I'm always in possession of lip balm, keeping a tube in my desk, car, purse, medicine cabinet, and next to my bed. Seriously. I've heard many times that if you just stop using the product, and don't lick your lips, the dryness will eventually go away. I quit cold turkey and Monday and finally gave up about an hour ago. They just didn't seem to be getting any better so I got out my tube and lathered on a layer of sweet soothing protection.
Now, you might ask, why not just zip over to CVS and grab a tube of Bert's Bees since it's so readily available. Well, it's an issue of less is MORE. Part of my resolution here is that I really want to make less trash. Perhaps the tiny packaging of a tube of lip balm is a weird place to draw a line, but I am trying to focus my efforts on buying fewer things that have packaging and when I do, choosing paper packaging over plastic whenever possible.
So I'm going to keep trying not to lick my lips and hope that when another week passes, I'll be permanently free of my many many tubes of lip balm.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Lose weight now! Be a better citizen
A big factor in my decision to make a green resolution has to do with some consuming I've been doing (documentaries and books) of green media. I happened upon a passage in book that talked extensively about the effects that chemicals have on us humans, which in turn, naturally have a profoundly negative effect on the environment as well. Ok, this makes sense and like any good American, I might just be selfish enough to look out for myself when I have never been selfless enough to look out for my planet.
A big part of this drive is that I know we'll be trying to get pregnant in the next year and before that happens, I'd like to clean up my body. I re-joined Weight Watchers last night and vowed to this time closely follow the guidelines for fruits & veggies. In the past I'd always just got with the most satisfying prepared food I could find for the correct amount of "points". My diet leaves a lot to be desired, but I am working on improving quality in terms of both the types of foods I eat, and the way they are produced.
I'm starting my day with a smoothie made of OJ, strawberries, yogurt, pineapple, mango, vanilla whey powder, and psyllium powder. It comes out to about 4 points and does a nice job of filling me up on my commute to work in the morning and keeping me satisfied until lunch around noon. None of my fruits are organic or local. I get everything from Costco except for the whey and psyllium powders and the yogurt, which is organic and from Trader Joe's. This summer I am hoping to start buying strawberries and raspberries from the local farmer's market which may or may not be organic, but will at least be local, pesticide free, and sustainably grown. Mango and pineapple is a little harder since it has to be imported. I may try to buy it at Whole Foods, but that's expensive and not with the local part of my philosophy. I might consider peaches if the price is right. I'm not too familiar with the fruit seasons, so I hope to learn more by going regularly to the farmer's market.
For lunch I've had a turkey sandwich on Ezekiel Bread (from WF), with organic, grain fed, nitrate free turkey "lunch meat", tomato (also from WF, they are not in season yet at the farmer's market), and avocado from the farmer's market last week, along with a little grainy mustard. I decided to leave out the cheese because one lousy piece is 2 Weight Watchers points. I figured with the creamy fatty avocado, I could do without and I was right. This sandwich clocks in at a mild 5 points. I also whipped up a batch of cauliflower soup last weekend from some other famer's market buys, and I've been having a small cup of that with my lunch as well, for 2 points. Between the two, this gets me to about 6pm before I'm starving.
Today I planned to hit the gym, but sat down to write instead. If I had, I'd just be getting back now and would probably not be hungry for another 20 to 30 minutes. The gym is great that way. As it is, I'm starving, waiting for my husband to get home, and have 7 weight watcher's points left for the day (i.e. NOT MUCH). I've long been used to eating like a king at dinner, but alas that time has come to an end.
If I'm going to truly get healthy, it will mean losing around 15-20 extra pounds that I've put on since high school. Weight Watcher's program will help keep me on track by making me accountable and giving me steady visible results. The inside results of eating more fresh fruits and veggies will be harder to judge. However, I know that to have a healthy baby, I have to make my body a hospitable environment, and this is truly important to me. So this part of my green journey is about more than just supporting those who grow and produce sustainable produce, it's about supporting me in my eventually effort to reproduce the healthiest baby possible.
A big part of this drive is that I know we'll be trying to get pregnant in the next year and before that happens, I'd like to clean up my body. I re-joined Weight Watchers last night and vowed to this time closely follow the guidelines for fruits & veggies. In the past I'd always just got with the most satisfying prepared food I could find for the correct amount of "points". My diet leaves a lot to be desired, but I am working on improving quality in terms of both the types of foods I eat, and the way they are produced.
I'm starting my day with a smoothie made of OJ, strawberries, yogurt, pineapple, mango, vanilla whey powder, and psyllium powder. It comes out to about 4 points and does a nice job of filling me up on my commute to work in the morning and keeping me satisfied until lunch around noon. None of my fruits are organic or local. I get everything from Costco except for the whey and psyllium powders and the yogurt, which is organic and from Trader Joe's. This summer I am hoping to start buying strawberries and raspberries from the local farmer's market which may or may not be organic, but will at least be local, pesticide free, and sustainably grown. Mango and pineapple is a little harder since it has to be imported. I may try to buy it at Whole Foods, but that's expensive and not with the local part of my philosophy. I might consider peaches if the price is right. I'm not too familiar with the fruit seasons, so I hope to learn more by going regularly to the farmer's market.
For lunch I've had a turkey sandwich on Ezekiel Bread (from WF), with organic, grain fed, nitrate free turkey "lunch meat", tomato (also from WF, they are not in season yet at the farmer's market), and avocado from the farmer's market last week, along with a little grainy mustard. I decided to leave out the cheese because one lousy piece is 2 Weight Watchers points. I figured with the creamy fatty avocado, I could do without and I was right. This sandwich clocks in at a mild 5 points. I also whipped up a batch of cauliflower soup last weekend from some other famer's market buys, and I've been having a small cup of that with my lunch as well, for 2 points. Between the two, this gets me to about 6pm before I'm starving.
Today I planned to hit the gym, but sat down to write instead. If I had, I'd just be getting back now and would probably not be hungry for another 20 to 30 minutes. The gym is great that way. As it is, I'm starving, waiting for my husband to get home, and have 7 weight watcher's points left for the day (i.e. NOT MUCH). I've long been used to eating like a king at dinner, but alas that time has come to an end.
If I'm going to truly get healthy, it will mean losing around 15-20 extra pounds that I've put on since high school. Weight Watcher's program will help keep me on track by making me accountable and giving me steady visible results. The inside results of eating more fresh fruits and veggies will be harder to judge. However, I know that to have a healthy baby, I have to make my body a hospitable environment, and this is truly important to me. So this part of my green journey is about more than just supporting those who grow and produce sustainable produce, it's about supporting me in my eventually effort to reproduce the healthiest baby possible.
Sustainable clothing
Part of the overall overhaul is to move to a sustainable closet. I started last night with a shopping trip to my local Buffalo Exchange. While I want to eventually move to buying only organic clothes, in the interim I have committed to simply buying no new no-organic clothes. This allows me the loop hole of used clothes, wherein I am recycling. I got this little beauty there last night for only $15.
Now I'm not really familiar with ArdenB, the maker of this shirt. Judging by the selection on page 1 of tops, I'm not missing out too much. Still, I felt great at work today in my new digs and not only was a looking great and recycling, but I also got a kickass good deal. Which, honestly, makes up for the fact that my husband says this shirt is "really too ruffly".
Monday, April 5, 2010
Drinking water
In the previous post I talked about our Copco cold drink cups that I've been using for breakfast smoothies. It occured to me after a week of using them that I should really take them with me anytime I'll be ordering a soda or fountain drink (which should be never, right?). So on Friday night, DH and I went off to a late dinner at Chez Subway, and took our cups along with us. At the register the cashier seemed a little confused at first since I asked him to charge us for 2 drinks, but not give me the cups. He looked at our cups for a couple moments before it kicked in, but then he kind of lit up! He definitely didn't get a lot of this kind of behavior. I felt like an eco-warrior until I realized I was drinking diet coke. Baby steps.
Then on Saturday, I washed up the cups and took them along to Dodger Stadium. I was fully prepared for the security gaurd to wonder what the deal was, butshe didn't say anything and we went right in. We stood in like at Camacho's for some ice, which they kindly gave us and then we filled the cups at the water fountain. We enjoyed our cold beverages and the cost savings associated with not buying bottles of water (either at the park, which is like $4 each or at an outside store for like $1 each). I also felt that familiar sense of superiority associated with not throwing things away.
Then, today I got to wondering about the fountain water and hoping that wasn't going to poison us. I had heard great things about the city water here for years, but I'd always filtered our water at home. By far the most info out there is about the tons of pharmacueticals found in local water supplies. So that's heart warming. I also read a really interesting article in the NY Times that basically says the safe water laws are outdated and that though the LA water doesn't break the law, it's not exactly harmless either. Overall the conclusion is that filtered water is best, but that the occassional drink of tap water will probably not make a big difference. Since my only choices at the stadium are (expensive) wasteful bottled waters or the tap water from the fountain, I'll take my chances.
Lots of layers to this whole sustainability thing.
Then on Saturday, I washed up the cups and took them along to Dodger Stadium. I was fully prepared for the security gaurd to wonder what the deal was, butshe didn't say anything and we went right in. We stood in like at Camacho's for some ice, which they kindly gave us and then we filled the cups at the water fountain. We enjoyed our cold beverages and the cost savings associated with not buying bottles of water (either at the park, which is like $4 each or at an outside store for like $1 each). I also felt that familiar sense of superiority associated with not throwing things away.
Then, today I got to wondering about the fountain water and hoping that wasn't going to poison us. I had heard great things about the city water here for years, but I'd always filtered our water at home. By far the most info out there is about the tons of pharmacueticals found in local water supplies. So that's heart warming. I also read a really interesting article in the NY Times that basically says the safe water laws are outdated and that though the LA water doesn't break the law, it's not exactly harmless either. Overall the conclusion is that filtered water is best, but that the occassional drink of tap water will probably not make a big difference. Since my only choices at the stadium are (expensive) wasteful bottled waters or the tap water from the fountain, I'll take my chances.
Lots of layers to this whole sustainability thing.
Learning about plastics
A few weeks ago, in order to further my goals re: weight loss, I re-read my favorite diet book "The Abs Diet". Immediately began making breakfast smoothies for myself and my husband. I wanted to be able to sip away during the morning commute in order to 1) assure actual consumption of breakfast, which I'm known to blow off and 2) assure that breakfast is consumed less than 3 hours after I get up. Unfortunately my kitchen equipment didn't include the right vessel. So I was off to BB&B.
DH and I still have about $100 left in gift cards from our wedding a year ago. I won't know what to do with myself when this is gone.
Anyway a wonderful employee of BB&B in Studio City directed me right to these: a wonderful Jamba Juice replica cup which works perfectly for transport and consumption of said healthy ingredient smoothies. Yay!
Yay until in my green research I read all kinds of terrible things about plastics. I'm still a novice when it comes to the entire green movement, as you know, but I'm trying. These Copco cups are BPA free which is the most dangerous chemical we know of when it comes to the reusable plastic vessel, but overall less plastics is better. There is some evidence that shows that regular juice, water, and soda bottles can leach DHEP when they are in less than perfect condition. This was shocking information for me as I've always re-used water bottles. In fact, the last 4 weeks I've used the same water bottle over and over each time I went to the gym. Scary.
But, now we know and as GI Joe would say, knowing is half the battle. The other half of the battle is finding a new water bottle. I started shopping on Amazon.com as is my usual custom. There is a whole section of reusable water bottles, which is great. Now I had to take a detour out into the world of Google to try to understand if I should go with a bottle that's similar to the Copco plastic cup or look at aluminum or stainless steel varieties.
First, the obvious upsides to the plastic seem to be price and weight. Plastic bottles come in plenty of sizes and iterations, with decent ratings by the Amazon buyers.
Downsides include other concerns about plastics and overall human health. While I couldn't easily (Google) find any conclusive studies that indicate specific concerns, there does some to be some general unrest about plastics especially for bottles like these which will get reused often and will tend to get dinged up. I read through a long list of chemicals used in plastics production and different reasons why they are BAD. Overall I felt it would be awfully difficult to figure out what plastics were used in what products. Easier to avoid plastic altogether. It's also a lot tougher to recycle plastics than I thought. Plus, plastic is made from petroleum and buying plastics supports the demand for this finite resource. I read that not all plastics are made with petroleum, but it seems safer to stay away from them altogether since it's difficult to know from amazon.com what's in these plastics.
Ok, so on the other hand we have stainless steel bottles.
Upside, it's durable and eco-friendly. Downsides (the opposite of the up sides to platics) are cost and weight. I focused right in on Klean Kanteen and began reading their website. Klean Kanteen's are dishwasher safe which is also a big deal for me.
I did consider Aluminum briefly because it is 1) not plastic and 2) lightweight. However, I understand that aluminum can leach into the water if the bottle's liner becomes compromised. I read some material that Sigg put out about this, and while they do seem to have given that issue a lot of thought, I again figured, if there's an alternative, why bother.
So I ended up on this Klean Kanteen, 18oz in red. Phillies red.
Now, when I decided to work on greening my life, my chief concern was could I afford to do so. Organic foods, clothes, and general replacing of a bunch of my current STUFF could really add up. This first purchase is certainly leading me to believe that I'll have to be all kinds of careful if I'm going to make this a true life style change. One good thing is that this water bottle should last many years and if I can remember to keep it with me, I should be presented with opportunities to re-fill instead of buying a disposable bottle of water. Hopefully that will help me even the score. Klean Kanteen makes a child's "sippy cup" which costs as little as $13 for each 12oz bottle. For a BPA free plastic sippy cup, Amazon shows costs of as little as $2-$3 each (when you buy multiples). I can remember a time when my nieces were small that they'd easily go through 4 cups in a day (2 kids, 2 milk cups, 2 juice cups) so going without plastic would take a commitment. Just something to think about.
DH and I still have about $100 left in gift cards from our wedding a year ago. I won't know what to do with myself when this is gone.
Anyway a wonderful employee of BB&B in Studio City directed me right to these: a wonderful Jamba Juice replica cup which works perfectly for transport and consumption of said healthy ingredient smoothies. Yay!
Yay until in my green research I read all kinds of terrible things about plastics. I'm still a novice when it comes to the entire green movement, as you know, but I'm trying. These Copco cups are BPA free which is the most dangerous chemical we know of when it comes to the reusable plastic vessel, but overall less plastics is better. There is some evidence that shows that regular juice, water, and soda bottles can leach DHEP when they are in less than perfect condition. This was shocking information for me as I've always re-used water bottles. In fact, the last 4 weeks I've used the same water bottle over and over each time I went to the gym. Scary.
But, now we know and as GI Joe would say, knowing is half the battle. The other half of the battle is finding a new water bottle. I started shopping on Amazon.com as is my usual custom. There is a whole section of reusable water bottles, which is great. Now I had to take a detour out into the world of Google to try to understand if I should go with a bottle that's similar to the Copco plastic cup or look at aluminum or stainless steel varieties.
First, the obvious upsides to the plastic seem to be price and weight. Plastic bottles come in plenty of sizes and iterations, with decent ratings by the Amazon buyers.
Downsides include other concerns about plastics and overall human health. While I couldn't easily (Google) find any conclusive studies that indicate specific concerns, there does some to be some general unrest about plastics especially for bottles like these which will get reused often and will tend to get dinged up. I read through a long list of chemicals used in plastics production and different reasons why they are BAD. Overall I felt it would be awfully difficult to figure out what plastics were used in what products. Easier to avoid plastic altogether. It's also a lot tougher to recycle plastics than I thought. Plus, plastic is made from petroleum and buying plastics supports the demand for this finite resource. I read that not all plastics are made with petroleum, but it seems safer to stay away from them altogether since it's difficult to know from amazon.com what's in these plastics.
Ok, so on the other hand we have stainless steel bottles.
Upside, it's durable and eco-friendly. Downsides (the opposite of the up sides to platics) are cost and weight. I focused right in on Klean Kanteen and began reading their website. Klean Kanteen's are dishwasher safe which is also a big deal for me.
I did consider Aluminum briefly because it is 1) not plastic and 2) lightweight. However, I understand that aluminum can leach into the water if the bottle's liner becomes compromised. I read some material that Sigg put out about this, and while they do seem to have given that issue a lot of thought, I again figured, if there's an alternative, why bother.
So I ended up on this Klean Kanteen, 18oz in red. Phillies red.
Now, when I decided to work on greening my life, my chief concern was could I afford to do so. Organic foods, clothes, and general replacing of a bunch of my current STUFF could really add up. This first purchase is certainly leading me to believe that I'll have to be all kinds of careful if I'm going to make this a true life style change. One good thing is that this water bottle should last many years and if I can remember to keep it with me, I should be presented with opportunities to re-fill instead of buying a disposable bottle of water. Hopefully that will help me even the score. Klean Kanteen makes a child's "sippy cup" which costs as little as $13 for each 12oz bottle. For a BPA free plastic sippy cup, Amazon shows costs of as little as $2-$3 each (when you buy multiples). I can remember a time when my nieces were small that they'd easily go through 4 cups in a day (2 kids, 2 milk cups, 2 juice cups) so going without plastic would take a commitment. Just something to think about.
Here's some websites I read:
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