• “Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life” by Sophie Uliano  -  Step two of this eco-primer is all about natural beauty.  This chapter includes simple and healthy tools, tips and insights for becoming a green goddess. The Gorgeously Green website is also a wonderful resource packed with information and product reviews.     
• “Organic Body Care Recipes” by Stephanie Tourles  -  This book features 175 recipes for creating your own healthy and environmentally-friendly hair, skin and nail beauty products.  Tourles has published several great books that would make wonderful additions to your natural beauty library including:  “Naturally Healthy Skin” and “Herbal Remedies For A Lifetime of Healthy Skin.”  
• “The Truth About Beauty” by Kat James  -  The author interweaves her own story of how she changed the way she looked by changing the way she lived with practical advice about diet and nutrition.  James’ site Informed Beauty was launched in 1997 to inform and facilitate better beauty and lifestyle choices.

“My mommy is the best beautiful mommy forever.” 

Given that I had dark circles under my eyes and my hair was standing on end, it was quite a compliment.  The truth is real beauty comes from eating healthy organic foods, drinking plenty of water and educating ourselves about the ingredients used in our hair and beauty products.  Here are three tips to put you on the path to achieving natural beauty without harming your health in the process.

1. Always Do Your Research - Only the wicked queen in the Snow White fairytale can get away with asking beauty advice from a mirror.  What can the rest of us do to find out if our lotions contain formaldehyde or our lipsticks have lead in them?  Visit the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics (CSC).  CSC is a coalition of environmentalist, public health and consumer-rights groups calling for the elimination of certain chemicals used in cosmetics that are linked to cancer, birth defects and other health issues.  CSC is responsible for the creation of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, also known as the Compact for the Global Production of Safer Health and Beauty Products.  This pledge acknowledges that all the companies that sign it have replaced the toxic chemicals in their products with safer alternatives.  To date, over 900 companies have signed the pledge and the list is regularly updated to include new businesses. 
2. Be Sure To Choose Your Products Wisely - Individual beauty products made by the same company can still run the gamut from safe to highly hazardous.  This is where Skin Deep comes in.  Skin Deep is the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) cosmetic safety database.  It claims to pair the ingredients from more than 41,000 products with 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases.  Enter the type of item or brand name of the product you are researching in their database and it will give that item a rating on a 0 to 10 scale with 10 being highly hazardous.  EWG created this integrated data resource of products, the largest of its kind, because the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require businesses to test their own beauty items for safety.  To combat the loopholes in federal law that allow companies to put practically any ingredient into their products, the EWG has also crafted a petition to Congress to make personal care items safe.
3. Consult With Beauty and Nutrition Professionals - Before you have your hair colored or your nails polished, ask your beauty professionals if the products they are using contain safe and environmentally-friendly ingredients. Currently, the majority of commercial hair dyes used in salons contain toxins including ethanolamine which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is a substance known to cause cancer in laboratory animals.  My own hair stylist offers her clients alternative products like EcoColors, a hair colorant made from natural ingredients.

Nutrition should also be part of everyone’s beauty regimen.  Natural beauty starts with eating good foods, drinking plenty of water and consulting a dietitian to ensure you are getting the right mix of vitamins and minerals to promote optimum health.  The American Dietetic Association provides a database of it’s members - professional nutritists and dietitians - to individual consumers and businesses.

This Valentine’s Day and everyday, follow the ABCs of natural beauty.  Do your research, choose your beauty products wisely and consult with beauty and nutrition professionals.  Achieve natural beauty the safe and healthy way and you too will be your children’s best beautiful mommy forever.

Chicken, Ham and Gnocchi Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tbl sp. olive oil

1 white onion, chopped fine

1/2 C. organic carrot, chopped fine

3/4 C. celery, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1/3 C. flour

2 C. milk

4 C. organic chicken broth or fresh chicken stock

1 C. cook and cubed chicken breast

1 C. cubed Black Forest Ham - no nitrates added

Your Choice - add 1/2 C. spinach plus 1/2 C. fresh basil from your garden, cut julienne style OR you can add 1/2 C. pesto made from last Summer’s garden and frozen to use throughout the Winter.  If frozen, defrost before adding to soup.

If you opt for using fresh spinach and basil, make sure you add the following:

1 tsp. fresh rosemary (1/2 tsp. if you use dried)

1 tsp. fresh parsley (1/2 tsp. if you use dried)

1 Russet potato, cubed

16 oz. gnocchi (potato dumpling) 

Add white pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

1. In the electric skillet, saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil until soft.
2. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well.  Cook for 3 minutes while stirring frequently.
3. Add milk and chicken broth to the vegetables.   Our skillet is just deep enough to accommodate this amount of liquid.
4. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Stir frequently.
5. Pour soup into a slow cooker set on high heat.
6. Add chicken, ham, spinach, basil, potatoes and gnocchi.
7. Cook for 30 minutes on high setting then turn to low setting and cook for 1-1 1/2 hours.
8. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
9. Serve with a Cesar salad and garlic bread.

NOTE:  My husband likes to thicken this soup by substituting half the milk with heavy cream.  Since I don’t like the added calories, I stick with 2% milk.  You choose what works best for you.

Do you have slow cooker recipes that you would like to share?  Please send them my way.  It looks like our kitchen will be out of commission for some time.

In the meantime, I need your help.  Write and let me know what you like about GreenPaige and what improvements you would like to see.  I am open to positive suggestions.  Thanks so much.

-Paige

When life throws lemons at you, make lemon drop martinis.

Actually, my mantra should be:

When life floods your kitchen, livingroom and basement with several gallons of hot water destroying your floors, walls and cupboards, remodel green.

 

Yes, last week we awoke at 6:00am to find our walls and windows dripping with steam.  When we rushed into our kitchen, we found it transformed into a hot tub complete with a floating bamboo fruit bowl.  After the initial shock, we decided to make a bad situation a good opportunity for a eco-friendly remodel.  Here is our plan for creating a healthy, environmentally-friendly kitchen on a limited budget:

• Salvage and Reuse - Save money and keep items that have plenty of use out of the local landfill by salvaging.  We updated our kitchen last summer with a new sink, faucet, countertops, cupboard hardware, stove and Energy Star  refrigerator.  Our goal is to reuse as many of these items as we can. 
• Recycle - Before making plans to remodel, devise a plan for disposing of the materials that cannot be salvaged for your own project. Locate an architectural salvage and deconstruction company that will gently remove items that have the potential of being used again somewhere else.  You can also donate items to organizations like Habitat for Humanity.  We checked with both our city and county government web pages and found several listings for local recycling outlets.  
• Consider Your Health - In an eco remodel, your top priority should be your health.  We found that we had asbestos in both our floors and walls.  In order to make this project and our home safe and healthy, we have called in a professional asbestos abatement team to remove the items and dispose of them properly.
• Upgrade - Replace damaged items with good quality, energy-efficient appliances.  Since our faulty faucet caused the flood, we will replace our faucet with a better quality model that will help us save water.  We are also installing a Water Cop automatic water shut-off system to help prevent future water damage.  Most insurance companies will offer a discount for early-warning systems like this as well as energy-efficient appliances like our tankless water heater by Rinnai.  In our case, it worked so well it flooded our house with hot water.
• Plan For The Future - Look at the big picture when you are planning your new kitchen.  Our old, 1970’s kitchen was cozy but it wasn’t very energy-efficient and it certainly didn’t meet the needs of our growing family.  I found it difficult to cook in, dark and lacking in storage.  In planning our new kitchen, we are taking all these things into consideration as well as thinking about the future of our family and this space.  
• Do Your Research - A good eco kitchen should be able to accomodate the ever-changing needs of a family.  Some resources to help you with your own remodeling plans are: “Good Green Kitchens” and “Good Green Homes” by Jennifer Roberts.  Both books are packed with great information from asbestos hazards to remodeling a 1970’s house to keeping on budget.  One of my favorite books is Sarah Susanka’s “The Not So Big House.”  She says, “The kitchen is the heart of the house, and the Not So Big House should have a big heart.  If we acknowledge that the kitchen is where we want to be, then we should make the kitchen accessible and open to all the living areas of the house.”  I love this quote and I love this idea.  I have also found Natural Home and Garden and Mother Earth News magazines to have some fantastic articles comparing Earth-friendly flooring materials and cabinet options.

If you have ideas or resources you can recommend to us as we work through this remodeling project, please comment.  We welcome all ideas.  Here’s to making lemon drop martinis from lemons and a great green space from an inefficient 1970’s kitchen.

Wintery Clam Chowder

1 tbl sp. of organic extra virgin olive oil

1 large, white onion (diced)

2 large organic carrots (diced)

1/2 cup of corn starch or tapioca starch

2 cups combination of clam and chicken broth (Save the broth from the canned clams.  It will be a bit less than 2 cups.  Use the chicken broth to make up the difference.)

2 cups organic milk (2%)

2 (6.5 oz) cans of minced clams

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 tbl sp. dried parsley

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. crushed thyme

1 bay leaf

black pepper to taste

4 cups organic Russet potatoes  (peeled and diced)

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions and carrots.  Saute until softened. 
3. Gradually stir in the starch.  Stir thoroughly scraping the bottom of the pan.
4. Gradually stir in broth.  Scrap the sides and bottom of the pan to make sure the starch is thoroughly incorporated and not clumping.
5. Stir in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
6. Add clams and spices. 
7. Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 30 minutes.
8. Add diced potatoes and bring the soup back to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
9. Taste and adjust seasons with salt and pepper if needed.

This soup is wonderful paired with rosemary rolls and a light salad.  If you are on Weight Watchers, this soup is only 4 points a cup.  Enjoy!

   

For me, the basis of eco-style is redesign-using a combination of natural elements with items that you already have to make your home more beautiful, comfortable and functional.

In this era of green washing and high-end design, we have come to expect a high price tag attached to anything associated with the terms green, sustainable or ecological.  “Not so,” claims Susie.  Even though she doesn’t market herself as an eco-organizer, Susie has always had a passion for reusing and repurposing.

   

When my husband and I first started dating, I didn’t tell him that I did most of my shopping at thrift stores and flea markets.  One day, I had my head down in a bin at the Salvation Army when I looked up and spotted him on the other side of the store sorting through his own pile of stuff.  Our eyes met and we both realized that we had met our match.

When redesigning your home, Susie recommends starting with one room at a time.

   

When I am decorating a room, I like to take time to sit in that space, be still, clear my mind and feel the energy of the room.  It helps me define what’s missing and what needs editing.

Ask yourself if it’s too dark or too heavy on one side?  Are there too many plants or not enough plants?  Does the room get enough light? What is the purpose of this room going to be?  Susie believes that these questions will help give you direction.

I feel that your home should restore, rejuvenate and energize you.  When you walk in the door, you should feel that it’s good to be here. 

Susie’s eight quick tips for redesigning your home with eco-style:

1. Get Inspired - Find an inspiration item that will help you visualize a theme for your redesign.  Susie suggests choosing something that will work well with the purpose of the room.  For example, a vintage postcard from Hawaii could be the inspiration for a bathroom redesign.
2. Shop Your Home - Most of us tend to scatter the things we love throughout our living space.  By shopping our home and gathering together items that would work well with our theme, we can actually create a fresh look for that space.  Susie recommends choosing items based on texture and color.
3. Repurpose - Visualize Aunt Martha’s old, blue suitcase as a table top for a nightstand.  Don’t be afraid to break the rules and use a bedroom dresser as a buffet table or mix things up a bit by displaying antique gardening tools in the kitchen. By using things that you have collected throughout the years, you make a statement about you and your family.
4. Find Your Soul Color - Susie advises decorating a room with colors that restore you.  “I have this theory that we all have our own soul color.  I tend to love Earth tones but the color that restores me is green,” says Susie.  She suggests using furniture or carpet with neutral colors.  You can always change out pillows or art work to give your room punch.
5. Stylize - Decorate your home in ways that really suit you, that speak to you. “When you come in to my house, although I love rocks, you won’t find a granite countertop anywhere,” admits Susie.  ”It’s not my style.  That’s not to say they’re not stylish but it’s not what my style is really about.”  If you need help defining your style, visit HGTV  and search for style quiz.
6. Keep It Natural - Susie suggests using natural elements like wood, stone and shells to create your eco-style.  “I try to keep plastics and appliances put away because they make a room feel cold.”  Natural decorations bring the outdoors in and make you feel close to the Earth.  “I have this bowl in my living room that I change out all year long.  I put sand in it with seashells, pinecones, Christmas balls, or seed pods.  It’s an interactive accessory.”
7. Trade - Exchange things with other people.  Susie explains, “I have friends that I am so close to that we know each other’s styles.  If I have something they could use in their home redesign, I happily give it to them knowing that it will be loved and reused.” 
8. Reuse - When you do buy things for your home, buy used.  Buy things that speak to you and your own personal style.  Don’t buy what’s trendy and decorate for trend appeal.  Trends are short lived and don’t perpetuate reuse.

As a professional organizer and amateur treasure hunter, Susie Matson has spent her life saving money and the environment.

I know some people think that they can’t afford to live a more sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle because green products and services are just too expensive.  That tells me that they are working with the wrong definition of green.

For more redesigning tips, contact Susie Matson of Savvy Spaces.

If you read the labels of your favorite cleaning products as I did, you will discover that some of these brightly packaged solvents are manufactured using petroleum products, phosphates/EDTA and chlorine bleach which are harmful to the environment.  They can also contain phthalates that have been linked to cancer and disease of the reproductive system. Cleansers with antibacterials such as triclosan and benzalkonium chloride can contribute to an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, resulting in illnesses that are more difficult to treat. What can we do?

Make our own cleaning products.  Here’s how:

1. Cleaning Caddy -  Begin with a wire cleaning caddy or make one out of a basket or a box.  Fill it with your cleaning essentials including an all-purpose cleaner, soft scrub cleanser, window wash, furniture polish, a multi-purpose scrub brush, natural cellulose sponges, a turkey feather duster and cotton cleaning rags.
2. All-Purpose Cleaner - The first item you will need to add to your caddy is an all-purpose cleaner.  There are numerous recipes out there for natural all-purpose cleaners but my favorite features grapefruit seed extract which is a natural disinfectant.  Start with a 32-oz. spray bottle.  Fill it three-quarters full of water and add two tablespoons of a natural dish soap like Seventh Generation.  Mix 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract into the solution with 5-10 drops of lemon juice.  This cleaner is safe to use on every surface including walls and floors.
3. Soft Scrub Cleanser - Next, you will need a soft scrub cleanser for soap scum in tubs and stains on counter tops.  Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with a small amount of natural liquid soap until it forms the consistency of frosting.  Store in a bottle or make it fresh whenever you need it.
4. Disinfectant - For those diaper pail, garbage can and litter box jobs where only a disinfectant will do, use Tea Tree oil.  It has natural antibacterial properties.  To one gallon of hot water, mix ½ cup of Borax and a couple of drops of Tea Tree oil.  Let the concoction steep for 10 minutes and then pour into a spray bottle.
5. Window Wash - For a simple but effective window wash solution, use the same recipe our grandmothers have sworn by for years.  With 2 cups of warm water, combine 3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of a natural liquid soap. Wash windows with a soft, cotton rag.
6. Furniture Polish - No cleaning caddy would be complete without wood furniture polish.  Mix 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1/8 cup of lemon juice.  Mix together and apply to wood furniture in a thin coat.  Rub well with a soft, cotton cloth.

 Green Cleaning Tips:

• Use mops with a washable mop head cover and vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters. 
• Avoid disposable cleaning products.
• Don’t forget to recycle and properly dispose of harmful cleaning chemicals.

Still not convinced to make your own cleaning products?  Contact a green cleaning company like All Star Cleaning Services. They offer pre-mixed kits, instruction and monthly refill programs.  To locate a eco-friendly cleaning company near you, visit Green America’s National Green Pages.

• Organic Wine - For that special grown-up person in your life, slip a bottle of organic wine from Jack Rabbit Hill in their holiday stocking. 
• Musical Instruments - Ten Thousand Villages features a large selection of natural and earth-friendly gifts including wooden musical instruments, ornaments, toys, games and much more.  Buying gifts from fair trade retailers  means that your purchases will not only make wonderful presents but you will be helping to improve the lives of thousands of artisans in America, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. 
• Jewelry - For one-of-a-kind, quillwork jewelry made by handcrafters from Latin America and Native American reservations, visit The Field Guide to Sustainable Gifts at Trees Water People. 
• Toys Powered By Imagination - Sprig Toys manufactures an exciting line of battery-free, eco-friendly, paint-free, kid-powered adventure vehicles and guides for preschoolers.  ImagiPlay has been creating wooden activity toys and animal playsets for over a decade.  They use materials and manufacturing processes that minimize the environmental impact on our planet to create healthy toys free of toxins.  Green Toys features award-winning products with a new take on classic toys like children’s cookware, tea sets, sand toys and gardening kits.  Made in the USA, they are created from 100 percent recycled milk jugs and contain no BPA or phthalates.
• Baby Toys - Sophie The Giraffe is a soft, visually-stimulating teething toy made with natural rubber and non-toxic paint.  It has been loved by generations of kids for 47 years. Cute and cuddly stuffed animals by miYim are produced from ultra-soft, organic cotton which eliminates the threat of toxic chemicals and carcinogenic pesticides in your baby’s snuggly toy.  Maya Organic features a line of handcrafted toys including rattles, danglers, shape sorters and stackers made from replenishable hale wood and natural, non-toxic, vegetable dyes.  Visit Healthy Toys, a consumer action guide to toxic chemicals in toys, to research possible toy purchases.
• Green Games and Kits - For older kids, board games like Earthopoly, Eyes of The Jungle and Harvest Time make wonderful holiday gifts.  Send your kids on a globetrotting adventure to the exotic island of Madagascar with the Xeko Mission card game.  With the Power House Kit, kids can learn to construct a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse and desalination system.    
• Green Tales - Stop by your local independant book store  for some last-minute holiday shopping.  Picture books like “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss, “My Bag and Me” by Karen Farmer and “First Forest” by John Gile make great stocking stuffers.   For older kids, the “Why Should I” series helps them explore the issues of water, energy and wildlife conservation.  Two great resources for living sustainably that will make wonderful gifts for the adults on your shopping list are “Simply Green Giving: Create Beautiful and Organic Wrappings, Tags, and Gifts from Everyday Materials” by Danny Seo  and “Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions For The Whole Family” by Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell.  “Nature’s Art Box” by Laura C. Martin features 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere. This book makes a great gift for families inspired to make homemade holiday gifts from items found in their own backyard.
• Alternative Transportation - Introduce your children to kid-powered vehicles with the eco-friendly, wooden tricycle made from natural materials by Plan Toys.  All of their products are manufactured utilizing processes that are designed to reduce waste and save energy.   Radio Flyer, known for its red wagons, also makes a green version called the Earth Wagon.  This wagon is made from 100 percent recycled post-consumer HDPE plastic. Over 230 milk jugs are diverted from landfills to make each Earth Wagon.   Comet Skateboards has not only reinvented the wheel but the board too.  They use sustainably harvested bamboo with non-toxic resins to make the hip pin-striping that adorns their boards.  Their manufacturing plant uses a 10KW solar panel array to fuel the process.

This green Grinch, has one last thing to say.  Even if it comes without ribbons.  It comes without tags.  It comes without packages, boxes or bags. Don’t puzzle ’till your puzzler is sore. Celebrate the holidays like never before.  Because Christmas, I believe, doesn’t come from a store.  Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

1. Give Your Support - Buying goods and services from local businesses is a great way to strengthen community and reduce the environmental impact of transporting goods cross country.  Some cities feature coupon books highlighting local businesses that make great stocking-stuffers.  Visit the Business Alliance For Local Living Economies (BALLE) to view a map of local business networks throughout the US.
2. Give Peace of Mind - Items that help people consume less and live healthier lives definitely qualify as gifts that give back.  Safe, reusable water bottles made from either stainless steel or glass also make wonderful stocking-stuffers.  Fill a gift basket full of compact fluorescent bulbs.  Wrap gifts in reusable shopping or lunch bags made from recycled billboards, soda bottles or tires.  For more ideas, visit Green Logic Earth Friendly Goods .
3. Give a Fair Share - Surprise your loved ones this year with a vegetable, fruit or flower share from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. You will not only be supporting local economies but you will be giving the gift of healthy food.  Visit Local Harvest  for a list of CSA farms near you.
4. Give of Yourself - Your time is probably the most valuable gift you can give. Volunteer for a local organization in the name of a loved one. If your grandmother loves to read, volunteer at your public or school library. If your brother is a pet lover, volunteer at a local animal shelter or rescue. If your mother loves flowers, volunteer at a community garden.  Visit the United Way to locate volunteer opportunities in your county.
5. Give Credit - Instead of using your credit cards this holiday season, give carbon credits.  Purchasing carbon credits doesn’t mitigate the effects of global warming by itself but it does support carbon dioxide reduction programs by funneling your money into projects like wind power development.  The Choice Bundle, offered by Renewable Choice Energy, is a carbon credit package you can purchase as a gift for your family and friends.  It will offset the environmental impact of an entire family’s carbon usage for one month.  This year, save a lump of coal by putting carbon credits in your family’s Christmas stockings.
6. Give Again - Give a gift that keeps giving and giving.  Host a regifting party.  Contact the United Way to locate a nonprofit agency that serves your community.  Ask this agency for a wish list of items they need to support the services they provide.  Send the wish list to your guests and ask them to bring their new or gently used regifted items to the party.  Send the items to the agency of your choice. 

In 1992 Buy Nothing Day was created as an alternative to Black Friday, an opportunity for people to take a time-out to examine the issue of over-consumption.  This year, take Buy Nothing Day to a new level and institute a green holiday season where money is saved, zero waste is created and the gifts you give continue to give back long after the Christmas trees have turned to mulch.