Halloween

Let it begin. Ghosts, monsters and other scary things abound. But even scarier than the decorations are the ingredients in the candy and treats our kids are about to receive. Don't get me wrong--I LOVE CANDY. But why does it all have high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oil in it? Gross! I'd take straight up sugar over those things.

So what is a health freak like me supposed to do? I run a candy swap with my kids the day after Halloween. They give me all but 10 pieces of candy, and I let them buy a toy at Target. More stuff, but less crap in their bodies. Of course, then my husband eats it!

What about handing out treats? What would be fun and not awful? How about toys? Nope, plastic crap. Pencils? Maybe, but boring. Money? Thinking about it...

Birthday Dilemmas

It’s my son’s 4th birthday! And we had a big Monster Truck party. For the first time, I decided we could not have balloons. They are so pretty, but so environmentally irresponsible. And flat the next day. I also decided on no goodie bags. Too much crap. Who needs more little plastic (AUG) toys to step on at home? Instead everyone took home one toy monster truck that will serve as the decoration on their cupcake.

But the Monster trucks are made in China. And I put them into something the kids will eat. I probably should have washed and dried 20 Monster trucks. Sigh…

We had no bottled water. No juice boxes (not recyclable at all!) Husband made signs for recycling and trash containers, making fun of me. Oh well. We had a great day, ran the kids silly, and tried to contain our carbon footprint!

Cell Phone Radiation

Our friends at the Environmental Working Group are at it again. They want you to know that cell phone radiation can be dangerous and cause brain cancer. Yes, this is something I had previously thought about, but I had let it go. What do I know about cellular technology? Well now, the EWG has ranked cell phones by the amount of radiation they emit.

According to EWG,” The U.S. government ought to require cell phone companies to label their products’ radiation output so that consumers can do the numbers at the point of sale. It doesn’t, so EWG has created this user-friendly interactive online guide to cell phone emissions, covering over 1,000 phones currently on the market.”

Get more information regarding the emissions of your phone at http://www.ewg.org/cellphone-radiation.

Skinny Bitch Part 3

Ok, I want to be a vegan. I really do. But oh my, it’s hard! We are gluten free at my house, so that adds a level of complexity to everything. I’ve had mostly vegetarian days this week, but not really vegan. It’s the cheese and milk hidden in things that are catching me. And really, the SB ladies want me to give up sugar too. If I had a nickel for everytime I tried that, I’d be rich! I know being a vegan gluten free, sugar free goddess will feel good, but how will I socialize? What do you do at parties and school functions? Eat your own gf, vegan, sugar free bar, I suppose! So, I’m a wannabe vegan. Veganish. Vegetarian with greater aspirations. With a cheese and sugar problem!

Skinny Bitch Part 2 (I’m sure there will be more)

Ok, I went to Trader Joe’s tonight for a quick veggie (all organic) stock up. Feeling a little more capable with veggies in the fridge. And, having Skinny Bitch on the brain, I didn’t buy any chocolate. That’s a big deal for me—I usually buy a snack for me at TJs! Score one for the bitches!

Skinny Bitch--Reality Check

OMG. OMG. Really, what else can I say? I am reading Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Help me. It hasn’t told me anything I didn’t already know. I read a lot of this type of information. But OMG. All in one place, and so graphic. Yes, I could do without all the swearing. Please. That limits who I can actually share this book with. However, it is amazing to have it all laid out in one place! How am I really going to do this? I want to be a vegan. How do you go to social functions? How do you cook for a family that still WANTS meat?

I need help…Help to do this. Help to make meals interesting. Grocery shopping, restaurants. And convincing my husband!

First stop, the library for Vegan Cookbooks.

Green Protein Shake

I did it! I actually bought the supplies for and made a green protein shake. And I drank all of it. And there was a lot! It really did fill me up for lunch.

I want to be a person who can do this. I need to eat more veggies. I hate making lunch. This could be what I need. So, I read a ton of recipes, but settled on my own creation. Water, a handful of spinach, half a cucumber, a handful of frozen blueberries, one scoop of protein powder, ice and agave nectar. 2 veggies, 1 fruit, protein and water. Check! It's not really green...

Next,I'll try to switch out the blueberries for an apple or two!

Food choices

I had lunch with a friend today who just came back from Tony Robbin’s latest seminar, The Power Within. Apparently he has a whole segment on food choices. He is advocating a vegan-ish lifestyle, calling attention to the way food is processed and what happens to animals before we eat them. And calling into question why we eat carcasses and drink another mammal’s milk. Good questions. But my favorite quote of the day was how he explained why chicken and beef taste the way they do. He says it’s the animal’s uric acid that makes the unique tastes we are familiar with. So when you are enjoying your chicken soup, you should be thinking “MMMMM, chicken poop and pee.” Now I have to carry that information in my head…

Plan, plan and plan again

For the record, I have struggled with my weight for years. I know what I’m supposed to do. But actually doing it is another thing. With all the weight loss programs I have tried, the key to success has always been good planning. I’m not a great planner.

However, I got to see good planning in action yesterday. I had the chance to spend the day with someone who has successfully kept off 50 pounds for 20 years. She is a working mom, and also has 6 kids. She was here on vacation. She had insisted on a hotel with a good gym. And she used it first thing in the morning, while the kids were sleeping (they are teenagers). She went to the grocery store the evening she arrived, buying the supplies she would need while in CA. Specifically, I saw her pull yogurt from a cooler in the car for a mid day snack, and cut up bell peppers for a snack before dinner. I have no idea what else she bought.

We had two meals together. At lunch, she requested a large green salad. When the server said they didn’t have one, she ordered the Cobb Salad, “hold the meat, cheese, egg…”. Greens in a bowl. Dry. For lunch, she ordered another dry salad (no cheese, no croutons), but this time pulled out a fresh bottle of dressing, obviously purchased since she arrived. She also ordered two sides of veggies to go with her salmon. No bread. No wine. More than half her dinner was veggies! I know it’s supposed to be that way, but it was so cool to see it in action. I’m feeling inspired!

Sunscreen

One of the top crazy makers in my life this summer is sunscreen. Last summer I discovered the Environmental Working Groups database. As you know, this comprehensive database evaluates the toxicity of all products you use on your hair and body. I decided to start my evaluation and behavior changes with sunscreen. We are blonde and I have had 3 pieces of skin cancer removed so we use sunscreen religiously. So last year I bought California Baby and we learned to rub sunscreen in more thoroughly. The sprays that were purchased previously were saved for the beach.

Well, California Baby only comes in 3.5 oz tubes and costs over $17! There has to be a better solution. I have spent hours (and hours) on the EWG database, analyzing the ingredients in the sunscreens with a 0-2 rating, and even some 3s. I even used the database from my smart phone while in Walgreens. EWG highlighted sunscreens that are easy to find, but of them have parabyns or nano particles. (I’m not a chemist, but I read the news!) It’s August and I still don’t have a sunscreen I like!

Even crunchier!

Recently we had a playdate with a new friend. We thought the kids would get along. And they did. But the mom was even a bigger Yuppie Hippie than me! All food was purchased at Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck). I was feeling very proud of myself that my kids had been eating apples dipped in (organic) peanut butter for lunch. Guaranteed fruit, protein, fat. Her kids ate green veggies dipped in sunflower butter. No naturally occurring sugars, no contaminated peanuts, no risking nut allergy in public. Sigh. I brought cut up watermelon to share as a snack, knowing all the kids have food allergies and fruit is safe. But who knew watermelon was a dessert, not a fruit?