Mindful Momma

Homemade Nutella....Just Say Yum!!

Making homemade Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) has been on my wish list for awhile so when my Mom brought me a bunch of toasted hazelnuts on a recent visit, I knew just what to do with them. 

Drew & I whipped up a batch this morning.  The recipe came from Amy Karol over at Angry Chicken.  She did a little roundup of chocolate hazelnut spread recipes well over a year ago and I've had the page bookmarked ever since.  She lists 3 recipes and I made the first one - the one that uses chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream.  The other recipes use cocoa powder and/or condensed milk but she said she liked the first recipe the best, so I went with that.  And I'm not sorry! 

I've been trying to come up with some creative way to describe this stuff but all I can come up with right now is Super Yum!  It's incredible rich...a little bit goes a long way.  Apparently Nutella is popular for breakfast in Europe - they spread it on toast and it's billed as healthy because it's made with nuts and dairy.  But I can't really imagine getting out the chocolate spread for the kids every morning.  I let Drew have it on a banana this morning though, right after we made it.  You should have seen the smile on his face!  I'm thinking it would make a fabulous ice cream topping or the filling between 2 graham crackers.  Even a spoonful on its own is quite divine!

I'm sure we'll gobble this batch up in no time flat but I'm already thinking ahead to Christmas gifts. 

Spring Break Staycation!

Sure, I'd rather be in Paris, but I'm thinking we picked a pretty good year to have a staycation instead of traveling over Spring Break.  There's usually snow on the ground at this time of year in Minnesota and I'm just dying to get out of dodge....but this year we haven't had a single flake of snow in March (first time in weather tracking history!!) and it's threatening to hit 75 later this week. So we're good!

Playing with my boys will keep me from posting much this week but I do want to mention a couple of things springy things...

This week's topic for the Spring Cleaning - Get the Junk Out! carnival is all about going gluten-free.  Since this is a topic that I hardly know anything about, I am looking forward to heading over to Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free tomorrow to read all about it!

I'm attempting to grow some wheat grass.  I read about it yesterday on Design Mom and remembered that I had some wheat berries in the freezer.  My berries are in the sprouting stage right now and I'll plant them tomorrow.  If all goes well, I'll have a gorgeous crop of wheat grass for Easter!

Speaking of Easter, we'll be dyeing eggs sometime this week.  My plan is to try some natural dyes this year, although the kids insisted on a PAAS kit too.  Somehow (in their book) it just isn't Easter without the insanely bright, artificial colors of PAAS.  If you're looking for ideas, Amy over at Crunchy Domestic Goddess put together a nice tutorial about natural dyes last year.  I'll be working with beets, cabbage and tumeric, while my kids play plop-plop-fizz-fizz with the PAAS. 

I had my first taste of spring asparagus and fresh peas this past week.  No they were not local but boy was it nice to enjoy a little taste of spring!  Our asparagus patch is still buried under leaves but we're hoping for our first harvest this year!  Oh, and our strawberry patch is growing great guns.  We need to cover it soon to keep out those pesky little Easter bunnies!

Are you having Spring Break this week too?  I hope you're enjoying nice, Spring weather wherever you are!

{image of wheat grass from Design Mom}

An Evaluation of Martha Stewart Clean

I'm a big believer in making my own cleaning products (especially with vinegar!) whenever I can.  But I still have a slew of cleaning products under my sink at home.  And what percentage of the population do you think actually makes their own cleaning products?  My guess is that it is quite small.  I also prefer to support small, local businesses (Simply Neutral is a wonderful Minnesota based cleaning line that I love!), but I don't always have time to make an extra trip to the specialty store that carries those products.

That's why I think it's important to have high-quality, reasonably-priced, eco-friendly brands available at mass-market stores as a 'better' choice over scary conventional cleaning products, loaded with toxic chemicals.  Thankfully, there are quite a few great eco-friendly brands out there.  And now, there's a new one...from Martha Stewart no less.  Not that we really need another choice, but it's out there none the less.  I had a chance to review a few products so I thought I'd share my thoughts on Martha Stewart Clean...

My first thought was that this was going to be glorified greenwashing.  I started scouring the label, looking for the signs....

Do they disclose all ingredients of the label? YES - although it would be nice to see ingredients and MSDS info on the website so people could evaluate online.

Are there a ton of ingredients that are impossible to pronounce?  YES and NO.  I was surprised to find that the products contain a minimum number of ingredients and are completely fragrance-free and color-free.  Although the ingredients are 99+% plant and mineral-based (and fully biodegradable), many are still impossible to pronounce.

Do they slap the word natural on there without any backup?  NO - surprisingly, the word natural isn't on the label at all.

Do they have a third-party certification? - YES - the products carry the Design for the Environment label by the EPA.  This means that the products have met stringent guidelines for human health and environmental safety.

In chatting with my Green Moms Carnival friends (who know a heck of a lot about green standards and ingredients), I found that many of them would prefer to see even tougher guidelines because chemical regulation simply has not kept pace.  Also, a product standard that takes the whole product lifecycle (not just the ingredients) into account would be nice.

But the bottom line is that, NO, I don't think this is greenwashing here.

Wait!  We can't forget the most important question - Does the stuff work??  I tested the all-purpose cleaner, the carpet stain remover and the dish & hand soap.  I give the all-purpose spray and the dish & hand soap a thumbs up (I have a thing for dual-purpose products!) but for the carpet-cleaner just a sideways thumb. It's good for immediate stains but for set-stains on white carpet, I think you're gonna need something stronger.

So is Martha Stewart Clean for you?

• probably NOT if the thought of Martha makes you cringe
• probably NOT if you are an ingredient purist who prefers not to use any ingredients that you can't pronounce
• probably NOT if you are loyal to purchasing from small business instead of corporations
   

But for those of you whose day-to-day reality includes picking up affordable, eco-friendly cleaning products as part of a larger shopping trip, I'd say that Martha Stewart Clean looks like a pretty good option to me.  So far it's available only at Home Depot (so don't look for it on your next Target run) and online at Amazon (in multi-packs only). 

What are your thoughts on the Martha Stewart Clean line? 

{full disclosure:  I received 3 Martha Stewart Clean products at no charge for review purposes.}

For The Love of Vinegar...Top 15 Ways to Use it in the Home

My Dearest Bottle of Vinegar,

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways....

• You effortlessly kill 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold and 80% of germs.
• You are absolutely, 100% safe to use.
• You are inexpensive!
• Mixed with water and stored in a spray bottle, you make the perfect kitchen sanitizer for counter-tops and cutting boards (antibacterial kitchen sprays need not apply!)
• Combined with baking soda, you make an awesome sink scrub.
• You ROCK at keeping mold & mildew at bay in my shower!
• You keep my windows clean and shiny without harsh chemicals like ammonia.
• You soften my laundry and help reduce static cling without yucky animal fats.
• You make a safe & effective floor cleaner.
• You kill germs in the toilet.
• You helped remove pet odors back when I had cats.
• You work wonders as a hair rinse.
• You freshen my drains and help keep them muck-free.
• You help keep my sponges clean and fresh.
• I couldn't make a salad dressing without you! :)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...How do YOU use vinegar in the home?

This is my post for this week's edition of the Spring Cleaning: Get The Junk Out! carnival, about getting rid of antibacterial cleansers, hosted by Katie at Kitchen Stewardship.

 

Mineral Makeup Uncovered

Seems like nothing is sacred these days.  Not even mineral makeup, the darling of the cosmetics industry and something that us green & healthy folks consider a step above conventional cosmetic products.  But alas, it turns out there's a thing or two to watch out for when choosing a mineral makeup brand.  I've been confused/concerned about this for awhile now and finally took the time to sort out a few things.  Hope this helps you too!!

Here's what you definitely don't want in your mineral makeup:

• Nanoparticles - Minerals ground into teeny-weeny particles so small they can be absorbed into the skin and enter the bloodstream, leading to health problems, including lung cancer.  (Not to be confused with micronized ingredients, which from what I have read, are 1000 times larger than nanoparticles.  Micronized minerals are found in most mineral makeup products and appear to be safe to use.)
• Parabens- Pure mineral makeup lines do not contain parabens....but now that the big brands are in on the mineral scene, you never know what they might slip in there.  Like this 'mineral' blush from Revlon that contains parabens and nano-sized titanium dioxide and is rated a 10 (worst hazard) on the Skin Deep cosmetics database!! 
• Bismuth oxychloride - A byproduct of lead and copper refining that can cause skin irritation in people with sensitive skin.
• Dimethicone - A silicone-based emollient that does not allow skin to breathe.  Basically it's like coating your skin in plastic wrap. Yuck!!
• Talc - Some brands use talc as an an inexpensive filler.  It cheapens the product and is dangerous to inhale.

   

Confused about which brand to buy?  Believe me, you are not alone!!  Here are a few brands that I've either tried myself or that have come highly recommended:

 

• Orglamix - I purchased some mineral foundation from this teensy company via Abe's Market and think it's just fab!!  Prices are very reasonable ($5 for 2g) and products are formulated without yucky stuff like nanoparticles, bismuth oxychloride, synthetic dyes, parabens or synthetic fragrances.  Shop on Etsy for the full range of this artisan-crafted mineral makeup.

   
• Everyday Minerals- People have been raving about this line but I haven't tried it myself.  It is vegan (meaning they don't use any animal-based pigments, like carmine) and free of dimethicone, bismuth oxychloride, fragrance, silicone, lake dyes and parabens.  Looks like pretty pure stuff and well-priced too.  Check out the try-me-free program where you can get free samples with any purchase!!
• miessence- Having raved about miessence skin care, I would love to try their mineral makeup. A very pure line that does not contain any of the nasties written about above. In addition they choose not to use titanium dioxide because it is an unstable ingredient that must be coated with additional ingredients to be safe. Prices are a bit higher ($20 for 6gm) but the quality is way high.
• Jane Iredale- Some of my Facebook readers recommended this line that appears to be sold mainly in salons (or online).  However, many products contain dimethicone and prices are getting up there ($42 for 10g of foundation)
• Christopher Drummond Beauty- This company claims to go "beyond mineral makeup"by creating formulas without titanium dioxide or zinc oxide which they claim are irritating.  Instead, they use trace minerals, plant extracts and botanicals that sooth skin instead of irritate it. But when I scoured the ingredients list (like a good, green detective), I discovered that a bunch of products DO contain titanium dioxide, which was a bit odd (apparently they feel it is necessary in some products).  The company sent me some free samples to try and I have to admit the products are very nice!  Their signature product, Saude Pele Radiance Booster, gives my skin a healthy glow without being at all sparkly. And the cream concealer goes on super smooth.  If you have especially sensitive skin, this might be the product line for you but at $65 for an 8 gram container of foundation, it would be a stretch for me.
• Bare Escentuals- One of the pioneers of mineral makeup, Bare Escentuals is now sold just about everywhere (including QVC - gag!).  Their Clear Radiance blush is in my bathroom cupboard and I've always thought it was a great product.  So I was bummed to discover that it contains bismuth oxycholoride. Since I don't have any sensitivity to that ingredient, I'll probably continue to use it (it's rated a low hazard on Skin Deep) 

All things considered, I like the idea of supporting small businesses, so I will likely give my business to Orglamix or Everyday Minerals.  What mineral makeup brands do you use?  What are your most important considerations when purchasing a mineral makeup line?  Product quality, Ingredients, Price??

Homemade Yogurt - A Double Win!!

We're finally making homemade yogurt around here!  I've been wanting to try it for ages, but it took my husband to finally get us going!! He researched a bunch of methods and came up with one that is pretty darned easy and does not require too much in the way of special equipment.

It's a double-win because not only do we have delicious, homemade, organic yogurt but we also have a way to reuse all those 32-oz yogurt containers that we manage to accumulate so quickly!! 

The key to getting yogurt to set is keeping it at a just-right warm temperature for about 7-8 hours.  Many people use special yogurt-makers but we are using the heating pad method and it works like a charm!! 

Here's what you need to get started (thank you to makeyourownyogurt.com for the recipe!):

• 1 half-gallon of milk (I use organic!!)
• 2-3 Tbs of plain yogurt (as a starter)
• An 8-10 quart stock pot
• A 4-5 quart pot with lid
• A metal or plastic spoon
• A thermometer with clip (the clip is important!!)
• A heating pad (mine is about 12 by 15 inches long and we set it at medium heat)
• A couple of towels (to keep the heating pad clean and to keep the yogurt warm & snuggy!)

The longer you let the yogurt set, the more sour it will become.  But once you stir it, the fermenting process stops so you don't want to stir too early!  Play around with it until you find the balance that you like best.  If you want a sweet yogurt, you can add honey, agave nectar or maple syrup at the very end (after it has fermented).  We added some vanilla and a bit of agave to our last batch and it was delish! 

Spring Cleaning Carnival!!

Nothing feels better in the spring than when you can finally open up the windows and let the fresh air in!!  And usually, the desire to do some spring cleaning comes along soon after that.  There's something about getting all that winter dust and stale air out of the house that makes me feel renewed and healthy!

This season, there's a new take on spring cleaning that is sure to leave you feeling good!  Katie, over at Kitchen Stewardship has created a rotating, 10-week carnival called Spring Cleaning:  Get the Junk Out.  The idea is that instead of simply cleaning your physical house, you can also "get the junk out" of your diet, your cupboards, your bad habits and other aspects of your lifestyle.  Here's the plan:  each week, a different blog will host a theme that fits their mission and contains a linky for YOU to link up any pertinent posts.  I will be hosting the week of April 20th, covering the topic of parabens in personal care products.

 
Sound good?  Here’s the list of hostesses and weekly themes so you can plan to participate or just stop on by to learn! There will be giveaways for each week, with entries both for linking up at your blog and for leaving comments for all you non-bloggers.  New and old posts welcome! 

1. 3/23 Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship: antibacterial soap/bleach
2. 3/30 Amy @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free: gluten
3. 4/6 Beth @ Fake Plastic Fish: plastic food containers
4. 4/13 Donielle @ Naturally Knocked Up: refined sugar
5. 4/20 Micaela @ Mindful Momma: parabens
6. 4/27 Lenetta @ Nettacow: food additives
7. 5/4 Kelly the Kitchen Kop: CAFOs
8. 5/11 Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers: pesticides
9. 5/18 Mandi @ Organizing Your Way: clutter
10. 5/25 Claire @ Saving Money Plan: debt

Hope to see you there!

Two Good Books on Reducing Chemical Exposure

While we're on the topic of environmental causes of cancer (the Green Moms Carnival is covering it this week and I recently wrote about my own little cancer scare), I thought it would be a good time to share a couple of books I've read on the topic of reducing toxic chemical exposure in everyday life. 

My blogging pal, Jennifer Taggart, wrote a book called Smart Mama's Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child's Toxic Chemical Exposure.  She is an environmental attorney and let me tell you, she knows her stuff!!  I met her at BlogHer last year and to listen to her rattle off the names of chemicals is darned impressive.  The book explains how toxic chemicals have come to permeate our everyday lives, informs us which products are the worst offenders and shows us how to find safer alternatives. 

The primary focus of the book is on families with kids although anyone could learn a ton from it.  You'll find information on food, baby gear, bath products, cleaning products...there is even a chapter on what to ask when you are searching for a day-care.  If your concern is radon, lead, BPA, phthalates, parabens...you name it...it's in this book. I am constantly looking things up in here - it's a very helpful resource!

Slow Death by Rubber Duck is an intriguing book written by two environmental big-wigs (Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie). In order to see first-hand the effects of environmental toxins, they experimented by using suspect chemicals on their own bodies.  And they came to some pretty worrisome conclusions when they measured the results.

The book is pretty engaging, for a book about chemicals.  Each chapter starts with a story.  One of my favorites was when one of the authors was appalled to discover that there was triclosan in his garden hose.  "For the love of God...Is there no corner of our lives that hasn't been invaded by chemical companies peddling their modern-day snake oil?" he said, when he realized that he had been watering his homegrown tomato plants with germicide. 

One of the more salient conclusions of the book is that, yes, individual action does matter but "for a long-term fix, only improved government regulation and oversight of toxic chemicals is the answer."  I'm with the authors 100% on that one!

Both books empower readers with simple steps and changes that will make your world a safer place.  Both books also reinforce the fact that it is impossible to completely eliminate exposure to toxic chemicals.  We don't live in a bubble.  But as Jennifer says in the introduction to her book:  "I believe you can change your world." 

A Wakeup Call

The call came one afternoon.  It was the University of Minnesota Breast Center calling to tell me that my recent mammogram had shown an abnormality that required further investigation.  Hmmmmph, I thought, what a pain in the rear to have to go in for another appointment.

It wasn't until a couple days later that it really started to sink in....what if...what if...WHAT IF I HAVE BREAST CANCER???

After that, every time I saw or heard the word cancer (and it's amazing how often it pops up...in newspapers, on blogs, in conversation...), I wondered if this 6-letter word that I often ignored would be taking on a whole new meaning in my life.

I found myself feeling up in arms - How could this green & healthy Mom possibly have cancer?  This Mom who buys as much organic food as she can afford, this Mom who serves healthy, homemade food instead of processed, this Mom who avoids the most toxic cleaning chemicals, this Mom who makes a lot of her own beauty products.

This sucks...is what I was really thinking. How did we manage to create a world where we are getting sick from our own environment? 

After waiting an entire week, I headed back to the Breast Center for a follow-up mammo & ultrasound.  I'm laying there on the examining table with my left breast hanging out when the doctor comes in (Doctor:  "Do you mind if my really cute, boy-intern comes in to watch?"  Me:  "Sure, come on in and why don't you invite a few more people while you're at it!")  He's real serious, trying rather unsuccessfully to be friendly.  He frowns as he checks the ultrasound for a minute or two that seems like an hour.  Finally, he says - "You've got fibrous changes but there's no tumor" and turns and leaves the room. 

Big sigh. Relief!!

So will I do anything differently now, after this little wake-up call?  Not really.  I will continue to eat healthy, non-processed food (most of the time!) and to reduce my toxic chemical exposure as much as possible.  On a day-to-day basis that is all anyone can do. There is no 100% protection plan from cancer. 

I will also continue to advocate for changes that will protect us and our children from cancer-causing chemicals in our environment.  Supporting the Kid-Safe Chemical Act to reform federal chemical laws, is something that we all can do to help.  I encourage you to sign the petition, contact your legislators, host a kid-safe house party or simply help get the word out. 

The Green Moms Carnival is talking about environmental causes of cancer this month and Tiffany at Nature Moms is hosting.  Read about her own surprising struggle with cancer in her 20's, as well as interesting insights from other Green Moms on this compelling topic.  

Junk Sculptures to the Rescue!

After watching a zillion hours of TV during the Olympics, we are going cold turkey around here.  No screen time for a whole week!!!  This is something we do every once in awhile to wean the kids of the habit of turning to the screen the minute they get bored and as often as they can get away with.

At first they can't fathom what they will possibly do with all of that time.  Then amazingly, things start to emerge....old toys are rediscovered, board games are played, books are read!!  Wow - there actually IS a lot to do around here. :)

Yesterday, Liam was home with me and we made this car out of a shoebox, some plastic lids and a bunch of other junk I had accumulated.  I've written about junk sculptures before and I always keep a bag or two of materials in the basement in case of 'emergency'. 

After this week is over, we'll have a little recap with the kids about what it was like to go without screen time, what they did with their time and all that good stuff. 

Do you ever have screen free weeks?  If you do, what's the hardest part about it?