Product Reviews
Yummy Spoonfuls Review
August 25, 2010 by Mecca and Tonya · Leave a Comment
Yummy Spoonfuls Organic Baby Food has no additives, preservatives or fillers. It’s made on a weekly basis in the Southeast and immediately frozen to keep it fresh. LGB caught up with Yummy’s Founder, Agatha Achindu at a recent baby food tasting at Earth Fare in Huntsville, Alabama.
Mecca tastes Yummy Spoonfuls
Hands down the best baby food I’ve ever tasted. In fact probably better than lots of food I’ve tasted. At my house we did Earth’s Best Organic jars when my little guy started eating and they were ok – I used to eat the pears and blueberry combo but couldn’t stomach the veggies or ‘meals’. But compared to Yummy Spoonfuls the Earth’s Best is like, well, like eating fresh compared to canned.
I’ve Got Peva in My Bathroom
August 18, 2010 by Mecca · 2 Comments
Peva: A safer, affordable alternative to vinyl PVC shower curtains
Still not ready to shell out close to a $100 for a hemp shower curtain I make the next best choice: Peva. But let me back up. The reason I need a new shower curtain (and probably you as well) is because that old vinyl number hanging in the bathroom is toxic. Really toxic. The problem is PVC. Click here to read about a study linking chemicals from vinyl to serious health problems.
The incredibly-abbreviated (but easy to remember) version: PVC is bad news. A PVC product like a shower curtain contains 108 volatile organic compounds and poisonous chemicals including phthalates, mercury and dioxins. These toxins leach out with age, heat, and wear. Next stop, the human body where these chemicals have been linked to damage to the liver and the central nervous, respiratory and reproductive systems.
Hemp and linen have been the go-to choice for ‘green’ shower curtains because they are environmentally friendly and uber-safe, but as you can see they are also uber-pricey. Lucky for us as PVC is on the way out, new affordable products are showing up on store shelves. Which brings us back to PEVA.
PEVA stands for polyethylene vinyl acetate. Even though the V stands for vinyl, PEVA is a non-chlorine, PVC-free, biodegradable material. Since the word vinyl can apply to many products, some of which aren’t toting dangerous PVC, the easiest way to be sure is to only buy products labeled PVC-FREE. Check out some other new shower curtain products (like recyclable plastic) here.
Meanwhile PEVA is super affordable: A plain white one at Ikea costs a measly $1.99, while my fancy map version from Target cost around $15 bucks. And as an added bonus my 2-year-old can now point out the location of Chile, Agentina, Brazil, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Once he grows a little taller we’ll start on the Northern Hemipshere.
Eczema from a Green Product?
March 22, 2010 by Tonya · Leave a Comment
Since getting on the green bandwagon, I have tried various products to make our home a safer and cleaner place. In the laundry department, I started out with dryer balls. You know those blue spiked balls “as seen on TV”! They worked alright starting out, but after a few months went kaput. Add to that my new-found knowledge about the risks involved with BPA. I quickly decided I didn’t want plastic balls heating in my dryer.
Chugging along on the green laundry path, I opted for fragrance free sheets. These work great, but still weren’t completely eco-friendly. Enter, Method Baby Squeaky Green Dryer Cloths! Doesn’t the name just reel you in? It did me! Ok, I wasn’t a fan of the Rice Milk & Mallow scent, but I thought to myself “It’s Method brand and the ingredient list states fragrance oil blend. I will be a super green mom if I use these!” Wrong. Read more.
Sun Crystals Not So Tasty
February 19, 2010 by Mecca · Leave a Comment
Mecca reviews the new 100% all natural, 5 calorie sweetener
I really, really wanted to love this sweetener. Sun Crystals is a new, all natural product made by combining two plants - sugar cane and stevia. The latter being a small flowering plant native to South America that according to the Sun Crystals box, “has been used as a sweetener for centuries around the world.” Also learned from the back of the box: other natural sugars (not Sun Crystals) are blended with sugar alcohols.
One little packet contains 5 calories, perfect for my morning coffee! Unfortunately it tastes really bad, pour out my cup of coffee bad. There is a distinct medicine taste and a bitter after-swallow effect. For someone who loves the taste of real cane sugar, Sun Crystals is not a satisfactory substitute.
OK, so it tastes bad and at nearly $4 for a 2.3 oz box of 50 packets it’s a bit pricey, but think of the calories I’m saving! Turns out not as much as I thought. After buying Sun Crystals I looked up sugar calories and a teaspoon of regular table sugar is only 15 calories. Let’s say I dump a spoonful of sugar in my morning cup of java, even a heaping teaspoon is only 25 calories. I would rather have 25 delicious, enjoyable calories and throw in an extra sit up or two.
I plan to try Sun Crystals at least 3 more times, because hey - I’ve got a whole box of it, but I probably won’t be buying it again. Of course you can try it for yourself - click here for free samples of Sun Crystals. Let me know what you think!
Beaba Babycook Review
January 25, 2010 by Tonya · Leave a Comment
As a first time mother, I wanted everything my child ate to be homemade. So, I splurged on the Beaba Babycook to help me be the master of purees. Read on to find out if the Beaba is all it’s cooked up to be!
What I cooked: Peas, sweet potatoes, apples, spinach and more.
Pros:
I love the fact that this appliance is a two-fer. You can steam and blend in one appliance; pretty awesome if you ask me! Another pro, the Beaba is small and doesn’t take up too much space.
Cons:
Once your child starts eating more than a few frozen cubes of food, it’s hard to keep up. Mind you, I was pumping milk every 3 hours so I didn’t have a lot of time/energy left after that. I would try to cook a few times a week, but it wasn’t enough. The Beaba is small, so you can’t cook large batches of food to freeze. I usually got about one to one-and-a-half freezer trays full per batch.
The Verdict:
At $150, I would not buy this again. But I will try to use it once we have baby #2. Maybe I’ll be a master multi-tasker by then! If you have time to cook baby food everyday, then this appliance may be great for you. The appliance itself works great and is easy to clean.
In the end, I cooked some of my daughter’s food but not all. Earth’s Best Organic quickly became a fav in our house!
Green Light Special
January 15, 2010 by Tonya · Leave a Comment
Just got a tip from one of our readers; thanks Christy! Most of the Organic Wear line of cosmetics is currently 75% off at the Providence CVS in Huntsville, AL. Wahoo!!! I stopped by tonight and picked up eye liner, blush and lip veil all for under $8. Make sure to take your CVS card with you to get this super sale! Now’s a great time to stock-up on this ‘green’ make-up without breaking the bank. Read more…
