I love the idea of no-waste lunches. If you pack your child’s lunch, there are so many cool reusable lunch box ideas out there. I am looking for a good system that incorporates at least some glass containers for microwave-ability. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!
Here’s some great reusable containers.
Of course there’s Laptop Lunches. They are a great size and you can fit a lot in, but the containers don’t all have lids, which is a problem for a lot of food choices. Also, if you need to heat something up, a glass option would be nice so you are not nuking the plastic container.
As far as food containment devices go, Ikea has a ton of choices, but I think you’d have to make sure they were user friendly enough for your child or their teacher. Again, no great glass choices.
Mr. Bento by Zojirushi is one of my brother in law’s faves. Cylindrical and stainless, it holds four containers. All have covers, no glass.
Continuing the “no waste” approach, don’t forget to throw in some Fabkins. Fabkins cloth napkins come in six different themes that reflect kids’ interests and are sold in packs of five individually designed napkins. Check out their no waste tips here.
If you are looking for some food idea inspiration, you can check out our link to some great nearly waste-free lunch blogs.
This review just in from my pal AJ, mother of two, soon to be three (brave woman!). Thanks, AJ!
I embarked on the cloth diapering train to lessen the environmental impact we are making with our third kid on the way. We still don’t know what we will drive to fit three car seats, we have no idea how to pay for college for three…but, this seemed surmountable. The only flaw in my plan: I am trying out cloth diapering on my 37 lb, 21 month old boy who is old enough to complain, but not with actual words. He is the test project for G3, as we call the next installment baby.
I only know two girlfriends who use cloth diapers. When I queried my group of mom-pals after reading about Fuzzi Bunz on this site, I received some hilarious emails asking if that was something ‘special’ my husband and I were looking into.
Here is the answer for the curious and hesitant: Babyworks. This is a family owned company started by a mom of three, 18 years ago. They have an exhaustive downloadable catalog that covers everything from cloth diaper brands, cost breakdown as well as health, environmental and economic reasons for choosing cloth diaper systems. They have detailed instructions on how to handle your diapers at home, even specifics for those of us with front loading washers. You read this and you too will know the difference between Fuzzi Bunz and the ultimate Birdseye.
The best part is the Diapering Sample Kit. Each item in the kit is sold at it’s lowest discount price (e.g., the Bumkin is at the 6-or-more price), and each item is individually returnable. They choose the correct size of each product based on the weight and build of your baby (or newborn size if not here yet). The kit contains: 1 Fuzzi Bunz or Bum Genius pocket diaper with microterry insert, 1 Bumkin all in one, 1 Kissaluv fitted diaper, 1 Hemp Fleece Diaper Doubler, 3 Prefolds (1 Chinese, 1 Birdseye, 1 Hemp), 1 contour diaper, 1 Bummi Super Whisper Wrap, and 1 Poly Nikky or Niji diaper cover. As far as sizing goes, you can choose “Expecting/unknown size”, or within each weight range, choose petite (slim/smaller than average); “average”, or large (larger than average). They won’t send “girl” colors or prints unless requested. If you prefer girlier prints, all you have to do is call or email and they’ll be on it like ants on candy.
The 2008 test results for cars and car seats have arrived over at Healthy Car.
Definitely worth checking it out if you are in the market for a new car seat, or car for that matter.
You could also stop by to read Z Recs piece on the new Britax Frontier car seat, a 25-to-80-pound car seat that converts from a five-point-harness seat to a belt-positioning booster. Looks pretty groovy and oh, so safe.
My friend Kate sent me this link to cosmeticsdatabase.com, a site maintained by the Environmental Working Group that rates the toxicity of makeup, hair care, nail care, baby care (including sunscreen) and whole lot more.
My favorite sunscreen by TruKid rated really well. Way to go TruKid! My favorite baby wipes ever, the unscented ones from Kirkland at Costco, rated a 5, moderate on their hazard scale. But then check out what they have to say about that 5!
Ingredients in this product are linked to:
I’m looking into a spare car seat that is not going to break the bank. Because there’s not enough to worry about as far as crash safety is concerned, go take a look at HealthyCar.org to see how toxic the flame retardant levels are in your current car seat. You can also see how your vehicle ranks.
Nice to know there’s ALWAYS something new to worry about, isn’t it?
Oh, and by the way -
HealthyCar.org wants to know which child car seats parents are most interested in having tested. Parents can go to the Test My Car Seat feature and vote by Monday, June 23. Test results of the most popular car seats will be released on Tuesday, July 22nd along with updated data on toxic chemicals in 2007- and 2008-model vehicles.
My niece’s kindergarten has a zero waste trash policy for lunch. No plastic baggies, no paper napkins, no nothin. All very “leave no trace.”
My brother-in-law, the parent in charge of packing lunch, has become obsessed with acquiring the perfect non-bad-plastic, no waste nourishment containment device. He’s currently completely for enamored with bento boxes of all shapes and sizes. Today he sent me a link to the Zojirushi Mr. Bento stainless-steel lined lunch jar extravaganza. He was speechless in his admiration of the design. If he gets one, I’ll have him review it.
Roger sent me this article the other day about Similac organic formula and how it is the “only major brand of organic formula that is sweetened with cane sugar, or sucrose, which is much sweeter than sugars used in other formulas.”
No wonder kids like it so much!
This Giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering! Congratulations to winner Jill M! Check your email box for an email from me.
Welcome to Day 5 of the GHM Mother’s Day Giveaways featuring a superb set of kid’s skin care products from TruKid, yet another fabulous momma-run company.
When Sy was born, we made a conscious effort to keep our house-cleaning products as environmentally friendly as we could. I don’t want her eating off of a table I just cleaned with an industrial strength bleach product. As you know, I am a sucker for trying out new products, so I have a whole cabinet full of “organic,” “natural,” or “eco-friendly” products (I’ll keep the comments about how many land-filling plastic bottles I have to a minimum, thanks). There are a lot of less toxic cleaning products to choose from, just traipse through the aisles of your local Whole Foods or natural grocer. I do get a bit confused looking at all the labels on “natural” cleaning products, especially since the FDA has declined to regulate the word “natural,” there is no way to really know what that means in marketing speak.
The most recent product line I’ve tried out is BabyGanics. Babyganics is marketed towards families, so they have their products at Babies R Us, as well as online retailers like babycenter.com. Smart move on their part. It’s not like you see a lot of “organic” merchandise at Babies R Us. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but in a good way.
I mentioned TruKid, a cool momma-run company, last month but now I’ve tried the line, so as usual, I have more to say.
TruKid is a natural skin care line for children, which means no icky parabens or other harsh preservatives. The line is cheerfully packaged, easy to use and fairly priced, which is great considering TruKid tries to use as many organic ingredients as they can.
Out of the whole line, I have two favorites: the sunscreen and the lip balm. The lip balm tastes like spearmint without being overwhelming, which is nice for the younger customers involved. Of course, I never gave Sy a chance to get her gummy paws on the lip balm, because channeling my fine toddler, I decided it was MINE ALL MINE. But I think it would be a nice mild flavor for the five and up set, especially if your youngin is starting to transition from fruity flavored toothpaste to a minty one.
We’ve gotten some requests to review diapers, so here are some of our oh-so-humble opinions.
I think we’ve tried every brand of diaper out there. When Sy was little, we used the Huggies Preemie (red package), then onto the Huggies newborn. The newborn diapers have a little portion cut out of the front to enable the umbilical cord stump to dry off and heal more easily. Once Sy put on some weight and her umbilical cord scab fell off (eeyuw), we switched to a combo of Fuzzi Bunz fleece pocket diapers and Seventh Generation no bleach disposables for day, along with Huggies Overnites for night. Pampers never fit Sy right, they seemed too boxy for her small person. Since babies come in all shapes and sizes, you may want to try these, too. I like that the Seventh Generation diapers are not as processed and have no characters on them. The ink on printed diapers smells so weird, it always sort of grosses me out. Like Huggies and Pampers, Seventh Generation diapers also have the absorbent gel in them, so they hold about as much liquid as their counterparts. I have found that I have to move up a size earlier than the stated size range on the SG diapers.
My friend Andie has used Fuzzi Bunz from the get go, her review after the jump.
Surprisingly, Raising Baby Green, The Earth Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care is not a scary read. I figured I’d have to slog through all 291 pages only to learn how un-green we are. Not so. This book has an easy to read format organized in seven thematic chapters highlighting the womb, labor and delivery, the nursery, the kitchen, the bathroom, the garden and the whole house. There are also valuable sections at the back of the book for general green information and green resources. Today’s parents don’t have a lot of spare time to read and that point is addressed well in this book: each chapter’s information is broken into easy to read sound bites, all with suggested companies or websites to do further research. I also like that this book does not take a preachy tone. It gives sensible information in a factual, easy to understand way.
Happy Halloween!!
Since the holidays are just around the corner, the catalogs are flying into my mailbox faster than letters into Harry Potter’s house. Some I find interesting - love, love, love the Land of Nod, can’t afford much; don’t really need my 45th version of Pottery Barn Fall, thank you very much. I was wondering how to slow down the onslaught when I happened to read Jennifer’s post over at Eco Child’s Play’s about a new service called Catalog Choice.
Catalog Choice is a free service that allows you to hand pick which catalogs you want stopped. You have to sign up for an account, but like I said, it’s free and they don’t sell their lists. Sign me up! It takes ten weeks to take effect, so I’ll let you know if it works.
Oooh! I see that Fuzzi Bunz are on sale over at Fuzzi Bunz. Looks like great prices ($13.95 instead of $17.95 per diaper). These are our favorite cloth diapers. I’ll review them soon.
Apparently they are coming out with a new and improved diaper in November. We like this one just fine and can’t wait to see how it changes. I also love that Fuzzi Bunz was started by a mother of three who wanted a better diaper for her kids. Mom Power!
Reader Lisa sent me a great link for the tiny footprints section of the Oregon Environmental Council. You don’t have to live in Oregon to utilize this site! It has heaps of great information on how to keep your home and baby healthy. It addresses topics like mattress safety, household hazards and where to buy natural products (online or in Oregon!). The site even has a section on how to throw an eco-friendly baby shower!
