Scene One: After about 10 months of trying to get Orion to wear sunglasses, he’s finally cooperating… sort of. For a couple minutes at a time, anyway.
Scene Two: Visiting with “Kitty,” a sometimes-friendly, sometimes curmudgeonly neighborhood feline. Happily for us, he was feeling cordial tonight.
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You may remember The Story of Stuff—an animated webumentary from a few years back that exposed the hidden costs of our over-consumption habits. Now activist Annie Leonard is back with a new video, The Story of Cosmetics, which examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. It’s a must-see for anyone who uses body care products or puts them on their children. Click the image below to watch the eight-minute webumentary.
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This is one of my go-to meals for when I’m strapped for time or simply don’t have the mental bandwidth to put toward making dinner. Who doesn’t like pizza, right? (Only you crazy people.) And when you make it yourself, it can be as healthy (or not) as you want it to be. Here’s what I used for tonight’s pie.
:: Uncooked whole wheat dough from Whole Foods (picture me tossing and spinning the raw pizza dough thanks to mad skills I picked up from working in a pizzaria in my high school days.) Pre-baked pizza crusts work just as well though, and are a little easier to deal with.
:: Fresh veggies from the garden, including squash, eggplant, Anaheim pepper and bell pepper.
:: Other veggies from our farmers’ market, including garlic, onion and mushrooms.
:: Olives and organic marinara from Trader Joe’s and goat mozzarella.
Assemble, bake around 400 degrees, and voila! A healthier, tastier pizza made to order. No pizza delivery dude necessary.
*****
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If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know I’m passionate about eating healthy, organic food and using earthwise, skin-friendly body care products. So when I was recently contacted by EO to review some products, I pumped my fist in the air, jumped up and down and then did a back flip into the splits. I love EO and have been using their products off and on for years.
Here’s why they’re awesome. EO (short for Essential Oils) uses the highest grade natural, sustainable and organic ingredients in their body care products. Their soaps and lotions are formulated with pure, therapeutic essentials oils, and the scents? Incredible. Seriously, I wish a scratch and sniff blog post could be possible via Internet. Plus the company is independently owned (which means there is no Wizard-of-Oz-type corporate master behind the scenes fulfilling its own dubious agenda) and they partner with nonprofits so they can do good while smelling good, so to speak.
So without further ado, I bring you EO.
Currently in my shower: EO Products Shower Gel in Grapefruit & Mint. I should start by saying that although I love the relaxing aromatherapeutic qualities of lavender, when it comes to my morning shower, I need upliftment. I need a minty/citrusy one-two punch to pry my tired eyes open, and this particular scent delivers in that department. Beyond the scent, which is happy and refreshing, the gel itself contains a “regenerating complex” which is said to promote skin renewal and health. I can’t yet say if my skin is feeling renewed, but I do know it’s a lovely shower gel with just the right amount of suds, and makes my skin feel super soft. Score one for EO!
In my handbag: EO Peppermint Hand Sanitizing Spray (2oz.). This chemi-free alternative to conventional hand sanitizers uses naturally antiseptic peppermint and organic alcohol to blast germs. The invigorating peppermint scent rivals a 3pm shot of espresso, too, but without the caffeine shakes. Yes, yes and yes.
By the wash basin: EO Liquid Hand Soap in Peppermint and Tea Tree. I know, I know… another mint-scented soap. What can I say—I love mint! This coconut-based soap is so soothing, and cleans hands gently without drying the skin. Another win for EO!
In the kitchen: EO All Purpose Soap in Meyer Lemon truly is an all-in-one cleanser. It cleans everything around the house—from fruits and veggies to laundry—and will probably come camping with us next time as well. It’s gentle to skin and biodegradable to boot.
I love EO and I think you will, too. So now it’s your turn to experience some EO magic! One lucky verdemama reader will win this yummy Bubble Bubble Gift Set below ($35 value), which includes a 12oz. Time Out Bubble Bath in Vanilla & Coconut with Tangerine, a 12 oz. Nighty Night Bubble Bath in Blue Chamomile & Lavender, a 12 oz. Be Well Bubble Bath in Eucalyptus Arnica, as well as Time Out and Nighty Night Bath Salts.
To enter this EO giveaway, cruise the EO website and pick a product or scent that appeals most to you then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what it is. A winner will be selected at random at the end of the day on Friday, July 30th. Good luck!
The fine print: EO provided me with a selection of products for review. The opinions expressed in this write-up are completely my own. No additional compensation was received for this review.
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Very sorry for my bloggerly absence! Last week and this past weekend were very busy for me, but I promise to be around more this week. Stay tuned for some fun giveaways!
In the meantime, here are a couple of pics of Orion and I at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach this weekend.
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While most of the country was sweltering in record-breaking heat, coastal southern California was shrouded in a thick marine layer for most of the month of June (and some of May, as well). No longer. It’s officially hot here now, too. Unlike most Southern Californians, I was lovin’ the cool, foggy weather. (I am from Ohio after all, where we could literally go months without seeing the sun.) The sunshine is here to stay now though, whether I like it or not.
Rising temps + one toddler who only wants to play outside = many hours in the baby pool.
Hello, summatime.
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I’m usually down for some fruits and veggies, but summer squash? Definitely not my fave. It’s just so fantastically boring, in my opinion. (No offense, squash. I know you offer a respectable amount of manganese, vitamin C and vitamin A.)
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how the squash plant in our garden is producing baseball bat-sized squash on the daily, which is now piling up in my kitchen despite being pawned some off on friends, family, Erik’s coworkers and anyone else not intimidated by XXL produce. My mission became clear: figure out cleverly tasty ways of eating these Goliath-sized veggies that will impress even my finicky palate.
Here’s this week’s recipexperiment. I found a random squash bread recipe online and tweaked it to be organic and a wee bit healthier. The result? Pretty damn tasty, even for a squash skeptic such as myself. Here’s what I did.
Ingredients
3 organic, free-range eggs, beaten
1 cup organic white sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil, which touts such benefits as long-term energy, increased metabolic rates, as well as anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal activity)
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used organic whole wheat flour)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
a few cranks of ground nutmeg
2 cups shredded yellow squash
How-to
::Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lube up your baking dish (I used two small loaf pans).
::In a large bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. Beat in the sugar, oil, and vanilla. Gradually mix in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Fold in the squash. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
::Bake 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
I made one loaf with walnuts—another superfood that is practically off the charts in omega-3 fatty acids—and made one without for Orion. They turned out pretty decent and will make a yummy, healthy-ish dessert, breakfast or midday snack.
I used half a giant squash for this recipe and the other half for stir-fry that night. So the good news is I’m figuring out how to use some of our squash stockpile. The bad news is I’m still drowning in an official crap-ton of the stuff and will likely be eating squash for every meal for the next three months. SOS.
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{Usually I’m the one behind the camera, but after realizing I have very few recent photos of Orion and I together, I politely asked my husband (translation: ordered him) to snap some pics of us this weekend. Thanks, Erik!}
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Today we christened some new (secondhand) Converse All-Stars. My baby looks more and more like a kid every day. Sniffle.
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