Saving the environment takes time and energy that we don’t always have.  The more I write this blog and raise my kids, the more I’m convinced that sustainability has to include more than just the environment.  To be great parents and environmentalists, we have to sustain ourselves.

How?  By enjoying our thrifty green adventures.  By letting go of green guilt.  By embracing progress instead of perfection.

And by being happy!

Think about it, how many truly effective green moms are exhausted and bummed out all the time?  How many guilt-ridden women are motivated to keep tinkering with their lifestyles to make eco-friendly shifts?

So maybe, every once in a while, we need to take a hot bubble bath (regardless of the gallons of water it requires) or go for the nap instead of whipping up a batch of home baked bread from flour we milled ourselves.

As our children grow (and our hours of sleep slowly increase) we will have time to keep working at green shifts.  In the meantime, we need to make sure that this journey is fun.  If not, our sustainability efforts simply won’t be sustainable.

Personally, I want my children to see that this simple, green lifestyle is jam-packed with secondary benefits that will enrich their lives while helping the environment for generations to come.  Hopefully if they see me enjoying it, they’ll jump on the bandwagon later. (After a brief period of parent-directed mockery during their teen years.)

How do you sustain yourself in the midst of trying to make green changes?  Do you suffer from green guilt?

Is it deciphering cloth diaper vocabulary?  (Like hybrid, chinese prefold, pocket diaper, all-in-one?)  Is it being able to afford the organic produce you’d like to buy?  Is it the physical challenge of early breastfeeding?  Do you need some homemade babyfood recipes? Or are you still trying to prepare for baby’s arrival with the planet in mind?

My children are now leaving the realm of babyhood and hearing your questions and challenges keeps us connected with what our readers need in those early days of parenting.  If you have a problem, chances are there are dozens of other women face the same dilemma.  Thanks for sharing ideas that we can present to our readers for future Friday questions!

In our research for The Eco-nomical Baby Guide, our favorite organic choice was Nature’s One Baby’s Only Organic Formula.  And in our recent exploration of hexane, Baby’s Only again stands out as the best choice.

So what is hexane anyway?  It’s a petroleum derivative that’s found in glue and gasoline and has recently been used in infant formula to help obtain the DHA and ARA fatty acids from fermented algae and fungus.  Since breast milk is packed with DHA and ARA, there has been a recent drive to get these components into formula.  (Don’t get us started on the advantages of breastfeeding.  If you possibly can breastfeed, there are a million reasons that it will provide you with better health, your baby with better immunity, and save you heaps of cash.  Since not everyone can, we want to be sure to share organic formula options. If you are breastfeeding, don’t forget to enter our Hygeia EnJoye Breastpump Giveaway!)

Similic Organic Formula and Earth’s Best Organic Formula both state that no trace of hexane is detectable in their formula and that it’s just used to process the DHA and ARA.  But Nature’s One Baby’s Only is the only organic formula to derive their DHA and ARA fatty acids without hexane.  They are also the only organic formula to have 100% BPA free packaging.

There’s just one problem with Baby’s Only Organic formula.  In an effort to encourage breastfeeding, the company recommends their formula as a follow up to a full year of breastfeeding.  However, they offer a nutritional chart comparing their formula to others on the market and recommend that you consult with your health care professional.  It’s clear from viewing the chart that Baby’s Only  meets or exceeds other brands with its nutritional components and would be more than adequate as an infant formula.

Baby’s Only Infant Formula isn’t even the most expensive option!  It comes in at $0.88/oz. while Earth’s Best Organic Formula costs $1.15/oz. and Similac Organic is a bit cheaper at $0.73/oz. (These are my current rough estimates based on buying from Amazon in large quantities)

What’s your favorite organic infant formula?  Any tips on finding the best prices on formula?

One day, when we were out of boxed mac and cheese,  I tossed a few ingredients together to discover the easiest and most delicious mac and cheese ever.

We were shelling out nearly two dollars a box on organic macaroni and cheese that used a powder for sauce, and this new version is much more delicious while costing just pennies per serving!

Recipe:

• 1 cup macaroni noodles
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. sour cream
• 1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ¼ Cup shredded parmesean cheese

Optional additions:

• 1 Tbsp cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast sprinkled on top (You may or may not be able to get away with this.  My kids call it “flakey cheese and really think that it’s a yummy addition.  Older kids may challenge you on this!)

Simply toss the noodles in a pan of boiling water until cooked, drain them, and then add in the other ingredients.  If the hot noodles aren’t quite warm enough to melt the cheese, zap the pasta and cheese for about thirty seconds in the microwave.

My son actually LOVES this homemade macaroni and cheese and favors it over the boxed stuff any day.  It’s simple, delicious, and saves packaging and money—and honestly, it takes me the same amount of time to prepare as the premade brands.  (I just grate the cheese and gather the ingredients while the noodles are boiling)

If you’re searching for a Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, you can give this one a whirl.  I haven’t tried it, but the ingredients look appealing.  Great luck!

As frugal souls, we love that you can get our book for free at your local library. It’s even more exciting when the price of The Eco-nomical Baby Guide randomly falls to below eight bucks on Amazon! You can now score a copy for just $7.98, which is sixty percent off the original price of $19.99.  Considering that our little gem can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars, it’s worth the meager investment in a green baby guide that’s infused with humor and humility.  These price dips usually last just a few days so you might want to pick up a few for gifts while the sale lasts. Good luck!

We’ve just discovered that humble ranch dressing helps our children wolf down carrot sticks and even raw spinach! But other quirkier favorites around here are dollops of peanut butter in applesauce, Laughing Cow Cheese spread on Ak Mak crackers, boiled edamame with salt, and homemade macaroni and cheese. (I’ll be posting the recipe for an incredibly easy and delicious mac and cheese very soon!) What are your children’s favorites? Inspire us!

Exactly one year ago yesterday, our book, The Eco-nomical Baby Guide: Down-to-Earth Ways for Parents to Save Money and the Planet, hit store shelves.  It took us three years of hands-on research and thousands of drafts before we were satisfied with our practical green guide for new parents.  We flavored the manuscript with humor, anecdotes, and lots of humility as we tried to convey what we wished we would have known before our babies arrived.  The cloth diaper information we provide is highly user friendly, but there ‘s also information on buying less, buying used and buying green that helped each of us save over five thousand dollars on our babies’ first year alone.

If you wish you had a copy in your hands right now, you’re in luck!  We’re giving away one copy on the anniversary of it’s publication.

Three Ways to Enter The Eco-nomical Baby Guide Book Giveaway:

1. Simply post a comment

2. Like us on Facebook (then tell us you did it in the comments)

3. Spread the news about the giveaway! Email someone, post it on Facebook, tweet it, blog it, or send someone a message about it via carrier pigeon. (And again, don’t forget to tell us all about it in the comments!)

This contest ends on March 10th and is only open to U.S. Residents.

Good luck!

Also, we have some gorgeous Eco-nomical Baby Guide bookmarks that we’d love to distribute in OB/GYN offices, midwifery clinics and other spots where green moms can find them.  If you have a location where you know they’d be snatched up, please email us your name and address and tell us where you’d like to distribute them.  Thanks in advance for all your help!

What are the green parenting obstacles for your family?  Is it the time to launder and use cloth diapers?  Is it the support of other like-minded families?  Is it trying to breastfeed while working full time?

For us, it’s a limited budget.  There are so many areas where going green saves us heaps of cash, as we point out in The Eco-nomical  Baby Guide.  I revel in the fact that shopping at thrift stores, riding our bikes, and using public transport have economic, environmental, and health benefits.  But it’s tricky for me to expand our grocery budget (which is already our highest monthly bill) on organic food. We eat less meat, less packaged foods, and more bulk foods, but it would be lovely to dine on fully organic foods at all times.

I also dream of a solar hot water heater and a hybrid car, but those aren’t conducive with a one income lifestyle.

So what do we do?  I’ve chosen to embrace our limitations.  If we had heaps of cash, we’d probably naturally consume more.  Our budget keeps us in this cozy home and lends a frugally adventurous element to our family life.

What is Indiebound, you ask?  It’s a great way to support local bookshops without having to haul yourself away from your keyboard.  Simply search for any book through Indiebound, and it will be shipped to you directly from your closest independent bookstore.

What is The Eco-nomical Baby Guide?  It’s our entertaining and educational treatise on eco-friendly, budget friendly living with a baby in tow.  In fact, our frugal, green lifestyles helped each of us save over five thousand dollars on each of our babies’ first year, while staying true to our environmental ideals.  There’s hilarious humor, there are tips from the cloth diapering trenches, and there are hundreds of ways to keep the waves of plastic blinky toys at bay.  In fact, it’s pure, practical genius!  (Of course, we may be biased…)

We’re honored that The Eco-nomical Baby Guide is currently available on the shelves of hundreds of independent bookstores across the country.  If it hasn’t hit store shelves at your favorite book shop or local library, please feel free to request it.

As a new mom or a pregnant woman, I didn’t always feel particularly romantic on February 14th.  But I did appreciate any efforts to make me feel loved and appreciated.

My husband, who is a fantastically thoughtful fellow, took me out for Valentine’s Day sushi while I was pregnant with my son.  I had been experiencing deep and vivid sushi cravings and enjoyed the food so much that I actually asked him to stop talking so I could chew in silence with my eyes shut.  It was so rude–but the sushi was divine!  That kind of patience and grace is really the stuff of true love.

So what would a pregnant mother or new mother want this Valentine’s Day?  I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that for many women, their longings aren’t limited to flowers and chocolates.  Here are some suggestions based on my hazy memories from those time periods.

Sleep. Taking the baby overnight so that a new mother can get a solid six to eight hours of consolidated slumber is utterly glorious.  I know I would have even been thrilled to get a break for a few hours for a nap and a shower.

Food. Growing another human being in your body is bound to make you hungry.  When that little person arrives and you’re breastfeeding ten times in twenty-four hours, it can seem impossible to get enough to eat.  What a gift to provide dinner or offer to grocery shop for someone! My mother filled my fridge with nutritious foods and served them to me at regular intervals when each of my children arrived.  It wasn’t Valentine’s Day, but I felt nourished with love!

Housecleaning. What would it feel like if someone arrived at your door and spent a few hours washing dishes, doing laundry, and straightening up?  I suppose some people would feel uncomfortable, but I am not one of them.  What a gift to save time and be able to enjoy a more orderly home.

A date. It took my husband and I a long time before we could secure a babysitter, make plans, and haul ourselves out for an evening with a new baby.  But what a wonderful reminder that we aren’t just parents, we’re partners!  If you can provide babysitting to friends or family to allow a couple to go on a short date, it would probably be greatly appreciated.

Time alone. As mothers, we become accustomed to being with our children every waking moment.  I was just laughing with a friend about how we sometimes have to hold our babies on our laps while we use the toilet.  What happened to privacy?   Imagine having two hours to clean out your closet, journal, or run errands.  Bliss….

The Eco-nomical Baby Guide. This is pretty much a shameless marketing ploy, but we do heartily believe that our book is a good investment at a cost of twenty bucks.  Even though we’re frugalistas, sometimes you have to spend a bit to save heaps.  And maybe they’re just being polite, but we keep getting enthusiastic thanks from readers who are glad to have found an eco-friendly, budget-friendly baby guide like ours.   We also get regular praise from women who read our book after they’ve had a few children, and wish they would have had it years ago.  It’s packed with the sort of realizations you have in the years following your first child, such as “We don’t really need a lot of gear!” And, “We could save heaps by buying secondhand clothing and using cloth diapers.”  And, “Hey, why don’t we just puree up the baby food ourselves?”  Plus it has a full guide to the best values in new green gear.  Who could resist?

Whatever you get for Valentine’s Day this year, I hope that it makes you feel cherished.   Many of us will receive roughly scribbled pictures on red construction paper, bordered with glitter.  Really, what could be better than that?