The sun’s out, your baby’s teething and it’s time for a soothing summer treat.  So, how exactly do you concoct the perfect popsicle?

Popsicle molds:  There are several plastic molds on the market (I have to confess that I own a set), but there are other options available around your home.  You can make mini-pops with icicle trays or individual used yogurt cups. Crate and Barrel made BPA-free popsicle molds earlier this year but they appear to have been discontinued. I’ve written to our friends at The Soft Landing about their safest choice for popsicle molds and will keep you posted on their response.  If you prefer to avoid plastic altogether, you can use paper cups, carefully washing them out and reusing them each time.  You can also try small juice glasses, ensuring that you gradually cool the glass so that it doesn’t crack with extreme temperature change. 

The perfect recipe:  Growing up, my mom made homemade popsicles out of fruit juice, but they were always extremely dense.  We longed for those soft store-bought brands that seemed to melt in your mouth.  If you’d like to get that texture at home, try blending in whole fruit or yogurt.  The thicker mix will also make it easier for your popsicle sticks to stand up if you’re using ice cube trays or cups.  If you’re up for using gelatin, (which vegetarians might not be) it will create a softer popsicle that doesn’t melt quite as quickly.

Natural Dripless Popsicles:  These are a great way to recycle half eaten fruits and get healthy food into your child. Pictured is the momentous day that that I served Roscoe his first dripless popsicles.  He ate four in a row in one sitting. When I asked him what he would dream about right before bedtime he said “sicles.”  Luckily there was no reason to feel bad about his popsicle obsession since I used organic plums, my son’s half eaten bananas(tossed into the freezer over the last few weeks) and a bag of organic frozen blueberries.  He loved them even though he’s usually picky about eating any of these fruits by themselves.

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup water
• ¼  cup sugar (or other natural sweetner)
• Three cups of fruit

Heat water, gelatin and sugar in saucepan over low heat until gelatin dissolves, for about 5 minutes.  Then toss gelatin mixture in the blender with fruit and puree.  Pour the mixture into cups and wait until frozen.  Enjoy!

A chocolate dream:  I found a recipe for Berry Fudgy-cicles on vegan-food.net. and modified it just a bit. Honestly, these are completely amazing and taste way better than anything this healthy should.  The secret ingredient for these homemade fudgesicles is silken tofu which provides them with plenty of nutritional prestige.  I’m not sure if this treat will be more exciting for my son or for me!

Toss the following ingredients in a blender, puree, pour into molds, and freeze. 

• 12 ounces of firm silken tofu (make sure it’s silken tofu made especially for desserts)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup rice milk, coconut milk, or cows milk
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch sea salt
• 4 strawberries, washed, stemmed, dried and sliced into quarters (put these in molds and pour chocolate mix to surround berries before freezing)

Baby-sized options:  If baby is too little to handle her own popsicle stick, consider using one of the products that use a tiny mesh bag. You can put frozen fruit chunks or ice in the mesh and then let her gnaw away to her heart’s content. This link shows Muchkin’s Fresh Food Feeder (which is BPA-Free according to their website), but you can usually find one of these in a local store if it’s easier than ordering online.

What are your ideas for summer treats?  Please add your exotic recipes to our post!

Our house is perched on a giant anthill.  I have no scientific proof of this except for the constant stream of tiny black specks that march around like they own the place. These little sugar ants are happier than ever since Roscoe has joined our family.  Now they can load up with the remnants of my son’s cracker snacks, spaghetti dinners, and cookie treats to their collective heart’s content.

So how do we mercilessly rid them of their newfound territory without endangering our son or the planet?   We don’t want to use any pesticides in our home, not just because our son likes to put almost everything in his mouth, but also because it isn’t safe for the environment. 

So far our weapon of choice has been Borax.  The Boric Acid it contains has natural ant-repelling properties and isn’t quite as scary as some other products.  It does need to be kept away from children so you have to be careful.

After looking at online resources such as greenpaige.com and barebones gardening, I have some new tricks to try on our little friends. 

Barriers:   Sprinkle or spray these in ant walkways or areas where they enter your home.   Their odors disrupt the scent trails ants create for each other. 

• White or yellow chalk (ants will not cross a chalk line)
• Cucumber peelings
• Red chili or dry mustard mixed with a bit of water
• Lemon juice
• White vinegar or half strength cider vinegar
• Orange based environmental cleaning products
• Cloves
• Coffee grounds
• Cinnamon
• Baking Soda
• Baby powder
• Black pepper
• Mint Leaves
• Mint tea bags

Ant traps: You’ll need..

• Borax
• Sugar
• A sticky substance such as mint jelly or peanut butter

Mix the substances together thoroughly.  Spread the mixture on a cracker and place out of the way of children in a cupboard or on a countertop.  When the ants get the food, they’ll also get the poison. 

Dealing with Ant Hills:  The most merciless way is to pour boiling water or hot vinegar directly into the anthill.  This site recommended putting dry grits outside the hole.  Apparently the ants try to eat them and then explode.  That sounds a bit less humane but it’s your call. 

What are your natural pest control tips?  How do you keep baby safe without ending up with ants in the sugar?  

Since fuel expenses, high food prices, and child-rearing costs are eating into our thrifty budgets, here are some simple, eco-friendly tips that can save some money. They all come directly from stopglobalwarming.org, which has another five money saving tips available for your perusal.  While you’re there, use their handy-dandy online calculator to estimate your carbon and cost savings.

Run your dishwasher only when it’s loaded to full capacity.  It’ll save you $40 per year and reduce your carbon emissions by a whopping 200 pounds.

Move your thermostat down two degrees when it’s cold and up two degrees when it’s hot.  This minor switch will save your family $98 annually and bring your carbon emissions down by two thousand pounds!

Take shorter showers.  Check out Crunchy Domestic Goddess’s post  on this.  She recently challenged her readers to time their showers and try to keep them to just five minutes per shower.  This really isn’t that challenging!  By reducing your showering time you could save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide and $99 per year. 


Switch just three standard light bulbs in a highly used area of your home with compact fluorescent bulbs.  You’ll save $60 per year (and remember that they last for many, many years) and 300 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

If you have a car, make sure the tires are properly inflated by checking them regularly.  You’ll save a shocking $840 and 250 pounds of carbon dioxide. 

Why not give a few of these tips a whirl?  It’s like getting paid to save the planet!  We’d love to hear some of your budget friendly, earth friendly tips too. 

I will risk my green cred by admitting that I never got the hang of riding the bus with my daughter.  Before I had a baby of my own, I’d see parents wearing their babies in slings or pouches, hopping on and off the bus with ease.  During the ride, the babies would sleep or calmly stare out at the view.  Maybe it wasn’t as easy for these parents as it looked–I know it wasn’t that easy for me!  I tend to choose walking over bus-riding most days, so I hardly qualify as a baby-bus-riding expert, but here are some pros and cons involved in the different ways of traveling with your tot.

Wearing Your Baby.  The most common baby-toting method for bus-riding in my town is a sling or baby carrier.

• Pros: You can get on and off the bus with ease and have your hands free for taking out money, tickets, and transfers. Joy swears by the sling that she used for Roscoe during his first six months and found that when she wore it he would quickly slip into a temporary coma. Very convenient for public transport!
• Cons: Some babies (like mine) do not cooperate with slings. My daughter would cry and squirm until I took her out. Then I’d have no place to put her if I needed to get my money out. Also, if I was wearing my baby, I couldn’t carry much else, like groceries or library books. This was a problem if I was taking the bus to run errands.

Taking the Stroller.  In Portland, we have to fold up strollers before getting on buses, but we can wheel strollers directly on trains or streetcars.  If you are planning on buying a stroller to use on public transportation, figure out how it works in your city.  If you have to fold the stroller up and carry it on, you’ll want something that folds compactly.  Look for a model that’s light-weight and has a carrying strap.  I chose the Maclaren Triumph because it weighs just eleven pounds–about the lightest I could find at the time.

• Pros: Strollers are nice if you plan to walk long distances to or from your bus stop. My baby preferred sitting in a stroller to being worn for long walks.
• Cons: It can be unwieldy to take your baby out of the stroller, fold the stroller up with the baby tucked under your arm, then get everything and everyone onto the bus.

Using the Stroller + Sling Combo.  I’ve tried wearing my baby in the sling and taking the stroller along as a backup.

• Pros: It’s easier to deal with folding up the stroller and getting it on the bus if the baby is secure in a sling or pouch.
• Cons: You’re still dealing with the unwieldiness of the stroller. If your baby doesn’t feel like riding in the stroller that day, you’ve brought it along for nothing!

Simply Carrying the Baby.  Last term I needed to take my toddler to work with me on Fridays.  This involved two one-hour bus trips, complete with stints of walking and transferring lines.  Because she was old enough to set down every once in a while, I decided to just carry her to the bus stop (or let her walk alongside me in her nonlinear fashion).

• Pros: No dealing with slings or strollers!
• Cons: It gets hard on the arms and back after awhile. If your child isn’t old enough to set down, you’ll have a hard time getting out your money and tickets.

Walking everywhere with my baby or taking her on public transportation works for me.  For more helpful Works for Me Wednesday links, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer.  How are you managing taking your little ones on public transportation?  Please leave a comment with your traveling tales, stroller or sling recommendations, or questions for other bus-riding parents.

Don’t get me wrong. I cringe every time we fill up and I know that the extra expenses brought on by high fuel prices are uncomfortable and even crippling for some tight budgets. 

So is there an upside?  Actually I think there are several. 

We are being forced to consider fuel efficient vehicles:  I like making the choice to drive less and walk more, but now I’m finding all sorts of creative ways to get even more out of our gas dollars.  Many families are taking on slightly higher car payments as they dump their SUV’s for more fuel efficient vehicles, knowing the gas savings will make a huge difference in the long run.  We finally sold the SUV we were using and I feel that a huge (carbon) weight has been lifted off our shoulders!

We are being forced to move more: More than sixty percent of American adults and over thirty percent of American children are obese.  The last decade of office inactivity and video games have contributed to the rapid spike in our weight issues as a nation. Now people have extra motivation to ride bikes to work or walk to the bus stop. Every extra step we take helps us with global warming and our American obesity epidemic.

Buying local is becoming cheaper: As fuel costs go up, so does the price of mangos grown in Central America or kiwifruit from New Zealand.  Since the local food movement has been rapidly expanding over the last few years, high fuel prices may just boost it to a whole new level. 

It’s changing the way we think: In Europe, where fuel prices have always been high, people have been willing to invest in public transport and focus on urban density.  Since we haven’t had the price pressure in America, we haven’t been forced to be as proactive.  Now building eco-friendly communities, buying local, and limiting our fuel consumption becomes more appealing to consumers wanting to conserve their budgets as well as the environment. 

What are your thoughts on this recent surge in gas prices?  How is it affecting your family and how are you managing to deal with higher prices?  Do you see any upsides (or downsides) that we haven’t mentioned yet?  Thanks for enriching this post with your input. 

Like many tightwads and environmentalists, I am full of contradictions.  Joy confessed to loving take-out, and I’ve got to admit we’re guilty, too.  Obviously both eating at restaurants and ordering food to go costs much more than making homemade meals from fresh ingredients.  Going to restaurants might not be that bad for the environment, but takeout involves paper or plastic bags, napkins, and containers.

I blame our takeout habit on the baby.  While we used to eat out even more than we do now, these days we have to stay home in the evening hours so our daughter can sleep.  What I want to avoid is what I will call “unmindful takeout.”  Sometimes we don’t even want it, but we end up getting it because we failed to plan ahead.  So how can parents who want to save money and keep several takeout containers from the landfill deal with hectic nights when no one wants to cook?

Ways to Avoid Takeout (Or, advice I should take myself)

1. Prepare meals in advance and freeze them for future use. My husband kicked his cafeteria habit once we started making burritos and freezing them. (Read about that in my cooking black beans post.) I have also made big batches of scones and frozen them for breakfasts. Some people get really into cooking huge quantities and freezing them for dinners, but I just don’t like the idea of eating frozen food for dinner. Hence my restaurant problem.

2. Buy more convenience foods. I used to avoid almost all convenience foods until I realized that being such a whole foods purist is what was sending me out to dine. Buying a few convenience items keeps me out of the restaurants and saves me money. On the down side, buying more pre-packaged foods is not any eco-friendlier than getting takeout in disposable containers.

3. Do more food prep during the day or on the weekends. As an adjunct instructor, I am often home during the day. Dinnertime goes much more smoothly if I manage to do some prep work in the hours before dinner. If both parents work outside the home all day, it might be worth it to spend an hour or two on the weekends to doing a bit of food prepping. Joy makes her own mixes ahead of time so she can whip up pancakes or cornbread.

4. Plan meals in advance. I know some people have great success with meal planning. A housekeeping book from the ‘80s I read as a teenager suggested making Monday taco night, Tuesday spaghetti night, and so on, for ever and ever. I tried instituting a Friday night pizza night, but it lasted just a few weeks before I forgot about it or gave up. I do find we avoid going out if I plan ahead, so I should really work on this tip.

5. Make a list of fast homemade meals. Sometimes lack of imagination sends us to the neighborhood Thai joint. It’s easy to think “there’s nothing in the house,” when really there are always a few standbys we could make without too much effort. Paninis, baked potatoes, or macaroni and cheese from a box don’t require much cooking skill or clean-up. I figured out that spaghetti with jarred sauce costs just .$50 a serving. With the exception of potatoes, all of the items on my “easy dinners” list involve convenience foods encased in that pesky packaging, but at least I can recycle most of it.

When we do get takeout, there are a few things we can do to make it eco-friendlier.  Joy has found some places in her town that use recyclable containers.  While plastic clamshells and plastic tubs with lids (#5 and #6 plastic) are technically recyclable, most towns in the U.S. don’t recycle them.  Portland has one of the best recycling programs in the country but doesn’t pick these up curbside.  Those waxy white boxes have to be thrown in the trash.  Styrofoam containers are probably the worst of all, so I’m glad they’re illegal here, sparing me the guilt of tossing them.  Pizza is a good takeout option because it comes in a cardboard box, and the non-greasy parts can be recycled.  I’m going to make more of an effort to patronize the restaurants that carry biodegradable takeout containers.  Also, you can always ask places to forgo extra condiments and napkins.

If you have any great ideas for avoiding takeout, please let me know.  I’m all ears!

I’ve managed to go my whole adult life without owning a car.  When I was pregnant, I wondered if I’d finally succumb to automobile ownership, but I’ve found I get along just fine.  In the first few weeks of parenthood, I plopped my daughter into a sling and stepped out the door. 

At three months, she took her very first stroller ride, and at almost two and a half years she still takes a spin in it almost every single day.  I have found the stroller indispensible for a car-free lifestyle–jaunts around town are entertaining for the baby, and the basket provides some storage space for books or groceries we pick up along the way.  We enjoy what I like to think of as a European way of life: Instead of driving to the store every week or every other week and filling up an entire cart full of groceries, I stop by every few days and pick up the items I need by foot.

My husband does have a car, but I have only driven it once, and that was to take him to the emergency room (long story).  He does commute to work by car, and I have to admit that I rely on his chauffeur services to run to the store for particularly heavy or unwieldy items.  Yes, I am grateful that I don’t need to walk down the streets with a 24-pack of Seventh Generation toilet paper or a ten-pound bag of flour!

In many ways I’ve had to revolve my life around not driving.  It’s no coincidence that we live within walking distance of shops, libraries, restaurants, and coffee shops.  It can definitely be inconvenient to rely on walking or bus-riding, especially with a fussy baby.  A few times a year the weather is bad enough to keep me stuck indoors all day long.  Also, my hour-long bus commute to work would take a mere twenty minutes by car.  This may seem like a waste of time, but I use the bus ride to read or grade papers.

Despite the inconveniences and drawbacks, I love remaining car-free.  I hate driving and am thrilled to live a life that doesn’t require getting behind the wheel.  We save thousands of dollars by not buying a second car, not to mention all the time and money we save on gas and maintenance.  My husband’s commute by car is terrible for the environment, and I rely on the bus to get to work two to four times a week, so we can’t claim to be carbon-neutral.  However, we are able to cut back on our combined carbon emissions by running most household errands on foot.  On those bad days when I’m standing in the rain with my toddler in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other, at least I have the solace of knowing I’m doing the planet a small favor!

Check back soon for my tips on taking babies on public transportation.  And for more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, go to Rocks in My Dryer.

Having a blog with thousands of loyal readers is a great way to feel accountable for those Earth Day Resolutions that sometimes fall by the wayside in the midst of raising a family.  I’m happy to report that we’ve made some progress toward accomplishing our green goals for the coming year in just a few months.

Green groceries:  B+    

We struggled with finding reasonably priced organic produce without driving all over town.  Thank goodness for our CSA!  I have to admit that some pieces of random produce have perished in our fridge but it has provided a wonderful variety of veggies and fruits that usually make it into our menus.

Eco-friendly transport:  A

We just purchased a 2001 Honda Civic to replace the 4 Runner we had been borrowing for the last eight years.  The Civic’s average gas mileage is a whopping ten miles per gallon more than the 4 Runner and I can almost feel the lighter carbon load while I drive.  As if the fuel efficiency wasn’t enough, this particular Civic happens to be forest green.  It was meant to be! 

Energy efficient lighting: C

I have replaced about half of the lights in our home with compact fluorescents, but we now have two halogen light fixtures in our home.  I’m pretty sure they aren’t the most efficient bulbs but I do love the bright light they provide in our tiny kitchen and dark hallway. 

Potty training:   I

That’s an I for incomplete.  Roscoe now tells me right before he performs a bodily function, but doesn’t want to do it anywhere near a toilet.   We may need to break down and buy a more exciting potty to inspire him to help us out on this one.  Still, he’s quite young so we may just hold out and hope that his tiny bladder makes enough progress to get him in training pants someday soon. 

If I manage to overcome my last hurdles on these resolutions I may just have to set a few new goals for the months to come.  Change is a slow and overwhelming process, but it’s nice to look back and see that we are indeed making green progress.  It’s clumsy and imperfect, but we are stumbling in a forward direction.

Sheryl Crow had one. Parents magazine raved about them in last March’s issue.  An eco-conscious expecting mother in your life may be hinting for one.  But what is a green baby shower?  It may seem like a ploy to get you to “buy” your way into the green movement.  Are we just trading piles of Pampers and mounds of plastic toys for $50 organic onesies and free-trade rattles?  Maybe.  But it’s also possible to throw an old-fashioned, down-to-earth baby shower that’s simple and eco-friendly.  Here are just a few ideas to celebrate the arrival of a new baby.

Throw a book baby shower.  Don’t forget the Green Baby Guide’s article touting the merits of giving the gift of imagination.  Attendants bring a book or two the child can treasure well after she’s outgrown her bouncy seat.

Try a secondhand fete.  If most of the attendants have had babies in the last few years, a secondhand shower can be an entertaining way to pass treasured belongings from one family to another.  Of course, this idea might not fly with many expecting parents or hosts-but it may be right up a green family’s alley. 

Give the gift of food.  Attendants can bring casseroles, desserts, or snacks that can be frozen until the bundle of joy arrives.  Exhausted new parents don’t have to spend time cooking during the first couple weeks or months with a newborn. 

Leave the shower out of baby shower.  It’s possible to have a party with friends, family, and games without involving gifts.  Participants can even write out wishes or blessings for the new addition that the host can make into a keepsake book.  Or circumvent the baby shower ritual altogether and involve friends and family in a picnic, hike, or other decidedly non-showery celebration.

It’s possible to throw a baby shower for expecting parents without busting your budget on so-called eco-friendly food, decorations, and presents.  A simple gathering of friends and family can accomplish the most important part of a shower’s purpose: welcoming a new baby into the world.

Any green baby shower ideas we forgot?  Post a comment!

If you’ve read my Earth Day resolution post, you know that I’m trying to lose two hundred and fifty pounds.  The Toyota Four Runner that we’ve been graciously allowed to borrow for the last seven years needs to be sold and we want to replace it with a more earth-friendly vehicle. 

Our challenge is to find a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient vehicle for between six and eight thousand dollars.  We’d like to have something that we can pile miles on for trips around town so that we keep our other car, a newer Toyota Camry, stowed away in the garage for most of the year.  Unfortunately we don’t all fit in the very NmG electric car pictured to the right. 

Originally we were thinking of buying a van or a crossover vehicle for the cargo space.  My mom helped us solve this dilemma by inspiring us to add a trailer hitch to one of our cars for around one hundred dollars.  We can rent a trailer for cheap whenever we need the space, but save loads of money on gas by driving a more compact vehicle. 

Here are some tips I’ve discovered so far in my search:

Narrow down your make and model: We began our search by thinking about the type of car we wanted to purchase.  Since Hondas and Toyotas offer the most reliable and fuel efficient options, we have narrowed our options down to either a Corolla or a Civic.  We’d love a Matrix or a Vibe but they’re a bit out of our price range.

Carefully check gas mileage for each year: In the beginning I wanted an older car with very low miles so that we can drive it forever, but I’ve found that each model year has different gas mileage.  For example, a 1992 Toyota Corolla gets just 23 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway, while a 2001 model gets 27 mpg in town and 36 on the freeway.  That’s a tremendous difference! The best site for checking gas mileage of every vehicle around is here. 

Consider Safety: The other option to consider is that older models often don’t have the safety features of the more recent years.  We’re looking for a compact car from the late nineties or newer that’s safe enough to carry our precious toddler cargo.  This is a great site for checking crash test ratings.

Buy from a private party: We’d never find what we’re looking for at a car dealership for the amount of money we’d like to spend, but we will find it when buying directly from another car owner.  Private party price on Kelley Blue Book is often several thousand less than retail.  Plus we have the added benefit of being able to personally speak with the owner and find out more about the history of the car. 

Look in a variety of places: Honestly, this tends to make me a bit obsessive-compulsive, but it’s good to check Craigslist regularly just to compare and see what’s out there.  I’ve also looked the newspaper and some small, free publications here in town.

Use Carfax: For a nominal twenty-something dollars we can check the full accident and ownership history of a car and find out if there have been any odometer rollbacks.  

Get it checked out by a mechanic: One owner assured us that the car had been thoroughly cared for its whole life.  Our mechanic disagreed when he discovered the original spark plugs hadn’t been replaced after 72,000 miles of use.  Whew!  We’re glad we were able to dodge a potential lemon. 

Go with your gut: If I feel desperate to get the car, I know I’m not making a wise decision.  We have found that with our first car purchase as a couple we both had a great instinct about the vehicle that we ended up buying.  That’s the feeling that we’re looking for this second time.

I’ll keep you posted on our car buying escapades but mainly I’m interested in your tips.  If you’ve discovered a safe, inexpensive and fuel-efficient vehicle that I haven’t thought of yet, I’d love to hear about it!