Who knew sunscreen could be so complicated? After slathering Audrey in sunscreen all summer long during her first year, I read that it’s dangerous to do so until she reaches her first birthday. Then I found out that only certain sunscreens were safe. Yes, that cancer-preventing lotion was–get this–carcinogenic! The good news is, you don’t need to keep your baby covered from head to foot in loose-fitting robes or hide under a gigantic umbrella all summer long.

Check out the Environmental Working Group’s list of safe sunscreens.  After  studying thousands of sunscreens, they found that “4 out of 5 contain chemicals that may pose health hazards or don’t adequately protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays.” Here are the top four safest ray-blockers on the market:

Fretting about all the potential toxins I’ve exposed myself and my daughter to over the years doesn’t do me any good–but switching sunscreens seems like an easy way to block the rays without going into summer lock-down.

This post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday, a blog carnival at We are THAT Family.

While environmental concerns are important, you also don’t want to be forcing your baby to suffer in the name of green living.  Can you keep your little one cool without resorting to canned air? None of my baby cool-down ideas will win any prizes for originality, but sometimes it’s good to remember the low-energy, low-cost alternatives to sitting around in an air-conditioned room:

Popsicles and other frozen treats. Even babies as young as six months old enjoy frozen confections every now and then. Make your own and they’re practically free. Here is my recipe for a strawberry spinach concoction.

Shade.  Spread out a blanket, sip an iced tea, and read baby books to your little one.

Mist. Try a spraying your baby with a bit of water to keep him cool. Warning: some babies do NOT find this amusing!

Grocery shopping. Nothing like pacing those air-conditioned aisles to cool you down on a hot summer’s day. Plus, you’ll cross an errand off your to-do list.

Sprinklers and baby pools. Some parks in our city have wading ponds and sprinklers for little ones–and even young babies have a great time with their parents.

Cool baths. No yard, and no park featuring sprinklers and wading pools? There’s always a nice cool bath for your baby.

Wet wash cloths. My daughter used to love sucking water  out of a wet wash cloth on hot days. It seemed to keep her calm and cool.

Ice chips. When I was just a few months old, my parents took me on a cross-country car trip without air conditioning. Supposedly iced chips kept us all sane.

Any more cool-down tricks I’m missing? Let us know!

All these ideas have worked for me. For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, head on over to We are THAT Family.

You may recall my dish soap saga of last fall: First I wondered if eco-friendly dish soaps were any better than conventional ones, then I tested several greener dishwashing liquids, then I perfected my hand-washing method to use as little dish soap as possible. Finally, I offered a few alternatives to liquid dish soap.

During this quest, Green and Clean Mom contacted me, telling me I had to try the Shaklee dish soap she sells at her online store. She insisted that this dishwashing liquid would last a very long time. I was skeptical, considering some 32-ounce bottles of other brands lasted just six weeks. The Shaklee soap was in a 16-ounce bottle, which is smaller than average.

Last November, I started using the Shaklee soap. Over half a year later, I squeezed out the last drop. It lasted a whopping THIRTY-ONE weeks–almost three times longer than Planet , which I had deemed the top performer. It costs $8.10 (or $6.90 for members). This may seem like a lot, but if you look at the chart in this post, you’ll see it wouldn’t cost much more per year than Planet or Trader Joe’s dish soaps, considering how long it lasts. The best part is, you’d have to recycle just two small bottles of Shaklee soap each year–you’d go through nine bigger bottles of some other eco-brands in the same amount of time!

In addition, here are the “clean credentials” of this product:

• Nontoxic
• Natural
• Hypoallergenic
• Biodegradable
• No phosphates

In short, I would recommend the Shaklee Get Clean Dish Wash. It’s eco-friendly and super-concentrated. It also smells good and leaves dishes squeaky clean.

Do you want to try this wonder-product for free? Green and Clean Mom is giving away a bottle of the Shaklee Get Clean Dish Wash Concentrate along with a microfiber sponge. Just post a comment by Monday the 22nd and you’ll be entered to win!

This post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday. For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head on over to We Are THAT Family.

When Audrey was just five months old, I met another mother of a same-aged baby. Of course we started comparing notes. Does he do this yet? Does she do that yet? I found myself surprised when she asked me this question, though: “Do you find you go through a LOT of batteries?” Now we’d steered clear of battery-operated toys, swings, and other contraptions (mostly because they drive me nuts), so the answer was no.

However, many parents find battery-operated gizmos save their sanity in those early months. The problem is, batteries aren’t so great for the planet. They contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel. If you toss batteries in the trash, these metals can contaminate our water supply. The responsible thing to do is “recycle” them by taking them to someplace like Radio Shack. Unfortunately they do not really recycle the batteries, but they do dispose of them properly.

What’s a simple solution? Buy a battery recharger! If you plan on using baby swings, bouncers, or toys that require frequent battery changes, you’ll save money and the planet with this purchase.

This post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday. For more handy WFMW tips, head on over to We are THAT Family.

When Joy and I started working on our book two and a half years ago, we thought we had the most original idea ever. We searched Amazon.com and couldn’t find any green baby books on the market. We rushed the idea off to publishers, sure we’d have a bidding war on our hands. Imagine our shock when no one seemed to jump at the chance to publish our unwritten masterpiece.

Okay, so we were a little naïve. Eventually we did get a publishing contract, and we’re proud to announce that our creation will hit bookstore shelves next spring.  And we’ll have company! Since we’ve started the project, other eco-minded writers have published some green baby books of their own:

• The Complete Organic Pregnancy by Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu
• Eco Baby: A Guide to Green Parenting by Sally J. Hall
• Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby by Lynda Fassa (I reviewed that one here.)

• Green Baby by Susannah Marriott
• The Green Parent: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Environmentally-Friendly Living by Jenn Savedge
• Growing Up Green: Baby and Childcare by Deirdre Imus
• Healthy Child, Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home by Christopher Gavigan

• Itsabelly’s Guide to Going Green with Baby by Jennifer Lo Prete and Melissa Moog
• Organic Baby: Simple Steps for Healthy Living by Kimberly Rider
• Raising Baby Green: The Earth-friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care by Dr. Alan Greene

We’ve read most of these titles and are thrilled to see that there’s just so much to say about raising babies with the environment in mind. Each book has a different slant. Green Babies, Sage Moms, for example, focuses on finding nontoxic alternatives to mainstream lotions and potions used during pregnancy and baby’s first year. Healthy Child, Healthy World contains useful information about avoiding toxins–and shows how some celebrities went green with their babies. Itsabelly’s Guide to Going Green with Baby is packed full of green gear recommendations, from sustainable cribs to organic clothing. Organic Baby is a beautifully photographed book that illustrates how to create a tranquil nursery and make appetizing baby food. Raising Baby Green takes the reader on a tour through the house (and garden), showing how to rid these spaces of harmful environmental toxins.

Our book won’t contain eco-tips from Julia Roberts–but we will have down-to-earth ideas for bringing up baby. You just have to wait until next spring to read all about it!

Green baby books work for us! For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head on over to We are THAT Family. (This week’s WFMW is a themed edition: “Mom, I’m Bored!” Needless to say, I was not aware of that theme until too late.)

We can compost. We can make a freezer inventory. We can force everyone in the family to become members of the “clean plate club.” (This should go over well with a six-month-old.) I read somewhere that 25% of the food we buy ends up getting tossed. If the average three-person family (two adults and a toddler) spends just over $400 on the U.S.D.A.’s “thrifty plan,” that means they’re tossing one hundred dollars’ worth of food away each month!

So how else can we avoid wasting food? Here are some ideas:

Use portion control. If you make your own baby food, freeze it in small portions and dole it out slowly.

Be creative and try to avoid throwing out partially-eaten food. In the Tightwad Gazette Journal, Amy Dacyczyn makes a miniature apple crisp for her child out of an apple he took just a bite or two out of. Save the half-eaten fruits your baby leaves behind in the freezer and blend into smoothies when you have enough.

Make lists of perishable items so you don’t leave produce languishing in the fridge.

Eat strategically. If you have a fridge full of lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, and beets, what do you need to eat tonight? Lettuce doesn’t last nearly as long as carrots—so have a salad!

Use the freezer. I used to waste food when I’d stick leftovers in the fridge with no plan of eating them within the next couple days. Stick food in the freezer instead—but don’t forget about it there! You can freeze more than you might think, including eggs, milk, and rice.

Be less squeamish. Most people around the world rely much less on refrigeration than we do in the U.S. and live to tell about it. If you reheat leftovers to the point that they’re steaming, you’ll most likely succeed in killing anything dangerous.  If you are truly paranoid about food poisoning, just be diligent about portion control and freezing to avoid throwing out “spoiled” food.

I’ve got to say that food waste is one of my pet issues; I can’t believe I haven’t written more on the subject here on the Green Baby Guide! I can’t believe I don’t have an entire blog devoted to the subject like this guy does! I can’t believe I didn’t come up with this Food Waste Reduction Challenge like Crunchy Chicken did! When I think of all the energy that goes into producing, packaging, and transporting  food—only to have it tossed it in the trash, where it emits dangerous greenhouse gasses as it rots in a landfill, I become consumed by guilt. But then I think of more ways to avoid waste, and I feel better. Phew.

How do you prevent food waste? Let us know!

Thinking of ways to prevent food waste works for me! For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, head on over to We Are THAT Family.

If you’ve been reading along, you know my tricks for spending just $175 a month on organic food and how I plan my meals.  I kept track of all my grocery expenses for six weeks and calculated that I spend an average of $175 a month on groceries.  What, exactly, do I get for that amount?

Here’s what I bought in one month:

$66.00  (Veggie delivery every other week at $33.00 each)

$ 3.94 (Fred Meyer: flour)

$ 9.97 (Fred Meyer: peppers, frozen spinach, tortillas)

$24.30 (Trader Joe’s: beans, olive oil, dried fruit, frozen beans, jam, shells and cheese, peanuts)

$17.59 (Fred Meyer: oil, spices, beans, popcorn, lime, lentils, cilantro)

$ 4.08 (Whole Foods: oats)

$13.40 (Fred Meyer: tea, yeast, eggs)

$6.66 (Fred Meyer: canola oil, onions, pretzels)

$10.10 (New Season’s: milk and eggs)

$155.96 TOTAL

(Note: Why did I buy oil three times in a month? Well, I ran out of canola oil and olive oil at the same time. When I went to buy canola oil, they were out, so I bought vegetable oil instead. The next time I went to the store, they had canola oil again, so I stocked up on it. Don’t worry–we don’t usually go through so much oil!)

During this month, I spent less than my average of $175. I tracked for two more weeks to arrive at that average. As you can see, I tend to go shopping frequently and spend just a little at a time. This is because I don’t have a car and walk to the stores. (I wrote about saving money by not buying in bulk here. Joy countered with her bulk-buying tips here.)

I know some people have strict food budgets. I don’t. It was interesting tracking my expenses for six weeks, but it wasn’t a habit I’d like to keep up. How do you budget for your grocery shopping? Any money-saving tips you care to pass along?

This post is a part of We are THAT Family’s Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival.

I have a friend–let’s call her “Glee”–who recently admitted to me that she canceled her CSA membership because too many veggies were withering in the fridge.  “Meal planning is just impossible,” she said.  Many CSAs operate only during summer months, but in mild climates like ours, they go year-round.  Here in Oregon, your winter CSA selections will consist of many rutabagas, potatoes, and beets.

That does sound like a challenge!   I don’t belong to a CSA.  Since I don’t have a car, it just wouldn’t work for me.  However, I do have something similar, which I’ve mentioned before: every other week, I get a box of organic vegetables delivered to my door.  Now, unlike a CSA, 100% of the vegetables are not local, which means I get a little extra variety, although I suppose I lose a few eco-points for that luxury.

Unlike “Glee,” however, I find meal-planning with my organic veggie delivery is very easy.  I never planned menus or meals before, but now that I’m forced to eat through fifteen pounds of vegetables in two weeks, I can plan meals based on what I receive.

Here’s what arrived on my door one Monday morning:

• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Leeks
• green pepper
• eggplant
• Swiss chard
• lettuce
• mushrooms
• potatoes
• beets (steamed, pureed, and froze for future chocolate beet cake)
• broccoli
• tomatoes

And here’s what I made for dinner over the next two weeks:

• Brussels sprouts with wild rice, feta, and hazelnuts (organic Brussels sprouts were on sale for $.99/lb at the store)
• Potatoes au gratin with salad
• Eggplant parmesan with salad
• Sweet potato cakes with salad
• Swiss chard enchiladas
• pasta with broccoli, tomatoes, feta
• peanut noodles with carrots (x2)
• veggie burgers with sautéed mushrooms and homemade buns
• spicy cauliflower with homemade naan
• flamiche aux poireaux (leek tart) with sliced apples
• green beans and potatoes (green beans were frozen)

We also ate out one night and had leftovers another night.

What I like about basing my meals around my organic veggies is that I don’t have to menu plan in the traditional sense.  I can just look at my veggies, think of a meal, and make it.  Almost everything I made during those two weeks required nothing but the vegetables and a few staples (flour, eggs, pasta, etc.).   I make sure to eat up the more delicate vegetables like lettuce first, and I very rarely waste anything.

My veggie-based meal planning helps me spend much less on food than the average family.  (Here’s where I explain how I spend just $175 a month on mostly organic groceries.)  On Friday I’ll dish about what we eat for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks–so stay tuned!

This post is a part of We are THAT Family’s Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival.

I spend $175 a month on groceries for my small family of three.  I wrote about spending less on groceries in this post about eating meat-free.  Several people (okay, two people) asked me how I manage to pull this off.  According the USDA’s “thrifty” meal plan, a family with a man, woman, and three-year-old would spend $414.20 per month.  (We’d spend $800 on the “liberal” plan!)  So it seems that we are spending less than half of what other “thrifty” eaters are spending–and we eat mostly organic food! 

This is a bit puzzling to me, as we don’t do anything too extraordinary to save money on food.  I haven’t planted a garden since two summers ago (and it was a failure), I don’t clip coupons, and I don’t shop at Costco or other huge warehouse stores.  I also buy many expensive ingredients, like olive oil, nuts, and fancy cheese.  If I had to, I could save even more money if I got better at gardening, stopped buying organic foods, and cut out a few costlier items on my grocery list.

So here are my only real “tricks” to spending less on organic food:

Eat Vegetarian.  Going meat-free is the main way I save on groceries.  Now, most people do not want to cut out meat from their diets, which is why I wrote about Meatless Mondays a while ago.  Cutting out meat just one day a week can still save you money!

According to this article, “How Much Meat Do We Eat?,” the average American eats 200 pounds of meat a year.  Now, I know you can buy cheap meat at the grocery store, but let’s say I wanted to eat mostly organic/free-range/hormone-free stuff.  I just looked at the sale prices for meat at our natural food store: $5.99 for top sirloin, $3.79 for ground chicken thigh meat, and $6.99 for tilapia filets.   With that average of $5.59/lb, we’d spend $279.50 a month on meat if we bought 600 pounds a year–which would more than double the amount I spend on all of my groceries now!

Know my prices.  I never buy butter for more than $2.00 a pound (it’s usually around $4.00/lb, so when it goes on sale, I stock up.  It lasts at least six months in the fridge and longer in the freezer.  I also never spend more than $2.00/lb on natural peanut butter.  I can get it for $1.50 at Grocery Outlet.  It costs more than $4.00/lb if you buy it from the machines at Whole Foods or other grocery stores.

Limit convenience foods.  Looking at my receipts, I see that I did buy a few convenience foods: tortillas, boxed macaroni and cheese, pretzels, and jarred applesauce.  All of those are fairly inexpensive.  The organic applesauce cost $2.29 for 25 ounces–that’s about $1.47/lb.  Fresh organic apples often cost more than that.   Organic shells and cheese cost $1.29, or about $.40-$.60 a serving.  That’s a pretty cheap–albeit no-frills–meal.

Cut back on household goods.  I am not sure if the USDA’s meal plans included household goods or not.  I know that many people include things like paper products and cleaners in their grocery budget.  In the six weeks I was tracking expenses, I spent nothing on household goods.  We buy recycled toilet paper, Biokleen laundry detergent (I wrote about how it’s actually cheaper than conventional detergent here), dishwashing liquid, soap, and baking soda and vinegar when we need it.  I bought the Biokleen detergent almost a year ago for $11.00 and still have a lot left!

Make things from scratch.  I make most of my own baked goods, including bread, cookies, and other snacks.

Don’t eat too much.   Our caloric needs are not very high, which allows us to spend less on groceries than–say–a 200-pound body builder or an avid marathon runner.  This isn’t exactly a tip, but it does partially explain why we spend less on groceries than other families our size.  Some of our meals probably seem down-right insubstantial to others.  We regularly eat nothing but a bowlful of soup or a salad for dinner.

Those are my main cost-cutting tips.  What are yours?

Stay tuned for more posts on this subject.  I’ll show what, exactly, I was spending that $175 on and give some examples of what I made for dinner.

This post is a part of the Works for Me Wednesday blog carnival over on We are THAT Family. This is a themed edition, where we share our favorite frugal ideas.

This idea is so simple, but it has changed my life!  Okay, not my whole life, but that tiny part of my life that was dedicated to rooting through the freezer in search of a stray tortilla or wondering what mysterious sauce I’d frozen in a jar five years ago.

After digging through the freezer and finding four bags full of bread heels, a half-empty jar of graham cracker crumbs, and a three-year-old tub of ice-encrusted raspberries, I knew I had to do something to keep more organized.  I simply made a list of everything in the freezer by category (sauces, vegetables, and bready things seemed to fill the bulk of it).  If I add something new, I simply write it down on the list, along with the date.  (Nothing in my freezer is labeled.)  If I take something out, I cross it off the list.

I’ve been doing this for just a few weeks and already I have reaped the benefits.  It means I’ll stop buying tortillas (already have three different kinds in the freezer) or I’ll take out some frozen rice to use in a stir-fry rather than make a new batch.   I’ll end up using food I already have, which means less will go to waste.

How do you keep your freezer stash organized?  Has anyone kept a freezer inventory for longer than just a few weeks?  I plan to keep this up, but you never know. . . .

Keeping a freezer inventory works for me!  For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, head on over to We are THAT Family.