We used to have one blender. One well-used, inexpensive, average blender. We used it to make smoothies and other drinks, mainly. It wasn't so great for doing other things, so we also had a Cuisinart, and a Champion juicer with lots of attachments for making things that our blender couldn't handle. We felt like we had things under control in our kitchen. And then, The Blenders came into our lives. You might be thinking, what on earth would anyone need with two blenders? If we were talking about two regular blenders, I might agree with you. But these blenders are something else entirely. Here's how we came to ...continue reading

I've been catching up with some of my favorite blogs, and I've found some new ones to love. Wellness Mama is one of the blogs I've recently discovered, and it's full of great information on gardening, parenting, health, and just about everything else. My favorite part of the site, at least for the moment, is the recipe page. Recipe categories are represented with photos, and the recipe links are as well. This makes for some seriously easy recipe browsing, which is good because Wellness Mama has a lot of great recipes to browse through. Go check 'em out! ...continue reading

I've been searching far and wide for information about healing cavities and promoting healthy tooth enamel naturally. So far, my favorite find has been Ramiel Nagel's book, Cure Tooth Decay. Ted has cavities and I've had issues with my teeth (and bones!) demineralizing from two pregnancies and years of breastfeeding, so I was happy to discover this fantastic book. It's based on a Weston A. Price-centric diet, and I've found it to be full of helpful and realistic diet-based tools to heal your mouth with good nutrition. I was excited to discover that Nagel will be participating in the Heal Thy Mouth World Summit, ...continue reading

This morning I noticed a lot of readers heading to a post I wrote in 2006, How to Use Red Palm Oil. That's great! I love red palm oil, and use it every day. But some things have changed since I wrote that post, so I figured I'd write an update for those who want to learn how to use this amazing oil. The biggest change since my original post is that you can't get the oil from Jungle Products anymore. I was really disappointed when it became unavailable, and I spent hours scouring the internet for one last remaining source. Alas, no luck. So, I've taken to ordering red palm oil from Agbanga Karite, a company ...continue reading

This year other's Day falls on Sunday, May 10th (add it to your calendar!). I can tell you that going through this pregnancy has really made me appreciate everything my mom went through while she was pregnant with me, so Mom definitely deserves something thoughtful and nice this year. Organic Bouquet has a lovely Mother's Day selection, as always, but this year they've added six new Petite arrangements for $24.95 for those who want to do something thoughtful that's still within the budget. My favorite of these is the Red Petite Bouquet, and I also really like the White version. The site says that these ...continue reading

I received an email today from New Leaf Paper that included news of its partnership with Office Depot on a line of notebooks for sale in their stores. I checked on Office Depot's website and see four products, which range from a $2.39 composition book (30% post-consumer recycled content) to a cute-covered $5.99 college ruled notebook (100% post-consumer content). I'm partial to the Recycled Fashion Notebook. The "fashion" designation cracks me up, since it must have been given that title because it comes in... wait for it... four different colors. I'm a fan of simplicity, so these notebooks are appealing ...continue reading

Here's a fun quiz if you're needing a little distraction today: How much of your body could be recycled? ...continue reading

One of the side effects of being pregnant that I was NOT prepared for is the constant hunger. That, and I can only eat about two thirds of what I used to consider a normal portion size at a time. As a result, I've been grazing my way through the last four months. This wasn't easy to adjust to since I'd been a strict three-meals-a-day person before. It's not unlike being a sloth: if I'm not busy sleeping, I'm guaranteed to be munching on something. You'd think that constant snacking wouldn't be that bad, but believe me, you get really sick of certain foods very quickly. For instance, I'm sick of toast. Who gets sick ...continue reading

Ted and I have the same exact argument every year. It goes like this: Me: I want to get a Christmas tree this weekend! Ted: Great, so we can have a tree that was sprayed with pesticides and shipped hundreds of miles dying in our living room? Me: Grinch. Ted: Well, Miss Sustainable Scoop, you know I'm right, don't you? Me: But... they're pretty. But, of course, I know he's right. And getting a fake tree isn't an option, since most fake tree manufacturers still use PVC in their trees, and I don't need that off-gassing in my living room, thanks. So, this year, we're going to solve the yearly tree dilemma by ...continue reading

Holidays (even the Hallmark-manufactured ones) are a time to celebrate the nuances and rituals of being a modern American. While Thanksgiving and Christmas are arguably my favorite holidays, I've always enjoyed Halloween, if only for the pumpkin carving (and dressing up like Where's Waldo, of course). When I was a kid, my sister and I always carved pumpkins at my parents' kitchen table, using those little orange-handled pumpkin knives they sell at drugstores. Amy always made some time-intensive design, like a cat on a witch's broom, and I typically carved your basic run-of-the-mill pumpkin face. Over the years, my ...continue reading

Yesterday on Buzzfeed there was a round-up of articles about a baffling group of individuals, the "Never-Greens." Apparently, about ten percent of Americans don't give a rat's ass about the environment, and they aren't afraid to say so. These are the people who continue to buy Hummers and RVs, who refuse to recycle, and who don't believe in (or don't care about) global warming. Hey, Dad, you're not alone! Yeah, I know I should be upset about these "Never-Greens," and I truly don't understand how anyone could just choose to not care about conserving resources. But the Buzzfeed feature got me thinking: how many ...continue reading

It's amazing how many envelopes, boxes, and other miscellaneous packing materials get recycled at our house. Ted receives several boxed shipments and frequent FedEx and UPS envelopes each month, and I usually recycle the packing materials right away to avoid clutter in our entryway. I do try to save whatever can be reused, though, such as bubble mailers, small boxes, and whatever else can be easily stored in our office closets. Packing materials are costly, and they take energy to recycle. Reusing these is the way to go, just be sure to remove or cover up any old address information. As for those pesky styrofoam ...continue reading

I don't know about all of you, but I thought Kerry's last post about the green noise was excellent and something we all have to keep in our minds. The line in the NY Times article that really struck me was from Paul Hawken, when he said, “even people inside the movement have the same feeling — burnout.” I think there is some truth to this - especially as we notice more and more stuff coming into the marketplace that really seems to push the envelope of actually being green. For those of us who have been trying our best to really do the right thing, it can get annoying to see so many conflicting messages that ...continue reading

I've been finding it difficult lately to write here on The Scoop. It's partly due to my somewhat broken keyboard, and partly because of the weird hand cramp that makes my right hand spasm whenever I type. But mostly, it's because I recently started wondering if what I'm writing here is really making any ind of difference. Sometimes it feels like there are so many "green" products on the market now, but nobody's offering a real solution. And, rather unhelpfully, there is so much conflicting advice out there about how to live sustainably. Take this post about short hair versus long hair. I wrote it as sort of a silly ...continue reading

After last week's skin care and beauty routines, I received a lot of great feedback. Most of you wanted to share which products you use, and some of you asked questions about products we'd listed or for recommendations. But one piece of feedback got me thinking, and it was about the lack of consideration for so-called "mature" skin. Mature skin is thinner and more sensitive than younger skin, so it requires special consideration. At twenty-eight years old, I don't yet have mature skin, though I will someday. So, with this lack of experience, here's my best attempt to give recommendations for sustainable skin care for ...continue reading