1) Look for pencils made from sustainable wood or recycled newspaper, without any paint or coatings

2) Look for hand soap and hand sanitizers without triclosan, triclocarbon or fragrance

3) Avoid buying polymer clay (the kind that stays soft at room temperature and hardens in the oven because it is made from PVC and has phthalates.

Check out the full list on the EWG and happy back to school!!

Zucchini Bread
from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

2 zucchini (1 pound) ends trimmed
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use non-fat Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour (here’s a place you can substitute 1 cup of white whole wheat flour for one of the cups of flour without there being a big difference)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (optional)
3/4 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat a 9×5 loaf pan with oil spray.
• Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze the zucchini between layers of paper towel or a clean dishcloth. (note: this is key to keep the batter from getting too moist). Whisk the sugar, melted butter, eggs, yogurt and lemon juice together in a large bowl.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a separate large bowl. Gently fold the zucchini, raisins or cranberries (if using) and the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in nuts (if using).
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.
• Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

But fine, no worries. You can pop them in your pocketbook (mom) or in your back pocket (dad) when going out. But what happens when the child gets older and needs to have them on hand but is going somewhere without his or her backpack? Or what if you are an adult who suffers from an allergy and you want to go out for a run, or do something where carrying a bag is not convenient? Since fanny-packs are long out of fashion, there have been few alternatives, other than carrying the “pens” in your hand.

So along comes a pair of ingenious moms. They, like me, became concerned about their nut-allergy kids as they got older and started going off on their own. A bike ride to a friend’s house, a trip into the town center for an ice cream, a soccer practice. What could they do to ensure that the Epi-Pens would be on hand? So they put their heads together and came up with a simple yet smart solution – called Take In Case. It’s a sleeve made of a stretchy material that has a little padding. The whole thing measures about 6 inches wide and 8 inches long, and it has two pockets that securely hold an Epi Pen each. VOILA! Now any child (recommended ages 10 and up) or adult can carry the Epi Pens on their arm or calf and keep their hands free.

We have been using this for a couple of weeks now and it has been great. My son is 10 years old but is, um, a little “slender” (ok – he’s as skinny as a rail) so it’s a little big for his arm, but he still puts it there anyway, and he actually doesn’t mind carrying it. Not bad!

Check out this site TakeInCase.com for a lot more information, and to find out how to order the case. From my perspective, it’s $25 well spent. And a portion of the sale goes to support food allergy research as well!

So he created a handy “toolkit” using data from the Harvard School of Public Health’s The Nutrition Source (another great source for tips on healthy living and eating). Jamie’s toolkit is an easy to read chart that shows how much sugar is in 12 ounces of drinks like cranberry juice cocktail (12 teaspoons!!!), orange soda (11 teaspoons) and even orange juice (10 teaspoons). It’s pretty eye opening!

And if you want to get even more detailed, check out The Nutrition Source’s How Sweet Is It? chart. Oh boy. I always knew that 100% grape juice was sweet – but didn’t realize that it has 15 (!) teaspoons of sugar per 12 oz. glass! How about that tasty Odwalla Apple Raspberry drink? A whopping 14 teaspoons. I definitely recommend a quick browse of the chart – and possibly printing it out.

We are not big soda drinkers in our house – but my oldest son loves it as a treat. I told him about a “The Nanny” episode that I saw once where she made one of the children, who was addicted to soda, spoon 12 spoonfuls of sugar into a 12 oz. glass. It took up nearly half of the glass. She pointed out to him that he was drinking that, basically with water and colors and flavors, every time he had a soda. It was a pretty strong visual. And even just telling my son about it got the point across. If you want more visuals, check out this cool site, Sugar Stacks, that shows you exactly what the amount of sugar in drinks and food looks like by featuring photos of the food and drinks with stacks of sugar cubes next to them (the photo above is one of their photos).

And Jamie Oliver’s point? Sugary drinks are OK for a treat, but stick to water for the bulk of your beverage consumption. No calories. No concerns. He even has some great ideas for flavoring your water and some fruit smoothie recipes as well. Fruit smoothies again can pack some serious natural sugar if you use too much juice or milk, or add additional sugar. But they are also a great way to start the day with protein and vitamins. And Jamie suggests throwing in a handful of nuts and/or natural oatmeal as well, both of which can slow down your body’s process of absorbing the sugar.

I have been on a smoothie kick for the past year and a half (ever since I got my Silver Bullet little blender – I love that thing!). Anyway – I do a quick smoothie in the morning with about 1/3 cup frozen blueberries (look for pesticide-free or washed frozen berries as they are often loaded with pesticides, unfortunately…), a little OJ, and about 1/3 cup fat free greek yogurt. I throw in a handful of oatmeal and some flax meal. I know – it sounds nasty that way but it’s surprisingly good and incredibly filling! And this summer I ventured into new territory at the suggestion of a friend who’s a nutritionist. I add a couple of leaves of kale into the mix. Granted you have to have a lot of berries to overpower the kale taste but it grinds up so small you really don’t even realize it’s there. And with kale being such a “super food” – it’s a pretty great way to start the day! (OK, I can hear collective groans from you all – but really, it’s way better than you’d think!)

Regardless of whether you want to do a deep dive into crazy smoothie world or not, the moral of this whole story is that you can easily cut out wasted calories by watching what you drink. Choose water, seltzer or sparkling water (try it with a splash of juice), tea & coffee (easy on the cream but it’s even ok to have a teaspoon of sugar in there) or other low-calorie, low-sugar drinks.  Save the other drinks for a treat. And keep an eye on what the kids drink – teaching them healthy habits at a young age will pay off for sure.

Dirty Dozen (Buy these organic – have highest pesticide levels – #1 has highest):

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Cherries
10. Kale/Collard Greens
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes (imported)

Clean 15 (lowest pesticides – #1 is the best)

1. Onions
2. Avocade
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mangoes
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantaloupe
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

EWG says that people who eat 5 fruits and veggies from the Dirty Dozen list consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat from the Clean 15 list  ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily.

And I think it’s worthy to note that this data was compiled based on produce “tested as it is typically eaten (meaning washed, rinsed or peeld, depending on the type of produce). Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.”

The best defense is a good offense. Heard that before? Well it actually applies here pretty nicely – a good daily skincare regimen will do wonders for keeping you clear from breakouts.  Our recommended system includes 3 daily steps plus another you do 1x to 3x per week. We recommend washing morning and evening, but if you can only do it once a day, then definitely pick evening. Why? Because you don’t want to go to bed and leave icky junk on your face for those extra hours. In the morning you can just skip straight to the toner step! (And as always – look for natural skin care products that are paraben-free, sulfate-free, petroleum-free and phthalate-free for best results)

1. Wash using a sulfate-free, paraben-free face wash with either Tea Tree Oil or Glycolic Acid.  This will clear out pores and remove irritating oil, grease and other environmental elements your skin is exposed to each day. Garden Girl picks: You’re Fresh with Tea Tree Oil for normal/combination skin and At Long Last with glycolic acid for oily/acne prone skin.
2. Tone with a revitalizing and cleansing toner that will leave your skin fresh and primed for your moisturizer. For oily skin, you’ll want to look for a toner that acts like an astringent as well – such as one with amazing witch hazel. Toner is an often overlooked step that is vital for keeping skin clear. It not only removes the last traces of makeup but it also clears out pores which helps them to close back up and shrink back down. Clear pores obviously means less of a chance for breakouts. And the toner prepares your skin by balancing its pH so that it will maximize the effects of the moisturizer. After you cleanse your skin, the pH naturally gets altered so if you cleanse and then immediately moisturize your skin won’t take that moisture in as effectively.  Garden Girl pick for normal/oily skin: Even Ste(pH)en with witch hazel, skin-clearing herbal extracts, and skin-firming DMAE.
   • As a side note, toner can make a great “pick me up” on hot summer days. A quick spritz can cool off your face without ruining your make-up. As a matter of fact, it even works great to set mineral make-up. For added “ahhhh” store one in the fridge.
3. Moisturize using a face cream that yes, even has some oils in it. I know, if you have oily skin the word “moisturizer” can make you a little, um, anxious. So you tend to avoid it like the plague, right? Well, fear not, because here’s the thing: if you don’t moisturize your skin properly your skin will actually start to think that it isn’t producing enough oil. Uh oh. Because that means that it will start to overproduce oils. And that is where you can get additional breakouts. So yes – embrace your moisturizer – just find one that doesn’t irritate your skin.
   • Look for one with a high concentration of hyaluronic acid which is a humectant which means it draws moisture in and traps it in the skin. It works best in combination with other emolients so provides balanced moisture and hydration. Another great ingredient to look for is Zinc PCA which can naturally help to keep skin clear.
   • Alternatively, a moisturizer with Alpha Hydroxy Acids can help to get rid of dead skin cells which in turn keeps pores unclogged and skin smooth. And I know this may seem obvious, but choose one for faces. Don’t use a body moisturizer on your face, please.
   • Garden Girl face cream picks: No Worries (for sensitive skin, with Zinc PCA) or Nature Nurture (for normal/oily/combination skin, with AHAs).
4. Exfoliate one to three times each week. If you have sensitive skin, stick to once per week, but if it is normal to oily and not sensitive, then you should be able to handle 2-3 times per week. Exfoliating is a very key step. This is where you can really see a difference. Not only will your skin look smoother, with fewer lines and wrinkles, faded/fewer age spots and acne scars (yea!) but it will keep your pores clearer and your skin less hospitable to pimples and breakouts. Nice, huh? It’s really an amazing tool – but it has to be used correctly.
   • First and foremost – exfoliating exposes “newer” skin so your skin is highly susceptible to sun damage after any exfoliation. Be very diligent about using sunscreen that day and the next day (well really, you should be wearing it every day anyway…). The other is that it can irritate skin if it is overdone or done too harshly.There are 2 types of exfoliators – chemical (by that we mean anything from harsh chemicals to natural “chemicals” like fruit acid) and physical (anything with scrubbing pieces in it – microderm crystals, crushed dried fruit pits or beans, plastic beads  etc.). Clearly Garden Girl recommends natural choices. But they should also be safe for your skin. Crushed fruit pits (think apricot scrubs etc) or similar things can be very rough on skin causing micro-tears that can damage skin. And plastic beads? Just plain bad – especially for the environment as those things go right down your drain and into the water system. Blech.
   • Both physical and chemical systems basically do the same thing – they remove the dead skin cells and smooth skin. But a physical exfoliant is something that you scrub on your face (in a gentle, circular motion), while a chemical product is something that you put on your skin and leave on, as it does the work for you. Both are great choices – it’s just up to you how you’d prefer to do it. And if you are really struggling with breakouts, the chemical peels can be a better option as depending on the product, it can be a bit stronger and more effective.
   • For example, Garden Girl’s Break Free gel and G for Men’s smooth, are both 7.5% fruit acid (glycolic, lactic,  and pyruvic acids) and it is “unbuffered” which means it is faster acting and more effective  than most fruit acid peels you will find for home use – yet it is still safe for non-professional use. Typically you will find “buffered” peels which are somewhat less effective.If you’re interested in the physical exfoliator, then opt for Garden Girl’s Starting Over microderm scrub – which has a creamy base and natural micro crystals (the same ones used by dermatologists for their microdermabrasion treatments).
5. Fight a pimple naturally. Sometimes you just can’t avoid it, no matter how well you stick to a good skin care system, once in awhile a little “spot” pops up. Don’t panic! Here’s what we recommend – and it really works! Tea Tree Oil. But be careful when you use it – it shouldn’t be used at full strength on your skin. What we suggest is to dip a Qtip into the bottle of Tea Tree Oil and dampen the tip with the oil. Then run that Qtip under a trickle of water just enough to dilute it a bit. You’ll be amazed at how strong it still is! Then dab the Qtip on your pimple. Do this after you have washed and toned but before the moisturizer. Do it morning and evening. Usually after the first 1 or 2 treatments the pimple will start to disappear. You can find Tea Tree Oil online or at Trader Joe’s (it’s the cheapest there) if you have one near you. Tea Tree Oil is a great thing to have on hand. I have written about it in the past in a post on this blog.

So that’s it. This system will work incredibly well for most people – even those that have done the whole dermatologist thing. Save yourself some trips to the doctor’s office and try this instead. You just might be amazed at the results!

This week I thought I’d share some of my favorites from their Travel chapter. They have all kinds of suggestions for planning your trip, getting there, staying at a hotel, sightseeing and eating out. There are a bunch of things in there that I hadn’t really thought much about, and some which are just worth repeating. Here are my top 5 from this chapter:

1. Linens. Use the same linens and towels in your hotel room throughout your stay.  The average hotel room consumers more than 200 gallons of water per DAY, or as much as your entire household typically uses in a day. Trimming the amount of water used by washing sheets and towels can save up to 40 percent of a hotel’s water use.
2. Suitcases. Pack lightly – every additional ten pounds per traveler requires and additional 350 million (!!) gallons of jet fuel per year, which is enough to keep a 747 flying continuously for ten years. As a serial over-packer – that one hit home for me!
3. Guidebooks. Research your travel online and print out only the pages you’ll need to reference. You’ll save time, money and paper waste. More than 800,000 travel books go to waste every year!
4. Toiletries. Pack your own shampoo, soap and toothpaste instead of relying on the ones provided by most hotels (and of course then you can pack your favorite Garden Girl products!). You’ll get the product you want and you’ll creaste less plastic waste. A single 300 room hotel in Las Vegas uses more than 150,000 plastic bottles of shampoo per year.
5. Water bottles. Use and refill as single (preferable stainless steel or BPA-free plastic) water bottle when you travel. The average person in the United States drinks 8 oz. of bottled water per day (how did that ever happen??). It takes 1.5 million barrels of oil to annually satisfy America’s demand for bottled water (the bottles for which are derived from petroleum). If that oil were converted to gasoline, the total could fuel 500,000 station wagons to take their families on coast-to-coast road trips. Considering the ongoing and unspeakable tragedy in the Gulf, we need to do whatever we can to reduce this country’s insatiable appetite for petroleum. And drinking from a reusable bottle is an easy way to start.

Let me know if you have any favorite eco-friendly travel tips – I’d love to hear them! Happy trails!

In addition to recommending sunscreens, EWG also has a very interesting perspective about the “surprising facts about sunscreen”. In this, they not only highlight the Vitamin A issue I mentioned in a previous post More Concerns About Sunscreen, but they also mention controversy about the impact of sunscreen:

“Some researchers have detected an increased risk of melanoma among sunscreen users. No one knows the cause, but scientists speculate that sunscreen users stay out in the sun longer and absorb more radiation overall, or that free radicals released as sunscreen chemicals break down in sunlight may play a role. One other hunch: Inferior sunscreens with poor UVA protection that have dominated the market for 30 years may have led to this surprising outcome. All major public health agencies still advise using sunscreens, but they also stress the importance of shade, clothing and timing.”

Now I am certainly not one to suggest that anyone SKIP sunscreen – we go through gallons of it here at our house – you have to believe that overall it’s better to use it than not use it. But it does make you think. And when it comes to choosing and using a sunscreen, you have to do what works for you and your family. If you just can’t deal with the white-factor of the zinc and titanium dioxide based products, then clearly you should choose one of the safer chemically-based sunblocks vs. not using any sunscreen or using it only intermittently. And you should always be mindful of being out in the sun too long – regardless of whether you have been diligent about sunscreen.

As I mentioned previously, my newest favorite is the Caribbean Sol sunscreen (pictured) – which is included on the EWG list. I also heard from a Garden Girl customer this week about another one that she loves, that’s on the list as well – “thinkbaby” and “thinksport”.  Check the list out and see what works best for you – and let me know if you find one that you love!

The CSA that I joined is brand new, and if you’re local and looking to join one last minute (like I did!) – they are still accepting members – and will prorate their fee for the weeks you have missed. The farm is The Dover Farm in Dover, MA. It’s run by a great guy name Bryan Austin. And they just added a Brookline pickup for those of you in Brookline/JP.Definitely give them a call (or an email) and check them out!

I am actually splitting the share with a friend, who is also doing it for the first time. I was a little afraid of getting in over my head with too many vegetables and having stuff go to waste – so splitting the share is perfect.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what we get each week. The first week we had:

Turnips
Radishes
Red Russian Kale
Spinach
Lettuce
Swiss Chard
Garlic Scapes
and Dandelion Greens

I’ll be honest. The dandelion greens were not my favorite. I spoke with a friend who is a chef (at La Morra in Brookline - a fantastic restaurant, by the way). He said slicing them thinly and adding a vinegary vinaigrette is a great way to eat them. I still couldn’t quite handle them. I threw a few into my sauteed spinach/kale/swiss chard and they were OK but otherwise, I think I haven’t acquired a taste for them.

But all the rest has been amazing. Love the garlic scapes – I’d never used them before. Fun! And it’s great to know that I’m supporting a farm AND eating incredible, pesticide free, organic produce. Can’t wait to see what this week brings!

Retinyl palmitate is a type of Vitamin A that is used in many skin creams. (Note: it is not in any Garden Girl products). It is somewhat similar to Retinol but it is weaker.  And according to a report on Reuters this week:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been reviewing data from several studies on a potential link between retinyl palmitate (RP), a common sunscreen additive and cases of skin cancer, since July 2009, but has yet to issue any rulings or guidelines, Senator Charles Schumer said.”

The study they refer to found that “tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in retinyl palmitate-laced cream than animals treated with a cream that did not contain RP.”

So again, could be hype. But sounds like something that even the FDA is taking note of and investigating. So my advice is try to avoid it. And yes, I find it frustrating and depressing.  Making it even worse is that my favorite of the “not so bad” sunscreens (Trader Joe’s Face & Body Sunscreen) has the dreaded Retinyl Palmitate. Sigh.

Now my best recommendation is the sunscreen I discovered via a suggestion from a Garden Girl customer – Caribbean Sol. Check it out. It’s natural, biodegradable, eco-safe and reef-friendly! There aren’t any parabens, and they use Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide. Still takes a little effort to get it rubbed in, but it’s better than Blue Lizard Baby. Plus the ingredients are MUCH better than the Blue Lizard products. And not only that, they do say it’s water resistant as well. You can but it online at www.caribbean-sol.com and it’s also sold in most Whole Foods markets. Let me know if you like it – I’m thinking of selling it next year!