Monthly Archives: August 2012

TEDTalk: What’s Wrong with Our Food System

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This TEDTalk is a great introduction for the next couple of posts that will have to do with GMOs (genetically modified organisms). If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what a TEDTalk is, head over to the TED page and spend a few hours exploring. You will find some of the most passionate, inspiring, educational, and interesting talks you’ve ever seen.

I want to highlight this particular video because it gives a brief overview of where our food is currently coming from and where it really needs to go.

The best part?

It’s given by an 11-year-old who’s tired of the deception.

Enjoy.

In Love with Natural Lip Balm

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natural lip balm

When it comes to natural lip balms and chapsticks, I am a very, very picky person. I’ve been committed to Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm with Vitamin E & Peppermint (i.e. the regular old Burt’s Bees) for years. But honestly? I just haven’t found anything that I’ve liked enough to switch over to or use regularly. For me, texture and taste are two major components, and I’ve found that a lot of lip balms are messy, taste funny, or are just too goopy. Burt’s Bees provides the perfect amount of moisture with the ever-so-slight sheen that has you applying it over and over again (in a good way!).

That is…
until now.

Discovery #1: HURRAW! all natural. organic. vegan. raw. good. Lip Balm

I will yell hurray, hurraw, whatever you want me to yell because I am so freakin’ excited about this lip balm, I don’t even know what to do with myself. Where do I even begin?

HURRAW! Lip Balm comes in a bazillion different flavors, you’ve gotta catch ‘em all. It’s like the Pokemon era all over again. Flavors consist of Earl Grey, Green Tea, Chai Spice (my current obsession), Coffee Bean, Cinnamon, Black Cherry, Coconut, Vanilla Bean, Almond, Chocolate, Grapefruit, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Mint, Licorice, and Rootbeer. In addition to the flavorfest, they’ve released an SPF 15 Sun Balm in Tangerine Chamomile and a night treatment Moon Balm in blue chamomile vanilla.

Each natural lip balm is made in “small, fresh, handcrafted batches” and hand poured, and they come in nifty oval tubes, resistant to pocket escapes. Cool, right?

Well, there’s more.

This balm is about as clean and pure as you can get. The company uses honest, fair trade, organic, vegan, and raw ingredients, all of which come from reputable suppliers. Their website is forthcoming about all ingredients within the balms. They are gluten free, contain no GMOs (yay!), and are certified Kosher Parve.

The little black specks in the vanilla balm? Yeah, those are real vanilla beans. Talk about authentic.

FLAVOR: Chai Spice
TASTES LIKE: Nothing really, and I’m ok with that
SCENT: Intoxicating chai and cinnamon goodness
TEXTURE: Smooth as ice cream on your lips, a bit of a glossy wear, however totally suitable for both men and women
WEAR: I can go a good hour or so without needing to reapply. In fact, my lips are usually pretty moisturized by then, telling me this balm does its job
PRICE: $3.79
AVAILABLE: Online and in select stores
INGREDIENTS: *Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, ***Euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax, **Cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, *Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, **Theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, *Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, *Olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, organic flavors, Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom) oil, Tocopherols (vitamin e) /// *cold pressed / organic **raw & organic ***wildcrafted

 

Discovery #2: Naked Eye Beauty Rose Tinted Lip Balm

I was turned on to this lip balm by the lovely ladies over at Product Junkies Rehab (if you haven’t checked out their blog already, take a few and do it now. They are a wealth of information regarding all sorts of natural products. It’s a gold mine over there!). When Jordan wrote that the tinted lip balm blew Burt’s Bees out of the water, well, you know. I just had to try it. I clicked over to Naked Eye Beauty’s website and lucky for me, they were having an anniversary sale! A few more purchases and a prompt shipment later, my Rose Tinted Lip Balm arrived.

Ladies, this balm has a beautifully rich pink pigmentation. The color looks a bit dark in the tube, but once you roll it over your lips, the color and sheen simply melt into perfection. I generally have a hard time with pinks and reds; I just can never get a pretty cool without looking washed out. With this though, the pink complements my skin tone, both the pale one, and the bronzed (after being in the sun this past weekend) one. It’s fantastic!

The balm holds a bonus factor for doubling as cheek color. Best of all, though, is that it’s deliciously infused with a rich passion fruit scent (don’t worry, you can still detect the hints of rose!). You want to keep smelling it, like you did with those scented markers as a kid.

The lip balm is available in a coral color, as well, but I’ve yet to try it.

All of Naked Eye Beauty’s products are handmade using ingredients sourced from reputable certified fair trade and organic American wholesalers and from the personal organic herb and flower garden of the company’s founder, Jennifer. Homegrown beauty at its finest!

FLAVOR: Rose
TASTES LIKE: Nothing… maybe I just don’t taste chapstick well
SCENT: A luscious, full tropical passion fruit with a touch of soothing rose
TEXTURE: Creamy and smooth, entirely kissable–watch out!
WEAR: A few hours will go by with this balm. The initial layer of balm and coloring comes off pretty easily (it will leave a lip line around the rim of a glass), however, the color gets absorbed into your lips some, so after the balm fades you still have a soft pink glow. It’s awesome!
PRICE: $8.00 (and worth every cent. You seriously won’t regret it)
AVAILABLE: Online
INGREDIENTS: Organic Olive Oil, Candelilla Wax, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Jojoba Oil, Rosehip Oil, Castor Oil, Vitamin E, Rosemary Extract, Neem Oil, Passionfruit Rose Flavor, Red Mica, Brick Red Oxide

Sugar Addiction: A New High

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Check out this infographic from MindBodyGreen:

It’s crazy to see how much sugar we actually consume. How can we even question obesity in America? Sugar is added to nearly every packaged product and fast food item we buy, and soda is like the gold mine of it all (diet soda isn’t any better for you!)

I’m not much of a soda (or pop for some of you) drinker these days, though I do enjoy a splurge every now and then. My boyfriend, on the other hand, would go through 3 or 4 Mountain Dews a day. He’s since grown a gut and had two kidney stones in the past two years… ouch. Both are a definite result of such a high consumption of soda.

Now take a look at this Nutribullet infographic that gives us a rundown on what happens when we drink soda:

Surprisingly, my boyfriend has actually decided to do something about it! In an effort to get healthier, he’s decided to quit soda, a challenging feat when you see how strong a sugar addiction can be.

He’s switched to different kinds of soda water, including San Pellegrino and Perrier because he doesn’t want to give up the carbonation. I’m so proud of him! If he can do it though, anyone can.

Do any of you have soda water favorites?

Ignoring the Oil: The Keystone XL Pipeline

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Keystone XL Pipeline Route

Last week, NPR’s All Things Considered provided a very unique perspective on the clean up of oil spills. The first part of the feature revolves around David Daniel, a man whose land is threatened by the Keystone XL Pipeline.

WHAT IS THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE?

It’s been in the news. The Republicans favor it, while the Democrats are in opposition. What is this piece of pipeline and why is there so much fuss?

TransCanada, a Canadian gas and oil company, is attempting to construct a pipeline from Alberta, Canada, all the way down to the southern coast of Texas. It would transport tar sands oil, a type of oil that is not only one of the dirtiest fuels on Earth, but pollutes and contaminates everything it comes into contact with.

  • During the refining process, carbon dioxide emissions are three times more than those of conventional oil
  • It takes three barrels of water to extract every one barrel of oil — all of that polluted water is then dumped into a manmade pool (called a tailing pond) where toxic sludge is in abundance and chemicals like ammonia and cyanide seep into local water supplies
  • Communities near those tailing ponds are experiencing extremely high rates of rare cancers, lupus, and hyperthyroidism
  • Spills have already occurred during the construction of a portion of the pipeline, and yet they’ve pretty much been swept under the rug

WHISTLEBLOWER: CLEAN, IT’S NOT

Enter part two of the feature: an interview with John Bolenbaugh, a worker assigned to clean up the oil spill that occurred in the Michigan Kalamazoo River two years ago. After he and other workers were told to bury the oil, rather than to clean it up, Bolenbaugh sought justice. By slyly taking pictures and videos on his phone, he gathered enough evidence to bring it to the Environmental Protection Agency. After coming forward, he was fired (big surprise).

I have to admit, I didn’t know very much about the pipeline and/or oil spills until the NPR article sparked some interest for me. I mean, all TransCanada has to do is file documentation as a “common carrier,” and they receive the legal right to dig up other people’s land to lay pipeline. If that were me, I would be pissed. I’m already upset as I learn more and more about this pipeline. Of course, there is a lot of money to be made for the companies and industry lobbyists behind it.

But take a few minutes and read NPR’s article. It really is fascinating!

Want to know more?:
NPR: Judge Slams Landowners in Canadian Pipeline Ruling
Friends of the Earth: Keystone XL Pipeline
National Wildlife Federation: Keystone XL Pipeline
TransCanada: Keystone XL Pipeline Project

Want to take action?:
Tell President Obama to hold TransCanada accountable

ALDI Takes a Step Towards Organic

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According to Mashup Mom, ALDI, the discount grocer, will be carrying an organics line called “Simply Nature.” Their ad calls it a “special buy, available in September.” No word yet if the line will be carried year-round or if this is, indeed, a buy available only during the month of September.

The products they advertise are apple juice, coffee, some tomato products, and sweet potato tortilla chips. A bit of a random crowd there, but nonetheless, we applaud ALDI for taking a baby step towards giving consumers a better choice for their lives.

If consumers demand it, then suppliers will meet it!

Check out the ad below: