These Are The Fruits and Veggies With The Least, And Most, Pesticides

Each year,  the Environmental Working Group (EWG) creates a Shopper's Guide To Pesticides in Produce.  I cannot begin to tell you how helpful the guide is for parents wanting to feed their child the healthiest and safest produce available.  What's more, this guide shows which fruits and veggies don't necessarily need to be purchased organic to be safe from pesticides and GMOs.


Disgusting Fun Fact:

Nearly 70 percent of the fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful chemical pesticides, according to EWG’s analysis of the latest test data from the federal Department of Agriculture. But the dirtiest produce commodity, according to the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program, is not a fresh fruit or vegetable but a dried one – raisins. (-EWG 2020)

Below are the two lists: Dirty vs. Clean. 

TIP: Take a screenshot of the two so when you're shopping, you know which fruits and veggies rated as dirty and should be purchased Organic (or at the very least washed REALLY WELL) and which are 'clean' and fine to be purchased conventional or non-organic. 

EWG'S CLEAN FIFTEEN FOR 2020

1. Avocados
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapple
4. Onions
5. Papaya
6. Sweet peas (frozen)
7. Eggplants
8. Asparagus
9. Cauliflower
10. Cantaloupes
11. Broccoli
12. Mushrooms
13. Cabbage
14. Honeydew melon
15. Kiwi

EWG'S DIRTY DOZEN FOR 2020

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Peaches
8. Cherries
9. Pears
10. Tomatoes
11. Celery
12. Potatoes

For more information check out the EWG’s 2020 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™

These 16 Sunscreens Got Top Honors For Use On Children and Sensitive Skin (2020 Edition)

If you've been a long time reader, then you know, I was diagnosed with skin cancer at 22 years old. As a child growing up in Miami, the sun was a part of life. What wasn't a part of my life was, sunscreen. My sensitive skin would burn from the first drop of the PABA loaded, chemical concoctions that doubled as sunscreen in the early eighties. My mom tried to keep me out of the sun, but in south Florida, it was pretty much impossible.

Now that I'm a mother, and totally freaked out about my son having the same skin issues I do, I am the queen of safe fun in the sun.

16 Ways To Make It Earth Day Every Day. #EarthDay

I've always been fairly conscious about the state of the planet, however, now that I have a child, I REALLY try to incorporate green living in everything; from eating, to cleaning, to limiting waste and overall consumption. It's imperative that I do all I can to reduce our carbon footprint. 


Below are a few tips I think are easy and eye openers to not only what we can do, but how easy it is to live green! Without further ado, 16 Ways Celebrate Earth Day Every Day.

1. Avoid the “vampire effect.” Even when not turned on, an electronic appliance that is plugged into a power source still draws energy. The Department of Energy estimates that America wastes 5% of electricity on the vampire effect. Unplug all unnecessary appliances, or consider using devices that automatically eliminate the vampire effect.

2. Shower smarter. The average shower head spits out 2.5 gallons of water per minute. That means that a person who takes a 10-minute shower every morning uses over 9,000 gallons of water a year. Cut back by installing a showerhead that is EPA approved. Look for the Water Sense seal of approval. Shoot for a showerhead that flows at 1.5 gallons per minute and conserves hot water until you are actually ready to shower.

3. ONLY run your dishwasher when it’s full and STOP prewashing. Most modern dishwashers don't need you to rinse the plates before putting them in. That just wastes water.

4. When away, drop the shades. Sun streaming through windows heats up space and makes an air conditioner work harder. During the day, especially when you are away, drop the shades!

5. STOP E-Waste. Did you know, when electronics are exposed to high heat they release toxic chemicals into the air, water and ground? This happens every day in landfills. Before throwing electronics away, try selling old electronics on websites like Gazelle.com or disposing of them at proper locations around your city.

6. Shop Sustainable- By now you have heard of the trend to move to use Bamboo as a substitute whenever possible for wood. Also consider Natural home products like, stainless Steel which minimizes emissions by increasing its reuse and recyclability levels; Organic Cotton supports biodiversity and healthy ecosystems; Recycled Glass, simple, just reuse, reduce and recycle; and Cork promotes economic and social development in areas prone to desertification.

7. Recycle Old Clothes- If you’ve got something worn, torn or hopelessly out of style – don’t throw it away or let it pile up in the back of your closet. Bring it to your nearest H&M and help decrease the amount of fashion being wasted. Seriously, they will take bags of ripped, torn and stained clothes! For each bag of clothes or home textiles you hand in, you will receive a voucher with a discount for your next purchase. 

 There are three ways H&M repurposes unwanted garments:

• Rewear – clothing that can be worn again will be sold as second-hand clothes
• Reuse – old clothes and textiles will be turned into other products, such as cleaning cloths
• Recycle – everything else is turned into textile fibers, or other use such as insulation.

8. Fill the freezer: Don’t let your freezer run half-empty. It’s more expensive to run it while empty. TIP: Fill an old milk container with water if necessary to keep the freezer "full". That will make your machine a little more efficient. While you’re at it, clean the coils behind the appliance for even more of an efficiency boost.

9. Meat-free Mondays: Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and the health of the planet. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide. Not only that, an estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into making a single pound of beef.

10. Bulb swap: According to the EPA, if every American home replaced just one conventional light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes a year. 

11. Wash clothes in cold water and use the fastest spin speed available - Today's clothes washers and detergents are designed to effectively clean clothes in cold water. So skip the hot water waste. TIP: If you have a front-loading washer, select the highest spin speed, which will remove more of the moisture from your clothes, so your dryer won't have to work as hard! 

12. Upgrade the aerators on your kitchen and bathroom sinks - If you have an older faucet, install a new water efficient aerator for under $5 and you can cut its water use by up to 40 percent. Simply unscrew the current one on the tip of your faucet and replace it with one that uses no more than 1.8 gallons per minute for the kitchen faucet and 1.2 gallons per minute for the one on your bathroom sink. You probably won't notice the difference but your water bill will. Check with your local water agency as some provide efficient aerators free or at low cost.

It's really as simple as unscrewing the old aerator, and then screwing the new one back on!

13. Turn off your furnace when the cold weather ends - Like many other modern appliances, furnaces use electricity even when they're not operating. According to a Home Energy article, many furnaces draw 8 to 12 watts of standby power 24/7 when not in use. To eliminate this waste during the six or more months when you don't need heat, switch off the power to the furnace.

14. Donate Dollars To The Game Changers- One of the easiest ways to show our planet some love is to support the organizations that are promoting change and making a difference on a large scale. Here are a few respected organizations:
The Wildlife Conservation Network
The Sierra Club
The Conservation Fund
Earthjustice
Orca Network

15. Compost!  I know composting sounds like a lot of work, and for those of you who don't even have a yard or house plant, really can't see the point, but hear me out. All you need is a composting bin, that traps odors, amongst other things, and then start throwing your scraps away. Your compost will save thousands of pounds of waste from going into landfills, and help return much-needed nutrients to the soil. Chances are, your city has a place you can take your compost if you don't need it.

16. When You Clean, Go Green - If there is one thing all parents have in common it's that we clean up messes. Lots of them. Daily. So imagine if all of us were using two to three paper towels or disposable wipes for each mess... Scary to think about! That's like a forest a minute! (Ok, not really. Or maybe?) No, wait!  It gets worse...Various household cleaning agents can contain toxic chemicals like ammonia, phosphorus, alkylphenol ethoxylates and petroleum. So when you wash your clothes, do the dishes and even flush toilet bowl cleaner you may be sending these chemicals back into the water supply affecting the environment and wildlife too! 

If you have any tips to share, please add them in the comments below. Happy Earth Day 2018! 

This Healthy On-The-Go Breakfast + Snack Is The Ultimate Parent Hack

Did you know, you can make superfood popsicles with ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen?

It's true.

If you have yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit/greens and/or juice you have AWESOME popsicles waiting to be made. Just pull out the Dixie cups and craft sticks, then pour and freeze.

It's seriously THAT simple!

In fact, not only do I save money by making my own popsicles, I waste less too! I open the produce drawer and start grabbing the things that need to be used; spinach, kale, apples, oranges, strawberries, bananas... Then throw them in the blender with yogurt, juice or coconut water easy and healthy.



My favorite molds, and I know plenty of moms who agree, are mess free and safe for kiddos. Silicone, food grade popsicle molds with lids.

OK, now that the molds are covered, it's time to move on to the super-duper easy part, making the popsicles!

These Peanut Butter Banana Ice Pops are SO simple and great for breakfast on-the-go too! Add Peanut Butter, Bananas, honey, almond milk, vanilla extract and a pinch of Himalayan salt, then blend, pour, freeze, eat!

These Peach Smoothie Popsicles from Brit + Co are a summer staple for me. I LOVE peaches and so does the kid. Sometimes I throw in chocolate shavings for an extra sweet treat!

These layered Berry + Yogurt popsicles are super healthy and festive for Memorial Day!

Tip: To make those fancy layers pour one or two layers in at a time then freeze. Repeat.

Looking for the REAL breakfast of champions? Look no further than these Yogurt Parfait Popsicles.
Mix greek yogurt with a little honey, grab berries and granola and start layering. Add smoothie mix-ins like protein powder or superfood powder for an extra kick.

Hate throwing away leftover melon?  Puree it, then mix in a little coconut water, juice or yogurt to give it a smoother texture.

Can't be bothered to blend? Slice the fruit, stick a stick in it and freeze. Chocolate optional. (As if.)

I'm sure you get the point, Homemade Superfood Popsicles are easy and yummy. Now, go dig in the fridge and make something magical!

Check out all of my superfood and not-so-healthy favorites, including boozy Pop-tails on my Homemade Popsicle Pinterest Board!

Get my favorite molds on Amazon: They double as great on-the-go snack containers too!

                                                                 

10 Spring Super-Savers Every Parent Should Know

Being that I'm a first-time parent, I feel like each season we start over with buying new clothes and season appropriate budget busters, which sucks becuse we are a family that lives on a budget. So, I've had to get crafty. Really crafty.

Today I'm sharing seven years worth of experience 'gettin' crafty'. I present, my Top 10 Spring Super-Savers Every Parent Should Know...

1. Make a list: I learned very early that kids do not need half as much stuff as I think they do. Before my baby was born, he had enough clothes to go for a month without wearing a new outfit. Most of which, he never wore because he grew too fast! I quickly learned that I need to make a reasonable list of what I actually need each new season for my son. I cannot recommend this enough, make a list of the number of shorts, shirts, and shoes that you actually need to start the season, then buy everything one size up to leave room for a mid-season growth spurt. STICK TO THE LIST!

2. Shred those winter clothes: When it comes to outside playtime, kids get to get dirty. The last thing you want them to do is grime-up the nice new clothes splashing through spring-rain mud puddles. Go through the winter clothes and pulls the ones that have holes in the knees or tears in the sleeves and turn them into after-school and weekend shorts and tees.

3. Borrow Budget Busters: For those one-off seasonal family portraits or special occasions, you normally buy an incredibly expensive outfit your child will most likely only wear once, check out your friend's closets, first.  

4. Secondhand Staples: Children's secondhand shops/facebook groups/ Next Door... are full of clothes and everything else you need to cover an entire wardrobe for under $50. 

5. Facebook Finds: Every city has at least one Facebook mommy group that has the low-down on local clothes exchanges and lists where big family sales are taking place. To find them, ask your FB-friends if they know any great mommy groups on Facebook. I bet you'll get plenty of replies!

6. Garage Sale Heaven: Garage sales are a great place to pick up the big toys that people want to get rid of because their kid is over it and it takes up too much space. TIP: On Fridays, go to Craigslist or wherever your city list garage sales, and find ones close by. Look for multi-family sales then grab a friend and some coffee and start shopping!

7. Priced-to-Sell-FAST Retailers: I love Groupon, ZuLily, Amazon, JET, and department store 'clearance' racks that can offer well-made stuff at a huge discount. NOTE: Retailers thrive on seasonal sales and try to move merchandise like it's on a conveyor belt, which means huge clearance sales on last season stuff, so make sure to check the racks and website 'Sale' tab to pick up pants, jackets and boots two sizes too big for next season at 70-90% off.

8. Daily Deals: Did you know there are hundreds of websites that crawl the Internet daily for the best online daily deals then list them in an easy to search format so you can quickly search for items on your must-have list? My favorite is DealNews.com. SO worth checking out!

9. Grow Food For Family Health: When it comes to springtime treats and healthy fruit snacks, the budget can bust very quickly. I make smoothie-popsicles with fruit and veggies we grow! If you have a sunny spot in your yard, patio or balcony, you have a place to grow your own food. For real.  Did you know strawberries grow well in a pot? So does spinach, tomatoes, Meyer lemon and many others. TIP: Go to your local nursery and see what they have that looks good and pick TWO favorites to start - in my case, the local nursery is cheaper and the plants are healthier and hardier than big box store nurseries.

But first, know your zone and when it's safe to start an outdoor garden. (Grower's Zone).

10. Never Buy Online Without Searching For a Coupon Code AND Getting Cold Hard Cash Back For Your Purchase.  There are way too many apps and websites available today that list coupon-codes for major and small online retailers not to at least search for one. It's a simple as Googling: "The retailer's name + coupon code" (Target Coupon Code). But first, sign-up for Ebates to get a percentage in cash back for your online purchases. It's real, swear. Below is a screenshot of my Ebates account. I've had $421.09 deposited in my PayPal account over the past two-and-a-half years shopping online! MENTAL. If you've never checked out Ebates, GO NOW!

If you have any great tips, please leave a comment below, or join my Facebook discussion, here.