To all of you interested in finding green products that are REALLY organic, check out this website!! I got this in responce to todays post- and it looks like a WONDERFUL site!! Thanks Jo!!!

Green America’s National Green Pages

So, you wanna go “green”. Well it’s actually harder than we imagine. Companies dupe us daily on products that either make a claim to be organinc, or simply fool us into thinking that they are organic. It takes some research to actually get the products you WANT in your home. It shouldn’t. But the fact of the matter is, companies are constantly taking advantage of your lack of knowledge when it comes to their products. If they told us the whole truth, would we really still shell out for whatever they make? Probably not. Here is a REALLY great article sent to me by Anahita via Facebook. It nails companies like Natures Gate (even their organic products!) for not being completely honest with their ingredients and practices. I REALLY reccomend that you check out that article. It’s both enlightning and infuriating, and it may completely change the way you shop! You should also check out “Green America’s National Green Pages“, a reliable source for REAL organic products!

So what can you do? Well… besides doing some homework, you don’t have a lot of options. Here is what to look for while you are shopping.

If you are shopping for organic products, look for the USDA’s stamp of approval. Seeing this sticker means that the product in your hands has passed very strict standards put forth by the USDA for organic produtcs. These standards include not using antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, irradiation or bioengineering; they must adhere to certain soil and water conservation methods; and to rules about the humane treatment of animals.

Sounds great, right? Well, it’s better than nothing, but it’s important to remember that while the Government tells us that their organic certified products “don’t use pesticieds” that’s not the whole truth. They DO use pesticides. It’s nearly impossible for a farmer to yield enough product without it. What they MEAN is that the products that are certified organic do not use any pesticides on a list of banned substances. If you are REALLY super into going green, go here and download the PDF of banned and allowed chemicals.

Remember that “Organic” and “Natural” don’t mean the same thing. The term “organic” has to do with the practices used while farming. The term “natural” means virtually nothing. Produce, meat and dairy are natural. They grow from the earth. These days, the term “Natural” has come to mean “wholesome” and “good for you”. If you see it on fruits, veg or meats and dairy, it’s true simply due to the type of product you are looking at. If you’re looking at a box of Pop Tarts with the word “Natural” on them, think twice. They are telling you that SOME ingredient is natural… which is nearly impossible to avoid! I mean… FLOUR is made of wheat- so it’s natural!

Also, “free-range,” “cage-free,” and “hormone-free” don’t mean “organic”. Don’t assume that because birds were free-range also means that the farmer abided by the USDA’s rules for organics. Remember that these days, people almost always imply something other than or additional to what they actually said. You can’t use that habit while you are reading ingredients at the grocery store. There are four categories of “organic”, however ONLY 100% Organic products get the sticker.
•100% Organic: exactly what it says.
•Organic (95% – 100% organic): means that somewhere, some part of the “organic” process was compromised or worked around. This is usually found around produce, meat and dairy.
•Made with organic ingredients: means that the product is at least 70% organic. This is generally seen in packaged foods,
•Contains organic ingredients: means that LESS than 70% of the product is created with USDA certified ingredients or standards.

My quest to “green up” my household seems never ending. I am always buying new products, and testing out new things. I’m looking for products to permanently replace the old chemicals and toxins I’m used to using. It takes a lot of time, and there are a lot of products that fail to live up to my standards. I guess that’s part of why most Americans won’t “make the switch”. It’s difficult to find a clear cut winner in a sea of products that seem to all be missing something. You guys know that my single true victory in “greening up” has been Soap Nuts. AMAZING for laundry and great for other uses as well. For instance, I bathe my dog in it because it’s so good for your skin! I’ve showered with it myself! But it’s not enough for everything. My mission as of late has been to find a natural shampoo and conditioner to switch to.

I tried Natures Gate a few months ago. Initially I liked it, but later posted an update talking about how it eventually left my hair feeling greasy when it got wet. It was not a winner.

So, back to the grocery store “organic” section. I picked up a couple of bottles of Avalon Organics. I’ve seen these bottles around in friends showers before, so… worth a try, right? I bought the Tea Tree Scalp Treatment type. The water here in Houston is so hard that I have frequent itching on my scalp. Since I don’t have any dandruff or any other issues, I assume that it’s my hard water drying out my scalp. I have found that Tea Tree sooths the itch completely, so I like to buy shampoos with it in it.

Nice bottles, savage price. I paid nearly $9 per bottle for this stuff at the grocery store. I’m pretty sure I would shop around for prices if I’d liked it, but I didn’t.

The smell of the Tea Tree was almost overwhelming in the shampoo. I know, I know… Tea Tree is pretty stinky stuff, so I guess I can be accused of wanting to have my cake and eat it too… but yikes! There is nothing pleasant about the scent of either the shampoo or conditioner.

The shampoo leaves that waxy, greasy feeling on my hair, just like the Natures Gate did, only I’d say worse. It was more noticeable much faster. The Tea Tree in the shampoo ABSOLUTELY relieved my scalp itch. If that was the only thing I was looking for, I’d love this stuff, but it left my hair feeling so gross I couldn’t stand it. Even after it was dry, it seemed to me that there was some kind of waxy build up going on. I didn’t like it at all.

The conditioner didn’t make me feel like my hair was “getting more lustrous”. Usually when you put a conditioner on, you can feel it soak into your hair, and your hair becomes silkier. This was not the case with Avalon Organics conditioner. It slicked on and absorbed, but then my hair didn’t FEEL any better. Still that sticky, waxy residue that I’m not a fan of…

I may not be popular with this conclusion, but in my opinion, this stuff really wasn’t all that great. It left my hair heavy and without body or shine after a weeks worth of use. It also left me fighting my brush through my hair because of the waxy build-up. It made all of my hair stick together and de-tangling became a real chore. As far as I’m concerned, Avalon Organics shampoo and conditioner are NOT worth the money.

I love grocery shopping. I wear my mp3 player and take my time walking up and down the aisles of fresh fruit and veg, meat and cheeses… I don’t really enjoy the pantry section much. I love the meat section. I’m not a vegetarian. It’s totally cool if you are, but I am not, and I love looking at all the beautiful cuts of meat in the grocery store and imagining all the wonderful things I could cook with them!

Just this week, I was chatting with a friend about how a dinner of hers was kind of wrecked by the piece of meat being too fatty. I realized at that point that I really had nothing to say. There are reccomended ways to cook each cut of meat, but I don’t know what they are! I just don’t know enough to be able to REALLY plan a meal while standing there! I figure that I’m not the only one who wants to make “a nice roast” but isn’t sure if that’s best achieved with Top Round or Bottom Round. So, I decided to go ahead and share some of my homework with you.

Chuck is the shoulder of the cow, so it’s a muscle that is constantly used. That means that this piece of meat has a lot of connective tissue which melts during cooking and makes the meat extra tasty. Cuts from this area do well in slow cooking dishes. They also are great for stewing, braising or pot-roasting.

Rib is a tender cut that is full of flavor, especially when the bone is left in. Most recipes call for roasting, sautéing, pan-friend, broiled or grilled. Rib Roast or “Standing Rib Roast” are great for slicing. It can feed a lot of people or you can get your butcher to cut a small bone roast for you. Rib Steak is also cut from the same section. They can be purchased bone in or as boneless rib-eye.

The Short Loin is an area that contains very tender cuts that can be prepared quickly. Cuts from the Short Loin should be used for sautéing, pan frying, broiling, pan broiling or grilling. Porterhouse Steak is from the rear end of the Short Loin and consists of both tenderloin and sirloin tip. Often served separately as filet mignon. T-Bone Steak is cut from the middle section of the Short Loin and has a smaller piece of the tenderloin. Tenderloin is generally considered to be the most tender cut of beef and is often served with a variety of sauces. It can be cut as the whole strip or as individual steaks for filet mignon.
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