Yummy in salad and good for way more than you may think! Solve some common little problems with this amazing vegetable (…or is it a fruit??)

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber.  Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long.  The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite.  Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8.. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes?  Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge?  Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean. Or use Gentle Earth Stainless Steel Cleaner for clean and polished stainless stee

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Thank you to The New York Times for their informative “Spotlight on the Home” series

Moms against climate change is about taking action, it is about joining a community of women, it is about our children and it is about our future.

Upload a picture of your child with concerned moms in Canada and let the government know how important your child’s future is.

http://www.takeactiononclimatechange.com/

In Canada? In BC? On Vancouver Island?

Nope…that is how many plastic bags THREE Thrify Foods Grocery Stores went through in a year. Three Stores! Astonishing.

So folks, that’s why they decided to switch to paper bags. Now, of course there is some controversy on the use of paper bags, but I’d say it is a step in the right direction to reducing our plastic consumption.

Most importantly, this move is raising awareness about the outlandish amount of plastic we go through in a year, and  also solidifying the greater commitment by individuals and corporations to respect the environment and make changes happen.

So Kudos to Thrifty’s.

The best part is that now I am starting to see more and more people shopping with their own reusable bags…now that most of us can remember to take them out of the car!

List of ten little hazards that may be hiding under your kitchen sink. Some of just a few toxic ingredients in common cleaners.

These have been associated with hormone disruption, cancer, organ damage and tissue damages. All “Not Good” things.

• fragrance (if it is not essential oils, that “nice smell” is probably fragrance, or in other words, a toxic VOC)
• benzene
• toluene
• ethylebenzene
• xylene
• methanol
• bleach/sodium hypochlorite
• formaldehyde
• naphthalene
• phosphoric acid

Take this list, Print it off, stick it to somewhere! Then clear this stuff out of your cupboard. There are great natural alternatives out there - Stock up now

Take a peek at the Environmental Defence Canada website at www.environmentaldefence.ca for more details on toxic cleaning product ingredients, and what to watch for.

Or rather, spices are the antioxidants of life perhaps.

Surprise! Some spices have the same level of antioxidants as blueberries, pomegranate juice or tomatoes.

Here’s the facts

• 1 tsp of Cinnamon contains as many antioxidants as 1/2 cup of blueberries or 1 cup of pomegranate juice…so add some to your oatmeal, toast or muffin batter.
• 1 tsp Oregano contains as many antioxidants as 1 cup of red grapes
• 1 tsp of Thyme contains the same amount of antioxidants as 1 carrot or 1/2 cup of tomatoes

So make spices an integral part of your meal planning and up the antioxidants in your diet.

*Source: Nutrient Data Laborator USDA Nov 07, Centre for Phytochemistry and Pharmacology, Southern Cross University, Australia.

Enjoy a happy, healthy New Year full of life, love and laughter.

Enjoy the holidays, and make them eco-friendly for all your family & friends with these simple tips.

1. Holiday Glow - Use soy or beeswax candles. Longer lasting and are cleaner and more gentle on the environment. Beautiful and fragrant too. And use LED lights for your tree!

2. Holiday Scents - Avoid chemically based air fresheners and scented candles. Simmer some cinnamon sticks in water on the stove or use essential oils. Better yet…bake some gingerbread!

3. Holiday Wrapping - Get creative. Recycle old wrapping paper, use comic strips from the newspaper, paper grocery bags and ribbon, sheet music or colourful pages from magazines. Never can go wrong with reusable shopping bags!

4. Holiday Décor - Add natural elements to your place settings and arrangements. Pinecones, smooth stones for place cards, or locally made wreaths and living trees to be planted later.

5. Holiday Feast - Make just enough. Avoid waste by making and buying no more than you need. And if you end up with leftovers - send them home with your guests. Better yet, send them home with reusable containers! Save up those glass jars to share your feast.

May Your Holiday Season Be Full of Laughter, Light & Happiness.

ENJOY A GENTLE EARTH HOLIDAY

Facts from Food, Inc.

• In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today, the top four control more than 80% of the market.
• In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold. Today, we have only 13.
• In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E.coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.
• In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
• During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former executive VP of the National Food Processors Association.
• During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington.
• Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange.
• In 1996 when it introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, Monsanto controlled only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented gene.
• Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976 to 1979. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents.
• The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year.
• 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
• The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year.
• 30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn
• The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products, the majority of which is being produced by only a handful of food companies.
• 70% of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient.
• SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law.
• Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food.
• Corn, which is the main ingredient in animal feed, is also used as a food additive. Those products commonly include: Cellulose, Xylitol, Maltodextrin, Ethylene, Gluten, Fibersol-2, Citrus Cloud Emulsion, Inosital, Fructose, Calcium Stearate, Saccharin, Sucrose, Sorbital, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Di-glycerides, Semolina, Sorbic Acid, Alpha Tocopherol, Ethyl Lactate, Polydextrose, Xantham Gum, White Vinegar, Ethel Acetate, Fumaric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Baking Powder, Zein, Vanilla Extract, Margarine, and Starch.
• 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.
• E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America, whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000 people sickened from the E. coli virus.
• Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually.

A movie that EVERYONE needs to watch and recommend to 5 friends (and all facebook fans and twitter followers!)

How much do we really know about the food we buy from our local grocery store?

The film is startling and informative without being pushy. Important, not to mention engaging, shocking, intriguing and upsetting, documentary on what is going on behind the scenes with our food supply.

Each piece of the puzzle is meticulously put into place…from genetically modified food (GMO’s) and the Monsanto seed patrol, the true source of e-coli poisoning and the easy way to stop it (let the cows eat grass!) , to the root of obesity and the impact of this current system on our health, the economy, the planet, and our future.

Grab some popcorn with buttery goodness, throw on the movie, and become informed…then take a peek at your popcorn bag…Is this GMO corn???

We can make a difference with every bite.

To watch the trailer, click here

Film Overview:

In the movie Food, Inc., the veil is lifted on the food industry to expose the highly mechanized system hidden by the government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. These facts have been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of government and pressure from corporations. Filmmaker Robert Kennedy reveals how the nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, how GMO’s have entered our food supply, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.

We now see great things at the supermarket without a second thought - big chicken breasts, tomatoes that don’t go bad, perfect pork chops, and herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, but unknown to some of us, and painful reminders to others, we also have new strains of E. coli-the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.

Society is now riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising-and often shocking truths-about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Read the press release: CLICK HERE

Chemical products at home and at work.

Here are just a few of the numbers we found interesting…

• 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30 percent of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.
• 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average  home, which equates to roughly 40 litres of harmful chemicals.
• 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.
• 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.
• 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.
• 23: the average gallons of chemicals (that’s 87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25 percent of which are hazardous.