And a Merry Christmas to You, GP

My Dad informed me last night that a certain GP was so kind as to have his wife deliver a Christmas gift to my Dad for me. My parents will bring it up to Cleveland for me this weekend, so I’m yet sure what the gift is. While the from line on the gift states, “Fox News,” I am fairly certain that the benefactor of this gift is GP.

Fortunately and unfortunately, GP was not offended by my last blog entry in the slightest. My Dad tells me that while I may have won that battle, the war forges on. He says I have only thrown more fuel on GP’s fire. Yet, GP did tell me personally that he enjoys hearing both sides of the story. So I will continue to persist in hopes of swaying him eventually.

Anyway, since it seems that GP has given me a Christmas gift, I felt it appropriate to repay the favor. So I just sent him a lovely Christmas card from TerraPass, a organization that offsets carbon by sponsoring alternative power projects. The card represents a reduction of 500 pounds of CO2 – the average emissions from two week’s worth of driving.

While I had considered purchasing carbon offsetting for his vehicle for 2010, I realized that I would be broke in the end. If I wanted to offset all of GP’s vehicles (for GP is a Jay Leno in that he is the proud owner of about eight bazillion cars), I would need to take out a small loan.

But I did let GP know that he himself can purchase a yearly offset for his vehicles, and I encouraged him to do so. With the money spent on carbon offsetting, TerraPass funds three different project types: clean energy produced by wind power; farm power (which makes good use of animal wastes); and landfill gas capture (which reduces the impact of our own wastes).

So if you’re stuck looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a family member or friend, consider purchasing a TerraPass.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone – especially you, GP!

Why PG Isn’t Green & Why GP Will Never Change My Opinion

My Dad has an overly persistent friend who finds it necessary to continue to defend the “greenness” of his employer - a large, multi-national corporation. What’s amazing here is not that my Dad has a friend, nor the fact that his friend enjoys antagonizing me; it’s that his friend seems to think that by continually sharing with me some articles from the company’s corporate newsletter that I will simply roll over and buy in to this greenwashing.

I’m not here to defame the company (from here on called “PG”) or insult the friend (from here on called “GP”). However, once and for all, I want to get the facts straight and put this issue to rest.

In this blog entry, I’m going to do an in-depth examination of several products sold by “PG”. These examinations clearly demonstrate that in no way are these products healthy for humans or the environment.

Clairol Herbal Essences Shampoo: Until recently, Herbal Essences claimed to offer users an organic experience. But there is not much about this product that is herbal or organic. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, http://www.safecosmetics.org/, states that Herbal Essences products contain more than a dozen synthetic petrochemicals and has a moderate toxicity rating. As you can see in the Cosmetics Database, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/brand/Clairol/, Clairol products contain ingredients that promote cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity and more. Additionally, Clairol has NOT signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

Febreze: An Environmental Working Group, http://www.ewg.org/, study that tested over 20 cleaners used in schools in California detected hundreds of air contaminants not listed as ingredients by manufacturers. The #3 offender revealed by the study: Febreze Hawaiian Air Effects, http://www.ewg.org/schoolcleaningsupplies/results/FebrezeAirEffects, which released 89 air contaminants, the third highest of any product tested. One of the chemicals in the products is linked to cancer, another to neurotoxicity. The study also revealed that a model classroom – using three certified green products – contained far less air pollution than the same classroom using three conventional cleaners.

Swiffer: I have a personal gripe with Swiffer. Everything about the Swiffer is environmentally unfriendly. You buy some cheaply-made mop, some disposable dry cloths and – if you’re really lazy – some disposable wet clothes, and get cleaning. Use the cloth one time and throw it away. Last year, Americans threw away 83,000 tons of disposable wipes – including Swiffer clothes. The Swiffer wet cloths leaves some funky film on your floor, which then transfers onto your feet, your shoes, in your bed, etc. This product just contributes to our “disposable society.” Use it once and throw it away. However, it comes back to the Benjamins ($$$). Ultimately, the more products we use, the more money the corporation makes. So I understand why they’re in favor of one-time-use products that pile up in our landfills.

Pringles: PG itself has claimed that Pringles are not potato chips. They are “potato crisps” – well, at least that’s what PG’s tax lawyers claim, http://consumerist.com/2008/07/procter-gamble-pringles-are-not-potato-chips.html#comments-content. So let’s quit pretending that some packaged product that we can’t even call a potato chip is actually healthy for us. Additionally, Pringles have been under fire on and off for the last several years as to whether they contain ingredients that cause cancer. The fact that they are not produced using organic potatoes (meaning potatoes are exposed to pesticides) and contain corn oil, cottonseed oil and sunflower oil (promote inflammation, which can lead to cancer) means that everything about them is not healthy for humans or the environment.

So GP, I will never will see it the way you do. You can keep sending me those happy corporate stories about how great your company is, but ultimately it is flawed – and humans and the environment are paying the price.

Why You Should Read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver

Selecting a copy of “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” (AVM) from an airport bookstore was serendipity. I was on my way to Phoenix for a conference and was just browsing before my flight. I had no intention of buying a book – I had a new one from the library in my satchel – but AVM called out to me. It only took one page in before I knew it was the right selection.

The premise of the book is Barbara Kingsolver (author of the Poisonwood Bible among others) and her family move from Phoenix to Appalachia and begin a quest to eat locally for one year. What they purchase that is not locally grown is minimal – think coffee, etc. They will grow all their own produce and make bread from local grain, dairy from local cows, etc.

It took me but one chapter before I had a list of about 10 names of people who I would recommend read this book. Now I’m almost finished with it, I can't think of very many people who wouldn't benefit from reading it.

Whether you’re a self-proclaimed greenie like me, or you’re looking to make simple changes to feel better about yourself and the world in which we live, this book will apply to you.

Here are “Green Kristine’s Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Read AVM”:
1. Find out how you can ethically, morally consume meat without feeling guilty
2. Find out why America as a society is becoming obese
3. Learn about the benefits of growing your own food

4. Find out why desert living isn't all it's cracked out to be
5. Learn simple ways to support your local economy
6. Read about adventures in cheese-making, Amish farmers and more
7. Find out why you should never eat tomatoes in February (unless you live in the South)
8. Learn how to eat local year-round
9. Pick up some simple recipes for seasonal cooking
10. Gather a list of countless resources to help you make some small changes

Have you read AVM? What did you think about the book? Share your thoughts below!

Sharing the Love for Green

Around my office, I’ve earned a reputation for being green. Sometimes I think I startle coworkers when I unexplainably grab pop bottles out of the trash to take to the recycling bin. Others have also had the misfortune of throwing away a pop bottle or piece of paper in front of me. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, so you can imagine the horror on my face when this transpires in front of me.

Because I think that these actions ultimately cause some coworkers to feel guilty, they often feel compelled to rationalize their actions: “It’s just a habit to throw paper away.” “I recycle at home, but I hate walking down to the kitchen at work just to recycle a plastic bottle.” Etcetera, etcetera.

While for some time I’ve been leading by example, I’ve decided that it’s time to ramp up my efforts around here. I started today by finding an empty box and donating it to a good-intentioned coworker for her personal paper recycling. I have the same system at my desk. I throw paper into it daily, and when it gets full, I carry it down to the recycling bin to empty it.

While I realize that this is just a small step, I hope that I can continue to impact changes like this throughout my office. Even if that means collecting boxes and distributing them to each and every coworker for their personal paper recycling.

How Does My Garden Grow?

This summer, I’ve been especially amazed by the size of the veggies from my garden. A 5.5 pound zucchini named Mammoth takes the cake, but I’ve also picked several other zucchini nearly the same size and huge tomatoes as well.

Normally when I see very large food items – think extra large chicken breasts, apples the size of melons – I’m turned off. That commercial chicken was probably injected with steroids and antibiotics, and the apples may have been grown in fertilizer-enhanced soil and sprayed with pesticides. All these things are very unhealthy and completely unnatural.

But I credit the large items growing in my garden to composting. I’ve talked about composting before, but I must reference the importance and simplicity of composting again, as I’ve seen its benefits of late. Composting is the most natural way to get important minerals and vitamins back into the soil. It’s especially important if you use the same patch of land for your garden year after year.

Composting it’s also nature’s way of recycling. Before I learned any better, I figured that food scraps tossed into my regular kitchen trash bag would just disintegrate at the landfill. But because the food is locked into a trash bag and crammed into a heaping pile with other trash, it pretty much just sits there…for a long time. (And to be honest, thinking about everything in a trash bag disintegrating back into the ground really freaks me out.)

I’ve had people ask me – is it better to throw produce scraps away or put them down the garbage disposal? My answer: Neither. Start a compost pile and send those nutrients back into the earth. Spread the compost in garden and around your flower beds in the fall. Give the earth a little something back for all its given you!

How to Eat Local Year-Round

In my last blog entry, I mentioned the benefits of eating locally grown produce. I failed to mention that eating locally grown foods in general is best – this includes dairy, meat, etc. The less distance food has to travel from the source to your plate, the better for you and the environment.

Anyway, back to the point of this entry: How can I eat locally grown foods year-round? My answer…Learn to love your freezer!

Now that our garden is in full swing, our freezer is growing crowded by the day.

Here are some things I’ve prepared and frozen:
- tray of roasted vegetable lasagna (veggie from the garden, tomatoes used to make sauce)
- pesto (basil from the garden, other herbs from CSA)
- eggplant, breaded and fried, for parmesan
- tomato sauce
- zucchini bread
- blueberries (picked in August)
- strawberries (picked in June)

I have to admit that I’ve spent many nights this summer prepping and cooking these veggies for consumption either now or this winter. In fact, I mentioned to Dan recently that in our next house, I want a great view out of the window over my kitchen sink because I feel like all I do anymore is clean dishes and stare out that window.

While the amount of veggies we sometimes have seems overwhelming, I’ve decided to freeze whatever can’t be used now. (I’ve also tried pickling, but I’ve failed miserably two years in a row. More to come on this topic…)

Like I said in the last blog entry – while you may not have a large garden or may not be a member of a CSA, take advantage of fresh, seasonal produce. Purchase extra seasonal fruit and veggies now, and freeze them for consumption during the winter months. I promise that while it might seem a pain to do double the prepping and cooking now, you’ll be happy you did it come winter.

Feeling Good about Eating (Very) Local

Last night as Dan and I sat eating our halloumi kabobs for dinner, I realized that every vegetable on our plate came directly from our own garden. The only items on the plate that weren’t grown in our backyard were the halloumi cheese and couscous.

I’m proud to admit that on the majority of nights in our house this summer, most of the food we’ve eaten has been grown in our backyard or on a farm nearby. While we have a large garden ourselves, we’re also members of a community supported agriculture (CSA) initiative, Lakewood Earth and Food (LEAF) Community.

To show you how it can be done, here's our menu from this week:
Monday – Calzones (sauce made from tomatoes from the garden); salads (tomatoes, cucumbers from our garden; lettuce from CSA)
Tuesday – summer squash gratin (zucchini, yellow squash, tomato and basil from our garden); small baguette
Wednesday – roasted vegetable and black enchiladas (peppers, zucchini and squash from our garden)
Thursday – halloumi kabobs (zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes from our garden)

Eating locally grown foods has wonderful benefits. Here are a few:
It’s good for the soul: For me, working in the soil is relaxing, refreshing and stress-reducing.
It’s better for your health: Local vegetables are picked at the peak of ripeness, meaning your body receives the most nutrients available. When veggies are picked under-ripe and transported hundreds of thousands of miles, they don’t have a chance to naturally develop the best nutrients your body needs.
It tastes better: You decide which tastes better - a tomato picked off the vine on a hot August day and served for dinner that night vs. a tomato covered in some waxy film that has been touched by hundreds at a large, chain grocery store.

While we all don’t have the chance to eat locally every night of the week, I urge you to take advantage of local produce during the summer. Go pick berries with your friends and family, take a trip to your local Farmer’s Market; buy the locally grown produce available in your grocery store. Give it a try and see if you feel better – physically and mentally – about the choices you’ve made.

What I did with Mammoth...

Mammoth was a large zucchini (If you have no idea what "Mammoth" is, scroll down to the last posting). To think that there are others like it in my garden scares me. But my challenge this past weekend was to cook that son of a gun, and I was (mostly) successful.


Here are the zucchini recipes from this weekend:


Blueberry-Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups white sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used all whole wheat, it's much more filling)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 pint fresh blueberries
Handfull of chocolate chips

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans. Top with chocolate chips.
3. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.


Stuffed Zucchini (an original - so simple and delicious!)

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, slices in half, cored
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup Boca crumbles or ground turkey
1 onion and 2 cloves garlic, sauteed in olive oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix 1 cup tomato sauce, boca crumbles, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and parm in a bowl.
Place zucchini in pan. Stuff with mixture. Top with tomato sauce.
Bake for 45 minutes.


I also made roasted vegetable lasagna, but I really don't feel like explaining the recipe since it's pretty long. But here's one that's pretty similar.


All this cooking and I still had some zucchini left. I ended up putting it into the compost pile because it had lots of seeds at the end and was pretty tough. I guess my sister Ashlee was right - I shouldn't let my vegetables get so big. But anyone else who has a garden knows that once the vegetables start coming, it's hard to keep up with them.

Is That a Zucchini in Your Garden (Or Are You Just Happy to See Me)?

Knock, knock...who's there? It's me - Green Kristine. I know it's been a long time, and there may not be anyone left reading my blog. I completely understand. I hate when blogs are sporadic - it's very frustrating.

But I now have two topics on which I must blog. Get ready for a comeback!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a avid gardener. In fact, it's one of my biggest sources of happiness and stress relief. Some days I just sit on our porch staring at my garden. It's amazing how from something so small as a seed, such wonderful things are produced.

Anyway, I was out in the garden yesterday for my daily harvest, and I stumbled upon what I thought was a dead animal. To my amazement and surprise, it was the biggest zucchini I've ever seen - 5.5 pounds to be exact.

While some say that my garden does wonderfuly well because of dog pee, Morris and Zoe are not peeing in the garden. I like to think it's just a little extra TLC that keeps my garden growing - including lots of watering, composting and regular attention.

"Mammoth" will be turned into a wonderful dinner of stuffed zucchini Sunday night.

And check back next week for the recipe and, who knows, I may have a new posting up by then.

I'm a Member of the "Soda Club"

I receive lots of emails from National Geographic green list, local greeny orgs, etc. One email promoted a product called "Soda Club." The Soda Club is a home seltzer and soda machine. The biggest benefit that I see, aside from a money savings - about which I'm still skeptical, is the green aspect.

My husband Dan and I drink tons of soda water, seltzer, carbonated water. While we recycle these bottles, their life is pretty short. With Soda Club, we'll be able to reuse our bottles at home and work. That ultimately means less waste. And less production of plastic means less burning of fossil fuels, less chance of plastic contaminating the water stream and so on.

So I urge you to check out Soda Club. My friend Kelly is a proud owner and also can attest to the joy it's brought to her life ;)

Green Nay Sayers: I Don't Get 'Em

Cleveland Clinic - my employer - is a founding member of a new organization, The Cleveland Carbon Fund, which hopes to reduce carbon emissions in Cleveland. Unlike most carbon-emission offsetting companies, Terra Pass, etc., The Cleveland Carbon Fund will use donations to invest in local carbon reduction projects - such as planting trees, switching out traditional light bulbs for CFLs, etc.

The new organization was announced in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's newspaper. While comments to news stories tend to be about 60 percent negative, I swear that Clevelanders are 99 percent negative (it may have something to do with our weather!)

The story about The Cleveland Carbon Fund was just posted this morning, http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/community_carbon_reduction_fun.html, so only three comments have come in. However, all three are from nay sayers of the green movement. I've mentioned before that I'm a self-proclaimed greenie; however, I'm no extremist. The Carbon Fund isn't taxing organizations or communities for polluting. Rather, it's giving our community and beyond the option to donate to a great cause.

If these nay sayers had the opportunity to see new trees go up in their neighborhoods, or were given free CFLs or free home weatherization, I bet they would suddenly have a change in heart. (Well, except for those who probably drive Hummers, and have never recycled a thing.)

My point is that everyone is passionate about something. What's so bad about a group of people coming together for the betterment of the environment? We're not forcing our beliefs on you, so keep your negative opinions to yourself.

Oberlin College a Green Leader

Oberlin College is know nationally (and possibly internationally) as a green leader. It's Center for Environment Studies (left) is an amazing - and georgous - building that operates on three fundamental principles of nature:

- waste equals food

- use current solar income

- respect diversity.

Building designer William McDonough led a workshop that I attended at Cleveland Clinic last year and presented this building as a best practice in green facilities.

From what I've read, the key to Oberlin College's success is its students. They are committed to making a positive impact on the environment. For example, the SEED House (Student Experiment in Ecological Design) is the home to eight sudents to strive to be environmentally conscious by using vermicomposting, timing their showers, sharing refrigerators and more.

The New York Times wrote a wonderful story and video about the house. To read the story, click here.

To find out how you can adopt some of the practices in use by the SEED House, click here.

A Halloween Tip: Reduce "Vampire" Electronic Waste

Appliances, cell-phone chargers and electronics consume energy even when they’re not in use. This flaw has earned these items the nickname “vampire” sources, because they are believed to contribute to as much as 10 percent of a household’s energy use. And not only does this wasted energy cost you money, but it contributes to our pollution problem. Unplugging items that are not in use is the best way to control this unnecessary waste and cut costs. New “smart” power strips on the market also help reduce energy waste via a variety of techniques, but ultimately, your electronics turn on when they’re needed and don’t use energy when they’re turned off.

Find out more at http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/smart_power_str.php

**This tip is produced as part of my role as a member of Cleveland Clinic's Office for a Healthy Environment. As the editor of our weekly newsletter for employees, I often include information about our Office for a Healthy Environment. I'm also a member of our green team, which is working to make healthy changes for our employees, patients and environment.

The Tragedy that is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"

Texas - it's a pretty big state, right? The second largest in the United States and the equivalent size of the country Spain.

Imagine a floating mass of plastic trash twice the size of Texas. Unfortunately this isn't a hypothetical - it's what has been named the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The enormous stew of trash - which consists of 80 percent plastics and weighs about 3.5 million tons, say oceanographers - floats where few people ever travel, between San Francisco and Hawaii. Plastic is the main contributor and most commonly ends up in the garbage patch one of two ways: litter on land goes down a sewer and ends up in the water stream; or, boats dumping into the ocean.

As you can imagine, the impact on marine species is devastating. Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish. Birds swoop down and swallow indigestible shards of plastic. The petroleum-based plastics take decades to break down, and as long as they float on the ocean's surface, they can appear as feeding grounds. Animals die when plastic fills their stomach, and Greenpeace found that at least 267 marine species suffer from ingestion or entanglement with marine debris.

As our marine ecosystem continues to become more frail and more species are added to the endangered list each day, we must work to end plastic and other trash from finding its final resting place in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Unfortunately, in a story I read, experts say that there's not much they can do it clean the mass up. What's there now will stay there till it biodegrades - releasing toxic chemicals into the ocean, creating a toxic sludge.

But, environmentalists say that there are ways to prevent more trash from causing the garbage patch to grow:

- Use a reusable shopping bag when possible, and limit your use of plastic bags.

- Take trash with you when you leave the beach.

- Buy products in bulk to reduce packaging.

- Use reusable containers and drinking bottles whenever possible.

- Most obvious: DON'T LITTER; DO RECYCLE!

To find out more, visit http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/

Time to Brag...

My parents are huge fans of gardening, and I picked up the green thumb when I moved out on my own. Last year's garden was in a different location. This year's garden is in the place of the above-ground pool our house had when we moved in. After lots of TLC, the soil turned out great. We added top soil, contents from our compost pile and nearly 20 bags of manure (my Dad did that part!)

Below are pics of the garden and our first crop from a few weeks ago. The garden is in full swing now. Last night I canned about 30 Hungarian hot peppers. We also have eggplant; green, yellow and red bell peppers; zucchini; cucumbers; butternut squash; green beans; and TONS of tomatoes (we have about 30 tomato plants).

This is Morris (on the left) and Zoe, our new dogs. They are too cute for words, so I needed to upload a picture of them, too!

An Answer to the Great Phone Book Question

I've wondering for years why there are separate phone book recycling centers and phone book round-up days. Did you know that you can't recycle phone books with regular paper recycling? Neither did I!

According to one of my favorite green websites, http://www.earth911.com/ : Make sure you keep phone books separate from other paper recycling, because these books have shorter fibers and are recycled differently than the rest of your paper. You don’t want to contaminate your recycling by mixing them together.

I had no idea. For years, I've been contaminating my recycling. Now I know - and you know, too.

Is it Time to Moo-ve Over to Organic Beef and Dairy?

I don't know about you, but salmonella, E. coli and mad cow disease freak me out! I don't eat beef (and haven't for more than 10 years), but I often get asked about buying organic beef and dairy products.

I've done some research, and here are some highlights on all things cow:
- Buying organic beef eliminates mad cow disease, which is a result of cows eating other cows. The disease causes brain damage and nervous system damage in cows and can be transmitted to humans.
- Organic beef and dairy are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Animals raised organically are not allowed to be fed antibiotics, the bovine human growth hormone (rbGH), or other artificial drugs. The animals are raised in a healthier environment, fed organic feed and often eat a wider range of nutrients than those raised in factory farms.
- You CAN buy non-organic beef and dairy products that are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Just check the packaging.
- Free-range and pasture-grazing animals are treated more ethically. Again, if you don't care about the treatment of animals, this may not be important to you. However, animals that live a more natural lifestyle and aren't cooped up in cages or pens are healthier. You're eating them. You decide if you want to put an unhealthy animal into your body.

So what's the verdict? Risk of mad cow or E. coli is probably low in both organic and conventional meat. Organic may be worth buying if you are concerned about antibiotic use. If you are concerned about growth hormones, there may be cheaper alternatives to organic - read the label.

Rising Gas Price Are Fine By Me...

I was talking with a nameless family member last week who voiced his dismay over rising gas prices. Although I wanted to tell him he had no one to blame but himself for voting for "W," who has sent our economy into the crapper and is spending billions of dollars on a so-called war - I took the green approach.

"I love rising gas prices," I said.
"What? Are you kidding me?" he said.
"Nope," I said. "Think about what rising gas prices mean. Less Hummers, less yachts; more high-mileage compact cars and more public transportation."

I read a statistic today today saying that Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles in May of 2008 when compared to the same month last year. 11 billion fewer miles! And all because of rising fuel costs.

You know, the little things we do each day - composting, using canvas shopping bags and reusable coffee cups - help. But really, we need big changes.

If you'd like to voice your opinion and stand up to make a difference, visit http://www.wecansolveit.org. Become a more-informed citizen and take action.

An Intro to the gDiaper

So one of my good work buddies, Jackie, is pregnant with twin girls! She's due in a couple of months and is having the moral dilemna of sending thousands of diapers to the landfill. Although I've never used the gDiaper (since I don't have kids), I've heard others rave about it.

The concept is simple - gDiapers consist of a washable, cotton outer layer and a plastic-free flushable insert. The outer layer is made of washable material, and the inner layer can be flushed down the toilet.

To watch a video on the gDiaper or learn more, visit http://www.gdiapers.com/. If you use the gDiaper, let us know what you think.

Organics You Should Purchase

Now that you know how to save money on foods that you don't need to purchase organically, here's a list of organic foods you should purchase:

1. Tomatoes 6. Celery

2. Potatoes 7. Peppers

3. Grapes 8. Apples

4. Lettuce 9. Peaches

5. Strawberries 10. Pears

Most of these fruits and veggies have thin skin that is easily punctured and doesn't act as a barrier. Can't afford to purchase all these items organically? Purchase one organic item from this list and one regular item from the list below. Swap out items in recipes and be inventive!