4 Organic Health Food Choices that Save Money and Keep you Healthy

Going vegetarian can be tough. One reason that many people aren’t able to stick with a vegetarian diet is because it can be difficult for new vegetarians to find foods that are as nutrient-dense as most meats and cheeses. Worries about iron deficiencies can be put to rest, though, when you try cooking with these four exotic organic health food alternatives. With a little adjustment, you’ll end up healthier than ever.

Agar

Agar is a jelly that’s extracted from seaweed. OK, we know that doesn’t sound like the most appealing substance. But lucky for us, agar’s primary use as an organic health food is as a thickening agent. Think you can’t make great cakes or bread without shortening and eggs? Try agar organic health food. It’s also low in saturated fat and cholesterol and the organic health food packs plenty of iron, calcium and potassium.

Quinoa

Tired of  rice and couscous? Quinoa is a hearty little grain and a great organic health food. It’s actually higher in calcium, iron and zinc that most other grains. Check out this recipe for easy vegetable curry and discover just how tasty quinoa can be.

Adzuki beans

These reddish-brown beans look a bit like kidney beans. But they’re sweeter and have extremely high protein and surprisingly low levels of fat. Also like kidney beans, this organic health food choice is versatile. Use them in soups, dips or casseroles.

Almond butter

Worried about the safety of your peanut butter? Then maybe it’s time to switch to almond butter. Your body will thank you, too. Like almonds, almond butter is high in vitamin E and has been proven to lower cholesterol. Spread it on toast or use it in healthy and tasty cookies and other baked goods.

Be Beautiful and Green with All Natural Beauty Products

What is the real price for beauty in the 21^st century? It seems while many women are open to recycling , many admit they do not do other things to reduce waste. In fact, 77 percent of women, according to an O.B. survey in April 2008, say they do not help reduce waste, thus contribute more to our ever-increasing problem – trash & toxins.

Being beautiful can also be green by using all natural beauty products, reducing the amount you use every day and selecting recyclable packaging.

Use All Natural Beauty Products to Green your Daily Beauty Regime

• EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream sells for about $5.50 at most drugstores or on drugstore.com. It comes in an aerosol-free container and recyclable plastic. This green packaging helps reduce waste in the landfills, if recycled properly, and in our air.

• Alterna Hemp with Organics Repair Shampoo sell for $23 on 4alterna.com. An all natural beauty product that is free from sulfates; contains certified organic botanicals and organic hemp seed oil.

• Origins Organics Body Pampering Massage Oil is available for $30 on origins.com. Origins all natural beauty products pride themselves on using certified organic ingredients and recycled/recyclable packaging. This massage oil is packaged in recyclable glass.

• Cargo Cosmetics’ Plant Love Lipsticks sells for $20 on cargoplantlove.com. An all natural beauty product and its package can be planted in soil where it will sprout wildflowers. Look for other packaging that contains seeds to plant as well. The lipstick tube is made of corn, which is better than those non-recyclable plastic tubes.

When looking for all natural beauty products, choose ones that have less ingredients and words such as “organic, certified, and all natural.” You will feel better when you use all natural beauty products both for the earth and for yourself.

Organic Body and Natural Skin Care Products May Contain Harmful Chemicals

Are all organic body and natural skin care products created equally? One would think so. However, the term “organic” doesn’t have the same guidelines for non food products. Most often you will pay a premium for organic body products, so you might as well be paying for ingredients that are known for not being harmful.

Here a few tips to determine whether organic natural skin care products are worth the premium price:

• Consumers buy organic natural skin care products to reduce their exposure to dangerous pesticides and additives
• Manufacturers can have an “Organic” seal of approval without actual approval status. Beware of marketing misnomers including  ”natural,” “botanical” and even “organic” because government agencies are not monitoring its use.
• Look for such ingredients from these 4 chemical families - phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks, which according to the Environmental Working Group  (EWG) pose potential health effects including cancer and hormone disruption in adolescent girls.

The National Geographic Green Guide authors have identified 12 chemical ingredients or the “Dirty Dozen” to avoid in cosmetics and other personal-care products:

• Antibacterials
• Coal tar – found in anti-dandruff shampoos and toothpaste
• DEA – or diethanolamine which is very harmful and should not be found in products labeled as “organic body products”
• Dioxane -  Look for ingredients expressed as “PEG,” “-xynol,” “ceteareth,” and “oleth”
• Formaldehyde
• Fragrance  
• Lead and mercury
• Nanoparticles - Look for product labels that advertise “free of nanoparticle-size ingredients”
• Parabens - Look for ingredients on labels that have  methyl-, ethyl,  propyl-, butyl- prefixes and isobutylparaben.
• Petroleum distillates
• PPD
• Hydroquinone

The Green Guide advises consumers to keep this list as you shop for organic and natural skin care products, so you know which products to avoid and keep you and family safe from harmful toxins. Read more about the harmful effects of each chemical ingredient at the Environment Working Group’s Website.

If you are still concerned which of personal care items are deemed organic body products, then try the Natural Products Association site at http://www.naturalproductsassoc.org. They established a certification program that defines “natural” and uses a seal to designate skin and hair products that meet the standards. Certified products must be made from at least 95 percent nonsynthetic ingredients.

What Do Natural Pet Food Products Offer Over Traditional Pet Chow?

If you have a dog, then you probably know that they are prone to ingest just about anything edible (and even a few things that are inedible). And since your best friend doesn’t seem to care what he or she devours, you may not think that what goes into their pet food is all that important either.

But it could be. Because just as more and more consumers are becoming concerned about what goes into the food that they eat, so too, they are focusing on what goes into their pet’s food. So it’s no surprise that healthy, organic and natural pet food has grown in popularity. Natural pet food products are now found in both natural and mainstream grocery stores.

Since most natural pet food products are made in the United States, with ingredients from the U.S., natural pet food products give consumers peace of mind—as many still remember the scare caused by contaminated pet food that originated in China. In addition, most natural pet food products contain corn or gluten.

Natural pet food products stamped with the USDA’s National Organic Program has the same requirements as people food—there are no different regulations. Which means buying natural pet food products will decrease the chance your dog or cat will absorb pesticides and other contaminants.

A recent reported by the Environmental Working Group stated that dogs and cats’ bodies contain higher levels of industrial chemicals than humans’ bodies. The jury is still out on how damaging such chemicals are, but scientists think that exposure to these chemicals may be the cause of increased hyperthyroidism in pets. So if you want to make sure your cat or dog is getting the best victuals for his or her body, then natural pet food products are the way to go.