Muir Glen Organic Minestrone Review

Being eco friendly extends to your food choices. Buying locally is one way to cut down on the harmful impact to the environment, another is buying organic! A good rule of thumb is whats good for the earth is good for you!

This soup is a more eco friendly choice, its low calorie, and its good for the soul! This is the perfect sick food! This soup tastes AMAZING, I love it! The soup is suprisingly really low calorie! The soup is only 100 calories per serving and the can has two servings in it. For me I need both servings, however its alright to have both servings because for both servings its still only 200 calories!

I paid under $3.00 for the can and I'm not saying that is cheap but I am saying that this soup is really good! If you go out for lunch a lot then simply take this can instead. It will be cheaper, healthier, and better for your waistline!

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to pick up some more ;)

My latest failed grocery adventure

08/02/2013

So I was all ready to brag about how well I did on my latest grocery trip. In fact at the stores I actually thought I was doing pretty well... then I came home and started putting stuff away! "Wait is this really all I got after spending $100"? It was, and as I went to blog about my brave new choices and great finds I realized that I did even worse then I thought in terms of healthy and eco friendly options as well. You see out of that $100 only about $21 of it was used on what I would consider eco friendly products. Still not to bad if you think of it in terms of dollars, because I'm putting 21% of my grocery budget towards environmentally friendly products however that's also the percentage of environmentally friendly items I wound up with in my house and lets face it its not enough! Yes its a step forward but 4/5 of the items I'm buying are still not as good for the planet!

Of the good choices I did make I picked up some Seventh Generation body wash, that had a buy one get one free coupon attached making them $4.00 each. I also picked up some vinegar both white and apple cider for its many uses around the house! I love using the white for steam cleaning my carpets!  At the Commissary I was more daring in trying some new products like Jones All Natural Turkey Sausage (only $1), and Van's Organic blueberry waffles ($2.19)! Since I do still use paper towels occasionally for cleaning I also needed to pick up some of those so I got a 2 pack of Marcel 100% recycled content paper towels for just $2. Other than that I bought some organic produce!

This shopping trip was a fail in many ways. First off I blew my budget for the month. I budget $134 a month for groceries (including hygiene and cleaning supplies) for myself. Since I live alone while my husbands in tech school its just the $134. That means, yes you can do the math... I have approximately $34 to last me the rest of the month. $42 if I take $8 from the dog budget for the items I bought them while grocery shopping. I have $14 a week, and I didn't really buy dinner foods.

Beyond blowing my budget when I was looking over my receipts I also realized that I bought more junk food then I meant to. There are new thin mint girl scount limited time candy bars that I just had to buy 2 of, and then ding dongs cause I haven't had one of them in ages, and then dark chocolate pudding that was on clearance (who could pass up that deal?), my favorite drink was on sale 2/$4 and its normally $2.89 each! You know I rarely buy myself these yummy pocky sticks, oh and I haven't had Nesquik chocolate milk mix in years! Yeah, WAYY to much!

I did get other healthier options, it wasn't a total bust but its try try again right!? It's time for me to learn to cook more than just baked fish! I was up last night reading blogs and scouring the internet for the average grocery budget for one person and I came across several people who eat on less than my budgeted amount and that eat healthier than I do. They shop sales and shop smart, but beyond that what they all have in common is they cook! Cooking your food at home is almost always more economical and healthier than eating out or buying premade food.

So anyone out there have any cheap easy to make recipes? Shopping tips? Can you help a girl out :)

Natural Cheap Eco Friendly Dog Chew!

08/02/2013


I know, as usual, it has been way to long since my last post. Since in general I more review products or update you all on how I'm being more eco friendly I haven't had much to write about. However today I thought of something worthy of sharing. Something thats good for the environment, our wallets, and that our dogs will love: a cheap eco friendly natural dog chew.

If you have read my blog you should know that in addition to caring about the environment I care about the bottom line: money. I am an economics major and I believe in budgeting, scrimping, and saving. I don't want me or my husband to have to work harder or longer, I mean what for? I'm a more simple girl and there are many things I can do without or pay less for or find a cheaper version of!

My husband and I have two dogs. Nina and Shadow.


Well I'm definitely not taking frugality to the extreme level (anyone seen extreme couponers?) I do consider myself frugal. The one thing I don't skimp on is our dogs however. Before having seen a dog trainer for Shadow (the big one), he was ripping up his forelegs chewing them. He had a food allergy and we didn't know it until the trainer caught on (even before our vet!). She recommended we find food that the first 2 or 3 ingredients are meat or fish! Now we buy the dogs Whole Earth and Chicken Soup, its really not that much more expensive and the dogs are doing great on it! We buy Frontline Flea and Tick, yes I know not the most eco friendly. The eco friendly option I tried just really didn't work nearly as well though. We also see the vet regularly, about twice a year when the proheart and other vaccinations are due.

There are two areas in which I do save money on my dogs however and the reason you can to read this is to find a new chew toy for your dog. I came upon this by accident but my vet said it should be fine in moderation and from what I've read online other vets agree and even recommend it. It really does help with their teeth too! My dogs teeth have gotten better since the last vet visit and other people whose dogs use them say the same.

.... and the magical chew is.... COCONUT!

My dogs love both the meat of the coconut (why is it called the meat when its a fruit?) and chewing on the husk! They have has two coconuts thus far and no bad reactions at all! They shouldn't eat the husk however just play with it and chew on it so you may want to supervise the first few times you allow them a husk. If there is coconut attached to the husk then it becomes like a kong, it keeps them busy while they figure out how to eat it.

I just bought my dogs another coconut yesterday during my shopping trip for $2. I have two dogs and they probably chew on the husk at least two weeks. That means I'm paying $ .50 a week for each dog for a chew toy! Not bad right? Beyond that their chew toy is natural, eco friendly, cleans their teeth, keeps them preoccupied and out of trouble and is biodegradable. Does it get better?

What do you think? Have you tried it? Are your dogs loving the coconut as much as mine?

Update 01/07/2014

My dogs don't get AS excited about coconut as they did when we originally introduced it, still preferring rawhide to it. The coconut however lasts MUCH longer than rawhide. One piece of rawhide is gone in less than an hour with my big dog (which is an improvement to when I posted this because I'm working on teaching him to chew rather than swallow!), and the coconut they chew on for two weeks.
The coconut does a great job of cleaning their teeth, is a healthy treat, and I picked up 2 for $1 each this week, SCORE!

Organix Acai Berry Avacado Shampoo Review

07/01/2013

I first used the Cherry Blossom Ginseng Organix shampoo and after being happy with that one I decided to try another one of the Organix shampoos: Acai Berry Avacado. Well the Cherry Blossom claims to be rejuvinating the Acai is nutritional, I'm not sure what the difference between the two is supposed to be... however I think I personally prefer the scent of the Acai Berry, although they are both very pleasant.

I am one of several people who shampoo their hair everyday! This is bad for your hair and I don't recommend it having been told off by several of my hair dressers for this practice, however I do have oily hair and I can't stand to see it looking greasy so I wash it every day out of necessity. If you have oily hair like me there is hope, there is dry shampoo and if you stop shampooing every day your scalp will eventually adapt and cut back on the oil production! I haven't been able to withstand the adaptation period however...

Organix doesn't leave my hair dry whether I use conditioner in addition to the shampoo or not. My hair is also not oily, however I have noticed that some days it does seem a little flat... whether thats my cut, my hair, or the shampoo I can't say since I have been growing my hair out and that of course can change how it lays and looks!

Overall I would recommend this product. I think its a great choice and more eco friendly than regular shampoos. It is for sale at Walgreens, and you can find out more about how environmentally friendly it is by reading my earlier review of the Cherry Blossom Organix Shampoo! I plan on trying several more of the shampoos from their line. The Acai Berry Shampoo has my favorite scent in the organix line that I have smelled so far, and is giving me a good result.

You can expect a review of the Awapuhi Ginger Shampoo and Conditioner very soon! It is the next organix set that I am trying, I will also be reviewing the Cherry Blossom Ginseng Conditioner. I stocked up on a few of the shampoo and conditioners during a buy one get one free sale!