Shppers Guide to Pesticides

The Environmental Working Group has released their free guide to helping you choose the best produce options.  Spend your dollars frugally without sacrificing the health of your family.  Find out about the dirty dozen.  You can even download an APP for your iphone.

Simple rule of thumb is that the thinner the skin (like a strawberry) the more important it is to find organic options.

Grinning Planet also has some great color coded charts.

Time to Skip A Week of Lawn Watering

Overwatering in winter can encourage pests and disease

The Southwest Florida Water Management District recently launched a new campaign to encourage residents who irrigate their lawns to "Skip a Week" of watering during the cooler months of December, January and February. 

According to research by the University of Florida, grass doesn't need to be watered as often during the cooler months. In fact, one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water every 10–14 days is sufficient.

“Over-watering in the winter can encourage pests and disease in your lawn," said Sylvia Durell, Florida-friendly landscaping project manager. Skipping a week of watering is as easy as “off” for residents with irrigation timers. “Turn the timer to ‘off’ for the week that you want to skip, and ‘on’ for the week that you want to water,” said Durell. 

Homeowners can determine when their grass needs water when:

·      Grass blades are folded in half lengthwise on 30 percent of the lawn 

·      Grass blades are blue-gray 

·      Footprints remain on the lawn for several minutes after walking on it

Skipping a week of irrigation will help conserve drinking water supplies. Following the “Skip a Week” plan saves water that the public needs for other critical uses during the dry season.

In addition to entering the dry season, the region is experiencing the effects of a four-year drought. All 16 counties within the District are under one-day-per-week lawn watering restrictions through the end of February.

For more water conservation tips, information about the drought and the current water restrictions, please visit the District's web site at WaterMatters.

Greening Up Your Halloween

Candy, costumes, and lots of excess stuff.  A fun family tradition for some but why not try to green up your tricks and upgrade your treats.

For starters, think about handing out something other than sugar- try stickers, crayons, or healthier snacks like trail mix.  If you can't resist the temptation to hand out something sweet, try Bug Bites  organic chocolates by Endangered Species, fruit roll-ups from Stretch Island, peanut butter cups by Sunspire or fun pops from College Farm.

For costumes how about making one from recycled materials  or check out your local thrift store for something slightly used.

For more tips check out Green Halloween for simple steps for a Hallow-green.

Veg Fest 2009

Orlando- Central Florida Veg Fest, now in its 4th year, will take place Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 10:00am-6:00pm at Loch Haven Park in Orlando, Florida. Veg Fest is an annual festival that educates attendees about a plant-based lifestyle, and one of sustainability, encompassing health and wellness. The event provides a diverse cross-section of vegetarian cuisine and lifestyle, featuring products and services from over 200 vendors. 

 

Vegetarians of Central Florida (VegCF) is the founding organization behind Central Florida Veg Fest. This organization is rapidly growing and is comprised of over 1000 members.  Though the goal of VegCF is to encourage and support vegetarians and vegans of Central Florida, they also welcome omnivores seeking the community’s vegetarian options to supplement their current lifestyle.

 

Veg Fest will feature speakers, popular bands and entertainment throughout the day.  Visitors are encouraged to bring their children, dogs and an appetite for the many fresh food vendors at this event.

 

Sponsors for Central Florida Veg Fest 2009 include Vegetarians of Central Florida, Aeon Blu, Sustainable Synergy, Simply Well, The Girls Gone Green, Larabar, Infusion Tea, Dandelion Communitea Café, Pizza Fusion and Z-Coffee. 

 

Admission to Veg Fest is Free!   The event will be a smoke free, family-friendly, casual environment.  For more information, visitwww.CFVegFest.org. 

TV Show Updates

A Greener Life with The Health Chic airs this October on WHDO TV.  If you don't get WHDO, please call your cable provider and ask them to carry it.  Standard policy for cable companies is to log every call, they will verify that you are a current subscriber.  It's a numbers game, the more requests the better our chances.

We've shot 7 episodes so far and have covered topics from aromatherapy to earthworms.  Jeff Barrett is in the photo above that he took after our episode about eco-paint.  Julie Watkins from the Girls Gone Green Radio show drove down from Jacksonville for a special guest appearance on hosting eco-parties.  Plus tons of stuff about food- slow food, raw food, sustainable seafood, and more- the show has been a gastro-delight!  Stay tuned for more updates!

The Make-up Scene in Hi-Def

Preparation for my new tv show, Living Green With The Health Chic continues. The next step in my transformation from Granola to Glam is make-up. As you'd probably expect, ordinary make-up just won't do. Normally I wear a dab of tinted moisturizer and lip balm. For special occasions I'll add some lip color and a touch of mascara and eyeliner. Healthier make-up products have always been a challenge.

The tv show is being filmed in Hi-Def, which I am told shows no mercy when it comes to revealing fine lines and imperfections on camera. Plus, stage lighting is notorious for producing a washed out look, even for those with the healthiest natural skin glow. I also tend to get a bit red under the lights, one more challenge for my make-up artist.

So make-up clueless with my list of seemingly endless demands I headed to the Sephora counter at my local JC Penny's. Terri Kowalski, one of my customers from the Herb Shoppe works there and offered to help me get started. She booked an appointment for me with make-up artist Anjel Webster (above) who was very excited to help me create a natural look that would wow the cameras. Terri was there to help make sure I kept to my natural look and Karen Wright helped choose some of the colors.

Anjel selected items from Tarte, Korrvis, and Bare Escentuals and two hours later I felt like a real celebrity. It was a bit more than I am used to wearing and definitely more than Bill is used to seeing me wear but I think that I will look pretty darn good on camera. The make-up wore well during the rest of the afternoon, was easily washed off that evening and most importantly- no adverse skin reactions or redness.

Angel is putting together a detailed list of each product and manufacturer that she used during my session and I will add it to a future post. Stay tuned, tomorrow is the big day- first day of fiming.

Granola to Glam- Organically of Course!

Lights! Camera! Organic Hair Color!

As preparations begin to create and film my new tv show, Living Green With The Health Chic my attention turned to my look. The harsh reality of having to balance a healthy radiant look under the camera and bright lights brings significant challenges.

Natural products work great for an average day in the life of The Health Chic but my granola girl natural everyday look probably isn't going to cut it for TV. So I turned to my friend Tina Foote, owner of Totally Unique Salon & Spa to help me create a look that I can manage both on and off the camera.

After an in-depth consultation about my needs and a careful examination of my hair, Tina helped me create a new look, still me, but with a bit of panache for the cameras.

She whipped up some organic colors, worked some magic with her scissors, and wow, I ended up with just what I needed, Granola Glam! Stay tuned, for my next post I am off to find some great new make-up.