We’re Moving. Welcome to Golden Gate Greenista!
A Project Called Life.com is going through an exciting change – a new look for a New Year! All content has been moved to Golden Gate Greenista.com, where you’ll get the same wonderful eco tips, reviews and information, but in a bigger and better way.
I hope you’ll continue to join me on my greenista journey in San Francisco and beyond!
Fresh Faced for the New Year
Image Courtesy of beautylish.com
In need of a beauty pick-me-up for 2012? Over the last five years I’ve switched all my cosmetics and skincare products to natural alternatives, and one product has always kept its prominent place in my beauty bag: rms beauty’s Living Luminizer cream.
When my skin is feeling a little dull or pale, I dab the non-toxic skin brightener on my cheeks and right below my brow bones. My complexion instantly becomes brighter and has a nice, healthy sheen. It looks like I just indulged in a long siesta and woke up to dewy skin!
Image Courtesy of outblush.com
rms beauty is hands-down one of the best clean beauty lines. All the ingredients used by founder Rose-Marie Swift are pure and organic, formulated to actually hydrate and heal the skin while providing coverage and color. An added bonus is that one pot of makeup lasts a long time. rms beauty’s Un Cover-Up is the only concealer I will use, and I’ve slowly been building up my collection of the line’s Cream Eye Shadows (Seduce is a great everyday color).
Rose-Marie’s reason for starting the healthy beauty line is personal and inspiring. Read about her high-profile career as a makeup artist and her viewpoints on the beauty industry in my featured Greenista Chat.
**I purchased all of my rms beauty products directly from the online store. However, there are a few retail locations that carry the line. In San Francisco, a limited selection is available at Clary Sage Organics or International Orange on Fillmore Street. The Living Luminizer is $38, Un Cover-Up is $36 and Cream Eye Shadow is 28.
Put On Your Party Shoes!
Image Courtesy of TOMS.com
The holidays are a sparkly season! There’s tinsel on the tree, shiny bows on presents and…TOMS Shoes on your feet? Available in a glitzy array of colors, I’ve found the dazzling kicks from TOMS to be perfect paired with a party dress or slipped on to run holiday errands. I’ve been rockin’ my silver pair for the last two months and am not-so-secretly hoping Santa brings me the black glitter ones.
In case you haven’t heard about this innovative social enterprise, for every pair of TOMS Shoes you buy a pair is donated to a child in need – what the company calls its One for One business practice. Simple and compelling, TOMS has started a movement that actually makes ‘voting with your dollar’ count, showing that you can be fashionable and do good at the same time. So if you’re looking for one more wish list item or a great gift for someone special, you just can’t go wrong with a pair of TOMS!
Purchase TOMS Shoes online or at Nordstrom. The silver pair I bought was $54. If you’re stuck on what size or color to buy for someone else, TOMS has convenient gift card options.
Greenista Homemade Holiday Gifts: Part 2
Soft, hand-knit scarves are one of the best homemade gifts to give – and receive! Though they require some hands-on time commitment, the end result is always appreciated and treasured.
Never knitted a stitch? Knittinghelp.com has easy-to-understand videos to get you started. When purchasing yarn, go for thicker, chunkier wool that will cut down on knitting time and require larger needles, which are more beginner-friendly.
Photo and Design Courtesy of TenTenKnits.com
Experienced? Infinity scarves are de rigueur this season. Super versatile and fashionable, they can be worn long or stylishly wrapped around twice. I’ve been busy working on the pretty 5th Avenue Infinity Scarf pattern by TenTenKnits, while a few women from my local knitting group have been enthusiastic about the free, downloadable Honey Cowl pattern by Madeline Tosh.
The quality of yarn, however, can make or break a scarf. To make sure the wool feels luxurious – not scratchy – when worn, hold up the skein of yarn to your neck and the inside of your wrist for 20 seconds to see if there is any irritation. ImagiKnit in San Francisco has an incredible selection of high quality yarn, including locally made and naturally dyed options. Don’t live in the City? Purchase consciously made and spun yarn online from Sincere Sheep. Cast on!
Add a Little Ghee to Your Life
Goodbye, butter. Hello, ghee! Ayurveda is full of health secrets, such as the Buddha way of eating I recently wrote about. But my latest, tastiest discovery from this ancient science is incorporating ghee into my winter dishes.
A form of clarified butter popular in Indian cuisine, ghee is commonly referred to as liquid gold. With quite a name to live up to, ghee is not only purer than butter (it doesn’t contain impurities like saturated fat or milk solids) but it has incredible medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties that have been touted for centuries.
The following quote from an ancient 16th century Ayurvedic text pretty much sums it up: Ghee is sweet in taste and cooling in energy; rejuvenating, good for the eyes and vision; enkindles digestion; bestows lustre and beauty; enhances memory and stamina; increases the intellect; promotes longevity; is an aphrodisiac and protects the body from various diseases. –Bhavaprakasha
Image Courtesy of www.ediblecommunities.com
So what have I noticed after cooking with ghee? My hair is shinier, a minor skin irritation I had vanished and my digestion is happy. Plus it makes my dishes heartier for the winter, which is important since I don’t eat meat. But, like any oil or dairy product, quality matters. My favorite ghee is made by Ancient Organics. Though it’s slightly pricier than other brands, it is absolutely delicious – creamy and fragrant – and a little goes a long way.
Prepared in small batches the old-fashioned way, Ancient Organics uses the highest quality organic sweet cream butter by Straus Family Creamery and adheres to the ancient 14-day moon cycle for making the ghee. The ingredients and technique ensure that the end product is healthy, natural, boosts immunity and helps eliminate toxins from the body. Pick up a jar and start making ghee your cooking oil of choice!
I purchased Ancient Organics Ghee at Toby’s Feed Barn in Point Reyes, CA. For a list of retailers, click here. Retail price around $20. For additional recipes, check out the More Ghee Please blog.
Greenista Homemade Holiday Gifts: Part 1
Now that it’s the first week of December and I’m finally on break from grad school, planning Christmas gifts is top priority. Finding a great present is always exciting, but making gifts for friends and family is especially meaningful.
Since chapped lips are an unfortunate side effect of winter weather, mixing up an ultra-moisturizing lip balm scented with energizing peppermint or grapefruit is a perfect stocking stuffer. Spend an hour in the kitchen and you’ll have plenty of beauty treats on hand for Secret Santa exchanges or Hannukah gifts.
I made pots of grapefruit balm last year and they were a hit! Plan ahead and buy some nice packaging – glass pots are pretty for girls and regular tubes are good for guys. For unique scents, try lemon or lavender. Or for a man-friendly version just skip the essential oils. Let the holiday preparations begin!
Moisturizing Lip Balm Recipe from GorgeouslyGreen.com
This recipe makes enough for 10 lip balm pots. I bought the LB4B pots from Sunburst Bottle.com. The rest of the ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or via online retailers.
Ingredients
2.5 tsp* organic cocoa butter
15 tsp organic shea butter
100 drops grapefruit essential oil (chamomile, lavender and peppermint are other good non-irritating alternatives)
*One ounce equals 6 tsp.
Directions
Double boil the cocoa and shea butters – i.e. heat both in a large glass bowl over a pot of boiling water until melted.
Remove from heat and stir in essential oil drops.
Pour into the pots and allow to cool and set before putting on the top (takes about 2-3 hours). To protect counters, I recommend placing the pots on wax paper or newspaper and using a funnel to pour in the balm liquid.
Shelf life of the lip balm is 6-9 months. Be sure to make extra balm for yourself!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Image Courtesy of skatersadvocatemi.com, Copyright Charles Schulz
Take some time today to reflect on the many blessings in your own life. Write in a gratitude journal. Say a prayer before the Thanksgiving feast. Thank someone who has positively impacted your life. Extend forgiveness to yourself and others. Acknowledge the interconnectedness that binds us to one another and Mother Earth.
Giving Thanks
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home
–
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman’s hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought
–
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the “Land of the Free”
–
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!
~Author Unknown, Poem Provided by Ancestry.com
Conquer Your Holiday Cold with Natural Remedies
What’s one way you don’t want to be spending the holidays? Being sick. Every year, like clockwork, I catch a cold or flu before Thanksgiving or Christmas. I used to just swallow some over-the-counter drugs, drink a little tea and try to sleep it off. But I’ve slowly seen that supporting your body with natural remedies can actually speed up recovery time and bring you back more ready to rejoin the holiday whirl.
Here are my five tips for conquering your cold the natural way:
- Use a Neti Pot once or twice a day. It’ll help flush out some of the mucus that keeps you hacking and barely able to breathe. I recommend the Baraka Neti pot, which I’ve been using for years.
- Mix up a blend of flu-fighting essential oils.* If you’re feeling feverish, stuffy or sore, blend 5 drops of tea tree oil, 2 drops of lavender and 2 drops of thyme and add either to a warm bath or disperse using a diffuser. I strongly believe in using a cold-air diffuser so that the oil molecules aren’t manipulated. My top pick: the Aroma-Breeze, which I will be writing about soon.
- Heat up a towel and rub on Gaia Kids Warming Chest Rub. I like to bypass the conventional chemical mixture know as Vicks VapoRub and use the herbal, organic alternative. Though it’s pricey – around $20 – it has lasted me a few flu seasons and really works.
- Drink warm liquids throughout the day, including a homemade Ginger, Lemon and Honey Tea. To make, pour 8 cups of water into a sizeable pot. Peel a two-to-three-inch section of fresh ginger and cut into ¼ to ½-inch slices. Add to pot and bring to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, set a timer for 20 minutes and continue boiling. After 20 minutes, scoop out the ginger slices and add 3-4 heaping tablespoons of honey and the juice from one lemon to the hot water. Sip and enjoy.
- Swallow a teaspoon of Gaia Herbs’ organic Black Elderberry Syrup daily. Mary Poppins may have needed a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down, but you’ll actually look forward to taking this antioxidant-rich syrup, which studies have shown reduces the duration of colds by at least a few days.
And, of course, make sure you stay warm (wear a hat!), gargle with salt water and get ample rest.
*Only use quality organic oils since you are breathing them in. I buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs. The blend I provided is from Valerie Ann Worwood’s phenomenal guide “The Complete Books of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.”
Winter Skin Woes
As of late, many of my conversations with friends have focused on complexion woes – zapped moisture creating flakiness, harsher weather bringing on redness, or a number of other factors causing malcontent. Every season inevitably brings change, but there is a natural secret to keeping skin healthy and balanced all year long: moisturizing with oils.
For quite some time, we’ve been conditioned to turn a weary eye on oil, believing it is the culprit behind breakouts and other pesky skin problems. However, it is an essential building block to beautiful skin as it penetrates and nourishes the deeper layers of the skin, unlike conventional moisturizers or creams that sit on the surface. Whether you need the anti-inflammatory properties of hemp oil or the silkiness of grape seed oil, there are a ton of options to choose from. And winter is the perfect time to begin incorporating oils into your routine.
My great-grandmother, who was known for her incredible skin, massaged her face daily with almond oil. I’ve adopted her regimen and massage a nicked-sized amount of sweet almond oil onto my face every night. It’s good for all skin types and is easily absorbable. To further tone down any redness, I add one drop of either pure chamomile or lavender essential oil to the almond oil, which heals broken capillaries and spots.
A word of advice when shopping for your beauty oils: shop in the kitchen section of your grocery store and buy organic, unrefined cooking oils when possible. The food-grade versions of these oils are regulated by the FDA, while the oils you find on the beauty shelves are not and cost at least double the amount – and many actually contain fillers instead of pure oil.
Slather away and settle in for a season of happy skin!
Eating the Buddha Way
Image Courtesy of FlavourDesign.com
When it comes to food portions and conscious eating, the ancient natural science of Ayurveda recommends that you only eat what can fit in your cupped hands. This simple guideline has really helped me get a better sense of how much I should be eating to feel satisfied, not stuffed. Though I like to think portion size doesn’t matter as much since I pile my plate with organic vegetables and grains, the fact remains that calories are calories – no matter where they come from.
With this new eating philosophy, I have become addicted to using my handmade Buddha Bowl for my at-home meals. Created by designer Elan, who runs a small studio in Vancouver, BC and a collaborative studio in Southern California, my bowl is local and sustainable. All the materials, from the clay to the glazes, are from North America, which is great since most other Buddha Bowl manufacturers source internationally.
Holding the bowl while eating gives me a new sense of awareness of what is going into my mouth. Because I can feel the weight of the food, I am more conscious and thankful of the sustenance I am receiving. Try it and see how your perspective on nourishment changes.
I bought two Buddha Bowls – in Butter (yellow) for myself and Pacific (blue) for my boyfriend – on UncommonGoods.com for $19 each. I recommend those colors – they are calming, beautiful and are a shot of color among our neutral-colored dishware!
