Wednesday Wag Out! - Beauty Edition

My good friends Sequoia & Tuni left a comment on my bloggie during Earth Week asking me to post some of my favorite eco friendly products. I hope they don't think I forgot about it but never in a million years did I think it would take this long to put this post together. I blame Mom because she's in charge of the 'puter. I would have had this post done weeks ago but like Puglet always says I have no thumbs.

I totally understand the confusion regarding which products to buy. Not only is there so much greenwashing in the marketplace but the labels on the products are so confusing. Here's just a sampling of concerns you may see labels for when shopping for products:

Fair trade

Natural ingredients

100% natural

Recycled packaging

Certified organic

Not tested on animals

Vegan

Nut-free

The cosmetics industry is not as regulated as you might think. Most products are proprietary so manufacturers' claim that listing the ingredients is giving away the secret. Um, okay, but how are you suppose to know what's in something if it's not labeled? You won't. In fact the industry is so unregulated that all of a product's ingredients don't have to be listed. This is troublesome so I suggest not buying any product that doesn't list its ingredients.

I have a question for you - what's natural? Companies can label anything natural because that term is not regulated. Natural what you ask? Good question. And what about 100% natural? If something is not 100% natural then what is it? 1% natural?

It's important to purchase products that use fair trade ingredients because peoples' livelihoods are attached to the products. And certified organic ingredients means no pesticides reside in your product. This is probably not even something you think about but many ingredients in health & beauty products are plant based. These plants, like food plants, get sprayed with pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. Those 'cides are passed onto you via the products you use.

If garbage is a big concern for you, looking for packaging that contains recycled materials or that can be recycled is important. Please remember that most health & beauty items though seemingly safe, should always be disposed of properly. Nail polish is a good example of an item that should never be tossed in the garbage because of the toxic ingredients it contains.

No one wants to use products that have been tested on animals, do they? Most products are tested on animals and the labelling for not tested on animals is a bunny. This label is highly regulated but that doesn't mean that other products that aren't tested on animals are labeled.

If you are vegan then you won't use any animal based products. You'd be surprised just how many ingredients are animal based and I'm not just talking about honey. They don't say cow this and sheep that because if they did then no one would buy their products. Most perfumes are made with oil from whale blubber but I bet many consumers aren't even aware of this.

Since I don't use beauty items because I don't need them, I'm turning the post over to Mom. She uses this stuff so she can best speak to them.

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I decided to focus this post on beauty products because they are products I use every day. I don't want to offend any males readers Stubby may have, but truthfully I know that most of you are women. Some of these products are unisex but most are not.

Whenever I'm at the store or shopping online, I consult at least two sources before making any purchases: the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetic safety database and the Good Guide. I also have the Good Guide app on my phone, but I've gotten some conflicting data between their online guide and their app. I also check online reviews of products, read blogs, and get recommendations from friends. Basically I do my homework. I also try lots of products because let's face it many eco-friendly products don't work as well as traditional products. This is largely because of their ingredients and our definition of what works and what doesn't. We have gotten so use to products working a certain way that when something works a little different we think it doesn't work. All this requires a lot of time but when your health is at stake, the least you can do is devote some time and energy to product selection.

These are the products I use on a daily basis. After taking this picture and putting everything away I realized that shaving cream and sunscreen were missing so I will blog about them another time. Insect repellant is also not shown but during the summer I do use it every day. Stubby did a post on insect repellants a couple of years ago and I've asked him to do one on sunscreens next month.

At first glance it may look like I use a lot of products. I don't consider myself a heavy product user because I feel that I use the bare minimum. I wear minimal makeup and hardly ever use hair spray, but I know that some of you are not like me. Everyone is different, we all use this and not that, but I cannot stress how important it is to pick your products wisely. I've organized the products by use to make it easier to follow along and where available, products will have a color coded score from the Skin Deep database. 0 is the best score with 10 being the worst.

I have truly struggled with shower soap and I've tried so many different brands. No sooner do I find one that I like and all of a sudden my husband won't use it. Or I'll try one and hate it for various reasons. Many soaps are wrapped in plastic and I try to avoid plastic and packaging like the plague. You could spend all day researching soaps because there are so many out there but this soap seems to be the right one for me right now.

The first thing you'll notice about this soap is its packaging. It's recyclable and that's a good thing. Kiss My Face makes so many great products and this is one of their best. It has a score of 0 because of its ingredients and it suds up just fine for me. Some soaps do not make suds because they don't contain SLS (sodium laurel sulfate). Everything comes with a price, right? SLS is found in most health & beauty products but I avoid it at all cost because it has been linked to a host of health problems including cancer. The SLS found in soaps and shampoos is the same as is found in car washes and garages. It cuts through grease on car engines and on you.

I have struggled to find a shampoo at an affordable price that's not harmful to me for many years. Many eco friendly products cost more than traditional products because of their ingredients. That's not to say that your health isn't worth spending extra money on but in this economy it's harder than ever to spend money on personal care items.

I can't tell you that these products aren 't cheap but what I will tell you is that you don't have to use much. I have unruly, curly, shoulder length hair and these products last me a couple of months. One reason is because a little goes a long way and I only wash my hair every other day. Both of these products score have a score of 1 and while there is only one brick-and-mortar store I know of that sells them, they are available online.

This is the one product I knowingly use that is bad for me. Those of you that know me know living with my hair is the bane of my existence. It has a mind of its own and it never wants to cooperate. I had most of my hair cut off a couple of years ago and my short 'do required a new styling product. I HAVE to use something on my hair or it will be completely frizzy. I used TreSemme mousse for many years and when I wasn't using it I was using various gels. I have tried everything and when I found this Bumble & Bumble Styling Creme it worked really good but I knew it was bad for me.

Here I am two years later still using it or should I say using it up. I'm through with it once this bottle is empty. I hate to even admit it but this scored a 7 and it even contains parabens. Parabens, like SLS are another ingredient that I completely swear off but loe and behold they're in here. YUK! There's even fragrance in here but the worst part about about this product is where it's used - on my head. No more my friends. I've started my search for a truly green product so please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions.

I've been using Tom's of Maine toothpaste for quite some time and I love it. You may have noticed that I'm not brand loyal across a line but I am brand loyal when it comes to specific products. This particular toothpaste was not on the Skin Deep database when I checked today but I swear I've seen it on there before. I believe it may have scored a 3 or 4 but this is the end of the road for this toothpaste for me. The Whole Care line has been upstaged by the Natural Care line which, unlike the toothpaste shown above, does not contain SLS. Yep. SLS is found in most toothpastes and unless you use good old baking soda (or you're Jessica Simpson) you're probably brushing your teeth with it. It did have a Good Guide rating of 8.1 (10 being the best) which makes me feel a little better but I can't wait to use the tube of Natural Care that I bought a couple of months ago.

Not only is the box the toothpaste comes in made from 40-65% post consumer recycled paperboard (which is recyclable) but the tube is made from recyclable aluminum. You have to remove the plastic threading (#4 LDPE) before recycling it, but kudos to Tom's of Maine for making a recyclable tube. The cap is #5 so don't forget that Aveda will recycle that for you.

I recently switched from Glide floss which I used for years, even before it became Crest Glide. I loved the minimal feel of the floss as it glided (pun intended) between my teeth but then I started to investigate Glide and decided to switch. Glide does not list the ingredients on their website but they do say it's made from natural waxes and contains a natural mint flavor. They say that a minimal amount of wax is used thus it's primarily made from polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), which is a slippery material. PTFE? WTF?

The Tom's of Maine floss is naturally waxed. There's that word again - natural - but in this case Tom's of Maine tells you exactly what natural means. There's beeswax, carnauba wax, jojoba wax, and propolis which is a tree resin gathered by bees. Obviously this is not a vegan product but it's a good product. It's not listed on the Skin Deep database but it received an 8.8 on the Good Guide. And the plastic container is recyclable which makes me sleep better at night.

Another Kiss My Face product that I love. Kiss My Face was founded on an organic farm in upstate New York back in the 80s. It's still privately owned and operated by the original founders which is amazing in this day and age. Tom's of Maine is an independently run division of Colgate and has been since 2006. Many eco brands have sold out to large conglomerates but that doesn't necessarily mean the products have sold out too. I understand that it's hard to back a brand made by a unfriendly-to-the-planet company, but many brands have retained their strict ingredients while increasing their exposure to the masses.

This scored a 2 which is really good for a deodorant. There have been so many studies published about how heavy metals in deodorants cause breast cancer so you can never be too safe when it comes to what you put under your arms. Last summer I tried using baking soda for deodorant and it was awesome! I never smelled, even after a long workout. Why aren't I using it now? I got a yeast infection and even after medications, switching baking soda boxes and applicators, I still cannot use it. It makes me very upset that I didn't take the right precautions (like drying off properly) because baking soda is the least harmful and least expensive deodorant you could ever use.

I'm sure I'm no different then most of you when it comes to lip balm. We all use it and try them all we do. I apply some after flossing and this is the most recent brand to grace my medicine cabinet. I came across Dr. Hauschka a few years ago but this is the only product I've ever used from them. While I'd love to tell you that this lip balm is good for you, I'm afraid I can't. The Skin Deep database doesn't have it listed but none of the Dr. Hauschka products scored very good. All were at least 3 with some scoring as high as 8.

So let me back up a bit. I buy lip balms on a regular basis. Way back when, when I wasn't green or even semi-green, I bought this lip balm. For whatever reason, I stopped using it and it left the medicine cabinet only to be brought back when I ran out of whatever it was I was using. Surprisingly enough, this lip balm received a rating of 8.5 despite a list of ingredients that's almost as long as this description. I guess I don't need to tell you that when it's gone, which it almost is, it's gone for good.

With a name like Eco Lips it has to be eco friendly, right? Yes and no. The Skin Deep database doesn't list this particular flavor of Pure & Simple lip balm but the flavor they do list, coconut, received a score of 0. That's not to say that this kiwi-strawberry would receive the same but my fingers are crossed that it's okay. One of their products, a SPF15 mint lip balm came received a 5 . The Good Guide doesn't list Eco Lips (surprise, surprise) but all the ingredients in this lip balm are certified organic: organic sunflower oil, organic beeswax, organic kiwi flavor, organic strawberry flavor, vitamin E. And it is sold as is meaning it doesn't come in a box.

I found this product last year and I'm in love with it. It is a multi use product meaning you can use it on so many parts of your body. The package says it can be used on nails, knees, neck, lips, cuticles and anywhere else in urgent need of attention. I've only used it on my lips but it's great to know that if I have any areas that need attention, this olive butter is ready to serve. Almost half the ingredients are organic including the top three and this is a good thing since ingredients are listed in order of concentration. Packaged in a recyclable paper box, this product received a score of 1 and is priced under $10. This is one of the best kept secrets on the market and I recommend it to everyone I meet.

This is a recent find. I can't remember how I found about it but I wish I'd found it years ago. I have to confess that I haven't tried that many eye serums but I recently discovered that I really needed something because my eyes were looking tired. So wherever I found it I'm glad I did because it's a miracle worker. The fact that it has 80% certified organic content and is vegan friendly makes me so happy.

The serum claims you will feel renewed and that it will nourish and protect while helping to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Works for me! It does all this with essential fatty acids, botanicals and hibiscus peptide to target expression lines and help firm and tighten. I swear my eyes look much better than they did before using this serum and that's saying a lot.

Stem Organics is an Australian skincare company and like Keys, was inspired by its founders personal experiences with skin issues. The serum is not rated on the Skin Deep database but none of their products are. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and could just mean that they haven't joined the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics yet. Again, the database is not the end-all-be-all and shouldn't be used as such. You must still do your own research when deciding what to use on your skin.

For those of you who have never heard of Keys, please check them out asap! It was started by a husband and wife team after the wife developed skin cancer. Together they developed a soap for ultra sensitive skin and an entire line of skincare products shortly followed.

Eye Butter is an anti-aging eye cream that I apply after the eye serum. It tightens and and tones eye tissue but how? Keys claims that the secret is distilled organic cucumbers. We all remember putting cucumbers on our eyes. They relieved the puffiness, didn't they? Well the same principle is at work here. In addition to the cucumbers, there's avocado oil, shea butter, carrot seed oil, black cumin oil, aloe vera, purified water, vegetable glycerin, vegetable wax, and rosemary extract. The ingredients are 87% organic and 100% vegan. The EWG score of 1 is even listed on the ingredient list. This stuff is the bomb!

I can't even tell you how many face lotions I've tried because I lost count years ago. I use to think they made my face breakout but then realized it was the various cleansers I used that were the culprits. They would strip my face of essential oils and cause it to produce more oil, thus leaving me with an oily mess of pimples.

I found this moisturizer, or should I say it found me, at a store in Racine, WI called Upurea last year. Upurea is a natural and organic skin care & beauty retailer carrying thousands of organic skin care, natural beauty & organic cosmetics, mineral makeup, natural baby and home products. I stopped in there on my way home from Milwaukee, after reading about it in many magazines. After talking with one of the skincare consultants, she recommend Trilogy. I had never heard of this brand but was willing to try it. And I'm so glad I did.

This moisturizer is so light but so effective. Packed with phyto-lipids, amino acids and proteins from pure plant ingredients this super-lightweight lotion actively energizes and revitalizes skin and helps fight the aging effects of environmental aggressions with its antioxidant-rich formula. It firms skin and boosts skins moisture levels by simultaneously replenishing both oil and water requirements. I totally love this stuff!

Even though this product is not listed on the Skin Deep database, I feel it's okay to use it. Founded by two sisters who grew up on an avocado orchard in Australia, this New Zealand company is committed to being green. They began sourcing Certified Organic Rosehip Oil, the key ingredient in their products, in partnership with a fair trade cooperative in Lesotho in 2002 and now purchase Certified Organic Rosehip Oil from a Certified Organic source in the mountainous regions of Chile. They use non-GMO ingredients, never test anything on animals, and use recyclable containers. Did I mention they're a carbon neutral company? The list of great things they do just goes on and on. I look forward to trying many more products by Trilogy in the future.

In addition to eye serum and eye butter, all eyes need concealer, right? This is never more true as you age and I think I've found the perfect concealer, at least for me. I'm not sure where I found this but it's a keeper.

It's Un Cover Up by rms beauty but cover up it does. You can use it as a concealer anywhere on your face, but I use it under my eyes. My raccoon eyes, that is. I love the way it glides on, stays on, and makes me look like I've gotten lots of sleep. I have to confess that I haven't tried that many under eye concealers in the past but that's only because I didn't really believe that any of them would truly work.

RMS Beauty is another company that's doing the right thing. Just check out what they have to say about the ingredients they use: "We proudly report every ingredient used in rms beauty products, because we have nothing to hide." And what about the ingredients? They use minerals in their raw form, organic oils, and non-GMO vitamin E. They even disclose that one of their products, Lip2Cheek color "smile" uses the tiniest bit of synthetic pigment because this particular color could not be created without it. Wow! They are disclosing one little ingredient that may be of some concern to some while most traditional skincare companies use ingredients that are known to be harmful to you, yet they won't even disclose of these ingredients.

I guess it should come as no surprise to you that this product received a score of 1. Even if you aren't in the market for an under eye concealer, I suggest you try this amazing product.

I don't use foundation, preferring tinted moisturizer instead. It just feels lighter and goes on smoother than foundation. I started wearing tinted moisturizer a few years ago when my neighbor sold me some Mary Kay. Yikes! Did I really just say that? Yep, that was right before I got with the green program!

After the Mary Kay stuff, I started researching natural tinted moisturizers. One brand I researched and almost tried was Josie Maran. It gets a lot of great press but I found some undesirable ingredients in their products. That's what lead me to Jane Iredale and this great tinted moisturizer.

This Dream Tint uses unique algae extracts that moisturize and soothe, while the tiitanium dioxide provides SPF 15 with UVA protection. It goes on smooth, never feels heavy and blends in with ease. Despite the fact that the ingredients aren't organic, I still love it. The fact that it received a score of 2 makes me love it even more.

I swear I read about Vapour Organic Beauty on a blog. Wherever I read about it I'm glad I did. This Illusionist Concealer is just what I needed to hide new and old blemishes. I had been using a great concealer whose name escapes me at the moment. I do remember that I bought it at Walgreens and that it worked so good I used it all the time. I put it on pimples and it not only concealed them but dried them out as well. I have no idea what made it work so well but I'm sure whatever its active ingredients were, they were bad for me.

And then I read about Vapour and bought the Illusionist Concealer. While it doesn't conceal quite like the old stuff, it does a pretty good job. It's made with 70% certified organic ingredients and the other 30% consists of natural mineral pigments and vitamins which are not available as certified organics.

Vapour has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, but none of their products are on the Skin Deep database - yet. I believe it's just a matter of time before all their products are listed and I feel confident that they'll received great scores.

I'm a girlie-girl when it comes to my lips. I like lipstick but love lip gloss even more. I believe that you aren't really dressed unless you have some color on your lips. I have to admit that I've tried lots of different brands but these two are currently at the top of my must have list.

Nvey Eco Organic Lip Lustre is another product from Upurea. I had read about Nvey for quite some time before trying it but I'm not sure why. I will tell you that it's not cheap. $24 for a tube of lip color is not in most people's budgets but it's well worth it. I don't use it every day and even when I do use it I only put on a little and either put something else under or over it. It scored 2 and

Nvey is committed to using organic ingredients, no talc, no preservatives, no parabens, and non-GMO ingredients. Would it surprise you to learn that they are an Australian company? Yep, it's true. It seems like Australia is the new place for skincare companies and while that's not local, skincare is not something you buy all the time. Frequent use doesn't mean frequent purchases since most products last a long time. And just in case you were wondering, this Lip Lustre scored a 2.

100% Pure is a company with a great following. They make lots of fruit pigmented color cosmetics but I think they're best known for their lip gloss. Made with 83% Vitamin E from organic rice bran and beautiful colors from fruit pigments, this pomegranate wine lip gloss provides a perfect tint for my lips.

I was surprised to find only two 100% Pure products on the Skin Deep database, with lip gloss not being one of them. The Good Guide didn't provide an overall score but only a health score of 10 which makes me feel a little better. I know that 100% Pure is a trusted brand that is vegan, doesn't use perfumes, fragrances, thickeners or emulsifiers, but I'm confused about why their products are absent from the database.

I don't use body lotion as often as I should but when I do I use Dr. Bronner's. You may know the name because it's synonymous with greenness. Most of Dr. Bronner's are too hard core for most people, especially the pure castille soap, but the organic lotions are more like traditional lotions without all the traditional ingredients.

I discovered this lotion at the Green Festival last year and couldn't be happier with it. Synthetic scents bother my asthma so I steer clear of them whenever I can. Not only are the ingredients organic, but the main ingredient (besides water) is fair trade. Never tested on animals, Dr. Bronner's is brand you can really trust. A little goes a long way, keeping your skin moisturized and smelling great. And with a score of 2, you can rest assured that what you're putting on your skin isn't disrupting your system.

When I want a little scent on my skin I turn to Tsi-La. I wore traditional perfumes for my whole life before discovering that the ingredients in them were really bad for me. And when I say really bad I mean really bad. I will never wear traditional perfumes again. Ever.

Tsi-La Organics (pronounced chee-la) are 100% natural, made with over 96% organic ingredients, and are made with 100% renewable energy. But what they don't contain is even more impressive - NO parabens, genetically modified organisms, dioxins, synthetic fragrance, petrochemicals, synthetic colors, propylene glycol, or sulphates. Their products are never tested on animals and this is a claim few traditional perfumes can claim. If you stopped to look at the ingredients (if you could find them) in traditional perfume you'd wonder why anyone would wear it. Choke full of sythethic chemicals, I'm convinced that some of my health problems are due to their long term use.

This mini collection uses a moisturizing base of select coconut oil infused with botanical extracts of pink orchid flowers which fights free radicals. I hate to sound like a broken record, but a little goes a long way. I change up the scents I wear, sometimes wearing the same scent for an entire week. I've been using these little bottles for at least a year and have yet to use them up. Since they are small they are the perfect size to throw in your purse or to travel with. Even though Tsi-La is listed on the Skin Deep database, their products aren't.

I welcome all feedback on the products I use and look forwarding to hear about your favorite products. I'm constantly on the hunt for organic, fair trade, less packaged, etc. products, so if you come across one I might like, please leave me a comment. There are so many health and beauty products on the market that it's confusing for consumers. Together we can make the right choices for our own health and for the health of the planet.

Helping Preserve Our Parks

I don't eat granola bars but Mom sometimes does especially when doing field work. She has eaten this brand in the past and liked it. Who doesn't like oats and honey? I think I would even like them but before I'm allowed to eat them let's take a look at the ingredients.

Oats and Honey ingredients:
whole grain oats, sugar, canola oil, yellow corn flower, honey, soy flour, brown sugar syrup, salt, soy lecithin, baking soda, natural flavor.

Hmmmm. These ingredients sound good to me but not to Mom. She has issues with everything. I mean really, whole grain oats are good for you, right? And sugar? What could be more natural? These ingredients read like a lesson in good health but Mom feels that there are lots of pesticides used in the growing of the ingredients and that most if not all are genetically modified (GMO). Huh?

Eating these granola bars in moderation, like every once in a while is okay. The jury is still out on GMO's but we all know that pesticide consumption is hazardous to your health. Sugar is the second ingredient listed, honey is fourth, and brown sugar syrup is sixth which means these bars are full of sugary sweetness. All that sugar is not good for you on a daily basis. And what is natural flavor? This is Nature Valley's "secret ingredient", the old proprietary ingredient that they don't have to disclose because if they did they then everypug could make their own granola bars. As if! But there may be one reason Mom may want to buy some granola bars for her turtle trip next month.

Nature Valley knows that our national parks are in trouble. They face serious challenges and they need our help. Simply buy specially marked boxes of Nature Valley granola bars and for every wrapper you send in, they will make a 10 cent donation to the National Parks Conservation Association. The contributions will be used to fund 3 different projects in 3 different parks:

Sustaining native plant life in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Freeing Pronghorn migration in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Restoring coral reefs in Biscayne National Park, Florida

The coupon advertisement stated a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000 and a maximum donation of $500,000 but the website stated a maximum donation of $650,000 (with the same minimum donation). So confusing! Either way, Nature Valley will be making donations through August 31, 2010 and that money will help preserve our national parks for generations to come.

This is Mom's favorite national park, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Even though this is not one of the parks that Nature Valley is helping, she still thinks this is a good cause. Preserving parks preserves not only our heritage but also the biodiversity that must be maintained in order to preserve our lives. We are all interconnected.

I've never been to a national park but that's not for lack of trying. Mom tells me that they don't allow dogs in the parks and while I can't really understand why, I'm not a law breaker so at home I stay. I hear all about the parks when Mom and Dad get home but it's just not the same. Maybe one day the rules will change and off I'll be whisked to a park of my choosing. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park here I come!

Reality Check!

I got back a couple of days ago but I've been super busy helping Mom with the gardening. I told her that I had to update everypug on the weekend and she finally agree to give me the morning off. Sheesh! Slave labor is alive at Stubby's house!

I had a great time with the poodles. Their parents are super cool and gave me lots of treats. While I was chillaxin' with the poodles Mom and Dad were doing their own chillaxin' on this boat. It's called "Reality Check" but the boat owner said it should be called "Write A Check". I don't get it but Mom does.

This little guy is Marley and he is the captain's dog. He's only a year old but is already a very experienced boater, or so everyone thought. He couldn't really handle the rocking of the boat so he tossed his cookies. Poor little dude. He spent most of the time in everyone's lap because his tap dancing toes prevented him from walking on the decks. I told Mom that he should have been wearing suction cup shoes but she just looked at me funny. DUH! Dogs don't belong on boats! You'd never catch me on one because I hate getting wet. And when Mom told me they cruised out six miles from shore I thought to myself (to quote so many of my friends ) "Haaaaailllll no!"

The day on the boat was fun but not as fun as the following day when Mom and Dad got to meet this guy:

Yep, that's Coco! Coco and his family met Mom and Dad in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday. Mom couldn't get enough of Coco and wanted to bring him home. She said he was even sweeter in person than in pictures. I sure wish I could have met him but maybe next time.

Just look at Coco, his beautiful mom Sandra and soon to be sister Amelia. Mom said that Sandra has the most beautiful hair she's ever seen. This coming from a woman who hasn't had a great hairdo since the early 90s is quite a compliment.

It was super windy on Sunday but everyone agreed to pose for pics. Mom doesn't usually like to be photographed (something about the camera and 10+ pounds) but she just had to have her picture taken with Sandra and Coco.

Aren't they a lovely family? Gilbert may not be smiling on the outside but he's beaming with love for his family on the inside. Mom was really glad she got to meet them. She gave them extra hugs and kisses from me.

Mom told me I had to put this picture in here but I told her that Coco would be embarassed. Guess who won? What is it with Moms and pug butts? I mean I know we have cute butts but get over it! Okay, maybe Coco's butt is especially cute but if you're reading this Coco please know that it wasn't my idea to show the world your butt.

When I got home, Mom gave me a gift from Coco. How cool is that? My little friend Coco went shopping for little ole' me! I ripped open the package and found these cool treats and a turtle stuffie. Awesome! Thanks so much for the great gifts, Coco!

Hopefully things will get back to normal around here now that everyone is home. I'm still recovering from the weekend and despite the fact that I am forced to help with the gardening, as you can see by this picture, it's the lawn that needs help. Thankfully I'm too short to push the mower so I'll just relax in the grass where no one can find me. Ahhhh. So glad to be back home where I rule the roost!

Life's A Beach?

You guys know that Mom loves the beach. She goes to the beach every chance she gets. Mom thinks I don't go to the beach because I don't like the water but the real reason is because I never get invited. Such is the case this weekend.

Dad was in Miami this week for business and Mom decided to fly down to join him for some beach time. I begged Mom not to go because I need her here with me but she turned a deaf ear, packed her bags, and shuffled me off to the poodles' house. I love the poodles and their peeps but I'm sad because I like weekends at home with my peeps.

The poodles don't blog but thankfully they have a computer. I asked them if I could update my bloggie to let everypug know where and of course they said yes. So while Mom and Dad are at the beach, I'll be doing a lot of chillaxin with the poodles this weekend. The weather is suppose to be great and from what I hear, the poodles have stocked up on treats.

I don't know if the poodles will let me use the computer again this weekend, so if you don't hear from me it's because I'm doing this.

Tasty Tuesday!

When I asked Mom for a recipe for today she went way back in the archives to get this one. This recipe is one of the first she ever made for Dad when they first moved in together. The date at the top of the recipe reads "12-2-96". I wasn't even born yet!

Mom used to buy the Pillsbury cookbooks that were sold at the checkout stands and that's where this recipe comes from. This soup is so versatile and hearty that she use to eat it ever day. It freezes great and is good for serving crowds but for some reason Mom hasn't made it in a long time. Maybe I'll get her to make it next week because believe it or not I've never tasted it.

Pasta and Bean Soup

Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks - Casseroles, Soups & Stews

10 (1-cup) servings

1 tablespoon oil

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 (14 1/2-oz) cans vegetable broth

2 (15.5-oz) cans Great Northern Beans, drained

1 (14.5-oz) can diced peeled tomatoes, undrained

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 bay leaves

3 oz (3/4 cup) uncooked small shell macaroni

Heat oil in Dutch oven or stockpost over medium heat until hot.

Add onions, celery, carrot and garlic; cook and stir 4 minutes. Add broth, beans, tomatoes, oregano, basil, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.

Add macaroni. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 to 13 minutes or until macaroni and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Notes:

If you haven't already done so, please print out the EWG's new Dirty Dozen list before shopping for ingredients used in this recipe. Celery is at the top of the list so if you can't find organic please leave it out or substitute.

You guys know that Mom is a garlic freak and there's no way she could put just 2 cloves in this soup. She usually ends up putting 6 cloves in especially if she's the only one eating the soup.

Great Northern Beans are a great source of fiber and protein. With 12g of fiber and 14g of protein per cup, these delicious beans pack quite a punch. When shopping for canned beans, please make sure you buy cans that are BPA-free. This is, unfortunately, not easy to do. I only know of one nationally available brand, Eden Organic, whose beans are packed in cans that are BPA-free.

The beans are grown on small organic farms in the Midwest. After picking, they are soaked overnight and expertly cooked at Eden's certified organic cannery. There's a great map on the Eden Organic website that shows where their food is processed, canned, or packaged. How cool is that? I checked out the map and saw that Mom's beans come from Meridian Foods, in Eaton, Indiana.

Independently owned and operated for over 40 years, Eden Organic buys all their food from, and pays farms directly, in a sustainable way and most of it is grown a few miles to a few hundred miles from where it is packaged. They are also a green company when it comes to facilities. In 2008 they completed a 70,000 square foot LEED certified warehouse addition in Michigan. By tracking the environmental impact of food upstream with suppliers through company operations, and downstream by monitoring all social impacts, they have proven that they're truly committed to sustainability.

Mom likes petite diced tomatoes because she feels the smaller size better compliments the soup. BPA free canned tomatoes are hard to find due to the acidic nature of tomatoes. Even Eden Organic line their cans with enamel (read: plastic) but there are alternatives, one of which is to use fresh tomatoes. Another option is Pomi, an brand of tomatoes from Italy that are packaged in Tetra Paks which are BPA free and recyclable. They are available at Whole Foods. Some glass jar tomatoes are topped with lids lined with BPA so this is not really a good option. Trader Joes also sells Tetra Pak tomatoes but you know where I stand on Trader Joes.

Mom loves pepper. What can I tell you? She doesn't measure pepper into recipes but simply cranks the pepper mill over the pot until the top is black. That must equal 1/2 teaspoon, right?

2 bay leaves are also not enough for Mom. She usually adds an additional bay leaf and then leaves them in but doesn't eat them.

Dad cannot eat a lot of pasta because it contains too many carbs. He has tried low carb pasta but didn't really like it so in lieu of eating it again, Mom has decided to try an Eden Organic variety that's made from organic carrot powder, organic annatto powder, organic beet powder, and organic spinach powder, blended with 60 percent organic whole grain durum and 40 percent organic golden amber durum semolina wheat flours. Even though it's not low carb it is super healthy and Dad won't eat it all the time. The pasta is even packaged in boxes that are recycled and recyclable.

Meatless Monday - Still A Good Idea?

Mom was reading me an article on The Huffington Post Green this morning and it really got me thinking. Good thoughts of course. But it also made me mad because some people just don't get it.

Dad started doing Meatless Mondays last year and then stopped when he got sick in October. Since then he has gone back to eating meat on Mondays, much to Mom's dismay. Mom and others are convinced that eliminating meat from your diet just once a week is a great way to help address the global climate crisis because cows are a huge source of methane, a greenhouse gas. If everyone took small steps to change their actions we could change the course we're on, right? I mean everyone knows there are things we can do each and every day, from turning off the lights when you leave a room to carpooling but changing your food habits seems way too hard for some people. Why is that?

The thought of not eating meat for 24 hours is akin to cutting off a finger - just plain wrong. Painful as it may seem to some, not eating meat not only feels good because it gives the body a break from the heavy job of digesting animals, but it also provides the soul with a breather from eating those we hold close to our hearts - our animal friends. I was going to do a post on the book "Eating Animals" a couple of months ago but I thought the subject was a little too risque. The author of the book starts out by asking what the difference is between eating meat and eating dogs. Yikes! When Mom read this to me I put my paws over my ears and begged her to stop. Eat dogs? Who would do such a thing? It turns out that many people in certain parts of the world do in fact in dogs. But we eat cows, pigs, lamb, etc. so what's the difference?

Back to the article from today. Written by Ellen Kanner, the article is about an article written for Cattlenetwork, the online source for cattle news, decrying Meatless Monday. Cattlenetwork? Yes it seems there is such a website, just when we all thought the written word was dead. Hail to cattle!

Here's the article in its entirety. Please leave me your comments because I'm curious what you have to say on the subject. Do you believe that eating less meat is a good way to help the planet? Do you believe that eating meat is not really a problem in terms of the global climate crisis? Are factory farms to blame? Should we just leave the corporate powers that be so they can continue to ruin our soil, water supply, and air with their CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations)? What's the solution? And is there a viable solution for all people, not just yourself?

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Meatless Monday: The Meat People Hit Back

by Ellen Kanner

You know you're doing something right when you piss off the beef and pork people. The editor of Pork magazine recently decried the Meatless Monday effort on (wait for it) Cattlenetwork.

The pork and beef lobbies have a lot more power and money behind them than environmental organizations and health nonprofits like Meatless Monday, and the fact the editor saw fit to comment shows the plant-based effort has some punch. She's worried we're ganging up on her.

Her beef? She claims a Meatless Monday video likens working together to go meatless to supporting the war effort in World War II thus equating patriotism with being plant-based. What the video really says is what plant-based proponents of all stripes and flavors have been saying all along -- cutting back, cutting out meat once a week can only help the environment by conserving the natural resources used in animal farming. It can only improve our health by reducing our risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes,three major health threats linked to meat consumption. Most Americans eat 45% more meat than the USDA recommends. Hey, it's only the truth.

The truth, though, can be dangerous turf. A decade ago, the Cattlemen's Association tried to bring Oprah -- Oprah -- to her knees. They sued her for defamation for a show in which she made claims linking mad cow disease to beef. The only reason the suit didn't stick is, she was right. She explained 10 people had died eating tainted beef. It isn't libel if it's true.

The animal industry is looking for meatless pushback and they have found Paul McCartney and the UN International Panel on Climate Change. In his paper "Clearing the Air," presented to the American Chemical Society, UC Davis air quality professor Frank Mitloehner says Sir Paul can't go selling meatlessness as a solution to global warming. No one can.

The heart of his argument is the way greenhouse gas emissions were calculated "Livestock's Long Shadow," the seminal 2006 UN report which links animal production to global warming. Co-author Gidon Eshel, a Bard applied mathematician, stands by his findings. "The basic analysis we did is so simple and relies purely and completely on uncontested information."

The problem is what some, in their zeal, have done with that information. "PETA did some kind of in-house analysis and reached high numbers of emissions that I thought were inflated."

The data went viral and the meat folks of the world seized on it as ammunition to dismiss our role in climate change. Mitloehner says the answer to global warming isn't less meat and milk, it's more. By way of factory farming. "The developed world should focus on increasing efficient meat production in developing countries, we should adopt more efficient Western-styled farming practices to make more food with less greenhouse gas production."

Eshel feels Mitloehner presenting his paper before the American Chemical Society is a little like the Pork editor ranting about the meatless movement to the beef folks. "It's more than enough to disqualify a person from engaging in an honest discussion about this, The pharmaceutical companies are the ones making a lot of money from supplying 65% of all antibiotics to healthy animals for weight gain and milk production."

Mitloehner's study also had $5 million in underwriting, five percent of which came from the beef industry. "Livestock's Long Shadow" was underwritten by "nobody whatsoever," says Eshel. "I am not beholden to anybody, financially, morally or otherwise."

He pulls out studies, graphs and charts which all add up to one thing -- "When you eat meat, you exert three times as much pressure on land demand and reactive nitrogen as you do with a plant-based diet."

Although plant-based himself, "I'm not an advocate of veganism or a plant-based diet," says Eshel "I'm a researcher whose findings always lead away from animal-based foods, environmentally speaking."

Mitloehner did not respond to requests for an interview.

The meat folks can take on Oprah, they can take on Paul McCartney, they can take on an applied mathematician or even a 97-pound vegan like me. But the meatless movement is gaining traction because the truth is still the truth.

It's My Golden Birthday!

I can't believe I'm 13 years young today! In case you don't know what a golden birthday is, it's when a pug turns the age of their birth day. Today is the 13th of May and I'm 13! Mom is also a 13 baby but she celebrated her golden birthday back in the stone age!

Mom can't believe I was ever this small. This is me on my first day home. 10 weeks after my biological mom gave birth to me, Mom and Dad picked me up and drove me to my forever home. That big contraption on the right is the crate I had for the first two years of my life. It was way too big for me so Dad put a piece of cardboard in it so that I just used half. I never really liked that crate and was completely relieved when I no longer needed it.

But let me step back a little. I decided to sleep in today because I completey forgot it was my birthday. We had severe thunderstorms last night and all the thunder kept me up. I'm really afraid of thunder and hid under the covers cuddled up next to Dad so that nothing would harm me.

Mom tried several times to wake me up and was finally successful. I'm definitely not a morning pug.

I didn't know why I had to get out of bed. "What's the problem lady? I'm trying to sleep. I only got 12 hours in and I'm still tired!"

"It's my what? What you talkin' about Willis? My birthday?"

"Are you sure? I'm not getting out of bed this early for nothing!"

If it is my birthday you know what that means - POPEYES! Delicious! And who knows what else is planned since it is my golden birthday. Hey wait. Aren't you suppose to visit your birth day number of restaurants on your golden birthday? OMD! I'm going to be in a food coma by the end of the day!

I couldn't believe my eyes and nose when I came downstairs to find a whole dehydrator full of beef jerky waiting just for me. I'm going to eat 13 pieces!

And of course a special, delicious, golden birthday boy breakfast - scrambly eggs and sausage! Yummy!

Mom told me that the rest of the day is a surprise. Her lips are sealed and even though I tried to bribe her with lots of kisses, she won't tell me what she has planned. I'm off to take a nice long nap so that I'm well rested for the rest of my big day. Happy birthday to me!

Tasty Tuesday!

These delicious little beans are the subject of today's recipe. Mom loves black beans almost more than any other food. She could eat them every day and sometimes does.

The black bean is also called the black turtle bean so its no wonder Mom likes them. It is small but meaty and flavorful. It's kidney shape and shiny black skin belies its cream-colored flesh. It's so versatile because it holds its shape when cooked and its texture absorbs the flavors of other foods making it a compliment to so many dishes. It can even be turned into a meal on its own.

Black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and their high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal. They are also rich in antioxidant compounds. Mom thinks they are one of the most perfect foods in the world and wishes that more people would try them. I don't eat them because Mom is afraid they'll give me gas and Dad doesn't eat them because he doesn't like the way they smell, so Mom has all the black beans to herself. She's been eating them for so long that they never give her any problems.

Black Bean Soup

Cooking Light Soup

Serves 6

1 pound dried black beans
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup water
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 bay leaves
1 serrano chile, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sort and wash beans; place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain.

Combine beans, broth, and next 5 ingredients (through chile) in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 10 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in juice, salt, and cilantro and puree in a blender or food processor.

Notes:

Don't be afraid to work with dry beans. They are very forgiving if not soaked in enough water or if left in water too long. They are also much better for you and the planet than canned beans.

One pound bags of beans are sold in most grocery stores but it's much better to buy in bulk. Never one to trust the measurements on the back of the bean bag, Mom measured out a one pound bag and found that it yields 2 1/2 cups of beans.

Mom likes her soup hot as in chile hot, so she chops up two serranos instead of one, seeds and all. If the thought of even the heat of one chile is too much for you, you can either seed the chile first of use a milder pepper such as a jalapeno.

Cumin and fiery serrano chile infuse this simple soup as it cooks, and you could add a dollop of sour cream as a refreshing foil for the spicy flavors.

This is a perfect recipe for the immersion blender. Mom sometimes leaves the soup slightly chunky to give it some substance.

At 288 calories, 18.5 grams of protein, and 2.3 grams of fat this soup is the total package. It's hardy and filling, the perfect soup for a rainy day or any day.

The New Dirty Dozen

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while remember the post I did back in March 2009 titled "Shoppers Guide To Pesticides". In the post I talked about the use of pesticides on fruits and vegetables and provided you with a link to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Dirty Dozen shoppers guide, a handy guide that you could print out and take to the store. If you weren't a fan back then or just don't remember the post, please click here.

The handy guide was always in Mom's purse until she got her iphone. EWG has an app so know all Mom needs to do is check her iphone and she knows which produce to buy organic and which is okay to buy conventional. Yes, you read that right. Some conventionally grown produce isn't as susceptible to pesticides as others are. But things are always changing which is why the EWG created a new Dirty Dozen list. First let's take a look at the old list.

Good old peaches topped the list of the worst of the worst, the must always avoid conventional and buy organic list. Peaches have very delicate skin and multiple pesticides are regularly applied to them in conventional orchards.

Everypug loves apples but like peaches, they are also typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Even scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely and remember, peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

Bell peppers have very thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. Plus they're often heavily sprayed with insecticides.

Coming in at number seven cherries, even locally grown ones, are not necessarily safe. Recent surveys have shown that cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries.

Grapes are another fruit that is better to eat when grown domestically because only imported grapes made the list. Grapes have very thin skin and vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape. Unfortunately, no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination. Please remember that wine is made from grapes, so try to drink organic wine whenever it's available.

Pesticides are designed to kill living organisms, but they don't just kill pests. They are designed to be toxic so they pose real health dangers to people as well as animals. They've been linked to a whole host of health problems including cancer, nervous system toxicity, and hormone system effects. Add all that to the skin, eye and lung irritation caused by the handling and applying of these pesticides and you have a recipe for disaster. Remember, it's not just your exposure to pesticides but the thousands of farm workers that harvest your produce. You wouldn't have produce without them so think about their health as well as yours when choosing organic vs conventional.

Moving onto this year's list, you'll notice that some items have moved up, some down, and others have been removed completely from the list.

It's not hard to believe that celery is public enemy #1. It has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops. There were 64 pesticides detected in residue on celery - yuk! Go organic or give up celery altogether.

Dad eats strawberries almost every day for breakfast. If Mom buys them out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use. Mom was shopping at Target just the other day and noticed that the price of conventional vs organic was minimal - $2.49 for conventional vs $2.99 for organic. I know times are tough and everypug is pinching pennies but this is really a no brainer. The money you spend now will be money you don't have to spend later at the doctor.

In the mornings Dad doesn't eat strawberries for breakfast he eats blueberries which are new to the Dirty Dozen list in 2010. Can you believe they are treated with as many as 52 pesticides? They are one of the dirtiest berries on the market so organic is the only way to go.

Spinach is also new to the 2010 list. Even though Popeye probably ate conventional spinach you will want to avoid it like the plague due to the 48 different pesticides found on it. Don't let this keep you from eating your green leafy vegetables because organic is usually easy to find.

Anyone who belongs to a CSA knows that you get kale almost every week. Even though it's know as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, this year it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year. Why you ask? Good question.

Everypug's favorite food the potato re-appears on the list this year after being absent last year. This is one of my favorite foods because I love french fries and hash browns - yummy! I don't want any pesticides (as many as 37) in my body so maybe I'll just stop eating potatoes. Not!

One food I'm so glad that's missing from the list is the carrot. Everypug, besides my Josie Girl, loves carrots. They are one of nature's perfect foods and I eat them as much as I can. I am a little worried because even though they're not on the Dirty Dozen list they are right behind it at number 15. Because of this, I think it's wise to choose organic.

Pears are another food that's missing from the Dirty Dozen list. Though they've dropped off the list, more and more chemicals are used on them because insects have become more resilient to pesticides. This is the biggest problem with pesticides, isn't it?

I bet you're wondering about my favorite nightshade the tomato. They were on the Dirty Dozen list in 2008, on the Clean 15 in 2009, and this year are on neither. But what happened? Pesticides can still enter its thin skin so it's still best to buy organic despite its ranking.

To get a handy printable version of the guide, click here. Print it and keep it with you so there's never a doubt about what to buy. All of this food talk is making me hungry so I'm off to have some delicious organic carrots.

I Need Your Help

I need your help friends and this is one time when it really pays to be a dog that sheds. I'm sure all of you have heard about about the Gulf Coast oil spill by now but did you know that you can help with the cleanup? It's true and I'm going to tell you how.

A ruptured undersea well off Louisiana is spewing about 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) of crude a day into the Gulf of Mexico, and efforts to shut off the flow have been unsuccessful since the April 20 explosion that sank the drill rig Deepwater Horizon. The rig was about 50 miles off the southeast coast of Louisiana and killed 11 men. This was almost one year after I did a post about how hair is used to cleanup oil spills. All this crude is moving toward the Gulf Coast and efforts are underway to contain and clean it up. This is where you come in.

Matter of Trust is the brains behind the oil spill hair mats and hair booms. They need donations of hair, human and pet, so hair mats and hair booms can be made and used in the cleanup effort. I need all of you to go to www.matteroftrust.org and sign up to donate your hair. You can even visit your groomer and get them to donate hair.

Millions of people and animals depend on the Gulf Coast. Coastal wetland and barrier islands in Louisiana are the closest to the spill and the oil has already reached the coast as you can see from this photo. Birds and turtles have already washed ashore, presumably from the effects of the spill. Coastal areas in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are also at risk and are preparing for the worst. Your hair could help save animals. Animals saving animals - what a concept!