Recently, I watched Food Inc., it was extremely interesting and it was so informative that I walked away from the movie thinking about what types of changes I could make to help my kids learn about healthier eating, and making the right choices.  It is important to me, like many parents, to make sure that I am equipping my kids with a strong foundation about organic food and living consciously.  These values are the things that I truly feel our children will carry with them into adulthood, making their lives more healthful.

After some research I found a local company that is truly making an effort to make our schools and lunch options much easier for the health conscious parents.  The company is called Fresh Lunches, www.freshlunches.com.  Their mission?  “children’s nutrition is our greatest concern. We use only the best and highest quality ingredients and engage in the latest good health practices.”

Fresh lunches only uses: hormone and antibiotics free meats and poultry, natural or organic fruits and veggies, no high fructose corn syrup, appropriate portions, no mechanically retrieved meat product.

The process is simple and you can rest easy knowing that you children are being delivered healthful meals.

That’s right, I said delivered!  Fresh Lunches will even deliver your child’s lunch right to the classroom.

What I personally hope is that companies like Fresh Lunches ushers in a new wave of making our schools take part in healthier, organic foods for our kids.  What a great thing this would be!  This also helps show our kids that even when you might think there aren’t any good choices in a pinch, a little research and a lot of heart will find you in good company.

Until next time Live Green!

Jen

You’ve spent the entire summer trying to live a little greener, now put it into practice by making a resolution or two for the upcoming school year.
1. Pack your lunch – Although cafeteria hot foods are a great way to get a balanced meal, many children are faced with an array of disposable choices in the a `la carte line. Save your money and pack a green lunch each day this year!
2. Bike to school – Save gas and the ozone this year by having your older children ride their bikes or walk to school. Just make sure to have them wear a helmet!
3. Bring a friend along – Not only will it make your walks more enjoyable, but enlisting a friend to join you in your move to a greener school year is a great way to spread the word.
4. Re-use your supplies from last year – If you invested in a nice backpack last year, chances are it still has a few years left in it. Don’t buy all new just because everyone else does!
5. Shop the Resale Shops – Vintage clothing is in! Give old clothing new life by sewing on updated patches or using other altering techniques. You just may start a new trend!

Till next week…live green!

~Jennifer

For as long as there has been paper available in school, teachers have been assigning homework. This year, some teachers are taking a more eco-friendly approach; enter the paperless classroom. Actually, this isn’t that new as it’s been done in online college classes for years now. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, approximately 77.9% of students (pre-k through grade 12) in 2003, use the internet for school assignments so wouldn’t it follow that those same students could also complete those assignments on the computer and email them to their instructor to complete a paperless cycle? Seems to me the logical choice at least for older students who already have the reading and writing skills down. If your child’s teacher hasn’t adopted this paperless philosophy yet, make this the year, you drop a hint! If just one teacher in each school across the country collected homework assignments via email, think of how many trees would be saved!

Till tomorrow…live green!

~Jennifer

Backpacks are one of those things that you shouldn’t have to purchase every year if you buy a decent one. This year there are some incredibly cool recycled choices such as this one from Vulcana made out of recycled vulcanized tires or this one from Terracycle, which re-uses drink pouches. Unfortunately, neither of these can be re-recycled and there are only a couple of color choices and styles available. Another option in eco-friendly backpacks is hemp. Hemp is such a great material as it can be grown organically and relatively easily. The only downside of this is that most hemp products are manufactured in other countries so you need to be aware of fair trade issues. With that in mind, Hempmania offers a nice 100% hemp plain weave backpack in six colors while Rawganique’s 100% organic hemp packs come in five different styles. Of course, if your backpack still has useful life left in it and you crave one of these new options, you can consign it at your local Buffalo Exchange or better yet, donate your old one to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

Till tomorrow…live green!

~Jennifer