Welcome to The Budget Ecoist, where we help you go green on a budget. Check out our tips for recycling and reusing everyday items, our reviews of eco-friendly products, and share your tips in our green forum.
Category: Organic Products
Go Green with Shea Terra Organics
September 27, 2008
When eco-friendly gals pamper themselves, they consider the products they use just as carefully as they peruse the day's green news. That's why we're raving about Shea Terra Organics, a company that offers all natural face and bath products. The Budget Fashionista is giving away FIVE Shea Terra Organics gift sets. They include the Bourbon Vanilla Indigenous Silk & Shea Shower Elixir, the Silk & Shea Butter Lotion, the Shea Butter Dead Sea Salt...When You Can’t Go Local . . . Kopali Organics: Organic Food
August 7, 2008
When is it a good idea not to buy local food? When you're buying Kopali Organics food.
Now we're not advocating locavores start sourcing their food from all over the globe like we did before we knew better...but there are exceptions to every rule, and Kopali Organics serves as a good example of the local food exception.
Kopali Organics sources its goods from land that would otherwise be destroyed by chemicals used in conventional farming or...
Easy Organic Appetizer for Independence Day Parties: Organic Food
July 3, 2008
If you keep your kitchen good and stocked with the basics, then this little organic appetizer should be easy to whip up with minimal extra cost (you just might have all the ingredients!) and with time enough for you to throw your hair into a pony, jump into a cute organic tee (gentlemen, please substitute throw a dab of gel into your hair and jump into a masculine organic tee) and make your way to the celebrations.
The Budget Ecoist’s Sweet...
The Upcycled Magazine Bowl: Green Home
June 24, 2008
If The Budget Ecoist were The Millionaire Ecoist, we would still go broke on indie design site, Etsy. Not because Etsy is home to expensive products, but because every single thing we stumble upon is freaking awesome. Take this upcycled magazine bowl from The Sugar Fix, par example. The hip lady behind this eco-friendly bowl took the pages of Vogue magazine, rolled them tightly and created a fashionable home accessory. This flexible bowl – or...
Easy, Organic Summer Drink: Go Green
June 12, 2008
Here's a recipe, a budget-friendly tip and a plug for local food all wrapped up in one delicious summer drink: strawberry lemonade. Ever get a craving for strawberries when they're no longer in season? Sure you do...we all do! There's no need to buy frozen (with all that excess packaging and what not) and there's certainly no need to buy them off-season when you know they've been flown all over the world after being picked in some exotic...
Etsy Bags: Green Fashion
June 2, 2008
Finding an eco-friendly bag can be tricky – especially if your purse budget is less Carrie Bradshaw and more Cheaper than a Prime Rib Entree. A little creativity is needed if you can’t spend hundreds of dollars on a bag unless that bag also mops your floors and runs your errands and takes a part-time job. Never fear: trawling Etsy opens up multitudes of possibilities for an environmentally-sound way to tote your stuff. Etsy is a brilliant...
Recycled Flip-Flop Doormats and Baskets: Green Home
May 13, 2008
While you’re out shopping for new summer flops, take a moment to pay homage to the ones you wore down to the nubbins at last year’s beach parties. Then thank the people at Uncommon Goods who are selling cool products made from the waste at flip-flop factories. Using every part of the rubber, these baskets, nesters and our favorite – doormats also place a splash of solid color in your home (bolds are beautiful right now, ya’ know). For...
Clever Uses for Packaging: Green Home
April 2, 2008
When JCPenney announced their new Simply Green Collection, we were excited. As we perused pieces from the new collection, we were further excited by green tips from JCPenney's eco-expert, Danny Seo.
Seo goes a step beyond simply supporting sustainable products, he also looks to packaging for storage solutions and finds clever ways to use environmentally-friendly products.
Take this great tip: We already know bamboo is a great fiber to...
Attracting Bees and Hummingbirds: Green Gardening
March 22, 2008
Bees and hummingbirds are valuable visitors to your garden. Both can help to pollinate plants, and hummingbirds are fun to watch (if you can catch a glimpse!). They can also inspire great thoughts like, "If that bird can flap its wings that fast all the time, why is it I can't tread water for more than 20 minutes?"
OK, 5 minutes...
To attract hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and other nectar-seeking creatures, consider planting bee balm, or...
Eatwild Farm Directory: Organic Food
March 20, 2008
If you’re looking for a pasture based farm for meat or farm products, check out Eatwild’s Directory of Farms. More than 800 pasture-based farms in the United States and Canada are listed, offering grass-fed meat and dairy products. To access the directory, click on your state in the map on the home page.
The farms listed in Eatwild's Directory are required to meet several criteria; these standards ensure that the animals and...
JCPenney’s Simply Green Collection: Green Home
March 18, 2008
JCPenney's recently announced their partnership with lifestyle eco-expert Danny Seo. If Danny's name sounds familiar to you, you might know him as the co-host of HGTV's "Red Hot & Green" (admit it...you love HGTV!), from his best-selling Simply Green book series, or from his weekly column on TheHuffingtonPost.com.The Simply Green brand is to the environmental movement what The Best Life brand is to the health movement. The easily...
Sprouts: Organic Food
March 16, 2008
Sprouts are a healthy way to add protein and vitamin C to your diet. Sprouts can grow from the seeds of vegetables, grains, legumes, buckwheat, and beans. A sprout is produced when a seed starts growing into a vegetable. They are by nature extremely fresh, and a healthy addition to your diet.
You can easily make your own sprouts at home. Sprouting kits and seeds are available online and at some health food and grocery stores. Amazon offers a...
Potato Leek Soup: Organic Food
March 13, 2008
Leeks are a wonderfully mild onion-like vegetable, and are available throughout the year. If you haven’t tried leeks, you’ll enjoy them in this hearty and creamy potato and leek soup.
You will need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped
2 Russet or Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
1 quart organic chicken stock, such as Swanson’s
1/2 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground...
Bamboo Flooring: Green Home
March 10, 2008
If you're thinking of replacing the flooring in your home, you might have been hearing about choosing bamboo as a "greener option." Why bamboo? Bamboo is a sustainable grass which replenishes itself every four years. Bamboo is actually the fastest growing woody plant on earth! Many people plant it in their backyard to create a privacy screen, for this reason. But its hardness and durability make it a stellar choice for flooring!
Other good...
Baked Apples: Organic Food
March 9, 2008
Organic apples are available year round and a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can actually help prevent cholesterol from building up in the lining of blood vessel walls, thus reducing heart disease. The insoluble fiber provides bulk in the intestinal tract, helping to keep things moving through the digestive system.
For a real treat, try baked apples for an easy and delicious dessert or snack. Bake as many apples as...
Biostack Composter: Green Gardening
March 8, 2008
We love this Biostack composter for its ease of use and simplicity: its three bottomless tiers make turning the pile simple and easy, saving your back while improving your soil. Built of 60% recycled polyethylene, the composter is water-proof, rot-proof, rodent-proof and easy to clean. The hinged lid blocks rain and retains heat, efficiently decomposing your scraps and making valuable compost. The composter can hold 13 cubic feet, and stands 34...
Organic Eggs have Lower Salmonella Risk: Organic Food
March 6, 2008
A recent British Government study found a significantly lower level of Salmonella, a bacterium that is the most common cause of food poisoning worldwide, at organic hen farms.
Over 23% of farms with caged hens tested positive for salmonella, compared to just 4.4% in organic flocks and 6.5% in free-range flocks.
Salmonella was most prevalent in the largest holding size category (30,000 birds or more). They contained over four times the average...
Homeowners Forced to Cut Redwoods that Block Solar Panels on Neighbor’s Home: Green Home
March 4, 2008
Holy clash of the environmentalists, Batman! They drive a Prius, He drives an electric car. They both consider themselves environmentalists. In 1997, They planted eight redwood trees along the borders of their houses to create more privacy. In 2001, He installed a 10-kilowatt solar system (he only pays appx. $60/year for electricity!).
Years later He tried to get Them to remove or cut the trees (cut as in cut from 40 feet to 15 feet. Cut....
Lunch with Less Waste: Organic Food
March 3, 2008
The next time you pack a lunch for yourself or your kids, consider this: on average, each child throws out about more than 60 pounds of lunchbox trash each year. Those single-serving pieces of waxed paper, aluminum foil and plastic baggies add up in the landfills and increase waste-disposal costs for schools.
Here are some easy steps you can take to counter this and be more environmentally friendly.
Dispose of disposables. Instead of those...
Free Organic Seeds: Green Gardening
February 29, 2008
MI-DEL is offering a sweet deal to gardeners. Purchase any one package of MI-DEL cookies (we love the Old-Fashioned Organic Ginger Snaps) and receive a free packet of organic sunflower seeds to plant in your garden. Click here for details.
