families who eat together are healthier

According to Taste for Life Magazine, "Family mealtime leads to better health and sociability, particularly among children.  A review of 68 studies found that kids who eat more meals with their families consume more fruit and vegetables, calcium-rich foods, and fiber, and less junk food. 

Teens who regularly eat at home are likely to show fewer signs of depression.  And all family members benefit from lower obesity rates. 

Mealtime quality was also shown to be important.  Families who watched TV during meals or ate together at fast-food outlets did not gain the same benefits."

 

We love family meals and are going to have some great articles coming up about incorporating them (along with easy, delicious & nutritious recipes!).

 

 

 

photo courtesy of Three Loud Kids

 

switch to soy candles

This holiday season light soy candles for a greener home!

You’ve made a delicious dinner; set a gorgeous table that includes a candlelit glow and, cough, cough… you don’t realize that you are inhaling the equivalent of secondhand smoke with your petroleum-based candles.  Keep your family safe & still enjoy candles by switching to soy.

Soy is a healthy alternative to petroleum-based candles.  Petroleum-based paraffin candles contain possible carcinogens or toxic chemicals like benzene, toluene, ethyl ketone, naphthalene and possibly lead in the wick.  Soy is easier to clean up and burns cleaner.  It is usually more expensive but burns a lot longer (sometimes twice as long as paraffin candles, which offset the higher cost)! 

Image courtesy of Coco & Bubbles

Shop here for their soy candles!

eco-nomical & eco-friendly shower head

Replace your shower-head with a high-efficiency, low-flow model! Every time you shower, you will use up to 30% less gallons of water!

New regulations mandate that shower heads can not exceed a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (before 1992, the maximum gpm was 5.5 gallons per minute).   There are basically two types of low-flow showerheads: aerating and laminar-flow. Aerating showerheads mixes water with air, forming a misty spray. Laminar-flow showerheads form individual streams of water.

The shower head fixtures can cost as little as $20 and can reduce your water bill by 25-60%*!


live green with eco ike!  follow us on facebook & twitter for more tips!


* savings estimate from the energysavers.gov

photo courtesy of Kohler

eat that chocolate!

more studies are showing that antioxidants in chocolate protect the heart, regulate immune response and boost levels of happy brain chemicals called endorphins and seratonin.  some studies even suggest that certain kinds of chocolate have a higher concentration of antioxidants than either red wine or green tea.

use natural cocoa powder for beverages & baking and dark chocolate with a high cocoa count for snacking!

lets be facebook friends!

we tweet!  do you?

image courtesy of usps

Save the Planet {and $1,510 this year!}

picture & product from athena creates 

Check out these great tips from Natural Health Magazine. 

I love these and think you will too!

Fear greening your home is too expensive?  These simple changes can pay off big every year:

• Choose a laptop over a desktop model with a monitor.  Savings: $45 a year
• Ditch paper towels in favor of reusable cleaning cloths.  Savings: $150 a year
• Trade in your current showerhead for a low-flow model.  Savings: $180 a year
• Install a programmable thermostat that automatically sets the temperature based on how hot or cold it is outside.  Savings: $250 a year
• Replace the air filters in your furnace and air conditioner unit every three months (dirty filters make the units work harder).  Savings: $80 a year
• Use an electric teakettle instead of heating water on the stove.  Savings: $40 a year
• Download music (legally) instead of buying CDs.  Savings: $300 a year
• Lower the brightness on your TV.  Savings: $15 a year
• Unplug your TV, DVD player and stereo before bed.  Savings $50 a year
• Swap disposable zip-close bags for reusable thermoses and containers.  Savings: $400 a year on lunches for a two-child family

excerpt from Natural Health Magazine

back to bed 4 back to school!

more and more research is showing that kids need more sleep and that there is a direct correlation between the amount of sleep that they receive and how they perform at school!  not getting enough sleep affects cognitive ability & emotional and physical well being. 

some studies indicate that missing an hour of sleep, for elementary school kids, causes a drop in performance equivalent to one grade level.  missing sleep means that kids don't have the ability to absorb and process what they've learned neurologically.
 
with little ones going back to school (even preschool), it's important to give them every advantage to make their school experience a great one. 

read more about the importance of sleep in children and how you can positively encourage more Zzzz's