Monday, December 27, 2010

Formaldehyde in Victoria's Secret Bras Causes Welts and Rashes!



Today we had customers complaining of the welts and rashes caused by their bras purchased from Victoria's Secret. They alerted us to this story by ABC NEWS... see link below.

These ladies then chose Organic Cotton Bras to be comfortable and beautiful without harmful chemicals! You can see many of them as well as organic cotton panties, makeup and bodycare on our website The Organic Company


For the full article, see this link:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6225503&page=1

Monday, November 29, 2010

Last Fall Days


The last Fall days are here and we have been spending lots of time outside walking in the woods and playing at the park. This is a picture of my daughter, and her golden hair! (Being 10 years old, she is FINALLY interested in taking care of her hair! I think it is because I bought her a very nice Widu Wooden Hair Brush. So for now she has stopped asking me to get her hair cut very short!)

For all of us, it is time to prepare our bodies for Winter! The dry, cold Winter air can wreak havoc on your hair, leaving you with little option but to cut it shorter.... before you do that, try pure organic hair care that nourishes. Here are some of my favorite organic hair treats....

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Dinner with Friends

We had dinner at a friend's house and Alexis was asleep when we arrived. We laid her down on the floor and put a diaper on her (since she was deeply asleep) and this is how she looked while napping on their floor. She slept like this for half an hour before waking up to enjoy the party...

I love how she looks in her Organic Cotton Cardigan Sweater we carry made by HappyGreenBee.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

This one is for you Mom...




A childhood favorite and probably a staple... Cornbread and Beans (I think my sister and I smothered it with Ketchup.) I can't say my kids all loved it...yet. But Lily did!


I even attempted to put my own twist on it by making mini muffin versions....

Sunday, September 5, 2010

I got Inspired by strawberry bubble bath...


It must me a spillover from summer swimming, but suddenly my children want to take baths ALL the time, instead of the usual showers. Lately I have been really into the Yummy Ice Cream Strawberry Bubble Bath. Every time I give my babies a bath in it, I feel like we are in the middle of that beautiful part of summer that you want to go on forever! The best part is that it smells heavenly (not fakey like other brands) - and it smells this way because it has REAL ORGANIC STRAWBERRY EXTRACT! It is totally safe since it has no synthetic chemicals or harsh detergents so it is actually soothing to my children's skin. It is really gentle but yet is still actually makes bubbles! (Which is more than I can say for some other brands I have had.) Click the picture to see it, and the other bodycare and makeup made with only real fruits and herbs, no chemicals!


The girls and I have REALLY been wanting to eat the bubble bath, but instead got inspired to make a delicious dessert!



Yellow Cake with Fresh Strawberries and Bananas & Whipped Cream!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

How to be a working mom??? Don't all moms work???

I am awake again after nursing the baby early in the morning, and I usually can't get back to sleep because I feel there is some that needs to get done.

Anyway, like most people, I feel better about myself, my life, when I can see results. Being a mom is always challenging to that - because the things you spend so much time on (shopping, food prep, cooking, baking, cleaning, laundry, kids homework, discipline) are all maintenance things. It is only possible to feel fulfilled that you actually accomplished something when you actually stop for a moment to notice the differences ("oh, yes, I see the mountain of laundry is now gone.") The problem is that I don't really take the time to stop, ever. If I do stop I pretty much feel guilty. (Now this I KNOW is my own problem.) But the reality is that whether you stop to notice it or not, you will be doing the same thing again tomorrow, (or in some cases in two hours.) This can be so deflating, defeating to see no obvious connection of rewards, accomplishments, to your efforts. Normally this is challenging at best. But when you mix in the added pressure of the economy, for me at least it is so much harder. Harder to feel good about what you are accomplishing, because the truth is it is not even enough.

Well, this is all true and depressing. And how do I stay not depressed? I don't know. I feel like I need to know I am not alone in taking everything on. I know that I am doing a lot, yet I keep trying to do more. The main thing for me is NOT to try to do more work, but to try to focus on being more efficient when I am working.

So I do two things:

I try to carve out something for me every day, even if is is literally minutes. This is so hard to do, and starts with things like: Take a break do drink a full glass of antioxidant rich juice, or take a break to do leg lifts while reading one page of my beloved business magazine, which reminds me of who I used to be, primarily, and a part of my life that I look forward to experiencing again.

And I ALWAYS, ALWAYS go stare at my children for a few minutes when they are asleep, because they are adorable and it reminds me of what REALLY matters.

Monday, August 30, 2010

First Day of the School Year

The first day of school for my 5th grader and 2nd grader of this new school year. This is the first time my 7 year old has used an alarm clock, and we set it for 7:00 AM. He is a heavy sleeper (read sleepwalker and pee-er), so naturally I was worried he wouldn't wake up at all. In the room next door, my 10 year old daughter argues because - being the early bird person she is - she wants to get up at 6:30 AM - and despite the fact I set it at 7:00 she sneaks and changes it to 6:45 every time. (We have been through this a lot, but I am not sure this is something I have a right to complain about.) After tucking them all in bed, I realize that the school supply lists for both of them clearly specified that ALL PENCILS MUST BE SHARPENED. I search all over for one of my many pencil sharpeners (my favorite being a plastic dog in which you stick the pencil in its mouth and turn the tail as a handle.... but all I end up finding is a random spiderman party favor pencil sharpener that makes odd flat headed pencils. I sharpen all 24 pencils and clean up and put everything away, at which point I realize I have carpal tunnel in my wrist.) I go to bed not even close to early, but hope for the best... I had made up my life-saving lunch items basket* ahead of time, so I was ready for the morning... (more on this idea later).

Anyway, I wake up 10 minutes BEFORE my alarm goes off (I love that), and go to my 7 year old's room just in time to witness him fumble with the alarm clock. (My 10 year old is of course already dressed, has already eaten breakfast, and fed the cats, and is on the way to feed the bunnies outside.) The morning goes off without a hitch, (no yelling or spilling of cereal or "I HATE this shirt!" - well ok that did happen once, but they are happy, and they are on-time and excited to go to their school! I take the 1 year old with us to drop them off at school since the 2 year old and daddy are still asleep.

I have a productive day with my 2 year old and 1 year old at home, and surprisingly get a lot of cleaning done. I have a nice lunch at home with my husband and the toddlers, and soon it is time to pick up the older kids from school.

Their first school day had been a good one, and I told them we had to do a couple of errands.

I took all four children with me to the court house to turn in some documents, and after making it up stairs, through metal detectors, airport style security scans, and up an elevator (all the while telling the children that if they were patient they could use the coin-operated candy machine), waiting in line for our turn, being told we had to step to a different window, and finally being told we had to come back in a few days because an official had not turned in HIS documents yet, we put money in the candy machine only to find that it never gives you candy, and never gives your money back. AND THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED - the courthouse candy machines are crooks. We shake the machine to no avail, then find another candy machine on the first floor. My 10 year old shakes it before she even puts her money in because she wants "to make sure" and I am reminded of a mafia type character shaking down some poor shopkeeper. I glance over nervously and wonder if we will get in trouble with the armed guards. (I briefly contemplate going on EBAY and getting a coin-operated candy machine for our house. I could always fill it with nuts AND candy, so they never knew what they were going to get, and that way it would encourage them to put lots of quarters in and then that could be like their piggy bank.) Finally, all three kids have their candy and we head out to the parking lot.

We arrive at the grocery store, and traipse all around the store searching in vain for certain organic food items. We completely search the "natural and organic foods" section, and there are none of the advertised items. These are items they advertised in their own fliers. We ask one person shelving bread if he knows where they keep them, but he says he doesn't work at the store. We see a woman wearing a uniform shirt from the store, who is apparently shopping for herself, and she says that she doesn't know where anything is. We ask another lady stocking the spices and she says to ask the person we just asked. I spy an "in charge" looking lady standing near the notoriously "simple" self checkouts, and so I ask her, but she says she has no idea where anything is, and that we should check with customer service (at the other end of the store). Upon arriving at the customer service desk we wait in line and are informed that they don't actually carry any of the items they advertised. I asked why and they said "we just don't." I asked if their two other locations in town carried any of the organic items that they were advertising (basics items by Organic Valley, etc.) and he replied, "no, we don't really do too much of that organic stuff around here." I say, "ok, I guess I will go shop at Safeway."
At this point, my children are tired and whiny from over an hour of going back and forth through the aisles. They say they hate the store (just as they recently said about Walmart) so I take them to the car, and solemnly promise them that I will never bring them shopping at Family Thrift Center again. (I promised this same thing about Walmart after having a similar experience there.) There are some stores that are just TOO big. I can take these stores on myself, but it is not worth it to subject the kids, since frankly they view it as torture. These stores have become so big that they no longer hold any value to the kids, they just get frustrated because they can't find what they want, and I take so long to find anything I need. It is always mind-boggling when you see 22 checkout lanes and only 4 open (with 10 shoppers waiting in each of the 4, their carts piled so high that it appears they are participating in the old-school style shopping spree games where you stuff random items into your cart as fast as possible because it is all free.) In my mind I reminisce about how when I was a child, my sister and I thought it would be the neatest thing to do that kind of shopping spree. I go home with my 4 children and make dinner, reminding myself that grocery shopping is best done alone, or with one child - who can be a runner - they love to go get one thing and it is easy to keep track of. When you go with many children you end up with items in your cart you know you never put there... food items that resemble plastic monsters, random magazines with cakes on the front cover, and endless chocolate bars. (Oh wait- I put the chocolate in the cart.)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Cheesecakes and Cupcakes and Pancakes, oh my!

I spent a couple of months perfecting cheesecake in winter of 2007. I must have made 30 different flavors, all eggless. Just ask my friend who was pregnant at the time- I constantly had her coming over to test them all. I tried so many varieties that my children actually started saying "Not cheesecake again! Do we have to have cheesecake for breakfast?" (Yet somehow miraculously I didn't gain weight.) Last summer while I was still pregnant I made mini cheesecakes that were bite size, and they were a lot of work, but fantastic!

This is one I made recently
Chocolate Marble Cheesecake.
Eggless & Delicious!


These days I make so much food that I go for quality and quantity ( I have 4 kids! ), and I focus on making sure I include as many nutrients as I can even in desserts. I have tons of cookbooks, but two of them (one is by Jessica Seinfeld - wife of Jerry Seinfeld) focus on the concept of using a small amount of vegetable purees in recipes. So I decided to start with some of the desserts, of course...

Blueberry Lemon Muffins (with a tiny bit of yellow squash puree "hidden" in the batter.
Everything goes fast in a house with 4 children... All of the muffins were gone by evening.


Chocolate Chip Muffins - with a tiny bit of pumpkin puree and yellow squash puree hidden inside... these did not last long...



There was one failure though, the Blueberry Cheesecake Cupcakes which no one liked (we kept wondering why the cookbook had no picture, and soon found out why- they were the odd deep purple color and not appetizing to look at.) Another sad recipe was the Angel Food Cupcakes - definitely no picture of those. They didn't rise and only Lily liked them, but that is because she is a sugar addict*.
(*Which we can augment by giving her a colostrum supplement, that works so well!)

My children and husband have now grown accustomed to asking, "so WHAT EXACTLY did you put in this?" with suspicion, so I am taking a short break of unspecified length from the hidden veggies recipes.

Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing and Chocolate Shavings - one of my favorites!


AND FINALLY...
Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes. Nothing hidden here (unless you count oatmeal?), but I LOVE the texture!



I think I may just have to start a food section on my website...

Saturday, June 12, 2010

What is ALL COTTON?



We LOVE helping people and we receive a lot of questions on Organic products and Organic Living. Here is an email I received recently...

Question:

Hi Lonica!
I bought a couple of inexpensive t-shirts that say they are 100% cotton. But it feels stretchy, which makes me think there is something else in there.
Can 100% cotton be stretchy??????

Organic Lonica Lee's Answer:

Well, this is a GOOD question- technically there can be ANY synthetic in a garment- up to about 12% or so before they have to disclose it. I know this because one of our manufacturers / suppliers handed me a sample of a beautifully soft fleece, and the label said 100% organic cotton. I said "Wow, how did you get such a great fabric without synthetics- I heard it wasn't possible!"

To which he replied, "well there is of course SOME synthetic - you can't make this fabric without it- so it has about 4.5 percent lycra/spandex."

I handed it back to him and I said, "well I will not buy it until it is labeled accurately. My customers expect complete honesty in labeling."
So he labeled it correctly, and we have sold it for a few years, really well.


The same rule applies for socks- it only has to be part cotton to be called "all cotton" - and can still have a large percentage of synthetic. Sad, isn't it?

At least I am sure what we are getting from our manufacturers! Of course you need a tiny bit of stretchy fibers to get the sock to stay on your foot - to be a sock! 100% cotton is NOT stretchy. In our experience the amount of stretchy fibers needed is usually between 1% - 15% at the most. We invite you to check out our wonderful organic cotton socks...

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Organic Cotton is Safer for Your Baby's Crib ~ Move afoot in US Congress to ban drop-side cribs

Making your baby's crib Organic is a wonderful thing you can do for their health. Organic Crib Mattresses, Organic Cotton Crib Bedding and Clothing, and Organic Cotton Toys can all reduce your baby's exposure to harmful chemicals. Click pictures for more info...

Please be aware of the danger of drop-side cribs... see this article from the Associated Press...

Move afoot in US Congress to ban drop-side cribs

Dozens of deaths and recalls lead to effort for US congressional ban on drop-side baby cribs

Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press Writer, On Sunday May 23, 2010, 6:01 am EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The baby crib, usually a safe haven for little ones, became a death trap for 6-month-old Bobby Cirigliano.

The side rail on his drop-side crib slid off the tracks and trapped his head and neck between the mattress and the malfunctioning side rail. His face pressed against the mattress, the boy suffocated.

"I just don't feel complete anymore," says his mother, Susan Cirigliano of North Bellmore on New York's Long Island.

Bobby was one of at least 32 infants or toddlers since 2000 who suffocated or were strangled in a drop-side crib, which has a side that moves up and down to allow parents to lift children from the cribs more easily than cribs with fixed sides. Drop-sides are suspected in an additional 14 infant fatalities during that time.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban the manufacture and sale of the cribs by the end of the year with a new standard that would make fixed-side cribs mandatory. It could be several months into 2011 before becoming effective.

While the industry has already started phasing out drop-sides, there are plenty for sale on the Internet, and that's part of the reason Congress is getting involved.

"There's a great urgency here. We have to make sure that no parent is unaware that drop-side cribs could kill their children," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in an Associated Press interview.

At a news conference in New York on Sunday, Gillibrand plans to outline legislation to outlaw the manufacture, sale and resale of all drop-side cribs and ban them from day-care centers and hotels. She hopes the legislation will accelerate efforts for a ban, either via Congress or the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The industry insists that babies are safe in drop-side cribs.

"We believe firmly that when these products are assembled and used properly, they are the safest place to put your child," said Mike Dwyer, executive director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The USA is not scoring well in terms of WORLD MOTHERHOOD RANKINGS

me with my newborn Baby Alexis

I think about choosing Organic all the time to be a good mother, with Organic Food being paramount. Organic cotton clothing, bedding, natural toys are all important too, and we all have to start with what feels right to us. I was shocked to find this article, but it is true, that as a culture, we really need to step it up in terms of taking care of ourselves, beginning with our babies...

Here are some quotes from the full article, found with this link:


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jh_9-k9ZBP4qt2kt9dHZD3adDvGg


US low score on world motherhood rankings


The United States has scored poorly on a campaign group's list of the best countries in which to be a mother, managing only 28th place, and bettered by many smaller and poorer countries.y rate, which at one in 4,800 is one of the highest in the developed world, said the report.

"A woman in the Unites States is more than five times as likely as a woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece or Italy to die from pregnancy-related causes in her lifetime and her risk of maternal death is nearly 10-fold that of a woman in Ireland," the report said.

"At this rate, a child in the US is more than twice as likely as a child in Finland, Iceland, Sweden or Singapore to die before his or her fifth birthday," the report noted

And it added: "The United States has the least generous maternity leave policy -- both in terms of duration and percent of wages paid -- of any wealthy nation."

Monday, May 3, 2010

MSG in Morningstar Vegetarian Products

This posting deserves a yucky face...


My 10 year old daughter recently had severe migraines. MSG can cause migraines, among other bad things.
If you want to avoid MSG in processed soy products, buy Lightlife products.

The following ingredients ALWAYS contain MSG:
Hydrolyzed protein,
Sodium caseinate
Yeast extract, Maltodextrin
Autolyzed yeast
Textured protein
Calcium caseinate
Yeast food
Hydrolyzed oat flour
Spice Extractives

These two OFTEN contain MSG:
Natural flavorings
Food seasonings

If MSG is contained in an ingredient that is listed on a food label, it doesn't have to be labeled by itself.

My daughter is vegetarian like me and she likes eating products like Chik Patties and Sausage Patties from Morningstar Farms. I contacted Morningstar Farms to ask about MSG in their products... such as the Chik Patties and Sausage Patties... here is their response. Notice how they say "small amounts". That is interesting because you only need a small amount of MSG, a sprinkle, and that is still enough to be unhealthy.

Morningstar Farms® Consumer Affairs 020901656A ...
From: "kellogg@casupport.com" ... Add to Contacts To: lonicaeisenbraun@yahoo.com

KELLOGG'S

Hello Lonica,

Thank-you for contacting us concerning the monosodium glutamate (MSG) used in some of our products. Our nutritionists and food scientists work very hard to develop products that are acceptable for our consumers. Small amounts of MSG are used in the product to achieve the desired taste and texture. We would never use an ingredient that is unsafe for our consumers. The Food and Drug Administration, the National Academy of Science, and the American Medical Association all have affirmed the safety of MSG. Even so we understand there is a limited population who have shown a sensitivity to it. Glutamate occurs naturally in protein-containing foods such as cheese, milk, mushrooms, meat, fish, and many vegetables. Glutamate is also produced by the human body and is vital for metabolism and brain function. We are sorry to learn that this ingredient has caused concern for you. We will share your comments with our food development teams. We do have many other products that do not contain MSG that you might enjoy. Thanks, again, for your inquiry. We hope you will find this information helpful.

Best of health,
Mark A. Suriano Consumer Specialist Consumer Affairs

TLXMAS01/cl 020901656A


With 4 children in our family, we are always researching the healthiest options for everyone. Click the picture of our baby below to see the Organic Baby Clothing.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Breast is Best: Study: Lack of breastfeeding costs lives, billions of dollars

This is me nursing my third baby, Alexis Arianna Ceylon Eisenbraun. She is turning 2 this week! (But I have 8 month old baby Sofia as my avid nurser now... )

It is good to see that women who breastfeed their babies are truly doing the best possible thing for them. Breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months in not "crazy" or "weird". It is sane, smart, and healthy.

For many women, it is exactly as the article says...

"...if a new mom is struggling with breastfeeding, she may end up in a situation where "grandmother suggests to stop the silliness and give formula instead."

Fortunately, I had a great mom for a role model! I encourage everyone to read this article in CNN HEALTH... thanks to my midwife Jeanne Prentice for pointing it out to me!


http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/05/breastfeeding.costs/index.html?hpt=Sbin



You can click the picture below of my son and my third daughter, baby Sofia, to see the Organic Cotton Baby & Kids Clothing & Toys we have on our website, The Organic Company.com