Part of the going green process seems to be that I need to learn to get comfortable experimenting with new foods and especially with new brands. I was raised on Jif peanut butter, Pop Tarts, Tide, Bounce, Comet, 409, Pam, Hidden Valley and other mainstream national brands. I saw a study once that looked at college students' buying habits. They found that about 87% of college students will buy the exact products that were used in their household even now they are out on their own....a win for giant marketing companies everywhere. Good job brainwashing future generations!
I have had a hard time letting go of the brands that I am used to. Part of the struggle to go green/organic with groceries is that I feel actual anxiety at the grocery store when I try to find a good substitute product for one of my well known brands. Part of the anxiety is fear of the unknown (what if this doesn't taste as good or work as well as my brand.) I am also very stingy. I don't want to throw down 3 or 4 dollars on a new product that might turn out to be disappointing.
My husband and I tend to do better with this exercise when we go together. Call it "grocery experimentation moral support." During our field trip to Whole Foods we bought a handful of products that we have never used.
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Pom brand pomegranate juice: I thought this would be the most delicious juice in the world. It is the nectar of the gods, after all. Hubby loves it, I HATE it. It is the most bitter, icky flavor. I will probably only buy this for the hubby if he asks.
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Almond Milk: This was a total impulse purchase. It seems as though everyone is going away from dairy milk these days. It just tastes like blended almonds and water but has a disappointingly low level of protein in it (1/8th the amount in the same amount of regular milk). It's best use is to add it to hot chocolate. Who doesn't love chocolate with almonds?
365 Brand Fruit Strips: Also an impulse purchase and not tasty at all. It looked like beef jerky but tasted like I stepped on a few pieces of fruit and then scraped them off my shoe. I was disappointed at best, and contrary to the label, (Peach) the main ingredient was apple.
So our first round of food experimentation didn't go great but we'll try, try again.
If you are aiming to be green, using cloth diapers instead of disposables may seem like a no brainer. I don't believe, however, that the choice is that black and white. With disposables, you have to consider land fill waste, and chemical/gas use in manufacturing, shipping, and the associated packaging. With cloth diapers the main consideration is water use for washing, and some possible chemical use for cleaning. While water use may not seem to outweigh the factors involved with disposables, I have actually read research stating that, depending on where you live, it does. If you live in a place where land fill space is plentiful, but water resources are scarce, it was recommended that one use disposables. And vice versa. Using a cloth diaper service can reduce water/energy use for cleaning because they are able to be more efficient with washing large numbers of diapers at once. The drawback is that, most of the time, they will use some kind of bleach agent to disinfect between multiple customers, whereas at home you can use natural cleaners. Cloth diaper services are also considerably more expensive than washing your own.
To soothe my tired body after a morning of lawn care, I loitered in the shower. Probably for 20 minutes, I was clean after 3. Sometimes I turn on a space heater while I'm in the shower. I don't really need it, I lived just fine without this luxury for the first 29 years.
The "dog" was craving Wendy's. Each of my 4 items came individually packaged, in a bag and with 12 napkins and I threw everything away, even the paper, which I know is recyclable! What is wrong with me?!
I installed our electric mattress pad heater. I just turned it on. It was 65 degrees today. Later I'll be up there reading a magazine before bed and I want it toasty.
It is very easy to make your own baby food and only a little more time consuming, and doesn't really require any special equipment. You basically just steam or boil fruits and veggies for babies and then blend them with a little water to a smooth consistency. Preparing fresh fruits and veggies preserves many of the vitamins and antioxidants that are lost in the processing of jarred food. As they grow and can handle more variety, a food mill is invaluable. 
When a baby really gets going on solids, they may start going through two or three jars of food per meal, or about 8 - 10 a day. Those little glass jars add up fast as far as waste is concerned, not to mention the carbon footprint required to manufacture and ship them. Shopping what's local, in season, (and on sale!) at your grocery store or farmer's market is definitely a more environmentally friendly choice. It will also lead you to try different things, expanding your baby's repertoire and often making them more open to accepting a variety of fruits and veggies and trying new things as toddlers. The environmental advantages, plus the health benefits, of feeding your baby and toddler natural, whole foods definitely makes it an important part of a "greener" lifestyle!
