Going Organic

At long last, another post!

I have been talking to so many people lately who are new to the world of organic products and/or one of my favorite shopping places - Whole Foods! (Don't get me started on the wonders and joys of that place - I may never stop!) What I have been handing out to people is this little shopping cheat sheet of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen of the produce aisle. http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214 You do not need to do an immediate overhaul of your diet yet you can reap immediate benefits with a small change or two.

My own family started with organic and natural products after we read about aluminum in deodorants causing breast cancer and Alzheimer's. http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/aluminum_in_deodorant This is especially so in women since so many of us shave. We are putting this toxin-containing product directly on sensitive skin. At the same time as we were learning this, I had just found out that I was pregnant with my now eight year old so I started drinking organic milk. One thing led to another and we started buying more and more organic products. Now, nearly nine years later, we eat a mostly organic diet. Is it more expensive than a non-organic (conventional) diet? Yes. However, this is a decision we made as a family that works for us. So, I will continue to drive my nineteen year old car and wear my sister-in-law's cast-offs (which is fine with me - I hate clothes shopping!) and be able to afford an organic life style for my family.

p.s. Once this was written, we started talking about how the prices at Whole Foods have stayed relatively steady over the past few years while the prices at our conventional grocery store, Publix, have been rising. The demand for natural and organic foods is rising, helping to keep the cost down. The more people that adopt this life style, the more the prices should, if not fall, at least not rise. Any little bit helps! Go for it!

Welcome! JB's Clam Shack is officially open for business!

Like many others out there, I am here somewhat due to the suggestion of others. I have thought for a while that a blog would be both fun and a great tool. I have kept a journal on a regular basis since I was in junior high and to this day still primarily use the black composition notebooks that my 7th grade English teacher (Mrs. Teaze, New Canaan, CT) had us use. When I thought of starting a blog, time was an issue (I work outside the home and have 2 boys - 8 and 5; yeah, you tell me how much time I have) and topic, what would I talk about day in and day out? Well, one evening we were all sitting around the dinner table ("we" being my MIL and BIL whom we live with) talking about an article we had been reading about nano-technology and what it was doing to our food. (We eat a primarily organic diet and try to live green.) One thing led to another and it was suggested that I do something on-line since I was so good with all the chat rooms, forums, etc. Don't ask me why but I do seem to have a knack for finding this stuff - want to know about the ball handlers for the Ebolian soccer team? Give me 2 minutes and I'll have you hooked up with a forum full of fans. So, here I am, ready to talk green living, organic food, what the pesticides used in foods, cleaning products, body products, etc. are doing to our planet, our homes, ourselves along with knitting, quilting, scrapbooking, motherhood and who knows what else will come up. Maybe my husband will even make a guest appearance and talk politics. Oh, and who is JB and why a Clam Shack? I'll save that for another day. :) In the meantime, here is the link to the articles that pushed the Clam Shack to open its doors!

http://www.aolnews.com/category/nanotech/