I originally wrote this article on assignment for Networx, a website where I do a lot of freelance work. They have tons of info on DIY home improvement, plus lots of “green lifestyle” tips and tricks. You can see all my articles here.

This post is reprinted with permission.


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The internet is rife with homemade “green” cleaning recipes that seek to minimize toxic chemical exposure while saving money and maximizing environmental stewardship. Which is awesome.

However, many of these recipes include the ingredient borax, which until recently has been touted as an all-natural and eco-friendly cleanser. Borax is most often used to fight grease (like in dishwasher detergent) and as a “natural” laundry booster (which is how it’s marketed – you’ll find it in the laundry aisle). I even have borax-containing recipes on this blog.

But in the latest edition of their Guide To Healthy Cleaning, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) gave borax a grade of F – “Highest Concern”. And over on Enviroblog, a leading scientist for EWG cautioned people not to use borax-containing cleansers or cosmetics. Obviously, this came as a surprise to many of us in the natural-living community, and there’s generally been a lot of confusion ever since.

Unfortunately, the truth is that there’s still a lot of missing research, and a lot we simply don’t know about how borax affects human beings. Here’s what we do know:

What is borax?
Borax is, in fact, a naturally occurring mineral. It is one of the salts of boric acid, a boron-containing compound, and can also be found under the names sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, and disodium tetraborate.

Boric acid and its salts are used as pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Sounds healthy, right?!

Well, it’s important to remember that the borax used to clean your home (and in some cosmetics) is not boric acid. They are similar, and similarly derived, but they are not chemically identical. Most of the studies referenced by the EWG and other agencies were performed using boric acid, not borax. Just something to keep in mind.


Is borax harmful?
The National Institute of Health calls boric acid “a dangerous poison”. But that’s boric acid, not borax.

The FDA has banned borax as a food additive.

According to the EPA, boric acid/sodium borate salts are irritating to the skin and eyes and can cause acute toxicity when inhaled or eaten. The symptoms often include nausea, vomiting, skin rash, and respiratory distress.

The borax Safety Data Sheet states that borax does not bioaccumulate in the body or biomagnify through the food chain. However, studies show that chronic exposure is associated with increased toxicity and more severe damage.

Most of the studies cited in the literature were performed on rats or other mammals, which makes it inappropriate to draw conclusions regarding human risk. It is believed that boric acid and its salts target the reproductive systems and can cause hormone disruption, especially in males. Human men working in boric acid-producing factories have increased risk of low sperm count and low libido. (more here)


Is borax eco-friendly?
Boron is an open-pit mined mineral. The process of open-pit mining involves drilling, excavation via explosives, heavy transport, and refining for purification. It’s destructive, and fueled by petrochemicals. It’s not pretty.

However, it should be noted that 20 Mule Team Borax, the most widely available commercial product, is extracted in California at a mine that has been lauded for it’s environmental standards. It is considered to be one of the cleanest running mines in the world.

Still, remember that’s clean . . . for a pit mine.

America’s Environmental Protection Agency is still mostly neutral on its safety, but the European Union has flagged it as a “Substance Of Very High Concern” and Europe’s International Chemical Secretariat places borax on its SIN list of hazardous chemicals.


In Conclusion
Upon reviewing all of this information, it seems that there is still some question as to the safety of borax itself (as opposed to boric acid) and its impact on human health. Therefore, the decision of whether or not to use borax in your homemade cleaning products will have to be a personal one.

As for me? I’m coming up with new, borax-free recipes . . .

♥

All packed up and ready to go // ♥ ♥ ♥ // Working in the airport before my flight.

Hello hello, and Happy Friday from rainy, cold, windy and hail-stormy Portland Oregon. Awwww, it’s so good to be back in this perfectly wet little wonderland!

Despite a depressingly progressing head cold, I’ve been having a blast storming around my old stomping grounds, exploring and visiting and eating ALL THE THINGS. This post is pretty much going to be an ode to P-town, because, well, P-town deserves it!

Today is the first day of Vida Vegan Con, the international vegan blogging conference. I’m speaking on a panel this afternoon (Vegan Pregnancy and Parenting) and moderating a panel tomorrow (Privacy Lines and Over-Sharing), and I’ll also be doing a stint in the “experts corner” on Sunday answering questions on vegan pregnancy and raising vegan kiddos. Im so very excited, to speak and share but mostly to learn from all these amazing vegan movers and makers here. Plus there’s tonight’s Veggie Grill Welcome Reception Dinner, and late night pop-up shop at the vegan mini mall for gorditos and ice cream sammiches, then the Galarama on Saturday night, and of course, Sunday evening’s big goodbye. It’s gonna be a wild weekend!

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And now for my favorite Friday ritual, where we take a moment to pause and reflect on all the little ways in which life shows us the beauty of the world:

Le Love List!

1. The reactions my friends are having when they see me . . .
“Oh my god, you’re all glow-y!!” and “You’re like a different person, you’re so freakin’ happy!” and just the simple “Wow, you look great!”

My Portland friends knew me through a difficult time in my life, as I suffered with postpartum anxiety, undiagnosed illness, and a failing marriage. It’s so amazing to come back to them, just 6 months later, so completely transformed both physically and emotionally. It’s so clear to them that my life is better by leaps and bounds, and seeing myself reflected through their eyes has made me realize how much I’ve changed. How the path I’ve chosen is the right one.

I love Portland, but SoCal . . . SoCal does me RIGHT!

Me and Libs at Portobello, post-feasting.

2. An epic dinner at Portobello.
On Tuesday night I got to eat an absolutely divine dinner with one of my dearest friends, Libby, and her husband Taylor. I’ve written about Portobello before (Here [wow that was sort of weird to read] and here) and it is truly some of the best vegan fine-dining I’ve ever experienced, easily on par with LA and New York and San Francisco’s Millenium.

We had a long, luxurious meal with many courses and many cocktails (because their cocktail menu is off the hook and their mixologist is seriously skilled) and I even had a Bonzai reader come up and introduce herself while we were waiting to be seated. Hi Marjorie! The Salty Fog was my favorite drink (though the Maui Mule was a close second) and the roasted cauliflower pizza with harissa sauce on cornmeal crust blew me away, getting better and better with each bite. Our salad was covered in tiny fresh flowers and the grilled fennel on my cauliflower steak was like no fennel I’ve ever had. I think the high point was the hot fudge sundae with house-made salted caramel ice cream topped with light fluffy whipped coconut cream and toasted pine nuts. But my personal favorite was the cheese plate, because . . . well, because ♥ ♥ ♥

This pic is so blurry but it cracks me up and I adore it! Also, Ami is literally over a foot shorter than me.

3. An impromptu party at the Bye & Bye.
On Wednesday night I had plans to meet up with a few of my girlfriends – all mama friends, actually – at the Bye & Bye (an all-vegan bar). Jacqueline was a Bonzai reader who first emailed me when I was pregnant with Waits, and at the time she was living in Ohio. We got to know each other over email and when Waits was born she sent me the sweetest handmade burp cloths and bibs. A few months later, her family relocated to PDX, and we’ve been in-real-life pals ever since.

Jacqueline and I walked into the Bye & Bye, and standing right there at the bar was my dearest Jo – holding her baby and ordering a Spanish coffee, haha. That’s my girl! I ran up and hugged her, started chatting, glanced over my shoulder and saw my friend Joanna running towards me. I totally squealed – was NOT expecting to see her there – but as it turns out, she had invited a bunch of our mutual friends to the same bar at the same time. Serendipity!

The next few hours were a series of squeals and glee, seeing old friends walk through those doors. I got to see Krysta and Ami and Kittee Bee and more. We ate amazing food, took turns holding the baby, and dished all about the past 6 months. It was so special and just what I needed. Love my Portland girls!

Also! my sister’s sheets are the softest squishiest most comfy sheets ever .|. Portland hail storms .|. spending my ENTIRE first day in Portland holed up in a coffee shop working on plans for my clients ♥ ♥ ♥ .|. walking in the rain in search of veggie juice and raw BLTs and local truffles (success!) .|. finally meeting Libby’s baby daughter! .|. long phone calls .|. French press coffee in bed .|. dancing to Macklemore with Libby and her baby girl, who can totally keep a beat! .|. Portland cocktails are really impressive .|. photo booth shenanigans with my girl Gena .|. being in a space full of SO SO MANY AMAZING VEGANS!!!

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Alright guys, now it’s your turn – let me know what you’re loving this week!


This happy little post will stay at the top of the page all weekend, so stop by any time to leave your Love List, ask a question, or offer some feedback! Or if you’re new, feel free to just introduce yourself and say ‘Oi!’! This is your community, so get involved!


Hope you all have an absolutely amazing weekend!

♥

Strawberries + hemp seeds every day when I pick him up from preschool. ♥

So as I mentioned a few Weekend Send-Offs back, my big camera broke right after Beer Fest. Booooooo! I love that camera, and I love the pictures it takes, and it’s hard to be a blogger without a proper camera! I tried to do a full WIAW with just my iPhone, but I wasn’t ever able to get an entire day’s worth of usable shots. Sometimes that little thing takes a great picture, but other times . . . not so much.

So this is a composite WIAW, spanning the past few weeks, and comprised of the iPhone highlights. Hope you enjoy!

Fireman eat breakfast on the floor! He was having the standard these days, which is oatmeal + raisins + cinnamon + maple syrup. Plus a fireman suit and shades, obvi.



Preschool lunch all packed up, from left to right: homemade “Better Than Larabar” (recipe coming soon!), homemade kale chips, peanuts + raisins in the snack ball, black beans with olive oil and nutritional yeast, carrots + cucumbers, snap peas. Vegan kid power!




Damian and I had our weekly “State Of The Waits” luncheon. We always order the same thing, the tofu curry noodle bowl, fried tofu for him and steamed tofu for me, add broccoli. Best meal in SB, period.



Another day, another lunch. This was black beans mixed with green salsa, olive oil, and nutritional yeast, and topped with hot sauce. Eaten with chips, quick and easy and healthy and delicious! I eat some sort of variation on this meal multiple times every week. Although . . .



. . . it usually has avocado!

Afternoon tea while grading papers – this smoked green tea was fantastic! // Selfie to take a break from grading, this was the day before I re-dyed my hair.



A mid-week picnic dinner with friends! I was totally lazy and grabbed stuff from the Whole Foods deli (gift card, baby!) – Beyond Meat “classic chicken salad” and Beyond Meat “Sonoma chicken salad”, for comparison (I preferred the classic) plus a bunch of roasted broccoli plus a few sesame tofu sticks for Waits. He mostly just ate broccoli though.We also had coconut water boxes, and you can see my friend’s amazing quinoa-mango-avocado concoction.



At the end of that week I made this amaaazing lunch bowl, with black beans and an entire bunch of swiss chard (steamed), drizzled with Goddess dressing. And can I just say, chard is the most under-appreciated of the greens! It’s soft and salty and RULES. My absolute favorite. Sorry all you kale heads!



Beautiful!



And that’s when I learned that Mr Harley loves raw chard stems! Haha, what a silly guy.



Starting the weekend off right, with a wheat grass shot at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market.



A Saturday afternoon snack – 2 mini artichokes with Vegannaise. I love artichokes somthin’ fierce!



Weekend brunch, cajun tempeh scramble with salsa verde and half an avo. Heaven.



Last Sunday night we made hummus tacos: corn tortillas smeared with homemade chunky olive and garlic hummus, topped with shredded carrots + sun-dried tomatoes + avocado (can you tell I’m an avocado fan? yeah, lots of avo ’round these parts). These were epic!

This is my weekly farm box, which makes me squeal: “I heart you, southern California!”. This is a half share, and it had: a bunch of spinach, a bunch of rainbow chard, a giant head of romaine, TWO bunches of kale, THREE boxes of strawberries, 5 oranges, 2 avocados, 4 mini artichokes, 3 small zucchinis, and a whole paper bag of carrots. I am incredibly grateful to my papa, who gives shiatsu massage to the farmer in exchange for my CSA box. ♥ // My current favorite juice: two beets, greens and all + a carrot or two + 3-4 oranges. So delicious!


And thus concludes this iPhone WIAW party. Next WIAW is the Portland Foodie edition, and my friends, it’s gonna be goooooood!

♥

Firefighters drink green smoothies, obvi.

So originally, this was going to be a two-part series, with part I covering my general thoughts on raising mini vegans, and part II covering my thoughts on supplementing said vegans. But as I wrote about our supplement regimen, I realized that there’s all these foods that I use in our diet, to actually act as supplements. Some of them are just delicious additions to our meals – like nutritional yeast, yum! – and some have to be hidden away because they’re much less food-like and much more “supplemental” – like the sunflower lecithin, blech! Either way, I intentionally include them specifically for their vitamin or mineral content, and in my mind they’re supplements more than food.

So, what follows is a list of those foods, with a short explanation of why (and how) I incorporate them into our menus. In general, children are picky eaters and thus it can be difficult to provide them with a well-rounded diet that they’ll actually, you know, eat! So really, these foods are great for all kids, vegan or not, because all kids are prone to poor or imbalanced micronutrient intake.

And just a reminder, the links in this post are affiliate links. That means that if you click on them, I will receive a very small portion of any purchase you end up making. If you like what I’m doing here, then this is an easy way to support my work. But if affiliate programs bother you, just avoid the links and google around for the products on your own. Fair enough?

Nooch on beans = perfect preschool lunch.
Nutritional Yeast
I don’t think this needs much explanation, right? Nutritional yeast – affectionately called nooch – contains 8 grams of protein in just 2 tablespoons, plus tons of B vitamins including B12 (in most brands). And man does it taste great! We put nooch on everything from beans and grains to salads and steamed veggies. Waits adores it for it’s uniquely umami flavor, and I love knowing I can add a bit of B12 + protein to so many of his meals.


Blackstrap Molasses
I wrote about this miraculous viscous superfood back in this post – as well as in my book. One tablespoon of blackstrap molasses (it has to be blackstrap) has a whopping 20% of the daily recommendation of iron, and close to 20% for calcium as well. It’s amazingly mineral-rich stuff!

I put a bit of blackstrap in his smoothies, and in his oatmeal as well. When Waits was younger he would eat it right off the spoon (which is how I take mine), but now that he’s a picky kid he won’t eat it straight. So I have to work it into his diet in small doses.



Sunflower Lecithin
So weird. Sunflower lecithin is a bitter, gummy, sticky substance that tastes awful and has a whole lot of choline in it. Choline is an essential nutrient than can be a bit tricky to obtain in high quantities . . . especially if you’re a fussy eater.

Since sunflower lecithin tastes so funky, I have to get creative. I can hide a little bit in a smoothie, but not much. I can also mask it in soups and some richer sauces, as well as in something like a marinara. It’s not the easiest one to work with, that’s for sure!


Kelp Powder
I use kelp powder as a source of iodine, which is a very rare mineral when you’re not using iodized salt (we use sea salt) or eating processed/prepared foods that contain iodized salt. But iodine is very important to proper growth and development – in fact, iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation worldwide. Little growing brains and bodies need iodine!

Kelp powder can be tricky stuff, since in light doses it’s pleasantly salty, but if you add too much it gets real fishy real quickly. So I just keep it to a light sprinkling. Kelp is super high in iodine anyway, so a little bit goes a long way. For me, I eat it on my salads. For Waits, I add it to beans and soups, to rice or quinoa dishes, and sometimes to steamed veggies (with soy sauce and nooch). It does add a saltiness too, which is nice.

Chlorella muncher.

There are a number of other foods, which I consider to be “superstar” foods, that Waits consumes on a regular basis. These are not necessarily high in one particular vitamin or mineral, but they are all-around awesome and health-promoting. They include things like chlorella tablets (powder is fine too, but we like the tablets), coconut products (dried, oil, butter, fresh), green juices/smoothies, and fermented foods.

In many ways, Waits eats a very healthy diet; the foods that he eats all tend to be quite nutrient-dense. But in all honesty, he doesn’t actually eat a ton of variety. He’s picky like any other kid. He likes what he likes and he’s not really open to much else. And that’s why I have no qualms about supplementing, with actual vitamins and with these super nutrient-rich foods.

And what about you guys – fellow parents out there. What are you feeding your kiddos to pack a huge nutritional punch? Any secret weapons? Let’s all share in the comments and help each other out!

♥ ♥ ♥

♥ ♥ ♥ My hanging tomato plants are EXPLODING, the experiment is totally working! ♥ ♥ ♥

Hi guys! I know I said I wasn’t going to blog this week, but, well, I missed you! Plus I’m super happy and I have a lot to be thankful for this week, so I really wanted to make a Love List.

Next week I’ll be back to regular blogging . . . from Portland! I’m leaving on Monday and I’ll be there all week, with Vida Vegan Con as the grand finale over the weekend. I’m so excited and of course I’ll be sharing all through the week, so follow along on Instagram and Twitter. I’m so excited to revisit all my old friends and all my old haunts in P-town!

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Music! I was recently introduced to Matt Pond, and this song . . . well I am playing it seriously nonstop. It reads like poetry, and it resonates very deeply with me – especially these lyrics:

I know I know
I know
There’s so much I don’t know
I still know someday I will make sense to someone

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And now for the real reason I’m posting today – to celebrate life and all it has to offer in all the myriad itsy bitsy magical ways:

Le Love List!

1. Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide is going into another printing!
My first book, Vegan Pregnancy Survival Guide, is currently flying off the press . . . again! I consider this book to be one of my greatest accomplishments – I am just so incredibly proud of it – and I’m filled with joy to know that there are so many positive, empowering books on vegan pregnancy floating around out there in the world!


2. Meeting with the organizers of SB Earth Day!
I was so honored – and sort of shocked – when the group that organizes the Santa Barbara Earth Day festival invited me over for a chat. Apparently, they read my blog post, and they wanted to hear more about my thoughts and concerns. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but they were so warm and genuinely interested in my perspective. They were very open, and now I’m going to work with them in the planning of next year’s event!

This, my friends, is the incredibly power that comes from speaking your truth! And now I’ll never forget it. ♥ ♥ ♥


3. the following John Lennon quote, which really says. it. all.

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”

Also, in honor of last weekend . . . I fixed my computer and it was – thank goodness – totally affordable, Hallelujah! .|. dinner at the incredible Crossroads, which blewmymindrockedmyworldohmygod .|. the best bottle of champagne I’ve ever had, hands down .|. vintage shopping on Melrose – blast from the past! .|. brunch at Sage Organic Vegan Bistro (adobo potato tacos for the win) followed by a KindKreme banana split – two scoops, caramel, and chocolate chips, hot damn .|. bottled Stumptown cold-brew coffee – a Portland flashback! .|. hot hot perfectly sea-breezy days, wearing a tea shirt and tight skirt, gosh I heart SoCal .|. the most exfoliating facial which left my skin supersoft like little Waits’s baby rumpus .|. discovering the cocktail Nirvana that is a Sidecar .|. when a photograph can tell you how you really are .|. listening to Adriano Celentano, the Italian Elvis, oh swoooon! .|. driving back from LA at 7 am with the sun so low and bright and the music so loud and good and the biggest grin that just won’t quit .|. the fact that I get to do it all over again today, oh I love you LA!!!

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Alright guys, now it’s your turn – let me know what you’re loving this week!


This happy little post will stay at the top of the page all weekend, so stop by any time to leave your Love List, ask a question, or offer some feedback! Or if you’re new, feel free to just introduce yourself and say ‘Oi!’! This is your community, so get involved!


Have an amazing weekend guys, and please get out there and EMBRACE LIFE!

♥