Organic or Conventional?

When it comes to fruits and veggies for C (and for me and the hubby, I guess), I've always tried to go organic as much as possible. But there are times when you just have to roll your eyes at the prices of organic produce -- as I did one day recently when I picked up a pack of two (2!!) bell peppers and laid eyes on the price: $7.60. I put them back, figuring that I didn't necessarily need bell peppers swaddled in fairy dust. But other than price considerations, I never quite had a system for choosing organic over conventional, or vice versa, unless you count hunches as a system. So I'm glad that the Environmental Working Group came up with this handy dandy chart of the cleanest fruits and veggies (the "Clean 15") and the dirtiest (the "Dirty Dozen", so to speak).

• http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/
  

After browsing this chart, it occurs to me that I may need to buy bell peppers swaddled in fairy dust after all.

To Slather or Not to Slather

As an admittedly paranoid mama, it's been a relief this horrifically long winter (NY mamas, you know what I mean) not to have to worry about slathering toxic sunscreens on C. In fact, quite the opposite: I've been fretting about C not getting enough sun. But now that the leaves are starting to bud, we've been fine wearing hats and long sleeves/pants for prolonged outdoor play. Fine for now, but as the weather gets warmer and warmer, there will come a day, I'm sure, when C will be whining to run around in nothing but her diapers.

So, for prolonged outdoor play in the sun, what to do? There are serious, hormone-disrupting toxins in most of the chemical sunscreens we've been slathering on our kids, and the efficacy of most of these sunscreens are questionable at best. I've included a couple of links that I think are must-reads for anyone on the hunt for a good sunscreen. And hopefully the EWG (Environmental Working Group) site will be an eye-opening journey for anyone confused about the pros and cons of sunscreen.

• http://naturemoms.com/blog/2008/04/21/safe-sunscreens/
• http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/9-surprising-facts-about-sunscreen/

So, if chemical sunscreens are a no-no, what about physical sunblocks? Well, then, you have to start worrying about the whole nanoparticle controversy. It's enough to drive a mama mad. But after doing all my research, I decided that I felt comfortable enough with Badger, which I ordered on Diapers.com, to start using it on C. It was also one of the EWG-recommended sunscreens.

• http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/

And I appreciate all the information Badger posted on its website about the whole nanoparticle controversy (even if they concluded that nanoparticles weren't dangerous) and about its sunscreen (which doesn't contain nanoparticles):

• https://www.badgerbalm.com/t-SPF_tech.aspx

(But note to mamas out there running out to grab some Badger, MUST KNEAD THE TUBE!!! The natural oils separate, so lots of nicely scented oils squirted all over me when I first squeezed the tube.)

Finally, here is the EWG's list of sunscreens in its Hall of Shame. And to think: some mother has been duped into letting her little one roast for hours under the sun, under the mistaken impression that, with an SPF 100 sunscreen, he was protected. So infuriating:

• http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/hall-of-shame-whats-wrong-with-the-sunscreen-protection-business/

Hopefully this post helped more than it confused? In the meantime, look for us this summer at a playground near you. I'll be the one with the hat large enough to cover Texas, and my kid will be the naked one, wearing a hat and reeking of lavender oil.