Lazy Saturday Morning

I love to hang out at Serenbe. It's a community about 20 minutes from my home that has more than 700 acres of greenspace, eco-friendly homes, organic farmland and some really cool shops and restaurants, which are mostly green as well. By eating at either of the two restaurants, the Hil or the Farmhouse (both of which have received positive national attention), you will likely be eating produce and dairy farmed there on the grounds. Sa-weet!

Ben and I took the boys there for breakfast at the Blue-Eyed Daisy, after which we went for a walk in the woods. The boys loved the tree-house and in-ground trampoline.

Here are a few pix.

Friendly Inspiration

Hey, lookie here! I have my first follower. And here I thought I'd just be talking to myself forever. Thank you, Shannon, for your support. You're always an encouragement.

Shannon is one of the people who inspired me to go organic. I watched her a couple of years ago as she joined a CSA, changed most of the toiletries and cleaning supplies in her home to organic and opted for cloth diapers with her new son. She and her husband also planted a garden (I think, organically).

It took me quite a while to follow her lead. But here I am, struggling along to go organic on a budget - but enjoying it greatly.

This pic is of Shannon's beautiful family - taken New Year's Day 2009.

And if anyone else is reading this - please sign up as a follower and leave comments and all that good stuff. I promise it'll make my day!

Organic Cleaners

I popped in at Babies R Us and picked up these two bottles of organic cleaners. One is a glass and surface cleaner, the other a tub and tile cleaner. They were clearanced for $2.98 each - way more than I spend for cleaning supplies. With coupons, I buy Lysol, Clorox, and Windex bottles for as low as 25 cents - definitely, not more than 75 cents.

However, I plan to start making my own cleaners, which are pretty much vinegar and other household ingredients. I chalked these bottles up to my initial investment, since I'll recycle the bottles.

I'm very excited about making my own cleaners. It'll be nice to not have the smell of noxious chemicals permeating my house. Plus, my kids will be able to help me clean.

These BabyGanics cleaners are regularly $5.99 a bottle.

Once I use up these cleaners I've purchased, I'll be back with a post of the recipe I use for the cleaners I make. I'll be sure to report how well they do the job, too!

Bora Bora

Get a free Bora Bora organic wellness bar here. They are all-natural, USDA organic certified fruit and nut bars. When you sign up to have the company send you a bar, you are automatically enrolled in a drawing for a free trip to the island of Bora Bora. I have a second email address I use for these type of things.

Thanks, Organic Deals and Coupons!

Fiddledeedee Organic Friday

Thanks, Fiddledeedee, for your organic deals roundup!

Don't Judge a Book...

I've always judged Big Lots as a dump. But I had to pop in today to purchase door handles my realtor recommended we buy, which is how I wound up discovering a treasure trove of organic goodies.

I am now a Big Lots believer. I stocked up on almost $28 worth of organic products and I will be back. In fact, I joined BL's reward program, the Buzz Club, which entitles me to 20 percent off the next purchase when I make 10 purchases of $20 or more.

I also had to swing by Kroger, so I got to make some price comparisons.

My purchases:

4 boxes Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese, $1 ea. (Kroger: $2.19 ea.)
3 bottles Glen Muir Organic Pasta Sauce, 25.5 oz., $1.30 ea. (Kroger: $4.99 ea.)
2 bottles Campbell's Organic Tomato Juice, $1.50 ea. (Kroger: $3.99 ea. for a comparable organic brand)
2 16-ct. boxes Yogi Organic Tea: green chai and apple spice, $2 each (Kroger $4.59 ea.)
1 box Cascadian Farms Fruitful Os Cereal (for kids), $2 (Kroger $4.99)
1 box Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal, $2.50 (Kroger $4.99)
1 package Kashi TLC trail mix cookies, 8.5 oz. box, $2 (Kroger $3.49)
1 box Cascadian Farms Organic Peanut Butter Chip Granola Bars, 6 ct., $2 (Kroger $4.79)
1 cannister whole almonds, $2.50 (not organic, but the non-toasted almonds are really good for you; I forgot to price check at Kroger, but think I remember them being about $5)

The $1.30 Glen Muir pasta sauce is a steal and I'm wishing I bought all the bottles I saw. It's even cheaper than the regular pasta sauces on sale at Kroger.

The $1.50 organic vegetable juice is another steal (Yuck! But my husband takes them to work and really enjoys them!). The same size non-organic Kroger brand is $2.19, the non-organic V8 brand is $2.99, and a comparable organic brand is $3.99.

[Just added: Ben just came home and got really excited about the vegetable juice - and he's not one to get excited about groceries. He's been buying himself the store brand and paying more money. Now I have to go back and stock up!]

Alas, the Big Lots in Newnan does not accept coupons unless they're generated by the store. Some Big Lots do accept them. If you're planning to go and think you may go 10 times over the next year, sign up with the Big Lots rewards club first for extra saving.

And if your BL does accept coupons, click here and here for some Kashi coupons.

Evos

After a spending a chunk of Saturday at the Ringling Brothers circus (Zing Zang Zoom) in downtown Atlanta, we decided to head a bit north in the city to visit a healthy fast food place I heard about: Evos.

Why can't this place be closer to where I live? I fell in love.




This was my selection. Tasted great. Of course, I didn't check the nutrition guide until after I ate it. I then realized that at 660 calories, plus 150 for dressing and 80 for rice noodles, I had by far the most fattening item on the menu. A good lesson: whenever a menu includes Thai food with a peanut sauce, it's gonna be high in calories.


Now, Ben on the other hand, went for the double-stack burger with airfries. They don't deep fry anything in this store. Ben said he missed the grease in the burger. I thought it was really good. More "beef" tasting than most burgers. And I love the taste of red meat, even though I don't eat it often. The burgers come from organic grass-fed beef. Two-thumbs up.


The fries are air-baked. My kids gobbled them up. Four flavors of ketchup available, from original to garlic to fiery hot - all organic.


The chocolate shake Benjamin chose was awesome. The vanilla shake my husband picked was very good. The mango banana fruit shake I got was okay. The kids loved it, but I probably wouldn't order it again. Why is it that I always like what everyone else orders? The milkshakes are made with organic low-fat ice cream. I swear I could not tell the difference.