Welcome to Green Diva Mom, your home for living green, inside and out. More than just a community of moms, Green Diva Mom is for moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings—anyone who cares about raising healthy children and healthy living on all levels, from what we put into the environment down to what we put in our own bodies. Check back daily for information, news, tips product reviews and recipes for leading a healthy life without sacrificing style.

©iStockphoto.com - David H. Lewis

After watching a recent episode of Oprah, I have become increasingly interested in knowing where my food comes from and knowing exactly what is in the products that I eat. Featured on that particular episode was Micheal Pollan, the author of several food-related books. As soon as the hour-long episode ended, I logged on to Amazon and ordered Pollan’s newest book, Food Rules. Since the day my order arrived in the mail, I have become more conscious of my eating and have improved the eating habits of some of my most stubborn family members. This slim, 139-page book has changed my life, and it has the power to improve the diets of any family willing to open the paperback.

Unlike many nutritional articles and books, Pollan’s Food Rules is written for the average person, not a scientist. The language is easy to understand, the reasoning makes sense, and the rules are realistic. The book is divided into three sections, each answering people’s most daunting dietary concerns: what to eat, what types of foods to eat, and how to eat. In each of these sections, Pollan provides practical policies to help people bypass the “edible foodlike substances” and eat real food. (continue reading…)

Photo Credit: Gary Stolz/ US Fish and Wildlife Service

Although garter snakes as a group are the most common reptile in the U.S., a few of the 13 recognized subspecies of garter snakes are endangered and require conservation plans to manage their populations. The most common pressure threatening garter snake populations is habitat loss. Snakes will live in close proximity to humans, but they need suitable habitat for their semi-aquatic lifestyle, which requires a sunny area for basking and a year-round wet area like a pond, marsh or stream edge. They also need prey, and some subspecies are more picky about dinner than others.

Living in close proximity to humans presents other survival dangers for threatened garter snake subspecies. Roads that warm up before the surrounding ground make good basking areas, until the snake becomes roadkill. Living in suburban yards puts snakes at risk of being run over by lawnmowers. Conversion of snake habitat to agricultural purposes may expose the snakes to agricultural chemicals or alter the surrounding wetlands to reduce prey. Rare garter snakes living in vacant urban lots are susceptible to trapping to be kept as pets, either by the person catching them or for sale on the illicit pet market. Trade in threatened and endangered snakes is for the most part prohibited, but collectors may flout the rules to acquire a rare specimen. While being kept as a pet may actually extend the individual snake’s lifespan, it removes the animal from the breeding population. The one snake may live, but at the expense of producing dozens of offspring. Particularly for these endangered garter snakes, keeping a diverse breeding population in a safe habitat is essential for their subspecies survival. (continue reading…)

by Barbara Loe Fisher

The results of a 2009 survey evaluating the vaccine safety concerns of American parents was recently published in the journal Pediatrics (1). Out of the approximately 1500 parents, who took the survey, 23% believe that vaccines cause autism in healthy children. But more than 50% were worried about serious adverse health effects of vaccination. The vast majority said they believe that getting vaccines is a good way to protect children from disease and follow their doctor’s recommendations. Still, more than 30% of those surveyed believe that parents should have the right to refuse vaccines that are required for school for any reason.

Most parents want to trust what their doctors tell them about vaccination. Mothers and fathers depend upon their doctors to give them good advice; but when the health of their child or a child they know deteriorates after vaccination (2), parents logically start to ask questions. And when they are belittled or even threatened for asking those questions, (3, 4) the relationship between doctor and parent is never the same again. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - TriggerPhoto

A sunflower room provides a living outdoor playroom for kids in the summer which can be expanded and moved each summer. Plant the sunflower room as soon as the danger of frost has passed in your area (consult your local cooperative extension for safe planting dates) and the kids can enjoy their own private outdoor enclave all summer. As a bonus, the best variety of sunflowers to use for a sunflower room, Mammoth Russian, also produce some of the most delicious sunflower seeds for snacking.

You can plant a sunflower room straight in the lawn without suffocating the grass or using weed killer. You can either carefully cut the grass around and between the sunflowers with a string trimmer or weedwhacker, or just let it grow longer for the summer on that patch. If you do decide to kill off the grass inside the sunflower room, we suggest distilled white vinegar, which kills the vegetation but is safe for use around children’s and pets’ play areas. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - Patryk Galka

We all want to make a difference, and to encourage our children to help others who are less fortunate. These days, though, it’s hard to feel like we can. Often we’re overwhelmed by the magnitude of destruction caused by earthquakes, or we worry that charity is only a short-term help. And as far as kids go, many places won’t let them volunteer because of insurance reasons. A concept called microlending, however, lets you make a direct difference in someone’s life, for a small amount of money - small enough that your kids can even do it themselves with saved-up allowance money.

Microlending is the private lending of small loans to poor people with valid business ideas. Often these people do not have the personal worth to be served by a bank or apply for credit. Bypassing the banking system and lending them money directly allows poor people with entrepreneurial drive or unused skills to make a step out of poverty. The loans can be for as low as $20, and can go towards things ranging from the buying of livestock to purchasing raw materials for crafts and manufacturing. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - SharonDay

I discovered kale chips while looking for something to satisfy a crispy snack craving during a period of low-carb eating. I’ve eaten low carb off and on since 2003, and unless you buy into deep-fried pig skin as a healthy snack option, low carb just isn’t a very crispy diet. Celery and other raw vegetables can satisfy a need to crunch, but as I quickly learned on my first low-carb experience, crunchy isn’t the same as crispy. After a few weeks, I missed that crumble-in-your-mouth feeling of chips and crackers. Crispy kale fills that dietary void.

Variations on crispy kale abound, often with names that attest to the somewhat addictive nature of kale baked until crispy. This disappears quickly around my house, often straight off the baking sheet. After one experimental batch made for a brown-bag lunch, I found that crispy kale doesn’t stay crisp overnight, but you can re-crisp it. Another five minutes in the oven after it gets limp, and crispy kale is good as new. (continue reading…)