Mommy Greenest

Healthy Living, Less Judgment

  • Home
  • Book
  • Categories
    • Healthy Living
    • Mommy Greenest Approved
    • Eco Beauty & Fashion
    • Natural Parenting
    • Latest Buzz
    • Green News & Events
  • Mommy Greenest Guides
    • Guide to Going Green
    • Guide to Eco-Friendly Fashion
    • Guide to Healthy Eating
    • Guide to Natural Parenting & Pregnancy
    • Guide to Green Beauty
    • Guide to Healthy Cleaning
  • New* NL Archives
  • About
    • Standards & Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Book
  • Categories
    • Healthy Living
    • Mommy Greenest Approved
    • Eco Beauty & Fashion
    • Natural Parenting
    • Latest Buzz
    • Green News & Events
  • Mommy Greenest Guides
    • Guide to Going Green
    • Guide to Eco-Friendly Fashion
    • Guide to Healthy Eating
    • Guide to Natural Parenting & Pregnancy
    • Guide to Green Beauty
    • Guide to Healthy Cleaning
  • New* NL Archives
  • About
    • Standards & Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • non-toxic holiday toys against white background
    Healthy Living

    How to Buy Non-Toxic Holiday Toys

    December 3, 2015 /

    Ah, the holidays. We’re checking the list twice—and we want those to be non-toxic holiday toys, right? Sadly, sometimes it seems like that’s easier said than done. In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was passed to regulate lead and phthalates in toys and infant products after a public scare related to those made primarily in China. But each year another batch of tainted imported holiday toys is discovered here in the United States—including toxic chemicals linked to obesity, asthma and even cancer. Here’s a quick guide to buying non-toxic holiday toys, plus my favorite picks of the season!

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 4 Comments

    You May Also Like

    girl brushing teeth with kids toothpaste

    Your Kids Toothpaste Could Be Toxic

    December 19, 2014
    a red apple with a slice cut out on a white background

    Poison Apples

    April 28, 2014
    Mommy Greenest survey logo

    97% of Readers Trust Mommy Greenest!

    September 7, 2015
  • vegan tofurkey that looks like thanksgiving turkey with stuffing on a plate
    Healthy Living

    How To Plan An Eco Friendly Thanksgiving

    November 16, 2015 /

    Planning an eco friendly Thanksgiving is not as hard as you might think—it just means asking a few questions that might slightly shift your traditions. Do you typically buy a cut flower arrangement for the table? Look for organic flowers or a beautiful living succulent arrangement. Is turkey your main course? Find a free range, organic, heritage bird—and add vegetarian and vegan side dishes that can combine to become a main course for those who avoid poultry. You can even shop your local farmer’s market for healthy vegetables and fruits for your feast, and find recycled elements for your holiday decor. Follow my countdown for tips on menu planning, decorating, shopping and…

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Flood Zone Homes

    February 18, 2022
    mommy greenest daily affirmation

    Today’s InspirApril Daily Affirmation: Yes

    April 12, 2015

    The Beautiful World of Sally Rooney

    March 17, 2022
  • tree ornament carbon offset
    Mommy Greenest Approved

    Carbon Offset: The Gift That Keeps On Giving

    December 15, 2014 /

    Are you looking for a holiday gift that keeps on giving? Consider a carbon-balanced gift from TerraPass, like this cute tree ornament embedded with parsley, basil and chive seeds. Buy one plantable tree and you support the Arcata Community Forest project, which is funded by carbon offsets. Each year the forest absorbs the equivalent CO2 to taking 550 cars off the road. Love! 

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 1 Comment

    You May Also Like

    Mommy Greenest Approved: Kids Konserve

    August 19, 2013
    Allgood Provisions healthy snacks

    Mommy Greenest Approved: Allgood Provisions Healthy Snacks

    October 14, 2015
    beautiful Latina model wearing black spaghetti strap tee

    Mommy Greenest Approved: Purely Posh

    July 5, 2013
  • thanksgiving holiday turkey table
    Healthy Living

    5 Tips to Stay Safe from Salmonella

    November 26, 2014 /

    Whether it’s organic, free range, non-GMO, cage-free or kosher turkey—now that you’ve figured out what kind of bird you’re serving tomorrow, can we take a minute to address the issue of salmonella, which affects 1.4 million people every year? Unless you’re planning a vegan Thanksgiving, I’ve got five tips that can keep you safe. 

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    vegan sushi

    Recipe Hack: Vegan Sushi

    February 9, 2015
    curling paper receipt

    Goodbye BPA, Hello BPS

    September 2, 2013
    water saving showerhead against white background

    4 Water Saving Gadgets

    June 18, 2015
  • heritage turkey raises wings against white background
    Healthy Living

    Is Heritage Turkey Worth It?

    November 6, 2014 /

    So you’re gearing up for Thanksgiving, the time when supermarkets practically—and sometimes, literally—give away turkeys in order to get you to shop in their stores. And unless you’re preparing for a vegan holiday meal, you’ll need to get your poultry order in stat. But then you look at the prices: This time of year, conventional turkeys can be purchased for as little as $.39 per pound, while at Williams Sonoma, a heritage turkey can ring up at nearly $200. Is it worth the price?

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 13 Comments

    You May Also Like

    cockroach on white background

    Eco Confession: I Used Pesticides (& Lived)

    December 26, 2013
    alicia silverstone in short shorts and strawberry t-shirt

    Body by Vegan

    April 16, 2013
    woman wearing glasses, holding toy globe in her hands

    Mommy Greenest Guide to Going Green

    September 10, 2015
  • Latest Buzz

    Between Pages Toasts MG Holiday

    December 3, 2013 /

    “If you’re looking to have a green holiday or discover new products, check out the Mommy Greenest site.” -Deborah Stambler, BetweenPages.org

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Mommy Greenest on SD Living TV

    MG on “San Diego Living”

    January 4, 2014
    The Mommy Greenest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond cover

    Mommy Greenest Pregnancy Book!

    April 17, 2015
    woman on news set stands behind table covered in flowers with green tablecloth

    MG Earth Day on KTLA News

    April 24, 2014
  • pastel colored toy tea set on white background
    Natural Parenting

    4 Tips to Nix Toxic Holiday Toys

    November 27, 2013 /

    You’re making your list and checking it twice, but do you know what’s in those holidays toys? In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was passed to regulate lead and phthalates in toys and infant products after a public scare related to those made primarily in China. But it seems like each year another batch of tainted imported holiday toys is discovered here in the United States. Here are a four easy ways to tell which holiday toys are naughty and which are nice.

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 2 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Jenny McCarthy’s opinion about parenting inevitably circles back to one idea: vaccinations cause autism. But the facts prove she's wrong—and dangerous.

    Jenny McCarthy is Viewless on Vaccinations

    July 19, 2013
    toy house with stethoscope wrapped around it on white background

    12 Easy & Healthy Resolutions

    December 20, 2013
    woman wondering how to get pregnant as she looks at pregnancy test stick

    How To Get Pregnant? Avoid these 5 Chemicals

    November 30, 2015
  • holiday traditions
    Latest Buzz

    MG in Green Child Magazine

    November 19, 2013 /

                                    “We asked some of our favorite eco-conscious mamas (and grandmas) to share their favorite holiday traditions with you!” -Green Child Magazine, Holiday 2013

    read more
    Rachel Sarnoff 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    Los Angeles Thrift Store

    Bluedot: LA’s Westside Thrift Store Hotspots

    April 27, 2023

    Writing About Congratulations…

    July 12, 2022
    Kelly Rutherford endorses Mommy Greenest

    MG is Kelly Rutherford’s Resource

    June 20, 2013

Welcome! I created this blog in 2008 as a resource for healthier living with less judgment. I'm a mother of three, former journalist, and co-founder of the (shuttered, sniff) sustainable beauty and fashion site EcoStiletto. I was Executive Director of the nonprofits The 5 Gyres Institute and Healthy Child Healthy World, appeared on the "TODAY Show" and "CNN," among others, and shared two TEDx talks: Trash is Ruining Recycling and Can One Straw Change The World? Now, I work as a marketing and communications director at an environmental nonprofit while slow-boating an MFA in fiction and writing about a less dystopian, more hopeful world. Recent publications, talks, and more are here. Let's keep in touch! xoRachel

https://youtu.be/sOol1MIgois

rachellincolnsarnoff

Celebrations started on Friday with mind-blowing m Celebrations started on Friday with mind-blowing magic and concluded today at lunch with the family (missing two, but they were there in spirit) plus a bonus bike ride on the beach with my baby. I believe in doing on my birthday what I want to be doing all year so I started with yoga, did some writing, spent time with friends, loved on my family (missing the aforementioned), drank top-shelf tequila and ate good food (and cupcakes), stood on a corner and made some wishes, and sang a lot of Prince. Now that my birthdays have tipped past the halfway mark, the overwhelming feeling is gratitude. That I am surrounded by family and friends and community. That I have purpose and inspiration. That my body and mind can move without pain. I no longer take these things for granted. Thanks for all the birthday love — virtual and IRL, I felt it all. 
#birthday #birthdaygirl
These photos were taken 30 years apart. One is of These photos were taken 30 years apart. One is of me, one of my daughter. Who’s who? You decide. #mother #mothersanddaughters #minime #mom #momlife
I’m obsessed with the poetry of @katejbaer and n I’m obsessed with the poetry of @katejbaer and now I get to wear it. Here’s why:
“You can be a mother and a poet. A wife and a lover. You can dance on the graves you dug on Tuesday, pulling out the bones of yourself you began to miss.”
Right? And:
“You are not a ‘good girl.’ You are not 
somebody’s otherness. This is not a dress rehearsal before a better kind of life. Pick up your heavy burdens and leave them at the gate. I will hold the door for you.”
I will hold the door for you. I love everything about this idea. I may tattoo that on my body. And, finally:
“Let your life rest on what is already good.”
Yes, this. Already good. Thanks @polishedprints! (Not sponsored.)
#feminist #poetry #katebaer #alreadygood #amreading #amwriting #inspired #polishedprints #smallbusiness #womenowned #womenownedbusiness
It’s a complicated day for me and so many others It’s a complicated day for me and so many others. But this part is clear: “Oh, you love them like you never thought you could/Oh, you love them like the moon does love the Earth.” Happy Mother’s Day everyone. Lyrics (sort of) from @obadiah11 “Hey Little Mama” and always make me cry in the best way. #mothersday #motherhood #mother #mom
Start ‘em young. #morrisday #prince #dmsr Start ‘em young. #morrisday #prince #dmsr
This is my bff’s place and yes it’s every bit This is my bff’s place and yes it’s every bit as gorgeous as these photos! Message @foxhaven_lakearrowhead if you want to book for summer.  I can’t wait to go back! #arrowhead #lakearrowhead #retreat #weekend #family #girlsweekend #getaway #airbnb
I also feel this good after a bath. #dogsofinstagr I also feel this good after a bath. #dogsofinstagram #dogoftheday #doglife #doglover #dog
Great day celebrating the installation of UCBS’s Great day celebrating the installation of UCBS’s first book sharing library, which is the @ucsb_eli project of my fabulous mentee, Shoshana, aka @ucsb_littlefreelibrary! Students at San Nicholas residence hall can now swap and donate books thanks to her commitment and tenacity — and the generosity of @littlefreelibrary! (Also hoping we’ll get another Gaucho in the family.) #UCSB #EnvironmentalLeadershipIncubator #ELI #Gauchos
I love my book club. #AmWriting #WritingCommunit I love my book club. 
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writer #AmWriting #AmQuerying #Fiction #WomensFiction #UpmarketFiction #AmReading #Book #Bookish #BookClub #BookClubSelection #BookClubReads #AloneWithYouInTheEther
I read this book in high school, when I was sixtee I read this book in high school, when I was sixteen. Devoured it in days — gulped it down without chewing, belly full of words. As a girl without a mother, the passionate and painful relationship it depicted was everything that I imagined I was missing. That was when I began trying to write about my own family in order to make sense of it. Last night I had the privilege of hearing Mona Simpson read from her new book, Committed, and then she signed my battered old copy of Anywhere But Here. I didn’t tell her that she had inspired me to become a writer. But I think she knew. 
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writer #AmWriting #AmQuerying #Fiction #WomensFiction #UpmarketFiction #AmReading #Book #Bookish #BookClub #BookClubSelection #BookClubReads #MonaSimpson #Committed
My story is up on Bluedot! LA’s Westside Thrift My story is up on Bluedot! LA’s Westside Thrift Store Hotspots. What’s your favorite? Tell me about it in comments, please — round two coming soon! Photo: Bluedot, link in bio. Whee!
#Fashion #SlowFashion #FashionRevolution #Recommerce #Style #Motivation #MommyGreenest #thrift #thrifting #thriftstorefinds #poppintags
This is EXACTLY how refill could work. I went to @ This is EXACTLY how refill could work. I went to @petco to pick up dog food, asked the extremely helpful manager what was the least expensive, and she directed me to the refill machine. No hard environmental sell, purely economic. The bag is free, there are two flavors of nutritious food to choose from (Lula appreciates variety), the handles make it easy to carry, and then once it’s empty you bring it back and start all over again. This post is not sponsored, nor did I get free product from anyone. But of course I was so excited I documented the whole thing. Don’t you hate those giant, non-recyclable plastic bags of kibble? Or the humongous box (and associated ghgs) when you have food shipped to your house? Me, too. Now there’s a solution. Genius! #refillrevolution #refill #reuse #reuserevolution #reuserecycle #plasticfree #zerowaste #breakfreefromplastic #dogsofinstagram #dog #doglover #doglife #canidaecrew
On the first Earth Day in 1970, the voices of twen On the first Earth Day in 1970, the voices of twenty million Americans were heard. As a result, the U.S. created the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. The occasion is now celebrated in 192 countries, where people plant trees and pick up trash and ride bikes to raise awareness about how we can tread more lightly on this earth. But do you know what makes the biggest impact? Voting for legislators that believe environmental protection. There are so many organizations doing great work on identifying these good legislators, including @sister_district and @environmentalvoter. Meanwhile, let’s all take care of our little corners with gratitude for all the earth gives us, even as we have taken so much from her. #earthday #earthdayeveryday #earthday🌎
I have a recurring dream, in which I float level w I have a recurring dream, in which I float level with the second story of my childhood home, high in the canyon above Los Angeles.
I can’t see myself, in the dream. I don’t know what my limbs look like. But I feel the muscles of my shoulders stretch as I soar, growing bigger, more powerful, expanding with flight. And then suddenly, I fall. 
And as I hurtle towards the earth, instead of being frightened, I’m calm. Like an inverted fishbowl, the sides of the yard rise up around me, thick layers of green plants shimmering, heavy with dew. I touch down and each blade of grass is in focus and I can see through to the root. Then, pure joy buoys me back up and into the warm rose glow of the sky. 
My father is an adopted member of the Lakota tribe. For four decades, he was a professor who wrote books about Native American literature and poetry. Throughout my childhood, he taught me to see significance in the natural world. Hawks, especially, are good luck — an indication of better things to come. 
Together, we watch two red-tailed hawks swoop and dive.
“Dad, I have to leave,” I say. “Just for a little while.” 
“That’s fine, Rachel. Take your time.” He smiles, beatific. “We’re like those two hawks, you know. We’re connected. I feel your love all around me.” 
“I love you too, Dad. I’ll be back soon.”
As I walk the mute and empty hospital hall, away from his room, I think again about the dream and my rust-tinged tail feathers, signaling good fortune to those who know how to look for the signs. 
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #Writing #Writer #AmWriting #EarthDay #Hawk #Signs #HawkOutsideMyBedroomWindow #EarthDayEveryday
Once the love story catches hold oh this book is s Once the love story catches hold oh this book is so beautiful and the prose is stunning. One protagonist is a bipolar woman who refuses meditation and processes her mania through creativity — for me, this was especially fascinating as I have experienced this with family members. It really allowed me to go inside of this in a completely different way and exploded my misconceptions. Who has read this book — and what did you think? Can’t wait to discuss in #BookClub this weekend! 
#Fiction #WomensFiction #AmReading #Book #Bookish #BookClubSelection #BookClubReads #MentalIllness #Bipolar #Mania
Oh, aging. For a while there, it was like my skin Oh, aging. For a while there, it was like my skin was perpetually in Palm Springs — dry and desiccated no matter what I put on it. But I recently developed a quick-and-easy, Trader Joe's sustainable skincare, anti-aging night hydration routine that really does work wonders — and together, these three products cost less than $25! Link in bio to the new story up on Mommy Greenest. This post is not sponsored, nor did I receive free products from Trader Joe’s. 
#Beauty #Style #Motivation #Health #Wellness #HealthyLifestyle #MommyGreenest
After two years, feels like I should be further al After two years, feels like I should be further along than 12 songs. Sigh. Just got a new strap that’s not made for a man’s shoulders so that should help. New resolution is to practice standing up instead of sitting on the floor. Will that one day include playing in front of someone other than my dog? Who knows. Meanwhile, I keep chipping away at it, one song at a time. Anyone else still trying to master their pandemic instrument of choice? #music #songwriting #americana
Back in the high life again. #yoga #yogalife #yoga Back in the high life again. #yoga #yogalife #yogainspiration #yogapractice #yogalove #namaste
What a joy to celebrate the amazing @laura.tremain What a joy to celebrate the amazing @laura.tremaine and her timely new book #TheLifeCouncil last night. I first met Laura when we were both newbie bloggers and she is a force!!! For this, her second book, she interviewed hundreds of people and although she will be the first to tell you she’s not a therapist, it really seems to be a game changer for friendship in the digital age — check out all those five star reviews from people saying they’re passing the book on to friends and using it to re-evaluate their relationships. Last night was the first stop on her book tour and the conversation between Laura and the super sweet and stylish @ohjoy took place @zibbysbookshop — the gorgeous and friendly new destination that’s bringing bookstores back to LA’s westside FINALLY WHOOHOO! What comes through with all of Laura’s writing is true honesty and vulnerability and refreshing practicality— I can’t wait to read this book!  #AmReading #Book #Bookish #BookClub #BookClubSelection #BookClubReads
This is it. All 270+ pages. I’ve been waking up This is it. All 270+ pages. I’ve been waking up at 5 am every morning to whittle away at it paragraph by paragraph, page by page, for nearly a year. And for the past 24 hours, I’ve held it in my hands, reading each sentence aloud and marking the whole thing up with a red pen. It’s a victorious feeling, to close a physical book on that last page, let me tell you. Now I just have to work in those edits, plus feedback from two amazing beta readers, and then it’s ready to head out into the world. Can’t wait! #amwriting #amediting #amquerying #fiction #womensfiction #upmarketfiction #writing #writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #writer #omg
Load More... Follow on Instagram
©2023 Mommy Greenest
Ashe Theme by WP Royal.