Consumer Product Evaluation

I found this project fascinating.  An app/website that evaluates products and guides us to improved products is a brilliant idea.  I enjoyed reading about it in the assigned reading for this week.  For whatever reason, the app did not work with my provider, so I used the website instead.  I was thrilled to find that some of the products I use are evaluated highly on the Goodguide app.  Some of my products, though, apparently need to be changed!  The following three products are ones that could be changed in my household.

I must say that I was surprised to find that Tide Free is so poorly rated.  It has only received a rating of 3.  However, another product I used in the past, Seventh Generation Free & Clear has received a raing of 8.  That would be a healthy switch to make.

My Redken Color Extend Shampoo is horribly rated.  It has actually been given a 2.  Paul Mitchell Baby Don’t Cry Shampoo, which would be gentle, has a 6.  However, I discovered a brand I was unfamiliar with, Carina Organics Nature’s Blends Extra Gentle Shampoo, that has received an 8.  I actually have wondered if Redken irritates me a bit; a change would be a good thing!

In the last year, I have switched toothpastes to Crest 3D toothpaste.  I discovered there is a ranking of 10, which I thought was wonderful.  However, I noticed that the Crest toothpaste I buy for my son, Crest Cavity Protection, has a rating of 4.  It would appear as though I now need to start buying my toothpaste for my son!

I found this project to be instructive.  Before this week, I was unaware of this product evaluation website.  I imagine I will be using it from now on.

Consumption Journal

Because life is so busy, I enjoy these contemplative assignments that make us stop and think through certain aspects of our lives. My days were quite normal days for me. One was a busy teaching day; one was a day that entailed less teaching, so I ran errands and got things done. On errand day I most decidedly used more fuel than I would on an average teaching day.

I used my kindle app a good bit one of the days as I was able to get most of this class’s assignments read for the week. I am rarely on social media, since I simply do not have time for it. So this aspect of my week was completely normal.

My food consumed was normal. I keep it limited and healthy, so I can enjoy desserts! My personal water consumption would be perceived as abnormally large, but for me, it is normal.  The water consumption that surprised me was how much water I use in the kitchen as I prepare meals and clean up after them.

I really do not think I had any big discoveries or surprises these days other than my kitchen water observation.   I do try to limit my errands to local stores whenever possible in order to limit fuel use. I tend to hold off shopping at stores across town until I can go to several of those stores the same day. That is what I did on my errand day. Not only do I use less fuel this way, but I also use my time much more efficiently.

Enjoying Locally Sourced Food

Collaboration 2.5           Preparing Meals with Locally Sourced Foods

 

I usually cook for dinner, so preparing the meal was not a unique experience. However, thinking of and searching specifically for local foods was a new experience. I was reminded of how our local Hy-Vee occasionally labels their produce with little signs proclaiming the town nearby where the food was grown. The fact that it was the first day of spring precluded vast amounts of local produce being sold from local farms. A store manager at Hy-Vee directed me to the herbs in the produce department, and they were definitely from local farms.   I couldn’t help but think of what a different experience this project would be in the summer. The farmers’ market offers so many different varieties of food, that every single item on a menu could be bought at the market!

I prepared and served tortellini with chicken, cheese, and basil; salad with feta, onions, and chopped toasted almonds; and garlic toast. My local ingredients were white New York cheddar cheese from Jisa’s in Brainard, NE and fresh basil from Fresh Green in Waterloo, NE. I bought these at our local Hy-Vee. I also used toasted almonds for the garden salad from RU Nuts, which is based in Lincoln, NE; these I bought at Russ’s. I realize the almonds were not grown here, but they are a wholesale company based in Lincoln. I have made a version of this main dish before, but the local ingredients really made it a different and much tastier dish.

My family sometimes eats together and sometimes does not. With four different schedules in the house, we get together-time when our schedules allow. Last year I was so busy that I remember eating standing up while I ate. This year has allowed us to return to more normal meals. It is definitely more relaxing to sit while eating! We were able to have some family time for this particular meal.

While eating, I shared some of what I have learned in this class. I mentioned the discrepant pay for coffee growers compared to the vast amount coffee costs by the pound in the States (.25/pound for coffee growers for a product that is sold for $8 in the states). My daughter wisely asked, “Who is getting cheated?” I was surprised at first, thinking she was not taking seriously the fact that farmers are paid so very little for the coffee beans they grow. Then I realized she was pointing out that we also are getting cheated by paying so much compared to the wholesale prices. In chapter five of Hope’s Edge, the author mentions that fair trade is trying to ensure that farmers are getting paid at least $1.26 instead of the 25 cents a pound they had been getting paid. Even at that increase, we are still paying quite an elevated price, and it seems the farmer is not getting the money he deserves! We also discussed how chemicals, fertilizer, and pesticides bring unique risks to the consumer. I also think that this is affecting my family’s lung health, since we have cornfields nearby. I never had these health issues when we lived further into Lincoln. Sadly, my kids are also struggling with lung and sinus issues; my daughter has a lot of allergies. After reading this book, I cannot help but wonder if these issues are brought on by what is added to the local fields.

We had a marvelous time discussing what I have learned. I know they greatly enjoyed the contrast in flavor that my local ingredients brought to my pasta dish. I love to prepare food, visit, and communicate, so I greatly enjoyed this project.

 

Nature Immersion

CYAF 460   Nature Immersion  

This assignment required me to do exactly what I love to do—observe nature. I love to nature watch when I go on walks, but I also thoroughly love simply watching nature in our backyard. My school year is so busy with teaching, taking classes, and being a wife and mom that it is a joy to have an assignment that requires me to sit and observe nature… Today I was able to enjoy the stillness of our yard, the trees barely moving.

Our neighborhood yards are beautiful to me, even in the winter. The deciduous trees that line our back lot lines look like tall sentinels; they gently wave in the breeze. The shorter evergreens are a bit calmer, protected from the occasional breeze.

The lively squirrels make me smile. They love to jump from tree to tree; our yard is their playground. A black squirrel scurries up and down a neighbor’s tree. Another squirrel crawls down the ladder from the neighbor’s tree house, acting like an official, departing guest. I can actually hear the squirrels scampering in the dried leaves, foraging for food.

The birds sing a loud chorus, as if they have the power to urge spring to come early. The blue jays swoop from our trees, flying off to someone else’s yard. The tiny sparrows flit from their favorite trees, as they explore other areas of the yard.

It is fascinating to think that under the dried, decaying leaves and inside the bare trees is life, waiting to burst out in the spring. The neighbor’s orderly wood stack waits to be used this winter. The raised garden beds are composting, resting until spring.

All this reminds me of chapter seven in Principles of Sustainable Living. Richard Jurin points out the health benefits of being in nature (181). It is calming, refreshing, and rejuvenating to observe nature. I have planned and practiced countless teaching lessons while I walk, but I have also been nurtured as I observe nature. Being immersed in nature provides an organic reprieve from our busy, hectic lives.