Ideal Bite Tip of the Day

Wanna take a couple decades off your backside?

The Bite
No can do, but at least you can get the creases outta your birthday suit with eco-body lotions. Ideal Bite turns three today, and we're getting baby-booty beautiful with our fave skin smoothers.

The Benefits

• Safe enough for an infant. The FDA has tested only 11% of the more than 10,000 ingredients used in beauty products for safety.
• Petroleum-free posteriors. Petrolatum's an oil-derived ingredient found in many moisturizers.
• It's eco-friendlier, baby. Duh: Opting for products made from organic materials in recycled packaging reduces pollution and saves resources.

Personally Speaking
Toshio used to use petrochem-based Vaseline as face lotion. Seriously. We've since hooked him up with guy-friendly Max Green's Naked Rescue Cream. His pores would like to thank the Biter Team.

Wanna Try?

• Max Green Naked Rescue Cream - creamy, ultramoisturizing, fragrance-free lotion ($20/4 ounces).
• TerraNova Miracle Cream - rich jojoba and shea butter cream with 80% certified-organic ingredients ($23/5.25 ounces).
• Blooming Lotus Groundation Luminous Lotion - sandalwood-scented, with smoky quartz essences, said to have a grounding effect on the senses ($18/8 ounces).
• Beautiful Soap & Co. Grapefruit Lotion - enriched with vitamin E and aloe vera, and has an energizing citrus scent ($10).
• Skin Deep - find out what those long words in the ingredient lists of your fave products actually mean.

Ideal Bite Tip of the Day - Just for the Ladies

Aching belly got you whimpering like a cocker spaniel?

The Bite
Stray from regular cramp control methods. Instead, try a holistic approach that includes techniques like massage and natural pain relievers and that isn't so doggone synthetic.

The Benefits

• Getting a leash on pain. Alternative medicine practitioners have used these remedies for centuries.
• Feeling less shaggy. Natural options such as primrose oil are less likely to cause side effects than your average dose of prescription-only Ponstel.
• Not treating the earth like a pooper-scooper. Fewer synthetic pills means less chance of toxic chems ending up in our water supply - and the water supplies of at least 24 major American cities already contain trace amounts of pharmaceuticals.

Personally Speaking
Jen uses her cramps as an excuse to get massages - but suspiciously, she gets them more than once a month...

Wanna Try?

• Exercise - it improves blood and oxygen circulation, including through the pelvis, and releases feel-good endorphins.
• Get a Massage - massage therapists can target your abdomen to ease the tension.
• Avoid Caffeine - it constricts blood vessels and increases tension.
• Eat Less Dairy and Meat - antibiotics we add to certain foods may make cramps worse.
• Spice with Cayenne - cayenne pepper also improves blood circulation.
• Jigsaw Health Activated B - sustained-release B vitamins; Bs may also help with nonmenstrual cramps ($30).
• Spectrum Essentials Evening Primrose Oil - widely used in Europe for PMS symptoms, it packs healthy omega fatty acids; so does borage oil ($11-$15).
• Aura Cacia Jasmine Massage Oil - jasmine's another PMS symptom-soother; use it to massage your abs ($7).

Yet another creative recycling idea - CD cases

I started going through my close the other day and found a boot box FULL of CD cases. Some still had discs in them, but for the most part they were just sitting there, taking up space, and doing nothing. So I sat and thought for a minute about what I could possibly use these for rather than just tossing them into the recycle bin (where a few of them still might end up).

So I thought long and hard and came up with an idea. I don't know how smoothly this project will go, but I suppose I will give it a go. My idea is to stick them all together and make a huge picture frame for my wall. Something similar to this frame I found on Target. Only bigger ... and all the pictures would be the same size.

I even have figured out the potential problem with changing out the pictures in the frame. The ones that serve as the base (the part that would hang from the wall) will be glued so that the back of the CD case is visible. That way, when I take the thing off the wall, I can lay it on its front side and open the door from the back.

I am so excited for this project. I have several things that I plan on getting done this afternoon, so be prepared for all those posts I have lined up to finally get posted! Also ready yourself for some project pictures!! HOORAY for the weekend!

Slow Posting

Hey guys - I'm sorry for the slowness of my posting lately. Things have picked up at work and I really haven't had any time to sit and do the research I need to.

I promise that I have 3 articles in the works and many more that have yet to be typed. But all of them need a little more in order to be posted. I will try to get some of them up this weekend.

Greennie love - Beth

Ideal Bite Tip of the Day

Want a clearer picture of the rice- and wheat-alternative trend?

The Bite
Come out of the dark(room), and let this tip bring good-for-you-and-the-planet rice and wheat replacements amaranth, chia, quinoa, and spelt (once-crunchy-now-cool) into plain focus.

The Benefits

• The eco-contrast. Examples: Spelt is naturally more resistant to disease and pests than wheat, so it grows with 1/3-less nitrogen fertilizer. Amaranth is often raised without irrigation (unlike water-hogs such as corn and rice).
• Exposure to more nutrients. Fer instance, a serving of chia has about 16% of your average daily protein intake.
• Projecting fewer allergic reactions. People allergic to gluten in wheat can opt for amaranth, chia, and quinoa. (Note: Spelt does contain gluten.)
• Looking good for your glamour shots. Amaranth flour contains fewer carbs than its wheat equivalent.

Personally Speaking
Raised on Cream of Wheat, Toshio now prefers quinoa with raisins and walnuts sprinkled on top for breakfast.

Wanna Try?

• Amaranth - has 30% more protein than other cereals. Try: Health Valley Cereal ($9/22 ounces).
• Chia - grain with the highest proportion of heart-healthy omega-3s. Try: Ruth's Chia Goodness ($8/12 ounces).
• Quinoa - bulgur-wheat alternative that like amaranth, has lots of protein and essential acids (keep your green cred by pronouncing it right: It's "keen-wah"). Try: Ancient Harvest Polenta ($26/216 ounces).
• Spelt - also packs lotsa protein, making it a filling snack. Try: Vita-Spelt Sesame Sticks ($6/9.5 ounces).
• Whole Foods - handy cooking instructions chart for all types of grains.