I’ve really been enjoying learning more about eco-friendly products and organic food over the last few months. Once you start the knowledge train, you can’t stop!

As a household, we’re far from perfectly green, but we’re working toward it as a goal.

Something I read this week really got my attention. I knew that when you leave appliances plugged in, they use energy even when they’re not on, but I read that the average household has 40 things plugged in! I took it upon myself to count how many we had. We had 48 things plugged in. I unplugged 12. Felt good about it. Might not make a huge difference but it helps, right?

Here are the things I want to commit to in honor of Earth Day:

• Continue to replace light bulbs with CFL (we’re about 80% there)
• Firm up my organic food plan. I’m still kind of experimenting.
• Start a compost pile.  The Hub found a little machine like this that will make it easy.
• Don’t be lazy about recycling (sometimes I am)
• Keep learning about eco ideas from blogs.
• Get us on the Do Not Mail junk mail list
• Support local eco friendly companies

Enjoy my Eco Friday posts again:

On the Hunt for Milk

How Much More Expensive is Organic?

Waste Not

What’s your Earth Day Promise? Let’s help each other keep them!

I don’t profess to have a developed palate. I love wine and coffee, but can’t really discern between Two Buck Chuck and the good stuff. So the fact that I’m hunting for grass fed milk (or rather grass fed cows that make milk) because it tastes better is odd.

Blame it on the husband and his acute taste buds. A few years ago, he fell in love with Horizon Milk. For whatever reason he thought they were grass fed. I’m not sure if they were but the “formula” seems to have changed. So being surrounded by a ton of health food stores, I’ve been looking for milk that is grass fed.

Why Grass Fed?

Most cows are fed grain, corn specifically. Corn is pretty sharp, and cuts up their stomachs. The cuts can get infected and all manner of disgusting things can come out in the milk (yea, I know it’s cleaned out but the idea is gross). To prevent this, dairy farmers often use antibiotics to prevent the infections.

If ya start with grass you don’t have to give them antibiotics. Seems pretty simple to me.

Yet I cannot find any grass fed milk. Anywhere.

The good thing about California milk is it all seems to be rBST free. rBST is a growth hormone many dairy farmers use to grow the cows faster and get more milk out of them. I can’t find anything saying it’s banned in California (everything I’m finding on Google is grossly outdated) but I think consumers’ demand has made the majority of the milk I’m finding rBST-free.

So there’s that. Which just makes me realize I’ve been drinking hormone-y milk for years without knowing it. Man, once you start down this knowledge train about food there’s no going back.

I did buy Stremick’s Heritage Foods Organic Milk, which tastes pretty good. They don’t have rBST or antibiotics (so…the cow’s stomachs get cut and you don’t fix it??), and it says they have vegetarian food. Glad to know my cows aren’t eating steak (so wrong).

If you find grass fed milk, please tell me about it!

So Max is in a year ’round school, which means we’re finishing his 3 week Spring Break. It’s been weird…we moved here and I had 3 weeks to settle into a routine, then he’s been off for 3 weeks and has wrecked my routine. Oh well. Back to work and yoga next week.

He will have about 5 weeks off from July to September then 3 weeks off around Christmas.

At first I didn’t like the 3 week break. But now I think it’s great because:

• We can take vacations when everyone else is in school
• Museums and parks are less crowded
• I don’t have him sitting around watching tv for 3 solid months in the summer

So it’s an adjustment but it’s working out.

Over break we:

• Went to the San Diego Zoo (got memberships. yay!)
• Ate froyo
• Visited Legoland
• He went to Camp Cahito outdoor camp for a week
• Discovered Pinkberry. Ate more froyo
• Visited the Museum of Man
• Went to a birthday party
• Went camping
• Froyo (I have a problem)
• Made new friends and had a playdate

I don’t have many photos because my frikkin camera got stolen. But here are the ones from the zoo.

Next week I know I will miss having him around. I’m glad we got to explore our new city (and that there is still so much to see!) together.