I love being green.

But I loathe the possible side effect of smelling like a blend of hemp and granola from all my green efforts. And I hate when other people smell that way, too. Thus, I have put together a list of the best enviro-friendly bath product companies for ladies.  No hemp or granola; only cute, yummy-smelling products that also happen to be good for the environment.

So go ahead – splurge a little in these stores.   Your skin and your “mother” (nature, that is) will thank you.

100% Pure – This company boasts no animal products, fragrances, thickeners, emulsifiers, or preservatives.  Just pure, smelly, fruity goodness.  They feature a full line of bath, skin, and hair care products.  My personal fave is their body washes that actually make you smell like what it says on the bottle (genius, I know!).  They have several scents to choose from, ranging from mint eucalyptus to dark chocolate mocha. (Editor’s Note: If it’s all natural, can we eat it!?) My personal fave, however, is the Honey Almond Milk Shower Gel.  It’s seriously like taking a bath in a creamy almond smoothie, but without all of the clean up.

Lush Cosmetics – This company has stores in 35 countries across the world.  Lush hasn’t just conquered the far reaches of the globe, they’ve also become one of the green powerhouses of the bath product industry.  Their products are all natural and they have practically eliminated any unnecessary packaging from their products. Most items can be purchased by the pound and are wrapped with parchment paper upon purchase.  For their catalogs, and when packaging cannot be avoided, they make sure to use post-consumer materials to save them trees.   Lush also makes all of their products by hand (I’m talkin’ smashing coconuts with hammers kinda work), which saves energy and provides jobs.  If you’re going to give Lush a try, I strongly recommend trying their skin care line.  I personally love Ultrabland, a peanut oil based cleanser that can seriously take off ANY makeup you may put on your eyes without the painful sting of alcohol-based makeup removers. Read More »

There are two things everyone know about Americans:

1. We are the fattest country in the world.

2. We are the largest oil consumer in the world.

(Honorable mention: we produced Paris Hilton.)

But what if we could solve both of those problems (sorry, there is no solving the Paris issue) at once?

Enter Dr. Alan Bittner, a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles. He used the fat he was sucking out of those vapid LA women and turned it into fuel for his SUV. Yes, you read that right: he drove to work with someone’s thighs.

Apparently, this isn’t anything new: “Fat–whether animal or vegetable–contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel.” Even companies like Tyson are looking at using the animal fat – currently an annoying biproduct of production – to fuel their delivery trucks

This news not only means that we can stop “funding terrorism” by depending on the Middle East for oil, but that the U.S. could become the largest exporter of oil in the world! No need for offshore drilling; think of all those overweight Americans that we could drill! Think of all the money we could make!

If this isn’t an answer to all of our problems (obesity, dependency on the Middle East, the recession), I don’t know what is. Seriously, you can start right here. I have enough fat on my butt to get myself home for the holidays.

You’re biting into a big juicy hamburger and what do you crave to go along with it? French Fries? Boring.

You know what would really spice that meal up? Onion rings! Unfortunately, those little rings of fried goodness are not always an option when you’re eating at your favorite hamburger joint. And you cry.

But wipe those tears, sister. Say TTFN to that restaurant and head home to whip up your own tasty onion rings. Why not? They’re delish, easy…and they involve beer! Read More »

As I continue to try and wrap my head around Sarah Palin, the GOP’s newest Vice Presidential pick (“a woman making strides toward the white house, good!”, “a woman who thinks the government has the right to tell her what her reproductive rights are, bad!”), a few wayward comments flying around the internet and media have gotten me really confused.  According to sources, Palin is on record stating that global warming is not man made, and that polar bears aren’t endangered

…What?

“A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location.” Palin stated as early as a few weeks ago to a conservative magazine for it’s September issue. “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”

As a moderate liberal, I can often support Republicans and Independents, as long as I believe their brain is in the right place. The thing is…denying humans have anything to do with global warming, and working to keep polar bears off the endangered list goes beyond politics and veers into …well…complete and utter wrongness. Read More »

Most normal fajitas or any similar Mexican-like foods will set your number of daily calories over the edge with gobs of refried beans, sour cream, or crazy cheese sauces. Not this fajita—it has all the taste but serious health benefits as well. If you are craving something Mexican that isn’t quite authentic but that tastes fresh and delicious, this is what you want!

It can easily be a 15-minute dinner if you’re rushing, and it’s pretty versatile (any kind of bell pepper will work, the corn is optional, etc.). Here are the ingredients for one fajita:

• canola oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil (or any other oil, really)

• 1 thin-sliced chicken breast, cut into strips

• ¼ tsp taco seasoning

• ½ red bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips

• ½ medium onion, sliced into thin rings

• 2 tablespoons corn, fresh or frozen (optional)

• ½ to ¾ cup fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed

• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese

• 1 whole-wheat tortilla wrap

To begin, put the oil in a shallow pan. Let it heat up, and add the thin rings of onion and strips of bell pepper. Sauté them over low-medium or medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until they are browned, much reduced, and beginning to caramelize. Read More »

By now you’ve probably heard that fish is good for you—really, REALLY good for you! Besides being a lean and healthy form of protein, lower in saturated fat than poultry or beef, fish contains omega 3 fatty acids, sometimes referred to as fish oil. Although “fish oil” sounds kinda gross, it’s good for your heart, and may even contribute to healthy skin and strong immunity. Good stuff.

But how the heck do you cook it? A lot of fish is breaded or fried (or both), which sort of defeats the purpose of it being a health food (kinda like tempura. Seriously people…fried veggies?) However, one of the healthiest ways to cook fish is also one of the easiest.

Have tinfoil and an oven? You can cook fish. Read More »

“Dude—what is up with gas prices??”

This is the question on all of our lips in one form or another. Different people will give you different answers. – “It’s the damn OPEC countries!” “It’s the evil oil execs!” “Stop the speculators!” And so on.

At the end of May, the Bigwig Execs of all major American oil companies attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on price gouging in the oil market.

Oil Exec J. Stephen Simon had this to say:

In 2007, the average price per gallon of regular gas was $2.80. About 58% of this price reflects the cost of crude oil. 15% of the price reflected taxes, the remaining 27% goes to refining, marketing and transportation translating to “earnings of only about 10 cents per gallon of product sold”.“Since last year, the increase in gasoline price – and more – can be attributed to the rise in the cost of crude oil.” Other product prices have not risen as much therefore Exxon’s margins have been reduced. Current earnings are down to only 4 cents a gallon.

According to Simons, therefore, we should feel sorry for the poor oil companies—and should see them not as immoral pocket liners but rather as brave American businessmen, competing in a tough international market for the good of the country.

If his take seems a tad bit skewed—congratulations—it is! In February 2008, Exxon Mobil made history by reporting the highest quarterly and annual profits ever for a U.S. company—$11.66 billion during the fourth quarter of 2007. It also set an annual profit record of $40.61 billion.

Apparently Mr. Simon and his Exxon buddies inhabit a world in which billions and billions of profits can still represent a loss. What a world. Read More »

Diablo Cody: She stripped…and no one wants to forget that

Gas has almost doubled in a year. I smell the fumes of a conspiracy…

Blohan is poor and boring.

The Pentagon wanted Guantanamo Bay interrogation notes destroyed. Conspiracy #2?

Rupert Everett isn’t a fan of America. That’s okay. I can’t remember ever being a fan of him.

The dreaded College Wait List just got more confusing.

Midwesterners are drenched. But if you live there…your basement has already told you this.

Man, do I love the Golden Girls

This is pretty much the scariest picture that has ever been burned into my rentas

In a recent conversation, the topic of male strippers came up (actually, this topic comes up in more conversations of mine than you’d think). Being the kind of girl who’s seen Chippendales a few times, I didn’t see anything wrong with hot guys dancing (kind of laughably) in almost no clothing. To me, it’s just one of God’s many gifts.

A friend of mine, however, saw it as the exact opposite. In her opinion, male strippers not only emasculated themselves, but ruined their attractiveness level by attempting to attain the ideal hot guy persona: shaved chest, oiled body, and perfectly manicured hair.

I was shocked and horrified. Male strippers may be hilarious, but denying their hotness seems like a sin. Besides, most people don’t bat an eyelash when it comes to chicks taking off their clothes.

What do YOU think?

Jessica Simpson is set to rake in 3 million dollars to renew her deal with the pimple poppers over at Proactiv.

Basically, this means she gets more money than she gets to star in all of her blockbuster Hollywood films…to just stay kinda pretty and smile a lot. But get this! In the past, Jessica the Genius has gone on record saying that it was the prescription Accutane that cleared up her zits.

It wasn’t until she signed a contract with Proactiv in 2005 that she had what seems like a change of heart:

“I just had so much build up and so many clogged pores that once I started using Proactiv Solution, my face was just shining. I’m passionate about Proactiv because it worked for me and it gave me so much confidence.“

Maybe her face was shining because she’d returned to being excessively oily after the effects of Accutane wore off. Or maybe she’s just, you know, lying to make a ton of cash for putting in almost no effort. Read More »