Essential Oil Options: Puritan's Pride

As a huge believer in essential oils, I'm always on the lookout for the right balance of pricing and potency. So when Puritan's Pride reached out with an offer to try some of their essential oils, I was up for the challenge.

I recently tested out several of their single oils, including lavender, peppermint and euchalyptus. They had a slightly different scent from my usual brand, but that doesn't mean much on the outset - after all, plants take on the properties of the land where they are grown (think: wines from various countries.)

These three oils are great to have on hand for the winter months. Euchalyptus rocks for congestion and coughs. In our family we dilute a drop or two in a carrier oil and rub it on our chest or back, or you could add a few drops to your humidifier at night as well. Lavender is surprisingly beneficial for nasal congestion, though we most often use it in baths or in helping restless kids sleep. And peppermint is fabulous for fevers, nausea and vomiting. 

My daughter preferred the lavender and euchalyptus essential oils to the brand we had at home, and was happy to use that instead for her cough. The lavender helped with her itchy scalp as well.

What I loved most, though, were the massage oil and Scentsball diffuser. The Aromappeal® Wonder Oil  includes a blend of olive, sunflower seed, wheat germ, sweet almond, sesame and jojoba oils, along with grapefruit, lemon and orange essential oils. It was fabulous on my dry winter skin!

The Scentball Plug In Electric Diffuser is inexpensive and compact (on sale for $7.99 right now). It does require putting drops of essential oil on a refillable pad . I can't attest to how long the diffuser lasts at this point, but it is 

great to use as a booster for my oils to help keep us cold free this winter.

You can enter below to win essential oils of your own! One winner will be drawn on Jan. 6 and will receive a diffuser, Aromappeal® Wonder Oil, and a trio of lavender, peppermint and euchalyptus essential oils from Puritan's Pride.

You can enter by:

1. Posting below. What essential oil would you like to try most and why?
2. Tweet about the giveaway. Tag @goinggreenmama1.
3. Pin this giveaway.
4. Follow Going Green Mama on Pinterest.
5. Follow Puritan's Pride on Pinterest.
6. Like Puritan's Pride on on Facebook.
7. Like Going Green Mama on Facebook. 

About Puritan's Pride

Puritan’s Pride® (www.puritan.com) began over 40 years ago, with the mission of making the finest quality nutritional supplements available at the best value to their customers. Today, the company remains true to its original commitment and serves millions of loyal customers. Puritan’s Pride manufactures thousands of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements in their state-of-the art facilities located throughout the U.S. As part of the company’s commitment to quality, Puritan’s Pride only uses ingredients from suppliers worldwide that meet their Quality Assurance Standards, as well as Good Manufacturing Practices food quality standards.

Disclaimer: I received products for review and giveaway from Puritan's Pride but no other compensation. Opinions are my own.

Gifts that Give Twice (and a giveaway)

Giving a gift always leaves that unanswered question - "Did the person like it? Did it mean anything?"

This year, I'd like you to consider a gift that gives twice. 

One such option is the long-standing World Vision Gift Catalog, which offers more than 30 options for handcrafted items from around the world in addition to opportunities to support causes ranging from nutrition and safe drinking water programs, to poverty relief and community development programs.

The catalog includes hand-crafted gifts (which also include a donation to World Vision), including gifts for foodies, jewelry and scarves, and Christmas ornaments.

We had the opportunity to check out the Prosperity Cinnamon gift box, which includes Vietnam's renowned sweet cinnamon, sold to benefit generations of hard working families. I absolutely love the wooden box, adorned with the symbol or prosperity, and have to say it may be the best cinnamon we have tasted.

A great thing about this cinnamon, beside the taste, is that it comes from a renewable resource - the Cassia tree. Logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices have contributed to soil degradation and deforestation in Vietnam. Other environmental issues include water pollution, overfishing, contaminated potable water supplies, and urbanization.

I invite you to check out the World Vision site for this and other foodie gifts for this holiday season. World Vision is also giving away one Prosperity Cinnamon gift box to one lucky Going Green Mama reader.

You can enter by:

1. Posting below. What gift from the catalog would you most like to give?
2. Tweet about the giveaway. Tag @goinggreenmama1.
3. Pin this giveaway.
4. Like https://www.facebook.com/worldvisionWorld Vision on Facebook.
5. Like Going Green Mama on Facebook. 

We will draw one winner on Dec. 14, and we will contact the winner for World Vision to ship it to you.

World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children, families, and communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. It works in nearly 100 countries, including the United States, through interventions such as nutrition and safe drinking water programs, poverty relief and community development programs, disaster assistance, and more.In 2012, 85 percent of World Vision's total operating expenses were used for programs that benefit children, families, and communities in need. Visit them on Facebook or Twitter.

Disclosure: I did receive a sample from World VIsion, and the organization is providing the giveaway.

Sandal giveaway winner

The winner of a pair of recyclable sandals from Okabashi is #8 Jenn at the Greenmom. Jenn, contact me at goinggreenmama at gmail, and we'll get you in touch with Okabshi!

Recyclable Sandals from Okabashi Shoes

Finding a sandal that's comfortable, durable and has a shot at surviving a hectic life with two kids is no easy task. Too often I'm sacrificing something in the process, and usually my feet are feeling the pain.

So I admit to being surprised after checking out a pair of Okabashi sandals. I was pitched to try them from the environmental angle - they are vegan-friendly and 100% recyclable - but found that they are comfortable as well! They have great arch support, have little massaging beads and are flexible, both things that help with hours on your feet. And the fact that they're washable in your dishwasher allows for a crazy convenience in a crazy life.

The sandals are easy on the eyes and the wallet, costing less than $20 a pair. And I love that the shoes are guaranteed for two years, and when you're ready to part ways with the pair, the company wants it back - to recycle for new materials. In the last year, Okabashi was able to reuse over 100,000 lbs of scrap shoes. That is 10 tractor trailers full of scrap that would have otherwise be sent to a landfill.

Want to try them out? Okabashi will be giving away one pair of sandals to a reader! To enter, post a comment no later than Sunday, May 22, midnight EDT. You can get additional entries for 1) tweeting the contest, 2) blogging about it and 3) adding us to your RSS reader.
We will draw one winner randomly and post to the blog.

Disclaimer: I did not receive monetary compensation for this product.

A winner or two

Crawling back from my whirlwind weeks of work - and thanking God it's over! I wanted to belatedly announce the seed winners:

Free seed kit - Hipmommy (#1)
5 seed packets- Janice (#8)!

Please send me an email at goinggreenmama at gmail and we'll get you hooked up with Nature's Crossroads.

Another seed giveaway and a winner

As promised, we have a second seed giveaway from Nature's Crossroads this week. We'll be picking one person to get a free seed kit. Last year, we tried out the Fairy Garden Kit (which my daughter loves - and still carries around the tin with last season's leftovers inside!), but Nature's Crossroads has everything from heirloom tomato seed-saving kits to a Southern favorites collection that my okra-craving boy would love to get his hands on.

To enter, leave a comment with your name and a way for us to reach you (blog link, link to Google profile and e-mail, etc.)

You can get additional entries by:

(1) Tweeting it - leave your Twitter handle
(2) Subscribe to Going Green Mama in your reader
(3) Blog about the giveaway

Entries must be posted by 11:59 p.m. Feb. 28. One winner will be randomly selected by our in-house, impartial judge (our kindergartener).

And the winner from our first giveaway is Janice (#8)!

Seed giveaway

Itching to start gardening? Here's something to take your mind off these brutal temperatures:

We're partnering up with Nature's Crossroads, an Indiana-based seed company, for two giveaways this winter. They focus on organic and locally adapted seeds, as well as some heirloom varieties.

This year, they've expanded beyond the usual tomatoes, lettuces and herbs and are offering more than 200 new varieties, including a number of hot pepper varieties and new Japanese squashes, turnips and greens.

This week, you can enter to win five packets of your choice of their new varieties.

To enter, leave a comment with your name and a way for us to reach you (blog link, link to Google profile and e-mail, etc.)

You can get additional copies by:
(1) Tweeting it - leave your Twitter handle
(2) Subscribe to Going Green Mama in your reader
(3) Blog about the giveaway

Entries must be posted by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. One winner will be randomly selected by our in-house, impartial judge (our kindergartener).

Look for our second giveaway next week! Good luck, and happy gardening!

Gardening giveaway: Calling all brown thumbs!

Are you a brown thumb? Do you swear you can't grow a thing?

Can you look at a plant and make it wilt?

Relax...we all have those days. I'll be honest and confess that I killed every single one of the seeds I started this spring when I got a little overzealous in transporting them outdoors.

But I'm trying again. And if you are too, I've got a giveaway for you.

Next week, I'm giving away the Black Thumb Seed Collection from Nature's Crossroads, a Bloomington, Ind.-based seed company. The set includes one packet each of pea, radish, lettuce, flower, and kale seeds plus detailed instructions.

You can enter these ways:

1. Post a comment with your worst gardening mishap.
2. Sign up for the RSS feed.
3. Tweet about it.
4. Blog about it.
5. Promote it on Facebook.

The contest ends May 2 at midnight EDT, and I'll announce the winner soon after. Good luck!

Fairy Garden Kit Winner

The winner of the fairy garden seed kit is Mia J. Please contact me with your mailing information at goinggreenmama at gmail, and I'll get it sent to you.

Thanks to everyone who participated! Look back here for another garden giveaway later this month.

Check back on the comments page if you're interested in great ideas on how parents have encouraged their kids to get active in gardening. There's some great ideas. But the best story comes from Alycia:

My daughter has helped me in the garden since she was a toddler also. Her
favorite thing to grow has always been radishes, a very unusual choice for a
little one! Aside from often trying to harvest them too early, our "girlie girl"
was known for pulling the, wiping them off on her jeans, and eating them....dirt
and all!

Have a great week!

Giveaway: Fairy Garden Seed Kit

My daughter and I have gardened together since the time she started toddling. While we've graduated from a tiny, beach-sized watering can to a desire to play with all of mom's gardening equipment, it's been an interesting journey to share.

Imagine giving her her own garden. Yet I'm crazy enough to do just that. Tucked in her Easter basket this year will be her very own seeds to do damage with.

Want to let your little one do the same? (Or is your inner child tempted?) Next week, I'm giving away a Fairy Garden Kit from Nature's Crossroads, a Bloomington, Ind.-based seed company.

The garden kit, which can cover a 4' x 4' garden space, contains "fairy seed mix" (clover, chamomile, bachelor's button, sweet pea, and cosmos), toy fairy, baubles, and instructions.

To enter, tell me your favorite way you've gotten a little one interested in nature, the environment or gardening. (If you don't have a little one, that's OK, just share your favorite gardening tip for the group!)

You can get a second entry by subscribing to my RSS feed.

Contest ends March 12 at midnight.

(Disclosure: Seeds are provided by Nature's Crossroads.)

Cloth diaper giveaway winners announced

Thank you to everyone who entered the cloth diaper giveaway from KnickerKnappies. There were a lot of great tips for starting out on living green - and some that were new to me. Check them out.

We used the purely scientific random method of picking winners - in other words, my daughter chose a few numbers.

The winners are:
WiJoyMom
kenan and tree
Jackie

Thank you for entering!

Green giveaway EXTENDED: Clean up on cloth diapers

Calling all moms: Have you considered giving cloth diapering a chance, but aren't quite ready to commit? We'll give you a way to try it.

Heather at KnickerKnappies has offered a cloth diaper/insert pair to three readers.

To enter, leave a post with your name and best green tip by 12:00 a.m. Jan. 15. Winners will be randomly selected and will be announced by Jan. 17.

A little luau love

Our luau-themed birthday celebrations this week (yes, we had two) were a smash, and I'll be the first to admit that when planning the parties I was sorely tempted by the vast amount of luau-themed party decorations and favors I saw.

Ultimately, I reigned things in and kept things to a $12 bill and not a lot of waste. How did I manage?

• $4 went toward a tablecloth that will get plenty of use and will be easier to clean up after the kids (until it gets destroyed - possibly sooner than later, given the number of fork marks stabbed into it by a restless preschooler.)
• $4 went for freezer cups for the kids to keep their drinks cool at the neighbor celebration. It was fun for them, and we didn't have the waste or hassle of giveaway bags that way.
• $4 went to leis, the one extravagance, which I admittely overbought.

By breaking the party to a friend party and a neighbor party, we didn't have to rely as heavily on paper plates and cups, which we already had on hand.

The rest of the party decor came from two sources: my office, where a package of unused tabletop pineapples faced the fate of a dumpster during a recent storeroom cleanup, and a scrapbook store my mother frequents, which recently had a tropical-themed crop.

The decorations are fun, but after a week of the tropics, this Midwestern home needs a purge. But I hate the idea of throwing decorations away if I can find them a good home.

So here's the deal: We still have two more months of summer, plenty of time for a celebration or two. So, whether you want a Polynesian-themed party or just pineapples for your preschool class, I have decorations and some leftover leis up for grabs.


All you need to do to enter the giveaway is add your name to the comments section of this post, and tell me what you'd like to read more about on this blog.

The contest ends July 15, at 11:59 p.m. EST, and I'll announce the winner later that week.

The contest is over! Congratulations to Lisa Sharp. E-mail your mailing address to me at goinggreenmama at gmail so that you can collect your prize.

Thanks to all of you who entered and provided feedback on the site.