Drop that Diet Coke!

My husband recently shared this SHOCKING study on Aspartame (by VICTORIA INNESS-BROWN, M.A.) with me and I feel it's too important NOT to share! Aspartame is an artificial sweetner found in Equal, NutraSweet and used in many sugar-free or diet foods.

Please go to http://www.myaspartameexperiment.com/ to see the full study and more photos.

I know alot of sugar free and diet foods/drinks are now being made with Splenda - this would be a preferred alternative over Aspartame or sugar, unless anyone knows of health concerns regarding its use.

Jeff is always researching the benefits of eating healthy, so I will try to share some more studies in future postings.

(My Attempt to) Going Green!

Trash Day is usually when I realize how much we WASTE and lately I've been convicted to change some bad habits. I wouldn't say I'm going as far as siding with Al Gore on Global Warming, but I think if we all made a few simple changes we could make a big difference. I am not an expert in any way on the following topics, so if you have tips that could benefit us, please share your comments!

1. Recylce! If you live in the City of Sugar Land, you should have a blue recycling bin provided by the city. If you do not have one, they will bring it to you if you ask! To get more details on what can be included in your recycling, go here: http://www.kslb.org/Recycling.html
2. Composting - you do not need to be a master gardener to know how to compost. I admit, my husband is the one with the green thumb and he refers to me as the angel of death when I get near plants, but it's my job to be sure we don't waste all those fruit and veggie scraps that help keep the compost pile healthy! There's a lot of info out there - I found a great blog that walks you through the basics. http://thethinkingmother.blogspot.com/2006/02/composting-basics.html
3. Reuse! It's true - one man's junk is another's treasure! There are many cool places to sell, barter or give away your old stuff, so find a new home for it instead of throwing it away. My favorites are craigslist.com and freecylce.org. It's also okay to donate questionable stuff to thrift stores - I'd rather do that than donate it to Second Mile because they get their fair share of junk there, so if you'd rather donate than sell, reserve your best for Second Mile or other area benevolence ministries. The reason I say this is because more than likely, poor people (or bargain shoppers) will go to a thrift store to purchase old board games or books, etc... while these kinds of items take up valuable storage space at the benevolence ministry that could be filled with desperately needed household, linens and baby items. http://secondmile.org/
4. Stop shopping so much! Come on - how many toys do your kids need anyway? Learn to be content with what you have. If you have the urge and financial resources to shop (not getting into debt to maintain your lifestyle - but that's a different subject), then do it to bless someone else!