Love You, Mom Cookies

My mom has always taught me that when you care enough to send the very best, send food. She is always right. Give her sweets from her sweet, the Love You, Mom Cookies.

* USDA Certified Organic
* 24 sugar cookies
* Organic Bouquet Exclusive
* Unique gift
* Earth-friendly packaging

Buddha Bowl

Coffee, cocoa, tea, soup, cereal. You fill the Buddha Bowl with your choice of comfort food or drink. Talk about simple luxuries, this is it. A great gift for foodies.

Diva Doing Dish

Mrs. Meyer's Liquid Dish Soap - Lemon Verbena

I have tried many dishwashing liquids, from the cheapest brand to the more expensive name brands. I always found the name brands to pass my squeak test with the least amount of liquid; i.e., more cost effective, in my opinion. My squeak test specifically is when I'm done washing a dish, pot or utensil, it squeaks under my gloved finger before I put it in the dryer rack. If you pass that test with the least amount of liquid, you are a worthy buy.

I decided to try a green-conscious option, the Mrs. Meyer's Liquid Dish Soap in Lemon Verbena. It is fabulous. It is made with their essential oils of Lemon, Lemongrass, Peppermint, Clove, Geranium, and Fir Needle. They don't test on animals and it is biodegradable. They say that this fragrance is considered a "pick-me-up." It picks me up. Lemon verbena is a tart, herbal, natural lemon scent that is not harsh or artificial. It comes in a 16 oz. recyclable bottle, so the fact that a couple of drops works for your average sink full of warm water and dishes is a good thing at a time when less is more. My preference is 5-6 drops for my two-person household of dishes and pans. And only one drop on my wet abrasive sponge cleaned my stove top and outside of my toaster quite well!

The bottom line is it passes my squeak test, it makes my already enjoyed task of doing the dishes even more pleasant by how good it smells, and it's environmentally friendly. There isn't anything very diva about doing the dishes other than to not do them at all, but here's where I can help those practical divas.

The Casabella Premium Water Stop Gloves make your everyday dish washing experience a thousand times better with it's ingenious liquid-catching cuffs. No more wet hands, sleeves or arms. And look, they're a gorgeous shade of pink! The go-green diva always finds a way.

For more green and natural cleaning products: Shop the natural store at drugstore.com

That Delicious Planet Of Ours

Love the Planet Cookie Tin

I guess you can love the planet so much you could eat it. Super cute and super delicious and oh so very thoughtful. A few extra facts that make it even more special is that they are made with USDA Certified Organic ingredients and come in a recyclable and reusable gift tin. Any better than that and they'd be calorie-free.

Exclusively available at

Splatter Matters

No, this is not a birth control device or a funky colander with measly holes, or a measly birth control device full of holes for that matter. One of this Going Green Diva's best accessories isn't something that's worn at all. Because I love to eat and I happen to almost equally love my microwave oven (some habits are hard to break), I compromised. In addition to stopping the purchase of tin foil for the household, I also stopped buying plastic wrap. Using a paper towel every time to cover food in the micro was just as nonefficient as foil and Saran Wrap was in the first place, and cleaning splattered messes by hand daily was not an option. After some Googling around, here is what I was so happy to find. Maybe a little too happy. The Progressive International Microwavable Dome Food Cover.

Reasons why I chose this one.:

1) The width fits my smaller-than-most-households microwave. My micro plate radius is 11 inches. Size matters here.
2) The height enables me to reheat tall foods and/or zap something in a bowl. I like Level Molten for my soups.
3) It is CLEAR. Thinking about it, I realized that seeing my food in the micro cook was actually something I took for granted. I want and need to see the actual food spinning on the micro plate.
4) I will no longer desperately miss the other clear cover; plastic wrap.
5) I save bucko bucks and waste not on aforementioned plastic wrap.
6) And finally, $9 for shipping and handling. Yahoo!

Cool little products like this remind me that luxury doesn't always have to come with a hefty price tag. This little luxury will actually save you money, make your life a whole lot easier, and it is better for the environment. The Going Green Diva is on her way!

I found my Progressive International Microwavable Dome Food Cover at Amazon.com.

Message In A Recyclable Bottle

We go through cases of water every month, and I thought I was doing a good thing by diligently recycling the plastic bottles. The fact is, I can do better. What I found out about plastic recycling from Earth911.org was eye opening and actually disgusting. While every single bullet point below stands on its own in importance, I highlighted in red what instigated my desire to change.

* In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.

* Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.

* According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in 1976. In 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons.

* It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.

* Eight out of 10 plastic water bottles become landfill waste.

* In 2007 we spent $16 billion on bottled water. That’s more than we spent on iPods or movie tickets.

* Plastic bottles take 700 years before they begin to decompose in a landfill.

* If everyone in NYC gave up water bottles for one week they would save 24 million bottles from being landfilled; one month would save 112 million bottles and one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.

So the change that we took in our household was to say goodbye to buying cases of bottled water. We have now since started using a Brita pitcher. I found that recycling in our household has been greatly reduced (my boyfriend, the trash guy, is thankful). The water from the Brita, I'm happy to report, tastes good. And most importantly, I know I've made a dent -- even if it's just a knick -- in keeping the landfills clearer.

Find the right Brita pitcher for your household online at Sears, Kmart, Wal-Mart and Amazon

Mother Nature Loves Cupcakes

Did you know that if every American family planted just one tree, more than a billion pounds of "greenhouse gases" would be removed from the atmosphere every year? Imagine what life would be like if we never had to cut down a single tree. While the latter is inconceivable in our world, you can save a tree by paring down on your use of paper products period.

What is greenhouse gas, you say? Actually, I wondered the same thing. I know the word, but not the true meaning of it. Greenhouse Gas is "any gas that absorbs infra-red radiation in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH4), nitrous..." In other words, we need some to survive, but in excess, it causes irreparable damage to our atmosphere. Back to my cupcakes.


If we're going to consume, it's our duty to consume wisely. I am being literal here. Silicone muffin cups mean no more paper or foil ones, and you never get stuck with an odd number of cups at the end of baking -- think hot dog to bun ratio. I bought foil cupcake tins once, and they were each separated by useless thin paper ones! Cupcakes make everybody smile, and the earth is surely grinning at this reusable, washable and nonstick baking creation. Being a girl, I must mention that I love that these are pink.

These Calphalon muffin cups, as well as other silicone baking accessories, are available at Macys.com