Dr. Oetker Organic Muffin Mix and If You Care Baking Cups

If you like muffins (and who doesn't?), we suggest checking out Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes.

After all, muffins are good and organic things are good, ipso facto organic muffins must be even better.

Where many baking recipes and mixes contain daunting amounts of butter or other fattening ingredients, the Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes require only milk, a single egg and two tablespoons of oil to produce a dozen delicious muffins.

(The mix itself contains no fat or cholesterol, according to the Nutrition Facts info on the box.)

Not only are practically all the listed Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mix ingredients organic, but the box itself is apparently made from 100% recycled paper fibers.

Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mix comes in a wide variety of flavors, but we've only had a chance to try the Apple Cinnamon and Carrot varieties, of which we definitely prefer the Apple Cinnamon. (The that Carrot was horrible, it was just a bit...subtle, and besides, we're suckers for cinnamon.)

Unfortunately, our enjoyment of the muffins was marred by the laborious clean-up stage. Even using a non-stick muffin pan, we spent ages scrubbing and soaking in an effort to clean off baked muffin bits.

Fortunately, we found If You Care's line of 100% Unbleached Baking Cups on a trip to our local cooking supply store. Made in Sweden, these cups require no greasing and their manufacturing process involves no chlorine. If You Care has a nice page on their website detailing why the whole no-chlorine-bleaching aspect is important.

Buying single-use products can often be wasteful, but in this case we feel the unbleached baking cups actually can help the planet by saving loads of water and soap (especially the water) by truncating an otherwise lengthy washing process.

Where to buy:

Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes (along with other organic Dr. Oetker products) can be purchased online directly through Dr. Oetker's online store (2-pack for $6.78, 12-pack for $38.65) or from e-tailers like Amazon.com (12-pack for for $33.60).

We didn't see a Store Finder page on Dr. Oetker's website, but the products are certainly available offline. We found our muffin mixes in the baking aisle at Whole Foods.

As for the If You Care baking cups, we found ours at a Brooklyn cookware story called A Cook's Companion ($2.75 for a box of 60 cups). If Brooklyn isn't a convenient shopping destination for you, you can also find these baking cups through Amazon.com if you're willing to buy in bulk ($38.88 for 24 boxes of 60 cups. That's just $1.62 per box and should keep you covered for several years of muffin baking unless you're running a bakery.)

UK shoppers can order If You Care baking cups through Ethical Superstore, while a site called Ellie's Eco Home Store seems to carry single boxes of the baking cups for $1.95 each. Surf around any of the major search engines and you should be able to find other e-tailers selling these handy baking cups.

Tidbits - Hilton Arc de Triomphe, Scandle, Earth Essentials Room Mists, Vespa S-50, Vectrix VX-1, Zipcar, Pizza Fusion, Preserve Gimme 5 and More!

Here are some eco-friendly product and destination Tidbits that caught our eye this month:

• Ah springtime in Paris! If you're visiting the City of Light, why not opt for an eco-friendly hotel. We've heard that the Hilton Arc de Triomphe is a leading participant in Hilton's We Care European Environmental Programme that emphasizes water efficiency, energy efficiency and waste reduction. The hotel may be functionally sensible, but it's also quite stylish. When we stayed at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe last September, we found that the hotel has a slinky, jazzy Art Deco feeling reminiscent of a 1930s ocean liner. If you're a member of Hilton's HHonor program (or if you've got the dough), try to swing an upgrade to the executive level where you'll have access to a super tasty morning-to-night buffet in the top-floor lounge. Kudos to the hotel for providing some relaxing green space via its lush, tropical and beautifully landscaped Andalusian courtyard.

• Looking for clothing that's comfortable, stylish, classy and organic? Sounds like a tall order, but actually Stonewear Designs has you covered on all counts with its Spring 2009 collection. A member of the Organic Exchange (a nonprofit working to promote organic agriculture), Stonewear Designs offers a range of comfy and flattering tops and pants perfect for yoga, jogging or just lounging around the house. The Stonewear website doesn't have a separate section for organic clothes, but if you browse the site, you'll notice that several stylish items including the Twister Top and Echo Sleeveless Top contain 90% organic cotton content.

• Like candles? Like body oil? Get the best of both worlds with The Scandle(R) Body Candle. As the candle melts, it produces a warm massage oil. It sounds a little painful, but actually feels quite relaxing. Scandle says all its candles are made with 100% natural ingredients like soy butter, shea butter, jojoba, vitmin E and essential oils. The 10-ounce candle ($24.95-$25.95 MSRP) comes packaged in a re-usable ceramic container. You can then purchase additional candles on their own at www.abodycandle.com and insert them into the container. The travel size 4-ounce candle ($12.95 MSRP) comes in a metal tin made from recycled materials. FYI, Scandle says its petroleum-free candles use a 100% cotton wick. Purchase Scandle online or search for a store near you.

• It's nice to see eco-friendly products make their way further into mainstream stores. The most recent evidence of this trend: CVS has begun selling its own brand of Earth Essentials(TM) Aromatic Room Mists. Packaged in recyclable 7-ounce aluminum cans, the room mist uses a non-aerosol spray to disperse essential oils. The mist itself is apparently non-toxic, fully biodegradable and has not been tested on animals. The mists are available in CVS stores nationwide and at CVS.com for $3.99. Interestingly, I've been reading lately how essential oils have excellent antimicrobial properties, which suggests that using essential oils to freshen the air could kill nasty bacteria and viruses at the same time... (Here's another related story on the potent power of peppermint essential oil from Discovery.com...)

• Did you shiver through last winter? Or are you looking for a way to lower your cooling bill this winter? Maybe more home insulation could save you money and make your home more eco-friendly by cutting down on the energy required to heat and cool your house. Johns Manville claims to be ahead of the curve in completely removing formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, from its fiberglass attic insulation. Johns Manville also says that it uses the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled glass (20% percent) among all fiberglass insulation makers. Click on the Where to Buy link on Johns Manville's homeowner website to find a contractor near you who carries Johns Manville insulation.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #1 - The Vespa S-50 (MSRP $3,199). Introduced late last year, this scooter offers classic Italian styling, top speed of 39 mph and sips gasoline at 85-90 mpg. Available now at a Vespa Dealer near you.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #2 - The 100% electric 2009 Vectrix VX-1 (MSRP $10,495). An update of the first Vectrix scooter introduced in late 2007, the 2009 VX-1 is highway-legal with a top speed of 62 mph and an approximate range of 35-55 miles. Since Vectrix scooters burn no gasoline, they're much better for the environment than vehicles with internal combustion engines. If the price seems a little steep, look out for the VX-2 (30 mph top speed, 40-50 mile range, MSRP $5,195) scheduled to arrive in Vectrix dealerships by this coming June.

• Alternative eco-friendly transportation option #3 - Scooters aren't ideal for carrying huge loads (although they can manage in a pinch, apparently).
  If you only need a car occasionally, why endure the enviromental waste and expense of owning your own vehicle when you can share a fleet of cars with a bunch of other folks in the same situation. That's the premise behind various car-sharing services including Zipcar, U Car Share, Mint (NYC only) and Connect by Hertz. Save money on parking, gasoline (generally included in the car-sharing hourly rates), insurance, maintenance and more while still having access to a car when you need it most.

• Pizza Fusion is a chain of pizza restaurants with locations in 13 states using organic ingredients in its pizzas, delivering pizzas in hybrid vehicles, offsetting 100% of its energy use with renewable energy certificates, serving food in containers made from corn starch, providing utensils made from potatoes and generally adhering to a lengthy and extremely impressive list of environmentally-friendly practices. How about the taste? It generally gets good reviews on sites like Yelp, particularly from folks who like the vegan and gluten-free options.

• Looking for a way to recycle #5 polypropylene plastic (used in many containers for yogurt, cottage cheese and other dairy products)? Many municipal recycling programs do not accept #5 plastics. That's why Preserve, Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm have teamed up with Whole Foods to let customers drop off #5 plastics in "Gimme 5" bins at a growing list of Whole Foods stores. Preserve then recycles the plastics into a wide array of kitchen and bath products -- some of which we have previously reviewed here on 1GreenProduct.com.

• There are lots of hip (and often expensive) organic cotton shirts out there, but sometimes you just want a basic long-sleeve organic cotton t-shirt. For those occasions, Macys delivers in spades with its Field Gear Organic Long Sleeve Tee (MSRP $39.50, but we've seen the sale price fluctuate between $9.99 and $14.99). Given the sale price, we found the shirt is surprisingly comfy and well made. The cotton had a substantial, almost sueded feel and even a couple of grommets under the arms for ventilation.

• Men looking for white organic cotton underwear have an option with the Calvin Klein Naturals collection available in boxer brief, trunk and classic brief styles. (Note - The underwear is technically available in black and willow colors too, but when we tried ordering some black briefs from Amazon.com, we received the white underwear by mistake. When we returned the product and tried again, we got the white underwear the second time too. That's why we think you can have any color you want, as long as it's white.)

• Not satisfied with the expert eco-friendly reviews here at 1GreenProduct.com? You can get loads of reviews from consumers like yourself at Buzzillions.com, a site where verified purchasers write reviews about products they've bought. Buzzillions has lots of non eco-friendly products, of course, but they've also got sections on Energy Star products, products made with recycled materials (more than 300 reviews on the Keen Ventura Canvas shoe!) and organic products. Don't be surprised if a given product, like that popular Keen shoe mentioned above, shows up in more than one category. FYI, Buzzillions said they would monitor this blog and would be happy to get comments/feedback on how 1GreenProduct.com readers like their site. This is your soapbox! Feel free to speak out.

• Should every business strive to be a Green business? In the sense that being Green means reducing waste and figuring out how to improve efficiency, the answer is probably Yes. If you're a small business owner looking for some practical ideas on making your business more eco-friendly in the hopes of saving some money, improving customer loyalty, boosting employee motivation and having a lighter impact on the planet, you might glean some useful information from Daniel Sitarz's new book, Greening Your Business. (FYI, publisher EarthPress says it prints on 100% recycled post-consumer waste paper using soy-based inks and offsets its carbon emissions with the purchase of wind-energy credits used to subsidize the construction of wind turbines on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.)

Traditional Medicinals Teas

I've been a big fan of Traditional Medicinals teas for years ever since a box of Echinacea Throat Coat (R) took care of a stubborn sore throat.

I don't recall if Traditional Medicinals teas were organic back then, but many of them are certainly organic now.

For example, take the Organic Chamomile tea (recommended for its calmative and digestive properties) that contains 100% USDA-certified organic ingredients and 100% Fair Trade Certified ingredients by dry weight.

Organic Peppermint (recommended for healthy digestion) also contains 100% organic ingredients. Organic Smooth Move herbal laxative tea with Senna leaf is 98% organic. You get the picture.

But what really gets us excited is the fact that Traditional Medicinals has just installed a large solar power system at its California headquarters, prompting the company to claim the title of "largest sun-powered tea company in the world!" The system's 1,450 solar panels are designed to generate 430,000 kWh of electricity per year -- more than 75% of the Traditional Medicinals' needs.

If you're wondering about where Traditional Medicinals gets the rest of its electricity, the company apparently supplements its solar power by purchasing wind energy credits.

(Traditional Medicinals says that it also tries to bring the benefits of solar power to some of the communities that supply its tea. In Rajasthan, India, the company says it is providing solar training, solar ovens for cooking and solar lights for night school education to the Bishnoi farming community that provides Senna leaves for Traditional Medicinals teas.)

Where to buy:

You can order Traditional Medicinals teas online from the company's own website (usually $5.49 for a box of 18 teabags) or find the teas in stores at Whole Foods Markets, Vitamin Shoppes ($3.99-4.99) and numerous other natural products retailers. Use the Store Locator to find the most convenient retail location near you.

Kopali Supergood Superfoods

Sometimes I just find advertising really confusing.

For example, I never understood those jam ads that said, "With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good."®

Why did it have to be good? Does the name Smucker's somehow intrinsically embody goodness?

On the other hand, with a name like Supergood Superfoods, you're certainly creating some high expectations.

Created by Kopali Organics, all 10 varieties of Supergood Superfoods are certified Organic according to USDA standards. Kopali says that means a government-approved certifier has checked the organic standards each farm, producer and processor involved in the production of Supergood Superfoods.

Kopali quotes the standards from the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP):

Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations... Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.

Four varieties of the Supergood Superfoods (Mango, Pineapple, Mulberry and Goldenberry) contain just organic dried foods with nothing added at all - no sugar, no oil, no sulfites.

I thought maybe Kopali had created the term 'superfood', but according to Wikipedia, usage of the word stretches back more than 90 years to mean a food with lots of beneficial phytochemicals (compounds derived from plants or fruits).

Kopali's Supergood Superfoods certainly seem to fit that bill. Take the Goldenberries. These puppies are packed with Vitamin A (81% in a 1.8-ounce serving) and dietary fiber (20%).

I don't believe I'd ever tried a goldenberry before, which isn't too surprising since apparently goldenberries are one of the Lost Crops of the Incas. But now that Kopali has rediscovered this lost crop, I hope others jump onto the goldenberry band wagon. Simultaneously sweet and tart with a bit of crunch, the experience of eating a goldenberry is a bit like biting into a slice of honey-soaked lemon (only less messy).

Have a sweeter tooth? Indulge in one of the five varieties of Supergood Superfoods covered in Fair Trade Certified™ dark chocolate. The chocolate enrobes cacao nibs, goji berries, espresso beans, banana or mulberries. I tried the Chocolate Goji Berries and have to say that the chocolate sort of cloaks the organic berry hiding inside, but it felt good to know that I was getting 23% of my Vitamin A while nibbling on a chocolatey snack!

Incidentally, it doesn't show up in the Nutrition Facts box, but according to a December 2007 article in the UK Telegraph, goji berries are #1 when it comes to concentrations of antioxidants (substances that may protect your body's cells against damaging free radicals).

Finally, if you just can't make up your mind, you can always choose the Supergood Superfoods Organic Mix - goji berries, mulberries, pistachios and cacao nibs.

We don't have any gripes about the taste, presentation or ethos behind Supergood Superfoods, but we do have two quibbles. First, all the Supergood Superfoods come packaged in plastic pouches. Since the pouches themselves are kind of small, you'll go through a lot of plastic if you nibble a Supergood Superfoods snack every day.

Second, with an MSRP of $3.99 for 1.8 ounces (which translates into approximately $36/lb.), you'd need a SuperBankAccount to make Supergood Superfoods a daily snack.

At prices like those, you might want to grow your own Superfoods. Incidentally, that Telegraph article did say that goji berry plants are tough, self-fertile and easy to grow, so if you're looking for a new gardening project...

Where to buy:

According to Kopali, you should be able to find Supergood Superfoods at every Whole Foods Market for an MSRP of $3.99 each.

Can a Bottled Water be Green?

Indoor plumbing is a fantastic thing -- turn on the tap in most any home in America and water gushes forth. I'm among those who believe we should use this essentially free resource as our main source of drinking water.

But suppose you've got a bottled water habit. Or perhaps you're going on a picnic or a long car trip and want a non-carbonated, unsweetened, zero calorie, zero fat, zero carbohydrate, zero sodium beverage along for the ride.

In that case, Primo water might just fit the bill. The Primo Water Corporation claims that it's beverage is 99.99% pure and that 3 out of 4 consumers preferred the taste of Primo bottled water over both municipal water and other bottled waters in blind taste tests involving thousands of participants.

(Primo attributes its taste advantage to the blend of minerals - calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, sodium bicarbonate - it adds to the water. I'm no water connoisseur, but I do have to admit that Primo sells some pretty smooth and refreshing aqua.)

But what really got our attention was Primo's packaging. As the package says, Primo is an "American Grown Bottle - made from corn, not crude oil." According to the manufacturers, Primo water is the "first nationally available bottled water whose bottle is made from plants."

While nearly all plastic bottles are made from petroleum-based chemicals, Primo's bottle is made from a plastic called Ingeo(tm). Wikipedia has a nice brief summary of how Ingeo is basically made from plant sugars. (You can find out more about Ingeo at the website of its manufacturer, NatureWorks, LLC.) So you can still drink bottled water while supporting American industry (i.e. buying local) and kicking the petroleum habit - what a sweet solution!

And as an additional bonus, Primo says its bottles are free of Bisphenol A, an organic compound in some plastics that has raised health concerns.

Note that green does not mean more expensive in this case. In fact, Primo is actually far less expensive than many other bottled waters. For around $5, you can pick up a case of 18 16.9-ounce bottles at Kroger-owned stores and other locations around the country.