Eggs-actly What You Need
Instead of paying close to $5 a dozen for eggs at the farmers market, raise your own chickens. These fancy digs make a style statement and keep cluckers happy and laying. They’ll also gobble your kitchen scraps and transform them into excellent compost. An optional extension keeps them safe from marauding critters. ColoradoChickenCoops.com
Mustard and Mayo, Hold the Phthalates
Packing a lunch saves time and money, and ensures quality foods, but packaging presents a conundrum: plastic can leach phthalates, and plastic bags and foil are likely to end up in the trash. A frustrated Bay area mom, Jacqueline Linder, developed LunchBots, made from 18/8 stainless steel. Compact enough to slip into a purse or backpack, they are, natch, reusable. Lunchbots.com
Fruit, More Fruit, Megafruit
Prunes, figs and dates are fine, but after a few hundred, a change would be welcome. How about lychee, mangosteen and baby pineapple? With tons of nutrients and antioxidants, Megafruit snacks are super concentrated and easy for travel. Polyphenols, xanthans, antioxidants, fiber and minerals are all welcome, but it’s the tangy-sweet flavor of the lychees that keeps us coming back for more. MegafruitVentures.com
Breast-Fed is Best-Dressed
Oops, there’s a breast! Nursing in public gets more challenging as baby grows and gets squirmy. And at the beach? May as well go topless. Stave off the skin police with this baby bonnet—its brim is broad enough to cover both baby and bosom. Made from machine washable, breathable cotton and bamboo, with a soft cotton lining. MoBoleez.com
What’s So Essential about Cardboard Boxes?
They’re everywhere! And that’s just the problem. A savvy refugee from the corporate world figured out how to rescue gently used and misprinted boxes. Marty Metro’s company works with large manufacturers, distributors and retailers to reuse instead of recycling, or, perish the thought, cutting down more trees. Moving? Finally packing up those high school sports trophies? You know who to call. L.A. office, 4032 Wilshire. UsedCardboardBoxes.com
