A Stay-At-Home Mom's Guide to Green Living

As a stay-at-home mother of two, I am constantly on the look out for ways to improve the quality of life for my children. And let me tell you, it is easier to talk about it than to actually do it. Preventing junk food from coming into our home is a constant battle especially when faced with some convincing arguments for it from my 2 year old son. Even so, since the day I learned I was pregnant with my first child, I have been on a never ending quest to be healthier and in turn to make sure that my children reaped the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

It started with little things like buying fresh produce instead of canned and buying organic when possible. Sure it means a little more prep time and cooking for meals but it is worth it to me when I started thinking about the impact these actions had beyond the obvious health of my family. Think about all the pesticides that go into farming! Even if you believed that organic produce didn't offer any more benefits to your body than regular produce, if we all bought organic and created a demand that caused more farms to go organic think of all the pesticides we could prevent from polluting the environment. We are talking millions of pounds of poisons that we could eliminate.

Another major change I have made in our household is getting rid of the canned goods. At any given time before this change we would have 20+ cans in our pantry. That was adding up to more than 200 cans a year! Cans that ended up unfortunately in my case in the trash because my apartment complex refuses to offer the option to recycle. Giving up cans saves a lot more than just metal. A lot more energy and resources are used putting that produce into cans than it takes to put the fresh stuff on the shelves. Eliminating canned goods from your diet also benefits your body. Next time read the labels! Most canned goods have extra salt and sugar which translates into more calories and more sodium. Getting rid of the extra salt and sugar can help you stay leaner and prevent water retention.

And if you want to go the extra mile when choosing fresh produce, try to go local. Buying local produce not only puts money back into your local economy but it also uses less resources because the food doesn't have to travel as far and you can sleep better at night knowing that less petroleum was consumed in the transport of your food. And with the gas prices continuing to go up, that can really mean a lot of savings and less pollution.

The more I got into making little changes to help keep my family healthier, the more I realized we were also helping the environment. So think of it as an investment. By making the effort to make these tiny and affordable changes you are making it possible for your children to grow up in a healthier, better world and that is a return that you can't put a price on.