Annabelle Says: Go Toxin Free!

I'm so happy to have this place to write about this episode as we had so many issues that came up that I have learned much about since we shot the show. First of all, it's a very exciting time in the Green Product world, numerous companies are pushing for more transparency in labeling so that in the future when you see the labels "all natural ingredients" or eco-friendly on cleaning products- this will actually have some standardization. Frankly, I find it confusing, but Planet Green has been a good source of info on what the best products are.

The funny thing I find, is I am used to smelling bleach and chlorine and my brain tells me it smells "clean" I'm sure that's because that's the smell I grew up with, probably another example of the reptilian brain that fools us into thinking we're safer higher up in an SUV, when really, a car with a lower center of gravity is safer!

The ladies, understandably, weren't so crazy about the makeup I picked out, but I think it wasn't the quality, it was the colors that didn't fit them. There are so many companies that have been working on getting their packaging down and making toxin free products.

Kheils is coming out with an organic label, something to look forward to, and I also use products made by Jurlique which is a company thats been innovative in this field.

Sympathy for the devil

I just had no sympathy for the gals and their fear of that basement. That basement was nicer than most of my apartments I lived in in NYC. It even had Art hanging in it. The bins were so clean, you could eat out of them! There was really no excuse for not recycling.

The Luxe Life

I related to Keisha saying she was so excited about being able to afford a cab and not having to ride the subway to work, its sort of sign of success for her. I have to admit, when I first earned enough money to afford cabs, I did have that experience. However, in NYC, its so much faster than being stuck in traffic, plus, even billionaire Mayor Bloomberg rides the subway, so if you have to have that thrill once in a while, I get it, but I have to tell you, if you come to NY, you'll see me riding the trains because cabs have gotten way to expensive and in the summer, you're much more likely to get an air conditioned train than cab. Go mass transit and please say hello if I'm sitting next to you.

Tofurific

Statistics tell us that we're eating too much meat as Americans- approx 200pounds per person. That's no surprise to many of us right? If every American reduced by just 20% the amount of meat they eat every year, we would significantly reduce the amount of methane polluting the air.

My friends in Brooklyn were a little dubious about my suggestion that they add some soy into their diet so, I cooked my favorite tofu dish while our crew was setting up a shot.

Here's the recipe: it takes about 7 minutes total!

Take a piece of medium to firm tofu, slice into wedges approx. 1/4 of an inch thick-you just want it to be thin enough so that it can get nice and crispy when you fry it.

Fry the tofu in olive oil. I can't stress this enough, tofu taste like lint until it picks up the flavor of whatever you're cooking it in, so cook it until you see it get nice and crusty.

Add your favorite tomato sauce (unless you have time to fry sliced tomatoes) and let the tofu pick up the tomato flavor. I like to put rice or soy cheese sprinkled on top (they both come packaged like Parmesan cheese). Add a little salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Our kid loves it and has been eating this since he was 4, it just taste like Italian flavored ..... something.... so try it, let me know how it turns out...

Look up above, it's a bird, it's a plane...it's a ceiling fan!

Our ceiling fan installation was one of the best things we did for these ladies. Ceiling fans cost only pennies per hour to run and can really save you money this summer, I highly recommend them.