What: Kits to make natural lip balms, perfumes, bath fizzies and soaps

Features: Everything you need to make your own fun personal care goodies

Green Factor: Natural ingredients like shea butter, witch hazel, essential oils with no fillers, additives, dyes or synthetics

Bonus:  Fun to make at birthday parties and sleepovers!

Find It Here: Kiss Naturals

Win It: We’ve partnered with Kiss Naturals to give away a Bath Fizzie Kit and Lip Balm Kit to one randomly selected winner. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KN12 as the giveaway name and tell us how long it takes to make lip balm and soap with a Kiss Naturals kit. Enter by 12/21/09. $35 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner to be notified by email. Contest Closed.

What: Baby wipes made from bamboo fiber

Features:  Natural ingredients, scented with non-toxic, all-natural essential oils with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties

Green Factor: Bamboo is highly renewable and sustainable, wipes are 100% biodegradable. Bum Boosa is also a signer of The Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

Bonus:  Bum Boosa plants a tree for each package of 80 count wipes sold. Trees are also planted to offset 100% of their carbon emissions.

Find It Here: Bum Boosa

Win It: We’ve partnered with Bum Boosa to give away three 80 count packs of Bum Boosa bamboo baby wipes and one container of Bum Boosa bamboo diaper rash ointment. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter BB11 as the giveaway name and name one of the ingredients in Bum Boosa wipes (besides bamboo!) Enter by 11/27/09. $25 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner to be notified by email. Contest Closed.

As part of its “Be Good to Your Whole Body” campaign, for the month of October, Whole Foods Market has created podcasts focusing on maintaining a healthy mood.  As the seasons change, these simple, free tips, consider how conscious breathing, herbs, and eating well, can help maintain a healthy mood.

Just listen to one or all of the podcasts and leave a comment telling Whole Foods what you think of their work. On October 30th, one commenter will be randomly chosen to receive a $100 Whole Foods gift card!

You can find the podcasts here. Listen and then then comment on one or more of the following podcasts: Breathe and Meditation for Stress Relief, Herbal Approaches for Healthy Mood and Boost your Back to School Brain Power.

Easy peasy!  (and, obviously, the more you comment, the better your chances of winning that $100 gift card!)

Chef Ann Cooper, also known as the “Renegade Lunch Lady,” has been making school lunch programs healthier across the U.S. for the past decade.  This is your chance to bring her to your school or district for your very own action plan to improve your lunch program.

Just create and post a 1 minute (One little minute, yo!) video to Youtube showing why your school is in need of a School Lunch Makeover, and submit the link to: schoollunchmakeover@wholefoods.com

Send us a link to your video using this form  and your email address, and we’ll randomly select one of you to win a $50 Whole Foods Gift card, on October 8th! (use WF as the giveaway name and put your link in the Entry Answer field) Contest Closed.

You can learn more about Chef Ann and the Video contest here.

Have you ever heard of “mixed dialkyl thioureas”? It’s a chemical found in neoprene, that squishy, stretchy material used for wetsuits, laptop covers, mouse pads, shoe linings and much more and it was recently named Allergen of the Year by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group. Neoprene contact allergies are becoming quite common due to the cocktail of phthalates, VOCs, chlorine and metals used to make the synthetic rubber material. Suddenly, my cute neoprene laptop sleeve that I got at a conference last year doesn’t look so cute—and neither does this mouse pad sitting next me. Fortunately, a non-toxic, more eco-friendly substitute called Neogreene is now available and we’re giving away a Neogreene laptop sleeve and water bottle tote to one randomly selected winner!

Find It Here: GreenSmart

Win It: We’re giving away a Neogreene laptop sleeve and water bottle tote. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter NG9 as the giveaway name and give one reason Neogreene is superior to neoprene. Enter by 9/17/09. $50 value. Open to US residents. Winner to be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Sandra.

I have a number of different reusable containers and bags that I use for my kids’ lunches and our snacks on-the-go and generally speaking, I like them all—they work well and do what they’re supposed to do. The reusable bags from Graze Organics, however, are about the cutest things I’ve ever seen! Made from 100% organic cotton with no plastic lining and printed with earth-friendly water-based inks, these adorable bags are festooned with simple but bright and happy food graphics that totally appeal to my inner graphic designer. Additionally, they are machine-washable, made in the USA and sweatshop-free.

Graze Organics’ motto is “because every bag matters” and without getting all lecture-y it’s true. Every plastic bag you DON’T use is one less piece of petroleum-based, hormone-disrupting plastic that will be here long after you’re gone. If everyone utilized reusable bags instead of the millions of plastic ones that are used EVERY SINGLE DAY, the impact would be staggering. Viva la reusables!!

Graze also carries the cutest organic cotton cloth napkins. When you pull one out of your lunch bag, you’ll look all fancy and totally shame the paper napkin users at your table. Wait. Did  just type that out loud? What I meant to say was you will be admired by all for your good taste and eco-friendly ways :)

We’ve partnered with Graze Organics to give away one set of their fabulous reusable bags! Details below.

Find It Here: Graze Organics

Win It: We’re giving away a set of three Graze Organic reusable snack and sandwich bags. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter GR08 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name the four different kinds of cloth napkins available from Graze Organics. Enter by 8/27/09. $26 value. Open to US residents. Winner to be notified by email. Contest Closed.

On Our Blog: Food Inc: The Truth About What We Eat

A clerk in a store today said “Oh, you’re all green and stuff, huh?” with just a hint of mockery in his 25 year old voice when I handed him my reusable bag. Granted, it was a thrift store. Maybe they don’t get a lot of reusable bag people in there. Whatever.

When my son was an infant, though, I sometimes got the same kind of reaction from other parents of babies when I mentioned organic foods or toxin-free baby products. I felt like shaking them and saying “WAKE UP! The world is a very toxic place and your baby is this precious, brand new little life. You need to be aware of these things.” But I didn’t want to be all preachy or make anyone feel like crap so I would just smile serenely and let it go. Well, these days I have this site and I can talk about organic and eco-friendly baby products as much as I want. WIN!

So… As you may have guessed, I love organic, non-toxic products and as I’ve mentioned before, Miessence makes some really great ones, even for babies. Free from phthalates, petroleum by-products, parabens, artificial preservatives, synthetic detergents, fragrance, allergens, semi-natural ingredients and certified organic, Miessence delivers some of the best baby products around and even it’s packaging is 100% recyclable.

If you haven’t tried Miessence for babies yet, you just may get your chance—ON US— because we’ve  partnered with Ely Organics to give away, to one randomly selected winner, a trio of Miessence certified organic baby wash, baby lotion and barrier balm (butt cream!)

Find It Here: Miessence

Win It: We’re giving away a set of Miessence certified organic baby wash, baby lotion and barrier balm). Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter MI08 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name three  of the “ingredients to avoid” found listed on the Ely Organics site. Enter by 8/18/09. $85 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner to be notified by email. Contest Closed.

With both my babies, finding a bottle they liked as well as my boobs was a challenge that involved multiple frantic trips, some in the wee hours of the night, to procure bottles that wouldn’t be flatly rejected by said babies. Even though I was breastfeeding, the bottle was key because HELLO? I needed rest; I needed my husband to be able to feed them so I didn’t go insane from sleep deprivation. With my son, we found exactly ONE type of bottle that he would take and I maintain to this day that he did because it was the only bottle that even remotely resembled a real breast.

Enter Adiri Natural Nurser…a bottle that really does resemble the real deal—I think if I’d had one of these gems at the get-go, we would have saved at least a Benjamin or two on all those other bottles that were used once, barely, and then cast aside by my tiny discriminating offspring. Not only are Adiri bottles the recipient of the iParenting Media Greatest Products of 2008 award and a Medical Design Excellence Award of 2008 winner, they’re more like a real breast than any other bottle. And equally, if not more impressive than fancy awards, is the fact that they’re BPA (bisphenol-A) and soft polycarbonate-free so you can bottle-feed without worry of giving your little one dangerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals at every meal. Toxic junk-free, award-winning and it mimics breastfeeding like no other bottle, reducing the dreaded nipple confusion… What’s not to love?

Find It Here: Adiri

Win It: We’re giving away Two Bonus Pack Adiri Natural Nurser Bottles (Slow Flow). Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter AD07 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name three other awards the Adiri has won. Enter by 8/5/09. $26 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner to be notified by email. Contest Closed.

We’ve covered cloth diapering before and you probably already know we dig it so I’ll spare you the lecture on WHY cloth diapering is a good green and non-toxic option (read more about it here) and get right to our feature, FuzziBunz One Size Diapers. They are not only award-winning but according to the company, also the most adjustable and innovative one-size cloth diapers on the market today. They can be adjusted to fit babies 7-35 pounds and get a snug fit every time with the button-adjusted waist and leg casings. The leg casings adjust to 8+ settings and the waist adjusts to 4+ settings. FuzziBunz always uses sturdy snap closures which will withstand 3+ years of use and elastic that is easily replaceable if it ever fails. My kids are long out of diapers (well, sort of) but Fuzzibunz sound pretty amazing, don’t they? You just might get to find out for yourself since we’re giving away TWO FuzziBunz One Size Diapers to one randomly selected winner!

Find It Here: FuzziBunz

Win It: We’re giving away two Fuzzibunz One Size Diapers in the color of your choice.  Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter FZ7 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name three features of FuzziBunz diapers. Enter by 7/17/09. $38 value. Open to residents in US and Canada. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Colleen!

Because we know just how nasty and toxic a lot of toys can be, we love to feature natural, organic toys, especially those that are handmade with love by someone who truly cares about what they’re putting out there. Our most recent awesome toy find are Swaddle Babies. Each 9″ Swaddle Baby is crafted by mom Priscilla Rose, with organic cotton knit, natural eco-friendly bamboo fiber filling, and a variety of natural and organic handspun yarns. These sweet dolls are custom designed to your specs and personalized with the child’s name embroidered on the tag. A Swaddle Baby is the kind of toy that a child will love and keep long after all the made-in-China junk is gone. And it’s organic. Did I mention that???

Find It Here: Swaddle Babies

Win It: We’re giving away one custom made Swaddle Baby doll.  Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter SW7 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are the 8 hair colors available for a Swaddle Baby? Enter by 7/15/09. $40 value. Open to residents in US and Canada. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Sherri!

If your kids are anything like mine, they like TV. Me? Not so much. I have a couple things I watch each season and that’s about it (my sick semi-addiction to CNN notwithstanding). Since I tend to be critical of most television programming, particularly for kids, I generally only let mine watch certain things; things with some kind of educational value mostly. So yes, I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to my kids’ media consumption. Whatever.

Well, in case you didn’t know, that doesn’t leave much, but I’m always keeping my eyes open for new and interesting things that I can DVR and save for them to watch when they’re in the mood for some boob tubing. I recently became aware of Kid Guides, a show where two kids travel around to museums, zoos, aquariums and the like and share their adventures in nature and science with viewers.

I let my kids watch some clips and they really liked it (they totally dug the “kid” hosts) and I liked it, too, because it was remarkably devoid of spastic, screaming, anthropomorphic cartoon animals (or sponges) and it’s not dumbed down to the point of tedium. And? Kid Guides has received the Parents Television Council Seal of Approval and scored an Emmy Award, to boot. You can check the Kid Guides site (under ‘Show Times’) to see if it airs in your area OR you can get Kid Guides on DVD from Amazon.com

Find It Here: Kid Guides

Win It: We’re giving away 2 Kid Guides DVD’s. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KG7 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name three of the four available Kid Guide DVD’s. Enter by 7/13/09. $30 value. Open to US residents. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Kathy!

We’ve featured amazing blenders that help you puree homemade baby food. We’ve featured little BPA-free containers in which to freeze your homemade baby food. And now? We’re featuring an e-book series to help you really kick ass at making that homemade baby food. You may not need help with the basics because cooking and pureeing squash? Not so hard—but how about advice on when and how to start your baby on solids? How about nutrition information? How about advice for dealing with feeding problems? Tips for spotting and avoiding allergies and/or digestive problems? Feeding your baby while traveling? Recipes for homemade finger foods? Recipes for special occasions? And of course, tons of recipes for baby food that doesn’t taste like the flavorless, vacuum-sealed, months old gunk from a jar? Christine Albury, mother of five and the author of Tempting Tiny Tastebuds pretty much covers it all and because we know a lot of our readers are DIY types who like to make their own baby food, we’ve partnered with Christine Albury to give away FIVE sets of her three e-books—Tempting Tiny Tastebuds, The Homemade Baby Food Recipes Annual - 2009 (More In Depth Nutrition Information, Tips and Recipes) and Best of Blog (The best articles and recipes from Christine Albury’s blog).

Find It Here: Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Win It: We’re giving away five sets of Christine Albury’s three e-books. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter BF6 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are three types of recipes found on Christine’s web site? Enter by 6/30/09. $17 value for each set of e-books. Open to residents worldwide. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to all five winners!