Proof is in the Pumpkin: Good for You, Inside and Out

Well, the release of our new Pumpkin Chai Collection of organic skin and body care has been an overwhelming success!  We’ve never experienced such a demand for any single product line in such a short time before, in ten full years of business, and all of us here at WoodSprite are very excited and grateful.

With pumpkin season full upon us and the dry autumn air well on its way, I thought this would be a perfect time to introduce a new ongoing column in the WoodSprite Organic Body Blog.  This has actually been something I’ve been wanting to do for some years, now, but the daily demands of running my own business always managed to bump it off my List of Things to Do.  Finally, the stars have smiled upon me and some recent really great questions from our customers prompted me to make it a priority.  Welcome to Notes from a Natural Formulator; I sincerely hope you’ll find what is offered helpful, informative and interesting!

Proof is in the Pumpkin: Why pumpkin is so good for you, inside and out.

Though we tend to think of pumpkins only for carving or baking pie once or twice a year, this humble squash has a lot more to offer us year round than we might first realize.  Pumpkins are nutrition-packed powerhouses; rich in the antioxidants Beta Carotene, Vitamins A, C & E, as well as such other cancer-fighting carotenoids as Lutein and Zeaxanthin.  Pumpkin also boasts B Vitamins, Niacin, Riboflavin, Ascorbic Acid, Potassium and Enzymes, while pumpkin seeds are especially laden with Zinc, a natural sunblock and antioxidant.  Furthermore, the oil obtained by cold-pressing the seeds contains emollient Omega Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), Proteins and Polyunsaturated Fats which protect, moisturize, soothe and help the skin’s own ability to regulate and balance sebum production (the natural oil our skin manufactures to protect and moisturize).

In skin and body care, Pumpkin pulp is wonderfully useful for exfoliating, nourishing and soothing the skin.  Its high Alpha-Hydroxy Acid (AHA) content along with active digestive enzymes makes pumpkin particularly valuable in skin care treatments or facials, being gentler than glycolic peels yet just as effective at doing away with dead skin cells, bringing out a smoother, softer complexion after just one treatment.

You can give yourself a fresh pumpkin facial treatment in the comfort of your own kitchen with only a few ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Organic Pumpkin Puree (use small pie or baking pumpkins, halve and remove seeds, bake cut-side down for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until tender, cool, scoop out from skins and puree pulp in blender or food processor until smooth) or Canned Organic Pumpkin Puree.
• 1 Tablespoon Organic Whole Milk or Greek Yogurt (Vegans, Use Soy Milk)
• 1 Tablespoon Organic Honey (Vegans, Use Maple Syrup)
• 2-3 Tablespoons Organic Raw Cane Sugar (Optional–For Making Exfoliating Scrub)

Instructions: Combine Pumpkin Puree, Milk or Yogurt and Honey until smooth.  Warm gently over low heat or pop in microwave for best results.  Smooth over face, carefully avoiding eye area, then recline and relax for about 15 minutes.  Rinse thoroughly with warm water, then follow with your favorite moisturizer if needed.  For exfoliating scrub, add Organic Sugar and gently massage onto skin in circular patterns.  Let set for a few minutes, rinse and moisturize as needed.  Seal and refrigerate any leftovers; compost after 2 days.

How it works: The pumpkin puree nourishes and soothes the skin while active digestive enzymes work to dissolve dead skin cells.  The milk or yogurt also contains natural lactic acids, which also dissolve dead cells.  The honey is a natural antibacterial and humectant (meaning that it pulls moisture from the air), moisturizing and imparting valuable vitamins to the skin.  If you opt for the sugar version, you’ll gain extra exfoliation while the sugar boosts the natural mild alpha-hydroxy acids in the pumpkin puree, resulting in smoother, softer skin instantly.

Of course, you could just save the pumpkin for baking pies and buy our Pumpkin Chai Nourishing Organic Facial Masque instead.  Either way, you’ll love the beautiful, soft glow that pumpkin brings to your skin!

©2009 WoodSprite Organic Body – All Rights Reserved

WoodSprite Selected for 2009 Daytime Emmys Swag Bag

August 25, 2009–WoodSprite Organic Body has been selected to be included in the Official 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Swag Bags!  The awards will be held in Los Angeles, California on August 30th and broadcast on NBC.  This year’s bags offer a slightly different flavor from the typical gift bag, featuring products made by independent artists and small companies with something unique and special to offer.  Check back at our website for more details as they unfold!  You can also visit our Facebook page to see photos of the gift sets we made for the Swag Bags.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Coffee Talk

June 14, 2009–Today’s Way: As you enjoyed your cup of coffee this morning, did you pause to wonder where it came from?  Well, don’t feel badly…few of us do.  Yet that ordinary little cup of coffee that ordinary Americans consume every ordinary day represents an extraordinarily high environmental cost.  Am I asking you to stop drinking your coffee?  Egads, no!  I’m sipping a nice cup of joe as I write this, but I am suggesting you may want to reconsider your coffee buying habits.

Conventional coffee farming has an enormous impact on the environment because of the way in which it is grown.  Far away, large tracts of virgin rain forests are cleared and replaced with coffee plantations, which are heavily doused in pesticides and chemical fertilizers, putting a strain on water resources and surrounding wildlife.  Indigenous people are often exploited to work on the coffee plantations for pennies a day, and bear the brunt of exposure to the chemicals used to grow the coffee, which is then usually shipped halfway across the planet to a roaster and then in turn shipped to a distributor somewhere else, where it eventually winds up shipped to the States and brewed and poured into a polystyrene or paper cup with a designer name and sold to you for the bargain price of $4.00 or more.

Luckily, you can still enjoy that cup of coffee (preferably in a reusable cup), but you’ll probably enjoy it more if you make your next informed purchasing choice on a Shade-Grown, Fair-Trade, Certified Organic bag of beans.  This means that the coffee berries were grown without forest removal; instead, they are carefully tended to in the shade from old growth trees, thereby leaving that valuable carbon-eating tree cover intact.  And the animals and bugs will really appreciate that.  Also, if your coffee is Fair Trade Certified, it means that your grower was paid fairly for the time and effort they put into growing those delicious coffee beans, and that they are able to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads and maybe even send their kids to school.  Lastly, if your new favorite coffee brand bears Organic Certification, it means that those beans were grown using sustainable farming methods without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.  And thanks to growing awareness about these issues, there are now more and more sustainable growers, artisan roasters and local gourmet cafes who are elevating the coffee experience to new grounds (sorry…couldn’t help it).  In fact, one of my favorites is Higher Grounds.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Paving the Way

June 13, 2009–Today’s Way: As we all know, the concrete jungle creates many problems for our environment, and all those paved parking lots, streets, highways and driveways are some of the star offenders.   One major issue with all of that pavement is that, when it rains, rain water is diverted into gutters and mixing into sewage systems.   When it rains a lot, all of that extra water overwhelms arcane municipal water management systems which then dump raw sewage and rain water into overflows, also known as the nearest lake, river or ocean–untreated.  Another problem is that all those ribbons of black asphalt criss-crossing our great lands absorb energy from the sun and gathers up thermal mass, slowly releasing the heat when the sun sets and raising environmental temperatures in the form of global warming.  Other side effects of our love affair with asphalt is the constant leaching of toxic chemicals into the areas along roadways, including wetlands and vast agricultural landscapes.

Permeable Driveways/Parking Areas are one excellent way to provide clean, beautiful and low maintenance parking and driving surfaces while allowing all of that rain water to naturally trickle down through the ground and back into the water table, where it belongs.  Permeable surfaces come in a dizzying array of options, but the most basic are porous paver bricks which fit together with patterned open holes, which are set into and filled in with pea gravel (as in the photo, above right).  This attractive solution keeps your car protected from mud and dirt, keeps vegetation at bay and at the same time, because of the many color options, does not absorb and release heat energy in the same way as asphalt.  Permeable driving surfaces are beautiful solution for businesses, cities, developers and individuals committed to a greener future.

You can see examples and learn more about permeable driveways or surfaces here.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Sock it to Me

June 12, 2009–Today’s way: Hey, it’s warm outside.  Drop your socks and grab your sandals!  Or flip flops.  Or Earth Shoes.  Or Uggs.  It may seem trivial, but just as most of the little things we do add up to make an impact over time, going socks-less more often can really make a dent in your energy consumption when you add it all up.  Think about it: a few less loads of laundry, requiring a few gallons less water, which won’t need to be heated first (thereby most likely requiring the burning of fossil fuels to generate the energy to heat the water), and less detergent produced to wash the socks, and fewer fossil fuels burned in order to ship the detergent to your local store…you get the idea.  So remember the little things, and do what you can, when you can.  And show us those naked toes.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Those Lovable Mop Tops

June 11, 2009 — Today’s Way: It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I really feel sad for the mop in those commercials when it gets kicked out in favor of a new shiny Swiffer.  Poor little guy, left out in the cold, while that nasty Swiffer sits all cozy like in the warm closet indoors.  Okay, it also makes me cringe to think of how many “disposable” Swiffer sheets are being used once and then tossed into the landfill (for a more eco-friendly approach, you can make your own reusable sheets).  To tell the truth, nothing new or shiny can take away my love for our good old cotton mop.  It just plain works better.  Yes, it does mean that—Ewwwwww!—I may have to actually touch the mophead every now and then to take it off and wash it in the laundry, but it has proven itself to be an indomitable foe for just about every kind of scuff and spill and stain that it encounters, and with some of the clever built-in twisting models, or if you have one of those nice squeezers for your mop bucket, you don’t even have to ever touch the yucky mophead (except to launder it).  But best of all, it’s also not contributing to the mountains of trash that are piling up across our great land, filled with “disposable” swiffing sheets or sponge cartridges.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Keep Your Cool

June 10, 2009–Today’s Way: I just posted yesterday about opening up our homes to let the cool breeze in, and today I’m going to contradict myself.  Sort of.  When the weather turns really hot, you can keep your home cooler by closing doors and windows and shutting blinds or curtains during the heat of the day.  Then, at night when the air cools down, open up all of your windows.  When we practice this technique, along with employing our ceiling and window fans, we’re able to avoid using the air conditioner most of the summer.  At the same time, we use far less energy and save quite a bit on our electric bills.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Open Up

June 9, 2009–Today’s Way: It just seems like common sense to me, but I’m a bit surprised at how many people never open their windows to let a cooling breeze waft through their house.  Instead, we’ve become hermetically sealed up, as if we’re on an airship and an open window will result in being sucked out into the void.  Instead of keeping the house closed up, and having to maintain temperatures through artificial heating or cooling, opening the windows and doors to create a cross breeze on a warm day will allow nature to do your cooling for you, and for free.  It’ll also help to bring in fresh air and help to push out dangerous low-grade offgassing from volatile organic compounds inherent in paints, finishes and even rugs or carpet.  So throw caution to the wind, and invite it in today.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Become a Voluntourist

June 8, 2009–Today’s Way: As you contemplate where to spend your vacation time this summer, you might consider a little change of pace by becoming a voluntourist.  An increasing trend, voluntourism connects caring people with causes in interesting and even exotic places.  Instead of swatting flies in an overcrowded tourist trap, or being packed like a sardine on a tourbus with a guide squawking monotone facts into a microphone, you would instead be part of something far more meaningful, challenging and rewarding.  Like studying bottlenosed dolphins in Greece, or counting hatching sea turtles as they make their epic sweep to the ocean’s edge, helping collect core samples in the glacial ice of Alaska or, even studying the urban wildlife of New York City.  There is a need for everyone everywhere, depending on any special interests or skills you can offer;  our niece, for instance, obtained her diving certification and spent several weeks diving everyday on a coral study off the beautiful coast of Mexico.

To learn more about voluntourism and find out about available programs and expeditions, visit Voluntourism.org or the highly reputable Earthwatch Institute.

365 Ways to Live Earth Day, Everyday: Six Degrees of Separation

June 7, 2009–Today’s Way: I find it a curiosity whenever I walk into a building from the heat of summer and the temperatures inside are set to Antarctic.  Or likewise, when you come in from the deep freeze of winter and need to strip down into Bermuda shorts because the thermostat is turned up to 85 degrees.  Our bodies are highly adaptive, and it only takes a moment for our core temps to adjust with fluctuating temperatures, so while that first blast of cold air does feel good when we come in from the blazing sun, it takes only minutes before our bodies adjust and then even feel cold.  In the winter, we probably don’t need the office or house to be so hot you could grow bananas inside.  And in the summer, we shouldn’t need to don a fur coat and fingerless gloves just to be able to be able to sit at our desks responding to e-mails.

In fact, scaling back the thermostat in winter and increasing accordingly in the summer can save you about 1% of your overall energy bills for every degree Fahrenheit in either direction.  For instance, in winter, if you were to bump the setting down from 74 degrees to 68, you would save about 6% off of your heating bill.  That’s a drastic and immediate difference which will save you cash as well as energy.