The holiday of Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year, is rapidly approaching. My girls are already learning about the traditions of this joyous time of year. And, of course, they’re learning all about the food. That’s right, it’s almost time to really EAT!

Rosh Hashana, like every holiday, has food-based traditions, including dipping apples in honey (to signify a sweet New Year) and round challahs instead of braided challahs (round challah signifies the cycle of the year). The most fun aspect of Rosh Hashana for kids is the “new fruit” rule, or the tradition of tasting new fruits for a new year. My three year old told me that this week, her class has already taste-tested and recorded no less than five new fruits in class. Here’s a list of what her preschool class has been sampling:

Apples - Ok, these are not new to most kids, but it never hurts to remind people about this wonderful fruit. Colorful, crunchy and with endless cooking possibilities, apples are many kids (and adults!) favorite food. Apples also represent Fall, and since moving to a warm climate, I miss this season most of all. Cooking and being around apples reminds me of the wonderful weather “up North,” and I’ve been able to pass stories to my girls about being a kid myself! Any apple cake recipe will be a big hit for Rosh Hashanah!

Pomegranate - We typically eat pomegranate seeds on the second night of the holiday, which is technically the first day of the new year. The seeds represent the first “new fruit” of the year. If you’ve been following food trends, pomegranate juice is high in antioxidants and is great for heart health. Check out many recipes for pomegranates and have fun with them! Since you can actually eat the seeds, it’s better to give pomegranate to older children who can chew them well.

Starfruit - Kids love this fruit because of the shape after you slice it. Rich in Vitamin C and antioxidents, starfruit is a little tough to eat raw, but it’s sweetness makes up for it. You can juice and cook starfruit, but we think they’re great for making pretty salads.

Mango - We eat a lot of mango, but since we’ve been in a smoothie phase these days, I’ve been buying them frozen so they blend well. My husband can eat multiple mangoes in one sitting, and I love watching the girls get mango-messy in summertime, right before they wash it all off in the pool or ocean. Mangoes are sweet, colorful, and full of vitamins. The site the kitchn has amazing mango recipes to try with your kids, including this mango salsa that takes more like dessert!

Passionfruit - Out of all the fruits my daughter tried, passionfruit was her least favorite (and I have to admit, it’s not one of my favs either). Usually juiced, passionfruit pulp is kind of tough to get to, and it has many unedible seeds to contend with. Passionfruit is full of fiber and is worth trying out in smoothies or mixed juices. If you’re feeling really adventurous, try this amazing looking passionfruit cheesecake recipe!

What new foods will you or your family be trying this year?

Can we talk about something gross for a minute? BOTH my daughters, who attend different schools, came home from school with letters that a child in their class was sent home with lice. Aside from having to explain to them what lice is actually is - and then deal with them trying to come to terms with it (”You mean BUGS can live on your HEAD?”), I myself bugged out and had to check and recheck their heads. I still have nit-nightmares for the one time I had lice - my mom making me stand in the bathtub, pouring the foul-smelling, burning solution on my head and picking away until I almost passed out.

Thankfully, we have this Lice Good-bye kit from Fairy Tales Hair Care, just in case.  Before an outbreak occurs, the Rosemary Repel line of shampoo, conditioner, detangler and gel helps protect your child’s hair and scalp naturally. Pure oils such as rosemary, tea tree and lavender have antiseptic qualities that repel lice from settling in to little scalps. In case of an outbreak, their Lice Good-Bye mousse is an organic, pesticide-free shampoo that helps dissolve nits without the burning and, let’s face it, torture that comes with getting those suckers out! The kit also comes with a Terminator Metal Lice Comb, the leading nit-remover on the market. A worthwhile investment for anyone with kids!

One tip: Lice love clean hair, so make sure you DON’T wash your child’s hair every day. Sounds crazy, but if keeping your kid’s hair buggy-free means keeping it semi-dirty for a day, I’m all for it!

So, you’ve donated your kid’s Crocs, and are probably as happy as I am that they’ve sort of faded into the background of trendiness. One of my priorities is to make sure my kid’s closets don’t get overloaded with junk, and clothes and shoes are included. Every couple of months I take stock of what might be building up. Shoes seem to fall into two camps - they’re either worn out until unrecognizable, or they are sized weird and don’t fit after a few weeks.

I actually found Soles4Souls through a random email from the Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic shoe website Piperlime, an exclusive partner. Soles4Souls has distributed over 3 million shoes worldwide, and partners with various retailers across the US to collect shoes and promote their efforts. This includes disaster relief both nationally and internationally, in orphanages, shelters, and disadvantaged areas. It’s worth a quick look through not only your kid’s closets, but yours as well! You can donate gently used or new shoes several ways. Through Piperlime, you can mail shoes in to

Soles4Souls Inc./Piperlime, 315 Airport Road, Roanoke, AL 36274

You can also plug in your address here, to find S4S drop boxes within your area. These are for individual donations, so if you have a boxful of shoes, it’s better to send them via mail. Soles4Souls will send you a tax deductible receipt for your charitable, an amazingly worthwhile donation!

I have to say, giveaways are a big part of what make the world go ’round these days - on green sites, at least. It’s amazing the amount of word of mouth eco-giveaways receive, as well as how many people participate. It’s a great way to bring people to new sites, products and services they may never have tried, and brings even more exposure to green sites you may never have found otherwise.

Ecobunga! is an amazing resource for giveaways, coupons, free shipping, steals and deals for all things eco. Once upon a time I tried to update all the sales and deals I could find from on-line shops on teensygreen. Let me tell you, it’s pretty impossible! Ecobunga brings it all together, however, and sorts out what you’re looking for by topic so there’s no frustrating searching. First, decide if you want to Win Green or Save Green. Next, go crazy finding savings and awesome contests to enter. You can even add a deal if you have a green giveaway on your site!

With categories such as “Babies and Kids,” “Health and Beauty” and a favorite of mine, “Stationary and Paper,” as well as over 400 deals going on right now, I would say click NOW to Ecobunga! They’re even hosting their own giveaway this month - sign up for the Ecobunga! weekly newsletter, and be automatically entered to with either a $50 gift card from Whole Foods or a $30 gift card from Maggie’s Functional Organics! Have fun and good luck!

Yesterday, we were getting some semi-annoying squall-like rain bands, which we think came from Gustav passing by Florida. Since our options we so limited outside, I finally decided to get the girls involved in a little project - recycling old crayons!

We go through crayons like crazy, and with a family who knows the girls love arts and crafts, they get new boxes of them a lot. While I try to hold off using new crayons, you know how little ones are - as soon as they’re damaged in any way, whether broken or the paper needs to be ripped off - they’re not as “fun” anymore.

Recycling crayons is a fun and very simple project that kids can help out with almost 100%. It’s also a great lesson in color mixing and dexerity (especially if you put your kids to work pulling the paper off!). Of course, parents should always do the cutting up part!

1.   Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

2.   Peel the paper wrapper off the crayons.

3.   Cut the crayons into small pieces, about a half-inch long.

4.   Place the pieces in a muffin tin. You can line the tin with muffin cups, or just use the tin (but keep in mind you’ll be sacrificing the tin for art’s sake). We used a mini-muffin pan, but you can use any size.

5.   Sort the crayons by color family, or just mix them up! This was one of the most fun parts for the kids. They were so excited to make their own creations!

6.   Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crayons are melted.

7.   Let the pan cool completely. The wax will be liquid when you remove it from the oven, but will harden as the pan cools.

See above for our finished product! And thanks to Layne for asking how to make these!

As my friend Whitney likes to say, “The Internet is a small place”. This rings so true especially when tragedy strikes, and word travels like wildfire to make the world a much more connected place. Thus we come to “Nie Nie Day”.

The backstory is tragic and emotional. Writer Stephanie Nielson, of the immensely popular Nie Nie Dialogues, and her husband Christian were in a private plane crash last week, and are in critical condition. They have four children, and I have read that their hospital bills will amass over a million dollars. Design Mom, one of my most favorite and long read blogs, first posted about Nie Nie and created “Nie Nie Day” to honor this beautiful family. Additionally, Design Mom emailed bloggers and urged them to hold silent auctions this weekend to help raise money for the Stephanie and Christian Paypal Fund (proceeds will go directly and only to the Nielson family). Man, have people delivered.

Head over to Design Mom and spend the rest of your weekend deciding what to bid on. Whitney from The Silly Wagon has a bunch of adorable items up for grabs over at Tangled and True, along with many other silent auctions. I am not hosting a silent auction, but I will be bidding on a few items. There are SO many to choose from - over 275 auctions in total - ranging from handmade jewelry, baby items, spa services, clothing, and some big ticket goodies that hopefully with raise a ton of money. Some Etsy shops and other on-line stores are offering a portion of sales for the weekend to go directly to the fund, and many have very affordable things - check Design Mom for specific shops.

The response for Nie Nie and her family is truly inspiring. And, when you’re done bidding, go hug your kids and kiss your spouse. Call your family and friends and tell them you love them. Look in the mirror and say hi and remember how lucky you are to have whatever it is you have. Pray if you do, cry if you need to. And please pass this along. Thanks.

Is it almost September already? As we’ve been rushing around to start school, I couldn’t believe it when someone reminded me that Labor Day weekend is coming up. If you’re lucky enough to live in the Bay area, you’ve hopefully already made your plans to hit up Slow Food Nation, an unprecendented “slow food” event this weekend, from August 29th through September 1st.

What is slow food, anyway? It’s exactly what you think. The opposite of everything you know about fast food, the slow food movement pushes for local, fair trade, sustainable, healthy, GOOD food. The organization Slow Food USA aims to not only treat food well, but makes sure farmers receive funding, education, and support from communities. Famed cooks and food writers such as Alice Waters (of the restaurant Chez Panisse), and authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) will be speaking to motivate everyone to support this truly grassroots effort to keep food pure and simple.

Slow Food Nation is jam-packed with events, including the largest farmer’s market ever assembled, an impressive concert line-up, hiking and food tours of San Francisco, cooking and tasting workshops, and much more. It’s been called “The Lollapalooza of Food,” and I’m sure anyone who goes will have all their senses just bombarded with amazing sights, smells and tastes. Most events at Slow Food Nation are free, but some are ticketed, so please check out the schedule before you go! And if you do make it, please share how wonderful it is!

A year ago, I was living in Panama and starting teensygreen the only way I knew how - by emailing, contacting and searching for people to connect with. I met Emily, creator of subu, inc. handmade recycled notebooks through a crafting website. Since she has the word “recycled” in her offerings, I jumped on it. Being a notebook fanatic, I not only ordered some custom notebooks from her, but launched my very first giveaway. Emily must have had a huge email circle, because I couldn’t believe how many responses I received after only writing for a couple of weeks! (It helps that her notebooks are no less than awesome.)

subu’s notebooks rock, not only because I can carry them in my bag, but they have an artsy vibe to them so even my grocery lists seem cooler. Emily has really expanded her line, with many different designs and sizes. The best part is she uses discarded printer paper, so you may find some quirky paper inside. But that’s all part of the fun. You can also get them customized, from the color of the cover to the image printed on it, from words to flowers, to, um, Bill Clinton. These are great for teens looking for funky additions to their school supplies, but you may want to keep them for yourself!

This week, two winners will each received two subu notebooks each! Just leave a comment with an answer to this tough question - which subu notebook will you be jotting notes down in if you could? This giveaway is open until next Monday, September (!) 1st at midnight, PST. Good luck!

This contest is now closed! Keep an eye out for more giveaways soon!

My daughter’s first week of school, while thrilling for everyone, has also been thoroughly exhausting (if you haven’t noticed the silence this week). For this weekend’s news, I turned to my Twitter friends, who post links to their own blog posts as well as news from around the ’sphere. Here are some of the best of this week!

@maxgladwell - Max Gladwell outlines the new Kiva B4B Credit Card, which allows you to brings microloans to businesses in developing countries simply by shopping. My husband and I have supported Kiva for a couple of years now, and have been impressed by the program and the people who work so hard to make a better life for their families.

@TiffanyWashko, AKA Nature Mom, posted an article on the awesomeness of green smoothies. They might sound a little intimidating, but drinking your greens (mixed with fruits for flavor and added vitamins, of course) provides health benefits we’re probably not getting in our daily meals. Worth a try!

@jetsongreen has posted a very comprehensive list of “Must Follow Green Twitter Feeds”. I’m proud to have been included with other great blogs, news sites and individuals all striving to get the eco-news out. Check out this list and add to your Twitter friends today!

@greenyourdecor has a great compilation of green “Deals, Steals and Giveaways”, as well as even more great links around the web. Stay awhile at this great site for green design ideas for your home!

The CEO of Zappos is at the closing ceremony of the Olympics, and he’s posting some amazing pictures! Start following him to get a glimpse inside the Bird’s Nest!

Tropical Storm Fay is here, school is closed, and what better way to celebrate being stuck indoors than a great, tried and true recipe. This may be more fitting in wintertime, but with the air running and rain outside, it almost feels like it. This is Florida’s take on the snowstorm, after all! Pair the soup with your favorite grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, or top with cheese for total yummy-ness.

Organic Creamy Tomato Soup (recipe from Whole Foods Cookbook):

24 ounces tomato puree

2 cups organic chicken or vegetable stock

2/3 cup organic half-and-half or milk

sea salt, to taste

ground pepper, to taste

Heat tomato puree with stock, and simmer. Remove and whisk in half-and-half. Season and top with your favorite garnish!

Hope everyone has a safe day!