Mommy Goes Green

The FDA is cautioning parents about face paints for Halloween as “most of these products are completely safe, but there have been reports of adverse events and allergic reactions,” says Linda Katz, director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Color.  This happened in the case of a Girl Scout event in Ohio in February, when 43 girls got red, bumpy rashes from face paint made by Shanghai Color Art Stationery Co. Ltd. 

While the FDA does not regulate cosmetics and face paints, they do regulate the the colors used in them.  Check to make sure that the colors in any face paints you already have are FDA approved. You can check the list here. 

You also want to make sure that the face paints you use are lead free. Last Halloween, blogs reported finding packages of face paints that were clearly marked ‘this product contains lead’. 

Fortunately, there are several natural face paint options you can pick up or make your own!

Nova Natural’s Face Pencils are non-toxic and made primarily of palm oil.  5 pencils for $16

Pink Quartz Minerals Stage and Halloween Makeup is non-toxic and made with vegan minerals.  4 colors for $17

For a DIY recipe at home – try this:

• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp water
• ½ tsp all natural diaper rash cream or a cold cream
• 1-2 drops natural/ organic food coloring

In a small bowl, mix water and cornstarch. Add baby cream and food color and mix a bit more.

EDITED 10/24/09 -  I was just at the store and picked up a pack of face paints, they had tons of parabens listed in them.  Just another reason to buy natural or make your own!

EDITED 10/29/09 – Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 10 face paints and found ALL of them contained lead and several other heavy metals.

So you’ve been to the pumpkin patch and have all these pumpkins sitting around.   How can you use ALL of the pumpkin instead of tossing it in the garbage when Halloween is over?   Pumpkins are a vegetable and a great source of vitamins.   It’s low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.  1 cup of raw pumpkin has 171% of your Vitamin A needs for the day.  It’s also a good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin E.

USE THE SEEDS

1.  TOAST THE SEEDS

Separate the seeds out from the stringy and gooey pumpkin insides.  Throw them in a strainer and rinse them off.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet in a single layer, spray them with olive oil, add salt and bake for 45 minutes on 300 degrees. Other options include sprinkling seasoning salt or garlic salt for more flavor.

2.  MAKE A SWEET TREAT

Martha Stewart has an interesting twist on pumpkin seeds, make a Pumpkin Seed Brittle.

3.  KID’S CRAFT PROJECT

• pumpkin seed necklace
• pumpkin seed collage
• pumpkin seed art
• pumpkin seed math

4.  RECYCLE FOR SPRING PLANTING

You can save the seeds, store them and use them in the spring.  Dry the seeds for 7 days and then wrap them in newspaper or magazine pages until spring.

USE THE PULP

Don’t throw your pulp in the garbage and do not put it down the drain.  According to Mr. Rooter, pumpkin pulp hardens in the drain and clogs it.

Compost or if you have chickens, you can feed the pulp to them.

USE THE PUMPKIN ‘MEAT’

There are TONS of recipes for using fresh pumpkin to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, breads, whatever suits your fancy.  Different kinds (and sizes) of pumpkins are good for different types of food so you make sure you get the right kind of pumpkin if you plan to bake with it.  Typically, smaller pumpkins are for baking.  You can bake, boil or microwave the pumpkin to get it ready to use in your recipes.

ANYTHING LEFT OVER

If you have anything left over from your pumpkin or you carved your pumpkin and left it outside for decoration, the whole thing can be composted, just make sure to cut it into small chunks.  If you don’t have a compost bin, cut it into chunks and bury it in your garden.  Great nutrients for your soil.

Make sure you enter our Green Goodies Giveaway – over $50 worth of green goods for your home and baby!

Today you can’t go anywhere without seeing an all-in-one Halloween costume for all ages ( and at all price ranges ).  I can’t recall EVER buying a new Halloween costume when I was a kid.  In fact, most of the pieces in my dress-up box ( yes, I still have one! ) have come from Goodwill or a garage sale collected over many years.  

If you can’t fathom paying $40 for a costume (worn 1x ) or just want to keep the clutter out of your house – get your creative juices flowing and make one.  How easy would it be to pull together a ghost, pirate or princess costume – all from stuff you probably have hiding in the closets in your house.

For lots of ideas, check out these sites:

100 Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas submitted by readers of The Daily Green

Homemade Costumes Gallery by About.com

1Halloween.Net Costume Gallery

Unique Halloween Costumes from Disney Family

Another way to avoid buying a new costume – borrow one!  This year, I lent out 2 of my daughter’s costumes from previous holidays and I’ll be borrowing one from a friend.  With a trip to Goodwill for one additional piece for my husband, our family will be ready for Halloween for a couple dollars!