Ilana G.'s Profile
"green crusader"
Member since June, 2007
User stats
6 reviews
3 useful ratings
2 listings added
1 friend
Location
San Francisco
My affiliations
Bay Area Green Business Program
Last great book or movie
Middlesex
My Dream Product
affordable eco friendly fashion
Offline, find me...
in a kayak or on a bike
My non-green guilty pleasure
tuna sushi
Healthy, US-made instant lunch in a green container
Annie Chun's may well be the first company to package convenience foods in compostable cornstarch bowls, instead of plastic. They're made just north of San Francisco, so as an SF-dweller I can feel good about eating this local product, as opposed to most similar dishes that are made in Thailand.
The noodles come mostly cooked, not freeze dried, so when you add hot water it just warms and slightly cooks the noodles. (The water is meant to be poured off, not soaked in.) These simple dishes come with a variety of sauces like Peanut Sesame, as well as a tiny veggie/spice packet and lots of chopped peanuts to sprinkle on top. I like to make a small stirfry of veggies and tofu (as is recommended on the box) at home to add to this at the office for lunch.
They lose one star cuz the noodles are a slightly weird texture- too soft. Also the box says it's 2 servings, which is ridiculous- who else but me would actually split it in half? It's not too hard to do and then I eat it as 2 days' lunches, because there's 11g of fat in one serving. Either be honest that it's one serving with 22g of fat, or sell single servings. They could even put 2 individually wrapped servings in one box and I would prefer that, leaving the hungrier folks out there to eat both at once.
keywords: instant noodles, asian food, convenience food, packaged lunch
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Natural hair gel with great hold
I found this product on my search for a hair gel with minimal chemical ingredients, particularly nothing ending in -paraben or -cone. It is commonly sold in health food stores. I used to alternate between several hair styling products, but when I got this one it became my new favorite. It does a very good job on my curly, thick hair, keeping away frizz and holding the curl. There is a litte bit of crunch factor but that also = shine, and is determined by how much gel you use. One more small warning, it dries & flakes on very rare occasions.
This product has a very light, pleasant scent and is just so nice to use, knowing I'm not piling chemicals on my hair every day.
keywords: hair gel, styling product, organic hair product
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Holds up in the wash
I have used my chico bag a few times. They are great because they pack up into a teeny little packet to carry along with you, and then when you need to wash them they don't wrinkle up like some cheap cotton bags do. I am docking them one star for being made of nylon, not as ecofriendly as some other options.
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Watch out for allergies
I used their clothes detergent and was pretty unhappy when I started itching! I've never had this problem before. If you have any allergies, I suggest you don't use their products- at least the laundry detergent.
Since I haven't used their other products I didn't want to give too low a rating...
keywords: laundry detergent
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Mushrooms=drugs
Kombucha is made of mushrooms, folks. Funny mushrooms. When I drank half a bottle of this stuff I was left unable to physically focus on a point for more than a second or 2, and I was at work. Not a good combo. This lasted for a couple of hours. When I wrote the company they had ZERO compassion for me, only suggesting I try a smaller amount next time. JUST SAY NO! I would give it NO stars if I could.
UPDATE: OK, maybe they're not officially/illegally funny mushrooms, but it sure felt funny to me!
keywords: kombucha, raw, fruit juice
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User Comments:
Chris J. says:
I can't argue with your negative experience with kombucha, but I disagree that kombucha is made of mushrooms, and hence kombucha = drugs. With just a quick search on the web, I found two different sites that clearly... more »
Jay G. says:
Funny I really like GT'S Kombucha. Have never had anything but positive experiences with it. Is it possible there was something else you had eaten? Sorry they didn't have good customer service, though. It's really... more »
Find 1000 awarded Green Businesses!
How can I find out if a business is really green? What does it mean to be green? All 9 bay area counties have come together to create a list of rigorous "green business" standards, provide free assistance and recognize these businesses. Visit the website for a directory of awardees, and support these businesses to show that you appreciate their "environmental values at work"!
keywords: GBP, business, ABAG, directory, listings, assistance, recognition, award, certification
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User Comments:
Cris B. says:
A great product to learn about, Ilana, THANKS!, but can you tell me, are these instant lunches, Gluten Free? more »