This is the first RealAge recipe I haven’t loved, but there were elements to it that were fabulous.  Here’s what it is, and here’s what I will change the next time I make it.

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A lot of people mentioned having a hard time avoiding High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in foods.  I am really big on not eating HFCS, and have found tons of foods to replace the ones that list it as an ingredient.

If you have a food you love and can’t find a good HFCS-free replacement, leave a comment or e-mail me at AlliesAnswers at gmail dot com, and I’ll try to find a substitute for you.  I’ll put up HFCS-free posts on Thursdays.

Portion sizes are so confusing.  The other day I was drinking a natural soda thinking it was only 90 calories, until my husband pointed out that there were two servings in a can.  Who opens a can of soda, drinks half, and saves the rest for another day?

It’s hard to keep tabs on calories when you are snacking from a big bag of chips or a box of cookies, so I can certainly see the appeal of pre-portioned snack packs, especially the 100 calorie packs.  But think of all the extra packaging that goes into those snack packs.  Here are a few ideas to help you make your own snack packs.

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best of craigslist has a very, um, natural way to deal with groundhogs.

Off Grid Living wonders if the cost of gas is reshaping America.

Organic Needle cracks me up. And just so you know, there are no pies being baked around here.

Small Change says good-bye to Google.

The Good Human talks about The Fun For Nothin’ Challenge.

This is an oldie but goodie. Read more…

Hey Allie,

I have a question for you. I decided to trade all my (poisonous) water bottles in for the aluminum Sigg bottles. But what do I do with the old water bottles? Can I recycle them? That seems kind of counter-productive to trying to help the environment. Help!

-NPW

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Howling Hill has a neat Pay It Forward contest if you’re feeling crafty.

Two Frog Home recommends some good gardening books.

The Green Life talks about eco-friendly surfboards.

The Modern Gal discusses green noise.

chrisdellavedova.com talks about no tolerance recycling.

Thanks, Courtney!

Sabrina contacted me last week to tell me a bit about Blue Planet Run.  I thought it was such an interesting organization, and I asked her to write a guest post to tell all of you about Blue Planet Run.  Check out her post. Read more…

Before our trip out to the Adirondacks a few weeks ago, we needed a couple small gear upgrades.  One was some long sleeve hiking shirts.  Something that would keep us cool, wick sweat, dry fast, and keep us covered.  While shopping for shirts, I discovered some that also protect us from the sun. Read more…

The Canary Report has interesting pictures of what the world eats.

Nature Deva explores the link between food additives and hyperactivity.

Tiny Choices talks about green dating.

Bean Sprouts makes butter.

Enviroblog takes on Mattel.