Home Free Cookies are the health- and/or allergy- conscious person’s dream cookie!  They’re also likely to be the favorite cookie of bulleted-list lovers everywhere.

They are:
·         Certified organic

·         Certified whole grain – each cookie serving contains at least ½ serving of whole grains

·         Without trans fat or cholesterol

·         Free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and dairy

·         Fine for most people allergic to wheat (not gluten-free; contain oats)

·         Fine for most people allergic to soy (most contain soy lecithin)

·         Baked and packaged in a dedicated bakery

·         Allergen tested

·         Without corn sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, MSG, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

·         Certified vegan (oatmeal cookies, and coffee cakes)

·         Certified kosher pareve

And the taste?  I tried the chocolate chip, mini chocolate chip, and oatmeal varieties.  I shared some with friends and co-workers to get their opinions, too.

Verdict?  Regular chocolate chip, chewy and moist, are the standout winner.  Mini chocolate chip were crisp, but more like a merengue than a Chips Ahoy.  Oatmeal were “not yo’ grandma’s oatmeal cookie,” according to one friend (I finished his).  But, for people whose health or allergy concerns keep them from enjoying other varieties of cookies, Home Free flavors are appreciated options!

I recently tried a new kind of bottled water: State of Mind Water.  The bottles caught my eye because of their inspirational words: Believe, Love, Compassion and Peace.

I generally avoid using plastic bottles, but these I could feel pretty good about.  The water is fancily filtered to be very safe and pure and has a balanced pH.  Plus, the bottles are 100% oxo-biodegradable.

State of Mind’s founder, Laura Thereza, says, “If you are going to carry a bottle of water, why not carry something positive?!”  Good point.

What’s more, if you passed someone on the sidewalk who was being obnoxious you could kindly remind them to exhibit good behavior by pointing to your water bottle.

Earth Friendly Products has a new phosphate-free Wave Gel dish detergent.

It’s twice the potency of regular dishwasher gels, so I only need to put in half what I normally would.

And, get this: Earth Friendly Products was the recipient of the 2007 PETA Proggy Award for Best Line of Cruelty-Free Products.

I didn’t know that PETA liked anyone (in the human world, at least), so this is quite a testimony.

Ahhh…. amazing.

Paper Source usually annoys me with their emails (a listserv which I apparently added myself to unknowingly after an online purchase) but this latest one actually caught my eye before I banished it to the Spam folder.

These Paper Rosette Decorations are actually really cute.  I’m always looking for a nice, simple decoration that I can pull together the day of a party with materials I already have.

I almost gave up when I noticed the instructions were in PDF, but I rallied on for our collective benefit.  Here’s the PDF:

Now that I see it like that, it’s pretty intuitive.

Maybe I’ll stay on that Paper Source email list after all.