I got this Japanese bento box for a review from Life Without Plastic online store.

From the beginning I was so excited with the idea of a non-plastic container, and definitely fell in love with its simple Japanese look.

So far I’ve been using the Wooden Bento Box for over a month in our frequent outings, and every time I use it I feel like an old Samurai’s daughter.

Having lived in Japan for 3 years, I experience a nice feeling when eating rice from the Bento Box, but there are other benefits I can mention:

• Lightweight
• BEAUTIFUL (you get lots of compliments with this one)
• The perfect lunch size for us. It may not be enough for large portion eaters
• Easy to clean. Just use soapy water and a soft sponge
• The cedar wood is treated with Japanese traditional lacquer URUSHI, which is derived from the Urushi tree. This makes a brilliant, water resistant coating without harsh chemicals
• No BPA concerns
• Very pleasant to eat from
• Although not suggested by the vendor, I’ve successfully used it with only one compartment.

Enjoying obento at the Metropolitan Cultural Center in Quito

I’ve also found a couple of cons:

• Although it looks somehow sturdy, I wouldn’t take it just anywhere. I give it a lot of use in the city and for one day outings. I don’t take it to several-days trips.
• Not leak-proof. You can’t carry watery food
• The urushi coating looks delicate. I use wooden or silicone forks and spoons
• The box is comparatively pricey, but if you want to enjoy a plastic free life, the quality is worth the price

May I suggest an improvement: The box would be perfect with a Japanese fabric wrap. I indeed use a Japanese handkerchief to wrap my bento box.

Quick salad: Olives, free range eggs, organic tomatoes and macadamia nuts (not showing)

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Review by: Lisa

These baskets are made from 100% organically grown Bamboo, an environmentally friendly material. Bamboo is a grass that is easily grown and sustained – it can handle flooding as well as drought and does not need pesticides or herbicides to grow, and, unlike trees, it grows very quickly.

The Bamboo Nesting Baskets are made from 100% organically grown bamboo. This set of three comes in different colors and sizes that fit into each other for easy storage. They are attractive and stylish and can be used for anything in the household. They can be used in the kitchen and hold fresh herbs, fruit, bread but can also be a great place to put keys, office materials, hair accessories, toiletries, toys, and other items.

The simple design of these baskets looks stylish and modern anywhere in the house.

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Author: David Applefield

Review by: M.L.

If you are planning a visit to romantic Paris, don’t forget to pack Fommers’ Unofficial Guide to Paris, by David Applefield, an author of many fiction books, an editor and media specialist, who has lived in Paris since the early 1980s.

The guidebook is available in paperback and is handy enough to be packed in your travel case. It will help you to prepare for your Paris trip and gives valuable information during your visit to Paris.

The guide includes:

* Insider tips – how to find the most charming hotels

* 60 restaurants, reviews and rankings

* Information on Paris’s cultural and historic sights

* How to enjoy Paris with your children

* Tips and advice on how to overcome the language barrier and how to feel safe

* More

The guidebook comes with lots of great tips from the author who himself has lived there for over 25 years.

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Review by: Mónica

After a couple of months of brushing my teeth every day with Perfect Prescription I have became a fun of it. I’ve only tried the soap shreds with mint flavor, both on my teeth and my 4 year old’s.

Pros: Perfect Prescription Tooth Soap is fluoride and glycerin free. I do like the fact that the ingredients are understandable and pronounceable: “soap made from saponified organic extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and essential oil.”
After brushing with Perfect Prescription Tooth Soap I have a clean mouth sensation, very different from that “fresh mouth” feeling after using regular tooth paste. With clean I mean no residuals of the product, that I can compare to the feeling after a professional clean at the dentist’s.
They come in solid and liquid presentations, convenient for different purpose. I find the shreds to be very easy to carry in a tiny box when we’re out. On the other hand, the liquid soap may be very easy to use with infants and little toddlers that are not able to rinse their mouths by themselves.

Cons: Young kids can’t bite the shred as directed and the shred could get lost in their mouth. What I do is to dilute the soap with a drop of water while rubbing the shred to the tooth brush. Then brush as with regular tooth paste. Of course, the liquid soap could be the perfect solution for this problem.
The price is a disadvantage, but not so if you consider the benefits of having clean and healthy teeth in a cavity-prone family. Also, the bottle is supposed to last for 30 days, if you use a shred of soap three times a day. However, I find it to be too much for my mouth size, so I use about a half (ior less) of a shred for me and a tiny bit for my son. This way, for the two of us, a bottle lasts for about 2-3 months, brushing 3 times a day.
Also, the glass bottle is heavy and if you need international shipping that could turn very expensive. What I do is to order for local delivery when a relative is in the US. Also, they recently stopped charging for handling, so you only have to pay actual shipping costs.

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Other than loving to see my little porcupine having fun, I have some really good thoughts about his scooter:

1. It’s safe and sturdy, according to my own perception, of course

2. I didn’t need to “teach him” its proper use. Other than a couple of simple instructions, he was able to ride it safely from the first time.

3. It’s easy to assemble and disassemble – Just need two L keys and it can be tossed inside my bag. I actually ride the bus with it in my backpack and assemble it once we get to the car free route. (note that riding a bus in Quito is not that easy .)  It fits inside my Zuca, along with clothes (that I package inside bags), when we travel outside the city.

4. I don’t need to bend forward to “help” him, like I’ve seen parents do with their kids learning to ride a bike.

5. If Carlos is tired of it I can easily make it roll with one hand (this is because I’m small)

Also, it goes great with his green porcupine helmet (not intentionally. I fact it was the smallest helmet I was able to find.)

* This is an Imaginarium scooter that I can’t  find in stock right now.

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Name of Product: Breastfeeding Support Kit by Earth Mama Angel Baby

Review by: Erin McFeeters

The Breastfeeding Support Kit by Earth Mama Angel Baby is a gift set of four Earth Mama Angel Baby products for nursing mothers. The kit includes Bosom Buddies, Booby Tubes, Natural Nipple Butter and Milkmaid Tea.

Bosom Buddies are herbal compresses to treat and prevent engorgement. They’re great on tender nipples as well. The Booby Tubes are compresses to treat engorgement. Both are made from 100% organic cotton. The Booby Tubes can be warmed up in the microwave or chilled in the freezer, which makes this a multi purpose product that can be used either hot or cold. The Natural Nipple Butter is a lanolin-free moisturizer for treating and preventing dry or cracked nipples. The Milkmaid Tea is an herbal tea you drink to encourage your milk supply. All four of the products in the kit are natural and organic and Phthalate-free.

The Milkmaid Tea is by far my favorite product in the set. Before I started drinking the tea, twice a day, I was only able to express about two ounces at a time. After drinking the tea for a little over a week, I was able to express a little over six ounces at a time. I can only speak for my own experience, but I really believe the Milkmaid Tea has made a huge difference in my milk production.

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Author: Michel Odent

Review by: Emma

Michel Odent is not afraid to deeply question practices in obstetrics, medicine in general and even our cultures in order to attempt to ascertain what could lead human kind to optimum health. His approach is thoroughly scientific- all his ideas and conclusions he supports with research, yet he has a lovely winding story-telling manner.

Odents main argument in this book is that the primal period (as he calls it) – from conception through to a baby’s first birth is crucial in shaping human health. He covers various topics including humans as mammals and their need for privacy during labour, the foetus ejection reflex, the old and new brain, the history of colostrum and what role oxytocin plays in our world. He looks forward to the “post-electronic era” and discusses why changes in childbirth care are urgently needed.

I had previously read Primal Health by the same author and I shall now try to get my hands on his most recent book The Functions of the Orgasms.

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