Okay, this a trick question, but it's one we are asked a lot. The rice cereal that is best for your baby's first food is…none. Our readers often ask why we haven’t done a Safe Product Guide on rice cereal for babies. Most pediatricians still recommend rice cereal as the first food, because it's gluten-free and almost never causes an allergic reaction. And readers think, surely there are brands
Safer Baby Supplies
Where to Buy European Infant Formula
First, read my affiliate disclosure. As you may have seen in our updated Safe Infant Formula Guide, I recently recommended Lebenswert as the healthiest infant formula on the market (yes, even better than Holle and HiPP!). Unfortunately, it's become harder and harder for American parents to find European formulas as they are no longer available on Amazon. Some parents have resorted to buying
Introducing Paleo Skincare!
I don't eat red meat, so it's weird for me to be writing a post about beef fat in your skincare products. I've actually never even really tried red meat as a food, being grossed out by it even as a child. However, my personal and professional mission is to find the safest, purest, most nontoxic products (and the ones that have the least environmental impact), so I have gotten over the ick
Updated Nipple Cream Guide & a Lanolin Horror Story
My big project for the next few weeks is going through all our Safe Product Guides and updating each one with additional information I have learned since their original publication, plus of course adding new products that have entered the market (or changed their formulas) and are Good, Bad, or Sneaky. A recent email I received from a reader (pasted below) prompted me to start with the Safe
Honest Company’s Infant Formula Review
As soon as The Honest Company’s infant formula hit the market, we were flooded with emails asking, “Is this the Good Stuff?” After putting the Honest formula through our research and review process, our answer is…sort of. Essentially, Honest’s formula is the same as the rest of the Jessica Alba product line: definitely well-intentioned, definitely better than most conventional stuff, not quite
Sneaky Toxin Alert: BPA-Free Bottles & Sippy Cups
This post originally appeared a guest blog for Dr. Alan Greene's website. Have you ever ordered a “healthy” item from a fast-food menu? A salad at these places might consist of a pile of anemic iceberg lettuce topped with chicken fingers and drowning in ranch dressing. An educated consumer would know this isn’t health food, of course. But this same consumer might be surprised to learn that the
A Better, Safer Disposable Diaper
Last year, I helped actress Jordana Brewster design a beautiful, nontoxic nursery for her now 9-month-old son, Julian. (I worked with a talented interior designer, by the way--I can pick the safe stuff, but designer I am not!). In addition, I helped Jordana select the safest baby essentials--diapers, wipes, bottles, and skincare--for her son. Once Julian was born, she tried a range of
The Honest Company by Jessica Alba: Good, Bad, or Sneaky?
We get multiple emails a day asking about Jessica Alba's line of baby and household products, The Honest Company, whose mission is "to reduce the ubiquitous presence of toxic chemicals in our our natural environment, man-made environments, and our personal environments." It seems that Gimme the Good Stuff readers are all dying to know: Is The Honest Company truly good stuff? I'd feel
What’s More Dangerous Than BPA? An interview with Dr. Chris Fasano, Stem Cell Scientist
My husband is a stem cell research scientist, and people always find this impressive. And yes, I definitely find myself bragging about it whenever everyone else is talking about their husbands' work in private equity or whatever. But secretly I find most topics around stem cell research to be kind of boring, or at least too esoteric to enjoy in my current sleep-deprived state. Unless of course
Safe Baby Clothing Guide
1. Under the Nile / 2. MilkBarn / 3. Hanna Andersson / 4. Kate Quinn Organics If you’re a Gimme the Good Stuff reader, you likely to try to eat organically grown food and are taking steps to eliminate toxins in your home. So it probably seems like a no-brainer to insist on organic cotton clothing for your kids. But organic clothing is harder to find than the regular stuff (although becoming
