Whether you are a mom making a wish list or you are shopping for your mom, grand-mom, wife, etc. you will want to take a peak at the ultimate Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide from THE Once A Month Mom – the owner and founder of Once a Month Meals, Tricia. She’s had the opportunity to test and review numerous products in her own kitchen, and has an long list of favorites to share. Today are sharing our favorite eco-friendly kitchen gifts.
Disclosure: My opinions of these products are my own. I have tested all of them out in some way, shape or form. I also didn’t choose to put in items to the gift guide that I didn’t think that moms would find use for in the kitchen or would be good quality. I wouldn’t want to steer you wrong on Mother’s Day.
I will use a star system to differentiate products, i.e. 1*, 2**, 3***.
* – I didn’t receive the product for free as part of the review, I either owned it already or I reviewed it and sent it back to the company.
** – I got the item to review and to keep.
*** – I received the item to review and keep and received one to give away to a reader (seethe Mother’s Day Gift Guide guidelines for entering). This giveaway is now closed.
Kitchen Gift Guide: Eco-Friendly Gifts
Fresh Wave Green Home Kit***
I had to put this product at the top of this list because it was my “surprise” item of this whole Mother’s Day Kitchen Gift Guide. I even thought about giving it a stand alone post. Why is that? 
I was skeptical to put it mildly. But I knew I had the perfect test for this product. I had been working on the Sliced & Diced: Onions post a week prior to getting this product, and I heard about how horrible the house smelled for four days following. Then, on a trip I left my OAMM Bible on the plane containing, you guessed it, my onion data. Guess what I was going to have to do again? I was NOT happy about having to listen to my husband complain about the smell for another week. But my Fresh Wave products had arrived so I set up the crystal’s and the candle and went to work at 1:00 pm in the afternoon.
I finished around 3:00 pm. I thought that there wasn’t much smell, but I knew the real test would be when hubby arrived home at 5:30 pm. When he arrived, not much was said. (And the onion evidence had been hidden so as not to tip him off). And after being home for half an hour I said, “Honey, what does it smell like in here?” He gave me a blank stare and said, “Nothing, why?” SCORE! I think I might buy stock in the company! When I told him why I was so excited, he was amazed! We have used the candle several more times when life got a little stinky and have continued to be amazed. I am pretty sure I need some of the gels for the babies’ room to cover up the poopy diaper smell. If your wife likes to cook but sometimes the smells are overpowering (and not in a good way), this would make an awesome gift. It doesn’t have a fragrance either. I am really sensitive to smells causing headaches, and I didn’t even smell it. It simply neutralizes the air! Seriously, you won’t believe how well this works.
Twitter: fresh_wave
Facebook Fan Page: Fresh Wave
Glass Dharma Glass Straws**
These are lots of fun! This is a great gift for the mom in your life that likes to entertain. Especially if she is all about making mixed drinks (and I’m not necessarily implying alcoholic ones either). These would be great for sipping lemonade with the ladies on the back porch or garnishing a summer smoothie or just about any other fun summer drink. I can envision these in a basket full of goodies for making nice summer smoothies or margaritas. (Oh, and don’t forget the gift certificate for a nice pedicure for those summer toes that she will be putting up as she is sipping her smoothie!) And they are in the eco-friendly category, why? Well, because instead of using plastic straws that get thrown away and ultimately end up in the land fill, these straws are reusable. They also come with a money back guarantee for satisfaction AND breakage! That’s a great deal!
Twitter: GlassDharma
Facebook: Glass Dharma
Reduce – Melaboo***
I love this line of kitchenware. It is so functional, and so very needed on a once a month cooking day. You can never have too many bowls or measuring utensils. And what is better, these products have great pour spouts so that you aren’t dripping liquids everywhere. And a line of products that are eco-friendly too? Great bonus! So for the eco-conscious mom in your life, you should check out the Melaboo line at Reduce. They also have a whole line of other kitchen products that might make mom happy too. Check them out! (They are running a $5 off special this week (April 19-25) as well.
Facebook Fan Page: Reduce
Tote Buddy***
If the mom in your life is like me, I have my reusable grocery bags strewn about my home and car. Inevitably, I get to the grocery store to purchase a weeks worth of groceries to discover I only have one with me. The Tote Buddy helps to keep all those reusable bags organized and in one place. And it is fashionable as well. So if your mom likes to grocery shop (um, she is a Once A Month Mom, of course she does) then this would make a great gift this Mother’s Day.
Twitter: TheToteBuddy
Facebook Fan Page: The Tote Buddy
Urnex Coffee Cleaning Supplies**
I confessed yesterday to not really caring for coffee and sharing that my husband did. And so is his entire office. They even have an in house espresso maker for making espresso and coffee drinks every day. Have I also mentioned that there are 10 people employed in this office and only 2 of them are female? Did I mention that they aren’t big fans of cleaning up? So when this product was offered up, I knew I had the perfect place for testing it out! I sent the products with my husband and he said they worked great. Better yet, Urnex is an organic product that cleans your coffee maker or espresso machine. In fact, it is the only organically listed home coffee machine cleaner on the market. Which is why it is on today’s eco-friendly list. So if the mom in your life is a coffee lover, you might want to pair yesterday’s ideas with some Urnex so that she can clean out the equipment and truly enjoy the flavor and richness of her cup of joe.
Facebook Fan Page: Urnex
Easy Lunchboxes***
Easy Lunchboxes help mom pack healthy lunches for the family with out wasting paper, plastic or packaging. This neat all-in-one system lets mom prepare lunches ahead (OAMM’s like being prepared) without the headache of trying to locate the mis-matched plastic storage containers. They are dishwasher and microwave safe and contain no BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead or vinyl. And they were created for a mom to be used by mom’s. You can’t get much better than that. But don’t take my word for it. Try them out. This would be a great gift paired with some picnic supplies for the family. Perhaps you could even take mom on a picnic for Mother’s Day and give her this gift. Or perhaps pack her a lunch in it and send her to the local salon for a massage. . .oooohhhh, wouldn’t that be nice?
Twitter: EasyLunchboxes
Facebook Fan Page: Easylunchboxes
Caldrea Essential Collection**
Caldrea is a line of home keeping products. I reviewed the Cloverleaf Sink Set for the kitchen which was great. It was refreshingly clean and worked well for cleaning up after all of my cooking endeavors. It comes with a hand soap, dish soap, hand lotion and a caddy. It is packaged nicely! Caldrea is offering free shipping today (April 22nd, 2010) in honor of Earth Day if you order from their site. You can also find their products sold in Target stores.
Honey Ridge Farms Products
This would have fit nicely in the edible section as well, but I thought that you can’t get more “earth friendly” than honey products. This bee farm produces some wonderfully flavorful sauces, dips, glazes and honey for your cooking pleasure. I had the opportunity to sample a few of their products and they were delicious. They have cute gift packages and ways to make your Mother’s Day gift special for the mom in your life. And we all know that she likes to cook, so you can’t go wrong!
Twitter: HoneyRidgeFarms