Help educate me on healthier / greener ways

[firstbaby]

We've been slowly eliminating our plastic toys and replacing them with wooden toys, this weekend we threw out our plastic food storage containers and sippie cups, we've been buying organic meats and produce, make our own cleaning supplies, etc but I still feel like I have so much to do / learn. For those of you that feel you run green / healthy households, can you tell me about your homes?

For example, I've seen a few threads about not buying convenience brownie mixes, etc. Can someone share why and what you look for / avoid in a list of ingredients on mixes? Right now I make all of our own salad dressings, marinades, etc but will make a box brownie mix. I want to do better!

I really am looking forward to everyone's responses. Thanks for your help :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

On the issue of things like brownie mixes the main problem I have is the ingredient list. The ingredients- I have been avoiding foods with partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup for years. There are times that I give in and eat something w/ those but I try to avoid them 95% of the time. Brownie mixes, unless at the natural food store, have PHOs for sure.
Label reading is big for me. I do almost all my shopping at the natural food store, Trader Joe's or Whole Foods and I read all the labels. When I go to the mainstream stores I buy so much less b/c I hate how long and junky the ingredient lists are! Plus, I buy things like boxed crackers, cookies and pudding at WF and I know that they can be taste good, be convenient and not be filled with crap. Food all around is my families biggest splurge.

I'm trying to shop smarter. I am bringing less stuff into the house. And I am trying to avoid buying things w/ a lot of extra packaging, like individual portions of snacks. Just trying to reduce waste and clutter.

The wise moms here have a lot better advice than I do. I do more but the food thing is the one I wanted to address.

Beth