What counts for 25% of most households’ electricity consumption? Your refrigerator. So, of course, you are going to want to make sure you are running it the most efficient way that you can!

1. Be Organized–You waste time and energy with keeping the door open while trying to find something in your messy fridge. I have to admit that I am horrible with this, which is why I tidy up my fridge one day a week.  If I didn’t, it would be scary! Up to 30% of the cool air in the fridge escapes every time you open the door, which is quite a bit!  Be quick when you get something out!

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This past Sunday was such a wonderfully relaxing day, and I could tell that fall was on it’s way. I told the girls we must go “End of Summer Collecting” up at the Jordan River in Utah so we could keep the things we would miss when summer leaves but still be able to remember the fun we had.

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image courtesy of CaliforniaOrganicFlowers.com

We are a family that sends flowers to funerals, mothers in the hospital, for Mothers Day, or just because.  To be honest, I still have not found a great online source for ordering and buying flowers. I haven’t been thrilled with any of them and just now realized I should have been looking for an organic flower source. We strive for everything else to be organic.  Why not the flowers we send as gifts?

I started browsing the web in search of these companies and am excited to share with you the list I put together:

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(image via ci.wixom.mi.us)

Mapping out your errands with your kids can turn into a fun activity to plan and execute. Make a game of running errands by mapping out the shortest route. Grab an old map of your city or use an online map service to draw your own. Involving your children will help deepen their respect for reducing the pollutant they put in the air to run their errands now and as they grow older. You can also point out that since you took the time to bunch all your errands together you have more time to do things you really enjoy.

To live green means to live a sustainable lifestyle that won’t deplete or pollute the earth’s natural resources–and to find ways to replenish or recycle these resources and materials. To be green means to preserve and to protect our environments and our planet. Even small things like mapping out your errands teaches your children this important concept.

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For my daughters to want to help and protect the Earth I know that they need to love what our Earth is here for and holds. In my mind, beautiful creation, more specifically art is one of those things. We make many trips to the art museums and here are some great tips we have:

The old motto “Be Prepared” is the best advice for taking your kids to art galleries and museums. Everyone always appreciates a work of art better if they know something about it. Before you go to a museum or art gallery, get on their website and see what kind of art they have. Educate yourself about one or two pieces so that you can tell your kids something interesting about that piece when you come to it in the museum.

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Here are some wonderful things I learned from the article “Families Work” by Kathleen Slaugh Bahr and Cheri A. Loveless:

~Exemplifying the Attitudes We Want Our Children to Have: They talk about the importance of honoring family work so our children will feel the same way about it.

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You can simply and easily reduce your carbon footprint, save money on your power bill and teach your kids through example how to help the earth just by tweaking your cooking techniques a bit!

Did you know:

• Choose the right size pan for cooking and keep the lid on for most of the cooking process to reduce energy use by up to 90%.

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ven though the holidays are still so far away, it is good to help prepare for the busy season now! There is no better time than the present to do something good for someone else.

Here are just a few of the projects going on that I know about:

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Stronger Bodies

• Build developing strength and natural flexibility to minimize injury
• Improve body awareness and coordination
• Experience the joy of movement free from competition
• Improve breathing safely

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For over twenty years they have offered a well rounded selection of handmade products from around the world. They have searched all over so each piece in their line has a very artisan feel. Everything you buy helps the world locally and globally. The owners Doug and Susan have a “Kids Foundation” where they support, give service and are very involved in four different charities. The fund they raise help provide medical care, education, food and shelter for children in Haiti, Colombia and Honduras.

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to learn this part of their company, which they don’t push in your face. It took a bit of digging to understand how awesome they really are. For Father’s Day I bought my husband a recycled fire pit that he promptly announced was the best present he ever received from me. My office is full of furniture, magazine racks, mirrors, driftwood balls and coat racks from their catalog.

My home is now FULL of decor items from At West End, all high quality and which represent a mission I truly support and believe in.

Beets are rich in in iron, calcium, and Vitamins A and C. They are an excellent source of folic acid and a very good source of manganese, potassium and fiber.  They are a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, iron and Vitamin B6. Throughout history, beetroots have been used for medicinal purposes, especially for liver disorders because they have stimulating effects on the liver’s detoxification processes. Studies have shown that beets contain anticancer properties.
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Betacyanin is the pigment that gives beets their rich purple-crimson color; the pigment is a powerful cancer-fighting agent. Research found that the fibers in beets have a favorable effect on both the bowel function and cholesterol levels. Beets’ protective role against colon cancer is probably due to the combination of its betacyanin and fiber content.

This recipe is a favorite in our family and we usually have them every week.

Ingredients:
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3 organic beets, roasted (you can do more and freeze them, which cuts down on prep time)

3/4 cup organic ricotta cheese

1 cup whole grain organic pancake mix

3/4 cup water

1 banana

2 tsp cinnamon
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Directions:
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1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree.
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2. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake on a hot griddle. When bubbles start to form and sides appear cooked, flip and cook until no longer doughy.
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3. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar. (Seriously–they are eating beet pancakes! Give them the sprinkle of sugar!)

Enjoy! Don’t you love the bright pink color?

1. Be safe for my children and pets

2. Be environmental friendly

3. Work with the dry climate of Utah

4. Be affordable

5. Not have much upkeep since I am the one in charge of the lawn care in my home

After much research this is what I have learned and hopefully it will help me make a decision!

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My family loves to cook together; we all love to pretend do be chefs and put on “cooking shows.” If you drive by my house at any given time don’t be surprised to see us lying in the grass, flipping through recipe magazines or reading a cookbook. The girls have been asking me to make “Nutty Jumbles” for a while. We eat a lot of nuts in our home for snack time and this is a fun way to spice up the same-old, same-old snack. I am careful with the amount of sugar we eat as a family but I figure if I’m lucky enough to have two little kids that will eat so many healthy things, they deserve some sugar… “just an itty bit,” as my daughter would say.

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For almost two years we’ve been eating vegetarian or vegan twice a week and seafood twice a week. I guess you could consider us part-time vegetarians. Eating this way keeps us from overloading our diets with too much meat or dairy and cuts down on our grocery bill. It forces us to eat more fresh produce and to shop locally so the produce actually has flavor.

It is extremely eco-friendly to eat vegetarian twice a week; eating meat takes a toll on the environment big time. The beef, poultry and pork industrial farms notoriously contribute to water pollution, use large amounts of fossil fuels and generate prodigious amounts of greenhouse gases. The United Nations has actually issued a call for citizens of the world to go vegetarian one day a week to curb global warming.

My girls love fresh veggies and fruit on their own, but I also like to puree it and add it to other meals. I’m not trying to hide it but it’s another great way to add more essential vitamins to their diet. When my girls were babies I made their baby food and always used organic ingredients. Their teeth came in quickly and they moved onto solids sooner than later, so both times I ended up with extra bags of frozen cubed baby food. I started adding the pureed butternut squash into their grilled cheese for lunch and whole grain pancakes for breakfast. During that time two cookbooks were released dedicated to adding pureed fruits and veggies to favorite recipes!

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Our time in Nature is very unstructured and is the perfect getaway from our stressful work lives. I wanted to give you a quick tour of our personal special place in Nature and would love to hear more about yours!

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Organic popsicles…yes, I said it…that are bright colors, easy to make and full of ooey, gooey yumminess!

Ready for the super specific recipe? Here goes!

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I learned a tremendous amount in this book, had many “ah ha!” moments and patted myself on the back a couple times.

For instance, Sara writes a lot about nurseries (maybe she was baby hungry while writing this book; now she would have the cutest baby!) and how to make sure they don’t have harmful chemicals. She writes about how important it is to watch what chemicals we put into, rub on, put around our new babies and that their bodies are so tiny and fragile you need to be even more aware and careful of everything.

For a healthy environment, do any redecorating, furnishing, and cleaning at least one month before you bring your baby home. If that’s impossible, let your baby sleep in a bassinet in your room while the new furnishings for her room off-gas elsewhere.

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Organic popsicles…yes, I said it…that are bright colors, easy to make and full of ooey, gooey yumminess!

Ready for the super specific recipe? Here goes!

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5 or 6 or so frozen organic berries, any kind

1/2 cup to 1 cup or so of organic plain yogurt

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of organic carrot juice

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Mix together in large bowl.

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A

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The kids I nannied LOVED when I planned this for them. They were all so different in their likes and dislikes but they ALL enjoyed this.  You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you would like.

• Pinecones, dandelions, seeds.
• Insects, such as a butterfly, dragonfly, grasshopper, and beetle.
• A spider web.
• Leaves from an oak or maple tree.
• Frogs, toads, and lizards.
• Wildflowers.
• Mushrooms.
• Wild berries (do not eat them unless they’ve been identified as non-poisonous!)
• If you’re by the ocean, look for seashells and seaweed.

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