Green Options

Oh, the joys and delights of that perfect food… pizza.  Just looking at this picture is making me drool, how about you?

Takeout pizza always seems to taste better than homemade, doesn’t it?  It’s partly because of their specialty pizza ovens, but it’s mostly the excessive amounts of grease and salt.  Frozen pizzas are often full of MSG and artificial flavours.  Not to mention the potential risk of PFC’s in the boxes!

For those of us trying to save a little money, and keep our families healthy, here are a few tips on making your homemade pizzas super-yummy.

Are you looking for a community, environmental project for your family?  Keep America Beautiful is launching its 2009 Great American Cleanup today with its campaign “Green Starts Here”.

The Great American Cleanup begins today with a national launch event in Waveland, Miss., which will help  restore a hurricane-ravaged town along the Gulf Coast. It will continue through May 31 with additional national events being held in New York City on Earth Day and Nashville on May 14.

Millions of volunteers will work to rid streets, waterways and public spaces of litter and illegal dumpsites.  Communities will green up parks, schoolyards and other public spaces and hold recycling drives and educational events.

Roses are Red . . .
Are those roses fair trade? How far did they travel? Are they grown organically, sustainably responsibly? If you don’t have a honey to send you flowers (or are unlikely to get them from your own honey), send yourself your favorite flowers!
                  Buy ‘green’ roses from Colombian Florverde growers (not local, but for a good cause).

Skip the Card . . .
Can we get creative electronically? Or write love poems on our bodies or something? Lots of ways to send the message w/out killing trees. If you don’t have anyone to send a love message to, take some time to imagine you are your own lover and send yourself a wonderful love note and appreciate who you are!
                  Care2 has some great FREE eCards that also help highlight important causes

Keep it Local . . .

Parents have a tremendous influence over how their children eat.

To emphasize this, researchers at Saint Louis University have determined that families who eat out often are more likely to skimp on fresh fruits and vegetables compared to those who eat more meals at home.

After focusing their study on young families in southeastern Missouri, it was found that close to 73% of parents don’t consume the minimum recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day.

Researchers also discovered that families who eat out frequently are less likely to have fresh produce on hand at home.

According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, eating together as a family during adolescence is associated with lasting positive effects on dietary quality in young adulthood.

Students surveyed as teenagers were surveyed again at twenty years old to determine the long term effects of eating family meals.  Researchers found that eating family meals together during childhood resulted in adults who ate more fruits and vegetables, and drank less soft drinks.

I call myself a moderate. I firmly believe that you attract more bees with honey, so why would I take on the “My way or the highway” mentality? The only realm I don’t take a moderate stance in is safety. For example, I’m always going to be a bit over the top careful and advocating for carseat safety. However, when it comes to everything else, I’m going to live the way I feel reflects what I want to share.

So, we live a green life, eat a natural and mostly organic diet, and share this information in non-threatening ways.

For instance, when a group of Moms was talking about laundry, I shared using apple cider vinegar in the wash instead of bleach when a Mom mentioned that she felt bleach was necessary to get rid of the musty smell. A couple weeks later, when I saw that Mom again, she told me she had made the switch and it was working great.

We recycle everything and usually have at least twice as much recycling out as our neighbors. When they ask “why”, and “how”, I get to share some recycling tips and help educate our neighbors on what is recyclable.

Food prices are predicted to rise again next year, the economy is tanking, and businesses are looking at layoffs of some employees. With a recession looming, many families are struggling financially, tightening up their budgets and cutting back on unnecessary expenses. That doesn’t have to mean eating low-quality food.

Families can still eat well and buy organic and natural foods, even in a recession, but it takes some new skills. Some of these skills aren’t so obvious, so I put together my top ten tips to help your budget, with a focus on grocery shopping. Even if you only use some of them, I think you’ll see a significant change in your finances.

I never understood gravy as a child.  My grandmother’s gravy didn’t have much flavor and was lumpy. I was always grossed out by the innards and turkey juices used to make it. Needless to say, when you make tofu turkey from scratch, as we do every year, there really aren’t juices to make the gravy from, so here is our recipe:

Vegan Cashew Golden Gravy

Saute in oil:

• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 onion

In a separate fry pan, preferably a cast iron skillet, lightly toast. Stir often and be careful not to burn the flour:

• 1/3 cup organic flour (white or whole wheat)
• 1/3 cup ground organic cashews (easy to grind in the blender)