Organic Carrot Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or oil to grease and flour the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ glass pan. Beat with an electric mixer for one minute:

• 1 1/2 cups organic sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs (or egg replacer)

Add and beat for another minute:

• 2 cups organic flour (can use a mixture of whole wheat and unbleached white)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

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In addition to the monthly episode/cartoon, the site features a blog, music, downloadable wallpaper and avatars, tips and quizzes on eco-living, and mini-stories about different topics in ecology, sustainability, social equity, and environmentalism. The site is easy to navigate and visually appealing to kids, and most of the content has links where viewers can get more information.

The Greens themselves are a hodge-podge of colorful characters, including kids, adults, and animals, designed to provide a green alternative to the typical portrayal of cartoon families. I particularly liked the dreadlocked, Rasta-hat-wearing Hector, described as "a kid who doesn't say much, but usually knows what he's talking about," and has a feature about saving water at home… in just ten words.

Overall, kids and tweens will find The Greens to be likable and entertaining. Much like those other popular kids films, the characters drop pop-culture references that both kids and adults will find amusing. More importantly, The Greens give kids a pop-culture reflection of what environmentally-conscious families can look like. The Greens are interesting, funny characters who happen to care about sustainability. The kid characters are empowering and passionate without being preachy. I'd personally like to see more content in the second "episode," with more character storylines to supplement the diverse informational articles, nd if there's something you'd like to see, The Greens want feedback on the site, which you can give here.