Did your parents ever serve you liver as a kid, "because it's good for you"? Whether it is or not is debatable, but what isn't debatable is that liver is one of the foulest tasting things you can eat. My siblings and I learned, however, that if you smothered liver with enough bacon and onions, it became edible.
Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") is one of the healthiest grains you can eat. I learned about it during pregnancy, reading something or other about the best foods to eat for your baby. So I bought it, cooked it, ate it--and promptly upchucked all of it. Like liver, quinoa was one of the foulest tasting things I'd ever tried. (Although quinoa's health benefits are much more certain!).
I couldn't stomach the thought of eating quinoa again during pregnancy, nor a year later when it was served at a luncheon I attended. But my daughter is now five and morning sickness is a distant memory, so I decided it was time to try it again. (Because it's good for me, of course!). No, I didn't throw up this time. But I decided that as with liver, you need to smother quinoa to make it edible. In this case, I used curried tofu and vegetables. As long as each bite had enough tofu and veggies to overpower the taste of the quinoa, I was fine. But without it, blecch!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Cheap green tip: visit your local Starbucks for coffee...
... grounds, that is!
Starbucks coffee shops are saving their used coffee grounds in bags and making them available for free to anyone who wants to add them to their gardens.
We've been having slug problems again, and the beer in a small pot trick just wasn't working. (Maybe because the beer is old and stale? We're not beer drinkers, so what we have was left over from a party last summer).
I did some internet searching, and found some sites that recommended mulching used coffee grounds around your veggies to ward off slugs, as well as to help nourish your plants. Because coffee grounds are so fine, you have to mix them with something rougher such as broken-up eggs shells or dead leaves or bark mulch, so the grounds don't become impacted and prevent water from penetrating to your plants. The slugs don't like the feel of the rough stuff and they don't like the smell of the coffee, so they stay away.
Since we don't eat enough eggs for the quantity we'd need and our dead leaves went in the local yard waste disposal months ago, we chose organic bark mulch. Because organic bark mulch is more expensive than non-organic, another benefit to free Starbucks used coffee grounds is that it makes the bark mulch go further. So far, so good--no slugs!
And I have to wonder if the coffee smell is distasteful to deer as well. I spread some of the coffee/bark mulch around our blueberry plants. Last year, the deer devoured all our blueberries, and this year, they haven't touched them--and my husband hasn't even made his "deer off" pee-garlic-cayenne mix yet!
Starbucks coffee shops are saving their used coffee grounds in bags and making them available for free to anyone who wants to add them to their gardens.
We've been having slug problems again, and the beer in a small pot trick just wasn't working. (Maybe because the beer is old and stale? We're not beer drinkers, so what we have was left over from a party last summer).
I did some internet searching, and found some sites that recommended mulching used coffee grounds around your veggies to ward off slugs, as well as to help nourish your plants. Because coffee grounds are so fine, you have to mix them with something rougher such as broken-up eggs shells or dead leaves or bark mulch, so the grounds don't become impacted and prevent water from penetrating to your plants. The slugs don't like the feel of the rough stuff and they don't like the smell of the coffee, so they stay away.
Since we don't eat enough eggs for the quantity we'd need and our dead leaves went in the local yard waste disposal months ago, we chose organic bark mulch. Because organic bark mulch is more expensive than non-organic, another benefit to free Starbucks used coffee grounds is that it makes the bark mulch go further. So far, so good--no slugs!
And I have to wonder if the coffee smell is distasteful to deer as well. I spread some of the coffee/bark mulch around our blueberry plants. Last year, the deer devoured all our blueberries, and this year, they haven't touched them--and my husband hasn't even made his "deer off" pee-garlic-cayenne mix yet!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Cheap green tip: use (a lot!) less laundry detergent
I've been hanging my clothing to dry for about a year now, indoors when it's cold and wet, and outdoors during those glorious few Northwest months of summer. But I still occasionally dry laundry when some item is needed right away, or we have a big load of towels or jeans.
One of the challenges of air-drying heavy items such as towels and jeans is that they end up hard and stiff. I usually add a half cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle and shake these items out a few times while they're drying, and that helps. However, they still end up a little stiff.
One recommendation I've read is to add less detergent, because part of the stiffness is due to all the soap not completely rinsing out. I was skeptical about that because I already use half the recommended laundry soap detergent whenever I wash.
After my daughter's bubble party, we had all these wet towels that the kids had used to dry off after running through the sprinklers. My original plan was to wash them at home and dry them at the laundromat, but when the day turned out to be gloriously sunny, I switched tactics.
I washed the towels, not with half the scooper cup of detergent, but less than one-fourth, figuring that since the towels had only been used once, they weren't that dirty. I added vinegar to the rinse cycle, and then hung them over chairs on our deck to dry. They didn't end up quite as fluffy as towels dried in the dryer, but still, no stiffness! Once more, I'm a new believer!
One of the challenges of air-drying heavy items such as towels and jeans is that they end up hard and stiff. I usually add a half cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle and shake these items out a few times while they're drying, and that helps. However, they still end up a little stiff.
One recommendation I've read is to add less detergent, because part of the stiffness is due to all the soap not completely rinsing out. I was skeptical about that because I already use half the recommended laundry soap detergent whenever I wash.
After my daughter's bubble party, we had all these wet towels that the kids had used to dry off after running through the sprinklers. My original plan was to wash them at home and dry them at the laundromat, but when the day turned out to be gloriously sunny, I switched tactics.
I washed the towels, not with half the scooper cup of detergent, but less than one-fourth, figuring that since the towels had only been used once, they weren't that dirty. I added vinegar to the rinse cycle, and then hung them over chairs on our deck to dry. They didn't end up quite as fluffy as towels dried in the dryer, but still, no stiffness! Once more, I'm a new believer!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
A few inexpensive items for going green
Inexpensive, in my thinking, is around $10, or less!
Thinking about the plastic straws at my daughter's party prompted me to do a little internet research. I found these compostable straws at buygreen.com, for $5-11 for 250-400 straws (depending on the length of the straw).*
I wandered around that site and found these refillable wooden pens, from $3.75-9.95, depending on the style of pen. Refills are $3.75.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been doing some shopping on Etsy, an online store for vendors of handmade items. I've already purchased a reusable sandwich wrap and reusable snack bag from a vendor there for about $11, including shipping, and I couldn't be happier with the results. The items were bigger than I anticipated, they seal very nicely, and the quality is excellent. My next order will be for reusable covers for my Swiffer mop.
All of the above are small investments, but they will both save money in the long run and do a little more to help our environment. Just remember, small steps count!
==================
* You can buy reusable glass straws instead of biodegradable ones, but at $6.50-8.50 each they're a pricier (and more fragile) investment, and I certainly couldn't afford the quantity needed for a kids' party!
UPDATE: if you're like me and lose pens easily, then paying $4-10 for a refillable wooden pen you'll probably lose might seem like too much. Another option might be pens made from recycled materials. I saw packs of a dozen Bic stick pens made from 80% recycled materials for $1.99 at Office Depot. Retractable Bic pens made from 70% recycled materials are also available, but they're more expensive, about $16 for a dozen. Office Depot also carries Ticonderoga pencils made from recycled materials at a very low price.
Thinking about the plastic straws at my daughter's party prompted me to do a little internet research. I found these compostable straws at buygreen.com, for $5-11 for 250-400 straws (depending on the length of the straw).*
I wandered around that site and found these refillable wooden pens, from $3.75-9.95, depending on the style of pen. Refills are $3.75.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been doing some shopping on Etsy, an online store for vendors of handmade items. I've already purchased a reusable sandwich wrap and reusable snack bag from a vendor there for about $11, including shipping, and I couldn't be happier with the results. The items were bigger than I anticipated, they seal very nicely, and the quality is excellent. My next order will be for reusable covers for my Swiffer mop.
All of the above are small investments, but they will both save money in the long run and do a little more to help our environment. Just remember, small steps count!
==================
* You can buy reusable glass straws instead of biodegradable ones, but at $6.50-8.50 each they're a pricier (and more fragile) investment, and I certainly couldn't afford the quantity needed for a kids' party!
UPDATE: if you're like me and lose pens easily, then paying $4-10 for a refillable wooden pen you'll probably lose might seem like too much. Another option might be pens made from recycled materials. I saw packs of a dozen Bic stick pens made from 80% recycled materials for $1.99 at Office Depot. Retractable Bic pens made from 70% recycled materials are also available, but they're more expensive, about $16 for a dozen. Office Depot also carries Ticonderoga pencils made from recycled materials at a very low price.
Friday, July 9, 2010
How to have a (mostly) waste-free children's party
A few weeks ago, my daughter came up with a great idea: have a start-of-summer bubble party! We began planning a day in which her friends would gather at our house to blow bubbles, run through sprinklers, and drink bubbly milkshakes. The date we set is tomorrow (July 10th). When we first started planning, I wasn't sure it would work out, since the temps were about 60 degrees and we were wondering when summer would ever get here. Now that the mercury has hit 90, a party like this is an excellent suggestion. According to my daughter's daycare teacher, the kids there are so excited that the party is all they can talk about.
I started thinking about how I could make the party relatively waste-free, and here is what I came up with:
-- I purchased some durable, reusable plastic plates at Value Village (my favorite thrift store!) and durable, reusable plastic cups at a yard sale, to supplement the ones we already have that we use with my daughter. Cost: $2.50 for five plates and $2 for 8 cups.
-- Since we don't have a hand towel rack in our bathroom, we usually just dry our hands on our bath towels, and put out a roll of recycled paper towels when we have guests. So at Value Village, I bought a stand-alone twin hand towel rack and two sets of hand towels: a plain set for the kids, and a fancier set for when we have adult guests. Cost: $3.50 for the hand towel rack, and $3 for two sets of hand towels (so really, $1.50 for the set we'll use at the party).
-- We currently have a plain set of cloth napkins for everyday use, and a couple of fancier sets for guests. Because these are children (who tend to be messy), I needed some more plain napkins. I bought eight cloth napkins at Value Village for $4.
-- We bought a "bubble toy bonanza" kit that comes with all kinds of bubble wands and pipes. Because the kids are going to be putting their mouths on the pipes, I decided to have two bowls available outside: one filled with soapy dish water, and one with clean water with a little vinegar in it. The kids can swish their pipes in the sudsy bowl and rinse in the other bowl before passing a bubble pipe on to another child. No need for things like disposable wipes! Cost: $6 for the bubble toys, and to clean them: free.
-- I bought two durable, reusable vinyl tablecloths at yard sales. Cost: $1 for both.
-- As take-homes, the kids are going to get two things: a jar of bubbles, and a seashell they paint themselves. We spent July 4th at a cookout on Vashon Island and my daughter and I collected a bunch of large sun-bleached clam shells, which look gorgeous when painted. My daughter already has paint and brushes. Cost: $8 for 16 bottles of bubbles, and painted seashells: free.
Now, I did say this party would be mostly waste-free. Here are the areas where we'll still generate waste:
-- The various bags and containers for food and drinks, including hotdogs and buns, fruit, chips, juice, ice cream and milk (including non-dairy varieties for a few kids who are lactose-intolerant). I'm not yet at the place where I purchase all my food from farmer's markets and have milk delivered in glass bottles. However, I'll try to buy the largest sizes I can, recycle those containers or bags that are recyclable, and of course, use my reusable bags for shopping.
-- The plastic wrap around the packs of bubbles and bubble toys.
-- Plastic straws. It would be pretty tough to have young kids drinking milkshakes neatly and easily without them. Plus, it will help prevent brain freeze.
-- Invitations. We made really cute paper invitations with a clip art cat blowing bubbles. I know the "green" recommendation is e-vites, but c'mon, we're talking about 4-6 year olds here, the parents of whom, in some cases, I don't know very well. Thus, paper was the way to go.
So, for not much more than it would have cost to buy disposable napkins, plates, cups, paper towels, tablecloths and wipes, and with the added benefit of having these items available for future use, we will have a (mostly) waste-free kids' party. And I hope the kids' parents appreciate the take-home bubbles and pretty seashells rather than gift bags filled with cheap plastic toys!
===================
Update: The party was a hit! The one thing that didn't last long was the sprinkler--the kids started complaining they were cold after a few minutes (it wasn't quite as hot today as yesterday). But they loved blowing bubbles, painting the seashells, and drinking milkshakes! Interestingly, one of the parents gathered all the used straws and put them in a large container of soapy water. So that's one less area of waste for this party! And one parent commented that it was nice not to have their kids sent home with gift bags full of junk.
I started thinking about how I could make the party relatively waste-free, and here is what I came up with:
-- I purchased some durable, reusable plastic plates at Value Village (my favorite thrift store!) and durable, reusable plastic cups at a yard sale, to supplement the ones we already have that we use with my daughter. Cost: $2.50 for five plates and $2 for 8 cups.
-- Since we don't have a hand towel rack in our bathroom, we usually just dry our hands on our bath towels, and put out a roll of recycled paper towels when we have guests. So at Value Village, I bought a stand-alone twin hand towel rack and two sets of hand towels: a plain set for the kids, and a fancier set for when we have adult guests. Cost: $3.50 for the hand towel rack, and $3 for two sets of hand towels (so really, $1.50 for the set we'll use at the party).
-- We currently have a plain set of cloth napkins for everyday use, and a couple of fancier sets for guests. Because these are children (who tend to be messy), I needed some more plain napkins. I bought eight cloth napkins at Value Village for $4.
-- We bought a "bubble toy bonanza" kit that comes with all kinds of bubble wands and pipes. Because the kids are going to be putting their mouths on the pipes, I decided to have two bowls available outside: one filled with soapy dish water, and one with clean water with a little vinegar in it. The kids can swish their pipes in the sudsy bowl and rinse in the other bowl before passing a bubble pipe on to another child. No need for things like disposable wipes! Cost: $6 for the bubble toys, and to clean them: free.
-- I bought two durable, reusable vinyl tablecloths at yard sales. Cost: $1 for both.
-- As take-homes, the kids are going to get two things: a jar of bubbles, and a seashell they paint themselves. We spent July 4th at a cookout on Vashon Island and my daughter and I collected a bunch of large sun-bleached clam shells, which look gorgeous when painted. My daughter already has paint and brushes. Cost: $8 for 16 bottles of bubbles, and painted seashells: free.
Now, I did say this party would be mostly waste-free. Here are the areas where we'll still generate waste:
-- The various bags and containers for food and drinks, including hotdogs and buns, fruit, chips, juice, ice cream and milk (including non-dairy varieties for a few kids who are lactose-intolerant). I'm not yet at the place where I purchase all my food from farmer's markets and have milk delivered in glass bottles. However, I'll try to buy the largest sizes I can, recycle those containers or bags that are recyclable, and of course, use my reusable bags for shopping.
-- The plastic wrap around the packs of bubbles and bubble toys.
-- Plastic straws. It would be pretty tough to have young kids drinking milkshakes neatly and easily without them. Plus, it will help prevent brain freeze.
-- Invitations. We made really cute paper invitations with a clip art cat blowing bubbles. I know the "green" recommendation is e-vites, but c'mon, we're talking about 4-6 year olds here, the parents of whom, in some cases, I don't know very well. Thus, paper was the way to go.
So, for not much more than it would have cost to buy disposable napkins, plates, cups, paper towels, tablecloths and wipes, and with the added benefit of having these items available for future use, we will have a (mostly) waste-free kids' party. And I hope the kids' parents appreciate the take-home bubbles and pretty seashells rather than gift bags filled with cheap plastic toys!
===================
Update: The party was a hit! The one thing that didn't last long was the sprinkler--the kids started complaining they were cold after a few minutes (it wasn't quite as hot today as yesterday). But they loved blowing bubbles, painting the seashells, and drinking milkshakes! Interestingly, one of the parents gathered all the used straws and put them in a large container of soapy water. So that's one less area of waste for this party! And one parent commented that it was nice not to have their kids sent home with gift bags full of junk.
Cheap green tip: use cereal box liners instead of zippable plastic storage bags
Since I stopped getting plastic bags at the grocery store, I started saving the plastic bags I obtain from other things, such as loaves of bread, bags of produce, etc. I find that if I need to throw trash away or have a plastic bag available for say, packing shoes or carrying a child's wet clothes, these work just as well as plastic grocery bags.
However, one of my favorite (plastic? wax?) bags to save and reuse are the ones inside boxes of cereal. These make awesome substitutes for zippable plastic storage bags. They're strong and waterproof, and usually can be reused longer than plastic storage bags, which tend to break down after two washings. I use them for such things as storing leftover pizza, pancakes, and chicken. Smaller cereal inserts can be used for such things as sandwiches. These bags do well in the freezer, too. To use, remove the bag after finishing a box of cereal, shake out the crumbs, and seal with a chip clip, twist tie or rubber band. Because they're waterproof, damp foods store well without leakage. Of course, since they don't seal completely, you can't use them for anything completely liquid. Otherwise, however, they're an excellent alternative to plastic storage bags.
However, one of my favorite (plastic? wax?) bags to save and reuse are the ones inside boxes of cereal. These make awesome substitutes for zippable plastic storage bags. They're strong and waterproof, and usually can be reused longer than plastic storage bags, which tend to break down after two washings. I use them for such things as storing leftover pizza, pancakes, and chicken. Smaller cereal inserts can be used for such things as sandwiches. These bags do well in the freezer, too. To use, remove the bag after finishing a box of cereal, shake out the crumbs, and seal with a chip clip, twist tie or rubber band. Because they're waterproof, damp foods store well without leakage. Of course, since they don't seal completely, you can't use them for anything completely liquid. Otherwise, however, they're an excellent alternative to plastic storage bags.
Monday, July 5, 2010
In praise of small steps
Grist, an online environmental magazine, has a regular column, "Ask Umbra," which answers green living and environmental questions for its readers. Most recently, a reader named Patty asked the following of Umbra:
As I've shared before, I can relate to Patty's feelings of being overwhelmed. Here's what Umbra shared in response (emphasis added):
Umbra ends with a few famous quotes about doing small things with great love (Mother Teresa), about how small groups of committed citizens are the only thing that can change the world (Margaret Meade), and one of my favorites, from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax:
But right now with the oil spill taking over the Gulf and ruining so many ecosystems, I just don't know if anything I do really makes a difference. ...
I live in southern Louisiana and remember feeling the same way after Katrina. ... Why even bother? What can the little things I do matter when compared to one big horrible thing like this? I hope you disagree with me and tell me why I should care.
As I've shared before, I can relate to Patty's feelings of being overwhelmed. Here's what Umbra shared in response (emphasis added):
Being overwhelmed by a big crisis may cause us to think that our personal actions are meaningless. But this is where we’re wrong, dear Patty.
Just this week New York Magazine noted that, "recent neuroscience and behavioral-economics research suggest that changing people's individual behavior may be the best way to grow a movement."
Furthermore, an analysis from the Garrison Institute’s Climate Mind Behavior Project (CMB) and the Natural Resources Defense Council, found that "Americans can reduce U.S. carbon pollution by 15 percent -- or one billion tons of global warming pollution -- through collective personal actions that require little to no cost."
So go ahead and sweat the small stuff! The "little things" we all do are not futile. In fact, little things add up fast. Especially if you do them, and then talk to your friends and family so that they start doing them too. That’s the magic of the multiplier effect.
Grist put it best: "Practiced consistently, small steps facilitate both gradual evolution and rapid revolution for positive lasting change. Of course institutional and policy change is crucial, but it doesn't happen on its own; it happens when people fight for it, motivated by their values."
Umbra ends with a few famous quotes about doing small things with great love (Mother Teresa), about how small groups of committed citizens are the only thing that can change the world (Margaret Meade), and one of my favorites, from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax:
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
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