Death & Dying Composting Series 4 of 5: Depression

"There are five stages to grief, which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. And right now, out there, they're all denying the fact that they're sad. And that's hard, and it's making them all angry. And it is my job to get them all the way through to acceptance. And if not acceptance, then just depression. If I can get them depressed, then I'll have done my job."- Michael Scott, The Office.

I'll be honest, there are few reasons to be depressed about composting.  A friend told me that she's still concerned about attracting neighborhood rodents if she starts to compost.  I'll have to take some liberties with this post and just say that I suffer from depression when I haven't convinced you to start composting right away!  Here are some tips/tricks and answers to your most common composting fear-critters.

Wild/rabid animals will feast on my pile when I'm not looking.
I guess this is a real possibility.  It can be mitigated by NOT putting meat, bones, oils or cheese into your pile.  If a dog sitting under your dinner table would eat it, you shouldn't put it in your pile unless you have one of those weird dogs who likes fruits and veggies. 

What if the wild animals still get in...let's say non-meat eaters like squirrels?
Also a valid concern.  I would ask, what are you so worried about?  The fact that they're in there rooting around or that they might be eating too much of your stuff?  Scientifically speaking, compost will occur in your bin or going through his digestive tract.....

Really, how can I keep critters out?
A nice, tight fitting lid with holes no larger than 1/4 inch is the best route.  You'll probably want a paddlock if you have raccoons.  I hear that they are crazy smart!  A generous sprinkling of cayenne pepper wards off a lot of small animals.  Here are a couple more links to summarize the tips.

Keep Pests Out of Bin
Planet Natural

If you want to take it to the next level, check out this link for a review of the different types of bins out there.
Planet Natural Bin Reviews

Happy decaying!

.....

On Death and Dying: Composting Series 3: Bargaining

By now I'm hoping that you have sited and built your first compost bin!  If not, I'll be patient.  Speaking of patience, you'll need some of this while you start trying to fill your bin with goodies.  You might be having small bursts of desperation as you try to fill your new bin (especially if you have already raked and disposed of your leaves).  This is okay, you'll be fine.  Some typical thoughts/google searches you might have/do are:

1. How many bananas can a person eat before potassium poisoning sets in?
2. Rifling through the garbage for compostables at work with no one noticing
3. Should I cut down that perfectly good shrub to put in my bin?
4. I'm going to buy that cauliflower b/c even if I don't eat it, I can compost it

A common and useful way to deal with these types of thoughts is bargaining.  You will find yourself looking at apple cores, peels, coffee grounds and wilted lettuce leaves in a whole new way.  At first, you might bargain or scheme in easy and socially acceptable ways.  Maybe you ask a close friend if you have have the shell she just peeled off her hard boiled egg in return for a cookie.  Maybe you slip the coffee grounds from work into a plastic bag and cart it out in your lunch pail.  No one needs to know about this.  Maybe you approach the produce guy at the grocery store and casually ask how you can get your hands on the boxes and boxes of "culling" aka. semi-rotted stuff they pick off the shelves.

You'll find all sorts of creative ways to fill your bin.  You'll probably start eating more fruits and veggies just to have the cores, peels, stumps, etc. for your pile.  You might hit up local coffee shops for their used grounds.  You'll have stiff competition from other composters for these so make nice with the baristas for first dibs.  Coffee grounds aren't called Black Gold for nothing.

The most advanced form of bargaining will be when you plead with your higher power to put in more microbes to kick start your pile.  It will sound something like this, "higher power, please let the microbes thrive in my pile and I promise that I'll volunteer at that soup kitchen/clean out the bottom of the fridge/be nice to my nasty coworker, etc."  You can avoid these types of unhealthy conversations by just buying a little bag of 'compost starter' at Ace Hardware.  This is easy to use and makes you feel in control of the process.

You'll find a lot of info on the ratio of greens (nitrates) to browns (carbon).  Try not to stress over this.  Just do your best to have more browns (leaves, shredded papers, and dead, brown things) than greens (produce waste, coffee grounds/things that are still moist/juicy/any other color).
As you begin to get a substantial amount of stuffs in your pile, do the following every 3rd day to create "gourmet compost."

Turn and mix up your ingredients.  Microbes need air so by stirring/flipping, you'll introduce the needed O2.

Check the moisture level.  It should be damp, like a wrung out sponge.  Not dripping and not dusty.  If it's too try, sprinkle water over it, turn, repeat.  If it's too wet, turn it daily until it get's drier.  If it's extra rainy for more than 2 days, cover it up with a sheet of plastic until it stops raining.

It might steam/smoke/smell like a barn.  These are all signs that things are going well!

Next week, we'll learn how you know if your pile is working and dealing with Depression if it is not.  How's your pile coming?

---

Making the Switch to Natural Peanut Butter

You might have been brainwashed by commercials as a child to believe that your mother only loved you if she bought you Jif...or Skippy if she could sneak it in a sandwich without your knowing.  I was raised on Jif and I still think it's delicious.  I read the label once and switched to Jif 50%.  Even though it had less fat it was still chalk full of sugar and fat. 

We got hooked on natural peanut butter when we were visiting family for 10 days.  It was all they had.  It only takes about 4 days to develop the taste buds for natural peanut butter.  It has a more satisifying texture and you can't eat lots and lots more of it b/c it lacks extra oil that don't reside in normal peanuts. 

Things to watch for as you try to switch.
Unsalted:  this will be a hard first try and perhaps too much of a leap if your coming off of a national brand.
No-stir:  this is code for--has an added type of oil to keep it from separating--caution!  It will probably be palm oil and as tropical and exotic as it sounds, it's not a great oil for your body so try to avoid it.
Weird brand names:  you will just have to get used to this.  Look at the back, chances are, the natural peanut butter is made/distributed by Smuckers!  They have their name all over the back of supermarket peanut butters.  This is not bad, we prefer Laura Sartor's brand which is a Smucker affiliate.
Additional compulsions:  to make the switch, you might want to mix things in to the peanut butter like honey, sugar, salt, chocolate, ground beef, etc.  While these aren't all bad, try hard to take it plain until you get used to it.
Organic: Shop around for this type of natural peanut butter for a good price if this is of value to you.
Self Serve: This is a good way to experiment with different types if you can find one of these machines at a grocery store.  Try a tiny bit of each one before you buy any. 

Take it to the next level:  Try out other nut butters like almond and cashew.  They are great compliments to apples, toast, sandwiches etc.

What's your favorite kind of peanut butter?

On Death & Dying: Composting Series 2: Anger

Welcome back to the composting series!  This week we'll be working through the Anger phase.  Anger during these early stages of composting can crop up in a variety of different ways.  I'll share my points of angst and you can feel free to comment below on your particular points of pain.

If you're following along, you should have surveyed your land and chosen your ideal place for your compost heap.  Now it's time to get serious about this and by serious, I mean you are going to need to go to Home Depot or similar home shop.

Anger Type 1: You will research bins and find that ready made bins cost $75-$200, this is upsetting and inappropriate! So, to build a basic compost bin, you'll need some 2x4s, screws, washers and medium mesh wire "fencing" (total cost $30ish).  Chickenwire's holes are too big so choose a type that has smallish squares or rectangles.  This would also be a good time to pick up a small pitch fork. 
You're basically going to build a frame out of the 2x4's and attach the mesh inside the frame on the 4 sides using screws and washers.  Reference the diagram above for a hilarious depiction of what your bin could look like!

Anger Type 2:  This could occur at various stages during the building of your bin.  You will forget something and have to make multiple trips to the store.  Just come to terms with it now.  You might also realize that your bin is too huge, too tiny or trapezoid shaped.  These will all pose problems for you in the future, so consult appropriate measuring devices to get it right.  You could also incur a host of injuries during this phase so take appropriate safety measures as I can't be held responsible for anything that happens to you or your doting husbands/boyfriends as they try to "help."

Let's assume that you got your bin built.  YAY!  Good job.  If you're not stingy, you could have just bought a nice plastic bin but where's the fun in that?!  Plus, the storemade bin will deprive you of most of the fun interactions you could have with your pile in the future.

Anger Type 3:  Feeling overwhelmed that you now have a giant wooden form but nothing to put in it.  Never fear, stick to these do's and don'ts and you should be well on your way to filling your bin.
DO: Compost anything that grows in the ground, on a tree or similar.  This includes things that might have been 'processed' but not added to during processing (coffee grounds, raw nuts, seeds, egg shells, etc).
DON'T: Compost any meats, oils/fats/bones, human or animal wastes.  You'll find info that says you can compost these things at high enough temperatures but let's just start off safe and avoid them.

Your task this week is to go forth and build your bin.  If you're Type A, Concrete/Sequential or MBTI J's, feel free to google "how to build a compost bin" for step by step instructions.
Blog in soon to learn about Bargaining and what you might Bargain for regarding your compost.

......................................................

Guilty of Animal Testing

I've been against animal testing ever since 6th grade when the horrifying stories of rubbing mascara into bunnies' eyes came out.  Regardless, I used my dog today to test a natural beauty product!  What is wrong with me!?  I didn't even give it a second thought.  Before you report me to PITA or similar, my friend and I have been talking about experimenting with various natural beauty techniques.  The one in question involves using baking soda in lieu of shampoo. 

My dog gets really smelly.  She has comparatively simple beauty needs.  Her hair is mainly one length and she doesn't have any chemical residues from styling products.  She also, consequently, doesn't mind if she is having a bad hair day. 

In my defense, I did research baking soda applications for dog bathing on several message boards and it was getting rave reviews from other owners of stinky/itchy afflicted mutts.  So I tricked her into the tub and wetted her fur.  I sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on her and rubbed it all around.  I gave her a vigorous rinsing and viola!  It worked, sort of.  The greatest benefit is that she hasn't itched or scratched even once since the bath.  Normally, no matter how much rinsing we do, she will itch a little more than usual for the first few days after a bath. 
I have been inadvertantly torturing my dog with shampoo for 6 years. 

Does she smell "good" now?  Probably not to the general public. Does she smell better than she did when we started? Definitely.  What is missing is the familiar green apple scent of her store bought pet shampoo for "problem skin" (only $9/bottle).  This new lack of artificial scent got me wondering why pet shampoos are scented?  Honestly, if you think dogs should smell like fruits or foods, you probably shouldn't be a dog owner.  I've never met a wolf in the woods who smelled like vanilla beans or cherries jubilee or chocolate kisses (no smart remarks about how often I've encountered a wolf).  Dogs smell funny, it's their nature.  So give up perfumed and expensive, boutique dog shampoos and opt for about 8 cents of baking soda instead.  Your dog will smell better and you'll feel comfortable using baking soda on your hair too! 

Stay tuned for the human hair experiments.....(I hear it works better on mullets)

Neighborhood Trash Service: Stage 1 of Communal Living?

I'm stingy.  About as stingy as they come.  When our weekly trash service company began increasing my rate by $10 a month for 4 consecutive months, I got fed up.   I called around and was thrilled to discover that another company (Waste Management) was nearly 1/2 the cost and provided WAY better service.  This event was coupled with an ordinance in my town called "pay per trash" or something similar.  It basically rewards you for recycling more and throwing away less.  My new trash company offers 3 different sizes of trash cans and 3 different sizes of recycle cans (with lids AND wheels).  My old company offered none of these options and we just got a crummy tub to put our recyclabes in, had to sort it and most of it would blow away every week.

Since the new ordinance passed, I decided to opt for the giant 96 gallon recycle can and the medium sized trash can (about half the size of the recycle one).  I was nervous to use a smaller trash can but with all that room in the recycle one, I figured we were up to the challenge. 

I am very satisfied with my new trash company and we are generating surprisingly small amounts of trash.  Most of our things are recyclable and that combined with composting means that we only throw away meat scraps, oils, non-recyclable plastic stuff, styrofoam and odds and ends like light bulbs.  We haven't taken our trash can out to the curb for 4 weeks now and it is only half full!  Our recycling cup runneth over.  I think I'll switch to the even cheaper 25 gallon trash can!

Your task this month is to find a lower rate and better service for your trash/recycling needs.  If you want to take it a step further: once you find the lowest rate/best service, talk to your neighbors about switching with you.  This has multiple benefits:

1.  Fewer noisy/smelly trucks going down your street each week making it safer for the kiddos running around
2.  Better for the environment: pooling your trash needs to one company will help the company be more efficient in their travels
3.  You might be able to talk the company down even further on rates if you explain that your entire street has switched to them!

On Death & Dying: Composting Series 1: Denial

I decided that I wanted to start composting in our backyard last May.  I researched different containers: ready made vs. build your own, I tried to learn what you could compost and what you couldn't: I refuse to compost nail and hair clippings. I stressed out over how big, how moist and how smelly my pile might be and stayed up night worrying that I wouldn't do it right and would be saddled with a giant pile of stinky mush.  Neighbors would complain, wildlife would be drawn to it to forage, babies and children would cry at the sight of it and so forth.

None of my worst nightmares happened and what I actually discovered is that composting is nearly fool proof.  If you barely tend to it, you'll eventually get compost (like 2 years).  If you tend to it a lot, you'll get compost really quickly (3 months)!

The first of the Death & Dying series will be focused on Denial.  There are many ways to be in denial on the topic of composting.  You might lie to yourself and say, "this banana peel can just go in the landfill, it will eventually break down."  "I don't want to compost because it it gross/smelly/icky/weird/I live in the city/I don't have time/only crunchy granola people do it."  Let me help you get out of denial and take the first step in composting.

1.  No, that banana peel will take forever to break down in a landfill because you're going to throw it away in a plastic trash bag.  Nature won't be able to get to that banana peel to compost it for about 10 years!
2.  Composting is allowed in the city and surprisingly few of nature's creatures will be interested in it.  I am not crunchy but I love composting.  It's the real life version of playing those farm games on Facebook like Farmville or Oregon Trail.  Put down your laptop and go interact with some microbes!
3.  My first batch of compost was so nutrient rich that I accidentally grew some melons in it at the very end of the summer!

Your task this week is to just survey your "land" ie, your backyard and look for a suitable site for your compost pile.  Little effort needs to be put into this step, just choose a location that:

• is roughly 4 ft wide x 4 ft long.  You might dig a hole there or place a container on top depending on which method you choose.
• consider placing your pile behind a shed/fence/shrub etc.  Compost isn't ugly but it's not quite as asthetically pleasing as a flower garden.
• is easy to access from your back door.  You'll need to cart your kitchen scraps out 1-2 times a week so it is nice to have a location that is convenient.
• is relatively close to where you keep your garden tools.  I frequently need my pitchfork, garden gloves and a watering can to tend to my pile.

You're done!  Visit me next week to learn about the next stage: Anger, and what steps you can take to move on with composting.

Get your friends on the "bagwagon"

3B Bags sent me some samples!  3B is offering a free shipping deal through Dec. 5th. Their reusable produce bags would make great stocking stuffers not to mention a nice, gentle nudge in a green direction!
3B Bags Website




..........................................................................

Death of a Flower

I saw a pbs special on tulips and flower trading in Holland recently.  It was fascinating and the flowers and gardens were a sight to behold.  Nevertheless, since embarking my green journey, I've started seeing things through green tinted glasses. 

The first thing that tweeked the newly formed green section of my brain is that the world's largest flower auction, Aalsmeer Flower Auction, is housed in a warehouse.  Not any ordinary warehouse but one that covers the same square footage of 200 football fields!  What?!  I decided that you can probably see this structure from space and any building that can be seen from a spaceship is decidedly too big.

Who of us hasn't been lured by a $4.99 bouquet of perfect sunflowers or daisies at the supermarket?  I have and I have begged my husband to bring me home flowers for special occassions.  Not anymore.  My days of participating in the commercialized flower business are over.  I got to thinking about how much energy it takes to run an operation like the Aalsmeer Flower Auction.  Even if it's run with compact flourescent bulbs, electric trams and is insulated to beat the band, it is still a giant, truly manufactured environment to provide a commodity that has been given value by humans. 

I can't even wrap my head around how much energy is consumed in farming and harvesting the flowers, transporting them to the auction, sending them on plane rides around the world and putting them in semi trucks and trains to be shipped to smaller cities and then ultimately being delivered to somone's door.  I reckon that a poor tulip spends 90% of it's young life staring at the inside of a truck or cargo hold of a plane.  A sad existence for an exquisite thing.  It's about the equivalent of human trafficking for flora.

Let's go back to yearning for flowers in the winter and experiencing the specific joy of watching something we have planted grow up and make our yards pretty.  Cut your own flowers and enjoy them while they last and find new ways to adorn your kitchen table in the winter.  I found a perfect acorn on a walk the other day and seeing it's perfect little body on my kitchen counter makes me just as happy as a bouquet of grocery store flowers from Holland.

Potty Training with Elimination Communication

I am pleased to have Laurie Boucke as a guest blogger today!  Laurie has a wealth of experience in natural potty training.  Enjoy!
............................................................................
Infant potty training is a gentle and ancient means of toilet learning. It has several names because several of us mothers “discovered” it on our own and have written about it for different audiences. Other names include elimination communication, potty whispering, natural infant hygiene and assisted infant toilet training.


Babies are aware of the elimination function from birth and emit little signals before they have to go. But we don’t watch and listen. Communicating with your infant about this enhances bonding and reduces diaper use. The ideal time to start is between birth and 6 months, but you can start anytime up to about 2 years.

Here is how to get started:
1. Observation
Lay your undiapered baby in a comfortable, warm and safe place, then observe her:
a) timing (how long and how frequently she goes after waking or feeding)
b) body language
c) sounds
If you start with a toddler, you can use training pants or let the child go “nakey butt” while you are becoming familiar with these things.

2. Anticipation or Intuition
Anticipate when your infant needs to go, then at that moment, make a watery sound such as "sssss" or use whatever sound/words you prefer. Babies under 6 months start to associate this sound with elimination within a few days. It may take some weeks or months for toddlers.

3. Position & Toilet Place
When you think your infant needs to go, hold her gently and securely over a basin or other receptacle (or seat your toddler on a potty or the toilet) while giving an audible signal. Your child will soon associate the sound, position and place with elimination. Use whatever location and receptacle are most comfy and convenient.

4. Baby-Mother Communication

Continue to pay close attention to your child's timing and signals. When you think she needs to go, hold her in position and give your signal. If it is near time to go, infants are able to relax those muscles upon receiving your cues. Toddlers who have been trained to use diapers may take some weeks or months to catch on, so don’t be discouraged.

Fathers and caregivers can help. Infant pottying can be done on a part-time basis, as long as you are fairly consistent. For example, potty your child first thing in the morning and after his first meal; if you have time, potty him in the evening.

The environmental benefits are fabulous since parents gradually reduce the quantity of diapers over the months (most use diapers as a backup in between potty visits). This helps conserve resources such as trees and water, and it cuts down on landfill use.

Laurie Boucke wrote the first book ever on infant potty training in 1979 when she used it with her third child. Her most recent book is Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living (2008) and she co-produced a DVD entitled Potty Whispering: The Gentle Are of Infant Potty Training (2006)
http://www.white-boucke.com/IPTstuff.html“Infant Potty Training” book and “Potty Whispering” DVD
http://www.TimL.com/ipt Infant Potty Training Webring
http://www.pottywhisperer.com/
copyright 2009 Laurie Boucke, used with permission

Would You Like White or Wheat Bread?

White flour as we know it today is a product of the industrial revolution. Freshly ground whole grain flour goes rancid quickly because of the oil in the germ of the grain, which is, coincidentally, where nearly all of the nutrients are found. When food started becoming mass produced and shipped, flour needed to become shelf stable, so the bran and germ were removed and the remnant (called the middling) was ground and packaged. (Whole wheat flour that you buy on the shelf has just had the bran returned for fiber, but not the germ with the nutrients.) A problem arose when people consuming the white flour started becoming ill. They were missing the nutrients found in the germ and vitamin deficincies led to disease and health problems. That is when white flour became fortified with some basic nutrients such as niacin. The healthier alternative to eating fortified flour, of course, is to eat grain the way nature intended, whole, and grind it yourself. With the purchase of a grain mill, this is easy to do.

I use my own ground wheat flour in every recipe. I usually just substitute it for white flour without any other modifications, and we have come to prefer the denser texture and richer taste. The one consideration I make is to use hard white wheat for yeast breads and soft white wheat for quick breads, cookies, cakes, etc. I also grind rye, spelt, and corn, and there are numerous other grains/flours to experiment with.

One step further: grain is actually fairly difficult for the body to digest and you will hear of sprouting grain and soaking flour as a means of "predigesting" the grains to allow the body to better assimilate the nutrients they contain. Other cultures use this practice frequently and we used to much more so with the tradition of sourdough breads, even passing down a starter within families. An excellent book on this topic, and many others, that also includes recipes, is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast

1/2 Tbsp gluten (optional)

1/2 Tbsp dough enhancer (optional)

1/2 Tbsp salt

1 1/2 c. warm water

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. canola or olive oil

6 c. whole wheat flour

Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer on speed 2 for 9 min. Divide into two loaves, place in greased loaf pans. Let rise 15 min., bake at 350 for 30 min. Easy!

 

What do you think of this technique?  Would you try it?

How Menu Planning Saved Us!

Every Sunday night or Monday morning I select which recipes I want to make for dinner that week. Lucky for me, I only cook 3 times/week and we eat leftovers. I prefer to go to the grocery store in the morning, which is ideal and low stress. No more weekend shopping and fighting the crowds!


When selecting recipes try to:

Make your meat dishes early in the week and transition to vegetarian or pasta dishes later in the week. This ensures that you use up the most perishable stuff first. I also like to have one "oh crap" meal on hand like a frozen meal in a bag in case a recipe goes awry or I don't feel like cooking.

Both Rachel Ray and Realsimple.com have week's worth of recipes and shopping lists on their websites.

Also begin to plan ahead for snacking and lunches. I always keep soup and sandwich stuff on hand for my lunches and I started buying fruit by quantity. 1 apple and 1 banana per day etc so I never have extras that spoil.
What has changed:

Less waste: Our fridge and cupboards are no longer cluttered with random leftovers, ingredientes that we forgot to eat or weird snacks that we don't like.
More organic fruits: I can purchase organic more (I've noticed they don't last as long as their waxed cousins) It has helped me not snack so much b/c I've only purchased a specific quantity of snack foods for each week.
Less stress, cuter waist!:  We are eating out A LOT less which is great for our wallets, health and we have more time b/c we're not driving around in search of dinner! You'll be able to hit the gym with the time saved!

If you find any great recipes, please share!  I like http://www.recipezaar.com/ with recipes filtered by highest rating.

Carbon Calculator

ZeroHero Events is a business that creates sustainable events through zero waste, renewable energy and education.  I stumbled across their carbon calculators while perusing their site. 

Carbon Calculators

Use the "yearly admissions" calculator to figure your annual carbon footprint -yikes for me!
Use the travel calculators to weigh your options for car vs air travel and then buy carbon offsets to make up for your use!

It's this kind of awareness building tool that really helps me "materialize" the impact that my actions have.  Try it out and let me know what you think.  Is your carbon footprint bigger, smaller or about what you thought it would be?

...

Elimination Communication: Diaperless Babies!?

A comment to the green diaper post prompted me to check out diaperless babies.  What could be more green than not using diapers at all?  Check out this website.  There's a whole non-profit associated with how to not diaper your baby. 
http://diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=article&view=8&page_num=1

As I read through the site, I was SHOCKED at how similar the technique is to potty training your dog.  I used the exact techniques listed to potty train my dog.  Now, if I take her out and say, "go potty," she will, every time. It's great before road trips, etc.

I think I could be interested in trying this technique, especially if I were a stay at home mom.

Greenbaby series 3 of 5 - Cloth or Disposable Diapers?

If you are aiming to be green, using cloth diapers instead of disposables may seem like a no brainer. I don't believe, however, that the choice is that black and white. With disposables, you have to consider land fill waste, and chemical/gas use in manufacturing, shipping, and the associated packaging. With cloth diapers the main consideration is water use for washing, and some possible chemical use for cleaning. While water use may not seem to outweigh the factors involved with disposables, I have actually read research stating that, depending on where you live, it does. If you live in a place where land fill space is plentiful, but water resources are scarce, it was recommended that one use disposables. And vice versa. Using a cloth diaper service can reduce water/energy use for cleaning because they are able to be more efficient with washing large numbers of diapers at once. The drawback is that, most of the time, they will use some kind of bleach agent to disinfect between multiple customers, whereas at home you can use natural cleaners. Cloth diaper services are also considerably more expensive than washing your own.

There are some other good alternatives on the market today. My favorite is gbaby diapers (stands for green baby diapers) at http://www.gdiapers.com/gdiapers101 . They have reusable cotton covers with plastic free, biodegradable inserts. You can toss, flush, or compost the inserts. You get the best of both worlds - no washing, and no land fill waste. The only problem, for me, is the cost. It costs about $75 a month to diaper your baby in gbaby versus about $35 a month to use disposables. For someone like me, with two in diapers, I just can't swing $150 a month for diapers. So, as you can see, there are many factors to consider when deciding on diapering practices and the same choice isn't going to be best for everyone. We need to look at our own circumstances and make the best choice we can!

 

OrganicAngel's Two Cents:  Reading Laura's post got me thinking so I researched at home diaper services an found this one that services the Northern Colorado area.  I recommend you peruse this site to learn a lot if you are interested in going green for your babies.  This service is eco friendly and provides good info.  They also say that cloth diapered babies potty train more quickly than disposable users! 

http://www.ecobabydiaperservice.com/index.asp

How Cool is 3B Bags?!?!

Everytime I feature a product, I send the company an email letting them know that I have done it.  I provide the link to the blog.  So far, every company except the farm has personally replied to my email which feels very cool.  Maybe it's a Colorado company thing.  Yesterday, I sent 3B Bags the email and within 24 hours, Staci wrote me back and asked for my address so she could sent me more bags, for free! 

A special thanks to Staci and 3B Bags for actually reading my blog and then going the extra step to offer a gift!  I'll be a 3B Bags user for life!


.....

New Favorite Thing-Reusable Produce Bags

It's been bugging me for some time that grocery stores still offer millions of plastic bags in the produce section.  What ever happened to living in the land of innovation?  We're smart people, we should have figured this out years ago!

I happened across some reusable produce bags recently, and I wanted to share in case you've been feeling guilty about using those plastic bags OR if you were like me, and stopped using the plastic bags but then had all your produce rolling around in your cart.  It also torks off the cashiers, it turns out.


I bought a set of 3 "3B Bags" at Vitamin Cottage recently.  They are 2 different sizes, have a drawstring top (sweet), are made of nylon and are washable.  They squish up really small so you can jam them in your purse or I just started keeping them in my regular reusable bags in my car.

Here's the link so you can check them out.
http://www.3bbags.com/

Going "black"

Would going black be the opposite of going green?  Let's say it is and let's say that I totally blew it this weekend.  I'm going to list all of the things I did today that were in direct violation of a greener lifestyle.  What's worse, is that I was/am fully aware that I was engaging in counterproductive "black" behaviors.  Call me addicted to my lifestyle...I'm coming clean here.

Saturday Morning:

1. I could have heated up yesterday's leftover coffee but dumped it and made a fresh pot and only drank half again.  I've drank leftover coffee before and it tastes identical to fresh.  I ALWAYS make twice what I plan on drinking.
2. Instead of raking my leaves by hand and getting a decent workout, I used our electric leaf vacuum for about 2 hours (no, electric is not great, that energy comes from coal, not jelly beans like people would have you think).
3. To soothe my tired body after a morning of lawn care, I loitered in the shower.  Probably for 20 minutes, I was clean after 3.  Sometimes I turn on a space heater while I'm in the shower.  I don't really need it, I lived just fine without this luxury for the first 29 years.
4. Instead of taking my dog on a walk, I drove her 4 miles to the dog park and she only played for 10 minutes.  The walk would have taken less time.

Saturday Afternoon:

1. The "dog" was craving Wendy's.  Each of my 4 items came individually packaged, in a bag and with 12 napkins and I threw everything away, even the paper, which I know is recyclable!  What is wrong with me?!
2. I washed some clothes on hot instead of cold even though they say it doesn't matter.  I think it matters.
3. Needed shoe therapy and drove 8 miles to DSW.  It was too crowded so I spent 5 minutes and then came directly back home.
4. Drove to CSU and printed approximately 120 pages of text that I need to read.  At the end of my project, I will have only used about 20 of those pages to write my paper which my instructor will demand that I email him and then submit a printed copy. 

Saturday Night:

1. I installed our electric mattress pad heater.  I just turned it on.  It was 65 degrees today.  Later I'll be up there reading a magazine before bed and I want it toasty.
2. I could have made dinner at home but I drove 3 miles to Noodles for carryout and got another load of plastic.
3. I have the tv on right now while I write.  I'm not watching it.  I haven't even glanced up once.
4. The kitchen light is on, I'm not in the kitchen.

So, for anyone who is trying to go green....we're probably suffering from the same habits.  What behaviors do you have that you KNOW you shouldn't be doing?

Green Baby Series 2 of 5 - Food Mill vs Store Bought Baby Food

It is very easy to make your own baby food and only a little more time consuming, and doesn't really require any special equipment. You basically just steam or boil fruits and veggies for babies and then blend them with a little water to a smooth consistency. Preparing fresh fruits and veggies preserves many of the vitamins and antioxidants that are lost in the processing of jarred food. As they grow and can handle more variety, a food mill is invaluable.

You can pick one up for about $12 and start grinding up whatever you are having for your meals.

Not only is this healthier for babies because they are getting fresher, more whole foods without many additives and preservatives, and the flavors are more true to the real thing. Acquiring a taste for natural, whole food sets them up for better eating habits as toddlers. For example, if a baby is used to jarred peaches and then fruit cups, when you finally slice a real peach for them to eat they won't only be taken by surprise, but will probably prefer the sweeter, canned version.

When a baby really gets going on solids, they may start going through two or three jars of food per meal, or about 8 - 10 a day. Those little glass jars add up fast as far as waste is concerned, not to mention the carbon footprint required to manufacture and ship them. Shopping what's local, in season, (and on sale!) at your grocery store or farmer's market is definitely a more environmentally friendly choice. It will also lead you to try different things, expanding your baby's repertoire and often making them more open to accepting a variety of fruits and veggies and trying new things as toddlers. The environmental advantages, plus the health benefits, of feeding your baby and toddler natural, whole foods definitely makes it an important part of a "greener" lifestyle!

 

OrganicAngel's Two Cents:  Let's compare what we just learned to this boutique, organic baby food I just found online.  You get only 3.5 ounces of mashed fruits in this pouch for $1.79!  You could buy 2.5 POUNDS of organic bananas for the same price with none of the waste.  (we'll talk about composting those peels later)!

Experimenting with New Foods

Part of the going green process seems to be that I need to learn to get comfortable experimenting with new foods and especially with new brands.  I was raised on Jif peanut butter, Pop Tarts, Tide, Bounce, Comet, 409, Pam, Hidden Valley and other mainstream national brands.  I saw a study once that looked at college students' buying habits.  They found that about 87% of college students will buy the exact products that were used in their household even now they are out on their own....a win for giant marketing companies everywhere.  Good job brainwashing future generations! 

I have had a hard time letting go of the brands that I am used to.  Part of the struggle to go green/organic with groceries is that I feel actual anxiety at the grocery store when I try to find a good substitute product for one of my well known brands.  Part of the anxiety is fear of the unknown (what if this doesn't taste as good or work as well as my brand.)  I am also very stingy.  I don't want to throw down 3 or 4 dollars on a new product that might turn out to be disappointing.

My husband and I tend to do better with this exercise when we go together.   Call it "grocery experimentation moral support."  During our field trip to Whole Foods we bought a handful of products that we have never used.

Pom brand pomegranate juice:  I thought this would be the most delicious juice in the world.  It is the nectar of the gods, after all.  Hubby loves it, I HATE it.  It is the most bitter, icky flavor.  I will probably only buy this for the hubby if he asks.

Almond Milk: This was a total impulse purchase.  It seems as though everyone is going away from dairy milk these days.  It just tastes like blended almonds and water but has a disappointingly low level of protein in it (1/8th the amount in the same amount of regular milk).  It's best use is to add it to hot chocolate.  Who doesn't love chocolate with almonds?

365 Brand Fruit Strips: Also an impulse purchase and not tasty at all.  It looked like beef jerky but tasted like I stepped on a few pieces of fruit and then scraped them off my shoe.  I was disappointed at best, and contrary to the label, (Peach) the main ingredient was apple. 

So our first round of food experimentation didn't go great but we'll try, try again.

Whole Foods or Whole Paycheck- a study.

Whole Foods is a chain grocery store that focuses on providing the least processed, most flavorful foods without preservatives or artificialness.  We have a Whole Foods in my town and most of my friends say, "I love, love, love Whole Foods but it costs SO much, I just can't shop there for everything."  I decided to do a quick comparative study based on my weekly shopping list.  My shopping list varies each week (obviously) but I thought this week had a nice smattering of products.  All products were priced at King Soopers and Whole Foods and all products in both stores are organic.  If identical items couldn't be found, I compared name brand to name brand or store brand to store brand.

So, as you can see here, Whole Foods cost $1.28 more overall.  This is about 21 cents extra per item that I bought.  Some might argue that your extra 21 cents buys you the "experience" of going to Whole Foods.  This is similar to the difference between WalMart and Target.  At Target, you pay for the experience-wider aisles, brighter/cleaner stores etc.  I'd say that we can chalk this up to how much you value the experience of grocery shopping.  I find Whole Foods to be extremely crowded but I do like wandering in the bakery area for the experience.  Also, the bag they gave us at Whole Foods broke before we got out of the store...punishment for not bringing our own!

Apples, apples everywhere

Today I "put up" my supply of organic apples.  If you know what "put up" means: you win!  This is an old school term that means to make a lot of one thing at a time and then can or freeze it to eat later.  I started with my apple peeler/corer/slicer from Pampered Chef or my "apple lathe" as my husband calls it.  You can peel/core and slice a dozen apples in about 10 minutes or less.  I like to do as many apples as possible at one time (up to 4 dozen if you're feeling crazy).

You can purchase an apple lathe like this at amazon.com for about $20.  If you want to go more green with this, don't peel the apples, just slice/dice them into 1/2 inch pieces.  The skins give the filling a nice color.

Organic Apple Filling
1 Dozen Organic Apples (mixed variety is the most fun)
1/2 C Organic Sugar
1 Tbsp Organic Cinnamon
1/3 C Water

Peel/core and slice your apples and put them all in a large pot with the water, sugar and cinnamon.  Boil and stir them a couple times on low for about 10 minutes or until they smell really good.  Spoon them into freezer baggies, push out the air and freeze for up to a year.

Uses:
When you crave appley goodness, lay a bag or 2 out the day of or in the fridge the night before.  I use them in pies and for apple crisp.  You can also add blueberries or fresh peaches to the apples right before baking for an even more delicious dessert!

Green Baby Series 1 of 5-First Foods

Welcome to my Green Baby Series!  In an attempt to hit more facets of life, I have asked my long time friend, and college roommate, Laura, to provide content for the series.  She'll help us learn about greener baby foods/processes, cloth diapers and more!  This series will occur once a week for 5 weeks.
****************************************************************************

Making your own baby food is one of the easiest and most practical ways to "go green". It greatly reduces waste and allows you to support local agriculture, and it is cheaper and fosters healthy eating at the earliest age. Many parents assume feeding babies and toddlers consists of jarred fruits and veggies, boxed cereal, mac and cheese, little cups of canned fruit saturated in sugar syrup, and a number of other salty, sugary, individually packaged snacks. I am not sure when we got away from simply feeding our kids the same things we eat, just mashed or cut to their level, but doing so is healthier for them and for the environment.  Photo Right: Laura and husband Jeff and 2 boys Ben & Asher.

Easy to Do

Consider pureed banana, one of a baby's first foods. It surprises me that parents would spend around $0.50 for one little jar of processed banana (organic is even more expensive) rather than buy a whole organic banana for about $0.35 and mash it with a fork in about 20 seconds, getting even more fruit in the process. I definitely get that jarred baby food is convenient for on the go, when traveling, or the times when you literally don't have even 20 seconds, but I think a lot of parents don't even consider preparing the natural, whole version of foods when they do have the chance.
OrganicAngel's 2 cents:  I witnessed Laura mashing a banana like this for Ben when he was very young.  It was THE most common sense and obvious thing to feed him at that age!  No plastic or glass jar and no paper needed for the label.

Inadvertently Organic Snack!

Yesterday's afternoon snack was an apple from the farmer's market and a little packet of honey peanut butter.  I was explaining about how awesome this new peanut butter is to my co-worker when I realized that I was eating both an organic apple AND organic peanut butter!  A small, even if accidental, victory to log in my quest for a more organic life. 

A plug for the peanut butter:  Justin's at http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/.
The product is in REI, Vitamin Cottage and now King Soopers and other places.  It is the cheapest at King Soopers and is in the peanut butter aisle but NOT located next to the regular peanut butters.  Go further into the aisle and look for it on the same side.
And Ladies--my dream is coming to fruition-they are adding chocolate to the mixes!

A plug for the apple:  it came from Ela Family Farms in Colorado.  I don't know what variety of apple I was eating but it was delicious and dripped juice on me while I was eating it-yum! http://elafamil.startlogic.com/.

What to do when you impulse purchase a cauliflower.

Take note: this WILL happen to you.  It is not a matter of IF you will feel compelled to buy a natural looking cauliflower, but WHEN.  If you're like me, you've probably never seen a cauliflower in it's natural state.  I'm only familiar buying one at the supermarket all white and perfect looking and sometimes wrapped in plastic!  Did you know that a bonafied cauliflower is covered up by alien looking green leaves that wrap all the way up and around the white part?!  I impulse purchased this during our farmer's market excursion for only $1!  $1 is the 2009 equivalent of a nickel in the 1950s.  I was overjoyed to have procured a whole head of real looking cauliflower for such a good price.  Carrying my new vegetable away I felt awesome...like everyone in the crowd could see what I had done and was secretly complimenting my good decision and shrewd vegetable buying sense (albeit chastising me at the same time for putting it in a plastic bag).   Now I have to figure out what to do with it.  I've never felt so saddled by any one thing in my refrigerator.

This week, I'll be trying out a cauliflower recipe from Real Simple magazine.  If it is tasty, I'll provide the link to the recipe in an upcoming post.

Pondering and Biting My Nails

Am I really doing this?  This seems like a terrible way to start winter!  I can't even use up the modest amount of organic vegetables that we impulse purchased last Saturday at a farmer's market we weren't supposed to be at!  I'm pretty sure that they only allowed us IN TO the farmer's market b/c we looked like newbies.  We didn't even bring our own shopping bags with us and both felt terrible as we walked out clutching not one but two plastic bags.  Can they make those white, plastic bags any more conspicuous?  Note to self: start a company that makes plastic shopping bags that look like reusable ones.  Wait, that defeats the purpose of my newfound purpose.  Note to self: cancel previous note to self....it's immoral or unethical or genius or all three.  If you are an entrepreneur reading this, you can take the idea but I hope you wake up in the middle of the night with bad dreams about what you are doing to humanity and animality.  Note to self: load a dictionary before writing the next post.

So, this was the kickoff of my attempt to go green.  I realize that I haven't provided you with any useful information but just wait, I'm just getting started!