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!