Litterless Lunches

I actually took this idea from my kids school.  Every so often they have "Litterless Lunch" day and they measure the trash that each class produces.  The class with the least amount of litter wins!  It's a great way to show families how easy it is to reduce the amount of landfill you create and the amount of resources you consume.

Here are my No Cost / Low Cost tips for Litterless Lunches.  I say low cost because there is some initial investment but they pay for themselves really fast.

• Fabric Wraps
• Now I know what you are thinking, these can be pricey.  Not really.  If you get a set of 4 for $10 that's just a few boxes of sandwich baggies and these will last virtually forever.  Plus they're really cool, wipeable and all kinds of stuff.  But I have another idea....
• My kids have twin beds and we use jersey sheets.  I used an old jersey top sheet, cut it into squares and I got a TON of them.  I wrap sandwiches in them, use them as "table towels" (instead of paper towels), use as cloth napkins in a lunch bag, a placemat when we pack lunches to go, my kids wipe up spills - you name it.  I probably have 50 or so.  I didn't have to sew anything because jersey won't fray.
• Juice Boxes
• Nope not juicy juice.  You can get a juice box sized rubbermaid container that is shaped like a ....juice box for about $1.  Suddenly you aren't paying for individual servings and you are producing SO much less waste!
• Pack of sandwich containers
• I just got the ziploc ones or maybe glad?  Doesn't matter.  I got 4 for around $1.50 and I can use them forever 
• Small snack containers
• Just what they sound like same as above.  

And honestly if you go the wrap n mat route you probably won't need either of these last two types of containers - only if you go the sheet route =)  I just felt like this was a way for me to go all in without going all in.  Once I knew that it worked for me and that it was super easy to be consistent about it then investing in the wrap n mats was no big deal.  And you might not think it's a big deal (<$10 for a set) from the get go so....get going!

MWAH!

Hi. It's November. November!

It's actually the 4th of November.  I know.  I can't believe it either!   Well time flies and it seems to do so no matter what you're doing as long as you're busy.

Life got a little bit topsy turvy.  My commitment to sustainable living and mostly living foods got stomped all over by....well.....me.   *blush*  Look at the difference a month can make:

Now most things in my sustainable life just "are" at this point so there were no thermostat wars, we didn't give up recycling or start driving the truck down the block to see the neighbors but there were other things.  Our litter free lunches turned into cafeteria lunches (this is a double whammy because it violates the food commitment too!),  I struggled with my biology homework and rather than take the time to write notes I printed massive amounts of pages and highlighted in stead - things like that.

Now for the food.  I think there were a couple of days (not two in a row but at least two occasions) where there was NO FRUIT in the house.  What did we snack on?  Poptarts, candy, chips, cookies - it was insane!  AND....by some cruel twist of biology and metabolism, every single ounce I ate turned into a POUND on my rear end and my Santa Belly is in full force - just in time for the holidays.  BOOOOOO!

Today I said No More!  I am taking back my life and that is that.  I know this kind of thing usually happens on a Monday but it's Wednesday and this is when it fits into my schedule - you'll see.

Today I opened my trusty Google Calendar and started actually scheduling things like "Make Smoothies" and "Drink Smoothies", "Eat Lunch", "Study",  "Rest/Meditate" and even "Do Housework" <--- the other part of my life that got away from me in October.  Does that seem crazy?  Well I *feel* crazy and I'm ready to not feel that way any more so we're going to be regimented and detailed about how I spend my time.  The little things that get away turn out to be pretty important so I'm not letting them get away anymore.

Powerful Choices

You often hear that the first step in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction is "admitting that you have a problem" and somewhere in there you also admit that you are powerless over your addiction.  Or are you?

I made some goodies a while ago because I was asked to bring dessert to a dinner date at a friend's house. I made enough for both of our families and at the last minute one of her little ones took ill and we stayed home. With dessert for 10 people. We each had a little piece that night and because I had slid down the slippery slope of crappy eating for a few weeks I committed to make more loving choices for my body.

I woke up and felt great, had a banana. I taught some yoga, took some yoga, had a green smoothie, munched on bell pepper strips, had some sunflower seeds - life was good. All of that living nutritious food, all of that yoga had me feeling good. Grounded, clearheaded and really kinda blissful by lunch time.

Here is where things took a way wrong turn. I was in the kitchen pulling another smoothie out of the fridge (I make a big batch in the morning) and I remembered the Double Doozie Ice Cream Sandwiches that I made in the freezer. I decided to just have a bite. Wait. Did you see that? That blur in front of your eyes was me not just sliding down the slippery slope but belly flopping right off the side of it. It was kind of crazy. Ice cream led to goldfish which led to more ice cream which led to macaroni and cheese and by dinner time I was miserable.

I've always been an all or nothing kind of girl. I go big or I go home you know? I guess the same is true with my craptastic eating habits choices.  The little choices count (yes that one bite counts) so keep making good little choices.  One of these days you'll catch that wave and GO BIG.

xoxo

Vegan MOFO III

No.  I'm not calling people names.  Vegan MoFo is the Vegan Month of Food.  During this month Foodie Bloggers around the world are focusing on fabulous Vegan Foodstuffs.  I, personally, spent the last four days trying to decide if I was a foodie blogger and whether or not I should claim part of this tradition.  My decision, as you may have guessed, is to absolutely participate. Even if I'm not technically a Foodie Blogger or a Vegan for that matter. With the jury is still out on whether or not I am a foodie blogger at all and us knowing I am definitely not Vegan (just mostly vegan) we will move on

A lot of what I post is/will probably always be about food.  Our ability to sustain life, to sustain life on this particular planet, all comes back to food.  The choices we make about the food we eat (read: who we give our money to) determine all of our tomorrows.

Because I'm feeling melodramatic today I'll say it:  Every time you pick up your fork you are making choices about your health, environmental choices, humanitarian choices, financial choices and political choices.

Not so sure about that?  Well follow along.......

Health Choices
Is that bite of food going to support your biological systems or wreak havoc?  It's one or the other.

Environmental Choices
Do you remember our recent Meatless Monday Post?  We know that raising animals for food wreaks havoc on the eco-system (to say nothing of the cruelty involved).  Whether it's a bite of steak at the end of your fork or a bite of salad,  the questions to ask are how far did your food travel?  More than 200 miles?  How many finite resources were used to bring it to you?  Was it grown out of country to get past our Pesticide Laws?

Humanitarian Choices
We can end world hunger TODAY.  We can.  We can stop the majority of water pollution AND use way less water to get food to the table (saving gazillions of gallons).  We just have to stop factory farming.  Use the land we raise cattle on to grow FOOD.  Actual food.

Financial Choices
When you look around your supermarket and see your pretty produce section, with it's lively and vibrant colors do you consider the farmers who grew the food?  When you purchase your "Farm Fresh Eggs" do you know which farm they come from?  Click here for a link to a great documentary.  Some other great resources are The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and  The Food Revolution by John Robbins (heir to the Baskin Robbins fortune).  Chances are, the food you are buying comes from a monocrop or huge conglomerate that is actually forcing the American tradition of Family Farming as a way of life into obliteration.  Go spend your money at a farmers market when you can!  I promise that you will find not only the most flavorful and nutritionally dense produce but also fresher, healthier cuts of meat and truly farm fresh dairy products.

So there you have it - it may not be about veganism but I think the points are valid whether you choose to embrace a vegan lifestyle or not.  Making more informed choices helps the planet even if you sometimes choose meat and dairy products. 

Political Choices

Meatless Monday 10/05/09

It's that day again!  Just try it for ONE DAY.  What's the worst case scenario?

I still say making Monday a Spaghetti Night is the way to go.  Easy, Fast, Cheap.   But if you are feeling more adventurous try this:

Tofu Tacos (or fajitas or whatever)
By some extra firm tofu and freeze it.
Tonight dice it up into cubes and spice it up like you would chicken.
Sautee it with your spices, onions, peppers, tomatoes - the whole enchilada so to speak.
Throw it onto a tortilla, add some Guac if you like or sour cream - what ever floats your boat.

Enjoy!

"Healthy" Food

Most of us, at least some of the time, make conscious food choices. There are times when we eat "what is there" but I bet you put some thought into what you put into your body, as well you should.

I'm sipping on my Green Smoothie (click here for basic recipe), getting ready to go head to the elementary school because today is my day to be "Lunch Parent". Fun times.

This got me to thinking about nutrition in schools specifically and nutrition in general. The choices at the school today are:
Pizza
Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese

The pizza is coded RED as in don't eat red choices every day. The soup and sandwich is GREEN meaning you could eat this every day. There are yellow foods as well but they aren't on the menu today. Yellow foods are things like Chicken nuggets or pasta and garlic bread.

Here's my dilemma: From a nutritional standpoint I'd rather my kids eat the pizza. I think that whoever makes these decisions labeled pizza red because it's commonly accepted as a "bad" food. I just don't see how canned, high sodium, high fat, highly processed soup and processed fatty american cheese on processed nutritionally defunct white bread fried in butter is better. I'll wait while you think about that for a second. Okay welcome back! Did you come to the same conclusion? Yes the pizza has fatty cheese and a doughy defunct crust but unlike the other meal it has an almost redeeming quality in the form of a quasi-vegetable (tomato sauce).

A parent's job is a big one, the scope is limitless so far as I can tell. There are so many outside influences and they don't always jive with the core values and beliefs we want to instill in our children. Today's case in point I am appalled by the nutritional message being sent to my children by the school. The school I teach them to have pride in, the teachers I ask them to trust and respect. One of the best things we can do is lead by example.

So I ask: What's in YOUR lunch box? Can you opt for a whole grain bread or pita? Can you opt for healthier fats like olive oil, coconut oil and flax oil in your dressings? Where is your fruit? Veggies? You can make Hummus (recipe here) for dipping, or dip into nut butters.

On this Wednesday, 9/30/09 I urge you to take a pledge to pack better lunches for you and the ones you love!

Hummus Recipe

2c (1 can) Chickpeas (aka Garbanzo Beans) - drained, liquid reserved
1 Clove Garlic, crushed (more if you like)
1-2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 Tbsp Olive oil (depends on the consistency you like)

Put everything but olive oil and 1/2 liquid in the blender and buzz buzz buzz. Drizzle the olive oil in.

Taste it and adjust if you need to. You could also add: Roasted red peppers, Tahini, Lemon Juice, Chives - it's all about what you love!

Green Smoothie Recipe

Here is a basic recipe for a green smoothie - you can tweak it any way you like. You don't need a big fancy blender either (though they ARE lovely - my friend has one).

3 big fist fulls of spinach
3/4 c water or juice
BLEND BLEND BLEND (I blend the greens first so that the smoothie will be....smooth!
Add a Banana or two
BLEND BLEND BLEND

That's it! You're smoothie should be great as is. You can add a bazillion other things if you wish. I like to drink mine cold so I use some frozen fruit and some fresh and I like to drink it through a straw. I personally add coconut oil to mine every day (click here for info about amazing coconut oil). Other things I love to add are: pineapple, strawberries, mango, papaya, Avocado (makes it creamy), blueberries, chia seeds - ANYTHING.

If you're not sure about this just yet, break the recipe down small and just try - a fist full of spinach 1/4-1/2c water and a banana. If it isn't to your liking - tweak it. You can add honey or agave nectar if you need it sweeter but I bet you won't.

Enjoy!

Have You Heard The Word?

It's Meatless Monday! Hurry - tell all of your friends.

Why Meatless Monday?

There are many reasons and over the next several weeks we'll explore some of them. Today let's take a look at the environmental impact of a pound of beef shall we?

To get ONE POUND of beef it takes:

• 12 pounds of grain
• 55 square feet of rainforest
• 2500-6000 gallons of water

The above numbers are rather shocking and if they don't seem so consider that they represent 1/1000 of what it takes to raise a steer for beef. 12000 pounds of grain and even the low estimate of 2500000 gallons of water could feed a LOT of hungry people for quite a while - a lot longer than some cow could.

Now these cows are eating and doing what mammals do after they digest their food - where does it go? Lots of places but most importantly: Into groundwater and North American water ways. Click here for an amazing documentary about the dire situation with our waters. It's long but the first 10 minutes or so really give you a quick synopsis of the situation.

Find additional information here on Meatless Monday:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/why-meatless/

For Monday night dinner I recommend Pasta Marinara - it's easy, filling, healthy AND Meatless! Add a big green salad with lots of scrumptious veggies and you're set.

Later Taters!

Basil Bandit, Soccer Hobos and Double Doozies

Wow! I had hoped to spend Sunday evening regaling you with tales of my delicious weekend full of sweet fruits, fresh veggies and scrumptious vegan dishes. There was some of that it's true, but there are also some pretty funny stories in between.

Let's start with Saturday morning. I went outside to water my basil and it was gone. Not just my basil leaves, nor just the plant - I'm talking someone stole my whole planter and the basil! I got a fresh cutting a couple of months ago from a friends garden and planted it out front. My husband said "they must have taken it to make a dirt bomb" A what? "You know - where you throw the whole planter and it explodes - a dirt bomb" Apparently I'm married to a basil terrorist.

Moving on: Soccer games. Every Saturday we pack up everything but the kitchen sink and take up residence at the soccer complex. With multiple kids playing and/or ref'ing on multiple fields there's really no other way. This weekend at my youngest son's game I had the pleasure of sharing my blanket with a great-grandmother (who is the grandmother of the coach) who proceeded to tell me every family secret she could think of. It was....awkward but I figure that if you're 80 and driving down from Oklahoma to watch your great-grandson play soccer every other weekend then you're entitled to be shameless and say what you please. We just won't mention it to coach. I asked some probing questions about this woman's lifestyle because frankly she moves around a lot better than some 50 year olds I know. She grew up farming, growing and harvesting all of their own fruits and vegetables. Ding ding ding!

Earlier this week a friend invited us over for dinner Sunday (today). I was instructed to bring something delicious and sweet, prefereably sugary and chocolaty. I hate to disappoint. Beware that the following treats are just that - treats. They are in no way a staple food.

I decided that I would make home made ice cream sandwiches.

1. Make baking sheet sized chocolate chip cookie, cool, cut into quarters, flash freeze.
2. Spread an inch layer of softened vanilla ice cream over one quarter.
3. Spread home made chocolate fudge butter cream icing on another quarter.
4. Sandwich together cookie sides OUT. Flash freeze, cut into bars.

Now technically you could repeat steps 2-4 but I have this thing about chocolate and peanutbutter. So I mixed some peanutbutter into the chocolate fudge butter cream icing. It is crazy good. I slathered it onto 1/4 of the giant cookie and topped it with the last 1/4. I'm probably going to go to hell for this.

It's 7pm. I'm sipping on a green smoothie getting ready to watch the season premiere of Desperate Housewives.

Au Revoir!

Must Be Funny......

You know how it goes - money money money, must be funny, in a rich man's world. Well I'm not rich and statistically speaking you probably aren't either!


It's Friday, the weekend is here. What's a plant food eating, energy saving, slow living, wise money managing girl (or guy) to do? I shall give you some ideas - and don't worry - if you don't fit the criteria I mentioned you can still play along, we'll convert you over to our side eventually Mwa ha ha ha ha! <------- how do you blog a Dr. Evil laugh?

The weekend is a time when some of us tend to spend all of our dough. We've got more free time on our hands so there's more opportunity to spend, there's usually cool stuff happening which makes the opportunity more enticing, it's a familiar feeling.

I know budgeting is a big scary word and even just saying makes you feel like you're wearing a straight jacket but it's not so bad. Instead of going and spending your dough this weekend spend some time face to face with your finances (and your partner if applicable). If you are looking for life changing super affordable uber user friendly software and guidance then click here for YNAB. Becoming aware of our spending, our consuming makes us better able to simplify. Without over consumption we reduce the waste in our lives and end up with a little more cash in our pockets.

Sign up for Netflix by clicking here or here for the Blockbuster version. Not only is it much cheaper just to get your videos this way but you'll save money on late fees, you'll save gas money, you'll use less finite resources (gas) and maybe best of all - you save precious time. 10 minutes in the car 15 in the store and 10 back - you could clean your kitchen, take a bubble bath or do any other thing you like in that time! We've used Netflix for a few years now and love it. The turn around time is 3 days total from my mailbox out till the next one (or 2) arrives.

Walk somewhere. Maybe take a train. Spend a fun day exploring your little world. Take a day trip using public transportation and explore the destination.

Happy Friday!

Run Run Run As Fast As You Can...

you can't catch....... anything really. Ever feel like you can't keep up, you can't catch a break? This isn't about actual running - at least not the kind I posted about yesterday.

This blog is about Life....in the Fast Lane.

The Buddha taught that we can search high and low, near and far, even all the way to the ends of the universe and we will never find anyone more worthy of our Love than our very Selves. So why is it that we demand all manner of unreasonable, unhealthy and even unnecessary things of ourselves? Things that we would never demand of another.

Lao Tzu said: "Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt." In other words - if you keep running around in circles like a mad person you're going to fall down and hurt yourself.

We'll meet here every Thursday for your Self Loving, Life Slowing Jubilation. Today's To Do...

OFF DAY Pick one day or evening (Monday for example) and stop scheduling things for that day. This day will be your day "Off". It's okay if it's a work day. What it won't be is a grocery shopping day, a car pool day, a gym day - no commitments at all. Just do it. I promise you that the world will continue to spin on it's axis and the cosmos will not implode. Come home, put on your slippers, grab a book or the remote and just do nothing for these precious few hours.

No Shoes (but I'll keep my shirt!)

I was able to hear an interview today with Christopher McDougall who is a Barefoot Distance runner and author of Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.

The book sounds fantastic but I am absolutely enamored with Barefoot Running! Not that I've tried it yet. Have any of you? I'd love to hear about your experiences. Apparently it's a whole underground culture complete with special shoes for when hardcore naked feeters have to actually wear shoes.

Right now I'm going to whip up a green smoothie and then maybe walk to get the kids from school - with nekkid feet!

Be Love!