sarah's sustainable life

today’s recipe: sarah’s garlic hummus
some people look at this recipe and think, “isn’t that a bit much cumin?” or “isn’t that an awful lot of garlic?” this is my recipe for hummus. i worked for years to get the hummus just how i like it, but feel free to start with this recipe and tweak it to fit your family’s taste. but DO try it, it is SO delicious!

1-15oz can chickpeas, drained
2T tahini
1 1/2T ground cumin
1-2large cloves garlic, peeled
1/2tsp sea salt
juice of 1/2lemon
extra virgin olive oil
into a good food processor, place garlic and pulse till chopped finely. add chickpeas, tahini, cumin, salt and lemon juice. while food processor is running on high, drizzle in plenty of olive oil until the hummus has a nice smooth and creamy texture. hummus is excellent on a sandwich instead of mayonnaise, and much healthier. it can also be served with raw vegetables or whole wheat pita wedges for dipping.

Photo from Flickr by joshuaheller

I want my 17-month-old son to be television free. I thought this was a pretty standard idea, having no television for children before the age of two, and even then, limiting tv to 30minutes a day. there is a lot of evidence that prolonged exposure to television before the age of two can contribute to childhood obesity and interfere with language development. recently, I have been working on cutting tv time down for my family as another method of reducing electricity use and charges as well. I had been kind of slack for a little while, but I am tightening up and living my convictions, at the moment. when I work my hardest to make sure Josiah doesn’t watch any television at all, he usually ends up watching about 30minutes of television a few days a week. (thank goodness for qubo!) I sometimes get the feeling that people think, “without television, he must be sitting in the dark somewhere with no toys, food, or water.” well, to put everybody’s mind at ease, and to offer support and help to other mother’s struggling against the culture, I have compiled a list of activities that my son thoroughly enjoys that are little to no cost, healthy, and use no television whatsoever.

Josiah’s favorite pastimes:
*public parks – just as fun now as they were when we were kids. many parks have smaller equipment over rubbery asphalt just for younger kids like mine nowadays.
>our san antonio pick: brackenridge park! convenient, beautiful, and free
*supermarkets – go on an educational supermarket adventure where your child can learn about the size, shape, and color while touring the produce department
>our san antonio pick: central market on broadway! not only does this store allow you to sample anything they sell (good way for your kid to try new fruits & veggies for free), but they also have a kids’ play area in the café
*local historic sites – usually free, these help your child (no matter what age) get a feel for geography and history
>our san antonio pick: the alamo and the riverwalk! easy enough. I can walk Josiah in his stroller along the riverwalk for hours, and neither of us ever gets bored
*indoor play centers – these are popping up in many metropolitan areas. look around to find one that suits your needs
>our san antonio pick: dynamoze! clean, inexpensive, allows you to bring your own food, clean, comfortable, free wifi, did I mention it’s really clean?
*doggy park – most cities have a public dog park. this is a great destination even if you don’t have a dog, as children usually love animals. owners are usually very friendly, and the dog park can become a free petting zoo.
>our san antonio pick: mcallister park! our dog and our son always look forward to dog park Fridays.
*career day – know anyone who is a professional? ask if you can bring your child to watch your friend cut hair, fix cars, make doughnuts, whatever. kids love to watch that kind of stuff.
*make a sensory table – this is lots of fun. in the center of your kid’s high chair tray, drop a few spoonfuls of each: flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, & peanut butter. I leave them one at a time and wait till he obliterates one pile to leave another. this is a great activity for 12-18month olds, because they can feel, smell, and safely eat everything. I finish up by pouring some water over the tray and letting him splash in it for little while, which cleans both him and the tray!
*dance! – put the ipod on shuffle and let your child go. it’s great fun to see how kids move so uninhibitedly, and you’ll find yourself dancing silly in no time. I use my radio and change stations every couple songs so he can experience different styles and beats.

on the alternative station of xm radio, there is an inbetween songs blurp that says something like this: “here’s to the generation that decided a $1 cup of coffee is really worth $4”. that’s us, folks.

clearly, there is a lot of money spent on the average coffee shop visit. here is my list of thoughts on how staying home compares to going out for coffee:
*$7 for a pound of locally fresh roasted beans (which will make about 21cups) vs. $3.50-$5 on a cup of mass produced crappy coffee
*using a french press at home gives better coffee flavor, and the grounds can be used to fertilize your garden vs. paper filters used at coffee shops that go straight into the garbage (along with the nutrient rich coffee grounds)
*your favorite coffee mug (you know the one) vs. a paper cup that burns your fingers, unless you use a java jacket, which just makes more garbage
*roasting your own coffee brings the at-home coffee drinking experience to a whole new level. for tips, see www.coffeegeek.com

if you decide that you need a night out, and a coffee shop is your desired ambiance, here are a few tips on keeping the cost and waste down when you go there:
*try drinking tea (healthier & cheaper)
*go for a more pared down drink and dress it up yourself
*bring along your own ceramic mug; most places will even give you a discount for this! (if you are concerned that using a ceramic cup might not really make a difference, see the study done by the dutch ministry of the environment)
*in many states, if you order your coffee to go, there is no tax. conversely, if you order your coffee “for here”, you are more likely to be served in a ceramic mug, and many shops have free refills.

more tips on saving money on coffee? anyone else prefer to stay home, play scrabble, and brew their own? (maybe that’s just my family…)

the mission: phyllo dough wrapped around tofu “feta”.
the purpose: introduce my friend beth to cooking with and eating more tofu; force myself to work with phyllo again, and perhaps become comfortable enough with it to use it on a regular basis.

step 1: i show beth the proper technique for draining and pressing tofu. it is SO important when cooking tofu to follow directions for the draining and pressing. this, in my opinion, would be why people don’t like tofu. if you pop it out of the package and eat it, it tastes horrific.

step 2: we cook the drained tofu in olive oil with shallots, garlic, dill, salt, and fresh lemon juice – YUM! it smells fabulous!

step 3: beth bravely takes over the rolling of the triangles. each thin layer of phyllo must be sprayed with olive oil then stacked to make a crust. we scoop a spoonful of filling at the edge of the dough, then roll it up like a flag.

golden baked phyllo puffs

step 4: we bake the triangles till golden brown and feast!!

the outcome: these were absolutely delicious! they were a lot of work, but phyllo always is. beth commented “if i hadn’t seen you put tofu in this, i would never have guessed that the filling was tofu.” that’s definitely a step in the right direction! i believe she plans to make this dish at home some time, so that goal was accomplished. as for me and my fear of working with phyllo dough, beth ended up making most of the triangles, so that didn’t help. however, i do have lots of it left over, so, to avoid wasting it, i will have to make something else with it.

i was once challenged by a 14-year-old girl as to why i insist on using a dishwasher. “oh,” i told her “when you are older, have to work all day long and then come home and clean up after a whole family, you’ll understand.” that answer didn’t satisfy her, and honestly, it didn’t satisfy me, either. why do i use a dishwasher? am i just too lazy to clean up after myself and my family? of all the ideas i can learn to accept, i will never be OK with laziness. i had to do some research on the subject, and i came out with lots of great reasons to use a dishwasher! i never did have another conversation with this girl (which doesn’t particularly bother me), but i know now that when i am challenged about certain habits that may appear lazy or wasteful, i can clarify and justify!

what i found out about dishwashers: according to a study done by the university of bonn, using a dishwasher for 12 place settings uses 85% less water than washing the same number of place settings by hand in a sink. also, the temperatures that the dishwasher reaches are hotter than those human hands could stand and do a better job of sterilizing the dishes, making them much more sanitary than dishes washed and dried by hand. if one cares enough to look for them, organic and phosphate free dish washing soaps are readily available, and usually at a not-too-bad price.
there are some stipulations: make sure the dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, before running a cycle. do not prerinse the dishes, rather scrape scraps and waste into compost bins, recycling bins, and garbage (if necessary). also, do make sure your dishwasher has an energy star rating.

other notes on practical water conservation:
*try reusing water – simply take any leftover water from the baby’s bath, doggy’s bowl, or boiling grains and use that to water your plants rather than running fresh water from the tap. (not as nasty as it sounded, is it?)
*make yourself a rain barrel – see notes for the day from my entry entitled “a day in the life”
*use your washing machine carefully – always wash clothing in cold water, and set the water level just high enough to cover your laundry.
*keep your showers capped – we all know that showering uses many gallons of water, but we don’t want to stink. it’s easiest just to keep a nonelectric egg timer on the shelf in the shower and try to keep it under 10minutes. i recently read a suggestion to turn off the water while you lather up, then turn it on to rinse. i am probably not going to go there anytime soon, but it is a suggestion.

anyone else have tried and true methods of water conservation?

urged on by my husband’s advice (and the high demand for tasty health food), i have decided that friday posts will be dedicated to sharing a recipe from my files. each recipe will be yummy, healthy, and easy. i hope you enjoy them, and i look forward to hearing from you when you’ve tried one.

today’s recipe: mom’s mexican rice!
is it authentic? NO! is it delicious? YES!! in fact, i’ve never made this recipe for anyone who hasn’t loved it. my mother’s recipe was quite basic and over the years i have added a few extra ingredients to kick up the flavor a little more.

1/4cup chopped onion
canola oil
2cups cooked brown rice
1T goya adobo seasoning
1can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1small can mild diced green chilies

heat a little canola oil in a large skillet and brown the onion. add a little more oil and stir in the rice and seasoning. stir-fry the rice a few minutes, then pour over with condensed soup; stir in chilies. turn heat down to medium cook until bubbling. serve alongside any mexican food with a shred of cheese or soy cheese.

“you are so sweet to pack your husband a lunch every day!” i get that comment quite often, but i don’t consider lunch packing a good deed to cross off my list. packing a lunch is an absolute necessity on our budget, and really an extension of my efforts to help my family be healthier and less wasteful. when i was growing up, packing a lunch was NOT COOL. i remember very few times that my mother packed me a lunch past kindergarten, and i’m sure it was a combination of convenience (my mother was a full-time nurse by the time i started school) and lack of demand (i certainly didn’t want to be the nerd with a lunch box while everyone else was eating hot pizza). i’ve not visited many elementary schools recently, but i understand the cultural attitude is changing rapidly, and what used to be considered uncool (packing a lunch or doing anything that was different from other kids) is now considered acceptable or even desirable. popular or not, there are several good reasons to “brown bag it” per se:

packing lunches saves money. hands down, if for no other reason, you must consider packing lunches to save money. one of the most basic lessons i taught in my curriculum at OSU was that anything you cook at home will always be cheaper than food you buy at a restaurant – always. even if you don’t like to cook and prefer to buy convenience foods at the grocery store, it will still be cheaper than buying prepared foods from a café or a restaurant. i encourage you to do the math on your favorite meal out sometime. no matter what it costs at the supermarket, you are not paying a cook, waiter, hostess, bartender, bus boy, marketing executive, manager, etc.

packing lunches can be a good way to get your family eating healthier. how many times have you had to grab a quick lunch and ended up eating fast food? how many times did you feel great after you ate that fast food? (if you are buying lunch at a sit down restaurant on a regular basis, money is not an issue for you, and this article probably does not apply) with a little prep work the night before, a quick lunch can be the healthiest meal of the day. for some great ideas on healthy lunches to pack, see one of my favorite blogs www.veganlunchbox.com. she has some amazing ideas to keep lunch exciting and packed with nutrition (and don’t forget to visit the magic loaf studio while you’re on that website; what a great way to use up random ingredients laying around your kitchen!) also, if you want to get very creative, you can take some inspiration from Japanese bento boxes and make healthy lunches beautiful. these women are amazing, what can i say…

panda bento box taken by luckysundae

packing lunches is a great way to reduce waste. what fast food meal does not come with paper waste? there are many programs in place now that encourage waste free lunches, and many websites to visit that can help. www.laptoplunches.com has some beautiful lunchboxes to choose from, or you can visit your local thrift store and find a cool vintage lunchbox (i love my 1960’s red plaid thermos i picked up from a thrift store in ohio a few years back!) you can make your own reusable cloth napkins in prints of your family’s liking, use old margarine tubs to pack loose snacks, and even make reusable sandwich wrap out of vinyl. aluminum and stainless steel canteens seem to be all the rage nowadays and can be purchased almost anywhere. i encourage you to pick up a set of utensils from the thrift store for each lunch packing member of your family, though, so that if a fork gets left behind somewhere, your home set is not incomplete forever (i’m a little on the ocd side and it would drive me crazy to have an odd number of utensils in the drawer).

try packing lunch (or dinner, depending on your work schedule) for a week or two. see if it doesn’t make a difference in your wallet, health, and carbon footprint. i look forward to hearing from someone takes the challenge!

making your own household cleaners seems like a lot of work for no reason. cleansers are relatively inexpensive and readily available, it’s true, but have you ever read the ingredient labels on those cheap cleaners? if so, you probably don’t use them anymore. maybe you’ve tried one of those “greener” cleaners on the market right now. if you are satisfied with those, you would be the first person i’ve heard from who felt that way. making anything from scratch (cleaners included) is really not difficult. i guarantee, if you try these recipes, you will save money and you will feel better about your indoor environment!
NOTE: most of these recipes came from a pamphlet i obtained while teaching for the ohio state university; they were published by the ohio environmental education fund.

window & mirror cleaner: 2T vinegar + 1quart warm water
sink & tub cleaner: sprinkle a damp sponge with baking soda and scrub
oven cleaner: vinegar on a sponge (for burnt on spots, soak the spots in vinegar first)
air freshener: 2oz of vanilla or lemon extract in a small bowl; refresh once a week
wood & furniture polish: 2tsp olive oil + 1tsp lemon juice
to unclog drains: 2 handfuls of salt down the drain chased with a pan of boiling water

anyone else have any formulas for homemade cleaners? tips on keeping your home environment safe and clean?

when you are pregnant, there are SO many issues you have to make a decision about, and no shortage of people willing to give advice. i wanted not to give advice, but to share my experience and conclusions about one particular issue all new moms must face – diapers. there are several options to choose from. in the end, each family must decide which solution (or combination of solutions) fits them best. we’ll start with the obvious.

disposables
there are many reasons to choose disposable diapers. they are sanitary, convenient, easy on baby’s skin (pulling moisture away makes for less diaper rash problems), and less work for moms who already have way too much to do. so, why not use them? they are extremely expensive, they can leave you in a pinch (2am and we’re out of diapers – now what?), and some reports consider disposable diapers to be the worst offenders in the garbage dumps, possibly taking hundreds or even thousands of years to biodegrade. these factors, and a sentimental whim i carry for an impossibly old-fashioned lifestyle, led me to consider the less popular alternative of our time: cloth diapers.

cloth
cloth diapers were the only alternative in the history of babies up until about 25years ago, so they obviously do the job just fine. they are nice and soft (some disposables feel like a strip of cardboard with sticky tabs), you never run out, there’s no cost past the initial purchase of diapers with plastic covers and pins (which i was given at a baby shower), and they leave no garbage for the dump. so, why not use them? i have to admit, the first months of having a baby were some of the most difficult in my life. my son needed constant attention and feeding, and i had almost no sleep. the last thing i wanted to do was rinse the used diapers in the toilet, pile them in the “soaking bucket”, and then have to smell them all again at the end of the day when it was time to put them through the wash. i also worried about poking my son with the diaper pin as he got older and very squirmy at changing time (happy to say, that has never happened). some environmental reports declare that the water spent to wash the cloth diapers makes them a worse waste of resources than disposables. what’s a mom to do? there is a third option that i came across in my research that sounded wonderful to me, but not very practical in my situation.

dpt
diaperless potty training (dpt) is what is used in countries where diapers are considered a luxury item for the wealthy. dpt can begin when your child is as young as six weeks old. parents get to know their children well enough to sense the body language signs given before babies relieve themselves and then hold them over the potty in a slightly folded position. dpt advocates encourage babies to go completely naked, only wearing pants and underwear at an age when children would naturally be dressing to go places outside the home. fun times! children get to run around as God intended without feeling ashamed, parents know their children well enough to predict potty use, and children become familiar with the bathroom so they’re never afraid of the potty. no power struggle to untrain the use of diapers when they are two or three, and there is no cost EVER for anything. so why not use this system? i was really enamored with the idea of dpt, but i knew i would have to go back to work when my son was seven weeks old. nobody but a mom is going to go through that much trouble (i think). also, i was concerned about my ability to “catch” the signs that Josiah was ready to go and end up cleaning messes all over the house. i never did get to try dpt, but as my son is now almost eighteen months old and i know him a little better, i am trying to occasionally hold him over the potty while he goes so that he can get used to the idea.

i used only cloth diapers for several months. when my son actually began sleeping, i found that he slept longer if a wet diaper did not wake him. at that point, i decided to make a compromise and use disposable diapers at night. after a not-so-pleasant cloth diaper changing experience on the ground at a farmer’s market, i also decided that using disposables while out and about town would probably be a good idea. for my family, i feel i’ve got the best of both worlds. i use cloth diapers at home during the daytime, which saves us LOTS of money and makes me feel better about creating less garbage. when my son sleeps through the night or i choose to hand him over to a nursery worker at church, i’m glad he’s wearing a disposable. i think the best part will be when he is completely potty trained, though, and all this is a fun memory.

does anyone else have interesting diaper experiences or ideas?

sometimes being environmentally conscious is as basic as the shoes on your feet. for some reason, yesterday at church i talked with at least three people about the subject of shoes. most people “have to have a pair to match every outfit” – really? we are definitely a wasteful society, but that paints a whole new picture of unnecessary decadence to me. try having just one or two pair of shoes for awhile and see how it suits you. if you are a person who can find a pair at a thrift shop that fits and is comfortable, that is the way to go; not only reusing, but saving you TONS of money! if not, let me recommend a few companies with great “green” business philosophies and product to match:

**my favorite: simple shoes

anyone who knows me remembers that i found simple shoes online by accident about four years ago and had been pining away for a pair of the brown paisley “green toes” ever since. the company uses all sustainable or recycled materials (the soles are made of recycled tire treads – tell me that doesn’t sound durable!!). the main problem? the price! it is still very expensive to produce shoes of this caliber, so the average pair costs between $80 and $90 (hence i had been pining for them for four years before obtaining a pair). how did i get around this barrier? when we moved to san antonio, i found a local store that specializes in “green” apparel (whole earth provisions), and they happened to carry simple shoes – YEAH! because they have a constant stream of stock coming in, they also have a sizable clearance section for their green apparel – WOO HOO!! i was able to buy a pair of simple shoes on sale for $39!! that’s still more than i have ever spent on any pair of shoes in my life, and they were not the exact style i had so admired online, but for a completely sustainable/recycled shoe, i was willing to make a little sacrifice. after having had them as my main shoes for about 6months (i keep also an old pair of tennis shoes to wear to work so that i don’t get coffee & bleach stains on my simple shoes), i still give them two thumbs up. they are comfortable, stylish, and i still feel good about the purchase. how many of you can say that about a pair of shoes you bought 6 months ago?

*1st runner up: toms shoes

toms shoes has enjoyed a sudden burst of fame due to their being sold at whole foods in recent months. a great humanitarian concept, tom’s makes very VERY basic shoes using as little material as possible. they give the workers a fair wage (something rare in manufacturing), and for every pair you purchase, a pair is given to a child in a country where shoes are considered a luxury. the average price is about $44, but you are actually purchasing two pair, and i think that makes them quite reasonable. i believe my next pair of shoes (whenever my simple shoes finally give out) will be toms.

Note: many cities still have a “shoe hospital”. there was one in the small town where i grew up (cumberland, md), and i believe we have one here in san antonio. look online or in the yellow pages to see if you’ve one in your town. their prices are usually quite reasonable, and maybe you like your old shoes too much to say goodbye.

taken by Deborah Ziegler

anybody else know of any shoe companies worth mentioning?
have any suggestions for prolonging the life of your shoes?

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(the following was added on july 20)

as a side note, some shoes can be recycled. runtheplanet.com maintains a list of shoe recycling programs. check it out!