sarah's sustainable life

as my son gets bigger and louder everyday, i am forced to deal with the fact that he is not a baby any more. worse than that, i am forced to deal with a whole lot of baby items that are of no use any more. if you find yourself in a similar situation, you have two options (as i see it):

1)find someone who has a baby to take your old stuff (if they even want it)
2)find a new use for it

as josiah has been pretty brutal on all his possessions, i have opted for the latter of these two. here are a few new uses i have come up with for old baby stuff.
*bath cushion: you know that foam-rubber kneeling pad you’ve been using to give your baby a bath? it works great under your knees when you are scrubbing tubs, toilets, and floors! and because it’s washable, it’s a great pad to rest on while you do gardening (if you are into that).
*cloth diapers: most moms i know have had cloth diapers around, even if only for burping cloths. these little absorbent monsters are spectacular for a myriad of cleaning projects, but my favorite has been to use them as a swiffer cover. slightly damp for dusting or hot and soapy for mopping, the texture of cloth diapers works great for cleaning! and they go right into the wash with some bleach or disinfectant to be used again.
*baby shampoo: i know i am not far from josiah wanting to pick out his own bubble gum scented shampoo in a monkey shaped bottle, so what can i do with these giant economy sized bottles of baby shampoo i have acquired? the best use i have found is as an eye makeup remover. no tears but plenty of suds to scrub away excess eye makeup at the end of the day.
*baby food containers: i may be the only one who wishes baby food still came in little jars with screw top lids, but even the plastic snapping lid container have been quite useful in our home. i use them to pack condiments and sauces in lunch boxes. just to warn you, not all baby food containers have leak proof lids, so be careful how you pack it. (if only they all came in jars with screw tight lids…)
*knit items: finding a little more time to knit and crochet as your baby learns to play more independently? any knit item can be unraveled and hooked into something more useful. i have my eye on a pair of knit socks that he outgrew months ago to become his first scarf this winter.

also, remember that most 2nd hand kid stores will take gently used clothing and toy donations as a credit toward newer stuff for your child!

ok, cheesy tag line. but in light of all the stores i have been through recently that are already pushing the holiday to its maximum shopping days potential, i don’t think it’s too early to start planning a less wasteful holiday. can you think of one other holiday that produces so much garbage? between way too much food prepared, way too many gifts bought, and way too much paper used to wrap them, it’s a wonder the traditionally celebrated christmas has been able to sustain its wasteful self for so many years. but times are changing, and people are looking at quality rather than quantity, even at the holidays. SO…here is a short list of ideas i’ve had to cut down on the waste and worry that often surround what should be the most peaceful and happy time of year.

*turn gift exchange into a game! rather than waste all that paper (and time) wrapping presents, why not make christmas morning into a scavenger hunt and hide the presents! this could be especially fun for small children (and wear them out a little better). all you need to do is keep a list on your computer of what presents were bought, who each one was for, and where they were hidden. then there will be no surprise gifts found hiding in march (unless of course you wanted to do the same for someone’s birthday).

*buy a potted evergreen (with roots still attached) for your christmas tree! even if you are unable to replant the tree in your back yard to be used again next year, many city parks and recreation departments will gladly take the live tree as a donation.

*try having an old-fashioned candle light christmas dinner! save some electricity and create a warm, cozy mood (maybe even romantic) by turning the lights way down (or off) and using candles for the majority of your lighting on christmas eve and christmas night. old, mismatched candles look great for just such an occasion and are easily purchased at a thrift store for pennies.

*don’t throw unwanted gifts out with the rubbish! if you receive (or give) a gift that turns out to be a dud, don’t be embarrassed to give it away. one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! if you don’t know anyone who can use it, list it on freecycle and watch it fly away eagerly.

*my personal request to all you iPod, iPhone, and i-who-knows-what-else addicts out there, spend some quality time with your family and friends for the season and TURN THOSE THINGS OFF FOR THE DAY!! imagine how much energy we would save if everyone turned those gadgets off for just one day…

that’s it for now; i’m sure there will be more as the season goes on. let me be the first to say, have a merry christmas this year!

want to do something simple to save energy? according to an article on thedailygreen.com, switching back to a corded phone from a cordless can save loads of electricity! the old-fashioned corded phones use only a tiny bit of energy that comes through the phone line, while their new fangled energy hog cousins use up power 24/7. (whether in standby or in active use, the cordless phone uses the same amount of energy.) an added bonus is the reliability of a corded phone when the electricity goes out during a storm.
i was intrigued by this article, but we don’t have home phones anymore. i think most of you also have gone over to the dark side and are entirely on cell phones now. knowing that cordless phones have so much in common with cell phones concerns me enough that i plan to do some research on cell phone energy use sometime this week. i will let you know what i find out!

though i’ve seen many recipes for tofu nuggets, i prefer to make them with items i keep around the house. i invented this recipe for josiah because kids like foods they can eat with their fingers, and they LOVE to dip! today’s recipe: miso tofu nuggets! these take a little bit of prep work, but they’re great for using up bits of tofu you have leftover in the freezer and they taste amazing.

12-14oz extra firm chinese tofu, drained, and cut into nuggets
several tablespoons So Good Miso Mayo!
1/4cup each: whole wheat bread crumbs, sesame seeds, sliced almonds
1/2tsp sea salt
few dashes of garlic powder
bottled sweet & sour sauce for dipping

if using fresh tofu, place in a freezer bag and freeze overnight; thaw in the fridge* before proceeding with the recipe.
preheat your oven (and stone pan, if you have one) to 400. combine bread crumbs, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, salt, and garlic powder in a blender. blend on high until almonds have been ground into meal, and then pour into a deep plate. squeeze thawed tofu to remove any remaining water. brush tofu all over with the miso mayo and roll in breading mix. line up on your preheated stone pan and spray with a little olive or canola oil. bake for about 12-15minutes, until the nuggets are sizzling. serve with sweet and sour sauce for dipping. YUM!
*the most important advice i can give to new tofu cookers (beyond the proper draining) is to always thaw frozen tofu in the fridge. if you try to thaw it in the microwave it will be nasty rubbery and no one will want to eat it.

it just occurred to me the other day that i have never mentioned my vegan “source of power”, as it were. i am speaking of the site vegweb.com, a user submitted vegan recipe site that will put thousands of yummy recipes with helpful reviews and tips at your fingertips. you see, when i decided to try out a vegan diet several years ago (circa 2005), i had never met another vegan and didn’t know where to start. luckily, between “the post punk kitchen” and vegweb.com, i was able to get into the swing of vegan cooking pretty quickly (even though i lived in a small town in ohio with little resources). if you’ve ever considered adding a few vegan meals to your cooking repertoire, or are considering going vegan all the time (go, you!), vegweb will be your friend and guide.

i have been using an electric crock pot (slow-cooker) since my gramma bought me one as a wedding gift many moons ago. it has been a wonderfully useful tool, especially on sundays when no one wants to wait to eat after church, but we don’t want to spend the money to eat out. it never occurred to me that my crock pot could be an instrument of environmental benefit until i began reading a related article on planet green, a branch of the discovery network online committed to helping people green their lifestyles. according to the article, a crock pot uses 220 watts of energy compared to the 3,000 watts used in an electric oven or stove top. in addition, because the idea of crock pot cooking is “fix it and forget it”, they lose less energy over the cooking period (as long as you don’t peak in on it during cooking!). for some great recipes and menu ideas, i recommend checking out “a year of slow-cooking“, a blog started for a work project that now has 365 (that’s right, one for every day of the year!) recipes for beginners and crock pot veterans like myself. i especially appreciate her seasonal menus and truly hassle free thanksgiving. don’t have a crock pot? try getting one from a reputable thrift store. they go in and out of vogue so quickly, there are usually plenty to be had there. this is also a good way to try out slow-cooking without a big expense, in case you decide it’s not really for you. perhaps i will drop my famous slow-cooked mashed potato recipe some close friday so that you can try it for thanksgiving…

my own recipe, for those of us who love indian food but couldn’t cook it authentically to save our lives. this week: curried whole wheat couscous w. raisins & cashews! i made this to be fairly mild on purpose so that my son would have no trouble eating it (and he didn’t!), but feel free to add more curry powder for a stronger flavor. also, my husband won’t eat raisins, so when i make this for the family dinner, half of it gets raisins and cashews (for me and the spud) and the other half gets shredded chicken and cashews (for our picky meat eater). i hope you like it as much as we do!!

1 1/3cup dry whole wheat couscous
1½cups water
1Tolive oil
½tsp onion salt
1XL vegetarian bouillon cube
1½ heaping tsp madras curry powder
½cup each: cashew pieces & organic Thompson raisins

in a medium saucepan, bring the water, olive oil, onion salt, bouillon cube, and curry powder to a rolling boil. stir in the cashews, raisins, and couscous, then remove from the heat and cover with a tight fitting lid. allow to sit 5-8minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. fluff with a fork and feast!

perusing one of my favorite blogs (veganlunchbox), i came across a message from glueandglitter. if you know me, you know my crafting talent stops at knitting crooked scarves, but darn it, i LOVE crafts from people who know what they are doing! so is the case with the little lady who runs glueandglitter; she has some amazing, earth friendly products for sale at a fairly reasonable price. coffee cup cozies, cute aprons, reusable designer lunch bags w. matching napkins, all made from vintage and repurposed fabrics. i encourage you to check it out! it is a small operation, so there is a limited number of items, but she clearly states she will make to order if you just let her know what you are looking for. the things i could make if i could use a sewing machine properly…

ok, so i just recently gave you an awesome recipe for homemade play dough (anyone else try it yet?). i’m not trying to be redundant, but all kids and moms know there is a big difference between play dough and modeling clay. so for those times when you would like to have your child’s creation as a forever keepsake or a cheap christmas present for the grandparents, here is a link to the recipe for oatmeal modeling clay from disney’s family fun website. while you are there, check out some of the other awesome ideas they have for crafts, games, and fun pastimes.

just finished reading an interesting article on recycled oddities. as the first inspiring piece of literature i’ve come across in several weeks, i thought i would share with you some highlights:

HOTEL SOAPS – many large chain hotels and motels have starting recycling the old bits of soap you leave in the shower there by donating them to nonprofit groups like clean the world. using leftover soaps to help eliminate disease all over the world – what a great and long overdue idea!

DIAPERS – a british company called knowaste has started a movement (no pun intended) to recycle disposable diapers. how does it work? you’ll have to look at the company’s website to learn that!

DENTURES – not as gross as it sounds. apparently, many precious metals are used to manufacture a set of dentures. a japanese nonprofit group has recently been created to remove the precious metals from unwanted dentures and donate the profits to unicef.