sarah's sustainable life

here we are, just a few days after christmas and i’ll bet most of us are already thinking ahead to those ugly new year’s resolutions. this year instead of resolutions, i am making goals, the first of which i have designated as “the rule of thirds”. those of you who have ever had a photography class know that i am borrowing this term, but it has nothing to do with its original meaning. the rule of thirds for 2011 is simply this: to cut down my consumption and waste by one third. for example, instead of taking my usual 15minute shower, i’ll be cutting back to 10minutes. instead of using three paper towels to dry my hands at work, i’ll be using two. the possibilities for application are endless, and may even result in my having a little more time or money to do some good with in the new year. here’s to you, 2011!

tis the season to overeat. we did not leave that behind with thanksgiving and most people will be cooking/eating in abundance until january (at which time we will feel the need to go on a fad diet and lose it all in a week). this seemed like a great time to remind everyone which foods really need to be bought organic, “the dirty dozen” as we like to call it. these foods are likely to have the highest amount of chemical pesticide residue, and should therefore be bought organic as often as possible. they are (in no particular order):
1) peaches
2) celery
3) carrots
4) apples
5) berries
6) nectarines
7) bell peppers
8)leafy greens
9) grapes
10) cherries
11) potatoes & sweet potatoes
12) tomatoes

it’s important to remember that the list changes from year to year with the ebb and flow of current farming practices. a good rule of thumb is for any fruit and veg that have thin skins and/or skin that you will consume, it is always best to go organic. ALSO, if you are in to meat and dairy, please always buy organic from a reputable local farm.

this week holds one of the greatest holidays on the calendar – thanksgiving! i am not a person that enjoys or advocates overindulgence, but this holiday has great potential!! this year, if you are foregoing the traditional bird for any reason, consider starting a new tradition by adopting a turkey. a photo of your family’s adopted pet would make a wonderful centerpiece to a native american feast featuring squashes, pumpkins, popcorn, corn, native nuts, seeds, and fruits. this type of meal would not only be worlds healthier than what is usually eaten for this holiday, but gives a chance to discuss what the original holiday may have looked like. this is your opportunity to give thanksgiving a little more depth, and make it stand apart for your family.

i’m not sure if all states have such a program, but i am very happy to be in texas for the GO TEXAN! campaign. at any supermarket or restaurant you can find the stickers boasting that the components of the product being sold are from right here in our own state (even at mcdonalds!). texas picked a great time to spearhead such a campaign, when going local seems all the rage; also, the natural resources here are so abundant, you begin to wonder why we’ve ever imported anything in the first place. great job, texas department of agriculture! to go local all year round with great holiday gift ideas – check out the 2010 gift guide.

it’s true my family does not go in big for halloween, but that doesn’t mean i haven’t thought about making the holiday more family and earth friendly!! here are some ideas i have had concerning halloween (and if you’re a halloween person, maybe you can add a few):

*nix the trick-or-treating: maybe it’s just because i am a first-time parent, but letting my kid eat candy that has come from total strangers scares me more than anything else about halloween! still, you don’t want your child to miss out on all the fun of the season. check around at local churches for fall festivals that allow your child to wear a costume, get candy, play games, and hang out with other children. you could also plan a halloween pot luck party at your home! let your friends bring a treat and their kids, and party the night away. i bet no one will feel as if they missed out on anything!

*rethink costumes: it is a popular concept nowadays (i believe) to make your own costume from household items, which is a great way to keep the holiday affordable and green; however, i have become keen on shopping for any holiday at thrift stores. any decoration or costume imaginable could be available there, plus an endless world of old and strange looking clothing that might just encourage you to use your imagination for a more creative costume.

*double the pumpkin: carving a pumpkin is a fun tradition, but can be a little dangerous with young children, and is also quite wasteful. my solution? try buying a large pie pumpkin and allowing your child to paint it with nontoxic poster paints. then, when halloween is over, you can wash the paint clean, bake the pumpkin, and use it to make a lovely pie!

some of you may be shocked to know that i have not always been environmentally conscious or concerned with healthy living. it’s true!! i grew up quite lazy, happy in front of the television most of the time, eating a steady diet of processed foods, white bread, and red meat. some of those habits changed when i got to high school and became concerned about my weight, but the REAL change came for me in college. caring very little about nutrition, i was simply on a quest to keep my pants size down when a friend introduced me to the shaklee company. i attended a party at a professor’s house and quickly unlearned everything i thought i knew about being “healthy”. this was the first exposure i had ever had to terms like “organic” and “natural”. i was intrigued by the idea of being concerned with health rather than appearance, and the thought that i could have a positive impact on the world. the more i learned, the more i liked, and thus the environmental conscious was awakened within me and sustainable sarah now stands before you (figuratively speaking of course). some people like to call this a pyramid scheme. though shaklee does use some old school techniques to recruit sales people, i believe you will find no pressure to sell if you decide to try some of their products. and no, i don’t currently sell shaklee, so i’m not trying to promote my home business. i just wanted to give praise where praise is due and send props to an old school company that had a futuristic vision.

always looking for ways to help the next generation be good stewards of the earth? me too!! perusing the new british periodical vegetarian living got the old wheels in my head turning today. here are some ideas to get your whole family going:

1) families can go organic for a fortnight! such a short time makes the price difference manageable, while opening your eyes to new food possibilities; this will also help you realize how much of what you normally eat is not organic. this is a fun project for kids who like to help in the kitchen!

2) kids can calculate their carbon footprint! it’s a fun little online quiz that compares the child’s results with that of the average american, while giving them ideas for small actions they can take to be healthier (while helping the environment).

3) toys can be 100% green! toys for babies and toddlers made of 100% recycled material. sure, they’ll need to be shipped to you, but i think we could all agree that knowing a toy is guaranteed safe AND completely recycled trumps alot of evils (not to mention most of your non-recycled toys are being shipped just as far).

4) anyone can grow a garden! going through the process of planting, watering, weeding, and caring for your own organic garden can give the whole family a new appreciation for how delicate and wonderful this world really is! we are currently in the middle of our first family gardening project on our tiny back porch in a san antonio apartment (we’ll let you know how that one works out).

what does your family do to keep up with the green?

i have read several articles/books lately on using cooking methods that are more “green”, and have been impressed with some of the creative advice. alas, i myself am more a practical than a creative person; however, i do have a few common sense tips of my own to give that are simple and will have you cooking “greener” by dinner tonight!

*make sure you are using the correct size burner. by using a burner that is even slightly larger or smaller than the bottom of your pan/pot, you are wasting a tremendous amount of heat energy!
*check your cookware often. any kind of warp on the bottom of a heating vessel leads to frustrating delays in cooking, and lots of energy out the window.
*keep an electric kettle around. i have touted the energy saving benefits of electric kettles for heating tea in a past blog, but i also know (from watching alton brown on food network) that nothing brings water to a boil faster or more efficiently! keeping one of these on your counter top will ensure boiling water for pasta, veg, whatever in seconds without wasted energy.
*spring for the energy star. we are all on a budget and trying to save money, so buying new appliances (large or small) may not always seem like the best move. if you have any doubt that your electrical appliance is performing at its best, shop around for a good deal on a new appliance with the energy star. you will save money on electricity over time, and countless hours spent fussing with a less than perfect appliance.
*do not buy used electrical appliances. this is hard for me to say, because i am the thrift queen and love to get everything i can second hand, but the truth is, if the appliance were working with proper speed and precision, it would not be in a resale shop (9 times out of 10). don’t wait till you get home to find there is a fray in the cord, or the models made 15years ago take three times as long to heat. trust me on this one – i know from experience! buy used, but not for electrical appliances!

ok, so we know that packing you kid’s lunch makes you feel better about what is going into his or her body, but how does that help the rest of the earth? here are some reasons why packing it is the “green” way to go.

consider the alternative. most schools use disposable everything because of sanitation guidelines and staffing limitations. if your child is buying a school lunch, they are contributing the average 67lbs of waste a year generated by every school aged child in the united states.

consider the possibilities. in 2001, when a group of parents noticed their children were generating so much garbage at snack and lunch time, they contacted the school and began the waste-free lunch program, which is now a national movement in both schools and businesses. do some research and find out if there is such a program in your area; if not, consider pushing one off the ground using the helps and guidelines on the official website.

consider the impact. if from your child’s first day of school she never sees a disposable object in her lunchbox, that will be the norm for her, and maybe for the whole next generation. it may well be, with a little effort from us as parents, the idea of unnecessary packaging and silly printed wrappers will become a thing of the past, and children can learn to focus on what is really important at lunch time – healthy food!

consider the savings. just as with disposable diapers, the cost of one time use adds up quickly! you may think it is cheap to buy brown paper bags and zip top baggies for your child’s lunch, but think of the cost piled up day after day, week after week, and year after year. if instead, you could find quality lunch packing materials that would last for years on end, you could save hundreds, and possibly thousands of dollars over your child’s school career. laptop lunches, sistema, crocodile creek, and lock&lock are just a few of the major brands of lunch packing materials made with the environment in mind. keep your eyes peeled online and at the store, as there are new brands on the market everyday.

to be continued…

it’s school time again! for me and many other moms, it is time to resurrect the art of packing the old lunch box. it can be such a hassle to perform this task day after day, but we moms know how important it is to send our children with healthy, filling, and (for some of us) vegetarian lunches. i have written about lunch packing before, but mainly in the context of packing lunches for my husband to take to work. today, i will give you a few tips on packing a worry-free lunch your kids will love to eat!

1) keep a chart of lunch options handy. this takes a little time, but it is SO worth it!! using help from websites and cookbooks (like the vegan lunchbox and the sneaky chef), i put together complete meal outlines in calendar form. this way, i can plan ahead and have the supplies on hand and make sure there is good variety in josiah’s lunchtime diet. (jennifer mccann recommends using the school’s lunch calendar as a guide so that your child can have similar lunches and not feel left out.)
2) have your child help. whenever possible, allow your child to help in the planning and preparation of the food. kids are more likely to want to eat the food you pack when they feel they’ve had a voice and a hand in it.
3) know when to say when. there will be days you just don’t have time to make everything from scratch; that doesn’t mean you need to give in and send your child with processed meat on white bread and potato chips! there are SO many brands of wonderful, ready to eat lunch box fillers that are high on nutrition and easy on the environment. revolution foods, ella’s kitchen, tasty brand, and go raw are all great choices. remember, though, you will pay for the convenience in money, so try to go homemade as often as possible.

to be continued later this week…