sarah's sustainable life

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.

this recipe came from a friend of mine who happens to be a chef. when steven first made this, i was hesitant to try – dill with butternut squash? one bite later and i was hooked! (that’s why you are a chef, steven, and i am not.) this simple and DELICIOUS recipe would be great to bring to an autumn potluck, an awesome addition to the thanksgiving table, or even a yummy a la carte lunch on a chilly day (complete with a creamy glass of soy milk)! today’s autumn offering: steven’s roasted butternut squash!

1medium butternut squash
2T olive oil
1/4cup pure maple syrup
1/2cup dark raisins
good pinch sea salt
3T chopped fresh dill

preheat the oven and a stone baking pan (if you have one) to 400. peel and chop* the butternut squash into small, uniform pieces (to allow for even roasting). place in a large mixing bowl. pour over with oil and maple syrup; add raisins and toss to coat well. season with salt and dill and toss again lightly. spread out on the preheated pan and place in the oven to roast for 20-25minutes. squash should be soft and lightly caramelized when done.

butternut squash contains iron, calcium, vitamin C, and off the charts vitamin A! it’s also a great source of fiber (as are most veg).
*now for the bad part: unless you have a very sharp peeler, shaving a butternut squash can be anywhere from annoying to down right dangerous. make sure your knife or peeler is in top shape before preparing this recipe!

there is nothing more wonderful in the cold winter than a steamy bowl of hot cereal in the morning. i love them all: oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, but how about adding a little more nutrition to the morning routine? today’s recipe: breakfast quinoa, is homey and comforting, with a natural sweetness. this recipe makes 2-4bowls, depending on your appetite.

1/2cup white quinoa, rinsed in a sieve
1cup apple juice or cider
1/4cup water
pinch salt
1/2cup dried fruit bits
2T maple syrup
1/2tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4cup chopped walnuts
2T ground flaxseed

pour juice and water into a sauce pan. bring to a boil, then stir in the quinoa, dried fruit and salt. cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 20minutes. remove pan from heat and allow quinoa to rest a few minutes. stir in the syrup and spice. spoon into serving bowls and sprinkle over with walnuts and flaxseed. serve hot.

quinoa is a seed. it is a complete protein, high in fiber, low in carbohydrates, and gluten free.
walnuts and flaxseed are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

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?

does having a salad bar as an option really make a difference? having worked with kids in a school setting, seeing them eat pizza and french fries EVERY DAY, i wonder. my husband tells me that in his high school, the salad bar was a valid option frequented by both weight conscious girls and health conscious athletes. i am training my son to eat salad as a main course without apology or embarrassment, but i’m not sure i believe when middle school pressure arrives he won’t be intimidated to forsake the greens. nonetheless, i would like to believe that a fresh, beautifully stocked salad bar could lure children in more than once a week to get some more veg into their diets. that’s why i was so excited to see at whole foods that chef ann cooper, a.k.a. the renegade lunch lady, is campaigning to put salad bars into schools. you can donate while checking out at your local whole foods, $1-$5. for more information on this campaign, check out wholefoodsmarket.com/backtoschool. as for a salad bar option making a difference, the only sure fact is that kids will not choose a salad if it is not available.

this yummy treat uses up all those last-of-summer berries in a fun and healthy way that everyone will enjoy. blueberries are my favorite! today’s recipe: applesauce pops!

for four pops:
2cups unsweetened applesauce
1cup berries (any one or a variety), washed*
1/2tsp de-bittered stevia OR 1tsp agave nectar (optional)
4 plastic tumblers (kid’s sized drinking cups)

in a blender or food processor, combine applesauce and berries with sweetener of choice (if using), and pulse to combine. place tumblers on a cooky sheet, then fill each 2/3full of applesauce mixture. cover loosely with plastic wrap, then carefully set sheet into freezer. allow several hours or overnight to freeze. when ready, the pops will have an “Italian Ice” kind of texture.
*if using strawberries, hull and slice.

berries are high in antioxidants and vitamins, some (like blackberries) are even high in calcium!
applesauce (unsweetened) has plenty of dietary fiber and vitamin C.

on the tails of last week’s school lunch inspiration, i came across this blog. “fed up with school lunch” chronicles one (anonymous) mid-western public school teacher’s effort to step into her students shoes by eating school lunch every day, all year long. to me, the photos say it all. the food is as colorless and unappealing as any i’ve ever seen, but it also brings back bad digestive memories. in my first few years of marriage, i taught at a public school and as a “perk” was given free lunches there. being financially strapped (as most newlyweds tend to be), i decided to give it a try. three months later, the results really showed up. despite my starting a new exercise program at a local gym, i had gained 13lbs. 13LBS, PEOPLE!! i hate to blame it all on the school lunches, but it was the only change i had made to my routine and, sure enough, as soon as i started packing my own again, the weight came off with very little effort. so what’s my point? school lunches are made to be calorie dense, not necessarily nutrient dense, so that children who don’t get a chance to eat at home are not lacking. for most children in this country, the school meal is too much. too much fat, salt, cholesterol, calories, etc. until we see a major change in the content of public school lunchtime edibles, packing will be the healthiest way for most of us to go.

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…