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Showing posts with label activism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activism. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2010

Week of Eating In - Day One



This week we are participating in Huffington Post's "Week of Eating In" challenge, which I have outlined in my Monday post at the Green Phone Booth. The rules are simple, basically stay home and cook all your own food for a week. HuffPost encourages using basic, whole ingredients to prepare food, avoiding pre-packaged, pre-made food, like frozen dinners and ready-to-eat canned goods, but there are no strict rules.

For day one of our "Week of Eating In" and Meatless Monday we dined on leftovers. Nothing fancy nor exciting, but within the rules of the challenge. To sweeten the notion of eating leftovers I whipped up a batch of brownies for dessert. Keeping in line with the challenge, homemade brownies. I have always been a cake, brownie, basically-any-kind-of-dessert-from-a-box girl. Except cookies, they have always been homemade. Homemade brownies are awesome and super-easy to make! The day I thought those words would pass my lips, is the day I would eat my words. Now, this is our go to dessert when we want something satisfying, quick, easy, and with minimal mess.

(Reason #39 to stay home and cook your own food: The hair you find is your own!)


Aunt Rose's Brownies

Melt together (microwave) in a large bowl:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 stick butter
10 tablespoons cocoa

Add:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
Beat well.

Add:
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
Beat well.

At this point you can make any other additions you see fit. We are partial to chocolate chips and nuts, but to each his own. I suggest leaving out the hair. In regards to beat well, we just use a wooden spoon. Everything goes into one bowl and gets mixed with one spoon. Less dishes!

Pour into a 9x13 pan (we use glass), greased or not. (I always forget which it is and have done both.) Bake at 350 about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Don't over-bake! (Aunt Rose's words)

Now eat! (My words)

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Kid-Safe Chemical Act



The other day I received an email from Environmental Working Group (EWG) containing some disturbing information. EWG tested the umbilical cord blood of ten newborns and found nearly 300 chemicals! Shouldn't a newborn be pristine? They just entered this world! Unfortunately babies are exposed to toxic chemicals before ever leaving the womb. EWG found BPA, fire retardants, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and even pesticides that were banned over 30 years ago! What? Are babies are not even safe from something banned possibly before their mothers were born? Yikes! That speaks volumes about the consequences of allowing chemicals to be sold before being proven safe. That is right, right now chemicals are approved first and tested later. Crazy, huh? EWG wants to stop that. As do I and hopefully you. EWG is collecting signatures for the Kid-Safe Chemical Act. The Kids-Safe Chemical Act would require that all chemicals be proven safe for children before they can be sold.

Please take a moment (30 seconds) to sign the petition. EWG is shooting for 75,000 signatures. Just click the button above, it is super-easy. Then if you would be so kind to spread the word, use the links below to notify your friends.


I signed the petition. Have you?

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Take Your Canvas Bags




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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Wake-Up Story


A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.


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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Plastic Resolution

Think it is impossible to live without plastic? Think again. Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish is well on her way. She saves and tallies all the plastic she consumes and then graciously blogs about it, offering up ways to reduce your consumption. Her plastic tally for 2009 was 3.7 pounds. For the whole year! That is amazing! Most Americans probably tossed 3.7 pounds of plastic packaging during Christmas alone. In fact, her 3.7 pounds averages out to just 4% of what the rest of us consume. I am in awe.




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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Send Diane!

Huffington Post in conjunction with Hopenhagen.org is sending one person to Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference to both represent concerns of people around the world and to report back daily as a HuffPost citizen journalist. Our own beloved Green Mom, Diane MacEachern is in the running! Diane is author of the best selling book Big Green Purse, voice behind the Big Green Purse blog, and fellow blogger of the Green Moms Carnival.

Diane understands how the current environmental crisis effects us all on a daily basis. She can speak for all us individuals who take personal responsibility for the change needed. We blog, tweet, and update our Facebook statuses everyday with information about going green/living sustainably. Let's get our voice heard at Copenhagen, too. Watch her submission below, then go to HuffPost, rate her video a 10, and send Diane!


I nominate Diane MacEachern, author, businesswoman, activist, and Green Mom to be the Huffington Post's "Hopenhagen" Ambassador. Please show your support by voting now. Voting ends December 4!


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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Story of Cap & Trade




See the full video here: The Story of Cap & Trade


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Monday, November 23, 2009

Starting a new Thanksgiving tradition

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition. Families have gathered for centuries to enjoy the bounty of the Fall harvest. Maybe some of your traditions include gathering at the same home, preparing your fabulous pumpkin pie, enjoying traditional Thanksgiving dishes, watching the football game, traveling home to see family, whatever they may be, breaking tradition is hard to do. My family enjoys the traditional Thanksgiving fare, every year, the same thing; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, sweet potatoes, jellied cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, lefse, and of course pie - pumpkin and apple. Not wanting to throw tradition out the window, but wishing to be mindful of the impact our feast leaves on the planet, I thought a little tradition tweaking was in order.

100 Mile Thanksgiving

I kept the menu traditional, but changed the source of my ingredients. This year I opted to try the 100-mile Thanksgiving, choosing local ingredients for our meal. Research shows that on average food travels over 1,500 miles before it reaches our plate. There is a lot of fuel, energy, and pollution expelled in the journey. It has also been suggested that nutrients are lost in transit. Keeping your food miles limited to a locavore's guide of 100 miles benefits your family's health and the planet's.

To keep from blowing my family completely out of their comfort zone, I served the same traditional dishes, but injected some of my sustainability by using local ingredients.

100-Mile Thanksgiving Menu

Roasted Organic Turkey - 40 miles
  • carrots - 37 miles
  • parsnips - 32 miles
  • celery - 2,000 miles (California)
  • onion - 37 miles
  • turnips - 37 miles
  • butter - 40 miles
  • dry white wine - 103 miles
Porcini and Sausage Stuffing
  • porcini mushrooms - 12 miles
  • slab bacon - 315 miles
  • onion - 37 miles
  • leek - 20 paces to my garden
  • celery - 2,000 miles (California)
  • garlic - 37 miles
  • sweet Italian sausage - 23 miles
  • liver from turkey - 40 miles
  • white bread - 14 miles
  • fresh thyme leaves - 4 steps outside my door
  • giblet stock - see below
Giblet Stock
  • neck, heart, and gizzard from turkey - 40 miles
  • celery - 2,000 miles (California)
  • carrots - 37 miles
  • onion - 37 miles
  • white mushrooms - 12 miles
  • bay leaves - ???
  • whole black peppercorns - ???
  • coarse salt - ???
  • fresh thyme - 4 steps outside my door
  • flat-leaf parsley - 20 paces to my garden
My sister-in-law brought the mashed potatoes, I made the gravy.

Riesling Gravy
  • pan juices from Roasted Turkey
  • dry Riesling - 103 miles
  • giblet stock - see above
  • flour - 45 miles
  • butter - 40 miles
Green Bean Casserole
  • green beans - 5 miles
  • morels - 36 miles
  • butter - 40 miles
  • garlic - 37 miles
  • flour - 45 miles
  • giblet stock - see above
  • half & half - 40 miles
  • bread - 14 miles
  • French fried onions - ???
Cranberry Relish
  • raw cranberries - 48 miles
  • apples - 30 miles
  • 1 orange - 2,000 miles (California)
  • sugar - ???
I know holidays are exceptions to the rule and we tend to be more lenient, but that does not mean we have to throw all sustainability out the window. You can have a traditional feast with all the fixings - just look for them locally. You can have gifts at Christmas - just make them purposeful; like giving to charity, experiences, homemade, etc. Progress does not have to come at the expense of the past. No need to turn your back on tradition - just tweak it.


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Monday, August 10, 2009

Little Bo Peep lost her Greeen Sheeep.

Wondering where I have been?


Building up my compost piles.


Planning new beds.

Catching candy at a small town parade.


Shopping at IKEA.

Shopping at the farmers' market.

Freezing beans.





Mowing.

Rallying to save organic dairy farms.

Asking US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack questions.

Sampling seasonal fare at a "Social Responsibility through Seasonal Cooking" demo with French Chef, Monique Hooker.

Visiting Organic Valley headquarters.

Touring an organic egg and dairy farm.

Listening to "Organic Heroes" Ken Cook - EWG, Tim LaSalle - Rodale Institute, Ronnie Cummins - OCA and Dr. Sandra Steingraber at the Kickapoo Country Fair.



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