Dang - I planted this lemon balm and now it is going wacky snacks! Did a little research and found that I could make some lemon balm vinegar. Any other ideas???
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
11 Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Footprint
This year my New Years resolution has been to reduce my consumption. If you have been online and seen the many pictures of plastic choking our oceans, you might be as outraged as I am. So I have decided to reuse and reduce my consumer goods footprint. Here are my top 10 tips for reducing plastic and other waste.
1. Buy bulk
Our local health food store has lots of items in bulk. So I have save my old clean jars and take them with me to the store. I can have them weighed and refilled and thus save all the packaging. Items I buy in bulk include dried nuts, seeds, beans, fruit, flour, rice, chocolate chips, spices, tea, and grains.
2. Start a co-op
We have started a co-op with friends to share eco friendly laundry detergent and dish soap. We purchased large 5 gallon buckets online and sell refills to our friends at cost. Thus, not only do we refill our plastic bottles, we spread the love throughout our community and lo and behold, we are all saving money. The large 5 gallon bucket can then be used for gardening, storage ect. for years before going to the landfill.
3. Water
So many stores offer refillable water stations where one can purchase filtered water and refill existing containers. Need containers? Thrift stores are great places to buy second hand growlers.
4. Beer
Same as water - refilling a growler at your local craft brewery becoming a widely available option. They will refill any clean growler so again look for them at your local Goodwill.
5. Reuse or eliminate plastic shopping and produce bags
Tote bags are a no brainer - keep some in the car at all times so you can take them shopping. Also, for most items which are already packaged, I just skip the bag and carry the item. Plastic bags can also be reused over and over. I will often take my produce bags to the store with me for multiple or wet produce as 1 piece of fruit doesn't need a bag. In addition, lots of reusable bags veggie bags are hitting the market. I have yet to try these but plan to this year.
6. Make your own
One of the easiest ways to eliminate packaging is to make your own. I make veggie stock in the crockpot with all my veggie scraps, I brew my own kombucha in glass container acquired from the thrift store, I can and freeze veggies that I grow and purchase at the farmers market. I put them all in containers that I reuse over and over again.
7. Thrift Everything
Thrift stores are a great place to find lots of stuff - dishes, flowerpots, yoga pants, ball jars etc. Why buy new when you can reuse? Remember to refuse the bag or take your own. We even have a craft thrift store in town called "Who Gives a Scrap". Also donate your reusable items to keep them out of the landfill.
8. Farmers Market
A great place to reuse packaging you already have like egg cartons. plastic cherry tomato containers, plastic produce bags.
9. Garden
Growing your own organic herbs means you do not have to buy them in those heinous plastic containers! Even a small outdoor space provides gardening opportunities. Dirt, compose and mulch can all be purchased in bulk so I avoid buying these in plastic. Seriously contact a local farm and go get some manure to add to your compost. You don't need to buy it wrapped in plastic.
10. Get out of the single use mindset
Is it really that hard to wash dishes and cutlery? Cups? Glasses? Even if you are entertaining, single use hospitality items are such a waste.
11. Presents for good.
Rethink gifts. Most of us have to much crap anyway. Make a donation to a non profit. Make your own gifts with upcycled materials. Give gifts with little or no packaging. Wrap gifts in old newspapers or reusuable boxes.
1. Buy bulk
Our local health food store has lots of items in bulk. So I have save my old clean jars and take them with me to the store. I can have them weighed and refilled and thus save all the packaging. Items I buy in bulk include dried nuts, seeds, beans, fruit, flour, rice, chocolate chips, spices, tea, and grains.
2. Start a co-op
We have started a co-op with friends to share eco friendly laundry detergent and dish soap. We purchased large 5 gallon buckets online and sell refills to our friends at cost. Thus, not only do we refill our plastic bottles, we spread the love throughout our community and lo and behold, we are all saving money. The large 5 gallon bucket can then be used for gardening, storage ect. for years before going to the landfill.
3. Water
So many stores offer refillable water stations where one can purchase filtered water and refill existing containers. Need containers? Thrift stores are great places to buy second hand growlers.
4. Beer
Same as water - refilling a growler at your local craft brewery becoming a widely available option. They will refill any clean growler so again look for them at your local Goodwill.
5. Reuse or eliminate plastic shopping and produce bags
Tote bags are a no brainer - keep some in the car at all times so you can take them shopping. Also, for most items which are already packaged, I just skip the bag and carry the item. Plastic bags can also be reused over and over. I will often take my produce bags to the store with me for multiple or wet produce as 1 piece of fruit doesn't need a bag. In addition, lots of reusable bags veggie bags are hitting the market. I have yet to try these but plan to this year.
6. Make your own
One of the easiest ways to eliminate packaging is to make your own. I make veggie stock in the crockpot with all my veggie scraps, I brew my own kombucha in glass container acquired from the thrift store, I can and freeze veggies that I grow and purchase at the farmers market. I put them all in containers that I reuse over and over again.
7. Thrift Everything
Thrift stores are a great place to find lots of stuff - dishes, flowerpots, yoga pants, ball jars etc. Why buy new when you can reuse? Remember to refuse the bag or take your own. We even have a craft thrift store in town called "Who Gives a Scrap". Also donate your reusable items to keep them out of the landfill.
8. Farmers Market
A great place to reuse packaging you already have like egg cartons. plastic cherry tomato containers, plastic produce bags.
9. Garden
Growing your own organic herbs means you do not have to buy them in those heinous plastic containers! Even a small outdoor space provides gardening opportunities. Dirt, compose and mulch can all be purchased in bulk so I avoid buying these in plastic. Seriously contact a local farm and go get some manure to add to your compost. You don't need to buy it wrapped in plastic.
10. Get out of the single use mindset
Is it really that hard to wash dishes and cutlery? Cups? Glasses? Even if you are entertaining, single use hospitality items are such a waste.
11. Presents for good.
Rethink gifts. Most of us have to much crap anyway. Make a donation to a non profit. Make your own gifts with upcycled materials. Give gifts with little or no packaging. Wrap gifts in old newspapers or reusuable boxes.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Kombucha workshop
Went to the kombucha workshop at the Bliss Bar to learn how to brew my own kombucha. The lovely Ashlyn Zamora, founder and owner of the bliss bar was teaching. Twas a lot of fun and came home with one gallon starter and one almost finished rosehip and ginger kombucha.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Lemon Juice Fast
Monday, January 7, 2019
New years resolution
This year I am going to live kinder and gentler with less plastic waste - period. I am going to reduce my plastic food packaging by 50%. Everything I can buy in bulk I will.
Both whole foods and my little health store Mountain Mama will weigh food containers I bring into the store and let me refill them. So no need to buy flour, pasta, beans, spices, grains, cereal, oatmeal, nuts, or dried fruit in plastic or paper. I just save my jars, have them weighed and refill. Easy peasy!
Both whole foods and my little health store Mountain Mama will weigh food containers I bring into the store and let me refill them. So no need to buy flour, pasta, beans, spices, grains, cereal, oatmeal, nuts, or dried fruit in plastic or paper. I just save my jars, have them weighed and refill. Easy peasy!
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
This is it....
Today I achieved my goal of 30 continuous days of yoga. Aside from two days on my own while camping last weekend, the rest has been at the Sun Water Spa. Heck, 30 for 30 was such a good deal that even Neale has begun a practice.
A few things that have stood out over the past 30 days:
- Having a place to go and a reservation to be there is a motivator for getting off of my ass.
-The breathing exercise are fascinating and really help to focus the mind on the practice. A problem that I have at home is what my teacher Chris Dwyer affectionately calls "monkey mind". My brain just jumps all over the place until I think of something I really have to do at that moment that is not yoga.
- Shavasana is crucial to your practice. It is not just lying around on the mat.
- My body came back ever so quickly. Much faster than I imagined.
- The horse loves my soft, open hips. Keeping up with a consistent practice is worth it just to make his life better.
- Making the choice to engage in a yoga practice is influencing all other aspects of my life. I have been making healthier choices in my diet just because I feel great and don't need to comfort eat. I am sleeping well and sex is better when you're loose and fit.
- My clothes fit!
- Also, there is so much more to the practice than just the physical. A great teacher can help focus you mentally as well.
I am so pleased that I am going to try a monthly membership. I figured if I have paid in advance, I will make the effort to keep up with the practice.
A few things that have stood out over the past 30 days:
- Having a place to go and a reservation to be there is a motivator for getting off of my ass.
-The breathing exercise are fascinating and really help to focus the mind on the practice. A problem that I have at home is what my teacher Chris Dwyer affectionately calls "monkey mind". My brain just jumps all over the place until I think of something I really have to do at that moment that is not yoga.
- Shavasana is crucial to your practice. It is not just lying around on the mat.
- My body came back ever so quickly. Much faster than I imagined.
- The horse loves my soft, open hips. Keeping up with a consistent practice is worth it just to make his life better.
- Making the choice to engage in a yoga practice is influencing all other aspects of my life. I have been making healthier choices in my diet just because I feel great and don't need to comfort eat. I am sleeping well and sex is better when you're loose and fit.
- My clothes fit!
- Also, there is so much more to the practice than just the physical. A great teacher can help focus you mentally as well.
I am so pleased that I am going to try a monthly membership. I figured if I have paid in advance, I will make the effort to keep up with the practice.
Friday, June 22, 2018
30 for 30
Our local spa, the Sunwater Spa, is having an amazing offer. Thirty days of unlimited classes for 30 dollars! I am going to take it as an opportunity to kickstart my yoga practice.
https://www.sunwellness.net/sunwater/
This year has been unusually bad for Yoga. I have blown it off for weeks on end and when I do it, it is usually for no more than 20 minutes.
Not anymore - today I went to my 4th class in a row and it feels great. Why do I blow off the things that make me feel so good?
https://www.sunwellness.net/sunwater/
This year has been unusually bad for Yoga. I have blown it off for weeks on end and when I do it, it is usually for no more than 20 minutes.
Not anymore - today I went to my 4th class in a row and it feels great. Why do I blow off the things that make me feel so good?
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Sauerkraut and Other Ferments
At the request of sister Jeanne, I post the recipe for homemade sauerkraut. This is so easy and very delicious. I add my kraut to soups, sandwiches, salads, and eat large bowls all on it's own. See a pic of my latest batch. This batch of kraut contains 1 head each of red and green cabbage, plus some yellow beets and salt. It fermented for about 2 weeks in the basement. Then I brought it up to the fridge. It continues to improve in the fridge, but the pace is much slower. It will keep a long, long time. My preferred recipe is Sander Katz': https://www.wildfermentation.com/making-sauerkraut-2/ as I love his whole notion of wild fermentation. I don't use a crock, a plate, and a rock like Sander but put my cabbage in this nice jar. I purchased the jar from The Probiotic Jar: http://www.probioticjar.com/ . This site also has lots of recipes for fermenting veggies. 
I also have to share 2 other interesting fermentation projects. First, I made my very own Kombucha scoby. I've been drinking Kombucha for about a year now, ever since sister Jeanne bought some during our trip to MN in 2017. I love it, but it's so expensive to purchase. So I've been making my own which is cheap and easy. I messed up my old scoby (the strange creature which contains the microbes necessary for this particular ferment) so needed a new one. My co-op was no longer selling so I decided to make my own. It turned out wonderfully. It's about 1/4 inch thick and beautiful (at least I think so) So much better than I expected. This process took almost a month. Then I put it straight to work on a gallon batch of kombucha. See this link to make your very own scoby: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-kombucha-scoby-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-202596 or you can have one of mine as each batch of kombucha makes a baby scoby. 
I also love to bake bread which has been leavened with a wild yeast starter. I keep my own starter in the kitchen and feed it every day. It rewards me with beautiful and healthful breads. This, again, is so easy to do. See below instructions from the NY Times, which they borrowed from the book "Tartine Bread" written by Chad Robertson. (This is a wonderful book, btw, and I highly recommend). To make a starter: Combine 1,000 grams white-bread flour with 1,000 grams whole-wheat flour. Put 100 grams of warm water (about 80 degrees) in a small jar or container and add 100 grams of the flour mix. Use your fingers to mix until thoroughly combined and the mixture is the consistency of thick batter. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature until mixture begins to bubble and puff, 2 to 3 days. When starter begins to show signs of activity, begin regular feedings. Keep the starter at room temperature, and at the same time each day discard 80 percent of the starter and feed remaining starter with equal parts warm water and white-wheat flour mix (50 grams of each is fine). When starter begins to rise and fall predictably and takes on a slightly sour smell, it’s ready; this should take about 1 week.
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