Lawn Envy

I have lawn envy. I look at my neighbor's lawn across from my home and I see a beautiful sunny green lawn.

My own yard has many mature trees and its hard to grow anything here other than moss. I have fantasies of going over to my neighbor and asking if I can at least plant a couple of peach trees or blueberry bushes.

This neighbor is the kind that still brings home food in plastic bags. I doubt the very idea of growing her own food has entered her mind. What to do...what to do...

Furoshiki: the Japanese art of cloth gift wrapping

Here's a link to a cool instructional pdf by Japan's Ministry of the Environment on how to wrap gifts with cloth you can use again and again. Use this next time you give someone a wine bottle, book, or gift box!! Ditch the paper gift wrapper.

http://www.env.go.jp/en/focus/attach/060403-5.pdf

A Review of Gorilla Food

Going to Vancouver on a business trip, I searched online for vegetarian friendly fare, and discovered a PETA recommendation - one of the top ten vegetarian restaurants in North America was in Vancouver! Off I went to Gorilla Food, a raw, organic, vegan cafe in British Columbia, Canada. This vlog depicts the food I ordered and the state of bliss I was in at that time :) I also discuss briefly the philosophy behind raw food eating. This cafe gets two gorilla thumbs up!

What I ate/drank:

Choco-Gorilla
almonds, cacao, bananas, hempseeds, date, coconut oil

Ahimsa Alfredo
Linguini “New”dles spun from zucchini then smothered in a rich white cashew cream.
Served a la carte or with your choice of dressings and a side Medicinal Mesclun Salad.

GO Veggie Burger
A stack of two veggie burger patties thickly topped with guacamole, fresh tomato slices, cucumber slices, shredded seasonal veggies and a ginger-tomato ketchup.
Served in a lettuce leaf bun.

Of course, the main reason why I went there - dessert!

Dark Raw Chocolate Fudge
Something that keeps gorillas coming to work even on days off!
Chocolate Truffles
Smooth creamy orbs of differing decadent delicious superfood pleasures!

Butterfly Bliss
Infused chocolate flowers topped with a fresh walnut and raw caramel.
Maca Choco-Roons
Cacao, coconut, maca root and dates - these are definitely the new jazz haystacks!
Chocolate Protein Orbs
Highly hemped and algae powered!
Sweet orbs made of cacao, seeds, nuts and body benefiting bounties!

And some cookies - chocolate almond pecan, orange walnut spice, etc.

Yes, I'm a big eater :) Hush! :)

Join the Kombucha Tea Party!

Darla gives the basics on the "elixir" known as Kombucha Tea. Brewing your own is fun and doable!

Namaste!

From my heart to yours~

Natural Calcium Supplements --- from Eggs!

Before you toss your egg shells into the compost bin, remember there's another use for them!

Darla shares how to make your own natural calcium supplement using egg shells.

Reusable bags found to be dirty

"A reminder to shoppers who use reusable grocery bags: Don't forget to wash them after you've emptied them... "

Why? Read more here

Maybe you don't need to wash your reusable bags after every time you use them but it is encouraged to wash them once in a while for health safety. If you carry raw meats in a reusable bag it is probably a good idea to wash that bag every time to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Facts on Food Labeling~

Some parts below pasted from Bonnie Bucqueroux's Sustainable blog

GMO, as you probably know, refers to Genetically Modified Organisms, known in Europe as Frankenfoods because of fears that mad scientists may be unwittingly or uncaringly unleashing true monsters upon us.

Concerning food labeling, the issue is whether you can tell how the fruits and veggies for sale at the local grocery store were raised by deciphering the codes, and the answer is a resounding maybe. Here is the key as certified by the International Federation for Food Standards (note that the wording is mine, not theirs):

Four-digit code - A conventionally grown crop. Conventional could mean that the foodstuff has been repeatedly doused with one poison or another -- or not. But at least its genes should not have been artificially altered (though one wonders how many food execs are doing hard time in stir for violating the rules).

Five-digit code starting with the number 9 - Organically grown in compliance with the USDA standards.

Five-digit code starting with the number 8 - GMO foods. (Why didn't they just use 666?)

• Restricted FOR use on products grown in North America, East only (meaning these are codes that were originally assigned as East and were used on specific products grown East of the Mississippi in the United States and East of the Ontario/Manitoba border in Canada. These codes only apply in North America and should continue to be used for those specific products):
4318 – Melon, Cantaloupe/Muskmelon, Small
4319 – Melon, Cantaloupe/Muskmelon, Large

• Restricted FROM use on products grown in North America (meaning these are codes that were originally assigned for a specific region outside of North America and, although are now considered Global, are, for various reasons, impossible to incorporate in the North American market. The recommendation is to only use these codes for items grown and/ or sold outside of North America):
3425 – Tangerines/Mandarins, Ellendale, Small
3426 – Tangerines/Mandarins, Ellendale, Medium
3427 – Tangerines/Mandarins, Ellendale, Large

But before you think you can rely on the fact that foods without the dreaded "8" are not Frankenfoods, you should know that the labeling system in the United States is voluntary. And that means growers who want you to know they are doing good things - basically, the organic folks - are probably quick to slap a "9" on that rutabaga you are scrutinizing.

But I suspect only a truly dumb Frankenfood producer would be likely to warn you off with an "8" on that great-looking tomato. (The logic seems impeccable: "What they don't know might hurt them someday, but telling them would hurt our sales today.")

Eco-Friendly Gas Stations?

What's the best way to protest BP's actions? The oil spill? By refusing to gas up at BP? Lieber with The New York Times say:

Advocacy organizations like Public Citizen urge consumers to stay away from BP stations. About 550,000 Facebook users have clicked the “Like” button on the Boycott BP page. And angry people have picketed at BP stations.

This doesn’t send a particularly powerful message to BP, though. After all, BP owns only a handful of the 11,000 stations that bear its brand and is trying to sell the few still on its books. So those who wish to inflict the maximum amount of pain on the company are instead putting much of the hurt on the family businesses that actually own the stations.

Umbra Fisk, the eco-queen of the universe, shares her thoughts:

There's no perfect choice, here's how I like to think about buying gasoline ... Every time we go to the pump, a pelican dies. It's a great motivator for using less gas. If we all drove a little less it could have a tremendous impact. If we all take the bus, bike, walk, telecommute or find some other carless way for just one day a week we could have a big impact with a small sacrifice. Even The New York Times concluded that "perhaps the best way for people to express outrage and inflict pain on oil companies is to use less fuel, thereby lowering overall demand."

For the full, informative article from Umbra regarding our gasoline choices, click here.

Greenpeace, instead of calling for a boycott, says in order for us to punish BP, we need to get 'Beyond Petroleum', in fact, 'Beyond Pollution' by boycotting ALL gas stations by using our vehicles less and less.

Beth Terry, author of Fake Plastic Fish argues that it's not just gas stations we need to boycott.

"Boycotting BP and simply going across town to buy our gas from the other guy does nothing to cut the demand for this terribly polluting substance in the first place."

The following suggestions were compiled by Beth on her blog:

1) Drive less or just stop driving,

2) Don't buy personal care products (most of them contain petroleum-based ingredients and come in plastic, which is made by petroleum),

3) Eat less meat and eat locally (petroleum is used to ship food over long distances),

4) Eat fresh foods! Don't eat processed foods (they contain petrochemical ingredients),

5) Stop buying new plastics altogether (Craig's list, Freecycle or get them from garage sales if you must).

By doing these things, that how BP (and other similar companies) are forced to seek out other alternatives to meet customer demand to thrive as a company. By getting gas, buying new plastics, eating meat, eating fast food, buying shampoo, make-up, and so on, we are helping fund BP and other companies indirectly.

Hair Soaks Up Oil Spill

The video above clearly demonstrates how different oil spills negatively impact our environment and how bundles of hair can clean up the oil spills.

Watch this video and discuss!