Going Green in Comfort

When I was in college, I used to go for drives to clear my head before I had a paper to do or before I sat down to study. The school I attended was three hours from my hometown, so, especially at first, I would just marvel at the landscape. The area where I grew up was full of trees and tall hills; the landscape surrounding college was, by comparison, incredibly flat. Any elevations were smaller, "rolling," I believe is the term most often used. Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels It was on one of those drives that I saw a most unusual hill. It was taller and in kind of a pyramid shape, unlike the other rolling ones in the area. Squares of sod grass covered it, which was obvious as each square seemed to be a different shade of green. This, I could tell, was not a natural feature of the landscape. As I wondered what is was and why it was there, I saw a sign that told me all I needed to know; this behemoth out in the middle of the prairie was the county landfill. Buri...

Oatmeal for breakfast © Sugar0607 |  Dreamstime Stock Photos  &  Stock Free Images I'm on the hunt for grab-n-go breakfasts that meet the following criteria: Require no cooking to save on electricity. Are healthful. Can be made using all eco-friendly, organic ingredients. Because I bought a big tub of oatmeal a few months back that I've never opened, I figured oatmeal recipes were a good place to start. So I googled ideas on grab-n-go, no-cook oatmeal, and found quite a few out there that say to just let oatmeal soak overnight, then just grab it on your way out the door the next day. So for the past few days, that's been my breakfast: A bowl of oatmeal soaked overnight in water (many recipes call for yogurt or milk, but I'm trying to avoid sugars, so I just opt for water). I toss in a few pecans and chia seeds, and dig in. I was surprised to find I like it. I really didn't expect to. (Though I recommend stirring in some salt.) To vary...

Leafy spinach (Photo by Chance Agrella / FreeRangeStock.com ) A couple of days ago, my six-year-old asked if we could make our own garden in our backyard. "What would we grow?" I asked. She said she wants flowers she can pick anytime and to plant food "so we can save money." Though she doesn't have her eye on living as green as possible, I'm proud of her for considering the benefits of having our own garden. Starting my own home garden has been a goal each year for the last decade or so, and each year, I never get around to it. I get caught up trying to decide what to grow that won't go to waste (both my husband and daughter are picky eaters when it comes to vegetables), and how much of our yard should I use? Where would it get the best light? Where would wild critters be less likely to visit? This past spring was no different, so yet again, no garden. With a little encouragement from my daughter, though, I hope to break that c...

(Photo by Chance Agrella / FreeRangeStock.com ) How much food do you throw out between shopping trips? At our home, it's a half a bag of carrots or grapes or some other food we didn't quite make it through before it exceeded its shelf life. It used to be a lot more, as I stocked up on produce that I had every intention of eating, but repeatedly wound up bypassing in favor of some pre-packaged, not good for me stuff. But as I try to do better for our planet and for my own health, I've actually sat down and at those foods, and the amount I'm tossing out for the city garbage crew has declined dramatically. Small steps. But I'd like to get it down to zero, and one way to do that would mean making more than one trip to the grocery store between paychecks and learning to store the produce properly so that it will last longer.  That's a big one — taking the time to store food properly. I found a list of tips on the EPA website that I fou...

Do you ever feel proud of yourself for something, but feel guilty for patting yourself on the back because you know you should've been doing it all along? That's how my last month has been. Every two weeks when I go grocery shopping, I toss fresh vegetables into the cart with the intention of washing them, cutting them up, and then packing them for my lunch at work. More often than not, however, in the rush to get out the door on time, I forget my lunch or for a variety of reasons, I decide I want something else. I wind up either stopping by a store for convenience foods — frozen dinners and canned soups — or buzzing through a drive-through. But over the past few weeks. I spent more days dining on carrots, celery, tomatoes and almonds than I did Lean Cuisine or Burger King. I still have a ways to go before I can declare my old habit officially deceased, but I'm getting there. Its hard to measure what effect this small change will have on the planet, but it...

Eating less meat can benefit the environment, according to U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization article. ( Chance Agrella / FreeRangeStock.com ) Ah, veggies. I love them. They're so tasty, crisp, nutritious and so colorful and pretty. Not to mention that eating them regularly would set an excellent example for my five-year-old. So why do I have such a hard time making them a part of my regular diet? For me, it's simple math. My desire to be a healthy role model was not greater than the scent of a grilled cheeseburger. It probably should be, but it wasn't. But an article I read recently may have finally made the first part of that equation bigger than the last: Eating less meat can help our environment. According to a 2006 article on the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization website, raising livestock creates "more greenhouse gas emissions ... than transport." First there's the methane emissions from the animals themselves. Then there's the cl...

Going greener when grocery shopping. (Photo by Geoffrey Whiteway / FreeRangeStock.com ) I recently came across an article on OneGreenPlanet.org that outlines seven ways that we can be "greener" when shopping for groceries . Among the recommendations: Reusable shopping bags. This is something I've done for years ... but only when I shop at Aldi, which operates under the assumption that customers will bring their own bags. They have plastic bags (and paper, if you prefer) in stock, but they cost extra. That means my grocery bill goes up if I buy them. It's not much, but it feels like money I didn't need to spend. The story is different at other grocers near my home. They assume I want their bags. They never ask if I've brought my own; they just scan the item and drop it into a sack and move onto the next item on the conveyor belt. It's so convenient. And apparently practically every other shopper in the store feels the same way, because I rarel...