Happy Earth Day
April 23, 2010 § 1 Comment
Happy Earth Day! Did you give any thought today to how you can help make the Earth a better place?
Do you already bring cloth bags with you when you go shopping? (And not just grocery shopping. Did you know that Target takes $.05 off your bill for every reusable bag you use? True dat–at least at the Target I frequent. Frequently. Also, my grocery store has a weekly drawing for those who bring in reusable bags. The prize? A $25 gift card. [I haven't won yet, damn it!]).
Do you already recycle?
Do you try to buy organic and, even better, local produce and meat?
Do you turn off your computer when you’re not using it?
Have you installed energy-efficient lightbulbs in your house?
Do you not litter?
Do you compost?
Do you grow your own vegetables and/or herbs? (Don’t let city life or a small living space stop you.)
The list of little things you can do each day to improve our environment is practically endless. I was referred to this website today:
http://www.goinggreentoday.com/
. According to the website, after you take 20 minutes to fill out a questionnaire they provide a ” 90-day plan to save [you] $2000 and 30,000 pounds in CO2 emissions annually.” I haven’t done the questionnaire yet, but I think I may check it out.
As I’ve seen on many Facebook and Twitter posts today: “Every day should be Earth Day.” And that’s so, so, so true.
So, now on to food. I haven’t written about smoothies lately, mainly because I’ve found a combo that I like and I’ve stuck to it. Here’s the scoop:
Blueberry Cherry Smoothie
4 kale leaves (or Swiss chard leaves)
handful or two of frozen blueberries
handful of frozen sweet cherries
1 banana (optional)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp. ground flax seed (I grind whole flax seeds in a coffee bean grinder)
1/2 c. water
Put in blender and blend it up. It’s really good and packed with nutrients.
I realized I haven’t mentioned lunches yet on the site. We do eat lunch. In fact, I prefer to eat big lunches and smaller dinners. Before I had a family I would eat big lunches and no dinners (or liquid dinners. Ahem.). So, today, Peter and I packed our lunches (in reusable containers) and met up with friends for a playdate. I made this big ole sangwich for myself:
One of my most favorite sandwiches
Nestled between two pieces of sprouted grain bread were hummus, avocado, tomato, romaine lettuce and a slice of swiss cheese.
Peter had the same sandwich, but with an added piece of ham. As you may have guessed, I don’t eat meat. However, my husband does and we do offer meat to Peter. Usually just organic chicken and white fish, but we happened to have ham in the house, and he likes it, so I let him eat it. I was on the fence about raising him as a vegetarian and decided that it would be best to introduce him to meat–giving him only the best quality meat I can get my hands on–and later in life he can decide whether or not he wants to continue eating it. So that is that. We also packed red pepper slices, carrot sticks, whole grain Goldfish crackers, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. We ate very well and had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends.
I hope you had a great day, as well. One day to go until the weekend!
Thanks for sharing your day. I felt a part of it, sorta. I can’t wait for the weekend.