pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

getting high protein snacks and foods into my diet has been a running theme for this pregnancy. and i love it when my zero waste aspirations can meld into my pregnancy nutrition, which happens often. because if you start looking at what is good for the earth as a whole it’s going to lead your down a rabbit hole that is ultimately very good for you as an individual.

thus enters my love for bulk dried beans. chickpeas or garbanzos are a favorite of mine. i like to make up a big batch of beans and then mix them into various soups, salads and meals throughout the week. so i’m sharing one of my quick, healthy and tasty snacks for the hummus lover that wants to forgo the food processor.

to prep the beans i soak them for 12-24 hours and then rinse. boil in fresh water for about 30 min and then your chickpeas are good to go.

once cooled, i grab about one cup of the chickpeas and add a dash of olive oil, squeeze half a fresh lemon on top, add in some fresh sweet red pepper, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and salt. i’ve also added sunflower seeds in the past as well. mix all together and enjoy!

18Sep2013

zero waste wednesday

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

^^^ my travel bag i carry in my purse for use when disposables are present ^^^

do you know the number one largest component of american trash? one-time-use restaurant ware. think to-go coffee cups, napkins, disposable fast food wrappings, plastic drink cups, straws, paper linings for tables and trays, take out containers etc. etc. etc.

once you really start to think about it, it gets really scary. just one trip to restaurant can yield up to 20 pieces of trash that were used only once…that were precious resources…and more precious resources were used to get them to your table.

this is been an area of my life that i’ve desired to work on for a while. of course the easiest and our number one way of solving this {mostly for financial reasons} was to curb eating out. making meals at home is healthier for your wallet, waistline and the planet.

but sometimes eating out is unavoidable or rather just plain desirable. i’ve come up with a few strategies for reducing our waste when we choose to eat out. I’ll be sharing them here for this series. here is my first:

1. opt for restaurants that use real napkins & silverware when possible. if you have to choose between going to someplace like steak n shake or burger king for a burger then choose steak n shake. they use real silver ware, reusable cups and some still have cloth napkins. we try to eat places with better quality food but hey, you need these tips when road trips are involved. and maybe plan ahead and research quality food choices ahead of time for road trips. i am not actually very good at this but i know people who do. or skip this altogether by packing a cooler of quality food before you start.

another option is to make a small pack to carry around with you. i regularly carry a few kerchiefs with me so i just added a couples sets of silverware. this goes where I go and we’ve used them several times when some of our favorite eats only offer disposables.

making an effort to be more zero-waste, a little bit at a time.

14Sep2013

Readz: No Impact Man

Posted in Readz by ElaineMarie

A friend of mine suggested I add a series to the blog letting people know what i’m currently reading. sure? why not? i read. so here goes.

i recently read No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. i picked it up on a whim at the library, remembering that i had seen something about their family years ago. Colin and his family set out on a year’s experiment to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible while living in new york city. the family goes through radical changes such as traveling only by foot or bike, consuming foods only grown within a 250 mile radius and eventually shutting off their power completely.

i had originally picked the book up thinking maybe there would be some examples of steps my family could take since i have strong zero-waste ambitions. well, i found a small bit of that but most of it seemed more applicable to city life, or honestly, things we already had in place in our home. what i found most useful about this book was the research and information put forth about such areas as american waste trends, food consumption and recycling efficiency. i have to say that i spent at least two nights staring at my ceiling thinking we are all completely effed after learning more about waste rates and resource consumption.

however, it lit a fire under me to make a few more small changes. 80% of our consumer goods in America are for one time use. ONE TIME. that’s just ridiculous and doesn’t match up with my personal beliefs. I’m continuing to further my search in areas i can refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle. this book definitely helped even if it did induce an anxiety attack or two.

16Apr2013

what’s inside your zero waste grocery tote?

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

Welcome to another installment of zero waste home management. I am your host, Elaine Tucker.

Today we’re taking a look inside my tote bag. I carry this tote every time we hit the grocery.

Step 1: get a tote to hold totes.

^^^ As you can see everything you need will still fit inside the tote bag that you already take with you. you take totes to the grocery, right? ^^^

Step 2: put this stuff in it.

^^^ so here’s the stash laid out. Various containers, bags & my important erasable crayon ^^^

^^^ so here we can see two other totes that fold up inside the original tote. in the top left hand corner we have lightweight, plastic containers that come in 3 sizes and fit inside one another nicely when empty. these are my bulk item containers. i’ve used the same ones for at least 6 months now with washings in between store trips. i procured them at market district because that’s where i do most of my bulk shopping but whole foods also has a bag system if you’d rather go that route. I think the plastic containers are easiest and stack in a pantry nicely. You can also see my produce bags peeking out but we’re not ready for you yet, friends ^^^

photo 5A5B6A46-6666-454C-BD98-74E0ADE98580-40573-000027DFB8D664C9_zpsfa2668be.jpg

^^^ now we are! fabric produce bags top right hand corner, a saved produce bag does just as well, a reusable plastic bag delegated to rice items since we buy a lot of that at one time and my saved coffee bag for the self-serve whole bean department ^^^

^^^ my take-out containers center stage. these are used at the deli for meats and cheeses and occasionally for bulk pasta and OLIVES! Bottom left-hand corner is my refillable liquids container for olive or canola oil or balsamic vinegar. i also have a refillable honey bear that didn’t make it into the pic ^^^

^^^ and this little guy is my secret weapon. it’s my erasable crayon pen so i can write the PLU #s on the top of each container. I’m often letting others borrow it as there is always a shortage of pens in the bulk items section. Any washable marker would do ^^^

are you thinking this looks like a lot of work? like any other habit, once you’re used to it, it doesn’t take much extra time at all. in fact, i save time in the grocery now because i’m not going into the center aisles. everything i need is in the perimeter.

the workability of this systems lies somewhere between turning the car around when you forget the totes and saying “yes, i’ll take paper” when you’ve run out of room in the totes and have some overflow. i’m dedicated enough to make the effort but flexible enough to let it go if i need to use a plastic produce bag every once in a while. plus, you only forget the tote 2 times at the most. after that it’s engrained in your memory FOREVER.

and i didn’t make all these changes at once. i started small and kept adding measures gradually. if you don’t think you can do all of these then focus on the ones you can. I started with the reusable totes and containers for the deli counter and it has progressed from there. it’s about progress not perfection. i personally believe it’s my job as a consumer to make sure i’m making ethical choices. a whole lot of throw away plastic is not ethical for me. so i’ve made progress where and when I can.

have i inspired you yet? please feel free to leave a comment if you do your own zero waste grocery shopping. if anyone has an idea that i’ve left out please leave it in that comment section.

9Apr2013

zero waste pantry: cut back on your food packaging waste

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

doesn’t it look so shiny and glistening in there? this is my revamped zero-waste pantry. it’s been a gradual progression, but I hit up a glass ware sale while d was out of town and set to some organization.

i’m awfully proud of that middle shelf but the top needs a little work. still, it makes me feel badass to look in and see so many items i now get in the bulk section without any throw away packaging involved.

here’s a {somewhat} complete list of pantry items i get in bulk:

flour, wheat flour, rice of several sorts, sunflower seeds, cocoa, coconut, chocolate morsels, corn meal, masa, confectioners sugar, bread crumbs, olive oil, canola oil, a great variety of beans, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, pasta varieties, peanut butter, dried cranberries, popcorn, coffee, sugar, brown sugar, oats.

with the help of a dry erase marker, i labeled all the tops for easy sorting.

between these pantry items and the refridgerated items i get with reusable containers or produce bags, our kitchen has greatly cut down on waste. i still can’t break myself of my need for sour cream or other pre-packaged items but i’ve come up with a system of saving the old glass jars to add to the pantry or save for {hopefully} canning some of our garden produce this year.

this system of grocery shopping has greatly simplified my life and the amount of time i spend in the grocery store. i hardly step into the center of the store anymore and mostly stick to the perimeter. it’s much simpler to come up with meals that involve only fresh veggies, fruits and any of the bulk food items listed above. i love simplicity especially when it works out in our monetary favor, as well.

are you interested in zero waste home management? do you have questions? leave a comment or you can email me at heymomjeanz {at} gmail {dot} com. let’s learn more about it together, shall we?

Shop Amazon Earth Day – Green Solutions

7Apr2013

a slightly eco-friendly easter

Posted in parenting apparently?, Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

it was so long ago. why bring it up again now? well, i really like bragging about myself so i’m going to tell all of you how much better i was at saving the earth on easter than you were. in fact, the only person better at saving the earth than me on easter was JESUS.

i applied some zero waste principles to easter:

1. non-individually wrapped easter candy in a jar. forgo the fake grass, tissue paper and other trimmings. the non-individually wrapped is important and i’m planning on using this jar system for future holidays requiring candy but buying the candy from the bulk section. i think this will also help curb the amount of candy bought and brought into the house.

2. a couple pre-loved, spring friendly articles of clothing from the re-sale shop. i’ve made the decision to only get darker shades for pants from now on due to the smudged knees, dirt and grass stains that every kid deserves the freedom to get.

3. pastel, pre-owned popsicle molds. say good-bye to popsicle wrappers, boxes and sticks. our first round of homemade ones included frozen fruit, cherry juice, avocado, a bit of broccoli, flax seed meal and a smidge of honey.

4. these little ladies and the sidewalk chalk were new. i saw them and thought “now those are some princesses that i can embrace in our household.” i took a few loads of old toys and clothes to goodwill & resale shops while darla was gone. darla doesn’t like when i do this so naturally i only do it while she is away. my plan for making it fly this time was a note left behind from e. bunny saying he took the old stuff and brought her a few small items as a thank you for passing her old stuff on. he stroked her ego a little bit commending her on what a great thing she did by giving it away. laying some groundwork as i go, folks. it worked like a charm.

i hope this gives some of you ideas for future holiday celebrations in your own homes. progress not perfection!

30Dec2012

2012 waste reduction

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

People,

this is the time of year when everyone sends out their “best of 2012” lists. last year I reposted lots of my fave photos from the year. this year i want to do something different.

i just watched GasLand and now have a fire re-kindled in my heart to further our waste reduction efforts in the coming year. I know what it feels like to be a mother with all her resources tapped and dwindling. I feel I strongly want to examine ways I can reduce my consumption and maybe even replenish dear old Momma Earth.

I wanted to take a look back at some of the implementations from 2012 that has taken us down to less than one bag of trash a week:

bulk grocery shopping and moving towards a mostly produce based grocery list. not a lot of chips or crackers brought into this house anymore.

started using a compost bin.

clothesline drying laundry in the warm months.

Bikes were our main source of transportation May-October. Mike is still riding his everyday.

Well, that completes the list of new things for the year. I’m always looking for ways to become more eco-friendly so if anyone has a tip let me know.

4Dec2012

i’m dreaming of a green christmas

Posted in Run Da House by ElaineMarie

whoa, life just got REAL busy, huh?

i’m feeling it. i know you’re feeling it, too. i keep reminding myself: “don’t just get stuff done, get the right stuff done.”

but anyway,

i was starting to let myself get sucked into the consumerism culture that is christmas this past weekend. my mind was dwelling on hypothetical presents darla should get so she doesn’t feel deprived when she is older. guffaw.

well, the universe knew what to do with me and put this book in my path. literally in my path when we spent monday at the library. i was reminded that christmas eve and day are the two most waste producing days of the year around the world. it brought me back to center.

my child does not need an abundance of toys or candy. she just needs a few carefully selected gifts and a whole lot of love.

i wrote a bit last year about our homemade decorations projects – our snowflakes from coffee filters and junk mail, our popcorn garlands, handmade wrapping paper from re-purposed darla art. I think we’ll carry on those traditions this year and add a few more. I came up with an advent calendar from some reused wrapping paper.

what about you? have you thought of ways to reduce your waste output this christmas? what tricks have you come up with?

20Nov2012

zero waste efforts

Posted in Run Da House, zero waste home by ElaineMarie

on of my goals for next year is to dig further into the zero waste lifestyle and see what else we can implement here.

we’ve had a pretty good start this year: added our laundry line for use in good weather, started relying on our bikes as our main transportation during good weather and worked on our food system and grocery shopping. I think i’ll break it into two posts, this one being about modified containers and the second being the actual food itself.

of course the first step is to start eating more fresh foods – the whole shop the perimeter concept. but this made me cringe at how many plastic bags i was adding to the cart. so i bought these reusable mesh produce bags. no more coming home with 10 extra plastic bags inside my reusable grocery totes. they are very inexpensive and worth the peace of mind.

my next step was to visit the deli counter more. i knew i was against getting pre-packaged sliced cheese bc it would get under my skin every time i had to deal with the packaging and extra pieces of paper and think to myself “what a waste.” so i started getting our sliced cheese and meat at the deli counter and bringing our own containers.

i know for a fact that every house in america has an abundance of tupperware containers. so why not put them to use? I just have the deli counter salesperson put the barcode receipt on the paper, where it is clearly visible and scannable under the lid, and skip the plastic bag. plus it’s a lot easier to stack and store in the fridge that way. on occasions that i have a more opaque top container i just have them put the sticker on the outside. it peels off very easily when i’m putting groceries away.

this also enables me to get a larger amount at one time instead of like 8 measly slices of cheese wrapped in 1 pound of plastic packaging thus less waste.

i also did this for the olive bar because i have to have a daily ration of olives.

the last step is a fairly new one for the year. I have started shopping the bulk items section and reusing the containers. one of our local grocery stores has an abundance of bulk items and i kinda went into a crazy reverie of zero wasting.

granola, cranberries, oats, snacks, trail mix. these are all things we use on the reg and we can avoid the packaging now thanks to market district. they have all kinds of grains, pastas, nuts, even honey. i filled up a honey bear that we can reuse from now on.

they have machines that you can print out the stickers for them but we happened to have an erasable crayon that I brought along to write the PLU #s on the top. this wipes off easily to be re-branded the following trip.

now, i know this might sound like it’s a lot of extra effort. i thought so too when i first started reading up on zero waste efforts. like anything else, it just becomes a habit. yes, there are times i forget but most of the time we are reusing our containers and reducing our waste. even just a little bit helps.

do you take your totes with you to the store every time? if you don’t then you are a rotten human being….just kidding. but really you should. if you do then all you need to do is store your produce bags and a few chosen containers in your tote to ride along to the store next time.

next post i’ll talk about food choices – which i did touch a bit on here. I am REALLY interested in hearing about new tricks. what do you do? please tell me. i want to change what i can. thanks!

ps. my main resource and place of information = here. feel free to add any other websites that are good resources and inspirations in your life :)

14Dec2011

today i feel

Posted in Run Da House by ElaineMarie

like an earth saving goddess.

i implemented some more no waste procedures with grocery shopping last night and i’m so glad i did b/c now i can just add that to the list of things i can brag about myself.

yep…. guess who gets her cheese without any packaging? this lady!!!

reducing our waste is one of my big goals next year but i’m trying to get started early. we now keep one of our reusable shopping bags packed ready with various empty tupperwares for shopping at the deli counter & olive bar.

next year, we’ll be adding reusable produce bags to the mix. it’s gonna get craahhhhhzzayyy!