Ten Simple Steps to Greener Living

As awareness of the civilization’s impact on the environment increases, people are becoming more willing than ever before, to accept clean lifestyles. But some aren’t exactly sure where to begin.

One doesn’t have to start out with leaps and bounds.  Installing a full solar power system on one’s home or switching to a hybrid car would be great. But large steps require planning and financing.  Small steps can be taken right now.

In some cases, your choices might depend on several factors: where you live, the natural resources available to you, your lifestyle, and others. Therefore there is probably no “one-size-fits-all” solution to going green (or at least, greener).

But there are many simple things you can do to live a greener life, through your day-to-day activities, and most of these apply to just about anyone.

1. Learn more about sustainable living

This is the first and most important step in going green. You should read up on the subject of environmentalism, and how your personal carbon footprint can affect global pollution levels. There are plenty of resources available online, and you can visit your local library for books on related topics.

2. Save energy

The most effective way to cut down on your carbon emissions is to conserve on energy in your home. Install energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, turn off the lights when they aren’t in use, ensure your house is properly insulated and windows are properly sealed, and keep your energy consumption to a minimum. You will save energy and money at the same time.

3. Conserve water

Every drop of tap water you use consumes energy – for transport, filtering, and purification. It might just be water, but a lot of fossil fuel is consumed in processing it. In some places, water itself is scarce. You can turn the tap off while brushing your teeth, switch to more efficient washers and dryers, and collect rain water for use in your garden.

4. Use less fuel for transport

If a hybrid car is not an option at the moment, you can take other steps; walking or biking to work, or whenever you have to travel a short distance. If your work place is too far for a daily bicycle commute, consider using mass transit. You can carpool with a friend or coworker if that works. For long trips, consider the fuel efficiency of your different options.

5. Eat greener food

Eating is one thing everyone has in common. But did you know that eating the type of food can make an impact in the environment? The food industry contributes substantial carbon emissions in the process of shipping their products around the world. When you eat seasonal, local, and organic food, you help to conserve the environment – as well as improve your own health.

6. Buy smart

Instead of buying brand new wooden furniture for your home, you can search for good used furniture online, or even visit garage sales to find what you’re looking for. Think before making a purchase, no matter how big or small it is. Buying grocery items in bulk can save money and conserve on energy and packing materials. Also, be sure to buy high-quality products that will last for a long time and not just wind up in a landfill a year from now.

7. Shop Online

Shopping online is another good way to conserve on fuel. When you receive a purchase by post, the amount of fuel used to ship that purchase is no where near the amount of fuel you would have used to drive to a store and buy it offline. Furthermore, you can also save a considerable amount of time and money by shopping online, and many online stores offer free shipping.

8. Proper waste management

Years ago, many considered waste management to be the main environmental issue of concern. As long as you reduced, reused, and recycled, you were a friend of the environment. Things are not that simple these days, but waste conservation is still a big part of living green. It takes a lot of energy to process and dispose of waste, whether it’s recycled or dumped in a landfill. So conserving on waste is important, even if you do recycle. You should also compost your biodegradable waste materials.

9. Wear the right clothing

Your choice of clothing can make a big impact on the environment. One of the most heavily sprayed crops across the globe is cotton. Chemicals which are used as insecticides harm the environment, and harm people’s health. Fortunately, there are other alternative fabrics available in the market; such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and flax. Try to find and purchase clothing that uses these natural and nontoxic materials. Wearing such clothing is also better for your health.

10. Avoid toxins and chemicals

If you look carefully at many of the products you use every day, such as cleaning and personal care products, you might be quite surprised at the harmful chemicals they are made from. Use products made from natural and nontoxic ingredients.

They aren’t hard to find – even Amazon has an entire section dedicated to green products. This section is called Amazon Green and it includes many household, personal care, home improvement, office, clothing, and grocery items. By shopping at Amazon Green you can find nontoxic and environmentally friendly products more easily, while also saving money and conserving resources by doing your shopping online.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit How to Go Green in Your Day-to-Day Life is a post from:

As kids are going back to school and schedules become more hectic families are looking for inexpensive, quick, nutrional meals.  All three of these requirements can be met by using the “other white meat;”  tofu, tempeh, seitan, and textured vegetable protein.

Tofu

Tofu is the most popular as far as meat alternatives.  It is made from coagulated soy-milk curds that are pressed into blocks.  While tofu has a soft, gelatinous consistency that can never mimic meat but its limitless flavor versatility makes up for the lack of texture.  If you experiment with freezing and thawing tofu before cooking it the texture issue can be minimal and the spices used when cooking tofu can give it any flavor you choose.  As far as nutrion, tofu has nearly zero saturated fat, 100 calories, and 10 grams of protein all in a 4-ounce serving.  So when asked what’s for dinner try this recipe.

Turkey or meatloaf sandwich

1 block firm tofu

½ cup peanut butter

1-cup olive oil

¼ tamari

Drain tofu and cut into 1/3-inch slabs.  Mix peanut butter, olive oil, and tamari.  Pour mixture over tofu and marinate for 1 hour or longer.  The longer it soaks the more flavor will be absorbed.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes on each side.  Take out of oven and cover in breadcrumbs seasoned with a pinch of garlic and onion powders and bake again for 8 minutes per side.  Pour buffalo sauce or tofu and serve on a whole-wheat roll or bread.

Tempeh

Indonesia is the home of this meat alternative.  Tempeh is created by fermenting whole soybeans and forming them into cakes that have a nutty and chewy texture.  Just like tofu tempeh absorbs whatever flavor it comes in contact with and its meaty texture makes it a great substitute for hamburger or pork.  Tempeh has 22 grams of protein in a 4-ounce serving.  So when asked what’s for dinner try this recipe.

Vegetarian Chorizo

1 brick premade tempeh

Oil, onions, cayenne pepper, cumin, toasted funnel, coriander, garlic, shallots, paprika, onion and garlic powders, and parsley flakes

Take the brick of premade tempeh and crumble it like chopped chorizo sized pieces.  Sauté in remaining ingredients adding as needed for individual taste.  One may use this in any Mexican dish as a vegetarian chorizo substitute.

Seitan

This was invented allegedly by Chinese monks who were looking for other forms of protein substitutes.  Seitan is wheat gluten or in other words the protein part of wheat.  Washing the wheat until all the starch is gone and the gluten remains creates seitan.  This is then cooked in a soy sauce and seaweed stock.  Seitan’s texture is the most meat like and is used in vegetarian Asian cuisine to prepare mock meat dishes.  It works great as a mock steak due to its chewy texture, not to mention it’s fat free with twice as much protein as tofu for a 4-ounce serving.  So when asked what’s for dinner try this recipe.

• Mock Country-Fried Steak
• Unseasoned strips or cuts of seitan
• Flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper
• Oil
• Egg

Beat egg and mix flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper together.  Dredge strips or cuts in flour then egg and repeat in flour.  Deep-fry or panfry and serve with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and fruit.

Textured Vegetable Protein

If anyone has had Bac-O they have had TVP.  This is made from defatted soy flour, which is a by-product of making soybean oil, and shaped into flakes or chunks.  When purchasing TVP keep in mind it’s dehydrated and will need to be rehydrated before using.  Try rehydrating by mixing 1 cup of TVP with 1 cup of hot water and soak for 5 to 10 minutes.  You will need to experiment with the soaking time to meet your needs and texture.  TVP has 94 calories, 14 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and zero fat per ounce.  Due to TVP’s meaty texture it is best used as a ground beef or turkey substitute.  So when asked what’s for dinner think about the “other white meat” that provides and economical source of protein at a reasonable price.

And as a footnote if you would like to reduce your individual impact on climate change choosing an alternative meat source is a good choice in reducing your carbon footprint.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit WHAT’S FOR DINNER: Nutritional and Green Meals for Kids is a post from:

Everyone knows that kids can be really picky about what food they eat. They usually don’t choose to eat fresh fruits and vegetables on their own. So how can we get them to eat a healthier diet? Take them out to do the foraging and collecting themselves.

Growing up, many kids go to the grocery store and see the stacks upon stacks of fruits and vegetables but they have no real concept of where all that food comes from. They’re missing the joy of walking through blueberry fields early in the morning, or apple picking in the fall. Kids are much happier to run around and eat fruit directly from the tree it was grown on than to eat it when it magically appears at the dinner table.

So, whether it’s taking your child to the local CSA to pick carrots and to see the farm that their food comes from, or picking fresh blueberries and making pie, show your child the value of farms and local food. After all, there isn’t much that is better than eating a fresh strawberry in the summer, or harvesting local tomatoes. And you’ll be teaching your children how important local, organic produce is while they run around and have fun.

Whether it’s a natural return to our hunting and gathering origins, or just the simple joy of being in nature, kids are sure to love the adventure of picking fresh produce. And hey, you just might get them to appreciate where their food comes from and to actually eat their fruits and veggies.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Teaching Kids to Love Fruits and Vegetables is a post from:

You may be hearing a lot of buzz about your favorite restaurants going ‘green’ by having more locally-sourced, sustainable food. But how green are the rest of their practices? Did they choose sustainable furnishings, are their refrigerators energy efficient, do they compost? A non-profit called the Green Restaurant Association can help address all these issues, and is pushing the food service industry to truly go green.

One of the first things you can do to be a more environmentally-conscientious consumer, is to look up Certified Green Restaurants™ in your area. Check out the Green Restaurant Association’s searchable database and see which of your favorite restaurants, coffee shops, and bakeries have already made the commitment, and which are still lagging behind.

For those restaurants that haven’t taken the plunge to become Certified, why not send them a little note of encouragement to go green? The GRA has printable suggestion cards on their website which you can slip in with the check or a sample email which you could modify and send to the manager of your favorite restaurant.

So what does it mean to be a Certified Green Restaurant™? You can think of it as somewhat similar to the process of earning LEED certification for green buildings. There are three types of Certifications – Existing Restaurants, New Builds, and Events. For each category, there are different point thresholds that must be met at a minimum to garner Certification. The businesses are given merits based on seven categories: water efficiency, waste reduction & recycling, sustainable furnishings & building materials, sustainable food, energy, disposables, and chemical & pollution reduction.

All Certified Green Restaurants™ must have full-scale recycling programs, be completely free of Styrofoam, and maintain an annual education program. In addition, they can gain certain numbers of points for practices under the categories listed above. For example, installing low flow faucet aerators in the kitchen sinks, dual flush toilets in the restrooms and reusing greywater for irrigation will all earn points in the water efficiency category.

A large goal of the GRA is to promote zero waste in the food service industry. As they point out, the average restaurant can produce 150,000 pounds of garbage per year. That includes organic waste, as well as recyclables. They suggest ways to divert waste from composting to making biodiesel from grease to finding vendors that will take back their own packaging to reuse.

The Green Restaurant Association also understands that restaurants may not have the time to sort out all of these green practices, even if they wish they did. So the GRA has implemented assessment and consulting programs to make it even easier and to see how sustainable practices can benefit the bottom line. Staff of the GRA will complete an environmental assessment to see where a restaurant is in relation to the Certification Standards, and consultants can suggest specific steps and solutions to gain more points. Consultants can help set up recycling programs, recommend green products, find distributors and even perform cost analyses.

For businesses in the food service industry, the GRA is a great resource to help find credible ways to be more environmentally responsible and the benefits are obvious. Not only are you making a difference for our planet, but improving the bottom line and creating a healthy and enjoyable environment for staff and customers.

Consumers are beginning to make smarter choices about dining out and research shows that people really do care what impact their favorite restaurants are having on the environment. So whether you’re thinking of opening your own restaurant, or just enjoy dining out, make sure that you choose the most environmentally responsible route and always dine green.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Green Restaurants: Choosing Environmentally Responsible Restaurants is a post from:

So you’ve got your canvas grocery bag, and you’re off to the local farmer’s market to pick up some produce. You’re even biking there. You’re feeling good about reducing your carbon footprint when you grab a handful of leafy greens and suddenly realize you have nothing to put them in but a plastic produce bag. Luckily, instead of using those thin plastic bulk bags, it is easy to buy or even make your own reusable produce bags from organic materials.

There are several options on the market for small reusable bags. ECOBAGS creates several sizes of bags to suit any amount of produce. They are washable, and carry both organic cloth or organic net sacks, depending on the size and weight of the fruits or vegetables. ECOBAGS use cotton that is bleach-free, so the fabric is natural and healthy.

Reusable produce bags are also easy to make. If you’re not up for buying the fabric and sewing, you can buy handmade bags from ‘remarket‘ on Etsy. These particular sacks are made of nylon tulle, and are see-through. The fabric is light so as not to add an extra weight to the produce scale and see through for easy identification in the grocery store’s check-out line.

If you find yourself without reusable bags, or you stopped at the grocery store on a whim, you can still make sound environmental choices. Many retailers, including Whole Foods offer both brown paper bags and plastic bags. If you end up using these, make sure to keep them with your other grocery bags so you can reuse them the next time you’re at the store. Most plastic bags simply get thrown away after one use, which pile up quickly in the landfill and can have devastating effects on marine life. Reusing a plastic or paper bag will at least extend its life if you forget your cloth produce bags.

Many consumers have become accustomed to using reusable tote bags for their bulkier groceries, but it’s the smaller stuff that counts too. Soon we hope the question of paper or plastic can be entirely eliminated with the use of stronger, more durable cloth bags.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Bagging the plastic bag: Reusable produce totes is a post from: