A few postings ago I wrote about how I bought a stainless steel mandoline that did not live up to my expectations. Well, I did email the company and explained my dismay. A week later, customer service wrote back and said that I could take the mandoline back to the store for a store credit.
DH had me try the mandoline again by making wavy french fries. It was quite good apparently because I didn't get eat a single chip! So, I managed to make the mandoline work for me a bit. However, I was still disappointed at how uneasy it was to make the small julienne match sticks. So, thinking that a store credit of about $50 could get me a lot of other useful kitchen equipment, I decided to take the mandoline back the next day.
That night Little S kept crying and keeping me up most of the night. Perhaps I got to sleep about 1 or even 2 hours in total. I also had to get up round 6 AM (before Little R would get up) to make bread (I make slow rise bread, so I have a schedule to follow). Despite being up most of the night with Little S, I did get up to make bread. Well, a few minutes into the bread-making, Little R drummed his little heavy feet into the kitchen and had me hold him and make bread at the same time. Little R is round 44 pounds and I was making a large batch (4 loaves, each loaf round 2.5 pounds) of bread!
In any case, I somehow managed to get that stage of the bread-making done then I dressed the children, put them in the car and drove to Pickering Town Centre. Although it was getting to be bitterly cold, I still managed to put the children in the tandem stroller, walked through Sears, into the mall and into Stokes to get my store credit. The saleslady was very helpful, but asked me why I was returning it. I told her that one blade did not go in, and in general I wasn't able to make julienne sticks easily. She told me that her husband used it all the time, and that the model I had was top-of-the-line. Was I the problem? As she was processing the return and store credit, I asked her out of curiosity what they were going to do to the mandoline. She told me that it was going to be thrown out! They were not allowed to sell nor donate anything that had been use.
Well, that just made me reconsider. I really didn't want the piece of equipment to be part of landfill! After all, it did satisfy DH's chip craving. Okay, I apologised (the kids were also grabbing things and moving the stroller by themselves) for the inconvenience and told her I was going to try the mandoline again.
By the end of this non-transaction, it was lunch time. The children had to eat. Well, I forgot the spork again! I ordered pad thai thinking that they would eat it (and also so I could use chopsticks instead of plastic cutlery). How stressful this event of lunch was. Little R decided to regurgitate the stringy meal as did Little S. Little R kept drinking his mango Julius tilting it back like sippycup and got his pants and shirt all soaked in yellow muck! With one baby in arm and the other hand handling the chopsticks, I tried as fast as I could to eat the pad thai before the kids would lose patience.
I managed to finish the plate, but before I could dispose of the tray, Little R had drop his shoe off his foot. He wanted me to put it back on. He kept whining (no words) and shoving the shoe at me while I was trying to put the baby on my back. Well, he lost it and started running away in the food court. So, there I was running after him with one arm holding the baby on my back and one hand reaching for him as he reached a garbage station... he was so upset that he was trying to throw his shoe in the trash!!! Luckily, other women came to my aid, stopped Little R in his would-have-been-regretful action, and helped me put the baby properly on my back with my BabyTrekker. Alas, how embarrassing.
I mentioned in my last posting that I was phasing out plastics in my kitchen and home. Yes, and it's going well. May I also add that DH is happy that I won't be saving any more plastic containers. So, while I was at the Pickering Town Centre, I wanted to buy a glass or stainless steel spritz bottle (for steaming up the oven for bread-making). After that lunch time fiasco I still ended up walking around the mall about 7 times without finding what I was looking for. In the end, I bought a plastic (number 1 or 5 - can't seem to recall) spritz bottle and 3 aluminium bread pans from Dollarama!
So, I thought that that was that. I took the kids to the mall in order to return a mandoline that I didn't end up returned, walked around the mall 7 times before settling for two items from the dollar store, and now I was going to take them home. Or was I? At the Sears exit, I started getting dressed and getting the kids dressed when I discovered that Little R had wet through his diaper (more on diapering and toileting another time). Luckily there was a Sears washroom not too far away... and luckily it didn't off-gas as much of that horrible strong chemical "cleaning" solution that makes me sick.
What a day... and my head was hurting, but I still had to finish baking the bread before the end of the night. In short, I managed with some help from DH... oh, and he loves the bread! Thank goodness for our daily bread :)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
How to boil an egg without plastic
I know, it's a weird title. Of course no one boils eggs with plastic, right? Well, back in my first days at uni, the only way I could "cook" something was by using the common microwaves in the basement in plastic containers. Trying to boil an egg in the microwave is disastrous.
Being away from home for the first time on my own, I was free and under obligation to feed myself. Boy did I ever gain a LOT of weight and unhealthy fat! I guess I was just so thrilled to fend for myself that I did not pay attention to nutrition. Like most students, I just ate what I thought was the cheapest and most substantial.
Having only access to a microwave (and not wanting to spend the extra money on "microwavable" plastic containers), I had to eat out of cans (yes, like vegetarian Chef Boyardee stuff - absolutely gross!), dry pantry items (I didn't have a fridge either) and "fresh" food from the grocery store (good old Metro has now spread into Ontario too). So what things did I consume? $.50 cans of ravioli or that type of thing, processed cheese slices (you didn't need a fridge), peanut butter (I did not eat peanut butter for SO long after this daily one month experience) and jam, saltines, bottled water, bread... and probably some other unhealthful things. What equipment did I have? Plastic forks, knife, spoon, one plastic sandwich container and containers from the deli at the grocery store.
Moving forward several years to the present, I am doing what I can to educate Little R and Little S by example so that they will NOT do what I did in my first university experience. I was ignorant of what was harmful. What was wrong with my little uni life-style? Firstly, what I ate was garbage. The peanut butter would not have been so bad if it had been natural (just peanuts, but I'm sure it had icing sugar in it). The canned stuff was mostly sodium and trans fats (which had not been documented on TV at this time). Secondly, I used a microwave. What a great way to nuke anything good nutrition dead. And thirdly, I consumed too much plastic (from the bottled water, the peanut butter container, all the food that I cooked in plastic in the microwave [double whammy], the utensils that I used. I don't even think there was a recycling programme in place yet; so the plastic got sent to landfill.
Although I'm becoming more aware of the dangers and negative consequences of using plastic, it's is more than ever all around us. As I take a look around me in from of the computer (plastic casing, plastic mouse, plastic wires - okay, something you just can't avoid being plastic), more than half of the contents on this desk are plastic. I do make an effort to buys things that are not made of plastic, especially if I'm using it for food or if it's for the kids. You can go on this website : www.healthytoys.org to see how toxic some toys are.
So, how do I boil an egg? On my stove top, I turn my small burner to high, I put some water in a small sauce pan then I add in how many eggs I'd like boiled. I put enough water to cover half way up the middle of the eggs. Once I hear the water start to simmer (even peaking in to see the little bubbles) I turn off the burner, do not lift the lid, let the eggs steam in the pan for 5 minutes (if I want soft boiled) or 10 minutes for hard boiled. I've only developed and been using this method, after several years of green over-boiled eggs, for egg boiling for the last 2 or 3 years. I always try to cook with residual heat and the least amount of water possible to yield a happy result.
I used to collect plastic tubs from margarine, cream cheese, sour cream, parmano cheese, yogurt, etc., to contain my leftovers. What a great idea! I didn't have to spend more money on Tupperware. Now, with the exposure of dangers in using plastics, I have been trying to use glass containers. This is not so convenient. DH was going to work one day, so I packed him his lunch in a glass container. The poor guy had to travel on rush hour GO Trains for two hours making sure his lunch was not shattered.
It's approaching bedtime, so next time I'll touch upon how I'm phasing out some plastics in my kitchen and home.
Being away from home for the first time on my own, I was free and under obligation to feed myself. Boy did I ever gain a LOT of weight and unhealthy fat! I guess I was just so thrilled to fend for myself that I did not pay attention to nutrition. Like most students, I just ate what I thought was the cheapest and most substantial.
Having only access to a microwave (and not wanting to spend the extra money on "microwavable" plastic containers), I had to eat out of cans (yes, like vegetarian Chef Boyardee stuff - absolutely gross!), dry pantry items (I didn't have a fridge either) and "fresh" food from the grocery store (good old Metro has now spread into Ontario too). So what things did I consume? $.50 cans of ravioli or that type of thing, processed cheese slices (you didn't need a fridge), peanut butter (I did not eat peanut butter for SO long after this daily one month experience) and jam, saltines, bottled water, bread... and probably some other unhealthful things. What equipment did I have? Plastic forks, knife, spoon, one plastic sandwich container and containers from the deli at the grocery store.
Moving forward several years to the present, I am doing what I can to educate Little R and Little S by example so that they will NOT do what I did in my first university experience. I was ignorant of what was harmful. What was wrong with my little uni life-style? Firstly, what I ate was garbage. The peanut butter would not have been so bad if it had been natural (just peanuts, but I'm sure it had icing sugar in it). The canned stuff was mostly sodium and trans fats (which had not been documented on TV at this time). Secondly, I used a microwave. What a great way to nuke anything good nutrition dead. And thirdly, I consumed too much plastic (from the bottled water, the peanut butter container, all the food that I cooked in plastic in the microwave [double whammy], the utensils that I used. I don't even think there was a recycling programme in place yet; so the plastic got sent to landfill.
Although I'm becoming more aware of the dangers and negative consequences of using plastic, it's is more than ever all around us. As I take a look around me in from of the computer (plastic casing, plastic mouse, plastic wires - okay, something you just can't avoid being plastic), more than half of the contents on this desk are plastic. I do make an effort to buys things that are not made of plastic, especially if I'm using it for food or if it's for the kids. You can go on this website : www.healthytoys.org to see how toxic some toys are.
So, how do I boil an egg? On my stove top, I turn my small burner to high, I put some water in a small sauce pan then I add in how many eggs I'd like boiled. I put enough water to cover half way up the middle of the eggs. Once I hear the water start to simmer (even peaking in to see the little bubbles) I turn off the burner, do not lift the lid, let the eggs steam in the pan for 5 minutes (if I want soft boiled) or 10 minutes for hard boiled. I've only developed and been using this method, after several years of green over-boiled eggs, for egg boiling for the last 2 or 3 years. I always try to cook with residual heat and the least amount of water possible to yield a happy result.
I used to collect plastic tubs from margarine, cream cheese, sour cream, parmano cheese, yogurt, etc., to contain my leftovers. What a great idea! I didn't have to spend more money on Tupperware. Now, with the exposure of dangers in using plastics, I have been trying to use glass containers. This is not so convenient. DH was going to work one day, so I packed him his lunch in a glass container. The poor guy had to travel on rush hour GO Trains for two hours making sure his lunch was not shattered.
It's approaching bedtime, so next time I'll touch upon how I'm phasing out some plastics in my kitchen and home.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mandoline trouble, pesticides and GMOs
I bought a mandoline at Stokes from the Pickering Town Centre last Sunday thinking that it was such a great deal at $49.98. The salesgirl told me that she had one at home, and that she really liked it. There were two to choose from: a heavy frame stainless steel and a plastic frame (for $24.98). They both came with different blades so that you could slice and julienne. Because I thought that the stainless steel one would be of much better quality and would last longer, I bought that one.
DH had been asking me to make french fries for a couple of days so I decided I would whip out the new mandoline (I washed and dried it as per the instructions last night), use the remainder of our GM canola oil in a plastic jug (more on plastics next time) to please the big guy and the little guy. Well, perhaps I was disillusioned from watching too much FoodTV, but I thought that a mandoline was supposed to be super sharp so that you could slice things really quickly with the swipe of your hand. I was so very disappointed with this purchase! It took much dangerous effort (luckily I didn't cut any fingers) to make the potato go through the blades. I decided to stop and use my good old Japanese hybrid knife and wooden chopping board.
It took a long time to make just three pototoes and one sweet potato, but DH did enjoy the fries. Unfortunately, Little R just kept moving about, no sitting, and babbling. It wasn't the most enjoyable dinner experience as a family. I ended up eating cold beets, cold potatoes and cold soy chicken (which I'm sure is GM). Still, the most disappointing thing was the (man, the computer just restarted on me... I'm lucky this blogging service saved this much of my text for me) poor quality and expensive mandoline! Sure it was made in China, but what isn't these days? I'm going to see if I can complain to the store or to the company; I'll keep you posted.
I took the kids to Bulk Barn today. They have a fairly good selection of natural foods and products. Their organic bulk is also labelled in green for easy spotting. I also like that many of their products say on their package "GMO free" or "No GMO." As I mentioned in the previous posting, it's most likely that if a product does not say it's GMO free that it probably contains some GMO save certain things such as olives (see the Greenpeace list).
So, why do I make a conscious effort to avoid purchasing GMO products? First of all I think its safety is questionable (we're all one big experiment right now), and secondly I don't believe that the world's food (its seeds and soil) should be control by corporations. There is a list of pros and cons here: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml. I know that I'll probably not be able to totally dodge consuming GMOs, but I will certainly use my purchasing power to choose products that are natural.
Now even though a product is natural, doesn't mean it was grown pesticide-free. I always knew that we were eating synthetic pesticides in Canada, but I thought that other countries such as China did not use them. Well, how wrong was I again? Not only is it used on food, but also on crops to make clothing, such as cotton. "It takes half a pound of chemicals to make one regular old T-shirt" (Ecoholic, 29).
I keep forgetting to ask the people at Bulk Barn if I can bring my own containers because I really don't want to use the plastic bags once (well, now I've found out that you can recycle plastic bags by dropping them off at your grocery store) and toss them. When I find out, I'll let you know.
Next time I'll touch upon our plastic situation.
DH had been asking me to make french fries for a couple of days so I decided I would whip out the new mandoline (I washed and dried it as per the instructions last night), use the remainder of our GM canola oil in a plastic jug (more on plastics next time) to please the big guy and the little guy. Well, perhaps I was disillusioned from watching too much FoodTV, but I thought that a mandoline was supposed to be super sharp so that you could slice things really quickly with the swipe of your hand. I was so very disappointed with this purchase! It took much dangerous effort (luckily I didn't cut any fingers) to make the potato go through the blades. I decided to stop and use my good old Japanese hybrid knife and wooden chopping board.
It took a long time to make just three pototoes and one sweet potato, but DH did enjoy the fries. Unfortunately, Little R just kept moving about, no sitting, and babbling. It wasn't the most enjoyable dinner experience as a family. I ended up eating cold beets, cold potatoes and cold soy chicken (which I'm sure is GM). Still, the most disappointing thing was the (man, the computer just restarted on me... I'm lucky this blogging service saved this much of my text for me) poor quality and expensive mandoline! Sure it was made in China, but what isn't these days? I'm going to see if I can complain to the store or to the company; I'll keep you posted.
I took the kids to Bulk Barn today. They have a fairly good selection of natural foods and products. Their organic bulk is also labelled in green for easy spotting. I also like that many of their products say on their package "GMO free" or "No GMO." As I mentioned in the previous posting, it's most likely that if a product does not say it's GMO free that it probably contains some GMO save certain things such as olives (see the Greenpeace list).
So, why do I make a conscious effort to avoid purchasing GMO products? First of all I think its safety is questionable (we're all one big experiment right now), and secondly I don't believe that the world's food (its seeds and soil) should be control by corporations. There is a list of pros and cons here: http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml. I know that I'll probably not be able to totally dodge consuming GMOs, but I will certainly use my purchasing power to choose products that are natural.
Now even though a product is natural, doesn't mean it was grown pesticide-free. I always knew that we were eating synthetic pesticides in Canada, but I thought that other countries such as China did not use them. Well, how wrong was I again? Not only is it used on food, but also on crops to make clothing, such as cotton. "It takes half a pound of chemicals to make one regular old T-shirt" (Ecoholic, 29).
I keep forgetting to ask the people at Bulk Barn if I can bring my own containers because I really don't want to use the plastic bags once (well, now I've found out that you can recycle plastic bags by dropping them off at your grocery store) and toss them. When I find out, I'll let you know.
Next time I'll touch upon our plastic situation.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The after amaranth day, and our food position
Baby S gobbled up a lot of gooey amaranth yesterday, and today she emptied it several times today. It was very grainy just as it was before it was cooked! Poor baby now has a bull's eye red diaper rash. I'm going to have to look into things before giving her too much. Ah, man, I also gave her some today... so I guess in a few days she should be better again. In the meantime, I'll be giving her some fruits and organic corn puffs.
I think that eating a balanced diet rich in fiber and micronutrients is one of the keys to a healthy life-style. We don't often eat out, and I love cooking in my new kitchen, but sometimes what we eat is just not very wholesome even though we're not eating meat. So, we're trying to transition to eating mainly organic foods, no GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods, and local foods. This is not an overnight task. If you go to Greenpeace's website (I think it's www.greenpeace.org) you can find a list of products that are GMO and are not. I have so many GMOs in my kitchen that I'm not quite sure what I should do about it.
Why do I have so many foods with GMOs? Mainly because the government does not require companies to indicate on their products that they contain GMOs. Another reason is because of our ignorance of GMOs. I thought that scientists created GMOs to help plants survive plagues and resist pests. Actually, it sounds pretty good since if a plant can withstand pests and other harmful enemies there wouldn't be a need for pesticides (and I'll get to this one later - maybe in another post since I'm getting sleepy). Oh, but I was misinformed.
We really don't know the harmful effects of GMOs. In fact, I've read that scientists have extracted genes from bacteria, undersea animals and injected them into plants. You can find out more about GMOs here: http://www.reneeloux.com/gmo/q_a.html, or you can look up "GMO risks" using a search engine. So, now things sound a little weird. It sounds a bit like Xmen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other mutant comics literally INSIDE my cereal. Not so funny, though, when it's all around you.
So, what foods are genetically modified in my kitchen? Well, almost everything that contains non organic corn, canola, cotton (yes, think of all the kitchen towels and aprons!) and soy. of course there are other foods too that are probably GM foods like potatoes. Well, a few weeks ago I stocked up on a dozen cans of corn niblets (product of Canada), and before that I had purchased a bag full of TVP (texturized vegetable protein consisting mostly of soy), Maseca corn masa (for making tortillas and tamales), frozen corn niblets, cornmeal, canola oil, salad dressings, mayonnaise, potatoes, rice, bun (it has cornmeal)... shall I continue?
What should I do now that I know that there are tonnes of GMO in my kitchen? Should I throw them away? But that is wasteful! Give it to the food bank? What? So that others can eat the GMOs? Well, I guess the only thing reasonable is to finish what we have as we try buying certified organic versions of what we eat. We've made it this far igorantly eating GMOs, we may as well finish what we have in the kitchen.
Of course this still does not answer what I would do for eating outside of my home or about take out. Well, I think we just have to be reasonable. If I go visit someone else or a restaurant, I'm just going to try to enjoy my time with my company.
I'll continue about our food situation next time, touching upon GMOs and pesticides (which affect so much more than just our food).
I think that eating a balanced diet rich in fiber and micronutrients is one of the keys to a healthy life-style. We don't often eat out, and I love cooking in my new kitchen, but sometimes what we eat is just not very wholesome even though we're not eating meat. So, we're trying to transition to eating mainly organic foods, no GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods, and local foods. This is not an overnight task. If you go to Greenpeace's website (I think it's www.greenpeace.org) you can find a list of products that are GMO and are not. I have so many GMOs in my kitchen that I'm not quite sure what I should do about it.
Why do I have so many foods with GMOs? Mainly because the government does not require companies to indicate on their products that they contain GMOs. Another reason is because of our ignorance of GMOs. I thought that scientists created GMOs to help plants survive plagues and resist pests. Actually, it sounds pretty good since if a plant can withstand pests and other harmful enemies there wouldn't be a need for pesticides (and I'll get to this one later - maybe in another post since I'm getting sleepy). Oh, but I was misinformed.
We really don't know the harmful effects of GMOs. In fact, I've read that scientists have extracted genes from bacteria, undersea animals and injected them into plants. You can find out more about GMOs here: http://www.reneeloux.com/gmo/q_a.html, or you can look up "GMO risks" using a search engine. So, now things sound a little weird. It sounds a bit like Xmen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other mutant comics literally INSIDE my cereal. Not so funny, though, when it's all around you.
So, what foods are genetically modified in my kitchen? Well, almost everything that contains non organic corn, canola, cotton (yes, think of all the kitchen towels and aprons!) and soy. of course there are other foods too that are probably GM foods like potatoes. Well, a few weeks ago I stocked up on a dozen cans of corn niblets (product of Canada), and before that I had purchased a bag full of TVP (texturized vegetable protein consisting mostly of soy), Maseca corn masa (for making tortillas and tamales), frozen corn niblets, cornmeal, canola oil, salad dressings, mayonnaise, potatoes, rice, bun (it has cornmeal)... shall I continue?
What should I do now that I know that there are tonnes of GMO in my kitchen? Should I throw them away? But that is wasteful! Give it to the food bank? What? So that others can eat the GMOs? Well, I guess the only thing reasonable is to finish what we have as we try buying certified organic versions of what we eat. We've made it this far igorantly eating GMOs, we may as well finish what we have in the kitchen.
Of course this still does not answer what I would do for eating outside of my home or about take out. Well, I think we just have to be reasonable. If I go visit someone else or a restaurant, I'm just going to try to enjoy my time with my company.
I'll continue about our food situation next time, touching upon GMOs and pesticides (which affect so much more than just our food).
Monday, November 17, 2008
Vintage clothing, amaranth and PC Green products
What a delightful day. It was half price day at Value Village, and I needed to get some vintage pants for myself, some pj's for Little R (as well as a coat - this guy is a lot bigger than last year). It was perfect timing; I just breastfed the Little S to sleep, dressed Little R up and took off. Don't worry: DH was in the basement listening in case the baby should awake.
To my pleasant surprise there were not as many people as I had anticipated at the thrift store, but there were long line-ups for trying on clothes. I hurried to the active pants aisle. Little R excitedly grabbed pants and threw them behind himself in the cart. I had to put more pants back than I actually chose to try. I managed to take six hoping that at least one pair would fit!
The pj's were not so abundant for Little R. After several rounds of browsing, I ended up picking up a white pair of cotton (yes, I know, pesticides galore!) long johns. There wasn't a coat that was a suitable, but we did manage to find a pair of snow pants that did fit.
I somehow managed to find a mirror (that others were also using) and a space to try on the vintage pant candidates over my slacks (you do what you have to do when you have kids). Can you believe it? Three pairs actually fit and looked decent (of course I had to imagine wearing them without my first pair pants on). Hurray! The total came to less than $30.00 divided by two. So, I managed to save almost $15.00 and give old clothes a new purpose. :)
Dinner was almost a flop, I'd say. I was very excited to try a cup of amaranth for the first time... but what would I make with it? Well, as usual I just took out what was available in the refrigerator, looked in the pantry and made combinations that might be tasty as well as balanced (such as always completing proteins by combining legumes and grains). Okay, we ended up with mostly a mushrooms and coconut milk dish. Then the moment of truth: I unlidded the pot of amaranth. It was mush! Oh, dear. What would DH think? (Well, there was still butternut squash and split pea soup in the fridge.) Luckily, it was a hit with Little S. She just gobbled it up, baby spoon after baby spoon. I, on the other hand, decided to make some white rice (yes, there is still more to eat before we go solely whole grain rice).
Next time I think I will make amaranth as a cereal. Because of it's shape and size, I was expecting it to cook up like quinoa. Does anyone know if I can make amaranth fluffy like rice? Or is it supposed to starchy like tapioca?
Our transition from our old life-style into our new life-style is very exciting, but it's not an overnight process. For starters, we've purchased high efficiency washer and EnergyStar qualified dishwasher. We loved them! We use the PC Green 3x laundry detergent (it's made to use with cold water) and the PC Green dishwasher pouches. The former cleans clothes as well as the Tide Natural detergent but is cheaper, smaller jug size and uses unheated water. The pouches also clean dishes as well as the Electasol 3-in-1 (that came with the dishwasher), but my only complaint is that they are hard to squeeze into the detergent compartment of the dishwasher (I really don't want it to break!).
Aside from the detergents, we also use PC Green toilet paper (one square at a time ;)) and PC flushable kitty litter. The last time I bought this toilet paper, DH complained that it wasn't soft; maybe it'll be softer this time. As for the litter, it's been good. DH says that he smells the cat wastes more since switching from the clay (as I'm typing, DH is pointing out that H Cat is dragging grains [made from corn] litter all over) litter, so he does empty it into the toilet every day :). Thank goodness! Another couple of reasons we like this litter more than the clumping clay one is that it's light weight and we don't have use plastic bags to throw out the dumps.
This evening we let Little S see Little R's bedtime routine so to warm her into her new bedtime routine starting in two days time. As I watched DH wash little R up, I couldn't help but show my dismay in how much Colgate Kids he was putting on our toddler's toothbrush. Toothpaste, in general, is toxic (read Ecoholic for more info or type in "toxic toothpaste" in a search engine). So, I really think a little goes a long way. We still have to finish what we have before opting on "natural" toothpaste solutions.
Next time I'll touch upon our food situation.
To my pleasant surprise there were not as many people as I had anticipated at the thrift store, but there were long line-ups for trying on clothes. I hurried to the active pants aisle. Little R excitedly grabbed pants and threw them behind himself in the cart. I had to put more pants back than I actually chose to try. I managed to take six hoping that at least one pair would fit!
The pj's were not so abundant for Little R. After several rounds of browsing, I ended up picking up a white pair of cotton (yes, I know, pesticides galore!) long johns. There wasn't a coat that was a suitable, but we did manage to find a pair of snow pants that did fit.
I somehow managed to find a mirror (that others were also using) and a space to try on the vintage pant candidates over my slacks (you do what you have to do when you have kids). Can you believe it? Three pairs actually fit and looked decent (of course I had to imagine wearing them without my first pair pants on). Hurray! The total came to less than $30.00 divided by two. So, I managed to save almost $15.00 and give old clothes a new purpose. :)
Dinner was almost a flop, I'd say. I was very excited to try a cup of amaranth for the first time... but what would I make with it? Well, as usual I just took out what was available in the refrigerator, looked in the pantry and made combinations that might be tasty as well as balanced (such as always completing proteins by combining legumes and grains). Okay, we ended up with mostly a mushrooms and coconut milk dish. Then the moment of truth: I unlidded the pot of amaranth. It was mush! Oh, dear. What would DH think? (Well, there was still butternut squash and split pea soup in the fridge.) Luckily, it was a hit with Little S. She just gobbled it up, baby spoon after baby spoon. I, on the other hand, decided to make some white rice (yes, there is still more to eat before we go solely whole grain rice).
Next time I think I will make amaranth as a cereal. Because of it's shape and size, I was expecting it to cook up like quinoa. Does anyone know if I can make amaranth fluffy like rice? Or is it supposed to starchy like tapioca?
Our transition from our old life-style into our new life-style is very exciting, but it's not an overnight process. For starters, we've purchased high efficiency washer and EnergyStar qualified dishwasher. We loved them! We use the PC Green 3x laundry detergent (it's made to use with cold water) and the PC Green dishwasher pouches. The former cleans clothes as well as the Tide Natural detergent but is cheaper, smaller jug size and uses unheated water. The pouches also clean dishes as well as the Electasol 3-in-1 (that came with the dishwasher), but my only complaint is that they are hard to squeeze into the detergent compartment of the dishwasher (I really don't want it to break!).
Aside from the detergents, we also use PC Green toilet paper (one square at a time ;)) and PC flushable kitty litter. The last time I bought this toilet paper, DH complained that it wasn't soft; maybe it'll be softer this time. As for the litter, it's been good. DH says that he smells the cat wastes more since switching from the clay (as I'm typing, DH is pointing out that H Cat is dragging grains [made from corn] litter all over) litter, so he does empty it into the toilet every day :). Thank goodness! Another couple of reasons we like this litter more than the clumping clay one is that it's light weight and we don't have use plastic bags to throw out the dumps.
This evening we let Little S see Little R's bedtime routine so to warm her into her new bedtime routine starting in two days time. As I watched DH wash little R up, I couldn't help but show my dismay in how much Colgate Kids he was putting on our toddler's toothbrush. Toothpaste, in general, is toxic (read Ecoholic for more info or type in "toxic toothpaste" in a search engine). So, I really think a little goes a long way. We still have to finish what we have before opting on "natural" toothpaste solutions.
Next time I'll touch upon our food situation.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The blog begins...
Welcome! Thank you for viewing my first web log. I hope everyone is well.
Since becoming a mother of two, I have found it increasingly important to me to set an example to love our Earth. I want my children to grow up healthy, informed, intelligent and caring. Through this blog, I hope to share with you part of our journey toward living a "green" life-style. These are my stories and experiences as domestic green mother. Please feel free to post a response; I would appreciate your thoughts.
Before starting this blog, I thought about sending out a group email announcing my intentions on going "vegan" and "organic," but that never materialised. The content of the email was growing too big for my head; I had to diarise it to make it more manageable.
After staying in the house for over 24 hours (it rained all day yesterday), we (DH and I) opted to drive to Pickering Town Centre to walk around in the mall with the children. I drove, making sure to stay within (close to) the speed limit so that we would not waste fuel, and avoiding suddening braking. We made it into the parking lot, and I started to look for a space to park. For some unknown reason I wanted to park on the other side of the mall, but DH pointed out that there was a free spot within sight. Then it occurred to me that I really should park in the first place available so that I wouldn't waste time nor fuel. Done. We were parked and ready to shop.
As we walked through Zellers, I saw displays of Christmas "gifts" packaged and ready to be purchased, gifted then tossed (at least the packaging). More and more, excess packaging really bothers me. So, I have made a conscious decision to avoid purchasing products with unrecyclable or non-biodegradable packaging. This isn't easy. Have you seen how much packaging toothbrushes and small sippycup valves have?!
We made our way to the food court. DH wanted a falafel sandwich, and wanted me to order for him while he would sit at a table with the kids. As I stood at in front of the counter, I was greeted by the white plastic utensils that would be tossed after one meal (next time I would make sure to have some sporks in our diaper bag - we'll see if I remember). The guys served me a small plate of salads and rice stuffed in vine leaves, a small plate of potatoes with some white garlic sauce on top, and a falafel sandwich for DH. I took one plastic fork for my plate and for feeding R the potatoes. I managed to keep a couple of unused napkins, but the fork, plate and sandwich wrap had to be tossed. It would be great if restaurents started using sustainable packaging (such as from Octopus Packaging Ltd), then the mall people could divert tonnes of waste from landfill.
I haven't written in a long time; I'm very tired and must go to bed, so I shall summarise: we had a nice Sunday together, walking around, eating, preparing food and now sleeping 8:o)
Next time I'll let you know about the new PC Green products we're using.
Since becoming a mother of two, I have found it increasingly important to me to set an example to love our Earth. I want my children to grow up healthy, informed, intelligent and caring. Through this blog, I hope to share with you part of our journey toward living a "green" life-style. These are my stories and experiences as domestic green mother. Please feel free to post a response; I would appreciate your thoughts.
Before starting this blog, I thought about sending out a group email announcing my intentions on going "vegan" and "organic," but that never materialised. The content of the email was growing too big for my head; I had to diarise it to make it more manageable.
After staying in the house for over 24 hours (it rained all day yesterday), we (DH and I) opted to drive to Pickering Town Centre to walk around in the mall with the children. I drove, making sure to stay within (close to) the speed limit so that we would not waste fuel, and avoiding suddening braking. We made it into the parking lot, and I started to look for a space to park. For some unknown reason I wanted to park on the other side of the mall, but DH pointed out that there was a free spot within sight. Then it occurred to me that I really should park in the first place available so that I wouldn't waste time nor fuel. Done. We were parked and ready to shop.
As we walked through Zellers, I saw displays of Christmas "gifts" packaged and ready to be purchased, gifted then tossed (at least the packaging). More and more, excess packaging really bothers me. So, I have made a conscious decision to avoid purchasing products with unrecyclable or non-biodegradable packaging. This isn't easy. Have you seen how much packaging toothbrushes and small sippycup valves have?!
We made our way to the food court. DH wanted a falafel sandwich, and wanted me to order for him while he would sit at a table with the kids. As I stood at in front of the counter, I was greeted by the white plastic utensils that would be tossed after one meal (next time I would make sure to have some sporks in our diaper bag - we'll see if I remember). The guys served me a small plate of salads and rice stuffed in vine leaves, a small plate of potatoes with some white garlic sauce on top, and a falafel sandwich for DH. I took one plastic fork for my plate and for feeding R the potatoes. I managed to keep a couple of unused napkins, but the fork, plate and sandwich wrap had to be tossed. It would be great if restaurents started using sustainable packaging (such as from Octopus Packaging Ltd), then the mall people could divert tonnes of waste from landfill.
I haven't written in a long time; I'm very tired and must go to bed, so I shall summarise: we had a nice Sunday together, walking around, eating, preparing food and now sleeping 8:o)
Next time I'll let you know about the new PC Green products we're using.
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