Monthly Archives: May 2009

Save your bread

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Jen | 4 Comments

By Recycla

People, let’s talk about bread today. Specifically, those bits and pieces of bread that no one seems to want to eat, including the heels of loaves, bakery bread that’s a couple days old, or any other bread that’s just languishing in your kitchen because you don’t know what to do with it. Luckily, as always, the Eco Women are here to help! They know of several easy ways to recycle your leftovers.

If you have a recipe that calls for breadcrumbs, do you buy them? No! Instead, make your own — it’s easy and free! Almost any kind of bread will do, although Recycla prefers whole wheat bread, since it makes a healthier, more flavorful breadcrumb. All you have to do is broil or toast the bread until it’s dried out. Tear it into smaller pieces and toss it into a food processor or blender. Chop until it resembles a coarse meal and — Voila! — you have breadcrumbs. If you have too many breadcrumbs for your recipe, you can freeze them in an airtight container until you need them.

Are you making a salad to go with dinner tonight? Wouldn’t croutons taste great? They are super easy to make and so much better than anything you could buy at the store:

Cut or tear bread into cubes.
In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup olive oil, minced garlic (to taste), 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (grated), and parsley (to taste).
Brush the oil mixture on the bread cubes.
Toast at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.

What about bread pudding? Click here for savory bread pudding recipes and here for for Bourbon Bread Pudding.

Summer is coming, so how about using your leftover french bread to make crostini? Top it with tomatoes and herbs from your garden, such as in this recipe. Recycla has never understood the difference between crostini and bruschetta, but here’s a recipe that she likes a lot. Because of the beans, this could easily be the main part of your dinner — just add a salad.

As you can see, there are lots of uses for bread that don’t involve throwing the bread away. If you don’t need it immediately, you can store it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the freezer until you do.

What are some other good uses you make of your leftover bread?

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Posted in food, living green on a budget

Eco-friendly Fashions for Summer

Posted on May 15, 2009 by melissawest | 2 Comments

It’s getting too warm for wool sweaters and last year’s hot looks are looking kind of worn out–what’s an Eco Warrior to do? Here are some tips on sprucing up your look this season that also help you feel good about impacting our planet.

1. If you’re going for ONE big purchase, make it a chunky necklace or big bangle bracelet–check out the Etsy offerings and support the handmade artisans out there. The best thing you can do for the planet is to buy nothing new, but reuse, reduce and recycle instead.

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Necklace from Harjicreation on Etsy.

2. Tank dresses are all the rage–paired with gladiator sandals and aforementioned chunky necklace, you will look battle-ready. But go organic for that cotton if you have to buy that new dress! (Enviro-Girl is wearing the one she bought back in the early 90′s during her Grateful Dead phase–and it looks just fine.)

This bag would look great with Enviro-Girl’s old dress–bag from doodlescoot on Etsy.

3. A new pair of sandals is critical–wedges, gladiator-style, funky prints, flats–and Payless has a new line, zoe&zac are made from natural, chemical free hemp, cotton and jute. They also use recycled rubber and elastic. Simple has been making great shoes out ofsustainable and recycled materials since 1991–and Enviro-Girl can personally attest to their comfort. For under $50 you can raise your soles to a whole new level.

4. New t-shirts & shorts are staples for even the most environmentally conscious–Target is selling organic cotton fabrics through their new Loomstate line. Use your old t-shirts for cleaning windows this summer and spiff up your wardrobe with a fresh t-shirt! Enviro-Girl found her beloved Horny Toad and prAna brands deeply discounted at TJ Maxx–organic cotton for under $20.

5. “Hot pink, nudes, bright prints and basic black & white are the season’s new colors.” Sound familiar? Sure they do–they’re the same picks every other season. Dig in your closet and bring out last year’s dress and pair it with a huge bag or a big necklace to make it this year’s look. If you’re buying new, buy sustainable–try bamboo fiber, hemp, Tencel or organic cotton clothes. Faeries Dance has a wide range of earth-friendly fashions.

Shirt from alisontauber on Etsy.

6. Dresses are IN. Whether you buy a new dress at Target or Pristine Planet, opt for organic cotton or other sustainable fabrics. Tunics, wraps, sundresses, short, long, baggy or fitted, you cannot go wrong with a great dress.

Dress from CorysHandmade on Etsy.

7. Go vintage–it’s still a great look and it’s the finest form of reusing since it keeps good fabrics out of landfills. Urban Outfitters is promoting this through their Urban Renewal store on ebay.

Vintage top from hotellenotelle on Etsy.

For a list of green clothing/shoe/accessory companies, Greenloop is a great source.

White Apricot has excellent deals, discounts and offers from brands like Horny Toad, Miss Voltage and EcoSkin–so if you’re an online shopper, click over.

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Posted in 3 Rs, living green on a budget

Tagged eco-fashion, environmentally friendly fashion, summer fashion

Fast Fact: Kick the habit

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Jen | Leave a comment

We all know that cigarettes are bad for your health, but did you know that they’re bad for Planet Earth too?

Tobacco farmers use large amounts of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, which are absorbed into the plant and into the soil. So, if you can kick the habit, you’re not only saving yourself, but also the world.

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Posted in fast facts, health

Eco confessions

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Jen | 3 Comments

By Recycla

Recycla has talked here before about her continuing search for a really good eco mascara. All she wanted was a mascara that didn’t contain parabens, didn’t give her raccoon eyes, and didn’t fade off within a couple of hours. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, it is.

Recycla has tried more than a dozen different eco mascaras in the past two years and has yet to find one that she likes 100%. Sure, there were a couple that seemed to work this winter, but as soon as the weather warmed up, for some reason the black stuff started sliding down Recycla’s face.

Recycla is from the South. Anyone who knows Southern women knows that, for the most part, we like our hair and makeup big. Well, not like Tammy Faye Bakker, but we do like to look pretty. Recycla doesn’t actually wear all that much makeup, but she does wear mascara because it makes her eyes look so great.

So, Recycla waffled and wavered and dithered and couldn’t figure out what to do. The Mascara Situation was becoming an obsession and not one that Recycla felt was worth the time, effort, and money. When she wrote her last post about mascara, Enviro Girl commented with this:

Gee, I appreciate what you’ve gone through to give me a review – I haven’t tried any paraben free mascara because no one seems to have one that works. And I justify my eco-sin by telling myself that “It’s just a few daubs of mascara – it’s not like I’m lathering all over my body like LOTION!!!” Truly, in the grand scheme of things, I can live with this crime.

Suddenly, Recycla saw the light. She realized that she had forgotten the mission of this blog: To save Planet Earth one day at a time and one act a time and that it shouldn’t be difficult. The Eco Women keep reminding their readers that no one is perfect, nor should they strive to be. We all should do what we can to save Planet Earth but, if we can’t do something, it’s okay. Just move on and try something else.

Once Recycla had her epiphany, she walked that very day to a nearby drugstore and bought a fabulous tube of very black mascara. She unwrapped it in the car and applied it while looking in her rearview mirror. Ahhhh…

Recycla’s 40th birthday was a few days after this incident and, maybe it’s because of the mascara or maybe not, but turning 40 wasn’t all that bad.

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Posted in personal care

Fast Fact: Rearrange your furniture

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Jen | Leave a comment

Is your sofa or some other large piece of furniture blocking the air vent in your living room? That’s keeping the air from cooling (or heating, depending on the season) properly. Rearrange the furniture to improve the air flow.

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Posted in fast facts, house stuff

Getting new life out of an ugly chair

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Jen | 5 Comments

By Recycla

2547482033_3928bca747 How many of you have an old chair or sofa in your house that you’ve either had since college and/or inherited from a family member? Maybe you adore it but, more likely, you still have that lumpy recliner because the money’s not in your budget right now to buy a new one. Or, like so many people, you can’t bear to get rid of a perfectly good piece of furniture.

Planet Earth thanks you for your reticence in tossing your old chair out on the curb. According to the EPA, between 1960 and 2001, discarded furniture increased from 2.2 million tons per year to 8.1 million tons. What a waste!

So, what should you do?

First of all, give the chair or sofa a good cleaning with a steam cleaner — you’ll be amazed by what a difference it makes, especially if you have small children or pets.

Next, assess the piece of furniture. Is the framework in good shape? If so, you might want to go ahead and spend the money to have it reupholstered. Ask your neighbors and friends for recommendations or check in your local Yellow Pages for someone who can do the job for you. If the price is just not affordable, see if you can find someone to make a fitted slipcover — a good one can look just as good as if you had reupholstered the chair. If you choose a good quality fabric that’s classic and not too trendy, the chances are good that your new-old chair will last for a long time.

However, if that lumpy sofa’s “bones” are in bad shape, reupholstering it is probably not the best use of materials and your money. Consider instead finding a ready-made slipcover that will help you make do until such a time as you are ready to buy a new sofa. Click here for a couple of organic slipcovers and here for non-organic ones. And, later on, when you do buy a new sofa, the chances are good that you can find someone — such as your local homeless shelter or maybe a college student — who would appreciate a free piece of furniture.

A couple years ago, after much soul-searching, Recycla and her husband replaced an old chair with a new one. Click here to read her ode to the old chair. Don’t worry, it’s worth the extra minute or two of your time.

Photo courtesy of scmtngirl‘s Flicker photostream.

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Posted in 3 Rs, house stuff, living green on a budget

Fast Fact: Skip the bath

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Jen | 1 Comment

c9098a92077b39ca If you shower instead of bathing, you’ll use about half the water. Share the shower with someone and then you’re really saving water! (And probably having some fun too!)

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Posted in 3 Rs, fast facts

Batteries not included

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Jen | 1 Comment

By Recycla

Whether we like it or not, we all use technology in some form, which means that we have to deal with batteries on occasion. No one can escape this — whether it’s batteries in your smoke detector, in your son’s remote control car, or your TV remote — virtually everyone has at least one or two battery-operated devices in their lives.

In fact, Americans buy 3 billion batteries every year.

The best batteries to use are rechargeable ones. You use them until they’re drained and then recharge them to full power. There’s no waste!

However, rechargeable batteries don’t work with everything. For example, Recycla’s daughters use battery-powered toothbrushes and rechargeables simply don’t work at all.

So, if you do use regular batteries, that means that at some point you’re going to have to dispose of them when the juice is gone. DON’T THROW THEM AWAY! Batteries leach toxins into the soil, waterways, and the air. Keep the nasty stuff away from Planet Earth; we’ll all benefit.

Luckily, batteries can be recycled and it’s getting easier all the time. From lithium to lead, battery producers can recover the chemicals and reuse them — 60% of the world’s lead supply comes from recycled car batteries alone.

So where can you recycle your old batteries? It depends on where you live. Recycla’s community recycling center has a bin just for batteries! Some Walgreens and Radio Shack stores accept them too.

To find out where you can recycle batteries in your community, go to Earth911 and type in your location.

Photo from JohnSeb‘s Flicker photostream.

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Posted in 3 Rs, electronics

Mmmmm … strawberries!

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Jen | 2 Comments

By Recycla

berries Depending on where you live, it’s THAT time of the year again — strawberry season.

Strawberries might just be one of Nature’s most perfect foods. They’re at their best when they are grown organically and then eaten right after they’ve been picked. Strawberries grown in California (or further afield) and then shipped to your grocery store in January just can’t compare.

Strawberries are super easy to grow, but you do need to keep an eye on them so that they don’t take over your garden. Alternately, you can grow strawberries in containers on your patio. For more information on growing berries, check out this article at Organic Gardening.

If you don’t have a garden, the Eco Women suggest that you get yourself to your local farmers’ market or a nearby strawberry farm to get some berries. One of the wonderful things about strawberries is that they freeze well, so you can save Spring’s bounty for future eating.

Some of you may not know this, but the best way to store strawberries is NOT in the fridge. Yes, strawberries last longer in the fridge, but they lose flavor rapidly. Instead, leave them unwashed and unsliced on your counter until you’re ready to eat them. Then, wash and cut as usual.

What are some of the Eco Women’s favorite strawberry recipes? With this amazing fruit, simplicity is the way to go:

Strawberries taste amazing with plain or vanilla yogurt.
All of the Eco Women agree that angel food and pound cakes are also quite wonderful when topped with fresh strawberries.
Eco Lassie and the Green Mommy are huge fans of strawberries dipped in chocolate!
One of the best ways to use those strawberries you stored in your freezer is in smoothies. Recycla’s daughters like this simple recipe: yogurt and strawberries blended together. ( No sugar needed.) Blueberries and bananas make excellent additions to the mix.
Captain Compost loves her strawberries plain!
Enviro Girl shared her favorite dessert recipe: Fill the bottom of a 9 x 11 casserole pan with 4-6 cups clean, sliced strawberries. Top with ½ cup butter, cut into slices. Dump on one bag of plain yellow cake mix. Top THAT with another ½ cup of butter cut into slices. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Serve with ice cream. Yum!

Tell the Eco Women: What’s your favorite way to eat strawberries?

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Posted in food, gardening