We're all looking for ways to cut spending and be healthier. Here are some ways to be more sustainable in the kitchen -- you can save some cash and eat healthier.
1. Eat local, and if you can't buy local, buy organic. Plan your meals out to make the best use of food with the least amount of waste.
2. Hit the farmer's market. You'll be supporting local agriculture (#1) plus you'll be eating in season, when fruits and veggies are at their peak taste-wise and nutritionally, as well as at their cheapest. Many local farmers are also organic. Stock up when you can, and freeze or can produce while it's in season.
3. Use the whole veggie. You can usually eat a lot more of the veggie than we're used to eating. Check out a cook book from the library, and experiment with ways you can eat the stems and leaves, wasting as little as possible. You can compost whatever's left (#5).
With school days back in session, it's time to pack lunches, which, in my house at least, involves a lot of additional food-label-reading and fretting to find healthy (but yummy) lunch foods and snacks to pack in my son's lunch box. I've been doing a lot of nutritional/food research lately, so over the next few weeks, Modern*Simplicity will be full of food additive info and healthy food ideas for packing lunches for both you and the kiddos. First up, high fructose corn syrup.
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is commonly used in place of sugar in processed foods in the U.S. The average American eats an astounding 41.5 lbs of HFCS per year. HFCS is among the sweeteners that have partially replaced sucrose (table sugar) due to governmental subsidies of U.S. corn and an import tariff on foreign sugar, raising the price of sucrose to levels above those of the rest of the world. The corn from which HFCS is derived is often genetically modified (over 85% of the corn syrup produced in the U.S. is a genetically modified product), and the enzymatic process used to create HFCS is an additional step in food processing, so as an increasing number of Americans strive to remove GMOs and processed foods from their diets, many people are looking for ways to avoid HFCS. Though some in the food industry argue that HFCS is a “natural” substance; it is anything but: it is produced from corn by a complex chemical process and no substance like it is found naturally occurring.
With contributions from more than 300 scientists in 48 countries, the State of the Climate in 2009 report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates "unmistakable signs of a warming world." So once again we're forced to ask what we're going to do about that. Telecommuting, I strongly believe, along with more eco-considerate urban planning, clean energy sources and efficient public and personal transportation, is a piece of the solution that must not be underestimated. A lot of modern jobs consist of sitting in front of a computer all day, connecting with customers and coworkers via email and instant messaging – why do we need to travel to an office to do that?
Please check out this great PSA from HealthyChild.org on keeping our children healthy, one small change at a time. Please join us in encouraging the changes that are needed to clean up our mess.
We're neck-deep in summer, and energy bills are skyrocketing. Here are a few ways to keep cool by generating less heat. Don't Use the Oven
Cut down the amount of heat you produce in your kitchen, and you'll notice your whole house feels cooler. Try to avoid the oven and the stove as much as possible. Salads are a popular summer food because they're light and they don't require cooking, plus lots of yummy veggies are in season and plentiful. Sandwiches also make great cool meals. Still want your food piping hot? Grill outdoors or try using your crockpot. Air Dry Your Clothes
A clothes dryer by definition generates heat to dry clothes, so avoid the dryer by hanging your clothes. You can take advantage of the sun and heat outside by hanging wet clothes out on a line outside, or you can dry them inside on drying racks or by hanging them in your shower. Smooth them out when you hang them to avoid wrinkles, and then you can avoid the hot iron as well!
In my on-going attempt to make my home more energy-efficient, I recently had a home energy audit done. It's easier to reduce the amount of energy you use when you know how much energy you're actually using. So, a few weeks ago, I invited a home energy technician, Josh, from our energy co-op, to come out and inspect my house for energy waste.
The first thing he did was inspect my house, inside and out, while making lots of notes on his clipboard. He checked the windows, doors, appliances, the HVAC units, the ductwork, the attic, everything. I got a bit nervous. If my house didn't do well in the audit, I knew I'd take it personally. When he was done, he and I toured the house again together, and he pointed out what kinds of things he was checking for and what I should keep an eye on. He used an infrared camera to check the air flow temperatures that our HVAC units produced, and he asked lots of questions about our energy usage habits. He also had analyzed our utility bills for the past year.
Here's a look at what he checked for so you can do your own home energy audit.
Cleaning out my old Household Control Journal (aka Flylady), I found an older document I had put together way back when with a month's worth of mini missions to help me clean the entire house top to bottom, so I thought I'd share it here. Each of these missions takes about 15 minutes to complete. At the end of the month, start back over at the beginning of the list. You can download a printable pdf of these missions on my Download page.
Disposal notes: As always, recycle when possible, and when “tossing” old products or medications, please remember to use appropriate chemical disposal methods. Old towels, sheets and other linens are always welcome at local animal shelters, or use them for fresh bedding for your own pets.
