Christmas is mere days away...have you made your list and checked it twice? If you're still in need of a few last-minute gifts, consider these seven green ideas that are quick and easy.
- Handmade With Love. Grab a few supplies and make a quick gift the recipient will love. A knitted scarf, a wooden birdhouse, a photo scrapbook, painted glass ornaments, no-sew fleece blankets, the list goes on and on.
- No Crumb Left Behind. What's your specialty in the kitchen? Baked goods such as cookies, cakes and muffins are always a hit, but homemade goodies such as apple butter, jam, salsa, hand-churned ice cream and garden-fresh pesto make yummy gifts as well.
- America's Got Talent. Have a particular gift or skill to share? Spoil your giftee with a live, personally sung Christmas carol, a video of a special dance number or a concert featuring you playing the piano or guitar or saxophone. How about a framed copy of a poem written especially for them by you?
- Cherished History. Grab some old photos and put together a memory book, with handwritten narrations of the photos. Take one cherished photo and frame it out just perfectly. Grab the video camera and capture Grandma's best stories.
- The Gift of Time. Resurrect the old "favor coupon" idea and give the gift of free time, by offering your babysitting services, a car wash, an afternoon as an errand boy, a Saturday of making freezer meals, or some heavy lifting during spring cleaning time.
- The Infamous ReGift. Don't just grab any old thing and wrap it and present it as new. Take some time to seriously consider if you have something you know the recipient wants. Has she always adored your blue cashmere sweater? Wrap it up with a note about how you know she loves it and you want it to be hers with love. Is he constantly borrowing a particular video game? Pair it with some favorite snacks and drinks for a gift you know he'll use.
- Date Night. No matter who the recipient is, movie tickets, theater tickets or restaurant certificates are always a hit. Consider tickets to a local museum or kids' science center, the zoo or an amusement park. Handwritten "certificates" for a girls' day out shopping, a fishing trip for Junior or a special playdate at the park are fun ideas that are easy on the budget.
Merry Christmas!
Tis the season for...trash? Yep. During the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, the average household's waste increases by more than 25%. All that additional food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons add up to an additional 1 million tons each week sent to landfills. Here are a few ways you can reduce your household's waste this holiday season.
- Before opening all those beautifully wrapped gifts, set a box aside to collect reusable gift bags, ribbons, bows and other package adornments. Most gifts boxes can be flattened and reused. Recycle boxes, bags and wrapping paper that can't be reused.
- In most cases, ripped-up wrapping paper can be recycled. Some specialty wrapping paper is dyed, laminated or contains non-paper additives such as gold and silver shapes, glitter, plastics, etc. that cannot be recycled. Other wrapping paper is very thin and contains few good quality fibers for recycling. Check with your local recycling provider to see what types of wrapping paper they can accept. If you can't recycle it, you might be able to use it for craft projects or as package filler when mailing out fragile items. When purchasing wrapping paper, choose a type that is made from recycled materials and that can be recycled in your community, then keep a box or bin handy when you're unwrapping gifts to collect the recyclables.
- Did you get a new microwave, toaster, clock radio, toy or coat? Consider giving away your old appliances, toys, games or clothing to a local charity or thrift store. If they're unusable, recycle them properly with your local waste management's recycling programs.
- Put this year's Christmas cards away to cut up and use them as gift tags for next year's gifts.
- Before recycling all of those gift catalogs you've been receiving in the mail, take a moment to pick out the ones you don't want to receive anymore. Call their toll-free numbers now and ask to get off their mailing list.
- If you bought a live Christmas tree, be sure to plant it if possible. Consider donating it a local school or nursing home to plant on their grounds. If you bought a cut tree, remove all decorations, including tinsel and lights, before recycling. Many communities will compost or mulch your old tree so check with your local waste facility for instructions on recycling options and the dates for pickup or drop-off.
- Turn off or unplug holiday lights during the day. Doing so will not only save energy, but will also help your lights last longer. Using a timer or a power strip makes this easy and convenient.
The holidays are in full swing, and I'm up to my eyeballs in stress and exhaustion. Between work, family, commuting and planning for a houseful at Christmas, eating right has fallen by the wayside in favor of quick and easy. However, with all the research I've been reading about the harmful effects of dyes, preservatives and other additives in convenience foods, I'm recommitting to learning how to prepare whole-food meals for my family. I'm keenly interested to try this little experiment particularly for my sons, one of whom has been struggling a bit thanks to having the attention span of a gnat, a growing occurrence these days among young boys. Growing evidence points the finger at a diet laden with preservatives, artificial colors and added sweeteners, and while it's not proven that these additives are to blame, I'm convinced enough to put out the effort to try a cleaner, more natural diet. Here are a few tips I've picked up to help makeover my pantry and my menu.
- Know what real food is. Whole foods include nuts, grains, seeds, vegetables and fruits in their natural form and not processed or refined. Whole foods generally don't contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt or fat. Eating whole foods provide more vitamins and minerals than eating processed foods, as they're higher in fiber, antioxidants and resistant starches. They also are generally free from the additives and preservatives that so many studies are blaming everything from ADD to cancer on.
- Eat whole grain breads, oatmeal and brown rice. According to an article posted in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating whole grains instead of refined not only reduces your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, but also cuts belly fat and helps you maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
- Buy fresh when possible. Frozen is a good second choice. Avoid canned foods when possible, as many canned foods contain BPA (bisphenol-a). When purchasing meat, make friends with your butcher and choose fresh meats that have been processed as little as possible.
- Read the labels. Avoid partially hydrogenated oils and saturated fats, and check for added sugars, salt and coloring. Stick with ingredients you can pronounce, and steer clear of foods with added coloring, artificial flavoring and preservatives, particularly BHA, BHT and TBHQ (they're made from petroleum!). We're also trying to avoid MSG, nitrates and sulfites.
- Choose organic when possible. The pesticides and herbicides sprayed on non-organic food to preserve it and keep pests away are harmful. Choose milk and meats that do not contain hormones and antibiotics.
- Prepare whole foods by baking, broiling or sautéing in a light oil, such as sesame oil or a rich olive oil. Avoid cooking in harmful fats. Avoid microwaving food when possible, as microwaving changes the protein structure of food, making it potentially-harmful to your body. Microwaves also emit radiation that can be damaging to people standing nearby.
- Make food from scratch. My son loves yogurt, so I'm dusting off the yogurt maker and trying out some new recipes so he can have his strawberry yogurt, but without the added sugar and pink coloring. I love making fresh bread and homemade pita, though recently I've been too busy, or lazy, to set aside time to bake them. Making food from scratch may be the toughest part for me, simply because it requires me to plan ahead both with my shopping list and my free time.
Do you have any tips for eating a natural, whole-foods based diet? What are your favorite recipes and meal plans? Keep an eye on my online cookbook, Delicious In Season, as I'll be adding new recipes over there as we try them out and find some new winners.
