I go to the farmers market every week and one of my favorite things to do is find great organic, locally grown, vegetables for delicious recipes that I make for my family and friends.  The highlight of my week is sitting down to a beautiful Sunday dinner with my family.  I’d like to share a delicious and really healthful recipe with you, hopefully you’ll give it a try for your Sunday dinners!

Lentil soup is a great meal, lentils are an excellent source of fiber, iron and protein.  They are truly a delicious thing!  Have some fun in the kitchen with this recipe.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, miced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup organic red wine
4 cups dried lentils
3 cups uncooked, fresh organic spinach
10 cups water or vegetable stock  (i like organic vegetable stock from Whole Foods, it adds that extra taste!)
1 tbsp organic brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp organic maple syrup
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp tamari
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute onion & garlic in olive oil until its soft (just a few minutes)
Add celery, carrots, tomatoes, spinach and red wine in.
Rinse lentils and add to pot along with water or organic vegetable stock.
Add vinegar, syrup, molasses, tamari and your salt & pepper.
Stir all of the ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
Cover and simmer the soup for 2 hours.

With this recipe, if you feel like adding a special vegetable in that you like, do so.  The flavors always work together well.  When it’s ready, taste the soup and add any extra seasonings you feel you might like as well.
I hope this recipe brings some joy to your dinner table, we certainly love it at my home!

Until next time, Live Green!

Jen

Something that I always like to keep in mind at my home is my effect on the animals in my neighborhood.  From the baby fox that likes to sleep on my balcony outside my bedroom to the birds that sing their happy songs around my home, I welcome them in any way that I can.
So, I thought I would mention a great little addition that you can give your home to help make some of your neighborhood friends happy.  These fascinating little things are called bird boxes!  While birds mostly like to nest in tree cavities and bird nests, these areas can be few and far between in many city settings.  Adding one or a few to your home will not only create a perfect place for our feathered friends to keep their families safe and warm but its also great for bird watching, which the kids will love!

I installed one special bird box right up against my window, by doing so me and my kids have the opportunity to see the true beauty of birds and their way of life.  The nest the birds have made is so beautiful and although I was worried that they might get scared away from the window side of the box it hasn’t bothered them at all, they work about as though they can’t see inside our home at all.

If you are interested in installing these, which is so simple, usually the boxes come with heavy duty suctioned backs, you can check out sites like Plow and Hearth http://www.plowhearth.com/product.asp?pcode=9359 where they sell a variety of nesting boxes.

This is just a devastating situation to watch from afar.  I have been working hard getting my whole family to comb their closets and pull out clothing, shoes and blankets to donate to the Red Cross.  All donations will be shipped to Haiti to help.
Also, it’s so easy to forget in these events that not only are clothing, shoes, toiletries, blankets & food important but they are in dire need of type-O negative blood.  Type O-negative blood is like universal blood, it can be given to anyone, that’s the beauty of it.

I just thought I’d write a quick note to share my feelings with you, it’s so easy to feel helpless from afar, but, we are not!  We are so strong and capable in our own capacities to make changes worldwide.  I hope you are having a great day cleaning your closets and donating blood!  Much love!

Until next time live green!

Love, Jen

Recently, I watched Food Inc., it was extremely interesting and it was so informative that I walked away from the movie thinking about what types of changes I could make to help my kids learn about healthier eating, and making the right choices.  It is important to me, like many parents, to make sure that I am equipping my kids with a strong foundation about organic food and living consciously.  These values are the things that I truly feel our children will carry with them into adulthood, making their lives more healthful.

After some research I found a local company that is truly making an effort to make our schools and lunch options much easier for the health conscious parents.  The company is called Fresh Lunches, www.freshlunches.com.  Their mission?  “children’s nutrition is our greatest concern. We use only the best and highest quality ingredients and engage in the latest good health practices.”

Fresh lunches only uses: hormone and antibiotics free meats and poultry, natural or organic fruits and veggies, no high fructose corn syrup, appropriate portions, no mechanically retrieved meat product.

The process is simple and you can rest easy knowing that you children are being delivered healthful meals.

That’s right, I said delivered!  Fresh Lunches will even deliver your child’s lunch right to the classroom.

What I personally hope is that companies like Fresh Lunches ushers in a new wave of making our schools take part in healthier, organic foods for our kids.  What a great thing this would be!  This also helps show our kids that even when you might think there aren’t any good choices in a pinch, a little research and a lot of heart will find you in good company.

Until next time Live Green!

Jen

A great alternative to stocking up on rolls and rolls of wrapping paper is to recycle items you may already have.  Here are some fabulous & fun ideas to think about:  old concert posters, maps, save scraps from previous wraps and decoupage them onto a paper bag or recycled tissue paper. Recycled tin foil is also a fun and unique way to wrap gifts for friends and kids.  You can draw or paint special designs on the foil.

You can paint paper bags or decoupage them. Baskets are always a great option because someone can keep the basket and reuse it over and over in their home or garden.  There are so many ways to maintain your green heart through the holidays and the rest of the season!  Not only are you keeping more garbage out of landfills, but you are also hand-making one of a kind wrapping that will look especially dazzling & sui generis!

Peace & Light to you!

Lately, life has been so busy with the bustle of the holidays.  Now that Thanksgiving is over we are all pressing onward into the busiest part of the holiday season.  But I thought I would take a moment and write a blog about something that is really important to me this year…

Many families everywhere, in your neighborhood and mine are truly struggling to figure out how they will even be able to provide a Christmas for their family this year.  So, I have enlisted the help of a local church by asking them if they know of a family with children that are hurting and possibly going without a Christmas at all.  By adopting a family for Christmas, we are not only giving back to our community and enriching the lives of others, but we also get a chance to really examine ourselves and all the blessings that each of us truly have, all around us.  All of us are feeling the strain of this economy and we are all learning a hard lesson together.  But, I believe that within each of us there is always room to give to others who are worse off, even if it is little.  It is something.

No matter where you might live, there is a family around the corner that could be in need.  You can adopt a family from your local church.  Even ask your co-workers or a group of friends if they would like to adopt the family with you.  Once you have the family’s details rally together to work in getting donations and shop sales for the items you will buy.  This brings everyone together and you all work towards creating a brighter holiday for another family, and that makes for the best Christmas, for all of us.

Keep love and light in your hearts until next time.

~Jennifer

Notebooks come in all shapes and colors and now even “flavors”! Yep, you can go “green” with your notebook by choosing from banana, sugarcane, and even elephant poo. Now, you can’t or rather shouldn’t taste them but there are people out there that just may, so I figured I had better mention that! Course, you don’t have to go to extremes to be eco-friendly in your paper choice as there are plenty of recycled notebooks out there. Staples and Target both have a nice selection of tree-free paper and even eco-friendly pencils. I also came across some recycled erasers that are sold by the case, this would be good if a mom’s group got together and bought all their supplies in bulk. Remember to be the change that you wish to see in the world!

Till tomorrow…live green!

~Jennifer

Coffeemakers are a staple among college students. Unfortunately, Energy Star doesn’t rate coffeemakers, but you can select a “greener” version by looking for a pot that suits your needs. French Presses are nice because they don’t use filters but you have to take into account the boiling of the water and the cleaning after into the total energy used. This would be a good choice for an occasional coffee drinker. If you drink a lot of coffee, go with a 10 or 12-cup and a stainless steel thermos to keep it hot throughout the day. If you are a morning only coffee drinker, a four-cup version is probably your best bet. Look for one without all the bells and whistles (timer, clock, and grinder) which will cut out the vampire current drawn from having it plugged in all the time and there is less to fail. The longer your coffeepot will suffice, the longer it will stay out of the landfill. I had a 4-cup Mr. Coffee that worked well for me for over 10 years when I sold it at a garage sale still in working order!

Till tomorrow…live green!

~Jennifer

A kindergarten teacher friend just sent me her supply list to “green” up and I thought I would pass it and the advice I gave her along. Many teachers have preferences when it comes to what supplies to use but I don’t know many that would turn down a classroom supply of crayons… I found this box of 64 Crayon Rocks, made in American by U.S. grown soybeans! Now that is eco-friendly! They are not your “normal” crayons as they will not break and you will not have the distraction of peeling of the paper labels, nor the mess associated with that! In addition, they are perfect for little hands learning how to write because their shape encourages the “tripod” grip. I cannot see why more teachers of younger children wouldn’t want these for their classrooms.

Of course, if you are a purist and have to have a “crayon-shaped” crayon, there are a couple of other eco-friendly options available such as Prang and heavily pigmented, creamy beeswax crayons. Recycled Crazy Crayons are also a great way to go!

Till tomorrow…live Green.

~Jennifer

You’ve spent the entire summer trying to live a little greener, now put it into practice by making a resolution or two for the upcoming school year.
1. Pack your lunch – Although cafeteria hot foods are a great way to get a balanced meal, many children are faced with an array of disposable choices in the a `la carte line. Save your money and pack a green lunch each day this year!
2. Bike to school – Save gas and the ozone this year by having your older children ride their bikes or walk to school. Just make sure to have them wear a helmet!
3. Bring a friend along – Not only will it make your walks more enjoyable, but enlisting a friend to join you in your move to a greener school year is a great way to spread the word.
4. Re-use your supplies from last year – If you invested in a nice backpack last year, chances are it still has a few years left in it. Don’t buy all new just because everyone else does!
5. Shop the Resale Shops – Vintage clothing is in! Give old clothing new life by sewing on updated patches or using other altering techniques. You just may start a new trend!

Till next week…live green!

~Jennifer