Earth Day is coming up this week, I’m sure there are tons of exciting events in your area, just like me!  For everyone that is local, there will be an amazing Earth Day event at 3700 Wilshire Blvd on Wednesday, April 22nd.  The event will take place from 11-3 pm.  There will be many amazing vendors and green living tips, music and children’s activities!

Last year was a wonderful event and we had an amazing turnout of people to celebrate our earth & learn more about consciously living to ensure our earth’s life span & happiness for everyone.  Hope to see you there! 

Until next time, live green!

Jen

I have been so busy lately gearing up for Earth Day!  It is one of my favorite days to celebrate because it involves everyone getting outside, mixing it up with people from their communities and best of all educating one another on sustainable practices.

This year, I have the honor of speaking at Topanga’s Earth Day event along with some other great guest speakers!  If you are close by, I would really encourage you to load up the family and come on down to a “union of music, arts, science, healing, ceremony, tradition and sustainability”, you can find further information about Topanga Earth Day at:  topangaearthday.org

Until next time, live green!

Jen

It’s a sad fact, but many people toss their batteries in the trash.  Maybe we think “it’s just one, or two…” at that moment when we are faced with the decision about where to dispose of those batteries…but imagine how much that fills up when we all do that?

I found a site (www.batteryrecycling.com/) that offers a battery recycling kit, I ordered mine for my home as well as for my office.  The batteries that you can recycle with this kit include:  AA, AAA, C, D, power tool, laptop, cellphone, camera batteries and others, plus all hand-held electronics such cellphones, iPods, PDAs.

The kit is only $34.50 and holds up to one year’s worth of batteries, not only are we buying the piece of mind that we are doing our part with recycling our batteries safely, but it is such a small price to pay to insure that we are doing our part to make a healthy planet for the future and our children.

Even in rough times, cost can’t be an excuse as to why we cannot recycle for our planet, get together with a friend…or a few throw some change together and order one kit for all of you!  This is especially great for kids in college, roommates, friends, everyone!  Have fun with it!

Until next time, Live Green!

Jen

I am a big Etsy fan.  If you haven’t checked out the site I would do see as soon as possible.  The site is full of genius handmade products that many wonderful artisans are creating and selling themselves.  The products range from recycled materials to organic and chock full of originality and character.  My favorite thing to do is find products that benefit my lifestyle, or quest for the perfect gift for my friends and family.

I just stumbled upon this adorable product that I really wanted to tell you guys about.  They are reusable sandwich/snack bags made from 55% recycled hemp and 45% organic unbleached cotton, which makes these bags eco-friendly and a safe carrier for your favorite snacks or sandwiches.  Velcro seals the opening to make sure that all the goodness stays within the bags.  Each measures 7.5″x7.5″.

This is just another great product to add to your green living lifestyle and it makes lunch time so much more fun!  Check out the line of snack bags here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/BebelooshMini

Until next time, Live Green!

Jen

I had the joy of stumbling upon gDiapers at a local Green Expo in LA a couple of weeks ago.  I am so happy to tell you about this company.  Their amazing efforts have brought the world a truly eco-friendly diaper.
Their diapers are not only adorable but the real magic within them is a 100% biodegrable “gRefill” that you change out once it is soiled.

According to gDiapers, 50 million, that’s right, 50 million diapers get tossed each DAY!  Each diaper then takes 500 years to biodegrade.  That means that your baby diapers aren’t even finished biodegrading, can you believe it?!
You can toss these gRefills in the toilet or add it to your compost, any way that you choose gDiapers break down in 50-150 days, which is so amazing!

We love gDiaper and we know you will too, check them out and try a pair, these would make a great baby shower gift and help to let more people know that there are options beyond the regular diaper.
http://www.gdiapers.com/

Until next time, live green!

Jen

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

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

1. Canning – My favorite way of preserving tomatoes, green beans, and sauces. However, you can preserve almost anything (even bread!) by canning. This book is fabulous!
2. Freezing – The absolute best way to keep fresh blueberries! Wash, pat dry, then lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet, freeze for 2 hours then place in storage container. Blueberries will freeze individually and not stick together in one big lump!
3. Pickling – Not only for cucumbers! Try pickling red beets, green beans, hard-boiled eggs, and sausage.
4. Dehydrating- This can be done either in an oven (which can be costly) or with a food dehydrator and is the preferred method of drying meat (jerky) and vegetables.
5. Sun-Drying- This method is good only for fruits. The high sugar and acid content in fruit protects it from spoilage to which vegetables are predisposed. Because the heat and humidity cannot be controlled outside, it’s also not a place to dry meats. Also, foods dried outside are susceptible to insects and need to be pasteurized before storing to kill any insects that may have laid eggs on the food.

Till Next Week…Live Green!

~Jennifer

In addition to the hours I set aside for canning, I also decided to set aside an hour for meal-planning and another couple for cooking and preparation. Like many families, as my children get older, it gets harder and harder to sit down for a meal together but I feel that is an important part of being a family. So, in order to accommodate everyone’s busy schedules, I wanted to have a variety of home-cooked meals on hand to heat and eat each week. I found that scheduling time to do this each week keeps my freezer stocked and helps me save money by buying in bulk and using ingredients in multiple dishes rather than using half the sour cream or shredded cheese and forgetting about the other half in the fridge until it’s a science project! One technique I am employing is making two or three of the same dishes at once, like lasagna, in a big batch so that I make the sauce once (saving gas and electric!) and use an assembly-line process. It only takes a few additional minutes and I get three times the food!
Till tomorrow…live green!
~Jennifer

Things are starting to get a bit busy around here with the kids going back to school and the harvest starting to come in. Not that it hasn’t been a busy summer by any means, but I needed a plan to organize and stay in control before things started to get out of hand. Things like cooking, eating right, and housework! Therefore, I took a day and wrote out the things I wanted to accomplish on a daily, weekly, and even monthly basis. Right now, with all the tomatoes ripening in the garden, I needed to get some canned for use during the winter because nothing beats the taste of a home-grown tomato! So, I set aside a couple of hours this past week and blanched and canned quite a few quarts of tomatoes. I’m going to keep those couple of hours available each week to do the same for the next month or two and with any luck, I’ll have a whole pantry full of my homegrown organic fruits and vegetables to enjoy all winter long!

Till tomorrow…live green!

~Jennifer