Green Living Newsletter - December 2009

Featured Vendor - Dry Dock Fish

“Drydock Fish Company”

The owner of Drydock Fish Company, Mark Lewis, was born in Marseille, France. He grew up in Casablanca, Morrocco where he and his friends would enjoy fishing the rivers. Mark came to the United States in 1968. He chose to build a fish business because he wanted to provide people with an outstanding selection of fresh fish, which he found was hard to come by. Drydock Fish has been a family operated company since 1986 when it first opened.

Mark enjoys seeing returning customers who share with him their ‘FISH STORIES’. He is known for being an extraordinary chef during markets, providing samples to his apprieciative customers.

Drydock Fish Company provides the freshest fish to a wide variety of gourmet restaurants between Los Angeles and San Diego, and supply 13 farmer’s markets per week in the Southern California area.

Mark does not have a set schedule of work hours at the plant. “I’m not done until everything is done!”, says Mark. He has no plans to retire anytime soon, and when he does, his son will still be working as the Manager of Drydock Fish. Marks future plans for Drydock are to continue selling fresh fish and expand the company so that they can go to more markets throughout California. He also plans on moving his company from Fullerton down to San Diego.

Heading up many of the Farmers Markets in Southern California is Stefan. Stefan always has great tips on how to prepare the fish and he has a wide berth of knowledge on all things fish. Come stop by and say hello to Stefan at the following markets:

Larchmont Village Sunday 9:00-2:00

South Pasadena Thursday 3:00-7:30

Agoura Hills Sundays 9:00-2:00

Westlake Village Sundays 10:00-2:00

Happy Fishing!

http://www.drydockfish.com/

Movie to see: “Food Inc”

One of my top movies for 2009 has to be Food Inc.  If you haven’t seen it, buy or rent the DVD. The film explores how modern developments in food production are posing grave risks to our health and environment. The writers aren’t radicals or even vegetarians but they are crusaders when it comes to exposing problems and naming offenders. It points out how the cozy relationships between huge agriculture corporations and government have become. If nothing else, this film makes you think even more about where your food is coming from. One thing we can all do is to support our family farms and buy local at your farmers market.
 
http://www.foodincmovie.com

Recycling Tips for the Day After Christmas

Somehow there always so much work to be done after Christmas. What do you do with the wrapping paper, packaging, food leftovers and more? How do you deal with it all, not make more work for yourself, and yet still make the most eco-friendly choices?

Jennifer McColm Certified Organic Soy Candles!

I have worked very hard at creating a long burning, organic soy candle to keep homes aglow and fresh scented.  I am so happy to introduce you!

With the holidays fast approaching, if you are like me you are planning and already purchasing gifts and stocking stuffer’s for your loved ones!  Take a peek at my line of soy candles as well as beeswax tapered candles.

Benefits of soy candles: no carcinogens are produced from the burning wax, it is biodegradable, soy wax is water soluble - which makes “oops” clean-ups a lot easier, your purchase of soy candles promotes local and US soy farmers, soy wax goes further for your buck, it burns 30-50% longer than paraffin.  Beeswax shares many of the same benefits of soy!

Each candle is hand poured in an 8 oz glass mason jar.  Once you have enjoyed many hours of your candle you can re-use the mason jar for whatever your heart delights in.

Available in these delightful scents:

Fresh Cut Grass, Bamboo & Basil, Brown Sugar & Fig (a great scent for the Fall/Winter holidays!)

http://jennifermccolm.com/web/green-shop/

Jennifer McColm partners with Whole Foods Markets

Jennifer McColm, Whole Foods Markets, Inc. and farmers’ market operator, Raw Inspiration, are opening their first farmers market in a joint venture between the three parties and developer Comstock Cosser Properties, the owners of El Segundo Plaza.

The market is located adjacent to the Whole Foods Market store at the El Segundo Plaza and the Grand Opening is set for Wednesday, September 23. The Whole Foods Farmers Market will be open every Wednesday between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm.

For further information, please call 818-591-8286

GREEN EVENT IN LA!

Go Green Expo  held it’s premiere event in New York City in April of 2008.  There were over 250 exhibits, more than 50 speakers, and plenty of eco-film fun.  Go Green Expo was the brainchild of Bradford Rand, who developed the idea after viewing the controversial film
“An Inconvenient Truth.” He asked himself the simple question: ”How can we make a difference?” This question was shared with his “green” team and Go Green Expo was born. Rand has been a producer of over 700 trade shows and job fairs over the last 14 years and knew he could step up to the challenge.

A one of a kind event from it’s inception and the ground up, Go Green Expo changes not only the public’s view of environmental issues, but also how events like these are developed and produced. Consumers have the opportunity to have hands on experience of the eco-friendly alternatives to current everyday products.  They are able to interact with hundreds of companies that are there to showcase what they are doing to reduce their carbon footprint.

Two of the speakers at this event are Ed Begley Jr, well know actor and environmental advocate, who serves on the boards of many environmental awareness organizations and Mariel Hemingway, who will discussing “How to Green Yourself” through living a healthy life style. What more could you ask for?

One of the truly wondeful parts of this experience is that even the event itself is environmentally friendly.  Biodegradable trash bags, eco-friendly printing, table coverings, recycled signs, and compostable sponsor banners are a few of the nods to zero carbon footprinting. All of the event waste will be separated and sorted to make sure the least amount of trash winds up in landfills. Even the staff will be traveling in eco-friendly style!

Don’t miss the opportunity to educate yourself and your family!
The Los Angeles Convention Center
Saturday, January 24th • 10am - 6pm
Sunday, January 25th • 10am - 5pm

Quote of the Day!

Throughout my adult life, I’ve always been conscious about the environment and what we should do to reduce our impact on the earth. One of my motivations was the belief that you may not be able to change the world, but you can at least change your footprints on this earth.

~ Jules Dervaes, November 2004~ The Path to Freedom

Eco-friendly Gifts — Easier than you think!

Just by putting a little more effort into your holiday shopping this season, you will be free and eco-clear! Why not try to give earth-friendly or handmade gifts? Your local farmer’s market is full of talented artisans that depend on their wares to get them through the holiday season, do something good for the economy, and spend locally! I recently purchased a beautiful piece from the local Farmers Market near my home that I am planning on giving away to a dear friend. The price was reasonable and the quality was unmatched. Plus, I am doing my little part to help my community.

Alternatively, if you have time, make up recipe jars, photo-calendars, or coupon books for good deeds. Another eco-friendly idea is giving a “cultural experience” gift. Think about a family membership to the local zoo, museum, or botanical gardens.

Lastly, when you do shop for gifts, take your own bags to cut down on plastic waste. Oh, and those make excellent gifts too!

Healthy Holiday Cookies!

Parties are a huge part of the holiday season but they can also create a lot of unnecessary waste. Try hosting a cookie swap where each guest brings a dozen of their own recipe for each guest. You’ll waste less because products can be purchased in bulk and made all in one day with the same utensils using the same hot oven!

When hosting, use Grandma’s china! When else is a good reason? May as well use it and show it off!Moreover, just think of all those paper plates that won’t be in the landfill!

Here are some holiday cookie recipes that are both delicious and nutricious! Courtesy of Good Housekeeping.

Almond Macaroon Fingers

Lemon Meringue Drops

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

Remember that the holidays don’t have to mean putting the pause on your healthy eating habits.  It just means trying new healthier versions of your standard recipes and sharing with friends and family - you might be surprised by their reaction! 

As always, Live Green!

‘Tis the Season…

With the economy in chaos, it is hard to start thinking about buying anything for holidays, let alone trying to make it “greener”. However, it isn’t as hard as you might think and you could find yourself in the black in January rather than in the red! There is a way to green up just about every part of the holiday season and in most cases, you will save money too! This year, try some if not all, of the following ideas and you’ll be on your way to a more eco-friendly season!

Holiday cards

Once considered tacky, e-cards are gaining in popularity and are much more accepted these days. Make them more special by uploading family photos and writing a personal message. Of course, grandma will still want one mailed to her so choose wisely; there are many recycled cards out there! Re-use your old gift cards by cutting them up and making festive tags out of them!

Candles

The ambience of a candle is perfect for the holidays and now you can buy soy Hanukkah candles which burn cleaner and are not petroleum based.

Trees – Live or Artificial

If you put up a tree for the holidays, it is still better to use a live tree rather than an artificial one. Artificial trees cannot be recycled after their life span and only end up in the landfill. Cut fir trees are a popular choice and bring the scent of the out-of-doors inside for the season but make sure to have it mulched after the holiday. Your best choice, if you have the room, is to buy a potted tree and plant it in your yard after Christmas so you can enjoy it year round!

Decorations

Stick to all natural decorations for your tree. String popcorn and cranberries for festive garland that your whole family will enjoy making and the birds will love later (just remember to de-string it first). You can also make folded paper stars or snowflakes out of recycled paper. Go for wreaths and boughs made from cut evergreens. They can be found at just about any tree lot and can be recycled after the season.

Lights

If you like to decorate with lights make sure that you have them on a timer. You can save even more electricity and money by using lower wattage bulbs. If you need to replace your light strings, look for LED lights, they will cost a little more in the beginning but will last up to ten years and use even less electricity.

Wrapping paper

Most commercial gift-wrap is non-recyclable however, you do have alternatives! You can look for post-consumer recycled gift-wrap, use newspaper or comics, fabric, or hemp wrap. Gift bags are a respectable choice as they can be re-used season to season but they too will eventually end up in a landfill. Use ribbon over each year or find nice natural alternatives to decorating the package such as pinecones, evergreens, holly, and twine. Avoid using berries and mistletoe as they can be poisonous to children and can fall off a package easily.

Most importantly this holiday season, being around friends and family is the point. Don’t skimp on the meaningful things that tradition has passed down, just be a little more eco-conscience this year, and have a wonderful holiday season!

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