Soap Nuts

1 bag = 250 - 350 loads of laundry. What more do you need to know? Ok, maybe you need to know what the heck they are! These aren't really nuts, they're berries from the soapberry tree. And people have been using their natural detergent abilities for centuries. I bought a bag recently for $42 and that includes shipping from Canada. Now I don't need to worry about buying laundry detergent for, what, 2 or more years?

I've used them twice, and am impressed. To use, simply put a few berries into one of the tiny drawstring bags included and throw into the drum of your washing machine. If, like me, you use cold water they suggest soaking the bag and berries in some hot water for a few minutes beforehand. Then throw the bag along with the hot water into the machine.

You can reuse those same berries for several loads, then they will apparently dry up and you can compost them. How eco-friendly! Plus, for those who have to lug those heavy detergent bottles to the laundromat, think how much easier it'll be to carry in a small bag of berries that wash and soften fabric at the same time! I highly recommend these! Check out the link above and read more about how fantastic these berries are!

Grilled Cheese

A tasty vegan and gluten-free grilled cheese is only minutes away when you have Daiya cheese and Food For Life gluten-free bread. Use olive oil or vegan margarine to butter one side of each bread slice and proceed as you normally would with any grilled cheese. To jazz it up add a slice of tomato and some vegan pesto. Delicious! Serve with a side of carrot and beet salad mixed with some olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper.

T-Shirt Time!

I recently made a quilt out of all my old T-shirts and a sheet for the backing. I spent absolutely nothing, it took me about a day, and I was able to use an old blanket for the filling. It's really soft because of all the overly washed T's and I love that I can still enjoy the designs without needing to wear them. And I used all the fabric remnants as rags. It was a great eco project!

Super Simple Bag

Ok, here's an amazingly quick project that will yield a great drawstring bag that you can use for laundry, sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, other bags... anything! You can even pack clothes in it for a trip or if you're moving and you don't want to waste your garbage bags (which should be biodegradable!)

All you need is:
a sheet or curtain
rope or string, whatever you want for the drawstring
sewing machine, scissors, things of that nature

To start, cut the fabric to the length you want your bag to be. Now, it's not rocket science, if want a long bag, make the fabric long, if you want a smaller bag, cut the fabric short. Do not cut off the part of your sheet or curtain that has the casing where your drawstring will be. You want to save time by using the casing that's already there.

Ok, next if you need to, decide on how wide your bag should be. I liked the width my curtain was, but if you have a large sheet you may want to scale the width down a bit.

Now, it's right sides together and sew up the side of your bag, stopping just short of the end where the casing is, don't sew that part up completely or else you won't get your rope through. Go back and forth here with the machine a few times to make the area sturdy.

Next, you'll want to sew up the bottom, but first reposition the side seam so it's in the middle of the fabric, this will make it look a little nicer with the drawstring in front, rather than on the side. Stitch across the bottom.

Turn the bag right side out. Voila! You're almost there. Get your rope and attach a safety pin to one end. Snake it through the casing and out the other end. Make sure you have enough length. Cut the string and if it's a nylon rope you might want to pass a lighter under the ends to keep them from unraveling.

You're done! You can add a strap if you want to hang the bag on a hook, but this is a super fast way to use up an old sheet or curtain and make it something useful again! Make small ones for shoes or lingerie. Use them instead of gift wrap. Pack your groceries in 'em. Get creative!

Where do you get your PROTEIN?!

Larabar, nuts, hummus, and quinoa

I found a nice little article here about protein and how much the average person really needs. Any vegan will tell you that the number one question posed to them by some curious (and skeptical) acquaintance is: where do you get your protein? Most Americans have been raised with the idea that meat is the best, if not the only, source for protein. We've also been led to believe that we need a LOT of it. Both beliefs are false of course; there are hundreds of foods you can devour to acquire your daily protein. And you might not need as much as you think.
It's quite satisfying to run across an article like this that is not aimed only at vegetarians and vegans, but everyone. It's good to shed light on all the misguided truths we believe in. So whether you are a carnivore or a vegan, know that you have choices when it comes to protein. Experiment!

Yard Sale!

Last Saturday I hosted my first ever yard sale. I was up at 6:30 am to get all my wares out to the front yard in time for the early Farmer's Market customers to see it as they drove/walked by. I didn't advertise because it would have been $20 for one line for one day! Hey, I was just hoping to make $20. I made more than that though, about $90. Not too bad, but more importantly I got rid of a lot of stuff. I priced everything really low, because I did not want to have to bring everything right back in the house. I had a lot of boxes with free stuff and people seemed to enjoy that. I enjoyed it too and I'm already planning another sale for September. This one will feature a lot more art and I might advertise this one.

Is Your Moutarde Fresh?

Finally got around to making homemade mustard! Wasn't too tricky, but you do need a pretty good food processor to really blend all those little mustard seeds. Here's the recipe:


1 cup water
3 T lemon juice
3 T yellow mustard seeds
3 T brown mustard seeds
1/2 cup flour
2 cloves garlic
1 T salt (I used less)
1 T powdered sugar (I used Stevia, but agave nectar would be good too, I think)
1 T turmeric

Combine the water and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix in the 6 T of mustard seeds and let sit 8 hours or overnight. Empty the mixture into the food processor. Add flour, garlic, salt, sugar, and turmeric. Now blend!

It took awhile because the mustard seeds didn't seem to want to get blended. But, if you want your mustard to be spicy then leave those seeds chunky because they do have a bite!

I actually ended up leaving the chunky mustard in the fridge overnight to let the seeds soften more and then the next day I added a bit of vinegar and processed the mustard further and that did the trick.

It makes a big batch, which is great because we eat a lot of the yellow stuff here. It's especially great on Amy's California Burger served with tomatoes, bread, and hummus.

Moving Made Green?

 Wow! Check out this Eco-friendly option for packing and moving - without all that leftover cardboard!

Fortunately, this kind of company exists. Unfortunately, it's only in Orange County and LA! But I think this is fantastic! Especially those compostable "peanuts." I really hope this idea spreads and becomes something that is available to everyone! Check out their website, and let them know if you'd like to see them in your area!

Kill A Watt

I recently read about the Kill A Watt EZ Power Meter. In our Ameren Gas and Electric bill they always include a pamphlet about how to reduce energy costs. In one of the recent pamphlets it mentioned Ameren had donated these Kill A Watts to local libraries. To use it, plug it in to a 120-volt outlet then plug in an appliance you'd like to test. It will tell you how much it costs to run the appliance for a year, month, or day. It's amazing! Super informative and is definitely going to change my electricity habits. Here's what I found:

The Power Meter's default price is 10.7 cents per kWh, which is the price I used to test all the devices. All the prices are per month.

Laptop on and charging: $3.52/month
Laptop sleeping and charging: $2.77/month
Laptop off and charging: $1.95/month
Laptop off, not charging: $1.00/month

Cell phone charging: $.38

Fan set on level 1: $3.31
Fan set on level 2: $3.54
Fan set on level 3: $4.04

Lamp w/non energy saving bulb: $4.65
Lamp off and plugged in: $1.30
Lamp w/energy saving bulb: $1.07!!

Lamp w/non energy saving bulb: $5.39
Lamp w/ energy saving bulb: $2.00!!

Stereo (w/digital clock) not playing: $6.75
Stereo playing: $7.16

Microwave (w/digital clock) not running: $6.47

Air conditioner (yikes!) set at 72˚: $95.02!!
Air conditioner off: around $70.00, was gradually going down (but yikes!)

Power strip with TV, VCR, and router: $4.85 (seems like it should be more)

This was an eye opener! I was especially surprised by how big a difference there was once I changed the incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent ones (they use 2/3 less energy, produce less heat, and last 10x longer!). And the AC was a big surprise too! We've always tried to be smart about it though, turning it off at night and when we leave the house. But now we're going to have to unplug it too I think. At About.com it says the most energy efficient temperature to set your AC at is 78˚! That's 6˚ higher than what we usually have it on.

I think the bottom line of this experiment was to realize that devices can still draw energy even when they're turned off (known as "phantom loads"), like the stereo I always leave plugged in! According to the instructional booklet that came with the Kill A Watt "in the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off." I'm going to try to unplug things when they're not in use, especially my laptop; it has a battery for a reason!

A"mung" Friends

I recently took to sprouting some mung beans the other week. I rinsed the beans and placed them in an old olive jar and covered the lid with some cheesecloth. I rinsed them about every 8 to 12 hours. They started sprouting very quickly, and in about 2 days they were ready to refrigerate and eat! Check this site out for all things sprouts! http://sproutpeople.org/

Wheatgrass!

 Wheatgrass is my new favorite shot - and I definitely need a chaser with it. It's like slurping an entire lawn that's been covered in Splenda, but I'm really psyched about how healthy it is! Here's a post from Alicia Silverstone's website about it's benefits: 

http://www.thekindlife.com/post/ask-a-superhero-whats-up-with-wheatgrass

And I do feel better after I have it. Could be just a placebo effect, but whatever works!

Cloth Napkins

Ever sine we decided to stop buying paper towels and napkins, I've been on the lookout for some good quality cloth napkins that weren't more than $10 each (you're only wiping your mouth with 'em anyway!). Well, I finally realized I had the perfect kitchen towels for the job, I just had to cut them up and sew the edges. One towel equaled four napkins, so we have plenty now! They could also be used for handkerchiefs.

Green Juice

This morning I had my first ever green juice! It was not as bad as I expected, though certainly an acquired taste. I added a variety of veggies (all organic!) like spinach, kale, cucumber, and celery. I also added an apple, lemon, and a tiny piece of ginger. I filled a champagne glass with the cocktail to make it seem classier and I've been sipping it all morning.

The juicer we have is an Omega. I have no prior experience with juicers, but this one seems to do the trick. I recently checked out Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr from the library. Along with supporting a vegan diet she recommends eating mostly raw and swears by green juice. Apparently she drinks it morning, noon, and night. The book is actually one I'd consider buying since it's a great reference for anything to do with good nutrition.

Also, last night just by coincidence we watched a movie called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. We didn't know it before, but it was all about one man's journey of drinking nothing but juice for 60 days. Let me tell ya, he looked great in the end! Lost about 80 lbs in 2 months! He traveled across the US with a juicer in the trunk, talking to people about the challenge, and changing some minds on the way. Would definitely recommend it.

In a week or so we're going to attempt the 21 day challenge that is included in Kris Carr's book. It includes drinking a lot of green juice, cutting out gluten, and of course eliminating processed foods! Check back to see how it goes!

Homemade Almond Milk

I've been making almond milk for a while now, but I think I'm going to try to make it more often so I don't have to buy it at the store. That will be one less thing we have to recycle, plus the only ingredients in the homemade version are, you guessed it, almonds and water.

Almond Milk Recipe

1 cup raw almonds
4 cups water

Place almonds in a bowl and cover with water. Soak them overnight. The next day drain the almonds. Then you can choose to peel the almonds or leave the skins on. It's rather time consuming to peel all those almonds, but I do think the finished product looks more tempting. If you don't want to peel though, you'll definitely want to strain the liquid from the pulp once it's blended.

Place the almonds in the blender and add 2 cups of the water. Liquify! Then add the remaining 2 cups of water. Blend, strain, and enjoy! You can do this with other nuts and seeds too, like cashews and pepitas.

The Dryer is Dead

Yesterday, quite unexpectedly, our clothes dryer died. I think the over-sized comforter I put in there was just too much for it to handle. I had kind of been dreading the day when either the washer or dryer would go since we purchased both for $75 from the previous renters and they weren't exactly new when they had them installed.

At first I frantically jumped on Craigslist to find a new one. There are plenty out there, although most people are selling a washer and dryer together. There were some reasonable prices, but the hassle of the whole thing seemed such a burden; in little more than a year we will more than likely be moving out and lugging a washer and dryer to a new place seems too much trouble. And what if there's already a washer/dryer at our new place?

So for the time being we are excited to try air drying! I remember as a kid always having to hang clothes on the line for my mom. It was an annoying chore back then, but now it seems like such a novelty! Unfortunately until yesterday we did not have a clothesline. However, we did have one relic of a pole behind our garage cemented into the ground. It had hooks on it so all I had to do was buy some clothesline and a couple screw eyes. I screwed them into two adjacent trees and ran the line from the pole to the trees. Perfect!