What's More Important Than Your Child?

Nothing, I imagine!







I hope you'll take a moment to view this video from Healthy Child Healthy World and join their movement to use small steps to add up to a big change by avoiding toxic pesticides, using non-toxic products, cleaning up indoor air, eating healthy, and using alternatives to plastics.  


You can sign up to host a Healthy Home Party, find recipes, get quick tips, find helpful apps, and more!  I hope you enjoy this site as much as I did!

How to Grow Your Own Sprouts

Spring is here in the Florida Panhandle, and Spring always reminds me of sprouting.  Sure you can sprout anytime, but it seems ideal during the new life and hope that Spring offers.  I love sprouts!  I use them on top of my (veggie) burgers, and even make salads out of them.  They're also great on top of a stir-fry, or instead of lettuce in a taco.  The possibilities are endless!  Sprouts are really good for you too - read about just some of the benefits here!  

These sprouts are ready to eat!

If you haven't sprouted before, it's really easy!  I only sprout 1 tablespoon at a time, since it's just me eating them.  I also have a Easy Sprout Sprouter , which I highly recommend, but you can make your own with a glass jar and some cheesecloth if you'd like.  Sprouting seeds can usually be bought at your local health food store, or ordered online.

1. Put your seeds in the bottom of the jar, cover with plenty of filtered water, and soak overnight.  I think it's important to use organic seeds when you're sprouting, as well as the cleanest water you can get.
2. The next morning, drain the water (that's where the cheesecloth comes in - you can attach it over the mouth of the jar with a rubber band).  Rinse the seeds with fresh water and drain again, getting as much water out as possible.  
3. Continue the rinse/drain cycle every evening and morning for 3-5 days (depending on the temps in your house).  During this time I try to keep them out of the sunlight.  I sometimes give them an additional rinse/drain around noon.  
4. You'll know when they are ready when the leaves start to emerge (about 3 days) - I like to put them where they can get a little sunlight at this point!  This greens the leaves up, but don't let them get hot or sit in the sunlight for too long (usually a few hours on a sunny kitchen counter will do).  
5. After they are ready, I put the sprouts in a big bowl of water to get a lot of the hulls out.  Most of the hulls sink to the bottom.  The ones that float are pretty easy to scoop out.  
6. Drain the sprouts well and store in your fridge in a breathable container!  Enjoy!

Hulls of the sprouts left in the bowl - most fall to the bottom!

I hope you'll try sprouting if you never have before - they are tiny little powerhouses of nutrition!

A yummy sprout and apple salad

The container I use for sprouting.

"42 Ways to Recycle" Free eBook

This little book has some great ways to recycle old things into crafts!
It's divided into sections:  Paper, Plastic, Metal, Glass, Clothing, and Miscellaneous.

Here is the link to the PDF - once you go here, just save it to your computer!

They have a bunch of Easter crafts in there too!  I loved the bunny napkin rings!

Do you have a favorite recycling craft?

Who Said A Green Kitchen Is A Boring Kitchen?

Thanks to Veronica Davis for today's guest post!

The kitchen is the room which produces the most waste and uses the most energy in the house. It can easily become the room which brings the most harm to the environment. This doesn’t mean that you have to do away with a kitchen you love, though. Make it a green kitchen.

Going green for many people will bring the image of a boring way of living. Well, some green advocates have not made it since they make going green seem like living in a jungle. However, going green simply implies doing what you do everyday without harming the environment. This article will discuss some of the green methods you can use for your kitchen. They are fun - even for moms who want to keep up with the latest kitchen trends.

Read more »

Recycle! Thursday's Eco Tip

After you've reduced buying and reused everything you can, it's time to recycle.  Some things are easy.  Here, we have curbside pick-up of paper, cans, and glass.  Other things, however can be a lot more difficult.  Electronics, clothing, and household goods can be a lot more difficult to get rid of.  Here are some resources to help!

• Gazelle:  Gazelle will take your used electronic devices off of your hands and pay for them!  They even send you a box with a free shipping label to make it super-easy for you.  All you have to do is enter the brand, model, and condition of the item you're looking to get rid of and they'll make you an offer.  They also have a great list of local recyclers for anything that they won't take.   
• Craigslist:   I use Craigslist all of the time to get rid of things that we no longer want.  Simply post it in the Free section and wait to hear back.  If you're uncomfortable with having someone meet you at your house, you can always meet at a public area nearby.  This is a great way to get rid of bushes, trees, and other plants you no longer want as well!  
• Thredup:  Have children's clothes or toys that are still in good shape but your child has outgrown?  For $5 plus shipping you can trade your box of clothes for someone else's.  Boxes are rated by users to keep people honest, and you can often find great introductory offers for this company online.  
• Donate it:  Most areas have tons of thrift stores, and many of them will even pick your things up if you have a lot!  Vietnam Veterans of America is one group, but there are many others as well!
• Freecycle:  Similar to Craigslist, list anything you want to give away here and wait to be contacted.  They also send out daily e-mails if you want to sign up for them.  

How do you like to recycle?

Thrifty Tuesday - Make Your Own Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags!

When I saw this I knew I just had to share it with you!  I love the idea of reusable snack and sandwich bags, but they are awfully expensive to buy.  Living a Frugal Life has posted a great tutorial on how to make these snack bags yourself!  I love the idea of using the ripstop fabric.

If you have an interest in making your own snack bags, check out her blog for the easy instructions!

Thursday's Eco-Tip: Reuse!

In my life I constantly try to live by the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra.  It's better for the environment, my wallet, and my sanity!

This year I've been focusing on the reduce part - do I really need to buy that?  Will I use it a lot or will it go by the wayside shortly?  This is where our Two Year Rule came to being.  I was amazed how much money we saved once we cut out impulse buying!

Once you've succeeded in reducing what you buy, the next step is to find ways to reuse what you have.  See something you want?  Look around your house and see if you have something already that can do the job just as well.  

Here is a recent reuse I've started using.  Living in Florida, it's hard to keep your potted plants alive during the summer.  It rarely rains, and the days are hot!  If you aren't good at consistently watering, you're plants will be dead before you know it!  So what is the solution?  Wine bottles!

Fill a wine bottle up with water, and then shove it down into your pot - instant aquaglobe for free!  If you don't drink wine, I'm sure you can use other kinds of bottles, or get some bottles from a friend who does.

What are some ways you reuse?

Thursday’s Eco-Tip: Reduce (Our Two Year Rule)

One of the best things we can do to help the Environment is reduce the amount of “Stuff” we buy.  Of course, that is easier said than done!  So often, we buy things without even thinking about it.  Those things clutter up our lives, and really don’t make us any happier.  It’s something else to keep up with or take care of, and it takes up space.  If you’ve never watched the video “The Story of Stuff”, I encourage you to watch it! 

Fortunately for us, a few years ago my husband and I both ended up without jobs, so saving money became a priority to us.  During this time, we developed the “Two Year Rule”.  The rule worked so well, we decided to continue using it even after we got through our financial crunch.  It’s really saved us from buying things that we didn’t really need, or things that would no longer be used after a short period of time. 

So what is the Two Year Rule?  Every time we want to buy something, we ask ourselves, “Is this something I want to pack up and move two years from now?”  If not, then we probably don’t really need it or want it, so we don’t get it.  Not only is this good for the environment, but it’s good for your wallet as well! 

The other great thing about this rule is that it doesn’t limit “experience” type spending.  Once our finances were back in order and we weren’t spending so much money on “stuff”, we realized that we had a lot of money to spend on experiences – eating at local restaurants, visiting local attractions, and taking short trips.  These things have given us so much more joy than stuff would have! 

How do you reduce what you consume??

Thursday's Eco-Tip

Kick your bottled water habit!

Image from Wiki

Over the years, the bottled water industry has become so successful in America that beer and soda are the only drinks Americans drink more of!  Not only is bottled water expensive, costing a thousand times what tap water costs, it usually isn’t any safer or cleaner than tap water.  The actual bottles can be dangerous as well, especially if left in the heat or used more than once.  Additionally, a lot of valuable resources are used transporting and cooling bottled water.

So what to do?  Invest in a good filter for your faucet at home, and buy some reusable bottles.  Just be sure that if you get a plastic reusable bottle it is BPA-free!  This initial investment will save you a lot of money in the long run as you kick the bottled water habit. Want to learn more?  Check out this article for more information.