Known to her fans as the Kitchen Pantry Scientist, she’s a blogger-scientist-garage band singer who, in her own words, is “culturing more germs than ever” as a mom of three.
We love that her blog encourages parents to open up the pantry and stir up some practical science with their kids. Just watching her demo on how to make Window Sprouts will make you understand why your kitchen can be a lab for a fun and valuable lesson too.
As Liz writes: “Our world has become too sterile and disconnected from nature. Like plants, we need dirt, sunshine, fresh air and clean water to survive. Who cares about a few bugs? So try planting a few bean and pea sprouts in plastic bags to show your kids how sunshine and water can make a plant sprout! Find your inner farmer and let your children find theirs—organic food is cheap when you grow it yourself!”
And besides, who doesn’t love watching a Sprout grow?
I’m so sick of all the waste that’s invading my mailbox. How many versions of the same catalogs and sneaky credit card offers can one address take?
According to the Do Not Mail campaign, junk mail in the United States accounts for one-third of all the mail delivered in the world. That’s just plain crazy.
Ready to give your mailbox a makeover? So am I. Click here and watch.
To reclaim your mailbox, start by registering at the Direct Marketing Association, then start pulling your name off the marketers’ lists.
I love my dog. But not enough to cook for him (though he’s a pretty sly high chair snatcher at mealtimes). So I figure the least I can do is buy him the good stuff – tasty gourmet treats. We switched from regular chow to a variety of organic goodies—like Sojos, which are all-natural nutritional nuggets baked at MN-based Sojourner Farms. Let’s just say, Buster wasn’t complaining.
If you remove the additives and synthetic flavors found in many standard pet foods out of your pet’s diet, you might start to see improvements to his digestion, a reduction in allergy symptoms, and a better energy level. Here’s another selling point: Going organic conditions a dog’s coat and skin - which can prevent non-seasonal shedding (good news for my house!). Try Bone Adventure and UrbAnimal for their organic meal and treat selections.
Does it get any better than a guy in costume who calls himself “the beast” delivering pizza out of a futuristic looking car? Well, yes it does.
Galactic pizza, one of our go-tos at the office, has a vision of the future that incorporates as many socially beneficial actions into their day-to-day operations as possible. To GP, good pizza and good values go hand in hand.
A preview: The food is delivered using 100% electric vehicles. All of the power purchased to run the restaurant is renewable wind energy. All of their mozzarella cheese comes from cows not treated with rBGH. 5% of their pre-tax profits are donated to charity. For more on their do-gooder resume, click here.
There’s a really easy way to help save our country from tossing 16 billion paper cups a year: Bring your own mug. I’ve decided to join the growing revolution that coffee houses across the country are starting to honor because I’ve made it a habit—just like my morning caffeine fix—and because it keeps my drink nice and hot.
Once you have your insulated mug of choice, a few quick tips: know the size of your mug (12 oz = small at most coffee shops; 16 oz = medium; 20 oz = large), and make sure to add your own sugar or milk ahead of time so that your hot drink doesn’t overflow.
The bonus? Some coffee shops, like Dunn Bros. (where this Vlog was filmed), offer a little kickback for people who remember to BYOM. All you have to do is remember to leave your coffee cup in a spot you’ll remember (car cup holder, work desk, diaper bag) for the next time you fill up.
For more tips on BYOMing, check out these articles from Ecomii and Planet Green.
Is it the weighing machine that intimidates? Or the fact that you have to put the price tag on a grocery item yourself? Whatever it is that prevents you from buying in bulk, you’re in good company (I wasn’t so sure myself until recently). But let me make the case for pulling the lever.
According to the Bulk is Green Council, bulk foods provide a savings to the consumer of 30% to 60% (think about how much packaging and promotion costs + do the math). You can choose exactly what you need, like a smidgen of a random spice or the right amount of oats for your granola—as opposed to excess you’ll never use. And you can be sure no wasteful packaging ends up in a landfill (where millions of tons of waste is generated annually from discarded packages and containers).
Plus, I personally think pulling those levers for rice, sugar, granola, chocolate peanut butter drops (our office favorite), etc, is fun! Just watch me.
For more information on the benefits of bulk buying, CLICK on this great article from Linden Hills Co-op.
Who in their right mind would run a ceiling fan in winter, you ask? Why that would be me, thank you very much. I recently learned that flipping the switch on my fans so that they run clockwise helps distribute heat that gets trapped near the ceiling, which in turn means no more need to run the heater at full blast. {In the warmer months, fans should run counterclockwise for the opposite effect.} Sources say doing this might cut my energy use by as much as 10%. Such a brilliant reinvention of a traditional home fixture: A fan for all seasons!
For more info on installing and using ceiling fans, and generally cutting your energy bills,CLICK HERE.
The United States cuts down millions of trees every year to supply the demand for paper shopping bags. And don’t even get us started on plastic bags… But just so you know, the average reusable bag has the lifespan of over seven hundred disposable plastic bags (!) For more motivating facts, check out ReuseThisBag.com
I think most of us can agree that those stylish totes at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and other metro grocers, are the best way to go {the build-up of paper bags in my pantry alone is enough to ditch ‘em entirely}, but how many of us have purchased a few only to forget them at checkout? Good intentions, but lack ofpractice {and a million other things on our minds}.
Watch this video and you’ll see my substitute for the string-around-the-finger trick. “There’s my reusable bag. Right. Bring it into store. Right…”
Get the most out of that stack of paper plates that someone brought to your last party. Rather than recycling them after one measly meal, this brilliant idea from a brilliant preschool teacher we know will burn off some pent-up steam + keep those plates in perpetual motion. The only piece to this craft project is some tape to strap on your “skates.”
Well, sort of. First let me say that this is my first attempt at Vlogging (yet another strange new millenium verb). I figured there were a few things that might be more fun to watch than to read—so now and then you’ll see me in action (and maybe even learn something).
Now to my claim that Composting is Cake. At first I thought, boy oh boy, another waste management system to contend with. But now I’m hooked, and still can’t believe how much less garbage I produce. The process is super easy for me because my neighborhood has a curbside organics collection program that was launched in ‘08, thanks to the organization Linden Hills Power & Light.
All I do is collect my kitchen scraps in a stainless steel compost bin purchased at LH Natural Home; then when it fills up, I dump the stuff into a green cart outside my door. That cart goes out with my recycling once a week and the compost-to-be gets picked up and taken to an offsite processing facility where it eventually turns into rich soil. How sweet is that?
Just like city recycling programs eventually became the norm, I’m hoping more neighborhoods in the metro adopt organics collection programs. Take it from me: Composting is even easier than dividing up your bottles, cans, and cardboard.
For more on what you can and can’t compost + to learn about how this program works, CLICK HERE.
