Earth Day Action

 

Happy Earth Day, all! Today is the day where we celebrate our planet and pledge to take better care of it from today forward. Now what? Should we save the whales? Should we chain ourselves to trees in the rainforest to keep them from being cut down? Or maybe we should all buy electric cars to reduce our emissions? If you can do all of that, go for it! For a lot of us, we feel that if we can't make a large-scale change then we can't contribute as much as that millionaire who sold his mansion to live in a green cottage in the woods.  But the truth is, we can all make a difference. We just need to set achievable goals.  I think that pretty much applies to anything in life, like losing weight and saving money.

My goals are ones that I've thought about for a while: composting, switching my products over to cruelty-free ones, and being more conscious of my electricity use.  Although, I wish I could run to every circus and zoo and free the animals into the wild, I just don't think I have the resources to shuttle elephants from Seattle to Africa.

My 3 goals are ones that I know I can achieve if I put in a little effort. As you know, I've already started composting. I've been working on switching over my products to animal-friendly ones over the last couple weeks (more on that later) and it's been another easy change that I should have done a long time ago. I am terrible about my electricity use. My husband gets on my case for it too.  However, he's the type who'll sit in the house all day without a light on while he's working and struggle to see his monitor.  But I've decided to take a tip from his book and be a little more conscious. There's no need for me to leave lights on while I take a nap or while I'm not in the room.

The point that we should keep in mind is that although we have huge problems on our planet that need to be fixed, we can't get overwhelmed because that will only hurt the process and make us feel discouraged. Each of us can make a wide-scale difference if we all make small changes that are feasible.  Happy Greening! =) 

Organic Green Juice

There are several green juice recipes floating around out there...some with pears, others with mint leaves, or even parsley.  You really have to try different combinations and see what works for you. I happen to like this recipe a lot. It's full of nutrients and tastes great. When I juice consistently, I notice my skin looks brighter, my hair doesn't fall out as much, and I have a lot more energy.  I just feel better when I juice. Also, it really helps me ward off any cold or flu viruses floating around in the air by strengthening my immune system. Vitamin supplements are ok to replenish the body's nutrients, but if you can get them from food, it's even better!

You will need a juicer for this recipe.  I use this Breville version.  It is really easy to clean and I can even wash everything in the dishwasher.  You can also make this into a smoothie with a blender if you like by blending the ingredients with some coconut water.  Fiber from smoothies is super beneficial to heart and digestive health.


You want to try to drink this within a day or 2 of making it. Store it in the fridge until you're ready to enjoy.  It's highly perishable and the longer you wait, the less nutrients you get from it. Also, it just starts tasting weird if you wait too long to drink it!

Play around with your own variations to find a taste you love! I usually opt for organic ingredients for my recipe, too. And, when I'm done, I toss the pulp into my compost bin to do a little something nice for the environment. (More on that later!)

Ingredients:
-2-3 handfuls of organic spinach
-2-3 handfuls of organic kale
-3 organic green apples (any variety works)
-1 organic cucumber
-2 large stalks of organic celery
-1 inch cube of organic ginger root, peeled
-1 organic lemon, peeled

Directions:
-First, juice the spinach and kale. (Since they are leafy, they can sometimes get stuck in the juicer. I find juicing them first helps ensure they get fully juiced after juicing the other fruits and veggies.)
-Juice the apples.
-Add the ginger root then lemon and juice. (You want the ginger root weighted down by the lemon to prevent it from flying all over in the chute and never really getting juiced.)
-Finish by juicing the cucumber and celery. (Adding them last really "washes" out the juicer since they have the high water content.)

Serves 2