Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!
If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.
This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:
We've had two unique challenges over the last couple of weeks. During the first week, we prepared and ate a vegan meal. I've been vegan for awhile so that one was easy. But it did remind me that living green is often about small changes; in this case, switching just one meal from animal-based foods to plant-based foods. Some people shared recipes and tips ... check them out:
Week two asked that we consider human rights in terms of the environment. I thought about our right to fresh air, clean water and safe food ... and how not everyone in the world enjoys those rights. I thought about the right to provide for our families and how people in the rain forest often must choose between the environment or food on their table. I also thought about being a citizen of the earth and whether that, in itself, gives us the right to determine how land is used. The topic is complex but got me thinking about the environment in a different way.
The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.
CelloMom shared this, "Try Elana's Pantry for a collection of great recipes: all gluten free, many vegan, all very good for you. http://www.elanaspantry.com/ Seasonal idea: try a simple kale soup (kale, onions, garlic, salt & pepper, blended to a pleasing smoothness), poured over slices of butter-sauté'd apples and pecans arranged artistically on the bottom of the soup bowl."
Argentum Vulgaris accepted our vegan meal challenge and enjoyed Gnocchi with a homemade tomato and herb sauce. Mmm! Change the World Wednesday – 9th Oct includes an update on his little red chillies. He also wrote a very thoughtful post on health and our right to know what's in our food ... you can read that HERE.
Doesn't Vegan Black Bean and Squash Chili sound good? That recipe and several CTWW posts were included in this edition of McBride’s Organic Farm Daily. Several more delicious recipes, and CTWW, showed up HERE.
The Sustainable Education Initiative included a CTWW post ... was it yours? This EDITION gave CTWW a nice mention.
I tweeted about one of your posts and Tweets for Good picked it up.
Welcome back to Sarah ... and CONGRATULATIONS on your marriage!! Sarah says, "Hello again! I used to frequent CTWW but fell away, but I am back! I love the weekly challenges, they make them so manageable! If you haven't, you should check out Project Green Challenge - it is a month long challenge similar to CTWW for high school and college students. I participated in it two years ago and was a finalist. I am evaluating how my changes have lasted on my brand new blog: http://mylifeasaprovowife.blogspot.com/" By the way, Sarah, I tried to visit your new blog but couldn't get in. :-(
Katie shared a recipe for Red Curry Vegetables with Basil ... oh yum!
On the day that Lois wrote this POST, she had a pumpkin pudding in the crock pot (pumpkin from her garden, tofu and pumpkin spices). She also shared several of her favorite vegan recipes from around the web. My Sisters Pantry (http://mysisterspantry.wordpress.com/) is her "go to" site for delicious inspiration. In Change the World Wednesday, Blog Action Day she talks about education ... it's a thoughtful post on the idea of teaching kids to be good stewards of the earth.
Aimee (aka EcoGrrl) accepted the challenge. She says, "Done - and actually I made today 100% vegan & GF with the "Rogue Oatmeal" and almond-hemp milk hot cocoa from Prasad (http://www.prasadcuisine.com/#!menu/c24tf) and then for lunch had the "Black Market Hash" at Radio Room (http://www.radioroompdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2013_Main_Menu_Web.pdf). Tonight I'm having the last of my batch of kale & white bean soup for dinner - YUM! (Included menu links so you can see the cool stuff they offer and how many PDX places code for vegan, veg, and GF) :) " Portland continues to impress!!
@HerbGir1972 offered this edition of Greening it Forward ‘Daily’ for CTWW ... there's information about herbs, vitamins and maintaining a healthy "gut". She also gave us a nice mention in TEAM ESS. And finally, @HerbGirl972 included CTWW in Sunflowers & Edibles.
Mrs. Green took on the vegan challenge and whipped up a delicious lunch of veggies, chick peas, tomatoes, rice and avocado. Read Mrs Green eats a vegan lunch for more about that and a link to her recipe for kale and pea soup. She also wrote Can a minimalist and a hoarder live in harmony?, an interesting article about respect, compromise and de-cluttering.
Alicia accepted the vegan challenge. In her words, "This one is really easy for us since we pretty much eat vegan most of the time.One of our favorites is vegan Lasagna with a great salad on the side with homemade Italian dressing. I make this dressing using the herbs from our herb garden. I have recently discovered an awesome Vegan "cheese" sauce made from soaked raw cashews, nutritional yeast and lemon juice and spices. You will think it is actual cheese sauce. It really does taste that good. We love having it over broccoli and cauliflower. I also found a vegan recipe for raw almond joy bars this week. Made them yesterday and they are so good!! My husband said that they tasted just like the Almond Joy bars from the store but even better! It really isn't hard at all to have awesome Vegan meals, salads and desserts. Most everyone that eats the foods we prepare love it and ask for the recipes. I am getting ready to do a blog post on some of the recipes that have been a big hit at our house lately."
If you're looking for excellent vegan recipes, check out Cooking #Vegan. Raw Carrot Soup ... Mizuna, Quinoa and Pear Salad ... Blackberry Coconut Bars ... oh yeah!
Melanie shares a modified version of Yellow Curry in Change the World Wednesday- Vegan Recipes. She also shares several of her favorite recipes from around the web and points out that while they might not be written as vegan, they can be easily transformed to vegan.
Kaye wrote a very thoughtful post for Blog Action day entitled Human rights and the environment – do trees have rights?. It's an interesting idea; one worth considering. What do you think?
James stopped by and says, "Great stuff! I'm pretty appreciative that you're posting these on a weekly basis!" Thanks, James ... I appreciate your comment!
ArtisansintheAndes joined us and shares, "I am taking part in blog action day! See http://www.theearthfriendlyfamily.com/consumers-responsible-ethical-fashion/ Thanks for your encouragement!" It's a wonderful post on ethical fashion and consumers' responsibility.
Are you familiar with Malala Yousafzai? She stood up for the right of girls to go to school in Pakistan and was shot by the Taliban regime. In Education is a Human Right, Cat offers us a video ... a poignant account of Malala's story and the importance of education.
What about our right to clean air ... and our responsibility to make it happen? That's what Lisa writes about in 10 Steps to Cleaner Air.
Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:
From @VeganBeat
- Love this idea of making the world a better place with everyday choices. The world is what you make it, eh?
From @KrmbalClothing
- good one this week, we've been consciously trying to cut down on dairy in our meals at home for a bit now
- but we don't have any strict rules - it feels easier to make the change then :)
From @GiveTreeGifts
- One of our favorite fall vegan meals is spaghetti squash with a lovely homemade, meatless tomato sauce
- It can be dangerous to cut in half raw, so instead I now make tiny incisions with a knife & roast it whole then cut - safer
- Last night, our vegan meal was stir fry with veggies from the farmer's market, served with organic brown rice #CTWW
- TLC Cooking "10 Vegan Recipes for Fall" ow.ly/pE4mW
- Hearty Fall Vegetarian Recipes - Hearty Vegetarian Recipes for Fall ow.ly/pE4rm
- 41 Easy Vegetarian Recipes ow.ly/pE4DF
- Top 10 Health Benefits of Eating Kale ow.ly/pE4Xp I include Kale in my daily "green" nutri bullet shakes & I feel awesome!
- We've definitely changed R thinking about eating veggies for breakfast. It's amazing how gr8 you feel. Satisfied & energized
- United Nations Mandate on Human Rights and the Environment http://t.co/GpX0cDRhvH #CTWW
- What is the Human Right to A Safe and Healthy Environment? http://t.co/9GfIm1jYu5
- World Food Day: October 16, 2013 - Join #Oxfam and Host a Meal http://t.co/CtxvofBISs
From @rulesofgreen
- #CTWW my walk with a purpose; we volunteered for an elderly home and took them for a walk around the block today pic.twitter.com/cvdcwl3G57
From @ArtisansAndes
- Make my pumpkin puree from scratch rather than using canned, processed, shipped goods
From @LindaAckman
- instead of spraying TOXIN'S in your house for freshness, Sprinkle carpets with baking soda ~ pour another coffee ~ vacuum!
From @CelloMomOnCars
- The season of mellow fruitfulness: Vat of pasta sauce, tomatoes from the CSA. Vegan.
From @HerbGir1972
- Our #CTWW goal this week #Vegan Meals for 7 days. if you do something 10 times in a row it becomes habit #Hope
From @allnaturalkatie
- OPEN YOUR EYES! Interesting view of the industrial food system. http://t.co/tCm2nfXDsz @allnaturalkatie #CTWW
- Wordless Wednesday: #Rotten #Fruit http://t.co/jnDTHbjnXO #CTWW @allnaturalkatie #compost #gardening #kitchen #food #waste
The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:
My Final Thoughts:
I'm going to focus my final thoughts on human rights and the environment. I take a lot for granted ... when I turn on the faucet, I get clean drinkable water. When I walk outside I breathe clean air. In the supermarket, I expect to find organic food which is safe and free from chemicals ... I also expect our farmer's market to be full of produce grown by local farmers. I take for granted that there are public spaces available for my enjoyment and that I can experience all that nature offers us. I can, and do, actively work to protect my home, the earth. Are these things my right? I believe that they are ... that they are the rights of any citizen of the earth. But they aren't freely given ... we must fight for them. That, too, is our right.
Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.
This Week's Challenge:
This week's challenge is inspired by 5 Ways BPA Affects Your Health (And How to Avoid it), an informative post about this toxin and its affects on our health. Here's your challenge:
This week ban BPA from your life. Need some ideas? Avoid canned foods, including prepared soups, vegetables, sauces, soda and beer. Don’t microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Say no to printed receipts; they contain BPA.
OR ...
If you live in a country which bans BPA (Canada and Europe both ban this toxin), then please consider other ways to ensure food safety in your home. For example, defrost food in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature (which encourages the growth of harmful bacteria). Take a look at your pots and pans and make plans to replace any, which may leach chemicals into your food, with safe cookware like cast iron or stainless steel (here's a hint ... any coated pans or "non stick" varieties are unsafe). Avoid packaged, pre-cut produce which may be washed in a solution containing chlorine.
If you live in a country which bans BPA (Canada and Europe both ban this toxin), then please consider other ways to ensure food safety in your home. For example, defrost food in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature (which encourages the growth of harmful bacteria). Take a look at your pots and pans and make plans to replace any, which may leach chemicals into your food, with safe cookware like cast iron or stainless steel (here's a hint ... any coated pans or "non stick" varieties are unsafe). Avoid packaged, pre-cut produce which may be washed in a solution containing chlorine.
This week we're tackling food safety. Are you with me?
Until next time ...
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!