Step #5: Less is More!

Less is More! No artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, or preservatives EVER!

Our “foods” today are riddled with artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners. Many ingredients we can’t even pronounce. Ingredients who owe their existence to laboratories and chemical reactions versus dirt, water and sunshine.

Did you know that even refrigerated biscuits have food coloring in them? I didn’t either. Makes you wonder what color those white fluffy biscuits were before they added Red #40.

Here's a recap on the "more" you would do better without:
Artificial Preservatives: Sulfites, Sulfates, Nitrites, Nitrates, BHT, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Artificial Sweeteners: Saccharin, Splenda & Aspartame. Sorbitol, Manitol, and Xylitol are sugar alcohols-there is a bit of controversy on these. I'll let you decide. As for me...I'll pass on those.

Food Color: FDC # any

Hormones: rbGH

Partially hydrogenated oils

We may not be able to fully control what's in the food we eat at restaurants, at someone else's home, or unfortunately at school, but we can decide what stocks our own refrigerators and pantries.

Why We Don't Recycle

Yesterday I made "Baked Beans" in the Crockpot. YUMMY-must share recipe in another Blog. They were a big hit with the family. I used canned pinto beans and I confess, I threw the cans in the trash. I am not a big fan of recycling cans in the summer because ants here in the South can be a REAL nuisance. However, my conscience immediately got the best of me and I pulled them back out. I rinsed them and in the process, my finger grazed the sharp edge of one can and I cut my finger. OUCH! Pause...continue cooking as all moms do.

Later that night, I reached in my purse for something and caught that finger in the same spot and re-opened the wound. OUCH again!

Funny a small cut can cause so much pain. I said to my husband, "this doesn't help the cause of recycling any. If I had left the cans in the trash I wouldn't have cut my finger. Now I could get an infection, lose my finger and never play tennis again. All because I recycled a few cans".

Ok, so I'm exaggerating but it is those moments of irritation and inconvenience that do stop us from acting on our good intentions. I say all this to say, YOU my friend are not alone. There are Everyday Organics all around you trying to fight the good fight against needless waste. Hang in there, your efforts are not in vain. Recycle On!

25 Minutes and Counting

The first thing to run through my mind this morning as I opened my eyes was, "It's Thursday, I can WATER THE PLANTS!" I practically fell out of bed, then threw my hair in a pony-tail and snuck out the door while the rest of the gang slumbered away. Somehow I managed to get flip-flops on.

AAAH I love that time of day. I took a deep breath of fresh morning air and then surveyed the job. According to my county's water restrictions, I had 25 minutes to water everything in sight. Yikes!

I started with the Leyland Cypress since they're the only privacy we have on one side-can't lose a single one of those babies. From there I moved to the Holly Bushes, Laurel, Clematis, Peach tree, Hostas, and oh ya...the flowers on the patio.

That was alot to get done in 25 minutes and have ya noticed they cut the water pressure? I saw an announcement online yesterday congratulating my county for 20% less water use. Ya, that's cuz you decreased the pressure 20%. Hey, I wonder if our water bills will be 20% less...let's not push it.

GARAGE SALES!!!

It’s Garage Sale Season Again!!

Think about this: every time we buy something from a garage sale, we’re keeping that item from hitting the landfill. Not only that, each item we buy second hand, instead of new, prevents yet one more of that product from being manufactured and shipped to a retailer.

So get out there, hit those garage sales and save the Earth!

Another Easy Go Green!

Step #4: Introduce 1-3 new foods per week

Making fewer changes at once will make it easier to stick with your new healthy lifestyle. It will also make it easier on the budget.

Where did I start? With the things we consumed the most of. At the time, it was milk and meat so I started there. Then moved to fruits and vegetables and then to snacks and condiments (still not perfect on those). As far as body products, well, that's a work in progress I'll tell you. Bit by bit we are getting there. The job market hasn't helped our healthy endeavors either but little by little we continue to make progress. Oh ya and green cleaners you make yourself are CHEAP and easy so nothing should stop you from that. I have a spray bottle with 1/2 water and 1/2 white vinegar. I use that for anything I would have used window cleaner for. Baking soda is what I use to scrub the sinks and toilets. Pour in some vinegar after to disinfect and you're good to go.

My Confession

For Lu's end of the year party, I was assigned to bring in sausage. This morning as I was carrying in the crock pot trying to keep them warm, I thought, "I wonder how many people are gonna ask, think, or assume these are all organic, hormone/antibiotic free sausages". OK, I did it. I went to the store and bought the 2/$5.00 sausages and you can tell by the price, they weren't organic. I confess. It's hard enough to feed my own family organically let alone a classroom of 9 year olds who will be eating colored donuts at the same time. I'm sorry if it seems hypocritical but let's remember we are striving to be Everyday Organics so we do the best we can each day...even if it's not perfect.

AAAAAAAA, I feel much better now!

Oh ya, one more thing: I did eat some...

Against School Policy to Recycle

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? It's the end of the school year and I was in volunteering with all the last minute details. I heard a teacher say "I'm going to throw these out" as she holds up the largest three-ring binder I have ever seen FILLED with paper. I said, as I was chocking in shock, "Can I recycle those?". Ya, it was said: "I wish I could give these to you, but it's against school policy." I can't believe it. What ARE we teaching these kids? All I can think this does is create more wasteful Americans? And you know, if it's against school policy to give retired curriculum to a parent, fine, YOU recycle it. But no, it's much easier to throw it in the trash.

Well, that's ok though b/c next year, I'm ALL over it. They're either gonna love me or hate me. By the way, I have a meeting set up with the mayor of my city on Wednesday. One of the things I will be addressing is why we can't get .3 mile (yes, just 3 tenths of a mile) of sidewalk completed on my street so we can actually walk somewhere and leave our cars parked. Alright, enough griping. I'll save that energy to get things done!