Saw this on Pintrest and thought it was cute.  Although not all of these are true for me, a bunch are.  

Compost!

I am, at heart, a dirty tree hugging kind of girl.  Despite my love of technology, efficiency and comfort, i really do care about the environment and love my garden.  Although i am insanely in love with my town's single stream recycling policy, we still generate 2-3 bags of trash per week when we're not being careful or do a real clean of things.  I try to buy recycled products, and pay attention to the Reduce & Reuse parts too, but there are always spots we can improve on.

So this weekend, after wanting an fancy and expensive composter for several years, i said screw it.

Thanks to Pintrest, we followed this method, and for the price of a plastic tote, now have a compost bin ready to take our food scraps and turn them into happy dirt.

We also now have an airtight plastic bin labelled 'compost' on the kitchen counter as well.  I'm hoping with it in eyesight we'll be good about using (and emptying) it.  So far we've added a banana peel, some tomato scraps, kale stems and the ends to some asparagus.

This weekend we also picked up a recycle bucket for the dear husband's office, to encourage him to recycle paper from bills and and the like, but also the plastic italian ice cups he loves during the summer months and other things that can be recycled.  I think one of the most important steps in greening your life is creating systems that make it easy.  If it means more buckets than so be it!

Refrigerator Tea

It's summer.  OK, maybe technically not for a few more weeks, but it's summer here in Connecticut.  And in the summer, i love iced tea.  Lately especially, as i've been looking to drink more water, drink less soda and not add calories.  Unsweetened iced tea has become my go-to for dining out, but making it at home is a time consuming process (although VERY delicious!) and heats up our kitchen.

Enter Refrigerator Tea!  The actual time involved is mere minutes (filling a mason jar and adding tea bags), although the wait time is 6-12 hours.  It's really, really easy and very good.

Step 1.  Grab a mason jar and fill it with water.
Step 2.  Add some teabags.  Let the tabs dangle outside the jar, don't stick them in the water.
Step 3.  Close the lid.
Step 4.  Stick it in the fridge and wait 6-12 hours.
Step 5.  Enjoy!

I suggest using 1-2 teabags per cup of tea, depending on the strength you enjoy and how long it sits.  I plan on experimenting soon with adding some flavors for even more delicious soon!

SnackTaxi

Just a quick little post today.

My friend Michy bought me two SnackTaxi sacks, one sandwich sized, one snack sized.  Snack Taxi sacks are essentially reusable sandwich baggies.  With fun fabric designs on the outside and a nylon coating on the inside, they can be used over and over.  They are safe for the washing machine (though i often just turn mine inside out and use a sponge).  They have a velcro flap that allows for a fair amount of give in packing.

Snack Taxi's (CNBC/Snack Taxi)

As part of my plan to get healthier, i've been religiously bringing fruits and veggies to eat at work, and using these bags all the time.  For some reason i couldn't find one this morning and i had to use a regular ziploc style bag.

It made me realize how much i love the reusable bags!  It felt so wasteful to use a regular baggy!

The cost of the sandwich sized bags are around $9.  According to Target, a box of 225 Ziploc baggies is around $6, so depending on how often you use it, it may take a year or  more to be financially more worthwhile, however environmentally the results add up more quickly.  Also, your lunch looks more fun, how cool is that?

Eating the Moment, Activity 4 - Cravings Essay

Having learned what hunger feels like, i now get to work on identifying cravings.

I kind of assumed that i'd be writing this about some thing specific.  Wanting french fries or candy or something particular.  Instead it was a craving to eat due to being tired and a little low.

As i drove home from Springfield i felt false-hunger.  I wanted something comforting, and the idea of grabbing something crossed my mind.  I looked at the clock and it was well after 9PM, but i had eaten a delicious meal of salad and stir fry a few hours ago.  I thought about my hunger essay (as i was driving and couldn't read it per the book's directions!) and asked if i felt the same way as when i was hungry.  The answers over and over were no, other than feeling tired.  Well, my plan was to take a shower and go to bed, solving that issue right quick, so why did i need food?

That's when i looked harder at my day and realized i was having an emotional craving, looking for that comfort that food brings.

Yesterday was a strangely full day.  A little time with Duncan in the morning, followed by a walk, lunch with the engineer girls, time with my folks & brother and then a trip to Olympus for dinner and TV shows about the Amish.  It also involved some sadder moments - Duncan leaving for the week, changes in the lives of the engineer girls, and seeing Grandma's house empty in preparation for the closing this week.

I thought about what i wanted - salty or fried, startchy, and doubted it would of been sated with a salad the same way my hunger had been.  I wanted the specific feelings from carbohydrates and fats, unlike hunger which just wanted food.

Cravings aren't good or bad, but they are a signal of something, physical or emotional.  If i take a moment to examine them, rather than just react, i can make better choices.  Sometimes i may really want something, and that's ok!  I'm not bad for wanting a cheeseburger!  And i'm not a good person if i deny myself candy!  It's about making conscious choices about my food, which is much more important for me to learn.

Next up will be playing Craving Detective, and tracking what i crave and when/why.  Sorry this is all so food/weight/crazy oriented lately.