Trash Report

No pictures but I did want to share my trash from today:

- a paper napkin from the restaurant I ate at (forgot to bring my own rag)
- chopsticks and its wrapper
- string cheese wrapper (cheese...my weakness snack at work)
- ice cream sandwich wrapper (my other current weakness. I buy them from the ice cream men or the local corner markets...I KNOW!)

My other waste consisted of veggie scraps which I tossed into my compost pile.

Not so bad but I can definitely cut out the snacking...for diet/health sake and to avoid wrapper waste.

World Vegetarian Week

It's World Vegetarian Week so eat your vegetables and tofu, kids! Not a vegetarian? Why not take the 7-Day Go Veg Challenge! Try it out, experiment with new vegetarian recipes, substitute your meat for tofu or other non-meat protein foods, and see if it's the right fit for you.

A few reasons why you should go veg:
- eating less meat is better for the environment. According to Bruce Friedrich, V.P. for campaigns at PETA, "A recent United Nations report entitled Livestock's Long Shadow concludes that eating meat is "one of the ... most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." In just one example, eating meat causes almost 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, and planes in the world combined. The report concludes that the meat industry "should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity."

- eating veg = cheaper eats! Buying a can of beans costs less than meat. And when you eat out, notice that the vegetarian meals are dollars cheaper than meat dishes

- it is better for your health! Steering away from steer (and other meats) can lead to less chances of heart disease.

- great if you are going on a diet! A vegetarian diet will help you get into your summer body

Opt for more grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables in your dishes, experiment with new vegetables that you've never tried before! Think of eating less meat as a gain, not a loss in your every eating.

Be Green, Eat Better!

Along with being stricter with my shopping habits I'm excited to get back to being stricter with my diet! Think about it. Many processed foods and ready made meals come in so much packaging whether it be plastic, paper, Styrofoam, glass, etc. These foods are often wrought with preservatives, additives, salt/sodium, refined sugars, fats, and the list goes on. Plus, consider how much energy is going into processing these processed foods.

Cutting back on processed and packaged foods means less sodas and sugary juices, less boxed instant sodium-filled foods, less junk foods, less starches and bad carbs, and more fresh fruits and veggies, foods whose ingredients you can control by using sea salt, fresh herbs, grains, etc.

It's great because I am taking the time to prepare my own meals, experiment with recipes, and having fun making things from scratch. More time getting creative when I get home rather than wasting away in front of the TV (which means more time for it to remain unplugged!). And if I wanted to cut down my energy use even more, I make raw meals like salads and enjoy fruit as a dessert! Then I can sit at my dining table with my deelish dinner and catch up on my reading of the latest GOOD magazine I got in the mail!

So start small and think about your next grocery list. What can you cut back on? What fresh foods can you throw into the mix? How can you get creative with radishes? (I just bought a bunch and have no idea how to prepare them yet).

Less packaging! Less processed foods! Less weight! (Healthy, of course)


[Photo from healthline.com]

Trash, Recyclables, and "Other"

About a year ago I paused as I was about to toss my vegetable "trimmings". Wait a minute...green bin. It had been instilled in me since elementary school to separate my recyclables but why hadn't I been putting my fruits and veggie refuse into the green/yard trimmings bin? So when you enter my kitchen you will see 3 different receptacles: one for trash, a second for recyclables (it's the round one for those confused guests. Round...Recycle...Rrrrround....Rrrrecycle), and my lone blue bucket for, well, anything that is grown/compostable (veggies, fruits, tea leaves, coffee grounds, and the occasional eggshells). Every few days I just carry my bucket out to the green bin and toss everything in. The city of LA is going to turn the yard clippings and the like into compost and mulch anyway so why not re-route my rotting fruit and vegetables from the trash bin and turn it all into nutrients for someone's garden someday.

My bucket really is my more inexpensive (read: free) alternative to actually having a backyard composting bin (since I live in an apartment and have nowhere to put my it) or owning an indoor composter by Bokashi (for the urbanite who wants to keep a mini composter in their humble abode). I like it because I wouldn't have to deal with composting worms. It's funny how I've been ogling this item online lately instead of the usual cute dress or shoes. A green girl can dream...

In the meantime, I will continue to use my trusty bucket, eventually get a Bokashi, and ponder how to get my neighbours to join in on a communal backyard composting bin.

My bucket use is actually really fun for me because I like to monitor how much stuff I throw out in general. (I've got environmental impact guilt as powerful as my Catholic guilt!)
I feel good when I see my recycling bin and bucket overflow and I barely have any trash to take out ( find myself taking out my one trashbag every 2-3 weeks. This is good but not great). I would, however, like to get to a point where I have less waste all together and I only have to make bucket trips. Happy to report that I am getting there.