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Author of The Green Year Valentine’s Day Tips

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference is a cool book by Jodi Helmer filled with tips on how simple things can add up to benefit the Earth.

Believe it or not (husbands, boyfriends, men, are you reading?) Valentine’s Day is coming right up.

Jodi has some ideas for how we can add some green to the holiday:

* Order organic roses for your Valentine. Conventional roses are sprayed with chemicals to kill insects and mildew and are dunked in preservatives to keep them from rotting before they’re shipped. Organic roses are grown without pesticides or preservatives.

* Surprise your Valentine with a candlelit dinner. Turning the lights out isn’t just romantic, it saves energy. To make the evening even more eco-friendly, opt for soy candles over candles made from paraffin. Soy candles are made from natural ingredients, last longer than paraffin candles and reduce the amount of soot released into the air by 90 percent.

* Toast your Valentine with organic wine. Organic wines are made with grapes that have not been sprayed with pesticides and contain no added sulfites (acids that occur naturally in most wines but are often added as preservatives). Organic wines from local growers are the most environmentally-friendly choice because they have not been shipped long distances.

* Consider buying a piece of estate jewelry for your Valentine. The pieces are more unique than the jewelry sold in big box stores and estate jewelry is the ultimate in reducing, reusing and recycling.

Boyfriends, husbands, crushes- we promise, even though we read this too we will be act totally surprised when you do these things for us!

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Fondue in Vermont Last Autumn

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Lately I’ve been missing being outside.  Scurrying among buildings and subway stations in the cold does not count.

So this photograph is a lovely escape.  I took it in September when we were in southern Vermont, visiting our good friends Emily and Ellen who had moved there from New York City two months prior.

The weekend was packed with beautiful sites, good conversation and delicious eats- including this table of appetizers one evening before dinner.  Ridiculously rich gouda fondue, homemade croutons, organic apple slices from the orchard we’d visited that morning, green olives, and a full-bodied red wine.

All this we enjoyed around a fire in their backyard as their labradoodle, Scout, begged for samples.  Aaaahh.

These days I’ve nearly forgotten what it’s like for daylight to stay past 5pm.

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The Spife: To cut and eat kiwifruit

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

We’ve all heard of sporks (spoon + fork), but how about spifes?

As Alanis Morissette mourns, “Isn’t it ironic?  It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife…”

Not a problem anymore, Alanis!  The spife (by Zespri) is a spoon + knife.  It’s perfect for eating kiwifruit: the knife slices the fruit in half, and the spoon scoops the flesh for eating.

Plus, how cool is the yellow kiwi above, compared to the more common green?

Apparently kiwis pack more nutrients per bite than the 27 most popular fruits.  And, a Rutgers University study concluded that the kiwifruit is one of the most nutrient-dense fruits on earth. Kiwis are high in potassium, vitamin C, and fiber, and have low glycemic levels.

So now we really don’t have as many excuses for not eating as much kiwifruit as we should.

Thanks to Cynthia and the Zespri team for the samples.

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Evergreen Candleworks Green Organic Soy Candles

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

I love lighting a candle or two in the evening but I’ve heard that many candles release toxins into the air and can be bad for our health and air quality.

I was thrilled to learn about Evergreen Candleworks, an Evergreen, Colorado-based candle company that makes candles that are better for the environment and healthier for people.  They use soy wax which is safer than parrafin wax, and they use no fillers, colors, lead, tin, zinc or anything else that could be harmful.  Evergreen Candleworks is powered 100% by windpower.

Alpineglow candles come in distinctive glassware (above left) which makes it beautiful to display at home or to give as a gift.  Plus, the containers are reusable which of course I love.  The burn time is 65-80 hours which is a lot better than those little tea lights I’m always tempted to buy at IKEA!

Silky Soy candles and lotion bars (above right) is especially for our skin- how cool.  You melt them on the warmer, which is sold as part of the kit, and then apply to your skin.  (A hot oil treatment like this is probably $295.00 at the hotel spa!)

Companies like Evergreen Candleworks restore my faith that the world is full of good people doing good things.

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Every Man Jack Personal Care Products

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

At our house, and no doubt many others, there’s a difference of opinion regarding “green” personal products.  One of us prefers the environmentally-friendly, low-chemical brands while the other insists that the products actually work.

Every Man Jack hair and body products are groundbreaking in that they’re both at once.

Every Man Jack packaging uses 100% recyclable materials.  Their products contain no parabens, sodium lauryl sulfates, dyes, phthalates, synthetic fragrances or testrasodium EDTA.  What’s more, they never test on animals.

And… they work!  (According to the man of the house.)  The shampoo effectively cleans, the body wash efficiently cleanses, and the lotion really does moisturize.

Now we need an Every Girl Jane.  Please?

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When Bananas Go Straight From Green to Brown

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Does this ever happen to anyone else?

You buy a bunch of green bananas.

You leave them to ripen.

They stay green for a long time.

Then brown spots begin to appear (even as parts remain green).

What happened to the middle stage, when they’re ripe and yellow?

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Fresh Flowers O’Week: Green on green

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

We’re standing outside the Korean deli, deciding which flowers to buy.

Will points to a pink bouquet.

I point to these.

“Green?” he says quizzically. “That’s the last color I’d pick.”

Well, I love them. And I think they’re growing on him, too.

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