Cheaterpants

So, October - now nearly-over - was No-Buy Month (if you're unfamiliar with No-Buy Month, click here for more info). And I have to say, I did better than in July, but not as well as in January or April.

Here are the things I bought.

A pair of pants, a pair of socks, two pens, and two Halloween cards.

Being green, as I've mentioned before, means being intentional. And being intentional implies, you know, intention. Unfortunately, a lack of foresight tripped up my intentionality.

Mid-month I had to attend a conference in Chicago (I live in Houston, where the sun shines and the palm trees sway, even on October 30th). And I failed to think about the fact that it might be, say, a few degrees colder in Chicago than in Houston.

You see, common sense sometimes fails a deep thinker.

I realized the day before flying out that I had only ONE pair of work pants (I wear capris every day, March through October). That was not going to get me through five days in Chicago, due to my propensity for spilling coffee on myself semi-regularly.

So, I had to buy another pair of pants. I was feeling guilty, but then I remembered that although it's a goal to buy no non-consumables during No-Buy Month, we have to consider purpose over process. The purpose is to cut back on unnecessary consumption, to save money, and to spend less time on materialistic pursuits. And that I did. Having more than one pair of pants, while an American-style luxury in many parts of the world, is hardly unnecessary in our country's professional world.

The other purchases? The socks and the pens were also conference-related (again, I didn't realize that a person has to wear socks in October in some climes). The cards? They were a totally trivial purchase, but did make someone smile.

No-Buy Month has made me realize that I really do need to put some time into my work wardrobe, but that I can do it in a sensible way.

Nevertheless, I'm totally going shopping on Sunday.

To market, to market ...

... to buy the intestines of a fat pig?

Every fall, I look forward to the first autumn Sunday when the weather is cool enough for me to say, "Hey, it's time to make Chicken Sausage and Bean Ragout!"

This recipe comes from a wonderful cookbook called Healthy Eating Step-by-Step (which is British, so it has cool terminology like "capsicum" instead of red pepper). I've been making this delicious and heart-warming stew for many years, using turkey Italian sausage instead of chicken.

Until today, my greenies.

Until today...

Let me preface this by saying, as I have mentioned before, I am not a vegetarian.

I am, however, what some people call a flexitarian, a partial vegetarian, or, as a colleague put it recently, a "half-vegetarian." I eat fowl and fish, but no mammals. It began as sort of a haphazard thing, when I was 16 or so. I'm not, obviously, against eating animals.

However, I can't, in good conscious, support the livestock industry. The destruction of vast land resources, not to mention a serious contribution to global warming, are the result of the cultivation of these animals.

So I try to eat conscientiously-raised fowl and fish, and I would estimate about 65% of my diet is vegetarian. I've been eating this way for about 16 years now, before Light Green, even before I recycled.

Something has changed in the way I eat more recently, however. I've started reading ingredient listings.

So, when I went to the grocery store, ready to buy all the supplies for my Turkey Sausage and Bean Ragout, I glanced at the ingredients of the turky sausage I've been buying for years ...

... to find that they are made with pork casings!

Gobble gobble! This man doesn't see any pig parts as he inspects this turkey, and neither should I!

Blech!

While I know the contribution from the pork industry is probably minimal, it's the principle of the thing. And I know that, had I thought deeply about the nature of sausage, I probably would have realized what was lurking in my turkey sausage. But I never did.

I feel as though the turkey sausage producers should have been sensitive to this. After all, if someone wanted to eat pork, why eat a turkey sausage? Pork is ever-so-much-more delicious. Big bold letters should have announced: CAUTION: CONTAINS PIG!

Luckily, I was able to find these delectable (and spicy!) chicken sausages made without pork casings. As I type, I am pausing frequently to take bites from a bowl of delicious Chicken Sausage and Bean Ragout.

It just goes to prove: Always pay attention to what you put in your mouth. Good advice all-around, as far as I'm concerned.

Breaking Bread

"Man can not live on bread and water alone!"


Or can he? And she?

I could live for a long time on straight carbs. Lately, however, I've been forced to face the fact that many carbs have ingredient lists that read like a high school chemistry textbook.

Here's one, for example, taken from a national brand of multi-grain bread:
Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Wheat Gluten, Whole Buckwheat Groats, Contains 2% or Less Of the Following Whole Amaranth, Whole Spelt Flakes, Whole Kamut, Whole Quinoa Flakes, Whole Grain Buckwheat Flour, Oat Fiber, Polydextrose, Salt, Soy Fiber, Soybean Oil, Molasses, Wheat Bran, Yeast, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Vinegar, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Ethoxylated Mono and Diglycerides, Azodicarbonamide, Acesulfame Potassium.

Personally, I love azodicarbonamide.

In fact, that final ingredient, acesulfame potassium, has been listed as an "Ingredient of Concern" by the GoodGuide. Now, I know that one or two ingredients of concern probably won't kill me. Nevertheless, my body did not evolve (nor was it created, if that's your cup o' tea) to be a temple for diglycerides, calcium propionate, and more soy products than anyone in Asia ever dreamed of eating (yes, folks, Americans eat so much soy -- in weird, hidden forms -- that we eat more than people in most Asian countries where soy is a staple food).

Bread (or some variation - such as tortillas or naan) is a staple food of so many many cultures because it satisfies many of our nutritional needs (fiber! sugars! huzzah!) and it also fulfills a cultural role as well (I mean, if you're a Christian bread represents GOD).

Yet the bread we are being sold today bears little resemblance to bread as our ancestors would know it. (If you want to read more about how "fake" food became a replacement for the real thing, I recommend Michael Pollan's delightful In Defense of Food. And yes, I know, I recommend it regularly. So read it already!)

Even the fresh bread from the bakery has an ingredient list as long as a sonnet. So what's a consumer to do?

How about making your own bread?

Too difficult?

Too confusing?

Too time-consuming?

Au contraire!

Click here to reach the recipe for "Mummy's Brown Soda Bread." It is made with only 5 common ingredients, and because it's soda bread it doesn't involve waiting for dough to rise, or much kneading. In fact, it's so easy, you can make it and be eating it within an hour.

Here is a loaf before it goes in the oven. You cut a cross in the top, which is called "blessing the bread" and, I think, adds a nice resonance to the act of baking your own bread.

Try it out, and join cultures all over the world in breaking bread you made yourself.

Torn

So lately, I've been feeling a lot like Natalie Imbruglia.

Two forces have been pulling on me. One is the force of green. The other is the force of avoiding H1N1. Often, these two forces are in opposition.

In other words, I'm torn.

If you live outside of Texas, you may think that fears of swine flu are exaggerated, but unfortunately, we've been dealing with it for several months. And since a friend's daughter was hospitalized due to the bug, I've been much more cautious about how I take care of myself and how I try to avoid spreading my own germs around (right now I'm down with a cold, which, while not serious, is not something I want to share.)

Because of this, I've done some things that aren't exactly green ... such as using the disposable wipes at the entrance to the grocery store, and hand sanitizing to the point that if I ever get pulled over, the cop will probably give me a breathalyzer when he smells the alcohol permeating the upholstery in my car (oh ... sweet, sweet Purell). I even bought some disposable wipes for my own house (although they are the biodegradable kind from Green Works, it's still the kind of waste I usually try to avoid.)

It's made me think more about how we make choices when there are two conflicting concerns weighing on us. For example, when trying to save money but also eat organic. Or when communities want wind power but also want quiet (wind turbines can be noisy). I'd like to say I knew the answers to some of these dilemmas, but I really don't. So until then ...

Recipe - Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip (Yes They're Healthy!) Bran Muffins

Does the term "bran muffin" conjure up a cardboard-like breakfast your Great-Aunt Ida used to serve - the kind of thing you'd slip to the dog when no one was looking? If it does, you've been the victim of a very common health food blunder: thinking that "healthy" and "high-fiber" are synonymous with "tasteless" and "impossible to digest."

It's true: bran muffins can be challenging to make exciting. I've been baking a lot lately, though, and so with some help from my friend Andrea, I've taken on the challenge of making a bran muffin that you want to eat but which has few artificial ingredients.

Why all the baking? Well, in trying to be a more conscious eater, I've found that the foods with the most strange and unpronounceable ingredients are my beloved carbs. It's hard to find bread products without a paragraph of chemicals after the word "Ingredients." Hence, the baking.

These bran muffins are an adaptation of an adaptation of the muffin recipe found on the Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran package. Andrea added pumpkin and used Splenda to sweeten the mix, as well as adding some dark chocolate pieces as garnish. I took her recipe and altered it to be a bit spicier as well as including only natural sweeteners.

What are some of the health benefits of these muffins?

This is wheat bran -- it's the outer shell of the wheat. It's usually removed in milling, which strips the wheat of some of its nutrition.

Well, first of all wheat bran and pumpkin both contain fiber - which besides -- ahem -- keeping one "regular", is believed to help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Using organic agave nectar avoids the harmful chemicals in artificial sweeteners, and it has a lower glycemic index than many other sweeteners (but it is high in fructose). Pumpkin is high in antioxidents. And chocolate of course, particularly darker chocolates, is thought to benefit heart health. These muffins, then are packed with goodness (Click on the links in this paragraph to read more about the foods described).

So, here's how you make your own batch:

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Bran Muffins

Some of the ingredients. Did you know molasses is a sweetener that also contains minerals? Also, a spoonful of molasses tastes great mixed in a glass of milk!

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

1 c. wheat bran

1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. clove

Wet Ingredients:

3/4 c. fat-free milk

1/4 c. agave nectar

1-2 tbsp. molasses

1 egg

1 c. pumpkin (you can freeze what's left in the can, then thaw it in the microwave the next time you make these)

Plus:

1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin (or use paper baking cups, which - granted - is not as green, but also avoids fake foods like cooking spray or margarine).
Mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl. The bran tends to sink to the bottom, so you probably want to use a fork to make sure it's integrated throughout the mixture.

Mix the wet ingredients in a second bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until the dry ingredients are thoroughly dampened, but don't overmix.

Pour in the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter, which will be extremely thick.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. It will make twelve muffins.

Bake for 17-18 minutes. DO NOT overbake. Burned bran muffins are yucky. Not that I would know, or anything.

If you happen to care, these are about 3 Weight Watchers points. They are quite filling, so one of them makes a good snack or a breakfast on its own. They can be frozen, and then thawed. They are also delicious when heated in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

Enjoy! Your colon will thank you!

Vote ...

... with your dollars.

Last Sunday, my friend, Katie, and I took in Mikey Moore's new entertainment-documentary (or whatever you call the genre he spawned with Roger and Me. Maybe literary documentary?), entitled Capitalism: A Love Story. Going to see a Michael Moore movie in the theater is always an interesting event, because you're surrounded by like-minded individuals, usually more liberal than anyone currently in politics - except maybe Dennis Kucinich.

It was a refresher of high school Econ, in which we all learned that capitalism is the system that lets folks vote with their dollars. (Oh, Mr. Sanders, my high school econ teacher, where art thou in these woeful economic times?). The idea behind capitalism is that people assert influence through spending bucks, and that people will spend bucks on what is good and true, and the best products at the best prices will win out over expensive nonsense.

Well, we do assert influence through dollars, but there's a rat in the ship that is Capitalism.

That rat is the extreme income-inequality of our age.

(At this point, you may be wondering how this relates to the green that is Mother Nature, as opposed to the green that is money. Hold your horses! It's coming!)

The problem with the high-school-econ view of capitalism is that a concentrated few now control a lot more of the "votes" than do the rest of us. And so it means that those of us who don't have millions of dollars have to use our money even more wisely, to make our "votes" count in the marketplace.

That means that those of us who are greenily-inclined must state that with our pocketbooks, not just our voices.

So, in this era of greenwashing, what does that mean? Well, here are a few of my humble thoughts. If you have others, chime in.

1) Do your best to buy a greener alternative.

Yes, it's true. There are greenwashers out there trying to trick us. They will claim that a product is "eco", "green", or "natural" (the dreaded and nearly meaningless term.) They will use green-colored packaging and put pictures of trees on labels. And a lot of greenies will say, "Don't buy detergent that says it's made with plant-based cleaners. That's not really green!" It may not be the greenest detergent in the world, but it's probably better than the super-chemical kind. If you can afford it, I say go for it.

2) Support local and handmade when you can.
Local farmers and crafters will love you if you choose their products over one shipped from far away. And usually, those items will have lower carbon footprints.

3) Try to make the hard choices with the information you have.
A study came out once in Great Britain saying that carbon costs of roses imported from the Netherlands were actually greater than those flown all the way from Kenya, because the Kenyan farmers used much more sustainable processes. So sometimes, more local isn't better. Sometimes you're faced with an organic apple from New Zealand and a conventionally-grown one from Washington state. Organic or Less-traveled? I don't know! Until they start communicating the carbon footprint of all we buy, we have to feel OK with making the best choices we can.

4) If "green" products don't work, don't buy them.
Greener products will never catch on if you have to pay more for them but they don't work. If you try something and it sucks, don't buy it anymore -- but you may want to let the company know why. Voting for green crap with your dollars is still voting for crap.

5) Think before you buy.
Really, like most green habits, voting with your dollars comes down to intentionality. Sometimes I get home from the store and realize I bought something made with partially-hydrogenated-high-fructose-monosodium-xanthan-carrageenan. When I'm more intentional at the store, this rarely happens. It means more time and more thought go into the process, but I think it's worth it ... at least, I'm crossing my fingers that it is.

I Love Vinegar ...

... yes, I do!

I Love Vinegar,

How 'bout you?!?

(Feel free to picture me with pompoms right now)

So, vinegar's pretty much da bomb. It can do all sorts of things, like kill mold, become salad dressing, and apparently, even stop cats from fighting. Basically, it's a miracle substance.

A friend recently wanted more information about how I use vinegar to wash my produce. This is very unscientific -- although I have read several times (and sorry I can't cite the sources; I've now forgotten) that vinegar works as well as commercial produce washes alone, and that washing produce in water alone tends to leave pesticide residue on the surface.

So I put a big splash of vinegar in a bowl (to measure -put in enough to make the sound "glug, glug.") Then I fill the bowl with water and put the fruits and veggies in for a couple of minutes. Then, I pour the veggies into a collander and rinse with cold water. Before storing them, allow them to dry completely.

Here are a few questions I've received about this process:

Q: Don't your fruits and vegetables taste like vinegar?

A: No.

Q: Please elaborate.

A: As long as you rinse them in water first, they taste fine.

Q: Do you do this just before you eat them?

A: You can. But if you are trying to eat fewer processed foods, sometimes it's easier if you wash all of your produce when you get them from the grocery store. I try to do that, except when I am being really lazy.

Q: Should I wash things with a peel, like avocados?

A: Yes! Cutting into such veggies can cause cross-contamination, as your knife slices through the peel and then into the part you eat.

Q: How did you learn all of this amazing stuff?

A: I am a genius. Also, my friend Kelly is a domestic goddess teaches me the ways of the truly tidy.

DIY Sunday - Upcycled Fabric Flowers

Rain ... rain ...

... inspires the domestic diva in me!

So, among other domestic doings, I decided to embellish my cardigan with a fabric flower.

My inspiration was Jayma Mays's character, Emma, on my newest obsession, Glee. As a former high school member of the vocal jazz ensemble, The Teepee Lighters (our mascot was "The Indians" -- maybe someday I'll write about the Native American carpet scandal of '93), I'm Glee's target audience - choir dorks from schools in bad-to-medium neighborhoods. All season I've been admiring Emma's retro-inspired outfits, but since it's No-Buy Month, I couldn't emulate her style without some DIY action.

Photo courtesy Fox TV

Emma wears sweater sets, chunky necklaces, and flower-bedecked cardis, for a 1960's-style, unbeknownst-to-her awesomeness. Hopefully, she'll be able to get the guy!

As usual, I searched the interwebs for directions on how to make my own retro flower cardigan, and when I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I made something up. Here's how:

You will need:
Paper (for the pattern)
2 types of fabric - stiff cotton or felt will work best (I upcycled a retired Western shirt and used some other fabric I had lying around)
Needle
Thread
Scissors
Some kind of button (cover it with fabric if you want)

Step 1: Make a pattern for the petals.
You can decide what type of petals you want - rounded, pointy, heart shaped, etc. But they should be narrower on one end than the other. Make one pattern that's large (about an inch long) and one that's smaller. (Scroll down to look at a picture of some petals below)

Step 2: Cut the petals.
Take Fabric #1 and cut 4 petals using your larger petal pattern as a guide. Then cut 4 of your smaller petals from Fabric #2.

Step 3: Sew the petals.
Thread you needle and loosely sew your petals onto a thread, stitching at the narrower end of each petal. Alternate larger and smaller. You want to sew very loosely (for you sewing types - basting), so all of your petals lie flat on the table, like so:

Step 4: Pull tight.
When all of the petals are on the thread, gently pull your stitches tight. Your petals should all snug together, and then you can smooth them out the way you like. The center will probably look messy:

Step 5: Create the center of your flower.
Sew the button into the center of the flower. I used the snap from my Western shirt, and simply cut a bit of the fabric around it to sew it on. Once you've sewn on the button, you can tie off your thread.

Step 6: Put your flower to work.

I sewed mine onto an old cardigan so I could be cool like Emma Pillsbury, but you can use it for a brooch, a handbag decoration, a barrette, or whatever your heart desires.

Heck! You can create a whole fabric bouquet!

Green Ghosts

I just wanted to share a couple of videos that are snaking their way through the cables that connect us to one another these days. Both of them (even though one is a jeans commercial) inspire you to get out of your own head for a moment, and consider the world around you.

The first is A Glorious Dawn, which features Carl Sagan (oh so hopeful for the potential of science to make us better!), Auto-tune, and some awesome music. It was recently featured on NPR's All Tech Considered, and I'm proud to say it was created by John David Boswell, who I used to BABY-SIT. Which means a) that I am old, but also b) that John David is super-talented.



The second is that Levi's commerical I mentioned. It's only luck that I saw it, because I rarely see commercials. I usually fast-forward through them, but I got distracted and all of a sudden I heard this amazing voice reciting poetry ... during a commercial break. I'm just glad Levi's decided to go pretentious with this ad campaign, because it was a great pause in the day, to just listen to Walt Whitman's wonderful words.



I'm not saying it's anything it's not; it is, after all, trying to make us buy jeans. It was just nice to hear.

Both of these voices out of the past -- Carl Sagan and Walt Whitman -- urged us to be the best versions of ourselves. Deeply concerned with nature, humanity, and the world around us, they are ghostly reminders that our frantic, frenetic culture has within it the potential to expand in ways that don't destroy us, but enlighten us.