At our child’s first birthday party I had the idea to use some compostable plates and cutlery to reduce waste. So we had three bins – a trash bin, recycle bin, and compost bin. It was unfortunately a disaster, a significant amount of stuff was missorted so we had food in the recycle, cans in the trash, etc. It was a nice idea but a terrible disaster.
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There’s few things more American than keeping an old fridge in the garage stocked with beer. But have you considered how much beer money that fridge wastes?
Take for example a 1990 side-by-side fridge. Running that for a year costs over 500 cans of Kirkland Signature Light Beer. Even a year 2000 top freezer refrigerator costs 260 cans of Kirkland Signature Light Beer.
There’s a few simple answers – consider doing without or getting a new fridge. For example at Best Buy a 115 can beer fridge is $199 and costs just 73 cans of Kirkland Signature Light Beer to run. A larger 10 cubic foot fridge freezer costs just $299 and costs just 75 cans of beer. In 1-2 years replacing an old beer fridge can pay for itself, leaving you plenty more beer money.
Learn more about your current beer fridge’s operational cost (in dollars) at EnergyStar.
While I love EWG’s information on body care and household products, I think they misrepresent the impact of meat on their meat eaters guide.
The crux of the problem as I see it is they measure CO2 output per kilogram of food. But the need for nutrition isn’t measured in kilograms but rather calories. And lets face facts you’re not getting your fat or protein from a tomato or vitamin c from beef. Once you’ve met your macro-nutrient needs certainly you can exchange an egg for a tomato, but you can’t live on low CO2 tomatoes alone. Continue reading
Pasta wasn’t often on my menu before last year’s trip to Italy where I learned two things – how to make a sauce not from a jar and how to eat pasta without a crazy carb load. I’ve tried many alternative pastas (shirataki noodles, zoodles, spaghetti squash, etc) but most left me disappointed (texture, flavor, etc) and hungry…and in the case of shirataki noodles, very gassy. On the other hand lentil pasta has great texture, flavor, and is far more satiating than normal pasta.
Lentil pasta is simply pasta made from lentil flour – gaining the high protein and high fiber benefits of lentils in delicious pasta form. For example a 3.5oz serving of Ancient Harvest POW Green Lentil Penne has 12 grams of fiber and 25 grams of protein – so it can keep even a hungry omnivore like myself full. Continue reading
The Chinook Book is like the Entertainment Book for the eco friendly crowd. Coupons galore for local groceries, restaurants, home goods, and activities.
Every year we’ve saved hundreds on everything from gym memberships, bike stuff, home goods, clothes, groceries, and dining.
Normally Chinook Books are $22 but they’re available now (at least at the Issaquah Costco) for just $13.99. Saving money with the Chinook Book is a no-brainer since there’s a number of $5 off grocery coupons – if you go to the grocery stores listed in the book, you’ll always save more than the book cost. I always get three =).
In recent years consumers have had an influx of new choices to shop for household staples like pantry foods, personal care, and household cleaners.
While I often use Thrive Market for my regular household items, I recently also tried Jet for a few items. Which made me wonder on the whole should you buy household staples from Amazon, Jet, or Thrive Market?
PCC markets in Seattle have always been a winner for being eco friendly but not always cheap. However PCC has just introduced their new house brand “Field Day” and for the month of September have some great sales.
Aside from seemingly everything being organic the cans are BPA free. Some of my favorite picks on sale are:
$.79 canned beans
$1.99 jar of pasta sauces
$1 snack bars (like kind bars)
$3.49 jar of peanut butter (18oz)
$2.25 salad dressing (8oz)
Needless to say these are some killer deals – I stocked up and might have to get more! Don’t forget if you’re spending $50 or more, combine with a $5 off Chinook Book coupon!