Eco-Friendly Guide to Surviving Conventional Holidays

Although I enjoy spending time with the extended family, the holidays are a tough time for me. This Christmas, we are away from home for 5 days. There is no composting, no recycling, and no idea what ingredients were used in dishes or what dishes will be served. Add the fact that I am vegetarian and I am currently eating a high-protein diet to the mix and things start to get really crazy. What is a greenie to do when spending the holidays with her "conventional" relatives? Here is my eco-friendly guide for surviving "conventional" holidays.

First and foremost, put aside some of your eco-friendly philosophies just for a few days. Doing this presents the biggest challenge for me as my eco-friendly philosophies are a big part of my values and beliefs. Over the past couple of years, I have slowly been able to relax a few rules here and there. I can control some things (like bringing a couple vegetarian and organic side dishes), but I cannot control other things (whether scraps are composted or not). I also cannot control or judge other people's food choices. Going in with this mindset helps me to be at ease with practices and mindsets that I might disagree with.

Second, offer to bring one or two dishes or desserts. I can control what ingredients I use and I know there will be something I feel 100% comfortable eating. I always bring Cranberry Sauce, which I make with all organic ingredients and honey, and another dish or dessert. Check out what I brought for our Thanksgiving meal.

Third, use eco-friendly packaging for food storage/transportation, gifts, etc. Use glass or ceramic dishes, which are more decorate and festive than disposable containers. Gifts bags are most likely to be reused by the recipient, so if you buy an eco-friendly gift bag, you are paying forward and helping reduce the amount of waste that results from holiday gift giving. I also save boxes from packages I receive in the mail and reuse them for gifts.

Now, for some of the other informal things I do to deal with "conventional" holidays:

1. Spend time in the kitchen while food is being prepared to see the ingredients used.
2. Compliment a dish and ask what ingredients were used in it to decide whether to eat it or not.
3. Read the ingredients list on anything that is put out in a bag/package/container.
4. Bring my own organic, natural snacks and organic, grass-fed dairy items.
5. Say "no" to certain items; just because there are 10 dishes does not mean you have try all of them.

>> What are your eco-friendly ways for getting through conventional holidays?

    

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A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you might remember that last year, I decided on not eating turkey on Thanksgiving. After watching Food, Inc., I swore off industrial farming and went down the local path for meat. And then, I went vegetarian. This year, I enjoyed all of the delicious side dishes and did not miss the turkey at all. Here are the three vegetarian items that I prepared for the Thanksgiving meal with my husband's family.

Easy Cranberry Sauce
I absolutely love homemade cranberry sauce, more on the tart side. This recipe comes from Savory Sweet Life. I adapted it by using turbinado raw sugar instead of the brown sugar and honey instead of the white sugar.

Toasted Almond Butternut Squash Tart
This recipe from Whole Living magazine was a huge hit last year, so I made it again. I used an all-natural pre-made pie crust and rolled it out to an oval right on the Silpat liner. My favorite part is the toasted almond layer under the butternut squash.

 

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups
Kiersten from Oh My Veggies inspired me to make these scrumptious little pieces of heaven (recipe from Domestic Fits). Roasting a pie pumpkin was super easy. I might have used just a little too much of the organic, fair-trade semi-sweet dark chocolate I bought, but I decided that you can never have enough chocolate. The tip to filling the bottom of the cups is to put about half of a teaspoon of chocolate in the bottom. With the back of the spoon, move the chocolate to the edge, hold the spoon, and move the muffin cup around with your finger. (note: this photo is from a previous batch when I used regular sized muffin tins)

>> What are your favorite holiday side dishes and/or desserts? Bonus points if they are vegetarian!
  

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My Eco-Friendly Weekend Activities

Between work, friends, and family, I have had a pretty busy week. I have not posted as much as I would have liked to. Nonetheless, my mind has been racing with lots of fun eco-friendly activities and plans for this weekend. I am highlighting some of my eco-friendly weekend activities.

1. Carpooling - offered to pick up our friends twice this weekend.
2. Garden - going to start some of my seeds and begin planning for others. I still have a few cold weather and companion plant seeds to purchase.
3. Reusing/Recycling - cleaned out half of the old/expired bottles from the fridge door. Recycled the plastic ones (yes, Rumpke accepts them!) and kept the glass ones for bulk bin purchases.
4. CSA - downloaded the application, will print at work and fill out.
5. Haircut - asked my mom to cut my hair. She is pretty good at cutting my hair with a little style in it.

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No More Moody Skin with Moody Sisters Organic Skincare [Review]

I discovered Moody Sisters Organic Skincare products during a giveaway on another blog. After reading through a few posts, I realized that the Moody Sisters and I were going to be good friends. These two sisters make all of the body products in their kitchen! All of Moody Sisters products are preservative-free, paraben-free, and 100% organic! Your skin will be moody no more! This post will focus on two Moody Sisters Organic Skincare products: Lavender Powder Deodorant and Hydrating Cleanser.

Moody Sisters Organic Skincare

Lavender Powder Deodorant                          $9.00

Hydrating Cleanser (Skincare Bundle)                    $25.00 (Bundle)

Rating: total green check marks out of 5.

Lavender Powder Deodorant

My Uses: I put Moody Sisters' Lavender Powder Deodorant through the ringer over the past 2 weeks. I used the powder deodorant when working from home (light activity), when shopping (moderate activity), and when running and spinning at the gym (intense activity).

Review: I love the little tin that contains the Powder Deodorant. I can throw it in my purse or workout bag. I found the tin easy to open, but I also took my time so I did not dump the powder everywhere. This is precious stuff!

The ingredients in Moody Sisters Powder Deodorant help to keep you dry and prevent the smelly bacteria from forming. I found that the powder deodorant did help prevent odor, but did not do as good of a job at preventing the wetness. This is common among natural deodorants since they are not antiperspirants.

The trick to natural deodorant is to apply before you begin sweating. I applied the powder deodorant right before and right after spinning class. My unwilling husband did the sniff test when we got home and said that I had very mild odor. Pretty good after a grueling and a sweaty spinning session. When I feel myself sweating, I dry off with a tissue and apply a little more powder deodorant. This strategy has worked well for me to keep the odor at bay.

The Good	The Not So Good
Works to prevent odor	Scent is a little weak
Easy to apply	Powder gets on your hands and potentially clothes when applying (take your time)
Portable, easy to transport
Three scent options

Hydrating Cleanser

My Uses: I have been using the cleanser every other day after a heavy cardio workout. I apply a light layer on my face before I get into the shower, lather up with water, and wash it off.

Review: The Hydrating Cleanser is part of the Skin Care Bundle. I like this lightweight cleanser because it cleans well and smells amazing. The skin on my cheeks is usually irritated by most products, but I found only calm and smooth skin. After washing it off, I can tell that the oil stays on my skin. However, once I get out of the shower and towel off, the skin on my face feels dry. I started putting on moisturizer right after I get out of the shower to avoid dry skin. 

I would prefer a container that I can travel with because I do like the simplicity, easy, and effectiveness of this moisturizer and I would want to take it with me.

The Good	The Not So Good
Smells amazing	Not portable, difficult container to travel with
Cleans well	Left my skin a little dry

Overall Review: I love supporting an Etsy retailer, especially when they make amazing organic and natural products! I even ordered the Organic Whipped Mint Lotion for 3 ladies in my extended family because I am impressed with Moody Sisters Organic Skincare. For best results keep all products out of sunlight or heat. Products are made to last 8-12 weeks if used daily. It can be preserved for 3-6 months in the fridge if not used regularly.

P.S. Please bear with me as I am playing around with different review styles.  I am getting close to a template that I like. I would appreciate any feedback.

Disclosure: I received the products from Moody Sisters in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my personal experiences. This review is objective and completely honest.

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Green Motivation Monday - Swap Your Clothes

This post is part of the Green Motivation Monday series.  The purpose of these weekly posts is to offer motivation to take a small baby step in the green and eco-friendly direction.  Of course, I will be taking the step right along with you.  I will let you know how I did and I hope you let me know what you were able to accomplish.

Motivation: Update your wardrobe the eco-friendly way by swapping clothes with your friends and relatives. Make it a fun girls-night event!

My Progress: I mentioned the clothes swap to 2 of my girl friends. They are both excited to get rid of some clothes and find some new pieces! Over the next week, I will clean out my closets to find items that are too big, too small, or that I have not worn in over one year. Then, I will schedule a girls night to do the swap.
 
If you have any clothing, shoes, outerwear, or accessories that are too big, too small, or no longer the apple-of-your-eye, consider doing a swap with your friends or relatives. Pick pieces that are gently used and freshly laundered. Of course, you can always donate them, but the exciting part of doing a clothes swap is that you give and others give back to you. In the end, you have "new" clothes that you can wear. Choose friends and relatives who are within a few sizes of your size so that everyone can walk away with a "new" item.

I am doing my first clothes swap with a friend in the next few weeks. I am very excited to go through my closets and find items that I know she can wear. I have a lot of nice pieces, but sometimes, I just wear the same 5-10 pieces and forget about the rest. If she enjoys wearing them, then my mission has been accomplished.

P.S. Clothes swaps are also great for children's clothing!

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