Stuff your face!

Good Afternoon! Ok so I have been doing this awhile at my home off and on and hopefully now on all the time - Meal Planning! Plan out your meals a week in advance, go shopping once a week and reap the benefits - more money in the pocket (only buy from your list - eh hem) and peace of mind because you are not frantically searching for something to make - I hear this is helpful for moms :) . I decided to share this with you all so you can see how much is spent and also how "green" and healthy you can be on a budget. Also for those who say "How in the world can you be Eco friendly on a budget? I would like to be but have no clue how or where to start!" I have your answers here :)

My goal is to spend $50 / wk for 2 sometimes 3 people. There is a blog out there where a lovely woman writes about her $30 weekly challenge - she is a stay at home mom with one little girl and a working man - AMEN SISTER - $30! Wow if you are interested $30 Weekly Challenge her menu plans look good too - not just beans and rice! I found tons of Meal Plan Monday posts on this great site called I'm an Organization Junkie everything from Vegan to Raw to Meat n' Potatoes folks - they are all there. So here goes....

Monday - Spaghetti - spaghetti sauce in a jar - I love Newman's Own varieties w/ 1/2 lb grnd beef (try to find grass fed - happy cow beef) and noodles this time are rice noodles (gluten free) trying to find a good tasting gluten free noodle is a bit tough...we'll see how these go.

Salad - mixed greens

Tuesday - Chicken pot pie - (chicken - free range organic- happy chickens) - buying chicken breast frozen in bulk is cheapest option I've found. Need a pie baking dish, frozen pie crusts - bake bottom 1st for 15 min at 350. So grill chicken - chop up, chop up carrots, broccoli, potatoes (red can have skin on) and mix with cream of mushroom soup - pour in pie dish place other pie crust on top (normally come in packs of 2) cut vent holes and bake for 45 min - 60 min at 350.

Wednesday - Grilled Chicken on spinach w/ sliced almonds

Thursday - Pork Chops (happy pigs - same deal), Asparagus w/ butter and corn on the cob

Friday - Rice, beans, mixed veggies, 3 tablespoons salsa, corn, and can add browned ground beef - cook rice first then throw it all together and let cook for 15 min (just to heat it all up) you can throw some cheese on top (I use fake cheese -think it's made out of soy) if you'd like as well as avocado slices or guacamole - I prefer to eat the vegetarian version - but it's all good and you can scoop up with a tortilla

Saturday - left overs

Sunday - Lasagna I will try this version and see what happens :)

Breakfast - Granola/protein bars - I like Cliff bars and you can always find the $1 / bar deal at most grocery stores, smoothies w/ organic frozen fruit, almond milk or water, flax seeds, bananas, protein mix

Lunches - sandwiches, leftovers, fruit, eat out 2 X during week for lunch - try to stay under $10 a meal - very doable

Snacks - fruit, nuts

ok so $$$ two weeks ago I spent $130 on groceries/household supplies - since we were out of town and generally not cooking so our pantry/freezer got depleted. Last week it was $75 BUT I had a $50 gift card to Wal Mart so it was only $25 :) so we'll see if this week I can stick to budget. I'm getting my stock piles up again so it should be easy to hit.

The key is to focus on the veggies/fruits - side dishes - less meat - the sides should be the star of the show - pile on the veggies/fruits/salad and use much less meat - you WILL fill up just fine on the other stuff. Veggies and Fruits are fairly inexpensive if you make sure and do the list with quantities. And it is soooo much healthier for you Happy Eating :)

Chop it down or wash it away?

So a good friend of mine brought up a good point yesterday... "You know, not all your "green" options may be that green once you take a closer look at them." There has some back lash on the whole Save the Planet, Global Warming, Save the puppies, kitties, whale-ies, slugies - and has been dubbed "green washing". Since a lot of people are jumping on the green bandwagon they may not realize they could potentially be harming the environment and their wallets if they don't do their research.

So specifically we talked about the whole paper towels vs. cloth napkins - the argument was of course if you use cloth napkins then you are wasting all that water to clean them and is that environmentally friendly? Well no not if you only put small loads of napkins and maybe towels or wash cloths in the washer - Yes if you wash them and they compromise a small portion of a large load of laundry washed in cold water. Even better if you line dry them instead of throw them in the drier - however even the driers now-a-days are pretty efficient and reduce energy waste. (if they are energy star certified) If you want even more detail... check out this article from Care2.com - it is about ALL of your napkin vs. paper towel options (i.e. if you MUST use paper towels use recycled). Click here for article.

Other stuff - using reusable grocery bags - BIG plus +++ plastic bags are wasteful, end up hurting wildlife, end up in landfills, use too many resources. You can also get some fashionable bags if you wish or very plain basic ones for the guys. :) Programmable thermostats - good stuff - will help reduce your energy bill and even if you use fans the fans don't generate nearly the same amount as an air conditioning unit. Turning off your water while brushing teeth - good! do it! reduce your water use will help the environment and the impact on your wallet. Driving less, walking more, biking more - all great things to do - for your health, the environment, your wallet.

I hope by reading this you open your eyes and hearts to the possibility of change. A good quote I read recently said "Change is easy, it's the anticipation of it that is painful" - but the main thing is before you go blindly charging into the Green :) make sure you haven't been "greenwashed" into believing something is good for the environment, you, blah blah blah when it's not - when it is just some company's clever marketing ploy to get you to buy stuff. Less is more - less products, more quality items, simplicity in all things, get rid of your junk don't buy more. It is a bit hard to start navigating these waters - however there is help! There is me and many other bloggers out there and tips you can get to help you on this journey! If you have a question feel free to comment on here and I will do my best to help you out or point you in the right direction. I want to thank my friend for asking the tough questions - question everything - don't blindly charge into situations without prior knowledge... although leaping without looking is one of my favorite things to do, make sure you do your research on most things :) some things do just require the blind leap of faith!

amore y paz

Skeletons in the closet...

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Spring Cleaning is sooo overrated! Ok so maybe it is just that I haven't gotten to spring cleaning until now hee hee - end of summer cleaning?? Pre - Fall cleaning? Well either way let's talk about your closet and all the crazy things that may be lurking in there. When I moved I unfortunately moved with ALL of my junk and good clothes as well and have just now gotten to organizing. I'm sure you have treasures from times past - those neon green sunglasses and those scrunchy socks or long t - shirts you used to tie on the side - I got your number child of the 80s!! Or if you are not that much of a pack rat I'm sure there are clothes in there that you haven't seen or worn in months! Or maybe you are holding onto that old t-shirt or sweater your ex left at your house...uh huh ;) In most cases our eyes tend to be much bigger than our closets. I just purged clothes I had from college - eeek I graduated in 2003 so I was holding on to some real treasures! Well actually some had sentimental value but what's the point if you're never going to wear it again - take a picture or journal about it, it is better for you and your closet if you finally unload this stuff - trust me! It is freeing too - maybe it's a good point to move away from your past and into the future - a jumping off point! It can be fun :)

Here are some "green" things I'm doing - I am going to be making yoga totes out of some of my jeans - if they are nice enough I will sell them - so not only reusing and recycling but making some dough on the side and hopefully making something handy for a fellow Yogi :) I have sentimental attachments to lots of my junk but I am finding ways to slowly but surely get rid of stuff and find ways to still keep the memories... here is another good one - I am taking my old t-shirts that have sayings or dates on them that I loved and making quilts out of them! How great is that? Super snugly t-shirt quilts that will be warm AND I get to keep my memories in a much more useful way :) If you would like to do this but aren't crafty, these guys do it for you http://www.tshirtquilts.com/ and the proceeds will go to help the deaf and hard of hearing. Or If you want to do it yourself this website offers instructions GooseTracks or maybe you have a crafty grandma that will help! Plus then you get some quality g-ma time.

The other thing I'm doing besides making cool stuff out of my junk is taking the rest of the clothes that are in good condition to a cool local consignment shop called My Sister's Closet - they have locations in and around Phoenix, AZ. The things that are too out of date but are still nice I will take to Goodwill, and finally the last of the stuff - the waaaay loved or just old and ugly will be turned into cleaning and garage rags.

The inspiration for purging the closet was from Making it Lovely's website and a website similar to mine It's Frugal Being Green. The one thing that is always organized is my closet - everything by color and type - my goal by next year is to not have one item of clothing that isn't flattering or that I love. I believe the less is more approach works. No mindless shopping - have a list and more importantly have a list of must have items - clothing basics that every person should have, the foundation to build your wardrobe on. If you are totally clueless go to Missus Smarty Pants - you can subscribe to her service and she will recommend clothes based on your body type. She also has great closet purge and organizing instructions on her site as well.

Soooo toss the old crap - er um treasures from your closet and maybe some part of your old life as well - you don't have to forget the good times but just the act of recycling or reusing or consigning these items - may help to propel you forward into the future and leave those old skeletons behind. It feels incredibly refreshing, plus for you shoppers you may now find some gaps you have in your closet for basics you do need and can go replace them!! However try this new rule of thumb - when one item comes into the closet one must go out. It will stop the avalanche and prevent the keeping of super outdated clothing for sentimental purposes. Happy purging people!

amore y paz

Lil Past halfway through...

Note: For all following my blog on Facebook you can read older posts and make comments on my main blog site at www.blogspot.danzsyco.com thanks for all the support and on to today's blog...

Where are you at now? Have you made any progress on greening your life? a little or a lot? Where have I been? Doing lots of fun and wonderful things! I have recently bought a house so lots of tips to come for you homeowners and never fear renters I was a renter for approx 10 years so I will not forget you. I have also made a papered legal commitment :) the commitment that already existed has now become official! I will be able to give some green and financially savvy tips about that later as well.

Ok so as far as the food thing goes - me personally I avoid dairy as much as I can. I used to drink a glass of milk a night before bed (LOVE the stuff) because I liked it and it helped me sleep and I for the lungs sake - quit doing that. I drink water or soy or almond milk now. Doing this one thing alone has helped my lungs quite a bit - I used to be on Advair and although I have never had any serious or even minor reactions to the medication it is never the less medication and who knows what the long term effects are. I am glad to report that I no longer take that, I only have my rescue inhalers and am working on ways to get off that medication as well.
So Asthmatics take note! Doing this one thing (eliminating dairy) can help you out immensely!
I notice it not only at night (I sleep all through the night without issue) but during the day as well and I just recently took a trip home where I usually need a bunch of asthma medication and allergy pills and I only needed a couple pills and didn't need the asthma medication!! Since this is one of the only things I have changed I know dairy was the pivotal point for me - I AM NO DOCTOR - *disclaimer* if you are thinking of stopping medication please only do so with a Doctor's approval! Ok that being said have I given up dairy completely? No - nor do I think I will but I have found alternatives and goat's milk cheese and other goat dairy products seem to not have as much of a negative effect on my lungs as does regular dairy. Also vegetarian/vegan options are getting much better now-a-days and don't taste like rubber or soft cardboard :) try these - it may take a couple tries to get the right one. So instead of me personally giving up dairy totally I try to severly limit my intake (1 or 2 times a week), this is what I have found works for me.

2nd dietary thing - Soda - have you given it up or reduced your intake? Regular soda with empty calories is horrible for you - all that sugar - that is just pounds of fat waiting to happen! Diet Soda is horrid as well - aspartame or any other artificial sweetner and all the horrible effects are not worth it! That being said - I have greatly reduced my diet soda intake - not given it up totally but working on it :) I want to stop altogether eventually especially since so many great products are coming out with Stevia which a naturally derived product with no calories (Dieters and health nuts rejoice!). Kicking a habit is hard so don't beat yourself up when you slip - make sure you praise yourself when you don't give in and changing anything is a process and takes time - sometimes lots of it!

Ok so a lil past halfway through the year - there is never a time when you can't start something good for yourself even if your goals at the beginning of the year haven't happened yet doesn't mean they can't start now. Remember being green helps to save money and if you put that savings into a savings account or invest it, it can help make you richer or can help get you out of debt! I know I write quite a bit about food - the reason being that if you eat healthy you feel better, if you feel better you are more concious about your surroundings and appreciate more, if you appreciate more you are better to people, if you are better to people you can enact change, if you enact change you can change the world! Idealistic? Sure but I know people are watching you everyday and you never know who is getting their cues from you, I know from personal experience I have at least planted the seed of change in quite a few folks. Seeds to make them better, healthier, greener, more open minded, and happier.

amore y paz!