Learn to do it yourself: Growing a garden is one way you can learn something that results in healthy sustainable food. Learning to cook whole foods from scratch is another. You can learn to make foods organically that cost a lot more to purchase. From organic yogurt to whole grain breads to sauces to soups and more. Almost everything you buy premade can be made by scratch, but cheaper, especially if you’re going organic. I like the Moosewood cookbooks, but there’s a whole world of other cool cookbooks at your library, including vegetarian and vegan. Plus, you can look online and find a good healthy recipe for almost anything nowadays.

Purchase in bulk: Bulk food is less expensive (in most cases), usually offers organic and natural choices, and comes packaging free so it’s ultra smart and eco-friendly. The bulk food issue that most folks seem nervous about is storage and bugs. If that’s you read bulk food storage. Also, keep bulk packaging free by skipping the plastic baggies and taking one of these cool reusable bulk bags above to the market.

Eat with the season: In season organics are far cheaper than exotic out of season organics. Find what’s fresh and local right now in your community.

Plan for awesome leftovers: Food waste is a big issue in this country, and it’s not very sustainable. Even if you compost the leftovers, foods still take energy and emission and other resources to get to your table, so why waste them? Also, of course this is a huge waste of cash. Plan meals that do double time – like chicken breasts that later can be used in tacos. Learn more ways to minimize food waste.

How are you eating sustainably while saving money?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Animal Chips via Family Fun

FIRST: I didn’t look specifically for organic recipes. At this point, I’ll say what you’ve heard me say a million times; almost any recipe can be altered from conventional to organic. When looking for good green recipes to make with kids, look for ones that can be easily altered to make them healthier. Also keep in mind that you don’t have to cook entirely organic, but I suggest making sure you do cook organic when the recipe calls for food items known to be the most toxic.

Fun cooking with kid recipe links:

29 Gross (But Fun!) recipes – really gross, not for the faint of heart. I’m not sure I could make any of them, but then, I’m a food wimp.

Fruit Pizza

Lily Pad Cookies

The Very Tasty Caterpillar

Breakfast Rockets

Spaghetti Bolognaise Face

Zoom has all kinds of fun stuff, such as…

• Alphabet Pretzels
• Fruit Flowers
• Simple Fruit Kabobs
• Granola Bars
• And more.

And just for pure fun - edible birthday cards.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

One of the easiest places to get kids going green is in the kitchen. Kids like most kinds of cooking fun, especially the really fun stuff like baking, blending, and freezing.

If you want to introduce your kids to both green living and cooking skills, here are some easy tips you can follow…

1. Talk about organics: Kids don’t always get organic vs. conventional foods. I’ve been talking about the term organic with my son forever, and I’m pretty sure that now, at age 7, he’s just really getting it. At the store, he’ll ask for organics over non organic now.

To discuss organic choices with a child, my best advice is to keep it simple. Say something like, “Organic means healthier for your body” – “Organic foods don’t have icky chemicals or pesticides in them that can make you sick” – “Organic foods are a smart choice for the planet, like turning off the lights.” These are things that have worked with my son. To explain terms like chemicals and pesticides I’ll say something like, “They’re like really bad germs” which yeah, they’re not, but my son gets germs, so it works. As he’s gotten older, we talk about pesticides and chemicals in a more real manner.

2. Use green cooking tools: Using items like silicone muffin cups, reusable ice pop molds, and food storage containers over plastic wrap provides you with a conversation topic. My son sometimes fights against homemade ice pops, because he wants those shiny boxes of pre-wrapped store treats (badly). We just talk about why homemade is better; less waste, more flavor choices, etc.  Green is sometimes about making hard choices and with my son, homemade ice pops are a hard choice when he wants the store pops so bad, but it’s a good lesson in green.

3. Make it fun and if possible, nature based: Start with the fun green food choices, such as…

• Make some fun candied flowers
• Organic veggie & fruit shapes made with cookie cutters
• Organic smiley bread faces
• Gather non-toxic leaves and make homemade organic chocolate leaves
• Make adorable organic buggy cakes
• 32 Unique Homemade Popsicle Recipes & Ideas

4. Encourage meatless meals: Kids who are given veggies from a young age really do love them and meatless meals are better for the environment. My son was raised vegetarian and he’d rather eat a bowl full of broccoli, a red pepper, or sliced apples than cookies – and I’m seriously not kidding. Tofu is an easy ingredient to work with, and kids like to squish it around. Try some tofu recipes for kids.

5. Grab a good green kid-friendly cookbook

6. Follow basic green cooking practices: Recycle packaging, compost, use the food up, turn the oven off early, and be invested in other basic green kitchen habits. Your child is watching you carefully, make sure he’s seeing you be green.

Have any other great green cooking with kids tips? Tell me in the comments.

[image - Fruitcakes-1 via Flickr]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

• Meatless Meals: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
• A Veggie Resource in the Health and Science Channel
• Meatless Meals: Veggie Books for Kids
• Tofu Recipes for Kids
• You can also get involved by taking the Meatless Meals Poll

So, back to our one meatless meal. Having been a vegetarian for years and years, people always think I’m going to bring the suck dish to the potluck or family event. Here’s one meatless meal I make that everyone LOVES. I’ve never had a meat eater complain about it, not once.

I got it a long time ago from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. After you taste this you’ll want to own it. It’s a nice recipe because it can easily be adapted for vegans too.

The recipe is Black Bean Chilaquile and I went looking for it at a Moosewood site (so I wouldn’t have to type it) and I didn’t find it there, but I did find it at another blog called Kitchen Window. This blogger already typed out the recipe so I’ll just send you there. Bonus, she has a picture of the finished product.

Notes:

• Like this blogger I also omit the salt – you really don’t need it.
• I only use organic ingredients in mine – you should at least use organic spinach.
• I make mine with homemade organic salsa that’s fairly spicy, but you can use any kind you like.

I swear everyone I know loves this dish. Wait, you know Cedar doesn’t – but he doesn’t love mixed foods, he likes whole foods better, but everyone else loves it.

So, this week omit one meat meal, conserve land and energy, and be a bit more healthy.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family