Lean and still Green

Growing things

2011-01-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again, and with the recent snow all gone I'm hoping that that will be it until next winter rolls around. My little raised bed is looking all sorry for itself (one day I'll work out how to post pictures) but the strawberry plants have survived their snow blankets so should be good to go again once the summer is on the way :-)

And so my thoughts are turning to growing things again.

Plans atm are to get some potatoes chitting come February, and some tomato seeds in on the windowsill (asap I suspect now), and probably some sort of winter salad underway very soon too.

Finally did the weekly shop

2011-01-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

And after discount brought it in at £20.50! Yay!

Shopping was (had planned to detail exact costs here but the receipt has gone walkabout between purchase and home... somewhere in the bottom of my bag, I suspect)

Bread - one white, one wholemeal
Ketchup
5 cans soup for DP to take for lunches (some of the bread will be needed for this also)
Vegetable bakes (sold as two packs for £3. four individual bakes altogether)
Strawberry Milkshake (this the 'treat' item for the children)
Mushrooms (250g)
Baked beans (one can)
Tortilla chips (one bag)
Stuffing mix (one box)
Apples (2 bags at 2 for £3)
Clemantines (2 bags at buy one get one free)
Frozen peas (being sold as a 3 for 2 offer - so have 3 bags, enough for at least a fortnight)

And that was it!

Meal this evening is Meatloaf (for DP/DD1) or Stuffing loaf (the rest of us) with parsnip mash and a.n.other veg. Probably peas. Cooking as I type, although DS1 is eyeing it all suspiciously and will probably end up with a houmous sandwich (rolls eyes).

Super food

2011-01-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

Made a bit of a find yesterday. You know how you buy something and then tuck it away to ripen and promptly forget all about it? Even to the point of getting some more a couple of weeks later? I did just that with four avocados just before Christmas. (blush - oh come on, we *all* do this from time to time)

Found them at the back of the shelf yesterday and braced myself for mouldy yet-more-wasted food. But on investigation they were spot on perfect, phew! So tea yesterday (and lunch today) ended up being my marinated cabbage/coleslaw (red onion and carrot finely sliced along with a sprinkling of cornish sea salt and lots of cold pressed rapeseed oil, leave 24 hours or more, and then eat), with avocado, a handful of torn flat leaf parsley, a dash of sweet chilli sauce touch of pasta sauce, oodles of houmous, and a drop of teriyaki sauce.

Day three is more of the same.

2011-01-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

*Still* not gone shopping. I think I spent too much on food this Christmas! But I'm making progress in coming up with a list. At least I think I am. In the meantime we are eating what is in the house - go us!

Veg box is coming on the 7th and will include onions, potatoes, carrots and greens. I already have some greens (cabbage and kale) and all the above, plus swede and parsnips. Fruit - we have apples, oranges and bananas plus assorted dried fruit and a pint of fruit compete in the fridge - isn't on the list this week.

So far the plan is to use the tub of mince in the freezer (which has been in there at least 3 months, oops) to make a meat loaf for DP and DD1. Hopefully this will be good for four portions, so will do both of them for an evening meal and then one other in the week, either at home or at work. At some point I'm going to make a huge pot of vegetable soup with anything that is getting ropey, and will freeze some of this if there is truly gallons of it. Another thai green curry is on the cards as I have a jar of paste in the fridge. I know the paste keeps well, but it seems silly to open another jar or make something up for a different sort of spicing when that is there. I finished the marinated cabbage/coleslaw for a late lunch today, and have used the other half of the white cabbage to make more already this evening.

Anyway, that still leaves some thought to be had on what to eat this week, and what to buy to facilitate this. Its really obvious how I've got out of the habit of even the smallest amount of planning over the last few months, which isn't good for income related eating! So, bread would be a sensible buy. But stocking levels here at home are such that I can see this weeks money going mainly on readymeals, soup in tins, etc to provide DP with at work lunches. Which as I'm trying to get us back to taking lunches from home...

starting as I mean to go on

2011-01-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

although the problem with the whole 'do it for £25 plus veg box' thing, is that we're not actually starting from that point.

Whoops.

But on the plus side, I've decided that day old thai green curry is the way to go, so make in advance and then eat.... Yum!

For the evening meal yesterday, the children had pasta bake - finely chopped onion, carrot and sprouts put on to cook with the pasta, and then that mixture baked in the oven with a jar of sauce. And a tiny sprinkling of grated cheddar on top.

I cooked some rice in the pasta/veg water (frugal stock, lol) and DP and I ate the last of the above curry (somehow aware that I really over catered there).

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

Day one of 'the plan'.

Breakfast was fruit bread, tea etc - all things already here as part of regular eating. Lunch will be leftovers of last nights food ( made far too much!) So Thai green veg curry then!

Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, sprouts, tin of coconut milk, cornflour and lemon juice. Oh and an couple of huge spoonfuls of Thai green curry paste..... Potatoes are the last few of those grown by DS1 last autumn, everything else from the Christmas veg box.

A new beginning

2010-12-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

I have neglected blogging. (not writing, just blogging... I have notebooks full of scrawl....)

But I'm back to start a new project. Just a month long this time. This blog is its best fit (and is in theme and allsorts!).

So - what is it?

Well last week in M&S I was given a leaflet containing 4 vouchers for £5 off a food/flowers/plant spend of £25 or more, one for each week in January. And this got me to thinking about how our food budget over the last few months has gotten just a tad (cough) out of hand.

So could I feed us all on this £25 each week.

Sadly, initial research suggests not. (lots of time trawling the web, of which http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk was possibly the most useful, but is shockingly low in greens (although I suppose you could repurpose the 10p per person per day for fruit into greens instead), and I'd actively fear for our long term health on this meal plan. Greens are important people!)

But I do believe that 6 people (two adults, a near adult, two children and a small small in our case) could do it on not a huge amount more.

We're looking for a diet that is:

rich in green foods - I am much healthier on at least 2 servings a day. Drop below that and illness levels in the house definitely go up as well.
rich in other fruit and vegetables - including sea veg sometimes, just because they are vital and yummy.
mainly vegan - with the ability to let the omnivores (1 adult + 1 near adult) have some meat each week, plus some dairy or eggs for the vegetarians (2 children) occasionally

And doable with a £25 M&S spend plus a veg box (medium at £13.49 inc 99p delivery, or possibly medium fruit/veg at £17.74 ditto) or equivalent cost in other vegetables/fruit from Abel and Cole and a carton or two of Soya (£3), likewise. Which will give me a budget of around £45 with an actual spend of £40. Which does seem slightly on the high side, but will mean we can stay as organic as possible which is important to us.

In many ways I'm not starting from an entirely fair point, as I have dry stores and things 'left over' from Christmas spending that will mean that I shouldn't be buying much flour, pulses, seasonings, chocolate, tea etc - in other words all the little things that smooth the diet and make it interesting - in the month. I still intend to try though :-)

Voucher number one goes 'live' between the 1st and 9th of January 2011, with the others following on 10th-16th, 17th-23rd and 24th-31st. The first veg box will arrive on 7th January as we have fresh vegetables and fruit to use up from the Christmas veg box until then.

Hmm maybe this won't be a good budget test after all :-s

Eco your home zone

2009-06-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

Long time no post... becoming pregnant rather halts the whole 'weight loss' thing.

Although I'm now due in 6 or so (so could be 10, lol) weeks, and currently weigh 'just' 72 Kgs (which given that I started this pregnancy weighing 65kg is, um, interesting :0 ).

But on with the things for the blog :-) Here be 20!! ways that you can make a little green difference to your home right now (OK, so in the morning...) Some of them I've listed before, but they bear repetition!!

1. Switch to low-energy lightbulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use up to 80 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 15 times longer. LED bulbs use even less :-) (my whole bathroom is lit with less than 5W, and if anything that's too bright)

2. Turning your thermostat down by 1 deg C can save up to 10 per cent on your annual heating bill.

3. Never leave your personal computer or monitor on when not in use - they burn a huge amount of energy.

4. Turn your television off at the wall when not in use. A television on standby is still using 80 per cent of its power. OK, so some now use less than that, but its still get with the programme time and turn things off. Right off!

5. In winter close your curtains when it starts getting dark to reduce the amount of heat escaping through your windows. In Summer keep them and the windows closed in the day to cut down on the amount of heat your home absorbs, and get them open when its dark/cooler windows and all for a good blow through. Remember to get up early enough to have everything shuttered again before anything south facing is in full sun (if you are going to be in all day do the south in the am and early afternoon, and remember to also close up the rest of the directions as the sun moves round. Passive solar is really important for reducing the need for heating in the winter, but you need to keep temps down in the summer to avoid the need for fans and/or air conditioning!)

6. Air leakage wastes an enormous amount of thermal energy. Seal all leaky doors and windows.

7. Save water by putting a flush saver, or even a brick, in your loo cistern to reduce the amount of water used with each flush.

8. Replacing an ageing central heating boiler with a new condensing type could cut your heating bills by more than 20 per cent.

9. Your hot water does not need to be boiling, so make sure your cylinder thermostat is set at 60 deg C. Even better, set it down to 40 deg C. Its still going to be plenty.

10. Next time you upgrade your fridge or freezer make sure you get an energy-efficient model. An “A++” rating denotes the best energy efficiency. Try this for your washing machine as well - get one with a lower water use programme, and use it!

11. Urban water run-off from paths and patios can be stored in a sustainable drainage system which helps prevent flooding in main sewers and drains.

12. Use water butts to store rainwater for use in the garden. It can even be filtered and used in the house for flushing loos and in your washing machine.

13. “Grey water” from your bath and shower can also be filtered and re-used in the house or garden.

14. Solar hot water heating is one of the most cost-effective technologies available. Once installed, up to 70 per cent of your annual hot water requirement can be met by this technology.

15. Solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels generate electricity from sunlight. Although a whole-house system is an expensive option, small panels can be used efficiently to power certain appliances such as water pumps and lighting circuits. There are links to some fantastic DIY articles at treehugger.com and off-grid.net

16. If your windows need replacing, make sure you fit new double- or even triple- glazed units. Double glazing can cut heat loss through windows by up to 50 per cent.

17. A third of all building heat is lost through walls. Cavity wall insulation is easy and cheap and even solid walls can be insulated either indoors or outside. Come the summer cavity insulation can help prevent heat coming in as well.

18. Increasing the depth of your loft insulation to at least 20 cm could reduce heat lost through your roof by 25 per cent.

19. Use a compost bin and reduce the amount of kitchen rubbish you send to landfill.

20. Most metals, glass and plastics can be recycled and most local authorities have a collection scheme. Make sure that you segregate and recycle all these materials. And give them a rinse as food waste in the recycling cuts its value considerably. (although don't use a running tap - small washing up bowl and a soak and scrub is by far the better way to do this).

Guilty Secrets - and how to lessen them

2008-11-10T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well mine is my car. Its getting used far too often atm (when I added up the bills for November we used nearly £100 worth of petrol...) when rain, stock shifting/collection, and getting to activities 50 miles away in Cambridge come into the equation. Its far too greedy for me to keep it really, esepcially as for journeys of less than 10 miles the engine never gets up to the most efficient running temp., but living in 'land of the car' Milton Keynes means that often the only way is to use it :-(

Although we could stay home :-)

Because we all spend too much time in it, it becomes rather like a mobile handbag. (I refuse to accept that I'm not the only person doing this, along with having a bag anyway that also ends up far too full of 'stuff'.) Stuff leaves the house to join us for journeys, and then never makes it back inside the house. Drinks and things from this place or that get brought out to the car so that we can 'get going'. And the car becomes the 'family' litter bin (very very red face).

So here, for now, is part of the solution to that....

1) Don't allow a build up of apple cores, drinks bottles/cartons, magazines/leaflets/newspapers - so carry a fold up bin, one of those plastic carriers that are still at the back of the draw since you bought nice cloth ones, or similar and make the children cart out all the rubbish etc at the end of each and every journey.

2) Download music, audio books, podcasts and whatever else to an iPod (hey, there is an Apple store here and its our income, shootme for prefering the 'brand' lol) or similar item, and get either an iTrip and/or plugin cradle/device to play out through the existing car speakers. No more piles of CDs ending up scratched/lost/under the seats (well in theory anyway)

3) Nasty smells during a journey... this is where the take-away can be useful! A good strong cup of expresso can absorb a lot of the odurs, and is still good to drink afterwards (although you may need to add a little more hot water to get it back to drinking temperature). Apparently this also works for old 'smoke' but aint no one *ever* going to trying that out in *my* vehicle!!

4) Back of seat storage bags for children - so all the drinks bottles/snacks, games, toys, other journey 'essentials' can go in the pockets and not end up on the floor.... We got some from Lidl about 4 years ago and they are still going OK (although I did have to restitch the bottom pocket on one after a small child decided to use it to wedge their feet in mid journey about 6 months into them being there). Lots of companies sell these now, so I'm not going to suggest anywhere in particular.

5) If you have a boot worth mentioning, then getting storage boxes/bags to keep blankets or whatever in is definately sensible. You can pack your shopping in as well to stop it shifting around. But important note - do not use anything that you cant' fasten down somehow, especially if stiff and if empty. Because should you get rear-ended anything empty will take flight and often full as well. And they go a long way. And your children are likely to be what is hit first.

Oh at ruddy last

2008-10-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

I've dropped a couple of Kilos and its staying off...

Tea, tea and more tea seems to be the key... I'm sure that this sudden cold spell is helping as well :-)

As for green things... well, I found a copy of The climate diet and D. MaCarthy's book in the libray, so reading of them is continuing a pace.

We've been foraging a fair bit in the last couple of weeks as well. One of the nice things about this area, is the sheer number of apple trees that grow in the urban spaces. And we have a community orchard as well, free for the picking :-)

Although, I suspect I may look like an apple by the end of the month...

Write it down

2008-09-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

Write it down again, and watch the calories not going in...

I kept a list yesterday, and a couple of days before, so that I'd have a 'day' to contribute to a thread on a 'site.

And its true - when you write it down you don't eat as much, or as badly...

Yes, I got up late this evening and forgot to start one. I don't think that I've eaten excessively today, but I do know that I've eaten things I've forgotten about.

Tomorrow I find a notebook and do it a little, better....

On the way again

2008-09-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Weight has decided to drop again :-) Yay!

But in the hunt for health I'm back to running (well, puffing around the nearest local park for the moment but YKWIM rofl). And I'm looking for a new pair of trainers, as the old ones aren't really up to the job of keeping my feet happy and healthy.

And there in lies the issue. I don't wear leather. And I'd rather buy/wear non-sweatshop, non-child labour and as locally made as possible. In theory all these are possible as the company New Balance manufactures vegan footwear, and in the UK. ( see their 'site and wares at www.newbalance.co.uk ) Once you get around the issues of my foot size (a UK 4) you end up looking in the childrens section as they don't seem to make womens shoes below a size 5. And there in lies the rub. Can I find a local stockist of their shoes. Oh yes, no problem. In the vegan forms? Yep, tick there. In the childrens range (so as to have my size)? Um, no because apparently children only wear shoes made of leather, so there is no call for them.

Trying to ask NB themselves about this results in my computer falling over as the email form doesn't like by email programme (or possibly vice versa). And today the phone just rang and rang and rang and .etc....

Tomorrow is another day... but for now I'm in the existing pair of trainers. Well, not-consuming is nice and green anyway :-)

Water, water, water

2008-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Rather needed for health. But getting it when out and about can be, um, interesting when you don't want to add to landfill or recycling.

We carry a small Sigg bottle with us - leaves home filled, and gets topped up where we can (there are some shops who oblige, like the lovely Howies in Covent Garden, and many places still have drinking fountains and the like :0 ).

But Sigg are not the only fruit (oh, um, water bottle)... Poddling around the 'net (as you do) I found http://www.wewanttap.com/

Not only will they sell you a reusable water bottle. They also do 'kits' for you to relable bottles already in your posession. Yes its a retail thing. But they are also seeking to push Tap as a brand.

Which is both frugal, and pretty green, in my book anyway.

And if you're drinking water, you aren't getting calories (although there isn't any reason not to add a little something once in a while. Or to use your bottle to carry something else instead.).

Leftovers as portion control

2008-09-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday found me using up filo that I couldn't store on ( see post http://readingandrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/09/recipe_01.html ) and some leftovers from the fridge that were in danger of reaching past edibility.

Anyhow - the reason they ended up as leftovers, is because I was the only person who ate it... the children declaring it 'funny'. 'It' was a rice noodle, tomato and parsley salad. A *lot* of parsley :-) Probably some grated courgette as well. Oh, and a dash each of shoyu, brown rice vinegar and cider vinegar. Really bulky, but low low in calories and fats. It really was yummy when fresh, but yes, the noodles were a bit slimy when freshly made (oops).

But as a packed 1/4 cup portion, wrapped in filo, and baked until crispy and warm; it became something that we all ate happily. Lots of crunchy filo made for chewing, and couldn't be eaten too fast; giving time for those 'satisfied' signals to make it to the brain :-)

Tomorrow though, a decent walk is in order.

Green Smoothies

2008-08-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Literally :-)

A banana as a base, or maybe some mango... or if you are being local food minded then maybe a pear or apple (in season of course!). Stuff it in the blender or through the juicer and blitz up the pulp or juice with a few handfuls of greens. Spinach is good, although don't do that too often as the oxylaic acid is a blocker. Personally I go for good, garden grown greens; usually lettuce of some sort or another, or a bit of kale, or rocket, or pea shoots (oh, now those are super yummy!). You can easily use the pieces of those that you might not want to eat - cosmetically a bit bleurgh, but following a careful pick over and wash quite edible :-) Maybe add in a handful of berries - from the freezer if you like to make it thicker.

Let it down with a bit of other juice or some nut mylk if you want something thin enough to go up a straw. Or leave it nice and thick and have it like a good, long pudding :-) You can go a long way towards the recommended 2-3 portions of greens a day with a good green smoothie.

What to eat

2008-08-14T13:48:00.001-07:00

So reading around the issues, its becoming apparent that there are several foods that come up time and time again as great for both nutrition, and for weight loss. Some articles or writers even go as far as to describe them as 'superfoods' (although I'm really doubtful about that term, as I suspect that its really easy to use such a status as a reason to eat something to excess, that isn't at all 'green', to justify giving something a high cost (and making yourself a hefty profit into the process) or just to justify why someone should eat something that isn't that great to eat!!).

Anyway.... thus far, in my eyes anyway, the list of 'goodies' (and some of them are so yummy as to definately *be* goodies) is this:

Kale
Quinoa
Oats
Apples
Olives (Olive Oil)
Taragon
Buckwheat
Blueberries
Almonds (although some sources say 'almond butter' rather than the whole nut)
Chillies
Pomegranates
Lentils
Goji Berries
Avocados
Basil
Cinnamon

And that is far from the exhaustive list, its just those things that are considered 'mainstream' foods....

Ticking over

2008-08-14T03:51:00.000-07:00

The lack of actual weight loss continues....

But the 'credit crunch' is producing some interesting articles in magazines and the press. 'Beat the credit crunch and lose weight' is the lead article in one magazine this month. It seems, in the main, to consist of suggesting that you swap museli for 'cheap' porridge, that you eat mackeral rather than any other protein source, and that you don't need 'expensive' cheese or tinned anything (and then goes on to suggesting that a medium sized potato with baked beans is both a cheap and nutritious evening meal, with a calorie count of about 300.) It fails to suggest that vegetables could be a part of this....

Hmm - well eating less will cost you less money... but you need to both eat less, and eat properly, to successfully lose weight.

Obviously I don't manage either.

No change here

2008-08-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Having an oven again is definately fatal. Mind you, so is wet weather and the subsequent lack of desire to cycle anywhere.

No weight lost, although I feel lighter, and the sit ups are paying off in inches/tone terms. Just need to persuade the children that the exercise is a *good idea*....

Strange

2008-07-29T03:14:00.001-07:00

Refusing to stand on the scales atm (too depressing!) but my 'favourite' style of jean was back in the shop yesterday. As I have worn all the other pairs to holes (and yes, I have a huge pile of the blessed things waiting to be patched/fixed/used for the patches for fixing, but time hasn't been on my side and the sewing machine is somewhere at the back of the garage... I have a very red face and lots of guilt about that! Although with the exception of 2 pairs they are all larger than I've been recently, see below) I gritted my teeth and picked up the slightly larger size... which then proceeded to hang off me.

Erk!

So I picked up the size I've been wearing for the last 6 months before the weight reappeared... and they still fit nicely.

I don't get it. I'm obviously still 'smaller' than I was but I weigh back up where I was when I was wearing the larger size. So is the weight increase/lack of loss down to the bicycle? Or does this mean that its gone on somewhere different from whence it came? (actually that last thought is definately scarey, given all the stats about heart disease being more prevalent in those with tummy and internal fat, that those who are pear shaped. and I'm not anything like as pear shaped anymore)

Phooey.

Food wise, I've got myself back onto the greens etc the last few days. I feel lighter inside, even if the scales are refusing to recognise this.

And now I'm off to the bike shop (long long story... but please, if you take your bike in for a new tyre, don't be like me and assume that they have fitted the same sort it went in with on, back on it. I got home and found that I had a different valve type on to the original... and its for a valve type that I don't have a pump for, and runs at a different set of pressures to the 'old' tyre/inner tube )

99 little things - that can make a big difference

2008-07-26T00:05:00.001-07:00

Purloined from a card in an old copy of Body and Soul... but I've adapted it a bit (mainly the notations, lol). Some of this had led to a single point suggesting more than one thing to do (oops)

Have a look through - and do those things you can. I'll come back to this from time to time when I find links etc. that are useful to go along with each one!

1. Get an energy audit
2. Donate used computers
3. Use cloth napkins
4. Switch to energy saving bulbs
5. Hang dry your clothes - inside or out
6. Make your next outfit 'vintage' (or indeed second hand)
7. Use the bus
8. Pay your bills online
9. Say no to plastic bags
10. Plant some bamboo (or a tree, or salad :-) )
11. Unplug appliances when off, or not in use
12. Taste test a local wine, beer or other drink
13. Say bye to your leaf blower and use a rake
14. Rediscover your library
15. Switch off your computer, and switch to a low power one when you

next upgrade
16. Plant a garden
17. Buy and use rechargeable batteries
18. Start a compost heap
19. Put back unused napkins (or just don't take any in the first place)
20. Bring your own coffee cup
21. Learn to love weeds (don't use weedkiller! get a hoe!)
22. Read about green weddings
23. Carshare
24. Keep car tires inflated
25. Support local farmers and growers, buy organic where you can, buy

fairtrade.
26. Turn heating down a Degree Celcius (or more if you currently over

heat or cool)
27. Drive smart - plan your trip
28. Insultate your hot water tank - and the rest of your house.
29. Install low-flow showerhead
30. Wash clothes at 30 degrees C. or cold
31. Lights off when you leave a room
32. Use a lunch box, avoid single use bags
33. Get and use Cloth nappies, cloth sanpro, or a menstrual cup
34. Pick up litter and recycle it
35. Take shorter showers
36. Choose 'green' products - but beware of greenwash! - and buy those

made as close to home as you can.
37. Buy the largest size practical
38. Keep your car serviced
39. Donate used books - and check out freecycle and book crossing
40. Seal drafts around windows and doors
41. Leave your car at home for a day (a week? a month? a year?!)
42. Don't idle the car for more than 10 seconds
43. Think before you print
44. Look for Energy efficient appliances - A or AA preferably
45. Unload your car of excess weight
45. Don't buy vegetables in trays - and take your own reusuable bags
46. Choose an energy-efficient vehicle
47. Fix dripping taps and small leaks
48. Wipe spills with cloths not kitchen 'paper'
49. Install a low-flow toilet, or use a brick or hippo if you have a

oversized flush
50. Make your own cleaning solutions
51. Hold your own 'buy nothing' day
52. Reuse jars and containers
53. Clean windows with old newspapers - and then recycle or compost

them
54. Build with salvaged wood
55. Share magazines
56. Wrap presents in repurposed paper (calender pages, newspaper, saved

paper from previous presents), keep gift bags to reuse, or make your

own from repurposed paper or cloth
57. Make rags from old t-shirts (cleaning, rag rugs, bum wipes)
58. Send birthday, aniversary etc. e-cards
59. Buy spices whole in bulk (and grind as you need them, or its a

false economy)
60. Get a rain water butt for the garden/allotment
61. Return unused sugar packets (or drink your tea/coffee without sugar

at all)
62. Keep within the speed limits
63. Make note pads from used paper (envelope backs and the back of

single sided leaflets/junk mail are great for this)
64. Don't accept plastic/single use utensils - pack your own?
65. Take a break from the TV
66. Give a donation instead of a present
67. Buy a bike - and USE IT
68. Buy organic cotton
69. When buying clothes (or other goods) say no thank you to the excess

packaging, take your own bags
70. Start a green team at work
71. Don't boil more water than you need (most kettles now will handle a

cup at a time)
72. Read about carbon credits (and learn about greenwash!)
73. Appoint an 'office lights' monitor
74. Use your legs, not the lift
75. Stop chasing 'the latest'
76. Invigorate your green passion, spend time with nature
77. Start a toy-swap/library with friends (and check out freecycle

again)
78. Eat less/no meat - or take the plunge and go veg*n
79. Buy items for durability
80. Buy and eat in Season
81. Take buble wrap back to packaging stores
82. Upgrade your boiler when you need to replace it - and make sure

that it is properly matched to your property so that it works

efficiently
83. Snip can packing rings
84. Use a no/low-phosphate detergent
85. Avoid chemical flea collars
86. Choose sustainable flooring
87. Offer art schools your 'rubbish' (trash sculture rules!)
88. Use a bucket not a hose
89. Learn how to mend your socks, and other clothes
90. Eliminate impulse buying
91. Return extra hangers, don't accept them at the checkout
92. Teach your children thriftiness
93. Don't sign up for mailing lists or catalogues
94. Slow down - consume less
95. Fertilise with grass clippings
96. Consider using a solar cooker
97. Eat simply, choose whole grains and foods
98. Recycle old mobiles, and other small electricals
99. Use both sides of paper

Anymore for anymore?

Enjoy!

The journey continues

2008-07-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

Argh - well I've been doing 'so well' in my quest for Lean, but fell back over the last period and am now back up at 69 Kg.... I 'should' be less than 60Kg

Surfing the diet sheets, they pretty much all have one thing in common - processed and unseasonable foods! Now we don't 'do' out of season in this house!

So I'm going to keep records of what I eat, and how I trim my 'diet', and what exercise I take. Green isn't just about eating local and seasonable (and pref. organic as well), its about making those changes that enable us to cut 'carbon' as well as calories!

Weight will go on here - but not that often. I really don't like getting on the scales (or maybe that is where I've been going wrong? No, I suspect the chocolate cake....).

And so until next time!