Green Choices: Green Mowing

I retired the gasoline mower this week-- no more feeling guilty about lawn care.

I know that small engines pollute even worse than motor vehicles, and have been looking into alternatives.  I chose the Neuton mower, electric powered, with rechargeable battery.

• 270 million tons of pollutants per year are emitted by lawn/garden equipment.  After mowing with a gasoline mower, my clothes and body are saturated with hydrocarbon smell. That means I'm breathing toxins.  Neuton emits no fumes.
• 800 million gallons of gasoline per year are used mowing lawns in the U.S.  Neuton recharges with 10 cents worth of electricity.
• 17 million gallons of gasoline per year are spilled refueling lawn mowers in the U.S.  Neuton uses no gas or oil.
• Gasoline mowers are noisy.  Neuton produces one-fourth of the noise of a gas mower.

Earth Day Message - "The Art of Mindful Living"

Instead of composing another rambling rant, like last year's Earth Day message (http://vern-running-green.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-day-2010-40th-anniversary-april.html), I'd like to publish this passage from the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's amazing book, Peace Is Every Step.  He says it so much better than I can. This is the entire short chapter titled The Art of Mindful Living.

"Nature is our mother. Because we live cut off from her, we get sick. Some of us live in boxes called apartments, very high above the ground. Around us are only cement, metal, and hard things like that. Our fingers do not have a chance to touch the soil; we don’t grow lettuce anymore. Because we are so distant from our Mother Earth, we become sick. That is why we need to go out from time to time and be in nature. It is very important. We and our children should be in touch again with Mother Earth. In many cities, we cannot see trees—the color green is entirely absent from our view.


One day, I imagined a city where there was only one tree left. The tree was still beautiful, but very much alone, surrounded by buildings, in the middle of the city. Many people were getting sick, and most doctors did not know how to deal with the illness. But one very good doctor knew the causes of the sickness and gave this prescription to each patient. “Every day, take the bus to the center of the city to look at the tree. As you approach it, practice breathing in and out, and when you get there, hug the tree, breathing in and out for fifteen minutes, while you look at the tree, so green, and smell its bark, so fragrant. If you do that, in a few weeks, you will feel much better.”

The people began to feel better, but very soon there were so many people rushing to the tree that they stood in line for miles and miles. You know that people of our time do not have much patience, so standing three or four hours to wait to hug the tree was too much and they rebelled. They organized demonstrations in order to make a new law that each person could only hug the tree for five minutes, but of course that reduced the time for healing. And soon, the time was reduced to one minute, and the chance to be healed by our mother was lost. We could be in that situation very soon if we are not mindful. We must practice awareness of each thing we do if we want to save our Mother Earth, and ourselves and our children as well. For example, when we look into our garbage, we can see lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and flowers. When we throw a banana peel into the garbage, we are aware that it is a banana peel that we are throwing out and that it will be transformed into a flower or a vegetable very soon. That is exactly the practice of meditation.


When we throw a plastic bag into the garbage, we know that it is different than a banana peel. It will take a long time to become a flower… That awareness alone helps us protect the Earth, make peace, and take care of life in the present moment and in the future. This is an act of peace, a basic kind of peace action.

When we throw a plastic disposable diaper into the garbage, we know that it takes even longer for it to become a flower, four hundred years or longer. Knowing that using these kinds of diapers is not in the direction of peace, we look for other ways to take care of our baby. Practicing breathing and contemplating our body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind, we practice peace in the present moment. This is living mindfully.

Nuclear waste is the worst kind of garbage.  It takes about 250,000 years to become flowers.  Forty of the fifty of the United States is already polluted by nuclear waste.  We are making the Earth an impossible place to live for ourselves and for many generations of children.  If we live in our present moment mindfully, we will know what to do and what not to do, and we will try to do things in the direction of peace."

Eat Local - Make Every Day Earth Day!

The Thanks to Meatless Monday for passing on this information!

The Eat Well Guide released this cool widget to help people eat local on Earth Day and everyday thereafter throughout the year. Eat Well Guide is a free online directory for anyone in search of fresh, locally grown and sustainably produced food in the United States and Canada. Include the food-finder widget (get the code below) on your website and/or blog, to provide your visitors with valuable sustainable food recommendations. Just type a zip code into the widget to find nearby sustainable restaurants, stores, farms and other producers from a growing list of over 23,000 vendors. Supporting sustainable agriculture is a delicious way to show your commitment to the earth 365 days a year.


Follow this link to copy the code for this or two other widget designs for your blog! http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Widgets

Green Choices Wednesday - Buying Bulk

Many stores offer some of their staple items from bulk containers.  This option often reduces packagaing waste greatly. 

Our local store recently stopped carrying one of my favorite cereals, Bob's Red Mill 5-Grain Rolled Cereal wih Flaxseed.  It's like oatmeal, but has a lot of extra whole grains, and I like it better.  It's a combination of rolled whole wheat, rye, oats, barley, triticale and flaxseed.   I like oatmeal, and eat it often, but kept Bob's Red Mill on hand for a change of taste.


If I find Bob's Red Mill at another local store, I'll still buy some occasionally.  However, after looking around, my wife found an acceptable substitute, Sunridge Farms Organic Four Grain Cereal, in the bulk cereals in one of our better local grocery stores. 

Some stores will let you bring your own reuseable container for bulk items.  Our store is set up to dispense into a plastic bag that they supply and then put on their scale; it prints a label with the name, codes and price.  I'm not a fan of plastic bag waste, so we'll just peel off the label and take the empty bag back to refill again.

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
The New Haven Independent reports that the town’s elementary and high schools now go MM… Dr. Mary Clifton makes an appeal to Traverse City to pass MM resolution… St. Louis’ Riverfront Times reports that “Meatless Mondays have become a boon to restaurants”… Sean S. Miller, education director at the Earth Day Network endorses MM… popular advice column Earth Talk discussing the history of the MM movement.

Green Choices Wednesday - Recycle your Shoes!

Recycle your shoes!

As an environmentalist, I try to minimize my unnecessary consumption of resources and minimize my contribution  to excess waste disposal.  As a runner, I'm concerned that my consumption of shoes is higher than the average person.  It's recommended that runners replace running shoes after 300 to 500 miles.  I've been sucessful in getting as much as 500 miles out of most of mine.  After that many miles, the shoes' shock-absorbing properties are compromised slightly from repeated compressions of the soles.  A runner risks injury by extending shoe use too far.  When I retire a pair of shoes from running, they are still normally in great general condition and have little sole wear.  500 miles sounds like a lot, but worn just for running, for example at 9.5 minutes per mile, they've only been worn about 80 hours.  That's like wearing them at work for two weeks, except that it is more extreme service! I do extend shoe use by wearing my running-retired best condition shoes additionally for casual use, and recently a friend reminded me about the Soles4soles organization.

Soles4soles (http://www.soles4souls.org/) is a non-profit organization that was formed after the asian tsunami several years ago.  They recycle "gently used" shoes by cleaning them and giving them to needy shoeless people around the world.  I've seen shoe collection bins at race events in the past, and recently explored their website.  I found that it's really easy to donate shoes at any time, benefitting both the Earth and people who need shoes.  Using the location finder at http://www.soles4souls.org/about/locations.html, I found that there are two locations within a mile and a half of my home where I can donate used shoes!

In the future, I'll take shoes to these locations as I retire them, rather than wait to donate them at a race event.

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
Nancy Lee, Food writer for Maryland’s Frederick News Post asks readers to “looks at why food is more than just the meal in front of us” with her MM article… Students and staff at The University of Florida celebrates MM on campus… Civil Eats sits down with the original MM blogger Kim O’Donnel to discuss meat’s role in our food system… Craftzine creates an inspired MM recipe for Acorn Stuffed Squash with Harvest Quinoa Salad… NYC sustainable food finder Clean Plates praises the MM campaign.

Green Choices Wednesday - Cold Water Laundring

Another simple green choice-- wash clothes in cold water instead of hot water!

• Uses a fraction of the energy - 80 to 90% energy savings!  Saves $$$; saves the Earth!
• Gets most loads just as clean - you may still want to use warm for a few heavily soiled loads.
• Clothes washed in cold water last longer!  Less replacement cost for you, and less demand on resources if fewer replacements are needed.

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
San Francisco State University encourages all to visit one of the city’s MM restaurants for Sustainability Week… GreenWala offers their own MM Recipe Roundup with six dishes… Creative Loafing Atlanta writer Cliff Bostock would “love to see meatless Mondays” come to town… Community Voices of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers an easy, affordable MM meal… Favorite Diets blog suggests cutting back with MM.

Green Choices Wednesday

Today's Green Tip:

Cleaning your dryer's lint filter can slash its energy usage by as much as 30%!

~Source: sierraclub.org

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
BBC radio personality Anne Diamond asks her audience to make Mondays meatless… SecondAct magazine tells readers to go MM for their health, highlighting some celebrities who have already joined the movement… Phillyist offers their MM recipe for Kale, Sweet Potato and White Bean Chili… The Toronto Vegetarian Association reports that two leading mayoral candidates -Smitherman and Pantalone- have promised to bring MM to Toronto is elected.

Green Choices Wednesday - Recycle and Reuse

Wednesday-- not only is this the day of the week for my Green Choices feature, it is also the day for weekly garbage pickup in my neighborhood.  When I go for my Wednesday morning runs, I'm usually a little disappointed by sights along the roads.  Many garbage cans are overflowing to the point that the lid won't close.  I don't make a point of looking inside people's garbage cans, but most of the overflowing ones have lots of recyclable items that are clearly visible while just running down the road.  Items like aluminum cans and plastic bottles that are so easy to recycle.  I once read that there are enough aluminum cans in circulation that if every one was recycled, no cans would have to be made from bauxite ore (a heavily polluting process).  Imagine that-- a closed loop system, a continuous cycle of use, recycling and reuse, instead of a linear system of manufacturing, use and landfill.  Seems like systems could be designed to do that with most materials we use, and that, with encouragement, everyone would to participate and make it work.  Maybe I'm naive.

One week per month, there is a pickup where residents can set out larger items.  The city does a good job in some areas.  I know they put yard waste like grass clippings and tree or bush trimmings in a separate part of the trucks and compost it.  They also pick up waste oil left in containers by the curb and send it for recycling.  Most other large items go to the landfill.  The city doesn't do a good job of recyling other items, as there is no curbside collection of cans, bottles, paper, etc.

I regret seeing useable items left by the curb for pickup, like pieces of furniture and miscellaneous household items.  There are good organizations in the area such as Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army.  They both accept household items that are usable.  They resell them in their stores, and everyone wins.  The organization gains resources to help run their programs.  Donators are able to get rid of unwanted items.  Shoppers in their stores get good, used items at a great price.  And the items get reused.

Every week, the magnitude of waste represented by the overflowing cans makes me sad.  And the magnitude of thoughtlessness involved in generating such waste.  After composting our kitchen and yard waste, collecting all metal, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard to take to local recycling centers, and just avoiding all possible disposable products, we often have just one small bag in the bottom of the huge garbage can that the city supplies.  And I'm not bragging, because it really just isn't that hard.

Think green and live green!  

Green Choices Wednesday

Wow-- It's October already.  The winter holiday season is quickly approaching, which will bring the annual frenzy of shopping and gift-giving.  Many environmental groups are advocating backing away from the buying frenzy for the holidays.  Treehugger.com has a "Slow Holiday" campaign, stressing "taking the time to enjoy the time, to savor the moment." with "gifts...selected for thoughtfulness, longevity, and quality over quantity..."  A variety of green gift ideas may be found at Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/giftguide/.

Other groups advocate not buying in to corporate marketers' encouragement to overconsume by participating in a "Buy Nothing Day" on "Black Friday."  Almost every year, there are reports of several shoppers being trampled to death in the rush to be the first one into a store in this competitive buying orgy.

Of course, we all want to remember our loved ones with nice gifts, but it's worth remembering that quality is more important than quantity.  And there are options other than wanton spending.  If you have a talent for crafts, for example, your eco-minded friends would probably greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness, effort, and personal touch put into a handmade gift.

Even a simple process such as gift-wrapping can make a difference.  Every year, tons of holiday waste are generated from discarded paper, bows, and ribbons. 

Here are a few possible gift-wrapping options:

• When you receive gifts in nice wrapping paper, consider unwrapping them carefully instead of ripping them open.  Paper, bows, and ribbons can be reused to wrap gifts you give. 
• If you give a gift in a gift bag, the recipient is more likely to reuse it than throw it away.
• Instead of a paper gift bag, you may consider hand-making a cloth gift bag.
• Reuse attractive household materials.  Many people use pages from the Sunday newspaper comics.  You can also use attractive pages from magazines or paper from a map.

Any of these options will save you money, ease landfill usage, and save trees!

Green Choices Wednesday - More Homemade Stuff!

We're making homemade yogurt! 

Any food product made at home from fresh ingredients is more enviromentally friendly than it's factory-made counterpart.  Just think of the resources required to operate and maintain a huge factory!  Homemade yogurt requires a very small amount of energy to produce.  It goes into our own reusable containers and doesn't generate plastic waste.  Yes, plastic is recyclable, but in many areas it's difficult or impossible to recycle anything except #1 and #2 plastic.  Manufactured yogurt packaging is typically #5.

In additon to being "greener," there are other advantages.  We have total control of all ingredients, and know there are no additives or chemicals added.  All that's required is fresh milk and yogurt culture, a thermometer, and heating equipment.  We can make a low-fat or no-fat variety just by using 2% or skim milk.  We used skim.  Yogurt culture is available as a dry powder, or any good yogurt with active culture can be used to get the first batch going.  I find the homemade product to be a higher quality, better tasting product, and it is also much less expensive!  Milk is converted to yogurt at a 1:1 ratio.  Think how much cheaper a pint of milk is than a pint of yogurt!

There are lots of yogurt recipes available on the internet.  The process involves heating milk to about 185 °F, letting it cool to 110 °F, adding the culture, and keeping the mixture warm for a few hours while the culture reproduces, thickening the yogurt.  Then it is ready to put into reusable containers and refrigerate.  We like to  flavor it by stirring in fresh fruit or a little homemade jelly or jam just before serving!

It's a common practice to use a double boiler, or a smaller pot inside a larger pot, to heat the milk.  We just carefully heated it in a single small pot, using a low heat setting.  After adding the culture, the mixture may be kept warm by covering with a heating pad.  Some people use a very minimal "low" setting on a crock pot.  One can find special equipment for yogurt making, or just use these common items.  We make small batches and have a small electric yogurt warmer that the yogurt cups fit into.

So, it's really easy, less expensive, better-tasting, healthier, and environmentally friendlier!  What's not to like?

Green Choices Wednesday - Using Your Local Library

Just a simple choice to note today.

Yesterday, I went to our local library branch (only one mile from the house, close enough to run to!), and picked up a library card.  Most environmentally aware people realize that it's greener to read books from the library instead of buying them.  We read most books once, and then they adorn our bookshelves for eternity.  Library books are reused over and over.  There are a few books that are special to us, and we want to re-read them, periodically or even frequently.  Other books may have a smaller readership demand, and the library may not carry them.  Those are  good reasons to buy books.  So, when there's a book I want to read, I'll check the library first. 

I had intended to get a library card since I moved to a different city near the end of last year, but put it off.  This week I read a book review on Callah's "My Yoga Life" blog: my yoga life: The World We Have (a book review), and the book contains an "Earth Peace Treaty" at the end of the book. It's basically a list of possible Earth-friendly activities to which one may choose to commit.  I like lists like this, because I get ideas from them.  Sometimes they are new ideas, and sometimes serve more as reminders that I may want to adopt an activity I'd been considering.  One item on the list was "Use library instead of buying books, as much as possible."  In this case, the list helped to motivate me to overcome my tendency to procrastinate.

My next challenge: develop a plan to overcome procrastination.  Maybe I'll do that tomorrow...

Green Choices Wednesday

Eating Green

Simple processes such as making our daily dietary choices have a significant effect on our environment.  Every day, we have two major choices:  where our food is raised, and which foods we choose to eat.

Food Sources - Eating Local
There are a range of choices relating to the sources of our food.  The distance food travels has an impact on air quality.  Obviously, more greenhouse gases are generated transporting food raised farther away.  Buying locally raised food is preferable to buying food raised far away.  However, few areas have year-around growing seasons, or raise all of the products we wish to consume, so we have to make decisions and trade-offs.  For most of us, the decision comes down to eating foods raised as close to home as possible, and eating foods that are in season as much as possible.  And it's not a black and white choice between local and distant; there are a full range of options in between:

1. Home gardening - the ultimate local source:   This is my favorite.  Every year, I grow fresh vegetables in my garden.  It just doesn't get any more local than my own back yard!  There is virtually no transportation involved; maybe just shipping the seeds.  I use home-produced compost instead of chemical fertilizers.  This has several benefits.  This method doesn't support the environmental effects of production and transportation of chemical fertilzer.  There is no resulting chemical runoff into the local watershed when it rains.  Composting my kitchen and yard waste keeps the waste out of landfills, reduces transportation effects from taking waste to landfills, and provides high quality, fresh, organically grown vegetables. 

2. Locally Raised: Visiting local farms or local farmer's markets are great choices.  Transportation is minimal, and locally raised foods are fresher.

3. Regionally Raised:  Many foods that are not available locally may be available regionally.  Any reduction in distance transported benefits the environment.  Here's an example.  When I buy a bag of oranges or grapefruit, I can usually choose between Texas, Florida and California citrus.  Living in Texas, I look for the Texas fruit.  Reading the labels on bags of various fresh produce often tells us the source of the food.  Being informed allows us to make better choices.

4. Nationally vs Internationally Raised:  There are a lot of options.  Do I want to buy apples from the state of Washington, or from New Zealand?  Big difference in distance.


Food Choices - What do we Eat?
What we choose to eat has at least as big an impact as the source of our food.  Choosing organically raised food is more environmentally sound because it is raised without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Grass-fed beef is a better choice than grain-fed beef.  Less meat is better than more meat.  Studies indicate that as much as 18% of all greenhouse gases are a result of meat production.  Grass is the natural diet for cattle.  Cattle raised on factory farms are fed grain, mostly corn, the digestion of which results in more methane generation than a natural grass diet.  Many people are choosing to eat less meat for many reasons, including health, concern for the environment, and concern for animal treatment.  Just as with food sourcing, there are a range of dietary choices:

1. Meat Reduction:  Many people have chosen not to eat meat every day.  There is a popular Meatless Monday movement.  People have chosen not to eat meat one day per week.  If everyone did this, it would reduce enviromental impact by 1/7, or 14%.  Others have taken it a step further and go meatless several days per week.  My family did this for many years.

2. Flexitarian Diet:  This is a term that I only became familiar with last year, as I researched vegetarianism.  A flexitarian eats a virtually vegetarian diet, with only occasional meat.  The percentage of meat consumption is so low that the environmental impact is very close to that of a total vegetarian diet.  "Occasional" is defined by the individual.  It may be weekly, monthly, or even less.

3. Vegetarian Diet:  A no-meat diet, typically allowing dairy products and eggs.  This is my current choice.  Not as strict as vegan.  Dairy and eggs give two good sources of protein in the absence of meat.  Over the years, I trended from reduced meat, to mostly flexitarian, and finally to vegetarian.  After giving more and more thought to my concerns for the environment, and also to concerns about animal treatment, last year, I could no longer reconcile my views with continued consumption of meat.

4. Vegan Diet:  No meat or animal products at all, including dairy or eggs.

So, we face a lot of choices about our diet.  The choices are not black-or-white, all-or-nothing.  One doesn't have to go to the extreme on every choice.  Just think about your choices, make informed choices, and be aware that there is an effect that results from every choice.  The cumulative effect of many people just helping a little is huge.

Think Green and Live Green!

Silent Saturday

Green Choices Wednesday

Updates on previous Green Choices posts:












On the second attempt, I think we perfected the process of making homemade peanut butter (August 4 post).  The first batch was delicious, but thickened after refrigeration, and was not easy to spread when cold.  We added a couple extra teaspoons of peanut oil to the second batch, and it stayed smooth and spreadable even when cold.  We also like it with a small amount of honey added.  So, we find we can make the equivalent of three jars of peanut butter for about the price of two jars,  the product tastes better, is made from 100% natural ingredients, and is stored in our own reusable container.  What's not to like?  Also, I'm sure we can bring our cost down even further by buying bulk peanuts.

My transition to Green shaving is complete.  On June 30, I posted on the intention to replace canned shaving foam with shaving brush and mug soap, and to replace disposable razors with a reusable razor, either a safety razor or a straight razor.  My July 21 post updated my shaving brush trial, but I had not found a razor yet.  There was no hurry on the transition, because I intended to use the disposable razors I had already purchased.  This week, a friend found me a vintage safety razor at a second-hand sale.  I cleaned and sterilized it and it looks like new!  I picked up some double-edge blades, and it shaves well!  from a Green perspective, I also like the idea of reusing an existing product, like this second-hand razor, for three reasons: it recycles an existing item, it doesn't create demand for the resources and energy required to manufacture a new product, and it cost me $3 instead of $30!

Green Choices Wednesday

Green Choices --

We all make hundreds of small choices every day, many without even thinking about them.

This is not a pretty picture.  It represents the choices made by many people as they enjoyed the natural beauty of Village Creek, a local treasure.  It is the newest of the Texas Paddling Trails, as  designated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department:
 http://204.64.0.110/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/inland/village_creek/index.phtml.

As I kayaked on this beautiful creek Saturday, I picked 47 aluminum cans and 8 plastic bottles from the water and from sand bars along the creek.  Such a shame that everyone cannot enjoy the gift of nature without leaving trash behind.

I'm sure that none of the readers of this blog, a blog that highlights environmental concerns, would ever consider leaving a piece of litter behind.  That is a green choice, and I applaud and appreciate that.

Several years ago, as I was running on a beautiful wooded trail in a park, I came to a realization.  I occasionally saw a piece of litter on or near the trail, and always thought, "I'd never do that.  Why do people do that?"  One day, I saw a walker on the trail stop, pick up a piece of litter, and take it with him.  That both impressed me and kind of shamed me.  At that moment, I realized that was another choice-- to walk or run past the litter, or to pick it up.  Two levels of choice.  The first choice, to not litter, or to not make a litter problem worse.  And a second choice, to pick something up, and make the problem better. Since then, I put a bag in my pocket when I go to a park to run.

I decided I don't want to settle for not making the world worse.  I also want to leave it better.

                Village Creek, Hardin County, Texas, August 7, 2010.

Green Choices Wednesday - Homemade Stuff!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter-- delicious, great nutrition,  and a great source of protein!

Since going vegetarian last year, peanut butter, one of my old favorites, has become one of my nutritional staples.  Wife and I have also been eliminating as many processed foods from our diet as possible.  Initially, we started buying all-natural peanut butter.  No chemicals or preservatives, no trans-fats or added sugars, typically just peanuts and salt.  Additionaly, we have been eliminating most disposable products and identifying/eliminating many sources of unnecessary containers.

So, this was a natural evolution.  We are now making our own peanut butter.  All we need are peanuts and a food processor.  A small amount of salt and/or added oil are optional.  We're using a little bit of peanut oil.  It helps make the peanuts process a little easier, and makes the peanut butter a little smoother.  For crunchy peanut butter, my favorite, just grind a few nuts separately, and stir them in at the end.  Add a little honey for a sweeter variation.

It's just as tasty as the commercial product, is cheaper, and we have total control of the ingredients!  Like commercial all-natural peanut butter, the oil separates a little in storage, so we stir it before use.

And we can store it in our own reuseable containers instead of adding more plastic jars to our recyling.  Recyling plastic is great, and we will continue to recycle everything we can.  But a practice even better than recyling is to avoid generation of recylables where possible.  This avoids the consumption of resources that the container is made from, and saves the resources consumed in the container production process.

Green choices-- they are everywhere, if we just look for them!  Many of them are so simple!

Think Green and Live Green!