Sweet Potato Baby Cracker

Hello! I haven't posted in quite some time (sorry about that!). I'm excited to share this baby cracker recipe. Liam absolutely loves them! I love that they are so healthy, easy, and close to zero-waste!

So, this was an experiment. I used a brown rice flour (but you could use regular or whole wheat).

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 banana (mashed)

1 medium sized sweet potato

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp water (approximate-add as needed to make a dough)

Cook and mash sweet potato. Mix all ingredients. roll out dough and cut with fun shapes (or use a cup to make a circle). Bake on a cookie sheet (I greased mine with a little coconut oil) at 350° for 5 minutes,  flip over and bake for another 5-7 minutes.

Baked sweet potato cracker

So you may be wondering, "how are those "zero-waste"?". Well, the paper bags that flour comes in are compostable along with the produce scraps, and the can that the baking powder comes in is recyclable. 

One of my favorite things about this zero-waste journey is how it has transformed our eating habits as a family. Eliminating packaged foods has resulted in us eating more veggies and no more processed junk (not that we ate much of that anyways). I love knowing exactly what is going into my little guys belly!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

If you wouldn't eat it...

When I was younger, a good friend of mine gave me some advice. She said, "Lexi, if you wouldn't eat it, why would you put it on your skin?". I was a teen at the time and would do anything to cure my horrible skin. I used proactive and all sorts of prescription skin creams. Not until I was an adult did I think back on her advice.

The friend that gave me this wonderful advice is Jannell Brown, owner of Sol Spa in Harwich Port, MA. She is an amazing massage therapist and makes the scrubs she uses in her treatments. If you are from, or are visiting Cape Cod, check Sol Spa out!

As I'm sure most of you are aware, our skin is our largest organ and anything put on it is quickly absorbed into the blood stream. Can you pronounce the ingredients on the back of your shampoo bottle? Do you know what they are? Scary! If you are curious about levels of toxicity in your skin care products, check out this site: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

image borrowed from: http://patientadvocates.com/is-your-make-up-killing-you

The past few years I have given up all my commercial facial cleansers and lotions. I now stick to baking soda and coconut oil. My skin has never looked better! Of course other things have changed, I gave up eating anything processed, cut back on my dairy consumption, and drink a lot more water. The other day someone told me I had beautiful skin. I had never heard that one before. 

I plan on going completely all natural once the last of my shampoo runs out. I tried the "no-pooing" and I loved it for a short period of time, but after a while my hair was really drying out. I read an article about balancing out the pH in your hair, and the "no-poo" method can reek havoc if you don't know what you are doing. For those of you who don;t know what "no-pooing" is.....

The method of cleansing and conditioning hair without using conventional shampoos. common no-poo concoctions include baking soda and water, apple cider vinegar and water, etc.

The first few times I told people I was trying the "no-poo" method they responded with, "Wait... You're not pooping?".

My next plan of action will be making my own shampoo and conditioner. I will of course keep everyone updated and share what works best (as well as what didn't work). Making all my own skin care products will drastically decrease the amount of waste our household produces, bringing us that much closer to being zero-waste!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask away!

A little weird

So, the other day I cooked dinner for a few close friends. I went to a local market to get my meat and presented the butcher with my container with a smile and an explanation. What I got was confusion, insulting facial expressions, and was told that I'm weird.

I was offended.  More than that, my feelings were hurt. No one likes to be treated as if they are strange for doing something different.  I got in my car and tried not to cry.

After preparing my zero-waste meal of the evening and enjoying time with my very supportive friends (they think I'm weird too, but not because of my eco-friendly lifestyle), I started thinking of the reasons my lifestyle may seem strange or foreign to others. The sad truth of the matter is we are living in a time when most things are disposable. We aren't made to be conscientious of the affect our consumerism has on our planet. My hope is that by sharing my journey, I can make people aware and help them to live a more eco-conscious life.

I thank all of you who continue to read my blog with an open mind. It's time for change.

Update: I reached out to the management of the market as a few friends suggested. I am certain that no business owner would appreciate their employees being rude to customers. I am happy to say I got a quick, and very nice response! Thank you to Cheryle of Dennis Public Market for being so diligent and following up!

Oh Baby!

I haven't blogged in a while. Mainly because we have been super busy, but also it's nice to take a little break from technology now and then.

Trying to be zero-waste while raising a child can be a challenge at times. This past week we had to prepare for a blizzard so of course that meant making sure we got all his cloth diapers clean in case we lost power. Luckily, we did not, and I enjoyed a wonderful, snowed-in birthday!

We recently moved Liam into his own room (formerly the art room). It was crazy to see how much stuff we had that we don't use. The amount of things that have come to be accepted as the normal for having a baby is just silly. Liam has grown out of a lot of his clothing before he even had a chance to wear it!

He is growing like a weed and I definitely cried a bit as I put away some of the clothes he out grew (unnecessary attachment to materials). It's funny how we attach material things to sentimental moments. Definitely something we as a family are working on.This is one of the many reasons we have allowed ourselves a year to really downsize. It can be quite overwhelming letting go of things that we have been so use to having around, but still very freeing.

The past few weeks we have been doing a lot of research on tiny homes to get ideas to eventually build a relatively tiny home for our family. It has also forced us to talk more realistically about the number of children we plan on having. Two may be our magic number.

I am so excited to continue sharing this journey! It has only been a month, and not everything has gone smoothly, but we have certainly learned a lot!

And now a photo with a cute (but not amused) baby...

Liam helping Mom blog. Please pay no attention to the blurred out lady in the background... 

We have yet to change out of pajamas.

I love Sunday's!

I love Sunday's!  Especially ones like today! Slept in with a snuggly baby and husband, went for a walk to the beach (5 miles!), and made a delicious dinner with my friend Kelsey. A zero-waste dinner!

Liam and Daddy enjoying the outdoors

Grocery Shopping Zero-Waste

Zero-Waste grocery shopping takes a little planning. I know things will be easier once I have a routine. Right now it's a lot of research and calling ahead to make sure places are okay with me bringing my own containers.

I called ahead to a local butcher who was fine with putting meat into my containers (thank you Peterson's!). I was relieved that the guy behind the container was so nice about it. I was so happy that people were inquisitive about my glass containers. It gave me an opportunity to discuss my zero-waste lifestyle.

Dinner

Here's my shopping list:

Spinach- I ended up getting mixed greens in a plastic container that I will use to make jewelry. I'm really looking forward to buying my greens from the farmers markets come spring. 

Chicken- put into my glass container.

Sandwich meat for my husband's lunches- also put in a glass container. 

*Produce- no bags!

The meal I made this evening consisted of steamed greens with a sesame sauce (made with tahini, maple syrup, and tamari), quinoa, and chicken. Simple. Easy. Delicious!

My version of horenso goma ae

*Unfortunately produce comes with stickers and stickers are technically waste. In the future we plan on growing as many of our own fruits and veggies as possible to avoid this.

The 5 R's.

Do you remember learning the 3 R's in elementary school? Reduce, reuse, recycle. Well, in my house we practice the 5 R's.

Refuse

Anytime possible, refuse anything that creates waste that cannot be recycled,  reused, or composted. Bring your own grocery bags,  avoid plastic containers,  don't use the toiletries at hotels,  ask guest to refrain bringing hostess gifts (tell them that their company is enough!).

Reduce
There may be times that you absolutely can not refuse. So try your best to reduce what you do accept.

Reuse
Use your "trash" in creative ways. Reuse jars for storage containers.

I make jewelry from plastic that comes into my home, or that I find.

 Above: Water bottles and other assorted plastics turned into beads to eventually look like this:

Recycle
If you cannot refuse something, and cannot reuse it, then recycle!

Rot
Compost! I love composting.  Seriously, I get excitement every time I make a trip out to my compost bin (yes, I know I'm strange). It's easy, and there are so many options!

We currently just compost our product scrap, our eggshells,  and our coffee grinds and filters.  However, there are so many types of compost bins that do so much more than that. I will hopefully be getting a meat composting system in the future.

My favorite thing about composting is how beneficial it is to my gardens. The better the garden, the closer we are to being a little more self sustainable, and being self sustained is just one step closer to being #zerowaste!

Ew! Gross!

That's the reaction I get when I tell people we cloth diaper Liam.  I'm not offended mostly because I was once like them.

To be honest, before I had my son I didn't give much thought about the amount of trash I produced. It wasn't that I didn't care, I just didn't think about it.

Then I read somewhere it takes about 500 years for diapers to decompose. What!? That's when I started thinking about how many diapers a child goes through until age 2. Approximately 7500. Yep. Seven thousand five hundred. Now think about how long each one of those sits in a landfill. Then have more than one child.  Well, you get the point.

I decided to learn more about cloth diapering. I joined a cloth diapering Facebook page.  I YouTube'd until I couldn't YouTube anymore. I placed my first order, and I was hooked (Liam hadn't even arrived yet).

Besides being eco-friendly,  cloth diapering will save us thousands. Liam has yet to have a rash (he's 7 months), and they are so cute!

 

My cloth diapered baby

If anyone is interested in cloth diapering, feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

Going zero waste- week one

I cannot believe how much stuff I had that I wasn't using. It made me feel almost sick to my stomach.

Yesterday I tackled my kitchen. I only threw out things that had expired. I've planned the next week or so around what is left. Moving forward I will not buy much else in packaging. We will order some things in bulk. We have been going to the butchers with reusable containers for meat and eating a lot of produce (support your local farmers!). I felt so disappointed when I saw how much I had let go to waste. I know my new lifestyle will make me more conscientious of what we have.

I thought this process would be overwhelming,  but so far it is just the opposite. I already feel healthier, not to mentioned a whole heck of a lot more organized.

In the weeks to follow I will experiment with making my own make up. Wish me luck!

Goodbye clothes!

I look at the pile of crap I held onto for so long. I almost reach for a beautiful dress to put back in my closet, but then remind myself, "Alexis Nicole, you have worn that one time in four years."

I feel so light right now. I look in my empty bureau and nearly empty closet and feel.... happiness. No longer will I feel overwhelmed when getting ready. No longer will my husband hear me proclaim "I have nothing to wear!" simply because I cannot find my way around my huge mess of a closet.

My wardrobe has been whittled down to my favorite classic pieces.  The few things I put on that make me feel confident.

Here's to a simple closet and a soon to be simple life!

Before

After

Let's talk dirty!

Okay, so the title may be a little misleading, but did I get your attention?

One thing we have really focused on to make our home eco-friendly and create less waste is going green with our cleaning supplies. Here's the breakdown:

Green Cleaning must-haves:
*Vinegar- great for just about everything
*Baking soda- for scrubbing
*Tea tree essential oil- disinfectant (great for the bathroom)
*Lavender essential oil- disinfectant, smells great!
*Lemon
*Castille soap
*Steam mop- I absolutely love my steam mop!

Bathroom
     Toilet Bowl Cleaner
          1 cup vinegar
          1/4 cup baking soda
               -mix
               -let it sit for 15 minutes
               -scrub and flush
     Grout cleaner
          1 part water
          1 part baking soda
               -make paste
              -scrub

Kitchen
     Stove top cleaner
         1 part olive oil
         2 parts baking soda


Dusting/glass cleaning/polishing
     Wood polish
          1 tbsp olive oil
          Juice of 1 lemon
          1 tbsp water
               -combine all ingredients
               -shake, pour into cloth, polish
     Glass cleaner/all purpose/floor cleaner
          1 part vinegar
          1 part water
          A few drops EO (for all purpose, not for windows or glass)
               - combine in spray bottle, shake, spray!
   

There are so many recipes online to make your own cleaning products.  These are just a few that I love. Once our dish detergent runs out we will be making our own (post to follow). what eco-friendly cleaning products do you use?

A new year

2015! Here we go!

For a while now I have been working towards living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.  This is the year that I will concentrate on making the big changes!

In a perfect world, I would like my family to be a completely zero waste household.  We may not get there 100%, but you can bet we will get pretty darn close!

Changes we have made so far:

-we use all reusable bags
-soap nuts for laundry (except cloth diapers, more to follow at a later time)
-wool balls for fabric softener
-we make a lot of our toiletries
-most of our food comes un-packaged
- we cloth diaper (I love cloth diapering so much!)

I am slowly making a lot of changes. Currently tackling my wardrobe to turn it into a minimalist wardrobe has proven difficult (so.attached.to.my.shoes.!.).

I would love to hear about your goals for the new year! What are some resolutions you've made?