Striving Green

Oh it does look great! I am so glad you liked it, ...

2009-12-22T10:04:03.739-06:00

Oh it does look great! I am so glad you liked it, and you are right, your kids will appreciate your cooking someday. I do appreciate my mom's now, after so many years. Hehe.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone enjoys their new discovery!

2009-12-20T20:18:07.098-06:00

I hope everyone enjoys their new discovery!

I took your recommendation and bought some of thes...

2009-12-20T19:37:49.243-06:00

I took your recommendation and bought some of these chocolate bars as Christmas presents. I hope the recipients share so that I can try the different flavors!

I love the salty sweet combination. Especially wi...

2009-12-17T12:17:50.163-06:00

I love the salty sweet combination. Especially with chocolate as the sweet component. I have always wanted to try McGrath's products and now I am going to. You sold me!

Yes - I can see what you mean by overly sweet. We...

2009-12-14T18:57:10.895-06:00

Yes - I can see what you mean by overly sweet. We threw in regular potatoes as well. It tasted really good with the mix!

I've made sweet potato and black bean burritos...

2009-12-14T15:58:06.357-06:00

I've made sweet potato and black bean burritos once before and they were overly sweet for my taste. Your recipe looks a bit more savory. I'll have to give it a try since we all like sweet potatoes AND black beans!

Here Here! What a great list of well-thought-out i...

2009-11-26T12:45:02.068-06:00

Here Here!
What a great list of well-thought-out ideas. Practical and not too difficult. Love it.
gisele

And here is the sprout.mn link: http://sprout.mn...

2009-11-25T10:14:58.202-06:00

And here is the sprout.mn link:

http://sprout.mn/merchants/544-Just-Between-Friends-of-Edina

Sarah - Turn Style has children's clothes, but...

2009-11-25T10:11:27.709-06:00

Sarah - Turn Style has children's clothes, but sometimes a thin selection at the Highland Location (other locations may have more).

A quick look at sprout.mn brought up a company called "Just Between Friends". It looks like a consignment event (a.k.a "glorified garage sale"). http://bit.ly/5PEeoZ

Great post! Do you know of any second-hand kids...

2009-11-25T08:06:26.617-06:00

Great post!

Do you know of any second-hand kids' stores on your side of the cities? I want to find something better than Once Upon A Child.

Also, I'd like to suggest Peapods in St Paul as a locally owned baby care/toy store. Their prices can be pretty steep (compared to Walmart), but they carry green, responsibly made toys and baby items.

Hi, In our house we have been using some kick-axe ...

2009-11-05T09:33:14.998-06:00

Hi,
In our house we have been using some kick-axe tupperware products. The containers have 2 vents that you can adjust to control moisture content in the container. We get salad greens from CSA and they keep easily for a whole week with these products. They are something like the containers at the following link although we got the jumbo sized green containers:
Containers we use

Your hair is looking beautiful. That will be a lov...

2009-11-02T21:32:56.708-06:00

Your hair is looking beautiful. That will be a lovely gift for someone.

I'd add that reducing meat consumption can be ...

2009-10-15T11:23:08.566-05:00

I'd add that reducing meat consumption can be great for the environment. Meat is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.

Here's a good article on the subject:
http://veggierevolution.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-local-food-greenest-choice-new-study.html

French onion soup, anyone? Black Bean Chili?

We have a bunch of home and remodeling businesses...

2009-10-13T13:27:23.560-05:00

We have a bunch of home and remodeling businesses on our site - www.sprout.mn if you are looking for local places to remodel your kitchen with affordability and the environment being central to their business. Nice post.

We love your blog, and awesome post =) Thanks for ...

2009-09-15T12:52:24.242-05:00

We love your blog, and awesome post =) Thanks for the shout-out!

We installed cork in our bathroom and absolutely l...

2009-09-15T11:55:13.713-05:00

We installed cork in our bathroom and absolutely love it. The only thing is you have to be careful with it around water. In hindsite, not the best choice for a bathroom, and I wonder if you would have trouble with that in the kitchen, too. The issue is with water left on the cork - it lifts and buckles. This happened to a good friend and they had to replace their newly laid beautiful cork flooring.
but, you are right, it is beautiful - I want to use it in our bedrooms.

We got a floor that is cheaper than cork which is ...

2009-09-08T13:50:49.562-05:00

We got a floor that is cheaper than cork which is made from wool pulp and linseed oil. I think it's called Marmoleum? It's like linoleum or vinyl, but it's made from natural components and doesn't off-gas into your home. And did I mention that it's pretty cheap to buy?

I hope you post photos of your kitchen progress. We just had ours remodeled last year when I was in the hospital.

Love the pasta recipe - I will have to try that th...

2009-08-24T08:24:58.132-05:00

Love the pasta recipe - I will have to try that this week!

I've been growing rosemary indoors this summer with moderate success. Let me know if you ever want me to snip a few sprigs for you. I am happy to share as I'm worried the plant is outgrowing how fast I can use it.

Thanks for posting this. You inspired me to sign u...

2009-08-05T21:09:28.651-05:00

Thanks for posting this. You inspired me to sign up for Windsource too, after thinking about it for a long time.

Can't wait to hear how it goes! Last month we ...

2009-07-21T06:26:13.599-05:00

Can't wait to hear how it goes! Last month we were a bit less than 1/2 wind-sourced, but later this Fall when electricity use is down, it'll be much closer to 100% wind-sourced. Hurray for renewable energy!

I'm commenting on behalf of my friend. She is...

2009-07-10T09:45:32.527-05:00

I'm commenting on behalf of my friend. She is in disbelief regarding the amount we spent on groceries last month:
**********
o.k. i just read your blog this morning.

your grocery bill is insane. truly insane. that must almost match the mortgage. and it's not like you are a family of overeaters.
and this is why i will say, "i don't believe it!!".

here is what i think is obvious and i know you agree. you need to track several months just like this and then do the average.
for instance, you may have bought so much in june that in july you barely go at all. my guess is your pantry and freezer are loaded.

so yes, do a three/six month average and then let's see....or better yet, a year. i want the end of year report!

Hey, congrats on the blogversary!! Very exciting ...

2009-07-07T15:08:16.554-05:00

Hey, congrats on the blogversary!! Very exciting that you have kept it up for 2 whole years! (I've commented before as tiredofsmiling, and have been following for a while.)

I don't want to enter the contest, but wanted to comment anyway - watch, this will be the time my number gets picked!

This will sound silly but my one change has been to always bring my reusable mug to the coffee shop instead of using disposable cups. If I forget it I go back. It's made me realize how gross it is that we even allow disposable cups.

OK, I thought of another one - I am starting a little business and am trying to keep all the materials sustainable - from felted wool sweaters to minimalist packaging and walking to the farmers' market with all my stuff piled into a wagon instead of driving, I think every bit helps. It's my business so I get to choose how to run it and that makes me very happy.

We started a veggie garden in 2008 and are attempt...

2009-07-07T13:07:18.216-05:00

We started a veggie garden in 2008 and are attempting to dry clothes outside more (note - attempting).

Thanks for sharing your hints, tips, successes and missteps!

-Ann Brannon

The Sutton's decided earlier in the year to st...

2009-07-07T09:47:33.065-05:00

The Sutton's decided earlier in the year to stop buying bottled water. We were up to two 24 packs everytime we went shopping. We bought ourselves several aluminum water bottles and try to use them whenever we can. We did have to buy bottled water for our big Fourth of July party (and a couple of times when we've been out unprepared) but we are doing what we can when we can.

Electric lawn mower - greatest thing EVER! All I h...

2009-07-06T23:05:56.882-05:00

Electric lawn mower - greatest thing EVER! All I have to do is charge the battery and I can mow both the front and back yard. No smelly, polluting gas mower for me.
Going green in Saint Paul.
- Becky Egeland