Noooooo....It's almost time for back to school

We have over a month till the boys go back to school so I'm not feeling too bad about it yet, but I know elsewhere in the country, kids will be going back in the next two weeks. I don't think I'll do too many back to school posts this year, but last year I did quite a few of them so I thought I'd do a little summary for you.

Before I get into that, over on Mother Nature Network we're giving away a solar backpack filled with green goodies just in time for back to school. To win the backpack, become a fan of MNN on Facebook. On August 24, one random winner will be chosen. If you're already a fan of MNN on Facebook, you're already in the running - the winner will be picked from all Facebook fans. I'd love to win this thing, but even though I'm a Facebook fan, I'm pretty sure the fine print says I'm not eligible. But, I'd love it if one of my readers won it.

Okay, on to my back to school posts.

This one is my favorite:

Back to School Shopping Madness: From Kindergarten through College its Time to Curb the Stuff - I wrote it last year for Sustainablog when I read the unbelievable statistics on how much people spend on back to school "necessities."

These next 5 are a series a did last year, Going Back to School in Green Style:

Assessing What You Already Have
10 Easy Ways to be More Sustainable with Your Back to School Shopping
Trashless Lunches
Transportation
Getting Involved

And some miscellaneous posts

The Walking School Bus
Remember Paper Has Two Sides: Use Them Both

Image of girls: Pink Sherbet Photography (I've found myself using a lot of Pink Sherbet's photos recently - fabulous images)

Finish this quote: The man who does not read good books has ...

I've read a lot of books about being green, going green, sustainability, environmentalism, organic & natural food and our broken food system in the past couple of years. And there is still a pile of them waiting to be read. A new one just arrived in the mail yesterday.

I haven't written about all of them, but I have written about quite a few. While I'm gearing up for my 500th post that will happen sometime next week, I'm looking back at some of the posts I've written over the past two years. Today, I've got links to some of my book reviews or book recommendations.

Dr. Seuss was a Tree Hugger - One of my very first posts, short and sweet, about one of my all time favorite books, The Lorax.

Reusing and Recycling: A Lesson from Grandma Prisbrey - My youngest son and I learned about this amazing woman, Tressa Prisbrey from a book we grabbed from the library one day. Bottle Houses is a beautifully illustrated biography that tells about the village of houses she built out of bottles and other things found at the dump.

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic - Our desire to consume causes problems socially, emotionally and environmentally. Affluenza is inspiring, and despite its serious message, an entertaining read.

Serve God, Save the Planet - This short post leads you to a review I did on Sustainablog for this book that I believe Christians and non-Christians can take inspiration from.

Green Reading for Read Across America Day - A list of books that I recommended for anyone looking for something to sink their teeth into.

Simply Green Parties - For some clever ideas on how to green up any celebration, I recommended this book by Danny Seo.

The Green Teen - This recently published book by one of my fellow MNN bloggers Jenn Savedge is a practical and well organized resource for teens who want to get a little (or a lot greener).

And finally a few links to books I've reviewed elsewhere:

Sarah Snow's Fresh Living
Food Matters
The Unhealthy Truth
When Santa Turned Green (I'm not kidding - it's a book)
David Suzuki's Green Guide

Get your kids out in nature

On MNN's The Green Parent video series this week, Keri Greenwald talks about getting your kids out into nature so that they can learn to love the planet that you are trying to teach them to take care of.

Our friend, Bethe Almeras from the Grass Stain Guru would certainly agree. And so do I. We need to get our kids outdoors more, and not just on the ball fields for organized sports. They need to have unstructured free time to explore nature, get dirty from head to toe, become connected to the nature around them so they can feel an ownership (but a nurturing ownership - not a I can do whatever I want with it cause it's mine type of ownership).

Related Posts:

Raising locavore kids

Meet 8 year old Ally

Schools out: Play outdoors with your kids

 

New Green Parenting Video Series

Over on Mother Nature Network, there's a new green parenting video series that I wanted to share with all of you. Keri Greenwald from Responsible Mommy will be doing a series of short videos that help parents teach their kids how to easily live a little greener.

The series launched today. Here's the first video. 

Eco-friendly wines for your Memorial Day BBQ

I've put up quite a few wine reviews on Mother Nature Network in the past couple of months, and I thought that I'd do a roundup here for those of you who are going out to choose wine for your celebrations this weekend. I only review wines that I like - if I drank it and I didn't like it, I won't write about it because I'm really not an expert. I'm just a wine lover who knows what I like. 

The links will take you to my full review.

Live a Little Really Ravishing Red - an organic, fair trade Shiraz from Africa. I payed $8.99 for the bottle.

Bonterra 2007 Viognier - I loved this white California wine that's made with sustainable grapes. It's a little more pricey than my usual wines - $22.99 - so I won't be drinking it every week.

Red Truck Petite Sirah and Sauvignon Blanc - These are the wines I'll probably serve at my own summer BBQ's. These California wines are inexpensive - $10.99 a bottle. They are both great wines to pair with cheeseburgers.

Napa Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc - I liked this wine, but at $17.99 a bottle, I'll probably reach for the Red Truck Sauvignon Blanc more often. It's a great cheese and crackers wine.

Organic ReLeaf Wine - This red is a fabulous Friday night pizza wine at an every Friday night price $8.99. The wine is from Africa and the winery treats their employees well, an added bonus.

Montebelli Fabula 2006 - A 100% certified organic Sangiovese (the grapes that Chianti is made from). This wine is good, but it definitely needs food to bring out its finer qualities. Great with pasta, and fabulous with roasted red pepper and provolone - maybe not so great for your BBQ, though. I paid $12.99 for the bottle.

Bonterra 2007 Zinfandel - If you're putting blue cheese on your burger on the grill this weekend, get this wine. It was an amazing pairing. I like Zins, and this one is a keeper. At $11.99 this wine made from organically grown grapes is a good value.

Do you have a favorite, reasonably priced (below $20 is reasonable in my eyes) eco-friendly wine that you think I should try? Tell me about it in the comments.

Books: The Green Teen by Jenn Savedge

My colleague Jenn Savedge, the parenting blogger from MNN, must be one super organized mom because not only does she parent two kids (hey, I do that), write daily for MNN (hey, I do that, too), and keep her own personal green blog, The Green Parent, (hey, I've got a personal green blog - this one), she also writes books about going green (hey, I.... want to do that some day....).

She's just published The Green Teen, a straightforward, well-organized reference book full of tips, resources and advice for eco-friendly teens. In The Green Teen, Jenn not only explains the how’s of going green; she explains the why’s, too, and helps teen to understand the importance of the part they can play in caring for the planet.

There is information on how to Green Yourself, Green Your Home, Green Your School, and Green Your World. All of the tips and advice are things that teens really do have control over - its all advice about what they can do, not what they can convince their parents to do.

From the back cover:

Let's face it: Adults will not see the devastating effects of global warming that you and your children and your children's children will ahve to face head on. So while it's a good idea to enlist the help of adults in the environmental movement, it is really up to you and your friends to spearhead the charge to change.

You have the knowledge, the skills and the POWER to save the planet. And this book can show you how.

Not only is the information in the book relevent to teens, it's been organized and presented in a manner that will get teens' attention. Lots of bulleted lists, charts, and sections that are broken up logically so teens can read through quickly and still get great information.

The book also points teens to websites and places they can text for more information. It's clear that every aspect of this book was written and designed with teenagers in mind.

I did a short review on the section about packing a waste free lunch last week on MNN.

If you've got a teen in your life who is interested in the steps he can take to be more eco-friendly, introduce him to this book.

The most infuriating Earth Day press release

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had been sent a press release about organic bottled water. I usually get sent a few press releases every day informing me about different products or organizations that I'm told my readers will be interested in. If I think you actually will be interested in one of them, I'll write about it.

The two weeks leading up to Earth Day saw the number of press releases in my inbox increase exponentially. They came so fast and furiously that I'm sure I missed a few good ones. One that I didn't miss however was the one for Totally Organica bottled water.

At the risk of ticking off the people who make plastic bottles yet again, I'll make this clear. Bottled water is a big environmental problem. It's estimated that about 80% of the bottles never get recycled. Those that do get recycled do not become bottles again. They get downcycled. It takes all new resources to make the plastic bottles for bottled water.

So when this company came along and spent the majority of their press release talking about how fabulous their plastic bottles are - how eco-chic and modern they are - I was floored.

I've ranted about it over on Mother Nature Network today in my weekly Thursday food 'nooooo.'
If you'd like to hear my rant hop on over and give it a read.

I've got your Friday night pizza wine - Releaf

Over on MNN today I've got a review of Releaf, a South African blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. The company that imports it, Organic Wine Trade Company is pretty impressive itself. Take a look at the review to find out how they are bringing sustainable, responsible wines to the U.S.

Releaf is a perfect choice for your Friday night pizza wine. It pairs well with pizza, it's sustainable so you can feel good about drinking every Friday night, and the price is right - $8.99 at my local wine store.

Trying something new

I just finished reading Mark Bitman's Food Matters, and I'll be reviewing it for MNN. The book inspired me to try a few things, which I'll be writing a lot more about in the upcoming weeks. One of the things I was inspired to try was a recipe from Chef A - quinoa with sauteed mushrooms and onion. I'd never made quinoa before - it was very easy and really delicious. I'll be making this frequently.

Agave nectar, Michelle Obama and Earth Hour

Here are some things I've written about recently that I thought you'd be interested in.

I've been using agave nectar as a substitute for sugar in some places recently (like this peanut butter chocolate chip granola bar recipe). I wrote about agave today over on MNN - Agave nectar: a sweet alternative. Check it out if you'd like to know more about this natural sweetener.

By now, you probably know that the Obamas are planting an organic garden on the White House Lawn. Michelle Obama has been talking organic, local, and healthy lately, and I'm becoming a fan of the first lady. 

I've been completely fascinated by the comments people are leaving on my MNN posts about the subject and many other posts around the web. They are anywhere from highly enthusiastic to downright racist to highly nitpicky about the method that's being used.  It can be both infuriating and extremely fascinating at the same time. 

Over on Sustainablog, I've got a post about Making the Most of Earth Hour with some ideas that go beyond just turning out the lights. Remember, Earth Hour is this Saturday night. 

Tomorrow, I'll be reviewing a product for you that actually got me doing a little housework and I hope to have my next interview for you on Thursday.

Happy Monday!

My first organic wine review (of sorts)

I hope to get another post up later today on a book I was sent to review, but I've got this crazy week where I'm at the boys' school all week running the book fair. So I thought I'd link you to a wine review I did on MNN today on Bonterra Vineyards 2007 Zindfandel. 

I actually call it a wine review (of sorts) because it's not a regular review that talks about long finishes and gives a numerical score. It's just my thoughts on the wine.

Bonterra Vineyards 2007 Zinfandel

Re-think breakfast with me

I wrote a post on MNN - Everything is fair game for breakfast. For a week, I'm going to do untraditional breakfasts and see what comes of it. Any food, as long as it's healthy and I have the time to make it, will be an option for my family in the morning. 

Anyone want to join me in the experiment? Head over to the  post on MNN, read, and then say "I'm in" in the comments.

I Have No Advice Today

It's late in the afternoon. I have written my fingertips off this week. It's been awesome, but I'm tired and I want to go spend time with my family. So I have no new interesting post for you today. Please forgive me.

Feel free to stop reading if you're tired of me talking about Mother Nature Network

Here's a couple of things I'm really excited about today:

MNN is Newsweek online's top pick of the week for what to surf

Time online put a big piece about MNN on the front page of its Health and Science page

and we've got a tiny little blurb on Time's homepage as well:

Socially Responsible Food Choices

I wrote a post for MNN yesterday titled Why I Buy Organic Bananas. I don't buy all my foods organically because the food budget doesn't allow it. My general rule of thumb is to choose organics for the foods that would have the most negative effect on my family in their conventional forms. If I can afford to buy others organically after that, I do. The fruit of a banana is fairly well protected by its thick skin from the pesticides and other chemicals sprayed on the plantations. Because of this I used to buy conventional bananas, but not any more.

Here's why:

Although I pay attention to the miles that much of my family’s food travels to get to our table and I buy a lot of local food, there are certain things that I can never get local. Bananas are one of them. I still buy them.

I have two growing boys who want to eat them. I also buy them grapes and apples out of season because quite frankly I’m afraid of having to take them to the doctors one day and finding out they have scurvy because it isn’t local fruit season.

Apples and imported grapes (most of the grapes I can get in winter are from Chile) are two fruits that should be bought organically because the conventional ones are heavily contaminated with pesticides. They are #2 and #9 respectively on the Environmental Working Groups Dirty Dozen Foods.

Bananas fall way down at #37 on their list.
continue reading here

Happy New Year!

Are you all ready to stop the holiday celebrating? I'm exhausted. But I'm not complaining, really. We've had time with family, lots of good food, dinners with friends, and times of giving and sharing. And it's not done yet. 

If you look over to the right, you'll see a new feature in the sidebar. It's my official "mini-ad" from Mother Nature Network. If you click on it, it will take you directly to my food blog. Things are ramping up at MNN for our official launch in early January. I'll let you know when we head out of beta and into not-beta. What do you call it when you get out of beta? Are you simply "officially launched?"

If you're on Facebook, you can become a fan of MNN. I'm a fan. My friend Katie is a fan. Come on, I know you want to be a fan, too.

This week on MNN, I'm doing three days of do-good, easy New Year's resolutions that you can adopt as your own. Check it out.

Resolution #1

Resolution #2

Resolution #3 (will post link when it goes up later this afternoon)

I'll be silent until Monday the 5th. I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year.

Working for Mother Nature

I've been writing for Mother Nature Network for a couple of weeks now. I thought I'd share a few of my food blog posts here with you. I post two or three times a day on the site, and I promise I won't bombard you with all of my posts. From time to time, I will let you know about a few of them.

First things first, though. What do you think of this groovy caricature they had drawn of me? That's just a sneak peak of it. It's a full body drawing.

On to some posts:

• Holiday food gifts: pumpkin bread recipe - this is the recipe I use when I make small loaves of pumpkin bread to give out as gifts. It's moist and flavorful, and if you're not careful you'll eat the whole loaf in one sitting.
  
• Restaurant review: Washington DC's Founding Farmers - I ate at this farm-to-fork restaurant in DC that I can't rave enough about.
  
• Tackling the bulk bins: brown basmati rice - I've started a feature on tackling the whole grains in the bulk bins. From time to time, I'll be cooking up something wholesome I've scooped from the bins, discussing what it is, and sharing a simple recipe that I've tested.
  
• 10 uses for unloved bread ends - You all know I've been trying to waste less food. The ends of bread are food even if we don't show them the love we show other food. I've got ten ways to use 'em up.

That's just a sampling of what I'm doing at MNN. I've posted dozens of other posts and you can see the entire list, here. I could use some feedback so if you read something that strikes your fancy, please leave a comment on the site. Once the site goes out of beta, I'll be writing more current food news posts in addition to what I'm already doing.

I can't believe I get to do this for a living.

Mother Nature Network is Looking for College Interns

I haven't officially announced it yet, but I suppose I'm doing it right now. I'm going to be the food channel blogger over at the soon to be launched Mother Nature Network. It's a gig I'm very excited about, and I'll tell you all more about it another time.

For now, I want to let you know that the network is looking for some college interns to be video or blogging correspondents. I wrote about it on Sustainablog in Mother Nature (Network) is Looking for Interns. If you or someone you know is a U.S. college student and passionate about the environment, take a look at this please. Then pass it along to those you might know who would be interested in something like this.