"Since embarking on the Zero Waste lifestyle a few years ago, my life and that of my family has completely changed... for the better. We now not only feel happier and eat healthier but we also lead more meaningful lives, based on experiences instead of stuff, and action instead of inaction."
Check out The Zero Waste Home.
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Sustainable Saturday - Coloring Easter Eggs Naturally!
Easter is only two weeks away and my children are ready to color their Easter eggs! I've wanted to dye the eggs more naturally, but have yet to experiment with natural food coloring dyes. Here’s why: Many food colorings contain color additives such as Red No. 3 and Yellow No. 5, which, according to a 1983 study by the FDA, were found to cause tumors (Red No. 3) and hives (Yellow No. 5).
Below you will find several resources for Natural Easter Egg Dyes. I have highlighted in bold below the colors and ingredients we plan to use. As for directions as to how to boil, incorporate the fruits, vegetables and spices, vinegar and soaking times, we will follow primarily what is outlined in the foodnetwork.com video below. We will report back with our results!
Directions for all colors:
Chart courtesy of http://whatscookingamerica.net
If you are looking for more specific, step-by-step instructions, check out the following for more detailed information:
Resources: http://whatscookingamerica.net, Food Network.com and Organic.org - Natural Dye
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Below you will find several resources for Natural Easter Egg Dyes. I have highlighted in bold below the colors and ingredients we plan to use. As for directions as to how to boil, incorporate the fruits, vegetables and spices, vinegar and soaking times, we will follow primarily what is outlined in the foodnetwork.com video below. We will report back with our results!
Directions for all colors:
- In a saucepan add 1 quart of water and vegetable/ fruit/ spices.
- Boil and cook for approximately 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and add 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar.
- Add hard boiled eggs to each color and allow to soak for 1-2 hours.
- Brew coffee
- Allow to cool to room temperature and add 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar.
- Add hard boiled eggs to each color and allow to soak for overnight.
Color | Items To Dye With |
Blue | Fresh or Frozen Blueberries Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled) Purple Grape Juice |
Brown or Beige | Strong Coffee Instant Coffee Black Walnut Shells (boiled) Black Tea |
Brown Gold | Dill Seeds |
Brown Orange | Chili Powder |
Gold | Turmeric |
Green | Spinach Leaves (boiled) Liquid Chlorophyll |
Greenish Yellow | Yellow Delicious Apple Peels (boiled) |
Grey | Purple or red grape juice or beet juice |
Lavender | Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice Violet Blossoms plus 2 tsp Lemon Juice Red Zinger Tea |
Orange | Yellow Onion Skins (boiled) Carrots Paprika |
Pink | Beets Cranberries or Juice Raspberries Raspberry Tea Bags Red Grape Juice Juice from Pickled Beets |
Red | Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Pomegranate juice Canned Cherries (with syrup) Raspberries Fresh or Frozen Strawberries |
Violet or Purple | Violet Blossoms Hibiscus tea Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled) Red Wine |
Yellow | Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled) Carrot Tops (boiled) Chamomile Tea Celery Seed (boiled) Green tea Ground Cumin (boiled) Ground Turmeric (boiled) or Saffron |
If you are looking for more specific, step-by-step instructions, check out the following for more detailed information:
- The Go Green Blog - Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
- Natural for Easter Eggs
- Organic.org - Natural Dye
- Crunchy Domestic Goddess - How to dye Easter eggs naturally - a tutorial
Resources: http://whatscookingamerica.net, Food Network.com and Organic.org - Natural Dye
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Benefits of Buying Local Foods, Products and Services
Why Buy Local? is a short cartoon highlighting some great reasons to buy local.
You can also read a previous post by Saving Family Green here: Sustainable Saturday - Benefits of Buying Local
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You can also read a previous post by Saving Family Green here: Sustainable Saturday - Benefits of Buying Local
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Sherwin Williams - 40% OFF! Paints & Stains (April 8th - 10th)
Sherwin Williams is running a terrific Sale! on their high quality, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints!
Find a store near you here.
We've used Sherwin Williams “Harmony” & “Duration Home” for its low VOC content in our home. Plus, we are partial to Sherwin Williams because it is an Ohio based company.
You can read more about our DIY Green Home Renovation here.
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RecycleBank - Green Your Home Challenge
RecycleBank - Green Your Home Challenge
Check out more details here.
Answer Challenge Questions correctly and pledge to make environmentally friendly changes in your home and earn RecycleBank points that can be redeemed for money saving coupons.
Earn Points and Get Rewards with RecycleBank's Earth Month Speicals.
What is RecycleBank?
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Check out more details here.
Answer Challenge Questions correctly and pledge to make environmentally friendly changes in your home and earn RecycleBank points that can be redeemed for money saving coupons.
Earn Points and Get Rewards with RecycleBank's Earth Month Speicals.
What is RecycleBank?
- Earn RecycleBank points for all kinds of actions including home recycling, refering friends, participating in Green Your Home Challenge and many more opportunities you can learn about here.
- Get Rewards in the form of money saving coupons for a variety of products.
- Sign up for RecycleBank here.
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Whole Foods Market® - This Week's Hot Deals (Ohio)
These prices are valid from April 6 thru April 12.
You can read all about the current coupon deals available in both the whole deal and available to print online here.
Sales appear to be regional or even by State. Please confirm with your store their coupon policy as some stores will allow you to use one manufacturer coupon + one Whole Foods coupon per item.
One Day Deals!
This Week's Hot Deals!
ECUADOR Whole Trade™ Guarantee Roses
(1 dozen)
$9.99 ea
Reg. $12.99 ea
CALIFORNIA Organic Bagged Lemons
(2 lb)
$2.99 ea
Reg. $3.99 ea
WASHINGTON STATE Organic Pink Lady Apples
$1.69 lb
Reg. $2.49 lb
ARGENTINA Organic Bartlett Pears
$1.69 lb
Reg. $2.49 lb
PRODUCT OF USA Fresh, Wild-Caught Haddock Fillet
$10.99 lb
Reg. $12.99 lb
FROM OUR BUTCHER AIR-CHILLED Split Bone-In Chicken Breast
Chicken cooked on the bone is tender and juicy. Raised on a vegetarian diet, no antibiotics ever.
$2.99 lb
Reg. $4.49 lb
FROM OUR BUTCHER Dry-Aged, Bone-In Beef Rib Steak
Richly marbled and super tender. From cattle raised on a 100% vegetarian diet with no antibiotics or added hormones.
$14.99 lb
Reg. $18.99 lb
FROM OUR BUTCHER 93% Extra Lean Ground Beef & Patties
$4.49 lb
Reg. $5.99 – $6.49 lb
FROM HOLLAND Uniekaas Vintage Gouda, Aged 3 Years
Deep amber to burnt orange in color, this cheese is rich and sweet. Crumble some over pasta or salad.
$9.99 lb
Reg. $16.99 ea
STONYFIELD FARM Organic Fat-Free Yogurts
Rich, creamy and deliciously fat free. Makes a healthy indulgence any time of day. Available in selected varieties.
(6 oz)
10 for $5
Reg. 99¢ ea
$0.50/3 Manuf. Coupon available here
FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD Tortilla Chips
Selected varieties.
(5.5 – 6 oz)
2 for $5
Reg. $3.19 ea
SEVENTH GENERATION Natural 2X Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent
Selected varieties.
(100 oz)
$12.99 ea
Reg. $14.99 ea
$1/1 Manuf. Coupon available here
$1/1 Manuf. Coupon 1/23 RedPlum Insert
TASTY BITE Indian-Inspired Vegetables
Selected varieties.
(10 oz)
2 for $5
Reg. $3.39 ea
SO DELICIOUS Frozen Desserts
Selected varieties.
(16 oz)
2 for $7
Reg. $4.39 ea
BLUE HORIZON Fish & Chip Bites, Maryland Crab Bites or Salmon Cake Bites
Gluten-free. (6 oz)
$4.49 ea
Reg. $5.49 ea
MADE IN OUR KITCHENS In-House Roast Turkey Breast
$8.99 lb
Reg. $11.99 lb
You can check out many more deals at Whole Foods by visiting Your Green Helper, helping moms save while going green.
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Sustainable Saturday - Suburban Gardening with Children 2011: Planting from Seeds
This year we have spent more time thinking about and planning our garden for the Spring, Summer and Fall 2011 than we have in past years. This is due to several factors including my children are now 3 and 5 and having spent the winter months reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew has changed my perspective on planning our Suburban Family Garden.
We started planting our seeds at the beginning of March and in the next week (or maybe two) will be planting outside. (I'm not convinced my seeds are ready to be outside considering we have had snow in Ohio this past week!) We determined the dates to start seeds based upon The Old Farmer's Almanac which you can search for the Best Planting Dates for Seeds by zipcode.
Here's the list of our Suburban Family Garden for 2011:
Beans
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Lettuce
Muskmelon
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
We are using Gardener's Supply Kitchen Garden Planner to plan what seeds will go where and succession planting. You can read about several tools to assist in planning your garden here.
You can view the Sample Garden Plan that I created here.
If you have been following from last year, we have one raised bed garden (4'x8') and four in ground garden plots (4'x8').
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We started planting our seeds at the beginning of March and in the next week (or maybe two) will be planting outside. (I'm not convinced my seeds are ready to be outside considering we have had snow in Ohio this past week!) We determined the dates to start seeds based upon The Old Farmer's Almanac which you can search for the Best Planting Dates for Seeds by zipcode.
Here's the list of our Suburban Family Garden for 2011:
Beans
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Lettuce
Muskmelon
Onions
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Radishes
Spinach
Summer Squash
Tomatoes
We are using Gardener's Supply Kitchen Garden Planner to plan what seeds will go where and succession planting. You can read about several tools to assist in planning your garden here.
You can view the Sample Garden Plan that I created here.
If you have been following from last year, we have one raised bed garden (4'x8') and four in ground garden plots (4'x8').
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