Green Guilt

Don't you feel guilty when you throw things away? I feel awful. Except, of course when I get the contractor grade trash bags out while my kids are at school and throw away all of those useless, plastic trinkets that seem to multiply.

Their rooms sometimes remind me of a nightmare version of "Toy Story" where the toys and animals start to multiply into genetically modified playthings. That's what happens when Buzz Light Year gets together with a Build-a-Bear.

We're down to three trash cans under our sink now since recycling has gone single stream. There's one ominous black trash can, the blue recycling can and the white compost bucket. Keep reading, this gets better. I'm feeling good about all that recycling, but I do question how much of it really ends up being used for something else. I'm feeling a little bit of guilt about this.

I have a stinky compost bucket that fills up really fast. I feel great putting all of those potato shavings and coffee grounds back into the ground. Unfortunately, sometimes I'm too lazy to take the bucket all the way around back to the compost pile. I don't seem to have a problem dropping it on the side step for a few days. The racoons love it. Feeling a little guilty about this.

I admit I am a bit of a crazy cat lady. We have four cats, and to quote my husband when I mentioned our four cats to some friends at a dinner party, he said, "we have four cats?" We do and apparently they have an insatiable thirst that can only be quenched by cool, dripping water from a faucet. You guessed it, I'm feeling guilty about that too.

With three girls and one husband in the house (luckily the cats don't wear clothes), I do a lot of laundry and, yes, I use the dryer. Could I hang my clothes to dry? I should, but I don't think my neighbor needs to see my teenage daughter's colorful push-up bras. Feeling guilty, though.

Summer in Baltimore is really, really hot. I can't sleep when it's hot. When I'm at home, I don't want to feel like I'm camping. I want comfort and since I never go to spas, I want spa-like comfort. Sugar scrubs in my bathroom, children massaging my feet and a cool house.

When does this end? Well, sadly, I could go on about gas law mowers and cars and lawn watering, but we need to cut ourselves a little slack in this crazy world. I say, do what you can do. Nothing is too small and let the rest go because life's too busy and short to carry the burden of global warming on your shoulders (it's real, by the way, in case you weren't sure). 

Take baby steps--in moss green, of course. Join a Freecycle group. This is a great way to find a home for unwanted things from furniture to clothing. I moderate the Towson group and I'll let you in as long as you aren't a spammer and you follow the rules.

Help your child's school become a Maryland Green School. It's a lot of work up front, but once teachers and administrators are on board the green education will take roots in the classroom.

It's fall and the acorns are already pelting us. There's still time to get a scout troop involved with the Nut Buddy Program through Growing Native. This is such a great, hands-on project for collecting native acorns. Although it's funded by the Potomac Conservancy, the forestry service in Baltimore County has a huge need for native acorns. 

These are just a few suggestions. What are you doing to ease your green guilt?

Cooking Light is Easy

Well, you do still have to cook, but it really helps to have "light" recipes at your fingertips.  One of the best things I ever did in our household was create a recipe book.  Fortunately, I had stacks of un-recycled Cooking Light magazines and a hungry family to inspire my creation. A friend once asked me, "are you a page marker or a tearer?" I quickly replied, "a page marker, of course." Who would tear pages out of a magazine--doesn't that ruin it? After thinking about it, I realized that I needed to be a "tearer", and right away! How liberating it is to read my Cooking Light magazine from start to finish as soon as it lands on my countertop and tear out recipes as they catch my eye. I know what I like when it comes to food and it makes gathering recipes quick and easy. 

Once I was liberated as a "tearer", I gathered a three ring notebook, some clear plastic sleeves and began to create my coveted recipe book. I threw a few dollars to my 13 year old and she actually placed tabbed dividers in the book to organize the recipes by type. Of course, we had to dedicate an entire binder to sweets. So, in the amount of time it takes to boil some pasta, I had my recipe "bible." 


A few times a week I browse through my book, choose a few recipes, put post-it notes on the front of each with the ingredients I need and head to Trader Joes. Usually, my super-friendly, over-educated friends at TJs approach me to find out what I'm making this week. So make cooking light one step easier; make a recipe binder for yourself and maybe even create one for a friend. They make unique gifts and you could even splurge on a fancy binder cover from Watermelon Wishes on Etsy.

Here are some of my all-time favorite Cooking Light recipes to get you started:

Strawberry, Pistachio and Goat Cheese Pizza

Vegetarian Bolognese with Whole-Wheat Penne

Cavatappi with Bacon and Summer Vegetables

Falafel with Avocado Spread
Baked Potato Soup
BLT Bread Salad

Roasted Beet Pizza
Seared Scallops over Bacon and Spinach Salad
Cantaloupe, Prosciutto and Cabrales Salad

The Hot Topic of Sunscreen

Since summer is in full force here in Baltimore, it's time to talk sunscreen. The safety of sunscreen has been swirling in the news lately.  There is definitely a delicate balance between getting your daily dose of vitamin D, not getting burned and avoiding unnecessary chemicals.  This is where I insert my disclaimer--I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV.  Please take my advice with a grain of salt. I will say that I have had my fair share of sun over the years, if that counts for anything. I have vivid memories of Coppertone oil and sun lamps.  I even started my own bath & beauty company to help ward off future wrinkles.

So, here are some don'ts & dos when it comes to the sun:

don'ts:

• (don't) Use the spray sunscreens.  I know, they're so convenient, but so is lung cancer. The nano-aerosols in these sunscreens are nasty for your lungs and could cause cancer.
• (don't) Use sunscreen with a synthetic vitamin A called retinyl palmitate. New government data shows that tumors and lesions develop sooner on skin coated with this type of vitamin A.
• (don't) Use sunscreens with the chemical oxybenzone. It is a synthetic estrogen that penetrates the skin and contaminates the body.
• (don't) Use a bug spray/sunscreen combo. If you need bug spray, apply it first.
• (don't) Use sunscreen higher than 50. In a recent NY Times article, Dr. Warwick L. Morison, a professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University and chairman of the photobiology committee for the Skin Cancer Foundation, said "he was disappointed that the F.D.A. failed to ban SPF numbers higher than 50 because such products expose people to more irritating sunscreen ingredients without meaningful added protection."

dos:

• Look for active ingredients zinc, titanium, avobenzone or Mexoryl SX. These substances protect skin from harmful UVA radiation and remain on the skin, with little, if any, penetrating into the body.
• Get a little sun. It's recommended that you get at least 15 minutes of unprotected sun a day on your skin and eyes--yes, eyes. Sunlight helps prevent many eye diseases. Most people have low vitamin D levels that can affect immune function.  In the winter, I take 2000 mg of vitamin D a day to compensate for my lack of sun. That's what my doc recommends.
• Check the EWG Sunscreen Report to see how your sunscreen ranks. I love Alba Botanica. It was ranked one of the least toxic and it's quite easy to find at Whole Foods or Wegman's.
• Check out EWG's Hall of Shame and make sure your sunscreen isn't listed.

Remember, 80% of what you put on your skin ends up inside your body. Choose your products carefully!

French Food Makes Me Happy

Some of my favorite meals are French. You might be wondering how French food equates to healthy living, but it makes me happy and happiness is definitely congruent with health. Now I'm certainly no Julia Child or even Julie the blogger, but I can appreciate the simple, yet bold flavors of French cooking. The French have mastered the art of finishing an indulgent meal with a fresh, crispy green salad and a creamy bite of cheese so you're divinely full, yet you don't feel like you've overeaten.

One of my household staples is a classic French vinaigrette that I learned to make 1,000 years ago while "studying" in France. My daughter won't even eat salad without this dressing. The key is to make it in your wooden salad spoon, whisk it together in the bottom of the salad bowl, place the fresh greens on top and have the man in the house toss it when you're ready to eat it. This is always the man's job in France.

Classic French Vinaigrette

Place a small dollop of Dijon mustard 

on your wooden salad spoon. 

Add a pinch of kosher salt and red wine 

vinegar to fill 3/4 of the spoon. 

Whisk together with a fork. 

Pour mixture into a salad bowl. 

Add one finely chopped shallot.

Add 3 spoonfuls of vegetable oil 
(fill the wooden spoon 3/4 full just like the vinegar)

and whisk with a fork.

Toss with greens when ready to eat.

Basically, the dressing is 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar

Another classic dish in my house is chicken and wine. I might like this one so much because you have to open a bottle of good red wine and I hate to let any go to waste.  This is my simple version of coq au vin.

Chicken & Wine

1 1/2 lbs of bone-in chicken breasts

1 onion chopped

1 cup of baby carrots sliced lengthwise

1 cup of chopped celery

3 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of good red wine

1 piece of apple wood smoked bacon

1 tbsp olive oil

kosher salt, pepper

bunch of thyme/rosemary sprigs tied together

Rub chicken with salt & pepper on both sides. Brown the chicken breasts in olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot on medium, high heat with the piece of bacon (approx. 5 min. on each side). Remove chicken and discard bacon. Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.  Add chicken back to pot, red wine, chicken broth, herbs, salt & pepper.  Bring to a simmer and cover for 1 1/2 hours.  Shred chicken and add it back to the pot. Add salt to taste. Serve over rice.

I absolutely love the flavors of a savory raclette. I prefer using Gruyere cheese and making a sort-of fondue for spreading on the bread. The cheese works best if you can keep it warm.

Simple Raclette Recipe

6-8 baby potatoes
8 oz. gruyere cheese
1 jar of cornichon pickles
4 slices of thick cut ham cut into 
2 inch squares
1/4 cup white wine
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 shallot chopped
1 tbsp butter
loaf of french bread sliced on an angle

Boil potatoes (don't over-cook), quarter. While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in cast iron skillet and cook shallots for 1-2 minutes on medium heat, add chopped garlic, cook for 1 minute.  Add shredded cheese, cook until it melts stirring constantly. Whisk in white wine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Keep cheese mixture warm on very low heat, stirring often.  Make your own raclette by spreading cheese on bread, top with a piece of ham, potato and pickle. Yum!

What's your favorite French meal?
Bon Appetit!

For the Love of Biking

What do you get when you fuse smashing music, interval training, sprints, hill climbs, epic mountain climbs and non judgemental camaraderie for one hour?  An astounding workout, of course, topped with a good dash of mental therapy.  RPM™ is an intense indoor cycling class formulated by New Zealand based, LES MILLS™. I've taken my fair share of stationary bike classes in the past, but there's no going back once you've experienced RPM™.


The brilliance of RPM™ is in the unequivocal, rhythmic program lead by highly trained instructors.  I love the certainty that I'm going to get an excellent workout every time I attend a class.  There's something comforting in knowing, for example, that Track 5 is always interval training or that Track 7 is consistently a challenging mountain climb. Don't get me wrong, it's never monotonous. The upbeat and methodical music is the central component to the class which boasts perfectly timed choreography.  LES MILLS™ introduces new music to the mix every three months, so the workout always stays fresh.


"RPM's™ benefits are innumerable," says Tamara Pitard and Linda McShane,  RPM™ instructors and fitness gurus at Lynne Brick's in Baltimore, MD. "It provides you with a platform to train for anything from a marathon, mountain bike race to a triathlon.  You can tailor your own workout, since you control the intensity.  We have people that come to class to just lose weight, while others are more concerned about increasing their VO2 max. Whatever you need, RPM™ can deliver."

For me, RPM's™ intensity allows me to stay in shape by burning 500-900 calories in just under an hour. I would say, "that's a good bang for your buck."  I absolutely love being able to squeeze that much intensity into such a short amount of time.  RPM™ has become my time to decompress and get lost in the rhythms, comforting patterns and instructor guided imagery.  Where else can you beat Lance Armstrong on a mountain climb or Tyler Hamilton in a time trial?  Go ahead, get on a bike, even if it's stationary!
    

DIY Beauty Treatments

I had to smile as I was cleaning a splattered cocoa concoction from my bathroom sink, floor and walls that I dutifully share with my three daughters (aka--"The Female Zone"). I realized that this is what you get when your mom's a wanna-be alchemist. My girls have seen me creating food elixirs in my kitchen since they were little. It's to be expected that they would want to try a little skin alchemy on their own; and you should too.

In the past, women would turn to their kitchen when they wanted to look their best. The kitchen offers an array of natural, inexpensive ingredients such as rolled oats, honey and milk that can revitalize skin and hair. There are some amazing, simple recipes that can be whipped up in minutes and have been used for centuries.

Here are some of my favorites:

Foaming Hot Chocolate Milk Bath
(Cleopatra would have loved this one)

Soak in this delicious milk bath to soothe and soften your skin. Heat 3 tablespoons of dry bath mix with 1/2 cup water and two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and bring to a boil.  Add the hot mixture to bath water while the tub is filling.

1 cup of instant dry milk

1 cup unsweeted cocoa powder

1 cup baking soda

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a covered jar. Keeps for up to 6 months.

Rejuvenating Hair Mask

Apply this mask to hair and cover with plastic wrap for 15 to 30 minutes.  Rinse thoroughly with warm water and shampoo as usual.

1 banana

3 tablespoons mayonaise

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Mash the banana in a small bowl until completely smooth.  Add mayonaise and oil and blend until creamy. Use immediately.

Moisturizing Avocado 

& Honey Face Pack

Apply this mixture to your face for 10 minutes.  Gently remove with cool water.

1 ripe avocado

2 teaspoons plain yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon raw honey (I love the Trader Joe's raw honey)

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mash into a paste using a fork.  Chill for 30 minutes and use immediately.

Clarifying Lemon Facial Toner

Smooth toner over face with a cotton ball to help even out skin tone.

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

grated zest of 1 lemon

2/3 cup witch hazel

Combine all ingredients in a clear bottle and seal.  Shake well before use.  Keeps for a month in the fridge.

Stock up on some glass canning jars and bottles to store your treatments and make sure you refrigerate your leftovers.  Bon Appetit! For the skin, of course. 

The Lunch Box Debacle

    Are you the lucky chef in your house who prepares the kid's lunch boxes in the morning? If so, I feel your pain. It's a mystery to me; food goes out nicely packaged and loaded with hugs and kisses and sometimes returns untouched . On the other hand, there are days when the box returns empty. Hmmmm. Enter my frustration. I'll say, "I thought you liked peanut butter and jelly." The answers range from, "I do, but I wasn't in the mood for it" or "no, I don't like it anymore," or better yet, "I don't like sandwiches anymore."  I'm perplexed. Do I ditch my only sandwich option or change my marketing tactics?  

The tricky thing here is that this is only kid #1, I've got two other units to please. In the grand scheme of picky, my kids aren't afraid of a little fruit and don't have an aversion to green food, but they all have ridiculously different palates. I do pride myself in unmodified dinners for the family. One meal for all and all for one meal. No one is going to starve, and there's always cereal. For some reason, though, when you release your kids to the institution formally known as school; more commonly called the school house with learning cottages, the rules change. You've lost your fastidious control as the healthy food pusher.

There's hope, though. I could dive in with Jamie Oliver and the bunch to address the problem of unhealthy school lunches. It's on my list, but in the mean time I'm fighting my own food revolution on the home front.  I think one of the keys to a successful lunch box is to go tapas style--small portions and lots of variety. This can seem labor-intensive prior to a cup of coffee in the morning, but after caffeine, manageable with the right supplies. This week I'm experimenting. Simple, no fuss lunches with variety. I should mention that I refuse to cut sandwiches into cute shapes with cookie cutters or put faces on things that shouldn't have faces. Day one looked like this:

Lunch #1: Homemade lunchable-- sliced cheddar cheese, whole grain crackers, piece of uncured ham, pickle. Granola. Strawberries. 2 Cookies. 

Lunch #2: Bagel with cream cheese. I like Trader Joe's Spinoza bagels with 9 grams of protein. Aside from being high protein, the packaging states that it "Bagels Your Mind", which confirms that someone at Trader Joe's is over educated, underpaid, and still manages to have a sense of humor about his/her situation,  yogurt tube--frozen, apple--cut in two halves, put back together and tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so it won't go brown, baby carrots and dip.

Lunch #3: Veggie wrap with yogurt dip, red pepper, lettuce and cucumber, cheese crackers, vanilla yogurt, small milk chocolate bar.

The aftermath wasn't too bad. Most containers returned empty, bagel half eaten, carrots half eaten. Chocolate and cookies, gone.  I've had to put post-it notes on the sweets to remind them to "eat last." Which I'm sure they completely ignore, but it makes me feel better. I think a little sweet treat in the lunch box gets more eaten in the long run. Good friend and personal chef, Maureen Kramer of Baltimore Biscuit Company suggests offering up some healthy oatmeal cookies or homemade granola to jazz up the lunch box monotony.

Maureen’s Granola 


Ingredients:

10 cups rolled oats,1 cup dried milk, 6 cups nuts (any combination of raw almonds, walnut, pecans, cashews), 5 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes, 3 tsp. salt, 2 egg whites, ½ cup vegetable oil,1 cup honey, 3 tsp. vanilla, 2-3 cups golden raisins (add after baking). Heat oven to 275 degrees



Method:

1. Combine dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

2. Add wet ingredients. Hint: add the oil first then pour the honey in that cup. Mix thoroughly.

3. Put it in pans 1-3 inches thick and bake.

4. Use a spatula to turn it every five minutes or so. Like cookies, it’s best to take it out before it seems done. When it feels hot to the touch and is a light golden brown, it’s ready.

5. Add golden raisins.


Chocolate-Laced Oatmeal Cookies

Heart-healthy oats are peppered with bittersweet dark chocolate chips to make these crisp calorie-conscious cookies.

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray, 1 ¼ cups quick-cook old-fashioned oats, ½ cup whole
wheat pastry flour, 2 tsp flaxseed meal, 1 tsp cinnamon, ground, ½ tsp baking
powder, ¼ tsp sea salt, ½ cup agave nectar, 1 large egg white, 2 tsp unsalted
almond butter, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, ¼ cup dark bittersweet chocolate chips
(about 40 grams)

Method: 


1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.


2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.


3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond butter and vanilla.


4. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.


5. Divide batter equally into 16 mounds (about 1 rounded tbsp in size) and arrange evenly spaced on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2 ½-inch circles. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2 to 3 days.

I'm sure you're thinking, is she really blogging about this? This is nothing new. Sometimes, though, just hearing what other people are doing may spark an idea for you. I had to snicker the other day when I read an article about two chefs who couldn't get their kids to eat anything other than standard kid fare. Just hearing this makes me feel better and reminds me of an excellent cookbook idea I've had rattling around my head. The cookbook features two staple, kid-friendly meals from each one of my friends. Bingo, we all have some new recipes to shake things up at the dinner table. Unfortunately, that one hasn't even made it on the list, so in the mean time here are some yummy, kid-approved lunch box recipes:

Wraps seem to be working in our house. 


Some of my favorites:

• Peanut butter, nutella and banana
• Veggie--spread tortilla with yogurt dip or hummus, add lettuce, red pepper strips, cucumber or what ever your kids like.
• Loaded Chicken Salad--cook two chicken breasts and shred, add 1/4 cup mayo, 1 apple cubed, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds. 

I'm also a big fan of yogurt in all forms. My kids enjoy yogurt parfaits on the weekends, so I sometimes make them a lunch box parfait for school.

• Lunch box parfait--vanilla or Trader Joe's vanana yogurt in a small container with frozen blueberries or strawberries. Pack some granola in a separate container to mix in. 

I find that having lots of small plastic containers on hand makes lunches easier to prepare and more eco-friendly. Another great option is to purchase a bento box style lunch box. I absolutely love these biodegradable lunch boxes from Goodbyn™ . I always get a tinge of green guilt when I use those pesky plastic baggies, so you could consider the reusable bags, if you don't want to buy a new lunch box. There's a great shop on Etsy, Bleuroo, that makes adorable embroidered and personalized reusable snack bags. 


Happy preparations!