Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Goals for More Natural Living

Since we're talking about being crunchy, I decided to just keep rolling with this topic since it's so much fun!

It may not be New Year's yet, but it's a good time of year to evaluate my habits and set goals for 2008. Here are my crunchy goals:

Realistic:

*Make some cloth diapers and go back to using cloth during the day to save on diapers.
*Drink herbal/green teas in place of or in addition to a cup of hot cocoa each day.
*Eat more quinoa/brown rice in place of white rice. Quinoa is yummy!
*Drink soy milk instead of cow's milk.
*Learn how to make hummus and homemade pita bread.
*Take evening primrose oil capsules to see if it helps with PMS
*Buy some eco-bulbs to conserve on electricity
*Eat more fruit in place of sweets

Far-fetched goals:

*Buy a juicer and make fresh juices (however, this would imply having fruit around! It's so expensive here!)
*Buy most, if not all, organic produce and meats
*Get my hubby and kids to like whole wheat spaghetti
*Learn to make my own laundry detergent
*Learn how to make all-natural soaps
*Buy all our drinking water in recycled jugs instead of drinking chlorinated tap water

For the future, when we have a house of our own:

*Dry my laundry outdoors, especially in the summer (but for now washer and dryer are free in our building)
*Have a large organic garden
*Use all-natural cleaners
*Teach my kids to reduce, re-use, and recycle!
*Start a compost pile

Okay...maybe I should copy what Meredith said on my previous post, and go hug a tree! *LOL* I'd love to hear YOUR goals for living more naturally, either in the comments section or on your own personal blogs.

8 comments:

Meredith said...

I want to make hummus, too! Good goals!

♥ Craig & Jessica ♥ said...

I have been making my own laundry soap for around 6 years now... It's great!

Tracey said...

Hummus is awesome and easy to make!

1 Tbsp. Cumin
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 C. Tahini
1/4 C. sesame oil (from top of tahini) or olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (more if you like garlic!)
Juice of 1 lemon
about 1/3 C. water

Put everything except water in food processor and process; add water as needed to make a smooth puree.

Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Easy peasy, delicious, and nutritious!

Anonymous said...

Where can I get Tahini Tracey? I have no idea what it even is!

Anonymous said...

Jessica,

Could you tell me how to do laundry soap? I'd love your recipe!

Tracey said...

Tahini is ground sesame seed paste. It is a light tan color, and I find it at my local grocery store in the aisle with salad dressings (it is usually located on the top shelf, and even though I know what I'm looking for it is still easy to overlook).

I've had several different brands and they were all good. The brand I currently get (the only kind available at my grocery store) is called Krinos, I think it has a nice flavor. Here is a link I found online that shows a picture of the jar: Ayhan's Marketplace.

I've never visited that website before, so I cannot vouch for it, it was just the first place where I found the product.

If your local grocery store has an ethnic section, you can look in the Middle Eastern area and probably find some there too.

Make sure the one you get only lists "ground sesame seeds" as its ingredients.

Hope this helps!

LS said...

Thanks for the recipe Tracey! I found it in the middle eastern foods, that same brand you mentioned! It's on sale this week so it must be the right time to make my own hummus!

Our Home to Yours said...

Hey Lindsey, I have a great recipe for Hummus our whole family loves.. even Leah! Let me know if you want to try it.. it;s got a little garlic/spice kick.. which makes it great!

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