Tips: Balcony Tomatoes!

Nothing really says spring like getting some gardening tools out and surveying the land (in this "city-case", perhaps more like balcony space or a window ledge). Plotting out which edible spices, flowers and veggies to plant is a great way to use your space and to get the benefits of some lovely greenery to look at.

The following video by a Montreal crew should get some inspiration flowing in this tasty direction:         



Video courtesy of The Rake and by Marie-Eve (who also writes a very cool blog: Lake Jane).

Tips: Spring Breakup

Are you in a toxic relationship with your household cleaners?

Image Cred: www.springbreakup.ca

Did that catch your attention? It certainly grabbed mine! So, what's this all about?

We can thank the David Suzuki Foundation for bringing us this funny twist on the spring cleaning theme. Specifically, it's David Suzuki's Queen of Green, Lindsay Coulter, that's launched this month-long campaign to help you and I get out of unhealthy relationships with conventional cleaners.

This is an issue that's close to my heart (I grew up around lots of cleaning chemicals through a family business and am still working on getting my Dad to make the full switch). Cleaners pose a significant threat to our health (the clear links to asthma alone are mega concerning), so it's campaigns like these that will hopefully grab our attention enough to make a change.

More about the Spring Breakup: this campaign has four weeks worth of content ranging from chemical education to advice on what you should be looking for on the product's labels.

I know from experience that most of us are wary of performance and cost when it comes to buying environmentally-preferable cleaning products for our home. The thing is, cleaners have come a looong way since their early "green" days, and there are loads of healthier, effective, and cost-conscious options to choose from. There really isn't an excuse for not making the switch (just admit it, this relationship needs a clean break!).

Also on the Spring Breakup website, you'll find a handy, downloadable shopper's guide to cleaners that you can pack in your pocket or wallet.

The trick to buying truly greener cleaners is knowing what chemicals to avoid, looking for proof that their claims are for real (ecolabels are here to help), and not giving up - your health is too important not to keep at this). I'll definitely post future tips on choosing greener cleaners, but do check out the Spring Breakup site for how to do this.

Here are some of my favourite greener cleaners and check out your local natural food store or green aisle in the grocery store for more:

• Nature Clean
• Attitude
• BioSource
• Baking soda (seriously, this stuff is awesome!) 

Learn more (and get recipes for making your own cleaners), and pass this along to your friends/family: www.springbreakup.ca.

Earth Hour: this Saturday, March 31

How will you celebrate Earth Hour? It's only one hour, or one evening, but it's all about raising awareness of climate change - the issues and some of the things we can do about it. Not sure what to do during Earth Hour? Check out WWF's website for some ideas, and to learn more about climate change and how it impacts us: http://earthhour.wwf.ca/earthhour/index.html.

The Lorax Hits the Big Screen...

What? Dr. Seuss' The Lorax has been made into a movie?! I love this book and the powerful message it shares about taking and taking too much stuff. I read this story down in South Carolina to students taking part in our environmental education program - it's pretty moving stuff and a wake up call about our need to care for the world (nature included) around us. The movie is set to hit theatres in Canada on March 2.

Less Work, More Living... YES!!!!

Photo cred: Chris Suspect

Ah! Okay, it's been terribly, terribly long since I've published a post on this blog. Well, I'm going to remedy that: the blog is back on and I'm hoping to amp it up with better layout, more engaging content and overall pure awesomeness. I hope you'll forgive me for my long absence and come back often. Leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you and find out what questions you have about "sustainable" living and making it happen in Toronto.

This first post back will be short and is meant to inspire. A friend recently shared a link to the below article over Facebook and, boy, did it strike a chord with me! "Less Work, More Living" from YES! Magazine is about thriving on less working hours (and less salary), spending more time with your family, friends and community and helping the economy out while doing it. It's worth some of your time to give it a read:

Photo cred: YES! Magazine

Less Work, More Living by Juliet Schor — YES! Magazine

Smart tip: T-shirt Quilts

When you take a look inside your dresser or closet, are you a keeper of old t-shirts? Do you still wear these classic, but maybe a bit worn memorabilia? If you're anything like me, a bit of a clothing hoarder, then you likely have more shirts than you know what to do with. But there is a solution!!

A few years ago, while working down in South Carolina, I spotted what I thought was the coolest looking blanket. It belonged to my friend and fellow staff member Callie and, drum roll please, it was a t-shirt quilt!! And she made it herself! I ogled the cool cut-outs of all the summer camps she'd worked at and various adventures that will be remembered with this quilt backed with cozy fleece. I was in t-shirt quilt heaven. So, I asked Callie to put her mad skillz to work. I had more than my share of shirts that I just couldn't get rid of even though they were on their way out, so this was a great way to reuse them in a cool way. It is my favourite blanket and gets compliments whenever people see it (photos above and below).

What do you need to make a t-shirt quilt?

• 20-25 t-shirts (more depending on how big you want your quilt to be)
• Patterned fabric to fill in the spaces (try going to Value Village or Goodwill to save buying new)
• Fabric for the edge and back of the quilt (fleece was a nice choice, but you may like something different)
• A sewer who knows how to quilt (and work with various t-shirt square sizes!) 

I asked Callie to make my quilt because she's so good at it (it cost me about $150 US + shipping as she lived in South Carolina at the time). Callie has since set up a blog for her quilting biz, so I thought I would share that: http://quiltsbycallie.blogspot.com/. If you are looking to keep this project as sustainable as possible, I'm sure there are local quilters you can source out, too. Yay, t-shirt quilts!

Watch: Forks over Knives

FORKS OVER KNIVES
96 min.
Rating: PG
2011
Director: Lee Fulkerson

A good friend recommended that we go and see this new documentary a few Fridays ago. "It's about the vegan diet," she explained, and we both knew it would likely throw a few punches at the North American convenience food diet. What I didn't know was how much this film would effect me and have me seriously considering my current diet and its need for an overhaul.

FORKS OVER KNIVES is a documentary about the whole foods, plant-based diet and its ability to control or reverse degenerative diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and several types of cancer. This is done by rejecting the North American "menu" of animal-based and processed food. Not exactly a message most people might want to hear - and one that many would be skeptical about. The backbone of this documentary is built around research and studies conducted by two doctors: Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist from Cornell University; and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a former top surgeon at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic. Both doctors made some remarkable discoveries during the early years of their careers which later led them to conduct several groundbreaking studies such as one that took place in China and is considered one of the most comprehensive health-related studies of all time. The doc also shows results of this whole foods, plant-based diet by following real people with real diseases and shows their seemingly miraculous recoveries in large part due to their healthier diets.

This documentary is great in that it really challenges our mainstream way of thinking and looking at the food we eat everyday. It does come across as pretty biased against the government-backed "healthy" diet, which includes meat, dairy and can be argued to include processed foods, as well. Hopefully it inspires some important discussion about our current diet. It ideally would encourage more of us to look into what it is we are eating, start asking questions, and do a bit of research for ourselves. I, for one, feel pretty inspired by this whole food, plant-based diet, and would watch the documentary again because it is so packed with scientific info. and cool nutrition facts - it's hard to get it all in with just one viewing!



Interested in learning more about the whole food, plant-based diet and trying some recipes? I am, too! The FORKS OVER KNIVES website (listed below) will soon offer an online resource to help with this endeavor. In the meantime, here are some cookbooks the film's team recommends:

The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook ($25)
The Engine 2 Diet ($24.99)
Keep It Simple Keep It Whole ($19.99)  

www.forksoverknives.com