Some Interesting INFO from Healthy Dining Chicago: On the Road with Harry Rhodes As a long time fan of Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, I was thrilled to learn that Harry Rhodes, Executive Director of Growing Home, was going on the road and blogging about it as he explores urban agriculture throughout the US (MadisonWI, New York, NY), Canada (Toronto), Cuba and perhaps a few other places!   Join me in reading about Harry's travel adventures!      http://on-the-road-with-harry-rhodes.tumblr.com/     Did You Know? Tearing Romaine and Iceberg lettuce the day before you eat it quadruples its antioxidant content. The smaller the tomato, the more nutrients it contains. Deep red tomatoes have more antioxidants than yellow, gold, or green tomatoes. Beet greens are more nutritious than the beets themselves. As a nutritarian who strives for more micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals) per calorie and avoids unhealthy food choices whenever possible, I've included information like this for years in my book and presentation 100 Simple Ways to Eat Well for Less (aka Healthy Dining on a Dime). Now it's going mainstream in the forthcoming book Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, an investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author who specializes in science-based health information.    This superbly-researched and illustrated how-to guide on selecting, storing and preparing the most nutrient dense produce items from your grocery store aisles, farmers' markets, home gardens and more is an important addition to your summer reading list! Best part! It's available at your local public library!   Must Reading if You Shop at Walgreens! In February, I commented on Twitter "At the Corner of Happy & Healthy? Come on Walgreens! You can't keep pushing soda pop, bottled water & canned soups and keep that slogan!"   Now, I see Phil Rosenthal is asking the same question. Below is a link to his great column in yesterday's Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-biz-0505-phil-20130505,0,6702990.column     Upcoming HDC Presentations New Dates and Times Added Shift Your Assets From Clutter to Cash (newly updated!)* Eat Well for Less (based on 100 Simple Ways to Eat Well for Less) Healthy Desserts in Under a Minute! To book a presentation for your community group, corporate lunch-n-learn program or local public library, e-mail Laura@HealthyDining.org    * George Carlin Talks "Stuff"        What's in Season in the Midwest in Spring Arugula, Asparagus, Lettuce, Peas, Mushrooms, Onions, Parsnips, Peas, Radishes, Ramps (Wild Leeks), Rhubarb, Scallions, Spinach, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Turnips      Tuesday, May 21from 12-1 pm Final Re-Thinking Soup of the Season http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/_programsevents/_kitchen/_rethinkingsoup/rethinkingsoup.html    Healthy Dining Chicago has offered a steady diet of bite-sized, easy-to-digest morsels of practical information and valuable resources to help time-pressed consumers make informed choices that are kind to Mother Earth and all of her inhabitants since 2003.

Until next time,  Laura Bruzas Healthy Dining Chicago founder Website: www.HealthyDining.org

Eco-Friendly Super Bowl Party

Eco-Friendly Super Bowl Party (via Green Living Ideas)

Hosting a Super Bowl party can be fun, but it can also be very green. Why not allow your football festivities showcase your green living? Here are just a few ideas for throwing an eco-friendly Super Bowl Party. Homemade Chips Think of all the snack bags thrown away at the end of Super Bowl Sunday and…

Washington Green Schools

Welcome!

Take a look at the what the state of Washington is doing with their efforts to make schools Green.

Washington Green Schools challenges students and school communities to create a sustainable region through educational experiences that transform school environments. Schools that certify engage students, conserve resources, and save money. Explore this website to learn how to get your local school involved.

• Read about Washington Green Schools success stories on the Case Studies page.
• Visit the Program Info page for details on how the program works.
• Explore our 2011-2012 Annual Report or recent news articles to read stories about successful projects led by teachers and students.
• Learn how the Washington Green Schools program addresses WA State Learning Standards.

About Us

Washington Green Schools is a nonprofit program supported by government agencies, individuals, businesses and foundations. Its robust educational resources are available to all public and private K-12 schools in Washington state.

Our Mission

Washington Green Schools challenges students and communities to create a sustainable region through educational experiences that transform school environments.

Our Vision

Every school in Washington will teach, model, and practice environmental sustainability, serving as centers for change throughout the region.

Contact Us

For more information about Washington Green Schools, please use the contact us form here.

Awards

2011 - Washington State Recycler of the Year from the WA State Recycling Association

2010 - Organizational Excellence from the Environmental Education Association of Washington (EEAW).

“I’m monumentally excited. This is not a burden. Even without the recognition rewards, we are being given so many resources to make a change. This is great!”

Teacher, Everett School District

What's New in Recycling in Lake County?  SWALCO has launched a brand-new recycling campaign, “Recycle First. Trash Last.” The campaign encourages all Lake County residents to place a priority on recycling first, and trashing what’s left.  Instead of immediately thinking about throwing away that empty shampoo bottle, for example, ask yourself “is that recyclable?” (The answer, by the way, is yes!) For a full list of what is accepted in Lake County, click here.  While many residents in Lake County already do a good job at recycling, we can always do better. Check out the campaign atwww.RecycleFirstTrashLast.org and learn more about curbside recycling in Lake County, the campaign and what you can and cannot recycle.

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Declutter the Eco Friendly Way - Secrets to Sanity in 2013

Eco Promotional Products, Inc. – Written by Laura Mathews


If you’re like me, you don’t need to wait until March to do some spring cleaning.  With the New Year upon us the decorations come down and you’re left with a great opportunity to organize and declutter your home.

But where do you begin?  Let’s start with things that are frequently coming into your home, and then leaving in short order.  Two main culprits for most are mail and packaging.  The average American receives about 41 pounds of junk mail a year, a statistic you can likely appreciate after just getting through all the holiday mailers.  By going to the National Do Not Mail List & Direct Marketing Association’s website, you can set preferences to get off unwanted mailing lists.  You can also set up online accounts to handle all your bills electronically.  It’s fast, easy and you’ll save a few bucks every month on postage.  Moving into the kitchen, let’s talk about packaging.  With all the serving size food options available to us at the grocery store, convenience can seem tempting and worth the price.  But all those single use 8 oz. yogurts and 12 oz. water bottles are part of the 200 billion pounds of plastics that are produced every year.  I challenge you to go green and save yourself some green by purchasing bulk sizes.  It may require you to actually portion out your own on the go snacks, but pre-portioned items can easily cost two to three times as much as their larger container counterparts.  Another great place to eliminate packaging is in the bulk dried goods area.  Beans, rice, flour and granola are some of the most common items that can be purchased in bulk and can save you around 30%.  You can even bring your own container from home to fill up.  That brings me to a key point I’d like to make about eliminating packaging.  In order for this kitchen transition to be a success, you must have proper reusable containers at home.  If you don’t, you’ll get frustrated and just buy smaller portions.  Start by saving glass containers from things like preserves, honey or pickled items.  Also invest in some larger containers.  When I made this transition in my kitchen, I purchased a case of pint and quart mason jars.  It’s made it easy to see what I have, they stack, they’re easy to clean, they work for saving leftovers and it makes my food more visually appealing and all the more enticing to cook.  A lighter option for foods you’ll be taking on the go are BPA free plastic containers.  And let’s not forget drinks.  Investing in a quality water bottle and coffee mug is going to make it easy for you to bring filtered tap water or home brewed coffee with you as you leave.  Perhaps your company hands out reusable water bottles.  Put the money saved from bottled waters and coffee shop coffees in a fund for next year’s Christmas presents or a vacation!  You’ll be amazed how much you’ll save.  Reducing the amount of things coming into your home is a great start to decluttering your life. 

 

But what about all the items that have already gotten into your home and are staying there?  They are necessary items being stored where they should be but every time you need something, you know it’ll be a battle.  I’m talking about your clutter hiding spots - the closets.  To begin, just start folding.  What started as being in a rush while putting laundry away can often become an “Oh, just shove it in” situation.  Take back your closet and fold!  The next step is to get containers that can easily store items that can be grouped.  The possibilities are endless but here are three scenarios in which containers will help.  If you’re an avid camper but all your camping stuff is strewn across various closets, purchase large storage containers with lids and keep everything stored in one place.  You can do the same for holiday decorations also.  A solid colored container will give off a cleaner appearance than a clear one; choosing different colors for each storage category will help you distinguish which is which.  Second, a better solution to having all your medicines, lotions, and extra toiletries standing on a shelf in the linen closet may be to keep them in an open container on the shelf instead. This way, you can slide the container out rather than

reaching behind various bottles to get what you need, being at risk of knocking all the other containers down.  Third, if your beach towels, bathing suits, scarves and mittens are taking up valuable closet space that could be storing something you use all the time, get an under bed storage container for season specific items so they can be alternated out twice a year and free up space in the closet.  Just by investing in some smart containers, your closets will go from disaster zones to the awesome storage spaces they were meant to be. 

 

Finally, the part that is often hardest for us all.  Be honest.  While you may not be the next to appear on an episode of Hoarders, that doesn’t mean you’re not hanging on to an item or ten that you’ll realistically never need again.  You’ve lessened what’s coming into your home; you’ve organized your clutter danger zones, now all you have left to do is take a good look at what you don’t need anymore. I strongly discourage haphazardly throwing stuff out.  However, for those items that are still perfectly good but just not needed anymore, maybe it’s time to donate them, (companies like the Purple Heart actually do scheduled pickups), repurpose them (turn an old vase or colander into an outdoor planter) or, if you have a lot of items, host a yard sale.  Decluttering is an amazing feeling.  Treat yourself to a more Zen-like home this New Year.

 

 

About Eco Promotional Products, Inc.:

Eco Promotional Products, Inc. (EPP) is a certified woman owned company providing a full-line of eco- friendly promotional products. EPP helps organizations promote their logo, brand and message in a “green” way.  All products are made from either recycled, organic, biodegradable, rapidly renewable resources, promote conservation, made in the USA or a combination of these qualities. Eco Promotional Products was born out of a passion for the environment, with goals of reducing landfill use, respecting our non-rapidly renewable resources, providing exceptional service at affordable prices and being an active advocate for human rights issues.

 

For more information on Eco Promotional Products, Inc., please visit:

www.ecopromotionsonline.com , call local: 847.520.1771, toll free: 877.326.9467 or email us at info@ecopromotionsonline.com  .

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0j0BbRaEjOOazRneVM3THJSRWM/edit

Waste Free Lunch - Give it a try!

What a waste free lunch looks like:


Waste-Free Lunch Tips

It has been estimated that, on average, a single school-age child generates 67 pounds of lunchtime waste per school year, or 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for one average-size elementary school. Why use educational dollars to pay for trash disposal? Every single piece of packaging or excess food that we eliminate from the waste stream makes a difference. Please do your part to help!
Everybody Needs to be “On Board"A waste-free lunch program is a process of educating students, school staff and parents.
The first step is to weigh or measure the garbage on any regular school day. The result, in pounds or bags, will then be used to demonstrate that by packing waste-free lunches, less waste will be generated. Post results on a common-area bulletin board on an on-going basis.
The next step is to explain to everyone how all the wrappings of a sack lunch add up and end up in a landfill, as well as food that is brought to school and not eaten. Have an all-school assembly to highlight the criteria of a waste-free lunch. Emphasize that the reusable containers do not have to be bought at a store. Any plastic food container with a lid will work. Show examples of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for reinforcement.
Encourage students to communicate with their parents what they like to eat for lunch. A student with missing teeth is going to have trouble eating an apple that is not cut up. Some children only eat a half of a sandwich, while others need two. Also, food that is not eaten during lunch should go back in the reusable lunch bag to be eaten later, perhaps as an after school snack.
Visit wastefreelunches.org for the following information:

• Waste Audits
• Sample Parent Letter
• Cost Comparisons
• Display Ideas
• Lunch-Time Activities
• Educating Your Family
• Success Stories

Sort Lunchroom Garbage – segregate the garbage as follows:

• one bin for food leftovers only
• one bin for all tree packaging (brown bags, cardboard, napkins, etc.)
• one bin for oil packaging (plastic wrap, baggies, straws, bottles, etc.)
• one bin for metal (foil, cans, etc.)

Labeling the bins is a good way for students to understand the natural resources that are used for packaging and what material makes up the largest part of the waste stream.

Follow up with the “Garbage Pizza” activity (make a pizza (pie chart) that categorizes materials in our garbage by percentages).
Sort Untouched Food – after lunch, go through the garbage and separate the whole, uneaten food. Weigh it and put it on display for a curriculum night or at a PTA meeting. Add a sign that says, “Do you recognize your child’s lunch?” You can also put it on a tray and walk it through classrooms late in the afternoon. Not knowing were the food came from, students will ask for an item because they are hungry. Inform them why it cannot be given away.
Compost – set up an indoor worm composting bin or an outdoor composting bin. Organic food scraps can be used to feed the worms, and from waste comes a nutrient-rich soil. Small branches, paper and landscape waste can be put in the outdoor bin. Please be mindful of any municipal restrictions.
Compare Products – Have the students do a cost analysis of single-serve drink boxes vs the same product in a powder form that gets mixed with water, or a favorite snack packaged individually vs a larger bag of the same product. How much of a cost or savings does buying in individually-wrapped products/vs bulk come out to over a week, month, school year? After the research is complete, chart and graph your findings. Post your findings in a newsletter or on a bulletin board.

Download Waste-Free Lunch Tips.
Source:SWANCC

Declutter for the New Year!

As we start the year it is always good to look for new ways to Declutter our lives and our Inbox!

Here are some helpful sites to get you started!

Junk Mail Opt-Out Lists

• National Do Not Mail List
• Credit Card and Insurance Offer Opt-Out
• Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference 

Phone Book Opt-Out

• Yellow Pages
• Dex

4 Tips to Declutter Your Inbox

Despite the galactic rise in social media usage, email is likely still a big part of your every day life. Many of us have been using email for over a decade which has led to disorganized, cluttered, and productivity-killing mailboxes. The following tips focus on using features in Outlook to clean up your email clutter, but a lot of these tools can be found in other email platforms as well.

1. Set Up Rules
Outlook’s Rules feature offers a quick way to organize emails on a number of criteria, without having to manually move each and every message. Simply create a Rule, set your criteria and what action you want Outlook to take with any email that meets that criteria, and hit run. For example, you could have Outlook automatically move all emails from a specific sender to a specified folder. For Outlook 2010 instructions, click here. For Outlook 2007 instructions, click here.

2. View Emails as Conversations
Outlook 2010 offers a Conversation View so that multiple emails on the same topic are placed in one single conversation thread. This can really de-clutter your inbox in a hurry. Simply click the “View” tab and select “Show as Conversations” in the Conversations group.

3. Use Smart Contacts
Smart Contacts categorizes your contacts into three categories: Recent, Frequent, and Favorite. This makes it a lot quicker to find the person you’re trying to email when you have too many contacts. To download Smart Contacts, click here.

4. Set Up Junk Filters
97% of emails sent are junk. And even if your email host provides great spam protection, you still might see an occasional junk email find its way into your inbox. Outlook has a built-in junk filter that you can tweak to catch most junk emails. To learn how to adjust the Outlook’s Junk Filter, click here.

And if you’d like personal help cleaning up a cluttered, over-sized, or slow Outlook account, we’d be glad to help.
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Source: Small Business Technology