So here is MacGyver’s Guest Post, Sweet and Spicy Swiss Chard Wraps:

This recipe is broken up into three segments, the filling, the sauce, and the wraps:

Sauce

You can cheat and just buy the Asian style sweet chili sauce that comes in a jar.  Most grocery stores carry it, and you can get higher quality versions in Asian food stores, or you can make an authentic version of it yourself ensuring you know exactly what is in it.

It’s pretty easy and the ingredients aren’t hard to find or exotic by any means.  First off, I don’t normally use any real premeasured amounts in my cooking.  So all measurements below are estimates and should be adjusted to suit your tastes.

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Vinegar – Apple Cider Vinegar or Rice Vinegar work best, avoid distilled or balsamic
• 1 Cup Sugar (aim for ethically sourced brands)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp red chili flakes
• 2 Tbsp ketchup or 1 tsp tomato paste (DO NOT use ketchup with high fructose corn syrup)
• 1 Tbsp garlic (minced preferred, but can use powdered as well)
• 2 Tbsp ginger root (minced preferred, but can used powdered as well)
• Thickening agent (a roux made from arrowroot powder or cornstarch mixed with water, or use agar agar)
  • If you use agar agar, just add with rest of ingredients and simmer for 4 minutes as directed below.
  • If you use roux, stir in slowly to thicken to desired consistency.  Don’t use too much or it will change the taste profile of the sauce.

Sauce Directions:

Vinegar to Sugar is a ratio of 1 to 1.  So 1 cup Vinegar to 1 cup sugar.  You can make however much you need or make a large amount and save for later.

1 Mix in sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil.

1. Turn heat down and stir in chilli powder, red chili flakes, garlic, ginger root, and thickening agent.
2. Simmer for 4 minutes.
3. 4.  If you used agar agar to thicken, place the sauce in the refrigerator or freezer to cool until it starts to thicken around edges.  Stir again before adding to roll-ups.

Filling:

You can put whatever you want in them.  We’ve used them as substitutes for tortillas, for a Mexican twist to a burrito (though without the Asian sauce).  I use them often to wrap up leftovers – rice and beans, quinoa, veggies, or some combination.

For the recipe pictured here, something more fresh and spring-roll-like, use crispy salad fixings like cucumbers, romaine, radish, carrot sticks, celery, shredded broccoli, bell peppers, pea pods, green beans, green onions, etc. sliced into thin sticks 2 – 3 inches long.  Avocado as a great addition, and so are certain fruits like slices of apple or mango.  Unless you’re ready for a messy meal, avoid juicy fillings like tomatoes.

It is also nice to add some sushi rice or other sticky rice to these rolls.

For the wraps pictured here, we also sliced and baked extra firm tofu in strips the size of fat French fries:

–          Drain and gently press the moisture from one package of extra firm tofu.

–          Slice into extra large “fries.”

–            Carefully roll them through any powdered seasonings you like (such as kelp flakes, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, ect).  I used TVP crumbles (TVP = textured vegetable protein, makes for a very crispy coating) seasoned with a little garlic.

–          Bake at about 350 for 10 minutes or until light brown or to desired crispness.

–          You can also marinate your tofu by placing it in a sealed container with the marinate of your choice overnight (after draining and pressing).  Some tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and garlic, maybe with a touch of orange juice, might make a good marinate.  Teriyaki is another option for this.

Wraps:

There are several kinds of large leaved greens that will work as wraps:  Swiss chard, Cabbage, Collard Greens, or Kale for starters.  You can use any, as long as the leaf is larger than your hand (palm to fingertips).  You may even want to use a couple different types at a time, layering them before rolling them.

You can usually find larger leafed varieties at farmers markets, so best try there first.

I prefer using Swiss Chard for these.  It is less bitter than some of the others and the color adds a bit of flare to the wrap.  You can also cut the stalks you chopped off into sticks to add to your fillings, which we did here.  Otherwise it makes a great addition to the pile of scraps in our freezer for our homemade vegetable stock.

Preparing the Leaves:

1.  Start by chopping the bottom of the stalk from the base of the leaf.  Make sure you clean them well.  Many times dirt can get trapped in the crevices of the leaves and you don’t want to spend all this time preparing them just to bite into a gritty leaf.  It would be like sharing a bag of chips at the beach with your 3 year old.
2. Steam them for 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the stalks.  Make sure not to over steam them or the leaves themselves will fall apart as you try to roll them. .  Steam those with larger stalks longer or put them at the bottom of the pile in the steamer.

–          Don’t have a steamer?  Pile them on a large plate, splatter water in between each leaf, and microwave them for 3-5 minutes, longer if needed.

1. This step is the most important:  You will need to rip the backbone out of the leaf.  This can be tricky without tearing the leaf, but the tips below should help you do it like a pro after a couple tries

• Make a slit in the base of the stalk (as pictured).  If the stalk is somewhat rounded, don’t cut flat across the stalk, make more than one slit as needed.
  
• Before pulling and ripping the stalk from the leaf, put your hand down around the stalk (as pictured) making sure you put enough pressure down where the stalk branches out like veins into the leaf.
  
• You don’t need to remove the entire stalk.  Just the part which gives it most of its strength.  You also don’t need to pull it off all the way to the tip of the leaf (and trying to do so will tear the leaf)
  
• Hold up the leaf by the stalk (after steaming it) and you will notice right away at what point the stalk no longer supports the leaf or you may be able to simply look at it and tell where it isn’t worth pulling it off.  When the stalk is about the same size as those branching off into the leaf, you can stop there.

  2.  Dry each side of the leaf off before adding fillings.

The secret art of filling and rolling your wrap:

1.  Place fillings in wrap.
2. Pour 2 tbsp (or desired amount) of sauce over fillings.
3. Wrap

There is a big trick to this (another one)….add fillings moderately.  Add too much and you won’t be able to close it.  If you have ever eaten at Chipotle or Moe’s you’ve seen them wrap the ginormous burritos.  The secret is in the method.  When starting to wrap it, the fillings shouldn’t be in the center of the wrap.  They should be towards the butt of the leaf where you chopped off the stalk.  This is where you will start to roll it.  Also make sure the leaf is face down, stalk up.  So you’ll be putting fillings on the side you cut and ripped the stalk from.

Fold the sides over your fillings.  Wrap over the end, slightly squeezing and folding the leaf under the fillings, then wrap the sides up and roll it.  Don’t just roll it down to the end.  Roll it by pulling the remaining leaf under and keeping the roll tight.  When it starts to cool, this will ensure the wrap sticks together and doesn’t unfurl.

Finally, arrange it all artfully on a plate and soak up the adoration and praise from your happy, healthy family.

Bonus Tip for Packing Lunches:

Want to send you kids with a salad, but don’t have a salad bowl or are afraid the dressing will drip out of the container?  Wrap it up in a large romaine leaf by put several small horizontal slits down the spine of the leaf so you can roll it.  Wrap it properly and everything should be contained in the wrap.  No forks necessary.

The post Sweet and Spicy Swiss Chard Wraps appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

I bring you the second edition of my Green News Updates (which are sporadic at best):

Those Who Grow Our Food Are Starving – If you only read one article today, make it this one.  One of the main reasons Ethical Eating isn’t a “diet” is because it focuses on issues like this.  Our food production systems or horribly, tragically, broken.  So broken that in a world when we produce 1 1/2 times enough food for every single individual on the planet, half of humanity is starving or malnourished.  Every tiny food choice you make has effects that ripple back through the system and touch the lives of those struggling to find enough to eat.

Big Win Against GMOs – Mexico has banned GMO corn!  If you don’t know how big that news is, take a peek at this article and learn the horrors of GMOs and the scary fact that the US is far behind the rest of the world in forcing companies that use these altered and dangerous products to label them.

Watch Out For Neurotoxic Chemicals in Popular Candy Brands – As if the slave labor used to produce many of these candies wasn’t enough, they’re also tainted with chemicals that deregulate our brains (and our childrens’ brains) and aggravate (if not cause) ADHD.  This article talks about M&M’s, but remember the use of these chemicals is MUCH more widespread than that.

Banksy Vs Factory Farms – If you haven’t yet seen any works of this satirical British graffiti artist, take a peek at his latest display, lambasting the disgusting factory farmed meat industry.  Culture meets activism on the streets of NYC.  Yay.

It’s Vineyards Vs. Redwoods in California Wine Country – Even though I’m an unabashed wino, I definitely fall out on the side of the trees in this battle and will be double checking my wine purchases in an effort to steer clear of contributing to any further clear cutting.

What sustainability news is catching your eye this week?  What is your take on the global food crisis?

To all my bloggy friends:  If you’re putting up a post about Food Justice, Ethical Eating, Everyday Sustainability, or similar, let me know.  I’d love to include you in a Green News Update!

The post Ethical Eating News Update appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a quintessential flavor of Fall. But if you, like me, live way too far from the nearest Starbucks, or if you just don’t like to dish out $4.25 every time you want that quintessential flavor, perhaps you should try out this simple, but utterly delicious, Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer recipe.

Part of the reason I love Fall so much is because of the flavors. Hot, spicy drinks. Pumpkin, squashes, and other roasted Fall veggies. Cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger! Wonderful. And, thankfully, all things I can use to get my Fall fix even on those odd days when there are no beautiful Fall colors, crisp breezes, or hayrides and when the only sweaters I’m wearing have short sleeves.

Even though I am a complete coffee house addict, I’m still not the type to be spitting up almost $5 a pop on a regular basis for fancy coffee drinks. MacGyver and I hit up coffee houses as a treat. One of our favorite impromptu dates is always to grab coffee down by the waterfront then go for a long walk. Those rare treats don’t even come close to filling my Pumpkin Spice coffee requirements for the season, though.

Enter, Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamers. My absolute thrill at discovering these fancy holiday creamers in the grocery store was short lived. Most grocery store coffee creamers are full of all sorts of yucky stuff: hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and worst of all (in my opinion) factory farmed milk. The way those cows are treated is enough to make me wretch. And I can’t even bear to think about what they do to all those little baby calves.  Not to mention the stomach-turning health detriments caused by dairy.

Any way you slice it, whether it’s health concerns, sugar issues, fat issues, lactose issues, ethical, or humane issues, I just couldn’t continue buying those creamers. Your purchases say something! Not just about you, but about where you stand on various issues. I try very hard to keep my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

So, while I was sitting around pouting about the fact that the nearest coffee house where I could get a soy Pumpkin Spice Latte, was 40 minutes away, it occurred to me that there really isn’t all that much to coffee creamers. I mean, really, it’s just sweetened, flavored milk, right? So why not try to make my very own Urban Earthworm Ethical, Vegan, Healthier Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer? And, that night, that is just what I did.

I kept the recipe simple (mostly because I was trying to do this before making dinner ;-)), and was surprised by what a breeze this was to make. And, like most of my recipes, it’s pretty easily customized based on what you have on hand.

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups of creamer
2 cups Almond Milk*
2 tbsp mashed pumpkin (canned is fine, but make sure it’s just pumpkin and not pumpkin pie)
2 tbsp maple syrup**
1 tsp cinnamon***
¼ – ½ tsp nutmeg***
¼ – ½ tsp ground cloves***
¼ – ½ tsp ground ginger***
½ tsp vanilla extract*

* If you use Vanilla Almond Milk, you may not need to add any additional vanilla. You can also use Soy Milk, Rice Milk, Flax Milk, or Hemp Milk. Do not use animal milk – it will separate, go spoil quickly, and taste off.

** Adjust to taste and desired sweetness. If you use sweetened Almond Milk, you won’t need as much sweetener. Fair Trade/Equal Exchange brown or white sugar or agave nectar can be substituted for the maple syrup. The Maple just Falls up the flavor that much more.

*** Adjust spices to taste. You can also substitute pre-mixed “pumpkin pie spice.”

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients, except vanilla if you’re planning to add some, together in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.

2. Heat until steaming, but not boiling.

3. Whisk in vanilla.

4. Pour into a jar for storage.

It’s that easy!

Shake before using, as the spices may settle.

This stuff makes my morning!

What flavor would you like to see me try out next?  My co-workers have requested eggnog.

What do you put in your coffee?

The post Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer (Vegan) appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

Despite the recent progress made by some schools to improve their school lunch programs (examples here, here, and here), I remain steadfast in my decision to pack my children’s lunches at home.  There are just too many foods offered (or even forced) by the schools that violate our Ethical Eating standards, not to mention my own demanding nutritional standards.  (Pizza is NOT a vegetable, and factory dairy is downright evil!).

I want to ensure that my children are eating at least one full serving of vegetables at every lunch.  I want to restrict or eliminate the presence of processed foods, fillers, dyes, high fructose corn syrup, weird chemicals and preservatives, and the million other questionable things that sneak into our packaged foods every day.  I want to limit our exposure to GMOs (genetically modified organisms).  And NO DAIRY (unless I find a humane, local source – and still very, very little dairy after that).

And I want to do all that in the 10 minutes or less I have per day to pack Flintstone’s lunch (MacGyver packs Punky’s lunch following the same standards – yay team!).  It is unlikely that Flintstone will ever open his lunchbox to find something like this:

It is beautiful and wonderful and nutritious.  And there is no chance in H – E -double-hockey-sticks that something like that will emerge from this working mama’s kitchen.  If you, however, happen to have the time and inclination to carve carrot pieces into bunny rabbits and other such fun, then you should totally check out Bentoriffic (the source of this image), for endless ideas!

Flintstone’s lunches are not always pretty and symmetrical, but they are healthy and delicious.  They are also quick and easy to prepare.  Here are a few tips I follow to ensure health, variety, and EASE:

• Cook Big Dinners – If your dinner Meal Plan includes dishes that can work as lunches (and most will), make a double batch.  Send some in lunches within a day or two of having for dinner and freeze the rest for real time crunches later on (if it’s freezable – a factor to consider ahead of time).  My kids LOVE finding spaghetti in their lunches.
• Dips Make All the Difference – An easy way to avoid monotony when you send as many raw veggies as I do is to change up the dips.  humus (which can be made or purchased in a variety of flavors) is one of Flintstone’s favorite foods in the whole world, but it is not the only dip he takes.  Guacamole, bean dips, simple salad dressings, and even peanut butter all bring a new flavor to lunch time.
• Go Beyond Carrot Sticks – Don’t get me wrong, carrot and celery sticks make a regular rotation in my kids lunches, but there are sooo many other dip-able veggies!  Bell Peppers (and other peppers) in all colors, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli,  cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, asparagus, green beans, snap peas, mushrooms, swiss chard stems, endive, red cabbage, radishes – just to name a few.
• Get Them Involved – Not in the actual making of the lunch (G-ds no!), but letting them pick what flavor of humus they want or pick out a healthy salad dressing as a dip can go a long way in increasing their enjoyment of their food and is also a good opportunity for a little lesson on healthy food choices.  Why not take your kids on a stroll through the Farmer’s Market and see what dip-able looking vegetables you can find?
• Keep It Simple – Every lunch does not have to be completely unique from the one before it.  I am not Supermom and I don’t want to be.  Got a bushel of apples from the CSA?  An apple a day it is.  Maybe throw in some peanut butter to spice it up.  I try not to make any two days in a row identical, but depending on what’s in season and how busy we are, sometimes only one component of a lunch will change (see examples below).
• Start With Staples – Start every week with one or two staples in the fridge you can throw in lunches if no other idea strikes you.  I usually keep Tofurkey to use on sandwiches on days when there are no leftovers and we’ve eaten all the humus.  humus, ironically, is the other staple I keep on hand for when all else fails.  Soup is also beautiful for this.  Make huge batches.  Can or freeze it.  Instant lunch.  Just add crackers, local bread, or a piece of fruit.  And soup variety is nearly limitless!
• Don’t Stress – Some parents refrain from packing their kids’ lunches because they see it as a major, time consuming, or stressful task.  If that is the case, that is only because you are letting it be so.  It is just lunch.  I seriously spend less than 10 minutes a day on making lunch.  I do not make lunch with the kids around; I do not take orders (though polite requests may be considered); I do not negotiate; I do not fret.  The most in-depth planning I do is deciding to cook more at dinner or throwing a couple back-up lunch items in the cart at the store (humus, all-natural soup, Tofurkey, etc.).

One big crux of this is that I always have vegetables and fruits on hand.  I always hit whatever Farmer’s Market I can (which is much easier now that I work at one, but was true well before I got this job).  If I miss the market, I load up on veggies at the store.  I keep the freezer packed with frozen veggies.  That is just the nature of my kitchen, and it makes packing lunches that much easier.

What is a Waste-Free Lunchbox?

      A waste free lunchbox is one free of wrappers, baggies, paper napkins, plastic flatware, and other items of landfill fodder.  (I also strive to make lunches just the right size to limit food waste, but that’s not what waste-free lunch generally refers to).  The average US American child generates 67 pounds of discarded school lunch packaging waste per school year. That’s more than 18,000 pounds yearly for the average-sized elementary school.  Not only is that a huge landfill stuffer and environment polluter, but most of that waste is plastic, which is produced from petroleum in an energy intensive and environmentally toxic process.

Going waste-free is easy!  At least, it was for me.  Since I was not in the habit of sending my kids with packaged food-like products (*ahem* lunchables *ahem*), for me it was just a matter of switching from baggies to re-usable containers.  And these days, bento boxes are easy to find at nearly any store that sells school supplies.  These are more expensive at the outset, but a huge money saver in the long run since you don’t need to buy baggies every month.

The most vigilant among you will notice that yes, our re-usable containers are plastic.  I have glass, but I don’t send it to school with my 2 year old (almost 3, as he will tell you).  If I need to purchase more, I may pursue some of the metal options out there.  For now, BPA-free re-usable plastic is better than disposable!

We are not 100% waste free.  Occasionally an Equal Exchange chocolate in a disposable wrapper or some other little treat will sneak it’s way in, but for the most part we’re doing well.  We also use water bottles as opposed to disposable drink containers.

Vegan Lunch Ideas:

Here are the first few lunches I packed for Flintstone this year.  These were all packed in the midst of moving and are far from spectacular (plus half my pictures got wiped out).  Look to future posts for lunch ideas that are  little more creative and fun.

Sandwich: Hearty, high fiber, 100% whole grain bread, Tofurkey, broccoli sprouts, and Vegenaise;
Broccoli and carrots for dipping;
Newman’s Own Poppy Seed Dressing (oil based, so it could be better, but still pretty good ingredients);
Mixed fruit: Watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, grapes

Spaghetti made with 100% Whole Grain noodles, organic spaghetti sauce, sauteed onions, mushrooms, and green, red, and yellow peppers; and spinach;
Home-made garlic bread (whole grain bread, Earth Balance vegan spread, garlic powder, and oregano);
Farmer’s Market apple, sliced up and held together with a rubber band to prevent browning.
*This lunch is a waste-free fail because I put the garlic bread in a baggie.  We hadn’t unpacked the bento boxes yet.

Sandwich: Hearty, high fiber, 100% whole grain bread, Tofurkey, broccoli sprouts, and Vegenaise;
Broccoli, carrots, and red bell pepper (fresh from the garden) for dipping;
Newman’s Own Poppy Seed Dressing mixed with a simple mango dressing;
Farmer’s Market apple, cut into slices and held together with a rubber band to prevent browning (not pictured)
Vegan ginger snap cookies.

Sandwich: 100% whole grain bread, home-made strawberry jelly (made by a friend, not by me!); and a light spread of Earth Balance vegan spread (Flintstone goes to a nut-free school, which is a hurdle for us; more on that in a future post);
Red, Orange, and Yellow bell peppers from the garden, Farmer’s Market peas, and carrots for dipping;
Roasted Red Pepper humus;
Local Plum.

Sandwich: Whole Grain bread (leftover from the garlic bread I made), humus, red and yellow peppers, and broccoli sprouts;
Roasted cauliflower and broccoli (plus one spare pepper slice);
mango dip just in case;
organic raisins.

Spaghetti made with 100% Whole Grain noodles, organic spaghetti sauce, sautéed onions, mushrooms, and green, red, and yellow peppers; and spinach; Nutritional Yeast;
100% whole grain bread with Earth Balance vegan spread sprinkled with Nutritional Yeast;
Organic raisins;
Equal Exchange dark chocolate.

Mexican “dip” (leftovers from taco night all mixed together) = homemade spanish rice (brown rice, tomato paste, cumin, garlic, cayenne, oregano, other spices, peppers and onions), LOTS of red, yellow, green, and orange bell peppers from the garden sautéed with mushrooms and onions, and Amy’s Vegan Refried beans;
Stacy’s Pita Chips (Stacy’s are dairy free!  Yay!)
local pear from a friend’s tree, cut up and held together with a rubber band;
fruit snacks (waste free fail, but we had some left from our road trip).

The post Healthy Lunch Ideas: Waste Free Lunchbox (Mostly Vegan) appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

1  DON’T SEND FLOWERS

      Or, if you know someone who truly loves flowers, use a little creativity, and a little conscientiousness.   The vast majority of bouquet flowers in the US are actually grown in other countries – primarily Kenya, where the predominantly female workers are subjected to deplorable conditions and exposed to toxic chemicals that are banned in the U.S. and Europe. 

      Plus, bouquets don’t last.  They are beautiful for a week or two, then they’re compost.  Wouldn’t a small, thoughtful gift be a much more meaningful token?  Consider purchasing a handmade and/or recycled gift from a local shop.  Or, if internet shopping is more your speed, order something from a site that supports a good cause, like The Animal Rescue Site, The Hunger Site, The Rainforest Site, or Global Girlfriend.

       Or a gift from a favorite charity – a t-shirt from the Human Society, a tote from Amnesty International, or a book from Citizens for Midwifery.

      Find more unique ideas for gifts that give back here.

      And if you absolutely must send flowers, there are plenty of resources for sending ethically grown flowers, Green Valentine’s Day gifts, and even bouquets that donate a portion of their profits to different charities!

2.  AVOID PAPER WASTE – RECYCLE, UPCYCLE, AND SEED PAPER  

      Typical Valentine Cards are just a pit of waste – printed on bleached paper, not from recycled materials, with inks that degrade the environment.  How does that show love?

       There are so many wonderful alternatives to boring paper hearts for V-Day.  For a mountain of card alternatives (including my favorite, home made recycled seed paper!), as well as crafty recycling and upcycling ideas, click here. 

      Or, forgo the paper products all together, and: 

3.  GIVE EXPERIENCE  

      Is more stuff really the answer?  People are accustomed to giving and receiving STUFF, tangible, material, stuff. But most of us have more stuff than we know what to do with, and science and religion both tell us that what we really treasure – what truly brings us joy – is experience. 

      Go on a date!  Check out a local, organic winery.  Volunteer together at an animal shelter.  Take kayaks out and clean up some litter.  Have a picnic – have a surprise romantic picnic.  Go to a museum.  Go hiking.  Go to the library.  Go to the planetarium.  Plant something together.  Watch a Roller Derby match or some other local sport.  Find a trivia night at a local Bar (we have been going every two weeks, and it is an awesome date night).  The possibilities are endless, and way better than dead flowers.

4.  KEEP CHOCOLATES SWEET

      Boxes of chocolate are another quintessential Valentine’s Day gift, but please thing twice before you reach for the box of Hershey’s.  Many major chocolate companies source their chocolate from plantations  staffed with child slaves.  Children as young as 8 are taken from their parents, forced to live in deplorable conditions, and given only enough food and shelter to keep them alive, all so we can enjoy cheap sugar filled junk food. 

       But there are ethical chocolate companies out there, and they’re not that hard to find!  Equal Exchange offers a ton of options, including Valentine’s Day candy.  For a long list of ethical candy companies, click here.

5.  SPREAD MORE LOVE

      Valentine’s Day is, in theory, a day about love.  But there is no rule that says it has to be limited to romantic love – especially cheesy, over choreographed B-movie romantic.  Grab those dear to you, and make this day deeply meaningful for a greater population.

      V-Day – Violence against women and girls, intimate violence between any two individuals of any gender, is really the antithesis of love.  So what better day than Valentine’s Day to take a stand against such acts? 

       A lifetime ago, as a budding feminist at Purdue University, I had the great joy of performing in the Vagina Monologues as part of the V-Day movement three years in a row.  It was an amazing experience, and one I miss powerfully every Valentine’s Day.  Perhaps one day, there will be a long post about the amazing experience and personal growth being involved in the movement and the affiliated groups gave me.  For now I will simply say, I can think of few more positive ways to spend Valentine’s Day, regardless of one’s gender.  Check out the V-Day website and find a Monologues performance near you – and don’t forget to pick up some vagina shaped chocolates (but be sure to ask if they used ethically sourced chocolate)!

      30 Days of Love – The interfaith celebration of the power of love to end oppression worldwide also culminated on Valentine’s Day, and there will be powerful and moving events being held all over the U.S. (and other countries) to mark the culmination.  With two weeks left in the campaign, join with your loved ones and integrate making the world a better place into your everyday life.  I will also offer a free guest post to anyone who wants to share how they embraced 30 Days of Love (or any other d0-good Valentine’s Day alternative).

The post Recycled Hearts: Greening Valentine’s Day appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

GIFTS

Stuff vs Experience

What do the people in your life truly need? Is more stuff really the answer? This holiday season, consider giving experiences as gifts. This is no small request, as I think you’ll find. People are accustomed to giving and receiving STUFF, tangible, material, stuff. But most of us have more stuff than we know what to do with, and science and religion both tell us that what we really treasure, what truly brings us joy is experience.

Have you ever watched The Story of Stuff? It is an extraordinarily eye opening little video, and at only around 20 minutes it is very well worth the watch. And it may just change your thoughts on giving stuff this year.

Consider all the ways you can give experiences this year – and I’m not talking about giving gift cards!  Host a cooking party or wine tasting party for your friends.  Take your significant other to see their favorite sports team or to a concert.  Play golf with your brother (Heaven knows I wish I could).  Babysit for your friends so they can have a date, a spa day, a nap!

What is your favorite holiday memory?  Is it getting that bike you wanted, or is it learning to ride that bike and going on rides with your family?  Is it buying ornaments or is it decorating the tree with your loved ones?

Give coupons for you time.  Host.  Visit.  Help.  Even loved ones far away can receive gifts of experience.  Buy you health minded buddy some yoga sessions or send her to a cooking class.

Gifts of experience are the way to go, this holiday season and into the future (trust me, I know these things).  And as an added bonus, there is no waste left, only wonderful memories and maybe some pictures.  There’s no clutter, just love.

But sometimes a material gift is in order.  And for those times, use these tips to make the most out of you holiday giving.

Ordering Online
There are the obvious considerations when it comes to ordering gifts online: the environmental cost of shipping, packaging materials, and the source of the goods. These are pretty easy to grapple with.

Buy local as opposed to buying online if possible to avoid the shipping and packaging issues (as well as costs). Of course, sometimes online shopping offers the better option (especially if you’re going to have to ship the gift anyway).  If you are buying online, try to consolidate your online purchases into a single shipment. Shop small businesses online when possible. And keep in mind that you can “shop local” from afar by ordering gifts online from small businesses located near your recipient. For instance, last year I ordered a plant for my mom from local shop just down the street from her job.

It is so easy to do a little extra good with your online purchases; there’s no reason NOT to.  All you have to do is purchase your online gifts from a site that gives back.  Whether that means buying gifts from the store of a charity you support.

Then there are sites where you can shop a large selection of goods from various places with a portion of proceeds going to charity.  I wrote more about this in Don’t Send Flowers.  I recommend shopping The Animal Rescue Site, The Hunger Site, or The Rainforest Site stores – all part of the Greater Good Network.  Click these sites every day to send advertiser proceeds to charity (it takes less than 3 minutes).

There is also GoodShop, where part of your purchase proceeds go to charity and GoodDining where your dinner gift certificates can earn charitable donations.

Really, there is just no reason not to.

Buying In Person

Shop local – and I don’t mean your local Wal-Mart (or even Target).  The goods to be found at smaller local shops are of such better quality and are so much more unique than the mass produced garbage at the big chain stores, plus the shopping experience is so much more enjoyable, and your shopping dollars do so much more for your local community.  Plus, if you’re able to talk to the owner of a given shop, oftentimes you can get special deals, make specific requests, or find out about treasures that might be perfect that you otherwise would never have known about.

Hand-Made Gifts

The obvious benefit of hand-made gifts is the frugality and personal touch, but consider also the green potential.  Recycling, Reusing, Repurposing.  Those glass sauce jars you (er, we) have sitting around?  Give healthy read made soup mixes or mini terrariums.  There are literally hundreds of ideas out there for these projects, and as a bonus making them can be a great activity with your kids, spouse, or friends.  Holiday gift making party, anyone?  Check out this list of 101 Green Handmade Gifts or the source of all ideas, Pinterest.

CHARITABLE GIVING

It is a sad fact that charitable giving is expected to continue to decline this year.  The economy is still recovering from the recession, and many people are struggling.  This is more reason to give!  If you can’t afford to give money, consider donating your time or unused possessions.  Have you ever seen someone overjoyed to receive a shower curtain and rod from a local charity?  I’m certain that most of us can find something we can spare.  Growing up, we really didn’t have much, but we could usually find something to share.

I heard a story on NPR this morning that stated that the average age of a donor to charity this year is 65 years old.  My aim is to change that.

Tinkling Bells, Santa Hats, and Bigotry

Now, when I talk about charitable giving, I am NOT talking about dumping change in the Salvation Army bell ringer’s red tin.  The Salvation Army has refused assistance to gay couples unless they break up and go straight, Muslim families who refuse to attend “Christian Bible classes,”  kids who can’t prove their immigration status, and more.  The meaning of charity is truly lost on this bigoted, hate-filled organization, and I will not allow a cent of my money to fund hate this holiday season or ever.  Read more about the Salvation Army’s “mission” here.

Choosing a Charity

The Salvation Army issue should be your first hint that you should look into your charities a little before making your donation. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of charities for every cause you can think of, and some are better than others. The main things you want to look for are the transparency of the operation, the percentage of the funding that goes to overhead, and the good that is actually done by the charity – as well as being on the lookout for any hidden agendas like with the bell-ringers.

There are a number of non-profit organizations that compile all this data and rate charities for you, making the research step a whole lot easier. I also love visiting the sites because you can find out about new charities you may not have known about. Probably the largest is CharityNavigator.org, which considers all the above listed factors without overly penalizing companies who invest in significant programs (thereby putting more money toward overhead). In addition to Charity Navigator, you can research charities at the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (give.org), the American Institute of Philanthropy (charitywatch.org) and GiveWell (givewell.org). You can also find information on the charity’s website.

Maximize Your Gift

When it comes to charities, I can be a very indecisive and eclectic person.  There are so many wonderful charities and important causes.  I want to give to them all!  Heck, that’s why I practice Ethical Eating rather than just being vegan or something – I want to do the most good I can.

Giving a little to a lot of charities, however, may not be the best way to give.  While it may be true that “every little bit helps,” a lot still helps more.  Choosing one or two causes – and one or two charities – that you are particularly passionate about and giving larger gifts to those charities has the potential to do much more than could be done with many very small gifts to many charities.

While it may be hard (it certainly is for me), choosing just a couple charities to be an avid supporter of does much more good for those charities than simply being a vague supporter of many.

You might also consider making a repeating gift.  Instead of just giving one lump sum during the Holidays, consider making monthly donations.  Overall, you’ll probably be able to give more, and many charities really depend on repeating donations to know what sort of budget they have to work with and to get them through times of year when giving is less “popular.”

Some of my charitable donations are taken right out of my paycheck every month before I even see it – something I love, and money I don’t even miss (whereas I might be more aware that it was gone if I were writing a check).

Giving of Yourself

Not everyone has money to spare, or maybe you feel the money you have to spare isn’t as much as you have to give.  Maybe you want to experience a more personal connection to your giving.  I don’t know of a single charity that would turn away willing and enthusiastic volunteers.  Giving of your time can be more valuable and more fulfilling than giving money alone.  And if you’re like me, it can be a way to give to more charities without shrinking your financial donations.

We routinely volunteer with Family Promise, a charity that helps families who have lost their homes, while my financial donations go to animal welfare charities.

Do you have a special skill that you could donate?  A carpenter would obviously be an ideal volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, but those skills could be used at any number of charities – repairing animal kennels, fixing things in women’s shelters, etc.  If you have a talent for crafting, there are innumerable kids charities or homes for the elderly that would be happy to have you.  If you’re sociable, perhaps visiting hospitals or nursing homes.

Any skill can be donated, you may just have to get a little creative with it.  But there are few things more fulfilling than giving of your time.  And volunteering is a perfect way to develop:

SPIRIT OF GIVING FROM AN EARLY AGE

 I want giving and volunteering to be a way of life for my kids, not just during the holidays, but year round.  Including kids in volunteering and charity can be easy and fun.  My kids had a blast when we took out kayaks to clean litter out of the river.  They also enjoy playing with the other kids when we do Family Promise.

This year, the Religious Education (think Sunday School) class at our church is putting together boxes for operation Christmas Child, which is another fun opportunity for kids to really get involved in giving to others and to learn more about the different circumstances in which some people live.

No matter how or where you choose to give this year, have a wonderful and fulfilling season.  And please keep in mind those who have less and ways to give more.

The post On Giving and Caring: Conscious Consumerism appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

As a devoted chocolate lover, I was horrified to discover that many of my favorite seasonal treats – treats that bring so much joy to children here in the US – are produced using cruel, abusive child labor.  The bigger the brand, the more likely it is to contain chocolate harvested with the sweat and tears of child slaves / child slavery.

Boycott Hershey’s, Mars, Reese’s, and (in the US) Cadbury this year, and instead choose from one of the many brands devoted to ending this horrifying practice (see the list at the end of this post).

I was disgusted to discover that  according to an investigative report by the BBC, hundreds of thousands of children are being purchased from their parents, or outright stolen, and then shipped to Ivory Coast, where they are enslaved on cocoa farms.  Destitute parents in these poverty-stricken lands sell their children to traffickers believing that they will find honest work once they arrive in Ivory Coast and then send some of their earnings home. But that’s not the reality. The terrible reality is that these children, 11-to-16-years-old but sometimes younger, are forced to do hard manual labor 80 to 100 hours a week. They are paid nothing, receive no education, are barely fed, are beaten regularly, and are often viciously beaten if they try to escape. Most will never see their families again.

Over a decade ago, two Congressmen, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, attempted to remedy this issue.  They introduced legislation mandating a labeling system for chocolate. After the deep pockets of the chocolate corporations protested, a compromise was reached that required chocolate companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor. The certification process would not involve labeling products “child-labor-free,” as initially proposed.  In my opinion, the movement lost its teeth at that point.

Instead of the “Child Labor Free” label, it called for public reporting by African governments, establishment of an audit system and poverty remediation by 2005. The deadline had to be extended to 2008 (read Fortune Magazine’s report on the state of the protocol in 2008) and again to 2010. Today, many aid groups say some of the provisions have still not been met, and it is the biggest corporations who refuse to comply.

Why should they?  Child slavery allows them to sell cheap chocolate to a clueless US American public.  Heaven knows I was a sucker for Reece’s Pumpkins and Easter Eggs before I found out about this epidemic of slavery – not to mention a cookies and cream bar once in a while (this was also before I quit dairy).  The CEOs of these corporations make millions upon millions of dollars off of children suffering and dying.  And so many people are completely unaware the problem even exists.

So the next time you reach for a candy bar, when you go to buy candy to hand out to trick or treaters or to stock your holiday candy dishes or include in your cookies, consider the price thousands of children are paying to bring you that chocolate.

Am I telling you to swear off chocolate?  Absolutely NOT!  Thank heavens!  All you have to do is be aware that your dollars have a voice, and your support of various brands sends a message.  Make that message a positive one, and buy chocolate from an ethical source.  There is a whole list of chocolate companies who use ethically sourced chocolate below, or you can simply look for Fair Trade or Equal Exchange on the label.

Not a fan of chocolate slavery, child slavery, corporate douche-baggery, and what-have-you?  Here’s what you can do (some of these are excerpted from Is There Child Slavery in Your Chocolate?):

* Purchase chocolate products from companies who only use cocoa that has definitively not been produced with slave labor. These companies include:

Clif Bar
Cloud Nine
Chocolove Dark Chocolate bar
Chocolove Cherries and Almonds Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Crystallized Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Orange Peel Dark Chocolate Bar
Chocolove Raspberry Dark Chocolate bar
Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Denman Island Chocolate
Divine Chocolate
Equal Exchange
Gardners Candies
Green and Black’s
John & Kira’s
Kailua Candy Company
Koppers Chocolate
L.A. Burdick Chocolates
Montezuma’s Chocolates
NewLeaf Chocolates
Newman’s Own Organics
Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company
Rapunzel Pure Organics
Shaman Chocolates
Sweet Earth Chocolates
Taza Chocolate
The Endangered Species Chocolate Company
Theo Chocolate.

Sure, some of these brands can be a little more expensive than chocolate provided by slaves (not exactly a shocker there), but the extra few cents is worth it every single time.  If I can’t find ethical chocolate, I will just not have chocolate.  It’s not worth the price otherwise.  And if you order in bulk, you can save a lot.  We recently ordered a TON of Equal Exchange chocolate miniatures for Halloween that even come with little cards about the benefits of ethical chocolate, and we’re encouraging everyone we know to hand out cruelty free candy this year.

A few weeks ago when MacGyver gave a lecture about Ethical Eating, during which I also spoke, one of the topics he covered was the chocolate slave trade.  A week later a friend of ours who had been at the lecture walked up to me and said, “I hate you.  I was going to grab a chocolate bar in the checkout line this week, and I remembered those poor kids and I just couldn’t do it.”  I think I’m totally ok with her hating me for that!

* In addition or alternative to ethical chocolate, consider purchasing something from this cruelty free candy list:

Airheads taffy
Brach’s Cinnamon Hard Candy
Brach’s Hi-C Fruit Slices
Brach’s Hi-C Orange Slices
Brach’s Root Beer Barrels
Brach’s Star Brites
Chick-o-Sticks
Cry Babies
Dots
Dum-Dums
Fireballs
Hubba Bubba bubblegum
Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy)
Jujubees
Jujyfruits
Laffy Taffy (some varieties)
Lemonheads
Mambas
Mary Janes (regular and peanut butter kisses)
Mike and Ike
Panda Licorice
Runts
Smarties (U.S. Brand)
Sour Patch Kids
Super Bubble
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Twizzlers
Zotz

* Hershey has asked the public to give feedback on their corporate responsibility via an online survey. Let them know what you think. They’re asking for it. Urge them to work toward Fair Trade certification of their chocolate products. Tell them there’s nothing sweet about manufacturing 80 million Hershey Kisses a day, using cocoa is often produced using abusive child labor.

* Get a free DVD copy of the film The Dark Side of Chocolate, along with information about Fair Trade, from the dedicated people at Green America. Watch it, show it to your friends, and spread the word.

* Tweet about this article, pin it, and post it to your facebook page. Tell your friends to read this article and take the Hershey online survey. The more people who do, the greater the chance Hershey will realize that the time has arrived for it to take responsibility for its actions.

* EDUCATE YOURSELF AND OTHERS.  Here are some excellent resources to read and share on the topic of chocolate and child slavery:

Is There Child Slavery in Your Chocolate?
The Bitter Truth About Chocolate
The Human Cost of Chocolate
Equal Exchange Farmers – the way it should be done
Tulane University Assessment of Child Labour in the Cocoa Supply Chain
The Dark Side of Chocolate – Spread the Word, Host a Screening with this Free DVD and Kit!

The post Chocolate and Child Slavery – Say NO This Holiday Season appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

Carrot cake was an obvious starting point for me because our whole family LOVES carrot cake, but we rarely get to indulge.  Plus, Flintstone thoroughly enjoyed his carrot cake at his first birthday party:

But I knew I wanted to add more than just carrot since traditional carrot cake doesn’t actually have that much nutritional value. I decided on zucchini because I happened to have some very nice local zucchini from the Farmer’s market on hand, and I know zucchini bakes well.

Finally, I decided to come up with a vegan recipe. We are not technically vegan. We have backyard chickens for eggs, and I could have just as easily used eggs in the recipe, but then I probably wouldn’t have posted it. Some people don’t think twice before using grocery store grade eggs in a recipe, even with all my harping on ethical eating. So by posting a recipe that calls for eggs, I worried I would be inadvertently encouraging people to buy or use more eggs. If you aren’t familiar with the sickening practices of egg factories, including throwing thousands of baby chicks into meat grinders ALIVE, the please be a responsible human being and educate yourself about the products you buy.

It’s not like me to forget to take pictures of food, but I was pretty wrapped up in Flintstone’s birthday, so this it the only decent picture I got of his cake:

I was worried when I was making it because it had SO many veggies veggies in the batter and it looked a little dense, but it turned out really great, and it was a huge hit.  As soon as it was served, people started asking me what was in it and asking for the recipe, and it was at that moment that I realized that I needed a better picture for the post, but, alas, the entire cake was quickly consumed.  Which is why I have dubbed it my “All Gone” cake:

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Ground Flax Seeds
6 Tbsp water
2 Cups shredded organic carrot
2 Cups shredded organic zucchini
2 Cups Fair Trade/Equal Exchange Brown sugar (white sugar is ok, too)
1/2 Cup coconut oil (or other oil, your choice)
2 Cups fun flour and all purpose whole wheat flour*
2 Tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tsp ground nutmeg
pinch cloves (optional)
1 Tsp salt
2 Tsp baking soda

* We have been experimenting a lot with alternative kinds of flour.  I actually used about 1/3 coconut flour, 1/3 teff flour, and 1/3 all purpose whole wheat flour.  Different kinds of flour are fun and can really up the nutritional value of the recipe, but be aware that they may change the liquid requirements.  I just continued adding almond milk and water until my batter reached a “batter” like consistency before I added the veggies, and it turned out perfect!

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 (or don’t, and save a little electricity).  Use coconut oil to grease and flour a 9X13 cake pan.

2.  Thoroughly blend the Flax Seed Meal with the Water – you may want to use a food processor for maximum effect.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes.  During which time, you can:

3. Grate the carrots and zucchini.

4.  In a large batter bowl, mix the flax seed goo with the sugar until creamy, then stir in the coconut oil until well mixed.

5.   Add in the flour(s), spices, salt, and baking soda, and mix well.  Add almond milk or water as necessary to achieve a “batter” like texture.

6.  Stir in the carrots and zucchini – you could also throw in some nuts in this step if you wanted.

7.  Pour/spread into the prepared pan.  Bake approximately 50 minutes until a reusable skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Vegan “Cream Cheese” Icing:

Do you have any idea what they do to dairy cows, and, even worse, what they do to the baby cows they have to continually impregnate dairy cows with to keep them producing milk?  I, quite honestly, had no idea.  I went on eating cheese long after I stopped eating meat.  Even though I have tried to train myself to always questions where my food comes from, I was raised in a culture that takes food for granted.  And I LOVE cheese.  Love it.  It was the one food I never thought I’d give up.  Until the first time I saw a newborn calf being brutally dragged from it’s mother, both of them crying out for each other, the baby being carelessly injured in the process, and the mother remaining locked in a small cage, producing milk, set to repeat the whole process every year of her life.  Just remembering it is almost making me cry now.

I love cheese, and there are still some places I can get it, local goat farmers who I know don’t engage in these practices, and maybe one day we’ll have our own cow.  It is, after all, possible, after allowing time for cow and calf to establish a relationship, to take 1/2 the cow’s milk production humanely.  But you won’t catch me buying cheese, or any other dairy product, from a grocery store ever again.

So, please, if you can’t find or are unwilling to use vegan cream cheese, which is now available in almost every grocery store except Piggly Wiggly (ugh!), top this cake with something else.  Use Cinnamon icing, or any frosting recipe from Happy Herbivore.

Ingredients:

VEGAN Cream Cheese
Fair Trade Confectioners/Powdered sugar
Almond Milk (or your choice non-animal milk) – Vanilla flavored works great.
Cinnamon

Directions:

There are no set proportions for this recipe, at least the way I make it.  I used about 3/4 a standard container of vegan cream cheese, maybe 3/4 a cup of powdered sugar, and more almond milk than I needed.  I like my icing so that it drizzles over the cake, but really I had intended to make frosting so the cake would be easier to decorate.

Put your cream cheese and sugar into a bowl and add small amounts of the almond milk, mixing in a little at a time, until you reach desired consistency.  Adjust sweetness with more sugar.

Add cinnamon to taste.

***

Stand back, and watch it disappear.  This cake will be all gone faster than Todd Aikin’s credibility at a feminist rally.

As always, if you try it, please stop back by and let me know how you like it!

***

Today I’m linking up with Impulsive Addict and Seriously Shawn for Talk to Us Tuesday.  I rarely do blog memes, but this one has no rules, so it’s hard to resist (almost as hard to resist as the lovely hosts).

The post Carrot and Zucchini “All Gone” Cake appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

      About the same time buying chocolate did

      Personally, I think there are a heck of a lot of things you can easily send to people that are a lot better than flowers and have a better impact on the environment and the recipient.  If you haven’t read my post Don’t Send Flowers, please read that one first for some great ideas for alternative to flowers.

      Sometimes, though, flowers are just the most appropriate thing.  Sometimes, you know someone who just really, really likes to get flowers.  And really, what difference does it make? 

      Actually, it makes a big difference.  The traditional flower industry is guilty of a wide variety of sins against the environment and human rights.  Green Lifestyle Magazine captured it fairly well in this article, saying:

“According to the International Labor Rights Fund, flower workers are exposed to more than a hundred different pesticides, including some that are either prohibited or restricted in the U.S. and Europe. Pesticide poisoning is responsible for neurological problems, birth defects, miscarriages, and more.  The combination of toxic exposure, human rights abuses, and environmental contamination in the flower industry is a sad and ugly example of greed and mistreatment.”

      Thankfully, in there are people and companies out there who embrace BOTH capitalism AND social justice/global ethics.  And some of those people grow flowers.  If you’re going to order flowers, please do it from one of these sites:

      Now, I still perfer to send gifts that won’t die in a week or two, and both of these sites offer many such options.  They offer plants and wreaths like these:

They have a bunch of gorgeous herb wreaths

We chose a bromilead for my mom.

There are a bunch of fruit trees available.

I’m totally in love with this little Tuscan Olive Tree

And how sweet is this little trio of saplings?

      And Gift Baskets:

How adorable are these cookies?

It even appears to be humane cheese!!

      And, finally, if what you really want to give is just a beautiful bouquet, you can’t beat Flowers for Good.  With Flowers for Good, 5% of the purchase price is donated to a charity:

There are more than just roses, but I happened to like these charities…

      While I would still rather send different gifts that also have a positive impact, if I’m going to send flowers, these are some darned good options.

*** I was not asked to write this post, nor have I been compensated in any manner.  That said, if either site wants to give me one of those adorable wreaths or plants, I would totally accept it!***

The post Making Every Bouquet Better appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

      But I had an ethical dilemma.  I’m morally opposed to many of the practices of the flower industry.  The reasons are myriad, but Green Lifestyle Magazine captured it fairly well in this article, saying:

“According to the International Labor Rights Fund, flower workers are exposed to more than a hundred different pesticides, including some that are either prohibited or restricted in the U.S. and Europe. Pesticide poisoning is responsible for neurological problems, birth defects, miscarriages, and more.  The combination of toxic exposure, human rights abuses, and environmental contamination in the flower industry is a sad and ugly example of greed and mistreatment. “

      And really, a half way descent bouquet, after delivery fees and everything else, is at least $50.00 a pop and then dead in a week or two.  I decided to send SL something a little more lasting.

      Ok, fine.  But WHAT?

      I don’t do the shopping and mailing thing.  I hate the post office, and I am awful at getting things into the mail.  I literally still have some thank you notes from our wedding that I haven’t sent.  We’ve been married for over 3 years.  I’ve moved the thank you notes between more states than I can even count offhand.  I think I’ll send them out with the invites to the 5 year…  So internet shopping it was!

      Then it sort of dawned on me:  If I was going to order her something other than flowers because of the ethics, I might as well take it a step farther and order it from a site where the purchase itself will also do good.  Enter:  The Animal Rescue Site Store.

      I LOVE The Animal Rescue Site.  It is an amazing site where you can go and click the button every day, and just that one little click helps feed rescued animals.  Not only that, the site also has buttons for the Rainforest, Hunger, Child Health, Veterans, Autism, Breast Cancer, and Literacy.  And it is seriously free to click, and it seriously helps these causes.  I know, I researched it.  The company that runs it is actually a for-profit, but a huge amount of the money generated by the site goes to charities.  It’s amazing and simple and a little bit of feel-good every day.

      It takes no more than three minutes to click all the causes.  GO NOW.  SERIOUSLY.  GO.  And make it your home page.  Why not?  I click every day from every computer I use.  Every little bit helps.

       In addition to the revenue generated by the advertisements and clicking, the site has an awesome store that pulls together anything and everything from a ton of ethical suppliers.  Seriously, I think about half the stuff I pin is from this site.

      Looking for something for SL, I just clicked the “Fair Trade” category and waited for something to speak to me.  There is also a gift category.  I ended up going with this:

The Bright Botanicals Cruelty-Free Leather Wristlet:  Leather is sourced from local Haat markets where the predominantly vegetarian population reveres goats, sheep, cows and buffalo for their value as milk animals, and where a live animal is worth far more than a dead one. Without economic incentive to kill animals for their skin, the artisans instead reclaim skins from animals that died naturally.

      How beautiful is that?  Not just the product, but everything behind it.  Wonderful.  And SL LOVED it.  Though she couldn’t help but make a scathing comment about liking cruelty, ha.

      So the next time you get ready to send flowers, think about all the other, more lasting, more positive things you could send, and check out The Animal Rescue Site Store.  And if you’d rather benefit one of the other causes on the site, that works, too!  Each cause has it’s own store.

      Other items I’m loving on the site today that I think would make great gifts:

Recycled Billboard Totes

       Divine Chocolate is made with only the finest quality, fairly traded cocoa beans from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of smallholder farmers in Ghana. The cocoa is grown in the shade of the tropical rainforest,and slowly fermented and dried in the sun by farmers who take great pride in the chocolate company they co-own.

      And those are just the first few things I saw.  Check out my Pinterest Boards (or the site!!!) for tons more.

       And if you find that you absolutely must send flowers, please check out my next post on ethical flower companies!

      ***I was not asked to write this post, nor have I been compensated for it in any way other than the good feeling I get from getting the word out about simple ways to help great causes. ***

The post Don’t Send Flowers appeared first on Urban Earthworm.