December is Veg Month!

So my s.o. and I have decided to make December "Veg Month" in our home. On Dec 5, I was on a Toys for Tots motorcycle run and at the final destination where I had pre-paid for lunch, there was only hot dogs and hamburgers available.

So what's a "girl-trying-to-go-veg" to do? I had one of each. Argh. But prior and since I have eaten nothing but veg and have since gained 2.5 pounds. Huh? Ok, I'm playing the fool but I know why. To compensate for not having meat, I've been using food products I usually reserve for special occasions such as sour cream, extra cheese and having ice cream. Note the pattern: more dairy. Incidentally, I'm lactose-intolerant.

Check out our blog over at aspgrasscash.blogspot.com. We're just really getting into this blogging thing and hopefully will post regularly, especially our really tasty meals.

But eating vegetarian is a much "greener" way to live and I would like to embrace that way of living for my health and that of the planet. Sounds great in theory, now will I do it?

In wondering what makes vegans tick, I found this blog. 

We just watched Julie and Julia - a movie about a blogging woman who makes Julia Child's recipes for 365 days. Very well done and I love Amy Adams, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci in this. Ick. Lots of meat though.

Bon appetit!

To go veg...

I keep considering it! It's the direction I'd love to head but I can't seem to fight my occasional bacon or flank steak craving. In my defense, my mom turned me on to this really awesome flank steak recipe she used to make. And I love that with home made mac & cheese. If I can find a really great meat alternative, this will all be easier.

I find it hard to commit to any diet. I bore easily so food needs to have really kick ass flavor to stick.

One of my green dreams is to own a vegetarian cafe. In this dream, I provide lovely vegetarian dishes: Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw. I provide my customers with the nutritional content and loving words of veg encouragement. I grow most of my own organic produce for the cafe. Omnivores and herbavores eat side by side w/out complaint. The cafe has living walls of greenery to enhance the environment with extra oxygen and a nature-like feel as well as outdoor seating. The cafe is just one business amongst other green storefront businesses. This all occurs in Maui, HI or Asheville, NC. Ok, maybe right here in AZ too but I don't know if there's enough of a demographic here.

Anyway, that is one of my favorite dreams. One which I will hold onto and manifest in this lifetime. This post makes me happy.

Green Festivals Coming Soon!

Boy, I can't wait until the San Fran green festival. Been waiting over a year to hit one of these.

While I'm getting a little sick of the trendy-ness of how "being/going Green" is lately, I understand that it's important to get the word out. If people love the earth and themselves that much more to make more Sustainable living choices, then everyone wins.

COOP America sponsors a series of green Festivals. Check to see if one's coming near you!
Green Festivals sponsored by CO-OP America

Green LA Girl Shows Santa Monica's Green Side

My favorite green blog is Greenlagirl.com. It's informative, humorous and our lovely green hostess gives stuff away. Win-Win, baby!

I wish we had a Green LA Girl here in Arizona. HMMMMM...Perhaps that's my calling as soon as AZ gets more Green stuff to talk about.

Anyway, here's a fun video about available public transportation in L.A.



(Has anyone noticed that I'm getting a titch better at blogging every day? Yay me!)

What is "Green"?

What is Green? I believe it means different things to different people. For me, "Green" products are Organic, biodegradable/environmentally-friendly & from proven-sustainable sources.

"Green Business" gives back to "Green" Charities, contributes to "Global Cooling" and provides socially-responsible services or aforementioned "Green" products.

For others it may just mean that the company/manufacturer is taking one or more steps to ensure cleaner products or business practices.

I believe that companies who tout their products as "Green" have a responsibility to back up those claims with proven action to avoid the rampant offenses of "Greenwashing" taking place as we live and breathe this polluted air!

Sadly, AZ doesn't have as many Green Resources or Green events as say, California or Oregon. The Wild West seems all about Golfing & excess. No one seems overly concerned about the environment or alternative energy.

Go HERE to see how your state ranks.

For my part, I'm in the process of creating a much-needed Green Directory for Arizona at Greener AZ for those folks here who do care.

A few organizations that stand out in Arizona are:
Sustainable Arizona
Local First Arizona
Environment Arizona
Phoenix Permaculture Guild
Bring Back Blue Campaign

East Valley Green Friends Meet & Greet

I'm organizing an East Valley Group via Meetup.com so that people who are interested in and/or are living a Green Lifestyle can get together and discuss current hot topics and attend Green Events in and out of Arizona.

The first Meet & Greet will be located at The Coffee Shop at Agritopia.

What: Green Friends Meet & Greet
What: To meet like-minded folks into Green & Sustainable Living
When: August 4, 2007 at 1 PM
Where: The Coffee Shop, 3000 Ray Road., Gilbert, AZ 85296, Cross-streets: NW corner of Ray and Higley Rds.

RSVP HERE

Global What?

As you can see, I reside in the ARID-ZONE. Originally from New Jersey, I've learned to like it here. Winters are mild. I can ride my motorcycle year round. People are relatively friendly (in my experience). At least more so, than on the East Coast.

This year we experienced some record cold temps for winter, dipping as low as below freezing in some parts of the Valley. Is this the opposite of Global Warming? My trees and plants are burnt from the freeze and I would like an "inconvenient" explanation for this.

And I found a chocolate company that charges a $6.95 premium to mail Arizonans some of their organic chocolate. Is that fair? Should consumers eat that cost? I mean if we give you our business...I'll let you know how they respond.

Wish I had more to say today but my office job is draining my brain. I'm unhappy but frozen by fear to pursue more exciting opportunities. Plus, I like getting to work from home. Sigh...

Till next time!

Stay Green,
GreenT

Must see movie: An Inconvenient Truth
My latest green effort: 1)Installed a CFL in my office lamp. I love it. It's nice to be rid of the "yellow" and it's bright enough to complete any task. Bonus: It's supposed to last for 9 years. I paid $4.97 at Home Depot.

2) Joined Co-op America for Economic Action

Green: What does it mean?

"Congratulations, gorgeous, you've found me! Now what are you gonna do with me?"

Now that I've finally decided to join the Blogger community long after it's inception, I plan to use this forum to share with you the "Green" or "Earth-friendly" links, thoughts, ideas, etc. that I find.

Warning: my thoughts are often scattered and disorganized!

Like you, I'm sure, a "Green Lifestyle" has always been something that I've wanted to pursue further but just never bothered to research. Well those days are over, folks! If we don't start making changes in our daily wasteful, little lives right now, the Earth and it's future generations will surely suffer.

Why should you care? I'll tell you why! Because this isn't just about you, my friend! If you have children or grandchildren, it's self-explanatory. How you live affects others - period. And because living responsibly...well, feels good!

Being green simply means making an effort to leave Earth in the same or better condition than when you arrived. "Leaving a lighter footprint" should be a goal for all of us so that future generations can enjoy these lands as we have.

Green Living Tip #1: Replace lights that you use most with a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb and save energy and $$ with a quickness!

If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR, we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars.*

Bumper Sticker of the Day: The World is Not Your Ashtray!
Must Read: It's Not Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living by Crissy Trask

*Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls