It's Not Easy Being Green

Kermit the Frog said it best, "It's not easy being green." Even if he wasn't talking in ecological terms,it still rings true. Reducing our carbon footprint and being mindful of how we treat the earth is not important to a lot of people. Just take a look at the yard in my apartment complex. Cigarrette butts and trash are thrown everywhere. It sickens me. We need mother earth. She does not need us. We destroy this planet without any thought of how it really affects us. I hate when my friends throw gum on the ground, or trash out their car window. It's so wasteful and mindless. Anyhow, it made me think of what I do differently. It really is the little things that matter.Here is a list so far:

1. Never littering.
2. Reusing plastic sandwich bags.
3. Using a clothesline instead of a dryer.
4. Taking canvas bags to the grocery store.
5. Recycling everything we can.
6. Biking when possible.
7. Reducing our waste as much as possible.
8. Shopping at the thrift store. 
9. Use energy saving light bulbs.
10. Reusable water bottles/don't buy plastic ones

I hope to add more to this list. I already have some goals in mind for the future. These include starting a garden, having a compost and converting a car to run on waste veggie oil. How cool would that be! Do you have any ideas for living green??

EZ Granola

Making a batch of your own granola has never been easier! This recipe is simple and would be a fun thing to make with children. Thanks to Ashley for the original recipe. This is my own take on it. I plan on using it in place of cereal. However, it's good on it's own for a snack, or you can add to yogurt for a protein boost.

EZ Granola

3.5 cups of rolled oats(can use steel cut oats)
3 TB of ground flax seed
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of almonds (finely chopped)
3 t. of cinnamon
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of olive oil (extra virgin is best)
2 TB of honey (a local honey is great to combat allergies)
2 t. vanilla extract

Mix together all ingredients. Preheat over to 375. Spread the mixture evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 10 min, stirring once half-way through. DO NOT BURN. Watch closely. Yes, I burnt my first batch and had to throw it away. Burnt granola just does not taste good. Also, you can add raisins/dried fruit in after you cook it. Makes approx 6 cups, approx 10 grams of protein per cup.

                                                        Some ingredients.......

                                    which transform into magic granola!!! Yum!







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Thursday Night Tradition

TGITh! So glad it's Thursday! Why? Because Thursday night just happens to be Pizza Night here in our house!! That's right, all the best shows are on TV and so pizza just fits. Thurs. is really the only night we watch TV anyhow. We watch The Office, Community, 30 Rock, Sunny(when it's on) and now just getting into Rules of Engagement. We used to buy frozen pizzas, but in our quest to eat cleaner have started making our own. Good thing my hubby is a baker :) He makes homemade, whole wheat pizza crusts. We them top them with veggies:spinach, tomato, onion, peppers, etc. Top off with some feta and you are good to go! I so look forward to these nights together :) Do you have any traditions like this? I am curious to know. Happy Thursday!

Natural Candy

Just found this NATURAL candy at Giant Eagle. Hooray! The ingredients are not bad and it's delicious!

My First Post

Hello, Hello! Welcome to the blog. First off, let me just say that I would have never imagined myself writing a blog. But after starting a Tumblr page, it left me wanting more. I found it fun to express myself. In fact, it's something I feel like I need to do more. It helps to sort things out when I take the time to write them down, after mulling them over in my head. So here I am! I plan to write about my different interests and what not. Also, I recently started clean eating. It is a healthy, more natural way of eating. I am trying to eat foods closer to their natural state and avoid artificial ingredients. OF course, this doesn't always happen. I do have a sweet tooth :) Perhaps blogging about it will keep me motivated and help me along in this journey!