Sunshine and Light

Experiments in Living

So essentially I'm a hippy wannabe, I've decided. The wannabe part comes in the form of not being willing to sacrifice certain things to make the plunge to being green. Like not wanting to put up with the smell of patchouli. And not wanting my hair to feel like straw. And not buying things that taste disgusting, just because they're the hippy food of the month. So after about a year or so of trying to be a bit more green, here's what I've learned:

The Good

• CSA - Essentially you pay a subscription and get several months of whatever the local farmer is harvesting from his fields. There is a lot of good to be said about food that was picked that morning. And of course the green benefit is that there's low gas costs associated with the food.
• Soy - This won't apply to everyone, but we've discovered that cutting back on dairy has led to less sinus problems. And since together we're the king and queen of springtime allergies, we'll take any relief we can get. However, I can say that we just can't completely give up pizza, cheese, and ice cream. We do eat a lot less of it these days though.
• Vegan Planet - Great recipes which don't take hours to make - and you can feel a teensy bit virtuous about them, even if you do substitute regular cheese for soy.
• Grass-Fed Beef - We're working our way through the second shipment of grass-fed beef from a somewhat local farmer. I like the taste a lot, actually. I wasn't sure what I expected, but I can tell a difference in quality from what the local Shop -n- Save offers. And after reading about the process of fattening cattle in feed lots, I feel like this is a more humane way to treat the animals.

The Bad and the Ugly

• Low Flow Toilets - this actually was not my idea, the result of a plumbing problem which led to an impromptu bathroom modernization. Keep a plunger handy.
• Shampoo - I've tried two different types (one of which came highly recommended) and my hair feels like &%*(#. (pick the curse word of your choice, heaven knows I've used them all). There's a reason chemicals are used in shampoo - because they work. I'd be willing to try again, but for now the two I've tried are off to a friend who's much better at this hippy thing than I am.
• Tofu Sour Cream - I know, I know, even the description sounds disgusting. But I figured if I could find a reasonable alternative to sour cream, that was one more dairy thing I could remove from our diet. Fortunately I tasted it before it got to Chris, and it went down the drain before it could kill again.
• Organic Milk - actually I didn't drink this since I just don't drink that much milk. But I bought some for Chris to use in his espresso. The plus side was that it frothed up impressively. Unfortunately he didn't like the taste. Not sure why it would be different, but it's less of an issue now anyway since we transitioned more heavily to soy.

I'd like to try some "green" cleaners, but I'm keeping the 409 at the ready, just in case.

Even though I know cows are resource intensive, don't look for me to go vegetarian/vegan. Ever. I'm a good beef-fed midwestern girl. I like it. I can absolutely respect those who are vegetarian or vegan, but it's not me.

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:14 AM