The Smoothie Vegetarians

People talk about ways to reduce waste and eliminate unnecessary chemicals from their lives. They do everything from recycling, to not using plastics and all the way to keeping their waste so low they can fit it in a jar . But there is one angle that most people forget about. The one thing that, in my opinion, produces a lot of waste and is actually pretty harmful: Menstruation products. I know, I know, you hate talking about your period. It seems weird to say “I have a period” but don’t be ashamed. Stand up and shout it! Over half of the world gets a period. But have you ever stopped to look at how much waste is produced and a number of chemicals are in the products? We’ve been told since we were children that tampons can make you sick. Why do we still use them? Worst of all, all that extra plastic just ends up in the dump and then in our oceans. Sea life will try to eat it and it can destroy ecosystems. Every bit of plastic made is still in existence somewhere in the ...

The last couple of years I heard a lot about oil pulling and the benefits of pulling for your oil hygiene. Oil pulling can be good for your overall health as well. I have always wanted to try it but it seemed very daunting to swish coconut oil for 20 minutes. I don’t have 20 minutes in my day to give my mouth that kind of workout. I wanted to find a better way. I have always had a terrible time with my teeth. I brush them everyday and floss most days but no matter what I always ended up with cavities. My teeth are straight but over the years have yellowed. I actually really like my teeth so the yellowing, while insignificant in the scheme of life, made me very self-conscious. I wanted to find a way to improve my oral health and take care of the yellowing. When I was looking online for ideas I stumbled on a Facebook page about zero waste. It was there that they talked about the blog Trash is for Tossers. Lauren, the zero waste queen, had a recipe for toothpaste using a ...

This is going to be an extension of a video I posted on our Youtube page earlier this week. Today, I wanted to talk about tips for zero waste grocery shopping. Lately, I have been obsessed with reducing my waste. After quick analyses of where my household's waste was coming from, I discovered that most of it was from grocery shopping and food waste. I made a few changes and noticed a HUGE difference! Reusable Grocery Bags This is the first step most people take. It may take time, to figure out how many you need for your family. No worries, most stores sell these near the checkout are. If you find that you don't have enough bags just purchase one at the store or use a paper bag. For my husband and I, we use about 4 reusable bags for our grocery haul every two weeks. TIP!! Keep your reusable bags in the car or next to the door so you will not forget them. Reusable Produce Bags If you eat a lot of fresh produce, like we do, then you will get so much u...

The last few months I have really been focusing my efforts on losing the waste coming from my home. One of the responses I have gotten from people when this topic comes up in conversation is "Do you really think you would be able to save the planet?" To me, this question basically means do you think your efforts mean anything? Because I don't. So, do I think I am making a difference? The average American throws away 4.4 pounds of trash a day, or 29 pounds per week, or 1,600 pounds per year. The average American lives to be 77 years old. This is 123,000 pounds of trash over the lifespan of one person. By taking a few steps I have reduced my household's trash by half. Going by the statics above, my husband and I should produce 58 pounds of trash a week, but at this point, we fill up one tall trash bag a week. It weighs between 6-8 pounds every week. We feel that this is still quite a bit of trash and want to reduce it even more. This is the change we have ...