the goode life

Cookies adorning cups

Although this is not a new idea, I think Not Martha does it the best.  Go here for instructions on how to do-it yourself!.  Cheers!

Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Mmmmm, enjoy!

The fabulous blog called Bloom.acious has the homemade recipe

Miso Soup

I love Miso soup.  It's my go to meal when I want something quick and light.  I knew it was good for you, I just didn't know how good until I read this article on the Care2 website. 

Here's a sample of the article, click on the above link to read the rest and get some recipe ideas:

10 Scientifically Researched Benefits of Eating Miso:

1. Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

2. Stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach.

3. Restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines.

4. Aids in the digestion and assimilation of other foods in the intestines.

5. Is a good vegetable-quality source of B vitamins (especially B12).

6. Strengthens the quality of blood and lymph fluid.

7. Reduces risk for breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.

8. Protects against radiation due to dipilocolonic acid, an alkaloid that chelates heavy metals and discharges them from the body.

9. Strengthens the immune system and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

10. High in antioxidants that protects against free radicals.

What to do with all the Thanksgiving leftovers?

Most people generate more trash than normal during the holidays.  In fact, the volume of household waste in the United States generally increases 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day – that’s about 1 million extra tons.

Did you know that food waste accounts for 18% of municipal solid waste sent to landfills?  More than 30 million tons of food waste is sent to the landfills each year. In the U.S., less than 3% of food waste is being diverted from landfills. There are lots of easy and effective ways to minimize holiday waste.  Here are five holiday tips anyone can employ to reduce their impact on the environment this Thanksgiving:  

Tip #1:  Have a plan!  If you don't know how much turkey or potatoes you need to feed all of your guests, find out!  You can help reduce food waste by only cooking at much as you’ll need. There are lots of tools on-line to help with this, one free calculation tool is available at: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

Tip #2:  Eat your leftovers!  This one may seem obvious, but lots of leftovers wind up in a landfill.  Instead of throwing away your excess food, make a delicious snack or meal out of your Thanksgiving Day leftovers!

Tip #3:  Compost your food waste! If you don't have a food collection system in your neighborhood, you can start your own compost pile. Find out how at: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/by_compost.htm

Tip #4:  Use food waste as a resource! Compost it to make a natural fertilizer. Or anaerobically digest it to create energy!

Tip # 5:  Give Back!  Find a local non-profit agency to donate your excess food to.  Not only will you be making a huge difference for someone in need, you’ll also help divert waste from a local landfill.

(Source:  the US-EPA)

Safeway's Solar Powered Grocery Store

Safeway has unveiled it's first solar-powered grocery store, and upon further investigation into this I found out Safeway is quite the eco-warrior!  What- who knew! 

I've always associated Safeway as such an old-fashion kind of grocery store, kind of like the Piggly Wiggly in that Driving Miss Daisy movie, the only people who shop there are those who haven't heard of Trader Joe's or who don't live within a reasonable distance of Whole Foods.  So what's left is your Grandma's grocery store: Safeway!

But I am impressed (and I don't impress easily) to find out Safeway has been doing all kinds of stuff in order to improve the company's energy efficiency.  First they have installed solar panels atop a lifestyle store in Dublin, CA (not too far from me), and plan to extend this program to other stores.  The entire Dublin store uses renewable energy, even the on-site retail fuel station uses wind power, plus a bunch of other stuff in the store (e.g. LEDs, state of the art refrigeration, etc....)

Safeway also recycles 500,000 tons of plastic, cardboard, metal and wood!  Who knew!!  They also belong to California's Climate Action Registry, the official CA registry for greenhouse gas emission reduction.  I'm really starting to like Safeway now.  I had no idea a corporate giant (it's a Fortune 100 company) like Safeway cared about the environment.  They do have an organic section but I thought it was just to appease the masses not because they really cared.  I stand corrected!

I'm going to have to tell my mom I now approve of her shopping there.  I sit on the board for my neighborhood's citizen committee and we are currently looking for a grocery store for a HUGE site that is being developed.  I was so vehemently against bringing in a chain like Albertson's (which is now back to Lucky's....make up your mind people), I wanted a local chain for this great opportunity or at least a Whole Foods/Wild Oats.  I shall now humbly suggest to the other committee members that perhaps they were right Safeway is a goode way to go!

Technorati Tags: Safeway groceries environment renewable energy solar power