Go Green While Quarantining!
Happy Earth Day (week)!
As we look for new ways to bring some joy into our Spring days at home, gardening is becoming a favorite hobby, and Earth Day is a great time to get your green thumb! Plus, anyone can do it, as a little space is all you need for some homegrown happiness!
Get Growing!
Gardening is fun for the whole family, it’s a great way to get some sunshine and Vitamin D (helps support our immunity, which we could all use right now), movement, plus you get to enjoy the fruits (and veggies!) of your labor. And, children who help with growing their food are more likely to eat it, so get them involved, too. The best part is you you don’t need a big yard, you can garden even using just your counter!
Plan Your Garden
Before you dig in, decide what you’d like to plant and what grows well in your climate. Favorites like tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, lettuce and herbs are easy and low maintenance if you’re just starting off.
Start Seeds Inside
This makes it easy and fun for kids to watch their seedlings grow. Starting your seeds inside also gives your plants a head start and increases the likelihood that they’ll once being planted outdoors! You can use a zippered tent or just place in pots or even old egg cartons (more reusing!).
Also, did you know you can grow your own veggies and herbs on your counter with just the end of an old one and some water?! You can do this with celery, green onions, and lettuce like romaine. Just take the root end and place it in some water in a glass on your counter and watch it grow! I never ever throw away the white ends of my green onion, and you shouldn’t either-you’ll never have to buy it again!
Move Them Outside
Choose where you want to plant in the garden, using a planter, raised bed, or right into the ground. This is another fun way for kids to help, and studies show that playing in the dirt is good for children’s immune system and helps relive stress and anxiety.
Watch Your Garden Grow
Water your plants and watch them grow!
Now that you have some veggies and herbs, what to do with them? Here are some recipes to make with your new produce!
Pesto (with any and all leafy herbs you have, such as basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, and green onions)
https://www.marthastewart.com/1050451/herb-garden-pesto
Garden tomato sauce
https://www.skinnytaste.com/easy-garden-tomato-sauce/
Healthier zucchini muffins
https://www.kalejunkie.com/nicole-modic-blog/paleo-chocolate-chip-zucchini-muffins
Some of my favorite green products
These fresh ideas and items are sustainable, organic, and support our environment!
Always buy your fresh items from local farmers if possible. Here are two links to help you locate farms and farmer’s markets near you.
Non-toxic, super effective, sustainable cleaner based on one multi-purpose concentrate that can replace all your products. Refillable bottles mean less waste and less expensive. Use for your whole home, including dishes, laundry, kitchen, bathroom, hands, even to clean produce and make a bubble bath!
Sustainable, wild seafood and meat that is the highest quality, certified for purity, and delivered to your door!
Healthy, grass fed and finished, sustainably-sourced, and certified humanely-raised, no-junk meat sticks that are a delicious, portable, super clean protein. My favorite is the Hoppin' Jalepeno!
These are reusable silicone bags are better than traditional single use bags and eliminate the amount of plastic waste. You can freeze them, microwave them, sous vide in them, and they’re dishwasher and oven safe. Plus, 1% goes to nonprofits that are dedicated to preserving the oceans.
Mega Food herbs and supplements
Whole-food based, high quality vitamins and supplements that are verified, non GMO, and certified B-corp. Plus, you can reuse the glass bottles in tons of ways. My must-haves include women’s multivitamin, probiotic, and vitamin D.
When skincare meets makeup, this favorite women-owned clean beauty brand pumps up the SPF for powerful natural skin protection. Their products are made without Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates, GMO, Synthetic Fragrances, gluten, or talc, and never tested on animals. My favorites are the lengthening mascara (I’ve tried them ALL), the super serum skin tint, and the multi stick!
Glass storage containers to eliminate plastic use.
A must-have to minimize the use of plastics! And, safe to microwave and use in the dishwasher, too.
Enjoy these fresh ideas for earth day that are sure to bring some bright green fun and life into your days!
>>> Let me know below if you try any of the recipes or ideas and what you think!
