7 Eco-Friendly Wedding Ideas

 Green Living  No Responses »
Mar 272013
 

Add green to your collection of wedding colors with a few eco-friendly touches. Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event filled with love and laughter, and the subsequent reception is an unforgettable party. Undoubtedly, there will be plenty of trash, leftover food and empty bottles as the bash winds down, but that doesn’t mean your party can’t have sustainable touches. From natural decor to separate recycling bins, a few eco-friendly features go a long way toward looking out for the environment and giving you peace of mind on the honeymoon. You’ve picked out your dress, written your vows and signed the lease for your new apartment. Now it’s time to put the sustainable touches on your big day.

The Resources

Everyone knows that weddings can get really expensive really quickly, so why not take advantage of all the great resources you have available? If you or your significant other have friends with culinary, photography, design, cosmetology, or experience in other relevant careers, ask them for help! One of the best and easiest ways to get the assistance you need on a budget is by asking your friends and family to give you the gift of service rather than a new blender. If you’re already married, how did you get help on your big day?

The Invitations

Paper invitations come from trees, but what if these announcements could go right back into the ground? With plantable love birds invitations, recipients will have a constant reminder of your impending nuptials in the form of a wild flower. These distinct invitations contain wildflower seeds and 100 percent recycled paper. Not only will guests appreciate the unique gesture, you’ll know that your invitations provided a little natural beauty. Spring is here, and your wedding invitations can be a part of the new bloom.

The Location

A choice as simple as having your reception inside can have big environmental implications. Indoor receptions require electricity for light sources, air conditioning and sound systems. Outdoor receptions use natural light and, when the weather is right, require no climate controllers. The result is a sustainable reception that uses natural light in lieu of electricity. For many, hosting an outdoor reception isn’t about sustainability at all. It just feels right. No matter the season, your wedding will serve as a moment of spring — a period of change as you embark on your new journey.

The Decor

Distinct decor can turn any wedding venue into the unique, personal backdrop of your dreams. Selecting a theme can keep a bride-to-be up at night, but an emphasis on sustainable decorations will narrow the scope and provide directions. By exchanging vows, a couple promises that their relationship will stand the test of time. For a symbolic look, why not use furniture that has stood the test of time at your reception. Using vintage tables and chairs reduces the cost of renting or purchases expensive furniture, promotes sustainability and creates an unforgettable atmosphere.

David Tutera, of “My Fair Wedding,” a wedding planning show on Women’s Entertainment, suggests picking candles made from soybean wax or bee’s wax. He continues by saying to use a florist with locally sourced flowers. You can take it a step further by using potted flowers in lieu of cut flowers and your guests can take them home as wedding favors.

The Food

When searching for a caterer, chef, or restaurant to create a selection of appetizers or main course for your wedding, be on the lookout for one that works with local suppliers. Not only does this reduce your carbon footprint, but using local ingredients is also a great way to give back to farmers in your area. When creating a menu, consider choosing organic food options or providing guests with vegetarian options as well.

The Waste

When it comes down to it, hosting an eco-friendly wedding reception means holding to sustainability basics. If your guest list is relatively small, make an effort to use real flatware, dishes, and cloth napkins, which can be reused, rather than disposable products. Cut back or eliminate the use of balloons, confetti, or any other decorative piece that you can’t keep after the event, flower petals act as a beautiful alternative and can be dried or composted. That means recycling. Provide separate containers for trash and recycling to ensure that reusable paper and plastic doesn’t end up covered in cake.

The Entertainment

Music is an integral part of any reception, but many couples fail to use their imaginations on their wedding days, opting for the run-of-the-mill DJ. Your friends can head to the club to hear the hottest hits. Further establish your wedding’s character with subtle acoustic music. Whether it’s an ensemble of stringed instruments or your talented singer/songwriter acquaintance, acoustic music has a certain authenticity that guests will appreciate and doesn’t require electricity.

Eco-Tip Roundup: Laundry Efficiency, DYI, Carpooling & Kid Greenies

 Green Living  No Responses »
Mar 152013
 

Increase Your Laundry Efficiency

When you have a house full of kids involved in a variety of activities it can be easy to feel that laundry is a never-ending process. To make the process a bit more eco-friendly use cold water since the majority of the energy that goes into doing laundry stems from the process of heating up the water. Wash full loads at a time to cut down the number of loads you do each week. We also recommend using a natural detergent (like Mrs. Meyer’s or Charlie’s Soap) and hang clothes to dry.

Reuse Old Frames
Spring is just around the corner (we hope!) and now is the perfect time to start cleaning out and reorganizing your home. Looking to inexpensively integrate new decor? Try reusing an old picture frame with a unique or artistic edging as a vanity tray. This can be the perfect addition to any desk or table and adds an easy touch of elegance on any budget. Simply add your favorite print, wrapping paper, or piece of fabric inside the frame to complete the look.

Start Carpooling
The average American commutes to work 16 miles each way, and the average car gets under 25 mpg, which equates to about 7 gallons of gas per week to commute! Whether it’s traveling to and from work with a friend, or picking up your kids and the neighbors kids, carpooling is an efficient way to save time and money. Considering setting up a rotating driving schedule with another person(s), oftentimes this means you get to take advantage of the carpool lane, and you have someone to talk to on the drive!

Use The Library
When you have multiple kids at different age and reading levels, it can be easy to feel like you are constantly running out to the store for new books. Instead of spending money on books that will end up being cast aside in a few months, start taking advantage of your local library. This can introduce your kids to a wider variety of books from different eras, and you can easily return them once you’re finished.

Go Green With Your Kids
A great way to make your home more eco-friendly is to start integrating your kids into your conservation efforts while they are still young. Take your kids to your local farmers market and let them pick out the fruits/veggies they’d like to see in their lunch this week! This let’s them take ownership of their health and introduces them to be wonders of local and organic food.  Setup fun recyclebns in your kitchen or garage and keep track of each time your children recycles – whoever recycles the most in a week wins! Walk to school a few times a week with your kids. Not only does it create opportunity for quality time, but it also makes exercise fun.

A Week of Eco-Tips

 Green Living  No Responses »
Mar 082013
 

If you are a fan of GreenCupboards’ Facebook page, then chances are you’ve seen our Eco-Tips. If you don’t know where to start, going green can sometimes be intimidating. Our Eco-Tips are easy and low cost tips to live a little bit greener lifestyle.  Below is a look at our Eco-Tips from the week.

Keep Your Green Veggies Fresh
It’s such a hassle when you get home to enjoy a healthy snack, only to find that the food you were excited to eat has gone bad. Try wrapping greens, like broccoli, lettuce, or celery, in aluminum foil before storing them in the refrigerator. This will help keep them crisp and extend their freshness.

Terrific Uses for Epsom Salt
Epsom salt is not just great for sore muscles and helping to alleviate pain from muscle sprains. Add 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt to a gallon of water and spray your lawn for a lusher, greener lawn. Use Epsom salt and liquid dish detergent to make your floor tiles whiter and dissolve dirt. Adding some Epsom salt to your sudsy water will give you a great cleaning boost.

Adopt A Walking Routine
Between working and raising a family, it can be hard to make time to go to the gym. When you don’t have enough time to do a full workout, make it a goal to walk briskly for at least 1 mile a day and then gradually increase the distance. Walking is a gentle, low-impact exercise that can ease you into a higher level of fitness and health including a lower blood pressure and reduces bad cholesterol.

More Uses for Olive Oil 
In the winter months, the cold air can often lead to breakouts, and olive oil is one at-home solution that can ease your Eczema and Psoriasis symptoms. Try using one teaspoon of olive oil per square inch of affected skin. Mix used coffee grounds with olive oil for a topical cellulite treatment. Apply it directly to the skin.Appliances, faucets, stainless steel and laminate surfaces all benefit from a light coating of olive oil and a gentle buffing. Use a rag or cotton swab to apply olive oil to the top of a problematic hinge in your home or automobile.

Recycle Tank Water
We love fish tanks! Although cleaning them can be quite a chore, we recently read an article about the benefits of recycling tank water to use on your houseplants. The nitrogen and phosphorus found in fish droppings makes aquarium water an amazing fertilizer. So next time you have to clean, remember to reuse that water and give your plants an extra boost.

Have you every tried any of these tips before? Do you have any of your own Eco-Tips? We’d love to hear them. Leave us a comment below or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Natural Calm Drink Recipes

 Green Living, In Stock  No Responses »
Feb 222013
 

GreenCupboards is excited to now offer Natural Vitality products to our great customers. Natural Vitality is a purpose-driven company committed to the belief that the nutrient content of the American diet has declined over the last sixty years and this makes well-chosen supplements necessary for a healthy, sustainable life. To that end, they have developed a line of premium-quality supplements based on research and formulated to produce a noticeable result.

Natural Vitality believes that agriculture focused on quality, not just on quantity, is critical to our health. For their dietary supplements, they seek out organic plant-based ingredients wherever possible. All the fruits and vegetables they use are organically grown. The agave, stevia, and fruit flavorings are organic as well. This not only assures customers of no pesticide residues and no GMO ingredients but also provides financial support to organic farming.

Photo courtesy of www.fortheloveoffoodblog.com

Below, we compiled a few different recipes from our favorite bloggers (For the Love of Food Blog, Detoxinista and Veggietorials) to get you a few ideas on how to use Natural Vitality’s Natural Calm Raspberry Lemon anti-stress drink. The Natural Calm helps you balance your calcium intake, restores healthy magnesium levels and helps prevent muscle cramping.

No-Stress Blood Orange Spritzer
(2 servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blood orange juice (about 6 medium oranges)
1 – 2 teaspoons Raspberry Lemon Natural Calm
16 ounces sparkling water
Ice
Fresh mint for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Juice oranges and mix with magnesium powder. Add sparkling water, ice, and garnish with fresh mint (optional). Serve and enjoy!

 

Sugar-Free Calming Spritzer
(1 serving)

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Raspberry Lemon Natural Calm
8 oz. sparkling mineral water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)

Directions:
In a large glass, combine the Natural Calm and mineral water, stirring well. It will bubble up quite a bit, so be sure to use a big glass!

Mandarin Mimosa Mocktail
(1 serving)

Ingredients:
8 oz. fresh-squezzed mandarin juice
1 teaspoons Raspberry Lemon Natural Calm
Ice

Directions:
Mix the Natural Calm with the Mandarin juice. Add ice and enjoy!

Have you ever tried these recipes? What did you think? Do you have any recipes of your own? We’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter!

2 easy juicing recipes

 Green Living  No Responses »
Feb 192013
 

2 Easy Juicing Recipes

Juicing recipes can get a little confusing sometimes. It’s hard to know what fruits go well with what vegetables, and sometimes you end up making a less than savory concoction. Juice mix-ups happen, so here are two juice recipes to get you started.

 

Fruit Juice

Fruit juice is generally high in vitamin C, vitamin A and flavonoids. Plus, fruit juice is usually sweet or tangy. Start with a plump or juice heavy base like apples, and add on your favorite fruits. Here’s a quick and easy homemade fruit juice recipe:

 

Fruit Juice Recipe:

  • 2 apples
  • 1 blood orange
  • 10-15 grapes

Juice, preferably with a slow juicer, and chill with ice!

Vegetable Juice

Vegetable juice is often downplayed since it’s not as sweet as fruit juice, however vegetable juice is packed with minerals such as calcium and zinc. Your body is more likely to absorb plant and whole food based vitamins and minerals since whole foods offer co-factors to catalyze absorption.

Since vegetable juice can taste bland in comparison to fruit juice, feel free to add a piece of fruit to perk up the mix. As a rule of thumb, vegetable juice should contain 3 vegetables per 1 fruit (3V:1F). Similar to fruit juice, start with a juicy or high yield vegetable like cucumber or beets.

Vegetable Juice Recipe:

  • 1 cucumber
  • 15-20 carrots
  • ¼ beet
  • 1 apple

Juice, chill and enjoy!

 

Have any juicing recipes you’d like to share? Let us know! 

3 Health Benefits of Juicing

 Green Living  No Responses »
Feb 122013
 

Some of the health benefits of juicing might surprise you. Juicing is a great way to fight weight gain, improve sleep and help maintain alkaline body chemistry. Here are some other ways juicing can help improve your health.

Phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are the combined chemical elements of a plant which help fight some diseases and fungi. Additionally, phytonutrients assist with cellular activity such as nutrient and waste exchange. Here are some phytonutrients you might recognize:

  • Flavonoids
  • Phytoestrogen
  • Lycopene
  • Ellagic Acid

Phytonutrients provide more chemical building blocks for human cells to create proteins and function properly, so it’s good idea to use juicing (especially slow juicing) to supply these nutrients to your body.

Compacting

Another juicing benefit is “compacting”. When you juice, you’re essentially slicing and crushing nutrients from plant cells while simultaneously removing plant fiber from the mix.

Let’s put in it perspective: If you eat two apples and twelve carrots, you might find yourself getting rather full since you’re ingesting the entire plant or fruiting body. With juicing, you can take the same two apples and twelve carrots and end up with around 12-14 oz. of juice.

This way you harvest around 90% of the nutrients that you would have from eating all of it, but compact that nutrients into an easily digestible, nutrient rich liquid.

Easy Digestion

Unlike complex, multi ingredient foods, juice is far easier to digest than a sandwich, for example. Juicing offers your body phytonutrients in liquid form, allowing for quicker and easier digestion. Remember, plant cells are far sturdier than animal and human cells.

Think of your juicer as an out-of-body set of teeth, tearing open plant cells and releasing the nutrients therein. With all of the “heavy chewing” out of the way, your body is more readily able to absorb the plant’s vitamins, minerals and co-factors.

3 Ways to Make Rosemary Tea

 Green Living  No Responses »
Feb 052013
 

Rosemary is a commonly available spicy often used in soup, bread and tea recipes. Making rosemary tea is an easy and effective way of boosting antioxidant levels, treating sour stomachs and clearing up blemishes in some cases. Rosemary is also rumored to promote hair growth in certain circumstances.

Rosemary can be steeped by itself or with herbal, floral or citrus notes such as ginger, rose petal or lemon peel. Since rosemary qualifies as an herbal tea, it should be steeped in 180°-212°F water for 4-10 minutes depending on desired taste. Typically, the longer the steep, the more bitter the tea.

Try these 3 ways to make rosemary tea:

Cold Brew

½ cup rosemary
¼ cup ginger
¼ cup hibiscus petals
Dash of parley
2 quarts tepid water

Seal herbs in coffee filter or cheese cloth with string or rubber band (homemade tea bag). Let soak in lukewarm water for 24 hours.

 Rosemary Shots

1-2 tsps of rosemary
1-5 oz. water

Lock into an espresso bowl or pour leaves into an Aeropress. Make tea shots with your espresso machine or Aeropress.

Rosemary Matcha

1-2 tsps of rosemary
1 cup hot water

Put rosemary into coffee grinder and POWDERIZE. You can also use a mortar and pestle to grind the rosemary into fine powder. Add powder to hot water, whisk and drink whole!

Herbal Tea Recipes and Benefits

 Green Living  No Responses »
Jan 292013
 

If drinking more herbal tea is part of your daily regiment, making your own teas can be an effective way of saving you money and keeping hydrated. Herbal tea health benefits range from lowering blood pressure, balancing bodily pH levels, assisting with weight loss to improving complexion, so if you’re at odds with becoming a tea guzzler, read the following tips for making tea.

First off, it’s hard to go wrong with herbal teas (unless there’s an allergy involved).  Herbal teas are generally non-caffeinated and can be categorized by their fruity, leafy, floral and/or spicy composition. Herbal can often be identified by their vibrant colors – purples, reds, blues or light amber.

How do you get started making tea? All tea materials mature differently. For example, green tea should be prepared at different temperatures than herbal.

Green Tea:

Water Temperature: 160° – 180°F

Steep Time: 2.5 – 3 minutes

Herbal Tea:

Water Temperature: 180° – 212°F

Steep Time: 4-6 minutes

Make your own homemade herbal tea using these spices, roots and herbs:

  • anise
  • rosemary
  • dill
  • sage
  • ginger
  • orange peel
  • lemon peel
  • hibiscus
  • lemon grass

Tea Steeping Tips:

  1. 1 tsp. of tea per cup of water
  2. Herbal teas steep at higher temps for longer time
  3. Herbal teas generally do not contain caffeine

3 of America’s Greenest Cities

 Green Living  No Responses »
Jan 232013
 

 

When it comes to naming the nation’s greenest cities, no one seems to agree. Though Denver, Boston and Austin, Texas, are often bandied about, we’re naming Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Seattle as three of the most eco-friendly metropolitan areas in the U.S.

From their politics that support environmental change to the availability of vegetarian and vegan restaurants and the proliferation of residents who use alternative transportation. See why these three cities made the grade:

Portland, Ore.

According to the city’s website, 9,000 residents bike downtown every day. The city’s urban planning efforts are focused on an urban biking program consisting of 200 miles of bike lanes designated by traffic control barriers, making it easy for bikers and drivers to exist together in harmony. This is one of the main reasons the Mother Nature Network ranked Portland number one on its list of green cities.

Portland is also the first city to implement a climate change action plan. The city has enacted zoning regulations that control urban growth and leave room for farmlands to flourish, and it offers free plug-in spots for electric vehicles, as well. To top it off, Portland is home to 288 parks.

San Francisco

Home to the Sierra Club, San Francisco is famous for its liberal attitudes. Its residents voted in and implemented some rather aggressive green programs that financed renewable energy sources for public buildings and banned plastic grocery bags. ScientificAmerican.com noted that nearly half of the city’s residents walk, bike or take public transit every day, and Travel and Leisure magazine ranked the city number nine on its list of green U.S. cities, noting its interest in organic food “before it was cool” and a stellar public transit system. The city has mandatory recycling and composting laws and hopes to be home to the first solar-powered major league baseball stadium.

Seattle

According to BusinessInsider.com, 12 years ago Seattle became the first American city to mandate that all government-affiliated buildings over 5,000 square feet meet a LEED silver certification. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy gave the city a $20 million grant to retrofit more than 2,000 buildings with energy-efficient technology. The city plans to cut energy expenses by up to 45 percent and to lower its carbon emissions by 70,000 metric tons by this June.

The city boasts two global warming initiatives, the Seattle Climate Action Now and Seattle Climate Partnership, that sent energy efficiency kits to residents and local businesses. Travel and Leisure ranked the city number seven on its green city list, noting how many local hotels turn table scraps into compost and offer free parking to guests driving hybrid vehicles. The Hyatt at Olive 8 even has technology that automatically turns off the power in guests’ rooms when they leave.

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