If you’re like most people who made New Year’s resolutions, you probably vowed to do a little bit more exercise. But if you’re like us at GreenCupboards, chances are you are experiencing lots of snow and ice outside, making it hard to go running in the snow. Slips on winter snow and ice are some of the leading causes of breaks and bruises during cold months. If you catch yourself without any tread on your shoes and want to go running in the snow and ice, try this DIY snow shoe trick:
Materials
Shoes with little or non-existent tread
Zip ties
Directions
Take two zip ties
Conjoint ties at a right angle
Fit the ties to your shoes
Viva la traction
There is also a few different types running gear you can purchase to help you stay safe while running in the snow such as yak tracks. Whatever you end up using to create traction, we hope you stay safe and motivated to keep running and stick to your New Year’s resolutions!
Santa is at the mall and he’ll be coming down our chimney’s soon! Until that time, why not pick up new habits to make the world a greener place during this holiday season. Here are some ideas for inspiration!
Recycle your packaging!
Save your boxes and gift bags from previous holiday events and reuse, reuse, reuse! Instead of packing all that bright tissue paper into the trash bag hide it in the back of your closet for next year! Need more ideas? Look here!
Experiment with new transportation!
Bike, Walk, or Bus to where you need to go! Despite rain, sleet, and snow many members of the GreenCupboards.com staff still pedal to work during these months. If weather permits we like to save some gas and get some fresh air. It’s good for us and the planet!
Try reusable bags!
As you load up on groceries, goodies, and gifts be sure to gather your purchases in reusable bags! Every year over 1 trillion plastic bags are used. Do your part to cut that number down!
Support Eco-businesses!
Working together is at the core of keeping our world green. Support local businesses or organizations that practice green habits, provide funding for green initiatives, or include being green in their mission.
Encourage your friends!
The holidays are a time to be with the people you love. Spend time with friends making eco-friendly decorations or shopping online! Your good habits will encourage them to be conscious of our effect on the planet!
1 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, shelled* and de-veined, tail-on for presentation if you want
3-4 garlic cloves, slivered, or 1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 zucchini
1 shallot
6 shoots of green onion
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt
black pepper
Step 1: On medium heat, warm butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted and bubbled combine garlic, shallots and pepper flakes. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until garlic is slightly browned.
Step 2: Mix in shrimp, wine, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and zucchini. Turn up heat to highest setting. Make sure all shrimp is exposed to the mixture of butter and wine for best results. Allow wine to reduce. Make sure shrimp is laid out evenly on pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping once or twice, or till shrimp is firm to bite.
Step 3: Flip shrimp, continue cooking on high for a minute or until all shrimp is fully cooked (pink). Remove from heat and finish your scampi off with chopped parsley, green onions, Parmesan, and the rest of the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.
YUM!
Eat it by itself: with bread, over pasta, or rice. There are endless ways to enjoy this dish.
Step 2: In a large saucepan, combine peaches, 1/3 cup of the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon; toss to coat peaches.
Step 3: Boil peaches over medium heat.
Step 4: Cook for 1 minute, or until mixture thickens.
Step 5: Remove from heat and transfer mixture to an 8-inch square baking pan.
Step 6: To make the topping, in a large bowl, combine flour, remaining tablespoon of sugar, baking powder and salt.
Step 7: Fold in margarine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 8: Pour in milk, stirring until flour mixture is evenly moistened.
Step 9: Drop topping mixture onto peach mixture.
Step 10: For extra goodness, sprinkle brown sugar and nutmeg evenly over the topping.
Step 11: Bake uncovered until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Step 12: Let cool for at least 7 minutes, cut and serve! (Might I suggest á la mode?!)
Side Note: We picked the peaches from Greenbluff, and got the ingredients from the bulk bin at Main Market. Support your local economy!! Buying in the bulk bin saves money, and decreases waste because you never buy more than what you need!
Keep your trash out of the landfill, and change it back to how nature made it. This is the basic idea behind composting. You may have seen a compost bin and thought it looked just like a bin of garbage, in which case you would be wrong. Composting involves converting naturally decomposing organic matter into a substance gardeners call “black gold” for its nutritional benefits.
In a compost bin you can put things such as grass clippings, unused peelings from organic kitchen materials (oranges, onions, artichokes, bananas), straw, and leaves. These things can, and will be broken down in a compost bin. The decomposed compost can be used as a fertilizer.
To make a healthy and un-stinky compost bin you will need alternating layers of carbon and nitrogen materials. Carbon rich substances include; straw, leaves, and sawdust. Nitrogen rich substances are things like food scraps, and grass clippings, or other yard trimmings you would usually put in the “green bin”. A good rule of thumb is that brown items are generally Carbon rich and green items are Nitrogen rich. These layers should be distributed evenly to make successful and efficient compost.
For a compost pile to be an efficient decomposition machine, it needs to be moist. If you have a lot of particularly dry things in your bin, you should water it down a little to keep it damp.
Composting requires oxygen. If a compost pile is too dense, oxygen cannot get into its the center. In the absence of O2 it will not decompose; it will just stink. To ensure your compost bin is “fresh” it needs to be churned regularly every two weeks or so.
If you follow these steps your compost bin will be bustling with microorganisms, busy breaking down your compost. Things such as bacteria, worms, fungi and insects will speed the process of your composition up dramatically. Although these organisms should come to your compost naturally, you can add additional worms to it yourself if you feel so inclined.
A good compost bin will not smell bad and should turn into compost in as little as six weeks. It is a very easy process that requires hardly anymore effort than taking out the trash or separating recycling. You can buy compost bins that are rotatable to ensure a proper mixture. To get started you need no more than organic compounds to get the job done, let the decomposing begin.
