Recipes!

I decided to share some of the recipes that we enjoy so much. I tend to change things in recipes a fair amount. I often use whole wheat instead of white flour for much of the flour, and I generally use less sugar than people recommend! Of course, make your own changes, too! :)

Breads:

Bagels

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Bagels/Detail.aspx

Honey wheat bread

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Simple-Whole-Wheat-Bread/Detail.aspx

English muffins

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Traditional-English-Muffins/Detail.aspx

Snacks:

Zucchini brownies

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Brownies/Detail.aspx

Pumpkin, banana, zucchini, or other fruit muffins

Find a base recipe, and try things! I like adding apple sauce and/or sour cream pretty often. I also like throwing in oatmeal and extra spices.

Yogurt (I am actually just trying this as I type... waiting for the milk to cool!)

http://fakeplasticfish.com/2007/12/plastic-free-yogurt-well-almost-plus/

Meatless Dinners

Enchiladas

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-and-Rice-Enchiladas/Detail.aspx

Veggie fajitas

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Colorful-Vegetable-Fajitas/Detail.aspx

Eggplant parmasan

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant-Parmesan-II/Detail.aspx

Macaroni and cheese

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Home-Style-Macaroni-and-Cheese/Detail.aspx

Orzo with parmasan and basil

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orzo-with-Parmesan-and-Basil/Detail.aspx

Orzo with butternut squash

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/winter-squashes-are-here-try-a-butternut-squash-orzo.html

Household products:

Deodorant (This can be tweaked a little to get the consistency how you like it)

Blend together 1 Tbsp baking soda, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, and 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil

Surface cleaner

Mix 1 part vinegar with 5 parts water

Well, that's a good start, at least. Let me know if I forgot anything! :)

The (Christian) Consumer's Responsibility

This post is going to complement my last post, but I wanted to approach the topic from a slightly different angle now. If you read my other post first, that would probably be good. If you have read it, here we go...!

As Christians in the United States, we spend a lot of our lives working at our jobs to make money and then consuming with that money. I think that the issue is avoided because it is intangible and complicated, but I honestly believe that God is interested in what we choose to spend our money on. I'm not talking about decisions about buying a new TV versus donating money to a charity. I'm talking about deciding which companies we should buy products from and what products we buy.

We can love people we don't know and will never meet by choosing one product over another. For example, by choosing Fair Trade and Child Slave Labor free products, you will be helping farmers across the world and denouncing harmful, hateful practices.

I only recently started to consider my consumer habits under the lens of God's love, and it has made a huge difference in my priorities and where my money goes. This is a passion of mine, and I hope that you find it significant enough to consider making some changes.

The Consumer's Responsibility

I think that many, if not most, people in our country would agree that we are not very happy about how many businesses are run . We are upset that businesses are so big that we cannot afford to let them collapse, even if they make poor choices that lead to their own destruction. We hate that we don't know what's in our food. We don't like the thought of workers in sweat shops or other harmful conditions. We wish that farmers and other workers were paid fairly. We want livestock to be treated decently. We don't want our cosmetics to contain untested, potentially harmful chemicals. However, it seems like all of these horrible things slide by, and little changes...

There is much discussion about what our government should or should not do to fix these things, but for some reason not many people talk about the fact that these companies would not be so big or even in business at all if people didn't buy their products! The truth is, there is a lot of information out there about these big companies and their shameful actions. However, how many people bother looking these things up, and, if they do, how many people bother to act accordingly?

I think that the truth is that we have become so convinced that we deserve to buy whatever we want whenever we want it that we have forgotten that products that cost more may cost more for a good reason! We feel like we need all sorts of "things," so we can't afford to buy quality products from good companies that charge more for their products because they are paying their workers more, harming the environment less, and doing other deeds that truly we should appreciate.

I know I've said it before in a different context, but this truth is just as pertinent here: We need to consume less stuff. I am no economic expert, but I tend to believe that if people decided to buy less but buy higher quality goods produced by reputable companies, a lot of our problems would diminish. Blue collar workers would probably be paid better. People could perhaps work fewer hours but still receive a living wage. More people would end up working in agriculture since our farming industry would focus more on the health of humans and the environment, and a larger workforce would be needed to satisfy the demands. Fewer people would be working in monotonous factory jobs since less "stuff" would be being produced. The list goes on.

I know that this seems idealistic, but the funny thing is that it is not companies who will make this decision for us. It is the consumers that can force this to happen. We are the ones supporting bad companies since we just buy whatever is cheapest, and cheap products are cheap for a reason. We have the power to force a company to shut down or reform simply by not buying their product.

If you are not happy with the big businesses of today, will you consider doing your research and becoming an informed, thoughtful consumer?

Plastic, Plastic Everywhere...

Seriously. Look around you. I bet you can find a bunch of plastic. We buy food in plastic, store food in plastic, wrap things in plastic, chew on plastic (any gum chewers out there?), constantly throw away plastic... Yet, most people don't think about this much, I don't believe. I know I didn't until recently, and now I'm surprised I hadn't heard more about plastic before! I'd like to share some things that I've learned. I give links to give you more to read and consider, but they aren't the only things I have read about these topics. If you are interested, go out and find more!

What is plastic made out of?

According to Wikipedia, the raw materials to make most plastics come from petroleum and natural gas.

Why is plastic such a big deal?

A few reasons. First of all, in our society, we use plastic to store our food in and eat our food out of regularly. The thing is, as far as I can tell, we aren't sure that any plastic is completely safe. Dangerous chemicals can leach into food and then stick around in our bodies. Even plastics that we know are harmful are still used to hold food! For example, the plastic that makes styrofoam is called polystyrene, and it is known to have negative effects on the body. (http://www.ejnet.org/plastics/polystyrene/health.html) Yet, I bet it is the rare person in our country who has never drank out of a styrofoam cup or eaten take-out from a styrofoam container.

The second reason that I will give is that the amount of plastic that we use creates a massive amount of waste. Massive. More on this later.

OK, we use a lot of plastic, but doesn't recycling solve the waste issue?

Unfortunately, no! We view recycling as a closed loop. For example, we buy a plastic yogurt container, use it, put it in the recycling, and assume that the container can be made into another yogurt container. There are two big problems with this. One, plastic is usually "downcycled." This means that when it is recycled, you get a lower quality plastic. In particular, from what I've read, food-grade plastic often does not recycle to be food-grade plastic. That means that a lot of the plastic used to package food is brand-new plastic! Also, eventually plastic is unable to be recycled any more. (http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/green-glossary-downcycling.html)

What problems are there from plastic waste then?

First of all, a huge problem is that plastic is largely not biodegradable. Whether it is on the land or in the water, it just sits there. It may eventually break into tiny pieces, but the plastic is still there. I think that a lot of people realize that our landfills are huge, and they know that it's a sad thing to have piles of garbage around the planet. However, I think that the heartbreaking truth about plastic remains largely unknown. Plastic is showing up everywhere in our oceans. In some places, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (http://www.cdnn.info/news/article/a071104.html), there can even be a trail of hundreds of miles of plastic. People have studied this phenomena, and they have found that regardless of where they are, they can quickly find plastic in the ocean. Sea creatures are ingesting the little pieces of plastic that look close to their natural food, plankton, and we don't necessarily know how these petroleum-based chemicals will affect them or the creatures up the food chain from them (including humans!) Additionally, dead birds are being found with their bellies full of large, and clearly lethal, plastic pieces.

To get a clearer picture of the large problem of trash in the sea, please watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrAShtolieg&feature=related

I'm convinced that this is a problem, but what can I do?

First of all, I'd recommend not getting overwhelmed or panicking. Worrying doesn't solve problems. :) I'll list some basic ideas to consider, and I recommend finding websites that talk about the issue and ideas for solutions. For example, http://myplasticfreelife.com/ is a blog that is dedicated to the problem of plastics. Here are some good first steps:

1) Get a reusable water bottle and reusable shopping bags, and remember to use them! Stainless steel watter bottles are widely available, and there are many options for shopping bags including mesh and canvas styles.

2) Avoid buying packaged food. Head to the produce section for loose produce, and go to the bulk section to be amazed by the options that you have! Of course, these options make the most sense if you take reusable bags that you can make or buy!

3) Buy less and/or buy used. This is good for the pocketbook, too. :)

4) Consider glass as a good alternative when buying packaged food or food storage containers. It is easily recycled, and you will know that plastic isn't leaching into your food. I have started saving glass jars instead of recycling them, and they work great for food storage.

5) Bring your own mug if you get coffee.

6) Consider using cloth diapers and menstrual products.

In general, I think that just being aware of the plastic that you are using will help you to consider what to work on. People tend to be creative! Use your brain, and you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish! Feel free to comment if you have some other good ideas that I failed to mention.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope that you are inspired to live a love-filled, intentional life by working to reduce your part in the problem of plastic.

Simple Living - The Great Food Adventure

About two months ago, Matthew and I started shopping differently. In my post on July 30th, I described the beginning of that change. At that time, I was expecting to do a fairly small fraction of my shopping at the co-op and most of the rest of it at Winco because I didn't think we could afford to buy much of the more expensive, organic goods. However, that's not how it turned out at all! I'd like to share my findings before school starts and things get crazy, so here we go!

First of all, in full disclosure, the budget that Matthew and I set was $300 a month for groceries including household items like dish soap, toothpaste, and the like. In August we easily met this budget (well, we spent less than $225 since we were at camp for the first week of the month). It is also looking like we are going to succeed again in September. Here's what we have been getting for our money...

At the co-op we buy all of our produce except when organic produce goes on sale at Fred Meyer. What we buy is organic, and a lot of it comes from the six counties surrounding and including our own. We also buy a lot of (mostly organic) bulk items including flour, oats, pasta, rice and beans. We buy cage-free eggs and milk from a local dairy farm. We find that we rarely need to buy packaged goods like canned food, but when we do, it is done at the co-op.

At Winco we mostly buy things that are carried at the co-op but are cheaper at Winco. For example, we get Nancy's yogurt and Tillamook cheeses. We also still buy cereal here because we buy big bags cheap, and the co-op unfortunately does not have this type of thing available. Besides an occasional item that the co-op does not carry, this is pretty much all we get here.

If you think that $300 is still a lot of money for food, realize that we only spend about $5 a day per person for all of our meals and snacks. For the quality, reduced exposure to dangerous chemicals, support for the local farmers, good treatment of the livestock that produce the food, support for environmentally friendly practices, and support for fair wages for anyone involved in the process of making products... I think that $5 is pretty amazing.

As a note, one big reason that we can afford to do this is that we cook much of our food from scratch. We generally make two different meals each week, and we eat a lot of leftovers. I also make home-baked breads, and we bake muffins or something else for snacks. However, I did this all before switching to the co-op... Even during the school year when spending 60-80 hours a week working. Admittedly, I do like cooking...

A second reason that we can afford to do this is that we have started to eat less meat. Currently, also at the co-op, we have decided to buy a small amount of lunch meat and 1 to 1.5 pounds of chicken each month. I have successfully used tofu as a substitute a few times, and I also have found a bunch of good vegetarian recipes.

I don't know if more than two or three people read this, but I wanted to share my experiences because I feel like a lot of people would love to eat healthier, organic, local foods but don't think that they can afford it. I encourage you to try it out if you have ever wanted to. I'd be more than happy to share recipes, advice, or any other information that may be helpful.

Thanks for reading!

Just ideas to think about...

I decided to write a bit about the popular question, "Who gets to go to heaven?"

First of all, I do believe that through Jesus' doing, we are all able to have a loving relationship with God here on earth and after physical death. From my understanding, we can be confident in our good standing if we sincerely seek to patch our relationship with God through a faith in Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

That's all well and good, but what about everyone who doesn't have this type of relationship? I think that many Christians are convinced that everyone else goes to hell. I have heard many people talk about individuals and nations that they are convinced are in or are going to hell. I recently have heard an adult tell a group of children about someone that she "knows" is now in hell. Wow!

People seem so quick and willing to condemn billions to hell with a black-and-white standards. The following are a few things that seem like possible and, perhaps, reasonable alternatives.

1) God works differently with different people. Think back to the days of the Old Testament. God worked closely with the Israelites, and we have a record of His actions with Israel. We can also read that outsiders were welcomed to follow the God of Israel. However, what about people who never encountered Israel? Did they never get to meet God? Are they then condemned to hell? I think that God works with all people, both in the past and present, and He is able to judge them accordingly.

2) Even people presented with the story of Jesus who then reject it might not have rejected God. Wait... What??? Did I just say that? Yes. Yes, I did. I have a good reason, though! Perhaps the way God was presented was not an accurate representation of God, and perhaps this false, albeit perhaps unintentionally false, representation is what people are rejecting. This is an extreme illustration, but imagine going into an innocent, peaceful village and killing half of them at random. You then go to the remaining half and give a spiel about God's love. If they reject your spiel, they are probably not rejecting God. They are rejecting you.

I am not saying that I know how God judges people because I don't. However, I do believe that he is good, loving, just, and all-knowing. Since I am not these things, I am going to accept that I can't judge a person. Instead, I am going to spend my time trying to love people with God's love so that hopefully they can love God back.

The Future

Since in a few weeks I will begin the last year of school (!!!!!!), it seems fitting to write a post about our future. Of course, I don't really know what will happen in the future, but I think that it is alright to dream. We do a lot of dreaming...

Short term:

We're hoping that Matthew will find a job first, and then I can apply for a number of jobs wherever he finds work. With the sluggish economy, he may have to take whatever job he gets for now. Currently, I think I'd really like teaching at a community college or perhaps a university. If I can't find work there, I might do private tutoring or perhaps apply for subbing jobs in the public schools for a start. We'd like to stay in the valley in Oregon, but we'll see what we can do.

Long term:

Currently, we'd like to come back to Corvallis (though perhaps avoid the college area!). We love the community, our church, and the proximity to family and friends. However, Corvallis currently has few companies of interest for Matthew. If not Corvallis, then we would like to aim for Eugene/Springfield.

Matthew is really interested in the fields of sustainable energy, alternative transportation, or green buildings (for example, making buildings meeting LEED's standards). I personally am excited about the areas he wants to work in, and I hope that this can happen. I have the feeling that I'll spend a lot of my life doing different types of teaching, however at some point in the future, we'd like to have kids. I had a stay-at-home mom, and I want to provide the same strong support-system to my kids if at all possible. I think that being a mom will be a challenging, significant, and rewarding job for the years I have it. Fortunately, education jobs can be somewhat flexible, so I might be able to do some teaching when the kids reach school years.

Another big dream of ours is to build a house. Matthew has all sorts of ideas to make it a net-zero energy home. We want to build with sustainable, chemical-free materials to create a healthy, happy space. (Fun fact: I really want to have my kitchen painted a deep purple! Since I want to spend a fair amount of time cooking good, wholesome food for my family, it'd be nice to have such a welcoming color around me.) Along with this home, I really want to grow a lot of our produce from a garden in our yard. It would be hard work, but I think I'd enjoy it. I also want to plant a flower garden with the goal of planting a lot of native plants so that we don't have to use much water. We want two cats, and I'd like to have a few laying hens pecking their way around the backyard.

It will always be important for us to be involved with people. We'd love to have a church like we have now. We love being with a small community of people involved in the community and each other's lives. Also, I want to have the type of home where my kids' friends feel welcome and loved. I have also considered taking in foster kids since I feel like it would be wonderful to spill love, blessings, hope, and good on people who might not have gotten it in their own homes. We'll see...

In general, I think that we are going to feel rich by wanting little and giving and loving much. I experience joy now with my basil garden, cooking good food, line-drying laundry (among other energy saving things), and many other activities. It just seems like this could multiply with a full garden, having more time to cook, having a house designed to be healthy, etc. Regardless, by finding joy in love and living simply, I think that we will be happy whether or not all of our dreams come true.