Alfalfa Sprouts

My family and I are more than a little tired of the snow everywhere and the blah produce section at our local grocery. I ordered some alfalfa seeds online and have been growing them in the house during this to help us get our extra vitamins. This sprouts are yummy and filled with all kinds of good vitamins. Plus they are easy to grow! We just fill up a quart size canning jar with water and a couple tablespoons of sprouts the first day. We cover the top with a pair of cut up hose. We rinse them a few times a day and in just 5 short days we have something that looks like what is above. They are delicious and great for my daughter to help with. We can see them growing so it keeps her attention span a little more. We put them in salads, on cold cut sandwiches, and in thai food.

Freezer paper

I have just recently been introduced to the idea of freezer paper stenciling. My goodness a whole new world of ideas has sprung from this. I have a basket filled with shirts that need some pizazz and I can't wait to get started. From what I can tell freezer paper stenciling works well with a variety of items like flour sack towels, canvas bags, shirts, and the like. All you need is some creativity or the internet to find an image you like. Print the design (or draw) and then use an exacto knife to cut out the image on the freezer paper. Leave a few inches around the image to prevent paint from getting in the wrong spot. Then you iron the freezer paper to your shirt (or whatever) shiny side down. Paint in the lines with fabric paint. Let dry, and then peel paper off, and ta-da! Pretty image to update a boring bag.

Right now I am playing around with photoshop to make an image for my little one's 3rd birthday. I can't wait to get started.

What to do other than recycle?

We have a box that we keep on hand of toilet paper tubes, plastic containers from yogurt or whatever else and newspapers. Some of the things we make with this odd assortment of items is a marble run and paper mache. It is a great craft that allows us to use some of these items more than once before we throw them in the recycling.

www.tipnut.com has some great ideas for what and how to paper mache.

Also if you google homemade marble runs you will be amazed at some creations people make.

Websites

These are some of my favorite go-to sites for learning how to make my own things.

www.thedailygreen.com this site has a plethora of information. It explains the whys, hows, and what nots of how to do make a ton of stuff. I highly suggest taking a look. Even if you are not interested in the green movement it offers a lot of great money saving tips and advice for taking care of your family. (in the search engine I suggest looking up 'homemade shampoo') This site is awesome.....AWESOME.

www.progressivepioneer.com this site is a real mom of two kids and how her family makes their own things. Very creative and nice to hear stories about real life (ie sick kids and such).

www.sewliberated.typepad.com this lady is quite the crafty one. If any of you knit or sew or aspire to she has a fun blog. She also is raising her child in a Montessori environment and you can get a glimpse of what she does to make her house kid friendly.

www.constructiveplaythings.com this site has AWESOME toys for children. They err on the side of heirloom and are so much fun. We love the bee hive.

www.montessoriservices.com this site is for all things small. Everything you need to teach your child practical life skills (small brooms, small bowls, small tongs, small cups, small drying rack. I love this site because the items enable children to be more self sufficient. There are light switch adaptors too. These allow children to turn on and off light switches so lights are not left on all day long wasting energy. I also love the books they have. They are real photos and great explantations of everything from the solar system to humans and animals.

www.uncommongoods.com this is a fun site that has some unusual and some eco friendly items

www.babybeblesseddolls.com this is a cool site where stay at home moms make pretty cute dolls

Dirty Dozen

Here is an (old) article about the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables that contain high amounts of pesticides (it also includes the clean dozen).

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is my own recipe that I adapted from "Deceptively Delicious" I replace part of the sugar with grape juice and add purred garbanzo beans to add protein. We use semi-sweet chocolate because of the research we have found saying it's a little healthier than milk chocolate.

1 cup wheat flour

1 1/4 cup white flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white grape juice

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup nuts

1/2 cup Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)--use a food processor and make a puree

Preheat oven to 350

Combine flour, salt, and soda in a bowl. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla. Add grape juice. Add flour mixture. Add chickpeas. Stir in nuts and chips. Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes.

Vinegar

Our family uses vinegar for a whole lotta things. This site has some great ideas for why you should start using vinegar.

www.vinegartips.com