Green Living From a Teen Perspective

An amazing experience

2009-09-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

I would just like to share a small story with everyone: this summer I went to
Ecuador. Most of you know, when you travel it is difficult to eat the right foods to keep your body in balance; well being a vegan made this an interesting experience! I was going on a missions trip, so every day I was out on the field being fed by the nationals that were members of the church. After the first day, we made sure they knew I was a vegan and could prepare meals accordingly. I think I ate better there than I do at home! The beautiful people would make foods such as: rice, homemade french fries, broccoli, vegetable salad, Lima beans. I ate more fresh vegetables there than I ever do at home! They were very kind, and were not offended that I would not eat their meat, although they would make some fun of me. Overall it was a beautiful experience in another country. If any of you have the chance, go!

Recycling

2009-07-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Oh, my am I overdue for a new post. Well lets get to it then!

Today we just got a letter in the mail saying our trash company is going to start recycling! Our recycling bins should be delivered sometime in August. We can recycle paper, plastic, glass and cardboard!

How many of you already have recycling in your neighborhoods? Do you use it? What do you think you could do to improve our recycling habits?

I am very excited to start recycling our family's trash, I think it will have a large impact if our whole neighborhood starts recycling! Can't wait until our tan recycling bin arrives :)

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Happy Earth Day!!
Check out the new widget to my right--->
How Green are You? find out with this Co2 calculator!

Earth Day

2009-04-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

Earth Day is April 22nd, what are you doing?
My Biology class is taking e-waste donations to recycle.
Personally - I don't know. Maybe I should lower my carbon footprint, buy more local organic produce, walk or ride more, buy organic clothes, or maybe I should buy a Prius!
No matter what, I have to remember that even the smallest thing could make a big difference in my life and in the life of the planet.

My challenge to all of you: Go Vegetarian for Earth Day!
Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters. Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are. (goveg.com)
Going Veg for a day also gives you a great opportunity to open your taste buds to amazing new flavors!

Now it is your turn! What are you doing for Earth Day?

Food!!!!

2008-10-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well, today I made three new recipes from my new book Vegan Bites. Tonight we had: Organge-Teriyaki tofu, Yummy Yams, and Golden Homestyle Biscuits. Wow, these recipes were amazing!!! Very quick and easy, not to mention deliscious! The tofu was just spicy enough form the red pepper, the yams were deliscious, and the biscuits were perfectly crunchy and soft also, you could easily make the biscuits more savory or sweet. This book makes recipes really easy to make, and makes the perfect portion for just one or two people.

Vegan Recipe Books

2008-10-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today I was given a new book called, Vegan Bites: Recipes For Singles by Beverly Lynn Bennett. All the recipes are single servings, just enough for one meal and some leftovers. This is great because it is a waste of food if we make more food than we can eat. I have yet to try any of the recipes but if you are a single serving young adult out there you should pick up this book and take a look at it.

Although, today I did make some vegan coffee cake, and wow was it good! The recipe is form the book Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly.

My Grandmother's Crumb Cake
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortning (preferably non-hydrogenated)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk (or other non-dairy milk)

Preheat oven to 350*F Coat an 8x8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl combine the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with 2 knives until the shortning is smaller than pea-sized. Remove 1 cup dry mix and set aside.
In a measuring cup, mix egg replacer with 1/4 cup water and add vanilla. Fill the cup the rest of the way with soymilk until in measures 1 cup. Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix just until combined
Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with resevered dry mix.
Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
Let cool completly before serving

I hope you enjoy the coffee cake, contact me with any questions!

Green Thinking: Toxics in Our Mind

2008-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Why do we only think of "going green" as something we do on the outside, and not on the inside? We need to be able to clean out our minds and hearts of "bad stuff" just as much as we should clean out our food!

As I have started college recently I have seen this bad way of thinking. So many people think it is ok to be passive, we have lost all the feeling we need to have. All of us need to see how to settle our minds and hearts and clean out the junk of our mind.

What can you do to clean out your mind, to see clearer and feel better? Find inspiring books or music; find what "lets off some steam" in your life. You want to find the place that lets you clear out your mind and start putting "good food" into it again.

Sometimes in life we get so many layers of junk and before we know it we can have so many layers that we can't even feel or think clearly, seriously and we don't even realize it until something jerks us into reality. BE REAL!

Energy saving on the web

2008-09-03T17:12:00.000-07:00

How many of you have heard of Blackle, or Greenle?

Blackle is a search engine that is supposed to save energy, because it is black instead of the common white. Depending upon what monitor you have, it may save you energy! But for newer, LCD monitors, it uses more energy.

Greenle was not made to save you energy, but it was made to show you care by displaying links to sites such as WWF and Ekopedia.

Show your support for the enviroment by choosing to save energy, even on your computer!

Is your water bottle killing you?

2008-08-20T17:06:00.001-07:00

What type of water bottle do you use? Do you use disposable plastic bottles, reusable plastic bottles, or absolutely green eco-friendly bottles? Disposable water bottles have been found to leech chemicals to water, which could be very bad for your health!

Plastic water bottles are also filling up our landfills, over 60 million are thrown out each day!

BPA (Bisphenol A) is the chemical we want to watch out for, it can disrupt your endocrine system, and have physiological effects on your body. Make sure the water bottle say BPA-free, if it does not, it might still have BPA in it.

If you are looking for a new water bottle, one of my favorites is the Camelbak bottles, they come in 3 different sizes, several different colors, and even with different lid options! What about your baby? They should have just as much as we can, here are some BPA-free baby bottles.

If you would rather avoid plastic you can get a Klean Kanteen bottles, BPA-free stainless steel bottles! You could use these bottles for warm beverages, but be careful; they are single walled, so they could get to hot to handle!

You can check out my Veg Store for information about purchasing any of these bottles that I have mentioned!

Green School Supplies

2008-08-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about all the trees that are cut down each year, just to make paper! Why not use recycled paper, pencils, notebooks, and binders! It is not just the paper that matters, think about your backpack, or your pens; why not use biodegradable school supplies.

National Geographic has a great list of websites where you can buy just about any school supply that is green and eco-friendly!

A great way to be green is to recycle your old electronics, at ReCellular you can recycle your, or your kids old cellphone! Computer can be recycled at a Staples store for a fee of $10 dollars.

Now that we know there are "earth friendly" school supplies out there, lets buy them!

Green Makeup

2008-08-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Does your makeup hurt your skin or help it? This is a good question to ask when buying makeup, you want to have the purest form, that will do the best repairing your skin! Yes, it is best to buy mineral makeup, many other products have chemicals in them that are know to have adverse health effects! Here is a great list of chemical you should avoid at all costs ez-make-up

Now, I understand that we don't want to sacrifice color or sparkle just for vegan, healthy makeup! A great website with tons of glittery products (and even vegan brushes!) is Urban Decay

I have recently used Bare Escentuals, but they cannot guarantee that all of their products are vegan. If you are serious about using all vegan skin products, this would not be one to use.

We have to remember, not all of us can afford super expensive makeup! We have to find makeup that is good and inexpensive. Ecco Bella has many affordable began products available at They list their products that are non-vegan. Another amazing website for cosmetics is E.L.F. All of their products are 1 dollar! They use no animal derived ingredients and have no animal testing, also many of their products are packaged in recyclable packaging.

In conclusion there are lots of brands out there, it all comes down to supply and demand. If the consumer wants a more natural product that is good for us and the environment, that is what will be supplied. Things are constantly changing so ask the questions to make sure that what you put on your body is what you want on it and what you are paying for helps you sleep better at night.

Green Cars

2008-08-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Does anyone out there have a Prius? Wow are you lucky, with high gas prices, you must be loving it! But what other cars are there that are 'green'? Well, it depends on how you look at it; do you want a car that get amazing gas mileage, or do you want one with very little pollution emissions.

The new Honda FCX Clarity, a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell car that gets around 68 mpg! Unfortunatly, these aren't for sale; they are for lease in Japan and southern California. The Toyota Prius starting at $21,500, a hybrid 4-door, gets around 46 mpg. Aslo the Honda Civic, starting at $22,600 is a close contender with the Prius. The Mercedes Benz Smart Car (see picture) a two door tiny, yet adorable, car that costs anywhere from $11,590 - $17,590 gets around 35 mpg.

Another type of fuel becoming popular is diesel, using clean diesel systems, Volkswagon has made a line of cars that "give more torque than a gasoline engine" Starting at $16,990 and getting around 40 mpg, they aren't so bad. But be careful, diesel gasoline prices have been above the regular unleaded prices!

Other cars that get great gas mileage, and still use regular gasoline, include the Honda Civic; Toyota Echo, Corolla, and Celica; and Toyota Scion xA and xB.

As a matter of fact, the car that I drive is a Toyota Scion xB! It is a great little car to drive. I hope to one day get a smart car, but that is a ways in the future.

There are many cars out there that get good gas mileage and are afordable AND have low emissions. A good website to check is Fuel Economy click on "find and compare cars" and check out some of your favorite cars, you may find out they are not what you think they were!

Earth Shoes

2008-08-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Who loves Earth Shoes? Me! I would definitely consider these shoes some of the healthiest shoes! When I started wearing them, I thought, "These are kinda funky weird shoes" but they have done me a lot of good. I used to take dance classes for several hours a week, and my back would be sore after, I never thought something like this could help! Even better, Earth Shoes do come in vegan models!!!! Here is a link Lilybet's Veg Store
After wearing these shoes, you realize how much other shoes affect your body. If I wear a high heeled pair of shoes for even a few hours, my back will be tired. I hope to one day have all my casual shoes as Earth Shoes!

Adorable Monkeys!!

2008-08-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of twin baby Pygmy Marmoset. Pygmy Marmosets live in the rain forests of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is the smallest monkey, 5.5-6.2 in (14-16 cm) in length! They are legal to have as pets, I would love to have one of these adorable monkeys! It is great to be able to enjoy and care for all the creatures God has given us!

Hello Everyone

2008-08-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hi! This is my first post here. Here is a little about this blog: I'm a green loving and living teen! I have been a vegetarian for over 2 years, and eat totally vegan as often as I can.

I also love anything that is biodegradable or recycled, and water bottles that are BPA free, and organic cotton or bamboo clothing, towels, etc. I want to do my part to help the planet, rather than hurt it.

I love music, trying new recipes, and finding new things that are environmentally friendly.