Reusable Living, Vegetarian Dishes, and Tips to Reduce Climate Change

This is part 6 in a 6 part series of my green articles on Squidoo. Each of these articles aims to give you a more earth friendly alternative to the things you are already doing and consuming. You'll come away with at least a few new ideas on going green through this series.

101. If there's any one thing you would like to do to lower your electric bill, try weatherstripping your home first.

102. The natural skin soothing spray is a great way to treat sunburns and bug bites, and it's completely all natural!

103. Traditional perfumes not only cause headaches, but are made with toxic plasticizers, which are a chemically created fixative. The natural alternative to the perfume industry is to find organic perfumes that smell wonderful and won't harm the environment.

104. The fall foliage tote bags found here are great ways to be more festive during fall foliage season!

105. The Reusable Bag Headquarters features several different resuable bag companies and designers.

106. Celebarate Earth Day everyday by following these easy tips on recycling, reusing, and reducing things in your life!

107. Use this bag again and again! Find scary reusable Halloween bags for Trick or Treating. They're even washable!

108. Buy organic shade grown coffee and treat the environment a little bit better (and taste the difference!).

109. Here are a few reasons you should eat more veggies (and it's not just because it's good for you!).

110. This natural acne cleanser will do a great job removing acne without using irritating chemicals that will worsen breakouts.

111. The organic under eye cream will smooth wrinkles, and won't subject your skin to chemicals that redden the skin.

112. These lettuce recipes are great ways to increase the amount of lettuce in your diet -- an important vegetable you should be eating.

113. Clean the air quality in your home just by adding a few of these recommended houseplants!

114. Find your town in Massachusetts and find your tote bag on the Massachusetts tote bags page!

115. The renwable energy bag features a beautiful windmill image, reminding everyone to think of how much energy they use day to day!

116. Find my review of Go Green, Live Rich on this lens, and find a sampling of some of the tips you can find in this easy to read book.

117. Quit throwing away disposable cups and use an eco friendly, BPA free, reusable cup like the Eco Cup.

118. Get on track to fight climate change in 50 different ways with this post.

119. Why buy stale, unfresh grocery produce? Find your local farmers market through this all inclusive list of the 50 different states of the USA.

120. If you're making butternut squash frozen, there's a much better alternative. Try out this easy recipe for homemade butternut squash here, it's only takes a few minutes extra preparation time.

Be sure to visit the Green Living Tips Blog for the rest of the 6 part series! You can also visit A Million Ways to Go Green for more eco friendly tips and advice from the author. Thanks for reading this series, I hope you enjoy the articles I've published on Squidoo (and maybe visited a few of them).

P.S. - One more thing - sign up for my free newsletter to get the latest green advice, news, and truly earth friendly products right in your inbox.

25 Easy to Make Homemade Vegetarian Recipes that Won't Take Forever to Make (and Still Taste Delicious!)

We all know most of the benefits of leading a vegetarian lifestyle, but if you're used to eating meat, it can be tough to incorporate more vegetables into your diet in a way that still tastes good. Here you can find some hand picked homemade vegetarian recipes that won't take forever to make, and are a delicious alternative to your regular meat dishes!


1. You won't miss the eggs in these gooey vegan chocolate chip cookies! Try making them next time!

2. Stuffed bell pepper, lemon cauliflower, or veggie primavera sound appetizing? These veggie sides are the perfect way to boost your vegetable intake in a delicious way!


3. Eggplant parmesan is a great way to go meatless for an Italian meal. You can take it one step further and find yourself some soy based cheese, or local dairy.


4. Want to go dairy free, even with your ice cream? Try one of the many homemade soy ice cream recipes
featured on this page.


5. Emeril Lagasse has cooked up a winning hot, nutritious vegetarian chili recipe that even meat lovers will love!


6. Peas and mushrooms add extra veggies to this traditional fettucine alfredo recipe. Great winter meal.




7. They're fancy enough for dinner, and tasty enough to have at anytime of day. These veggie paninis will give you some creative ways to spice up your dinner.


8. An easy, fresh tasting homemade tomato soup tastes far better than anything you've ever had in the can. Just replace the chicken broth with instant (chicken-free) broth.


9. Sweet potato pie, zucchini brownies, cheddar broccoli soup and other veggie favorites can be found on these easy to make veggie recipes page.


10. Craving some meat? Have that beefy taste without the meat in this vegetarian beef stew
recipe.


11. Fried Zucchini is really simple to make, and goes great with many Italian recipes. Especially good when it's in season, in the peak summer.
12. Another great summer recipe is blueberry rhubarb pie. A good (albeit slightly sugary) way to boost your fruit intake a little.


13. Spinach is a pretty versatile vegetable, full of Vitamin K. Try out these healthy spinach recipes listed here.


14. Mushroom, pesto, sundried tomato... there are hundreds of way to go vegetarian with your pizza.


15. Authentic chinese food already has many vegetables in the recipes. Try out these vegetarian chinese food recipes next time instead of ordering out!


16. Sometimes, the appetizer is the best part of the meal. That's why these vegetarian appetizers are such a great choice. They're healthy, yet still have that delicious hour d'oeuvres taste.


17. Ahh, meatballs. It's tough to get a meat-free version right, but this recipe manages to make a great version of vegetarian meatballs.


18. Love a BBQ, but just don't eat meat? This vegan BBQ video will teach you that you don't need beef to have a smokin' barbeque!

19. There are a few dozen tasty vegan slower cooker recipes you can make at home in a snap on this page. Slower cookers reduce fat, and have loads of taste!


20. Lacking on fruits? These healthy fruit smoothie recipes are one of the best ways to squeeze more fruit into your diet.


21. Mexican food is one of the toughest things to try and make healthy. Try these vegetarian enchiladas next time you're craving some authentic Mexican food and cut some calories.


22. If you're in more of a Chinese mood, check out this page for some simple vegetarian fried rice recipes.


22. Back to Mexican! You can find a few dozen tasty vegetarian Mexican
recipes on this page. The veggie quesadillas sound delicious!



23. Start your day the right way! Tofu and soymilk make excellent replacements for eggs in this vegan omelette.


24. When everyone else is eating their hamburger, you can be eating your vegetarian hamburger. These versions are more "meaty" than "tofu-ey".


25. Stuffed bell peppers can easily be made vegetarian. They're usually meat-free anyways!

5 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables During the Winter

Veggies are good for the environment! Now that the farm stands have long closed and winter is upon us gone are the days of fresh vegetables from the garden or your local farm stand. So how do you maintain your vegetable intake to ensure you are getting everything you need? Here are some tips on where you can find vegetables and incorporate them into any recipe!

1. Frozen vegetables! You can find frozen vegetables in any grocery store at any time of the year. These can easily be added to any dish you like or eaten alone. My personal favorite is to steam them and have them as a side. Veggie Panini's are a huge favorite in my house, and in the winter we switch over to frozen vegetables!

2. Grow your own! If you have some extra room in your kitchen or another part of the house, there are a lot of kits now sold to help you grow your own vegetables inside of the house. While it may not be ideal in the summer, in the winter this is perfect if you are looking for fresh vegetables! There are also many miniature herb gardens which are also sold, allowing you to grow your own basil, rosemary and whatever your favorite spices may be. For some all you need is a sunny window, others will come with a heat light to help them grow!

3. Jarred vegetables! The one item I would caution you on is that a lot of vegetables sold in jars have been pickled or soaked in brine. A favorite, artichokes, are usually stored in brine. To get read of that brine-y salty taste, drain the artichokes or vegetable of your choice and let them soak in water. This will allow the brine to come out of the vegetable, leaving behind the true taste of the artichoke.

4. Grocery store vegetables (from the produce section)! Keep in mind what vegetables are currently in season. Right now that would include a lot of the root vegetables. Root vegetables are great to bake and make for an easy meal. Keep in mind which veggies are in season when buying vegetables in the grocery store. The vegetables that are in season will taste the best and most likely had the shortest trip to the store!

5. Canned vegetables! Last but by no means least is canned vegetables. Now while these may be the easiest ones to use, use caution. Recent studies have shown that these veggies could potentially contain BPA which is coming from the cans. I would use this as a last alternative, and definitely not something to be used on a regular basis.

Boost Your Veggie Intake: Easy Vegetarian Meals

Making a full-fledged switch to becoming vegetarian isn't a change that most people are willing to make with their lives. But reducing the amount of meat that you eat, that might be more realistic. Throughout most of the world, meals revolve around some sort of meat dish for 2 out of 3 meals of the day. Squeezing in even one all veggie meal once or twice a week is a small change that can lead to big benefits for you, and for the environment!

Not only is it better for the environment, but it's better for you. Hormones, antibiotics, pesticides.. these are all some issues to think about when consuming meat. Consuming a little bit less of it probably won't hurt, and consuming more local vegetables definitely won't hurt.

Now how can you realistically replace one meal a week with just vegetables? Salads are boring. Soy is gross (to a lot of people), and tofu is nearly inedible to a meat eater. But these vegetarian recipes are more realistic. Most of these recipes are things you already eat that can be slightly altered to exclude the meat.

Looking for more easy meat replacements? Here are a few more ideas:

• Easy Vegetarian Recipes
• Easy Meat Replacements


• Ways to Sneak in More Vegetables

Five Ways to Make your Life Greener with Vegetables

Vegetarian lifestyle might sound like it only benefits the person who is eating it, but there's much more to it. The benefits for your body, like potentially preventing cancer by increasing the intake of antioxidants (found in many fruits), or increasing the body's immunity through consumption of natural vitamins, have been well documented. Besides the personal benefits, eating veggies as opposed to meat has a number of benefits for the environment.
Here are a few of those benefits...

• Vegetables use less energy to transport. Vegetables are lighter in weight, don't require feeding (like livestock), and can be stacked much more efficiently for transport than animals.


• Buying locally saves even more energy. Transporting vegetables from a local farm as opposed to a farm 2000 miles away will results in less energy consumed, and a fresher product from less transit time.


• Growing your own vegetables, like buying local, will eliminate much of the transportation energy used. If it's in your backyard, your cutting out that transportation for you to go to the store, for the vegetable to get to you, and potentially pesticide use (and ingestion).


• Livestock are responsible for 28% of global methane emissions, which greatly speeds up global warming. Vegetables don't create this massive amount of methane emissions that destroy the atmosphere. Opting for vegetables instead of meat can reduce the overall production of livestock.


• Vegetables do not require excessive preperation before being sold. With livestock, there's the added process of slaughter, preparing the meat, cutting the meat at grocery store/butcher shops, using packaging to wrap the meat, and cooking the meat (which uses energy). Vegetables can be consumed raw in most cases with no cooking. In fact, the benefits of raw vegetables also have a positive impact on the body.