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.

Introducing the New Penguin, Polar Bear, and Frosty Reusable Gift Tote Bags!

EcoGreenBags has introduced four new reusable gift tote bags to our collection just in time for the holidays! Let's take a look at these festive new holiday bags...

1. Emperor Penguin Chick Tote Bag

A cute baby Emperor Penguin chick surrounded by a giant icy heart. Great gift for the cold weather! Perfect to reuse again and again.




2. Frosty the Snowman Bag

He's all natural you know! Made from a repurposed top hat, some old sticks, and all natural snow, Frosty made going green "cool." Get this icy cold tote bag for the holiday season as a shopping tote, reusable gift bag, or to carry all of your daily essentials! Great for school, too.

3. Season's Greetings Tote Bag

With a multitude of holiday symbols, this bag covers all of the bases for the Christmas season. Stockings, winter snowflakes, doves, Christmas trees, bowties, ribbons, swirls, presents, stars and candy canes abound make this an ultra festive bag to give your presents in, or to take with your while doing your shopping!

4. Polar Bear Tote Bag

One of the most popular new holiday additions has been our Polar bear reusable tote bag. A cute Polar Bear cub on a piece of floating ice is a cute reminder to make that extra step to go green for the holiday season! Slow global warming by cooking up some of your own meals instead of getting take-out, using less heat during the winter by bundling up, and by switching to reusable bags to help curb the production of disposable plastic bags.

To view our entire selection of reusable bags, reusable SIGG bottles, and organic t-shirts, visit our store today and buy an eco friendly gift for someone you love!
Ecogreenbags.com

5 Things to Do to Prepare Your Body for Winter

When winter rolls around, it's only natural people are going to get more lethargic with the lessening sunlight, stay inside because of the colder temperatures, and eat more because of the holidays and cold. Come spring, we might have a little bit of regret and extra work to do to shed those extra pounds of the winter... but there are a few small things you can do to prepare your body for winter and be in good shape come springtime. Read on for some suggestions!

1. Take a walk daily, even if only for ten minutes. If it's raining, walk ten minutes on the treadmill, or use weight bands while watching TV. The extra exercise will keep your metabolism up, and keep your waistline from growing.

2. Use the supermarket to your advantage Park your car far away, and lap the entire store before starting your grocery shopping. Keep a brisk pace throughout the store and you'll also have grocery shopping done sooner.

3. On Thanksgiving, plan on going for a walk. A long walk or a ride to the beach with family is just the thing to get you away from the food, and spend some quality time with the family!

4. Use Root Vegetables in Your Recipes. Just because winter is here doesn't mean that fresh produce has gone away. In the fall and winter, root vegetables are at their peak, and will start to arrive at grocery stores. This guide gives you some great ideas on how to cook root vegetables.

5. Stock up on Frozen Fruits. When winter arrives, we often deprive ourselves of fruit and vegetables since they cost more and are not as fresh. Fresh frozen fruits have a lot of taste and work well in fruit smoothies. If you can find organic fruit, that might be an even better choice.

These small steps might help you prevent getting sick during the winter by keeping your immune system stronger, not to mention improve your cardiovascular health.

Getting Your House Greener This Winter

Green Up Your Home Before the Winter Season Arrives to Save Time, Energy and Money!

The end of fall is here, and the leaves have changed and are falling from the trees. And dare I say here in Massachusetts some of us have seen SNOW! In mid-October... So we are in for a fun winter. In getting ready for winter there are a bunch of things to do around the house to "green" your home. What better time than now to start these small projects? Of course after the leaves have been raked and placed in your compost pile...

1. Find the drafts in your house. Not only does cold air come in, but that expensive heat you are paying for will go sailing out! This can easily be done by checking the weatherstripping around your doors, checking the cases around your windows and perhaps even investing in a door snake or two for the doors in your house leading to the outside. Also consider adding on a screen door. Not only will that keep the heat inside in the winter but allow the sun to shine in during the warmer months.

2. Recycle the Warm Air From Your Oven. Have baking to do? Consider doing it later on in the day when the sun has gone down. This will temporarily heat your house as its baking and since the sun is no longer shining it will make up for that loss of solar heat. After your done baking, crack the oven open a little bit to release the warm air into your home (but be careful if you have children!)

3. Think about adding a plant or two to your family. Not only are house plants great for cleaning the air, but they will also add some color into your home.

4. Turn the thermostat down a few degrees at night. Not only will you sleep more comfortably, but you will be saving some cash and reducing your energy consumption. During the day keep the temperature down a few degrees and put on your sweatshirt to keep you warm. The heat can be very drying and sometimes by keeping the temperature down a few degrees your skin will retain a bit more moisture.

5. Last but by no means least, get your spices started growing in pots inside! Once the weather warms up after winter you can move them outside. By growing these fresh spices inside you will save money on buying dried spices, the spices you use will be fresher and they will add a bit of greenery to your house!

We'd love to hear your ideas on how you are planning on going green for the winter! Please share them with the other readers in our comments section!

Benefits of Eco Friendly Road Salt and Deicer

If you live in an area with heavy snowfall during the winter months, you know the after effects from every winter: a huge mess of road salt. Road salt is extremely corrosive and destroys everything it comes into contact with, like:

• Roadways


• Sidewalks


• Landscaping


• Waterways (runoff causes huge environmental damage)

The end result is that the road salt may be causing more destruction than it is preventing, with potholes, pollution and cleanup. However, road salt is necessary to ensure safe walkways and roadways and does prevent some slips, falls and accidents during the icy winters.

But is there a green alternative to road salt?

The Chicago Sun Times reported that Mayor Daley is pushing for a more eco friendly alternative to the destructive road salt that is currently being used. One product that was mentioned in the article is Geomelt, which contains less chlorides and corrosive compounds. For personal use, you can try using Scotwood Industries Eco-friendly Clean Melt or Keep it Green KIG8 Snow & Ice Melter. These products also contain less corrosive elements and won't be as harmful on your driveway, walkways, and the surrounding environment.

Typical ice melt is very destructive wildlife as well. The salt is often so corrosive that it can damage pets' paws, so imagine what it's doing to other wildlife. Salt can also pollute our drinking water, which is unhealthy and costs more money to filter out the pollutants.