Sustainable Spotlight: Live. Breathe. Grow.

Little Black Sustainable Dress by LBG

I can be quiet picky about the companies I choose to support.  

They must follow a few criteria.  

1. Only Eco-friendly products & practices 

2. Kindness towards all living beings, including fantastic customer service 

3. Support of local services and business

The women of Live. Breathe. Grow. most certainly follow these guidelines.  They are committed in every way to not only loving the earth, but also by loving each other and empowering the human spirit through clothing, yoga & education.

  

They share messages of truth, hope and inspiration right on their shirts.  

These inspirational tees say things like, 

"I am life. I am breath. I am growth. I am me."

Who couldn't use this daily reminder that we are wonderful, simply by being ourselves.

  Live. Breathe. Grow. works with yoga studios and events to custom create unique and beautiful eco-friendly tees.

 They also do special runs of unique shirts like the 

Pink Warrior Women Tee for breast cancer awareness.

  

Every shirt that was purchased had a portion of the funds go to YogaBear, a national not-for-profit organization connecting cancer patients and survivors with free yoga & support groups.  Not only that, but for every shirt they also donated a free Pink Warrior Tee to a women battling breast cancer right now.

The fabulous ladies of Live. Breathe. Grow. don't just talk about holistic health and healing, they live it everyday!


Located at 99 Wood Ave South on the 8th Floor in Iselin, NJ Yoga by Live. Breathe. Grow. at Metro Park is the corporate and commuters yoga studio! Yoga by Live. Breathe. Grow. at Metro park provides a collective of holistic health services including Yoga, Massage, Health Coaching and Workshops for the Metro Park Corporate Complex.
*This center is open to the public!

Some of the wonderful 

Upcoming workshops include:

April 5th 

The Mantra, Yoga & Dharma of Ganesh 

April 22 

LBG Method Anatomy Workshop

So whether you are able to attend a yoga class, get a massage, purchase a tee, or attend a workshop, you wont be sorry.  The love and passion are there in all that they do, and you will feel it. 

Support conscience companies like

Live. Breathe. Grow.

and make a difference in yourself and for our planet. 

Closing with a wonderful LBG affirmation.
I will live each day from the INside Out by honoring my authentic self. I will LIVE life filled with compassion, peace and gratitude. I will BREATHE compassion, peace and gratitude into everything I do. I will GROW in my community. 

I will INspire a movement to Live. Breathe. Grow.  

Live. Breathe. Grow.

The Eco-Friendly flowers & chocolate option for Valentines or any day!

My husband and I are not really Valentine's Day celebrators.  When we were kids we got caught up in the hype that we had to do something, or buy gifts for each other, but those days are long behind us.  We do not exchange gifts, flowers or chocolates on Valentine's Day, but that certainly does not mean there are no flowers or chocolate in our house right now.  Or that we don't show each other how much we are grateful that we have one another, every single day.

Sadly, the industry of both the standard flowers and chocolates are severely polluting our planet.  The gifts that are supposed to be about love, are in fact just the opposite.  Between the factory pollution from chocolates, and the chemical additives they put in the chocolate, the pesticides they spray all over the flowers to make them pretty for longer, traditional Valentine's Day gifts are not doing their job loving the earth (or us). 

If the chocolates and flowers route is the one you just have to take,

don't worry...there is a way to choose delicious chocolates & beautiful flowers that are both good for you and for our earth!!

Instead of visiting a florist, why not go to a nursery like Atlantic Nursery in Freeport, NY.  There are plenty of beautiful options to choose from.  From a potted plant, to a herb terrarium, to romantic orchids, you can't go wrong.  If your sweetheart isn't exactly the potted plant, or terrarium type, why not stop by your nearest Whole Foods for a nice selection of cut flowers that are chemical free!

Onto one of my all time favorite foods

Dark Chocolate!

If you have not heard yet, pure organic, fair trade dark chocolate is actually good for you!!!  That is not saying eat a whole bar of chocolate everyday, but a few squares everyday will actually be nurturing your body as well as your mind.  

When looking for good dark chocolates be sure to look for organic & fair trade.  Organic means the ingredients were grown without harmful chemicals.  Since the cacao plants typically grow outside the US, purchasing fair trade means that the farmers and workers who grew the ingredients are treated fairly and not taken advantage of (you'd be surprised how many companies use essentially slave labor to get the cheep price on goods for you). 

Every year I can't help but purchase my favorite chocolates from a wonderfully conscience company called Sjaaks Organics.  

They have a wide selection of organic, fair trade & gluten-free chocolates, that are simply delicious!!!  

Keep your eyes out for organic, fair trade & gluten-free chocolates and you simply can't loose!

Keep sharing the eco-friendly love out there everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Glass Storage: Healthy, Economical & Sustainable

Thankfully it seems like there are many people now moving away from the decades of tupperware obsession, into the age of healthful more sustainable living.  

Have you traded in your plastic containers for glass ones yet?  If you have yet to make the switch, why not start today, this post can help you on your way there.

Glass is by far the safest way to store, heat and freeze foods.  There have been many studies done on the hazards of plastics and the chemicals they leach into the foods that get stored in them.  

For more on the dangers of plastics read these comments by Dr. Mercola, 

leading natural health expert.

Where to start?

Often people don't bat an eye when they toss that nice glass sauce jar in the garbage or recycle bin, but I challenge you to think twice about that!  Of course if you were to save every single jar, it could potentially turn into a closet full of horded jars, and who has room for that?  What we do is, we choose our favorite shapes, highest quality glass, or most convenient sizes and save those and recycle the rest in our bin.  We also prefer our containers with metal tops verses plastic ones, and we will make our choices at the grocery store with that in mind. 

So reuse those glass the jars you've already paid for from jams, sauces, vitamin jars, honey, spice jars, to any glass jar you might find along the way.

Are you someone who would like a more uniform way to store foods like
flours, nuts or grains?  

I do like the organization that comes with using the same style jar for certain things.  You simply can not go wrong with the age old companion of food canning...

MASON JARS

The other great thing about mason jars is you can purchase them at most
hardware or home stores.  We go with the wide mouth jars so I can do things like make smoothies right in them, plant herbs, and it makes cleaning them a bit easier.

For food storage bowls, baking dishes, and other varieties of glass, we have used 

PYREX

and we have never had to purchase any other glass bowls in the
10 years we have owned them.  They come in many shapes and sizes, and some even come with a glass top so you can bake items in covered dishes, then store with a BPA-free plastic top.

My last recommendation is the glass jugs that we love to use for
crepe batter, lemonade and sun teas.

BORMIOLI ROCCO GLASS

They also have great latching jars that is perfect to store our bulk herbs and spices in.  I like having some jars with the metal latch and gasket, they feel very secure and store like a dream.

Now that you are saving and looking out for all sorts of jars,

have you found too many amazing jars that you want to hang onto?

Don't stop at food storage for your best jars, up-cycle your glass in oh so many ways!

  

Store your small items...

Extra Buttons

Paper Clips
Hair Pins

Coins

Extra Thread

Lucky Stones & Gems

Storage for Daily Vitamins on the go
Pet Treats (homemade or store bought)

Or use a jar as a...

Vase for cut flowers from your garden

Make it into a planter for kitchen herbs

Winter flower bulb grower (only needs water)

Start seedlings for planting

Container for Homemade Candles (or for store bought eco-friendly votive candles)
Make your own Plant Terrarium (in a larger jar)
Crafts: Decorate jars with yarn, paper, twigs or any other pretty & fun items
Make homemade gifts in jars: From cookie mix to a sewing kit and much more!

And anything else you can dream up!

Do you use your glass jars for any other unique or creative purpose?

Please share, we would love to hear about your other uses!

This post is also featured on another great blog called
Frugally Sustainable

Eating with the Seasons: Winter Vegetables

In our home we are very conscience about eating foods that are in season for our area here in the North East.  Winter is obviously the most challenging season for vegetables, and by the end of it we are jumping for joy when the spring crops start to come in!  At the same time the limitations can fuel our creativity to come up with new and interesting ways to cook the same old winter veggies.

Seasonal eating is important for many reasons.  It is for the health of our bodies, as well as the health of the earth.  When a vegetable is picked at the right time of year it is the absolute highest in vital nutrient content.  It also means you are eating what is appropriate for your region, so your food is not traveling to you from thousands of miles away.  

You can always try growing some of your own winter vegetables, its easier than you think!

Winter Squashes

Butternut, Spaghetti, Acorn, Pumpkin, Buttercup, Carnival, Delicata, Kabocha, Sweet Dumpling

Recipes featuring winter squash 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup, Zucchini (or Squash) Pancakes, 
Herbed Spaghetti Squash Side & Pasta Bake, & Pumpkin Bread

Kale

Green, Purple, Dinosaur, Scotch Curled, Leaf & Spear, Siberian
Recipes featuring kale
 Meat Pie with Greens, Fancy Spiral Meatloaf
Throw some chopped kale in a soup, or simply steam and toss with your other favorite veggies

Mushrooms

Shitake, Crimini, Clamshell, Trumpet Royal, Pioppini, Oyster, Maitake, Enoki, Portabello
Recipes featuring mushrooms
 Chicken Marsala, Egg Fu Yung, Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup, Millet Stuffing,
Simple Savory Mushroom Gravy

Onions

Brown, White, Yellow & Red
Recipes featuring kale
 Brown Rice Vegetable Quiche, Deli Style Macaroni Salad, Greek Chicken Egg Lemon Soup

Leeks   
Recipes with leeks
Corn, Collards & Bacon (& leeks), Leek Pie
Add leeks to soups, greens or meatloaves to add something different.

 Cabbage 

Green, Red, Savoy, Napa
Recipes with cabbage
 Egg Fu Yung, Seasonal Stir Fry
Or you can make your own coleslaw, add it to any vegetable dish, or create a cabbage salad.

Brussels Sprouts
Type of Cabbage
Recipes with brussels sprouts
Braised Dijon Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Sprouts with Balsamic

Parsnips 

Recipes with parsnips
These are fantastic if you roast them in the oven with other root veggies like, carrots & beets.

Carrots

Rainbow, Yellow, Baby

Recipes featuring carrots

Coconut Topped Carrot Cupcakes, Seasonal Stir Fry, Crock Pot Curried Lamb, Vegetable Lo Mein, Zucchini Carrot Loaf, Millet Stuffing, Greek Chicken Egg Lemon Soup, Carrot Coconut Salad

*Most of the recipes listed can be found in my cookbook & healthy eating guide,

"Organic, Gluten-Free & Delicious"

Eco-Friendly ways to Spread the Love....

http://evmilone.com/#/store/4532148879

Check out my newest Eco-friendly note & post card creations. All photos and design done by me. I am constantly working on new things....so check back for more updates!