BLOG COMMENTS: Recap: Grains, House Tour, Halloween
Grain Potluck
GreenMoms Coastside had a vegetarian grain potluck: we each brought a dish using a non-traditional grain. The grains we used were bulgur, millet, couscous, red quinoa, white quinoa, amaranth, and muesli which is packed full of different grains (rye, wheat, oats, barley, and triticale). Some of these have been around since ancient, from many different countries and cultures. The dishes we made were just fantastic - GreenMoms can cook! Some of the dishes were: muesli chocolate chip cookies, amaranth with sweet peas and feta, millet was used as a starch to top with and African vegetable peanut stew (can’t remember the name!), wheat bulgur with Swiss chard, barley salad with peppers and onions, and more!
What is “green” about eating different grains at meals?
Some moms answered:
1. A variety of grains reduces demand on the whole-wheat monoculture.
2. It supports plant diversity which in turn supports eco- and biodiversity.
3. Supporting diverse organic plant culture also supports organic vegetarianism which can be more green in comparison to conventional vegetarianism and the mainstream meat industry.
What are other reasons to cook with non-traditional grains?
1. It helps add different nutrients to our diet. Different grains contain a variety of nutrients, especially if they are less processed.
2. It reduces dependency on wheat which may help minimize risk for gluten intolerance.
3. It adds more variety to meals.
Virtual House Tour
Amy discussed how she has greened her life including taking baby steps so she’s not overwhelmed, and that she has found this group very inspirational since she first joined in 2005 - she feels supported rather than guilted by GreenMom members [GreenMoms editor’s note: Hurray! This is one of our main goals – support, not criticism!]. Some of her steps:
• Using eco-friendly stain removers, laundry detergent & dish soap.
• Remembering to bring her own bag when shopping.
• Re-uses & recycles things more intentionally, especially in the kitchen.
• Most recently she bought shares of local grass fed beef from GreenMom Doniga, a cattle rancher here on the coast. The share is so large that she has been able to share it with several mom friends.
Halloween Ideas
Questions that came up:
• How to do green trick-or-treat with 200 plus kids coming to your door?
• How can you been green and healthy at the same time with your kids?
• Sometimes it comes down to if you want healthier or greener. It is hard to do both with non-candy treats. It is also hard to justify the higher price for healthier and greener items. However, don’t forget to consider the hidden costs to the planet when buying non-organic treats or toys from China.
Non-Treat ideas:
Smencils (pencils made from recycled paper)
www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=16749&gclid=CMXo7-2-8ZUCFRIcawodqEsueQ
2. Wicki’s (sticks of wax for play)
www.kidboxes.com/html/33/wikki-stixprimary-colors.html
3. Toothbrushes
4. Halloween coloring page with crayon
5. Small toys or stickers
Healthy Ideas:
• The Switch Witch: Pretend there is a witch coming to take the Halloween candy to replace it with a toy of choice. Or, just explain to your child that the candy will be traded for a toy of choice.
• Make a Halloween Party the focus of the holiday instead of the candy and go Trick or Treating just a little after the party.
• Non-chocolate Treats: fruit leathers or twists, nuts, raisins, crackers, energy bars
Costumes:
• Find on Freecycle.com or Craigslist.com
• Swap with friends,
• Re-use old stuff,
• Make your own (can be simple - an Elmo hoodie towel over a red shirt and red sweat pants makes a great Elmo costume!)
Have more any more ideas?
Share your suggestions here in our Discussion Forum. Or submit your grain recipe to GreenMoms for posting on the site (http://www.greenmomscoastside.com/GreenMomsCoastside.com/Submissions.html)!
-- Melinda
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