Going a little greener these days

This was totally unexpected... Going to a nearly-vegan diet somehow has inspired me to be a little greener these days. I blame it on all the interesting books and resources that I've been reading lately about the vegan diet. But it totally makes sense. If I care about what I eat, I should also care about how the food I eat has been made. If I care about what goes into my body, I should also care about the environment where all my food comes from. It's logical, right?

I'm not going to preach about how the farm animals have been mistreated here. Only if you are ready to be informed, you can check out the websites like 'Meat.org - The Website the Meat Industry Doesn't Want You to See' and 'PETA's Vegetarian Starter Kit'. The information is not for the faint of heart. (I personally couldn't stomach it...)

I've been always interested in the idea of reducing waste and recycling more. It's just how I was raised in Japan. I don't like being wasteful... we call it "mottai-nai" in Japanese. Because living spaces are smaller there, people tend not to own more than they need. We have detailed guidelines in place on how you should separate your recyclable items for the public garbage service to collect. After living in America over 10 years, I got used to the idea of having more space and more stuff. I have a big garbage bin which gets collected every week... Who cares how much trash I produce, it's a big country, right?

In my post - '13 Unexpected benefits of this new diet' I wrote about 2 weeks ago, I mentioned as point #12 how my garbage doesn't have a rotten smell anymore. All of that awful smell was coming from meat and it's packages. (Well, we don't have stinky diapers to deal with in our house.) I remember having to take out my kitchen trash every 1-2 days, so that the house doesn't smell funny. But now I don't have any meat related junk in my trash, I only have to take out my kitchen trash once a week or even less. This got me thinking, hmmm.... I can start collecting food scraps for composting! Well, unfortunately I don't have a yard big enough to have a space for making my own compost, so I decided to recycle instead.

In King County, where I live, we can place all our food scraps (and even empty pizza boxes!) into our yard waste bin. Everything in the yard waste get recycled into compost. This reduces the amount of garbage and also our usage of the garbage disposal down to our water/sewer system. I've known about it a long time but I was hesitant to participate because I was afraid of the awful smell from my food-related garbage before. But finally, I was ready to make a change and I bought a small waste basket and biodegradable bags for food bags.

The initial investment was about $15. I know those biodegradable trash bags are more expensive compared to regular plastic trash bags... It's around $5 for 25 of 3 gallon bags and I think it totally worth it. For starters, you can check with the city or county's waste division to see if they give free samples. For example, King County residents can request a free BioBag sample from the county's website.

I chose the BioBag system because both their waste baskets and biodegradable bags are breathable, which means less bacterial odor. Notice how you can see through the waste basket? It's a little counter-intuitive. I would think I need tight closed trash bin to keep the smell trapped inside, but the opposite is true. The food waste creates heat and moisture that can not escape when placed in closed containers, which creates more bacterial odor inside. Also you can use this breathable bag to store refrigerated fruits and vegetables. It allows moisture to evaporate through and keeps fruits and vegetables fresher longer.
 

I normally keep it out of sight, under my kitchen sink, and bring it to the counter top whenever I cook and clean after the meal. It's convenient to have a small waste basket right where I prepare all my ingredients for meals. It's not a bad looking thing, but I personally don't think it's nice enough to leave it on my counter top.

I know it's a very small change, but it's still a change in the right direction and I'm proud of myself for doing it! What are you willing to do today, for better tomorrow?

Healthy Living Fair

I was at PCC's annual "healthy living" fair in Issaquah, WA earlier today. It was another cloudy September day in Seattle, but energy at the fair was great! There were about 100 vendors there to share information and hand out free samples of over 600 products. 

You get a sense of wellness from the people when you go and meet those who've decided to be conscious about what they put in their body. I also appreciated the passion of the reps from the vendors who were there to hand out samples ans answer our questions. I tried so many interesting and yummy foods there that will make it on my next grocery list for sure. Look at all the free samples I got to take home too!

The coupons they were handing out will be very handy as I incorporate some of the items into my future meals. I would like to thank all the vendors who were there!!

I met several interesting people at the event as well. I met a couple who's been vegan for over 30 years and were there to promote a vegetarian life style. I got a book from them called 'Vegetarian Pacific Northwest - A Guide to Restaurants and Shopping'. It will be a great resource! I also met an MD who is passionate about educating his patients about the correlation between diet and health. He gave me a book recommendation, and I'm planning on checking it out later. I also chatted with a rep from 'Follow Your Heart' (the company who makes my favorite Vegenaise) and found out that they are working on soy-free products now!

If you decided to visit my blog because of an encounter we had at the fair, please drop a comment, or write to me via Facebook, or Twitter@Veggiable. I would love to hear your feedback and stay in touch with you. It was nice meeting you!!!

Handmade Herbal Skincare

Last weekend, some of my friends and I took "Herbs in topical skincare" class at Herban Wellness in Kirkland. It was my very first GROUPON deal I purchased. Normally the class costs $30, but with GROUPON it was only $10. The user experience with GROUPON was great! If you haven't signed up yet, I highly recommend you to sign up. You'll receive daily local deal notifications from them via e-mail.

The class was taught by the store owner, Katya. She has a Bachelor's degree in Herbal Science from Bastyr University. She's very knowledgeable (of course) and fun to be around. It was about two hours long filled with a lot of great information about herbs, especially on their topical use and benefit. She showed us how to make salve/balm and lotion with all natural ingredients. (FYI: It's not vegan due to the use of beeswax.) It's all about mixing the right ingredients at the right temperature. It's a pretty simple process. The best part is that you get to choose what herbs go into your skincare products based on your physical and emotional needs.

We all took home a sample of salve/balm and lotion. My salve/lotion has peppermint, it's very refreshing. My lotion has ylang ylang, cardamon, and something I can't remember (oops). It smells so nice! Since there's no preservatives in these, the shelf life is not too long unless you keep them in the refrigerator. That made me think twice about the lotions I use at home. They never go bad. Who knows how long they've been sitting on the shelf in a drug store.

The store has a very cozy and relaxing atmosphere. You can buy dried herbs in bulk, herbal teas, pre-made herbal skincare products, essential oils, herbal supplements, resource books, etc. They offer different types of classes as well.  I also purchased a bottle of Lavender essential oil and Plantain oil to be a part of my first-aid kit. They both have anti-inflammatory qualities. Who knew that lavender oil is good for treating small burns. It will be very handy since I burn myself frequently while cooking. Yes, the kitchen is a very dangerous place indeed.

Herban Wellness

Location: 103 Lake Street S. Kirkland, WA 98033

Hours: 10:30-6:30 (Tue-Sat), 12:00-4:00 (Sun)