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How To Live Green

There are some simple ways to become more environmentally friendly, so here are some easy tips on how to live green.

The Yard

Trade grass for ground covers or mulch. Maintaining the lawn takes a lot of water and energy so it is best to use native grass. Try to do the following:

- Cut grass no lower than 2.5 inches, lower may require more water
- Always water the lawn before sunrise or after dark, this will efficiently reduce the evaporation and water
- Do not throw grass clippings, leaving them in the lawn may provide nutrients
- Buy organic fertilizers, they don’t degrade quickly as synthetic fertilizers and safer for children and animals

The Fridge

Appliances can be a great source of green living. Keep in mind when using or buying appliances for your home:

- Do a load of laundry in cold water; it is more energy-efficient than in hot. Dry loads of laundry consecutively as you are taking advantage of residual heat in the dryer.
- Use gas ranges rather than electric ranges
- Always look for the Energy star level when buying new appliances.
- Replace refrigerator that are 10 – 20 years old, they could be less efficient than the newer models.
- A side-by-side refrigerator uses 10 to 25% more energy than stacked refrigerator-freezer models.
- Don’t place refrigerator next to a heat source such as vent, dishwasher, oven or in direct sunlight

The Lights

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) reduce the energy used for lighting by 1/3 and are available at most home stores and some warehouse club stores. CFL will last 10,000 hours while regular bulbs last only 1,000 hours.

The Paint and Cleaner

Household cleaners and paints have ingredients lists that read like a complicated chemistry quiz. Here are some of the few tips while cleaning your home:

- Use concentrated brand of cleaner where you need to add water for a variety of things.
- Do not use cleaners with chlorine beach or sodium hypochlorite as they have harmful environmental effects. Look for cleaners with citric acid or hydrogen peroxide which will do the job just as well.
- Avoid volatile organic compound (VOC), VOC-less paints cost the same as other premium paints and have no paint smell.

During the stages of the last leg of the pregnancy, the baby actually could taste the food that the mother takes in. This is also true when you’re breastfeeding. The milk your body makes is how it’s going to feel on the palate.

When you are pregnant, it is easy to remember that you are “eating for two“. What some mothers may overlook, however, is that as long as you are breastfeeding what you eat still directly impacts your child. Also, your diet can affect how their immune system develops and even what kinds of foods your child prefers as he grows older. As long as you are breastfeeding you are still feeding two people and you will need to eat foods that keep you healthy and full of energy. In this article, we will discuss how to eat well while breastfeeding.

Step1
Eat lots of whole grains and cereals. Most doctors recommend these types of foods during pregnancy and you can continue your prenatal diet (minus the sweets if you are trying not to gain any more weight) while you are breastfeeding.

Step 2
Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables. A healthy diet for you means that your baby will also be well nourished. However, steer clear of broccoli and cabbage since they have been known to cause colic.

Step 3
Make sure you are getting plenty of calcium, protein and iron. It is important for your health that you get enough vitamins and minerals. Your breast milk will sustain your baby, but if you do not maintain a balanced diet while breastfeeding then you will feel weak and lethargic.

Step4
Start a light exercise program. Since you will still be eating a fair amount, the pounds may not fall off the way you want them to. Daily exercise in conjunction with your healthy diet will help you get back to the weight that you want to be. However, you must continue to eat normally so that you will continue lactating.

Step 5
Stay hydrated. Drink at least eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, and more if you feel thirsty beyond this.

Step 6
Avoid most types of fish. Fish near the top of the food chain tend to contain high levels of mercury. Do not eat more than six ounces of albacore tuna, and avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tile fish entirely.

Step 7
Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol does make its way into breast milk so most experts recommend avoiding alcoholic beverages while breastfeeding. If you do decide to indulge, wait at least two hours before breastfeeding and drink a lot of water.

Moderation is always a good thing. Choosing to breastfeed your baby will strengthen the bond between the two of you. He or she will grow up to be a healthy child. Just keep close to your heart the best practices on how to have a healthy baby by the things you eat.

Shopping for food during the winter can be a challenge. Organic foods are often very expensive in winter and the price of many diet staples has increased dramatically in the past year. What are your best strategies for eating healthy while still getting a good value for your grocery dollar?

* Buy in season -Trying to eat organic summer vegetables in the winter will quickly put a dent in your food budget. Right now, root vegetables, potatoes, and winter squash are at their cheapest and their tastiest. Apples are also fresh and reasonably priced, and citrus comes into season around the holidays. Use in-season vegetables and fruits to fill your family’s table with affordable nutritious goodness.
* Think ahead - Shop once a week, and don’t shop for food while hungry. Buying all of your food on one trip avoids the trap of running to the store several times, which burns extra gas and can add extra impulse buys to your basket.
* Make a plan - Planning your weekly meals and sticking to it keeps you from buying whatever sounds good when you’re shopping. Always shop from a list.
* Buy in bulk - We try to have the staple foods on hand at all times, buying a month’s worth or more and storing it in the pantry. Many co-ops and health food stores offer discounts for case quantities and bulk bags of grains. Most grains, beans, and flour is sold in 25 or 50 pound bags. 25 pounds of grains fits perfectly in a 5 gallon bucket, keeping it fresh and safe from bugs or rodents. Check at hospitals or school cafeterias for free food-grade buckets.
* Cook at home - Eating out will burn up your cash, and many restaurants serve food with dubious origins, so cooking from scratch makes the most sense to us. If you do eat out, find a local place that serves real food, clean food, food made from scratch, not a can (and organically grown, or at least MSG and GMO-free). There’s a place here in my neck of the woods that makes their own tempeh and has a 2 for 1 tempeh burger special (Tempeh Tuesday). The four of us can fill up for under twenty bucks.
* Eat simple - For families that eat meat, cutting back meat-based dishes to once or twice a week means being able to afford organic or grass-fed choices. Fill out a dish with grains or beans. Making a casserole or soup can keep the menu simple and affordable.
* Make extra - A large meal cooked once a week and served as leftovers or sent for lunches helps to save energy and water. It’s less stressful for the cook as well. If you do eat out, find a local place that serves real food, clean food, food made from scratch, not a can (and organically grown, or at least MSG and GMO-free). There’s a place here in my neck of the woods that makes their own tempeh and has a 2 for 1 tempeh burger special (Tempeh Tuesday). The four of us can fill up for under twenty bucks.
* Raid the fridge - I’m the king of the end of the week random ingredient meal. I make a pot of rice (or beans, millet, etc.), sauté onions and garlic with other random veggies, mix together, and serve wrapped in a tortilla.

Stay green and clean, and stay under budget…

Do you know that if you eat vegetables and fruits that you are drinking foods that cure? Between just being great tasting, fruits and vegetables help in more ways then you can picture.

If you think of your immune system as an army that battles infections, then two vitamins are its main generals. Vitamin A helps strengthen your body’s defenses, while vitamin C helps immune system go on the attack. These two vitamins provide powerful protection against incoming germs.

There is no way to avoid germs entirely, what you can do however, is eat your way to better health. Eating the right foods not only helps prevent infections, but can also help fight them.

A number of plant foods, such as apples, tea, onions contain substances called flavonoids, which can prevent germs from taking hold. One of the most powerful flavonoids is a compound called quercetin. Found in large amounts in onions and kale, quercetin has been shown to damage genetic material inside viruses, preventing them from multiplying. Having several servings a day of flavonoid-rich foods will help keep germs in check, giving your immune system a fighting chance.

If you make the choice to eat five to seven servings (a day) of fruits and vegetables it is sincerely not that much. It is, if you look at it routinely, very painless to do such a thing. Start with breakfast, you can add assorted fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or even bananas to your morning cereal and get an entirety ration done and out of the way. Substitute fruit or vegetables for a snack mid day and there is two.

At lunch have yourself some lettuce and tomato on your sandwich and there are another two. If you have been care stalk we are almost at 5 servings. A daylight brunette solve can revolve into a healthful crack with a fruit smoothie. Yet another serving and we have not even hit feast.

For dinner have a small salad to recoil and then why not have two vegetables instead of just one with the actual entree. It is tranquil if you just take a few seconds to say no to the toffee bar and yes to the apple, banana, ginger, or kiwi fruit.

When you think of fruits and vegetables don’t think of it as a task. Look at it as a challenge. Your challenge is to start a stronger, healthier lifestyle. Your choices that you make nowadays will assume your health tomorrow. Just evoke that if you eat your fruits and vegetables then you wont have to 1. See the physician half as much as those who do not eat their vital fruits and vegetables and 2. You will be well for a long, long time.

Did you know your fruits and vegetables move unique battalion known as phytochemicals? No? Well they do. You know them better as things like antioxidants, and the like. Antioxidants are central for cleaning out the order. The more you eat and use the better you will feel. Not to mention look.

Look for more fiber in your diet also. Bran helps with the cleaning of the approach. Whole grains and nuts are great for you. Whole grains have many great properties for making your body rinse itself. Nuts help poorer your blood fat pleased. That is important for lessen cholesterol. Lower cholesterol is important for a lowered chance of core attacks.

You want to make yourself as wholesome as viable especially when the cold and flu term comes around. Think of all the sniffling, chills, fevers, body aches and more. Do you truly want that? I think you would rather move around, while everybody also anguish, and beam at the verity that you are fanatical enough to scrap these ailments.