going green for good!

[njtomatoguy]

Steps in process:

Re-do office room with the new paint from HD

compost or mulch all grass clippings

make more garden space- productive vegetables-

eliminate red meat

cook meatless meals at least three days a week(suggestions?)

working from home - cut gas bill in half

bought 5 bags of lump charcoal, all natural hardwood. this stuff is great less propane

cook up extra to save cooking gas

bought the toshiba sattelite laptop, energy star rated.

any other suggestions?

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

compost or mulch all grass clippings

I'd recommend mulching. I have the most vigorous lawn in the area, and I never fertilize, because I just let the clippings fall where they are cut. It's not as "pretty" as grooming them away, but I literally have never fertilized.

make more garden space- productive vegetables-

Most definitely. There are lots of food-producing or medicinal plants that are also attractive to look at. We only plant "useful" plants here, and have been replacing existing purely-decorative plants as they die. In a value-per-acre equation, herbs (medicinal or culinary) are better than vegetables.

cook meatless meals at least three days a week(suggestions?)

Quinoa is a very useful grain. Variations on hummus are also interesting. You can flavor the basic bean-puree in any of a variety of ways, which don't actually have to be even vaguely Mediterranean. I have a recipe somewhere for a garbanzo-bean-based pasta sauce that tastes very similar to vodka sauce, but with no cow dairy.

working from home - cut gas bill in half

And makes a good percentage of your household expenses tax-deductible, to boot.

any other suggestions?

Black boxes. Those little transformers that everything uses. Cordless phone base stations, cell phone chargers, laptop chargers, etc. etc. etc.

Each one is a small drain, but add up all those transformers just sitting there plugged-in all the time, and the waste adds up. Unplug what you don't need.

TV's and VCR's and such also waste power even when they are "off." A power strip solves that, assuming you don't have to re-program things every time you power-cycle them, like with some older equipment.

LCD displays (TV,s' computer monitors, etc.) draw less power and produce less radiation than older CRT displays.

Joe

 

[Mmaul]

As far as food goes try cooking pastas with your fresh vegetables, Look into cooking Thai food they use alot of peanuts and peanutbutter which is a good source of protein to substite meat, all beans are good sources of protein. Rice is also a good medium to put fresh vegetables in. Your food will cook much faster with the Hardwood lump coal it put out a tremendous amount of heat compared to NG and Propane. This is a good source for recipes http://www.epicurean.com/. Happy cooking.

 

[BrotherBart]

Spread the word far and wide that red meat is evil. Maybe sales will drop and steak won't cost me so damned much.

 

[njtomatoguy]

thanks for the replies..

garden will be all production record breaking year.

i just unplugged old computer, cell charger, tv in spare room/office, and lowered cieling fan 1 speed.

i only have 2 light fixtures left that are not cfl. one in the hallway=pita to change, and one in the kitchen-fan light combo that takes candelabra style bulbs.


BB- steak is cheeeeeep here in NJ- paid 1.88 lb for london broil and 3.09 for sirloin at the local grocery store.. pork is probably your cheap meat in VA.

 

[jebatty]

The essence of green is separating wants from needs and living in harmony with other living things in a sustainable environment.

 

[RedRanger]

Spread the word far and wide that red meat is evil. Maybe sales will drop and steak won't cost me so damned much.

Right on this one BB. started buying the summer steaks a couple weeks ago whenever they are on sale. and putting them in the new freezer for summer bbq. by the way, replacing our old freezer (40 years old). brought our elec bill down by 15 a month. it`s a fact cause we have had it since last april. and real is real.

Also,we quit buying those cheap steaks (too many spit outs). now nothing but t-bones, or porterhouse. ;-)

 

[Czech]

I'm blessed with a buddy who is a butcher, I go cut my own, local stock a mile down the road. I'd die without a steak on the bbq every so often, although we do alot of fish and veges and fruit too. Actually, my kids are teaching me to eat better, although we did hit the White Castle yesterday on our 'boys day off' carp fishing trip. Haven't felt quite right since.

 

[njtomatoguy]

i had a steak on the grill yesterday- have not been right all day today.

heard it takes a long time for the body to break down heavy animal protien like a steak.

in my experience, fish/chicken or pork seem easier on the system-just my opinion

 

[RedRanger]

Just fyi: it takes the body a week to digest meat. veggies only a day. that said--give me steak any day of the week. with veggies of course ;-P

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Just fyi: it takes the body a week to digest meat.

A week? If your digestion is that slow, eat more fiber.

Joe

 

[RedRanger]

Just fyi: it takes the body a week to digest meat.

A week? If your digestion is that slow, eat more fiber.

Joe

From looking at your posts ya ain`t just eating, you`re smoking something. And it`s Right red raw. :roll:

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

From looking at your posts ya ain`t just eating, you`re smoking something. And it`s Right red raw. :roll:

Sorry, I don't smoke anything at all.

Bark up a different tree, little doggy...

Joe

 

[RedRanger]

From looking at your posts ya ain`t just eating, you`re smoking something. And it`s Right red raw. :roll:

Sorry, I don't smoke anything at all.

Bark up a different tree, little doggy...

Joe

Funny ya say that--you are always the one advocating dog-eat dog!!

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Funny ya say that--you are always the one advocating dog-eat dog!!

Actually, that would be you.

I advocate cooperation and compassion, which is rather the opposite of "dog-eat-dog."

Joe

 

[Jags]

eeehhh-hummm....Back on track now.

To the green thing, figure out ways to reduce yard work, and mowing (landscaping, etc.) Can, preserve, dehydrate your bounty from the garden.

To steak: yummmm. Simply won't go without it (sorry Craig). As far as taking 5 days to digest...not sure about that one, but I can pretty much eat road kill, and don't even need a tums. Ugggaa buggga.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

Can, preserve, dehydrate your bounty from the garden.

Yeah, that's another good one. Bringing in food from a distance wastes energy. If you can save things for the winter, that can help reduce the need to bring in produce.

One of the early methods of preserving perishable food was to ferment it, by the way

Joe

 

[Jags]

One of the early methods of preserving perishable food was to ferment it, by the way

Joe

I make 100 pounds of sauerkraut ever 2 years. The old fashion way.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I make 100 pounds of sauerkraut ever 2 years. The old fashion way.

I was thinking of other sorts of fermentation, but that's a very good idea as well

I already made my reservations for the Best of the Wurst.

Joe

 

[webbie]

Gooserider has bees and makes quantities of Mead.....good stuff. He has all different flavors and vintages.

I think that has a lot of food value as well as other benefits. He claims it was one of the earliest "inventions" of humans in that arena (booze).

 

[tw40x81]

I plan on planting popcorn this year, since that's the big snack food around here. Another good thing about it is that I just have to dry it out to the right moisture level, kinda like firewood.

 

[Highbeam]

Mmmm Porterhouse, my favorite piece of cow. Enough tenderloin to satisfy that desire along with enough new york to fill your gut. I'm too cheap these days to include much steak but lots of chicken and pork. Our family eats no seafood at all due to allergies. Rather than buy any ground beef I have been eating off of this winter's wild game harvest since November. I ground the entire deer and it has been a staple in our meals. Even today we ate spaghetti made with venison.

We are using home energy improvments along with changes in driving styles to save money and reduce consumption.

So what makes anyone think that digesting meat takes any longer than anything else? Isn't our system kind of like an assembly line? I can eat a whopping huge piece of steak and, er, uh, pass it for sure within a day. Same with anything else.

 

[webbie]

I think most people digest meat well. After all, it has largely been the reason we multiplied from 2,000 or so (recent news story) to 6 billion!

What is probably new is the quantity that many people eat along with other processed and fatty food, and the lack of activity of modern life.

Pacific ring (and elsewhere) cooking that uses meat along with lots of veggies seem to work well as far as keeping people slim and away from hearth attacks and cancer, etc.

 

[jpl1nh]

And as far as going green, insulat, insulate, insulate, beneficial winter and summer. Solar hot water, most cost effective solar available aside from passive heat. Plant decidous trees to the south of the house (but don't block solar panels. Remove the lower branches so sun shines under them in the winter for passive solar gain. Buy a smaller car. Stop having children, like we really need more people!

 

[jebatty]

Good health is sufficient reason to reduce meat consumption from all sources, but not eating feed lot meat is even more important because it is a resource extravagant product - corn, fertilizers and pesticides (petroleum based), and all the petroleum energy used from the farm equipment to getting the meat on your plate. Range fed meat would not have some of the feedlot issues, but it still is very energy intensive in processing, refrigeration, storage and preparation, as compared to most grains and many fruits.