Thrifty & Green
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Celebrate Harvest! Travel the World for Free
Make ahead Cooking Page 54
AUG / SEP 2011
Back to School on a Budget
10% off Energy
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Star Appliances
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2011 11
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FEATURES
Community Garden Its harvest time! Take a look at a coastal community garden by the Puget Sound and learn the many benfits of sharing work and food with neighbors. Rooftop Farm A look at the first certified organic farm and award winning green restaurant Uncommon Ground based in Chicago.
25 Back to School
Get the kids ready with green values in mind. Also tons of great eco school supplies!
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Travel the World Free, Or at least On a Shoestring Budget. Find out how you can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for dirt cheap! 4
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Eat Well While Traveling You don’t have to throw out your healthy diet while on vacation. Get the best tips for health meals and snacks to go.
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august / september IN-SEASON
40 Sustainable Careers
Renewable now employ more in than fossil fuels.
Berry Picking 66 Gone Go pick some! And get a great muffin recipe.
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FOOD & HEALTH Being Vegetarian A look at this healthful and thrifty lifestyle.
Seasonal + 66 Recipes: Back to School healthy recipes, enjoy!
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Salmon: Wild vs. Farmed The difference between the two + which to eat.
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HOME Slow Hand Renovation Transforming a small condo in Boulder, CO.
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SAVING MONEY Q&A w/ Financial Guru Dave Ramsey
96 New Realities: Personal Financial Sustainability.
IN EVERY ISSUE
48 Heroines for the Planet,
meet eco minded women changing the world.
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51 The Green Path, a beginners guide to green.
Up Green: Fun 78 Growing on the Farm green values + activities for kids. 5
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Good Food for the Week, cook all your meals for the week in one day, and never worry about whats for dinner again!
76 Make Organic Strawberry Jam a simple step-by-step guide that will show you how to put up a year’s worth of jam, eat better, save money, and help the earth.
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editors letter
elcome to the premier issue of Thrifty & Green!
My wife Beth and I, and everyone here at T&G are thrilled to have the opportunity to help make living green affordable, beneficial and fun for you month after month!
Our goal is to bring you informative, useful, creative, entertaining content that saves you money, simplifies your life, all while helping the planet be a healthier happier place for us all. In this issue we have so much to share with you! Thrifty & Green as we are we of course believe in growing food, and it’s harvest time! On page 11, we will be sharing with you our first experience with being part of a community garden in our neighbourhood by the shores of the Puget Sound. The garden has 6 mature fruit trees, raspberry bushes, vegetables, and honey bees. Also in Food, explore the vegetarian lifestyle on page 20, visit the first certified organic rooftop farm + restaurant Uncommon Ground in the middle of Chicago, and get great recipes including make a-head cooking in Good Food for the Week on page 55. Our special Back to School section on page 25 offers insights on how to have a more sustainable school year for kids of all ages. On page 16 get a great list of books to take on vacation. Also in Family you will find a great article on page 64 about picking blueberries with kids! There are also crafts and projects, you can build a scarecrow with the Paglaro family, our hosts of Growing Up Green, an original web series on www.thriftyandgreen.com on page 78. In Lifestyle on page 51 you can follow the Green Path: A Beginners Guide to Green with Christa Shelton, and Travel the World for Free with Lori Winter on Page 33. Turn the page to begin living a simpler more fulfilling, green life and help your family and those you care for do the same! We welcome your feedback and interaction so please write us any time at cmcgrath@thriftyandgreen.com with ideas for stories, series, events coverage, or partnering. Thanks again for giving us the opportunity to share our experiences and ideas on simple Thrifty & Green living! Till next time,
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Chris McGrath Founder, Editor-in-Chief
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Thrifty & Green Chris McGrath
Design Director
Beth McGrath
SAVING MONEY Thrifty Editor Thrifty Writer Finance Writer
Our publication is digital only in an effort to adhere to our sustainable values and preserve trees. We publish 10 issues a year.
Chris McGrath Dave Ramsey Dario Piana
Get all 10 for $14.50 that’s $1.40 per issue. Subscribe at http://shopping.thriftyandgreen.com
LIFESTYLE Lifestyle Editor Lifestyle Writer
Christa Shelton Lori Winter
FASHION & BEAUTY Fashion & Beauty Writer
Natalia Tudge
HOME Home Editor
Ashley Eneriz
FOOD Food Editor Food Writer Food Writer Food Writer
Lori Winter Sheba Family Cheryl Famili Nadine Todd
FAMILY Family Editor Family Writer BUSINESS Business Writer
Tovah Paglaro Scarlet Paolicci Lindsay E. Brown
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For advertising solutions that reach a Thrifty & Green minded audience contact us today. Our web site www.thriftyandgreen.com and digital magazine as well as other upcoming projects, such as video webisodes and more feature many opportunities for you to build long-lasting relationships. DIRECTOR ADVERTISING Chris McGrath e: cmcgrath@thriftyandgreen.com p: 360.339.5339
PARTNERS Ogden Publications Mother Earth Fairs Green Festival
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harvest
a community garden
can provide food, education, shared resources and a social outlet. Our first experience happened by chance, but with almost too many benefits to count with some planning and the right group — for the average busy person or family it is the only way to go! WRITER CHRIS MCGRATH 11
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PHOTOGRAPHER SERGIE SKLEZNEV
August / September 2011
harvest
COASTAL GARDEN Sometimes I guess you just get lucky. My family and I recently moved to a fairly dense coastal neighbourhood in the Olympia, Washington area. We have two children and are business owners, and busy professionals so often do not get the time we would like for things like yard work, and the thought of a garden although something we want so badly, seemed as if it might pass us by for another year. This truly just made us sad. Luckily I asked my wife Beth to slow down one afternoon as we pulled down our dead-end street and noticed one of our neighbours standing by a pile of beautiful black soil. I asked him where he had gotten it, as we are fairly far from town and it is good to know who delivers and has good prices. He replied he was “sharing it with the community garden”. It took me a second and I exclaimed and repeated his statement and asked if we could sign up! He replied it was not too late and the location was just a few doors from our home. Now if this was not enough the garden was a long established plot with several mature fruit trees, 12
raspberry bushes, grapes, and kiwis! It has been our dream for almost two decades to have fruit trees on our property. We have not yet been able to achieve that goal with kids, different moves, work and other issues in life, so this really felt like a true blessing!
slug deterrent. Here we have banana slugs they are a problem, can be 6” long and really like lettuce. We have now helped to
HOW DOES IT WORK The garden was located on a lot owned by an older couple who just wanted to take it easy for a few years and sail so they offered the space to a friend and it grew from there. We were asked to contribute $50.00 which we were glad to pay seeing all the fruit alone. It helped pay for a load of rich soil, a bit of fencing and some oyster shells which we spread around the perimeter as
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develop the garden’s raised beds, planted shared crops, and participate in a shared work and watering schedule. Continue to page 15 for the rest of the article.
Marth Stewart Pets Pique Sleeveless Crab Polo
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Green the way You Read
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continued from page 13. Usually I water one day a week and either Beth or I spend an hour or so on weekends pulling weeds, harvesting goodies, and replanting fast growing crops like lettuces and beans, as well as sowing fall vegetables that will provide late harvest goodies. I suppose any group situation depends largely on the people your working with. In this case these are our neighbours. So it was also an opportunity to meet people in our community which we found to a huge added benefit. Each person brought their own knowledge and resources to the garden. There were 7 other people involved and everyone helped everyone cover vacations and so on. Some people I’ll admit even myself sometimes are afraid to work with others. In this case it really made it possible for our family. Organize one in your We have now helped to develop the gardens raised beds, planted shared crops, and participate in a shared work and watering schedule. Usually I water one day a week and either Beth or I spend an hour or so on weekends pulling weeds, harvesting goodies, and replanting fast growing crops like lettuces and beans, as well as sowing fall vegetables that will provide late harvest goodies.
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WORKING IN GROUPS I suppose any group situation depends largely on the people your working with. In this case these are our neighbours. So it was also an opportunity to meet people in our community which we found to be a huge added benefit. Each person brought their own knowledge and resources to the garden. There were seven others some families, others just individuals, involved and everyone helped everyone cover vacations and so on. We learned a great deal about gardening in the local area from long-time residents, which is invaluable. We have already gotten wonderful raspberries, strawberries, many vegetables and much more to come. We will now be harvesting our fruit including a variety of apples, plums, pears, and kiwis. Some shy away from group situations. This “project by chance” worked out to be more than we imagined. Chris McGrath is the founder and editor-in-chief of Thrifty & Green. He is located in Olympia, WA devoted to simple living, and creating media that helps make being green fun and easy for everyone. He is the father of 2, has a background in ecological design + organic food and writes about the same. Connect with him on facebook. com/thriftyandgreen
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Books to take on Vacation The Complete Tightwad Gazette [Paperback] Amy Dacyczyn (Author) 4.5 out of 5 stars List Price: $15.61
(see page 90 for description)
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money [Paperback] Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez and Monique Tilford (Authors) 4.0 out of 5 stars List Price:
$16.00
(see page 90 for description) 16
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The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing’s Sixty Years of SelfSufficient Living [Paperback] Helen and Scott Nearing (Authors) 4.1 out of 5 stars List Price: $16.00
(see page 90 for description)
Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet [Paperback] Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappé (Authors) 4.9 out of 5 stars List Price:
$15.95
(see page 90 for description)
Continued on page 90...
ways to eat healthy 6
travel
while traveling Anytime you travel, it’s inevitable that you will end up eating what I like to call a ‘vacation’ meal. You do your best to eat healthy, locally-sourced food on a daily basis, but when the whole family hops in the car or on a plane to visit grandma and grandpa over the summer, all the rules fly out the window.
Save money and eat better — bring your own
And you know what? That’s OK. No condemnation here. I’ve taken plenty of ‘vacations’ when it comes to eating healthy and sustainable while on a vacation. Often you end up at a fast food joint at an interstate exit or in the food court at the airport. And neither of those options is considered thrifty OR green. Large scale chain restaurants and fast food joints serve meat from factory farms and produce that has been heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, & fungicides--all of which has then travelled hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles before reaching the store. Not to mention the sugar-laden,
chemically-injected ingredients that will leave you in a post-meal coma, while the kids alternate between bouncing off the walls and whining or crying when the sugar high ends. Whew! Aren’t vacations supposed to be relaxing? So when you’re on vacation with the family this summer, avoid the common pit stop pit falls with these 6 tips for a better experience: FRUIT Fruit like apples, bananas, and oranges pack well
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in their own casings, eliminating the need for plastic bags that can’t be recycled. The natural sugars found in fruits will help keep you moving through the airport so you’re not dragging behind trying to catch your connecting flight. VEGGIES Anything green will give you loads of energy. Unfortu nately, it’s not super easy to throw a salad into your carry on bag while flying. I like to pack small bags of carrots, cucumber slices, or bell
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pepper slices. If you can squeeze a portable cooler into the back of the car on a road trip, then pre-make some salads for a picnic. TRAIL MIX When is this NOT a great option for snacking? My husband eats abnormally large quantities of trail mix. I make mine with pecans, almonds, raisins, and dark chocolate chips. Everything in the mix is loaded with antioxidants.
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continue on to the next page for more great tips.
travel eat healthy
while travelling ...continued from page 17. The nuts also give you a boost of healthy fats and protein. You can add other fun things like coconut flakes or sunflower or pumpkin seeds too. SNACK BARS I will stay away from most snack bars or cereal bars since they are loaded with sugar and grains. But I love brands like Larabar and gRAWnola. These are about middle ground as far as cost goes–not the cheapest, and not the most expensive either–but you can’t beat the ingredients. For example, the Apple Pie Larabar is made with dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. And that’s it. If you have a food processor, try making your own fruit and nut bars! You can find lots of great recipes on thriftyandgreen.com.
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LOTS OF WATER You can’t bring your own water through airport security, but you can bring an empty bottle. Once you get on the plane, ask for the whole can or bottle of water (or more than one) and fill ‘er up. Air travel will dehydrate you like crazy, so drink lots of water to avoid jet lag, exhaustion, irritability, and hunger pains.
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SEEK HEALTHY OPTIONS If you are on a longer flight that will serve meals, log on to the airline’s website after you purchase your tickets. Often you are able to request vegetarian, kosher, or gluten-intolerant meals! My husband and I requested one kosher and one gluten-intolerant meal for each flight. We’ve decided that gluten-intolerant is the way to go. Otherwise you still end up with lots of processed bread and sugar. Granted, it’s still air plane food. There’s no getting around that. But slightly less unhealthy is better than completely unhealthy!
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So far these things have kept me moving along through my travels.
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These are my tips. What are your tips for eating healthy while travelling? Please visit us and become a fan at facebook.com/thriftyandgreen and post your tips + recipes for Thrifty & Green travel food. Lori Winter, is a T&G food and lifestyle writer located in Nashville, TN. She is the host of Sustainable Food - Recipes + Restaurants on thriftyandggreen.com — an original web series that features green restaurant reviews, and recipes as well as tips on eating healthy and whenever possible local. (See this issue Uncommon Ground). Lori also travels the world through barter and trade visiting some of the worlds most beautiful places for next to nothing.
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feature series
Sustainable Food: recipes + restaurants
A Rooftop Farm
THE FIRST CERTIFIED ORGANIC ROOFTOP FARM + AWARD WINNING RESTAURANT
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could fill pages with the green certifications that Chicago’s Un common Ground holds. Ranked #1 & #2 in the Green Restaurant Association for Chicago. Members of Slow Food & the Chicago Botanic Garden. Winner of the USGBC Environmotion
Award. But what really sets them apart in their ecoendeavors isn’t found on a piece of paper. It’s on their roof! Uncommon Ground is home to Chicago’s first Certified Organic Roof Top Farm (Midwest Organic Services Association, 2008). So while you dig into your salad in the dining room, just think that what’s on
your plate was likely grown above your head! Uncommon Ground employs a team of organic gardeners to tend to the restaurant’s growing food supply, which includes a rotational menu of sweet & hot peppers, eggplant, lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, radishes, beets, okra, spinach, fennel, mustard, bush
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beans, and shallots and host of herbs like rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley, & dill. They also purchase their seeds from sustainable companies focused on preserving organic and heirloom plant varieties. ROOFTOP FARM In 2007, the owners purchased the historic build-
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