It's Easy Being Green

Long before gasoline powered mowers, gardeners used different tools to trim up the lawn.  Whether it was a push reel, human-powered lawn mower or something as simple as a scythe, people lost the desire to use some hard work to keep up with the grass in their gardens.  Then came along the gasoline powered mower and the rest was, well history.

I remember as a kid watching a neighbor of mine struggling with his electric lawn mower.  I always thought that was quite the novelty, knowing only one person who actually plugged their mower into an extension cord as opposed to a gas pump.  It always seemed a bit of a struggle for him though, wrestling with the extension cord he was dragging behind him in the yard.

Black & Decker's new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower

That’s why I got excited about Black & Decker’s new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower.  It’s brand new to the market and seems like a fantastic edition to anyone’s arsenal of lawn care equipment.  The mower is Energy Star certified and plugs into the wall outlet to recharge itself.  The unit isn’t suggested for large lots as it can only cut about 1/3 of an acre per charge but for smaller lots it’s ideal.  Estimates show it will cost about $10 per year in electricity to operate their new mower.  Compare that to about $5 in gas every two mows.

Why else is it such a great idea?  Americans use 800 million gallons of gas every year just to mow our lawns.  In that process, we spill more gas than the Exxon Valdez spilled into the ocean back in 1989.  Gas-powered mowers are also responsible for about 5% of our air pollution each year.  It might be hard to believe those facts but when you consider American’s lawns take up three times more land than the corn currently grown, you can see just how big of an impact your lawn can have.

If you’re interested in entering a contest to win Black & Decker’s new 24 Volt Cordless Mulching Mower, head over to the Alternative Consumer Blog and enter yourself!  You can also win an electric sweeper there too.

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If you’re like me, your ears perk up anytime you hear that a company is offering you to try their product for free.  That’s why I’ve been impressed with Kashi, every few months rolling out a new product that people can try for free.  I think it’s a great marketing ploy, especially in our current economic troubles.  Just a few weeks ago, Kashi was advertising a coupon to try one of their new frozen dinners for free so I decided to give it a shot.

I haven’t been impressed with the other two Kashi products I’ve tried with their free coupon system.  First it was one of their breakfast/energy bars which I thought was terrible and have never bought another one since.  Second it was their line of granola-like breakfast cereals.  Once again, I thougth I was eating a bowl of nuts, twigs and leaves from the forest floor and couldn’t stand the taste or texture.  So, I was a little hesitant as I popped my Kashi frozen dinner and in the microwave and watched it cook.

I really wanted to try the Lemongrass Chicken dinner but my local grocery store didn’t carry it.  So I ended up going with the all-natural Southwest Style Chicken.  Pulling the dinner out of the microwave left a pleasant southwestern smell which got my mouth watering and excited to try the meal.

The grilled chicken breast was seasoned with lime, cumin and a hint of chipotle and diced into small pieces.  The flavorings were definitely present but not even throughout the chicken.  The chicken was on a bed of fire roasted onions, corn, red and green peppers and Kashi’s 7 whole grains and sesame pilaf.  The mixed in vegetables were very tasty and the whole grain pilaf was actually very good.  I didn sprinkle some salt and pepper over the top of the dish and that made it even better and allowed the flavors to really pop.

The frozen dinner is a bit small and didn’t fill up my “growing boy’s stomach” but was so tasty I scraped the dish it was in to get every last little bit.  Kashi says they use only high quality, natural ingredients with no preservatives or artificial anythings, ever.  The Southwest Style Chicken contained 16 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber.  When I have the money, I will probably give Kashi’s other frozen dinners a try.  I’m always looking for something to spice up the humdrum of my leftovers I usually take to work but get tired of running to the corner fast food joint to eat something totally horrible for me.

If you’ve tried the other dinners in Kashi’s new frozen line, let us know what your thought were!

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Our latest prenatal visit to our midwife showed that my wife’s pregnancy is going great and that our little girl growing inside seems to be right where she needs to be.  It’s hard to believe that in just about 90 days, that little life inside of my wife’s belly will be plopped right into our arms.  I’m excited and know it will be such a tremendous experience.

In the meantime, I have run across some more homemade items that you can use for your baby and that I will use for mine once she’s here.  Blog reader Misty responded to my homemade baby lotion recipe post and said:

“I also know there are good “recipes” out there for make your own baby wipes, both using traditional paper towels (goodish), and using rag squares (much better).”

Misty’s comment got me looking and sure enough, there are recipes out there for homemade baby wipes.  I imagine they can get expensive after awhile so if you’re resourceful and are looking to cut down on your baby costs, you might want to give this a go!

Homemade Baby Wipes:

- 5 large plastic containers with high sides

- 1 roll of Bounty paper towels

- 2 cups of cold tap water (I would probably use distilled because I don’t like the added chemicals in our local tap water supplies)

- 6 Tbsp. of baby oil

- 2 Tbsp. of baby bath liquid

Slice the roll of paper towels in half and remove the center cardboard tube.  Place the ingredients into a medium bowl and mix.  Don’t mix too much because the mixture will foam up and you’ll have to start over again.  Place the paper towels in the container and pour the solution over the top.  It will take about 1 hour for all the liquid to be absorbed into the paper towels.  Place the baby wipes in a well-sealed plastic container and use as needed.

This post reminds me of an adult friend I have who has always sworn by using baby wipes for his own bum.  The thought has always cracked me up but maybe he’s got a point.  At least now I have a great homespun present to whip up for him that I know he’d truly appreciate!

I’m still on the lookout for a recipe that uses rags instead of paper towels.  That would be more sustainable considering you could probably just wash those and resue them instead of buying paper towels all the time.  If you have any homemade recipe or remedies, please share them with us and I’ll post them on the blog.  Thanks Misty for your great idea!

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If you aren’t already familiar with the organization 25x’25 and are interested in our country’s progress in eliminating the usage of fossil fuels, you should check out the group’s new blog.  Their goal is that by 2025, 25% of America’s farms, ranches and forests will provide 25% of the total combined energy used by the U.S.

They’re goal is also set on continuing to provide safe, abundant and affordable feed, fiber and food.  The group’s new blog, just rolled out last week during their 5th National 25x’25 Renewable Energy Summit, contains a host of information about the progress toward that goal and what each state is doing to get there.  The blog also offers RSS feeds for those of you on the blogging go.

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