My furry little ones....
Although I don't recognize it all the time, every day is Earth Day to me.
Last year I posted some tips for being more Earth-friendly and I got some great comments from others who do their part in keeping the earth clean and respecting the planet. From having garden's to using "green" products, I sure do have a lot of earth-friendly blog readers!
I think it is important to take some time today and find a few small things that you can do to save your planet. If I could make one suggestion, I think the biggest change is driving less and walking/biking more. Just think of all the places you drive to during the day. I know there is a big movement right now (more than ever) to create more biking/walking friendly roads but if you have the opportunity to walk instead of drive, I think it is an easy (and heart-friendly) change that anyone can do a few times (if not every day) during the week.
I want to stress that we all do not have to strive for perfection when we want to make a change in our life or make a difference in this world. There is no perfect training/exercise plan, there is no perfect eating plan and certainly, no one is expecting you to be 100% "green".
Just because you don't recycle your plastic doesn't mean that you aren't saving the planet. Maybe you re-use wrapping paper, avoid buying plastic water bottles or turn off lights when you aren't in the room. Just look of the many ways that you are saving the planet!
Rather than thinking of ALL the things you can do to live a healthier life, think of a few things that you can do to be a healthier person. Rather than trying to stick to training/exercise plan every day of the week, which may be unrealistic or not beneficial to helping you meet your weight loss/training goals, try to stay consistent with a training/exercise plan most days of the week. On the other days, just stay active and have no expectations for your workout.
Rather than having the "all or nothing" approach to "saving the planet" just pick up trash when you see it or buy/use a re-usable grocery bag.
No matter if it is exercise, fitness, health or nutrition-related, believe me when I tell you that small changes in your life really do make a big difference. You have to find what works for you, without comparing yourself to anyone else.
In honor or Earth day, take a minute and look at all of the great things you are doing in your life (nutrition, activity, health related) rather than looking at the things you "wish" or feel you "need" to be doing.
What are your "EARTH DAY" tips???
Although most of my habits started a bit before graduate school, I realized I was doing a lot of great things for the planet as I was trying to save money.
Here are 21 of my earth friendly habits:
1) Reuse grocery bags for "lunch" bags
2) Reuse grocery bags for trash and/or dog/cat poopy bags
3) Use re-usable grocery bags most of the time
4) Separate my "big" trash items (ex. milk jugs, egg cartoons, laundry detergent, boxes that I can't open up, etc.)from my regular small trash so that I take out less trash bags and fill-up the bags as much as possible.
5) Air-dry cycling/triathlon clothing (with the increasing temps we do laundry a lot more often than in the winter)
6) Never throw away food. I freeze/refrigerate leftovers and find a way to use it.
7) Walk to the post-office (.3 miles down the road) and to the bank (.4 miles down the road) w/ Campy.
8) Walk to the Trek store w/ Campy (1.2 miles) a few times per week to say hi to Karel.
9) Walk to the grocery (.4 miles) w/ Campy and Karel when we need a few necessities (ex. milk, eggs, dark chocolate, yogurt).
10) Karel bikes to and from work in the summer.
11) Carpool whenever possible.
12) Try to run errands on the same day.
13) Re-use wrapping paper.
14) Re-use tinfoil, baggies, glass containers, etc. whenever possible.
15) Don't use lights unless I have to. I LOVE sunlight through my windows.
16) Britta water in the fridge instead of plastic bottles.
17) Turn down the AC 3 degrees in the evening and keep the apartment comfortable during the day.
18) Print out directions on scrap paper (or just hand-write directions on scrap paper).
19) Re-use big envelopes from races (typically race packet) for mailing or storing papers.
20) Pay bills online and re-use envelopes from credit card, electric company, cable, etc. whenever I can (typically I use old envelopes when I pay the rent or need to put together some papers to bring to meetings).
21) Give away (or try to sell) items I don't use rather than throwing them away.
22) Ask the grocery check-out employee's to stuff my bags when I don't have my re-usable bags
23) Shop at farmer's market for fruits and veggies
24) Buy in bulk whenever possible
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu
Karel loved this dessert so much I caught him licking the bowl!
Campy also loves this recipe - who doesn't like licking the peanut butter off the spoon?
Serves 2
1/2 cup tofu
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp water
1 tsp natural PB
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp honey
1/2 ounce dark chocolate
optional: Brown sugar
1. Melt chocolate for 30-45 sec., stir and then melt again for 30-40 sec. You don't want the chocolate to become hard but at the same time you want it a little soft so it will blend evenly.
2. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth (you may need to scrape down the inside of blender incase chocolate or PB sticks to the sides).
3. Pour into two dishes and top with a pinch of brown sugar (optional).
4. Best if you refrigerate for 30-60 min.
SOOOOOOO good!
*Packed with protein!
Although I don't recognize it all the time, every day is Earth Day to me.
Last year I posted some tips for being more Earth-friendly and I got some great comments from others who do their part in keeping the earth clean and respecting the planet. From having garden's to using "green" products, I sure do have a lot of earth-friendly blog readers!
I think it is important to take some time today and find a few small things that you can do to save your planet. If I could make one suggestion, I think the biggest change is driving less and walking/biking more. Just think of all the places you drive to during the day. I know there is a big movement right now (more than ever) to create more biking/walking friendly roads but if you have the opportunity to walk instead of drive, I think it is an easy (and heart-friendly) change that anyone can do a few times (if not every day) during the week.
I want to stress that we all do not have to strive for perfection when we want to make a change in our life or make a difference in this world. There is no perfect training/exercise plan, there is no perfect eating plan and certainly, no one is expecting you to be 100% "green".
Just because you don't recycle your plastic doesn't mean that you aren't saving the planet. Maybe you re-use wrapping paper, avoid buying plastic water bottles or turn off lights when you aren't in the room. Just look of the many ways that you are saving the planet!
Rather than thinking of ALL the things you can do to live a healthier life, think of a few things that you can do to be a healthier person. Rather than trying to stick to training/exercise plan every day of the week, which may be unrealistic or not beneficial to helping you meet your weight loss/training goals, try to stay consistent with a training/exercise plan most days of the week. On the other days, just stay active and have no expectations for your workout.
Rather than having the "all or nothing" approach to "saving the planet" just pick up trash when you see it or buy/use a re-usable grocery bag.
No matter if it is exercise, fitness, health or nutrition-related, believe me when I tell you that small changes in your life really do make a big difference. You have to find what works for you, without comparing yourself to anyone else.
In honor or Earth day, take a minute and look at all of the great things you are doing in your life (nutrition, activity, health related) rather than looking at the things you "wish" or feel you "need" to be doing.
What are your "EARTH DAY" tips???
Although most of my habits started a bit before graduate school, I realized I was doing a lot of great things for the planet as I was trying to save money.
Here are 21 of my earth friendly habits:
1) Reuse grocery bags for "lunch" bags
2) Reuse grocery bags for trash and/or dog/cat poopy bags
3) Use re-usable grocery bags most of the time
4) Separate my "big" trash items (ex. milk jugs, egg cartoons, laundry detergent, boxes that I can't open up, etc.)from my regular small trash so that I take out less trash bags and fill-up the bags as much as possible.
5) Air-dry cycling/triathlon clothing (with the increasing temps we do laundry a lot more often than in the winter)
6) Never throw away food. I freeze/refrigerate leftovers and find a way to use it.
7) Walk to the post-office (.3 miles down the road) and to the bank (.4 miles down the road) w/ Campy.
8) Walk to the Trek store w/ Campy (1.2 miles) a few times per week to say hi to Karel.
9) Walk to the grocery (.4 miles) w/ Campy and Karel when we need a few necessities (ex. milk, eggs, dark chocolate, yogurt).
10) Karel bikes to and from work in the summer.
11) Carpool whenever possible.
12) Try to run errands on the same day.
13) Re-use wrapping paper.
14) Re-use tinfoil, baggies, glass containers, etc. whenever possible.
15) Don't use lights unless I have to. I LOVE sunlight through my windows.
16) Britta water in the fridge instead of plastic bottles.
17) Turn down the AC 3 degrees in the evening and keep the apartment comfortable during the day.
18) Print out directions on scrap paper (or just hand-write directions on scrap paper).
19) Re-use big envelopes from races (typically race packet) for mailing or storing papers.
20) Pay bills online and re-use envelopes from credit card, electric company, cable, etc. whenever I can (typically I use old envelopes when I pay the rent or need to put together some papers to bring to meetings).
21) Give away (or try to sell) items I don't use rather than throwing them away.
22) Ask the grocery check-out employee's to stuff my bags when I don't have my re-usable bags
23) Shop at farmer's market for fruits and veggies
24) Buy in bulk whenever possible
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu
Karel loved this dessert so much I caught him licking the bowl!
Campy also loves this recipe - who doesn't like licking the peanut butter off the spoon?
Serves 2
1/2 cup tofu
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp water
1 tsp natural PB
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp honey
1/2 ounce dark chocolate
optional: Brown sugar
1. Melt chocolate for 30-45 sec., stir and then melt again for 30-40 sec. You don't want the chocolate to become hard but at the same time you want it a little soft so it will blend evenly.
2. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth (you may need to scrape down the inside of blender incase chocolate or PB sticks to the sides).
3. Pour into two dishes and top with a pinch of brown sugar (optional).
4. Best if you refrigerate for 30-60 min.
SOOOOOOO good!
*Packed with protein!
