Blog Action Day 2010: Water

Today is Blog Action Day and this year's topic is water. We're participating in this event by sharing just a few shocking facts about the world's water usage and supply:

• Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate some pretty scary diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A. Given that bouquet of bacteria, it's no surprise that water, or rather lack thereof, causes 42,000 deaths each week.


• Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavors that can help improve the quality of life in their communities.


• The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands to watering our lawns and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using that same amount to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Want to help? Get on board with one or more of these easy solutions:

1. Be more aware of how much water you use. Turn it off when you can, use less where you can. You don't need to put a bucket in your shower to capture reusable water or stop shaving - we're not trying to turn the world into hippies. But maybe take a shorter shower or water your lawn a little less often.


2. Donate to water.org. Hey, if Matt Damon's involved, we're interested! And for just $25, you can give one person clean water FOR LIFE.


3. Spread the word on your blog or Facebook page, or slap it on a post-it note on your friend's back. Beats "Kick Me" for originality!

Be Green ... Not Gross!

We're all trying to be nice to our planet: reduce our waste, recycle whenever possible, reuse products, etc. Right? Right!

And as a part of this, I'm sure you're using canvas, reusable grocery totes, right? Did you know that these bags, while great for the environment, need a little TLC from your washing machine every once in a while? It's true - they grab little pieces of bacteria and contaminants from the groceries & produce you put in them, hold onto them and attach them to the next round of groceries. So while they probably don't need to be laundered as often as your kids' smelly soccer clothes, you should wash them about once per month. Toss them in with the sheets and towels and keep your family healthy & safe from icky, weird food bacteria!

Want a sassy FunnySpoon grocery tote? Just share one of your fave recipes, with a photo, and we'll send you a tote like one of these!

Happy National Taco Day!

Celebrate National Taco Day and Meatless Monday with these Tempeh Tacos.

Meatless Monday: Picking Your Veggies

We've posted this before, but it's very relevant now that all the gardens are popping with fresh spring and summer veggies. It's time to figure out where you should be shopping and what you should be eating, right?

Everyone always says fresh is best when it comes to most food - especially fruits and veggies. But is it? This is a much debated topic and I thought I'd share my perspective. Not saying my opinions are scientifically accurate ... they're simply the rules I try to live by.

• Buy local. Fruits and veggies are always best if you can buy them at your local farmer's market or if they come from your backyard. You know where they've come from and how far they've traveled. Strawberries from a farm 10 miles away are much better than berries shipped in from Costa Rica (you can assume they're at least a few days off the vine by the time they make it to your grocery). And you're being much friendlier to the environment by buying locally.


• Buy fresh, seasonal at the grocery. It's simple, eat corn on the cob in July, not December. Seasonal items are going to be grown more 'naturally' resulting in much better taste and much lower prices!


• Buy frozen. If something isn't in season and you've just got to have it, i.e. corn on the cob, buy frozen. Many times frozen fruits and veggies are fresher than the "fresh" produce because they're picked, processed and immediately frozen - many times within the same day. Whereas "fresh" produce is picked, sits in a warehouse, is shipped to your grocery, sits in the storeroom and then is placed out in the produce bins (and sometimes it might sit there for a few days, too). Frozen is fresh, healthy and won't easily go bad so it's simple to always have something on hand and easy to eat your veggies!


• (Avoid) Canned. This is usually my last resort. I've found that canned fruits and veggies are usually mushy and LOADED with salt, sugar and preservatives. However, in a pinch they're always good to have on hand! We typically have black beans and tomatoes on hand, but I tend to be very cautious about anything beyond that. Sorry canned veggies!

So there you have it. My unofficial fruit and veggie rules. What are your preferences and how do you buy your fruits and veggies?

Earth Day Is Everyday!

Earth Day was April 22nd so hopefully you did something great to celebrate & honor the day. However, we hope you're trying to find more ways to make teensy little changes in your life to make the world a better, healthier place to live. Here are a couple of super SIMPLE changes you can make in your kitchen that will help the environment AND save you money. Seriously, anyone can do these!

1. Use your dishwasher. That's right, it's totally OK to use the dishwasher as long as you do it properly. Modern dishwashers (made in 1994 or after) get dishes cleaner and use less water than hand washing when used correctly. Make sure it's full, skip the rinsing (dishwashers are happy to have the little food bits to use as a scouring pad in the washing process - seriously!) and skip the heated dry cycle - let them air dry.


2. No more bottled water! Did you know that we Americans toss approximately 24 billion empty water bottles into the trash each year? That's insane! Switch to tap or filtered water instead. You can get an inexpensive carbon filtration system that will pay for itself within a couple of weeks. We really like the Brita and Pur systems.


3. Spruce up your sponge. Toss your sponge in the microwave for 2 minutes or a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to sterilize it. It also takes away the icky factor so you'll be inclined to use it longer thus keeping it out of the landfill longer!


4. Go veggie one day per week. We knew we were onto something with Meatless Monday, but it's really taking off & lots of groups are endorsing it. Studies have shown the less meat we eat, the lower our risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and certain cancers. That sounds good enough right? Well, chew on this, too: the production of meat contributes to a host of environmental issues and contributes to global warming - specifically, methane from cows is a more potent climate-change agent than carbon. Crazy, right? Try a veggie meal and see if it can work for you.


5. Green your clean. We all use cleaning products - from dishsoap to bathroom cleaners - and now they make a host of environmentally friendly options. OR try making your all-purpose cleaner. It's really easy: Mix 1/2 teaspoon washing soda (find it in the laundry aisle), 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap and 2 cups hot water, and pour into a spray bottle. How do you think our grandmother's use to get the bathroom's to sparkle? Certainly not with a fancy bottle of cleaner filled up with chemicals?


6. Little paper towels are a big deal. Apparently we're consuming paper towels in the same way we're consuming bottled water. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, if every household kitchen in the U.S. replaced just one roll with a 100-percent recycled one, we'd save more than half a million trees. WOW! So, try cleaning up spills with a sponge or washable towel and save the (recycled!) paper towels for emergencies. And, if you're feeling brave, try using cloth napkins instead of paper. I know, I know ... I'm scared of it, too, but am definitely going to give it a whirl.

And as always ... reduce, reuse, recycle. Minimize the amount of "stuff" you're using and buying, reuse things when you can and ALWAYS recycle. Once you begin these habits they are SO easy to continue. Won't you give it a little try?

3 Easy Earth Day Tips

Happy Earth Day! You're probably being inundated with tips on how to help Mama Earth today. So we'll make it easy for you and give you three simple ideas, based on the idea of "practice what you preach". We're not exactly the compost heap types, but we do consider ourselves "light green" and try to incorporate greener living in bite-sized chunks every day.

1. Go meatless for the day. As we've mentioned before, meat takes a lot more energy to produce than veggies (just think about it - first you have to produce the veggies to feed the animals!) so if you cut meat out of your meals just one day a week you're really helping the earth.
And meatless meals don't have to be tasteless! Check out this easy recipe for Grilled Portabella Sandwiches and enjoy an earth-friendly dinner tonight!

2. If you're a blogger, make your blog carbon neutral by signing up with the Carbon Neutral Blog Initiative. For each blog that joins, they plant a tree to offset the yearly carbon emissions you produce from having a blog. Don't have a blog? Share this info with someone who does!


3. If you send marketing emails or newsletters for work or a non-profit, use Emma Email Marketing. They plant 5 trees for each new customer. We know not all of you are email marketers (otherwise there'd probably be a lot more email in all our inboxes) but you can help by signing up for our emails and keep Emma in business!

If you're busy or can't do these tips then here's the easiest thing of all - go on a walk tonight with your family and appreciate the beautiful spring weather. Happy Earth Day!

Feel-Good Friday

At FunnySpoon, we consider ourselves "light-green". We encourage Meatless Mondays and try to promote general eco-friendly actions, but you won't catch us with a bucket in our showers to save the excess water (though, really, we hope you don't catch us in our showers at all!).

So, as part of this, we're joining the "My blog is carbon neutral" initiative. In exchange for us mentioning it on our blog (which we're more than happy to do), Kaufda.de will plant a tree! So if you have a blog of your own or know someone who does, be sure to spread the word!

Earth Hour!!

Have you heard about Earth Hour yet? Hopefully you have ... it's super cool and SO easy to participate!



In short: turn off all your lights for one hour on March 27th (tomorrow!) at 8:30 pm local time. It's a symbolic gesture that we're all working together to have a cleaner, greener earth. And you might save a few pennies from that one hour of not using any lights!

You can read more about the movement at myearthhour.org.

Here's the gist:
On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.

Participation is easy. By flipping off your lights on March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time you will be making the switch to a cleaner, more secure nation and prosperous America.

FunnySpoon will be participating and hope you will too!

Meatless Monday: Poorman's Black Bean Chili

This dish is the epitomy of SIMPLE. It's 4 ingredients. Seriously, that's it. And it's got tons of (vegetarian) protein to you start off the week properly.

Remember, there are lots of great reasons for you to go veggie at least one meal per week - it's good for your overall health (weight management, heart-healthy, lower cholesterol) and it's good for the environment This statistic always shocks me: "... eating a vegan diet prevents the equivalent of 1.5 tons of CO2 emissions every year, more than the 1 ton of CO2 emissions prevented by switching from a typical large sedan to a Toyota Prius." WOW! Maybe we can't all switch to a vegan diet, but we can certainly do our share to cut back on our meat consumption.

So, give this Poorman's Blackbean Chili a whirl. We guarantee you & your family will enjoy it. And it just might make you feel happy to do something good for yourselves and the environment!

Spring Cleaning Week: Clean That Oven!

It's already Thursday of Spring Cleaning Week and today we're gonna give you some tips on keeping your oven clean. Even the cleanest of cooks manages to occasionally get some cake mix or lasagna spillage on the bottom of the oven. There are a few different approaches to cleaning an oven (all with their pros and cons), so check out the tips below and decide for yourself!

1. Keep it clean. The easiest way to keep it clean is to not get it dirty in the first place! I'm super klutzy so the best way for me to do that is to line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil to catch anything that spills. Replace as necessary (depending on how often and how much you spill!).

Pros: Super easy, doesn't involve scrubbing your oven walls.
Cons: If you have drippage it could still get on the wire racks.

2. Scrub it clean. Wipe down the inside of the oven with a wet sponge, then apply a thick layer of baking soda. Allow the baking soda to sit for about three hours. Then spray with white vinegar. Enjoy the fizzing sound - this fizzing action is what helps remove hardened gunk. Let it sit for a few more hours then wipe it all away with a damp sponge and water.

Pros: Pretty simple, eco-friendly.
Cons: It still requires a bit of scrubbing.

3. Let it clean itself. More of a hands-off person? Switch your oven to the "clean oven" setting and walk away. Your oven will burn itself clean (it gets up to about 900 to 1000 degrees) without using any chemicals. And don't worry about safety - self-cleaning ovens automatically lock when they're in that setting. Come back in about three hours and enjoy your shiny clean oven!

Pros: Totally hands-off, doesn't use harsh chemicals.
Cons: It's not 100% eco-friendly because of all the energy it uses.

So what about you? How do you prefer to clean your oven?

Too Much of a Good Thing

We know that too much sodium isn’t good for us, but I would venture to make a totally unscientific guess that virtually every American over the age of one has too much sodium in their diet. In fact, many people consume ten times the recommended amount of sodium per day. The most obvious culprit may be the salt you use to season your meals, but I for one, have no intention of ever giving that up.

So this is good news for me: 75% of the average American’s sodium intake comes from processed foods and fast foods, so limiting these products in your diet will be more effective at reducing your sodium intake than giving up salt.

Not all salts are created equal. While iodized salt may be in the pantry of nearly every American kitchen, I would steer clear. Potassium iodide was first added to salt in 1924 because many people were not getting enough iodine in their diets. These days, it’s better to get your iodine by eating fish or sea vegetables or taking a dietary supplement. Highly refined salts, like iodized and most table salts, are stripped of other natural beneficial minerals like potassium and magnesium, which can actually help your body absorb sodium.

So what kind of salt should you use? Unrefined gray sea salt is perfect for all types of cooking. As a finishing salt, go for French fleur de sel or Portuguese flor de sal (both literally translate to “the flower of salt”). Not only are these salts better for your body, they are much more flavorful.

What Would Ellen Eat??

As you know by now, WE LOVE FOOD! All kinds, all varieties. Healthy food, gluttoness food. Hearty meals, lighter fare. Carnivorous dishes, vegetarian entrees. You name it and we'll try it. And then we'll try to find a way to simplify it so we can make it at home and fit it in our busy schedules.

We also love Ellen DeGeneres. She's funny, compassionate, incredibly generous & she loves life. You're probably wondering what Ellen has to do with food & FunnySpoon. Well, nothing. Except we recently learned that she follows a vegan diet ... and that started us thinking ...

Is it hard to live a vegan lifestyle? What exactly does a vegan eat? Is it easy to cook at home? Easy to eat at restaurants?

We decided to challenge ourselves to a vegan diet for a week and blogged about our experience. We imagined ourselves staring at the fridge every day saying "What would Ellen eat for dinner tonight?" and struggling to come up with an answer. Good news - that wasn't the case. We had lots of fun with this challenge, learned about alternative foods, made healthier choices and created some really great dishes!



We encourage you to check out the blog and give the challenge a try. It's a super healthy way to live, great for the environment and really kind to all of our furry friends. It may not be a long-term diet for you, but it's worth investigating (especially since we've done some of the hard work for you). Plus, Ellen will love you for giving it a whirl. Maybe she'll show up at your house for dinner!

PS: All of you experienced vegans out there - please share your thoughts, recipes and insight with us. We've just tapped into this world and know we have a lot to learn!!

Veggie Tuesday!

We like to call this day Veggie Tuesday - but that doesn't mean it's just for vegetarians and health nuts! Give it a whirl - go veggie with us one day per week a not only will you feel good about what you're doing for yourself, you'll also feel good about what you're doing for the environment.

It's fall ... why not have a little soup tonight? This Clean-out-the-fridge Veggie Soup is a perfect Tuesday night dinner. It's high in protein, low in fat, chock-full of veggies, makes great leftovers for Wednesday's lunch AND will help you clean out the fridge and freezer of all the vegetables you didn't eat last week!



Give it a try and let us know what you think - the good, the bad and the ugly!!

Veggie Tuesday: Mmm, Chili!

By now, no matter where you live, you're probably starting to feel the fall weather, if not winter! So for this Veggie Tuesday, why not warm up with some of Lindsay's Spicy Vegetarian Chili? You'll be doing the Earth (and your stomach!) a favor!

Organic coupon help is here!

Shopping for organic and all-natural products can be expensive ... especially given our current economic situation. Therefore, organic and all-natural products are quickly becoming the first thing people cut out of their shopping list. However, if you're an organic lover like me, then it doesn't take long to really miss them! I stumbled across a site FULL of links to coupons for organic & all-natural products in one of the Peaceful Daily newsletters I receive. I encourage you check out the list, bookmark it and use it frequently. You'll be happy you did (and so will the environment!).

Eggs-actly

Can you tell I'm about to head out on vacation? That's usually when my cheesy blog post titles come around - I'm a little bit frazzled and a little bit giddy! So please ignore my nerdiness and enjoy some useful tips from Ideal Bite about what the labels on your egg cartons actually mean:

If the label says:

• Animal Welfare Approved, American Humane Certified, or Certified Humane - eggs came from farms independently certified by animal welfare nonprofits (note: the latter two do allow beak-cutting).


• Cage Free - not regulated, but it usually means producers keep hens uncaged in barns or warehouses (though often there's no outdoor access).


• Free Range - typically means the hens are uncaged and have outdoor access - but nobody checks on the amount or duration.


• Natural - the USDA says Natural food products can't contain "any artificial or synthetic ingredients, and it must be minimally processed" - vague enough that it could apply to just about any egg.


• Organic - third-party-audited label that means the hens are uncaged and have access to the outdoors, and get a diet of organic, vegetarian feed without any antibiotics (beak-cutting and forced molting are permitted).


• Pasture Raised - unregulated, but typically birds raised this way have the chance to go outdoors and eat an organic diet.


• United Egg Producers Certified - producers can restrict hens to small cages and beak-cutting is allowed (but forced molting isn't).


• No Label - the hens were probably raised in a factory farm; if a company can make a claim, it usually will.

Before I head out for the weekend, I'm mixing together some stuff for Mexican Hot Cocoa to bring with me to Iceland. We're renting an apartment there for a few days, so I'm going to be drinking this stuff like mad trying to stay warm! Here's to hoping they have Cool Whip there!

Food Shopping Info on the Go - Awesome iPhone Apps

As you probably know by now, we really like Ideal Bite. So check out these great iPhone apps, rounded up courtesy of our green friends:

Seafood Watch - basic and helpful: just search for the most sustainable seafood choices from restaurants or the store. Also gives you fish-specific info if you wanna know more (free).

Shopper's Guide to Pesticides - healthcentric list of which produce items carry the highest and lowest amount of pesticide residue, so you can figure out where to spend on organic; for iPhone (free).

What's Fresh - find out which fruits and veggies are in season (so they don't have to be transported so far - saving energy) based on your state and the month; for iPhone ($2).

GoodGuide - get greenness ratings for over 70,000 products - even offers nutritional info and ingredients lists (free).

Seventh Generation Label Reading Guide - find out what the ingredients on the back of the label mean. A tad bit dark green, but it's simple to use and includes links to related terms (free).

Blog Action Day

We're participating in Blog Action Day and this year's topic is climate change. As you probably know, we do Veggie Tuesdays and our main purpose in doing that is to encourage everyone, not just vegetarians, to go veggie for at least one meal per week. It really does make a positive impact on the environment, and with our tasty and easy recipes you won't even feel like you're giving anything up!

So celebrate Blog Action Day and enjoy this Clean-out-the-fridge Veggie Soup. Added bonus? You'll be making use of veggies that might otherwise find their way into the trash can. So dig in!

Veggies Unite!

Today is National Vegetarian Day and marks the beginning of Vegetarian Awareness Month. We all know that we need to fit more fruits & veggies in our diet so why not give it a whirl with the fall fruits and vegetables? What's in season, you ask?

• Apples


• Beets


• Blackberries


• Broccoli


• Brussels sprouts


• Cabbage


• Cauliflower


• Chicory


• Cranberries


• Dates


• Figs


• Grapes


• Leeks


• Lettuce


• Okra


• Oranges


• Parsnips


• Pears


• Peppers


• Pumpkins


• Quince


• Shallots


• Star fruit


• Sweet Potatoes


• Turnips


• Watercress


• Winter squash

It seems like we're pushing a vegetarian diet lately, doesn't it? We're not. We're simply pushing variety! It's great to get lots of variety in your diet and eating local, seasonal veggies is the perfect way to end the diet doldrums.

What are your favorites?

Veggie Tuesday!

The weather is beginning to change and we're not quite sure not sure if we should try to grill out one more time or throw in the towel and hunker down with the first batch of chili this season.

We're going to give ourselves a break this Tuesday evening and go for these 5-minute burritos? A simple, delicious solution when we can't make up our minds! Besides, there will be plenty of time for chili later in the fall and winter!






As we've mentioned before, going veggie for one (or two) days per week can have an amazing impact on the environment and your overall health. Give it a whirl and go vegetarian with us every Tuesday. It's worth trying, right? You'd be in pretty cool compmany! Here are a few famous people who have gone veggie or vegan over the years: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Billy Idol, Brad Pitt, Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson, Richard Gere, Demi Moore, Moby, Alicia Silverstone, Anthony Kiedis, Bryan Adams, Daryl Hannah, Joaquin Phoenix, Kevin Nealon, Prince, Woody Harrelson and our personal favorites - Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi!

partial list courtesy of our friends at Peaceful Daily