Green lunch

Tiny Choices recently posted about lunch kits.  Sadly, I did not win the kit they were giving away, but really, you don’t need anything special to have a waste-free lunch.

Since I have access to a refrigerator at work, I don’t worry about an insulated lunch bag on most days.  I just toss everything into a reusable canvas bag, and I’m good to go.

I use a glass Pyrex container whenever I have food that I’ll be heating, which is most of the time, thanks to the beauty of leftovers.  By using the glass container, I avoid the whole issue of figuring out which, if any, plastics won’t leach chemicals into my food when heated.  While I’m on the subject — those frozen vegetables that you microwave in the plastic bag?  Who thought that was a good idea?  Oh, the lengths to which we go, and the health risks we take, for convenience food.  Anyway, suffice it to say that I refuse to microwave anything in plastic.  My Pyrex container has a plastic lid that I remove before heating.

I do use plastic containers for snacks, or parts of my lunch that don’t require heating.

I keep silverware and a cloth napkin at my desk, always at the ready, along with my water mug.  I prefer not to drink out of a water bottle (reusable, of course) all day, but I don’t trust myself with an open cup of water near a computer, so I compromise with a lidded travel mug.  If you’re on the go a lot and frequently find yourself resorting to plastic utensils, you may want to look at To Go Ware, which I wrote about here.

The cloth napkin is the newest addition to my lunch arsenal.  We use cloth napkins at home all the time, but, until recently, I never thought about having one at work.  No, I was not using paper napkins at work, I guess I just wasn’t using anything . . . or maybe I was using my pants.

Green giveaway postponed

Due to the very underwhelming response, I am postponing the green t-shirt giveaway.  Since I failed to actually post a picture of the t-shirt in question, I hold some degree of responsibility for the lack of success this time around.

There was also the issue with our camera, which is on its last legs.  So nice to know that they make digital cameras to last an entire FIVE years!  Would you like a side of planned obsolescence with that electronic purchase?  No?  Well, today we’re going to give it to you anyway.  For free!  (Cue evil laughter.)

Incomplete streets

Today I did it.  I crossed Highway-141 on foot, against all odds.   But first, some background information.

What is a complete street?

“Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.”¹

The streets around my office are perfect examples of incomplete streets.  At the intersection in question, I had to cross 4-6 lanes of traffic (depending on where I was in relation to the turning lanes) without the aid of a sidewalk, crosswalk, or pedestrian traffic signals.  I started my journey on a nice bit of sidewalk that quickly disappeared, leaving me to walk on the grassy and sharply angled side of the road, using a concrete drainage ditch as my “sidewalk” part of the way, and jumping over said ditch at other parts.

Once I reached 141, I decided it would be safer to cross before the intersection than crossing at the intersection, with cars turning every which way.  The only slightly redeeming feature was the grassy median between the east and west bound lanes, so I didn’t have to cross all the way at once.

As it happened, a police car was staked out on the shoulder of the road.  I walked right in front of it, wishing that the officer would have the nerve to say something to me about crossing the road.  I was quite ready with my righteous indignation at the absurdity of the situation and the lack of accommodations for anything other than motor vehicles.  Is it jaywalking if there’s no crosswalk or pedestrian signal in the first place?

Anyway, active forms of transportation, such as biking and walking, are great ways to meet people.  After I made it across, someone pulled over and asked me how to get to the mall (being new to these parts, I didn’t know).  The end result was that the guy gave me his number.  Now that wouldn’t have happened if I was in my car, would it?

This little adventure ended with me crossing back over 141, this time on the other side of the intersection, where I discovered that the median was still quite muddy from recent rains.  Oh, for want of a decent sidewalk!

1. For more information on Complete Streets, go to http://www.completestreets.org/

Carpool

As of last Thursday, I”m officially part of a carpool.  It involves only me and one other person at this point, but it is certainly better than two cars on the road every day.

We registered our carpool with RideFinders, which serves the St. Louis area.  When I say “St. Louis area,” I am speaking very broadly.  Their service area includes 7 counties, plus St. Louis City.  And don’t even get me started, but those counties, with the exception of maybe one, are NOT St. Louis.  They may be NEAR St. Louis, depending on how you define “near,” but it is not one and the same.

Anyway, if you are in a situation where driving is the only viable option, it’s definitely worth looking into carpool options.

Grandma’s baked beans

My grandma’s original baked bean recipe included some type of meat, but we discovered that it’s just as delicious without the meat.

Grandma’s Baked Beans

1 lb. dry navy beans, soaked 8 hours
4-5 c. water
2 t. dried  mustard
2-3 onions, quartered
bit of cloves or cinnamon
2 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. molasses
2 T. vinegar

Add soaked beans, water, mustard, onions, and cloves or cinnamon to a Crock Pot set on high.  Cook ~4 hours (beans should be slightly tender), then add remaining ingredients, turn down to low, and cook ~4 hours more, or until desired tenderness.

Notes:

The beauty of making your own baked beans is that you can control the amount of salt and sugar.  Start with the amounts in the recipe, and add more to taste.

As written above, I add the sugar, salt, and vinegar later in the cooking process because these ingredients slow the beans’ cooking and can lead to tough beans.

Sometimes I add a bit of bulgar wheat (AKA cracked wheat) if the sauce seems too watery.

The original recipe calls for baking these in the oven, instead of using a Crock Pot.  I avoid this method because it requires that the oven be on for 6-8 hours.  If you want to try it in the oven, combine the first 5 ingredients in a pot and boil on the stove top for one hour.  Then add remaining ingredients, transfer to a baking dish, and bake at 250° for 6-8 hours.

Active living fail

Not news: Active living is challenging when you have to drive to work every day.

My number one advice for an active and green lifestyle? Intentionally choose to live somewhere that you can either walk, bike, use public transit, or some combination of the three, to get to work and other necessary places (e.g., grocery stores, your kid’s school, etc.).   Easier said than done, especially when considering not only your job, but your partner’s, but a worthy goal.  If you’re not certain that you’re going to be in your current job for many years (and who is?), a lease is A LOT more flexible than a mortgage.  And despite what those tricksy real estate agents and lenders try to tell you, buying a house is NOT a good investment.

Still here . . .

. . . and biking.  That is to say, I biked all around the town on Friday morning, running errands.  Friday afternoon I hopped on the big blue bus to KC, MO for a girls’ weekend with my mom and sisters!  Taking the bus to KC instead of driving the car was the only particularly green part of the trip, although I did have my reusable silverware ready for the hotel breakfast.  Oh, and we ate at a cool vegetarian restaurant that sources local and organic as much as possible, Eden Alley.

Between the new job and the trip, I’ve been a bit out of the blog loop, which may not really get resolved until Friday.

Identity crisis

And so it begins . . .

The first day of my life as a non-bike commuter.  Where do I go from here, when bike commuting was such a big part of my “green” identity?

Full moon bike ride

Instead of biking straight home the past two Tuesday nights, we took some fun detours.  Last week we went to Sweet Art for some cupcake deliciousness.

The moon has been rising very early lately (before 4pm).  I biked to last night’s destination (a pizza place) under a gorgeous full moon in the dusky dark blue sky.  Although there are plenty of times that I wish I had it, last night being one, I generally don’t carry the camera because it is just one more thing to lug around.  I enjoyed the moon very much in the moment.

On the way home, we biked through Tower Grove Park.  It’s a bit risky in the dark because it’s hard to see all of the speed bumps.  However, the dark has advantages: two raccoons scurried across our path, and a bit later, something large swooped right in front of us!  We think it was an owl.

The lovely, although chilly, evening, complete with full moon and owl, provided a great backdrop for the ride.  As I pedaled up our alley, it seemed an appropriate ride to cap my 4 years and 5 months of bike commuting.  Le sigh . . . .

Green giveaway

In the spirit of the holiday season, I am giving away a free green t-shirt. 100% organic cotton, size Youth Large/Adult Small.  Image Coming Soon!

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment here about what you are doing to make your holiday green.  The winner will either be chosen at random, or I will pick the green holiday idea that I like the best, so make those comments good!  To enter, share your comment by December 17, 2009.