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Want a Greener Lifestyle? Start Here.

by Stephanie

Want a Greener Lifestyle? Start Here.

If you know me well, you know that I’m one of those annoying people who uses a lot of green and organic stuff.

It’s something I care a lot about and sometimes I let people know about it. I get some blank stares.

I get some looks that seem to say: “Oh man, here we go again with the greener lifestyle talk!”

My friends make fun of me because I haven’t had McDonald’s in years… and every once in a while I get responses like: “Oh I would love to be like that, but I just don’t know where to start,” or “It’s too much work.” Or “It’s too expensive.”

I’m here to tell you that it’s not that much work if you take it slowly.

So here are six tips to a greener lifestyle. I’m not an expert, but I have been doing this for a long time so I like to think that I know a little bit.

Switch slowly.

I think the challenge of switching to a greener lifestyle for some people is that they get overwhelmed with all of the products they would like to change and then they just throw their hands in the air and say forgedaboudit!

I can see how that would be overwhelming. There is no shortage of products on the market that claim to be green (and that aren’t…).

My advice is to take one product in your house and switch it. Just one at a time. See that bright blue dish detergent by your sink? Use it up and then when it’s time to get a new bottle, buy something more natural. (I’ll put a list of what I use for everything in another post).

Once you’ve done that… you can go to the next product. It may take a year to switch over everything,  but that’s ok. It took me that long too. But in no time you won’t think twice about it.

Get a local and organic veggie box sent to your house.

One step toward living a greener lifestyle is to get a veggie box sent to your house.

Nothing is easier than having food show up at your door. It kind of takes the guessing out of what to buy in season and what to buy organic because it’s done for you.

In the summer months, almost everything is local which is really nice and every week I get two or three recipes to try that come with the delivery. It’s a win-win in my books.

Buy organic food in bulk.

Buying in bulk helps move toward a greener lifestyle in a couple of ways: if you reuse your bags (or have reusable bulk bags) you can keep packaging garbage out of the landfills.

Many times it’s cheaper than buying one-off packages and it helps you keep your pantry cupboards stocked with things like dried chickpeas, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Oh yes… I hear you cursing under your breath! You don’t have time to cook chickpeas and beans from scratch, baloney! You can soak them overnight and throw them in the slow cooker while you’re at work. Done.

PS: you can buy baking soda in bulk too!

Vinegar and baking soda are the answers to everything. 

Ok maybe not everything, but along with Dr. Bronner’s soap and some essential oils, I use these two items almost exclusively for cleaning. You don’t need bleach!

I bought a spray bottle from the dollar store, filled it half way with pure white vinegar (it’s best to get distilled vinegar) and filled the rest with tap water.

Do you know how much vinegar costs? Four litres is a buck or something. Maybe three dollars. But it takes me six months to go through four litres of vinegar, so I think that’s money well spent.

Change up what goes on your skin.

Conventional shampoos, conditioners, creams, and make-up can be filled with parabens, fragrances, and other chemicals that do nothing positive to your body.

Do yourself a favour and slowly switch these items to more natural and organic body care. You’ll breathe better and you’ll feel better. Something to keep in mind is that natural fragrance doesn’t mean it’s better. Bonus points if products have no-GMO and vegan verifications on the bottles.

Use Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database as your go-to resource. They know what they’re talking about!

Which brings us to the last thing…

Be critical of ingredient labels.

If you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it (this can get a little tricky when it comes to floral ingredients! But you’ll know what chemicals are the no-nos when you see them).

I know you’ve likely heard that before, but it really does help when you’re looking for more natural and organic ways of doing things.

The easiest way to buy better products is to steer clear of the middle aisles at the conventional grocery store. Most (and yes I mean most) of the food found in the middle aisles of the grocery store can have ingredients that our bodies can do without.

My rule of thumb for most things I eat and buy is that if it doesn’t provide me decent nutritional value, I try not to buy it.

Obviously, there are times when I get treats, but I do believe that even treats should have some form of nutritional value most of the time. Yes I know I’m boring! Boo me! Again… my friends make fun of me and that’s ok!

Bottom line, if you want to make these types of changes, you can.

Just do it slowly so you don’t get overwhelmed. Look at labels and do your research to see what works best for your family. And remember: just because it’s organic, doesn’t mean it’s good for you.

Whole foods are best, but read the labels on packaged items and you will start to learn what types of things are better than others. You will eventually figure it out, even if it takes a year or more.


P.S.: Get other lifestyle tips here.

P.P.S: Follow me on Instagram to get weekly tips and tricks!

One last thing: If you haven’t done so already, sign up for my newsletter, get a free week’s worth of dinners that are 30 minutes or less!

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: chemical-free, clean green, green living

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Follow me on Instagram • @lealoulemonade

From what I’ve heard so far, our property used t From what I’ve heard so far, our property used to be an apple orchard called Hope Farms in the 1800s. That’s all I really know (oh and that there’s a ghost we’ve yet to experience).

I was so excited to learn there were still 3 apple trees. But when we moved here no apples came.

The former owners must have trimmed them because truthfully they can be a bit of a pain when they fall and the animals and bugs get at them.

This year we started to see apples and then more apples and now all three trees are full of them. 

Many of them are wonky or blemished but they taste good! 

I picked this one today. It looks like I bought it from a store. 

‘Is that from *our* tree?’ The kids asked.

How cool and rewarding it is to pick food from your own yard. ❤️🍎🍏
Fun garden stuff! 🌱I picked some bush beans! M Fun garden stuff!

🌱I picked some bush beans! Most of them didn’t take. I think I have a furry little muncher eating the leaves…

🌱I harvested my garlic! I planted 16 cloves in November and now I have 16 bulbs! Pretty sweet return right there.

🌱My cauliflower is coming along! Almost there. 

🌱Not pictured are my mini watermelons! They’re so cute!

I’m learning lots and already thinking of what I’d do differently next summer.
Well, guess what? Our wellness retreat was cance Well, guess what? 

Our wellness retreat was canceled on June 24 because it was calling for thunderstorms all day - we had to make a call and guess what else? It barely rained! 

Such is life!

We managed to move most of the attendees to Sunday, July 16 and we'd love to open it up one more time to see if you would like to attend with them.

We'd love to see you!

As a reminder, here is the plan for the day:

❤️Welcome Circle
❤️Yoga + Group Reiki Class with Sonya Brar
❤️Cooking Class with me!
❤️Lunch together
❤️Meditation
❤️Closing Circle

I'm finalizing the yummy recipes we'll be cooking and eating. Fresh and local ingredients as much as possible. 

I'm also keeping the recipes simple because you're coming to recharge right? 

Join us on July 16! Link is in my bio @lealoucooks 
—-
@soar_wellness
Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈 I find kids (and adult Eat the rainbow(ish). 🌈

I find kids (and adults) are more likely to eat veggies when we offer them like this. 

Sounds simple, but I find my kids eat more like this than when I put them in lunches or directly on their plates at dinner. 

Plus, it’s pretty on the table! 

I’m serving this with pulled chicken sandwiches for dinner tonight! 

Soccer night! ⚽️

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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