I will enjoy 3 meal(s) per day free of processed foods.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Waste
Start Composting
I will start a compost collection at home, work, or school.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Waste
Reduce Unwanted Mail
I will reduce the amount of unwanted mail I receive (catalogs, phone books, etc.).
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Waste
Go Paperless
I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and subscriptions.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Waste
Needs vs. Wants
I will adopt a 'Needs Vs. Wants' approach and only buy things I need.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Eat Meatless Meals
I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) per day.
COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Watch a Documentary
I will watch a documentary film about food with family and friends and talk about what we learned.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Waste
Find Local Recycling Depots
I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Waste
Use Reusable Containers
I will only use reusable containers for my lunches at work or school.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant
I will use the Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant finder to choose a Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant when I dine out.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food
Plant an Herb Garden
I will plant an herb garden in my home, workplace, or dorm room.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food
Try a New Way to Prep
I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Health
Go get a check up
I will make an appointment for my annual physical.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Transportation
Drive Less
I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips.
COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS
Health
Know My health
I will get my Core Four Biometrics tests (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and BMI).
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
On this last day of the challenge I am reflecting on what I might have learned from it. I think that my take-away is a greater sense of eco-consciousness. (Is that a word?) I'm definitely more acutely aware of what I use, reuse, recycle and, especially, what I throw away. For instance, previously I would have tossed this bottle into the recycling bin, cap and all. But the "eco friendly" label caught my eye and I discovered that the company wants to reuse the wire swingtop from each bottle. I went to their website and requested a prepaid mailer. It felt great to pop that mailer, with wire top enclosed, in the post! If you're a vodka-drinker, read the mailer and consider buying this brand. It was pretty good vodka, to boot.
I love to see companies that are doing this! Terracycle also offers similar recycling programs for some big brands--might be worth checking out to see if you purchase any of those products and can request mailers to send back spent packaging.
Spring is finally here and I am ever so thankful for that! Crocus is popping up all over my yard, giving it bits of color and that makes me happy. You know what else makes me happy? My favorite spot at Phipps: a space in the Tropical Forest where the gardenias start to show their beautiful blooms this time of year. I was excited to greet them when I walked through the TF earlier this week. Get a load of these lovelies!
I regret to report that I fell off the chuck wagon over the weekend and indulged in two meaty St. Patrick's Day meals. Actually, I have very little regret because they were delicious! However, I am very pleased to say now that I am firmly back on track with my meatless diet. I've discovered that it's really not that hard -- although, I can see how it could be for a picky eater. Fortunately, I am not in that camp. So, yesterday's lunch was leftover cabbage & root vegetables. With rutabaga, parsnips, turnips, carrots & potatoes, who needs corned beef?!
Had a family discussion last night about plastics. Decided that we can easily replace all of the plastic containers we use for leftovers, lunches, etc., with our massive collection of mason jars cluttering up the basement. The biggest challenge will be doing without Ziploc storage bags for the foods we freeze. Anybody have any thoughts on this?
Glass works fine as long as you leave space for the liquid to expand. I reuse bread bags and tortilla bags (items I can't make for myself most of the time) till they fall apart, which is what I use to freeze chicken, for example. Can't remember the last time I bought ziplocs. One step at a time!
Glass jars have worked fine for us so far when it comes to freezing things like soups or beans. We cut out purchasing new Ziploc bags a while ago and just wash the ones we have until they are no longer usable...but we don't have that much of a contingency plan for when they are all gone. There are some glass containers with sealing lids that might work for your purposes. I know for non-liquid stuff we freeze, like cookies or baked goods, we just do those in parchment paper that we fold at the ends. If anyone has any ideas please post them! Seems like we are all curious.
I am really interested in a ziploc swap for the freezer, too. I've been looking at stainless containers but have not tried them myself. I freeze a lot of leftovers and this is my biggest plastic holdout currently.
I've decided to really challenge myself this Lenten season and try to go meatless. This is Day 6 and so far, so good! My meal planner/food shopper/home chef (aka, retired husband) balked when I first told him, but he has been amazingly compliant thus far. Wish me luck on St. Patrick's Day, when I traditionally gather family & friends and serve Guinness Beef Stew, Corned Beef & Cabbage and an indescribably yummy hot dip made with chipped corned beef, Swiss cheese & sauerkraut. It's a dilemma.
Go you, Kerry!!! My mom is doing the same thing and has some of the same inhibitions. I gave her a foolproof recipe for seitan that she's going to use to try use in lieu of corned beef. I'll e-mail it to you!
Meghan Scanlon 3/20/2019 1:14 PMI love to see companies that are doing this! Terracycle also offers similar recycling programs for some big brands--might be worth checking out to see if you purchase any of those products and can request mailers to send back spent packaging.
Hayden Sloan 3/15/2019 8:58 AMGlass works fine as long as you leave space for the liquid to expand. I reuse bread bags and tortilla bags (items I can't make for myself most of the time) till they fall apart, which is what I use to freeze chicken, for example. Can't remember the last time I bought ziplocs. One step at a time!
Jerry Crockett 3/15/2019 6:16 AMGlass jars have worked fine for us so far when it comes to freezing things like soups or beans. We cut out purchasing new Ziploc bags a while ago and just wash the ones we have until they are no longer usable...but we don't have that much of a contingency plan for when they are all gone. There are some glass containers with sealing lids that might work for your purposes. I know for non-liquid stuff we freeze, like cookies or baked goods, we just do those in parchment paper that we fold at the ends. If anyone has any ideas please post them! Seems like we are all curious.
