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Tag: Earth day

  • Weekend Bites Earth Day Recipes

    Weekend Bites Earth Day Recipes

    Welcome to Weekend Bites! Enjoy these Earth Day Recipes to reacquaint yourself with the wonderful natural produce our earth creates. 

    Share and browse all your favorite food bloggers on Weekend Bites.

    Visit my co-host Debi at Practical Parenting Ideas

     1. Link up your any food related post below
    2. Browse the linky, visit some new blogs, and share if you feel so inclined. 
    3. Please only link up 3 posts. This lets us visit as many of you as possible.
    4. By linking up you give me permission to feature your photos on Home Maid Simple (always linking back to you of course!)
    5. Each month I send out a newsletter with the most popular links from that month – you may be featured!!  This is a once a month newsletter, every first Friday of the month, no spam involved! Sign Up
      Get back to your roots with these 7 Earth Day Recipes
    I couldn’t stick to just 4 features this week! So many delicious recipes featuring natural products from our earth. I like to call these Earth Day Recipes. Whether you grow the produce yourself or buy it from the many convenient stores we have, you can get back in touch with your roots with one of these fabulous recipes. 
     
    Home Cooking Memories shows us how to make Peanut Butter at home that rivals the natural peanut butters on store shelves.  You can then use that peanut butter in Nepa Mom’s Peanut Butter Granola Apples Bites. 
     
    This Corn and Avocado Salsa from Old Home to New House can be made with all fresh ingredients. I could see myself plating this salsa next to this Slow Cooker Quinoa from Dizzy Busy and Hungry. Something about making homemade bread makes me feel in touch with the earth as well. This Molasses Walnut Banana Bread from Busy Being Jennifer is on my list to try this week!
     
    Not all earth day recipes have to be full of grains or veggies though. I think I often forget sweet fruits when thinking of earth-friendly dishes to serve my  family. I can’t wait to try this fantastic looking Simple Spinach and Strawberry Salad from A Dish of Daily Life, and Frugal Foodie Mama’s Cara Cara Orange and Vanilla Bean Curd. 
     
    Grab a Feature Button!
     
    Weekend Bites


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  • 8 Ideas for Recycling Milk Jugs

    8 Ideas for Recycling Milk Jugs

    Gone are the days of milk men and glass milk bottles that were used over and over and over again. Now a days many milk jugs end up in the trash and landfills, some may make it to your recycling plant, but they don’t have to! Did you know you can reuse them at home in a myriad of ways? 

    8 simple ideas for recycling Milk Jugs and celebrating Earth Day

    A few years ago when I wanted to start planting but the weather wasn’t quite right, I decided to help the kids plant inside. We could have gone to the store and bought little pots for each of them, but why do that when we had a trash can with a couple empty milk jugs sitting in it? You can leave the milk jugs plain, or let the kids decorate them with paint, stickers, jewels, leaves, etc. This upcycling project will easily entertain the kids for a whole afternoon. What will you plant in your Milk Jug Planter?

    Milk Jug Planter

    If you don’t want to plant in the Milk Jug, One Creative Mommy turned one into a watering can. Again another SIMPLE craft the kids can help with. My kids are always fighting over who gets to water the plants, so I can easily keep 4 jugs out of the landfill by turning them into personalized watering jugs for my kids. Put them to work decorating again, and everyone will be happy this spring!

    DIY Watering Can from One Creative Mommy

    Dream Garden 101 teaches you how to turn a Milk Jug into an Upside Down Tomato planter. We love tomatoes, and growing our own, but when we rent there’s not always the space to grow a garden. This is a great space saver while still growing your own food, and teaching the kids about agriculture. Of course a little paint wouldn’t hurt to bring the planter more to life. She also shows how to turn a milk jug into a slow drip watering system.

    Milk Jug Upside down Tomato Planter from Dream Garden 101

    If you’re like me, perhaps you planted your garden a little early because you got too anxious waiting for the weather to warm up enough. That or maybe you did wait, and mother nature decided the weather should be weird this year! If that’s the case, Family Food Secure has a quick tutorial to turn Milk Jugs into a hot cap – or basically a little home for all your sprouts when the weather threatens a late frost. 

    Milk Jug Hot Caps from Family Food Secure

    Milk Jugs aren’t only good for reusing in the garden, though. Oh now! Check out these other really awesome ways to reuse your milk cartons. We all have a tupperware drawer (whether you use that brand or not…it’s just what I call those plastic food containers). Instead of losing lids, losing containers, or getting fed up with never having bottom and top match, just turn your Milk Jugs into a sandwich box! I found this idea over on Curbly.

    Milk Jug Lunch at Curbly

    If you have more of an inclination to dress up versus heading out to the garden, then this Storm Trooper Mask from Filth Wizardry is probably a better use of your empty milk jugs. 1 helmet uses 2 jugs! Imagine a whole family of Storm Troopers saving the planet 2 milk jugs at a time. 

    Milk Jug Storm Trooper at Filth Wizardry

    Finally, if you really want to get ambitious and save those milk jugs from the landfills, start asking your neighbors for their empty bottles, or plan on drinking a TON of milk for this one! A couple hands, and a few hours, and you can have a Milk Jug Reading Igloo just like the one Replay Report made. I’d personally be lost inside for the rest of my life. Toss me a book a pillow and a blanket, and I might consider living in it. 

    Milk Jug Igloo from Replay Report

    How are you reusing Milk Jugs?

  • Upcycled Garden Center – Healthy You, Healthy Earth

    Upcycled Garden Center – Healthy You, Healthy Earth

    This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.
     

    Earth day is coming up April 22nd! It’s one of my favorite non-holiday holidays to celebrate. Perhaps because I have fond memories of picking trash up around our neighborhood with my mom, and piling it in our driveway to see how much we collected. My kids and I now enjoy finding ways to upcycle our otherwise garbage, like we did with these go-paks. They love their Upcycled Garden Center. 

    It was one of those days that was just perfect. We had friends over, it was sunny, and we were doing something good for mother Earth. My family was never big on recycling, probably because there wasn’t a service to pick it up for us like the trash, but we did do our best to keep the earth clean and healthy. 

    Find a Recycling solution near you

    Learning how to garden has had so much meaning in my life, and something I’ve been excited to share with my children. My kids LOVE these Go-Paks! of cookies, so I’ll periodically buy them as a special treat. The last time we got them, I looked at those empty containers and thought – gosh those would make great window planters!

    Upcycled Garden Center for kids

    Aren’t they so cute? Last year I let the girls plant some flowers in milk jugs, so this year I let them branch out and pick some herbs if they wanted. I thought it would be a great lesson in sustainability as well.  We’ve got 1 cup with basil, 1 with spearmint, and 2 with Marigolds. The kids have been checking every morning and after school to see if anything has sprouted yet. Definitely an experience they will always remember.

     
    When you look hard enough, it’s actually easy to find ways to recycle, upcycle, and live a more sustainable life. I love visiting the Healthy Essentials Website, because other than savings they’ve also got so many tips and knowledge on how to live a Healthy Life while also keeping our Earth Healthy. 
     
    Watch this video to see how Johnson & Johnson employees feel about sustainability. I just love this company!
     
     
    Don’t forget to also check out the Healthy Essentials website for some amazing deals on products that are also Earth friendly. 
     
     

    Are you ready to give back even more this Earth Day? Download the Donate a Photo App from J&J – for every photo you upload in the App J&J will donate $1 to a list of charitable causes.

    Share your tips on having a Healthy You and Healthy Earth!


  • Earth Day Craft: Milk Jug Planter

    Earth Day Craft: Milk Jug Planter

    Monday is Earth Day!  I love this day to celebrate our planet, and give a little back. It’s also a great day for teaching our children. I know, I should be better about teaching them every day, but I’m not.  We’re working on that though.

    School days always get away from me, so I thought, hey let’s do a fun little learning crafty thing on Saturday. The girls were at first just ho humming, do we have to turn the wii off mom? attitude when I told them we were going to plant flowers.  (by the way, I’m a mean mom and they only get to play wii on Saturday’s).  Once I pulled out all the stuff, and had them run outside to find some rocks, their attitudes changed pretty fast.

    This truly is a simple “craft” that anyone can do, with very basic supplies. You’ll want to start with an empty milk jug. Wash it out as good as you can, and then using a pair of kitchen shears (or other good scissors) cut the jug in half, just below the handle.

     Step 1

    While you, the adult, are handling the scissors, send your children out into the wild to find some rocks. Not too large, but not too small either (unless of course you have a gravel pit, then by all means get a bunch of tiny rocks).
    Now that the dangerous scissor cutting is done, and you have a pile of rocks, layer the rocks in the bottom of the jug. I would go up about 1 inch for good drainage. You don’t want your plants sitting in too much water. 

    Step 2

    Next cover the rocks with dirt up to the top of the jug. I used some extra seed starter I had, but you can go out and get some backyard dirt for this project too. My kids I know would love any excuse to go dig up some dirt.  

    Step 3

    Now you’re ready to plant. I let the Princesses choose from a myriad of seeds, just because I already had them (thanks Mom!).  So in our recycled milk jugs we’re growing Marigolds, Sweet Peas, and Daisies. Once the seeds are planted give them a drink of water, set out in the sun, and wait for them to grow. 
    Since putting ours outside, the Princesses have been checking on them every few hours, to see if they’ve come up yet. So far the idea hasn’t worn off, and they haven’t lost their patience. I just have to continue to explain that it takes a few days for them to grow. 
    Next on our spring crafty list – A Fairy House!
  • Saturday Social Blog Hop

    Saturday Social Blog Hop

    We had so much fun yesterday celebrating Earth Day!  Despite what the weather said it was going to be (rain, snow, all over yucky) it was quite sunny, with just a little nippy wind.  So of course we spent a good portion of our day outside.  
    We started the morning off with blueberry muffins, orange slices, and some bacon
    Then we went out for a walk.
    We spent the rest of the morning putting peas in the garden and just enjoying the sunshine while it lasted.  Also as part of Earth Day we turned the heater down.  It’s still been pretty cold here, but there’s nothing wrong with walking around in a blanket to conserve some energy.
    The afternoon was spent getting ready for today. The baby turns 1 today! I can’t believe how time flies.  We’re still trying to move in, so I had some serious cleaning to do.  We still need to hang pictured today, and break down some empty boxes (which we store and use as needed, no sense in throwing them away!).  I’ll get some pictures up soon of our Family Room (or Hall as hubby wants to call it) as soon as we get the pictures on the wall.
    I’m linking up at the Giveaway Corner for the Saturday Social Blog Hop!
  • 5 tips to Celebrate Earth Day

    5 tips to Celebrate Earth Day

    Hey everyone! Earth Day is this Friday!  What are you going to do?  Do you have any fun plans to celebrate this beautiful planet we live on?  Here’s some simple ideas from me –

    1. Plant a garden! This is what we’re doing this week.  I spent this morning putting in some lettuce, potatoes, and asparagus.  Later today or tomorrow, we’re putting in a blueberry bush, some carrots and peas.  A garden is a great way to teach your children about the earth and it’s benefit to our physical bodies.

    2. Take a walk through a park.  Admire and enjoy the beauty around you.  Listen to the birds.  There is nothing like a walk through some beautiful scenery with birds chirping in the background.  It’s nature’s music.

    3.  Plant a tree.  Our city is having a story time for preschool age kids, followed by helping them all plant a tree! As long as the weather holds up, we’ll be joining in this fun activity!

    4.  Recycle.  Don’t just throw it in the garbage.  Gather up all your recyclables and take it to your local recycling center.

    5. If weather doesn’t permit you to be outside enjoying this earth, head to the theaters to watch African Cats, Disney’s newest earth day movie.  A portion of your ticket purchase (opening week only) will be donated to the African Wildlife Foundation!

    Last check out B Kind 2 Earth Day’s facebook page for more earth friendly tips and ideas!  
    B Kind 2 Earth Day
    I’d love to hear what you’re earth day plans are!!