Live Well. Live Pure.: April 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK (GTW)

Happy Monday my fellow Readers! Here is this weeks GTW

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK: USE LESS WATER!!!!

Water consumption is something that people (myself included) don't really consider when doing our everyday rituals. There are thousands of countries around the world that have little or no access to water. How much water do you consumer a day? Click here to calculate your water intake.

A whopping 3.9 trillion gallons of water is used per day in the US. via. Thats pretty tough for me to wrap my hear around! Here are some simple ways you can save your water consumption.

*Wash all your dishes in the dishwasher! Washing dishes by hand actually consumes more water!

*Shorten the lengths of your shower by five minutes-this can be tough for some but just speed up the process in there!

*Turn the faucet off when brushing your teeth!

*Use rainwater to water your plants and other living things that need water.

*Use as much water as you can from your local water source. Us Chicagoans, should use the faucet/drink tap water (along with a purifying system to those who are water snobs) as much as you can.

See all this is super easy! A small change can go a long way!

Friday, April 22, 2011

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!!!

The day has come! Happy Earth Day everyone!!!

What are YOU going to do today to give back to Mother Earth??? PLEASE just do at least ONE act of eco-friendliness today! It's easy as going to Starbucks with a reusable mug! Check out the video below!

I think that people are so unaware of what we, as humans do to our surroundings in terms of pollution. The facts are really scary!

"Pollution likely affects over a billion people around the world, with millions poisoned and killed each year. The World Heath Organization estimates that 25 percent of all deaths in the developing world are directly attributable to environmental factor.¹Some researchers estimate that exposure to pollution causes 40 percent of deaths annually" via click HERE for more pollution facts

Across the US, the approximately amount of landfill is roughly 560,000 acres of land. THATS INSANE!! Consume less! Waste less! WE can do something about this problem!!! via

The water bottle industry uses 1.5 million tons of plastic. Truly disturbing is that 77% of those bottles are not recycled and so wind up in overcrowded landfills. Stop buying water bottles and buy a few REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES. Let's decrease these horrific numbers!!!

Here are some videos for us lazy Americans (who are sometimes too lazy to even read, myself included) on quick tips to be Green!

"How to be Green At Work"

This is a REALLY awesome energy efficient home in Minneapolis!

I cannot stress how important it is for us to keep the environment in our minds and to handle Her with care. She provides us with all means of life and it is up to us to take the best care of her as we can. I beg of you, please do at least ONE green thing today.

This is my main goal for today on EARTH DAY: Produce NO WASTE-that means not creating anything while at work and at home that goes into the garbage.

Things I am going to do that is eco-friendly today: Take public transportation, use reusable bags, TURN off all lights in rooms that I am not using, use rainwater to water my thirsty plants, PICK UP GARBAGE that I may pass by, and who knows what else!!!!

What are YOU going to do for the environment today??

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

April Showers Bring May Flowers...Well Not Yet

Passover came and went and my job in the family was to design our table for our Passover Sedar. Setting the table was something I HATED doing when I was a little girl but now I love doing this once dredded chore. I scrambled all that I could around my mom's house because I didn't want to spend money and go out and buy more stuff. I ended up finding a beautiful things to set the table.

Special occasions call for something extra special: FLOWERS!!!! I love every single flower in the world. I love everything about flowers and plants! The look, the color, the smell, the origin, the crazy species name that I can never pronounce-everything! I was most excited about designing the flowers than anything else. I headed straight to the wholesale flower warehouse. I just love being in the trade!

Inside one of the flower coolers

My heaven-though I was freezing after spending almost an hour in the fridge. It took me FOREVER to figure out which flowers I wanted to use. Obviously I wanted to use every flower in sight but I had to keep myself grounded and focused.

This is what I came home with...the fillers

The show-stoppers

Getting started

Ma smelling deliciousness

One down, five to go

In the zone...

Cheerleading Squad

Finished product!

Flower arrangements is a lot harder than I thought. But I loved every minute of it. Can't wait for my next flower project!

Mandell/Agins Sedar table

I am firm believer that less is more...

Happy Healthy Passover Everyone!!!!

A Harsh Reality

Lately, I have been indulging myself in anything and everything in sight. Soon after those indulgences are met I surely feel the aftermath which is NOT a good feeling. I love feeling healthy and pure on the inside as well as the outside. It dawned on me while I was feeding my dog (who is on an all natural raw diet) that she is WAY healthier than I am. "How did this happen?" I thought to myself...

Tula's Daily food

and all natural treats

I realized that I have been consuming more junk food, alcohol, and processed foods than nutritious/healthy foods that will help maintain what I thought a healthy lifestyle. So I decided to take the plunge and check my body and mind into my own form of rehab; an 11 day CLEANSE. I did a cleanse a year ago and had great results. My energy level was high, I lost some weight (from ALL THE TOXINS in my body), and changed my lifestyle to a more health-conscious livable life. Before I started my cleanse I indulged myself in some of my favorite things-a homage, a goodbye, a thank-you to things I won't be consuming for a while...

The cleanse does not allow booze. Bye bye booze. I love you red wine, you will see me when the cleanse is over, just in moderation

Oh mac and cheese, we've had a good run-great relationship but I am not getting any benefits. Bye bye

Turkey sandwiches, especially this one from Lucias, is my favorite thing in the world. Turkey, salami, provolone, lettuce, tomato, italian seasonings, and oil on fresh bread...mouth watering. People don't realize that Turkey is a healthy alternative to sammys, but boy is it a processed meat. If you are going to eat turkey, try and aim for all natural turkey

Beer. Miller Lites-my go to, super classy. Love you but I gotta say goodbye for a while.

I am halfway through my cleanse and I already feel totally amazing. The toxins are being flushed out of my system and my energy level is way up! I've got 5 more days to this torture but I know in the end it'll be worth it. It is super important to take good care of our bodies because we are stuck with them for the rest of our lives. Next time you eat a meal, really think about what you are putting into your body. It is a harsh reality no doubt-but its up to you to act on it.

EARTH WEEK!!!!!!

It's that time of year! This week is Earth Week!!!!!!!

How will you be celebrating?!?!?! What have you done this week that has contributed to preserving our Earth? What do you love most about Mother Earth? Please share your stories with us!!!

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK (GTW)

GTW: Save Energy When Cooking!

Greetings fellow bloggers! I am so terribly sorry for abandoning you all for so long. It's been almost a week since my last blog entry. I have been super busy and will fill you in on whats been going on. First and most important, here is your GTW-Save energy when you cook!

We use a ton of energy when cooking-think about how long it takes to bring a pot of water to boil-on an electric stove we usually keep it on full blast eating up sometimes beyond 2400 watts per hour! Some of you may have gas stoves, which obviously uses gas to fire up our meals, which is also a form of energy consumption.

Here are a few ways to decrease energy consumption while cooking!

*COVER UP-where possible, cover your pots and pans. This will help your food cook more quickly and generates a higher temperature thus allowing you to use less energy

*NUKE IT-instead of boiling water in a pan, zap it in the microwave instead. In fact, try to use the microwave as much as possible to save a ton of electricity

*EAT RAW-Many veggies take amazing when they are uncooked in my opinion. Experiment a little more with raw foods. You'll not only save on electricity and gas, but nutrients in veggies can be destroyed or dissolve when cooked

*SPLURGE ON POTS/PANS-resist buying cheap pots and pans-it'll cost you more in the long run. Not only will higher quality cookware last longer but the heat distribution is better and they will also store heat for longer. Glass and ceramic pots and pans are said to be the most efficient.

There are plenty more ways to be more energy conscious in the kitchen but here are the easy ones. Follow these and your food will taste better and pat yourself on the back because you have consumed less energy. Happy eating everyone!!!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Another reason why I LOVE Spring is because baseball starts. Baseball screams America and hints to fans that summer is on its way. I spent my lovely Wednesday afternoon with one of my besties Buzz (Jacqueline) at US Cellular Field and was soooooo excited not only to sit behind the sox dugout but because of how amazingly GREEN The Cell is! I have never seen this much enthusiasm about recycling in a public venue ever. Check it out!