Allie’s Answers

I’ve been reading about domestic cats disrupting the bird population quite a bit lately. It ’s a topic on a lot of my favorite eco-conscious websites.

Our cat is an indoor cat. When I got her, the ASPCA made me promise to keep her indoors for her safety. But I had outdoor cats as a kid, and they loved to bring us “presents.”

According to Ecology Fund:

Domestic cats kill over one billion small birds and animals every year (1 outdoor cat averages 40 kills per year). They upset natural predator/prey balances and eliminate ground nesting birds.

Trying to keep an outdoor cat indoors may cause you to lose your sanity, but if you’re getting a new cat, commit to keeping her indoors.

Or, you could walk your cat on a leash.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

I have fallen madly, hopelessly in love with Stonyfield Farm’s Gotta Have Vanilla nonfat organic frozen yogurt. It’s deliciously creamy, and has a wonderful pure vanilla flavor. No fat, active cultures, and only 100 calories a serving! And a serving is a 1/4 of the pint.

All that vanilla got me craving a root beer float, so I went on a quest to find a root beer worthy of my Stonyfield Farm frozen yogurt.

Virgil’s Root Beer is worthy. They claim they are to root beer what Dom Perignon is to champagne and I think it’s a fair comparison.

Virgil’s Root Beer is made with all natural ingredient like vanilla, clove, and wintergreen, and sweetened with unbleached cane sugar and molasses. No high fructose corn syrup, or ingredients you can’t pronounce. And the bottle is made from 100% recycled glass.

A Virgil’s & Stonyfield Farm root beer float is my idea of heaven.

Another Eco-Friendly Food from Allie.

My grandmother used to give me handkerchiefs at every holiday. She believed a girl should always have a fancy flowery hankie on hand.

Handkerchiefs are eco-friendly. The hankies my grandmother gave me when I was in junior high school are still in my rotation today.

Some major brands use 100% virgin wood pulp to make their paper tissues. According to Greenpeace, ancient forests like the Boreal Forests of Canada are being cut down to provide materials for tissues.

You can buy a box of reusable organic cotton hankies from Vashon Organics, flowery hankies at the Vermont Country Store, little flannel Hankettes from KidBean, or make your own from shirts that have seen better days.

Wash your handkerchiefs in hot water to kill germs, and they’ll be good as new every time. They don’t disintegrate while you’re using them, or make a mess in the washing machine if you accidentally leave one in a pocket. And they’re virtually dust free, so when you’re sneezing, you won’t be making it worse by shaking paper dust at your nose.

Not ready to switch to handkerchiefs just yet? Use tissues made from 100% recycled paper, like these from Seventh Generation.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Last year, I fell in love with our local farm store. It’s five minutes away. The woman who worked behind the counter always threw an extra apple or tomato in my bag. I’d go with a ten dollar bill in my pocket and walk away with three or four bags full of produce. And I feel like I hadn’t tasted real potatoes, onions, or broccoli until I started shopping there.

When you shop at your local farms, not only are you supporting local agriculture, but you’re reducing the amount of fuel used to transport food from the farm to your table.

Check out Local Harvest, to learn about the farms in your area.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Need a new bookcase? A shelf? A rocking chair? A kitchen table? I know it feels good to get brand new stuff, but new to you can be fun as well.

Shop yard sales for things you need. You’ll save money, keep the items you buy from going in the trash, and decrease the demand for new manufactured products.

Have a lot of stuff you don’t use? Throw your own yard sale. Any items left over at the end of the sale can be donated to charity.

Yardsalequeen.com has great hints for holding a yard sale or just shopping at one.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

I’m always looking for quick, healthy meals that don’t require a lot of preparation. Nutrition Kitchen’s Soybean Pastas are as easy as making regular pasta, and packed with enough protein (23 grams per serving) to make it a meal.

Soybean Pasta is a great pasta substitute for people looking for foods with a low impact on blood sugar levels, or a wheat-free and gluten-free alternative. It’s kosher, low in net carbs, high in fiber (11 grams!), calcium, and iron, and made from non-GMO soybeans.

I’ve tried the green and black soybean pastas. Both are good, but I’m partial to the green. It has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor, and a chewy, al dente texture. It’s great with marinara sauce, but has enough flavor to stand alone or with some olive oil and grated cheese.

There are four servings per box, and each serving has 210 calories. The ingredients are simple: Certified Organic Soybeans.

When I saw Nutrition Kitchen Soybean Pasta on the grocery shelf, I thought it was worth a try, but it’s good enough to be a regular item on my shopping list.
Another Eco-Friendly Food from Allie.

A few weeks ago, I was watching Oprah and Dr. Oz was on. He said that the best way to clean an open cut is with warm salt water. It will flush out the bad bacteria and leave the good bacteria to do it’s job. The antibiotic creams and other chemicals we normally use to clean a cut kill the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria, so it takes longer for the cut to heal.

Well, a couple days ago I grated my thumb on the cheese grater. Ouch! I remembered Dr. Oz’s tip and flushed it with warm salt water. It’s almost completely healed.

Unfortunately, grating my finger is my most common kitchen injury, so I can attest to the fact that salt water helped it heal much faster than using an antibiotic spray or cream.

Obviously, if you have a very large cut or a puncture wound, you’ll want to see a doctor, but for small scrapes and scratches, give warm salt water a try. You’ll avoid using products that come in complicated packaging. It’s a cheap fix, and you can’t get much more natural than salt.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Amphibians are a vital part of our ecosystem. Unfortunately, pollution, UV rays, development of wetlands, and the introduction of non-native species have caused a noticeable decline in over 200 species of amphibians all over the world.

FrogwatchUSA through the National Wildlife Federation is a great way for you to contribute information that may lead to the preservation of frogs and toads. With a commitment of just twenty minutes a week observing frogs in your local area, you can help FrogwatchUSA monitor the amphibian population.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to touch them. Monitoring mostly involves learning to identify and record frog and toad calls. The FrogwatchUSA website has all the information you need to get started.

Becoming a Frogwatcher is a great summer project for you and your kids, and is a way to play a direct role in species conservation.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

I have a black thumb when it comes to indoor growing. Spider plants, cactus, and all those other plants people say are impossible to kill, shrivel up and die under my care. But I have managed to keep a few veggies and herbs going in some whiskey barrels on the back patio. If I can do it, you can too.

According to The Green from The Sundance Channel, the average American lawn can produce enough veggies for a family of six.

Not feeling quite that adventurous? Garden Guides has great hints to help you start a container garden, and GrowQuest has a nice variety of plants suited to container growing.

Homegrown veggies cut down on waste because they don’t have to be packaged and shipped, and you can look for natural alternatives to pesticides. Plus, nothing beats tomato salad made with fresh picked tomatoes.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

We went to a beautiful wedding this past weekend. The church and the reception hall were decorated with tons of potted gerber daisies. Now the happy couple can plant their wedding flowers and enjoy them all summer long. What a great way to reuse!

If you’re planning a wedding or a party this summer, consider using potted plants as decoration. You can plant them or keep them potted after the party is over, or even send them home with guests as a party favor.

Get creative! You don’t have to just use flowers. A collection of potted herbs would make a great centerpiece at a barbecue. Potted lavender would be great to decorate a baby shower.

You won’t have to use throw away decorations like crepe paper and cardboard cut outs, and your party will look elegant and green.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.