I've talked a few times about making the time to help others. Not only will this help your sense of self-satisfaction, but it will also help your spiritual side. I used to throw money at the problems I saw on television; ASPCA always got me, as did the children in other countries who needed help and love. But it wasn't until I took the leap from the corporate world into the farming one that I really had the time to work with charities instead of financing them...and this has been a wonderful experience! Outside of some of the organizations I work with, I've decided that, with your help, I'll be able to do an outreach ministry to our street homeless here in Dallas. Your donation of $7 will pr
During the summer of 2008, I started getting the weirdest feeling in my mouth whenever I would eat my beloved PBJs or when I snacked on pistachios (which was often!). Having eaten tree nuts and peanuts all my life without having any issues, I brushed it off as something strange but harmless. I worked at Origins, a natural skincare company, and was using their amazing products which contained sweet almond oils as emulsifiers and macadamia nut oil in some cleansers. Suddenly, my skin was breaking out in large bumps that looked hive-like instead of acne-like. What the heck?! Cut to that October, when I was at the Origins National Sales Conference at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas. After a long firs
This past Saturday I was blessed with an opportunity to teach shoppers at the Coppell, TX Farmer's Market on proper food storage techniques. We discussed the best way to maximize your local produce purchases once you get them home, nutritional information, and some unorthodox cooking methods to get the most out of the whole piece of produce (more on that awesome subject in another blog post!). The sign in the middle of the market and my zero-waste prop setup. This is information from the handout I provided the attendees, with some notes added from attendees who were kind enough to share their practices with me after the presentation: [if !supportLists]On counter Onions and shallots Lemons, l
When I first started living zero waste in my home and urban farm over a year ago, I was met with some pretty funny comments. A lot of family and close friends thought I had joined new political parties and beliefs, and I was called a "treehugger", a "bleeding heart liberal", an "environmentalist", and other things that had never been part of my name-calling repertoire. I laughed the silliness off, and have tried to explain to people one of my main principles: There is nothing more conservative than conserving. Living and gardening with zero waste is not only healthy for the planet, but for your bank account and other resources. Although I grew up in the 80's and 90's where environmentalism w
