We’ve been speaking for weeks about the importance of eating healthy, organic food. What concerns many people is the cost of organic food. How can you and your family get the most bang for your buck? That is the question families are pondering as they try to save money while still enjoying healthy, organic meals. Here are some tips to help you and your family save money while eating healthy!

1) Shop at Trader Joe’s! – What can you say about a store where their employees dress in Hawaiian shirts and they encourage you to bring your own bags? Well, they are among the cream of the crop when it comes to healthy grocery stores. For over fifty years, Trader Joe’s has been putting out reasonably priced, “innovative, hard-to-find” products. You can always count on them to a feature a wide variety of organic products that will make your stomach growl with hunger and anticipation.

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2) Clip coupons! – Gone are the days of using weekly circulars as your only source of coupons. In our tech savvy era there are numerous websites and apps for your smart phone to help you save! One of the best out there is Smartsource.com. Here, you can find hundreds of coupons with location and store specific searches for your convenience.

3) Local farmers markets – There is no better way to support local businesses and eat healthy then shopping at your local farmers market. Here, you will find locally grown fruits, vegetables, and other delicacies to meet your heart’s desire.  Around this time of the year, farmers markets are overflowing with apples, pumpkins, and squash, perfect for cooking on cool fall days. Search the Internet for a local market near you or check out the national database at http://farmersmarket.com/.

4) Grow organic food at home – If you have the space in your backyard, grow your own fruits and vegetables. There is nothing better than picking your own freshly grown tomatoes for your salad. As you are in the planning stages, it is imperative to pick out an organic fertilizer that will suit your needs.  You can use leftover produce to start an organic compost pile and have fertilizer for next season.

5) Trade with friends and neighbors – Once you have your garden in place, why not network and share your fresh, organic crops throughout the neighborhood? Not only will you get to try new things, but you can make some new friends along the way. You can set up an exchange with your neighbors and organize potluck lunches or dinners. Remember, sharing is caring!

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6) Learn to store products better – As you combine your groceries from Trader Joe’s and your fresh, organically grown crops from your garden, there is a proper method of storing and keeping food fresh and healthy for your family to enjoy. You should can, jar, or freeze your produce that’s left over from your garden at the end of the season.  Check out some more handy tips from lifehacker.com.

This autumn, you don’t have to fall into the old ways of buying products that will only serve purpose for one day and then be thrown into a landfill.  There are tons of eco-friendly fall festivities that you and your entire family can enjoy together.

1- Autumn and pumpkin picking basically go hand-in-hand.  Pack up some warm apple cider in a thermos and head out to the local pumpkin patch with your family.  Be sure to wear those old sneakers and clothes that have been collecting dust in your closet for years because you will probably get dirty.  With your new pumpkin collection, you can turn them into elaborate jack-o-lanterns and a decadent pumpkin pie. Oh, and save the pumpkin seeds – they’re perfect for roasting.

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2- Getting lost in a corn maze is always a great time so long as monsters aren’t lurking around.  There are different types of corn mazes – organic, haunted – any of them will permeate the air with the sweet smell of corn.  Some of them even have roasted corn and other organic treats waiting for your indulgence, if you survive.

3- Looking for a way to keep the birds out of your garden?  Scarecrows have been around for centuries and were intended to literally scare animals from coming into the fields and eating the crops.  You can make an eco-friendly scarecrow by using organic cotton and bamboo clothing, an extra pumpkin you collected from the patch, and some organic hay.  Your family can even enter the scary scarecrow into a contest.

4- Autumn is the time when leaves fall off the trees and scatter all over your lawn.  Make leaf raking fun by gathering them into colorful piles that you and your family can jump into.  Who said only kids can enjoy messing things up?  And then after, you can rake them into an organic compost pile.

5- Arts and crafts can even have an outdoorsy autumn twist.  First, start off with a scavenger hunt for different types of leaves, pine cones, and acorns.  Then gather all of your family’s findings together and create acorn necklaces, and press the leaves into a scrapbook.  Use eco-friendly paint to decorate the pine cones for Thanksgiving or save them to hang on your Christmas tree.

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6- The season would not be complete without the shenanigans of Halloween.  Use household items and old clothes to create costumes (the ghost made out of a white bed sheet never fails).  Or if you don’t have anything scare-worthy, buy organic costumes to keep with the eco-friendly vibe.

There really is no limit to the green and eco-friendly festivities you and your family can participate in this autumn.  Especially now, almost everything- from food to clothes to activities- can be turned organic and environmentally friendly.  So get those jack-o-lanterns and scarecrows ready, dress your kids (and yourself!) in organic costumes, grab those pillowcases and get trick-or-treating!

For the past few weeks, we’ve been focused on how to send the kids back to school with a fresh, green start. So now that the kids are ready to go back to school, and all the shopping is done, it’s time to kick back and enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

With that in mind, we’re offering tips on how to have a green Labor Day. This week, we’ll be talking about getting prepared for Labor Day weekend.

1. Organic foods –No Labor Day weekend would be complete without a barbecue. Instead of going to the nearest giant supermarket chain for meat with questionable fillers and odd by products, head to a healthy grocery store like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods and get some organic meats. Organic meats must abide by strict criteria, including having been raised on certified organic pasture and be hormone and antibiotic free, in order to be certified. While you’re at the store getting free range chicken and fish, pick up healthy organic or natural snack foods as well.
   

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2. Use wood chips and eco-friendly charcoal instead of gas – Use eco-friendly charcoal from Green Link charcoal and hickory chips to smoke your barbecue food is not only using an organic element but imparts a distinct flavor to your food, particularly chicken. Wood smoke also gives food a nice tang that can’t be achieved with a gas grill. Just make sure to check your food temperatures! Eco-friendly charcoal doesn’t contain fillers and burns cleaner than traditional charcoal.
3. Use paper plates and cups – Instead of using plastic cups and plates at your barbecue, use paper plates and cups that are made from recycled goods. EcoProducts has a full line of plates, cups, napkins, and utensils that are made from recycled goods or made from renewable or compostable components. These items are made to support sustainability efforts.
4. A Ride in the Park– The park is a great place to barbeque. Most county parks have barbeques stationed in pedestrian picnic areas. If you’re going to go to the park for your barbecue, ride your bike there instead of driving. This way, you’ll get your metabolism going before you eat, which will help you burn more calories, and you can burn some additional calories on the way home. If you have to drive to the park, carpool to save some gas.
5. Decorations – You’re having a barbecue so you have to decorate the place. Use paper decorations that are made from recycled paper. A company like Green Party Goods is a great place to go to get your party decorations and supplies. They offer a wide range of decorations like biodegradable balloons, recycled paper lanterns, and other eco-friendly items.
   

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6. Conserve power – While the party is going on outside, keep things powered down inside. Turn off any lights that you don’t need in rooms that are empty. Turn the TVs off. Turn the air conditioning off if you can. Open up the house and let in some fresh summer air.

Next week’s blog will discuss some of the activities and relaxing things to do during the last big weekend of the summer.

Last week, we provided 10 helpful tips on how to go green this school year. One of the major points that we made involved school lunches. Your kids’ school lunches are a very important factor in their day so we want to discuss a bit further about how to make sure that their lunches are as green and healthy as possible.

First, you should look for foods that are organic or natural. There are many healthy snack options out there other than sugary or salty ones like candy or potato chips. Aside from the obvious ideas like whole fruit and cut up veggies, there are healthy dried fruit snacks, veggie chips, and organic granola bars. Even minor changes like using baked snacked foods instead of fried ones, like potato chips, will be better for them in terms of nutritional value. Baked snacks cut down on both calories and fat.

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There are kitchen gadgets which can dry fruit out so you can make homemade fruit rolls. Send them to school with yogurt and some berries every day for breakfast, too. You can vary the fruit every day so that they don’t get bored with what they’re eating.

The second thing that you can do to ensure green lunches is to avoid using plastic bags of any kind. Use some organic plastic containers that are BPA free for their food so you can eliminate the extra waste. Use lunch boxes or lunch bags instead of sending them to school with plastic or paper bags every day. These reusable lunch bags come in a variety of designs and colors so your kids can find something that really appeals to them.

One other major thing that you can do is to encourage them to drink water. Try to avoid having them use plastic bottles. Instead, send them to school with a BPA-free plastic or metal water bottle.  Even though plastic water bottles can be recycled, you have to be able to count on having recycling facilities available at the school and for your child to actually throw the bottle into the proper receptacle. With a plastic or metal water bottle, you don’t have to worry. Plus, in the long run, you will save money on the bottles. You can buy a water bottle for a few dollars that should last for years.

If your kids do use recyclable water bottles, make sure that they bring them home. Every hour, almost a quarter of a million bottles are thrown away. Have recycling pails set up at home with marks on them indicating target points. Each of those target points could be some kind of reward. This way, they see that there is a tangible reward for recycling and may get their friends and classmates into the “competition” as well.

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If you follow these easy steps, you can ensure that your children’s lunches are green and healthy this coming school year.