Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Vacation

While I am relatively sure that anyone reading this blog who knows where I live would not break into our apartment, and anyone who happened across this blog and might want to break into our apartment does not know where I live, I erred on the side of caution and did not announce my vacation beforehand. Slightly paranoid? Perhaps, but someone brainwashed me: “Do not tell anyone that we’re going on vacation. You never know who might find out and break into the house while we’re gone.”

She brainwashed me so thoroughly that when my husband and I were at the theatre last week, talking to a nice couple sitting behind us whom we had just met, and they said, “Maybe we’ll see you here next week,” and my husband started to tell them that we would, in fact, not be there next week because we would be getting ready for vacation, I elbowed him to get him to stop talking before he mentioned the “vacation” part. It created an awkward pause in the conversation, and he looked completely bewildered. Sure, these people had NO IDEA where we lived and probably were not criminals, but YOU NEVER KNOW.

Anyway, we were on vacation, but now we’re back, which means 1) we did not get eaten by bears and 2) if you wanted to break into our apartment while we were on vacation, IT’S TOO LATE. More details on the trip, including the green and the not so green, to come later.

White out

Replacing your roof sometime soon?  Depending on where you live, you might want to consider a cool roof.  You can read about them here.

Our landlord will be replacing the roof on our building soon, and we hope he will consider a white roof.  The fact that it will cost a bit more than a “traditional” roof is not in our favor as renters, but maybe (pretty please with sugar on top) he will step up and do the green thing.

My ride, pimped

The Jake
My Kona Jake, in all her glory.

Technically, this is a cyclocross bike.  One of the local bike shops recommended it as something with a road bike design that would be durable and hold up against the pressures of commuting on not-so-pretty city streets.  I traded in the factory tires for a less nubby set that have Kevlar lining (again, for those special city streets and alleys with their cocktail of broken glass, killer potholes, nails, and railroad tracks).

I also swapped the completely horizontal stem for an angled stem to make my riding position a little more upright.  This was key to being able to comfortably use my beloved Easy Seat.  I gave the traditional bike seat a chance, but after a few painful outings, I was willing to take some extra weight on my hands, wrists, and shoulders in exchange for less pressure on certain delicate areas.

I swapped the regular pedals for the SPD pedals that I had originally put on my hybrid Schwinn.

The refillable air horn — far superior to a bell.  For use on naughty drivers.  I’ll never forget one of the first times I used it on a car that had just cut me off.  I saw the driver jump in her seat — it was awesome!

Jake Close-up

Not invisible: I carry a front and rear light with me at all times so I’m ready for low light biking situations.

Fenders, ah fenders!  I can’t believe I forgot about these.  Now I don’t get that special streak up my back when riding on wet/muddy/who-knows-what streets.

I added the rack and panniers a few months ago.  The road bike style combined with my large external frame backpack was uncomfortable and unsafe (I couldn’t see anything behind me when I turned my head because the pack was in the way), so I bit the bullet and invested in panniers.  I was a little uncertain at first, but now I’m a big fan.  The downside is that I lost my light, easy to haul up and down the basement stairs bike (which was a large part of the justification for buying this bike in the first place).  The upside is that now every bike ride is a naked bike ride.

Turning off the air

Air conditioning is nearly ubiquitous in the U.S. these days, but it wasn’t that long ago when people everywhere survived without A/C.  For various reasons, including economic and environmental, some people are voluntarily returning to life without artificial cooling.  To read about it, including benefits and strategies for beating the heat, see this article.

As the author points out, after the advent of air conditioning, builders no longer constructed homes and other buildings for natural cooling.  Unfortunately, our four-family brick apartment building demonstrates the new building paradigm all too well.  Fortunately, we enjoyed an unseasonably cool July and, despite the brick oven effect, spent most of the month with no A/C.  However, no one else in our building seemed to get the memo that it actually was not that hot outside, and their A/C units chugged away.

Vegetarian II

In the 4.5 years since I stopped eating meat, my reasons for being vegetarian have evolved from my initial focus on health and preventing chronic disease.  That is still important, but now I have other compelling reasons, environmental impact and social justice being at the top of the list.

Most people will not choose as I have and give up meat entirely, and that is fine.  Rather, think about ways to eat less meat: reduce portion sizes, incorporate meatless meals every week, and encourage others to do the same.

Recent reading, including the book I mention here, provides evidence that animals (and meat) can be raised and consumed in ways that sustain the environment.  If you do eat meat, try to find a local source.   Take the time to talk to the cow/chicken/pig farmer and find out about his/her practices.  Go visit the farm and see the animals.  What do they feed the animals?  How do they handle the manure?

For now, I am happy and healthy as a vegetarian.  My diet includes eggs and a moderate amount of dairy.  The eggs are from local free-range or pasture-raised hens.  The milk and some of the cheese comes from an in-state dairy.  Other cheese comes from smaller, local farmers.

Will I ever eat meat again?  Maybe.  But I will do so with some pretty high standards.