Thursday, January 29, 2009

Be My Green Valentine!

Did you know that over 1 billion Valentine cards are sent annually?  That's a lot of trees!  Here are some suggestions to celebrate sustainably:

For the kids--homemade decorated cookies  or lollipops are a sweet solution and scads of ideas for making your own valentines can be found at  Family Fun.  The most fun (and messy) idea is for plantable Valentines found at Thrifty Fun .  

Flowers--if you aren't aware of the eco-issues surrounding the cut flower industry, you should at least be concerned about bringing these pesticide-laden lovelies into your home.  You can help enact change by seeking out flowers with the Veriflora certification--ask for them at your favorite florist or online at Organic Bouquet

Food--the Obama's chef, Sam Kass, believes in healthy and local food which is a much-needed boost to the local food movement.  Show your family some love every day by serving locally-produced organic food!  The February issue of Bon Appetit gives us a Valentine's Day menu that's easy enough for the kids to help as well as 50 ways to Eat Green.  Try to avoid take-out:  besides being laden with fat and salt, the plastic clamshell containers, disposable chopsticks or plastic cutlery, packets of condiments and napkins are definitely not eco-friendly.  If you haven't visited this site already, Planet Green has a valuable Food & Health section where a search will provide recipes for some take-out favorites like this one for Spring Rolls.