It's easy being green

I've slowly been trying to green our lifestyle and especially our food. This year we joined a CSA. Our basket this week included many fresh strawberries (yay!), some broccoli and scallions (good staples) and kale. We never had kale before and it was a little daunting to find a way to use it. We have been getting more food than we need and are sharing it with others. But we couldn't give away all of our kale. So yesterday I attempted a kale soup. It was a big success! I admit it wasn't my favorite soup ever, but it was quite good and packed with nutrients. Here is the recipe. The CSA food is organic and local, so good for us and the environment.

Making kale soup also helped with my new year's resolution. Remember that? My goal was to wean us off of canned soup and the BPA that comes with it. So far I've been pretty successful. We don't buy canned soup, although a few times I had to add chicken broth to my soup that comes in packaging that is likely lined with BPA. So it is one step at a time. I have not ventured into canning yet. I put the soup into ziploc bags and freeze them.

Another eco-friendly change we are making is installing a dual flush toilet handle. We just bought it today and I haven't attempted this yet, but I think it is pretty easy. Basically you replace the flapper with a new one. The dual flush works by having two buttons on the toilet handle. You press one button for a light flush and both buttons when something stronger is needed. I've been wanting this ever since I heard about it. Now that our toilet is leaking from the tank to the bowl, it is time to give it a try!