Giveaway Monday ~ King Corn & Big River

The movie King Corn will make a great stocking stuffer for any environmentally conscious recipient, or those who have never given a thought to where their food comes from. If you haven't yet seen it, King Corn is a documentary about two friends who move to Iowa to discover just where their food comes from.

"With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat -- and how we farm."

From foods made with corn syrup to corn-fed beef, King Corn will make you think twice about most of the foods you eat.

Now best friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are back with a follow up to King Corn called Big River. In Big River, Cheney and Ellis return to Iowa to investigate the environmental impact their acre of corn has had on those downstream.

"On their trip, flashbacks to the pesticides they sprayed, the fertilizers they injected and the soil they plowed now lead to new questions, explored by new experts in new places. Half of Iowa's topsoil, they learn, has been washed out to sea. Fertilizer runoff has spawned a hypoxic "dead zone" in the Gulf. And back at their acre, the herbicides they used are blamed for a cancer cluster that reaches all too close to home."

Big River is a short, yet fantastic, documentary on exactly who is effected by these farming practices. For those of us in the mid- to northern US we know in theory that pesticides "run downstream" or "seep into the groundwater" but this film puts faces to "downstream" that you may not have thought of.

This week I'm giving away a copy of the packaged King Corn DVD as well as an advance copy of Big River (from the PR company, so it is a legal copy!). Just leave me a comment, along with a way to reach you and you'll be entered. For additional chances, share this on Facebook or Twitter, or follow my blog and let me know you have. A winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, December 4th.

Winner of Quinoa 365

I was thrilled to see so much interest in the Quinoa 365 giveaway. Trust me, the book is worth the hype. If you didn't win, put it on your Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Birthday, Whatever) list!

And without further adieu, the winner is Lori!

Lori said...

"This is so funny! I'm a vegetarian and I just went to a conference in Arizona where I connected with a good friend of mine. She asked me if I use quinoa, but I had no idea what it was, so I typed it in to my phone so I'd remember to look it up when I got home. I found you from Barb's Mom-It-Forward forum. I would just love to win a copy of this cookbook and check out exactly waht it is and how to cook with it in different recipes. What a small world! I'm following you on GFC."

Lori, please email me at greenhab (dot) goods (at) gmail (dot) com with your address and I'll get a copy out to you. Enjoy!

Green the Season: Buy Second Hand, Vintage, Antique

The thought of getting a gift from Goodwill probably doesn't appeal to most. I know you're thinking "Used bra? Worn out shoes?" But buying second hand means so much more than that. Walking down south Broadway here in Denver one can hit up the coolest Goodwill store ever -- complete with hardwood floors and rockin' music -- or a plethora of other stores to buy antique books, vintage clothing, fine antiques, kitchy decor, and funky dishes. There's something for everyone with no new manufacturing impact involved.

I hit up an "antiques" (and I use the term loosely)  mall called the Brass Armadillo last week. It's a huge building where hundreds of antiques dealers have booths. I could have backed a truck up to this booth because I have an obsession with vintage Pyrex...

But in the end I headed to Goodwill and scored these two dishes with covers in perfect condition for under $6.00 (instead of the $18 - $25 each they were going for in the antique mall)! It may require some hunting and multiple trips, but there are plenty of great items to be found second hand. If you don't have the time for multiple trips, try an antique mall or store where someone has already done the "picking" for you.

And if you're in Denver, be sure to visit my mom's store Patina Antiques & Home which won 5280 Magazine's Reader's Choice Award for best home accessories!

Here are just a few of my thrift store finds...

My lovely cake plate

My dishes...vintage Corelle

Vintage Pyrex refrigerator dishes to use instead of plastic.

This skirt and necklace

I think I could quite possibly do all of my Christmas shopping second hand. Hmm...smells like a challenge for next year.

Green the Season: Buy Once, Gift Twice

"Buy once, gift twice" is the slogan from our local Alternative Gift Fair held here in Evergreen, CO each year. It's not your typical craft fair with granny's doilies and knick-knacks. The event raises money for local, national and international charities through the sales of everything from organic pancake mix made by a local mom to blankets made from old sari fabric by HIV positive women in India. Every product sold profits someone in need. Here are a few of the things I purchased. (Family members should stop reading at this point!)

(I mean it. I'll keep all these gifts for myself if I have to!)

Shea Butter Soap and Peppermint Lip Balm from Bead For Life. Bead For Life is the organization that sells the beautiful necklaces, bracelets and earrings made by Ugandan women who carefully wrap recycled paper to make beads. Since we purchased those for family a few years ago, I went with their shea nut butter products. From the BFL website~

"Shea is known as 'Women's Gold' in Uganda, because women have traditionally used the money from shea to meet critical needs. Displaced by two decades of civil war, the 450 women we work with are slowly rebuilding their lives. The fair trade income they earn from shea nuts is used to buy food, improve their small farms, pay school fees, and create hope. These are women who have lost everything.  Yet they are determined to work hard to create a brighter future for their children."

This beautiful scarf from One Mother is made from old saris. One Mother works with the Tambaram Community Development Society, a non-governmental organization on the outskirts of Chennai, India to empower HIV positive women. The scarves and blankets are amazing - the colors and patterns - I am kicking myself now for only buying one.

The next group of women I met were sisters selling jewelry from Ethiopia. One of the sisters lives in Ethiopia with her family and brings the jewelry, beads and silver back and forth. One hundred percent of the profit goes back to families in Ethiopia. I couldn't resist buying a few!

Finally, I found some Divine chocolate for the chocolate-lover in my family. (Hopefully it lasts until Christmas!) Divine Chocolate is made with the finest quality, fairly traded cocoa beans from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of smallholder farmers in Ghana. The cocoa is grown in the shade of the tropical rainforest, and slowly fermented and dried in the sun by farmers who take great pride in the chocolate company they co-own.

I wish I'd gotten to the fair more than an hour before it was closing. I could have checked off my entire Christmas list plus birthdays for next year.

If you don't have a local fair like this, I recommend the site Global Girlfriend which sells products from many of the same vendors (plus a whole lot more). While you're there, check out their Gifts That Give More section where you can purchase a less tangible gift that will mean even more to someone in need. For $15 you can buy a clean childbirth kit for a mother in a third world country or provide lights for students in rural Africa.

In times like these when we are all tightening purse strings, it feels right to spend less on frivolous gifts from big box stores, and more on meaningful gifts that will help people in need. Join me in helping a mother feed her children this year instead of feeding a CEO's already fat wallet.

MM: Quinoa Bean Dip (& Quinoa 365 cookbook GIVEAWAY)

If you love quinoa like I do, you'll be in heaven with Quinoa 365, the new cookbook from sisters Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming. I had no idea that so much could be done with this superfood, but my eyes have been opened!

If you're not yet familiar with quinoa, it's very similar to couscous, but I believe it's technically a seed rather than a grain. I've been using it in place of rice for many dishes that we make, but I'd never thought of adding it into recipes like they do in this book. Quinoa is not only high in protein, it's also high in fiber, and vitamins such as riboflavin, calcium, vitamin E, iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, folic acid and beta carotene. It is also abundant in linolenic acid, the essential fatty acid that has proven to benefit the immune response.

From spiced carrot muffins to chicken fried quinoa to chocolate fudge cake (!), Green and Hemming provide quinoa-filled recipes for every meal of the day, plus desserts and even a section on baby food. Each page is clearly marked with photos that indicate if they are vegetarian, gluten-free or child-approved. And if the recipes aren't enough, the photos are sure to make you drool.

Yesterday I whipped up some Quinoa Bean Dip to munch on during the football game. I didn't have pinto beans on hand, so I used black beans instead and it was delicous. Here's the real version from Quinoa 365~

Quinoa Bean Dip

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup quinoa

Prepare quinoa by bringing quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn heat off and let the pot sit, covered for 5 more minutes.

When quinoa is ready, puree it in a blender or food processor until smooth along with...

One 14oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup prepared salsa
1/4 tsp hot sauce
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
Pinch each of garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper.

 

If you'd like to win a copy of Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood (and trust me, you do!), just leave a comment below. Share this on Facebook or Twitter and I'll give you another entry. I'll draw a winner next Saturday the 20th.

Good luck!



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Dear Santa {Madsen Cycles}

Dear Santa, I've been a very good girl this year. Could I please have one of these Madsen Cycles? Pleeeeeease? It's quite possibly the coolest thing I've seen all year.

Clairvoyant Beauty Products Winner!

The lucky winner of the Clairvoyant Beauty products is Lori who said~

"I think the facial serum would be great for my skin, but with three young boys and always feeling tired the depuffing eye gel might be nice too. This stuff looks awesome!"

Congrats Lori! I will get your products to you soon.

Stay tuned for another great giveaway on Monday.

GTS: Headband Tutorials

My girlie girl has some wild and beautiful hair that we're always braiding or putting in puffs or pulling back in barrettes or headbands. I especially love it when she wears headbands and her curly hair billows out the back. The headbands she has have really seen better days though, so I decided to try my hand at making her some new ones.

These are so fast and easy to make that I could seriously whip one up to match every outfit she has in one afternoon. And I'm already eying my stash to make a few for myself as well.

For each of the following headbands I purchased 1/8 of a yard of fabric, and was actually able to make two headbands from each 1/8 yard...with a few scraps left over for a future patchwork project. I paid $2.48 total and used a few pieces of elastic that I already had on hand.

Braided Headband

One of the teachers at school last week was wearing an adorable braided headband, which is what inspired this kick in the first place.

Start with three strips of fabric, 23" long by 2" wide. I tore the strips for a shabby look, but you could certainly cut them with a rotary cutter instead. You may want to make them longer just to be safe, then trim to fit your head after braiding. I, evidently, have a big head though, so this will probably fit you too.

Layer the three pieces as shown above.

Add the elastic on top, then fold the edges in. Sew across these layers to keep it all in place.

Separate the three layers, then braid. You may need a family member to hold the end. Or if no one else is home you might have to do a weird pilates pose, holding the end between your knees, while you lean back trying to braid...not that I would know...but it was a good ab workout. I like to multitask.

When you get to the end, you'll want to try it on before sewing the elastic into the unfinished end. Once you're sure it's the right size, place the loose end of the elastic into the braid and wrap the outermost strip of fabric around the other layers. It should look something like this:

Sew across the ends and you're done. I actually made this one for myself as a "test run".

(Let's keep in mind that this was a no-work-no-makeup-sweats-wearing-probably-shouldn't-be-taking-photos-of-myself day. Be kind.)

Flat Headband

For this headband you'll need to cut a strip of fabric 17" long by 5" wide.

Fold in half and iron once. This is just to mark the center accurately. Unfold, then fold the edges in towards the center line that you just made.

 Fold the corners in as seen below...

Then fold in half again and insert a piece of elastic (4.5" long) into one end.

Sew the end closed, then keep topstitching all the way around. When you get to the other end, insert the loose end of the elastic.

Voila!

Don't tell her mom was modeling her new headband.

Reversible Headband

For the reversible headband, you'll need to strips of coordinating fabric that are 18" long by 2" wide. Pin them right sides together and sew along the 18" sides, leaving the small ends open.

Turn this tube right side out, tuck about 1/4 inch in on the ends and iron flat.

Insert elastic (4" long) into the open ends and topstitch all the way around.

It took me about an hour to make all four of these headbands, including the time it took for photos. These will make a great stocking stuffer for the little (or big!) girl in your life.