Go Green in every sphere of life. Why not kitchen!

Whole world is talking about saving environment in order to save your future generations. Facts reflect that how badly we will be affected by our mistakes which we are making today. In order to safeguard environment for our future generations why not start taking small steps today. We as a home manager can follow some steps religiously to contribute in greening the world around.

          I have searched out 7 steps, from different resources and websites, which I think are must to be followed by any aware homemaker-

1.        Take out the print out of this chart http://www.eldr.com/files/ELDR_GreenKitchenChart.pdf

And paste it somewhere in your kitchen. It will act as a reminder about different ways by which you can go  green.

2.        Microwaving is a good option to save energy.  On average, you’ll reduce your energy consumption by two-thirds if you cook stuff in the microwave rather than in the stove (even if yours is gas). It’s not a good idea, for many reasons, to eat only microwaveable meals, but if you’re reheating leftovers—especially small amounts—microwaves are much more efficient than the stove top. You’ll also help keep the kitchen cooler, which is a bonus in hot summer months.

3.        Go for a good cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Don’t go for cookware with non-stick surfaces. Choose sturdy utensils rather than cheap ones as it can be harmful to you. Most nonstick cookware these days is coated with Teflon, which contains chemical. Cooking with Teflon has also been shown to kill birds. Cast Iron is a great alternative, providing precise temperature control and good browning. 

4.        Stock your fridge. A full  fridge uses less energy than an empty one: Every time you open and close the door, the fridge has to kick in to re regulate its temperature. If there’s food in there already, there’s less outside air introduced, therefore less outside air that needs to be cooled. And don’t ever refrigerate uncovered food: Not only does it make it taste gross, but it also humidifies the air makes the motor work harder.

Purchasing from the bulk bins mean less packaging, and fewer trips to the store, and can also mean financial   savings

5.        Stick with green cleaning, rather than using chemical versions in the kitchen. Make your own cleaning products if you feel up to it. There are a lot of innovative ways to capture the cleaning power of vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda. For example:

·          Scrub your toilet with vinegar and baking soda.

·          Cut through greasy counter tops with the power of baking soda.

·          Use baking soda to get rid of grease and freshen laundry.

                   Vinegar can clean the bathroom, kitchen, and other rooms throughout your home.

                  6.        When it’s time to buy new appliances, look for the Energy Star label to save on the amount of energy needed to        run the equipment.

“No person is your friend (or kin) who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow and be perceived as fully blossomed as you were intended.”
- Alice Malsenior Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American author, self-declared feminist and womanist—the latter a term she herself coined to make special distinction for the experiences of women of color. She has written at length on issues of race and gender, and is most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee. ~ Marian Wright Edelman  an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund

I will love to share this!

CASIO EXSLIM EX-FS 10

Launched in Feb and price range is $699

If you were always impressed by  by the phenomenal continuous shooting framerates and amazing video capture capabilities of Casio’s EX-F1, but were not comfortable with the size, Casio has your answer.

The features which make this camera a special one are numerous. Image sensor is the specially designed to make 30 fps. FPS is the frame per second, is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. This camera is faster than any pro DSLR. Digital single lens reflex camera is a digital camera that uses a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera. The smaller, thinner, and lighter FS10 offers users a basic 3x zoom and 2.5 inch Super Clear LCD.

Smart Camera for Smart Women

Its blazing red shade goes amazingly with feminity. Just go for it!

Kids having good food habits are rare to find in today’s times!

School authorities are also concerned about the Kid’s lack of interest in healthy food.I attended a talk on healthy food habits in kids, organised by my kids school authorities. I am really grateful to the Counsellor who delivered the talk and shared with us amazing tips to improve eating habits in your kids-

1.Focus on when they eat and not on when they refuse. Praise the child when he is eating. Reinforcement on the positive things lead to positive results.

2.Involve kids in food preparation. You can always take help of your kids in mixing, sprinkling, stirring processes. This will help kids in relating themselves in process of food preparation, and thus they will love to eat it.

3. Prepare menu for the week and involve kids in its planning.You can put that menu or timetable around fridge and keep on discussing, and planning with your kid. Take out some time to discuss about the different component of food like protein, fat, carb.Put photographs of different sources of food which provide you those components. Paste picture of those food around the menu chart. This will help you in discussing the sources with him directly emphasizing the need and benefits of it.

4.Arrange some food around the corners of the kitchen or dining table tops so that when kids come around hungry they can easily take out the food themselves.

5.Provide various type of foods to your kid. Put some effort in doing experiments. Let him have the feel of all types of food, taste and noise, etc. Sensory play can help them a lot to do experiments with different kinds of food.

6.Seeing is believing. They will follow your footsteps. Try to be dramatic in front of them while taking your food.Say I love my food, I love the taste, aroma.Make it interesting for them.

7. Provide small portions and provide variety of food. Substitute other milk products to milk like yogurt, cheese. Provide lots of protein to your kid as it will enhance his alertness.

Each one of us is God’s special work of art. Through us, he teaches and inspires, delights and encourages, informs and uplifts all those who view our lives. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Joni Eareckson Tada is an evangelical Christian author, radio host, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization “accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community.” A diving accident in 1967 left Mrs. Tada a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, unable to use her hands. Mrs. Tada wrote of her experiences in her international best-selling biography, Joni. Her name is now recognized in countries around the world following the distribution in many languages of her biography and the full-length feature film JONI. She has personally visited over 41 countries.

Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgement. And you can see forever.- Nancy Kerrigan

Olympic medalist figure skater

Figure skater who won a bronze at the 1992 Olympics, she was attacked, clubbed in the right knee, just before the U.S. Skating Championships on January 6, 1994. She was unable to compete in that event, but was given a spot on the U.S. Olympic team anyway, where she went on to win a silver medal.