Latest posts in Queen of Green
Recycle for a good cause
Students of David Suzuki Secondary School run a Think Recycle program, with a portion of the proceeds coming to The David Suzuki Foundation! Kimberly Hoover (from Think Recycle) with students Jasmine Kaur, Zoya Chahal, Mannal Maqbol, Nikki Sandhu and Nikeshia Hamilton.
There's a new cost-free way to fundraise for your kid's hockey team, school group or an organization you support (including the David Suzuki Foundation: recycle e-waste for cash with Think Recycle.
To raise money for travel and tournament fees when I was a kid, my soccer and ringette teammates and I had to work smoky bingos and casinos—not great places for budding athletes. We also delivered the Yellow Pages, sold rings of Ukrainian sausage door-to-door, and let's not forget the good ol' bottle drive!
Continue reading »How to eat the healthiest and sustainable fish
How do you like your Rainbow trout? The correct answer is farmed (US) or land-based farmed (Canada) (Credit: Sifu Renka via Flickr)
I became a committed vegetarian at 16. But when recent blood work indicated I was anemic, I decided to eat SeaChoice green listed species to add more variety to my diet.
Fish supplements are good but there are many benefits to eating whole fish: high-quality protein, iron, healthy fats, fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin E, and minerals like selenium.
Lisa Marie Bhattacharya (Whitaker) R.H.N., nutritionist with Inspire Health, answered my fishy questions:
Whole fish versus supplements?
Supplements can be helpful, but our bodies are genetically programmed to recognize whole foods and all their intricate components. Isolating individual factors misses subtle nutrients that have a synergistic benefit when eaten. Vitamin C complex, for example, is more effective than in its isolated form, ascorbic acid. Same goes for the B complex—the sum is greater than its parts.
Continue reading »Do you suffer from sitting disease?
Make nature your gym: time in nature also improves impulse control and boosts immune function. (Credit: Fitness First Germany via Flickr)
Do you drive to the gym to walk on a treadmill?
Relying on your car might make you fat. Dr. Mike Evans calls it "sitting disease." And now there are "obesogens" to worry about!
Don't like that wagon you're draggin' into 2012? Consider this your "green" boot camp regimen:
Bathe in a forest
The scents of trees, the sounds of streams, and the feel of sunshine through a forest are calming. Japanese scientists have researched the relaxing effects of forests and trees on our health. Turns out, a 30-minute forest stroll decreases blood sugars more than spending three hours on a stationary bike!
And breathing in natural substances, called phytoncides, or wood essential oils, can also help fight cancer. These antimicrobial volatile organic compounds (there are good kinds of VOCs) derived from trees increase the activity of our natural killer cells, supporting immune function.
Continue reading »What makes a wedding dress eco-friendly?
This tulle ballgown is made of 75 per cent organic cotton inside and American milled tulle and cotton silk sateen, outside. Ballgown by Patty Nayel of Pure Magnolia (Credit: Simply Rose).
Nothing "green" about my wedding dress, although I hope to repurpose it and the veil. It cost 150 bucks and I could walk to get alterations.
I asked Patty Nayel of Pure Magnolia, about shopping for eco-friendly wedding dresses because she makes them!
Where's the dress made?
Local is best. Dresses labelled "Made in the U.S." or Europe may actually originate somewhere else and just get shipped to the claimed location for "finishing"— a label sewn in or a button added.
Eco-friendly companies show the whole process, from rolls of fabric through assembly, and introduce you to the people who do the work. Buying online? Most designers send pictures of the dress as it is being made
Upcycle—take an old dress in good condition, wet clean it, and find a seamstress to update the style. Check consignment and vintage wedding dress stores, or the Smart Bride Boutique. Find a seamstress, a dress can be shortened or dyed and worn again.
Continue reading »Dry cleaning dirties the planet—switch to wet cleaning
Switch from dry cleaning to non-toxic wet cleaning! (Credit: Pure and Applied via Flickr)
Knowing that my homemade laundry detergent is eco-friendly is comforting. But some stuff—like my winter coat—is labelled "dry clean only." It's too heavy to wash by hand and I don't want to wreck it in my machine. So I quizzed Robert, owner of Village Cleaners, about dry cleaning's greener cousin—wet cleaning!
What is wet cleaning?
Wet cleaning uses environmentally-friendly, 100 per cent biodegradable soaps and conditioners to remove tough stains and treat "dry clean only" items without harmful solvents. State-of-the-art machines allow for flexibility and precision in the water temperature, agitation, and amount of detergent—the best options for stain removal and fabric care. Gentle detergents, a process that measures the humidity during the drying process, and finishing machines for pressing means less stress on garments, reduced energy and water use, and no toxic ingredients.
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