Amazon Whole Foods Market + 9 of the Most Sustainable Foods

Amazon and Whole Foods recently announced a partnership that includes the increased availability of products - including some of the most sustainable foods.

Amazon and health food supermarket Whole Foods recently announced a partnership that includes the lowering of prices in-store and increased availability of products through Amazon itself. Since there are no Whole Foods Market stores in the province where I live – I don’t have any personal experience with the grocery chain, but I do have experience with Amazon as far as ordering items such as books, movies and so on.

Of course, being someone who is into sustainable eating – meaning buying foods produced in environmentally conscious and ethical ways, including shopping locally – my initial reaction to purchasing food items from Amazon is mixed. On one hand, taking your business to the online giant means taking it away from those who live in your community and adding to carbon emissions because of the extra transportation. On the other hand, healthier foods made available at the touch of a button – and at a reduced price to boot – makes sustainable eating more accessible.

How to Make Simple DIY Leg Warmers Out of Old Socks – Two Ways!

A closeup of a pair of legs wearing blue and black striped leg warmers standing in front of a tree with the words "how to make leg warmers out of old socks." Click to visit post.

Leg warmers – they’re not just for dancers. True, I do wear them when I dance, because I’ve recently discovered the way to bypass my achey post-baby knees is to keep them super toasty.

But I also wear leg warmers when I’m not dancing because, dudes, winter be cold. And even though winter isn’t here yet, I’ve already been sporting my leg warmer collection not just to keep my legs warm as the fall chill settles in, but also – they’re kinda cute, no?

Although I do own a few pairs of store-bought legwarmers, I also have several pairs of DIY leg warmers I made out of old socks. There are two different ways to do this. The first is the super easy no-sew way. The second you can either sew by hand or with a sewing machine if you own or have access to one.

Check out my how-to video, where I demonstrate both ways to make DIY leg warmers out of old socks, or scroll down below for step by step instructions!

Green Your Home AND Save Money

Here are five ways you can green your home and save a few dollars all at the same time, including shopping secondhand, cleaning with vinegar and... sharing!

Probably the number one obstacle stopping us earthlings from embracing a more sustainable lifestyle is the belief it will cost more. Because sometimes it really does cost more. Organic food is usually more expensive. Locally made clothing is usually more expensive. Handmade home decor is usually more expensive. One can make the argument that the benefits of such items make the extra cost worth it, but even a tree-hugger like me knows that’s not always a realistic response.

But do you know what is realistic? The fact that you can green your home AND save money. I mean, what’s not to love? Here are five ways you can up the eco-friendliness of your home and save a few dollars – all at the same time.

5 Quotes About Sustainability

Five sustainability quotes superimposed over images of mountains, forests and a child hugging a very large tree. Cheesy? Perhaps. True? Hell yes.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find those inspirational quotes strategically placed over a picture of a mountain or forest pretty damn cheesy. Am I a cynic? Why yes. Yes I am. But you know what else I am? I’m a dreamer and an optimist. Especially when it comes to saving our planet. Which is why I wanted to share five sustainability quotes superimposed over images of mountains, forests and a child hugging a very large tree. Cheesy? Perhaps. True? Hell yes.

5 Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings

Healthy homemade salad dressing takes a bit of extra work, but the benefits are so worth it. Here are five of my favourites!

Once upon a time I ate “healthy.” This is what people do when they mean well and count calories and eat things labelled “low fat.” But a few years ago I turned into the “read every ingredient on the label and then painstakingly research it” kind of person and let me tell you, it was terrifying. On salad dressing labels alone: calcium sodium EDTA, high fructose corn syrup, modified food starch. If you’ve ever made a simple homemade salad dressing, you know that all you really need is balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil… which is exactly how you make one of my recipes!

Summer Land Tour

A little girl running on a country road with the words "land tour." Click to visit post.

I’ve been wanting to take you all on a tour of our land for quite awhile now. You can read all about how it came to be ours in my post The Story of Our Land. I think the pictures in that post give a good idea of what the land is all about. And I hope my writing paints a vivid word picture. I do tend to get kind of poetic when espousing on things I’m passionate about.

But if a picture is worth a thousand words (and as a writer, I’m not sure I always buy that line), then how many pictures is a video worth? I suppose it depends on the content and the quality of the video, but I think this one captures the true – and largely untamed – beauty of our land.

I hope you enjoy watching my land tour as much as I enjoyed making it!

How to Keep Your House (Mostly) Clean with Kids

Have children? Find it impossible to keep your house clean? Me too! But I have figured out how to keep my home "mostly clean." Here are my cleaning tips!

One of my personal mottos is “a clean home equals a clean mind.” I probably ripped that off from some cult leader or something, but if I did – man that’s one persuasive cult leader. Because I cannot function properly when my house is a mess.

Before I had my daughters, I prided myself on a spick and span home. A place where you could confidently eat off the floors. Now that I have children, I pride myself on a clean home even more. Because, dudes, it can be really hard to keep your home clean with kids.

Not that I’m remotely saying individuals without children don’t have busy lives that leave little room for cleaning. But the difference is when you don’t have kids and you clean your home – it tends to stay clean. Sometimes for an ENTIRE DAY.

These Baked Chickpeas are So Good You’ll Forget They Came From a Can

A blue bowl with a floral pattern filled with baked chickpeas.

I have a confession to make. Up until a few years ago, I HATED chickpeas. (Also known as garbanzo beans, which was the name by which I knew them during my decades long boycott.) I remember my mom used to buy a five bean salad from the grocery store deli that included chickpeas and I couldn’t even choke it down. I’ve written before about how I’ve since conditioned myself to love legumes. And out of this super nutritious food category chickpeas are at the top of my list. Can we just talk about how versatile they are for a second?

Planting a Sapling: How to Plant a Tree Sapling in 5 Easy Steps

Closeup of a tree sapling planted in soil with more trees in the background.

There’s nothing like planting a sapling. They’re so tiny, it’s almost unimaginable one day they’ll be towering trees. Trees with the ability to provide shade, a home to insects and animals and in some cases fruit to eat. From something so small to an integral part of our ecosystem, communicating with its kin through underground networks and providing oxygen for us to breath. Which, you know, is kind of important.

Devin and I try to plant a few trees every year out on the land. It’s our way of saying thank you to a place that gives us so much joy and doing our part in the battle against deforestation and other unsustainable practices. So, if you’ve never planted a tree – you really should!

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