Greenifying my apartment

Hello world!  (And by world, I mean the 2 people who actually read this thing.)  Grad school is done, which one would think gives me more time to blog when really it means I didn't have homework to procrastinate doing with blog writing.  ;)

Let's see...what's been happening?  Well, I have been working on jazzing up my palace with more eco-friendly products.  For a while now, I've been using more eco-friendly cleaning products such as Seventh Generation.  I really like their laundry detergent, but I have mixed emotions about their dish soap (and Nikki can attest to that).

Anyway, I thought I would write an homage to the green products I adore.  Enjoy!  Oh, and now that grad school is finished, not just for a semester, but for for-ev-er, I will get back to posting recipes a bit more regularly.  I needed to cook in order for that to happen and I haven't cooked in, well, longer than I'd like to admit.  Just ask my pants.  They'll testify to my bad eating habits.  Those bastards just don't know when to keep their mouths zipped and instead blurt all my business to anyone who will listen.

7.) Reusable shopping/produce bags - I have a bunch of cloth bags I use now instead of plastic.  The only downfall is that I unload my groceries and forget to put the bags back in my car and thus, negating the purpose of having them in the first place.  I also bought cloth produce bags so I'm not using the plastic bags at the grocery store.  (Thank you Etsy). 

6.) Microfiber mop head - This bad boy is awesome.  It's like the Biore nose strips of mops...you can see all the nasty stuff that used to be there and have satisfaction knowing it is no longer there.

5.) Bar soaps/shampoos - I proclaimed my love of these in my last post, but I love the idea of not having plastic bottles to recycle once I'm finished.  And let's admit it, I can never rinse all the soap out of those freakin' bottles anyway!

4.) Vinegar & water cleanser - I used this concoction to clean my floors and I must say I was pleasantly surprised!  I found some similar products on Pinterest (one where you soak citrus rinds to add a little olfactory happiness to your cleanser).  I'll be trying some of these out later.  I'll keep you updated because I know all two of you are just on the end of your seats in anticipation.

3.) Reusable water bottles - I like CamelBak, but will not discriminate against any reusable water bottle, in particular the aluminum water bottles, especially those with Sasquatch on them like this one we found at the Whole Foods in Seattle:

http://laurajvandenbosch.blogspot.com/2011/11/sasquatch-liberty-bottles-unite.html

2.) Unpaper towels - Just a fancy way of saying cloth.  However, if you call them "reusable paper towels," "unpaper towels," or "cloth paper towels," and dress them up with cute designs, people like me will pay more money for them.  Although, I will say I like some on Etsy in particular that snap together and can be rolled up and put on the paper towel roll.  Don't worry, I will not be going so far as to use unpaper toilet paper.  I draw the line there.

1.) Reusable sandwich/snack baggies - Thank you again Etsy for this one!  I am a fan of Lizzy who has her own Bag It label.  She's the one who made the bamboo utensil  holder (and also sold the utensils with the holder so I have reusable utensils for lunch.)  Sa-weet!

Even though I haven't been cooking much, there are a few things I've made recently that have my taste buds singing.  In the morning I've been making smoothies courtesy of the Magic Bullet (an unfortunate name for a blender.)  The one below has strawberries, blueberries, mango (frozen because I'm lazy and can't cut up a mango for the life of me), and some vanilla flavored Greek yogurt.  YUM!!!

 This is a Mexican Lasagna I made in my bean pot:

Ingredients:

- 1 can of Rotel

- 1 can of cream of celery

- 1 can of cream of mushroom

- 1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)

- 1 pkg of Mission's Carb Balance Small Fajita shells

- 1 pkg of shredded cheese (I used the Mexican blend)

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Layer the shells, mixture, and a sprinkle of cheese and repeat until you used all the mixture.  (You may have to tear the shells to fit and layer properly.)  Then on top of the last bean mixture, put the last layer of shells and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for 325 degrees for around 30 minutes.  Voila!  Dinner is served!