Update on Goings on Here at the Eco-ing Myself House

Cooking is still going well (the above is a tofu stir fry I made with brown rice. YUM. And pretty too!), and as for the 'eco-ing myself' part of this blog, I am doing well with that also! I really find myself thinking before I do a lot of the things I used to and making changes based on what would be greener. For instance, I used to print out tons of things at work. Mostly because I read better off paper than off a computer screen, so I liked to print things out to work on and then follow up with the document on the computer. Lately though, I have been thinking about all the poor dead trees before I push print. "Do I really need to print this?" runs through my head before I do and most of the time, the answer is no, so I don't. Sometimes it takes a little more effort, especially when I'm switching between multiple spreadsheets, but I'm working on getting better at it and it's working!

I also think twice before throwing things away- I have found all sorts of uses for old jars and bottles that I never would have thought of before. All it takes is a little creativity.

So things there are going well! A special thanks to all my friends who frequently Tweet and post blogs about little ways to be greener- they really help keep me on the straight and narrow earth wise. I guess I have developed an eco-conscious, and am hoping to find even more ways to improve. You know, when you start with little things...going greener really doesn't take that much more energy and time, all it takes is a new mindset.

To close, below is a picture of the card I made for my dad's birthday with fabric scraps I had left over from sewing projects. It would have looked much better had I not used super glue- it was all we had in the house and unfortunately...it came through the fabric and left little crusty looking spots after it dried. But hey...it was still a cool card and my dad liked it, which is all that matters anyway. I paired it with some cocoa chip muffins that I made by leaving the coffee out of the mocha chip muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance. My dad isn't a mocha fan, but the muffins were a hit by leaving it out! :)

More Cooking

I've been really successful with my cooking projects and am really finding that a) I enjoy it and b) that it has really helped me save money because I actually PREFER to eat at home because the stuff I make is yummy. This is unheard of in the Hope Mentality. In the past I eat at home because it's necessary...not because I want to. So that's awesome, because it helps me in my goal to transform into Scroogy McFrugalson due to the nature of the family finances (babies are SO PRICEY! Yikes.) I could stand to learn some frugal techniques, and not eating out is really helping me get a jump start. I've also made it into a game, so that's been my sanity saver. I'm kind of having fun seeing where I can cut corners to keep the dough residing in my wallet. Coupon cutting anyone? (Thanks to The Mindful Merchant for letting me know about Mambo Sprouts!)

Today's adventure is trying to find the brand of cat litter I use at the lowest possible cost to me. Woohoo!

But anyway, back to food. Here's some things I've made lately:



These are the herb potatoes from Vegan with a Vengeance, which are a big hit with the fam. I always have to make extra for lunches the next few days. YUM! (Note: This is not meant to be a Food Blog, so I know the pictures are crappy and make the food look....um...not as appetizing as it actually was. I'm just trying to document my progress here.)









This picture is of the tofu scramble (also from VWAV) I make to go with the herb potatoes. Also tasty. Even my non-vegetarian husband likes it. It's especially yummy when made into a breakfast burrito with tortillas, salsa, and guacamole.






And HERE...are the cupcakes I made to take to Pumpkin Night- a night of fun and pumpkin carving my family always stages around this time of year. It was also my cousin's birthday, hence the candles. They were a hit, and I told no one that they were vegan. :)



I also made frosting...that didn't quite do what I wanted it to do. It didn't firm up enough to spread on the cupcakes without being a TOTAL mess, so I left it in the bowl and it became "Pourable Frosting", which totally worked because in the end, people were dripping it over ice cream and dipping fruit into it. Multipurpose! I figured it was a major success when my cousin told me I should bottle it up and sell it.


YAY for a non-cooking person being a success at cooking!

I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd start with....

... your LEMUR OF THE DAY! Courtesty of Cute Overload.

(No, this has nothing to do with anything- I just really like lemurs.)