Safe & healthy grilling

As much as I love outdoor grilling in the summer I’m still not entirely comfortable around a gas barbeque. May be it’s the childhood memories of undercooked chicken legs served at neighbourhood barbeques. Or it could be the fact that, years ago, I got singed more than once igniting our grill with a match. But those worries pale in comparison to the discomfort I now feel after having done a little research into health issues concerning grilled food.

Before you get too worried there are many ways to grill safely. But let me first tell you what happens when you don’t.

Are you someone who likes to eat the crispy charred bits on your meat? Are you unfazed by grease flare ups that send flames above grill level? Here’s a reality check:

When fat drips onto the coals causing flare ups it forms a number of noxious chemicals (PAHs for short) that rise up in the smoke and cling to your food. The intense heat from the flame can cause other toxic chemicals form in the fatty juices that coat your food (called HCA’s). HCAs and PAHs are menu items that you want to avoid. They are known carcinogens and studies have linked them to an increased risk for colon, pancreatic and breast cancers. (Red meat isn’t the only food that this can happen to – any animal fat will do it, or fish.)

No need to avoid the BBQ. Follow these tips for healthy grilling:

- Simple marinades with citrus or olive oil can help to reduce the occurrence of these chemicals, and make your meal more flavourful in the process.
- Some herbs can reduce the formation of these chemicals. One study in particular credited rosemary with reducing the occurrence of HCAs.
- Have your spray bottle of water handy to douse any flames.
- Try cooking on indirect heat. My greatest grilling success yet was a half chicken cooked over indirect heat (only one burner on and your meat on the unlit side, with the lid closed.)
- Another way to grill indirectly is to cook your food on a grill pan or on a cedar plank.
- Don’t eat the charred bits on your meat, that’s the worst offender (contains the greatest amount of PAHs and HCAs).
- Trim visible fat off your meat before grilling. Better yet, choose lean cuts of meat.
- The longer you cook your meat the more toxic it can become. So choose small cuts of meat that cook quickly, or choose fish or seafood.
- Keep the bottom of your grill clean (to minimize smoking fat).
- Clean your grill racks well. Soak them overnight in hot water and baking soda. If you’re rushed for time, scrub them on the lawn with a paste made out baking soda and water. Then hose them down.

Smart grilling can keep you safely enjoying your summer favourites.

Backyard gardening - it's never too late to start

This spring we turned our front yard into a tomato garden. We had outgrown our backyard vegetable garden and since I have an obsession with tomatoes we decided that reducing the square footage of our lawn was hardly a sacrifice.

As it turns out people all over are getting back to vegetable gardening. It used to be that everyone had a “kitchen garden,” but sometime within the last generation the whole concept went to seed (so to speak) as most people got more dependent on easy access to fruits and vegetables in grocery stores.

Now all that is changing. Last year the number of American households that grew food gardens grew by 10% over the previous year and it’s expected to grow another 20% this year. Sales for seeds are on the rise too. Keep in mind that these projections for 2009 were made before Michelle Obama dug up the South Lawn of the White House to plant an herb and vegetable garden. She has helped to spawn a whole new generation of (well-dressed) gardeners.

I am not an accomplished vegetable gardener. Even so, my meager harvest makes me feel self-sufficient (with herbs and lettuce anyway) and provides me with a connection to the earth that I find very comforting and inspiring. I love that my children have planted our garden by my side and ask daily when they can pull the carrots. My daughter uses the word “harvest” when it’s time to cut salad greens and nibbles chives when she’s playing in the yard. My son finds the plump red radish heads poking out of the soil irresistible.

All of this backyard gardening is providing us with food that is better in many ways: it’s helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (food doesn’t have to be transported long distances), it’s chemical fee, and there is no packaging. Plus it’s reconnecting us with the true source of our food – which is the earth not the grocery store.

If you’d like to try your hand at vegetable gardening it’s not too late to plant your own, in the ground or in containers.

· If you want to sow your own seeds there are several vegetables with a relatively short time to harvest. Leaf lettuce and blends of different greens can take less than a month to go from seed to harvest. Swiss chard can take just a month to yield baby leaves and green beans can take less than two months to start producing.

· You can play catch up by buying mature tomato plants and other vegetable plants that are already growing well. Plant them in well prepared soil for and instant garden that takes less time to reach maturity.

· Plan for next year by getting an herb garden established this summer. Herbs like thyme, chives, sage, mint and oregano are perennial so you can plant them during the summer.

My son has just requested his own pot to grow his own sugar snap peas, which is in and of it’s self one of my greatest gardening successes yet.

Eco-friendly outdoor entertaining

This is the summer paradox that drives me batty: a group of friends is enjoying themselves at a backyard barbeque, making the most of a beautiful summer evening, marveling at how food tastes better outdoors, taking in the fresh smell of the summer air. At the end of the evening they roll up everything -- plates, cups, cutlery, half-eaten food, napkins – into the plastic tablecloth and dump it all in the garbage. (We’re all in love with nature during the summer, but sometimes forget to be considerate.)

If you can set one eco-objective for yourself this summer make it this: no disposable plastic or Styrofoam plates! I know there is the convenience factor but keep in mind that there are alternatives when you’re feeding large crowds or eating outside, so you don’t have to haul your china out onto the deck (unless you want to).

Instead choose reusable plates and cups. Tin or even plastic plates are durable and easy enough to clean. We received a picnic basket as a wedding gift that is just the thing for people who like to entertain outside. It’s filled with reusable plates, cups and cutlery.

The other option is paper plates. Just ensure they’re certified compostable. I was so relieved to come across the bio*life brand at Shoppers Drug Mart. They don’t come in Disney designs or flashy colours but they are certified compostable, can be recycled and are sturdy enough to last through the meal.

Here are a few more tips for eco-friendly outdoor entertaining and summer eating on the go:

Plastic cutlery can’t be recycled. (This is the first of many reasons why I dislike disposable cutlery). Instead choose sturdy reusable plastic cutlery or use your regular kitchen stuff.

Paper napkins can go in the compost. Better yet, use cloth napkins.

Stay away from disposable tablecloths. Many of the paper tablecloths are backed with plastic so can’t be composted. Other tablecloths are made of such thin plastic that it’s practically impossible to reuse them. Instead opt for a fabric tablecloth, a reusable outdoor tablecloth (or even an old bed sheet if you really need something to cover the picnic table).

Planning a road trip? Prepare a makeshift picnic basket with plates, cups, cutlery and containers. That way you can avoid the drive-thru and pick up lunch and snacks at the grocery store or markets. This will make it easier to avoid buying individually packaged food so you’ll have less packaging to toss in the garbage. It’s less expensive since you’re buying in larger sizes plus you can choose food that’s better for you.

Don’t let carefree entertaining in summer be an excuse for overloading the trash bin. Instead consider it an opportunity to be more earth-friendly. With luck you’ll teach your guests a thing or two.

This post previously appeared in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Keeping your kitchen green and clean

I have been fixated with the cleanliness of our kitchen these days so I’ll pick up where I left off with my previous post and offer a few more tips on how to keep your kitchen green and clean.

I was noticing the other day how grungy our kitchen sink can get. And really, if the sink seems dirty the whole kitchen doesn’t feel much better, no matter how tidy the counters are. I came across a study showing that the kitchen sink can be home to more germs than a toilet. Yikes! I suppose that’s why people feel they need to turn to harsh chemicals in the kitchen.

When it comes to a healthy sink, germs aren’t the only thing to consider. The kind of cleaners you use for dishes and drains have a lot to do with the overall health of your kitchen, and your family.

As usual there are eco-friendly ways to keep your kitchen sparkling:

Clean your drain on a regular basis. But stay away from harsh drain cleaners, they’re highly corrosive so just plain dangerous to have in the house. They’re also destructive to our waterways.

Instead try this: pour ½ cup of baking soda down your drain. Chase it with a cup of white vinegar and let it bubble away for a few minutes. Chase this with a kettleful of boiling water.

When it comes to dishwashing liquids this is how I see it: since there are dish detergents readily available that safer for you and the environment when compared to the name brand detergents, why not choose them? Also, I don’t like the idea of sloshing petroleum-based suds (which is what name brands contain) on items that I use for food. My favourite eco brand is Down East, made in NS. It works well and you can buy it in four litre jugs to save on packaging and cut costs. Just check the natural foods section of the grocery store for it and other green brands.

Dish cloths are something else to consider. Since they can get grimy quickly just get in the habit of using a fresh, clean one each day. Hang the dirty cloths to dry before you wash them. Never use a sponge! Every study I found says they’re germ incubators (the “sink is dirtier than the toilet” study implicated sponges). Throwing them in the dishwasher doesn’t help since most dishwashers don’t get hot enough to kill dangerous bacteria. Instead bacteria get flung around on everything else in the dishwasher.

We have used cloths made from wood fibre that are great. They inhibit the growth of bacteria so don’t get smelly, just need a simple rinsing to clean and can be composted when they wear out.
Add these ideas to the vinegar-hydrogen peroxide spray system from my previous post and you’ll have all your kitchen cleaning needs covered with eco-friendly alternatives.

This post was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Non-toxic kitchen disinfecting

A couple of months ago I was chatting with some other moms and somehow we got talking about green cleaning. They asked if it was possible to disinfect your kitchen – think chicken juice and blood from raw meat – using non-toxic cleaners.

Since we’re officially into the grilling season I think we can all use some eco-friendly tips for safely handling raw meat and fish. These tips will help you with general kitchen disinfecting and year-round food safety.

Sometimes I think that bottles of plain old white vinegar should sport brilliant red capes and a big “S” on the label because it really is a household and environmental superman. But little did I know that hydrogen peroxide is the real hero when it comes to obliterating bacteria. (Remember pouring it on cuts and watching it bubble away the germs?) When used together, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are unstoppable (but utterly harmless to people and the environment).

Here’s why: when exposed to heat, light or organic material, hydrogen peroxide turns into pure water and oxygen. As it turns out, pure oxygen is toxic to microorganisms. I’m not into mini chemistry lessons but I want to make sure you believe me. In any case, when hydrogen peroxide teams up with vinegar it works ten times better.

What does all of this mean to you and your kitchen? It’s an easy, non-toxic way to deal with invisible bacteria that make thousands of people sick every year.

I have mentioned before that my favourite go-to book for cleaning is Organic Housekeeping buy Ellen Sandbeck. In it she recommends using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in a “dual spray” system on food, utensils, countertops, cutting surfaces. You name it. Her system is so simple that you’ll be tossing (in a safe way of course) those harsh and toxic kitchen cleaners:

1. Buy two spray bottles, one dark or at least opaque.
2. Buy a big bottle of consumer strength hydrogen peroxide (3%), and a big bottle of distilled white vinegar.
3. Fill the dark spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide (it’s degraded by light).
4. Fill the other with vinegar.
5. Spray with abandon, (first with the vinegar, then the peroxide.)

You can even spray the food directly, which is quite handy for lettuce and other foods that won’t be cooked. But don’t spray marble or limestone countertops (it my damage them).

I keep my bottles filled and under the sink. I clean up in my usual way with hot soapy water but then I give everything a final spritz. For the first time ever I’m fearless around raw chicken.

This isn’t an excuse for carelessness in the kitchen though. Be sure to keep raw meat and fish well away from other food to reduce the chance of cross contamination. Clean quickly and thoroughly and put your dishcloth right in the wash.

This blog was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Aspire to a truly "green" lawn

I believe that people can get addicted to their lawns. Why else would anyone want to spray chemical concoctions in their yards during the only time of the year that we lounge about on our lawns?

Even walking past a yard posted with chemical spray warnings stresses me out. It’s as bad as secondhand smoke (and possibly worse).

There’s a good reason why the Canadian Cancer Society is a cheerleader for the ban on cosmetic pesticides. There are mountains of data implicating repeated exposure to pesticides in everything from brain and lung cancer, to kidney damage, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, reproductive disorders, and increased rates of childhood leukemia. Dozens of physician’s groups endorse bans, and two provinces have legislated bans. I’m still waiting for my provincial government to make a decision.

Even though my family and I have a relaxed approach to our lawn (that's an understatement), I can appreciate that many people love the look of a lawn that’s lush and green. If you fit into that category, don’t feel that your only option is chemical. You can create a lush beautiful lawn that’s fit for rolling on, using an all-natural regime.
1. Once a year top-dress your lawn with compost and over-seed with hardy grass varieties that thrive in our climate. I’m partial to clover (it’s soft underfoot).
2. Feed your lawn twice a year, and make sure you choose an all-natural fertilizer. There are so many to choose from that you don’t need to resort to petroleum-based chemicals. Read labels (good luck) or visit Halifax Seed for recommendations.
3. Let your lawn nourish itself by leaving grass clippings to compost.
4. To figure out what your lawn needs, have the soil analyzed (or do it yourself with a kit from Halifax Seed). Healthy soil should have a pH of 6 to 7. Adding the right nutrients to the soil will encourage micro-organisms to develop. They help to keep your lawn healthy and ward off pests. Chemical lawn treatments kill off these micro-organisms and leave your lawn more vulnerable.
5. Don’t mow too short. To help your lawn hold moisture be careful not to clip it below 2.5- 3 inches high. This is important to establishing and maintaining deep, healthy roots and will help your lawn squeeze out weeds.
6. During dry periods water your lawn deeply. Water long enough to fill a tuna can (about an inch of water). Water in the early morning or evening to limit evaporation.
7. If you have any bare spots top-dress and over-seed them so weeds don’t get there first.
8. If weeds really bother you dig some of them by hand (or pay the neighbours’ kids to do it for you).

Whether you’re obsessed with your grass or just hope for a half decent lawn each summer, keep in mind that your sanity isn’t the only health issue to consider when it comes to lawn care. Choosing chemical-free alternatives will keep us all a lot healthier.

This blog was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Why bottled water isn't so great after all

At first glance bottled water seems like the ideal thing. What could be better than weaning more people off of pop and other unhealthy drinks? And getting us to drink more water is great for our health. Yes, but there is so much more to bottled water than meets the eye. When you consider that most of us have easy access to safe drinking water right out of our tap, the environmental toll of bottled water (which is huge) seems so pointless.

Consider this:

More than 40% of bottled water is just tap water anyway. (Coca-Cola’s Dasani brand comes out of taps in Calgary and Brampton.)

It takes about 250 ml of oil to produce one litre of bottled water. That includes the oil used to make the plastic bottle and gas to ship the filled bottle halfway across the country. When you factor in processing, it takes about three litres of water to make one litre of bottled water.

The explosion in popularity of bottled water has caused an explosion of sorts in the landfill. Less than 25% of water bottles end up being recycled. Millions and millions go in the trash.

Disposable plastic water bottles are not meant for multiple uses. They’re made with #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is fine for a single use, but reuse can lead to bacterial growth and leaching of chemicals.

Have you noticed that water cooler bottles are made with #7 plastic? That’s the plastic that contains Bisphenol A, the hormone disruptor that has been banned from use in baby bottles.
And one more thing, for those of us who pay for municipal water, a litre of bottled water is about 3,000 times more expensive than a litre of tap water.

There are more than enough reasons to stop buying bottled water. So where do you begin?
Fill water bottles at home before you head out on a road trip or even if you’re just out and about for the afternoon. Make sure you have enough bottles for everyone in your family (and maybe a couple of extras).

Bring an empty bottle with you when you travel. Even when I travel for work I pack a water bottle that I fill from the bathroom tap in my hotel room. That way I’m not buying the expensive bottle of water in the room and can steer clear of plastic.

Buy a carbon filter for your kitchen tap if you don’t like the taste of your tap water. Or buy a filter jug to keep in your fridge.

At restaurants ask for tap water if they offer bottled water.

Convenience is a matter of perspective. In my opinion it’s easier and more eco-friendly and definitely cheaper to take full advantage of the safe drinking water from the kitchen tap.

This article was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Breaking the bag habit

Up until recently I thought that “compostable” and “biodegradable” meant pretty much the same thing and was delighted to see biodegradable bags popping up at various retailers. As it turns out these bags aren’t great after all. In fact they’re a full step backwards – a bit of a hoax courtesy of the bio-bag manufacturers. These biodegradable bags (marked Degradable, Biodegradable or Oxo-biodegradable) aren’t suitable for the blue bins or the compost bin.

They can’t go in the blue bins since they can cause items made from recycled plastic, like “wood” decking, to degrade. And they’re no better in the compost pile since all they do is break down into tiny bits of plastic. So it turns out the trash is the only place for them.

To minimize the confusion, biodegradable bags that you line your compost bin with must also be marked compostable.

Recycling is great but avoidance is better…
If you’re not in the habit of bringing your own bags to the grocery store, that’s the best place to start. It’s the simplest too. Just leave a pile of bags in your car and try to remember to bring them into the store with you.

If you’re already into the grocery store routine here are a few more ways to break the bag habit:
· When you buy something say no to a bag. Can the item fit in your purse or can you carry it home/to the car without a bag?

· If you have a few items and one is really big, ask the clerk to put the smaller items in a small bag and just carry the larger item.

· Better yet keep a bag in your purse (or coat pocket). My favourite birthday gift last year was an Envirosax reusable shopping bag (http://www.envirosax.com/). It’s a sturdy polyester bag that folds up into nothing but fits just about anything. These bags are chic, cheery and surprisingly strong (they can carry up to 44 pounds of stuff). Plus they’re waterproof. Cost: $8.99.

· I discovered a local woman who makes a great variety of reusable bags, including produce bags (so you don’t have to use the plastic bags on a roll) and reusable snack bags. To find out more visit www.beammreusablebags.com

Using plastic bags is a habit but so is not using plastic bags. To live a little greener it’s just a matter of swapping one habit for another.

A version of this article was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

How to “green” your dream renovation

Ads for home shows are all around, which gets me thinking about my imaginary kitchen renovation. My plans get greener by the day because every time I do a little research I come across new earth-friendly products.

So far my imaginary reno has a near zero carbon footprint – second-hand home decorating magazines from my mom is about it. In reality though, the environmental cost of many home renovations far exceeds the actual price tag.

This is how it adds up: There is the environmental impact of the manufacturing process for mainstream home renovation products. Once they’re in your home these products off-gas, sending nasty chemicals into your air. MDF and particleboard are big culprits as are paints and other sealants and finishes. As well, most of the practices for gathering raw materials – wood for cupboards, stone for countertops – are not sustainable. But with green options everywhere you can reduce the environmental impact of your renovation and create a healthier home.

Since renovations contribute to the landfill, divert your castoffs (sinks, cupboards, windows etc.) by donating them to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Revenue from the store is used as a steady source of funding for the homes that Habitat for Humanity builds.

The EcoLogo certification program is your friend when it comes to choosing products required for your renovation. Products certified through this program are “environmentally preferable” to standard alternatives. Visit their website to search for paints, wallboard, kitchen and bathroom tiles and more. http://www.ecologo.org/

If you’re selecting new appliances look for the Energy Star label. Appliances that earn this recognition are among the most efficient on the market.

For painting projects look for low-VOC or VOC-free paints, now widely available. Eco-House is a Fredericton company that manufactures natural paint and wood finishes.

Ask for wood products that are Forest Stewardship Council-certified. FSC wood products come from forests that are managed to strict ecological and social/economic standards. Both Ikea and Home Depot carry FSC wood products.

Ikea cabinetry is formaldehyde-free (unlike most of the options out there). Other eco-friendly cabinet options include strawboard, wheatboard (actually made from straw and wheat) and bamboo. Or choose reclaimed wood. Or paint your existing cabinets another colour and add some new hardware).

Some green choices for countertops include FSC butcher block, recycled glass and PaperStone (made from recycled paper and resins). Canadian quarried slate and granite are other options but keep in mind that heavy things that need to travel far have bigger carbon footprints.

For your floors consider reclaimed or FSC wood (with low-VOC finishes), cork (a renewable resource and by-product of the wine cork industry) and bamboo. Natural linoleum (the real stuff) is another green option. Look for Marmoleum so you can steer clear of anything vinyl.

I noticed that the The Home Depot flyer has an “Eco options” symbol by many of its home renovation products -- proof positive that it gets easier by the day to add “green” to your dream renovation.

This article was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)

Packing a greener lunch

When my son was in kindergarten he asked why we didn’t send packaged stuff in his lunch. He was intrigued by the novelty of other kid’s lunch items. And what child wouldn’t be? (That’s why food companies make those mini packages.) But the environmental impact of that extra packaging is anything but small, which is reason enough to consider ways to reduce the amount of garbage generated by your lunch.

Each year we come across new (but hardly revolutionary) ways to help make our children’s lunches easier on the environment. A few years ago we stopped buying individually packaged yogurt and instead serve up portions from our big tub. We replaced drink boxes with refillable bottles. When we started reading about chemicals leaching from plastics we bought the children stainless-steel water bottles. And this year we’re working on giving up plastic sandwich bags in favor of reusable containers and little fabric snack bags. (I say “we” but it’s really my husband, since he’s in charge of lunches in our house.)

Below is a list of ideas for packing eco-friendly lunches, for you and your children:

· Reduce (or eliminate) prepackaged foods. Pack in reusable containers your own cheese and crackers, yogurt, juice, water, fruit, vegetables.
· Pack stainless-steel spoons and forks. I dislike eating with plastic utensils so always assumed that my children would too. And plastic utensils can’t be recycled.
· Consider using stainless steel water bottles. They’re so easy to find now, are durable and easy to keep clean.
· Remember any plastics that you use should have the numbers 1, 2, 4 or 5 on them (inside the recycling symbol). These are the food-safe numbers. Items marked with these numbers are also recyclable. Don’t put food items in any containers marked with the number seven. That’s the plastic that contains Bisphenol A, the hormone disruptor that has been banned from use in baby bottles.
· Don’t heat food in plastic containers, no matter what number is stamped on it. Chemical leaching is intensified when the plastic is heated.
· If you do use plastic sandwich bags ask your child to bring them home. They can be rinsed and reused. As soon as they start to show wear they can be recycled with soft plastics. Or better yet, use plastic containers and fabric snack bags instead of plastic bags.
· Beam Reusable Bags, a local company, offers washable fabric snack bags that come in handy packs of six. They’re inexpensive ($7.50 for 6). Visit http://www.beammreusablebags.com/.
· If your child’s school isn’t set up for composting make sure that compostables (banana peals, bread crusts) stay in the lunch bag to be composted at home. If you want to get composting going at your school The Fundy Solid Waste Commission has a terrific program specifically for schools. If you want to start composting at work they have a start-up program for businesses too.
Packing a greener lunch doesn’t have to be complicated. Making just a few changes will make your lunch a little healthier -- for you and for the planet.

This article was previously published in KV Style (www.kvstyle.com)