Eco Holiday Gift Guide- Kitchen Edition

Today I am featuring some of my favorite gifts for the kitchen.


Aeternum Saute Pans
Aeternum saute pans feature a non-stick surface using nano-ceramic technology which means they perform like nobody's business and are PFOA, PTFE and Cadmium free.  These are on my Christmas list this year. 




Glass Tea Kettle

Why boil water behind a metal barricade? It's not nearly as enjoyable as the pure pleasure of watching water gather steam in this safe, heat-proof lab glass tea kettle with a cool blue knob on its lid and large ergonomic handle. Holding 60 ounces, it works with gas or electric heat and is dishwasher safe.  This is on my list too.  Isn't it beautiful? I think it would look great in my new kitchen.

Angel Wing Platter

The eco-friendly recycled aluminum wing platter alights on your dinner, coffee, or side table with angelic grace, adding its celestial èlan to the spirit of the season.

The Greens Kitchen Tools

Designed for both function and comfort, and made from an earth friendly blend of recycled wood and plastic. They can also be recycled as well. Dishwasher safe.




Olive Wood Salt Cellar
The olive wood salt cellar is carved from wood that is pruned from young trees and sprouts of trees no longer producing olives. No olive tree is damaged or destroyed in the harvesting of the wood. This assures that the trees remain healthy and the groves sustainable. The wood is dried for over a year and then hand crafted into beautiful, one of kind accessory pieces, each with their own unique grain pattern. These high quality pieces will last a lifetime.
 

 

Wine Cork Trivet Kit

Bring those memories to life - like the night you all drank wine, talked and laughed until the early morning hours... don't throw out those wine corks. Recycle them into this handy trivet! Group gathering? Make several for those who were there.

In case you missed my arts & craft edition it is here.  My drink lovers edition is here.

Eco Holiday Guft Guide- Arts & Crafts Edition

Today we are looking at some of my favorite gifts for kids that love to create.

Faber Castell Eco Pencils

Eco-Friendly and Non-toxic - Pencils are made from reforested wood preserving natural forests and conforms to ASTM D-4236

Recycled Newsprint Art Paper

Perfect for crayons, colored pencils and markers. 18 inches X 75 feet roll. Great for parties, school or home.

Eco Dough and Rolling Pin

Eco-dough is an all natural alternative. Made with plant, fruit and veggie extracts! No chemicals, artificial dyes or metals. The containers are made from cornstarch and 100% compostable. Also it doesn't dry out like name brands. If it's left out overnight just add a few drops of olive oil and it comes right back! Available in Regular and Gluten Free.

Green Kid Craft Kits
The Green Kid Craft Kits projects are generally nature-themed and multicultural to expand your child's worldview. They are composed of non-toxic, natural, and sustainable supplies whenever possible or practical.

Glob Natural Blends Paint

Glob Natural Blends are water-soluble pigments - simply add water to the dry powder and mix to create safe, non-toxic, biodegradable paint! Each pigment is botanically crafted from natural colors found in vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, roots and spices.

Plastic Bag Monster Kit

Finally, a fun activity and something to do with all those plastic bags! With this kit, kids can build two cool monster puppets from plastic bags, beads, bottle caps, and more.

If you missed it, check out yesterday's guide.

Eco Holiday Gift Guide- Drink Lovers Edition

Today I am featuring some of my favorite gifts for the drink lovers in your life.

{Photo sources are linked below}

Lifefactory Glass Water Bottle

You guys already know that I love my lifefactory glass water bottle.  It is by far my favorite water bottle.   The wide opening makes drinking from it easy.  This would be the perfect gift for the water drinker in your life.

KeepCup

KeepCups are lightweight, non-toxic and BPA free.  They are also dishwasher and microwave safe.  Pair this cup with a gift certificate to your local coffee shop for the coffee lover in your life.

Insulated Wide Mouth Klean Kanteen

I have the 16 oz and 20 oz insulated Klean Kanteens.  They really do keep your drink hot or cold.  There is a cafe cap that is sold separately that turns the Klean Kanteen into a travel coffee cup.  

Recycled Wine Glasses

These recycled wine glasses are beautiful and unique.  I think these would make a great gift for the wine lover in your life, especially if you give them a bottle of their favorite wine too.

Recycled Beer Bottle Glasses

We can't forget the beer lovers.  These glasses are made from recycled beer bottles. I really liked the look of these glasses, but you can do a search on Etsy and find tons of other options if you are looking for a specific beer.  

Street Sign Martini Glasses

These martini glasses are made with reclaimed street signs. They are the priciest item on the list, but worth the money considering they are handmade in North Carolina.  

Uncommon Goods has tons of cool recycled gifts.

Happy shopping.

Tomorrow I will be feeaturing some of my favorite arts & craft gifts.

Painted Fireplace and Mudroom Progress

No kitchen update this week.  Mitch did talk to our contractor about dedicating a 5-7 day window of time to our project rather than working us in.  He is going to look at his calendar to see when he has the time.  So in the meantime we are tackling other projects that we can do ourselves.

This weekend I decided that I could not take this ugly fireplace any longer.  I have lived with it for WAY too long.

Here it is with a coat of primer.  Already so much better. It is amazing how much brighter the room looks now. 

 

Here it is with one coat of paint.  I still need to paint at least one more coat.

Mitch is still working on the mudroom.  He decided to go ahead and put up the wall to enclose the space. 

 

It is really hard to get a decent photo since the space is pretty small.

 

It is really starting to feel like an actual room. It will be so nice to have an organized place for backpacks, shoes, coats, and laundry to go.

Make Ahead Green Smoothie Packs

 

Last week in a cold induced fog I accidently put the kale back in the freezer instead of the fridge when I was making my green smoothie.  I found it the next morning and decided to see how frozen kale tasted in my smoothie.  I couldn't tell a difference.  Since freezing the kale didn't seem to impact the flavor or texture of the smoothie, I decided to make some freezer packs.  So all I have to do is dump it in the blender add some liquid and that's it. 

Here's what I did.

 

I used my blender as a measuring tool.  I put the kale in lightly packed to the 4 cup mark. Then I placed the kale into a freezer bag. You can use any greens though.

 

Along with a banana cut into pieces.  Frozen bananas taste awesome in smoothies. 

 

Plus a handful of frozen fruit.

I should be able to reuse the bags several times. 

 

 

Then when you are ready to make the smoothie, dump the frozen fuit and veggies into the blender.

Add 2-2.5 cups of liquid.  I usually do 1 cup of almond milk and 1-1.5 cups of water.

Blend it all up.

 

Then enjoy!!

 

It took me about 10 minutes to put together the packs.  Now I have smoothies ready for the rest of the week. 

Eco Holiday Guide & Green Goes Simple

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on a couple of things. I am working on a gift guide series featuring some of my favorite eco-friendly gifts. The gift guides will post the week after Thanksgiving.

I also wanted to let you know that I have teamed up with Studio One Networks to provide more Green content on my blog. Be sure to check out my Green Goes Simple tab at the top of my blog.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Fall Foliage

I took these photos last Monday.

This is what the tree looked like on Friday. Crazy, huh?

The kids had fun playing in the newly fallen leaves.

Miller tried to make a leaf angel.

Happy fall ya'll!!!