We all love new apps for our iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch. Recently there are a whole bunch of new eco-friendly, sustainable apps that are terrific for all you greenies! Here are some favorites.

GoodGuide – Free

The GoodGuide app helps users figure out which products are green, safe for themselves and the environment, and are sustainable to boot. The app includes a barcode scanner that gives you access the ratings that GoodGuide delivers, using health, scientific, environmental, and social ratings for over 170,000 products.

Users can narrow it down to what they want to search for, such as prioritizing nutrition, healthy ingredients, animal welfare, human welfare and rights, climate change, sustainability, organics, and more. The products, whether it is food, personal care, home cleaners, baby items, children’s items, pet food, clothing, and more are given a grade of passing or failing based on your chosen criteria. It also lets your create personalized shopping lists, making choosing eco-friendly options a breeze.

iViro- Free

iViro makes home energy analysis easy and quick, letting you save money and reduce your home’s eco-footprint by doing a full home energy analysis and helping you implement the right changes. Users can perform a detailed energy analysis with no prior technical experience, or, if time doesn’t allow, a quick one, too.

With a few easy steps, you can gather information on your home’s costs on heating, cooling, lighting, hot water and appliance energy consumption, complete with yearly cost estimates and CO2 emission estimates. The app takes into account your home’s design, the specific heating and cooling equipment it uses, local weather conditions, the number of skylights, doors, and windows, whether your appliances are energy efficient, and various energy prices in your area.

Seafood Watch- Free

Seafood Watch makes recommendations to help users choose ocean-friendly seafood both at the store and while dining out. The app is always updated with the latest recommendations for seafood and sushi, and lists complete information about how each item should be fished or farmed.

It provides free, up-to-date recommendation and uses your phone’s GPS for regional information. You can help refine the search using “Best Choice,” “Good Alternative” or “Avoid” rankings, and sushi options are listed both by Japanese and market names to avoid any form of confusion. Even better, the new Project FishMap feature lets you contribute to the app by adding the names of restaurants and stores where you’ve found ocean-friendly seafood and locate businesses where others have found sustainable seafood

Carticipate- Free

App users can save money on gas while helping the environment by “carticipating” with friends, family, groups, or co-workers. This app lets you coordinate driving plans, carpool, or a ride share by indicating where you are going, when, and post your ride. You can then match with other users who meet your needs. The scheduler allows you to create and manage multiple trips, and it comes with a list of pre-loaded example destinations which you can edit, delete, or add for your own custom locations.

iGreenpeace- Free

Fun for kids, this Greenpeace app helps support various Greenpeace campaigns with Alex the Penguin, a character who loves good food, friends, playing games and saving the planet. He lives at the South Pole and is experiencing problems due to global warming, and is trying to create change.

Kids can have fun using the Penguin Clap Game! Tap and clap with Alex the Penguin and see how long you can last. Other users can about up-to-date Greenpeace news from around the world, find the tools to be an online-activist, and have opportunities to donate to support Greenpeace campaigns to save people, penguins, and the planet.

Courtesy of Ecoki.com

Let us know if you have discovered some great green apps!

This is a must have in your recipe file. You can whip it up for friends and, no matter what else you serve, it’ll be the first thing to go.

Serve it with crostini, tortilla chips, or crudités. Or just eat it by the spoonful. It’s that good.

Ingredients
•    1 cup 3/4″-inch pieces asparagus

•    2 tablespoons unsalted butter

•    1 cup chopped leeks (white and pale-green parts only)

•    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

•    1 1/4 cups whole milk

•    1 cup grated mild white cheddar

•    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

•    1 14-ounce can chopped artichoke hearts in water, drained

•    1/4 cup fresh (or frozen, thawed) peas

•    2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

•    2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

•    2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

•    1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

•    4 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese, divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cook asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain; let cool.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes. Whisk in flour; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.

Cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened; remove from heat. Add cheddar; whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth.

Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Fold in asparagus (reserve tips), artichoke hearts, peas, chives, mint, flat-leaf parsley, zest and 2 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese.

Transfer mixture to a 4-5-cup baking dish; arrange asparagus tips on top and dot with another 2 ounces goat cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Courtesy of Epicurious

Have you heard about the “Dirty Dozen”?  They are the  produce that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) report suggests are  the most likely to be contaminated by pesticides or other chemicals.

Below you will find a list of the LEAST contaminated fruits and vegetables, referred to as the “Clean 15”.

Clean 15 (Lowest in pesticides)

The Clean 15 contain the least pesticide residue, meaning if budget or availability is an obstacle to buying organic, you can buy conventionally grown varieties of these fruits and vegetables.

1.    Onions

2.    Sweet corn

3.    Pineapples

4.    Avocado

5.    Asparagus

6.    Sweet peas

7.    Mangoes

8.    Eggplant

9.    Cantaloupe (domestic)

10.    Kiwi

11.    Cabbage

12.    Watermelon

13.    Sweet potatoes

14.    Grapefruit

15.    Mushrooms

Be Inspired

Use the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to inspire you to seek out organically grown produce when possible, and to find innovative recipes to use all of the fruits and vegetables on the lists in a single week. As a vegan, your diet is based on produce, meaning you should be able to easily incorporate these fruits and vegetables into your weekly meal planning.

Important as it is to reduce your family’s exposure to pesticides and other chemicals, it may seem unrealistic to go 100% organic. If you’re wondering how to pick and choose your produce, start by selecting organic varieties of the “dirty dozen”—- the 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the highest pesticide load. Use these easy ideas to incorporate into your everyday diet.

12 fruits and vegetables that contain pesticides:

1.   Apples- Tote a few dried, organic apple slices in you bag for an easy-to-carry, satisfying snack.

2.   Bell Peppers- Pick up several jars of organic roasted red peppers when they’re on sale and you’ll be able to whip up an easy antipasto anytime.

3.   Celery- When you see organic celery in a market in the late summer or fall, snap it up. Then, when chopping it for pasta sauce or soup make extra and freeze it for later.

4.    Cherries- Toss organic dried cherries into a green salad- along with some roasted walnuts or pecans- to add extra flavor, texture, color, and nutrients.

5.    Grapes- Keep a stash of organic green or red seedless grapes in the freezer and you’ll always have access to an icy, sweet treat.

6.    Nectarines- Serve organic dried nectarines on your next cheese board. The sweet-tart flavor complements anything from Camembert to Manchego.

7.    Peaches- Slice and freeze ones to make summer-flavored slushies year-round. And experience an intense hit of flavor, whatever the season, by stirring a jar of organic peach preserves into a savory dish, likes baked chicken.

8.    Pears- When they aren’t in season, buy naturally prepared jarred or canned organic pears and spruce them up by poaching for five minutes in a mixture of their natural syrup.

9.   Potatoes- When you find organic potatoes, stock up. You can peel, parboil, and freeze them so you always have the makings for a fast side dish.

10.    Raspberries- Puree a bag of frozen organic berries with evaporated cane juice crystals to taste, then spoon over chocolate cake or vanilla ice cream for an intense infusion of flavor and color.

11.    Spinach-Make a delicious stuffing for chicken by chopping defrosted and drained frozen, organic spinach, then sautée briefly with toasted pine nuts. Bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and raisins.

12.    Strawberries- Freeze fresh organic berries when you find them in late spring and early summer- or buy frozen ones anytime—and enjoy them in pancakes, smoothies, and cereal year round.

Inspired by Kasha

Strawberries are in season and what better way to enjoy them! Make some homemade jam!

To clean strawberries: Submerge them whole in water, then lift out and drain, leaving dirt behind.

Small-batch strawberry jam

3 1/2 lbs. strawberries, washed, hulled, and halved

2 ¾ cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 lemon, quartered

1.    Mix all ingredients in a heavy medium pot. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit releases juices, about 30 minutes.

2.    Continue to cook, stirring as needed to prevent sticking, until thick and slightly darker, about 1 ½ hours.

3.    Chill jam in an airtight containers up to 1 month, freeze up to 6 months.

Say goodbye to syrupy-sweet margarita mixes this Cinco De Mayo.

Make your own skinny margarita! It saves 150 calories compared to traditional margarita recipes.

Get back to the basics—fresh lime juice, tequila and Triple Sec are all you need. Adding lime zest to the salt rim gives great flavor and cuts the salt in half.

Ingredients

•    1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest

•    1 tablespoon kosher salt

•    1/2 cup fresh lime juice, plus 1 lime wedge

•    1 cup seltzer or club soda

•    3/4 cup (6 ounces) tequila

•    6 tablespoons (3 ounces) Triple Sec or Cointreau

•    Ice

Preparation

1. Combine lime zest and salt on a small plate. Combine lime juice, seltzer (or club soda), tequila and Triple Sec (or Cointreau) in a pitcher.

2. Rub the rim of four 10-ounce glasses with the lime wedge and dip in the lime-salt.

3. Fill the glasses with ice and top with the margarita mixture.

OLE!

Mothers are very special people; toiling away for our benefit for many, many years; well past our childhood and teenage trials.

Mother Nature has been personified as a female for thousands of years, representing the giving of life, sustenance and nurturing- and it’s quite fitting. If you observe Mothers Day, honor your mom and Mother Nature by giving her a green gift this year!

Organic Cosmetics

Look for organic products and those based on plant materials, such as olive oil. Say no to cosmetics filled with chemicals that end up on our skin and in the environment.

Natural Perfumes

Perfumes are a perfect Mother’s Day gift, but they’re often filled with unregulated chemicals-not a great gift for Mom or Mother Earth. Try more natural options like those from Pacifica ($20 at amazon.com) or Burt’s Bees, which makes solid perfumes perfect for moms on the go ($10 at burtsbees.com or part of a Head-to-Toe gift pack ($15 at amazon.com).

Candles

Another Mother’s Day favorite – but did you know that many candles are made from crude oil byproducts. Burning candles releases all sorts of nasty stuff; including benzene, styrene, acetone and particulate matter.

The wicks on some candles may even contain lead! Additionally, scented candles may contain more synthetic chemicals. As a more earth friendly and healthy choice, soy candles or candles made of beeswax are the way to go and for scented candles, look for soy or beeswax ones that incorporate essential oils – and have a non-lead wick of course.

Sponsorships and Memberships

Mothers being the caring folk they are generally derive great pleasure from helping others. Perhaps a donation in her name for a tree planting or a conservation project might bring her joy. Maybe a membership to an online organic cooking club. A trip to a health spa. The possibilities are endless.

Fair Trade Clothes and Accessories

Look for items made from organic cotton and produced in fair trade conditions. “Fair trade” is a term applied to products that meet certain conditions relating to labor (non-sweatshop), environmental standards and social policy.

For example, if you wanted to buy your Mom a handbag as a gift, run a search on your favorite search engine for : fair trade handbags. Or “fair trade” preceding any product you’re thinking of buying – you’ll be surprised the range of items now available.

Green gift certificates

Sometimes its hard to decide on a gift for your Mother, especially a “green” one; so why not let your mom decide for herself.  Many green online stores now offer gift certificates and by giving a voucher to a store that specializes in environmentally friendly products, you might open up a whole new world for your mom!

Finding green gift stores online is pretty easy as so many stores with a focus on the environment have popped up in recent years – search on terms such as: green gifts mother’s day or earth friendly gifts mother’s day.

To all of our wonderful mother’s- Happy Mother’s Day!

Beware! The chemicals that make our diet soda and foods taste sweeter may be souring the environment. A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has found that artificial sweeteners aren’t being removed during wastewater treatment, and they’re showing up in rivers, lakes, and even tap water.

Whether it’s artificial sweeteners or the pharmaceuticals and personal-care product chemicals that have been detected in American waterways, the synthetic substances we use every day don’t simply disappear when we chug a diet soda, flush a toilet, or take a shower. And we don’t know yet what impact these pseudosugars will have on our waterways.

Artificial sweeteners also aren’t currently included in tests used by water filter manufacturers, so you may just have to accept that even filtered tap water may start tasting a little sweeter.

Here are a few ways to cut down on your exposure to chemical sweeteners:

• Go natural. Rather than use artificial sweeteners to cut your calorie intake, use fruits and herbs to make your own “diet soda.” And make sure what you drink most is water, with brewed teas and low-fat dairy products your second most frequent choice.

• Read labels. Artificial sweeteners are used in everything from drinks to low-calorie bread loaves to toothpastes. Keep an eye out for acesulfame K (also listed as acesulfame potassium), saccharin, and sucralose. Aspartame, another artificial sweetener commonly used in diet sodas, wasn’t included in this study because it, previous research has found, biodegrades pretty quickly into the environment.

Quick Facts…

•    Growing your own salad greens can provide a source of fresh, flavorful leafy vegetables with the added benefit of being able to try interesting varieties.

•    Salad greens are nutrient rich, generally easy to grow, and may be used in a variety of ways.

•    Following these practical tips can help you enjoy a supply of fresh home-grown salad greens.

Benefits of Salad Bowl Gardening

Growing your own salad greens gives you the chance to have fresh, flavorful leafy vegetables and an opportunity to try some of the interesting varieties that are available. Often, the most colorful greens are higher in nutrients.

You will be able to harvest your first crop in just a few short weeks, using the small tender leaves that are often not available to buy. These micro-greens are the mix of choice for gourmet salads. Leafy greens also make a flavorful addition to sandwiches or wraps.

One of the joys of salad gardening is being able to plant once but harvest multiple times. Leafy vegetables can often be cut down almost to ground level and will re-grow additional leaves for your next harvest. You should be able to enjoy three or more harvests from each planting.

Salad mixes can be planted much closer together than other vegetables since they will not be maturing into full-sized plants. To have a season-long supply of greens, you may want to stagger your plantings to maintain a continuous supply of harvestable leafy greens – providing a salad source from early spring until fall.

Salad bowl gardening doesn’t require much effort or space – a deep tray, a few clay pots, or a 3-by-3 foot plot of ground in a sunny location can supply a bunch of salad greens. Growing in containers can help reduce problems with insects, soilborne diseases and poor soil conditions. Plus, your portable garden can be moved in order to catch more sun or shade as needed or to avoid extreme weather conditions.

Leafy greens are ideal for the cool temperatures and short seasons of Colorado because they can be eaten at any stage of maturity and grown in portable containers.

How to Grow a Salad Bowl Garden

Container. A tray, pot, or window box that is at least 18 inches across and 6 to 12 inches deep is a good choice. Deeper pots allow more room for roots and keep the soil from drying out as quickly.

The container can be made of clay, plastic or wood, but needs to have drainage holes in the bottom – you may want to use a self-watering container or position one tray inside another to prevent leaks.

Fill the container with a good quality potting mixture; some mixes are formulated to retain moisture that can be beneficial in Colorado’s dry climate. If containers are placed outside, plants and soil will be subject to more water loss and will need a larger reservoir of soil moisture. Over time, mineral deposits and other debris can accumulate on the container and may harbor disease organisms and cause problems for plants.

To disinfect plant containers, use a stiff brush to remove soil and mineral deposits, soak in a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water for at least 10 minutes, and rinse well with water.

Seeds. Greens grow quickly so they can start from seeds rather than transplants. In addition to being more economical, growing from seeds offers the opportunity to choose from the wide variety of different types of leafy greens.

Some of the choices available for salad mixes are lettuce, mustard greens, arugula, cress, mizuna, chervil, endive, mache, Chinese cabbage, tatsoi, escarole, garden cress, kale, and Swiss chard.

Often several brightly colored varieties come as a mix in one packet. “Mesclun” means mix and usually includes arugula, lettuce, endive and chervil. Many salad mixes include greens, like arugula, that have a tangy taste and add unique flavor.

Red and dark green types generally are higher in nutrients and antioxidants. Some varieties are identified as heat tolerant and these may be good choices for container gardening.
Care. Before planting, thoroughly moisten the potting mix but not to the point of soaking wet. It’s a good idea to do this a few hours before planting.

Water gently after planting, keeping the soil surface moist until plants emerge. Five or six hours of sun a day is recommended but many types of salad greens can get by with less and can even be grown in partial sunlight or shade. During the hottest part of the day, lettuce will need to have some shade. Remember leafy greens are cool season crops and prefer temperatures below 85F; in fact many leafy greens are cold hardy and can survive light frosts.

Planting. The seeds can be sown densely with about ½ inch between seeds. Scatter them onto your freshly prepared soil and sprinkle with a ¼ inch of potting soil. Keep the soil uniformly moist but not soggy.

After germination assess soil moisture by looking at the color and contraction of the potting mix from the sides of the container. As it dries it will look lighter and pull away from the sides of the container. Another method for assessing moisture is to feel the weight of the container when it is wet. As it dries, it will feel lighter.

If you are going to be away for a few days, ask a friend to water daily because drying out can cause major setbacks to young plants.

Feeding. Apply small amounts of fertilizer (half-strength) when the plants are 4 to 6 inches tall and every two weeks after that. Start a regular fertilization program, follow the directions on the package. For the best results, maintain a regular watering and fertilizing schedule.

Harvesting. You can start harvesting after only a few weeks. Just cut what you need and leave the other plants to grow, prolonging your harvest.

You can start thinning as soon as the plants are a few inches tall – the remaining plants will fill in the empty spaces. Use a pair of scissors or shears to cut the plants after they reach a height of four to six inches, leaving behind about an inch of stubble to resume growth.

Lettuce can be picked leaf by leaf almost from the time the first one emerges. If the lettuce starts to “bolt” (sends up a stalk and goes to seed) the leaves tend to be bitter. Remove any plants that start to bolt to enjoy the best flavors that your garden can provide.

Storage and Preparation. Always refrigerate salad greens at 35F to 40F and wash thoroughly under running water right before using.

Visits to the bank result in one of the biggest sources of litter in the planet: ATM receipts are tossed about as much as gum wrappers. With eight billion ATM transactions in the United States doling out $600 billion in cash per year, that’s a lot of money to make the world go ‘round. Unfortunately, the planet is paying for all those withdrawals by enduring the paper waste that is produced.

Still, people use paper checks, too, about thirty-seven billion of them a year. That’s even more paper waste from banking. People use them to pay bills, mostly credit cards bills. The average family in the United States has four credit cards. In total, that means there are about four hundred million little plastic cards in circulation in this country. Placed one in front of the other, they would forge a path more thank twenty-one thousand miles long!

Keeping all that in mind, we want to keep it simple. Here are some ways to make a big impact with the least amount of effort.

1.    Don’t take an ATM receipt- ATM receipts are one of the top sources of litter in the planet. If everyone in the United States left their receipt in the machine, it would save a roll of paper more thank two billion feet long or enough to circle the equator fifteen times.

2.    Request automatic deposits for your paychecks. Not only will you get you money faster but you’ll reduce the time and fuel you spend to go to the bank. More than seven billion checks are written annually that could be replaced by automatic deposits. If everyone who was eligible for automatic deposits opted for it, it would save about $65 billion in fuel costs and lost time expense and enough paper for everyone in the world.

3.    Get paperless bank statements. Some banks will pay you a dollar or donate the money on your behalf when you cancel the monthly statements you get in the mail. If every household took advantage of online bank statements, the money saved could send more than seventeen thousand recent high school graduates to a public university for a year.

4.    Pay bills electronically. If every household paid just its credit card bills electronically, it would save almost $2 billion a year in postage costs, or enough to wipe out average credit card debt for $250,000 people.

Making these simple changes can make a dramatic impact for our environment. So let’s all do our part this Earth Month and commit to a few small changes.