When I started becoming more of a health nut, I stopped drinking coffee in the morning and started drinking tea more frequently.  I am a a little emphatic about it now because I loved that they combined taste with health benefits.  I had echinacea  tea, detox tea, ginger tea, and others that I can barely remember.  At one point I had 8 different varieties (yes, I was that obsessed!) 

I usually like to buy Yogi Teas because I like their tastes and health options.  My favorite one is Skin Detox, because it helps clear up my skin.  But once I bought some Celestial Seasonings tea, and noticed the difference in packaging.  Each Yogi Tea bag had a wrapper, a string, and a tag.  Celestial seasonings only had the small pouch that carried the tea; there was no tag or string or wrapping.  Yogi Tea I have only found at natural food stores (or in the organic section of the grocery store if they have any), while Celestial seasonings seems to be widely available at any grocery store.  I read the side of their box and realized the reason there is less packaging is because the company wanted to be more sustainable.  I think it’s a bit odd that Yogi Tea, which is usually mostly organic, would be wasteful with unnecessary packaging.

Anyway, being the “GreenMinded” person that I am, I started to read into options to be more sustainable in my tea-drinking habit.  I never even flirted the thought of buying myself loose leaf tea and using my own metal “infuser”, similar to what I found here.  That uses virtually no packaging, which is the “greenest” of the options.  Of course, you can also buy teas similar to those of Celestial Seasonings: no wrapping, no strings, no tags. 

Next time you’re at the grocery store or natural food store, look in the bulk section.  Last time I visited my favorite organic store, I found that they had loose leaf tea that was way less expensive than the packaged loose leaf tea, even though it was also organic.

I must say, I still do enjoy a couple of my Yogi Teas.  I haven’t been able to find certain benefits in any other brands (i.e., my Skin Detox tea).  So the way I try to make it “greener” is by using a trick my thrifty Polish grandmother taught me: reusing tea bags!  I usually drink my Skin Detox tea in the morning, and then store it in an airtight container.  I usually stick the container in the fridge because I am paranoid about bacteria growth in the “danger zone.”  Another tip I should mention is the first time you use the tea bag, make sure that you do not brew your tea for too long-maybe 3 minutes maximum.  I know that I like my tea stronger; however, if I brewed my first tea bag as long as I generally do, the next time around my tea would be very weak.  This reusing tea technique also helps save money, because my box of tea will last me 3 or 4 weeks instead of 2 (depending on how much of the tea I drink in one day).

I like to think that I am this unique and super-thrifty college student, and in some ways I am.  But sometimes I am a typical college student when it comes to food.  Exhibit A: my inclination to order Chinese take-out especially during final exam week.  Last year, I started watching The Food Network quite frequently as an attempt to get myself out of this slump. While watching, I noticed how much these chefs/tv-hosts used fresh herbs.  I bought myself some fresh parsley and noticed how much of a difference it made in my most basic pasta dish (whole rye pasta, butter, a little milk, and Parmesan).

A year later, I started making legitimate attempt to start eating healthier and cooking more for myself.  I figured it would help my waistline and my wallet.  I picked up online recipes and cookbooks of healthy dishes using fruits and veggies that were in season and attempted to cook for myself.  After I gained some confidence from watching countless cooking shows, I started making making my own recipes.  I started experimenting with herbs because I learned how one of the simplest ingredients can yield a delicious and simply dish.

But while going to my organic grocery store, I was appalled at how expensive fresh herbs were-even in the summer!  But then I realized that all of these herbs were grown from plants (duh!).  My friend Lauren had previously started a small herb garden on her windowsill and I decided that this was a much better investment than paying 2-3 bucks for every small bunch.  I had never realized before how expensive fresh herbs could be.  I bought a pot and proceeded to my favorite organic store to buy organic soil and my three favorite herbs: rosemary, thyme and parsley.

At first this was a small investment.  The good thing is that you don’t need a green thumb to maintain a herb garden.  All you need is a windowsill.  I know quite a few friends like Lauren who do the same thing, and they gave me lots of tips.  For example, if your windowsill is in your kitchen, make sure you keep your kitchen clean.  My friends who didn’t keep their kitchens clean seemed to attract bugs.  When I made my herb garden, I had to make sure that I never left out any food and kept the area extremely prestine (a minor challenge for the average college student).  Also I needed to make sure that I remembered to water the plant everyday, but it was not the most exhausting challenge I have ever encountered.  I noticed that every so often a leaf started to dry out, but if that happened I just snipped it away.

It’s a pretty decent investment.  It’s simple math: one time you buy a plant, and you have fresh herbs for the rest of the summer (and into the fall if the light is still decent).  You add some green to your wallet and your household!  I encourage other bloggers and readers to try this technique, and see how eating green can be healthier, cheaper and tastier!

When I temporarily became a vegetarian I quickly became aware of how valuable beans were to a diet.  Cheap, convenient, and nutritious.  I use to hate beans a few years back and there are quite a few people who also dislike beans. I discovered that my dislike of beans were usually because of texture, like kidney beans for example…Blech.  But as I matured, I discovered I didn’t mind the texture much if they had the right complementing flavors.  I wouldn’t even go near kidney beans until I went to the DC Chili Cook-Off a few years ago, where I realized that they tasted perfectly with a little bit of fiesty American flavor.  The right amount of cayenne pepper, tomatoes and beef creates a great balance of flavor: spicy, acidic and hearty.

It’s summer, and it’s hot. When I was little, I loved running through sprinklers. We’ve been reticent to do that with our son, because it seems like a waste of water.

There are two waterpads in our town that I believe recycle the water that shoots out, but we have to drive to those.

In an attempt to cut back on our gas usage, we decided to buy our son a slip-n-slide. I know that to many that would be a waste of water, but we aren’t driving all over town.

Also, our son loses interest after a few minutes. We’ve been repositioning our slip-n-slide around our yard in order to spread out the water wealth to our grass.

Although the slip-n-slide isn’t the greenest of items, we did find an eco-friendly water hose – the Colorite Element Pure and Simple water hose. It’s not like shower heads and faucets that insert air into the stream and cut down on water usage. But it’s lead-free and pthalate-safe. This means that the water that our son inevitably swallows isn’t full of toxins.

The hose works well and our son loves slip-slip sliding. It’s the best solution we’ve found so far.

Do you have any greener suggestions for summer water play?

Have you gotten the email forward about not buying gas from BP stations on a certain day at a certain time yet? You probably will. I’ve received one about banning BP. And another detailing why banning BP stations alone will not solve the problem.

I agree with the second one. Skipping one gas station to fuel up at another will not solve the problem of our country’s dependence on oil, which is what really led to this problem.

What will help? The answer’s easy, but not fun. Stop using so much fuel! Stop driving so much. Try biking, walking, skating, skateboarding, carpooling, taking the bus.

If you are making something and run out of sugar, don’t run to the grocery store. Head to your neighbor’s house and ask to borrow some. From our experience, life is better when you get to know your neighbors.

It’s summer, and very hot where we live. Instead of cranking up the A/C, keep the temperature setting high and run ceiling fans. Close curtains and blinds during the day. In most cases, the electricity that runs the appliances in your house comes from coal- or oil-fired electricity plants.

Make sure your home is energy efficient — check your local home-improvement stores for quick fixes, such as additional insulation, that are also eligible for tax incentives.

Look into alternative energy options. Try solar panels. If there’s an alternative energy source that you feel strongly about, fund research for it.

The best way to fix our addiction to oil is to change our way of thinking and living. Try to live simpler. See if it makes a difference in your quality of life and your energy use.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to gush into the Gulf Coast, killing sea creatures and wildlife and damaging the area.

Last week we wrote about how you should keep up with what lawmakers are doing to remedy the situation. You should also write your representatives and senators, and local lawmakers as well.

Last week, the Gulf Coast Relief Telethon raised more than $1.8 million to repair the coast.

You can call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816.

There are two websites for people who want to volunteer in Louisiana —  Louisiana Gulf Response Volunteer Program and Volunteer Louisiana. In Mississippi try Volunteer Mississippi. There’s also a Volunteer Florida and a Serve Alabama.

There are lots of environmental groups and organizations that welcome donations for their efforts on the coast. Please be careful when making donations. Make sure that the organization you pick is legitimate.