Everyday Life…What To Do With Great Deal on Fresh Veggies

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I did not get to plant near as much as usual in my gardens this year. Thus, I am always looking for a good deal on fresh veggies. This weeks find was cauliflower and Brussel sprouts.

A great find is only good if you know how to use it. Although you can just steam pretty much any vegetable, that can be a bit bland and when you have an abundance, it helps to have a variety of ways to use it. Today I decided to roast both veggies together.

Fresh veggies need to be cleaned and cut to size for use. This will leave you with a bit of scrap but no worries! Compost is the way to deal with that. This is my compost bin which I bought before my kids were born. If you have read many of my blogs you will know they are grown, so that’s a long time. It was a very worthwhile investment.

The recipe:

Fresh Cauliflower and brussel sprouts
Olive oil to taste
Salt to taste, optional-I do mine without salt
Garlic powder to taste
Pepper to taste-I use black pepper corns
Onion powder to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste, optional for topping

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Place cleaned veggies on the baking sheet
Glaze with olive oil
Top with garlic powder, pepper, onion powder and salt if desired
Roast for 30 minutes
Remove from oven and top with parmesan cheese if desired

If the only way you have ever had brussel sprouts is boiled to death and you don’t like them, I don’t blame you! At least give this a try. You can use this recipe on a variety of veggies such as broccoli. It will also work with frozen veggies. Just cut the time in the oven to 20 minutes.

Making a Difference Going Green

Not everyone can go 100% green. Don’t give up, if everyone would just try one thing what a difference it could make.

5 principles to live greener with a few examples.

1. Reduce pollution – Use less toxic substance, chemical free products, etc.

Replace laundry soap with baking soda and peroxide
Replace fabric softener with vinegar
Replace bug spray with Mint added it to vinigar in a spray bottle. It deters most bugs and keeps ants away better – we grow our own organic mint.
Replace chemical fertilizer with compost
Replace weed killer with vinegar. It will kill the weeds without harming the soil.

2. Conserve resources – Humans are using more natural resources than the Earth can produce. We can learn to consume only what we need.

Think twice before buying, do I really need this?
Reuse items on hand in different ways
Check the second hand shops/rummage sales first.

3. Conserve energy – Earth’s most used sources of energy are limited, also saving energy means less pollution

When using your dryer, put a dry towel in each load. It cuts drying time in half!
Car pool for school or work using less gas

4. Reduce consumption and waste – Reduce, reuse, recycle

Donate to missions, who in turn donate to the needy or sell items to raise money for a soup kitchen or homeless shelter
Trade or donate books to the used book store.
Crochet totes out of plastic grocery bags.
Compost. We have a bin with a garage style door on the bottom that opens to rake out composted dirt, while still adding to it through the lid on top.

5. Protect the earth’s ecological balance

So far we have planted 9 trees on our property. Four of them are now bearing fruit every year. We harvest the lower half, leaving the top for the birds.
Grow an organic garden, herbs and vegetables.
Grow flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

These are just a few ideas that we have tried. I would love to hear any ideas that you have tried or seen others try. Please post on my site and I will most likely try them myself. My motto “Just do one thing”. Once that thing becomes routine try to add just one more thing. This might be only once a year. It’s all about baby steps, one thing you can do to change your lifestyle, instead of trying to change everything and every one at once. This will keep you from getting overwhelmed and giving up. It will also help you feel better about yourself and life in general.

The recipe:

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