Lean and Green: Vegetarian Parenting
Follow me as I learn the ins and outs of raising a vegetarian preschooler and environmentalist.

Archive for May, 2008

Michael Mish Rocks!

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

I LOVE that Max is finally into music and dancing. For so long, whenever I put in a CD, he’d listen for a minute and then shoot off to play somewhere else.

The breaking moment came about six months ago when I entered our living room to find the little guy jammin’ in front of the CD player. The sight brought back memories of the episode in Seinfeld where Elaine dances for the first time, thumbs out and feet kicking. A little scary for a 30-ish woman, but pretty hilarious for a three-year old.

So I’ve been on a search to find good CD’s. You know, the kind that don’t have moms or dads pulling out clumps of hair after being asked to play a CD again…and again…and again.

Jonathan Lithgow’s Farkle McBride is pretty great, and the Putamayo multi-cultural collection has a lot to offer. Two of our favorite CD’s, however, I found almost by accident when searching for earth-friendly children’s songs.

Micheal Mish is a songwriter who writes for both adults and children. Max sings many of the lyrics from A Kid’s Eye View of the Environment all the time. Today he acted them out. He pointed to the ground and chimed, “Whatcha gonna do with all that trash? Cycle it, Cycle it!”

You Are the World to Me is so much fun! Mish becomes a gorilla in one song, and tells an endearing story about a boy and his imaginary elephant friend in another. The underlying theme is a love for animals.

I e-mailed Mish to ask if he was vegetarian, and he wrote back to say that he was. Not surprising, once you hear his music.

I don’t usuallly gush about a product, but this music got me pretty excited. I might even sneak in a boogie when Max is at school, and allow my inner-Elaine her own jam session!

Posted in Vegetarian Preschooler | No Comments »

Oprah Goes Vegan!

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Wow. This is the news every vegetarian has been waiting for. Okay, maybe not every vegetarian. Knowing the impact Oprah has on a number of our population, and being an admirer of the positive accomplishments she has made here and abroad, THIS vegetarian is pretty excited.

I confess, I don’t usually watch Ms. Winfrey’s shows and I don’t really like the glossy, not-so-environmentally friendly mag she puts out. But there is no denying that Oprah, now a household name, is on fire. If she suggests a book title, it becomes a best seller. If she wears a certain designer, racks sell out and prices soar.

After her run-in with the cattle industry years ago, it’s easy to see why Oprah might be a bit shy about publicly shying away from meat. So she lets her guests tell the stories.

Howard Lyman, a former cattle rancher, revealed the abuses of the cattle industry to a jaw-dropping female majority. Her latest guest, Kathy Freston, revealed a plan for a 21-day cleanse, in which the participant recognizes “the mother of all pillars…conscious eating.”

She points out that we take in the energy of whatever went into creating our food. Who needs to consume all that violence and suffering?

Excited as I am, I probably won’t be planting myself in front of the TV for her show anytime soon…but I’ll definitely pop into Oprah’s site again to check out all the amazing vegan recipes!

Posted in Green Tips, Nutrition, Recipes | No Comments »

Planting the Future

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

On Mother’s Day we planted a tree. It blew over the next day.

I found myself thinking about an article I read recently, written by Micheal Pollan, and titled, Why Bother? The question seemed appropriate at the time.

Why do I plant trees, or hang our family’s clothing outside, or serve meatless meals, or turn off lights, change lightbulbs, compost, use cloth bags and ugly green cups? Why do any of these things when, like the tree we planted, my lone efforts seem to be bowled over by other, more powerful forces in our world?

Then I remember why. Because I am not alone. There are many others who recognize what is happening to our planet, and many more every day who are learning.

A trip to the grocery store now almost always means seeing a cart or two loaded up with cloth bags. NPR recently aired a story about the surge in laundry line use. A couple more of our friends just swore off red meat, and are trying to eat more veggie meals overall. And last weekend, our neighbor used a small, push-behind mower instead of the riding version he has been using.

People are listening, and reading, and watching. Like Pollan said in his article, it is the people who generate a movement. Change always begins at the bottom.

That’s good news…and couldn’t we use some of that right about now?

Next week, Max and I will plant a garden and who knows? Maybe we’ll plant another tree after that.

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Making a Miniature Composter

Monday, May 5th, 2008

We have a compost heap in our backyard that we have not done much with yet. We throw food scraps on it, then cover that with the sod we dig up almost every weekend as we try to renovate our yard.
I did buy a pitch fork two months ago because I know the heap is supposed to be turned every once in a while, to let in air. Haven’t done it yet. Honestly, I’m not sure where to insert a pitchfork into what has now become known in our family as Mt. Compost.
Long story short, Max has not really seen what the purpose of a compost heap is yet, other than to feed the wildlife that trek through the yard on occasion.
So I decided to show him.

To make our miniature composter, we used:

*a one-liter clear plastic bottle (2 liter is okay, too)
*a large apple slice
*some greens, like a spinach leaf or large piece of lettuce
*a piece of styrofoam
*potting soil

1. I used the end of a sharp knife (adults only) to poke a couple small holes into the sides of the bottle. Composters need air to work well.

2. We filled a quarter of the bottle with soil, then inserted the apples, spinach leaf, and styrofoam about an inch apart from each other.

3. We finished filling the bottle with soil, leaving a couple inches from the top, taking care to hold the items up against the side of the bottle so the decomposition process could be easily viewed.

4. All compost piles need moisture, so we sprayed the soil lightly. We covered the bottle with a plant pot and put in a place safe from spills.

It’s been two weeks since we made our composter. The apple has turned yellow and the skin is folding in. There are droplets just in front of the apple, where the moisture has escaped while the apple dries. The greens have just about disappeared, and the sytrofoam remains unchanged.

We check our composter every day and I ask Max to tell me what he sees going on. His three-year old attention span barely allows a glance as he says, “Everything is dirty.”

Okay, so attention to detail is usually not the strongest quality of a preschooler. But I am hoping the love for all things gross and disgusting that kids are supposed to have kicks in soon. If this doesn’t do it, we may have to give worm composting a try!

Posted in Green Tips, Vegetarian Preschooler | No Comments »