Good Economic/Ecological Practices for Consumers

Halloween is quite a challenge for zero wasters with many unhealthy treats packaged in wrappers that are difficult to reuse or recycle. So instead our household prepares our own treats in compostable/recyclable food grade wax envelopes. We also staple a note to each one so the recipient knows exactly what they are getting, where it came from, and how to properly reuse/recycle the note and packaging. And we have a nonfood option as well for kids who have food allergies. Here is the note we gave out this year with our treats: Dear Trick-or-Treater, Thanks for stopping at our house! This year we are giving out non-food treats (worry stone and $1 for your college fund)  or organic food treats for you to savor (cashews, dark chocolate almonds, or raisins) all packaged in compostable wax paper bags. Reduce, reuse, recycle! Reduce -- We need to conserve our world’s limited resources. Treats are extra special when you get just a little. So take it slow and easy and savor ev...

This is the face of great "can do" customer service as well as sustainability. This is Vince the meat manager of the Safeway at 20620 W Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014. Vince can tare your container (so you only pay for the contents) and put any of their meats into it that otherwise would go into their store packaging. Please bring your own clean container and say hi to him at the butcher counter and thank him for reducing disposable plastic waste. Thanks! BTW, ​in case you get someone not as experienced as Vince at the butcher counter, here is what they need to do to enter the tare for your container (the order here is important): Weigh container first to establish its weight Take container off scale Enter product code Hit tare button twice in upper left corner of keypad and then enter the tare weight obtained in step 1 Put container on scale Notice correct tare and net total weight at or very near zero Put product in container Print label and apply to co...

This is the new healthy and tasty chocolate chip cookie recipe I use. It is an updated Olive Oil version of the Canola oil version I did back in 2008. I've determined that olive oil is better than canola oil for a variety of reasons (local, sustainable, healthy). It now also includes making your own brown sugar instead of buying pre-made brown sugar. Ingredients 1 cup - Organic Unrefined Sugar (instead of brown sugar) 1 tbsp - Organic Molasses (instead of brown sugar) 1 cup - Olive Oil (instead of butter, my current favorite is California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin) 2 tbsp -Water (instead of butter) (Alternatively use 1 cup of softened organic butter) 2 tsp - Vanilla Extract (either natural or artificial) 2 - Large Organic Eggs 2 cups - Organic Rolled Oats 1 1/2 cups - Organic Whole Wheat Flour 1 tsp - Baking Powder, Double-acting, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate 1 tsp - Ground Cinnamon 1/2 tsp - Salt 12 ounces (0.75 lbs) - Organic Chocolate Chips, Semi-Sweet Optional:...

Why buy frozen waffles when you can make your own fresh ones or freeze them yourself? Plus in addition to these being zero-waste, they are healthier for you too. Here is my favorite easy whole wheat waffle recipe: Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 large egg 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk 1/3 cup vegetable oil Directions: Preheat waffle iron while making the waffle batter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and oil. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter may be a bit lumpy. Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron. For my Cuisinart waffle maker I cook until the steam mostly stops. Yield: 6 round standard 6.5" waffles or 3 round deep-pocket Belgian-style 7" waffles. I get my whole wheat flour, sugar, and salt in bulk in my own reusa...

Here is a super easy and tasty syrup recipe. I use this syrup on pancakes and waffles and as an ingredient to my favorite granola recipe. It is much cheaper than store bought commercial syrup and has zero high fructose corn syrup. While I love natural maple syrup, it is extremely expensive and uses a lot of fossil fuel to ship it to where I live. Ingredients: 1 cup water 2 cups granulated sugar (white or unrefined) 1 tablespoon molasses 1 tablespoon maple flavored extract Directions: Bring the water, sugar, and molasses to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Take off heat and stir in the maple extract.  Let cool until no longer hot. Store in a sealed glass mason jar in refrigerator (since it does not contain preservatives like store purchased varieties). I buy my sugar in bulk in my own reusable container from Whole Foods. However, even from a regular grocery store, white sugar is usually packaged in paper. This greatly reduces the disposable plastic from b...

2016 was busy, hectic, and I ran out of time to post on this blog. However, after working at  Harvard University ,  Bank of Boston ,  Fidelity Investments ,   Apple Computer ,  Sun Microsystems ,  Adobe Systems   and  Silver Spring Networks  (all world class companies), I decided to retire early at the end of 2016. To spend more time with my wife, family,  friends,  dogs, reading, writing, and outdoor activities.  We'll rarely remember how great it was to work late, but we'll always remember the great times we had with family and friends. To do more to make our world a better place by helping: Community:  City of Sunnyvale ,  Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum ,  Sunnyvale Community Services ,  Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church , my neighborhood association, politicians who prioritize science, environment, health, education, children, housing, equal rights, truth, and justice . Kids:  American Youth Socce...