Made an organic fresh squeezed juice this morning with red kale, apple, lemon, ginger and celery and it came out looking very colorful indeed.  Reminds me of rainbow sherbet.    Except, it doesn’t taste like delicious rainbow sherbet.

Anyway, I am still very much addicted to my Breville juicer and I think I found a new healthier routine to my usual cup of coffee….

Happy Friday!   Here are some of my favorite tips from this week’s Do Just One Thing syndicated column:

1. Here’s a weird (but financially fruitful) recycling tip: ever wonder if old gold teeth and crowns are recyclable for those cash-for-gold programs?   They are.   The GoldBox (http://www.goldcrown-recycling.com) will take any size, any quantity and any quality of gold false teeth whether it’s a single crown or a whole gold bridge, even if there are teeth still attached.    Just fill out a form on their website, send it to them, and they’ll send you a check for the value of the gold based on current market gold rates.
2. Save the skins of fresh lemons the next time you cook and use them to actually help preserve your perishable food to last longer.    Olive oil, which can be very expensive and has a shelf life around 6 months, can be extended by simply inserting a lemon rind or two into the bottle.   It will also help taste fresher when you cook with it.    Also, to help keep brown sugar from turning rock hard, insert one or two peels into the bag to  keep it fresh and soft.
3. If you’re thinking about sending a fruit basket as a gift to someone, consider purchasing your gift from Donate Fruit (www.donatefruit.com).    For every gift of fresh fruit you purchase, they will match your purchase—pound for pound—with a donation of fresh fruit to a food bank organization.  Started by the Naumes family in 2009 in response to the growing epidemic of hunger in the United States, your gift can give twice and help fight hunger all while delivering a fresh picked delicious basket of fruit to your recipient.
4. National coffee chain Starbucks is helping to make going greener a lot easier.  In an effort to reduce waste of disposable coffee cups, Starbucks is now selling a $1 reusable cup modeled after their iconic paper cups with plastic sip lids.   Customers who use the reusable cup will also be rewarded with a 10-cent discount for each refill; use it 10 times and it pays for itself.    And in an effort to reduce waste from plastic gift cards, a new mobile ap for your IPhone, Ipad or Android phones lets you pay for order directly with your phone.  No waste and no fuss.
5. Many of us place our trash on the curb the night before its picked up by collection trucks, but what we may not realize is that many wild animals like foxes, raccoons and even pigeons feed off our trash.   Many wild animals look for scraps like chicken bones, pieces of meat, and any leftovers from last night’s casserole.   This can not only lead to strewn trash all over the street, but it can kill wild animals, too.  Save non-recyclable containers whenever you get takeout to store leftover food inside and seal shut.    If it’s impenetrable to animals, it will also help to prevent scavenging and help wild animals, too.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 25th, 2013 at 1:22 am and is filed under Current Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.