“I’ll give you my tuna fish sandwich if you give me your fruit roll-up.” Sound familiar? The old cafeteria game of swapperoo enters the virtual realm on a host of new swap websites where one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Websites such as Swap Tree, Swap Ace and Swap Bot help eco-minded people looking to give their things another chance at life while simultaneously reducing their own footprint by not buying new items. Reducing consumption is an great way to cut down on the use of raw materials and the energy used to manufacture them…not to mention lightening the load on landfills.

Let’s get swapping!

With the heat of the summer fully upon us, those of us lucky enough to have a garden or live near a farmer’s market are reaping the rewards of the summer harvest. Making snacks from fruit and veggies fresh from the garden is a great way to teach kids about where their food comes from…and may also be just the trick to get picky eaters to try new foods! Bring your kids along to the farmer’s market or the garden and discuss how vegetables and fruit are grown as you make your selection.

Try out these fresh from the garden recipes that your kids will not be able to resist!

Mini Pizzas

1 Tomato chopped

Several leaves of basil chopped

1 Tbsp Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Mozzarella or parmesan cheese

Several slices of toasted bread

Combine chopped tomatoes, basil and olive oil in a bowl. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Place one spoonful of mixture on each slice of toast. Top with cheese and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly.

Tip: Add any additional veggies as toppings to make your pizza even more nutritous!

Smoothies

Making smoothies is a great way of using up those items in your fridge that are in what I call the “use it or loose it” category. Creative combinations of fruit (frozen or fresh), juices, veggies, yogurt, milk, grains such as oat bran or wheat germ, sugar or honey, nuts and even peanut butter can make delicious blends of smoothies. If getting your child to eat vegetables is like negotiating peace in the middle east, try sneaking in some carrot or celery and chances are they will drink it up without batting an eye.

Try some of these recipes from KidsCookingActivities.com or simply invent your own!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 cups orange juice

1 banana, cut in pieces

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

Add ingredients together in blender and blend until smooth.

Kiwi and Raspberry Smoothie

2 kiwis peeled and cut in half

1 cup raspberries

1 cup yogurt

½ cup milk

1/2 cup ice cubes

Add all together and blend until smooth.

Mango smoothie

2 soft mangoes

1 cup of milk

2 bananas

1/2 cup of strawberries

1/4 cup coconut (optional)

Add to blender and mix till smooth

Rachel Carson Wildlife Reserve

Hey Green Parents!

Summer vacation is here at last! As your kids embark on their three months of freedom, you can keep their minds, bodies and souls engaged by taking them to visit a wildlife refuge. Across the country, tucked away in Bayous and canyons, estuaries and marshes, hundreds of wildlife refuges are open to the public. These pristine sanctuaries are living and breathing classrooms of ecology and are a rare opportunity to see ecosystems in there unadulterated state.

I recently ventured to the southern Maine coast and visited the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is scattered along 50 miles of coastline, but accessible in the town of Wells. A well maintained trail guides visitors through woods and along the periphery of estuaries and salt marshes. Young visitors can observe migratory birds species nesting and listen to the reeds rustle along the banks of the salt marshes. This is a great opportunity to write and draw in a nature journal, play “I Spy” with native flora and fauna or learn about the local ecosystem.

To find a wildlife refuge in your area, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services website, and be sure to check out their ideas for visiting with kids.

Most food travels more than 1500 miles to get to you plate. That means a typical three–course meal, with each course containing at least one ingredient—plus cooking oils, herbs and spices—travels almost half way around the world before it ends up in your mouth. The ships, trucks, trains and planes that transport our food burn tremendous amounts of fossil fuels all along the way. The typical American meal contains, on average, ingredients from five or more countries outside the United States. Asparagus makes it’s way to your plate all the way from Peru. Bell peppers often come from The Netherlands, Clementines from Spain, and blueberries hail from as far way as Chile, Argentina and New Zealand!

Green Challenge: Become a localvore and eat locally

When you go to the supermarket, check the label to see where your food comes from. If it says that it comes from your state or a state that borders yours, that’s a great first step. But if you really want to make a difference, shop at a farmer’s market, where you will find fresh, healthy, locally grown food. And, chances are, you’ll get to meet the farmer who grew the food and have the added satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the families and farms in your community.

Check out this Seasonal Ingredient Map to see what’s fresh in your area.

Green Tip: You can really eat locally by growing a garden right at home. All you need is a little plot of land, a terrace, or even a windowsill will do.

Here are some tips for keeping your family protected from harmful rays all summer long:

• Avoid products with bug repellent. Mosquitos aren’t usually out in the heat of the day, and the mixture of the ingredients leads to greater amounts of the pesticide soaking through the skin.
• Check the bottle for an expiration date. Sunscreens that have been sitting around in your medicine cabinet for years won’t protect you from the sun’s rays.
• Avoid powder and spray sunscreens. Those nano-particles are more easily absorbed through your lungs than your skin.
• Avoid sunscreens with oxybenzone. In laboratory tests, oxybenzone has been shown to disrupt the endocrine system and release reactive oxygen species that could contribute to skin cancer. Up to 9% of oxybenzone applied to the skin absorbs into living tissues and blood vessels below the surface.
• Stay out of the midday sun. Summer sun is more intense between 10 AM and 4 PM.

EWG’s Top 3 rated beach and sport sunscreens:

• Soleo Organics Sunscreen Organic chemical free sunscreen, SPF 30+
• Badger Sunscreen, SPF 30
• Purple Prairie Botanicals Sun Stuff, SPF 30

To read more about sunscreens and to see how your favorite brand stacks up, visit EWG’s sunscreen guide.

On Earth Hour 2009, hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support for strong action on global warming by turning off their lights for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 will take place on Saturday March 27th at 8:30 pm local time, and you are officially invited to take part! Join the global call to action and stand up and take responsibility with millions of individuals, businesses and communities around the globe. Iconic landmarks from Europe to Asia and across the Americas will be blanketed in darkness.

Click here to learn more and to sign up.

Little Green Blog Tip: Make Earth Hour a community event! Organize your school, classroom, church or community group to hunker down together for an hour by candlelight. This is also a great excuse for a sleepover with friends…imagine all the fun stories and games you and your friends can share in the dark!

Know somebody who deserves recognition for their efforts to take green to the mainstream? The Daily Green’s Heart of Green Awards honors celebrities and stalwarts of the environmental movement. Like in years past, they are looking to the public for nominations for a Local Hero. Nominating your friend, teacher or child is a great way to show your appreciation for all of their efforts in making their communities green. Best of luck!

Heating your home creates greenhouse gas emissions, whether your family uses electricity, home-heating oil, or a woodstove. In fact, heating and air–conditioning devours more than half of the energy that an American home uses. Making door snakes is a fun way to defend our home from drafts that leak from under doors and around window sills.

Here’s what you can do:

Make a door snake that will fend off drafts, keeping rooms warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Here’s what you’ll need:

One yard of fabric (scraps work great)

Small piece of felt or ribbon for the tongue and eyes

Masking tape

Sand or fine gravel

Scissors

Pins

Measuring tape

Fabric glue

Funnel

And here’s how you do it:

1. Measure the width of the door.
2. Cut out a fabric rectangle that is about 1.5” longer than the width of the door and 7” wide.
3. Turn the fabric upside down and fold in half lengthwise.
4. Glue the long end and one short end, leaving a 1 inch border. Make sure to leave one of the short ends open!  If needed, hold the seams in place with tape or pins until the glue has dried.
5. Use masking tape to seal the seam shut so that the sand won’t leak out.
6. Turn the material inside out so that the other side of the fabric is showing. Using a funnel, fill the snake with the sand.
7. Glue the last end shut.
8. Cut out the tongue and eyes and sew or glue them onto your snake. You can also use googly eyes or buttons if you have them. Add any other embellishments you can think of—like spots, stripes or even a rattlesnake tail!

Creating homemade decorations was my favorite holiday activity growing up. Coming up with new ways to make gift wrap, gift tags and ornaments from things found around the house and around the neighborhood was part of the challenge and the fun. With being green on all our minds this holiday season, we have an even greater reason to be resourceful and to look to nature for inspiration. Here are some of my favorite projects you and your children can do together:

Green your gift wrap:

Save money on all that gift wrap that ordinarily gets ripped to shreds and thrown away. Make your own gift wrap by sprucing up paper grocery bags or recycled brown paper. Create nature stamps by coating leaves and flowers with non-toxic paint and stamping them on the paper. You can also find treasures from outside and glue them right onto the paper, or simply color and paint your own designs. For gift wrap that is reusable year after year, try wrapping your gifts in fabric Japanese style using a furoshiki. Click here to learn how to wrap virtually any gift shape in a furoshiki. If all that tying and twisting has gotten your mind in a knot, simply secure the fabric with a bow.

Green your labels:

Gather holiday cards you have received and let you child cut gift labels and name cards for the dinner table. He or she can simply cut off the written message and keep the cover image or cut the image into sections to make little tags. You can cut fun shapes like stars, hearts and trees to give the image new life. Or attach a ribbon and viola! You have an ornament!

Green your decorations:

Bring nature in from the cold to add life to your holiday decor. Evergreens, pine cones and berries make beautiful garlands, centerpieces and accessories to gift wrap. Gather dead vines to make a wreath that will last for years. Pine cones can be placed in a bowl and splashed with cinnamon and clove to add a nice aroma, or used to hold those homemade place cards previously mentioned at the dinner table. Remember to return these items outdoors when you are done so that they can biodegrade back into the soil and become part of next year’s evergreen boughs and berries.

Hey Green Parents!

Nothing says Christmas like a beautiful tree covered in chemicals, right? Wrong! Sadly, many trees, that timeless symbol of Christmas, are dangerous to your child’s health. Some farmers use 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants, when growing christmas trees. The good news is that there are now a number of tree-farms that sell pesticide-free trees, so ask your local Christmas tree seller, or search for an organic tree farm near you.

If you want to go the extra mile and ensure lasting memories, you can purchase a tree with roots still intact. Once the holidays are over, you can plant the tree in your backyard or donate it to a local organization and watch it grow for years to come. To learn more about trees with their roots intact, click here.