the {upcycled & recycled} UPCYCLED unlimited

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photo credits: UPCYCLED unlimited

Happy Friday!

The weekend is finally here … hooray!

This weeks feature is a funky, fresh and ECO  fabulous etsy seller…

with a knack for giving new life to items that might otherwise be tossed into a landfill…

such as the plates and cups used for the dessert tray featured above…

What an adorb upcycled treasure +  fancy reuse idea!!!

<3

“From Great Waste to Great Taste!”

Lauren Usher of UPCYCLED unlimited

is the crafty and creative artist behind all the work…

be sure to also visit her BLOG too!

NOW for a  little upcycled fashion porn…

(click on image for larger view)

love LOVE love!!!

don’t u?

from potholders to place mats to ties to buttons & belts

unique and one of a kind eco friendly purses, accessories, jewelry +decor

re purposed  just for YOU!

I heart finding uber fresh upcycled and recycled goods.

makes me all giddy inside …

delighted to share the green 411 with ya!

have a wonderful weekend!!

support handmade.

Support a Motivated Hippy!

peace. love. & happiness.

::tidbits of green:: edition #6

Hola amigos & amigas!

Hope you’re having a great week, thus far.

Welcome to edition #6: tidbits of green.

Is it, really Thursday?! Wow! Another week gone by all too quickly.

Guess; that’s summertime for ya!

anyway, without further ado …let’s get to some linky L. O. V. E.

shall we?

• I just replanted radishes…this recipe sounds tasty!
• Grow Your Own Food: It’s Simple  (& satisfying)
• Get outdoors! Summer: A Public Service Annoucement
• 0-60 in 10 seconds… whoa baby! e6: Build Your Dream with Zero Emissions!
• 13 (GREAT)  Tips for Traveling with kids…
• Here’s a little refresher… 10 Simple Tips for Green Living
• Foggy glasses (so, the CASE here!)? No worries…toothpaste to the rescue!
• What’s your take on drinking fountains?
• uber cute idea & it will put a little green in your picnics!
• BPA tainted receipts… AND does BPA absorb into the skin?

That’s all for this week, folks! Enjoy

Have a fabulous Thursday & remember to think green!!

{Happy WW} You’re the cutest things that I ever did see…

Wordless Wednesday!

Keep the Bugs Away: Natural Solutions!!

Hi, friends!

Hope you’ve had a great Tuesday!

Tis the season to play outdoors, go camping, spend afternoons by a river, lake or stream or soaking in the summer sun and having fun.

Tis the season for bugs & pests too!!

Us humans, aren’t the only ones who love summer…

In just a few weeks, we plan to go camping and one thing we try not to leave the house without is bug spray. Do you have fond memories of coming home with a knarly mosquito bit that itched like the dickens??  OUCH… I do!

I also remember dousing myself in bug repellent …HA! I still had bug bites. I totally remember having to spray my face and not liking that part…  it wasn’t until just a few years ago someone told me that it was a no-no! and sure enough it said so, right on the bottle.

Ooops!

In the last few years, since, we’ve became more aware about natural and non toxic products, we’ve learned that DEET free bug sprays are the way to go. The skin is the largest organ of the human body; why ruin it with  toxic chemicals!

What is DEET?!

It is the most common active ingredient in bug repellent. Many conventional bug repellents contain harsh and potentially toxic chemicals…ewww!  One of these chemicals is known as DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), which is thought to be harmful to the brain, especially in developing fetuses and young children.

DEET can be easily avoided by using natural herbs and essential oils known for their bug warding powers!

A few summers ago, I made lavender saches using dried lavender from the health food store. I took about 2 tbsp of lavender and wrapped it into cheesecloth making little balls. I believe I made two of them and hung them in our tent. From what I remember we did not have an issue with moquitos invading the inside.

Patchouli oil is one of my favorite fragrances because it’s so earthy and woody. Most people equate the smell with a dirty hippie but think of patchouli oil as a powerful mosquito repellant.

Another great essential oil is Peppermint, put on a  couple dabs at the start of the day and remember to keep reapplying it (as with all natural insect repellents- essential oils).

Recently, I also learned that lemon thyme is a great natural repellent…and it just so happens we have some growing in our garden!! Sweet!

A little tidbit about lemon thyme:

“Crushed lemon thyme has 62 percent as much repellent effectiveness as DEET, and some stufies indicate that traditional thyme repels mosquitoes even longer than DEET.”

You can also make your own; which we’ve done this in the past too!

Here’s a recipe!

When making this natural bug repellent, use:

• 10-25 drops (total) of essential oils
• 2 tablespoons of a carrier oil or alcohol

Directions:

Mix the essential oil with the carrier oil (EVOO, Sweet Almond Oil, Coconut Oil, GrapeSeed Oil etc.) or alcohol (vodka or witch hazel). Rub or spray the natural insect repellent onto skin or clothing, using care to avoid the sensitive eye area. You’ll need to re-apply the natural product after about an hour or after swimming or exercise. Unused natural insect repellent may be stored in a dark bottle, away from heat or sunlight.

Don’t have any essential oils or herbs lying around?

Don’t fret. Natural insect repellent is available and does work!!!

Currently, we use..

Buzz Away Extreme

Repels: Mosquitoes, Gnats, Blackfies & Ticks!!

Has 4-8 hour protection and is sweat and water proof.

It is made up of gernium, cedarwood, Citronella, Peppermint and  Lemongrass… + other additives!

I looked up this product at the Skin Deep Database and did not find a rating but one other product from the manufacturer (liquid gel- canker care) is rated a 4!

Hard to say, what the rating would be on this… but I suppose, it’s better than spraying your body and face with DEET.

sheesh!

We’ve used Buzz Away, Burts Bee’st and essential oils for the past few years and we’ve found that Burts Bee’s does not work at all.

Buzz Away and the other alternatives we’ve attempted have worked very well. The Buzz Away Extreme, doesn’t have a foul smell and is actually pretty pleasant.

It’s kept the bugs off,  on numerous trips and I highly recommend it over the conventional stuff; like OFF.

I say BUG OFF, to that crud!!!

We’ve noticed that if you’re more diligent about spraying it on it works even better especially when you’re next to marshy area where the mosquitoes/bugs love to breed and hang out.

Oh! and another thing I’ve done for years and have always heard is to eat less sweets before you go camping and take garlic pills a week before and during your vay k…also said to help keep the buggers away!

What green tips do you have for keeping the bugs away?!

Have you tried any natural insect repellents?

What works for YOU?

{Meatless Monday} Banana Berry Hemp Butter Lettuce Wrap!

Hello lovelies!

Happy Meatless Monday!

Yesterday, I was in the kitchie doing a lot cooking and uncooking up a storm! I had 2 kinds of beans in two different crocks…black and lentils. I also made more coconut lime cookies, hemp seed butter, and cut and sliced up two watermelons, a cantaloupe, carrots, and celery!

It was a busy day! On top of that, I did some laundry, cleaned the bathroom all while the hubby watched the boys and tended to the outside of our home. It worked out really well. I took a few breaks to enjoy some much needed sunshine though which is when I realized my neighbors were BBQ’ing (it also smelled like they were cooking something in a crockpot too!).

Yesterday, our meal theme seemed to be tostadas/open faced taco related … breakfast… lunch… and dinner!  I didn’t intentionally plan out this way but funny how things work out.

It started with brekkie; where I made what I’m calling a banana berry butter tostada aka lettuce wrap  (see pic above)… then at lunch we had hummus tostadas and for din-din we had black bean tostadas with fresh gauc! See, I told ya, it was a tostada day.

All three versions were refreshingly yum for summer meals.  I wish I would have taken a photo of the black bean tostadas…damn! I was so proud of myself for not frying the organic corn tortillas in oil. I decided to use the toaster oven instead and was so happy with the results.  I put the toaster oven on broil and let them heat up until they were crisp and a little browned but not burnt by any means. No fuss, no mess and a crispy tortilla.  Anywho, I digress…

back to the main feature…

The idea for the banana berry butter lettuce wrap  came from Kristen Suzanne. Kristen is a raw vegan chef and has her own website known as Kristen’s Raw where she blogs about raw vegan foods and shares recipes. I happen to follow her updates on Facebook and  a few times she’s mentioned having something similar to the banana berry lettuce wraps.  I couldn’t locate the update in which she has the ingredients… but it went something like this…

(all organic, of course!)

cashew butter on a piece of romaine with sliced bananas for breakfast…yum!

After seeing the update it’s been stuck in my head since. I’m a huge banana and almond butter fan so, to say the least, I had to give this a try. Plus, it seemed like a quick and easy meal.

QUICK + EASY = SOLD!

So, while I was in the kitchie gettin’ all my ingredients together I realized we did not have any cashews… (could have sworn) so, hemp butter it was. Yes!  Hemp butter and NO! you can’t smoke it…haha!

If you have unhulled hemp seeds in your pantry just process them down into a butter…it only takes a few minutes. It’s very, very, tasty and VERY nutritious. The hemp seeds turn into a beautiful green color which in turn makes buttery GREEN goodness… it was SO meant to be! haha!

After the hemp seeds were pulverized down into a butter using my food processor; the rest of the recipe was a cinch! I also figured it wouldn’t hurt to add in the fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market…so in they went!

Banana Berry Hemp Butter Lettuce Wrap

2 leaves of Romaine

1 banana sliced

2-3 strawberries sliced

1/2 cup of hemp butter

sprinkle of cinnamon

And if you want you can sprinkle on some hemp and chia seeds for a little extra nutrition punch.

Directions:

Take your romaine leaves and using a knife, smother them with hemp butter or nut/seed butter of choice.  Next, add in sliced bananas and strawberries. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon, fold together and enjoy! These lettuce wraps are so filling and delicious. Believe it or not,  both boys ate them right up! I could not believe it. They LOVED it.

Too cool!  Honestly, this would be a great meal any time of the day or snack!

Thank you, Kristen, for all your wonderful raw vegan meal ideas!!! This one is definitely a keeper.

YUM!

I also made more Coconut Lime Cookies. I made a small batch of them last week but they were so damn good I had to make more.

& because I was once addicted to cereals….I found a little way to make these cookies into a fun bowl of yummy cereal. I confess, it was a late night snack, but nonetheless, a healthy one.

I crumbled up a couple cookies and poured homemade hemp milk over them…HOLY MOLY…it was like I was back in Fruit Loop heaven. SUPER good and no guilt!

Sarma’s Coconut Lime Cookie, Living Raw Food

Alone, these cookies are fantastic and remind me of  Key Lime Truffles from See’s Candy. Back in the day, my husband Tyler, would spoil me with a box of Key Lime Truffles from See’s …and guess what… I’d eat them all up, every single one! *gulp*  Shameful, I know.  I MUST say, lately, anything too sweet, like, fake sweet is starting to taste like CRAP. Seriously. Slowly but surely this candy craving of mine is diminishing. YAY!  Pass me the greens, please….

The hubby and I have had numerous discussions about our newly clean diet (approx 6 mos +) and we’re really starting to notice a difference in the way we feel as well as when we eat something that’s processed, refined, fried…etc. It’s been an amazing journey for us and I love comparing notes about how eating less meat and including more and more greens into our diet has made a significant difference.

On Friday night, we were craving a good stir fry meal and by accident my poor hubby added a little too much water so it really steamed down the veggies and made them mushy!  Of course, we all know stir fry veggies are usually a little firm and al dente, if you will… lol!

It was a tiny sweet mistake but in the end we both couldn’t believe we truly, in our heart of hearts, wanted our veggies closer to raw and the mushy-ness factor was not pleasing…even though we ate as not to waste food. It was great knowing this though.

AND then all weekend after this mushy dinner… I was craving celery!

Is that weird?! Haha! (NO, I’m not pregnant!)

Alrighty, well, I’ve gotta run…

looking forward to tonight’s yummy’s

Mushroom Burgers and Quinoa Pistachio Salad…

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!

and as always, please feel free to share any meatless recipes in the comments or on our Facebook page!

What are you having?