Thanks!

Thanks to my amazing readers, I got enough votes to get my application to Top Mommy Blogs accepted in only one day! Ya'll rock! Please remember to click the button here or in the right sidebar periodically to vote for MMC on their site.

While you are there, check out some of the other great mom blogs that are listed. Top Mommy Blogs is selective so you don't have to be. Votes bump blogs up on their list and bump applicants up in line, but Top Mommy Blogs also visits each blog they list to check content, frequency of posts, etc. So next time you want to find a new blog to read, just head over to their list and browse. 

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Monday A La Mode

As promised previously, I've got some interesting tidbits to share with you that I've discovered recently. So here's the dish for today -


IN THE NEWS:

• The President of the United States will be speaking at 1:35pm EST on Tuesday, June 25, about his new plan to address climate change. Don't miss this! See the video he released below.

MOVEMENTS TO FOLLOW:

• What is slow food? Put simply, it's the opposite of fast food. Learn more about the Slow Food movement and join Slow Food USA as well as your local chapter. My local chapter has potluck dinners and other meetings, as well as our own facebook page and website. While you can donate as much or as little as you like, I joined Slow Food USA via their $5 challenge. Check it out by clicking here. 
• Moms Across America is organizing 4th of July marches against GMOs in America. For more info or to join Moms Across America, join a march, or even organize a march in your town, just click here. 
• The Story of Stuff is an online community of problem solvers that lets you weigh in on issues that matter to you. Take a stand for a "sustainable and just planet" while you participate in study programs, sign petitions you support, or just keep up with current issues. Join by clicking here. Watch the video below about bottled water in our National Parks and then head on over to sign their petition to stop National Parks from selling bottled water by clicking here. 

FRUGAL RECIPE ALERT!

• You may know that I am feel strongly about food being wasted. I believe in checking the fridge for leftovers and fresh food that's near spoiling before I plan a meal. For a great way to turn leftover rice into a sweet treat (there's also a savory option if you prefer), click here to try this recipe for calas, a traditional cajun snack that used to be sold by street vendors in New Orleans. 

LOW CARB REAL FOOD RECIPE:

• No guilt here! This recipe is great for your low-carb diet and it's all made from scratch. Remember to buy all of your ingredients locally if at all possible! Click here to get Rachel Ray's recipe for Lamb Burgers on Fennel Salad. 

DID YOU KNOW...

• According to a recent article from Reader's Digest, before WWII all crops were organic. Farmers had not yet begun to use pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. To read the complete article online, complete with a slide show, click here. 
• Recycling is great, but repurposing is even better. Before you throw anything in the recycling bin, think about how you might be able to re-use it and save a little money in the process. Example: Plastic containers filled with sand, salt, rice, etc., make great dumbbells! Fill two matching containers and weigh on a food scale or bathroom scale (depending on the desired weight) to be sure they are even. Remove any labels and use a permanent marker to write the weight on the outside of each. This is great for any container that has a handle or is small enough to wrap your hand around including 20 oz drink bottles, dishwasher or laundry detergent bottles, and cooking oil bottles.



Tea Tree Oil

• Tea Tree Oil is kills bacteria and fungus naturally so it's a great ingredient for homemade bath and skincare products. Bonus: I love the way it smells! Also look for it in organic or natural store-bought products as a natural alternative to chemical anti-bacterial agents. Other natural anti-bacterials include honey, thyme, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, orange oil, lemon oil, grapefruit oil, and lemongrass. 
• There is an easy and natural way to clean the inside of your microwave. Fill a microwavable bowl with a solution of half vinegar and half water. Microwave on high for two minutes. Next, dip a sponge in the same solution (be careful, it may be hot) and use it to wipe away the grime. 

I love to read your comments. Let me know what you like, how you feel, and if you have any suggestions for Monday A La Mode. Did you learn anything?  Please share with your friends using the buttons below for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google! Thanks!

Top Mommy Blogs Application

I just submitted my application to TopMommyBlogs.com. If you agree that MMC should be included on their list, please click the button at left to vote for me, which will boost my application and increase my chances of being accepted. All you have to do is click the button and wait for the page to load. That's it! You've voted! Thanks a billion!!!!

A La Mode

I read a tremendous amount of information each week. I love to read and mostly non-fiction. I read magazines, online news articles and blog posts, books about green living, natural remedies, farming and real food...you get my drift.  

So the end result is that I come across tons of interesting tidbits, fresh ideas, the occassional must share article, and some cool new artists and writers. Sometimes what I come across isn't new - just new to me. 

I've decided to share my faves of the moment with you. Every Monday I'l be posting them for you on Monday A La Mode. So check in on Mondays and maybe you'll find something that's new to you too! Subscribe by email in the right sidebar to have all new posts on MMC sent straight to your inbox. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

16 Year Old Discovers Green Energy Source

Each year Intel host's the world's largest science competition for pre-college students. This year's winner of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is Evie Sobczak, who has spent several years developing a process that uses algae as a biofuel. Her idea has the potential to change the world! Not bad for a teenage girl...makes me wonder what she will show us in the future. Watch her video describing her project below.

More Areas at Risk Due to Global Warming

I stumbled upon this article this morning. I was not surprised to learn that more and more areas are becoming flood zones due to climate change, but the information is disturbing nevertheless. Check out this map from MotherJones.com showing projected change in flood hazard between now and the year 2100 in the United States or find the full article by clicking here. 

Waste Not, Want Not

Do you ever find that you've been a little overzealous on your recent trips to the farmer's market?

Do you ever open the fridge to find there are five or six different types of veggies that are not going to last another 24 hours?

That was me last night.

I went looking for a snack a few hours after dinner and realized that I had a large amount of produce facing the garbage bin if I didn't use it immediately. Uh oh.

I pulled all of them out, everything that looked like it was close to gone, and decided it was time for a fritatta. Fritattas are the best way I know to use up fresh veggies.

I found that I had celery, carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, spring onions, and speckled butter beans. I decided to cook the beans separately and refrigerate for dinner the next night. Everything else got chopped up in order of hardest to softest and sauteed in butter in a cast iron frying pan.

While my daughter tossed the veggies occassionally with a spatula, I mixed a dozen eggs with a little milk and some sea salt, black pepper, and crushed garlic.

As soon as all of the vegetables were tender, I turned off the burner and poured the egg mixture over them. All that was left was to place the entire pan in the oven on 425 degrees until a fork inserted in the center came out clean. This was a large one so it took about 35 minutes to cook fully. Didn't it come out beautifully?

What I love most about fritattas is that I can do all of the cooking at night and stick the whole pan in the fridge to reheat and serve the next morning. Leftovers from breakfast make a great lunch!

Of course, for dinner tonight we had those butter beans and there was nothing to do but heat them. Served with some leftover chicken, who needed anything else? Yum!

National WHAT Day?

Have you ever wondered where some of these "national" days come from? Me too! I find it hilarious that every time I turn around it's National Something Day!

This morning I saw something about National Ag Day, which it turns out was in March, but I started wondering what was today? Let me give you a few reasons to celebrate June 12:

• Crowded Nest Awareness Day - This refers to adult children moving back home or never leaving, which seems to be a trend in America since the economy crashed a few years ago. 
• Loving Day - Not what you  might think! Celebrate the anniversary of the Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage in the United States, Loving v. Virginia.
• National Peanut Butter Cookie Day - Okay, this one is exactly what the name implies.  So use it as an excuse to make and/or eat some yummy peanut butter cookies!
• Red Rose Day - Red roses are a symbol of love and passion. Great excuse to send flowers today! Or buy them for yourself and put them where you can look at them today. After all, who loves you more than you, right?

Continue the fun  tomorrow with these holidays...

• Kitchen Klutzes of America Day
• Sewing Machine Day
• Weed Your Garden Day

Let me know if and how you celebrate any of these in the comments below! I'd love to know! 

World Environment Day (WED)

In 1972 the United Nations decided to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment by establishing World Environment Day. WED is celebrated on June 5 every year and is the final day of a year-long campaign. 

This year's campaign slogan is Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Footprint and is aimed at getting people to be aware of and act on food waste.

Think: Be a concious consumer by making shopping lists, planning meals, preparing appropriate quantities to avoid waste. Don't shop hungry and you'll avoid buying more food than you can eat before it spoils. Know the companies whose products you purchase. (A great resource are the many product guides available from Ethical Consumer.)


Eat: Eat smarter. Grow your own because you'll be less likely to waste food that you put so much effort into producing, serve leftovers before they spoil, and use fresh foods before using frozen or canned. Buy local to ensure a shorter time from field to table and food that lasts longer in your home.


Save: If you don't need it, don't buy it. And don't insist on cosmetically perfect food. You'll be helping people around the world, as well as your health, the planet, and your pocket book. 

A few stats to think about before you throw food in the trash:

• There are 7 billion people on Earth now, and that number will be 9 billion by 2050. That's a lot of people to feed.
• 1/3 of food produced in the world is wasted or lost before it reaches consumers.
• There are approximately 870 million undernourished people in the world. 
• Wasted food means hungry and undernourished people, as well as wasted natural resources (land, energy, water used to produce it) and money.
• Rotting food in landfills accounts for a significant amount of methane emissions, which contributes to global warming.

Why is so much food going to waste?

• Pests often get food before consumers do.
• In poor areas, storage facilities are often inadequate to keep food for very long.
• Ineffeciency in the supply chain often means food is spoiled before it's eaten.
• Buyers look for cosmetically perfect food so retailers throw out specimens that are less than perfect.
• Carelessly allowing leftovers and fresh food to spoil at home accounts for much of the food waste in developed countries. 
• Caterers and restaurants throw away excess food that is prepped but not ordered.

For more info on the Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Footprint campaign, click here to download the WED booklet in PDF format.

The United Nations is encouraging anyone who participates in World Environment Day to share your events, photos, etc. Just click here to go to www.unep.org/wed and upload your WED news. 

I'd also love to hear what you are doing to increase awareness and/or take action on food waste. Please leave a comment below if you're doing your part or planning to do your part!

Canon Rebel T3i Camera Giveaway

Mama Making Changes would like to welcome you to 

Greentoe's Canon Rebel T3i DSLR Camera Giveaway

Sponsored by Greentoe

Hosted by Gator Mommy Reviews

Co-hosted by:

Everything Mommyhood, Viva Veltoro, Got Giveaways, We Have It All, Sweet Inspirations Events, My Devotional Thoughts, Mama Making Changes, The Penny Hoarder, Romania and Missions, The Nurse Mommy, Gator's Kitchen

Would you like to name your own price on new cameras, TVs, appliances, baby products, and more?

Well then look no farther! You can!

Greentoe provides a great new way to shop online. You simply select your product and name your price. Greentoe will then check with their certified retailers to see if they will meet your price. The first retailer to agree gets the sale and ships your product.

There is no catch and no service fees. Your offer price even includes taxes and shipping. They also have a 14 day return policy. Greentoe just saves you time and money.

Head over to Gator Mommy Reviews to read her Greentoe Review.

Greentoe is generously giving away a

 Canon Rebel T3i DSLR Camera

 with EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens Kit!

One lucky winner will receive a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR Camera with Lens Kit!

This giveaway will end June 30, 2013 at 11:59pm.

Open to US residents only.

Good luck!

Entry-Form

~Mama Making Changes is not responsible for shipping prize to winner.~

Entry-Form