Do you love sustainability, the environment, and think you’ve got impressive photography skills?  This photo contest is calling your name.  And since it’s called a contest, of course there are prizes!  You could win a FujiFilm FinePix digital camera and a trip to Guatemala.  Not too shabby.

Here are the categories:

• Forests: boreal, tropical or temperate forests
• Water: rivers, streams and waterfalls; beaches; wetlands; coral reefs
• Wildlife: insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles or fish
• People and Planet: images that celebrate communities and culture; or that depict children and/or adults conserving natural resources, including water, flora and fauna; or that show children and/or adults engaging in environmental education
• Macro Imagery: close-up or macro images that reveal the splendor of the natural world

For full details on how to enter, check out the Rainforest Alliance page.

Maybe you can snap one of these guys!!

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by Denis Faye

When I say the words “edible seaweed” to you, most folks don’t respond with a hearty “yum.” In fact, I usually hear words more akin to “yuck.” While I don’t begrudge them that, it’s still too bad. When prepared properly, seaweed can actually be quite delicious and there are several varieties with even more ways to prepare them.

Furthermore, it’s astoundingly good for you. It’s a great source of vitamin K, folate, and magnesium. It’s also a great way for vegans and vegetarians to get a non-animal-based hit of calcium and iron. But best of all, seaweed, or “sea vegetables” if you prefer a more politically correct term, are one of the richest sources of iodine, a mineral that’s an important component of two thyroid hormones with the fancy names triiodothyronine and thyroxine. Given your thyroid plays a vital role in cell metabolism, if you don’t get enough iodine, your entire body suffers.

Sea veggies are also filled with a phytonutrient called lignan – a phytoestrogen that helps regulate estrogen, making it a helpful nutrient for women. And before you guys out there stop eating California rolls for fear of developing man breasts, don’t stress. Lignan can reduce estrogen levels by bonding to estrogen receptors and weakening them.

The only real downside to eating sea veggies is that, as is the case with most ocean-based foods, they tend to absorb the vile heavy metals humankind seems compelled to dump into our seas, including arsenic and lead. The best way to avoid these metals is to buy organic. According to George Mateljan, author of The World’s Healthiest Foods, organic seaweed is either grown in contained-water environments or in open ocean environments that are protected from contaminants.

However, while all this nutritional wonderment is swell, it doesn’t do you a lick of good if you don’t want to eat the stuff, so now that we’ve got all the nutritional mumbo jumbo out of the way, let’s take a look at how to make seaweed delicious. (more…)

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Ride your next wave with an eco-conscious surfboard from Grain Surfboards.  Grain Surfboards is focused on sustainability and offers surfers an alternative to foam boards.  Mike LaVecchia and partner Brad Alexander turned to wood to create a sustainable and strong surfboard.

They have a concern for the life cycle of a product from beginning to end.  They use local cedar around a mahogany frame.  This process reduces the amount of waste significantly, leaving just a few small scraps.  Foam boards ding, dent and break, while you can ride your sustainable board for years.  Check out some of their gorgeous boards.

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So I had this plan tonight to attempt to make my own stuffed mushrooms with no recipe, just me, the kitchen and my cooking skills (she says sarcastically.)  It actually went really well and I’m happy to share it with you.  The only thing is that I got caught up in cooking and forgot to take pictures of my process.  Then I remembered, “crap, take photos,” and assured myself I’d do it when they came out of the oven.  But clearly by the absence of any photo documentation you can see I forgot once again, dang it!  Ah well, next time right?

Here’s the super simple recipe I threw together.

Ingredients:

Portobello Mushrooms

Baby Zucchini

Purple Onion

Marinara Sauce

Cheese of your choice – as long as it melts and tastes good!  Mozzarella is usually the go to.

My Method:

First I washed the mushrooms and hulled them out.  Then I put them in baking pan. Next I cut up my zucchini and onion and lightly sauteed it with olive oil.  I put the veggies into the mushrooms, poured a bit of marinara over each and topped them off with some shredded mozzarella.  Put those bad boys in the oven for about 15 minutes on 375 degrees and voila, Meatless Monday dinner is served!

See how simple that was?  And it was really quite delicious.  I’m no Martha Stewart, but I’m working on it.

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I came across this living green wall while walking in Paris.  For a moment it throws you off, but then you step back and are amazed.  I’d love to see more of these!

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