GardeningNude

Why Butter Bell Bowls Are A Cool Idea – Try It - Plus a green BOOK GIVEAWAY!

 

Allergies are torture for me. I am allergic to everything from dogs to dust to trees to soy beans. No kidding. If allowed, my allergies will keep me in a perpetual state of stuffiness, sinus infections, and bronchitis.

Learning to control my mold and soy allergies have been particularly difficult. No bread, no wine, no cheese, no beer, no mushrooms, no chinese food. Sometimes I have no choice but to eat an allergen food as there is nothing else available. Mostly, I sacrifice.

Because of the lack of spreadability issue, I have rarely used real butter – I always use margarine. Recently I discovered that most margarine’s are made of soy beans. There is also a lot of controversy over margarine versus butter due to the trans fat content levels.

Therefore, I have decided to try a technique for storing real butter which leaves it soft and useable inspired by Vanessa Farquharson, author of Sleeping Naked is Green. This was a really interesting green read. Vanessa decides to make one serious green change to her life every day for a year. She learns how to turn off her refrigerator, lower the temp on her water heater, stop wasteful practices, and so much more. Part of her change of using no refrigerator was to utilize butter from a butter bell bowl.

While I am green, I am not green to the extreme. Like everyone else, I prefer taking easy, simple, baby-steps. However, this butter bowl idea holds weight because it could allow me to break my margarine addiction and possibly take my allergies down a notch. Anything to get our family healthier and feeling awesome. Besides – my mouth starts watering every time I remember the fresh taste of butter on a hot tortilla right off the griddle!

After careful research, I decided to purchase my butter bowl at Williams-Sonoma. It is surprisingly easy to use. If you look at the top photo on this page you will see butter inside the “lid” of the butter bowl.

All you have to do is turn the lid over and spoon the butter in.

Put a small amount of water in the bottom of the bowl – it acts as a seal for the butter so it will not go bad while sitting out without refrigeration. Be sure to change the water every couple of days or so.

Then turn the lid upside down and place it on the bowl with the water just covering the lid’s opening. Easy!

Without a doubt, this butter bowl has been an awesome kitchen gadget which I will now keep FOREVER. Fresh butter which is easy to spread and helps my allergies. Love it!

Three copies of Sleeping Naked is Green is sitting on my office desk right now and I will give away all three copies randomly chosen from whoever leaves a comment listing a good idea for going green in the kitchen.

Please leave a comment below before next Friday – July 3, 2009. Then follow me on Twitter (@shawnacoronado) to qualify and good luck!

THE CONTEST WINNERS HAVE BEEN RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM THE AWESOME IDEAS IN THE COMMENT AREA BELOW. AND THE WINNERS ARE – MARIANNE, KRISTA, AND GAYLA - - - CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS FOR THE AWESOME IDEAS!! 

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

 

Gardening Nude Naked Winner of the Week: Joe Lamp'l

On Friday's, Gardening Nude The Blog features a special person for the day. This person is the "Naked Winner of the Week." Every person featured in this category is a winner for doing great things for the community and trying to make a difference for the world. You can make a difference too.

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The naked winner of the week for 02-06-09 is ::drum roll please::

Joe Lamp'l for writing a fantastic book called The Green Gardener's Guide. This greening and gardening guide teaches readers how to take "simple, significant actions to protect and preserve our planet." It is a must-read guide for the homeowners around the world who want to live a greener lifestyle.

 

Life for homeowners has become complicated. It seems it is so much easier for most of us to do things the way we always have instead of performing simple acts of greening for the planet. Yet Joe Lamp'l, host of the PBS series GardenSmart and DIY Network's Fresh from the Garden, proves with his book, The Green Gardener's Guide, that performing simple acts to help keep our planet clean and healthy are easy to do.

While the book focuses on greening most specifically in the garden, I find it a  must for every homeowner who has even the smallest of properties. Millions of people own homes and all should know the basics of maintaining their property. Joe discusses easy ways homeowners can conserve water, recycle plastic, reuse products, compost food material, reduce chemical usage, and build a  greener community.

Joe's awesome guide points out ways for the consumer to save money as well. These tips include ideas to increase your home's cool factor in the summer and how to increase your home's warmth factor in the winter simply by planting trees and shrubs appropriately on your property. From grasscycling to rain gardening to planting drought tolerant plants; Joe has it all down to a simple and easy to understand science.

Greening your landscape can go a long way towards making a difference for our larger environment. Joe understands that it takes small steps to get there and is setting a remarkable example himself by showing the world how easy it is to do. Find The Green Gardener's Guide on Amazon.com and make a difference in your community today.

Thank you, Joe, for writing this book and teaching people how to live a greener and healthier lifestyle from the ground up. Your concern and caring are making a difference. You win a pat on the back and a big "Hurrah!" from GardeningNude.com - thank you for working so diligently to bring good things to the world!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blogs - www.gardeningnude.com or http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Gardening Nude Naked Winner of the Week: Naomi Sachs, Nature and Garden Healing Therapy Expert

On Friday's, Gardening Nude The Blog features a special person for the day. This person is the "Naked Winner of the Week." Every person featured in this category is a winner for doing great things for the community and trying to make a difference for the world. You can make a difference too.

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The naked winner of the week for 01-16-09 is ::drum roll please::

Naomi Sachs, for teaching the world how to facilitate health and wellness by experiencing healing therapy gardens and nature. She is the founder of the Therapeutic Landscapes Resource Center and is truly making a difference by helping people recover more quickly from illnesses on both an emotional and physical level. 

Naomi Sachs, ASLA, is the Founder and Executive Director for the not-for-profit organization, Therapeutic Landscapes Resource Center and Database (TLDB). This resource can be found at www.healinglandscapes.org. When Naomi founded the organization, she knew the healing benefits of being out in nature and wanted the world to practice better habits for helping the public heal both emotionally and physically from illnesses.

With the recent addition of the Therapeutic Landscapes Database Blog - http://tldb.blogspot.com - Naomi has been able to bring her inspirational message to more and more people across the globe. Living an outdoor experience, particularly in gardens, can heal the mind and body. 

I was so inspired by Naomi Sachs and her healing designs and group of healing  gardeners, that I wrote a feature about her and her organization in my latest book, Gardening Nude.You will find the full excerpt from the book at the end of this Friday Naked Person of the week with photo excerpts of several of her beautiful nature designs.

TLDB needs help and funding to get the message of experiencing nature for healing out to gardeners and non-gardeners alike - they have an Amazon Associates link on the blog which, if you order books through Amazon via this link, will allow TLDB to earn funding based on your orders. Here's the link - TLDB Amazon Associates Funding Link.

Thank you Naomi Sachs for founding TLDB and truly making a difference for the world. We need more love, generosity, and healing - and healing mentally and physically ill individuals is a beautiful thing to accomplish. Naomi wins a wave and a cheer from all the Gardening Nude readers for making a true difference in the world.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blogs - www.gardeningnude.com or http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

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Click the link below to continue reading more about Naomi Sachs and how she's healing the world. The write-up below is the full feature excerpt from “Gardening Nude.”

A Garden Can Be Therapy

Therapeutic Landscaping is a relatively new term that is changing the face of traditional landscaping. The term refers to fostering the mental, physical, and spiritual restoration of the human condition in a garden. Therapeutic gardens can be small or large, but all of them encourage total immersion in nature so a person can escape from illness, pain, and depression.

A therapeutic garden can be designed to enhance medical treatments, assist medical staff in giving care, provide relief for a particular medical condition, reduce stress and aggression, or simply provide a place where a busy family can go to heal and relax. A good therapeutic garden is also a green-centered garden, taking advantage of positive environmental practices.

"Remembering Ruby" Gets Five Wags From Harry the Pug!

Children need support, love, and reassurance to build positive self-esteem and good mental health. As an experienced parent, I can say this is not always easy. This type of support starts at home, of course. Living a green lifestyle and "gardening nude" means more than being outdoors regularly, eating locally grown foods, and recycling. It means building a community with strong support and positive mental health practices like this book encourages.

Reading Remembering Ruby, a children's book about how a family can live beyond the loss of a pet, reminds me of the important role pets play in most of our lives. They are loved by us, but offer emotional support for our family as well.

Remembering Ruby is a delightful little book with attractive black and white photos and illustrations. It is a true story about a boy and his dog, Ruby, and how the entire family survives Ruby's passing. It is a book that would be appropriate for any age reader and had me smiling and crying all the way through because of its beautiful and simple message.

Harry the Pug also loved Remembering Ruby and gave the book a sniff and five wags when I sat and read it to him. Afterwards he stood up in his bed, circled the same spot four times, and went back to sleep. Content.

You can find Remembering Ruby, written by Melisa Wells, on Amazon.com. I highly recommend it as a great holiday gift for a family with a dog.

Also, Melisa Wells has written a lovely blog chronicle about her experience with Ruby - http://rememberruby.blogspot.com. Please go take a look.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blog www.gardeningnude.com

Downsizing and Emotional Health During A Recession - How "The Life Uncommon" Can Help!

It is time to make lemons out of lemonade and "garden nude." By now you realize that "gardening nude" is not about gardening in the traditional sense. It is about tending to you, your family, and your community. It is a motivational push to live a greener lifestyle. It is spending more positive mental health time outdoors and with family. When financial disaster strikes, many people feel it means the end - they become depressed, isolate themselves and their family. I say do not give up hope!

Thinking positive and riding out the changes can do more for the emotional health and well-being for you and your family than anything else. It is true that our economy is forcing many people to reevaluate their standing in life and in the community. This is an OPPORTUNITY to rethink our way of living and address the daily stress we face so we might choose a better way of living.

Part of "gardening nude" is learning to accept and prioritize your lifestyle so living greener and healthier is a practical goal. One person who is achieving this more positive mindset and living the lifestyle she has always dreamed of is Nacie Carson. She wrote The Life Uncommon, a self-help guide book which teaches readers how to make a life transformation.

This little eBook is packed with a whole lot of helpful information for people who are new to the downsizing concept and want to live with more while making less. Having downsized myself, I can tell you that Ms. Carson teaches effective and positive techniques to readers. This three part guide touches on important elements to help set priorities and reach a higher level of personal satisfaction. Included are many helpful tips and suggestions for defining what it is you truly want from life, developing this desire into a new career option, and implementing a lifestyle conversion.  This is a quick read and a motivating self-help book built on the author's own experiences with a dramatic lifestyle change. Perhaps it is just what you need to motivate a fresh start moving in a different financial direction.

Nacie Carson's stirring vision for a smooth transition into a new lifestyle is a statement in reality - it is possible! Even better, this guide is listed for under $10 on Amazon.com - - what a perfect gift!

Author of The Life Uncommon, Nacie Carson.

It's easy to find The Life Uncommon by searching on Amazon.com, or go to Ms. Carson's website to learn more; www.thelifeuncommon.net.

Shawna Coronado say Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blog www.gardeningnude.com

Gardening Nude Book Signing Extravaganza

Rock Bottom Brewery in Warrenville, IL hosted a fantastic Gardening Nude book signing and America In Bloom (AIB) benefit. It was a tremendous success!

Following the great feature written by Catherine Edman in the Daily Herald (http://tinyurl.com/6fd287), locals came out in droves to support our cause.

We had lots of fun and Rock Bottom Brewery donated 10% of all the totals from our event to the local AIB organization. Dorothy Deer, the AIB Manager for our city said, "Congrats on a great event and good attendance! I was surprised at how many people showed up!"

Monday Whazzup - Gardening Nude The Book is Published!!

WAHOO! The Whazzup for the Week is exciting stuff for Gardening Nude - my book is finally published and available. I'm SO excited to bring the message of health, greening, and community to the world and hope my fans out there will order a book right away!

To learn more about the book's content and find links to order, please go here - www.thecasualgardener.com/Book.html

Before the book arrived, I had two sleepless nights of excitement. Finally - after a year of very hard work researching and writing, I can hold a printed version of my ideas embodied. WAY COOL!

Gardening Nude the book is a motivational self-help guidebook focused on teaching the world to be greener and healthier. I tell my story of how I went from taking over a dozen prescriptions a day - and being very ill - down to three prescriptions a day and feeling like a million bucks. It showcases a full length health guide as well as a home and business green conservation guide. There are multiple inspirational features on real-life people who are "living the greening life." This book is chock-full of ideas to help inspire you to get off the couch and get out the front door to live a greener, healthier, and less-stressed life!

My goal with the book is to show people that every little bit counts when it comes to conservation, that being outdoors in nature can reduce stress and improve health, and that individuals can truly make a difference in their communities. Living a greener lifestyle will make you physically and mentally healthier and help you to feel less stressed and more energetic. Go check out my brand new book today - www.thecasualgardener.com/Book.html

Remember - Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Conservation!

www.thecasualgardener.com or The Blog - www.gardeningnude.com

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