Michelle's Green Guide

• Rubbing alcohol on cloths will disinfect most surfaces and costs much less than Mr. Clean wipes.
• You can clean windows with vinegar in a spray bottle, then wipe clear with a dry newspaper.
• Clean bottoms of iodized copper pots with sprinkled on salt and ½ a lemon. This also works on rust stains.
• A solution of 2 teaspoons Tea Tree oil mixed with 2 cups water in a spray bottle, sprayed on and left, will eliminate mold spots in your shower for a month or so. Straight vinegar will do the same, most of the time.
• Rust and hard water stains can be removed with full-strength lemon juice.
• ½ tsp olive oil and ¼ c. lemon juice makes furniture polish.
• For your morning coffee – use either unbleached filters or a ‘gold’ filter, which is a mesh material that you reuse every time.
• Compost those food scraps – in a 3′x3′x3′ homemade composter or an Earth Machine.
• Disinfecting those countertops – use white-distilled bleach and hydrogen peroxide. They must be kept separate. Have vinegar in one spay bottle and peroxide in another (it must be in a dark container, easy solution put a sprayer on the bottle it came in).  Spray area to disinfect one after another and wipe dry. This has been known to work better than commercial counterparts.
• Keep in touch with natural rhythms – especially when meal planning. Keep in mind the seasons and what is currently available when making those weekly menus.  Think about food storage and planning for later, especially when considering what do do with those leftovers.  Freeze what you don’t expect to use in a few days for a quick, easy meal in a few weeks.

Here, in the fertile Willamette Valley, we are spoiled by great harvests. A question that seems to interest people, especially in the summer time is, “Where can I go to get good, local (and organic) fruits and vegetables (food)?” My family, in particular, is in interested in cutting food costs without sacrificing nutrition. So, how can we do that?

Living in Portland for 5 years has taught me the following:

• Uncle Paul’s (SE 23rd & SE Hawthorne Blvd) offers year round local produce in his open-air tent at great prices.
• Sauvie Island farmers offer many U-pick fields where you can purchase your fruits and vegetables at a fraction of the grocery cost.  We picked 6.25 lbs of blueberries from Sauvie Island Farms for $10.15. This yielded over 20 cups of blueberries, 18 of which is portioned in 2 & 3 cup bags in the freezer, with the 2 remaining cups divvied into pancakes and snacks.
• Sheridan Fruit Company is going green, and they are still the best place in town for grains. Visit them for discounts when buying in bulk, especially flours and oats.
• Cherry Sprout Produce (formerly Big City Produce) on N Albina & N Sumner.
• Co-ops around town including Food Front, People’s, and Alberta.
• Fruit stands around town… keep on the lookout! Two I know of off hand, SE Foster & SE 80th across from Fred Meyer & SE 28th between SE Steele & SE Bybee.
• Farmer’s markets… not only do farmer’s markets serve as a great place to gather good food in one place, most of the markets give out free literature including recipes and why buying local and hormone free is important. If you can stand the crowds, visit, learn and eat tasty treats.

When shopping for food, it’s important to remember that buying local is actually better than buying organic. “Why?” you may ask.

Well, I’ll tell you why. It’s more evident now with rising gas costs, but one reason for buying local is to ensure food security. If something were to happen to our transportation system (such as exorbitant gas prices) and food couldn’t be shipped the 1500 average miles food is currently shipped to get to our plates, what would we eat? We need to ensure demand for local food so that we will have local food to eat.

Secondly, buying local keeps money local instead of shipping it off to Kroger or the Walton’s. It’s been said that for every dollar spent locally, it puts two dollars back into the local economy supporting jobs and simply people.

Third, we have more control over local food. Remember what happened to Tribal Sun a few years ago when they didn’t use organic tomatoes but said they did? New Seasons quickly pulled the product from the shelves, and the product wasn’t on the shelves for about 12 months until they seemingly remedied the problem. If Kroger’s brand of organic doesn’t really use organic vegetables, how quickly do you think the items would be pulled from the shelves?

Eating great local food is often as simple as walking around your neighborhood to see who’s selling what. I would love to hear comments from people who have other ideas on how to save on primary sourced foods. Email me with your suggestions!