The Greening of Gavin

Archives for September 2015

TGoG 127 – Not Keeping Up With the Jones’s

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Today is International Podcast Day so in the spirit of the day, Kim and I co-hosted an episode about something that we are quite proud of.  Proud of not keeping up with the Jones’s, especially when it comes to our home, furnishings, and garden.  Not anti consumers, but conscious consumers leaning towards home producers.

Join us as we chat about how we are not keeping up with the Jones’s in all the things we do.

Not Keeping up with the Jones's

Our House

From our humble beginnings living in a Navy married quarters, to choosing an affordable home, and then living within our means (after our little crazy consumer phase).  We talk through it all, and how we are not influenced by others and avoid the rat race.

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to the show using the buttons above via your favourite podcatcher app on your chosen mobile device, and if you have the time we would love to hear what you think of the show via an iTunes review and rating.  It’s as easy as pie and Kim gets very excited when we get a review!

How to Make Salad in a Jar

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With summer approaching here in the Southern Hemisphere now that we are past the Vernal Equinox, it is time to start thinking about foods that take us out of our winter long hibernation.

Salads are a great dish with which to do that, but how many of you have made up a salad only to find that after a few days it goes limp in the fridge or doesn’t transport very well.

Well never fear, Kim to the rescue.  Yes, Kim has found a solution that will fix all your salad woes.  It’s Salad in a Jar!

Salad in a Jar

Salad in a Jar

In this post, I am going to step you through the process of making one of these most excellent salads.

Salad in a jar

Firstly select whatever vegetables you have in the garden or fridge.  Chop them up into bits ready to complete your salad.

Cooked Pasta swirls

Cook up some organic pasta and allow to cool.

950ml Ball Mason Jar

Grab a few 950 ml (1 quart) mason jars and make sure they are thoroughly clean.

Salad dressing in jar

Add 2 Tablespoons of your favourite dressing.

Hard vegetables

Add the hard vegetables first like onion, celery, cabbage, and carrot.

Capsicum layer

Then add cucumber, red and green capsicum (bell peppers).

Corn layer

Add your cooked pasta and some sweet corn kernels.

Meat Layer

At this stage we add some cooked meat tossed in a separate dressing.  You can add chicken, salmon, prawns, crab meat or if a vegetarian, you can add chickpeas, lentils, or beans.

Lettuce and Cheese

Then add lettuce leaves, sliced avocado, and grated cheese (homemade of course).

Once the jar is fully packed, screw on the lid tightly and store in the fridge until required.  They will last up to a week like this and still maintain its freshness.  No limp leaves or soggy capsicum!  I have no issues when transporting this meal to work in my backpack.

Salad in a Jar

To use it all you do is turn it over top to bottom a few times to mix through the salad dressing, then pour out onto a large plate and eat.  Brilliantly simple in its execution!

Kim estimates that by using a light dressing the total energy for this balanced meal is around 550 calories (2300 Kj).  Pretty good, and these meal are already helping me to shift my excess winter weight as well as extra walking.

What do you think?  Will you or have you given salad in a jar a try?

TGoG 126 – Why We’re Passionate about Little Green Workshops

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Today I had a revelation.  I realised that if Kim hadn’t gone along with me at the beginning of my green epiphany, we wouldn’t have started our sustainable living journey nor started our small green business, Little Green Workshops!

And you know what?  I gave her a big hug, a loving kiss, and thanked her from the bottom of my heart.  I love what we do and am glad we are both excited about where this journey is taking us.

Passionate about Little Green Workshops

Gavin and Kim – Little Green Workshops

During this episode we talk about why we are passionate about Little Green Workshops with our friend Emma Sutcliffe, and also discuss how we believe we are converting consumers into home producers one simple living kit at a time.

You know, it wasn’t until I’d listened to this episode a few times that it clicked. It dawned on me that this is exactly what we have been doing over the last couple of years.

We’re changing people’s behaviours from consumers of goods, to that of producers of goods in a more sustainable way with far less waste.

That can only be a good thing for the planet, right?

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to the show using the buttons above, and if you have the time we would love to hear what you think of the show via an iTunes review and rating.

If you have a passion about green living too, don’t forget to head on over to Little Green Workshops and check out what we talked about during the episode!

You might just find something that turns you into a home producer as well.

Passionate about Little Green Workshops