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Sustainable Seafood logo of the Santa Barbara’sAs important as agriculture is, aquaculture should not be assumed second to it. It anything, aquaculture is just as important in its role today to as not only does it work to supply the world’s growing population with food, it actually helps reduces the impact of direct fishing from the wild and opens job opportunities to the people living in coastal areas. <




In keeping with Monday's post about taking action, the challenge for this week is to get yourself in gear on a sustainable change. There's something in your head; you've been pondering the need, but procrastinating on the action. You're not sure it's worth it, or where to start, or if it matters, or how time-consuming it will be. You can't quite let it go, though. It's one of those pesky little ideas like a housefly. It won't go away, and it won't hold still long enough for you to kill it.

Hence, the week's challenge. Handle the housefly by doing something about it other than just being annoyed. Don't worry about perfecting the plan, completing the research, or getting everything set up just perfectly. Don't worry about doing it all right the first time. Don't worry about having enough time. Just think it through enough to know what the first step is (you probably already know that, don't you?) and then




Mason Bee House

In life, we often take for granted the little things, yet at the back of it all, it is those little things that truly matters.


I mean how many times have we noticed insects to be more than just insects?


Well today in honour our beloved and irreplaceable champions of eco-sustainability, I thought I’d dedicate a post to the unsung heroes and often neglected little defenders of Mother Nature- the busy bees….


So why are bees important? Aside from being the very creatures that allow for us to indulge in the eco friendly practice of



The countertops in this green kitchen are Baja by Caesarstone.

Some of us are due to serve hard labour very soon this festive season- well in the kitchen that is. Yes it is that time of year again. It is time for us to put on our chef’s hat and get busy preparing that wonderful Christmas Lunch/Dinner!


I’m not sure if it’s something to rejoice about or to cry about because truthfully it is a lot of work but it always seems so worth the while once you see all your loved ones gathered together laughing, smiling …enjoying themselves over it.


For those unfamiliar with the kitchen, cooking isn’t just cooking. There are a few steps to go through before that delicious stuffed turkey or handsome meat pie can appear on the dinner table. It isn’t all about mix, mash then dump into the oven.


Basically cooking any meal will take you through the following steps, and in the spirit of green Christmas, I’m going to share with you some simple ways to turn those steps…yes you guessed it! – GREEN!



Organic Spearmint Swirls by Pure Fun

We all love the festive season and since October it’s just been one after another starting off with Halloween, smoothing through Thanks Giving and now vast approaching Christmas!


Now if your kids are anything like those I have running around each family celebration, then you probably understand when I say kids don’t just see the festive season as a holiday with the privileges to presents, they also see it as the right to eat as much of anything that they like. (As through somehow grandparents exist to enforce that right)



Roses

Family gatherings are nice, but if you’re hosting…then at the end of it you’re going to feel like you’ve just been swept through and through by a whirlwind. It’s absolutely exhausting yet somehow you just don’t feel it until you’ve wave your last guest good bye and you plunk yourself down on the sofa.


All that week of planning, setting up, cooking, hosting then now the cleaning, whilst emotionally rewarding can really leave you all worn out with unsightly physical traits like dark circles and sallow skin to show for it.


Well the rich and famous have a remedy for that. They would simply just drop by a luxurious spa to claim their self reward of a relaxing, rejuvenating and invigorating treatment for that job well done. But since the lot of us doesn’t exactly cash in paychecks with as many zeros, that sort of luscious spa treatment after each event might not exactly be something we can lay out hands on without risking the need for a second mortgage…



Clitoria Flower

This festive season has got me reminiscing about my childhood and the good old days when the weather was fairer tempered, nature more appreciated and life less complicated.


These days everything is about packaging so food doesn’t just serve to delight the tummy, it’s got to delight the eyes as well. That means the more colours and the brighter they are the better! Which coherently also means more toxic because we’re talking about the use of synthetic food dyes!


Just as in nature where those vibrant coloured frogs are lethal little creatures of the rainforest, well so are the hyper-coloured cupcakes of our concrete jungles.


So for those of us who care about how harmful synthetic food dyes are to our health and that of our loved ones (especially the children- kids are suckers for colours), we’ll go out and make sure we buy bottles of ‘natural and organic’ food dye.



Colette's Tye Die with Flowers Cake

I can’t say I’m a great fan of cake eating but I will say that I am a great fan of the fancy flour art- Those beautiful edible creations that take such delicate skillful hands to achieve seem to have the uncanny ability to have us all pressed up against the glass in admiration for it.


From cakes to cookies, brownies to cupcakes, they all come adorned with the most beautiful decorations, in the fanciest of designs. Gone are the old days when cakes were just round, square or rectangle. These days they are everything you can think of them to be- a moose, a portrait of your father (honestly a bit disturbing to sink your teeth into but that’s just me), a miniscule version of your favourite Prada shoes, a scene of faeries dancing in the woodland’s winds…absolutely anything!


And if the sculpting itself is not enough to take your breath away, just think about the colours! They come in every colour under the sun and in tones brilliantly more vibrant than what could possibly exist in nature!



Learn more about going organics at Organic.org


Let’s face facts. One of the main reasons why convincing the world to go green with organics is such an uphill battle is the expensive cost of such products.

Plain and simple, organic is not cheap. The cost of it is not just slightly more than normal products; often it is many times more which gives birth to the perception that the ability to lead an organic lifestyle is more of a luxury, affordable only to those with the larger paychecks.

Everyone knows organic products are good. It is likely that when you talk to someone and you tell them about the benefits of going organic, they are going to full heartedly nod their heads in agreement with you.

That however doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to jump on the band wagon and automatically go organic. Not when the answer to the practical question ‘Are organic products more expensive?’ is still ‘generally yes’.




It’s not just the poor economy that turns people to homemade, handcrafted gifts this season. Instead of purchasing more unnecessary goods this gift-giving season, why not use what you have and create beautiful items you know your recipients will use, and love. 
  • Homemade Jewelry: Homemade jewelry does require some skill to make, especially more intricate pieces, but jewelry is a notoriously heartfelt gift, even more so if it is personally crafted. Craft supply stores feature a wealth of beautiful beads and materials for earring, necklaces and bracelets.  If you don’t feel comfortable making your own jewelry cites such as Etsy are great ways to find hand-made crafts and gifts from individual artisans. Not only will you receive a completely unique gift, but you’ll also be supporting small craftspeople and local economies.  

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