March is Green

It’s hard to believe March is already here.  I know many of you are looking forward to Spring and all the season offers.  Thoughts are turning to spring cleaning and renewal.  Many people are already looking at ways to have a healthier and “greener” life – choosing  to use fewer chemicals in their homes, using low or no VOC paint, eating healthier and resting more.

At The Larkin Painting Company, we’re going to highlight several fun and green topics during the month of March.  It’s my pleasure to share with you the things I’ve found while trying to include more healthful things in my life.  We have two fun, green treats today: a homemade house refresher using vodka and a cool smoothie recipe.

Let’s get to the smoothie first. Some folks have splurged for the all-mighty Vitamix, others use an immersion blender and still other folks (including me) use the trusty old-fashioned blender.

It’s Smoothie Time

1. One cup of more of a juicy fruit (this is for the smoothie ‘base’)

Grapes can be red or green
Peeled citrus fruit
Kiwi
Watermelon
practically any fruit you can think of using

 

2. Spinach, Parsley or Kale (or any green you enjoy)

You can start with one cup or two or load up as much as you like

 

3. Frozen Fruit-You can use 1.5 cups or more.  Try to make sure there are no added sugars to the frozen fruit. 

Strawberries
Blueberries
Mangoes (I find Trader Joe’s has great frozen mangoes)
Peaches
Pineapple (these have a bite so you don’t have to use much)

 

4. Supplement-One Scoop of  something like Trader Joe’s Super Greens Powder or flax or a vitamin mix-whatever you prefer or you can skip the supplement.

5.  Blending ease

To get things to blend more easily some people use unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, yogurt or plain water.  You decide.

Really a smoothie can be anything you like.  You should simply adjust for your specific taste.

This base recipe comes courtesy of Gina DiCello of smoothiebeast ( http://wttmb.tumblr.com/post/14569251480/smoothiebeast).

 

A Fresh Smelling Home

After a winter of being closed up, we all like to add some freshness to our homes.   This recipe is sure is sure to smell great because you create it.  You can make as many as you like in all kinds of combinations to fit your different moods.

Non-Toxic Room Spray

Kimberly Allara created this recipe for a  non-toxic room spray.  It’s featured in this season’s SparrowMag (www.sparrowmagazine.com/issue03/).

Now for the vodka air freshener.  I bet you are curious; I know I was.  It turns out vodka has a lot of uses:

~½ cup vodka

~½ cup water

~and up to 25 drops of whatever essential oils you like.

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and spritz several times.  And that is that.  Simple, yes?  One warning: Do not inhale this spray directly and spritz away from your body.  As for the essential oils, I enjoy peppermint and citrus scents.  There are many oils to choose from such as lemon, rose, and grapefruit.  You can combine different scents to make new ones like lotus and grapefruit for example.  Create what pleases your nose and mood.  The possibilities are endless.  Oh, you may be thinking where can I find a spritzer?  You can recycle an old bottle in your house or buy something like this from Amazon or other smaller suppliers.

I hope you were inspired by these two green treats.  These are easy ways to feel refreshed and energetic quickly.  We’ll have more to share during the weeks of March.  Happy Greening!

Warmly,

Bill