Everyone is talking about pumpkin like it’s the only worthy fall vegetable. Au contraire! Here are seven vegetables in season – right now! – that we should all appreciate more.

Summer is a delight and all, but I am far more in love with fall and winter vegetables than I am warm-weather season ones. Fall vegetables feel denser, more satiating, and more diverse. And if you thrive on a plant-based diet like me, the bulkier vegetables are the ones that carry you through life a little bit easier.

Meanwhile, there is more to fall’s bounty than pumpkin and other squash types. Here are seven other seasonal vegetables you should indulge in for their nutrition, their deliciousness, and, well, their availability!

7 Fall Vegetables You Should Be Eating

1. Beetroot

A great source of folate, manganese, potassium, and copper, beetroot contains only 43 calories per 100 grams as well as 2.8 grams of fiber, 1.6 grams of protein, and 8% of the RDA of vitamin C in the same serving. Beetroot is particularly known for its blood-cleansing abilities and has shown to acutely improve running performance due to its nitrate content.

Enjoy beetroot in this baked rosemary beet chips recipe with vegan mayonnaise or as part of this vegan beetroot barley burger!

2. Green Beans

Green beans are a good source of protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and copper. In 10, four-inch long beans, there are 17 calories, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of protein, and 15% of the RDA of vitamin C. One cup of green beans provides 10% of the RDA of folic acid and 6% of the RDA of iron, making the young green pods helpful in promoting fertility and combating depression. Green beans also protect the heart.

Add greens beans to your next salad, like to this cold pasta salad recipe with green beans, peppers, and feta cheese.

3. Broccoli

Broccoli is rich in pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin E, manganese, phosphorus, choline, vitamin B1, vitamin A, and copper. It is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, calcium, iron, niacin, and selenium. One cup of chopped broccoli has only 31 calories but packs in 135% of the RDA of vitamin C, 11% of the RDA of vitamin A, 10% of the RDA of vitamin B6, and 102% of the RDA of vitamin K . Broccoli consumption can help to prevent cancer, improve bone health, improve digestion, and protect against chronic disease.

Need inspiration? Whip up this easy vegan cream of broccoli soup or this broccoli and feta frittata.

4. Brussels Sprouts

With just 38 calories per cup and a bulky texture, Brussels sprouts are able to fill you up without weighing you down. Each cup of Brussels sprouts has 3.3 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of protein, and 124% of the RDA of vitamin C. Brussels sprouts consumption is linked to a decreased cancer risk and improved digestive processes.

Get your fix with these recipes: zesty shaved Brussels sprouts salad; roasted Brussels sprouts with a sherry wine vinaigrette; caramelized Brussels sprouts with lemon and za’atar-spiced almonds.

5. Celeriac

Celeriac, or celery root, is one of my favorite fall vegetables. It has a light celery taste but a dense consistency that makes it a versatile substitution for any of my former meat-based needs. In one cup of celeriac, there are 66 calories, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 2.3 grams of protein, 20% of the RDA of vitamin C, and 15% of the RDA of vitamin B6. Celeriac boosts digestions, destroys free radicals (they cause cancer), helps in producing and storing energy, reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and improves bone health.

Not sure of what to do with celeriac? Add it to your next soup!

6. Turnips

Low in calories (34 per 122 grams) and high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, vitamin C, folate, and niacin, turnips also make for a great low-carb alternative for potatoes – one cup of turnip contains 4.2 grams of carbohydrates compared to the 13.5 grams found in an equivalent serving of potato.

A lot of people shun the turnip because of its bitter, peppery taste. However, that shouldn’t stand in your way from the possibly best low-carb dish of your life. Choose a turnip that is the size of a tennis ball for the best flavor (the larger the turnip, the more bitter it will taste). Cooking turnips then helps to shed their bitter taste. Try this vegan beet and turnip gratin with thyme and pepper or this Moroccan tagine with root vegetables and couscous.

7. Cauliflower

Cauliflower may be my favorite vegetable on this list. There is simply so much you can do with it! An entire medium head of cauliflower contains 146 calories, 12 grams of dietary fiber, 11 grams of protein, 472% of the RDA of vitamin C, 55% of the RDA of vitamin B6, and 22% of the RDA of magnesium. Cauliflower fights cancer, boosts heart health, combats inflammation, improves brain function, supports detoxification, and improves digestion. It is also jam-packed with antioxidants.

To enjoy cauliflower, roast it whole, turn it into a casserole, bake it into a cheesy grain recipe, use it as a pizza crust, or treat it like a steak.

Related on EcoSalon
20 Inspiring Quotes about Autumn
UrbMat: A One-Step Tool for Growing Vegetables
7 Best Vegetables to Grill: Move Over Meat

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Sun drying fruits and vegetables is easier than you think. Here’s the step-by-step guide for first-timers.

I’ve always wanted to sun dry my own fruits and vegetables, namely apricots, tomatoes, and apples. And I’m not talking about drying said fruits and vegetables in a low-set oven or a dehydrator – I mean in the actual sun, so that they are literally sun-dried. Try it yourself with this simple guide.

Sun drying foods is the oldest method of food preservation. In fact, it is documented to have been used in Egypt and Mesopotamia as far back as 4,000 B.C. It is an alternative to canning or freezing, and it is both safe and easy to do.

Sun Drying Conditions

I’ve learned that sun drying is a picky process – it is only a success under select conditions: dry, clear, hot, and breezy weather. This is the climate in Southwestern states and the central plains of the U.S. and Canada. The rest of us, however, have to wait for the perfect three to seven days when we know the stars will align and we have 85+ degree heat and relatively low humidity. Unfortunately, this means many of us won’t ever have the perfect weather to participate in sun drying and a food dehydrator or oven will have to do.

11 Steps to Sun Drying Fruits and Veggies

Fruits are best for sun drying because they have a naturally high sugar and acid content. Vegetables are low in sugar and acid and thus are at greater risk for spoilage. This doesn’t mean you should avoid drying your vegetables, it simply means you should take extra care of them in process. Here’s how to prepare for sun drying:

1. Choose the fruits and vegetables you want to sun dry. In the same way you should only cook with a wine you’d enjoy drinking, only choose fruits and vegetables you’d enjoy eating, particularly when it comes to quality. This means you should start with fresh, ripe, and clean fruits and vegetables, not ones that are rounding their last leg and looking in less-than-stellar shape.
2. Wash and pit the fruits and vegetables. Depending on the size of the fruit or vegetable in question, you may have to cut it. For large tomatoes, this would mean slicing them lengthwise into thin pieces and for apricots, simply cutting them in half or fourths. The key is keep their sizes uniform so that they dry at an equal rate. For vegetables, it helps to slice them very thinly so that they dry quickly and thus avoid spoilage.
3. Pre-treat fruits and vegetables. Besides cutting and pitting the fruits and vegetables, there is a treatment process. Light-colored fruits, such as apples, pears, and apricots should be soaked for five minutes in a lemon juice and water solution to prevent browning while drying. To avoid spoilage and browning of vegetables, such as tomatoes, you can add red wine vinegar or salt to them. You could also steam blanch vegetables to halt some of their active enzymes.
4. It’s time to lay them out and start the actual sun drying! The most important equipment here is the drying rack. Small wood slats, bamboo, grill grates, and stainless steel screen mesh are sufficient for the racks. You can also use cake racks or build small wooden frames covered with cheesecloth. The key here is that the racks cannot be solid, since air has to circulate around the drying food. Meanwhile, avoid grates coated with cadmium or zinc to prevent them oxidizing and leaving toxic residues on the food.
5. Place the cut and treated fruits and vegetables on the racks in a singly layer. Put the racks in an area that receives direct sunlight and a good breeze. Avoid an area that is near animals, traffic pollution, insects, and dust. Place cheesecloth or netting around the racks to protect them anyway.
6. Turn the fruits and vegetables once per day and be sure to bring the drying trays indoors at night to prevent moisture from returning to the food.
7. Place a small fan near the drying tray to promote air circulation.
8. Wait between three days and one week for the fruits and vegetables to fully dry. Transfer the racks to a shady area for the last day or two to prevent burning.
9. Let the trays sit indoors, allowing the foods to cool.
10. Place the dried goods in a sealed container and store for one week, shaking them daily to help distribute moisture.

Optional: To further pasteurize the sun-dried foods, spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and let them bake in the oven at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Once finished and then cooled to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container.

Related on EcoSalon
4 DIY Salt Blend Recipes
Vegan Superfood Granola Recipe with Kale
Fight Food Waste with a Dehydrator

The post 10 Steps to Sun-Drying Fruits and Vegetables the Old-School Way (Duh, With the Sun, Of Course!) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Refrigerator pickled onions are a super easy way to not only preserve onions if you end up with a bumper crop, but they make for a delicious condiment too.

Pickled onions can turn the most boring salad or sandwich into a taste explosion and are so simple to make. Actually, pickled vegetables of all kinds are simple to whip up and make for quite an impressive addition to most savory dishes and snacks. Add pickled onions to a hummus-topped bagel, a boring grain-bowl, a bowl of chili, veggie tacos, baked chicken, roasted tofu, rice pilaf, and more!

Just a note of clarification: the process of pickling can refer to preserving foods through the addition of vinegar or through lacto-fermentation with salt. Both are easy, delicious, and nutritious, but for the purposes of this recipe we will be making pickled onions by adding vinegar. There are also two distinctions when using vinegar to preserve food–making quick refrigerator pickles that are meant to be stored for a few weeks at most in the fridge, or the process of canning which preserves food for longer periods of time–this recipe does the former.

Easy Pickled Onions

Ingredients

• Red onion – 1 large or 2 small
• ½ cup of apple cider vinegar – I like Bragg’s
• 1 cup of filtered water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 bay leaf
• Red pepper flakes to taste

Directions

1. Thinly slice the red onion into half moons.
2. Pour the water into a small saucepan and heat up.
3. Whisk in the sugar and sea salt. Heat up just enough to allow the sugar and salt to dissolve. Mix well and allow to cool. Add the vinegar.
4. Add onion slices to quart-sized mason jar.
5. Pour vinegar and water mixture over red onion slices.
6. Add coriander seed, celery seed, the bay leaf, and red pepper flakes to the jar.
7. Put on a lid and shake to distribute the spices.

The onions can be eaten right away, but are much better if you wait at least 24 hours before eating. The liquid will begin to take on a pink hue as the color leaches out of the onions. This is totally normal and is just a sign that the onions are going to be tasty and delicious. The pickled onions will last for several weeks stored in the refrigerator–if they last that long.

Related on EcoSalon

Pickled Onion Image via Shutterstock

The post Homemade Pickled Onions: So Good They Will Make You Cry (for the Right Reasons!) appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnA lot of things we call food waste are delicious, versatile ingredients waiting to be discovered.

We all know about whole animal cooking – the charcuterie movement to prove that offal isn’t awful. Yes, pun intended.

But what about whole vegetable cooking?

I made pesto with carrot tops recently, and while it was very tasty, I think I was exponentially more excited about how I made it than how it tasted (it was delicious). Here was a part of a vegetable that I normally discard as food waste, now at home in a new recipe! The cooking world immediately became my proverbial oyster.

The inspiration to turn food waste into pesto came from the new cookbook, Root to Stalk Cooking by Tara Duggan. No really, aren’t you excited knowing that you can finally do something with chard stalks? And come on, any person that has the genius to soak apple peel in bourbon deserves an award. Thank you Tara.

Beyond the joy of not overloading your tiny urban compost system – there’s eco-issue at play when we think about making use of the whole vegetable: food waste.

Forty percent of all food in the US goes uneaten, resulting in a whopping $165 billion in food waste each year.  The average American throws out 20 pounds of food per person every month. In 2011, 36 million tons of food waste ended up in landfills; the single largest component of US municipal sold waste. That’s bad on a variety of levels, from environmental (contributor to climate change) to social (while we’re busy wasting food, many people are starving).

Not everyone can, or if they can, is, composting, which is why programs like Hello Compost in New York are commendable, as well as city-wide initiatives that encourage people to put their food scraps to better use. But another part of the solution is being smarter about how we use our food, which is where whole vegetable cooking comes in.

Granted, pickling your kale stalks (haven’t tried it yet, but yes, it can be done) isn’t the end-all solution for our food waste problems. There are a whole lot of things that need to change, from inefficiencies in the food delivery system to a better understanding of food expiration dates. But every step in the right direction is still a step, and maximizing what we get from our vegetables is all part of it. To be able to waste food is, ultimately, a luxury that many others can’t afford.

With that in mind, shouldn’t we challenge ourselves to make better use of the ingredients that we have at home? Cooking is fun, and using a “throw away” ingredient in a delicious way can give a bit of an adrenaline kick. So be bold, be creative, and never throw a carrot top away again.

Related on EcoSalon:

Food Waste: The Average American Throws Out Every Other Piece of Food

Hello Compost Turns Food Waste Into Fresh Food for NYC Families

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Anna Brones

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It is popularly believed that raw fruits and vegetables are as healthy as it gets. However, cooking some vegetables may actually deem them healthier and more bioavailable to the body.

The fruits and vegetables that are better for you cooked than raw may surprise you. While eating vegetables raw maintains their enzymatic quality and high nutritional profile, there are some standout vegetables that are better to eat cooked than raw. Take a look at some of the fruits and veggies better for you cooked. Do they surprise you?

1. Carrots

Cooking carrots break down their tough cellular walls. It’s hard to properly chew carrots and optimally benefit from the beta-carotene content. In the body, beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A, which is beneficial for bone health, the immune system, and vision. According to a 2008 report in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, boiling or steaming carrots made its antioxidants, most notably carotenoids, more ready available to the body.

2. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are packed with lycopene, which is a phytonutrient that provides tomatoes with its red color. Cooking tomatoes enhances their antioxidant power, making them more bioavailable to the body. Lycopene is helpful in fighting heart disease and cancer.

3. Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables contain some chemicals that block the production of the thyroid hormone in the body. Hypothyroidism can cause you to gain weight, get cold hands and feet, become fatigued, reduce your libido, turn your hair dry, and cause constipation. By cooking cruciferous vegetables, you reduce this effect by some two-thirds. Cruciferous vegetables include arugula, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, collard greens, bok choy, Brussels sprouts, radishes, rutabaga, and watercress.

4. Leafy Greens                   

Oxalic acid is found in many leafy greens and can be an irritant. It also blocks iron and calcium absorption. By lightly steaming or cooking greens, oxalic acid is reduced in foods like spinach and chard.

Photo Credit: Grant Guarino

The post 4 Types of Fruits and Vegetables Better for You Cooked than Raw appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s time to think about what you’re not eating. 

Your mother wasn’t kidding when she told you to finish your meal. It’s not that if you don’t finish your broccoli you won’t get dessert. If you don’t finish your broccoli you’re contributing to the huge problem of food waste.

In a culture where food is readily accesible to many of us, we’re busy throwing it away. In fact, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40% of our food supply goes to waste every year, accounting for $165 billion. That is at the same time as hunger and poverty are on the rise, with one in seven American households dealing with food insecurity, as well as significant issues of drought and skyrocketing food prices.

Although grocery stores and other food sellers lose as much as $15 billion annually in unsold fruits and vegetables, the majority of food waste occurs in restaurants and household kitchens. Why? One of the factors is size; we’re serving ourselves more than we can eat. Today, portion sizes are two to eight times larger than the government’s standard serving sizes. We’re throwing out about 20 pounds of food per person every single month.

A few facts about food waste:

• The average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food.
• Food waste is the single largest component of solid waste in U.S. landfills.
• Just a 15 percent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough food to feed 25 million Americans annually.
• There has been a 50 percent jump in U.S. food waste since the 1970s.

How do we fix the problem?

We need a change in infrastructure. The NRDC recommends policy changes to deal with the issue of food waste, including action from federal and state governments to set targets for reducing food waste as well as implementing programs that help address the problem.

But personal responsibility is just as important. Know what you’re buying, plan your meals ahead and buy what you need, not what you think you need.

In other words, start eating consciously. And finish your broccoli.

Image: jbloom

The post Food Waste: The Average American Throws Out Every Other Piece of Food appeared first on EcoSalon.

A catchall recipe for everyone, tofu scramble just may become your go to Sunday brunch.

“What’s for brunch?” It’s a common, lazy Sunday morning question in my home. When my boyfriend asks, I grin with a wink, and he knows what’s coming. Tofu scramble. There’s something about this recipe that feels one part adventurous (tofu is a canvas for your fresh garden delights, so this recipe never gets boring); one part comforting (think the mac-and-cheese of breakfast); and one part responsible (it’s packed with protein, veggies and vitamins to jumpstart your Sunday fan fare).

Whether an outright meat eater, vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian or eggetarian, this versatile dish will suit every preferential palette. In fact, it’s a great way to take a break from egg over-consumption doldrums. Best yet? It’s so easy and fun, your boyfriend, husband, roommate (fill in the blank) just might give you the ultimate Sunday morning treat and whip it up for you.

Ingredients
Serves 2 generous portions

• 1 firm block of tofu (ideally use fresh, local tofu for the smoothest flavor)
• 1 cup broccoli (chopped)
• ½ medium onion (chopped)
• 1 handful cilantro leaves
• 1 chili pepper / hot pepper (to taste)
• 1 avocado
• handful of olives (of your choice)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (or more, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (safflower oil or another high heat oil of your choice)

Directions

1. Prepare your tofu by removing its water and squeezing out any excess water by gently pressing it between two plates / flat surfaces
2. Heat your cooking oil in a skillet or sauté pan, and lightly cook the onion and broccoli.* When it is about halfway cooked, add the paprika, and mix together. Continue to cook the your broccoli until lightly brown and until your onions are slightly transparent. Remove from the pan.
3. Next, add the tofu to the pan (adding a dash of oil if needed). Cook the tofu on medium heat until the sides turn brown.
4. Add turmeric, salt and nutritional yeast to the tofu, and mix together until the tofu is fully coated with the turmeric and nutritional yeast.
5. Add your broccoli, onions and hot chili pepper to the tofu mixture.
6. Toss together, and sauté for another 3-5 minutes until lightly brown and melded together.
7. Garnish with cilantro leaves, olives and ½ avocado, per serving.
8. Serve hot, and enjoy!

*Note: This recipe is so versatile. Add in any farm fresh vegetables and herbs to play with the flavor and fit your palette.

(Recipe compliments of this author’s Sunday brunch-loving boyfriend.)

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Tofu Scramble appeared first on EcoSalon.

Feeling bored by the Internet? Want to see something fun & useful that will truly rock your socks off and might just make your day?

Let us begin.

Sustainable Energy – Without The Hot Air – David JC MacKay

Described by Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow as “the Freakonomics of conservation, climate and energy”, this is a book you shouldn’t miss, not least because it’s available entirely for free. You can buy the book on Amazon (note the thirty-nine 5-star reviews) – but you can also read the entire contents online or download them in PDF form, free of charge.

Author MacKay is an English Physics professor, so he really knows his stuff. What is remarkable is how elegantly and breezily he conveys it. (This is no ponderous high school textbook). Want to know what it would really take to balance the energy budget? Want to know the real numbers behind renewable energy? This is the book for you.

The Brain Pickings of Maria Popova

Since 2005, Wired and The Atlantic writer Maria Popova has been reading more books than most people get through in a lifetime. If that wasn’t enough, she only reads good books – the most fascinating, quirky, inspiring and thought-filled reading material lining our shelves today. And if that wasn’t enough, she blogs about them too. Her website, Brain Pickings, now gets more traffic than the New York Review of Books, and no wonder – it’s a treasure-trove of suggested reads that may very well make you a better human being.

(Check out an interview with Maria here).

Read The Best Journalism On The Internet

Love good writing? Love reading? Love knowing what’s really going on in the world? Check out our reading list or our recent post on 10 sources of quality journalism – but if you don’t want to have to trawl for the good stuff yourself, there are websites that curate and archive the most fearless, insightful and beautifully-written journalism out there.

Try Longform (above)…

…and Longreads, and Byliner.

For a one-stop bookmarking of the good stuff, check out Conor Friedersdorf’s list of nearly 100 pieces of superb journalism. And if you have a Kindle – why not use Klip.me to send these articles to it, and do your reading offline?

Browse the Open Culture Language List

Being bilingual gives your brain a good workout – we all know this, but there’s increasing amounts of scientific evidence to back it up. So why not take 10 minutes out of your day and start a new language? Problem: those courses can be pricey. Solution: this colossal archive of  free resources (ebooks, audio, video) for learning 40 languages from Arabic to Yiddish. (Thank you kindly, Open Culture).

Sloth Yourself Silly 

To keep your smile topped up, watch this trailer for Animal Planet’s Meet The Sloths every day. And if that doesn’t work, scroll through these 111 adorable pictures of them at Buzzfeed. Sloths – they bring the happy. (More cuteness at Slothville).

See The World Up Close

Earlier this year the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite orbited our planet six times and took a series of staggeringly detailed images that NASA stitched together and released on Flickr. The above image is one; this is the other. Incredibly beautiful, yes – but we’re not done yet. Under the “View All Sizes” buttons on each page you’ll find the original high-resolution image…and they will blow your mind: (Hi-Res Image 1)  (Hi-Res Image 2)

Know At A Glance When Your Edible Garden Is In Season

As you may have guessed by now, we love infographics – but we were particularly taken with this set from the good folk at Chasing Delicious. Work out when your fruit, vegetables and herbs are in season, and plan your meals accordingly.

Listen To Neil Gaiman Talk About Doing What You Love

A few months ago author Neil Gaiman was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and was asked to give the Keynote Address to the 2012 graduating class. The speech he gave has become an internet phenomenon, and is a must-watch for anyone doing anything creative (read: everyone).

For those on a tight schedule, the transcript is here.

Explore An Idea a Day With The Change This Manifestos

Running since 2004 and born of an idea by Seth Godin, the Change This manifestos are short, succinct and above all fun downloadable books built around ideas. Their authors are some of the internet’s smartest people (the aformentioned Seth Godin is a contributor). There are hundreds of titles to choose from, they’re all easy on the eyes and stretchy on the brain – and they’re all completely free. Get started here.

Let Jodi Ettenberg, Legal Nomad, Show You A World Of Food

Jodi Ettenberg is a globe-trotting food nut with a thing for spices and gluten-free cooking. An ex-lawyer, she’s been traveling the world since 2008 and garnering mentions in the New York Times and on Jason Kottke’s super-popular blog. Her site is a wealth of tips on traveling the world, but for sheer eye-candy you’d be wise to go to her food page and start clicking for some really incredible nom-shots.

Images: MSVG, orangeacid, NASA Goddard Photo & Video and David JC MacKay.

The post Bored? Here Are 10 Awesome Free Things On The Internet appeared first on EcoSalon.

The outside is calling you.

Not to get all Jack London on you, but this is a great time of year to listen to the call of the wild and shun one of humanity’s greatest inventions, the roof. In celebration of both spring and Earth Month (here are a few reading suggestions for the latter), let’s take a stroll into the EcoSalon archives in search of anything that might pry us off our computers and gadgets – just for a while.

Think Facebook isn’t a big time-sink in your life? Try adding it up. The average U.S. Facebook user logged a rather horrifying seven hours and 46 minutes per month as of August 2011, and that figure has probably risen since then. Imagine if you spent all of that time on something that makes you feel genuinely happy, grounded and relaxed. Here are 20 suggestions, from letter-writing to exploring your neighborhood.

20 Things To Do Instead Of Being On Facebook

The technology that so many people rely on to do their jobs has undoubtedly made us more efficient and, for that reason, it’s likely not going anywhere. That means many people will never have jobs that require using their hands for much more than typing and clicking. But that doesn’t change the fact that human beings were designed to create more than just tweets and word documents.

7 Ways T0 Get Your Hands Dirty

Take up urban foraging. Who doesn’t like free food? Learn about wild, regional edible plants or befriend a neighbor with an overloaded fruit tree going to waste. Augment your diet with fresh, free foods!

Broke? 20 Fun Things To Do Without Spending A Dime

Hundreds of sick pelicans have fallen to the ground from Mexico to Oregon, smashing into cars, boats and beaches, and experts are baffled. Authorities have ruled out domoic acid poisoning, which has affected wildlife before. It’s nothing short of a mystery. Surviving pelicans have been found in yards and on roads, disoriented and weak. So far, experts think the cause could be anything from unknown poison contamination to exposure to the toxic run-off from the recent Southern California fires to malnutrition due to evaporating fish stocks.

Though the exact cause is a mystery, it’s almost certainly due to human impact. And, it’s only the most recent case in a slew of disturbing mass animal deaths around the world.

Pelicans Are Falling Out The Sky (And Other Mysterious Mass Animal Deaths)

Gardening is hot, hot, hot. And why not? Planting a few seeds on your deck or in your backyard yields delicious, organic results – and money savings, too. Besides, April is National Gardening Month! You know the basics of how to start your own vegetable garden, but where do you go from here? Here are some crops that even the least green thumbed among you can tackle, and tips on how to make them flourish.

The 10 Easiest Vegetables To Grow At Home

If you’re taking a stroll through the English landscape…Andy Goldsworthy wants to stop you in your tracks.

He’s a British sculptor, photographer and committed environmentalist, and he likes arranging things. He turns random piles of stones into gravity-defying structures and scattered leaves into dazzling gradiated rainbows. He tracks lines and curves upon the ground where none should exist, stacks ice in the unlikeliest of places, and puts patterns and colors into the landscape that would make any onlooker rub their eyes. And the true magic of his work is that for a second – just for a second – you believe it’s the work of nature. What would your first thought be if you encountered these in the wild?

Andy Goldsworthy’s Amazing Works Of Art

Images: photosteve101, sir mervs, sun dazed, Ron Dressel and paolobrandao.

The post From the Vault: The Call of the Great Outdoors appeared first on EcoSalon.

We have the basics of apartment gardening down and still need to decide what to grow.

When most people start their urban garden, they have visions of growing tomatoes, cucumbers and so many other vegetables. Then the reality sets in when tomatoes start dying and cucumbers shrivel up. Not to worry. I’ll help you to figure out which vegetables to choose.

For instance, one of the biggest mistakes that people make is planting a vegetable such as tomatoes in a spot that doesn’t get enough sunlight for them to grow.

In this video you will learn common vegetables to grow based on the amount of sun your garden gets.

If you are not sure how to tell how much sunlight your garden space gets, check out this post that I wrote about the process.

And if you feel like it, share how much sun your garden gets and what you are planning to grow in the comments below.

Mike Lieberman shows people with little to no land how to start growing their own food so they can avoid toxic pesticides, eat healthier and not feel limited by their lack of experience and space. Connect with him here to learn more urban gardening tips.

Image: tillwe

The post Choosing the Right Vegetables to Grow in Your Urban Garden appeared first on EcoSalon.