In the last few years particularly, I have found myself easily spending €50 to €70 per week on my daily lunch. If you eat your lunch out every day, you might not realise just how much it is costing you. A soup, sandwich and a drink doesn’t give much change from €10! I very much doubt I would spend that same amount if I pepared these lunches at home!

If you take this saving and calculate what you could put away over a 5 year period, it equates to quite a tidy sum!! Perhaps the Take your Lunch to Work campaign can take over from the heady days of SSIA schemes!!

I admit, taking your homemade lunch takes a little bit more organisation, but once you get in to the habit of it, it′s both financially rewarding and generally much tastier and satisfying!! My first tip is to invest in some good reusable containers and perhaps a flask if you fancy a hot drink – this also makes sure you′re cutting down on waste – so it′s a double whammy!!!

I already hear some of you groan at the memory of the soggy tomato sanger at the school lunch break!! But fear not, there is so much more choice there now!! Fill you lunch box with some fresh cut bread and a slice of parma and brie, and you have an epicurean feast to compare with the best deli in town!! I personally love to make a bowl of pasta twirls every few days, keep them in the fridge and use them to make a different pasta salad each day (you can′t beat tuna, sweetcorn & a good dollop of low fat mayo!).

Also don′t forget leftovers, this is definitely the easiest way to organise your take to work lunch. This is the easiest way to make your lunch: just make extra dinner the night before. Nearly every office has a microwave oven and you will be happy to have a bowl of last night’s beef stew, which will probably taste even better than it did right from the oven. Other leftovers don’t even need to be re-heated, such as poached salmon or a piece of cold chicken. By planning ahead you can steam some extra broccoli, saute an extra chicken breast, add another sweet potato to the oven, or boil some eggs while dinner is on the stove.

Two other suggestions that I think important, if you want this to work for you – firstly, just because you bring your own lunch doesn’t mean you shouldn’t really enjoy what you’re eating. Prepare and eat meals that you will look forward to eating and you won’t feel hard-done by nor be tempted to toss your homemade food in exchange for a slice of pizza.

Finally, even if you don’t have to leave the office to buy your lunch, give yourself a break. Take your lunch, and a friend, with you to a park bench, or do a quick visit to a nearby museum, browse in a bookstore, or just walk around the town. We need our lunch breaks not only to refuel our bodies but also our minds! So come on, join me Save money, Eat Better and Get Greener!!!

No, GreenMe are not advocating a slovenly lifestyle, just encouraging you to take it outside!! Cancelling your gym membership will not only save you money, it will also lower your carbon footprint!!

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Spring is in the air and as the weather finally changes, everyone around me seems to be coming down with a cold. Like so many Irish folks, I am sensitive to foods containing gluten.  And, I try to stay away from dairy in the damp weather.  And, I’m a vegetarian, hmm…. No meat, no wheat, and (mostly) no dairy.  Alas, I’m a professional cook so I spend a lot of time creating recipes to suit a variety of diets. Here’s one of my favorite cold weather  meals that’s tasty, satisying, easy to make and good for ya! (more…)

I came across sweet almond oil when a friend of mine put together a hamper of organic skin products straight from the health shop .  To be honest I was dubious, as I think when it comes to skincare, you get what you pay for.

However the claim that it doubles up as a moisturiser and a makeup remover won be over (convenience is also very high on my list of priorities). The fact that I happened to tune in to one of those UK makeover shows when the make-up artist announced that almond oil is her one can’t do without make-up bag staple also helped. (more…)

Want to help save the planet, but also want your wedding to be memorable?  The following is a great article written by SUE LEONARD of the Irish Independent on how to make that special day environmentally friendly

We’re all worried these days about global warming. We want to protect our environment and we do our bit to recycle and reuse. When it comes to weddings, though, we tend to throw green ethics aside. (more…)

There are plenty of us out there who think that there is nothing as nice as snuggling up on front of a blazing open fire on a cold miserable night?  And let’s face it there’s no shortage of those at the moment.  However, gorgeous as it looks and feels it can be an expensive and inefficient endeavor. A fireplace sends most of the heat in your house straight up the chimney emitting as much as 24,000 cubic feet of air per hour to the outside!  Bottom line – not very green.  But as GreenMe are the no sacrafice, guilt free way to going green we prefer not giving unrealistic green targets.  Instead you can limit the loss of heat when enjoying a quiet evening by the fire.  By opening dampers in front of the grate (if provided) or open the nearest window slightly – only about an inch you will see a significant difference in your heat gain. Don’t forget to close doors leading into the room.  It works believe me and gets you some green creds at the same time!  So get toasty!!

Caulk it

This winter I have found that my house seems to be leaking. By that I mean that I have noticed little drafts in certain rooms that I never noticed before.  Small spaces and gaps around windows and pipes and wires entering the home create create energy wasting drafts that can cut the efficiency of your heating system. Most caulking products are cheap costing under €10. It’s a no brainer for a cosier home and your saving on your home heating bill too!

Hypermiling is the newest craze to take American drivers by storm. And now we’re getting in on the act too.  Hypermiling is a method of increasing your car’s mileage by making skillful changes to the way you drive.  In turn you save fuel and the environment at the same time.  Let’s face it the money saving aspect alone makes it worth giving a try!

So what do you need to do?  Well the following is an excerpt from a great article on Hypermiling.

• Keep your foot off the accelerator except when absolutely necessary. When you come to a stop, coast a little before you stop.

• Drive at the speed limit or slightly below. I go 10 miles an hour below the posted speed limit many times, but I must warn you: this causes hypertension in many other non-hypermilers  who are likely to hyperventilate and run your hypermiling off the road.

• Use the cruise control whenever possible. This will not only save fuel, but it may also save you some pesky penalty points and the court fine!

• Coast and drive without brakes as much as possible (“dwb” in hypermiling lingo) I don’t mean rear-end someone who has their brake lights on.  But accelerating from zero to 20, then back to zero, is inefficient. Instead, maintain a steady speed. If the car in front of you is speeding up, let it get ahead of you, and when traffic starts to slow back down you’ll catch up. Besides,  it’s always fun — when you both get to the next set of lights at exactly the same time  (apparently a ’smirkjerk’ is in order at this stage – that is when you look over and smirk at the non-hypermiler hyperjerk – optional).

• Check the tyre pressure. Even slightly flat tires require much more energy and threfore fuel to move.

• Change the oil regularly. The thicker the oil, the harder it is to push through the engine.

So what are you waiting for – get hypermiling this weekend and let us know how you get on.

via: kpcnews.com

When we buy organic or fair – trade food, the benefits are obvious- it’s healthier, it tastes better and we know we are helping producers earn a decent wage.  We love the feel good factor that we are supporting our local farmer.  So why is it practically impossible to get consumers to shop for fashion locally, let alone ethically?

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This time of the year we are loath to open windows in fear of Jack Frost invading our homes.  This can often lead to a musty or stale air environment.

While we are not advocating that you keep all windows and doors closed throughout the whole winter, we do realise that anything more that 10 minutes airing per day is often as much as our senses will allow us bear.

So to counter any nasty stagnant air invading your home we recomment the age old redemy of using vinegar and lemon, or a bowl of baking soda to absorb odours.  Tea tree, eucalyptus and lavender, mixed with spring water will scent the room and lift your mood.

If you’re just too lazy to mix any of those concoctions Ecover’s Rosegarden Room Fragrance comprises as glass jar, plant based oils and porous sticks that exude scent for weeks. Check out our home and household section for suppliers of this and more eco home products.