Simply Seube

HALLOWEEN PARTY - ZERO WASTE, MINI BUDGET

I'm not a fan of Halloween, but Isaac was dreaming about having one of those Halloween theme parties he heard about at school. Here are my tips for an (obviously!) amazing party with no waste and a very limited budget!

Decoration

We decided to go with an autumnal centerpiece (not too scary, nor too childish) so that it may last the whole holiday. The kids choosed the locally produced squash and mini pumpkins and we picked the horse chestnuts and hazelnuts during a walk. The final touch is brought by a sprouting sweet potato (you can replace it by ivy). At the end of the holidays, the vegetable will end up in a soup, the chestnuts we'll become washing liquid and we will definitely plant the potato.

For those looking for a spookier look, you can cut out the pumpkins to give them the frightening jack-o'-lantern look, mix up candles of various sizes, replace the ivy and chestnuts by dead wood and why not, add some black flowers... (you can find them at a flower shop)

Sweets

Sweets are the easiest thing to find in bulk : (in France) we can find them at the bakery, in a sweet shop or even at the entrance of the cinema. Needless to say that here, it was a frenzy...
For the grown-ups, we made a little selection of organic sweets (careful, they can be quite expensive! But they are sooooooo good. So so good). On the picture above, you can see some cinnamon caramelized almonds, some caramelized peanuts and chocolate coated hazelnuts (which taste exactly like Nutella, without the crapy part of it and without being responsible of the massive deforestation induced by the production of palm oil).

Cakes

Apart from traditional buffet cakes (macaroons, cookies, cake pops, madeleines...), we tried new recipes : pecan nut pie (yes, I'm french and it was a first for me!) and a fully raw chocolate cake. Both were amazingly good. Recipes to come very soon ;)

Costumes

No need to invest a fortune in costumes : you certainly already have at least one in your closet ! Here are four examples I created with what we have :

- Prince George. Isaac looooves to were his socks like the prince. You can add a crown if you think people we'll have trouble recognizing his majesty ;)
- Little pink riding hood : a cape + a small basket = little *colour of your choice* riding hood
- Polka dot princess : a fancy dress (this one have been worn to many weddings last summer), a crown and here comes the princess.
- The fisherman : a reefer jacket, yellow pants, rain boots make the basis of the costume. Add a net, a blue beanie or a captain cap.

With make-up, you widen your possibilities, without having to invest in those poor polyester costumes made in we-don't-care-about-quality-or-work-conditions-only-about-making-money that doesn't last.

So, these are our tips for a fully zero waste halloween that costed us only the price of the food (squash, candy and ingredients for the cakes).

What about your Halloween? What are you going to dress up like this year?

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ZERO-WASTE TAKEAWAY

food lifestyle takeaway

When we tell people that we live the Zero Waste lifestyle, they often imagine us bidding farewell to “too-lazy-to-cook”, “little treats” and “takeaway” nights. In an attempt to dispel these views we tested our three favourite takeaway restaurants applying the Zero waste philosophy. (Let me tell you that took a lot of sacrifices haha).

So, here is the report of this week’s culinary craziness along with a few rules to follow helping things to run like clockwork ☺

1^st Rule for Zero-Wasting: Anticipate

As with all your Zero Waste shopping, you’ll need to bring your own containers. For example, for Japanese: hermetic containers for soup, different glass boxes for each menu and not to mention a small jar for soy sauce!

2^nd Rule for Zero-Wasting: Buy Local

In addition to supporting the local economy and experiencing “real” families (not corporations or shareholders), restaurateurs are much more inclined to use your containers than the big chains. At Sushi Shop and Burger House (in Saint-Quentin), I just drop off my bag with my own containers and restaurateurs are kind enough to manage everything with the containers I’ve supplied. Then I get my bag back, filled and ready to go.

3^rd Rule for Zero-Wasting: Bring the containers

Of course, this technique only works if we’re going to bring our own containers. So (with some exceptions), it doesn't always work for home delivery (my boxes would probably take all the space on the back of the bike anyway!). Two of my techniques are:

- I drop my bag at the restaurant, go run some errands and then pick up my order on the way back.

- I get served directly (for example, at our local Italian Restaurant “Aux caves d'Italie” which in reality is more of a catering service) and leave right away with my order.

Of course, dropping by first is not always very convenient (personally I have yet to find it annoying but others might), but this system has its advantages:

-the glass boxes are oven, microwave and freezer suitable which makes them great to warm up or preserve the food. The practicality is pretty self-evident!

-at these three restaurants, the food is prepared with fresh ingredients before our eyes (sometimes even using organic goods).

-the shopkeepers are happy to save on their own packaging and are often intrigued by this approach. So much so that I get loads of extra Bolognese sauce and breadsticks at the Italian, 10% off on my order with the Japanese (this applies to all those who come pick up their order in store) and extra fries at the Burger House. Less plastic and more food, could that be any better?

So there you have our culinary adventures of the week! Do you have any ideas for carrying pizzas, pies, cakes, and pastries? (Normally I make them myself but you never know I might feel peckish one day!)

For now I re-use an insulated bag (that I got from an old diaper bag) for pastries that maintain their form well (pain au chocolat, etc.), but I haven’t found anything for large, creamy, dripping stuff. I'm waiting for your ideas!

VERSION FRANÇAISE

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EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY

Every year, the Global Footprint Network measures humanity's demand for and supply of natural resources and estimates the date on which humanity's ressources consumption exceeds earth's capacity to regenerate those resources. In 2016, the earth overshoot day is today. It means that it took us less that 8 months to use more ecological resources than nature can regenerate through overfishing, overharvesting forests, overexploiting water sources and emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the forests and oceans can sequester.

So, for the rest of the year, we will consume next year's resources, hence aggravating the ecological issues we already face : pollution, massive extinctions, global warming, exhaustion of resources, climatic disorders...

During the 70's, the earth overshoot day was still on the 23rd december. Since then , the date keeps coming earlier every year. Of course, the world population increased, but demographic growth isn't the only responsible of that drastic change.

This analysis confirms the study published in 2012 by 22 scientists in the Nature Magazine (you can read it here) : they were assessing that considering the rhythm and consistency of nature degradation, we'll reach a point of non return around 2100. After that moment, there will be no turning back ; natural disasters and climatic disorders will multiply and increase in intensity. Earth won't be as cool a place to live (in every sense of the word!). For those interested, you can find the interview of two signatories of the study at the beginning of Demain (they speak english), an excellent documentary realized by Cyril Dion.

The good news is, we still have about 20 years to change before things become irreversible. I already hear you say that it's not by taking a shower instead of a bath or riding your bicycle instead of taking your car that we will save the planet, when we compare those tiny actions to the pollution generated by oil extraction from bituminous sands (such as in Canada) or the water waste generated by agriculture and livestock farming.
Of course, every gesture counts, but our strongest force reside in the choices we make to build tomorrow's world. Those choices influence the market of supply and demand ; the greatest polluters may not be that numerous, but they depend on us to live (I think it would be more accurate to say "to make millions" but it's not the subject today ;p ). In France, people were craving for authenticity and local produces : supermarket are now full of products claiming to be and looking very "terroir", while, at the same time, many "real" local shops opened everywhere. Again, in France now that Zero Waste is in, you can find bulk stores in every big city. Even IKEA is selling bulk bags!

So every time we refuse (samples, wrapping), reduce (the distance crossed by the food we eat to reach us) or that we reuse (bulk bags, jars), we avoid the waste of resources that would have ended up in the trash bin AND we create demand for a new way to consume. In the end, everything is up to us ; it's our duty to influence the world so that it may become what we want it to be. Because, if we don't no one will...

7 days to change things(or almost!)

On this special day, I invite you to participate in a little challenge that will go on 7 days. Seven days ans seven actions to change things and ~~save the planet~~ influence the world of tomorrow. Are you in?

Everyday, I'll post a picture on my Instagram account and on the blog. For those who want to participate, you just have to post your picture / message on Instagram, Facebook or this blog under the hashtag #7days7actions.
I hope you'll be thousands to participate (haha) and that this little (quite silly!) challenge will help raise awareness :) Now everything is up to you !

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HALLOWEEN PARTY - ZERO WASTE, MINI BUDGET

ZERO-WASTE TAKEAWAY

EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY

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Pages

HALLOWEEN PARTY - ZERO WASTE, MINI BUDGET

ZERO-WASTE TAKEAWAY

EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY

ABOUT

INSTRAGRAM

RECENT ARTICLES

LABELS

BLOG ARCHIVE

CONTACT

INSTAGRAM