Green Recipes for Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Are you a lover of green recipes?

Many bloggers that I follow do a “What I Love Wednesday” post. Welp, seeing that it’s Earth Day and I have a few things to share with you, I figured that today is as good of a day as any!

A brief history lesson: Earth Day came to be in 1970. After seeing the ravaged land following an oil spill, Earth Day’s founders decided that it was a good idea to inform and motivate the public on environmental issues. They wanted to capitalize “on the emerging consciousness, channelling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and centre” (EarthDay.Org).

This day sprang out of the “hippie/love the environment” movement. Now, I’m kind of a conundrum; I would not call myself a hippie. I’m too OCD and preppie for that. But I do recognize the importance of caring for the environment and its creatures. I care. About everything. Too much.

I think that the world would be a better place in general if people cared for each other, animals, and the environment more.

But that’s enough from my soapbox.

Today, I wanted to share with you three green recipes that have been on my mind lately. They are SOOOO good! Each is a little different.

Avocado Face Mask

A few months ago, my friend Rebecca and her sister Rachel turned me on to this natural face mask. It’s brilliant!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a ripe avocado (or three), and I don’t know how to use them all. This mask helps with that problem! It’s quick and easy to make. It’s so natural that you can eat it.

You may be sceptical of this green recipe, but you shouldn’t be. It’s amazing how effective this is. The apple cider vinegar and lemon juice really cleanse and revitalize the face. The original recipe calls for honey, but you can replace it with maple syrup for a vegan option; I think it helps stick it to your face!

Dehydrated Kale Chips with Nacho Cheese Seasoning

You guys - this is my favourite snack right now! You may have seen those prepackaged kale chips at the stores, but they don’t have anything on these homemade goodies. Like I can eat a whole bag of dehydrated kale…in one sitting.

There are several tricks. First, I like to use my dehydrator. My dehydrator was about $40 from Target, and it’s not fancy at all; there are no settings - you just plug it in. I don’t have to worry about the kale chips burning or having soggy parts mixed with crunchy parts. The dehydrator solves all of these problems.

Next, when you clean and rip your kale, make sure they are torn into bigger pieces. Kale chips will shrink in the dehydrator/oven, so you want them to be at least the size of a silver dollar. This won’t happen all of the time, but it’s a good goal. I don’t like the thick kale stems, so I usually tear around them.

The most important part: the seasoning sprinkle! This green recipe is directly from Fork & Beans. Cara makes her own Doritos seasoning, which is where this recipe comes from.