By Wendy

Summer is officially here. It’s time take the grill out of the garage and start the barbeque! Call the family, make the salad, and get the hotdogs and hamburgers ready. They’re the perfect condiment. So perfect that a group of engineers at MIT have also created a new liquid called LiquiGlide used to coat the inside of condiment bottles for an easier pour and not waste a single drop.

My favorite ketchup is Krazy Ketchup. It was created by moms who wanted to give their kids a great tasting ketchup. It’s also 100% Certified Organic and rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Potassium.

For you DIY moms, here’s an easy homemade ketchup recipe you can make at home:

What You Need:

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in puree

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

What to Do:

Blend the can of whole tomatoes in a blender until smooth

Cook onions in oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until softened, about 8 minutes

Add blended tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 1 hour, stirring more frequently toward the end of cooking to prevent scorching

Puree ketchup in 2 batches in blender until it’s smooth. Chill covered, at least 2 hours to help flavors develop.

Cooks’ note: Ketchup can be chilled up to 3 weeks

But what else can you do with ketchup? Here are 5 things you can do with your new found ketchup besides putting it on your burger:

1. Shine Your Copper Pot and Pans- the acidity in ketchup helps to remove the tarnish build up, making your pieces shine like new. Apply a thin layer of ketchup on your copper pan for 20 minutes. Rinse and dry.
2. Keeping Your Silver Pieces Bright and Sparkly- ketchup can also remove the grime that builds up on silver jewelry and other pieces. Pour ketchup into a bowl and dip silver pieces right in for 20 minutes. You may want to scrub hard to reach places. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
3. Fixing of Chlorine Damaged Hair- it helps to remove the icky green that you sometimes get after being in swimming pools. Just apply ketchup all over your hair and let it marinate for about 20 minutes. Wash hair thoroughly and you should see results.
4. Making Fake Blood During Halloween- ketchup makes great imitation blood for those vampire and zombie Halloween costumes for the kids
5. Finger Painting for Toddlers- let kids use ketchup to paint their food to make it eating more fun and nutritious.

What other things do you use your ketchup for?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

by Wendy

Sugar- who knew the combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen could be so sweet? Whether it’s that sugary snack you consumed to get yourself through the work day or the chocolate cake you made with the family this weekend, we have all come to assume that the key to staying healthy is consuming in moderation. Well, think again.

In the part two series of “The Skinny on Obesity”, Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and Elissa Epel with the Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment at the University of California, continue to discuss the impact of sugar on disease rates around the world.

Recent studies have found sugar to be the #1 contributor of obesity and obesity-related diseases. This is due to the way the two components in sugar, glucose and fructose, metabolizes in your body: as both fat and carbohydrates! This is the culprit of excess weight gain in people all over the world. Glucose, our good sugar, is energy multiple parts of your body can use and run on, whereas fructose, our bad sugar, can be only be used by your liver, just like alcohol. People need to change habits now and Lose Belly Fat to make a change for a healthier world.

Studies have also shown diseases that are linked to excessive fructose consumption, such as hypertension, obesity, and addiction; also appear in diseases linked to excessive alcohol consumption. Who knew? It’s due to the ethanol component in alcohol that creates the same toxic effects in your body as fructose.

So how much fructose is safe for us to consume?

It’s recommended to consume no more than 25 grams of fructose per day; 10-15 grams per day if you’re already overweight or have/at risk of any diseases linked to excessive fructose consumption.

Are there any sugar substitutes we can try?

Yes, herb stevia and dextrose (pure glucose) are your best options and can be found at any of your local health food stores. Other sugar substitutes, such as cane sugar, honey, date sugar, coconut sugar, brown rice syrup, fruit juice, molasses, maple syrup, sucanat, sorghum, turbinado or agave syrup, all contain high amounts of fructose.

How about products that say low fat? Are they safe?

According to Leptitox reviews when fat is removed from foods, the flavor is also removed from it. So when you see food that is deemed low fat, you’ll always find added sugar or high fructose content in the packaging.

Let’s limit the consumption of high in fructose foods whenever possible. Maintain a diet with whole, preferably organic, foods that have no added sugars and other chemicals. Your body will thank you.

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

by Wendy

Father’s Day is a day where we celebrate dads for all they do for us. This year, show dad how much you love him while being environmentally friendly at the same time with these Father’s Day gifts made from recycled, upclycled and repurposed materials:

1- Bamboo Grilling Tool Set $39.95 – Made from sustainable bamboo with rust-free stainless steel heads, the grilling tool set includes a spatula, grill brush and grill tongs to make grilling a snap for dad.

2- Recycled Record Coasters $20 – A music lover will appreciate these repurposed black vinyl records to make great coasters. Records vary from different genres.

3- Upcycled Wine Bottle Glass Tumblers $20 – Recycled wine bottles were used to make these unique ecofriendly green glass tumblers.

4- Reclaimed Ballpark Cuff Links $179.95 and up – Great for baseball fans, these cuff links are crafted from salvaged stadium seats from Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and more.

5- Upclycled Wetsuit iPad Sleeve $28 – Keep dad’s ipad protected with this cushy ipad sleeve made from upclycled and repurposed wetsuit material.

6- Bottles Up Glass Water Bottle $29.95 – Reusable glass water bottles made from 75% post consumer recycled glass and food grade silicone rings and cap. They are also naturally BPA and PVC free.

7- Turnigy 9x drone $60- A flying RC aircraft. You will get a 9 channel transmitter, a receiver, and a bind plug; the battery is not included.

What eco-friendly gift will you be buying for dad this year?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

by Wendy

Imagine a world where one out of two Americans was obese. What would that look like?

According to recent studies, you may not have to look too far. We all try to do our share to keep our waistlines trim as well as stomachs satisfied, yet we continue to see obesity rates rise, and at a higher rate than ever. With already more than one third of the current U.S. adult population being classified as obese, studies are forecasting this number to grow to as high as 42% of the entire population by 2042.

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Not only this, but the cost for the U.S. healthcare system to medically provide for those with obesity-related conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, is projected to be approximately $550 billion over the next two decades.

Prevent yourself and the ones you love from being part of this statistic!  It’s never too early or late to start. Start by measuring everyone’s’ Body Mass Index (better known as BMI) with this BMI calculator provided by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and aim to have a BMI score lower than 30. Keep a food journal will help you become more aware of your family’s eating habits. Replace foods with high calorie counts with healthier options, like fruits and veggies. And take the family to the park instead of the movies to get some exercise in the day. For more tips, check out our blog for healthy recipes and ideas the entire family would enjoy.

Let’s do our share to fight obesity in America.

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

When we were grocery shopping this weekend Hannah picked up a Radicchio and declared that we just had to try it!! It really is a cute little thing and when we peeled the leaves it felt just like deflated balloons! Hannah ate some raw, I added some leaves to my morning juice and the rest we added to our baby spinach salad.

How do you eat Radicchio? Looking forward to hearing if you have any great radicchio recipes!

Happy Healthy Eating,
Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!