My New Cutting Board and a Kid's Craft Project

I was looking online for a green cutting board when I found Epicurean. I blogged about them here. I wanted to give them a try and my 8x6" Recycled Series board arrived a couple of days ago. In the meantime, I found a local shop, The Colorful Cook in Canmore, Alberta, that carries this line of cutting boards, so I can go buy more if I like them... and boy, I do likey!


They are made in Duluth, Minnesota, from recycled cardboard. They are resistant to heat and stains, are dishwasher safe, and kind to knives. I have used my board several times already. After an initial wash with soap and water, my daughter and I made a small fruit salad. The board did resist staining, and was super easy to clean up again with soap, water, and an air dry. I have already brought my old plastic board of the same size to the thrift store. And next week, I plan to go to The Colorful Cook to buy a 14x11" board. If you are looking for a green, healthy board, please check out Epicurean.


On a side note, there was a long piece of packing paper protecting our new cutting board. It was about the same length as my daughter, so instead of throwing it into the recycler, we got to work tracing each other, then we used markers to dress up Quin's new buddy. Thanks to Epicurean for an environmentally responsible cutting board and for providing us with a morning of inventive fun!

My New Cutting Board and a Kid's Craft Project

I was looking online for a green cutting board when I found Epicurean. I blogged about them here. I wanted to give them a try and my 8x6" Recycled Series board arrived a couple of days ago. In the meantime, I found a local shop, The Colorful Cook in Canmore, Alberta, that carries this line of cutting boards, so I can go buy more if I like them... and boy, I do likey!


They are made in Duluth, Minnesota, from recycled cardboard. They are resistant to heat and stains, are dishwasher safe, and kind to knives. I have used my board several times already. After an initial wash with soap and water, my daughter and I made a small fruit salad. The board did resist staining, and was super easy to clean up again with soap, water, and an air dry. I have already brought my old plastic board of the same size to the thrift store. And next week, I plan to go to The Colorful Cook to buy a 14x11" board. If you are looking for a green, healthy board, please check out Epicurean.


On a side note, there was a long piece of packing paper protecting our new cutting board. It was about the same length as my daughter, so instead of throwing it into the recycler, we got to work tracing each other, then we used markers to dress up Quin's new buddy. Thanks to Epicurean for an environmentally responsible cutting board and for providing us with a morning of inventive fun!

Green Cutting Boards - Epicurean

I have been a bit preoccupied with cutting boards lately. The common ones are made from either wood, plastic, or glass. I have something against the sound of cutting on glass ones. The plastic ones make me feel as if I am eating plastic fragments in my food. And the wood ones are supposed to be difficult to clean...

My research quickly left me confused. I kept ending up at various health department sites that contradicted one another. One would say that plastic harbors microbes longer than wood. Another would say that you should use a bleach solution on both wood and plastic boards, when another would say that bleach has no affect on the wood boards due to their composition. Another would say that wood has its own disinfecting quality that kills microbes. And as I kept reading, all I really wanted to find was a site that told me what was the most healthy board and how could I care for it. ORGANICALLY. I don't want to clean anything with chlorine bleach that I then eat off of. Call me silly. Many people do. As a vegetarian, I don't use cutting boards for meat, but I do use them all the time for bread (wood) and veggies and fruit (plastic) and I just want to know what it best. I was shocked that not one site mentioned toxins in plastic, since that is such a big topic right now. Does anyone know much about this?

What I did find to share was this video on how to organically clean a wooden cutting board (super easy!).


And I found a blog, Bright Seeker, that mentions Epicurean, a company based in Duluth, Minnesota (I am originally from Minneapolis). The have a Recycled Series of cutting boards! Bright Seeker is a long time user of Epicurean boards, which were normally made of Eco Select paper, but now they are also available made from recycled cardboard composite! They meet NSF approval and are stain and heat resistant, kind to knives, and they can be washed in the dishwasher. They range in price from $12 - $35 US. I am so excited and can't wait to write up a post on my new cutting boards!!

UPDATE: I emailed Karie Duff, at Epicurean, and asked her to read over this post to make sure I had everything correct. She said that the Recycled Series of cutting boards in not NSF approved, but the all of their other products are made from wood fibers from sustainable forests, so they have the NSF approval. And she pointed aout again that the Recycled Series can be washed in the dishwasher. Thanks, Karie!

30 Things in 30 Days - #20 - Wash in Cold & Line Dry

Did you know that if you switch to cold water for all your laundry you can save 80% of the energy you use on washing? That is amazing! Switching to biodegradeable, non toxic powder is also a good step. I posted about Claudia's Choices, the soap I use, here. Hanging your clothes to dry is also a wise move, plus they smell so darn fresh. I live in a townhouse and there is a rule against drying lines. I smell a protest coming, I am just hoping that since I live in a very environmentally conscience community that they will come to their senses without my prodding. Stay tuned...

For more environmentally friendly laundry tips, check out this article by Annie Bond.

30 Things in 30 Days - #1 - Cloths Not Paper Towels

Since I seem to have limited time to post lately, and since people seem to keep asking me, "Can one person really make a difference" (OF COURSE THEY CAN!!), I have decided to commit the next 30 days to 30 simple posts on ways you can make a difference for our environment.

Today's "Thing" is to start using cloths instead of paper towels. We have a stack of dish and baby washcloths that we use to wipe up spills, wash the windows and mirrors, clean the counter tops and other surfaces, basically for anything you would use a paper towel for. In fact, about the only time I use a paper towel is when I need to line a bowl to put bacon on top of. And since I have been a vegetarian for the past 22 years, that is not often. On a side note, does anyone out there know of an environmentally friendly way to dispose of bacon grease? My family does eat bacon, and we pour the grease in a jar and then throw the jar away, which makes me feel guilty. Is it ok to scoop the grease into the trash once it has solidified? I would imagine that is fine... anyway, we also use baby washcloths to wipe my daughter's bum when we change her diaper. The only time we use disposable wipes is when we are out and about, which means we only buy the refill packs for the original plastic tub a couple of times a year. Give it a try. It will take some getting used to, but it becomes a habit to use and launder cloths. And if you buy paper towels, buy 100% recycled paper towels. And please make sure to recycle the packaging so as not to repeat the irony you see here in this picture I snapped while out on a walk recently...

A Reusable Coffee Filters, FINALLY...

I knew they were out there, I just had not hunted one down. I had searched on the internet but only came up more confused as to which type to buy. Let me back up... I was not looking for a reusable coffee filter for a coffee maker, I have had one of those for years. The kind that is plastic with copper mesh, they are great, but they don't work on the coffee maker I use during the week, my melitta. My Melitta is a plastic manual drip brewer which is super easy to use. We started using them after spending 6 weeks in Costa Rica and seeing the coffee "sock" that people there used to make coffee. I love to make coffee this way and unless we need to make coffee for two (in which case we use the french press which doesn't use filters) or more (in which case we use our electric coffee maker and the copper mesh filter) it is how I do it. The thing about it that had me feeling guilty is that you end up using one paper filter for one cup of coffee. I bought the kind that are unbleached paper but I wanted to find something reusable. From what I had read online many of the options people had tried had been messy or left sediment in the bottom of the cup, or just didn't last long. The one I bought I found at Nutter's Health Food Store in Canmore. It is by Nature's Best and the filter was made in Golden, BC, about 1 1/2 hours from here where a friend of ours lives. Cool! The only thing is they don't have a website but if anyone is interested I can let you know the mailing address or can buy one for you. They are only $2.99! And they claim to last "hundreds" of times. You rinse them under the tap (after I put as much of the coffee grounds as I can in the compost container) and then you can let it dry or can reuse it right away. It is made of 100% unbleached cotton. The coffee tastes great and there is no sediment. It does come in a plastic bag but it is recyclable plastic. It says I should soak it once a month in 2 cups of hot water with 2 teaspoons of baking soda, but that I should never use detergent or bleach or wash it in the washing machine. I am very happy! Off to have a cup of joe...

Homemade Drain Cleaner

When we moved into our new house, the bath tub drain was slower than slow. Having made the commitment to not use toxic chemicals in this home, because of enviromental, health, and safety concerns, I decided to try to make drain cleaner. It was both easy and entertaining. I boiled a large pot of water, then added 1/2 c baking soda and one cup white vinegar. Ummmm, this basically makes a small volcano, or more like a flash explosion... nothing to be concerned about, but I am happy I had placed the pot in the tub for this little experiment. Then, I poured it all down the drain, shut the drain, and left it for 10 minutes. The combination is supposed to break the clog. And I'll be damned, it did. The drain emptied much faster. I am really happy that this worked because drain cleaners are one of the most toxic home chemicals. Please let me know if you have a good recipe for drain cleaner, or any cleaner, that I can post here.