A trip to Target and the grocery store

Trying to be a more responsible consumer made our trip to Target on Saturday a little longer and more expensive than usual (but only by about $5). Here is what I found:
- I found that most shampoos are biodegradable, but I only found one conditioner that is, made by Aussie. The shampoo and conditioner were both about $1 more than my usual Suave.
- Method makes hand soap that is biodegradable and they don't test on animals, and it smells really good and the bottles look kind of trendy. Also, they sell large refills that come in collapsible plastic bladders. Sweet.
- The one thing I felt I couldn't go green with were the swiffer dry mop thingies - you know the ones that use magical static power to pick up all the dust and hair you miss when you sweep. But, Method also makes these and theirs are compostable. Woohoo! I don't know much about this Method company but so far I like them!

Chris and I also decided that we are going to limit our meat consumption to twice a week. I have tried to go vegetarian before and it didn't go too well. Granted, it was in college when I didn't have as much time and money to devote to a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. But I went meatless for 6 months and got sick 6 times. Even recently, I had a really hard time maintaining the energy I needed for training for competitive cycling while eating very little red meat. I have been told that I am border-line anemic, and I have been turned away from donating blood before because of low iron. So I feel like sometimes I just need some meat! And, I like it! So, limiting meat to twice a week seems reasonable.

The two motivating factors for me are health and environmental impact. Like I said, I need the iron and protein from meat, but I also need to watch my cholesterol. On the environmental side, I've always known that raising livestock takes a heavy toll. But I've kind of shrugged it off until now. I read an article that quoted a University of Chicago study that found that the average American has a larger carbon footprint from what they eat than from driving. So what we eat does matter!

We had a delicious spinach and feta lasagna on Saturday night (also with some tofu) - the recipe was from The Grit cookbook. That is one of my favorite Athens restaurants and it is all vegetarian. Tonight we had tofu fajitas - yum! There are lots of meatless options, and I am excited about trying new recipes.