Live Peace with We Are What We Do

We Are What We Do is a not-for-profit behaviour change company that creates ways for millions of people to do more small, good things. They have launched several projects and campaigns to inspire socially and environmentally conscious behavior including the iconic I’m Not a Plastic Bag tote, the Young Activist Program, and a series of books on how to change the world one step at a time such as, Change the World for a Fiver and Teach Your Granny to Text and Other Ways to Change the World .

Their project Internet Buttons helps to make the internet more accessible and easy to use. Here is how it works.

We Are What We Do has also created Action Tracker which serves as a tool for sharing your actions, organizing projects as a group, and provides resources to make your actions fun and successful.

Tori Flower, We are What We Do’s Director, believes in the incidental effect which “is about creating things that are useful, practical and fun in their own right, and it is these qualities that attracts people to the product or tool. They also happen to help people do good – but this is something that is not necessarily apparent in the top layer of messaging. The good behaviour is buried inside the product or tool. Which is why we call it incidental.”

Which of these resources can best help you change the world one step at a time?

Visit We are What We Do’s website to support their efforts or to find more tools for social change.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Dalia Mogahed: The Attitudes That Sparked Arab Spring

“[There is] a link between people’s faith in their democratic process and their faith that oppressed people can change their situation through peaceful means alone.”

-Dalia Mogahed

Dalia Mogahed , Executive Director and Senior Analyst of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, shares her thoughts on the Egyptian Revolution and the Arab Spring in her hopeful and inspiring TED talk. She explores it’s implications for self-empowerment of ordinary citizens, especially women. According to Mogahed, trends show that Egyptians are taking on a more active responsibility to bring a about peaceful change in their communities.

Egyptian native, Dalia Mogahed, is a member of Women in International Security  and serves on several intercultural advising groups to facilitate global and cultural understanding.

For more information on the Gallup Center’s work visit their website.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Meatless Mondays: Jeweled Brown Rice with Orange Zest and Mint

It’s time to begin the week with our Meatless Monday recipe and statistic!

It takes about 12,000 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat while it only takes 565 gallons of water to produce a pound of potatoes, wheat, corn, and rice. Why not try reducing your water consumption by consuming this delicious recipe?

Jeweled Brown Rice with Orange Zest and Mint

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown basmati rice, rinsed (if you can, soak the rice for up to 8 hours)
• Pinch saffron
• 2 small yellow onions or shallots
• 2 medium carrots
• Zest of 1 organic orange
• Ghee or coconut oil
• ½ Tbsp. cumin seeds
• ½ tsp. turmeric
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ cup mixed dried fruit (dates, apricots, raisins)
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• ½ cup packed mint leaves
• ½ cup packed chives
• 1 small pomegranate
• ½ cup nuts (almonds, pistachios)
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

 Preparation:

1. In a small glass of hot water (3-4 Tbsp.), add a pinch of saffron and let steep into a “tea” while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Dice onion. Grate carrots. Slice off the outer edge of the orange rind, removing as little white pith as possible. Then slice into matchstick-sized strips. Set aside.
3. Heat a knob of ghee or coconut oil in a pot. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant, 1 minute, then add turmeric, bay leaves, and the cinnamon stick, stir to coat with oil and fry for another minute until fragrant. Next add onion, carrots, orange rind, and dried fruit. Cook until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
4. Drain rice and add it to the pot with 4 cups of water, the saffron “tea,” and salt. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer for 45 minutes, or until the water has evaporated.
5. While the rice is cooking, wash and chop the herbs. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Gently roast the nuts in a dry skillet until fragrant and golden.
6. When the rice is finished cooking, remove form heat. Scoop rice out onto a baking sheet to cool slightly and to prevent the grains from sticking together. After a few minutes, sprinkle with herbs, nuts, and pomegranate seeds. Fold to incorporate. Season to taste (you will likely need to add more salt at this stage).
7. Serve rice with a drizzle of good olive oil and lemon wedge. Although the lemon may seem like an afterthought, it is an essential element of the dish, rounding out the flavours and adding a zesty kick. Enjoy!

Recipe originally posted on Whole Living Daily.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Live Peace with Lumana

Are you eager to help make good happen but aren’t sure how? Each week we’ll be highlighting a great organization to give you a few ideas to spread living peace!

This week’s featured organization is Lumana, a Seattle based non-profit that provides various economic resources to Ghanians. Their mission is to reduce poverty and increase opportunity for individuals in rural Africa by providing resources such as business education, cooperative group formation, savings account creation and microfinance loans.

Check out their website for more information on how to contribute by making a donation, attending an event, or even becoming a Lumana Fellow!

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story

There are so many leaders that truly embody living peace with the passion they bring to their causes. We see this passion in the way they speak and seek to inform audiences about how to make the world a better, more peaceful place. They take action, educate, and inspire. In an effort to spread inspiration from compelling people all around the world, we will be sharing videos to show how living peace can take different forms.

Take the time to ponder how this video’s message can help to reach a peaceful state in your life, your community, and the world.

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

-Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie, author of The Thing around Your Neck (2009), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Purple Hibiscus (2003), speaks to her experience with stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings in her powerful TED talk. Chimamanda lives in Nigeria, her birthplace, and the United States, teaching writing workshops to help fight the phenomenon of the “single story.”

For more information on her work visit her website.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

Americans consume 8 ounces of meat per day, on average, which is about 45% more than the USDA recommends. By cutting meat out of your diet just one day a week, you will be closer to eating the recommended amount of meat, and will be less at risk for certain preventable chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity.

This week’s vegetarian minestrone soup is healthy and delicious – give it a try!

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup green beans, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups macaroni pasta

Directions:

1. In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except the pasta. Simmer over low heat for at least one hour, or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Add the pasta and bring to a low simmer. Cook for another 20 minutes, or until pasta is done cooking.
3. Remove bay leaf before serving.
4. Enjoy!

Recipe originally posted on About.com.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Boxed Water is Better for You and Me!

30 billion plastic water bottles are thrown away every year. Plastic can take up to a thousand years to disintegrate and make up a big deposit of plastic toxic waste in the Pacific Ocean.

What can you do to help?

Boxed Water is Better is committed to providing an environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water. Founder Benjamin Gott believes that it’s sustainability, efficiency and goal to give back sets the product apart from the rest.

Here are some facts about Boxed Water is Better’s manufacturing and environmental consciousness.

1. About 76% of the box is from a renewable 
resource, trees.
2. Trees used to make the box come from certified, well managed forests. These forests remain healthy and stable through ongoing replanting.
3. Their boxes are recyclable. The Carton Council is continuously adding new carton recycling facilities throughout the US.
4. Boxes are shipped flat to a filler which is significantly more efficient compared to shipping empty plastic or glass bottles to
be filled.
5. 10% of Boxed Water is Better’s profit is donated to world water relief foundations.
6. Another 10% of Boxed Water is Better’s profit is donated to reforestation foundations.

To find a retailer that carries Boxed Water is Better near you, visit their website.

To support more water relief efforts and forest conservation efforts, check out Water.org and Conservation International.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Meatless Monday: Carmelized Onion and White Bean Flat Bread

Happy Monday!

Did you know that the EPA estimates that nearly 95 percent of the pesticide residue comes primarily from meat, fish and some dairy products? Meat can also be laced with hormones and steroids, which cannot be good for anyone. By lessening our meat intake just one day a week, we can reduce the amount of toxic chemicals we take in from eating meat and lead a healthier life.

Here is another meat-free dish that will be sure to satisfy!

Carmelized Onion and White Bean Flat Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough, thawed if frozen
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
• 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup finely shredded smoked Gouda, or Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons pepitas, optional

Directions:

1. Place oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large noninsulated baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine oil, onion and salt in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden, 5 to 8 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to the size of the baking sheet. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Stir oregano and pepper into the onion. Transfer half the onion to a small bowl. Add beans to the remaining onion; cook over medium heat, stirring often, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the bean mixture to a food processor, add water and vinegar and pulse until a coarse paste forms.
5. Spread the bean paste over the pizza crust. Top with the reserved onion, tomatoes, cheese and pepitas, if using. Bake on the bottom rack until the crust is crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 11 to 13 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipe originally posted on Eating Well.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!

Meatless Monday: Tofu Ravioli with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

We hope you are enjoying your Monday! Here is another tasty recipe to make it even better!

Tofu Ravioli with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

Ingredients:

• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs. drained capers
• 2 Tbs. olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
• ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
• Brine-cured black olives for garnish
• 16 large brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
• 13-oz. pkg. fresh or frozen tofu ravioli (egg or spinach pasta, or both)
• 4 ripe, large tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or 28-oz. can plum tomatoes,drained and chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ravioli; stir to prevent sticking. Cook ravioli until just tender, about 8 minutes for fresh; 15 minutes for frozen.
2. Meanwhile, in large shallow serving bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, chopped olives, garlic, capers, oil and pepper.
3. Drain ravioli and add to tomato mixture. Toss well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste, divide among plates and garnish with whole black olives if desired.

Recipe originally posted on Vegetarian Times.

Good Happens.

Peace Grl Out!