I need your help.  Starting tomorrow, I am going to post a series of pictures around a given theme.  I need you to look at the pictures and then tell me what you think I will need to change in order to live more like Grandma.  In other words - What Would Grandma Do? Now is your chance to get in on the fun!  This does not have to take much time.  In fact, I prefer your gut reactions!  Please write your thoughts in the comments section of each given post.

The next day I will post your answers along with my own answers to What Would Grandma Do? Each set of answers will be followed by a new set of pictures around a different theme.  I will keep this going for approximately 14 days (or more if I feel like I have additional areas I need to explore).  Please feel free to participate everyday or as often as you can and send in your own questions if you are curious about how Grandma (or Grandpa) would have done something. 

This is a really important part of My Grandma Was Green!  Out of these daily observations, I will develop a list of questions I will use to interview my surviving grandparents as well as other individuals as the opportunity arises.  As you can see, when I start doing these interviews, I will use the word “Grandma” to represent my grandparents, other relatives, and/or other people of my grandparents generation.  I am especially interested in hearing stories about the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.  Your thoughts, observations and questions, along with the information I learn from doing interviews, will form the basis of my Grandma Challenges.

What is a Grandma Challenge? A Grandma Challenge is where the rubber meets the road!  A Grandma Challenge is when I am actively trying to implement (or live out) a specific action or attitude in the spirit of how Grandma would have done it.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

Now is your chance to get in on the fun of creating all kinds of ways to challenge me to live like Grandma!  I need you to respond to the pictures posted below by telling me what you think Grandma would have eaten or how she would have done things differently.  Pick one or two - you do not have to respond to all of them.  Your observations about these pictures will help me determine what my future Grandma Challenges will be.   You may have to go back a few generations before you find the “green” parts of your history.  Keep digging and keep the stories coming!  Your input will help make this journey a success!  Tip: Comment on the food itself as well as how it is packaged and served.

Picture A Lately I have been eating Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal with a banana and milk for breakfast.  I really like scrambled eggs with veggies.  My kids often eat oatmeal with banana and frozen blueberries, bread with butter and jelly, and milk with chocolate Ovaltine mixed in.

 

 

Picture B We drink a lot of water, coffee and milk from a local farm with chocolate Ovaltine for the kids.

 

 

 

Picture C We really enjoy coffee from a local company called Evo.

 

 

 

 
Picture D On a good day, I like to eat a salad for lunch.  I recently made a salad with romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, red pepper, green onions, cheese, and crushed hemp seeds with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top.

 

 

Picture E The kids often eat wheat tortillas or tortilla chips with homemade re-fried black beans, cheese and salsa with grapes on the side for lunch.  We also eat this for dinner 2-3 times a week.

 

 

Picture F I recently made a lentil dish with curry, coconut milk, chicken stock, minced shallots, various spices, organic spinach (was in the plastic container) and cilantro served in a whole wheat tortilla with a salad on the side for dinner.  We also enjoy eating “homemade” pizza with toppings thrown on a store bought crust.

 

Picture G Here are some pictures of miscellaneous food items: A turkey club sandwich and water from a local coffee shop, coffee and treats from a local bakery, what’s left of a pizza dinner from a place my kids love, and ice cream (we love it in any form - from the store, an ice cream shop, or the ice cream truck)!

What Would Grandma Eat?  I look forward to reading your comments!  Stay tuned tomorrow for your responses from today and for the next question: How Would Grandma Bathe?  Things could get smelly!

I am amidittedly scared to face the answers to How Would Grandma Bathe?  Awhile ago, the mother of one of my son’s friends nicely commented that I always look put together.  I laughed and said, “It’s not vanity, it’s sanity.”  And that is mostly true.  I am a mother to three young children and it has been important to me to maintain a personal sense of style.  Perhaps that sounds shallow.  However, taking care of myself in this manner has been vital to my sanity.  If I feel nice, I tend to act nice.  The converse is true - if I feel crappy, I tend to act crappy.  How Would Grandma Bathe? is not just about jumping in the shower.  It is also about how I present myself for the day.  I am curious to know, How Would Grandma Bathe?

It all starts with the water heater for the warm water it provides.  My kids like to bathe in our claw foot tub.  I prefer to shower.  Shampoo and soap products are required to feel (and smell) nice and clean.  Unfortunately, my hair does not look this way naturally.  It takes some work and a good haircut.  Thankfully my sister is a hairstylist because my attempts at cutting hair have produced some scary results.  My husband and I both use styling products in our hair.  Just look at my bathroom cupboard!  It is full of disposable plastic products and tubes filled with chemicals I can’t pronounce.  I often use a blow dryer, a round brush, a regular brush and sometimes a flat iron.  I wear makeup everyday.  My makeup bag is full of more little, plastic containers.

There are additional items needed for personal hygiene.  We use our sinks and hand soap a lot and all have a strong preference for toilet paper.  Cotton balls and Q-tips come in handy too.  I also have to deal with all of the feminine hygiene products which have changed a lot since my Grandma’s days.  My husband and I both need razors for shaving and the products that go along with that habit.  A spritz of cologne or perfume is nice once in awhile.  Oh and it is summer - I like to paint my toes.  I think you get the point.  I am sure you could look in your own bathroom for some more ideas.  So tell me How Would Grandma Bathe?

Thank you to everyone who took a moment to answer yesterday’s post: How Would Grandma Eat?  You said Grandma ate food from her own garden or food that had been raised locally.  I planted my first garden this year and I try to frequent the local farmer’s market.  Grandma ate food that was in season and probably put a lot of food away in preparation for the winter months.  I liked Drew’s comment that “anticipation makes everything taste better.”  Grandma ate homemade food.  Jackie pointed out that cooking from scratch cuts down on packaging. I plan to pay close attention to how my food is packaged, prepared and stored this year.  I have found myself wondering, “How did Grandma manage without all of the plastic products I use for my food?”  Some other questions I would like to have answered are “How often did Grandma go out to eat?”  “Did Grandma eat any imported foods?”  “Did Grandma buy food from a local cannery?”

Stay tuned tomorrow for: What Would Grandma Use To Get Around?  If you are wondering what this is all about check out the post What Would Grandma Do?