With March coming to an end, I’m already thinking about April. It’s Earth Month! I’ve taken the pledge by the Bulk is Green Council (BIG) to purchase bulk foods once a week during Earth Month. BIG is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of purchasing foods from the bulk bins.
Did you know that:
- “If Americans purchased all of their almonds in bulk for 1 month, 6,000,000 pounds of waste would be saved from landfills. That’s the equivalent weight of 522.5 elephants.
- Purchasing oatmeal from the bulk bins saves 5x the waste of its packaged equivalent.
- If the average American family bought peanut butter in bulk for 1 month, 172 pounds of waste per family would be saved from entering landfills.
- If Americans purchased all of their coffee from the bulk bins for 1 month (Earth Month), 20,000,000 pounds of foil packaging would be saved from landfills. That’s the equivalent weight of 7,667 compact cars.”
That’s a whole lot one person/family can do for the world. Come and take the Love Bulk Foods pledge every week in April with me over at lovebulkfoods.com! You’ll be entered to win a prize pack filled with everything you need to create a natural pantry stocked with foods from the bulk bins. The prize pack includes:
- two 100% recycled glass storage jars for an eco-friendly way to store bulk foods
- one “Love Bulk” branded canvas, all-purpose , reusable tote bag for your grocery shopping trips
- samples of food from the following companies that can be found in most bulk foods aisles of grocery stores nationwide:
- non-GMO Certified whole grains from Lundberg Family Farms
- natural and USDA-Organic trail mix from SunRidge Farms
- USDA-Organic spices and tea from Frontier Natural Products Co-op
- All natural French Vanilla and Wild Bluberry Flax granola from Attune Foods
Approximate value of the pack is $75. Winners will be drawn once a week during Earth Month.
This is a soft cookie recipe from AllRecipes. The pistachio flavor from the pudding is very light, so the actual pistachios are a pleasant touch. It’s a great recipe that you can make with the kids, since most of the ingredients come from a box. This would also be a great recipe for Christmas because of the festive colors.
Ingredients
- 1 (1 pound 1.5 ounce) pouch Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
- 1 (4 serving size) package pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix
- 1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup dry-roasted salted pistachio nuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
Directions
- Mix cookie mix, pudding mix and flour in bowl. Stir in melted butter and eggs until soft dough forms. Add pistachios and cranberries; blend well.
- Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press with fingers to slightly flatten.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.
