Footsteps to Greening my hair salon

1)  Start an Employee Garden

Since starting the journey to create a "Green" salon, I've struggled with the urban agriculture movement.
Urban agriculture has become a very popular tool for creating a sustainable environment.  Because I was interested in urban agriculture, I've visited a few organic farms.  However, I was not certain that urban agriculture made sense in every environment.  That is; until I visited the Growing Power farm (growingpower.org) located in Wisconsin. During that short trip, I learned that Farming is:

• a great tool for encouraging better nutrition
• helps to understand the dynamics of the land
• easy to learn--that is; if you are willing to give it a good try! 

 Also, I learned that research has shown that people who connect with the earth tend to be less stressed out

When I returned from my trip, I became so inspired that I shared my enthusiasm with my staff.

garden fresh thyme and oregano

Today, we've officially started an employee garden at Octavia's Natural Hair Care Experience salon http://www.imadeulooksalon.com/ In addition to our salon duties, we are farming the land too.  As a reward, we will eat our food at work and share our food with our families.  And even better, we are learning a new skill set that translates into creating food (and even wealth) for our families.   

Footsteps to Greening my hair salon

For me, "Green" means being mindful of the triple bottom line approach to sustainability as outlined by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED.  (For more information,  please visit USGBC.gov)  Per LEED, a sustainable lifestyle begins with holistically thinking our social, economic and environmental concerns.

While the above mentioned approach is very high brow, we can begin to take a small step by simply thinking about our health and the food we consume  - it's a social concern!

Today, I want to share a salad recipe that promotes the concept of eating fresh, live and healthy foods.  It's a tasty treat that even kids will enjoy!

Asian Flare Kale Greens

1 bunch kale - chopped like leafy salad lettuce

4 carrots - chop into thin sticks

a handful of Cilantro

6 green onions

1/2 green pepper (cut into thin strips)

Chop the above mentioned ingredients and put in a large mixing bowl and prepare marinade

Marinade

Ginger (use about the same size as your thumb- chop into tiny pieces)

1/2 cup Sesame Seed oil

juice of 2 1/2 limes

1/4 cup Braggs Amino Acids

Herbamarie Seasoning Blend (You can find this at your local health food store)

1/2 cup Olive oil

3 Garlic gloves (diced)

Combine all marinade in a measuring cup and stir.  Make sure you taste your marinade to be sure you captured your desired flavor.

Pour over the salad mixture and toss to make sure the entire salad is coated with the dressing.  Let the salad marinade for two hours.

It's best to let the salad marinade overnight in the refrigerator.  

Take the salad out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to serving. (The salad tastes best at room temperature)