Adventures in Eco-Friendly (Feminine) Hygiene!

Alright, I'm going to give you some fair warning- this is a post for the female readers. I am going to talk about getting ALL UP in our lady bits, and while that should by no means frighten men off, they may find it a tad irrelevant.

Ladies - if it frightens YOU off, then I'm disappointed, and feel bad for your poor vagay, who isn't remotely scary, and with whom you should be BFFs.

For a while now, I've been trying to find a better way of dealing with my period, as I find it completely unacceptable that we're expected to spend 1/4 of our days in misery. For 40 years. That's TEN years of menstrual f*ckery, and it's not cool with me. 

While the birth control pill I'm on helps fix some of the problems (namely Von Willebrand's sponsored Niagara-level bleeding), it also brings with it a whole host of other issues (cramping, bloating, and digestive weirdness), so it's really only half of a solution. But I can live with that- although not ideal, the pill has at least brought my period into the realm of manageability.

So my next, and biggest, problem- what to actually DO with the blood. I've never really felt great about sticking factory-produced, bleached cotton up into sensitive body parts, and don't even get me STARTED on the scented ones. Blech. I just feel like it's a great way to throw off your pH balance at the very least, not to mention the possibilities of tearing yourself or TSS. But over the last couple years I've felt myself also growing uncomfortable with the thought of all the waste I was creating. Every tampon applicator I tossed away made me cringe guiltily. Even after a switch to applicatorless tampons, I knew I was contributing to a problem that's growing daily. So I researched other options.

I know a fair amount of women who swear by Moon Cups and Diva Cups, and while I very much trust their judgement, I have a couple qualms- the chance of me spilling blood on myself is NOT one I'd like to take. Also, I would feel a little weird rinsing it out in public bathrooms, though it does seem like they hold enough that this is something you could plan to avoid.

Then I stumbled across what seemed a potential dream come true- sponge tampons! These bad boys have no grody string hanging out of you, are pretty easy to put in, and, best bit of all, can be worn during sex. I tried a small box of Beppy tampons to test out, and was immediately sold on how well they work. Trouble is, these are disposable, too, and do nothing to keep more synthetic scariness out of our landfills, or, for that matter, my body; I still wanted a more natural solution.

Enter the natural sponge tampon. Sea sponges have been used this way for ages, which makes total sense. You can buy precut, individual sponges, but I opted to buy a large one and cut it down into six or seven.

 

It looks big at first...

...but it bunches up super small

While QUITE firm and rough at first, never fear- as soon as you get it wet, sea sponge becomes incredibly flexible and soft. Make sure to soak your sponge in warm (but not boiling) water and 1/8 cup of white vinegar when you first get it, so it's nice and clean for your sensitive bits.
To put one in, wet it, then squeeze out all excess moisture. Scrunch up as small as you can, pinched between two fingers, gently push inside, and then use one finger to push it all the way back. You'll feel it sort of...lodge itself. The sponge will expand perfectly to stay in place, and is good to go! Sex, yoga, and cardio haven't budged it.

Now, removing it is probably what wigs women out the most- it'll be messier than when you put it in, and there's a (completely irrational) fear that you won't be able to reach it. But we're not an endless tunnel, ladyfriends. While it's true that it's quite a reach, if you kegel down on that sucker, you can push it toward your fingers, and gently pull it out.  You'll probably freak out a bit the first time, but really quickly it becomes old hat. Wash it out with warm water, squeeze out excess moisture, and pop back in! I find they last 5-8 hours. At the end of your period, wash it out one last time, and then leave it in 1 cup of warm water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar for 10 minutes.

Overall impressions: AWESOME. A million times more comfortable than cotton tampons, I couldn't even feel the thing. It absorbs blood a hell of a lot better than cotton, too, and unlike tampons, which I found were almost always either overflowingly wet or uncomfortably dry when I removed them, the sponges are so soft that it doesn't matter if you bled less that you expected, it's never dry and rough on the way out. And best of all, no waste!! I've read lots of different sources claiming anywhere from a 3-12 month lifespan for one sponge, so at the very inside number I've got almost 2 years of tampons out of one $15 sponge. I'll certainly take it.

So, that's the whole, bloody story. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, and would love to hear about your experiences with "alternative" period control!

The Basics: Pesto Genovese

Growing up, I always loved helping my mother make pesto. Sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor, stripping intoxicatingly fragrant basil leaves into an enormous bowl stands out as one of my earliest memories. That being said, I have never been a fan of actually eating pesto. Seeing all that beautiful basil drowned in garlic, olive oil, and cheese until you can barely get a whiff of it just breaks my heart. So when I went looking for a pesto recipe, I decided to just bastardize my own, making it heavy on the basil and light on everything else. Cashews are lovely for this because the sweet, creaminess enhances the basil, rather than masking it, and the lemon keeps it nice and light.

Pesto Genovese
makes 2 cups

2 cups fresh basil
3/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews
1/4 cup raw, unsalted walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 cloves garlic
3/4 cup nutritional yeast

Salt to taste

Food process all ingredients til creamy, adjusting to taste as desired!

This makes a healthy batch, but the olive oil means this is a happy camper in the fridge, and also freezes well. 

Creamy and Zesty Caesar Salad Dressing (Cashew-Free!)

So, here's the deal. I LOVE making foods with soaked cashews; so dreamy and creamy. But I am the WORST at finding recipes the night before, when I need to soak said cashews for 8-12 hours. I am the BEST at finding those recipes when I have less than three hours to dedicate in the kitchen.  My biggest problem has been with caesar dressing. I haven't had a caesar salad in three years because salads are rarely something I plan. So if I need 12 hours to plan ahead in order to whip up some dressing, it just ain't gonna happen.

Enter in the happy little walnut, which lends itself nicely to pestos and dressings after much less soaking time than cashews. After searching for a recipe online, I wound up just whipping this up, and the earthy creaminess balances quite nicely with the lemon, if I do say so.

 Caesar Dressing
1/2 cup raw walnuts, soaked for 15 minutes
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup olive oil (I actually did a blend of half olive and half almond oil, which is my usual M.O. with salad dressings)
2 1/2 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt

Drain the walnuts, and blend all ingredients in a food processor.. Add up to a tbsp of water if you'd like to thin it down a bit.

I'm a fan of mixing spinach and red leaf lettuce for my Caesars, and of COURSE, you need croutons.

Happy eating!

Ginger-Miso Tofu

I'm always on the lookout for a tasty recipe that can be quickly thrown together with ingredients prepped in advance. After a long day, the very last thing I want to do is peel, seed, and chop a ton of veggies.  

This is just one of those recipes- it doesn't sacrifice taste to save on time, and if you do the prep (of which there isn't much) beforehand, you've got a hearty and delicious meal in 20 minutes. Haven't prepped anything in advance? Never fear- still less than an hour start to finish!

Ginger-Miso Tofu with Brown Rice, Spinach, and Carrots

 makes 4 servings

1 cup uncooked brown rice

2 cups vegetable stock

1 14 oz package of firm or extra firm tofu (I'm a fan of extra firm sprouted), sliced 1/2 in. thick

3 cups mixed veg (I used 12 oz spinach and 2 purple carrots, and it was DELISH, but just know that spinach doesn't lend itself to reheating)

Marinade:

1/4 cup white wine (a dry riesling is lovely, though mirin is more traditional)

1/4 cup white or yellow miso paste

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp minced shallots

2 tbsp fresh minced ginger

1/4 tsp salt

Prep work, which can be done in advance:

1. Cook the brown rice in the vegetable stock, and set aside.
2. Boil the carrots until JUST tender and set aside.
3. Whisk together the marinade ingredients until completely blended, place the tofu in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over it, turning the pieces to coat them completely. Cover and refrigerate at least half an hour (you can also leave it overnight). 

 Mealtime work:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
2. Place the pieces of tofu on a lined (parchment or silpat) baking sheet, set the  remaining marinade aside, and bake for 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through. They'll be golden brown.
3. After the ten minute mark on the tofu,  heat up the marinade in a large skillet over medium heat. Once sizzling, simmer a minute or two, stirring. Add the brown rice and keep stirring until the rice is hot. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the carrots and leave it on low heat, stirring, until the tofu is done. Serve with tofu, and, yum!

Happy eating!