How To Be Green Without Spending Too Much Money: An Interview with Renée Loux

Back in the summer of 2005, I was taking care of my mom as she dealt with terminal cancer. Even though I have been a vegetarian for most of my life, I became obsessed with wanting to know more about having a healthier and more natural life. I read every book I could find which would educate me on the foods that we eat and the products that we use. The thing about cancer is that once someone you love gets it, you start to pay attention to the health of other people. I soon found that so many people were getting more and more sick. I could not help but wonder why. Was it the food, was it genetics, was it the environment or some fluke of nature or a combination of all these things?

 

One of the books I came across during this time was a cookbook (Living Cuisine) by Renée Loux. It was a great cookbook and an excellent guide to learning more about raw foods. I became a fan of Renée’s because of that book and have read every book she has written. Her latest book is Easy Green Living. It is what I would consider an encyclopedia on sustainable living. Actually, I would call it a manual to being as green as possible. Every home should have a copy.

 

 

 

 

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Renée for this blog and get her advice on how we all can be good to the environment, even though many of us are cutting down on expenses. There are simple steps you can take and yet live within your means. Before I get into the interview, here is a little background on Renée:

 

Renée grew up in the Northeast section of the United States and when she was a teenager, she became a vegetarian. She soon adopted a vegan lifestyle. Her reason for going vegetarian and vegan was that she realized that she had the power to chose the kind of foods she wanted to eat and that those choices would have an impact not only on herself but on the world around her. There was also an element of rebellion since being a vegan can, on occasion, raise an eyebrow or two.

 

In college,  Renée realized that she wanted to live in a place where she could grow her own food and after spending harsh winters in Vermont, she wanted to live in a place that was warm. So Renée decided to take a risk and move to Maui. She worked as a chef in her own restaurant and then three years later sold the restaurant to her business partner. She then worked for Hollywood celebrities as a personal chef.

 

One day, while washing dishes after dinner at a friend’s house, Renée realized that the soap she used was going to go back into the water supply and she realized that the products we use must have some type of impact on the environment. The soap water that was going down the drain would end up in some other water supply. It was then she began to research the ingredients of typical household products and thus began her passion for the environment which led to the publishing of her latest book; Easy Green Living.

 

 

 

 

Renée suggested that the best way to begin turning your home into an environmentally friendly haven is to start with the things that you use often. Here is a list of things that you can do that will not cost you much and yet still be good to the environment:

 

1. Switch to a biodegradable liquid dish soap. You may wonder what is so important about soap being biodegradable. Turns out that regular liquid soap is made from petroleum, so basically you are washing your dishes with soap that is made from fuel…the kind that is in your gas tank (AND MAY LEAVE RESIDUES ON DISHES). While biodegradable soap is derived from plant sources (WHICH ARE UNLIKELY TO LEAVE RESIDUES, AND IF THEY DO, THEY’RE NOT HARMFUL).

 

2. Switch to recycled paper products such as paper towels, toilet paper, napkins and tissues (and as Renée told me “this does not mean having to use products that feel like sandpaper!”).

 

3. If your toilet is from before the 1990’s, retrofit it by buying a toilet dam (costs about ten dollars and can be purchased at a hardware store) or place a 1.5 liter water bottle filled with water in the reservoir of your toilet (you may want to put something heavy in the water bottle to ground it) and this simple act will displace the water that you use and cut down on the amount of water wasted each time you flush the toilet.

 

4. Switch to using natural beauty products when you can. Your skin absorbs at least 60% of what you put on it. So there is no need to use creams and/or lotions that are chemical based. The same goes for toothpaste. One inexpensive item to purchase is a tongue cleaner. It is an interesting looking device but it does help eliminate bad breath!

 

5. When washing your clothes, always use cold water instead of warm or hot. The temperature of the water really does not matter and you will save 80-95% on electricity used to wash your clothes.

 

 

This is a small sample of the hundreds of tips that are found in Easy Green Living. I have read the book cover to cover but no matter how many times I look at it, I am reminded of another great green tip. Just so you know, this book is full of information so it may seem overwhelming but it is great to know that there are many things we can do to help the environment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about Renée or in a great recipe for chocolate mousse that is not only yummy but healthy, please go to Renée’s website site: www.reneeloux.com.

 

Special thanks to Renée Loux for taking the time from her busy schedule to talk to me.