I stumbled across this great article in the Province that validates what I've thought all along - composting doesn't have to be hard. When you're done dinner at night, scrape all of your left over veggies into the blender, and then dump them into the garden. Simple. You'll have great soil that will help you grow a garden your neighbours will be envious of. Stay away from any animal based leftovers however, because that will attract the annoying critters we have all around us in Vancouver, which will cause your neighbours to dislike you - and if they're busy disliking you, they will be too busy to be jealous of your beautiful garden

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

The season of joy, peace and love has arrived.

Your favourite holiday tunes are back in the rotation.

Festive décor and holiday treats have made their way to the mantle.

Canadians enjoy the traditions of our culture and we take pride in our selections of wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes and bows. Our love for gift giving is as strong as our love for hockey. There is an overwhelming amount of newer and more desirable products hitting the shelves daily. This season Canadians will generate approximately 545 000 tonnes of holiday waste.

It is difficult to balance our desire to give with our need to conserve. We hope to inspire you with some unique ways to reduce your environmental footprint.

RECYCLE CANDY CANES AND HOLIDAY CANDY: Grind mint candy canes in a clean coffee grinder to make instant peppermint powdered sugar. Store in a small jar and add to coffee, hot chocolate or cappuccino, or sprinkle over vanilla ice cream.

HOLIDAY WREATHS: Remove all the holiday ornamentation from the wreath (save for next year if silk), and use the bare wreaths to make a giant bird's nest centerpiece, perfect for a year-round display.

HOLIDAY CANDLES: Recycle old holiday candles into new candles. Melt and pour wax into wine glasses that have been chipped from all the festive cheer for brand new, very elegant candles. Make a large candle in a trifle dish, too.

CHEAP AND EASY STORAGE IDEAS FOR LIGHTS AND ORNAMENTS: Keep ornaments organized and protected with two easy ideas: One, store delicate ornaments in egg cartons to keep them separated and stored neatly. For lights, use squares of cardboard and cut notches along the edge. Then, wrap the square in the lights.

NEW YEAR'S EVE BALL: Bundle two to three strings of white Christmas lights into a large ball; just wrap them on themselves over and over to make a large ball and hang in your home for New Year's, just like the famed Times Square ball!

RECYCLE COOKIE BOXES: Transform those holiday theme candy and cookie tins into useful storage bins for around the house.

RECYCLE HOLIDAY CARDS: Make tabletop luminaries out of holiday cards. Start with two cards identical in size. Stack them on top of each other, both with the folded side to the left. With a hole puncher, cut holes along the open-side edge, approximately every 1/4 inch. Thread a needle with twine, and sew the two cards together to create a box shape. Use a well-protected candle in a glass container or rechargeable light to illuminate your craft.

GIVE EXPERIENCES: Laughter, Relaxation, and Learning are quality choices when it comes to memorable experiences. We live in a land of exciting outdoor opportunities, culinary arts, music, theatre, travel opportunities and philanthropic options that will ensure a lasting and meaningful memory that is attached to your thoughtful intentions.

• Give chickens, goats and cows for Christmas – yes, really - Buy a family in Africa an animal that will allow them to feed themselves and their community.
• Give services – a soothing massage, facial or
• Give Yoga – the gift of balance and breath. A great start to the New Year.
• Give Food - Food is the essence of life – does someone you know have a favourite restaurant or maybe they’ve mentioned a restaurant they’d like to try.
• Give a Local Mini Holiday - $89.00 will buy you a week night getaway at Harrison Hot Springs with as much time in the “Healing Springs” as needed.
• Give a Lesson - Pottery, Snowboarding, Cooking, Fishing, Scuba Diving, Jewellery Making...

THAI AWAY GIFT CARDS: $10, $15 or $25 denominations buys you lunch for 1, dinner for 1 or dinner for 2. Great value for the Thai Food lover on your list and an excellent choice for busy students or young professionals. Gift Card Purchases of $50 or more will receive a 10% discount. Available for purchase at our Cambie location.

FaceBook Challenge: What other ideas have you got for gifts that have a positive impact on our world? Post your ideas here…

Thai Away is a proud sponsor of For Our Daughters: Speaking Tour. From October 15th to December 7th, this tour will give four girls from Ghana's Northern Region the opportunity to tell their personal stories of hardship and endurance at locations across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Every $200 they raise will send another girl in Ghana to school for an entire year. Check the website for the complete schedule.

Greenhouse gases and their effect on climate is one of the greatest issues facing humanity and it’s everyone’s responsibility to see what changes they can make to reduce their emissions and carbon footprint. After all, only a 10% reduction in greenhouse gases is needed to turn global warming back around again. With that in mind, we looked at our operations to see where we could make changes to reduce our carbon footprint and the resulting GHG emissions.

• Low energy light: the installation of to LED & Cathode tube provided us with energy star increases of up to 70%, and an immediate estimated electricity savings of 229KWH in the next year
• Timer switches on our night time lights set to turn off for 4 hours
• Our new restaurant operations model is a quick service café which eliminates the need for a power-intensive full air draw system
• We have committed to buy energy-efficient equipment whenever possible
• Regular equipment maintenance will keep it running energy efficiently.
• Employee transit program has been implemented to eliminate trips to work by car
• Rebates on take out containers $.25 cents off for every container brought in for refill

We believe that everyone can make a difference in Greenhouse Gas emissions by making small changes which have no impact on their quality of life. It’s a question of raising awareness and spending some time looking at small changes that can have significant carbon footprint impacts. BC Hydro’s Power Smart program is a great starting point if you’d like to start this journey. Visit http://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/ for information about changes that can be made at home, at work and in the community. If you have ideas for further changes we could make or examples of changes you’ve made, please share them with us info@thaiawayfood.com: we’ll publish the best on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thai Away Meals-in-Minutes are nutritious, flavourful meals that provide a number of health benefits. Each meal contains one of the following health boosting ingredients.

Vitamin A, B & C

• Thai Away MIM Vegetable dishes, made with squash, red and green peppers, brocolli, cauliflower, and carrots exceed the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A & C
• Thai Away meals come with brown rice; a whole grain, complex carbohydrate alternative to white rice; full of Vitamin B

Coconut Milk

• Our curry sauce contains approx 50% lauric acid. Lauric acid is a "healthy fat" that helps regulate cholestrol, increase the metabolism and has anti-viral benefits.
• Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing the risk of heart disease
• Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids
• Supports tissue healing and repair
• Supports and aids immune system function
• All Thai Away curries contain natural coconut milk with no added preservatives

Chili Peppers

• Increases metabolism to counteract weight gain, decreases cholesterol, helps prevent heart disease and stimulates endorphins for a "natural high"
• All Thai Away curry dishes have crushed chili peppers in them

Lemongrass

• Lemongrass is considered by herbalists to have several useful properties, including antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and fever-reducing effects
• Helps to reduce high cholesterol

Fresh Thai Herbs

• Lime Leaves and Thai Sweet Basil are brought in fresh from Thailand – creating a very fragrant and exotic taste unique to Thai food
• Thai herbs are also medicinal, for example, Thai Sweet Basil is used for a variety of stomach aliments and circulatory disorders

Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a "functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. Coconut oil is of special interest because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other dietary oil and is extensively used in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations. Pacific Islanders consider coconut oil to be the cure for all illness. The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called "The Tree of Life."

So reap the benefits of the coconut today and stop by Thai Away Home for a fresh glass of coconut juice or a warm bowl of coconut curry...yum!