Beware the Bag Monsters!

On Halloween it’s in the Bag!

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

With the sounds of Halloween here and little ones eager to take their trick-or-treat bags door-to-door, SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are thinking how nice it would be to keep those bags out all year. 

Not just for Halloween candy, apples and treats, but for everyday items, dairy and meats.

When you bring your own reusable bag on shopping trips, instead of using plastic bags from the store, you can reduce the amount of plastic pollution in our environment.

Did you know that each reusable bag equals 400 single-use plastic bags?

Or that 600 plastic bags are thrown away every second in California?

Every year 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. Of those, 100 billion bags are used in the United States alone.

That’s a lot of plastic bags…most of which end up littering our streets and polluting our waterways and oceans,

endangering sea life – who get tangled in the bags or ingest them – and ultimately entering the food chain.

That’s even scarier than the ghosts and goblins roaming around on All Hallows Eve.

Fortunately California got an early treat this Halloween – the passage and signing of Senate Bill 270 – authorizing the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores.

The Surfrider Foundation Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter has long supported legislation to ban plastic bags. Its Rise Above Plastics Chairperson Jessica Bechtold explained to SurfWriter Girls that building awareness is the key – informing the public of the environmental problems caused by plastic bags and getting people out of the habit of using them.

The bill phases out plastic bags at grocery stores and supermarkets in the summer of 2015. Convenience stores and pharmacies will follow in 2016.

When the plastic bags disappear, so will Bag Monsters – ghostlike, spooky spirits made from discarded plastic bags.

For now, though, they’re still out there. So, heed this Halloween warning:

Beware the Bag Monsters…and Don’t Litter!  

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Stash Your Trash on Halloween

When you’re dancing around the fire

watch out for goblins, ghosts and gyres.

It’s nice to have a yummy treat…

Good and Plenty’s, Reese’s Cups, and candy corn to eat.

But, don’t toss your trash on the beach

when recycling cans are in reach.

Remember that Bag Monsters are always near.

You never know when they’ll appear.

With bulging eyes and shark-like teeth to chew,

If you litter, they’ll get you!

Happy Halloween!!!

 

SurfWriter Girls Patti and Sunny

SurfWriter Girls

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Food and Friends Come Together

Avocado Café – Huntington Beach’s Healthy Choice

A Surfrider Foundation Sponsor Story

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Next time you’re standing on the corner of PCH and Main Street, looking for someplace to eat in Huntington Beach, there’s a great restaurant waiting to be discovered just a few blocks away – Avocado Café (438 Main Street).

SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel first heard about Avocado Café when we talked to the owner, Jon Vidales, at a Surfrider Foundation Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter beach cleanup.

Vidales told us, “I wanted to create something different.”  The restaurant, which offers fresh, nutritious meals and an assortment of juices and smoothies, “emphasizes good service, a healthy lifestyle and a sense of community.”

 

Whether you go for breakfast or lunch, the minute you walk in the door you know that you’re welcome…from the bright, inviting atmosphere and the big smiles that greet you.

As SurfWriter Girls studied the menu board Cash, Alexa and Jacque were eager to explain the different items.

Starting with the Signature Sandwiches, everything is made with the highest quality ingredients with a choice of wheat bread, squaw bread or ciabatta. Or you can order your sandwich made as a wrap or a panini.    

SurfWriter Girls couldn’t resist the Kissel’s Club, made with roast beef, turkey, applewood smoked bacon, tomato, white cheddar cheese, romaine lettuce, sprouts and cucumber on squaw bread.  

The Chuy is another specialty that was too good to pass up – turkey, applewood smoked bacon, goat cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and honey Dijon mustard served on whole grain bread.

There’s also Gaston’s Cuban, an oven-roasted chicken creation that includes Black Forest ham, avocado (of course!), Swiss cheese, pickles, spicy mustard and wasabi mayo spread…all pressed on ciabatta bread and served hot.

The Tower 9 sandwich is as tall as its name and loaded with homemade chicken salad, avocado, pepper jack cheese, sprouts, cucumber, tomato and spring mix, on squaw bread.

The Signature Salads don’t disappoint, either. Whether it’s Tito’s Avocado Classic or the Green House Salad, everything looks like it came straight from the farm.

Tony G’s Albacore Stuffed Avocado – Albacore tuna, tomato, sprouts, shredded jack cheese and spring mix served in an avocado shell – is artistry on a plate!  

Can’t decide between a sandwich or a salad? Have both! Bud’s Combo includes your choice of a half sandwich, small soup or salad, and chips.

Check out the Signature Breakfasts, too, and jumpstart your day with the HB Breakfast Sandy or George’s Breaky Burrito.  

The smoothies and juices are blended on the spot and made with bananas, apple juice and honey. Some of the drinks to chose from include Pineapple Express, Sunrise Berry, Orange Rush, The Green Room (apple, celery, cucumber, spinach and kale), and Billy’s Avocado (avocado, pineapple, mango, lemon and lime juice, with a touch of vanilla and salt). You can also make any smoothie into an Acai Bowl. 

With all the choices it can be hard to make up your mind, but Phoenix and Cash told SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti they’re glad to help. 

Cash even has his own sandwich on the Grommets (kids) Menu – Cash’s PBBJ, made with peanut butter, bananas and strawberry jam.

While people often debate whether the avocado is a fruit or a vegetable (The Mayo Clinic calls it a fruit), there’s no debating that Avocado Café delivers on its promise of healthy food that’s good to eat.      

 

SurfWriter Girls

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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.