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| Get Your Green On |
It is time to get your green on! Not because it is lucky on St. Patrick’s Day or if
you are Irish, but because:
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It can create a new family hobby. Find the green thumbs in your family! Everyone can benefit from growing one or more vegetables at home, even if you only have room for a small garden outside or a couple of containers on the porch. Plant something you love to eat but do not buy because of the price (that is tomatoes at our
house). Pick something mild in flavor that will be easy to add to most recipes, such as zucchini or yellow squash. (We cannot wait to taste our tomatoes, and for only pennies
per pound!)
Try growing sprouts. Not only are sprouts loaded with concentrated nutrients, they are easily digested by the body. Sprouts contain vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber. Next to sea vegetables, they are the best source of minerals. Sprouts are super easy and inexpensive to grow. They do not take up much room and, since they are grown indoors, you can grow them year-round. We use and highly recommend the organic seeds from www.sproutpeople.com. Their Sprout Starter Kit makes it super simple. (P.S. Did you know sprouts are high in protein? For example, alfalfa sprouts are 35% protein.)
It can help save the environment. Watch the DVD “Diet For A New America.”
(Parents, please watch first, then determine whether to share it with your children.) Read the introduction to the 2006 UN report Livestocks’ Long Shadow. These sources tell us that the livestock (beef and dairy cattle, pigs, chicken, and some other animals) raised for our food consumption is one of the top two or three significant contributors to every one of the most serious environmental problems. For example, did you know it takes 16 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef? One average meat eater could consume that pound of meat at one meal. Alternatively, 16 people could have been fed the grain it took to produce the pound of meat. What an impact we could have on the environment by decreasing our consumption of meat, and the extra grain could help feed the hungry.
Healthy bodies create healthy minds and attitudes, and we could all use more of that in our world. Everything we consume has either a positive (build up) or negative (tear down) on our bodies and on our world.
Action Item
- Watch the DVD Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock.
- Have a family powwow. Discuss the DVD and ways to increase the number
of plants foods you eat each day. Work together to create a little lifestyle
stimulus plan and improve the food environment in your home. You will be
glad you did.
- Keep fruits and fresh cut vegetables on hand for snacking and for the times
you need rescuing from a “level three” hunger attack.
- Don’t know what to do with vegetables or whole grains in your house, or
how to get started eating healthier?Email me.
This article is the third in a monthly series of articles that will appear on ExploreSpring.com during 2009. It may not appear in whole or in part elsewhere without the author’s permission. It is not intended to diagnose or treat. It was submitted to ExploreSpring.com by Cindy Simpson of [url=http://www.wellnessqb.com target="_blank"]WellnessQB[/url] - “Making wellness quite basic to educate, inspire, and encourage you to reach your ideal health potential.” Cindy is a health educator, and has completed the certification program by Dr. Pam Popper of The Wellness Forum. Your comments and questions are welcome at cindy.simpson@mac.com.
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Posted on Mar 27, 2009 17:53pm by admin
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