Weekend Chores – Like Money in the Bank

Jul 19th, 2010

You get home from a long, tiring day…..open the fridge……see a wall of produce in plastic bags…..shut the door and head to Taco Bell or Applebee’s.  The same thing happens the next day because you’re even more tired and busier.  By day 3 or 4 you get an attitude about it (annoyed with yourself for being lazy and wasteful, annoyed at your spouse because he/she doesn’t cook, frustrated with your busy family life that gets you to bed by 11 and up by 6 – day after day).  Finally on the weekend you clean out the drippy mess and either put the fruits and veggies in the real compost pile or in the trash and vow to do better. 

I’ve done this myself so I know what I’m talking about. 

One secret to success is to keep a list of everything perishable that’s in your refrigerator so you can plan meals.  Take the list to work with you and while on break or enjoying  your morning tea, ponder the list for meal ideas.

Another secret is to better manage your fridge, and do it on the weekend or whenever you feel you have the most time.  It doesn’t sound appealing, but it’s very satisfying to take everything out, see what you have, and then put it back in an orderly way.  If you have a few extra minutes, prep as many of the fruits and veggies as you think you’ll eat in the next few days. 

I just did this and I feel very virtuous.  Now I can start the week with a hopeful attitude about cooking and eating at home.  In fact, while I was cleaning and organizing my fridge, I made a salad for tomorrow and bagged up snack baggies of cherries and grapes. 

I’m not always successful, but I like to get the week off to a smooth start by getting the following chores done on the weekend:

• getting groceries
• planning meals for the week
• cleaning and organizing the refrigerator
• doing laundry
• changing the bed sheets
• mowing the lawn
• calling friends and family (not really a chore but it’s on my mental list each week)
• cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming

And if I really want the week to go smoothly, I spend several hours doing whatever I want to do relaxing and having fun.  If all I did was chores, I would soon see the corners of my mouth droop – and no one wants to see that.  So I have plenty of fun too.  This weekend I lounged on my deck for hours working on a writing project, had a wonderful brunch with my Lawrence “family,” and bowled for the first time in decades.  Thankfully they now have automatic scoring.  My first game was 112 and the second was 165.  Then we celebrated with a snow cone – another thing I haven’t done for decades.  So it was a great weekend and I’m ready for the week ahead. 

How about you?  Leave your comments and stories at the comment link below.

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) Recall

Mar 27th, 2010

Have you heard the latest about the recall of thousands of processed, packaged foods?  Another reason to eat more whole foods (i.e.,  not processed).

The FDA announced that HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors has been recalled, and an estimated 10,000 products are affected by this recall. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is a flavor enhancer commonly used in processed foods.  The recall was issued due to possible salmonella contamination.  <<More

Good Reason To Limit Use of Plastic

Oct 22nd, 2009

This story is so strange I even went to Snopes.com to see if it was an urband legend.  I wish it was.  Plastic is one of the least biodegradable products on the planet.  Can we use less?  Leave your comments at the link below the post.

Midway
Message from the Gyre

These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.

To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

Click here to see the rest of the photos.

Healthy Vegetarian/Vegan Eating!

May 29th, 2009

I received an email from a subscriber, Bill, that I want to share with all of you.  I couldn’t have said it better!

Thanks for your efforts to encourage wellness.  My wife and I have followed a largely vegetarian diet for the past two years and have seen significant benefits. Our original motivation was to save a few animal lives, especially given the cruelty in factory-farm food-animal production and slaughter. The positive health consequences were an unexpected benefit. There is also the satisfaction of knowing that reductions in meat eating will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

(Here’s a bit more of their story from a separate email……)

My wife and I attended a meeting two years ago of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). On the way there, knowing we would be would be having no meat during the conference, we had double cheeseburgers at a fast-food place, and joked whether we would be doing the same following the conference, as we anticipated no long-term change in our eating habits.

Halfway through the conference, we realized what great vegan food we were having and had a better understanding of the cruelty associated with much of the meat industry, and decided we would give vegetarianism a try. We have not been absolute by any means, but the health consequences were dramatic and surprising. I am about 20 pounds lighter and continuing to play tennis and full-court basketball at age 70. My wife Linda saw her previously astronomical cholesterol and triglyceride numbers plummet.

In short, whatever your own eating habits may be, I hope you will include some discussion of vegetarian options in your series on healthy eating.

Any other vegetarians or vegans want to chime in?  Do so at the comment link below…..would love to hear from you! 

100 Healthy Habits That Can Save Your Life, Your Money, and Your Planet

Apr 21st, 2009

Just came across an interesting list of 100 small things you can do to save your life, your money, and your planet.  I thought you’d enjoy reading it…..and posting it where you can see it now and then.

101 Painless Ways to Detoxify Your Mind, Body, and Home

Jul 1st, 2008

Eliminating bad habits, detox diets, Feng Shui tips, how-to guides, chemicals and toxins, and exercise are just a few of the categories that make up this interesting list of 101 ways to detoxify your body, mind, and home.  Check it out.

How to Make a Nontoxic Cleaning Kit

Jul 1st, 2008

If you’ve been reading my stuff for very long, you know that I’m an environmentalist.  I’ve been so busy with other things, I haven’t posted about the environment lately.   But I’ve got a great article (with recipes) to help you make your own green cleaning products – no need to buy the store brands.  Mother nature needs a little help–let’s do our part by eliminating our toxic-cleaning-product love affair. 

4 Easy Ways to Go Organic

May 17th, 2008

Dr. Al Sears has taken some of the mystery out of going organic.  Below is his newsletter article on the subject.  I found it helpful and interesting.  Cheryl
 

Al Sears, MD
12794 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 16
Wellington, FL 33414

Doctor’s House Calls
May 19, 2008

Going organic is a good idea… Organic foods are higher in nutritional content, from vitamins and minerals to antioxidants. 

They’re also free of pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and other toxins that cause hormonal imbalances, many kinds of cancer, birth defects, and other serious illnesses.

But organic food isn’t always easy to find and the labels can be confusing.

To make it easier for you, I have a few suggestions…  

#1: Know What the Labels Mean

Trying to figure out which foods are really “organic” can be difficult because there are so many different labels. Anything carrying a seal 100% Organic means the food contains only organically produced ingredients. It must carry contact information for a USDA certifying agent; it usually bears the “USDA Organic” seal.

If the label says Organic, it means 95% of the ingredients that went into making the food are organic. The remaining 5% must be on a national list of accepted ingredients. These products also have to contain contact information for the independent, USDA-regulated certifying agent.

Made with organic ingredients means the food contains at least 70 percent organic ingredients. They also have to provide the certifying agent’s contact information. But the remainder of the ingredients aren’t necessarily organic. And they can’t carry the “USDA Organic” seal.

Foods with less than 70 percent organic ingredients may include any organic ingredients on the ingredients list only. They also aren’t allowed to carry the “USDA Organic” seal.

#2: Buy Local

Farmers’ markets are popping up in a lot of communities these days. Look for one near you. Locally grown produce is often more nutritious than store-bought, simply because you’re getting fruits and vegetables that are in season, and they don’t need to be transported over long distances. That means they’ve ripened closer to harvest, which makes a big difference in nutritional content.

#3: Avoid These Hazardous Foods (See Cheryl’s comment below)

• Milk: Commercial cattle are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. They eat grains laced with pesticides. And they’re simply diseased animals. All of that stuff gets concentrated in their milk. The USDA performed analyses of commercial milk in 2004 and found pesticide residues in all samples tested.1 Organic milk is readily available in most supermarkets. Make this a priority purchase.

• Peaches/Apples: These two fruits contained the highest concentration of pesticides of 45 kinds of produce the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit consumer health organization. They used the USDA’s own analysis to rank food safety. Avoid commercial versions of these fruits. Even washing won’t offer you (or your children) enough protection.2

• Peanut Butter: Kids love it. Unfortunately, more than 99 percent of peanut farmers use conventional farming techniques in this country, including fungicides and other toxins.3 So skip the Skippy – it’s bad for you and your children.

• Imported Produce: Many fruits and vegetables out of season in our hemisphere are in season in South America. Blueberries, tomatoes, grapes and other produce often come from Chile, Argentina, or Peru during the winter months. Steer clear of them. Many have far more pesticides and other dangerous chemicals than domestic varieties.

#4: Explore Your Options

Here are a few web sites to find out where you can get healthy, nutritious foods. If you’re interested in finding grass-fed beef (which I strongly recommend over commercial beef), check out www.localharvest.org and search for healthy ranches according to your zip code. My personal favorite is US Wellness Meats: www.grasslandbeef.com.

The Environmental Working Group also offers sound advice and information on food safety: www.foodnews.org. They offer a great list of fruits and vegetables and the amount of pesticides they contain, along with free guides and news updates.

You can also look for a farmer’s market near you. Use this web site hosted by the Community Alliance with Family Farmers: www.caff.org.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

Cheryl’s Comments:  “#3 Avoid these hazardous foods” is a little too strongly stated in my view.  While I agree that pesticides and hormones are problematic and should be monitored, it is a complex issue.  Organic foods cost more and some individuals cannot afford the extra cost.  And because foods are not labeled with the amount of pesticides and other chemicals used in their production, it is difficult to know which producers’ crops are more hazardous. 

In general, I recommend that health conscious individuals work within their budgets and move toward purchasing organic foods.   Some foods are more likely to contain pesticides, hormones, and other chemicals.  Here are several articles you might find helpful. 

10 MOST IMPORTANT FOODS TO BUY ORGANIC

Article One, Two, Three

Give the Gift of Time

Dec 12th, 2007

Do you stand in front of the displays of handbags, perfume, and jewelry wondering if you’re spending a boat load of money on something your mother will like and use…or just give away at the next church rummage sale? 

We’re become such a consumer-oriented society that it’s difficult to buy a gift for someone . . . that they haven’t already bought for themselves.  To reduce our gift-shopping angst, we ask them to tell us EXACTLY what they want and we buy them THAT.  Or we give them cash.  And they ask US to tell them EXACTLY what we want, or they give us cash.  Wouldn’t it be more gratifying and less ridiculous to give them the gift of your time?

The Center for a New American Dream’s has created a gift card that you can give to your grandmother, your mother, your sister, or your buddy that gives them the gift of your time.  They can specify what they’d like you to do for them. 

download the pdf gift certificate here. 

For more gift ideas and tips for the holiday season and all year round,
check out www.SimplifyTheHolidays.org or call 877.68.DREAM

Don't Flush Old Medications

Nov 26th, 2007

I always thought it didn’t make sense to flush outdated pharmaceuticals down the toilet, but we’ve been told to do this for over 30 years.  We are now learning that this is an environmental taboo. 

According to Nancy Larson, Director of K-State’s Pollution Prevention Institute, “The U.S. Geological Survey has been detecting pharmaceuticals in streams for more than 30 years, but in the last 10 years they’ve been seeing genetic changes in wildlife.” 

Recommendations for handling old or unwanted medications (including both prescription and over-the-counter medications):

1. Nursing homes and other health care providers can send excess or expired drugs back to the pharmacy for disposal.
2. Private citizens whose cities offer a hazardous-waste disposal program should use that option.
3. If no hazardous-waste program is available, mix unwanted medicines into a paste with coffee grounds or kitty litter, seal the result in a lidded container and place it with the rest of the household trash. (I’m assuming you would have to open the capsules to mix them into a paste with coffee grounds.  This doesn’t make much sense to me.  (I would avoid handling and simply place the packaged drugs in the trash for pick up).

More information about disposal is available here.

The United States Geological Service (USGS) has published a national fact sheet detailing these water contamination issues. Get it here.