Eating Habits to Help Support Earth Day

YOU can change YOUR Eating Habits to help support Earth Day - Not just on April 22nd each year, but each and every day of the year!

Earth Day is always on April 22. It is about living a sustainable life, leaving a low carbon footprint, buying local, and supporting clean energy sources and a whole lot more!

Some simple ways that you can do your part to support Earth Day with your eating habits for the coming year are:

Practice Healthy Grocery Shopping

• Practice Healthy Grocery Shopping:  Shop with a healthy grocery list and purchase real foods. Limit processed foods, genetically modified foods (GMO's), and food additives. If a food label contains ingredients that you can't pronounce, avoid buying it. Over 40% of purchased food is wasted, so shop wisely.  In many cultures, people shop daily, and only buy what they need.  I love this! Practice meal planning, and only purchase foods that you have on your list, rather than shopping the aisles of various markets! You will save time, money, and avoid waste.

Practice Portion Control

• Practice Portion Control: Two thirds of our country (the United States), is overweight, or obese, and experience health problems. Too many calories and fast food are eaten.  Limit your food intake by using meal plan strategies, and using the Half Plate Rule. The Half Plate Rule is a simple way to eat healthier, if you do not want to count calories.  You eat 1/2 plate of Fruits & Vegetables, 1/4 plate of Proteins, 1/4 plate of Grains, and then add a glass of milk, cup of yogurt, or sprinkle of cheese.

Limit Eating Meat

• Limit Eating Meat: Decrease your consumption of meat, which takes more energy to produce than fruits and vegetables.  Most cultures do not make meat the centerpiece of the meal, but use it as a flavoring.  Consider joining the Meatless Monday regime where you do not eat meat on Mondays.  There are so many delicious meat free meals.  Better yet, look into becoming a Vegetarian, or Vegan, and don't eat meat at all!! 

Use ALL Leftovers

• Use all leftovers to avoid waste. There are several ways to do this. Eat the same meal twice, take lunch leftovers, or repurpose the meal into another meal that does not resemble the first meal. This is so simple to do, but takes a bit of planning. If you plan a roast one day, you can make a stew in the next few days from the leftovers. There are many ideas for repurposing leftovers. 

• Consider making a pot of healthy soup each week that can use all of the leftover vegetables that you might be tempted to throw out before shopping. Some of my most amazing soups have been made from my weekly refrigerator clean out. Make it your goal to throw away no food and see if you can accomplish this. You will be amazed at the money that you will save. A huge pot of soup will also yield lunches for most of the week as an added benefit.

Learn to Can and Freeze

• Take up the lost art of Canning and Freezing. Start a vegetable garden, join a local CSA, or visit your local farmer's market  to purchase the freshest produce. Can and freeze for the coming year. This might mean you need to purchase canning jars, a canning water bath, pressure cooker, or a freezer, but those are one time purchases. Our mom freezes much of her vegetables for the year, and they are nicely stacked and labeled in her freezer.

Above, is Leigh's son, Ryan, and his wife Marlene during Christmas of 2011.  Each summer, our Mom makes tons of homemade jams, and every Christmas, she makes these incredible gift sacks with lots of different small and fun stuff in them.  She always includes some of her homemade jams.  There is nothing on the market as good as homemade!

We have told our Mom that she needs to have a Jam Party soon for everyone in the family to learn her mad Jam Skills and pass the tradition of homemade jam down through the generations.

Join a CSA or Shop at Farmer's Markets

• Consider joining a local farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), or at least shop from your local farmer's market.You can purchase local, freshly picked produce that has not been transported half way around the globe. Food tastes and smells so much better fresh picked. 

Drink Tap Water

We have all seen the articles that claim that many of the bottled waters are no safer than tap water. Probably one of our better Scams of the Day!

My house is going on 20 years old, and I'm kind of OCD about not drinking tap water myself, so I bought a $20 Costco Instant Tea brewer and I boil all my water first, then put it in the refrigerator. 

Water is much better for you than soda's or drinks with sugar in them! 

Purchase Organics

• Purchase Organics: Know which foods are heavily treated with pesticides, and purchase organic choices as much as you can. Organics have come down in price in the last few years and there are often sales. A savvy frugal shopper who does not waste 40% of his/her food purchases can afford organics! Chemicals are not good for our bodies, our animals, or our earth!!

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Life is to be lived to the fullest, but not in excess. Many of you live in excess; excess weight, excess stuff, and excess bills, from overeating and overbuying, which leads to overproducing in the world.

Please protect the earth this year by living prudently, and helping others when you can.