Return to Real Food and Save the Planet!
As we learn more about how we impact the earth by our behaviors, we can become easily overburdened with the self-imposed responsibility of being an “eco-warrior”! Over the next few months SCT’s Newsletter is going to focus on useful information to help you to make a difference and realize how easy it can be.
As I sat down to write these articles it became clear that there is so much information that it really can be overwhelming, so we are helping to simplify and give you a few suggestions of how you can make a difference. If each one of us does a little something to help, the impact on the planet is enormous. Here at SCT we are making our own changes to help “save our planet”; welcome to the beginning of SCT Goes Green!
How can we make changes that really make a difference? A good place to start is by looking in the mirror. As we “mess up” the planet, so we “mess up” ourselves. Just as Ghandi said “be the peace you wish to see in the world”, how about beginning by looking at how you care for yourself. We believe that by taking care of yourself and your loved ones you start a ripple effect that moves out helping us all! This month we are starting by looking at what we eat and explaining some of the “buzzwords” used by the ecology movement.
Ecology or Ökologie, as coined by German biologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel in 1911 is largely a twentieth-century development. Ecology explains planet earth as an interrelated system where changes in one part of the system affect everything else. The sun's energy and the earth's minerals nourish a cycle of plant "producers," “consumers," and "degraders" that return the organic waste of the producers and consumers back into the system. The plant producers, animal consumers, and microorganisms are all food to each other.
- Support Sustainable Agriculture by Buying Local Produce
 The counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s heightened interest in "health food" and food co-ops. Returning to organic farming, bioregional marketing, and sustainable "living off the grid" were reactions to the mass marketing procedures of food production that do not support a long term view of the planet’s health and wellness. This has now entered our mainstream way of life. Take the time to find local produce. When possible buy organic. Not only does your body not have to process potentially toxic chemical residues, neither does our planet.
There has been increasing attention paid to the use of additives in our foods and here at SCT we believe that reflects in the way we care for our planet. In 2005 we were told that we are exposed to the potentially carcinogenic properties of food dye Sudan 1. This food dye is just one of many used in many ready made meals and processed foods.
So, what do you think? Is it realistic to expect busy women and men to make every meal from scratch, or do we have to accept that not all of us have the time or energy to cook a full-blown meal every day? Balance is the key. There is something you can do! The first step is:
- Take Time to Plan Your Meals for the Week
Before you panic and think "oh no, here's another thing to add into my hectic schedule" take a deep breath or two, and relax. And keep on reading. Planning the week's meals will firstly save you money at the grocery store. To do this you first make a menu for the week and then you make your shopping list before you go to the grocery store! Think about how you might plan to do this. If you have a partner or a family, is this something you can do together? There are websites that can help; so don’t be afraid to google. Once you start, you’ll be surprised how quick this can be. Post the menu on the fridge and don’t forget to include snacks. When you get home, or the kids get home, all anyone has to do is check the menu. You now spend no time standing in front of the fridge thinking "what shall we have for dinner tonight?" A little extra effort by thinking before you get the groceries and zero effort each meal! See how you can begin to save some time and energy? And you will save money too.
Bonus: at the end of the week, there is nothing to throw out. Most people we know really have a hard time when they throw away food and end up feeling guilty. Here’s a way you can rid yourself of feeling bad too!
- Use Your Time in the Kitchen Wisely
When preparing meals make two or three extras and freeze them. The freezer is more efficient and uses less energy when it’s full so fill it up with your favorites. It really does not take any longer to cook a double size batch and consumes very little extra energy. You now have ready meals without the additives. Can't think of anything? How about:
- chili
- pot-roast
- shepherd’s pie
- lasagna
- pasta and meatballs
- rice and beans
- soups
- curries
- casseroles
- meatloaf
- stew
- muffins
- cookies
- pies
- brown rice can be cooked on Sunday and warmed up during the week without substantial loss of B vitamins (just make sure you refrigerate)
- one of our favorites during the winter months is to roast root vegetables. All you have to do is keep them in the fridge and then warm up as needed
- get the kids to grate a big bowl of cheese and keep it in the fridge
- peel and slice carrots and keep them in a bowl of water in the fridge
- make big bowls of salad by washing and tearing lettuce, then use the lettuce with some other crisp raw veggies each day (or if you have to, buy the containers of ready-washed salad and recycle the containers they come in—they are perfect for the workshop, crafts, kids’ toys, etc!)
We bet you can think of lots of ways to spend a little time in the kitchen and not eat so many ready meals and processed foods. Please share your ideas with us and we’ll share them with others. As we take the time to care for ourselves, so everyone and everything benefits: if you are cooking meals at home, you are not driving to the store and using gas, you are celebrating the people that actually grow our food by buying it from them and you are cutting down on unnecessary packaging that ends up in the landfills. And we bet you can think of more ways you are making an impact!
Want to learn more? Then, take the SCT Nutrition 101 Home Study Course. It will have you examining how and why you eat, along with learning how to easily integrate new and improved healthy ways of nourishing yourself and your loved ones. If you have an existing practice in CAM or holistic health care, your extra knowledge will be a bonus your clients will love. If you are interested in starting a practice in CAM and don’t know where to begin, check it out and start here!
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