Live Long Naturally ©2012

Natural, breathing, living, alive, biotical… what do these words have in common? They all mean the same thing – ORGANIC!

Buying organic not only tastes better, it can get you looking and feeling better. Buying local organic saves you money and the planet. Why pay for their long haul trip to the store and pollute the air further? If you need to lose weight, eating organic can help. The chemicals used to put pounds on livestock do the same for humans.

If you were to build your dream home, would you use the cheapest materials you could find? I wouldn’t, nor would I eat or create a child with cheap fake food. THINK LONG TERM!!!

Still doing all your grocery shopping at the store? The 4 outer walls have what’s left of real food. Want to save money? Visit your local Farmers’ Market and/or join your local Community Sustained Agriculture (CSA).

Consider getting your loved ones or community involved in growing your own organic garden – you’ll be happier, healthier, and a tad bit wealthier for it!

This can be as easy as changing your diet – the following simple and slight changes will benefit you greatly. Just know it is a slower process than if you were to add detoxing to it…

• cutting back on or eliminate white flour, sugar, and pasta.
• aim to eat healthy most hours of the day/days of the week.
• drink at least half your weight in ounces of water
• aim to eat dinner no later than 6PM
• aim to include half raw foods (fruits, veggies, salads, nuts, seeds, etc).
• eat only when hungry – eat to satisfaction, not to fullness.
• make your meals colorful – the more color, the more vitamins.
• avoid frying foods – eat raw, steam, boil, saute, bake instead.
• eat organic when possible – buying direct from farm is fresh and costs less:

http://scfcoop.southcentralfarmers.com OR www.localharvest.org

When in doubt… ask yourself, for better or worse? Will the food or drink you are about to have leave you looking and feeling better or worse? Your mirror and energy level do not lie.

“Most of us are unwitting students of the Breakfast Cereal School of Nutrition.” Patrick Holford, Founder of The Institute for Optimum Nutrition

don’t settle for being average…

This past week a 15 year old niece asked me for some vegetarian meal ideas. Since I’ve been a vegetarian with bouts of vegan since 1973, she came to the right person. And… her parents knowing I have “survived” all these years being a tad different, they know she’s in good hands.

So! I sent her Chapter 17 from my book and a photo of what I ate last night. Total preparation and cooking  was 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Soup

Ingredients:

16 ounces tomato base for broth
4 cloves Garlic
1 small bell pepper
1 dozen Okra
1 small Avocado
1 egg
Parmesan cheese

Hard boil egg. Sauté chopped garlic and bell peppers. Steam chopped okra separate (or you can sauté with other veggies). Pour tomato base over and heat thoroughly until hot.

In a soup bowl, grate hard boil egg and dice avocado. Pour hot soup over and sprinkle with Parmesan. Easy and delicious! Soup base and veggie can be your choice. Aside from tomato base, soup is made from scratch. All other ingredients are local and organic, except the cheese.

A photographer I am not, but this gives you an idea how chunky (and filling) soup can be.

To succeed as a vegetarian, ease into it and make it colorful. More colors, more vitamins!