You may recall Grandma urging you in your youthful days to eat up your greens. You may have found them distasteful then, but later in life have come to learn their value. Savouring a good, simple family meal chock-full of nutrients is something you have come to appreciate.
Regardless of the size of your yard, space can be found to nurture a food patch. You may want to try containerised gardening on your patio. Find out what local fruits, vegetables and herbs will grow in your geographic region and soil conditions and give it a try. In addition to providing delicious fresh ingredients for your meals, gardening can be a rewarding social and educational experience, as well as a source of exercise.
A world of good
If you can produce local fresh foods at home, you will be doing yourself, and the planet, a world of good - reduced transportation, minimal greenhouse-gas emissions, less pesticide and maximum flavour and nutrition.
Imported foods travel thousands of miles to get to our plates. In the process, nutrients are lost and very often waste is created in making meals. Eat locally grown foods as much as you can. They are fresher because they are picked when ripe, not before. Purchase from a local farmer or go to the market. If you shop in the supermarket, look for the labels which say local. To save cost, buy produce in bulk at the peak season, freeze and use at a later date. Plan your meals around seasonal fruits and vegetables. It's a terrific way to support your own local economy.
Eat real food
Several researchers have discovered that health-enhancing nutrients are found in a vegetarian diet, which is easier on the planet and on the body. With a balanced vegetarian diet, you can get all the nutrients you need. Meat and dairy products take more energy than they return and they consume much of the land's resources. Start a vegetarian diet by going one or two days without meat and increase the amount of greens and produce in the diet.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation's 2006 report, Livestock's Long Shadow - Environmental Issues and Options, raising cattle produces more greenhouse gases than transportation. As people become more affluent, they eat much more meat and dairy products. Agribusinesses then cut down more forests to meet this demand. To green your diet is to eat substantially less (or no) meat. This doesn't mean that you have to become a vegetarian. Gradually, reduce the amount of meat in your diet. Try experimenting instead with other sources of protein like tempeh, seitan, tofu, nuts, and beans. An additional benefit: You will probably find that eating less meat and more plants improves your energy level.
Fortunately, there are greener alternatives for meat and fish lovers if they turn to sustainable and organic methods of food production. Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without petrochemical fertilisers or pesticides. Organic farms have a much smaller environmental impact than conventionally produced foods. When buying produce, think about where it came from and how much deforestation and oil went into bringing it to you.
Increasing your intake of uncooked fruits and vegetables increases your access to health-building nutrients and reduces your food-production footprint. Eating a diet high in raw foods reduces energy consumption for cooking and heating, as well as the embedded energy from processing and overpackaging.
Planning for children
Engage the children in planning one or two meals each week. As a family, plan to move away from fake foods made with excess salt, sugar, and synthetic additives which give a quick fix. Children should be taught about caring for the environment and to look after animals, how to grow crops and how to recycle.
For a healthy meal, try a pasta night with wholewheat pasta and a variety of toppings - diced tomatoes, grated cheese, home-made pesto or olive oil. Set the toppings on the table with a big bowl of the pasta and plates for everyone's temperament and long-term effects on our health. The closer food is to its natural state, the better the choice for meals.
Fresh water is arguably the most undervalued resource on the planet. Its value as a commodity increases every day. Fresh clean water is worth far more than the most precious metal or gem. Drink from a clean, safe source of water instead of canned soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, coffee or bottled sports drinks. Water is the only beverage your body needs.
Waste not
Don't let your food waste enter the landfill. If you eat out frequently, ask to take any leftovers home. By law, uneaten food in restaurants must be discarded, even if it was a side dish brought to your table but was not touched. Leftovers can be used for lunch the following day or plan a potpourri meal of leftovers at the end of the week.
Sustainable soup
Leftovers can be used to make a sustainable soup. Begin with a simple broth and add leftover veggies and meat. Avoid putting pasta into the broth because it will become mushy, but you can reheat pasta in a bowl and add the soup to it. You can actually keep a soup going for a few days before you start over. Every time you add something new, you change the taste! It's a great starter to any meal.
Composting
Most foods, with the exception of meat and heavily processed and packaged foods, can be returned to the Earth with minimal effort. Composting can be a great learning experience for children as well. With the help of children, your backyard is the perfect place to start a compost pile of all peelings, foods that look tired in the refrigerator and vegetables your children refused to eat. Composited materials are returned to the soil as fertiliser for next year's garden. If you live in an apartment, consider starting a community compost pile and perhaps even a community garden.
Herbs and spices
When you are greening your diet, fragrant and delicious herbs and spices are as important as any other ingredient in your recipes. While it's great to use fresh herbs whenever possible, it's also critical to keep high-quality dried herbs and ground spices in your pantry.
Organic spices and herbs are more readily available than ever and you should turn over your spice inventory frequently so the spices you buy are as fragrant and delicious as possible when you're ready to use them. The most common herbs and spices include basil, cinnamon, cumin, chili powder, allspice, bay leaves, oregano, paprika, thyme and sage.
Go grains
Eat wholegrains - wholewheat bread, oatmeal and brown rice. Wholegrains have not been processed and, therefore, come complete with all their natural nutritional bonuses. Plus, less processing means less pollution and de-nurturing.
Paper or plastic?
Plastic bags are made from petroleum and only about one per cent of the estimated 500 billion to one trillion used worldwide are recycled each year. Start bringing your own. Purchase reusable canvas bags to take with you every shopping trip. If you buy meats in quantity, apportion and wrap in freezer paper instead of plastic wrap, freezer bags or foil.
Plastic never breaks down and foil is not usually recycled. Avoid soups, ramen and anything else that might be packaged in Styrofoam. They may be great for heating and eating, but the foam containers are disastrous in a landfill and destroy the plant. Another way to green up your kitchen is to limit the use of paper towels and turn to washable dishcloths and microfibre cloths. Both can be tossed in the laundry at the end of the day, keeping your paper waste to a minimum.
Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in Kingston. Send comments to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.
Read the labels
Ensure that you are putting wholesome foods in your diet by reading all labels as to place of origin and production.
Old-fashioned slaw
If you are looking for a delicious way to eat green and get more fibre, it is hard to beat an old-fashioned slaw which provides per-serving nutrition of 106 calories, 4g of protein, 25g carbohydrate and 5g of fibre.
Ingredients
1/4 cup brown sugar or sugar substitute
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1 small head cabbage, shredded
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup sliced radishes
1 In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar substitute, lemon juice, vinegar, celery salt, and garlic salt.
2 Add the cabbage, celery, green pepper and chives and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3 Add the radishes immediately before serving.
Serves 4.
Balancing
It is also important for people to read and become aware of the different issues related to foods they consume. Unfortunately, as you are feeling the economic squeeze you may find it difficult to buy more 'green' foods. However, in most cases it's possible to buy less if you are more careful about what you buy and how to stretch food, cutting back on portions served.
Every living thing on this planet, including humans and the 'real food' they consume, is sustained by clean air, clean water and clean soil. You have a responsibility to respect and protect these treasures and as you embrace a green diet.