Aug 2009
City Dwellers Composting?
08/25/09 Filed in: Composting
Okay, so I don’t live downtown. My house sets on a standard lot. I may have more room than an apartment dweller, but composting is not limited to those in rural locales. Personally I got started because of an article in my Florida Gardening magazine. This article gave instructions on turning our old recycle bins into worm composters. (We now have large rolling garbage cans for all of our recyclables in Dade county.) By adding a few more holes to the bottom and layering dirt with kitchen scraps, the worms, theoretically, would find their way up from the soil into your bin and break down the scraps into compost.
Apparently, you needed to have a few worms to begin with.
Even though, I did not have any naturally occurring worms, my scraps composted nicely in about six weeks. Thus, my journey into composting had begun. Now, I take out a plate when I’m chopping vegetable and pile up my scraps for the bin. When I plant something new in my yard, I grab some of my rich dark compost to supplement the soil.
All you need for a successful compost bin is a container and a little nitrogen and a little carbon. Nitrogen comes form green plants and your kitchen scraps. Carbon comes from brown things like leaves. You need to alternate layers of nitrogen and carbon as you fill the bin. I use garden soil, leaves, or newspapers as my carbon. Be sure your scraps are in small pieces if you want fast composting.
Even apartment dwellers can get into the action with a smaller bin that is kept under the sink, on top of the fridge, or on a balcony. If you don’t keep plants yourself and have no use for the soil, give it away or add it to the landscaping around the building. If you’re handy and have a decent sized yard, make a compost bin out of old pallets.
So why is this important? When we throw our table scraps in the household trash, they end up in the municipal waste dumps. (Here in South Florida, the municipal dump is affectionately referred to as Mt. Trashmore.) Organic waste like kitchen scraps and yard clippings do not really break down in the dumps mainly because of a lack of oxygen. Landfills are generally sealed off to prevent contamination and the trash is compacted and flattened in order to harvest the methane gas naturally produced.
The average American throws away about 100 pounds of food scraps in a year which adds up to more than 7% of the waste stream. I have read conflicting opinions on whether disposing of scraps is better in the garbage disposal or in your municipal trash. Ultimately, either method taxes our system. The water management system has to treat all the waste water entering its system so any food value in the scraps is lost, and adding scraps with all the rest of our household trash just adds to Mt. Trashmore. Besides, having a free source of gardening soil is a great cost saver in this recessionary climate.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Apparently, you needed to have a few worms to begin with.
Even though, I did not have any naturally occurring worms, my scraps composted nicely in about six weeks. Thus, my journey into composting had begun. Now, I take out a plate when I’m chopping vegetable and pile up my scraps for the bin. When I plant something new in my yard, I grab some of my rich dark compost to supplement the soil.
All you need for a successful compost bin is a container and a little nitrogen and a little carbon. Nitrogen comes form green plants and your kitchen scraps. Carbon comes from brown things like leaves. You need to alternate layers of nitrogen and carbon as you fill the bin. I use garden soil, leaves, or newspapers as my carbon. Be sure your scraps are in small pieces if you want fast composting.
Even apartment dwellers can get into the action with a smaller bin that is kept under the sink, on top of the fridge, or on a balcony. If you don’t keep plants yourself and have no use for the soil, give it away or add it to the landscaping around the building. If you’re handy and have a decent sized yard, make a compost bin out of old pallets.
So why is this important? When we throw our table scraps in the household trash, they end up in the municipal waste dumps. (Here in South Florida, the municipal dump is affectionately referred to as Mt. Trashmore.) Organic waste like kitchen scraps and yard clippings do not really break down in the dumps mainly because of a lack of oxygen. Landfills are generally sealed off to prevent contamination and the trash is compacted and flattened in order to harvest the methane gas naturally produced.
The average American throws away about 100 pounds of food scraps in a year which adds up to more than 7% of the waste stream. I have read conflicting opinions on whether disposing of scraps is better in the garbage disposal or in your municipal trash. Ultimately, either method taxes our system. The water management system has to treat all the waste water entering its system so any food value in the scraps is lost, and adding scraps with all the rest of our household trash just adds to Mt. Trashmore. Besides, having a free source of gardening soil is a great cost saver in this recessionary climate.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
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Don't Forget Your Four Footed Friends
08/23/09
Vegas (her picture is on the right) only steps out in the summer when she has to, if you get my drift. With the high heat and humidity here in Florida, she is partial to lying on her bed in the comfort of the air conditioning. (She reminds us frequently that she is retired.) But she does eventually go out which means that she needs to be protected against fleas, etc. While Vegas might enjoy giving the cats something to scratch about, we would prefer for that not to happen. The last time Max got fleas it took forever to kill the infestation due to the thickness of his coat. Here’s a snapshot of Max watching the water swirl in the toilet...he is easily entertained.
We use to use Frontline Plus on Vegas and Revolution on the cats. Frontline has a chemical, Fipronil, that is a suspected carcinogen. Revolution has limited information regarding the safety of its active ingredients.
So what to do about Rover? Soapy baths are the best (not recommended for the cats). Any and all soap kills fleas. Washing pet bedding frequently is important for getting rid of an infestation, as well as vacuuming the floors and carpets.
The safest pest control ingredient for people and pets is diatomaceousearth. This is the fossilized skeletons of algaes and looks like fine dust. Also, look for herbal or natural products that contain cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, and thyme. Be careful to trust all natural products as many natural herbal products can also be potentially dangerous. Here is a great wallet guide on the chemicals to avoid in managing fleas this summer on Spot.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
So what to do about Rover? Soapy baths are the best (not recommended for the cats). Any and all soap kills fleas. Washing pet bedding frequently is important for getting rid of an infestation, as well as vacuuming the floors and carpets.
The safest pest control ingredient for people and pets is diatomaceousearth. This is the fossilized skeletons of algaes and looks like fine dust. Also, look for herbal or natural products that contain cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, and thyme. Be careful to trust all natural products as many natural herbal products can also be potentially dangerous. Here is a great wallet guide on the chemicals to avoid in managing fleas this summer on Spot.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Mindful Living
08/21/09
Personally, I am terrible at meditation. I do well if I am guided as in a yoga class, but on my own I have a terrible time clearing my mind. I do well, however, at relaxing while I run. I get in a groove and after a few minutes I loose myself in the rhythm of the movement. Both meditation and exercise are great ways to manage stress, so thank goodness for running.
Living a mindful life is about living in the present. It is about being aware of what is going on around us and within us.This is not a new concept and has been a part of Eastern philosophy for centuries. As humans we get caught up in what happened or what is going to happen. We keep chasing after things we believe will bring us happiness. We fill our days with stuff: activities that keep us busy so that we are always in a hurry. We live under a blanket of self created stress.
Of course, we burn out. We are overstimulated, over-scheduled, and over-stressed. We even think we like it that way! At least, I did. (I shouldn’t really speak for everyone.) I thought I worked at my best when I was on a deadline. The stress catapulted me forward, revved up my adrenaline, and made me feel powerful. At least, until it was done. Then I would be exhausted. This life is unsustainable. Something eventually gives. For some, the wake-up call may be a heart attack, for others an emotional meltdown, but no matter how it manifests, it is not healthy.
You have probably heard about mindful eating. The diet industry frequently discusses this in the context of eating less, but what does it mean? Eating mindfully means paying attention to the taste and texture of each bite. Activities such as eating in front of the TV promote consumption, but eating mindfully helps to define our relationship with food. It is about how and why we eat not about what we eat. Food should bring sensual pleasure as well as nourishment to our lives.
Mindfulness is about truly listening; to ourselves, to the people around us, to the sounds, textures, and flavors of what is occurring now. What is bringing us energy or peace? What is causing us disruption? Learning this brings us the power of choice. Check out these 10 tips for mindful living and practice living a life in balance.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Living a mindful life is about living in the present. It is about being aware of what is going on around us and within us.This is not a new concept and has been a part of Eastern philosophy for centuries. As humans we get caught up in what happened or what is going to happen. We keep chasing after things we believe will bring us happiness. We fill our days with stuff: activities that keep us busy so that we are always in a hurry. We live under a blanket of self created stress.
Of course, we burn out. We are overstimulated, over-scheduled, and over-stressed. We even think we like it that way! At least, I did. (I shouldn’t really speak for everyone.) I thought I worked at my best when I was on a deadline. The stress catapulted me forward, revved up my adrenaline, and made me feel powerful. At least, until it was done. Then I would be exhausted. This life is unsustainable. Something eventually gives. For some, the wake-up call may be a heart attack, for others an emotional meltdown, but no matter how it manifests, it is not healthy.
You have probably heard about mindful eating. The diet industry frequently discusses this in the context of eating less, but what does it mean? Eating mindfully means paying attention to the taste and texture of each bite. Activities such as eating in front of the TV promote consumption, but eating mindfully helps to define our relationship with food. It is about how and why we eat not about what we eat. Food should bring sensual pleasure as well as nourishment to our lives.
Mindfulness is about truly listening; to ourselves, to the people around us, to the sounds, textures, and flavors of what is occurring now. What is bringing us energy or peace? What is causing us disruption? Learning this brings us the power of choice. Check out these 10 tips for mindful living and practice living a life in balance.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Planned-Overs
08/17/09
In our home, life is just as full as any other. That means that eating at home 6 nights a week takes some planning. I would love to tell you that I am the best at planning, but I am just average. What I am really good at is cooking things that are better the longer you keep them: soups, stews, and one pot dishes that have lots of spices and mature around day three.
The Five Day Freeze Method at Lifehacker talks about this same idea. For example, I made my husband’s favorite meal the other day. It consisted of picadillo, black beans, rice, plantains, yuca, and an avocado salad. (No, we don’t eat like this every night, but there were guests over to help us eat this large menu.) Everything but the avocado salad keeps very well. Therefore, I intentionally made much more than was needed to serve for dinner. (And since, I normally overcook when there are guests, you can only imagine how much more is intentional.) Half of the picadillo and black beans went directly into the freezer in containers perfectly sized for two person meals. There was still enough of the two items to serve for dinner and have some left overs for the fridge to eat on day two or three. If I had a lot of rice left over, that could have gone into the freezer as well, but there was just enough to pair with the picadillo in the fridge. The starch and the avocado were planned to not have as much left over as they would not freeze as well.
People always ask me if I cook everyday. I don’t. In fact, depending on my schedule, I only cook about three nights a week. The remaining nights, I get creative with “planned-overs” like putting picadillo or black beans on a baked potato.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
The Five Day Freeze Method at Lifehacker talks about this same idea. For example, I made my husband’s favorite meal the other day. It consisted of picadillo, black beans, rice, plantains, yuca, and an avocado salad. (No, we don’t eat like this every night, but there were guests over to help us eat this large menu.) Everything but the avocado salad keeps very well. Therefore, I intentionally made much more than was needed to serve for dinner. (And since, I normally overcook when there are guests, you can only imagine how much more is intentional.) Half of the picadillo and black beans went directly into the freezer in containers perfectly sized for two person meals. There was still enough of the two items to serve for dinner and have some left overs for the fridge to eat on day two or three. If I had a lot of rice left over, that could have gone into the freezer as well, but there was just enough to pair with the picadillo in the fridge. The starch and the avocado were planned to not have as much left over as they would not freeze as well.
People always ask me if I cook everyday. I don’t. In fact, depending on my schedule, I only cook about three nights a week. The remaining nights, I get creative with “planned-overs” like putting picadillo or black beans on a baked potato.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Sunday Breakfast
08/16/09 Filed in: Breakfast
I love when I am off on Sunday. Lazy mornings and traditional breakfasts are an indulgence that we all need on occasion. Cultural rituals like Sunday breakfast feed not only our bodies but also our souls. There is definitely something spiritual in luxuriating with your spouse over the course of a morning. Carlos and I watch all the morning news shows and cruise through the Sunday paper. The cats take turns working on getting our attention and getting scratched. We don’t head out for Sunday brunch anymore. We just can’t eat enough to justify the prices. Besides, nothing tastes better than breakfast at home in your pj’s.
So this morning it was buckwheat pancakes with mango syrup and sliced bananas. I adjusted the pancake recipe for what I had available. This basically meant that it was all buckwheat flour versus a mix of flours and sugar was replaced with agave syrup.
My stepdaughter brought us a container of mangos from her freezer (from her tree) the other day. I sliced the equivalent of two mangos, added some honey and lime juice, and heated it through. I took the immersion blender and created a thick liquid. When the pancakes where done, I piled a few on each plate, sliced half a banana over each, and then spooned a generous amount of mango syrup over it all. My husband went back for seconds, so, in my book, that is a success
.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.
So this morning it was buckwheat pancakes with mango syrup and sliced bananas. I adjusted the pancake recipe for what I had available. This basically meant that it was all buckwheat flour versus a mix of flours and sugar was replaced with agave syrup.
My stepdaughter brought us a container of mangos from her freezer (from her tree) the other day. I sliced the equivalent of two mangos, added some honey and lime juice, and heated it through. I took the immersion blender and created a thick liquid. When the pancakes where done, I piled a few on each plate, sliced half a banana over each, and then spooned a generous amount of mango syrup over it all. My husband went back for seconds, so, in my book, that is a success
.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.
Gratitude
08/09/09
Food for thought:
“Gratitude is usually generated in one of two ways. One, by feeling a genuine appreciation for the life that you were given and, two, by making a conscious decision to practice looking at what's right in your life rather than focusing on what's missing.”
-from an essay at Spiritualwealth by Alexander Green.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
“Gratitude is usually generated in one of two ways. One, by feeling a genuine appreciation for the life that you were given and, two, by making a conscious decision to practice looking at what's right in your life rather than focusing on what's missing.”
-from an essay at Spiritualwealth by Alexander Green.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Yes, I Eat Vegetables for Breakfast
08/03/09 Filed in: Breakfast
I get the strangest looks when people find out I eat vegetables for breakfast. People find it so odd that I have stopped volunteering that information. The problem is that my husband keeps bringing it up. Now, I will make a bowl of oatmeal or scramble some eggs occasionally, but primarily, I mix up some sort of whole grain with some veggies and avocado.
This all started a few years back as I was trying to get pregnant. I was doing research on fertility and came across this book about maintaining your body’s PH balance. Most of my research revealed that cleaning up your system of toxins would improve your natural fertility. As I started to follow the book’s prescribed diet, I started to feel better. My issues with constipation went away, my energy improved, and I lost weight.
Basically, the books talks about what happens to foods as you digest them. Some foods become acidic and some alkaline. Acidic foods cause acidic blood and force your body to rob your stores of alkaline substances such as calcium in order to maintain balance. Eating alkaline foods does not cause this reaction. The moral of the story is that you need to eat a balance of acid and alkaline foods to maintain that balance in your body.
Processed foods are one of the biggest culprits to having an acidic system. Traditional breakfast cereals definitely fall into the processed food category. Dairy is also a big category of foods that create acidity in the body, and what do most of us put on our frosted flakes? Bingo.
Today, I make a whole grain like buckwheat or quinoa. I chop up some pepper, cucumber, celery, etc. Mix it together with some lemon juice or liquid aminos. I’ll top it off some avocado and, viola, breakfast!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
This all started a few years back as I was trying to get pregnant. I was doing research on fertility and came across this book about maintaining your body’s PH balance. Most of my research revealed that cleaning up your system of toxins would improve your natural fertility. As I started to follow the book’s prescribed diet, I started to feel better. My issues with constipation went away, my energy improved, and I lost weight.
Basically, the books talks about what happens to foods as you digest them. Some foods become acidic and some alkaline. Acidic foods cause acidic blood and force your body to rob your stores of alkaline substances such as calcium in order to maintain balance. Eating alkaline foods does not cause this reaction. The moral of the story is that you need to eat a balance of acid and alkaline foods to maintain that balance in your body.
Processed foods are one of the biggest culprits to having an acidic system. Traditional breakfast cereals definitely fall into the processed food category. Dairy is also a big category of foods that create acidity in the body, and what do most of us put on our frosted flakes? Bingo.
Today, I make a whole grain like buckwheat or quinoa. I chop up some pepper, cucumber, celery, etc. Mix it together with some lemon juice or liquid aminos. I’ll top it off some avocado and, viola, breakfast!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Chick Pea Masala Soup
08/01/09 Filed in: Soup
So I was at Whole Foods the other day and I bought a pint of soup for lunch. It was called Garbanzo Masala, and it smelled divine. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to recreate it. Whenever I do this, I tend to get sidetracked by my own creativity. The finished product does resemble the soup I had at Whole Foods, but mine is distinctly different as I choose a tomato base and I pureed the beans and veggies.
Olive oil
Four celery stalks
Two carrots
One turnip
One onion
Three garlic cloves
Two cups garbanzo beans soaked overnight
One can tomato sauce
1/2 can tomato paste
Two teaspoons corriander
Two teaspoons turmeric
Four cardoman seed pods
Four cloves
Two tablespoons garam masala
Add a little olivie oil to your stock pan. Loosely chop all veggies and put them through the food processor. Add the veggies to the oil and saute. Run the garbanzo beans through the food processor also. They will cook quicker than remaining whole, and since we are going to use the immersion blender on the whole thing, you might as well get the process started. Add the beans to the veggies in the stock pan. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add your tomato sauce and paste to the mix. Mix in well. Add enough water or vegetable broth to the desired consistency, about six to eight cups. Cook on medium heat for about one hour. Remove cardomon pods and clove. They tend to float to the top, if not just stir your mix until you find them. Pureed mixture with immersion blender. Taste for spice level. Add more garam masala to taste. You could add a dollop of yogurt to each bowl as serving or squeeze a wedge of lime for an added twang.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.
Olive oil
Four celery stalks
Two carrots
One turnip
One onion
Three garlic cloves
Two cups garbanzo beans soaked overnight
One can tomato sauce
1/2 can tomato paste
Two teaspoons corriander
Two teaspoons turmeric
Four cardoman seed pods
Four cloves
Two tablespoons garam masala
Add a little olivie oil to your stock pan. Loosely chop all veggies and put them through the food processor. Add the veggies to the oil and saute. Run the garbanzo beans through the food processor also. They will cook quicker than remaining whole, and since we are going to use the immersion blender on the whole thing, you might as well get the process started. Add the beans to the veggies in the stock pan. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add your tomato sauce and paste to the mix. Mix in well. Add enough water or vegetable broth to the desired consistency, about six to eight cups. Cook on medium heat for about one hour. Remove cardomon pods and clove. They tend to float to the top, if not just stir your mix until you find them. Pureed mixture with immersion blender. Taste for spice level. Add more garam masala to taste. You could add a dollop of yogurt to each bowl as serving or squeeze a wedge of lime for an added twang.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.