3 things you can do to help your life and health

1. cook!

According to Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, the number one thing you can do to change the food system in the US and to help you and your family eat better is to cook! He has a new book out called, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.

Well, we already cook all the time. It's hard to keep getting inspired, but I think this is one of the best things the internet can be used for. I just made this dish with artichokes, peas, and orzo over the weekend and it was delicious. It was too time intensive for my current schedule with a baby, but the end result was delicious and it fed over 6 people for a picnic, along with a sundry of other items we had.

I also can't rave enough about this garlicky broccoli recipe from the Times as well. I make it at least once a week and because of it, my husband and I eat a lot more broccoli. It's super easy to make and is just incredibly yummy.

2. stop using plastic bottles for water!

they cost too much and are a huge detriment to the planet. buy a reusable bottle and fill it up at the tap. tap water also has fluoride in it which will help prevent cavities for you and your children- not true of filtered and bottled water! Eating Well magazine suggests this Takeya bottle is a good one. I also use Camelbak bottles which are light and easy to use and BPA free.

3. grow your own herbs and food.

we grow our own herbs and some food each year. depending on where you live (climate, i mean), you can grow a bunch of different stuff. you don't need a lot of room, but you do need sun. and water. we have a patio and this year i've already planted our herbs. we will scale back the food we grow because i have a young child and don't have much time to dedicate to watering, but i'm still looking forward to fresh herbs all summer long. plus, i will freeze them so we have fresh herbs until the following spring as well. this way you know there are no harmful chemicals on your food and once established, your garden will save you some money on expensive things like fresh herbs.

my favorite things to grow are low maintenance, high-yield like tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes, herbs, hot peppers (thai), zucchini, lettuces. this year we are doing herbs and maybe one tomato plant and that's it. we also have a fig tree and two blueberry bushes that i hope will produce a lot of berries this year!

yay, spring!

Vegan for a week.

So I have decided to go vegan for a week. My dear friend is getting married on a pond in Maine next weekend and I'm going to be there for the wedding, celebration, bbq etc. But before then I'd like to lose a few lbs and have my skin look refreshed... basically, I need to stop drinking and eating crap.

So I decided to go vegan for a week and see if I could do it. I have never identified myself as a non-meat-eater and drink milk like it's going out of style. I'm one of the few adults who actually drinks glasses of milk with relish. My husband is too.

I have read that consuming animal products may not be as healthy as we think it is. I'm sure for those of you who can eat fish and lean meats, whole grains, steamed veggies and all in moderation on a regular basis this drastic measure is not necessary. But for someone like me - i.e., a compulsive consumer on every level possible, it's hard to make myself stick to certain things. So I decided to "close the door" on a lot of the unhealthy possibilities and make it easier on myself.

So far I've had a lot of rice milk (which is higher in calories, sodium & fat than fat free cow's milk I discovered... hmph), oatmeal, fruit, salad and tempeh. And all of it was damn good.

I do also have to say that I feel... lighter. Not thinner, necessarily, but lighter. I don't feel bogged down in my system, at least not from what I've had to eat since Sunday.

I'll keep you posted. I may get four days into this, see a juicy burger and curse the very thought of vegan-ism. Until then, it's one glass of rice milk at a time.