Green Tips And Two Green Earth Day Recipes

As people gather to collectively celebrate the 47th Earth Day in America and elsewhere, many take time to review their own lifestyle strategies. recycling, reusing, reducing household waste and the use of plastic, chemicals, and ecologically unsustainable products. 

Much has to be done to protect the environment, but instead of waiting for the politicians to change things, each of us can start taking steps in his or her own home, office, school, or town. One of the simplest, but maybe not the easiest, thing we can do is to change the way we eat and obtain food:

• buy organic
• buy locally grown or produced
• buy seasonal
• grow your own
• forage
• make your own food

For many people this might be easier said than done, but lack of time or lack of money are not really good excuses. 

Organic food might be expensive at the first sight, but consider the increased nutrition fresh organic food provides. Less chemicals in your food also means less hazard to your health and possible reduced future health care coasts. Local farmer's markets are full of bargains.

Locally grown, seasonal produce helps reduce your carbon foot print, and once again, provides fruits and vegetable at its peak nutritional value. Many local farmers resorted to organic farming at some point in the past, but cannot afford the incredibly expensive organic certification. Visit such local farm to find out how food is grown or produced. Smaller farmers seem to have a very different set of ethical values than the food industry. Profit, while incredibly important, is not necessarily on top of the list. 

Grow your own! In 2017 a perfectly manicured 1950s American Dream style lawn looks a bit outdated to me. Some communities or residents' associations may not permit you to have a vegetable garden on your property, but you can still grow herbs and vegetables in decorative pots on your porch. Big city dwellers can easily create a container garden on their balconies or terraces. Those who only have a windowsill can at least grow fresh kitchen herbs. If you have never done this before you can take gardening courses. Many master gardeners offer gardening classes for beginners. Once you've got your fingers dirty, you will never want to buy another carrot or tomato. There is nothing more comforting than to see your food grow. 

Foraging is becoming more and more popular. If you do not have much experience with wild herbs, berries or mushrooms, you may have to take a class or attend a foraging workshop. The abundance of wild food is unimaginable, but you have to be very careful as there are herbs, berries and mushrooms that look like the good thing, but are often extremely poisonous. 

Last but not least, make your own food! If you are a working adult with kids and family on your head, this can be difficult. You may not be able to do it during the week, but you can certainly make a ritual out of family cooking on weekends. Weekend is also a good time to prepare some healthy food for the coming week:

• salads in jars, that you can make ahead
• smoothies or smoothie combos that can be made ahead - simply chop the ingredients and freeze them in small portions so that they are ready for blending during the week
• soups can be cooked ahead and frozen, or fresh soup ingredients can be chopped, portioned out and frozen for later use
• stews can be made ahead and frozen
• bread baking on weekend can be a real fun

I hope that these few suggestions will help you get better organized. If you have tomatoes, peppers or herbs growing in your backyard you do not even have to drive to a store to get the salad ingredients.

 ~ Green Sauce Recipe ~

This is a variation of the famous Frankfurt Green Sauce. It can be used as a condiment for roasted meats, cold cuts, steamed, stewed or roasted vegetable, baked potatoes, and egg dishes; as a deep or a salad dressing; and in soups. It has a very green, almost grassy taste and may remind you a bit of the Argentinian chimichurri.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups of mixed garden and wild herbs, roughly chopped (parsley, chives, arugula, sorrel, dandelion greens, ground elder, chervil, Sanguisorba minor or salad burnet, borage, ramsons)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 medium large purple onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp grated horse radish root (optional)
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil 
• 1 cup natural probiotic yogurt
• 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

• In a food processor pulse blend herbs, garlic, onion, and lime juice until they turn into a green coarse paste. Do not over process.
• Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until all is well combined. The sauce should not be too thick. Add more lemon juice or a bit more yogurt to achieve a nice consistency. 
• Adjust the taste to your personal liking and serve with your favorite dish. The stores well in the fridge for two to three days, so it it quickly. It can also be frozen and used in soups.

~ Ground Elder Pesto ~

Ground elder, also known as bishop's weed, is a rather underestimated herb. When it shows up in your garden you will treat it as an unwanted weed, but the more you learn about it, the more you will come to love it. It also grows in the wild and can be foraged, but you must be careful as it resembles the highly poisonous hemlock. Both plants look almost the same when flowering. A simple test will help you distinguish ground elder form other plants: simply take a single leaf and rub it between you fingers. The aroma will remind you of carrots. Best time to forage for leaves is from May till July. This herb has many health benefits. It has a very high content of vitamin C and is good for gout, scurvy, digestion, and piles.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground elder leaves, packed
• 1/4 cup pistachio nuts, raw or roasted 
• 2 large garlic cloves
• juice of medium large lemon
• grated peel of 1/2 organic, untreated lemon
• 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
• Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

• In a food processor pulse blend ground elder, garlic, pistachios, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Do not over process. The mixture should be nicely coarse.
• Add olive oil, salt and pepper and whiz again. Serve with pasta dishes, as a dip, soup or salad garnish. If you like cheese you can add crumbled Pecorino  or Parmigiano reggiano cheese, as you normally would if you made a classic basil pesto. 

Both recipes may sound slightly unusual, but if you can get the ingredients, give them a try.

This year Earth Day falls on weekend. Take advantage of it and go on a hiking trip, ride your bike, start a garden, or meet friends and family over a healthy, home made meal. Reach out to your community and see if there is anything you could do collectively to reduce your carbon foot print. The climate change may be real or perceived, but the environmental pollution is not. Many things must be done so that the generations to come can enjoy the beauty of our planet.

~ Happy Earth Day 2017 ~

By Dominique Allmon

 
Dominique Allmon©2017

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came by today

and left surprises along his way.

Colorful eggs are all around.

With baskets in hand we search the ground.

Hiding in places here and there

Easter eggs are everywhere. 

Anonymous 

~ Happy Easter ~

Image: Easter Bunny & Broccoli by Dominique Teng©2017

Happy World Health Day!

Just like keeping a healthy diet is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating the right foods is just as important for getting the most out of your workout. - Marcus Samuelsson 

By now, most of the New Year's resolutions are long forgotten, or fading from view. If you are like many adults who would rather take care of their cars or patios, you probably should take a moment and reflect a bit on true meaning of life and the necessity of healthy lifestyle.

Statistics tell us that people live longer than ever. Unfortunately, many of those who live longer are not necessarily healthy and the quality of their lives is often questionable. Life is not fun if you are bedridden and in pain.

Biological aging begins as early as 30s. By the time most people reach their late 50s, they suffer from degenerative chronic diseases that developed over the years of self neglect. It is possible, however, to reverse premature aging and to heal chronic ailments, and one does not even need drugs.

Healthy nutrition, exercise, stress control, and positive outlook on life can do magic in no time. One simply has to follow these basic precepts religiously.

Easier said than done? The choice is yours, no doubt, but if you do not have the motivation to save your own life, no one can help you, now or later.

Do not wait until it is too late. Embrace healthier lifestyle today.

Wishing everybody happy and healthy World health Day - in radiant health - Dominique
 

Dominique Allmon©2017

Image: Rainbow Chard by Dominique Allmon©2017


*All health related statements in this article are made for educational purposes only. They are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.

Ikigai - Japanese Secret To A Long And Happy Life

People can feel real ikigai only when, on the basis of personal maturity, the satisfaction of various desires, love and happiness, encounters with others, and a sense of the value of life, they proceed toward self-realization. - Kobayashi Tsukasa

We seldom meet people who do not wish for a happy life. For many, the struggle is hard, but it shouldn't be. One has to simply love what one does. That's all. 

Nothing easier said than done. Unfortunately, most people end up in jobs they hate and vegetate unhappily till their retirement. Life is postponed for that later moment in time, when there is more money, more freedom, more time, more leisure, to do what we please and love. Unfortunately, that moment seldom comes, but if it does, it does not last long and does not bring the effect that we had hoped for. Happiness seems to be a habit that must be cultivated all life long. One does not simply retire from a tedious job and become happy the next day, but one can certainly change the direction of one's life early enough not to end up frustrated at an older age.

Have you heard of Ikigai? 

Ikigai is a Japanese concept of our reason for existence, very similar to the French raison d'être, or the ultimate purpose of one's life. The Japanese believe that everybody has ikigai. Ikigai is the force, the motivation, the passion that makes our life worth living. In other words, ikigai is what makes us tick. Those who find their ikigai can enjoy long and happy life.

The Germans say that you are a happy man if you know how combine the "nützlich" or the useful, with the "angenehm" or pleasant and enjoyable. Many of us have heard stories of successful Wall Street bankers leaving everything behind only to grow organic food or raise chickens on a farm. Such dramatic decisions are not necessarily motivated by money alone and there is always more to their story.

If your job doesn't make you really happy, but it pays for your lifestyle and allows you to keep up with the Joneses, you might not find your ikigai; but if you have moved to an English countryside to restore and sell antique furniture because antiques are your passion since your early discovery and exploration of your grandma's attic, you are meant to find your ikigai, even if the money you earn isn't buying you an English manor right away. 

 

 

Ikigai is to live to your own expectations, not to the expectations of others. If you are a lawyer because everybody in your family is, and this is your passion, you are the lucky one. However, if you were "coerced" in this direction by your relatives, but would rather be a concert violinist, you may end up unhappy sooner or later. Emphasis on "might" because a lifelong practice of law may help you discover aspects of your profession that are deeply satisfying.

Ikigai is to lose yourself in your passion or, in other words, find passion in everything you are doing, and carry it all life long. Ikigai is what makes the difference between lethargic, tired retiree who isn't needed anymore, and a happy, energetic, active octogenarian who is traveling the world, painting landscapes on a seaside, learning Chinese calligraphy, or preparing for a marathon run.

Discovery of one's own ikigai requires deep introspection, courage, maturity, and a very honest assessment of one's current place in the world. The compromise one is willing to make in early twenties, may not hold up to the litmus test of a later years.

Finding your ikigai early enough can make an incredible difference in your life. The choice between deep frustration and genuine happiness looks like a no-brainer, but this choice can only be made if one is brave enough to leave the assumed comfort zone.

If you can balance your chosen profession with your mission in life, your vocation, and that which you are truly passionate about, you are meant to experience ikigai.

How to find ikigai?

To find your ikigai you will have to honestly answer four questions:

• What do you love doing? - Ask yourself what is it that gives you greatest joy and makes your heart beat faster.
• What are truly good at? - Name your natural talents and skills that you have mastered.
• What is your vocation? - Do you have a cause you want to fight for? Is there anything you would do to make the world a better place?
• What do you get paid for? - What skills and services can you offer in exchange for money without compromising your values? 

Take a moment to look into your heart before you answer these questions. Take a piece of paper and write down your answers. You may want to use an ikigai diagram of overlapping circles to better illustrate common aspects of your existence. Reflect on your current situation and visualize where would you rather want to be. At the end of this exercise, ask yourself a question what needs to be changed or done to bring you closer to your ikigai and follow this direction.

As I wrote above, certain maturity and a high dose of honesty is required to make big changes in one's life. If you are not truly happy, if you feel that something is missing in your life, you might have to take a close look at yourself. What you could find, might surprise you.

By Dominique Allmon
 

Dominique Allmon©2017

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