We successfully sprouted! Check out our artwork with said sprouts. These heads were eaten (some more willingly than others) and some of the leftovers were composted. We have officially started our school’s compost pile for the garden, mainly comprised of food scraps brought in by the kids, though I have contributed maybe more than my fair share…
We also started a discussion about problems with changing our diet, what are problems and what are consequences of our eating habits, and how do we feel about this situation. Not a lot of response, but I hope that will blossom over time. I want the kids to change their eating habits, but I’m also interested in talking to them about this situation, and thus far there has been a lot of one sided talking (me) and I’d like to equal that out a bit. We’ll see how this develops as our adventure continues! There is a work day this Saturday to start the garden growin’…I can’t wait to see some broken ground!
Happy healthy eating,
Andrea
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Today Sprouts, Tommorow the World!
Our future farmers met for our second hour today and we already planted seeds! In their heads, that is. We did, however, learn to sprout. We discussed how 80 cents worth of lentils is enough for all 12 of us to enjoy. Each student got a glass jar, some lentils, cheese cloth and a rubber band. They wrote out the instructions for making their own sprouts and filled their jars with water. Next week they will bring their sprouts back and we will make little faces out of pita squares, hummus, and their sprouts (I had to get a little art in there).
During our sprout discussion, I pulled out some stats. We compared nutritional information of a cup of lentil sprouts to a bag of hot fries. I'm still working on getting them to see why and how those numbers on the nutritional data label matter, but i figure it's best to start with the facts.
My partner in this endeavor brought in a landscape architect to plot out the garden today, and she acquired an indoor greenhouse to help us get the veggies going.
There is so much left to do, and the ideas keep coming! Grant writing, composting, charting and graphing, recipe writing and cookbooks....I'm quite fired up! Thanks for following...
Andrea
During our sprout discussion, I pulled out some stats. We compared nutritional information of a cup of lentil sprouts to a bag of hot fries. I'm still working on getting them to see why and how those numbers on the nutritional data label matter, but i figure it's best to start with the facts.
My partner in this endeavor brought in a landscape architect to plot out the garden today, and she acquired an indoor greenhouse to help us get the veggies going.
There is so much left to do, and the ideas keep coming! Grant writing, composting, charting and graphing, recipe writing and cookbooks....I'm quite fired up! Thanks for following...
Andrea
Thursday, March 18, 2010
It has begun...
We're off!
Today the food crusaders and I met and discussed this food emergency our culture is facing. It was quite exciting to talk to these kids and explain what's actually going on with their food and their bodies because of the food. We discussed some of the problems with healthy eating (i.e. ignorance, cost, ingrained habits) and how we could overcome them. We brainstormed for about an hour; letting the kids come up with the solution so they might be more invested in the project. When I asked them how we might make healthy food cheaper, a 5th grader suggested we grow it ourselves (yay). This suggestion was after 'find it on the ground', 'get it from a trash can', or 'shop at cheap stores like ingles'.
Another exciting moment was when we were discussing 'real food' vs. 'other stuff'. While I explained what is in most of the candy and snacks we eat, I saw a 4th grader pull out a bag of hot fries and start reading the ingredients. I couldn't have been prouder! We read the ingredients out loud and realized together that we did not recognize most of the items.
Next week we are going to learn to make our own sprouts (thanks Dunning) as a cheap nutritious food that can be 'grown' until our garden gets up and running. We've got some money to get things started and are working on a grant in conjunction with the Athens Farmer's Market. I cannot wait! Thanks for reading....more to come.
Today the food crusaders and I met and discussed this food emergency our culture is facing. It was quite exciting to talk to these kids and explain what's actually going on with their food and their bodies because of the food. We discussed some of the problems with healthy eating (i.e. ignorance, cost, ingrained habits) and how we could overcome them. We brainstormed for about an hour; letting the kids come up with the solution so they might be more invested in the project. When I asked them how we might make healthy food cheaper, a 5th grader suggested we grow it ourselves (yay). This suggestion was after 'find it on the ground', 'get it from a trash can', or 'shop at cheap stores like ingles'.
Another exciting moment was when we were discussing 'real food' vs. 'other stuff'. While I explained what is in most of the candy and snacks we eat, I saw a 4th grader pull out a bag of hot fries and start reading the ingredients. I couldn't have been prouder! We read the ingredients out loud and realized together that we did not recognize most of the items.
Next week we are going to learn to make our own sprouts (thanks Dunning) as a cheap nutritious food that can be 'grown' until our garden gets up and running. We've got some money to get things started and are working on a grant in conjunction with the Athens Farmer's Market. I cannot wait! Thanks for reading....more to come.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Very cool article I found on ecoliteracy.org. I strongly urge you to visit this website, it has LOADS of information and research findings on various issues that support educating sustainability. Here's their self description:
Center for Ecoliteracy supports and advances education for sustainable living.
We believe that schools play a pivotal role in moving us beyond our growing environmental crises and toward a sustainable society. We recognize schooling for sustainability as a process that fosters abundant living on a finite planet and makes teaching and learning come alive.
It is my strong conviction that children deserve a healthy breakfast to start the school morning right and a healthy school lunch to fuel their growing and their learning. I have come to believe that nutrition plays a key role, by providing them with a critical physiological foundation to help them succeed in school. Behavior and academic performance are significantly affected by the quantity and quality of the foods we provide children during the school years.
This article found on website helped refuel my fire until we can start breaking ground in April.
What's on your child's plate today?
Today in the United States, one in six children suffers from a disability that affects their behavior, memory, or ability to learn. We spend more than $80 billion each year to treat neurodevelopmental disorders. Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) alone up are up 250 percent since 1990. How much of a role does modern food play in this increase?
Children's brains are built differently depending on what they are fed when they are rapidly growing. Healthy brains are about 60 percent structural fat (not like the flabby fat found elsewhere in the body). As the brain grows, it selects building blocks from among the fatty acids available in what the child eats. The most prevalent structural fat in the brain is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), one of the omega-3 fatty acids. DHA is also a major structural component of the retina of the eye. A large number of studies have suggested that low DHA levels are associated with problems with intelligence, vision, and behavior.
DHA is the most prevalent long chain fatty acid in human breast milk, which suggests that it's intended for babies to consume a lot of it. Studies have shown that babies who have not gotten DHA in their diets have significantly less of it in their brains than those who have. My point here is not about the superiority of breast milk, but that growing children quite literally are what they eat. When you think about this, you begin to feel differently about "cheap" food.
Iron is another nutrient that is essential to optimal brain function. Here's a very interesting study reported in the December 2004 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine – the first to connect children's iron levels and ADHD.
Between March 2002 and June 2003, 110 children from the same school district in Paris, France were referred to a university hospital to be evaluated for school-related problems. Researchers analyzed blood samples from the 53 of these children who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, and from 27 of the children who did not. The average ferritin (iron) level in the non-ADHD kids was normal, but the average level in the children with ADHD was about half that of the other children. Fully 84 percent of the children with ADHD were iron deficient. And the lower the iron levels, the worse the ADHD symptoms – worse hyperactivity, worse oppositional behavior, and worse cognitive scores.
The stunning part of this study was that none of the children had iron levels low enough to indicate anemia. The iron deficiency was subtle enough that all tested normal on the hemoglobin or hematocrit blood tests used in doctors' offices to screen for iron problems. I suspect that inadequate iron in the diet is also affecting the attention, focus, and activity of many children who don't meet the full definition of ADHD.
When other researchers fed appropriate iron to children with ADHD, their test scores and ADHD symptoms improved.
Kids need more than isolated, individual nutrients to boost their brains and school performance. There are big-picture benefits to eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fiber.
Antioxidants include a large variety of compounds found in a large variety of whole foods. Antioxidants in foods have been linked to improved memory and brain function.
Even in the same food, antioxidant levels can vary depending on how the food is grown. Organic foods, on average, are about 30 percent higher in antioxidants than are their nonorganic counterparts. That means each organic serving may be packed with more valuable nutrients. Talk about extra credit!
Organophosphates are the most commonly used insecticides in conventional, chemical agriculture. These chemicals act as nerve agents, and have been linked to neurodevelopmental problems. Organically grown foods are produced without the use of toxic pesticides such as organophosphates. Choosing organic foods for children can immediately and significantly decrease their exposure to organophosphate pesticides. That's good protection for the developing brain — it's elementary.
Some are afraid that school children would have to eat unfamiliar or unappetizing foods in order to make a difference. Not so! A February 2006 study conducted by Dr. Chensheng Lu and colleagues demonstrated an immediate and dramatic ability to reduce organophosphate pesticide exposure by making simple diet changes in elementary school children.
The researchers conducted this study with typical suburban children. The elementary school kids began eating organic versions of whatever they were eating before. For example, if they typically ate apples, now they got organic apples. Only if there was a simple organic substitution available for what the kids were already eating, did they make a switch. The kids didn't have to learn to like any new foods. Within 24 hours, pesticide breakdown products found in the urine plummeted! They continued this way for five days, with clean urine samples morning and night. Then the kids went back to their typical, nonorganic diets, and immediately the pesticides returned.
Researchers at the University of Southampton studied over 1800 three-year-old children, some with and some without ADHD, some with and some without allergies. After initial behavioral testing, all of the children got one week of a diet without any artificial food colorings and without any chemical preservatives. The children's behavior measurably improved during this week. But was this from the extra attention, from eating more fruits and vegetables, or from the absence of the preservatives and artificial colors?
To answer this question, the researchers continued the diet, but gave the children disguised drinks containing either a mixture of artificial colorings and the preservative benzoate, or similarly colored drinks from natural food sources. The weeks that children got the hidden chemicals, their behavior was substantially worse. This held true whether or not they had been diagnosed with hyperactivity, and whether or not they had tested positive for allergies.
The Journal of Pediatrics reported that there is a more pronounced response to a glucose load in children than in adults. In children, hypoglycemia-like symptoms (including shakiness, sweating, and altered thinking and behavior) may occur at a blood sugar level that would not be considered hypoglycemic. The authors reason that the problem is not sugar, per se, but highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, which enter the bloodstream quickly and produce more rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels.
Kids' brains are high-performance engines, and if we want them to do their best in school, we need to provide them with clean, high-quality fuel. For growing children this means a balanced diet of delicious whole foods, grown in a nutrition-enhancing way without toxic pesticides, and prepared in an appealing manner that also preserves nutrients.
Solid science has shown that food affects kids' memory, attention, and cognitive skills. Even whether or not they eat breakfast changes their test scores. What they eat, how their food is grown, and how their food is processed can all help their brains to operate at their very best. Let's give our kids the edge they deserve.
This essay was digested with permission from Organic Valley's Rootstock
Center for Ecoliteracy supports and advances education for sustainable living.
We believe that schools play a pivotal role in moving us beyond our growing environmental crises and toward a sustainable society. We recognize schooling for sustainability as a process that fosters abundant living on a finite planet and makes teaching and learning come alive.
It is my strong conviction that children deserve a healthy breakfast to start the school morning right and a healthy school lunch to fuel their growing and their learning. I have come to believe that nutrition plays a key role, by providing them with a critical physiological foundation to help them succeed in school. Behavior and academic performance are significantly affected by the quantity and quality of the foods we provide children during the school years.
This article found on website helped refuel my fire until we can start breaking ground in April.
What's on your child's plate today?
Today in the United States, one in six children suffers from a disability that affects their behavior, memory, or ability to learn. We spend more than $80 billion each year to treat neurodevelopmental disorders. Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) alone up are up 250 percent since 1990. How much of a role does modern food play in this increase?
Children's brains are built differently depending on what they are fed when they are rapidly growing. Healthy brains are about 60 percent structural fat (not like the flabby fat found elsewhere in the body). As the brain grows, it selects building blocks from among the fatty acids available in what the child eats. The most prevalent structural fat in the brain is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), one of the omega-3 fatty acids. DHA is also a major structural component of the retina of the eye. A large number of studies have suggested that low DHA levels are associated with problems with intelligence, vision, and behavior.
DHA is the most prevalent long chain fatty acid in human breast milk, which suggests that it's intended for babies to consume a lot of it. Studies have shown that babies who have not gotten DHA in their diets have significantly less of it in their brains than those who have. My point here is not about the superiority of breast milk, but that growing children quite literally are what they eat. When you think about this, you begin to feel differently about "cheap" food.
Iron is another nutrient that is essential to optimal brain function. Here's a very interesting study reported in the December 2004 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine – the first to connect children's iron levels and ADHD.
Between March 2002 and June 2003, 110 children from the same school district in Paris, France were referred to a university hospital to be evaluated for school-related problems. Researchers analyzed blood samples from the 53 of these children who met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, and from 27 of the children who did not. The average ferritin (iron) level in the non-ADHD kids was normal, but the average level in the children with ADHD was about half that of the other children. Fully 84 percent of the children with ADHD were iron deficient. And the lower the iron levels, the worse the ADHD symptoms – worse hyperactivity, worse oppositional behavior, and worse cognitive scores.
The stunning part of this study was that none of the children had iron levels low enough to indicate anemia. The iron deficiency was subtle enough that all tested normal on the hemoglobin or hematocrit blood tests used in doctors' offices to screen for iron problems. I suspect that inadequate iron in the diet is also affecting the attention, focus, and activity of many children who don't meet the full definition of ADHD.
When other researchers fed appropriate iron to children with ADHD, their test scores and ADHD symptoms improved.
Kids need more than isolated, individual nutrients to boost their brains and school performance. There are big-picture benefits to eating a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fiber.
Antioxidants include a large variety of compounds found in a large variety of whole foods. Antioxidants in foods have been linked to improved memory and brain function.
Even in the same food, antioxidant levels can vary depending on how the food is grown. Organic foods, on average, are about 30 percent higher in antioxidants than are their nonorganic counterparts. That means each organic serving may be packed with more valuable nutrients. Talk about extra credit!
Organophosphates are the most commonly used insecticides in conventional, chemical agriculture. These chemicals act as nerve agents, and have been linked to neurodevelopmental problems. Organically grown foods are produced without the use of toxic pesticides such as organophosphates. Choosing organic foods for children can immediately and significantly decrease their exposure to organophosphate pesticides. That's good protection for the developing brain — it's elementary.
Some are afraid that school children would have to eat unfamiliar or unappetizing foods in order to make a difference. Not so! A February 2006 study conducted by Dr. Chensheng Lu and colleagues demonstrated an immediate and dramatic ability to reduce organophosphate pesticide exposure by making simple diet changes in elementary school children.
The researchers conducted this study with typical suburban children. The elementary school kids began eating organic versions of whatever they were eating before. For example, if they typically ate apples, now they got organic apples. Only if there was a simple organic substitution available for what the kids were already eating, did they make a switch. The kids didn't have to learn to like any new foods. Within 24 hours, pesticide breakdown products found in the urine plummeted! They continued this way for five days, with clean urine samples morning and night. Then the kids went back to their typical, nonorganic diets, and immediately the pesticides returned.
Researchers at the University of Southampton studied over 1800 three-year-old children, some with and some without ADHD, some with and some without allergies. After initial behavioral testing, all of the children got one week of a diet without any artificial food colorings and without any chemical preservatives. The children's behavior measurably improved during this week. But was this from the extra attention, from eating more fruits and vegetables, or from the absence of the preservatives and artificial colors?
To answer this question, the researchers continued the diet, but gave the children disguised drinks containing either a mixture of artificial colorings and the preservative benzoate, or similarly colored drinks from natural food sources. The weeks that children got the hidden chemicals, their behavior was substantially worse. This held true whether or not they had been diagnosed with hyperactivity, and whether or not they had tested positive for allergies.
The Journal of Pediatrics reported that there is a more pronounced response to a glucose load in children than in adults. In children, hypoglycemia-like symptoms (including shakiness, sweating, and altered thinking and behavior) may occur at a blood sugar level that would not be considered hypoglycemic. The authors reason that the problem is not sugar, per se, but highly refined sugars and carbohydrates, which enter the bloodstream quickly and produce more rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels.
Kids' brains are high-performance engines, and if we want them to do their best in school, we need to provide them with clean, high-quality fuel. For growing children this means a balanced diet of delicious whole foods, grown in a nutrition-enhancing way without toxic pesticides, and prepared in an appealing manner that also preserves nutrients.
Solid science has shown that food affects kids' memory, attention, and cognitive skills. Even whether or not they eat breakfast changes their test scores. What they eat, how their food is grown, and how their food is processed can all help their brains to operate at their very best. Let's give our kids the edge they deserve.
This essay was digested with permission from Organic Valley's Rootstock
Friday, February 26, 2010
As I am preparing to educate these little gardeners on the importance of eating healthy foods, I have continued my education on what to eat and what not to eat. This has heightened my awareness of the food around me, and who’s eating it, which is starting to eat at me. I marvel in disbelief as I watch diabetics snarf down birthday cake, or overweight women with knee trouble have 2 servings of punch, or even countless healthy co workers hoarding valentine’s day candy and treats. At meetings I am served hydrogenated oils, offered colorful corn syrup temptations, and fatty hormone pumped meat products daily. I have noticed an obnoxious shift in my attitude that has come with this consciousness, and I don’t like it. I spent most of my life eating these foods without a second thought. How quickly my compassion and understanding has turned to judgment and criticism. Is this an inevitable stop in the process of change and awareness? Or am I just being a tool? I believe that effectual sincere change needs to come from a place of non judgment and compassion, yet I find myself continually shaking my head in disapproval at the diets of strangers (and sometimes loved ones).
How can I express my opinion when I don’t think it’s my opinion? Meaning I believe that this issue is right/wrong, healthy/unhealthy. I’m trying to find some grey, or at least paint my soapbox grey before I get up on it.
This blogger’s post help shed some light:
http://advocacyblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/being-non-judgemental.html
How can I express my opinion when I don’t think it’s my opinion? Meaning I believe that this issue is right/wrong, healthy/unhealthy. I’m trying to find some grey, or at least paint my soapbox grey before I get up on it.
This blogger’s post help shed some light:
http://advocacyblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/being-non-judgemental.html
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Does 'You're Too Damn Fat' Sound Too Harsh?
This is an interesting argument about the fine line between promoting healthy diets for children without invoking eating disorders and body image obsession, another widespread crisis facing our nation. As someone who has had my share of self scrutiny and is in a position of preaching healthy diets to adolescent girls, this question weighs heavily on me (yes it's a pun). All in all, I feel like the balance can be achieved through appropriate methods and channels. This is an article by Dr. Susan Albers concerning Michelle Obama's childhood obesity campaign. I have read several of Dr. Albers books and found them to be very helpful with my own relatoinship with food. I have also been following the Let's Move campaign and think it is a great start to deal with this urgent situation. Here are some links for more information and to get involved with this campaign. http://www.letsmove.gov/
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10662
http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx
Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Controversy
On the Today show, Michelle Obama discussed the cause, obesity among children, she has chosen to take on during her husband's presidency. We can applaud her for picking such a worthy cause. Helping children to eat well and take care of their bodies will help our future in many ways. It will reduce health care costs as well as allow people to live healthier and stronger lives. This goal is quite a large undertaking. Tackling obesity must take place on several different levels: changing school lunches, altering the fast food environment, educating parents, providing economic resources for obtaining healthy food all without blaming or alienating parents.
Her words have sparked some controversy. According to some eating disorder groups, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting "chubby." Words like "chubby" don't cause eating disorders but they are often a trigger to disordered eating behavior. Most eating disorder professional would strongly caution parents from using labels or prerogative words to describe their child's weight as this has lasting impacts on a child's self esteem. Also, putting kids on "diet" instead of focusing on healthy eating and exercise can be another trigger for eating disorder behaviors. Dieting is clearly not the answer. Michelle had some great suggestions on helping parents and their children eat healthier. Hopefully, it helps to draw awareness to what parents can do to help kids eat well and add exercise to their daily routine.
We also have to keep in mind that weight alone is not an indicator of a child's health. Children's weights dramatically vary and change particularly as they go through development stages, growth spurts and puberty. Instead of aiming for slimness, let's focus on a healthy lifestyle that includes mindful eating, access to healthy food and exercise.Michelle's words drew a reaction from some of the leading organizations that work on eating disorder prevention and treatment like the American Academy of Eating Disorders, the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Eating Disorder Coalition, and the International Association for Eating Disorders. They sent a letter outlining the potential danger of tackling "the war on obesity" without considering the potential impact on eating disorders. They have also offered their help and assistance to Michelle as she begins to tackle this cause.
Clearly, there are multiple causes of eating disorders that include biological, social and psychological factors. It seems like this discussion is a just another reminder that addressing any weight issue, whether eating too much or too little, is extremely complicated. However, it is a very important health issue for everyone. Eating disorders aren't just anorexia and bulimia. It includes binge eating disorder, which is linked with obesity.
We look forward to hearing more from Michelle. She is sure to gather a fantastic team of professionals to help to begin addressing childhood obesity. Thank you again for taking on this important cause.
The key is to work with these professional groups to find the latest scientific research that addresses the obesity issue cautiously without causing a wave of eating disorders. To see guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs click here.
By Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food and Eating Mindfully. www.eatingmindfully.com
https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=10662
http://www.healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx
Michelle Obama's Childhood Obesity Controversy
On the Today show, Michelle Obama discussed the cause, obesity among children, she has chosen to take on during her husband's presidency. We can applaud her for picking such a worthy cause. Helping children to eat well and take care of their bodies will help our future in many ways. It will reduce health care costs as well as allow people to live healthier and stronger lives. This goal is quite a large undertaking. Tackling obesity must take place on several different levels: changing school lunches, altering the fast food environment, educating parents, providing economic resources for obtaining healthy food all without blaming or alienating parents.
Her words have sparked some controversy. According to some eating disorder groups, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting "chubby." Words like "chubby" don't cause eating disorders but they are often a trigger to disordered eating behavior. Most eating disorder professional would strongly caution parents from using labels or prerogative words to describe their child's weight as this has lasting impacts on a child's self esteem. Also, putting kids on "diet" instead of focusing on healthy eating and exercise can be another trigger for eating disorder behaviors. Dieting is clearly not the answer. Michelle had some great suggestions on helping parents and their children eat healthier. Hopefully, it helps to draw awareness to what parents can do to help kids eat well and add exercise to their daily routine.
We also have to keep in mind that weight alone is not an indicator of a child's health. Children's weights dramatically vary and change particularly as they go through development stages, growth spurts and puberty. Instead of aiming for slimness, let's focus on a healthy lifestyle that includes mindful eating, access to healthy food and exercise.Michelle's words drew a reaction from some of the leading organizations that work on eating disorder prevention and treatment like the American Academy of Eating Disorders, the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Eating Disorder Coalition, and the International Association for Eating Disorders. They sent a letter outlining the potential danger of tackling "the war on obesity" without considering the potential impact on eating disorders. They have also offered their help and assistance to Michelle as she begins to tackle this cause.
Clearly, there are multiple causes of eating disorders that include biological, social and psychological factors. It seems like this discussion is a just another reminder that addressing any weight issue, whether eating too much or too little, is extremely complicated. However, it is a very important health issue for everyone. Eating disorders aren't just anorexia and bulimia. It includes binge eating disorder, which is linked with obesity.
We look forward to hearing more from Michelle. She is sure to gather a fantastic team of professionals to help to begin addressing childhood obesity. Thank you again for taking on this important cause.
The key is to work with these professional groups to find the latest scientific research that addresses the obesity issue cautiously without causing a wave of eating disorders. To see guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs click here.
By Dr. Susan Albers, psychologist and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food and Eating Mindfully. www.eatingmindfully.com
Friday, February 12, 2010
Frozen February
Here’s where our edible schoolyard stands as of today: frozen with areas of slush. This is okay because a.: we haven’t started yet, and b: it’s February and that’s what happens in February, so all is going as expected. Hurrah!
As for our future, I have recently been experimenting with visualization and manifestation by closing my eyes and concentrating on an image or feeling of what I want as if I already have it. As you can imagine (or can’t if you haven’t honed this skill quite yet) this practice is tricky and seems sometimes, well, silly. In some areas of my life, it’s just impossible, but in others, i.e. a gorgeous vegetable patch on a summer day with enthusiastic school kids harvesting zucchini and tomatoes, it’s crystal clear. I take that as a good sign.
I’ve written a letter to the upper grades urging them to help with this current epidemic. It was meant to inspire but as I reread it now I realize it is a bit severe.
Dear Food Rules Team,
America is in trouble. That means we are unhealthier than ever before, and instead of getting better and stronger, we are getting weaker and sicker. This problem affects all of us. It costs a lot of money to get sick, and some people don’t have enough money to pay for doctors. No one wants to spend a lot of time not feeling good, or watch people they love like their parents not feel good. The main reason our bodies are getting sick is because we aren’t eating enough fruit, vegetables and grains. In fact, we aren’t eating a lot of real food at all. A lot of what we’re eating is made out of chemicals and other stuff that is actually hurting us more than helping us. Sometimes we don’t know what choices to make that would be best for our bodies. Other times we do know what would be better to eat, but it costs too much money, or it is unavailable. There are even times when we could choose to make healthy decisions, but we are so used to eating the way we always have and it can be hard to change bad habits.
We need your help to figure out some solutions to change this sad situation and live long healthy lives. Together we can change this, one bite at a time!
Sincerely and with hope,
Ms. Dyson
Pretty ominous, huh? I got 10 kids to join our little coalition. We will meet every Thursday for an hour for 7 weeks to get the ball rolling. I’m glad they are going to be there because I just realized that I have no idea where to start. But at least we are moving forward!
If you are interested in volunteering or have advice or comments for me, leave me a note and I will respond. Thanks for your interest and support in this experiment!
As for our future, I have recently been experimenting with visualization and manifestation by closing my eyes and concentrating on an image or feeling of what I want as if I already have it. As you can imagine (or can’t if you haven’t honed this skill quite yet) this practice is tricky and seems sometimes, well, silly. In some areas of my life, it’s just impossible, but in others, i.e. a gorgeous vegetable patch on a summer day with enthusiastic school kids harvesting zucchini and tomatoes, it’s crystal clear. I take that as a good sign.
I’ve written a letter to the upper grades urging them to help with this current epidemic. It was meant to inspire but as I reread it now I realize it is a bit severe.
Dear Food Rules Team,
America is in trouble. That means we are unhealthier than ever before, and instead of getting better and stronger, we are getting weaker and sicker. This problem affects all of us. It costs a lot of money to get sick, and some people don’t have enough money to pay for doctors. No one wants to spend a lot of time not feeling good, or watch people they love like their parents not feel good. The main reason our bodies are getting sick is because we aren’t eating enough fruit, vegetables and grains. In fact, we aren’t eating a lot of real food at all. A lot of what we’re eating is made out of chemicals and other stuff that is actually hurting us more than helping us. Sometimes we don’t know what choices to make that would be best for our bodies. Other times we do know what would be better to eat, but it costs too much money, or it is unavailable. There are even times when we could choose to make healthy decisions, but we are so used to eating the way we always have and it can be hard to change bad habits.
We need your help to figure out some solutions to change this sad situation and live long healthy lives. Together we can change this, one bite at a time!
Sincerely and with hope,
Ms. Dyson
Pretty ominous, huh? I got 10 kids to join our little coalition. We will meet every Thursday for an hour for 7 weeks to get the ball rolling. I’m glad they are going to be there because I just realized that I have no idea where to start. But at least we are moving forward!
If you are interested in volunteering or have advice or comments for me, leave me a note and I will respond. Thanks for your interest and support in this experiment!
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