DAY 14
Connecting with the Earth
That means only 1 week to go!
Please honor yourself for making it this far and sticking with it, I promise you will see the results.
But….. please remember if you slip, don’t beat yourself up about it.
By now you should have a grasp on the idea that health and wellness is not about perfection, it is about taking small steps to grow and to lean into changing on a holistic level. Becoming fully conscious of where your food comes from and how you feel when you eat it is the direction you want to take. Once you make the choice to be conscious and aware of your relationship with food, it is hard to go back to your old ways.
As you look around the Earth there are so many things that have reached a critical point. The polar ice caps are melting which is raising the ocean’s levels. The Earth’s waters are getting warmer effecting countless fish and coral species. There are many parts of the world still suffering from droughts and food shortage. There have been severe weather like we haven’t seen. Most of this destruction has unfortunately been caused by humans. There is destruction of natural resources happening everywhere like fracking of the Earth’s surface, the chemicals sprayed in our air, the chemicals poisoning our waters, the radiation being leaked by Fukishima. WIth all that is happening on our home, planet Earth, we need to become the change that we want to see in the world.
We need to become aware of every choice we make. What food to buy and where we buy it, what industries and big companies to support. I recommend sticking with ‘local’ as much as possible. This will all start to create the change that we can bring about from our smallest actions to the biggest life changing decisions.
When you eat a plant-based diet, you are being a part of the change. While I am not preaching veganism, (I raise my own pigs, sheep, rabbits and chickens for meat), eating most commercially produced animal products are contributing to the most serious environmental problems like land degradation, climate change, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution and loss of biodiversity. Buying ORGANIC produce is also very impactful, both economically and physically. Buying and planting your own organic seeds is about the best way you can help yourself and the Earth.
Some Scary Facts everyone should know…
Land Degradation:
Do you know that more than 90% of the Amazon rainforest cleared since 1970 and is now being used for animal farming. For either grazing or to grow crops to feed the animals. The rainforest is like a giant sink that holds carbon dioxide. When it is cut down or burned, the carbon dioxide that is released in massive amounts contributes to the global warming trend. In the US, more than 260 million acres of our forests have been cleared to grow crops to feed farmed animals.
Climate Change:
Raising animals as agriculture causes almost 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world combined.
“If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week, and substituted for vegetables and grains, for example, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of US roads.” ~ Environmental Defense Fund
SO just think how much good you are doing by not eating animal products for 3 weeks!
Air pollution:
The EPA has found that more than 80% of the toxic ammonia gas in the US comes from farmed animals.
Animal agriculture and Water shortage:
Animal agriculture is one of the main causes of water shortage in the US and a large factor in California’s recent historic drought. Huge amounts of water is used to grow the crops for feeding and more is used for hydrating the animals. The run-off from the cleaning of these factory farms is also very toxic and is effecting the soil and drinking water.
Loss of Biodiversity:
As more land is used for raising agriculture, native animals and birds are dying off. The oceans are being devastated by over fishing. 90 % of large fish population have been exterminated in the past 50 years by large-scale fishing. Fish farms just make the problems worse. Ocean fish and land based foods like corn are fed to the farmed fish, leading to disease and eco-contamination.
Food Shortage:
Do you know that more than 800 million people are starving and that 10s of millions die every year from starvation? All the grains grown for animals could be used to feed the starving people. Animals need food to survive and growing food for animals takes up a lot of water and space. The amount of feed that it takes to funnel through an animal to create a 1 ounce steak could fill forty to fifty humans with cooked grains. People have gotten out of hand with eating animal products.
By choosing what you eat, you are effecting so many other aspects of your life. It is a conscious choice and cutting down even a little helps the Earth and so many people that live on the Earth.
Meditation is great to use in this area. Try placing an affirmation such as “I do make the difference”
Continue to learn more about all of these global issues and educate those in your life as to what is actually going on in the world. Help yourself and them to make the decision to be more conscious of what you consume.
Be the change you want to see in the world!
Meal Ideas:
Breakfast: Baked Quinoa Oatmeal
Lunch: Lettuce Wraps-place large piece of lettuce or cabbage
fill with veggies mixed with veganaise
Dinner: Stir Fry with Brown Rice
Stir Fry a bunch of veggies (sliced zucchini, carrots, onions, etc) in coconut oil. Add cooked brown rice in stir fry and mix
Recipes:
Baked Quinoa Oatmeal
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2-cup gluten free rolled oats
- 1/2-cup flaked coconut (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix above ingredients in a bowl
In a separate small bowl mix together:
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt or applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine
In a deep pie 8″ dish sprinkle:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 pear diced
- 1 peach diced
- Spoon the quinoa mixture over the fruit
- Sprinkle on top a Tablespoon of each quinoa flakes, oatmeal and coconut flakes
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
- Top should be golden brown
- Serve with Coconut Yogurt