It's All About the Facts.

This website talks about the facts involved around and with food sustainability. If you want to make a change, use the ideas the have been given in the other blog posts. They will make these no longer  accurate. It's sad to think that these are real, when so often around us everything and everyone seems alright. There are quick and easy and sustainable things you can do right now to make things better.

• One child in four is overweight or obese, and one in three will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime.
• After paying for overhead costs, schools are left with only $1.00 to purchase food.
• 49 million people, including 17 million children, lived in households that experienced hunger multiple times throughout the year.
•  A typical carrot travels 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table. 
• Nearly 1 in 7 people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, making hunger and malnutrition the number one risk to health worldwide – greater than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.

MLA: "Fast Facts about Sustainable Food - National Wildlife Federation." Fast Facts about Sustainable Food - National Wildlife Federation. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Pathways/Sustainable-Food/Facts.aspx>.

APA: Fast Facts about Sustainable Food - National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Become-an-Eco-School/Pathways/Sustainable-Food/Facts.aspx

This YouTube video is about eating healthier so you won't get sick as much throughout the year. Their goal is to have fewer people going to the hospital every year. The farmer said, "The idea would be to have such nutritionally dense, unadulterated food that people who ate it actually felt better, had more energy, and weren't sick as much!"

Check out the whole video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

APA: Sustainable Solutions to Food Production. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

MLA: "Sustainable Solutions to Food Production." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k>.

H2O

You all know drinking water is important. It's vital to our very existence. This article tells of six reasons, apart from keeping us alive, why drinking water is important every day. 
The first is, "drinking water helps maintain the balance of body fluids." Your body is made up of 60% water and that water helps control digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. Next, water can help control calories. Especially when eating foods with a lot of water, like fruits, vegetables, beans, and broth-based soups, they will take longer to absorb, which will help you feel full longer. Water also helps energize muscles. By not drinking enough water before and even during exercise, your muscles will begin to "shrivel which can result in muscle fatigue." Next, water helps keep skin looking good. The water in your skin acts as a protector and barrier, but drinking more won't get rid of unwanted wrinkles. Water helps your kidneys by washing unwanted stuff out of your body, just like how water helps maintain normal bowel function. It's excellent in keeping things moving.
Drink plenty of water and notice a change in the way you look and feel!

APA: Zelman, K. (2008, May 28). Why Drink More Water? See 6 Health Benefits of Water. Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://www.webmd.com/diet/6-reasons-to-drink-water?page=3

MLA: Zelman, Kathleen. "Why Drink More Water? See 6 Health Benefits of Water." <i>WebMD</i>. WebMD, 28 May 2008. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. &lt;http://www.webmd.com/diet/6-reasons-to-drink-water&gt;.

Prevent Malnutrition in Seniors.

It's interesting that when searching "malnourishment" a large amount of the articles are written about seniors. The article "Senior health: How to prevent and detect malnutrition" teaches us some of the ways senior become malnourished. Some ways being low income, reduced social contact, restricted diets, etc. If you have loved ones who start losing or gaining weight, or have a change in appetite they could be malnourished. Also, medications can make it so their bodies can't absorb the nutrients from their foods, so be aware of the side effects of their medication. Prevention comes from giving them nutrient packed foods, helping or encouraging exercise or some sort of activity, helping them budget their money, etc. Try to "identify and treat nutrition issues early. This can promote good health."

Caregivers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/caregivers/in-depth/senior-health/art-20044699?pg=2

"Caregivers." Senior Health: How to Prevent and Detect Malnutrition. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/caregivers/in-depth/senior-health/art-20044699?pg=1>.

Grow a Garden.

Creating a Self-Sustaining Garden to Feed your Family – How to Grow Healthy Food on the Cheap!

This article teaches us how to plant the most natural and well-sustained garden we can. From buying natural soil, using rain water to water your garden for free, saving your seeds to grow your garden the next year, and there are natural ways to make fertilizers right from your own home. 
As said in the article, "A truly self-sustaining garden is organic by its very own nature." Your doing every part naturally will give you and your family great, healthy food for almost no money.
Growing the garden as a family project will help your kids be more excited to eat the vegetables because they were the one who helped it grow!


APA: Creating a Self-Sustaining Garden to Feed your Family - How to Grow Healthy Food on the Cheap! (2014, July 30). Retrieved March 16, 2015, from http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2014/07/30/creating-a-self-sustaining-garden-to-feed-your-family-how-to-grow-healthy-food-on-the-cheap/

MLA: "Creating a Self-Sustaining Garden to Feed Your Family - How to Grow Healthy Food on the Cheap!" Old World Garden Farms. 30 July 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2015. <http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2014/07/30/creating-a-self-sustaining-garden-to-feed-your-family-how-to-grow-healthy-food-on-the-cheap/>.

Citations for the recipe...

APA: Kale, Quinoa, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-quinoa-and-avocado-salad-with-lemon-dijon-vinaigrette

MLA: "Kale, Quinoa, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette." Allrecipes.com. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. <http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-quinoa-and-avocado-salad-with-lemon-dijon-vinaigrette>.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kale-quinoa-and-avocado-salad-with-lemon-dijon-vinaigrette

Recipe of the Day

This week, why don't we try out a healthy recipe! 

"Steaming the kale removes some of the bitterness. The salad dressing ties all the flavors together. A quartet of super foods (kale, quinoa, avocado, and olive oil) make this a healthy meal!"

-Stephanie (the creator of the recipe)

Ingredients 

Original recipe makes 1 large salad

 

• Salad
• 2/3 cup quinoa
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 bunch kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 avocado - peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion

• 1 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• Dressing
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• PREP
  25 mins
• COOK
  15 mins
• READY IN
  40 mins

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and 1 1/3 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Place kale in a steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water in a saucepan. Cover saucepan with a lid and steam kale until hot, about 45 seconds; transfer to a large plate. Top kale with quinoa, avocado, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, and feta cheese.
3. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, sea salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until the oil emulsifies into the dressing; pour over the salad.