Mindful Eats

Healthy Poor People Meals - How to Eat Healthy on the Cheap

Everything you need for rice and beans - feel free to adjust according to taste and ingredients

"Much ingenuity with a little money is vastly more profitable and amusing than much money without ingenuity." ~Arnold Bennett

MarketWatch recently wrote about a 29-year old woman who lost her job recently asked for cheap healthy meals in a Reddit post. She got hundreds of great tips and ideas. You can find her post here.

How can you be mindful on the cheap? You have to buy things on the cheap and use them all (zero food waste is ideal). To do so, start with a weekly menu plan. If there is produce on sale in the grocery store, it means that it is in season. Load up. Dried and canned beans, frozen vegetables, brown rice, canned tomatoes and fish - these are the cornerstones of affordable, healthy meals. If you find them on sale, buy in bulk as these can all go straight in the pantry and last. Vegetarian meals are cheaper than meat, but be mindful of getting protein through cheap sources like beans, legumes and eggs.

When you make meals, feel free to make extra portions that you can refrigerate and eat throughout the day, or freeze them for even more longevity. Use produce that won't spoil quickly - cabbage, collard greens, kale, squash, carrots, turnips (any root vegetables).

What to do - 3 Easy Steps to Eating Cheap and Healthy

1. Get inspired and find some meals that you would like to cook. You can look at the Reddit post, review our Mindful recipes, or do your own search.
2. Create your weekly menu plan that allows you to use all your food. You will be less likely to buy expensive last minute food if you have all your meals planned out as well. This is very important!
3. Take your menu plan and do your weekly grocery shopping. Voila! You've maximized your wallet and your health. Pat yourself on the back!

 

 

What I ate: slice Ezekiel 4:9 bread +1.5 T cream cheese + avocado mash + hard boiled egg, 2T Welleco Elixir, Paleo popcorn, 2 Trader Joe dark chocolate mini peanut butter cups, 14 oz coffee + milk, slice cheese pizza, cookie, 5 grape leaves, Welleco vanilla protein drink, pear, Paleo popcorn, pistachios, raisin oatmeal cookie, Mariebelle hot chocolate, 40 oz water

Exercise: 60 min boot camp

 

 

What is ultra-processed food and why is it bad for you?

Lamb duo, potato, pepper ragout

I know once people get connected to real food, they never change back. ~Alice Waters

MindfulEaters, I hope you're having a great summer and enjoying the season's food offerings! As you know, we at MindfulEats hate processed foods. Now there's another reason - a recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that ultra-processed foods make you fat!

So, what is super-processed food vs processed food vs minimally processed food vs real food? It gets confusing! Basically, anything that is not in its original format is processed -- a potato chip is a processed potato, frozen pizza is no where near what it's natural components were, and even brown rice is minimally processed (because it is dried). But wait, brown rice is good for you, right? You're right, brown rice IS good for you! White rice is more processed than brown rice so it's not as good for you (it's rice with the hull and bran removed - the stuff with the vitamins and minerals in it). Fresh broccoli that came from the produce section is real, unprocessed food. Frozen broccoli is minimally processed because it's been frozen, but it's still good for you. Here is the deal: eat real or minimally processed foods! To try to standardize definitions, MindfulEats is going to use the NOVA classification which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is using.

• Real food is unprocessed or minimally processed (Group 1 Foods). These foods are the ones you recognize - edible portions of plants and animals. When these foods are processed, it is to extend the life of the food or to remove inedible parts by freezing, drying, pasteurizing, etc.  They don't have multiple ingredients - they might not even come with an ingredients list or a nutritional panel. You can often recognize these foods since they are in their original form and include things like vegetables, grains, fruit, meat, seafood, nuts, eggs, herbs, milk. You should eat and cook mainly from this category. Is yogurt a Group 1 food? Trick question - plain yogurt is a minimally processed food because it's fermented milk, but when you add processed fruit it becomes an ultra-processed food.
• Processed food (Group 3 Foods). This is when real food has been altered a bit with sugar, salt, or oil to make it last longer or add flavor. Tofu, simple unpackaged bread, cheese, canned tuna, cured meat, beer and wine fall in this category. These foods tend to be convenient and have just a few ingredients on their lists. You can use these foods to build your meals (everything in moderation, please), but the more real food you eat, the better!
• Ultra-processed food (Group 4 Foods). These are where most of our calories tend to come from; they are the industrial formulations with five or more ingredients. They have been through multiple processes with added ingredients to taste delicious and make us want more. Examples of ultra-processed foods are soda, diet soda, chips, ice cream, sweetened flavored yogurt, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, fries, energy bars, and distilled alcohol like vodka, rum and gin. Remember, an organic ultra-processed food is still bad because it's ultra-processed!

Ultra-processed food is so convenient and so tasty, is it really necessary to give it up? Yes! It is tasty because food science has manipulated it and added things to it to make your brain want more. It is basically frankenfood. The NIH study showed that people on an ultra-processed diet gained 2 lbs per week on average, while those on a real food diet lost 2 lbs a week on average. In addition to weight gain, ultra-processed foods are also linked to higher cancer risk. We know you are here because you want to be healthier, so cut back on the ultra-processed food you are eating!

What to do - Eat more fresh unprocessed food

1. Create a food plan (your Mindful Battle Plan) for the week. Figure out your meals so you can take a list with you to the grocery store and spend less time making more satisfying meals!
2. Prepare most of your meals at home. The faster the better - and if you cook in large batches, you can take in lunch or have leftovers later in the week.
3. Figure out which ultra-processed foods are your weakness, and don't buy them! Do not let them in your house!! Here are some popular culprits: chips, diet soda, frozen pizza, candy, pre-packaged cakes, certain breads (do for the whole grain breads).
4. Snack well. Create a fruit bowl and keep it filled. This will be your go-to for snacks. Make a Mindful Mix for your other snack needs.

Want to know more?

• It's Not Just Salt, Sugar, Fat: Study Finds Ultra-Processed Foods Drive Weight Gain, NPR, 5/16/19
• What is ultra-processed food and how can you eat less of it?, Heart & Stroke
• 6 'Ultra-Processed' Foods to Throw Out Right Now, Health.com, 2/13/19
• What are ultra-processed foods, and are you eating too many of them?, Mother Nature Network, 5/17/19
• Share
• Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake, Cell Metabolism, 5/16/19
• Standardizing food classification with NOVA, World Public Health Nutrition Association, 2016
• Consumption of ultra-processed foods and cancer risk: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort, BMJ, 2/14/18

 

What I ate today: vegetable hash with 2 eggs, 16 oz coffee, peach, 1 cup strawberries, 2 cups blueberries, 1 cup cheddar Hippeas, udon noodles + 1 slice pumpkin tempura + 1/2 slice sweet potato tempura, glass noodles + tofu + spinach + shiitake mushrooms, 1 tablespoon homemade green tea ice cream, 10 oz hot chocolate, 50 oz. water

Exercise: 1 hours of kickboxing, 30 min. upper body weight lifting

Rule #1: Eat Unprocessed Food

Fruits at Union Square Greenmarket

The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. ~Abraham Lincoln

Today's gift is a Free Pass Card to eat whatever you like -- as long as its unprocessed and preferably prepared at home.

I came across an inspirational Mark Bittman talk called "What's Wrong with What We Eat" at a 2007 TED conference. It's wise, funny and informative. I rarely watch videos over two minutes long but I watched all 20 minutes. In short, it's fabulous and worth your time.

Then a few days later I received two comments that would be directly addressed by Mr. Bittman's video: one from a reader who wanted to buy organic, but found it expensive and felt guilty for buying conventional food and the second from a man who was anti-tofu because he gets too much soy in his regular diet.

STOP THE MADNESS! At MindfulEats, we are totally flexible about the kind of diets and foods you choose to eat. In terms of food, we have only two rules: 1) eat non-processed foods, and 2) be moderate in how much of each food you eat. That's it. To expound a little on #2 - if you eat animal products, you should probably eat less of it. The average American eats 1/2 pound a day (3.5 lbs a week), and the generous FDA recommendation is 1/2 pound a week.

If you're eating non-processed foods, you're not getting soy in your diet unless you are consciously choosing it. The only place it's sneaking in is in animal products, since animals are often fed soy. If you're preparing your own non-processed foods (and mostly plants), you are doing fabulous. Even if it's conventional. If you washed all the residue off an organic tomato and a conventional tomato, a lab would not be able to tell the difference between them (unless the conventional tomato was genetically modified). You are doing better preparing your own conventional meals than buying a really expensive live organic food in a bag. Because that bagged food is processed. And don't complain about preparing food -- you can just steam it which is fast, easy, and what I often do.

Mark Bittman says it much more eloquently in his video.

What to do - Eat more fresh unprocessed food

Mr. Bittman's video reminded me that old stuff is classic. So here are a few posts to review to help you eat less processed food:

• What is processed food?
• What is conventionally grown, industrial food?
• How to prepare your own food
• The low down on organic food

 

What I ate: strawberries, cherries, blueberries, 6 squares dark chocolate, almonds, grilled portobello and radicchio salad, swordfish, eggplant, root mash, strawberry shortcake, 32 oz. pomegranate white tea, parmesan cheese, steamed tofu + baby bok choy, soofoo (grain and lentil blend)

Exercise: 2 mile jog, 75 minutes yoga

 

Planning: The Key to Being Healthier and Happier

"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." ~Michael Jordan

We at MindfulEats talk about planning all the time. That's because planning is the key to health. Sadly, healthy eating, exercise and sleep don't just randomly happen! If you're anything like me, then planning doesn't come naturally. If you're the other type of person (born organized), then you can skip this post!

I resisted planning for a long time because I thought of myself as spontaneous. Isn't planning the opposite of of spontaneous? Then all kinds of things would happen like I'd be on my way to a party but wouldn't be able to find my keys in my messy house so it would take 30 minutes of searching, then the car wouldn't have gas so I'd take the extra time to go get it, and by the time I ended up at the party I was so frazzled and hungry I would eat all the fatty food in sight. The results? Weight gain, lethargy, guilt, and a total lack in spontaneity. If I'd planned ahead, I would have eaten a healthy snack before I left as part of my food strategy, grabbed my keys from the designated key bowl, walked out of the house into car with gas, enjoyed a few of the hors d'oeuvres, and had spontaneous fun at the party.

As for my house, it would be in a state of total anarchy, and then I'd make a huge weekend-long effort to straighten it out. Not fun. Then one day I read an article about FlyLady, who insisted shining my sink would get my house organized. Similar to the principles of feng shui, she insisted that a cluttered mess drained a lot of mental energy and even more time. I signed up for the FlyLady program (lots of free e-mails). It was life-changing! Like she said, setting up routines to cover the everyday basics freed me up to do a lot more. My place became neater, I had more time and ability to start planning ahead, my meals became healthier and cheaper, that gave me more time and energy, I started blogging and here we are. FlyLady is amazing, and it's free. If things feel a little chaotic, or you need some help getting organized, go to FlyLady! As Flylady always says, it's all about babysteps and getting routines. Once you have the basics taken care of, you're free to enjoy all the fun opportunities that come up without spending all this time taking care of blowups!

What to Do: Plan Your Way to a Healthier and Happier Life

1. Organize your house and life with routines that take care of your basics. Sign up for FlyLady.net for help! A principle of feng shui (this is very poorly paraphrased on my part) is that a neat, uncluttered house will let you relax. Conversely, a messy house will subconsciously bother you so you will never be able to focus on the task at hand.
2. Plan your meals for the week and schedule your exercise with the Mindful Battle Plan.
3. Create your goals mindfully and go for them!  

Resources:

• FlyLady - FlyLady steps you through setting up routines and getting more organized
• Mindful Battle Plan - Want to eat healthy? You need a food strategy!
• Mindful Goals - Achieving your goals is fun. Dream them up and go for it!

 

What I ate: 2 lattes, 2 hardboiled nyeggs, quinoa, Tasty Bite Kashmir Spinach, brown rice + ground flaxseeds, steamed broccoli, baked tofu, macadamia nuts, Mariebelle hot chocolate, 2 Almond Rocas, 40 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 4 miles (still getting in shape after taking 2 weeks off)

Commuting by Bike

Meet my bike Smarty Jones

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~HG Wells

I never planned on making a bicycle my main mode of transportation. I never even planned on buying a bike - but I saw a picture of my (now) bike at the beginning of the summer and fell in love. I had to have it. At the same time I noticed that NYC had explosively grown the number of bike lanes they have. Now my bike has replaced the subway for me - I use it to get to work, dinner, parties, stores. Biking in NYC (and lots of other cities) is tres easy. I'm just coasting on greatness though - I'm grateful to Critical Mass for forcing all the bike lanes to happen. The last time I stopped at a traffic light during my morning commute, I counted 11 other bikes waiting with me.  

Biking has all the virtuous qualities of not emitting carbon, getting around uberquickly and being outside,  but my Pashley is strictly for transportation - I didn't count it as exercise. I have a pretty slow pace, so I figured there would be no health benefits. Oddly enough, I lost a few pounds after I started biking (even though I usually only do 5 slow miles a day), and my stomach is the flattest it's even been. Coincidence? I think not. I think it's actually exercise. A new study from the Archives of Internal Medicine also states that biking is as effective as brisk walking in helping premenopausal women avoid weight gain.

Before I started commuting by bike, I had a lot of questions that I wanted answers to. Bill and George spent a lot of time trying to answer them (thanks!), but after living on my bike for a while, I got some firm answers:

Is it scary biking in the streets? I was terrified for the first 3 weeks on the road. Then all of a sudden, a switch turned in my brain and traffic patterns made sense. Now I buzz in and out without any fear. You do have to be on the lookout though, because cars don't see bikes.

Is it safe to bike at night? Another thing that scared me. Make sure you have a bright rear light and a headlight. Use the bike lanes and common sense. I've been biking for 4 months at night and haven't had an issue yet.

Do you have to wear a helmet? Will it give you hathead? Oh, helmets. I refused to wear them at first but then I started because of peer pressure. Now I don't even notice them. Over 90% of bike fatalities happen to those without a helmet. Yes you get some hat head - but sometimes it makes my hair look better and not wearing it blows my hair out too flat. Wear your helmet!

Do you get to work all sweaty, especially during the summer? This was a huge concern. Short answer is, I get to work much less sweaty than I do on the subway. But I also bike really slowly.

Will I get hit by a car? All the real bikers say yes. Hasn't happened to me yet (knock on wood).

What are the traffic rules? Don't bike on sidewalks, get lights for night biking and bike with traffic.

Will I still exercise? Yes.

Will my bike get stolen? Maybe. Lock it up all the time and be smart about where you lock it. I have an Abus chain lock. It's heavy but probably worth it.

What kind of bike do you have? Smarty Jones is a 20" Pashley Sovereign Princess in British Racing Green. I can't believe I have a bike that's associated with the word Princess, but I love her because she's gorgeous. She's heavy though - I definitely need the 5 gears. Though she's beautiful and a great ride, I wish she had higher handlebars so she was more upright. If I could have gotten the orange Batavus with gears, I would have because that bike is more comfortable. However, Smarty Jones is better looking. I switched her black rubber grips for Brooks leather ones - the only issue with them is that they shrink and need to be adjusted after the first time it rains. As for size, I'm 5'4" and I could have gotten either the 17" or the 20" frame. My last bike was a tad bit too small and it drove me nuts. This time I went for the bigger frame and I'm glad I did. Smarty Jones came from Adeline Adeline in Tribeca.

What to do - Commute by Bike

1. Get a bike. Try lots of bikes at lots of different bike stores. Go with the store you like best since you will be back regularly.
2. Get a bike map. There are great bike paths and trails that you will want to take advantage of. It's safer to use them, so a map will help you figure out how to navigate.
3. Protect your head. Wear a bike helmet. See the question above. If you can't stand the thought of it, get a Yakkay helmet - they look like cute hats.
4. Maintain your bike. Make sure you like the bike shop you bought your bike from. They will make adjustments, and you can take your bike in for a tune up once a year.

Resources:

• NYC Bike Map: map your route
• Yakkay Helmets: cute hats that don't look like helmets (but are!)
• Bike Snob: fun rants and reviews
• Lovely Bike: informative blog that helped me choose a bike and accessories

What I ate: 12 oz latte, 16 oz cafe au lait, coffee, large tea, nymilk, nycheese, 2 hardboiled eggs, Mindful Mix, brown rice + ground flaxseeds + seaweed, steamed tempeh + yellow squash + broccoli, crudite, grilled cheese + watercress, 1/2 Doughnut Plant doughnut, black forest cupcake, dark chocolate + almonds, 50 oz. water

Exercise: jogged 4 miles

How to Grill Grass-Fed Steak

Grass-fed angus at Grazin Angus 

Happy 4th darlings! Summer is about firing up the grill. Especially on Independence Day, one of the biggest BBQs of all. There's a happy food confab these days of more people seeking non-industrialized meat and more available grass-fed beef. If you are one of those lucky people grilling up grass-fed steaks, check out Ulla's awesome tips on how to get the most out of your investment. She grew up on a farm in upstate New York, and is an all-around sustainable food hero.

ULLA'S TIPS ON HOW TO GRILL THE PERFECT GRASS-FED STEAK

From Ulla's blog: Goldilocks finds Manhattan 

• Treat it gently; you will want to cook it at a lower heat, for a shorter time, to a rarer doneness.
• If the steaks are frozen you will need to defrost them. I like to put them in a bowl in the fridge one day before I grill them. You can also defrost them by placing them in a plastic bag in a large bowl of cold water for about an hour. I do not recommend defrosting steaks in the microwave.
• Season with salt and pepper and drizzle some olive oil over the steak.
• You will want to bring the steak up to room temperature. So let them rest for about ½ hour before you put them on the grill.
• Remember, grass-fed steak is best when it is medium-rare to rare. You will have to be more vigilant on the grill for this reason.
• Preheat the grill. Do not use forks to flip your meat. Juices are precious, use tongs instead. Flip the steak at least once.
• The best way to measure doneness is by pressing gently down on the steak to see how firm it feels. This takes some finesse but is easily learned. You want the steak to be beautifully browned, and it will become firmer as it cooks.
• Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes under foil after you have cooked it. Please note that the meat will continue to cook; do not slice the meat until you have let it rest.
• With these simple rules you will be grilling your local beef to perfection this summer!

What I ate: 1 large latte, quinoa + 1 scrambled egg + tempeh + lettuce + sesame oil + Dr. Bronner's liquid aminos, 1 pint blueberries, 2 handfuls cherries, 1 mango, dried sliced mangos, 1 Amy's Bread cheese biscuit, 1 scoop straciatella gelato, tzatsiki, taramosolata, melitzanosolata, fava dip, pita bread, shrimp + scallop pasta, chocolate mousse

Exercise: ran 5 miles, 1 hour yoga

Don't have the exercise gene? No problem!

Mile 25 at the 2008 NYC marathon

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. ~Winston Churchill

Have you seen the study that suggests your genes can influence your desire to exercise? Grrr. I promise your genes are not the determiner of whether or not you exercise. You are! The reason I know this is because I was born without a hint of an exercise gene or athleticism, and now I've been active for over 15 years. I also hate the morning, but I can't imagine life without getting up early to exercise - it's as natural as brushing my teeth (and I didn't inherit that gene either, but I still do it). Oddly enough, some people even consider me athletic. Not bad for a kid that hated gym class and was always one of the last picked for kickball teams. If I could get myself to exercise, so can you.

If you want to become an exerciser, you can. I naturally hate exercise. Well, I started out hating it years ago, and now I only hate it sometimes. Most of the time I tolerate exercise, and every once in a while I even like it. I now work out 5-6 days a week without thinking about it, and I feel out of sorts without it. No one else in my extended family exercises (except Stella), so I know it's not in our gene pool. As a kid, I was the scrawniest, least athletic person around. If it was my turn at bat, all the fielders moved in. 

The only reason I started exercising was because a trainer once told me that old women break their hips because they have such poor upper body strength they slip when they try to lift themselves out of the bathtub. This vision scared me into lifting weights and swimming. I tried to exercise after work, but I was so hungry by then I never made it to the gym. This made me try the impossible - getting up early to exercise. At first I couldn't do it regularly, but I still did it more than the evening. And I found that working out in the morning actually woke me up. I was haunted by the vision of myself as an old lady unable to lift myself out of a chair, so I kept trying to work out, and it got easier and easier. After a (long) while, it became a habit without my even noticing. And the more I exercised, the more active I became.

Anyway, the point of this is don't be scared off by any report that says there is a reason you can't exercise. All you have to do to become a regular exerciser is to want to. If you want to, you will.

What to do - Start Exercising Regularly

1. Find your motivation to exercise. Maybe it's to have more energy, sleep better, play with your kids, look great in a swim suit or not be pathetic. There are so many reasons - exercise makes you smarter, more attractive and more fun. Whatever your motivation is, hold tight to it and make a commitment to yourself.
2. Plan your exercise. Figure out the three times a week you can do it, and the right time - morning, afternoon, evening. It can be a mix of all three, depending on the day.
3. Read this post on mindful exercise on how to get started.
4. Play mind games with yourself. Your brain might hate exercising, but your body is thanking you for it (you just can't hear it because your brain is screaming so loudly). It's like taking the dog out for a walk - take your body out because it needs it.  Silence your brain - listening to music often helps you forget the pain.
5. Take time to feel awesome after every workout. You're getting closer to your goal and you should be proud of yourself. Figure out what you like about it. One of my favorite things about working out is getting to stop at the end - and that feeling only came after a workout. So of course I have to work out to get it.

Want to read more? Here's an article about how genetics can influence your desire to work out. Look through the Exercise section for more tips. If you want to lose weight, you need to watch what you eat too.

What I ate: vegetable juice, strawberries, 2 cappucinos, semolina gnocci + mushrooms, arugula salad, green tea, 1/2 chocolate mousse cake, NYCheese raw milk cheddar, brown rice + ground flaxseeds, steamed tofu + sugar snap peas, Mindful Mix, dried mangos, 12 oz hemp milk, 22 oz apple cider, 40 oz. water

Exercise: ran 7.5 miles

Vegetable Gardening: Grow Your Own Food

Visitors check out the chickens at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, NY
 
To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves. ~Mahandas Gandhi

One of the best and most delicious ways to add whole foods to your diet is to grow it yourself. It's as organic and cheap as you want it to be! You get to supplement your diet with homegrown fare and you know exactly what goes into it. True, it takes a lot of work (especially in the upfront planting and prepping stage) but it's remarkably satisfying to watch your plants grow and therapeutic to spend time outside gardening. And, you get to throw in some exercise benefits to boot.

With the downturn in the economy, more and more people are growing some of their own food. I often fantasize about having a garden, but I alway scoffed when people told me to grow my own food. I live in the urban jungle! Don't people get it? Well, it turns out that there are LOTS of urban gardens. Even resourceful city people do it (and have been doing it for ages). 

I volunteered at inspirational Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, NY. This 6,000 sf farm is on the roof of a warehouse, and it grows primarily vegetables, though this year it added a chicken coop and bees. To be honest, I got there late and didn't actually do any work. But I DID take some great pictures, pet a chicken, and sample some delicious bread. The farm was an experiment to see if it would work, and it has! So now there will be a 25,000 sf roof farm in Queens.

Intern Ray kindly shares a chicken
 
If you don't have access to your own plot of land, you can grow plants on the roof, in a community garden, on your fire escape, in a window box or on your windowsill. Guerilla gardening is all the rage!

What to do - Grow Your Own Food

Gardening is funing. Be prepared to invest upfront and then reap the benefits. You'll need to think about location, soil material, plants, maintenance, then finally, harvesting! Read up on it, talk to friends and neighbors that garden, and ask questions at your garden store.

1. Get inspired! Even the White House has planted a vegetable garden on the lawn. Save money by gardening. A gorgeous roof garden that yields salad via Mark Bittman.
2. Are you lucky enough to have a yard or access to some land? This basic About.com primer on starting a garden is easy to understand, and this one is on how to start a vegetable garden. A simple primer from GardenGuides.com. More complex information on WeekendGardner.net.
3. Urban gardeners are limited only by their imaginations. This article has great ideas - everything from community gardens to container gardens.
4. More gardening resources? BackyardGardener.com

Evidence that people were working - there are 15 double rows of crops

Urban bee-keeping
 

What I ate: cafe au lait, Fage yogurt + strawberries + flaxseeds, 1 slice banana bread (bad but I made it) macadamia nuts, Mindful Mix, brown rice, microwaved asparagus + spinach + soy sauce, 3 squares dark chocolate, strawberries, NYCheese raw milk cheddar, 5 Dumpling Man vegetable dumplings, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip cookie dough, 60 oz. water

Exercise: 60 min yoga

Green Household Cleaners

Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder, Mrs. Meyer's Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner refill, white vinegar

Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely. ~PJ O'Rourke

My parents visit me every year during tax season, and their visit throws me into a spring cleaning tizzy. Last year when they were here, I woke up and found my mother cleaning my already-spotless bathroom floor. So this week I spent a few days deep cleaning for their visit -- floor scrubbing, sweater folding, window washing type cleaning. 

Household cleaning is a gazillion dollar industry. Just go to a store and look at the tremendous amount of real estate allotted to cleaning products - they promise to bomb germs and grime to kingdom come. You probably have an extensive selection of cleaners. Do we really need that many? We probably need fewer than we think.

My philosophy of avoiding chemicals in my food and personal products whenever possible is pretty much the same with cleaners. This stuff can be toxic - take one whiff and let your eyes water. Cleaners work their way into your body through multiple channels - you inhale them as you are scrubbing, you absorb them through touch (even if its just walking into your recently Tilexed bathtub), and you eat them when you put food on your recently sprayed counter or just on your plates. You also drink them as cleaners get absorbed into the ground and contaminate our water sources.

Have cleaners been proven to be toxic? Some of them have, but I don't really care. There is a strong dose of unpronounceable chemicals in those bottles, and I'm not going to wait around for a medical study to tell me that a specific cleaner is linked to a chronic condition. This stuff is clearly not good for my health or the environment. 

I started looking for less-toxic, greener alternatives a few years ago. It's hard! You can whip up your own natural cleaners with lemons, vinegar, baking soda and water, which is pretty cool, but I'm too lazy to do that, so I buy commercial items. It's pricier than making my own, but at least the "natural" alternatives leave a fresh, nice smelling house instead of a light head like the conventional stuff. I even look forward to using it - it's the only nice thing about cleaning. 

What to do - Mindfully Green Your Cleaners

Simplify your cleaning needs in zones (in bold below), and begin greening your supplies gradually or all at once. There's an ever-growing world of green cleaners out there - from the granddaddies of green brands like Seventh Generation, Ecover and Biokleen to higher end Caldrea to the widely distributed Method. Check out your household products at this National Institute of Health database. Do you really need all those supplies? See if you can narrow what you need down to an all-purpose cleaner and a few specialists.

1. Read the ingredients lists of your cleaners. Like food, make sure the lists aren't long and/or toxic sounding. If you are motivated to make your own cleaners from household ingredients, you are awesome. Search the internet for recipes or check out these by Real Simple magazine. 
2. Experiment to see what works best. Then share your results with us! I like products that don't require a lot of elbow grease. The easiest way to avoid heavy scrubbing is to clean regularly. When Silda Wall Spitzer was in the governor's mansion, they tried a lot of green cleaners and ended up primarily using Ecover, Seventh Generation and Biokleen.
3. Buy large quantities of cleaner to refill your smaller bottles with. It's easier on your wallet and the environment! Most of the green cleaners make large refill sizes.
4. Glass. Glass cleaner is actually easy and cheap to make. Real Simple says to mix ¼ cup vinegar, 2 cups water, and a squirt of liquid Castile soap in a spray bottle, then spritz windows and wipe with a sheet of newspaper. The now defunct Domino Magazine recommended Biokleen Glass Cleaner in 2008.
5. Floors. I use Mrs. Meyer's All-Purpose Lavender Cleaner for non-wood floors. According to Real Simple, you can mop almost any type of floor with a solution of ¼ cup liquid Castile soap and 2 gallons warm water. If the floors are greasy, add ¼ cup distilled white vinegar to the bucket.
6. Bathrooms. I use Mrs. Meyer's All-Purpose Lavender Cleaner ($7.99 for large 32 oz that can be cut into spray bottles) on everything in the bathroom. Domino Magazine crowned Solay Simple (7.95 for large 32 oz) their 2008 Green winner, and I'm planning on trying it. I have to admit, I don't always clean my bathtub as regularly as I should, and as a result, I had to bomb it with Tilex Mold and Mildew Remover for my parents. That stuff works wonders, but it smells like you need a hazmat. I'm going to stick to using my all-purpose more frequently from now on. 
7. Kitchens. I use the all-purpose cleaner for all surfaces in here as well. Some people want a disinfectant, which used to be hard to find green, but fortunately Seventh Generation has a new line of EPA registered disinfectants. Conventional dishwashing detergents are icky. Mine is from Williams Sonoma (works great on grease - I use it to clean off my stovetop when it's greasy), and I love my Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder. It's effective and concentrated so you don't need that much. One of the most common cleaning mistakes is using too much cleaner in the dishwasher, so be careful!
8. Laundry. Domino Magazine crowned Shaklee "Get Clean Fresh Laundry" their 2008 Green winner. I haven't tried it but it's on my list. This is the other most common cleaning mistake - too much laundry detergent, so go light. It's good for your clothes and the environment.
9. Wood furniture. My furniture store recommended Guardsman Furniture Polish, but I have a feeling it's not too green since it doesn't list the ingredients. Domino Magazine put Timothy Corrigan Home ($12.50 for 12 oz.) on their list.

Resources:

• Debra's List of Green Cleaners - an extensive brand list from Debra Lynn Dadd, who was dubbed the Queen of Green by the New York Times
• Household Products Database - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - check out household cleaners here
• Mindful Gear - you can buy many green cleaners from our Amazon store if you can't find it locally. They can also make a nice present for an eco-minded person that has everything.

What I ate: 1/2 sweet potato, lots of macadamia nuts, 1/2 avocado, 1 c. steel cut oatmeal + milk + ground flaxseeds, scrambled eggs + ground flaxseeds, Mindful Mix, 1 apple, 1 cup steamed broccoli, Mike & Sam's cheese popcorn, cheddar cheese, 1 piece duck, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce + parmesan + ground flaxseeds, dried mango slices, hot chocolate, 50 oz. water

Exercise: 2 mile jog + 4 mile race, 25 minutes weights

Feed Your Brain

So much to learn: World History, New York Times, Vogue, The Economist, Ken Ken, Geographical Expeditions Travel

My body is tired, but my spirit does soar/ if not to work hard than what is this body for? ~Cory Booker

Smartypants, you are so clever to be getting healthier. We know you are (getting healthier), otherwise you wouldn't be here. We also know you're looking good... but what are you doing with all the extra energy and vitality? Feed your brain! Not only does it make you scintillating, it also makes you smarter. 

Sure, you can spend your extra energy at work or at the bar, but be sure to indulge your other passions. Even if you're one of the lucky people who managed to combine work with what you love, you can still nurse your other interests. Inspiration often strikes when you've veered from the normal routine, so if you're a workaholic, you'll be even better at your job. Developing your multiple facets also makes you an even more fascinating person AND a better role model for your kids. Then there are all the other benefits of exercising your brain - you stay sharp, slow memory loss and help ward off potential senility and Alzheimer's. It's just like your body - use it or lose it! 

What to do - Feed Your Brain

1. Stay informed. Get a subscription to your local newspaper or a great magazine (it's ok to read things offline. By reading a paper newspaper, we find that we often end up reading articles we would have never read online). We recommend the New York Times or the Economist for general current events. 
2. Dive into your passions. What interests you? Your passions may be long-standing, but they don't have to be. They can even be temporary. Make a list of everything that you are curious about or wish you had time for. Look at it and see what floats to the top. Start playing soccer again, memorize that Shakespeare sonnet, take a cooking class, travel, research the difference between European swords and Japanese swords. Become an expert. There's so much to do! As Martin Scorsese notes in Raging Bull, we're only here (on Earth) for 20 minutes, so relax and have a good time.
3. Learn something new. Learn a new language, a new physical skill, how to act, or that thing you've been putting off. Take that sailing or painting class. Do some new sudoku or crosswords. It's a big world.
4. Show off. There's so much to learn and do, we can't possibly do it all. So indulge your passion and share all that knowledge with someone else. We're dying to know! Seriously. What is it that makes you your quirky self? What are you passionate about? Leave a comment or send an email.

What I ate: vegetable juice, 2 coffees, Barbara's Bakery Shredded Oat cereal + ground flax seeds + milk, 6 squares dark chocolate, sauteed scallops + whole wheat spaghetti, dried mango slices, LifeThyme Market Raw Vegan Pizza, macadamia nuts, hot chocolate, 50 oz. water

Exercise: 15 min stationary bike, 20 min weights