A lifestyle of Wellness

Wellness is living a healthy vibrant life.  At Living Green Marketplace, we believe it is possible to keep stress, disease, and premature aging at bay by choosing to live a more natural lifestyle.  This means keeping harsh chemicals and toxic materials out of your food, personal body products and living environment. 

By buying organic food, you get your nutrients as close to what nature intended for your body, without herbicides and pesticides.  It is worth the extra time, money and effort to find organic meats and produce. Healthy food will help preserve your youthful body and mind.

Fighting disease with wellness means taking charge of what we put on our bodies as well.  Many toiletries are full of toxic chemicals, some even known carcinogens.  By choosing to buy only natural products for lotion, deodorant, cosmetics, etc, we say “yes” to beauty and “no” to dangerous chemicals.  I have found many times that I prefer natural products over their chemical-ridden counterparts that I used to love to use.

Lastly, our working and living environments should also be free of chemical outgassing and fumes.  Inside air quality can be seven times more toxic than outside air. Closed up office or living space with poor air ventilation can expose you to unnecessary toxic fumes. New buildings, cars, and carpet can outgas a chemical called, formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen.  Remember to keep fresh air flowing.  Open a window in the car or office for healthy air to breathe. 

Get educated on natural living and leave behind those habits that don’t bring optimal health. To learn more about what ingredients to avoid in personal body products got to Green Tips/ Skin Care Do’s and Don’ts at www.LivingGreenMarketplace.com

I would love to hear about your path to a Wellness lifestyle.  Write me and tell me about it.

Wishing you health and wellness.

Hannah

Swiss Chard Salad Recipe

One Bunch of Swiss chard (remove stems)

1 large organic, ripe avocado

3 organic red radish (chopped)

1 apple Gala or Pink Lady (chopped)

2 Table spoon  organic red onion

2 cloves fresh garlic (minced)

1 lemon (juice only)

2 Table spoon olive oil

3 Table spoons rice vinegar

2 Table spoon raw hemp seed

2 Table spoon raw sesame seed

1 squirt Bragg’s Aminos (optional)

1/2 tsp sea salt

Pepper to taste

Remove leaves from Swiss chard stocks/stems. Tear into 1 inch pieces.  In a bowl, add the Swiss chard, the flesh of the avocado , and the olive oil.  Using your hands coat the Swiss chard with the oil and avocado.  This softens the Swiss chard and makes it easy to eat. Wash hands.

Add remaining ingredients and toss. Sprinkle seeds on top.

Serve immediately! Finally a tasty way to eat Swiss chard raw.

Eating for Wellness

Over the last month, I have had numerous people ask me to explain what foods they should be eating to support wellness.  Keep in mind, I am not a nutritionist, nor am I a doctor, however, my research and reading has led me to the following simple conclusion…eat foods in their unprocessed state  as often as possible and avoid packaged food with ingredients you can’t read. 

This means avoid most frozen and packaged foods and prepare your own food more often.  Make salads from raw ingredients.  The greener the leaf… the more nutrients it has …is a good rule of thumb. Swiss chard and kale for example have much more nutrients than iceberg lettuce.  The real trick is liking this kind of food.  How do you prepare it so that you can eat it and enjoy it?  Here are a few tricks.  Tear off the leaves of Swiss chard and Kale from the rubbery stem and cut them in small l inch pieces.  Rub the leaves with an avocado or a small amount of olive oil.  This softens the leaves and makes it easier to eat in its raw state.  (Check out  my Swiss chard salad recipe posted to the blog).

Try to mainly eat vegetables and fruits that are grown organically.  This does not mean you can skip them if you don’t find them organic.  Simply wash well and remember to peel off the skin of apples and other fruits and vegetables that may have been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.

Be like a squirrel…eat raw nuts and seeds.  These treats are loaded with healthy fats and protein that make them a good choice for a snack or to add flavor to a meal. I have recently discovered how much I like raw hemp seeds on salads. 

Eat lean meats in moderation.  Your body does not need to eat meat at every meal.  Buy meat that has been  humanely treated and allowed to roam (free range). Beef should be grass fed.   Chicken should be organic and free range as well.  This kind of meat cost more, but is much higher quality and better for your health.  Buy the good stuff and eat less . The cost will even out in the end. An even better option is buying wild caught salmon.

As far as avoiding certain foods or ingredients…here is a short list of the bad guys.

hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (better know as trans fats)

high fructose corn syrup (found in almost everything including sodas, crackers, cookies, ice cream, etc)

artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives  (found in most packaged food especially ones packaged for kids)

white processed sugar

white processed flour

Where does this leave you…buying most of your groceries from a health food store.  Stores like Whole Foods find crackers, cookies, chips, ice cream, etc. from alternative manufactures who do not use these ingredients in their products.This means you can shop without reading labels for the most part.  Surprisingly, the healthier alternative foods bought at the health food stores taste nearly the same now a days.  I was shocked to discover that Newman O’s taste nearly the same as Oreo cookies without the trans fats and artificial flavors.

The secret is to change out one food at a time.  Giving up all your chemical ridden, toxic treats at once will only make you race to the nearby Seven Eleven for a blue slushy and big bag of fiery red Doritos.  Start by changing out your milk to organic. Then switch out your white processed bread for  a whole grain option. Rye and pumpernickel breads are great alternatives.  These small changes add up to make a big difference for better health and wellness for you and your family.

I would love to hear your “eating  for wellness” ideas and comments.  As always…if you have any health concerns, please consult your doctor for advice.

Hannah

What to do when a friend or family member is diagnosed.

When a loved one or friend gets a life changing diagnosis, it is difficult to know just how to respond.  Of course we want to be supportive, helpful and most of all encouraging.  Do we call or send a card and maybe some flowers?  It is hard not to  feel uncomfortable and  helpless.  In fact, many friends and family do nothing , feeling helpless to  impact the situation. 

Here are the best 5 things you can do when a friend or family member is diagnosed.

1)Research shows us that people heal better when they have supportive friends and family around.  Pick up the phone and say hello.  You don’t have to talk about their illness.  Just stay in touch.  Talk about family, future events, and fond memories you share.  You know the saying…Laughter is the best medicine.

2)Ask caregivers, spouses, or close family if there is anything that you can do to help.  Medical treatment may require many trips to the hospital for outpatient treatments which can last hours.  Offer to drive and sit with the friend or loved one to relieve a caregiver or family member.  Bringing over a meal might also be helpful.  Ask what kind of food would be appropriate for the family.

3) Invite your friend or loved one to parties, family reunions, dinners, etc.  Treat the them as if they are well.  They can always decline the invitation if they aren’t feeling up to it.  Don’t assume they won’t want to come. Keep them close and involved with family and friends.

4) Undergoing medical treatment can have its own side effects.  Dry and cracked lips and skin are very common.  Dry mouth and metallic taste in the mouth may also incur. In addition, sensitivities to chemicals and fragrances may cause nausea.  The best products for people undergoing treatment are all natural and unscented.  Living Green Marketplace produces a beautiful gift box with all natural products to help with the side effects of medical treatment.  The care box arrives as a gift called a “Wellness Care Box”.  Each product is carefully researched to be natural and helpful to many of the side effects people experience in treatment and recovery. To order a Wellness Care Box go to www.WellnessCareBox.com 

5) Stay positive!  Your thoughts and wishes of wellness will touch your friend or loved one.  Keep the faith so they will feel your strength and support.

Green can inspire you!

Living an  eco-friendly lifestyle is about using your imagination.  I want to celebrate those amongst us who find amazing ways to use recycled materials for beautiful creative, new things.  One such person is an artist in South Carolina.  He makes eco-bird houses out of recycled, barn wood and fallen trees and stumps.  He has the most unique collection of bird houses made like forest mushrooms.  Check out this enchanted collection of mushroom  eco-friendly bird dwellings. http://www.livinggreenmarketplace.com/product_category3.php?id1=5&id2=13&id3=207.

Do you know someone who makes wonderful things from recycled materials?  We would love to hear from you.

The day after…Earth Day???

Well…it is the day after Earth Day and what are we planning on doing better, greener, healthier by next year? I thought I would leave you with a few ideas to think about…

1)start to change out your toiletries one at a time to all natural brands (Living Green Marketplace.com allows you to order online and they do the label reading for you). I started with body lotion and then worked my way to shampoos and deodorant.  It is a process.. so don’t get overwhelmed, and don’t throw out your unused products.  Use them up and replace them with a natural product one at a time.

2)buy a water filter for your faucet and break the habit of buying bottled water (one plastic bottle can take more than 400 hundred years to break down in a landfill, glass takes even longer).

3) replace your old broken things with a new eco-version.  Break the habit of repeatedly buying the exact brand and model of what you had before.  Look for a greener, eco-model that may now be available.  Use your POWER! This is the best way of telling companies you want them to build greener products.

4) want to get and shape for summer and be green?  Get out there with a push lawn mower and you will be well on your way to a healthier and greener lifestyle!  Watch out girls!

Whatever you choose to change this year….stick to it!  You will find living a greener lifestyle is fun, exciting, and makes you feel good.

Hannah

Co-Founder Living Green Marketplace

www.LivingGreenMarketplace.com

Celebrate! You live on Planet Earth!

Today is Earth Day!

Hello all you green-minded, healthy people out there.  Green living is all about knowing?  Knowing what you might ask?  Knowing what sustainable, healthy, earth-friendly living actually is. Let me assure you…it is not about eating granola with rice milk and dressing in burlap sacs.  It is a way of life that embraces nature with all her beauty and wisdom….with a whole lot of innovation and excitement!  Living green means providing ourselves a beautiful life  in harmony with nature, not at the expense of nature.  This lifestyle comes out in the way we build, dress, eat, garden, vacation, drive, raise our kids, etc. Thankfully, it turns out what is healthy and good for us…is often good for the environment too.  Wonder why that is?  Well, we are made of the same genetic, molecular, material as nature.  We have just forgotten along the way.

This blog is about Wellness! We will talk about ways to keep our bodies healthy and in doing so help preserve Mother Earth as well.  Hope you will drop by often and share your great, green ideas with us.

Hannah DuVon

Co-Founder of Living Green Marketplace

www.LivingGreenMarketplace.com