Simple Solutions to Eating Seasonally

Simple Solutions to Eating Seasonally
Local…Sustainable…Seasonal…Organic….Grass fed…Whole foods…these are just some of the buzz words that are making their way into our daily lives. Anytime change embraces us, as it has recently with better knowledge on how food and the food industry affect us, we may feel a bit overwhelmed. Many of us may even feel negative emotions such as guilt, confusion, and even doubt. My objective then becomes to provide everyday people with simple solutions to eating healthier and more sustainable choices. If change is too radical or forced, it can cause mayhem, but if there are easy affordable options for people to take part in sustaining our natural resources, moving towards greener solutions, and don’t forget in bettering our health, 8 out of 10 of us will participate and will feel great about making a difference.

It can be quite simple to make an immediate impact both for the environment and for your health. One of the easiest ways to start is by purchasing regionally seasonal foods. This does not mean you need to have intense knowledge or partake in time consuming practices; in fact, our team at Ease into Green are working hard to do that part for you. With globalization we are able to buy foods grown virtually anywhere in the world all year round, and I am not going to dispute that there are positive aspects to this, but to control any negative impact to our environments and to our own personal health, we can try to, whenever possible, eat more sustainable options. It also does not mean that if your local store has strawberries, and you really love strawberries, but they were not grown locally or in season, that you can not purchase them; rather, it just simply means to be aware and take small steps to include more seasonally local foods into your diet. Maybe you start incorporating a seasonal meal a week into your diet, or you join a CSA (food share) during the months it is available. Whatever you can do without strain, but with enjoyment, is enough. If we all start with baby steps we will be leaping forward in no time.

Why Eat Seasonal Foods?
More nutrient rich & tastes better, due to ideal soil and climate as well as less travel
Seasonal foods are more likely to be local
May take less care, using less chemicals, processing, and alteration
US regulations are stricter than many foreign areas
Food handling is better regulated
Eliminates environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles
Your dollar goes directly to the farmer
You will eat less processed and more nutritious foods
Reduces energy and CO2 emissions needed to grow and transport food
Avoid paying more for food that is scarcer or has traveled far
Support and strengthen local economy
Gain health benefit’s by following nature's cycles

Our tips:
Shop @ farmer markets and/or co-ops whenever possible
Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Watch for displays and signs that say local/seasonal items
Look at labels to see where food came from
Seek out restaurants that use seasonal and local ingredients
Find seasonal recipes and cookbooks for your region
Continue to follow Ease into Green as we offer tools and resources through our site and future newsletters
Use provided Find out More (resources and websites) at end of article to learn more

What’s in Season Now?
You may be wondering what foods are in season near you. Crop seasons vary by state so just because strawberries, for example, may be in season in one area of the country, they may not be in another.

Go to Ease into Green to see my full article with detailed lists on what is in season in yoru region!

Partnership with Ease into Green

My dear friend's, Kori and Dan Bowers, proposed that I be a contributor to their site Ease into Green and I couldn't resist. With their vision to show others how going green can be simple and easy, I jumped on board to help contribute myself. With my passion, expertise and experience being in wellness, most specifically within holistic nutrition and Yoga, it is a good fit for many interesting possiblities. My first objective: exploring the link of sustainability and nutritional health and to show others how to easily create personal and environmental health simutaenously.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution we ate what was available to us, seasonal local organic whole foods, majority of foods were grown, rasied and harvested within the community and even personally. A shift occured after industrialization and by the mid 1900’s we bought majority of our food from a local grocer rather than directly from the farmer or growing it ourselves.
At that time people still didn’t concern themselves, at least not to the extend we do today, with what they were eating or buying, they simply bought and prepared the majority of their food from the local grocer and bought what was on sale. This is about the time when packaged food made it into our daily lives, although we still had a much higher percentage of wholesome local and seasonal foods in our diet. Somewhere along the way, since these times, we lost connection with what we should be eating. We obsess about what, how much, when, how, and where to eat, causing us to tire and give in to whatever convenient food is available. Only driving up sales and contributing to more and more processed and packaged foods. Making the most available foods processed and packaged goods, rather than fresh local food.

With a little help you can start to drive simple and easy changes that will incorporate healthier choices into your diet and also sustain our environment. My personal mission is to provide convenient and relevant tips that will help to make choices that are healthier for you, for your family, for the community and for the world. Choices that empower you to actually make a difference in your health by nourishing your body-mind-spirit and making a difference in the world by contributing to a greener way of living.

Namaste,


Stacy Ruse
See Ease into Green for more upcoming resources and articles
Go to the wellness section (coming soon) for more on sustainability and personal health

A Story of Spirtual Growth

It has been six years since my first exposure to Yoga and four years since earning my Yoga Teaching certificate and I have come to a place of deep gratitude for my practice, both on and off the mat, as well as for my many spiritual teachings along the way. Much of my gratitude is for the realization that Yoga has brought me to a better place in life, albeit the process has been slow. Honestly, it has been slower than I had ever hoped for. As much as I do not want to admit it, I must say there have been times that I was very disappointed with what Yoga was doing for me spiritually. At times I wondered, is this helping, and even more often I put myself down for not living up to my perceived Yogic standards. Looking back, I have come to realize that the transformation has been slow, but nevertheless it is there and it is truly marvelous. My journey has evolved and I am physically, emotionally and spiritually stronger than I have ever been. My first progression came in receiving the physical benefits of power, grace and stamina, and along the way it ultimately lead to consistent rhythmatic breathing, less stress and a feeling of being healthier from the inside out. As my physiological and psychological health strengthened, my spiritual health started to blossom and my own divine nature started to appear. I cycled through different forms of Yoga throughout these periods, all of which I benefited from. Yoga and everything that it entails; a path to finding your true self and simply living a healthier and more complete life comes through consistent practice. The key elements to success are ‘practice’ and ‘patience’; as with all things in life, it takes practice and patience to achieve our goals. There are limbs or branches of Yoga that lead to spiritual transformation, essentially they break down to living fully and ethically and practicing asana (poses), meditation, deep contemplation, and breathe work. Yoga has been a vessel that has enabled me, and so may others, to follow my heart, to open my mind and to blossom into my true self; this is how it has Saved my Life.

The journey
Anxiety, unadulterated grief, and depression brought me to Yoga. I admit it was selfish; I wanted Yoga to heal me. Of course I desired the healing to be sooner than later. My strong ambition, ultimately my ego, drove me to teacher training in the first place, rather than a much needed retreat or healing center. I felt that I needed an acceptable way to heal and strive forward and having a goal, or an outcome, that included a new path was acceptable. I had not learned to ‘Just Be’ in any sense of the word. Not exactly the poetic entrance coming from the world of dance or from a deep spiritual path. In fact, I humbly struggled through every pose; with a tight and tense body and mind, making meditation almost impossible for my over-charged mind. Admittedly, anger, frustration and embarrassment welled up inside of me often, but I stayed the course. Upon completion, not having anywhere to go, I dove head first into teaching. Disappointment that first year was everywhere as my anxiety did not seem to abate and furthermore I lacked a sense of comfort as well as confidence in my teaching. Over time, and through many life transitions, going through cycles in my practice and teaching, with at times a lack of true faith, but something stronger than myself kept me coming back for more. Eventually, my deeper issues started to unfold before my eyes and I started to have deep gratitude for the joy than I was receiving from my practice. This is essentially what sets Yoga apart from other modalities of fitness and health. Yoga is a path that not only gets you into great physical shape, but that is only the beginning of this awakening path; even when your physical body is strong your mind and spirit may not be. True harmony occurs as your body learns to connect back with your mind and your spirit and they all start working with each other, rather than separate or against each other, as they do for many of us. The very issues that we learn to suppress and repress start unfolding, and we learn to deal with them and release their negative impact on our lives. Yoga enables us to have the courage and the tools to break down the beliefs and negative emotions that cause us pain, suffering and illness. It gives us a systematic approach that allows the transformation to occur at our own pace relative to our current awareness or state of consciousness. Each person’s path is different, yet we use the same tools to get there. My journey has been slower than I anticipated, and it is still unfolding, but it has progressed at a pace that I can handle. At times there has been little mobility and at other times I have taken huge strides forward where I was able to work deeper, and low and behold, during those times my practice flourished. My body started to open as emotions, unnecessary belief patterns and tensions released.

I am learning to have faith that my path will continue to unfold systematically, when I am ready emotional, spiritually and physically for the next step, it literally unfolds for me. My healing journey illustrates this beautifully and it is my hope that it will bring light to others, not only to find their path, but to be patient and stay the course in order for Yoga to be a vessel for this unfolding. Too often we are not unconsciously ready for the next step even though consciously we are begging for it. When something negative presents it self in our lives, we immediately desire and even obsess on how to fix it, how to get rid of the negative to the point of causing more negative emotions and thoughts. I have learned this concept the hard way, by living it. My anxiety only got worse as I pushed and pulled to relieve it. These are the deepest benefits of Yoga. Our egos push us harder making us want transformation right now and for some it comes easily and for others it takes precious time. Regardless of the path or timing, the end result is worth it.

Namaste,

Stacy Ruse