Meatless Monday

Beginning during World War I, the U.S. food Administration urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to aid the war effort.  "Meatless Monday" was introduced to encourage Americans to do their part.  "Americans began to look seriously into the question of what and how much they were eating.  Lots of people discovered for the first time that they could eat less and feel no worse--frequently for the better".  

 -1929 Saturday Evening Post

What are the benefits of eliminating meat just one day a week?

• Reduce Your Carbon Footprint:  The meat industry generates 1/5 of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change worldwide.
• Minimize Water Usage:  An estimated 2,000 gallons of water go into 1 lb. of beef, far more than vegetables or grains.
• Help Reduce Fossil Fuel Dependence:  40 calories fossil fuel energy equals 1 calorie of feedlot beef versus the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy that equals 1 calorie of plant-based protein.
• Reduce Heart Disease:  Replacing saturated fat-rich foods with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%.
• Curb Obesity:  People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices.

The U.S. Meatless Monday campaign was launched in 2003 in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health -- and now, the "cut out meat one day a week" program is active in 23 countries and growing!  By persuading people to stick to an all-vegetarian diet one day a week, the campaign hopes to reduce the country's intake of animal protein by 15 percent to increase their health and decrease our environmental impact.  For more information about the movement, what you can do to help and yummy meatless recipes, visit here.

(Thanks to Duo Restaurant for the above info.)

Swimming Eagle of Baton Rouge

Hello world!  

For the handful of you out there who read my blog, I am sorry to have been MIA lately.  I have been very busy building my Shaklee business and just haven't had the time or energy for blogging.  All is going well here in the mountains of Colorado.  The snow has melted and I can actually see my garden now.  I was quite thrilled to see that my spinach overwintered and new leaves are starting to sprout.  It is still too early to plant anything here for fear of a late spring snow storm, so I will wait until late May to begin the garden.  I am so ready!  We don't have a greenhouse yet, and very little space in our house to start seedlings, so I will be focusing mainly on seeds that can be sown directly into the ground this year.  However, I do have to try some tomatoes and actually should start planting those seeds indoors now.  Call me a glutton for punishment, but I just love homegrown tomatoes and am determined every year to grow them!

I wanted to share with you a most amazing video I received in an email this morning.  A family in my hometown of Baton Rouge, LA captured a bald eagle fishing for a dead nutria in a lake.  This is one of the most awesome things I have seen in a long time.  Mother Nature is truly spectacular.  I hope you enjoy!

Spring is around the corner...

Can you feel it where you live?  At our house, the dogs are getting friskier, the birds are coming out of hibernation, all three hens are laying, and best of all...it is still light out at 6:00 p.m.! Yes indeed, spring is just around the corner and we are all ready.  Besides attempting to plant a garden this year, we will also be planting some trees.  Our state forestry department offers a variety of bulk seedlings to choose from at reasonable prices, so we plan to take advantage of that. 

Here are some reasons why planting a tree is a GREAT idea:

-Trees can increase your property value, due to their aesthetics.
-They create a sound and wind barrier.
-Trees offer a free way to cool your home, thus reducing your need for air-conditioning and your demand on pollution-causing power plants.
-Trees eat carbon dioxide, a huge greenhouse gas. The American Forestry Association states if every American family planted a single new tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by as much as a billion pounds a year.

So give it a shot, and if you rent look into your local community, public, state, or even National parks for planting opportunities. You often can have it dedicated in your name or the name of a loved one.

Plant a tree... what a simple step to help the environment! 

If you don't feel up to planting and maintaining new trees on your property, there is another way for you to help the environment.  If you purchase any one of Shaklee's Gold Ambassador packs, Shaklee will plant FIVE trees in your name!  Just another reason I love this company!