The first time I heard about the health benefits of laughing was at a health seminar. The story went like this:
A man heard from his doctor that further treatment of his cancer was of no use and that his life prospects were about 3 months. He had a lot of money and no heirs, so he decided to spend his last days as pleasant as possible.
He took up residence in a penthouse of a hotel with full board and access to the Humor Channel and watched funny movies and stand up comedians all day long.
In How do we Personally Try to have a Sustainable Lifestyle? I listed the 45 sustainable living ideas we practice at the moment. Some still take effort, the rest we have been doing for so long it has become second nature.
Here I am listing other ideas to go even more green. In reality, this article is mainly written for ourselves as a reminder and inspiration – sorry reader – although I do hope I am able to inspire you as well. 🙂
Apart from the ideas I have myself, I have browsed the internet and listened to the tips friends gave. A great source was this article: 100+ Simple Tips To Live A More Sustainable Lifestyle.
In the article Easy Sustainable Living Ideas – Pick 1 or 2 and Start Living Green, I have listed other things Tom and I could do to try to have a sustainable lifestyle. For now, I’ll write down what we do at the moment. Let’s call it the baseline measurement.
Whenever I read articles from others who have a zero-waste or a sustainable lifestyle, I have the impression we don’t give it enough effort. But then I recite my favorite quote in my head: “We don’t need a few people who do everything right but a lot of people who do some things well”.
Healthy food dishes are amazing to prepare and often much easier than you would expect. The trick is to use the right ingredients. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables are such healthy ingredients. Tom and I always use organic fruits and vegetables which are delicious.
The next step is to know what the specific health benefits are of the food we use in our dishes. Most fruits and vegetables are the healthiest when eaten raw. Steam cooked is also a healthy way to prepare food. We always use as little oil and water as possible. And the oil is always organic and plant-based.
Whether it’s a birthday party, one of the holidays like Christmas or Eastern, or just a party because we feel like it. Food, family, friends, and fun – it doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
Well, actually it can get better than that. We can have that same food, family, friends, and fun while also having a positive, or at least a neutral, effect on the environment. It’s so easy to forget all about our intentions if it gets too busy with preparations for a large group.
Yet, it certainly is possible to be sustainable and conscious, even when you are preparing for a large number of people. Here are tips to throw an eco-friendly party.
As you may know, Tom and I are huge advocates of organic food. Yet we are also aware that in some places organic produce is hardly available. So why not grow some yourself? And if you don’t have a garden, herbs are especially easy to grow indoors.
Some are easy growers, others need more attention. The orientation of your window is important, as well as the soil you put them in. You can sow them or use cuttings. And nowadays there are complete, highly sophisticated indoor systems.
The problem with many diets is the feeling of hunger. This gives you the idea that you are punishing yourself and you run the risk of snacking in between. Comfort food.
If you want to lose weight, it is important to find a solution that is permanent. So how to lose weight without hunger is an important part of that solution.
Losing weight doesn’t necessarily have to be about eating. There are other ways too, such as exercising or simply walking every day.
For 40+ years I had breakfast with only fruits and a little fruit juice. You might think that is boring, but as the seasons change, the fruit choice changes as well. Because we only eat twice a day since 2019, I wanted to change my breakfast to eat varied enough.
Searching “Healthy breakfast recipes” didn’t at first offer me the kind of breakfasts I was looking for. But determination always pays off as you know, so now I have added 2 breakfasts to the one I had. And I am still looking for variations.
Why is it so hard for me to decide on other breakfasts? Well, as I have described earlier I was raised on bread and sweets. Maybe, if I try really hard, I could eat an American or English breakfast, but at the moment the thought alone gives me the creeps. As I am sure that Anglo Saxons will shiver at the thought of eating just bread. Or fruits. 🙂