Admittedly, the rutabaga is a homely vegetable with a fun-to-say name. You’ve probably seen them in the produce section, and quickly walked by, avoiding a direct look at them in case they might turn into fairytale trolls out to get you. So call them by their other name, swedes, and keep reading.
The idea of consuming spirulina, let alone growing your own, might be off-putting. But hear me out: spirulina is widely considered the most nutrient dense food on the planet. With high levels of protein, B-vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients like copper and iron, spirulina is like the whole foods version of your daily multi-vitamin.
But, at close to 50 cents per serving, it’s certainly not what you might consider economical.
So what can you do instead?
Ever wonder what you can do with some of those old items you no longer use? Use them as new homes for your plants! Plant containers can be made from all sorts of things, so there’s really no need to spend your hard-earned money on boring, conventional planters. To give you a little inspiration, here are 13 reusable items that make unique plant containers.
Tahini is ground sesame seeds – it’s a product which is rich in nutrients and has been used in recipes and as a healing agent for centuries. The sesame plant is native to India and was found growing naturally from northeastern Africa to the far east. The seeds were primarily used for their oil, as a base for perfumes and as a seasoning. The name sesame is derived from the ancient Egyptian word sesemt and later from the Greek word sesamon.
If you only know sugar for its sweet reputation, you’re in for a rude awakening. For anyone who abstains from consuming animals and their byproducts, or may be easily grossed out, finding out that the tantalizing sweet stuff may not be suitable for strict vegans could come as quite a shock. Personally, accidentally discovering this tidbit of information about five years ago was definitely a doozy.
Winter can be a beautiful time to connect with nature and watch birds forage for food. Something that has become particularly popular nowadays is using bird feeders to help give birds access to food through the winter. There are studies still being conducted on the effects that personal feeders have on the bird population, so it has not been fully concluded in research whether they are harmful or not. With that being said, the more sustainable route seems to always be the best way to go. This can be accomplished by growing plants that produce bird-food during the cold season.
Seaweed is often touted as some of the most nutrient dense food in the world. Seaweed has been used for centuries in the Far East and India, but only in the late 20th Century did it become popular in the United States where its primary introduction was during the health food trend in the 1970s. Today it is a popular addition to sushi. Seaweed is a term that defines many plants that grow in the ocean. Kelp is one of these.
Ayurveda is one of the most ancient of the healing arts that considers the body, the mind and the spirit. Its philosophy is the basis of other eastern healing methods and also includes several holistic healing methods. Ayurveda states that disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract when the system is out of balance and food is not digested properly. It uses foods as a treatment based on six tastes of sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent.
THE RAW FOOD DIET
“You are what you eat!” As a health enthusiast who practices the natural ways of healing, I have to say that the statement holds a lot of truth. The raw food diet is regaining its popularity once again. That’s right, folks, this is another old-school way of healing recently being unearthed.
During college, I began having trouble sleeping because my brain, which was full of to-do lists, would never hush up. Now, it’s post-grad, and I’m still somewhat of a restless night-experiencing insomniac. Lucky me.