It's Easy Being Green

I have tried some organic foods and, most of time, I do not really notice a taste difference. With apples, they taste less waxy. I do not notice a difference with bananas. (I love bananas, especially with Nutella.) Recently, I heard to my dismay that there is a uncontrollable fungus killing banana crops and may lead to extinction of the banana. What was that sound? Was that all the monkeys in the world screaming in mass hysteria?

Yesterday, I tried an organic avocado. I just started eating avocados last year, with a spoon. I used to find avocados and guacamole vile. The smell, the texture, the colour--all disgusting. My boyfriend's friend's girlfriend is Pesco-vegetarian (eats fish). She eats an avid eater of avocados. I tried it on a salad she made. I started to learn to like them as guacamole with chips. Before you know it, I was coddling them myself.

However, I am worried about buying avocados year-round. Most fruits and vegetables do not naturally grow year-round (without some resource and human assistance). I read once that one should shop for produce seasonally to reduce his or her impact on natural, limited resources. Such as strawberries. They are ripe and in season in the summer, but you can generally get them year round. Buying them year round uses up unnecessary resources such as electricity, water, and gas to get them from the greenhouses to your fridge.


So, I was at Capers and I saw some organic avocados. I thought, I'll buy two and see how they do. I tried one last night and could not believe how tasty an organic avocado from Fresh Kampo of Mexico was. It is taking all my will power to not glance at the other avocado sitting on my kitchen counter. I will never go back to buying regular avocados.

It is tough to buy sustainable, organic and quality based products. (Not too mention I am now on a part-time/student income and actually price-compare while shopping.) The prices are higher when you compare them to mainstream, corporate products sold at grocery store chains.

Nonetheless, there is a growing trend for organic and sustainable products because of the aging baby boomers demand for eco-friendly products. I have realized that spending more of my disposable income on healthier products for me and the environment is worth it. It satisfies my marginial utility (consuming to the point of being perfectly happy). I figure I'd rather spend more on eat right (and tasty too) then on eating out, going out, and general consumption. Even buying something for lunch at Capers or Whole Foods is still cheaper (and healthier) than eating out at a restaurant chain.


Some people say you are what you eat. There may be some truth to that motto with all the concern about obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

When we were young, we ate mostly junk and crap. Our diets consisted of sugar cereal (with more white death poured on top), refined junk foods, starch, carbs, and fried and deep-fried meats. I did not really notice how unhealthy my basic food groups were until a close relative of mine passed away to cancer. It was as if I was racing for the edge of a clift in a car with no breaks.

I started reading labels on food products in the grocery store, I researched organic agriculture, Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs), industrial-farming practices, hormones added to meats, and the list goes on. I switched to soy milk, I stopped eating land animals every day, I started eating more soy products and tofu, and more fruits and veggies. My boyfriend also introduced me to the healthy habit of drinking water all day. Now I feel as if I cannot go an hour without having a refreshing tall glass of H20.

It's common sense (and science) to know that a healthy lifestyle of eating right and exercising often leads to a higher energy, less stressed and fatigued, healthier, happier, and longer life. I mean who really wants to loose one-third of their life by dying in their 50s instead of their 80s or 90s?

Some say changing your lifestyle to incorporate healthier habits will not make any difference. Your life will end when it will end. You could be hit by a car tomorrow. Research suggests that you, fully and completely, are made up of 50% of genetics and 50% of environmental factors. So, if my genes that I inherited are utter-crap (my line includes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lupus, and obesity), then I better do a 180 degree lifestyle change to minimize the environmental factors that are steering me to a painful and short death before I even retire.

It took me a few years, but my eating habits have changed tremendously. It has been a difficult change of lifestyle to go from unhealthy eating habits to healthy ones. Mind you, the selection of healthy food items these days is so much better than when I was a kid. It actually tastes, smells and looks good. Some products I buy: Nature Path cereals, Muir Glen salsa, Liberte yogurt, So Good, Lifestream Flax Waffles, Amy's Kitchen soups, Sunrise dessert tofu snacks and Yves Soy hotdogs, and Endangered Species chocolate. The list goes on, although, I cringe whenever I find out my small, favourite brands have been bought up by multinational corporations.

I do still eat refined and processed foods once in awhile, but not on a weekly basis. I eat red meat maybe once or twice a month. I eat a fair amount of chicken and tofu. I eat a lot more fruits, vegetables and salads. Drink lots of water and juice.

Earlier on, our ancestors were more active as hunters and gatherers. They ate a diet based on fruits, vegetables and plants. They drank water and ate meat sparingly. Quite a constrast to a modern life of convenience and excessiveness.

I have realized that my body is a temple. I need to worship it and nourish it. Sacrifice and I will achieve serenity.