~ Cambridge, MA began issuing parking tickets with yoga poses on them. “Citation Salutations”
encourage destressing through yoga after receiving the violation.
~30 million plastic lined coffee cups are thrown into the garbage everyday in the US alone. Some shops will give a discount if you bring your own mug! Check out this mug that even has an insert to brew your own loose-leaf tea
~ The process of recycling paper employs more people than making new paper! Not to mention, recycled paper is made using 40% less energy than non-recycled paper.
The mothering Mother newsletter seeks to address how integral food and its connection with the Earth is to our everyday lives. Eating healthy foods is easy if you buy healthy and natural ingredients. Get familiar with your produce and bulk bags. You do so much for others, now do something for yourself. Buy fresh produce, fresh seeds and nuts, and follow the recipe below to good and natural eating.
Can we eat our way out of the environmental challenges? One thoughtful meal at a time. See the continued “Eating Our Way Out” article at the bottom of this newsletter. Share your joy for the world by using cotton mothering Mother bags and sharing your home cooked foods with others.
Namaste Sydney
mothering Mother Blog
For even more wholesome food for thought, presenting the
We at mothering Mother have established a list of ways to minimize the amount of packaging in your grocery cart and in your garbage bin. Grocery shopping with your own packaging can be like a game, a personal challenge each time you shop. How can I reduce the amount of garbage that is needlessly created? Even recycling uses energy, so keep in mind the 3 R’s – reduce first, reuse next, then recycle.
Consult with the list below and check into your own creativity! Just wanting to reduce waste is enough to get the wheels of new habits in motion.
Depending on the season a stroll through the produce aisles can begin the menu planning for several meals. A mixture of root vegetables and fresh green vegetables give the promise of warm and hearty soups and stews, coupled with beans from the bulk section. Gazing at the selection in the bulk area can inspire me to create meals from a vast variety of natural grains, beans, seeds and nuts. The dessert options unfurl with the sight of flours, sugar, nut butters, honey, chipits, coconut and dried fruits.
Bring your own reusables for take out at lunchtime, at the office (keep a container in your desk and wash after use), or for restaurant leftovers. Although you may catch a glance or glare from others around you, know that everything in our world was new at one time, and coming equipped with containers will one day be as commonplace as bringing your own tote to the grocery store.
Who is going to take the brave first steps of change that are needed in our world?! We all know that there is tremendous waste around us. “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something! ” (weaddup.com) Don’t wait for the person next to you to lead the way. Be the change agent of today! That person is waiting for your crazy habits to become acceptable.
Print the list below and post it as a reminder. Go ahead, get inspired, get crazy and minimize!
* For more information on how to store bulk food items at home visit the mothering Mother blog! (See Wednesday, January 18th post)
* To print: Drag image to your desktop, double click to open as an image file and resize for a perfect addition to your fridge!
Peanut Butter Powerhouses
These treats offer a selection of nutrients to restore the body following an aerobic workout, and they offer a wholesome replacement for sweets. The peanuts (legumes) and grain in the cereal combine for a complete protein. The honey enhances glycogen restoring following a workout, and the chipits round out the taste experience!
½ cup all natural peanut butter
1 T honey
2 T chipits, lightly chopped
¼ cup crunchy breakfast cereal, lightly crushed *
¼ cup raw peanuts, lightly roasted and chopped
Coconut for rolling
Combine the ingredients by hand. Once everything is thoroughly mixed together, using a spoon, form into balls. Then roll each ball in the coconut so that it is completely covered. Serve and enjoy!
The coconut helps to keep the peanut butter from drying out and reduces the oil on the fingers when eating. The chopping of the chipits, cereal and peanuts reduces the size of these chunks so that the peanut butter is not dropping out while eating. It also give a more even distribution of the flavors and textures.
Makes approximately 8 balls
Reusable opportunities for this recipe:
Peanut Butter and Honey purchased in bulk with a jar from home
Chipits, cereal (granola), peanuts and coconut purchased in bulk with a Mini Sealed Bulk mothering Mother Bag
* The idea of the cereal is to give the treats some crunch. Any crunchy cereal will work, even homemade granola!
AEating Our Way Out
(Part 9)
Sydney MacInnis Founder mothering Mother Holistic Nutritionist and Yoga Instructor
It is the New Year and the resolutions have been made and you and I are on a positive journey this month! There is a good chance that one of the personal resolutions is around eating/food, or exercise. This is the month that retail sales are down but fitness clubs and diet centers have a surge in sales and activity. Resolutions are often created in an effort to rebalance some aspect of our life that has fallen out of balance.
According to Ayurveda, the ancient Science of Life that developed in India 5000 years ago, all aspects of our life require an awareness of and an attention to balance. Awareness andAttention.Balance. When something in my life feels out of balance it usually takes time for the situation to come to my attention. At first I will attribute it to circumstances around me, in an attempt to see if it goes away.
Eventually, I cannot avoid the reality that I have to attend to it. I have to crawl within to see the situation. The practice of meditation offers conscious and uninterrupted quietude, it allows the body to calm, and it offers a safe space to explore the Darkness. My ignorance of the situation is the Darkness. Although the body is still, the mind wants to continue spinning through life at an incredible pace. We are all wired with a racing mind.
Yogic breathing has the ability to start the calming of the mind. The mind and the breath are connected. In the quiet space, begin the rhythmic breathing of 5-6 counts on the exhale and 5-6 counts on the inhale. It only takes a few of these breaths to begin to feel the effects.
When we are in a safe and comfortable physical place and mental space we can start to look honestly and openly at the Darkness that has sent us out of balance. “May the Light of Truth overcome all Darkness.” The Light begins to shine as we openly and honestly look at what is lurking in that Darkness. This is about awakening ourselves.
Take Awareness and Attention to your Intentions. It is with Awareness that we are able to seek the Truth, it is with Attention and Intention that we are able to transcend the habits that have formed in our life until now, and replace them with a way of Life that is sourced from our Being.
Happy New Year, Happy New You! Much Light, Much Peace.
