| Debbie (Sarfati) Steinbock , HHC |
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Guided Health Food
Store Tour
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 Next Date: TBA
A guided and educational tour, offering detailed explanations
of the nutritional benefits of foods and demystifying many
food-fictions. Learn how to shop for fresh seasonal produce,
read nutrition labels, select home and body care products,
get money saving tips for shopping, and so much more.
View class information and details. |
Natural Foods Cooking Classes
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 Next Date: TBA
Learn
to cook nourishing meals that are easy to prepare and taste
delicious! Recipes focus on seasonal vegetables and foods
rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. All classes
are hands-on so you can learn just how fun and simple healthy cooking
can be! View class information and details.
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Welcome to Nourishing News, a free monthly newsletter designed to help you live life more deliciously!
I love this newsletter on Composting and find it helpful to pass it along at this time of year.
Thanks for reading! As always, if you like this newsletter, please forward it to anyone you think will enjoy or benefit from it.
Yours in health,
Debbie (Sarfati) Steinbock, HHC |
| The Whole Scoop | Composting
Composting is
essentially nature's recycling system where living or once-living materials are
broken down into a rich soil. Composting is a convenient, economical, and
sustainable way to handle your yard and food waste-right in your own backyard.
Building your
Pile
Designate an area
of your yard for your pile. Mine resided in the far corner of my yard, and I
chose to partition it off with a little wire to keep it contained. If you'd
prefer, you can also start your pile in a compost bin. To have a successful
compost pile, you need to have a mixture of "greens" and "browns". Greens include grass
clippings, garden trimmings, fruit and veggie scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds
and manure (from plant eaters). Browns include hay, straw, dry leaves,
leaves, sawdust, shredded newspaper, and finely chopped wood or bark. (Avoid:
bones, oils, infected plants, meat or fish scraps, and dairy products. These can
attract animals and transmit disease.)The greens and browns provide the food for
the compost critters (worms, bugs, and other microorganisms) that break down
your compost materials into a lush soil.
Start your pile
with approximately a 4-6 inch layer of browns, then a 4-6 inch layer of greens,
water, mix and repeat. As your greens and browns accumulate on top of your pile,
it will need to be "turned" periodically (about once a week), which mixes all
the materials together resulting in a dark and crumbly soil. Once your compost
materials have been broken down (about 6 to 8 weeks or until it is about half
its original size), the soil can be used to pot plans, start a garden, etc.
Benefits
Yard waste makes
up 20-30% of the solid waste of most municipalities throughout the United
States, while food waste makes up another 8-9%. The cost of collecting, hauling,
and handling yard waste is often a large part of the budget associated with many
municipal solid waste management programs, averaging 20% of the budget and
increasing to as much as 50% when grass clippings and leaves are handled.
Yard and food
wastes are also major factors in the production of methane gas and acid-liquid
drainage in landfills. Incinerating yard wastes is a major source of air
pollution. Although municipal composting is an environmentally preferable
alternative for handling yard and food wastes, processing these wastes at the
source reduces the major costs of collecting and has a positive effect on the
environment.
Additionally,
by composting you grow healthier lawns and gardens that require less water and
fewer chemicals. When our vegetables are grown in composted soil, they have a
higher content of vitamins and minerals, partially from the rich soil that they
grow from.
With composting,
nothing goes to waste. The end of one meal is the beginning of your next. By
nourishing our soil we are helping to nourish our bodies as well as the
environment.
More
Information:
http://gardening.wsu.edu/stewardship/compost/yardcomp/yardcomp.htm
Not Ready to
Compost
For those of you
who are not yet ready to begin an outdoor compost, at least start to make better
use of your veggie scraps! A friend once taught me to make a "compost soup". For
weeks we would collect the peelings, steams, and other discarded scraps of
vegetables. We stored it all in freezer bags and added to it daily. Once we
collected a few bags we would dump all the scraps into a large pot, add enough
water to cover the scraps, and simmer it for a few hours. Strain the veggies and
the result is one of the most delicious and nutritious soups you can make. The
beauty of "compost soup" is that it comes out different every time. (My favorite
is one with beet scraps; you get a lovely red soup!)
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Healthy Bites
| This Month's Pick: Strawberries
The
strawberry is the most popular type of berry fruit in the world. As strawberries
are very perishable, they should only be purchased a few days prior to use.
Choose berries that are firm, plump, free of mold, and which have a shiny, deep
red color and attached green caps. Since strawberries, once picked, do not ripen
further, avoid those that are dull in color or have green or yellow patches
since they are likely to be sour and of inferior quality. Medium-sized
strawberries are often more flavorful than those that are excessively
large.
A Few Quick
Serving Ideas:
- Add sliced strawberries to mixed green salad.
- Layer sliced strawberries, whole blueberries and plain yogurt in a wine
glass to make a parfait dessert.
- Mix chopped strawberries with cinnamon, lemon juice and maple syrup and
serve as a topping for waffles and pancakes.
- Blend strawberries with a little bit of orange juice and use as a refreshing
coulis sauce that goes well with poached pears.
- Add strawberries to breakfast shakes to give them a more vibrant taste and
texture.
Source: WHFoods
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| Food For Thought | Client Spotlight-A New Beginning
I
loved our first session this morning. Thank you so very much for what you do!
I am looking forward to a healthier, more energy balanced life! You are very
easy to talk to and learn from. Thank you!
A.A.
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