Conservation Fitness Head Start certainly has a focus on nutrition and exercise. But it’s important to remember fitness and wellness go hand in hand. You can take care of your body, mentally and physically, by practicing a locavore lifestyle.
Wellness is a tricky word. It’s gained a lot of popularity over the years. Instead of personal trainers, many people fashion themselves as being wellness coaches. Personally, I do think there is a slight difference between fitness and wellness, although both complement each other. They work together to keep us healthy.
My opinion and thoughts on wellness are not scientific. There, that’s your only disclaimer for this post. I am not a certified wellness coach, so I haven’t learned it properly. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
To me, fitness is the idea of nutrition, exercise, AND wellness habits to maintain your health and well-being. Wellness is a component of fitness, in my opinion. It’s the habits we maintain for our health that don’t have to do with exercise or nutrition. Like, sleeping, drinking water, hygiene, visiting the doctor, just to name a few. There are hundreds, probably thousands of wellness habits which promote a healthier lifestyle. By keeping things local and green, these habits can also promote a healthier planet.
Before I added the Mediterranean diet to my roster for the program, I focused on eliminating plastic as my habit for the locavore diet. To me, it’s the hardest habit to establish. I still struggle with it, because EVERYTHING is wrapped in plastic. EVERYTHING. Grapes and strawberries. Meat and cheese. Bread. And that’s just in the kitchen.
Go into the bathroom, and plastic invades every space. Our toilet paper is wrapped in plastic. Our toothpaste, soaps, deodorant. The products we use to clean our bodies, clean our clothes, and clean our homes are all packaged in plastic.
This growing concern for plastic waste has awoken a movement which the locavore lifestyle is very much a supportive partner. Calling themselves the Zero Waste movement, communities are rallying around vendors who cut out plastic waste and trash. Local businesses have jumped on board and now offer plenty of opportunities for us to stay healthy, local, and green.
Most grocery stores now have a bulk section where they offer their customers great products ranging from grains, dried fruit, tea, and flours. These stores allow you to bring your own containers to fill, eliminating the plastic bags and other wasteful packaging.
Other stores have moved to providing Zero Waste stations as well. A local store in my community called Make Whidbey sells locally produced food, toys, and home care items. They have a station where you can have your containers filled with locally produced shampoos, lotions, laundry detergent, soaps, and cleaners.
And this is a win-win-win for everyone. I support local vendors and local business. There is no plastic waste from my purchases. And I come home with organic, natural products which won’t hurt me or the environment. They keep me clean, and help keep the planet clean in the process.
So with this challenge, don’t just make your nutrition local. Make your whole wellness as local and waste-free as possible.
Today
Breakfast: Apple Fritters
Lunch: Beet Red Deviled Eggs
Dinner: Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Green Bean Casserole
Rosemary Balsamic Chicken 2 Servings- 186 calories, Carbs:3g, Fat:6g,Protein:22g
Ingredients
- 10 oz boneless chicken breast or tenderloins
- 1 Tbsp rosemary
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Preheat large skillet over medium heat. Brush or swirl olive oil in pan to coat surface
- Add chicken to pan. Saute for 2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle rosemary over chicken and add vinegar. Continue cooking for 5-8 minutes, or until chicken is browned, turning chicken over once
My Green Bean Casserole is sort of a classic favorite. I got the idea of making my own cream of mushroom soup because a good friend was allergic to cow’s milk, but not to goat or sheep dairy. I created my own version of cream of mushroom soup so I could make green bean and broccoli casserole for him. It was worth the effort, and now at holiday get togethers, I am often requested to make one of these dishes to bring for sharing.
Cream of Mushroom soup 1 serving;105 calories Carbs: 4.8g, Fat: 5.6g; Protein: 3.5g
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut /almond milk
- 3 cups mushrooms, diced/minced (I use a food processor)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch or tapioca flour
Directions
- Combine all ingredients except cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Simmer until well heated, stirring frequently.
- Stir in cornstarch, one tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each scoop to mix well.
- Remove from heat and continue stirring. Add teaspoon of cornstarch one at a time if needed until desired thickness and consistency of creamy soup is achieved.
Green Bean casserole 6 servings; 156 calories Carbs: 10.5g, Fat: 5.4g, Protein: 6g
Ingredients
- Cream of mushroom soup
- 4 cups green beans, rinsed and cut
- 5 slices bacon
- 4 oz goat cheese
- 1 onion, diced
Directions
- Make cream of mushroom soup following recipe. Place in a greased casserole dish.
- Add green beans and goat cheese to casserole dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of olive oil and brush to coat
- Place bacon strips in skillet and cook for 2 minutes on each side
- Remove bacon from skillet and place diced onion in pan. Saute until brown and caramelized
- While onion is cooking, cut bacon into small pieces and add to casserole. Stir all ingredients until well blended
- When onions are finished, sprinkle them over top of casserole. Cover dish with aluminum foil and place in oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 20 minutes.
Snacks: Nut Mix
Workouts:
Beginners CrossFit- Beast complex (snatch, push press, squat, step up, deadlift, and barbell ab roll)- I played it safe and did air squats and weightless step-ups. Everything else I did with 45 lbs. I worked hard on form over speed and weight.
ZooFit- BINGO- slew of exercises, mixed in glute work, Chris’ PT exercises, and some other movements. We did not set anything for when we hit BINGO, but just played all the way through.
Mood: Riding high after my interview in South Whidbey Record was printed in the paper. A lot of people at the gym were congratulating me. And several friends retweeted it. I’m trying to write a story of how I started Sloth Army for Chicken Soup for the Soul. They are publishing a book called “Running for Good”, and I think the Sloth Army is a perfect story for it. But trying to convey everything in 1200 words or less is proving difficult.
Challenges: As always, keeping my starving husband fed is a struggle. Tomorrow is an off-like day. We are eating local, but not practicing Paleo, Keto, or Vegetarian. So hopefully we can find a way to satiate his appetite. God, he’s like our cat…
Congratulation on your article! It was awesome seeing you and your sloth army group published in the paper 🙂