“When you’re in love, you can’t fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams”
DR. SEUSS
Are you sleeping or living a life that you can’t fall asleep?
The new food groups
Do you remember being told about the food groups? They were in a pyramid, i believe they were meat, fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy – right?
Well, according to our kind friends at Kind Green Planet there is a movement that is talking about the “New Vegan Food Groups” . . .
VEGETABLES
4 or more servings a day
Vegetables are packed with nutrients; they provide vitamin C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients. Dark green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard and turnip greens, chicory, or bok choy are especially good sources of these nutrients. Dark yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin provide extra beta-carotene. Include generous portions of a variety of vegetables in your diet.
Serving size: 1 cup raw vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked vegetables.
WHOLE GRAINS
5 or more servings a day
This group includes bread, rice, tortillas, pasta, hot or cold cereal, corn, millet, barley, bulgar, and buckwheat. Build each of your meals around a hearty grain dish — grains are rich in fiber and other complex carbohydrates, as well as protein, B vitamins, and zinc.
Serving size: 1/2 cup rice or other grain • 1 ounce dry cereal • 1 slice bread
FRUIT
3 or more servings a day
Fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Be sure to include at least one serving each day of fruits that are high in vitamin C—citrus fruits, melons, and strawberries are all good choices. Choose whole fruit over fruit juices, which do not contain very much fiber.
Serving size: 1 medium piece of fruit, 1/2 cup cooked fruit, 4 ounces juice.
LEGUMES
2 or more servings a day
Legumes — which is another name for beans, peas, and lentils — are all good sources of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, zinc, and B vitamins. This group also includes chickpeas, baked and refried beans, soy milk, tempeh, and texturized vegetable protein.
Serving size: 1/2 cup cooked beans, 4 ounces tofu or tempeh, 8 ounces soy milk.
While eating vegetarian or vegan is not part of your diet at this time, maybe start by incorporating more of these food groups into your current diet and see what type of results you produce.
Which of these food groups could you begin incorporating into your diet? How?
Conscious quote – Rules to Live By
“People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the BEST you have, and it will NEVER be enough. Give your BEST anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
~ Mother Teresa
This was found written on the wall in her home for children in Calcutta.
Experiences VS. Possessions
This month the New York Times did some interesting research in regards to the science of money, spending, and happiness. While we have all heard about people who are better off with less, the research went on to show how spending on experience instead of pissessions leads to longer happiness:
(Researchers) have found that our types of purchases, their size and frequency, and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness. One major finding is that spending money for an experience — concert tickets, French lessons, sushi-rolling classes, a hotel room in Monaco — produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff.
“It’s better to go on a vacation than buy a new couch’ is basically the idea,” says Professor Dunn, summing up research by two fellow psychologists, Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich.
… Thomas DeLeire, an associate professor of public affairs, population, health and economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, recently published research examining nine major categories of consumption. He discovered that the only category to be positively related to happiness was leisure: vacations, entertainment, sports and equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles.
When was the last time a device or mode of transportation make you as happy as your last vacation? And would you rather show your friends a picture of your newest piece of furniture or the sunset on the last road trip you took?
So next time you are hot on the trail of your next purchase, stop and ask yourself what will really make you happy.
Conscious Quote – Follow your heart
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
– Steve Jobs, CEO Apple
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