Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is a beautiful and heart warming true story about a family who decides to move from dry Arizona to the fertile lands of Appalachia.  Over the course of the book, we follow the family’s eating habits as they commit to growing all the food they eat.  As each season changes, they have to adapt to eating the in-season crop as well as prepare for winter months.  From the first shoots of asparagus in the spring, to teaching the turkeys to mate,  to being creative with an abundance of tomatoes, to traveling and having parties on this diet you will be inspired.  Also included, Kingsolver’s daughter contributes some amazing recipes that I have tried and love.

This is a great way to learn more about the food you put in your mouth.  It will make you a more conscious eater.  How far away did this food have to travel to get to your plate? How much energy did it take to produce that food?  Its a great time with so much more awareness of our footprint on the earth, to learn about how small changes in your food habits can make a difference.  This book is not about making you feel bad for your food choices, it will make you more empowered to make better decisions.  Once you know better, then you can do better. 

I have found myself making different food choices effortlessly since I read this book.  I buy meat and eggs directly from farmers or from butchers that have grass fed meats.  I also instinctively buy food that is in season and grown locally.  And I make more of an effort to grow a few vegetables myself on my small Vancouver parcel of land.   I now make these decisions because I am more educated about how my choices impact on my health, the health of the economy, and the health of the planet.  And the bonus is that reading this book keeps eating FUN!  The most important part. 

www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/org/net

First of all, if you have decided your beverage of choice is water over juice, pop, and coffee then congratulations.  You have made a major step up river in your health.  The first goal is to drink water.  The second goal is to drink enough water.  Focus on this first.  Once you are comfortable drinking the amount of water your body needs, then you can explore different water options.  Here are some of these options:

1. Tap Water–In the Vancouver area we have some of the best tap water of any city in the world.  The advantage is that it is easy, convenient, cheap, and there are no plastic water bottle waste or residue.  The down side to tap water is the addition of chlorine.  Some simple solutions to this problem is to boil your water or use a Brita water filter. 

2.  Bottled Water–Plastic water bottles should never be used more than once, never be frozen, and never be left in the car to get hot in the summer.  When the plastic is frozen or heated it leaches the plastic chemicals into the water. These chemicals are carcinogenic.   There has been a lot of attention in the media lately about plastic water bottles and the plastics in baby bottles.  Easiest solution is to avoid using plastics as much as possible and use metal water bottles when you need a bottle for ease of travel.  These are available at most outdoor stores.  When at home, in the car, or at work use a glass bottle (such as a Perrier bottle) or a glass. 

3. Spring Water vs. Distilled Water–Spring water has the bonus of minerals.  Distilled water has the bonus of detoxifying your body because it has no minerals. However, it also has the potential to leach minerals from your body as well.  A balance of both is ideal. 

Sometimes we can get bogged down by the details of trying to improve out health and give up.  Water shouldn’t be one of those.  Focus on getting enough water.  An easy way to do this is to drink 2 cups before each meal.  Water gets absorbed better on an empty stomach.  Two hours after breakfast and lunch have another 1-3 cups depending on your size.  This will spread your water intake throughout your day.