these blog pages contain affiliate links which may earn Green and Prosperous a small commission if you click or purchase products using them. You can find our privacy statement here.
Climate change is a pressing issue that affects us all, and it's no surprise that many of us are becoming more mindful of sustainability in our daily lives. At the same time, we want to ensure that the food we eat is healthy and nourishing for ourselves and our loved ones. But did you know that sustainability and good health go hand in hand?
Read MoreHealthy eating is something we all strive to achieve, and a healthy diet can not only improve your quality of life, it can prevent you from developing serious illnesses in middle age and later. We eat well when we choose foods that are nutritious and low in calories. When it comes to choosing food products, however, it’s difficult to tell which ones contain healthier ingredients.
Read MoreLast summer I hired my neighbor’s gardener to create a pea gravel walkway in my back yard. The morning of the job, he showed up with his wife Doris* and another friend and got to work. It was one of the few occasions when I was willing to sit back and let someone else handle all the labor for a change. While the guys were working, Doris took a break to show me a frog she found in the yard, and like two giddy schoolgirls, we fawned over the poor thing (who had almost ended up flattened under one of the guys’ boots) and shared our insights into the nature of these creatures in her broken English and my broken Spanish. As the men continued to work and I came out again to respond to their questions and look at the progress of the walkway, Doris pointed out a weed that was growing in my yard and told me it was mora. She said that you could eat it and that in her country (El Salvador), they cooked it in a soup. Intrigued, I resolved to find out more.
Read MoreAs a parent, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Work, homeschooling, and juggling everyday chores are just a few tasks that might be bogging down your to-do list. You don’t have time to cook a fancy dinner every night, but at the same time, you want your family to have a home-cooked meal. The solution? A handful of healthy meals for kids that you can whip up at the last minute. Here are some of our favorite healthy dishes that you and your kids will love.
Read MoreOne of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh organic tomatos, basil, and oregano that I'm able to grow. Last year's harvest was ok, but traveling for part of the summer and asking my neighbors to take care of the plants in my absence meant that I didn’t get to enjoy most of the fruits of my labor! That, coupled with my hasty assembly of a drip irrigation system without taking the time to test it before leaving town resulted in waterlogged plants. Some were able to recover and produce abundant harvests after some weeks of babying, but others never did.
Read MoreIn my last year of college, one of my housemates and best friends was a guy who knew how to make the best potato breads I’ve ever tasted. That was my introduction to bread making, and I’ve loved it ever since. Making bread at home is a pretty basic DIY skill that anyone can master with a little practice, and basic bread requires few ingredients – flour, water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Check the store brands you buy – most have added ingredients, and if you see a lot more ingredients in that list than the ones I’ve named above, then you know the bread is over-processed, full of preservatives, and possibly contains chemical substances – like phosphates -- that have been linked in clinical studies with intestinal inflammation, kidney disease, osteoporosis, and heart problems when they are eaten on a regular basis. Store-bought breads are also not cheap, and a single artisan loaf or “healthy” brand can cost $5 or more.
So learning to make bread at home can not only save you money, it can also help you avoid some of the health problems that come with regularly eating processed foods.
Read MoreThis fast, easy, and healthy recipe for kırmızı mercimek çorba, or (Turkish) red lentil soup, is one of my family’s favorite. My 8-year old requests it every week. It’s one of several ways that this soup can be made: you can omit the carrots and Hungarian paprika if you prefer, or take more time and strain the soup through a sieve if you like, creating a thinner consistency (which is the way you will usually find it being made in Turkey). You can also add more water to make it less thick and hearty.
Read More(vegan option)
This is a thick, rich, and creamy soup that is perfect for the cold season. Even better, it is quick and easy to make – 45 minutes from start to finish! It has a number of different variations you can try to suit your particular tastes, variations that range from the sweetness to the thickness to spices used in this soup. You can even choose to make it vegan by skipping the last part, that adds a dollop of plain yogurt to the finished soup.
Read MoreThis was a recipe invented by my ex-husband Jeff, who besides being a gifted gardener and landscaper who could revive even the saddest-looking plants, is also a great cook. This recipe is fast and easy to make, and the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.
Read MoreWith the beginning of another school year comes the inevitable question for every parent whose child has dietary restrictions, or whose kid’s school doesn’t have a cafeteria: what should I pack for lunch? In the first weeks of school this may not be much of an issue: you try the old standbys, only to eventually become bored with them. Maybe this year you want to make more of an effort to pack healthy (healthier) lunches. Maybe you are weaning your kids off packaged processed convenience foods that you know are not healthy for them.
Read MoreA few weeks ago I woke up and read a Twitter conversation sparked by an article written by award-winning food writer Jane Black. Since then, I have thought a lot about the article and the conversations that followed in the Twitterverse. Jane’s guest column, on the website of the Stone Barnes Center for Food and Agriculture, points out how elite foodies are fundamentally out of touch with the reasons behind why less-affluent, rural, and/or poor families hadn’t made a switch to healthier eating.
What struck me most about her essay was her observation that one of the main obstacles preventing less affluent people in red-state America from eating healthy didn’t have anything to do with ignorance, lack of desire, or rebellion against elite coastal foodie cultures. It did have to do with economics, but not in the way you might think...
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago I was shopping at Whole Foods and noticed that the person in the aisle next to me had a shopping cart full of items. In fact, while wandering through the store looking for a marinade I used to use years ago, apparently no longer sold by Whole Foods (maybe too overpriced?), I noticed quite a few people with shopping carts full. None of them seemed to be to be the type of people who had money to burn. Now looks alone are no judge, but I wondered, how the heck can people afford to do so much of their grocery shopping at Whole Foods? Very few of the people I Having joked with the staff on many occasions about how it was impossible to get out of the store for under $30, I was pretty surprised to see more than a handful of people buying what struck me as hundreds of dollars’ worth of groceries.
There are cheaper options than Whole Foods, of course.
OUR MISSION
We are dedicated to sharing information about and strategies for healthy, eco-friendly living. As a consumer, you have power to minimize your exposure to toxins and change manufacturing practices that harm human and environmental health.
want some free resources to help you maintain your healthy lifestyle? Click the button above to sign up!
