Super Size Me

Super Size Me was released in 2004 and was directed by Morgan Spurlock. The basic idea was that he would eat McDonald's for 30 days and see what changes occurred to his physical and psychological health. There were additional rules he followed like agreeing to "supersize" the meal if the cashier asked and he did not partake in any physical exercise. The final results were quite surprising, especially for those who know little about nutrition. In one month he managed to gain 24.5 pounds. His psychological health changed as he experienced mood swings. His physical health also suffered.

We first watched Super Size Me when it was released on DVD. I clearly remember after watching the movie that we both felt the need to take a walk. We walked around for about an hour discussing the movie and what we thought about it. We believe this movie is one of the first light-bulbs that went off in our heads, and made us more conscious about what we ate.

We both agree Spurlock was aiming for the shock factor. The idea also seems extreme. Who eats McDonald's for every meal? But if you think about it, many people eat convenience food all day long. How many people do you know that pick up a coffee and pastry in the morning for breakfast? Lunch is usually a fast food restaurant with coworkers because they only have a set amount of time. Dinner might not be picked up from a fast food restaurant but rather frozen pizzas and lasagnas to serve their families at night. It happens every day. People are busy and turning to the most convenient alternatives.

Have you seen this movie? What did you think of it?

Author: Cheryl

5 Reasons We Compost

1. Reduce garbage waste

    - We started composting about 3 weeks ago. Since then we have filled our kitchen garbage bag about   half what we used to. We didn't realize how many scraps we were throwing away, such as apple cores, egg shells, coffee grounds, and other small vegetable pieces leftover from preparing meals.

2. Create organic fertilizer for the garden

    - We're planning on building a rather large vegetable garden this year. The compost will provide nutrients and improve the soil quality, without using chemical products.

3. Reuse yard waste

   - The dead leaves and grass clippings are reused to create compost. Many people throw them away in plastic bags and put them on the curbside for the garbage truck to pick it up. Instead, we chose to compost so we can reuse the waste to our benefit.

4. Save money

    - We did spend money to build our compost bin but it will last a long time. We will save money by not having to buy fertilizer for our garden and other plants around our yard. Also, since we've noticed such a big reduction in our weekly garbage waste, we are considering changing our garbage pickup to once a month. This will be a cheaper service than having weekly pickup. 

5. Only the cool kids compost!

    - Thanks to the to trend of "Going Green," composting is becoming a cool thing to do. Everyone is being encouraged to do it and major cities like Seattle and San Francisco are either making it mandatory or making it an option. People are learning it isn't that difficult to put scraps in a different bin every day.

Author: Cheryl

Transitioning to More Local Foods

Our grocery shopping habits have changed tremendously over the past few years. A few years ago we were primarily budget-oriented. We shopped at Target, Trader Joe's, and Safeway for our weekly groceries. The ingredients and origin of our food never crossed our minds. But then overtime we started thinking about the nutrition behind the products we were buying. We realized the food we were buying from Target was mostly processed, brand-name products that weren't a necessity. So even though they were cheap, it wasn't food we wanted to eat anymore. Trader Joe's sells food at good prices, but the food (even the snacks) isn't as processed so we still like to shop there. 

Safeway was always our go-to store for products that Target and Trader Joe's didn't carry. About 6 months ago, we started shopping at a local co-op grocery store. It is fantastic! The first time we went to the store, we walked around for almost an hour looking at all the products. After visiting the store, we made the decision to start shopping at this store, even though most of products cost more than we were used to paying. We realized it was important to us that our products were as fresh as possible. Fresh food is important, but so is the fact that the transportation of the food has a smaller impact on the environment. Even though the grapes look good in January, we don't need to eat food that has been imported from South America. We can survive a few months out of the year without strawberries, grapes, and other fruit associated with the summer. Another benefit is that we are supporting local companies.

Since this is a new concept for us, we have decided local means within our country. If there is the option between something grown in our state and something grown 1000 miles away, we will buy the more locally grown food. Maybe someday we'll eat food only within a 100 mile radius. For now we're concentrating on making small changes, little by little.

One last thought - we live in a smaller community so Farmers Markets are not year-round here. We think they are a great option and are looking forward to visiting our local one during the spring and summer months.

Author: Cheryl

Purchased our First Seed Packets

Today we purchased our first seed packets. It was exciting to choose all of the different vegetables we could grow. We decided to use Ed Hume seeds, mainly because he is local and the information he provides is for our area. The seeds were bought at the local hardware store after we decided we don't need to buy them online and have them shipped from somewhere farther than the hardware store. When possible we chose the organic seeds. The total cost for our initial seeds was $36.46. We are planning to track the costs of the garden along the way, including initial costs and reoccurring costs.

The vegetables we are going to plant this year are:

1. Broccoli, Calabrese Green
2. Carrot, Chantenay
3. Bean, Blue Lake Pole
4. Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson
5. Onion, Red Globe
6. Pea, Tall Telephone
7. Squash, Vegetable Spaghetti
8. Spinach, Tyee Hybrid
9. Tomato, Stupice
10. Tomato, Sweetie
11. Tomato, San Marzano
12. Watermelon, Crimson Sweet
13. Cilantro
14. Chives
15. Parsley, Forest Green
16. Oregano, Greek
17. Pepper, Bell
18. Artichoke, Green Globe

Author: Dan

The Beginning

Just a little introduction to get this blog started. As our blog title implies, we are learning how to live more simply. What exactly does that mean? We want to produce less waste, become more environmentally conscious, live a more sustainable lifestyle, and become more educated about food sources. We have ideas of what we want to do - some of them we are doing now. But the more we try and change, the more we seem to think of and are eager to try.

This process started very basic. We've slowly been incorporating changes into our life. We both have always recycled so that was already part of our life. The first change for us was to begin using reusable bags. About three to four years ago we purchased two reusable bags from Trader Joe's. We weren't perfect in the beginning. Yes, we forgot the bags a few times. But that also made us realize how many plastic and paper bags we were bringing home. After a few months we were pros at bringing bags - it was just part of the grocery store routine. We also bought more bags when we realized it would be a good idea to use them at other stores. And now we even bring them to the mall, where some of the cashiers appear confused when we say we'll use our own bag. We hope that one day this will be the norm for all shopping.

Other changes we've made: using reusable mesh bags for produce, using reusable containers at bulk bins, composting, collecting water in rain barrels, being more mindful of electricity, water, and gas usage, buying more local food and making more food from scratch. We are also in the beginning stages of starting a vegetable garden. We plan on writing many posts about our gardening experiences. It's an exciting time for us and we want to chronicle what we're doing and share with other people.

Who are "we?" We are a couple in our mid-twenties and have been married for almost four years. We bought our first house in August 2009. It is a long-term home for us and sits on almost an acre. Now that we've settled down in a permanent residence, we're looking forward to making our house a home and learning to live the simple life.

Author: Cheryl