Forks Over Knives

Last night I was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of Forks over Knives. The doctors in the movie--Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn--argue that we would all be healthier if we follow a plant-based diet. This means eating mainly vegetables, fruits, legumes, and avoiding animal by-products such as meat, eggs, and dairy.

The narrator of the documentary went to a holistic doctor who ran a bunch of tests on him and concluded he was susceptible to a heart attack. He agreed to try a plant-based diet for 13 weeks. By the end of his trial, he was no longer reliant on caffeine, his cardiovascular health was in a normal range, and he had more energy.

In another instance, a lady who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes went on the same type of diet and over two years later, she has reversed her disease and has lost more than 40 pounds.

I think overall, the documentary was well-worth the conversations that it sparked between my friend and I, but I do wish some other points were addressed. For example, if we were to eat organic meat, would that be allowed? Or would these doctors still argue against it completely?

Personally, I do believe I could benefit from eating more vegetables and whole grains. However, if I want to eat a cheeseburger or have a glass of milk, I should be able to. I think the point is to figure out what type of diet works best for you and your lifestyle and go with that.

Have you seen this movie? If not, would you?

I want cute things

While I was in New York City two weeks ago, I saw a lady who had a really cute reusable bag. I'm pretty sure it said Whole Foods on it, which wasn't ironic at all because we were literally across the street from their store in Union Square. But I remember I liked it because it had a bit of Manhattan flair to it. On the side of the bag it listed the different areas of Manhattan, including Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen. Ever since then, I've wanted one. I can't seem to find it online, but my bff offered to send me one if she sees what I'm talking about.

Then we got to talking about cute reusable bags. She has two from Pathmark--one has a squirrel holding an acorn, and another one has a polar bear on it. Those sound cute too. So now I want to add to my reusable bag collection, which currently consists of one black bag from Sports Authority, another black bag that says Colorado Rockies on it, and one mini shopping bag with fruit on it. My mom has colorful ones at home from Vitamin Cottage, but I want some of my own that are cute.

I found this website that sells really colorful ones (read: lots of pink and floral designs) but I'm not sure if I want to spend $16 on a reusable bag. Although, their buy 3 get one 1 free promotion might be a good deal if I can round up some friends to buy some too.

Flip & Tumble's bags have simple designs but lots of color. Perpetual Kid has this simple shopper bag that won't break the bank. Outlush's bag reminds me of France for some reason and Bright and Bold's merlot bag makes me want to drink wine in a palace. I'm sure I could keep googling this, but I'd rather hear from you. You guys make my life easier. So tell me, do you guys use reusable bags? Where does your favorite one look like & where did you get it?

Travel Fridays

Welcome to another installment of Travel Fridays! Remember if you have any ideas, send them on over to seriouslywonderful (at) gmail (dot) com!

While M and I were on a hike a few weeks ago, it dawned on me that I've never been camping, even though I was in girl scouts at one point and I did stay in a log cabin and use an outhouse. By the end of our hike, M had me convinced that we should go camping--you know, complete with a tent, sleeping bag, and food necessities. I imagined gathering sticks for a fire, roasting marshmallows, and seeing shining stars at night.

A week ago, over beers, M and I got to talking about camping again. Only this time she shared with me what not to do. Years ago, she went camping for the first time with her sister and dad on a whim near some sand dunes. It was in the middle of summer, and ridiculously hot during the day, so they didn't plan the drastic drop in temperature, like you could just about see your breath freezing, when the sun set. Not to mention, they had sand coating every surface of their bodies and quite a bit in their ears. They had hot dogs and granola bars. They couldn't make a fire though, so they huddled under one blanket and shivered 'till they fell asleep. Needless to say, it was a couple years before they tried camping again.

Lessons learned: Bring extra, warm clothes to wear at night, plan on eating more than a granola bar, and don't camp by any sand dunes. Now all I have to do is find out where I put my sleeping bag.

Have you been camping? Any advice to share?

Five Things: Easy Ways to Help the Planet

Nobody's asking you to turn into a full-on hippie and renounce all your worldly possessions.  But there's usually a better way to do the things you every day so that we can all have a less negative impact on the environment.

1.) Small Changes Add Up.
Making a few changes that you can sustain everyday will have a bigger impact than trying to make HUGE lifestyle changes only to drop them when everyday life steps in a makes things stressful.  Don't think of it as "being green" or "saving the planet" so much as just doing what makes sense. 

2.) It's called "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" for a reason.
If you try to make changes in that order, you'll have a higher impact than just recycling.  Reducing the number of goods you use, or the packaging on those goods, or the distance those goods need to travel to get to you eliminates waste beyond the scope of just that one package.

3.) Plastic Bags never die!
Those little plastic bags we all get at the grocery store, the drug store, the convenience store, the department store... They're fairly ubiquitous with modern life, and millions of years from now when people are studying our society, those bags will still be there.  One easy way to combat this is the take re-usable bags to the store with you, but as a dude-on-the-go, I really never do this unless my GF is with me and has one in her purse.  But what I do always do is make sure I reuse those bags I have to accept.  Stash your used plastic bags and reuse them when you need them.  Even if you only use them one extra time (like for taking out the trash), that's one less other bag you'd need, and in the end, buying less bags leads to producing less bags.

4.) Eat Local
When you buy produce at the grocery store, you're getting food that's come from halfway around the world, and was picked well before it ever ripened. When you eat food that has been produced within 100 miles of your home, you are eating food that is picked at it's peak, and doesn't need paints, dyes or chemicals to keep it fresh-looking.  You also help the planet because that means less trucks on the road having to drive food from Venezuela or Chile or Madagascar to reach your plate.

5.) Support Local Businesses
Shopping local restaurants and businesses keeps your local economy strong, and reduces the number of chain stores & restaurants that open up nearby.  Yes, we all love shopping at Target and eating at Applebee's (well, cheap drinks at Applebee's at least), but putting your dollars towards locally owned business who themselves deal with local suppliers makes sure your money stays in your community.  And in the long run, having vibrant local businesses cuts down on the number of times you have to drive to big-box retailers, eliminating that extra pollution from the air.  Doing that just once a week and remove tons of carbon-dioxide annually.

Ryan usually writes for originalname.wordpress.com, check it out if you're a fan of random chatter wrapped in good intentions.