How to Eat Green Foods More Often

Nowadays, the popularity of the subject “go green” is increasing rapidly. There are tons of information that can help us live in a friendlier for the environment way. Many people don’t realise that our daily choice of food affects the nature in great lengths.

1. Make sure your food is ecological

One of the basic ways to provide a green and eco-friendly food regime is to buy local produce. That means shop from local retailers, from farm markets and food stocks. The reason for this is that buying food from local traders lowers down the energy costs for food transportation. When the food comes from afar, it has to come by a truck, cooled, treated and packaged. That means lots of oil and energy costs to cool and conserve. There’s also a great chance for chemical additives, which can keep the food fresh. Not to mention the materials, used during packaging. All those factors are eliminated, when you buy local produce.

Apart from that, when you get something locally produced, you popularise a healthier and tastier way of living. The reason is that those foods are grown close to you and come fresh, seasonal and have more time to grow on the plant itself. They also contain higher amounts of minerals and nutrients.

Buying local produce also promotes a food regime, that is based mainly on fruits and vegetables, instead of processed foods. Once you get used to shopping from farm markets, that will turn into a joyful ritual. You’ll feel well that you help the planet and you provide your family with tasty food. The local produce is always seasonal and you will know it’s fresh and hasn’t travelled the whole country or world to come at your table.

2. Lower the consumption of food of animal origin

If you really want to go green, it’s important to know how our food choices influence the environment every day. A UN report for 2006 cites breeding cattle as “one of the top 2 or 3 most significant reasons for the most serious ecological problems on the local and global level”.

Amongst the many shocking discoveries and observations, the UN report announces, that breeding cattle is the reason for 18% of the greenhouse emissions — more than what all cars in the world produce. 2.4 billion tons of CO2 emissions are a result of deforestation of over 7.4 million acres of forests, cut down for pastures and planting crops for livestock every year.

Even if we put aside all other important questions, such as healthy arguments and animal rights, the unpalatable fact remains — eating animal produce destroys the environment. If you choose to consume them, be conscientious in their restriction and include more vegetarian options in your diet.

What if there isn’t a local market nearby? There’s always the issue of location, prices and availability. You might not be able to find an appropriate one close by, but that doesn’t mean you should lose hope. You can always try and grow your own veggies at home. Start with a pot or two, and, as soon as you realise, you can end up with a rooftop garden!

3. Make sure there are a lot of greens in your food

In the spirit of the ‘green subject”, I’d like to point out how important it is to eat green vegetables. After abandoning animal produce, it’s important to fill our diet with various plants, wild and cultivated, and, when we begin to research the local market, we will find a whole new world of green-leaf vegetables, some of which we have never heard of. They are full of vitamins, minerals and aminoacids, which will make you look pretty and feel well. The green vegetables are full of fibres and contain, naturally, less calories, so you’ll be full the whole day, helping you keep and optimal and healthy weight. They will also give you tons of energy and make you happy.

One of the great ways to add green-leaf plants in your menu are the green smoothies — the easiest way to receive valuable nutrients in their diet. There are many more delicious “greens” which we can add to our salads — raw or cooked. Naturally, once you begin to eat local produce, you will eat more green vegs which can help your body detox. That’s a wonderful way to regulate your weight, while, at the same time, you help the environment!

Here’s a list of all-time favourite green leaves:

- Spinach
- Dandelion
- Purslane
- Cress
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Rucula