fresh veggie delivery

Tags

beets, cooking, food, food delievery, Green Earth Organics, health, healthy, healthy eating, organic food, organic vegetables, potatoes, vegetables

Recently I decided to try out something new and ordered vegetables online. The whole thing started when Green Earth Organics popped up in a conversation I was part of on a facebook networking page and because I liked what they said I decided to check out their website.

I loved the idea of a box of seasonal, organically grown vegetables delivered straight to my door and their prices were reasonable too. The boxes on offer come in different sizes and different contents: large ones for families, ones picked for juicers, one with purely Irish produce,  and one filled with favourites. They even have bags of fruit and an array of other healthy products.

Since I live on my own I opted for a small box for the test run and this morning a white van pulled up outside my door delivering a box filled with freshly picked vegetables:leeks, beets, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, onions and parsnips. Green Earth Organics even added a handwritten note and recipe to help inspire their customers what to cook.

Now I can’t wait to cook the vegetables and find out if they taste as good as they look. So tonight I’ll be enjoying some fresh beetroot and I see some yummy vegetable soup over the weekend.

I can’t believe how excited I am about this but I have to say I am impressed how easy and efficient my online vegetable shopping experience has been. So I’ll possibly be seeing more of the friendly carrot Green Earth Organics has on their logo as I think I may become a regular customer: fresh vegetables delivered directly to my door is just to good to pass up on.

a box filled with healthy vegetables

cold season

Tags

cold, cold season, getting sick, health, hot tea, oranges, staying healthy, Vitamin C

Like so many who stand in front of a class and teach getting sick is part of the course. After all when you are surrounded by pupils, no matter what the age, you’re bound to pick up a few bacteria and viruses, no matter how often you wash your hands.

Yesterday, as I was explaining how to create templates, I felt that unwelcome tickle at the back of my throat. As I took a sip of hot tea, my constant companion when I lecture is a flask filled with herbal tea, I had the sudden realisation that cold season is back.

Since I don’t have the time to get sick right now I decided to try and take it easy for the next few days, drink lots of fluids and make sure my vitamin C intake is high. After all we all know the best way to get rid of those pesky germs is to stay warm, hydrate and rest.

So as soon as I got home I put on a pair of woolly socks, cuddled up in my shawl and spent a few hours avoiding my desk while drinking honeyed tea and eating a few oranges. And I have to say I think it may have done the trick for now as today I feel so much better, the tickle is gone and I hope it stays away.

 

sunny Saturday morning

Tags

endorphins, halo-effect, health, psychology, Saturday, summer, sunshine, vitamin d

It’s meant to be raining, according to the weather forecast, but the sun doesn’t seem to have gotten that memo. For now it is shining and keeping those rain clouds at bay.

Studies have shown that we become nicer when the sun is shining, we tend to be quicker to answer researchers, give directions more readily and we even reach further into our pockets and give larger tips. Even the stock-markets trade more and is three times more likely to go up when the sun shines. Yes, even traders and investors feel more positive on sunny days, but unlike us they don’t just buy an ice-cream cone but put their money into bonds.

This happiness and optimism that awakens in us when the sun comes out to play is called the “halo-effect”. Now the halo effect defines how we see things due to our knowledge of an other thing. So, if someone is good at say card games we assume they are good at dice games too, or if someone is bad at football we assume they are bad at basketball as well. And when the sun shines making endorphins bounce around in our brains we just assume everything is good, because we feel good.

Sadly the downside to summer frolicking is that the suicide rate goes up. The reason behind this is that someone who is feeling low sees lots of happy, jolly people and it makes them feel worse about themselves so they become more prone to seeking a permanent solution.

But with all that said I just think most of us love the luxury of letting the warmth of the sun caress our skins and enjoy wearing light summery clothes. Of course we have to be mindful to not burn but letting the sun tickle us helps produce Vitamin D and as our skin is highly efficient at doing just that only 15-30 minutes of sunshine creates the same amount as drinking 200 glasses of milk would.

I am not a fan of milk myself I think I may just treat myself to an ice-cream, let my skin take care of the vitamin D production and let my endorphins run wild – what a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

 sunshine inside a flower

hay fever alert

Tags

antihistamnines, calcium, hay fever, health, magnesium, pills, sticky eyes

I woke up with  a little surprise in bed with me this morning, sticky eyes are back and that can only mean one thing: hay-fever season has arrived and settled in over night.

Hay-fever visits me every year, sometimes it is just little a bit annoying, sometimes it needs a bit more attention, and other times it takes over my life. I am not sure what the sneezer has planned for this year but if my sticky eyes and scratchy throat are anything to go by it definitely is an attention seeker.

So while I spent a huge chunk of my morning un-gunking my eyes, yes I had those awfully gooey bits of yellow sleepy-eye gluing my eyelashes together and keeping me in semi-darkness, I was wondering if it was time to start popping pills and save myself from sneeze attacks. The problem is most antihistamines effect me more than just a little on the side.

Some make me so drowsy that I can’t string sentences together and just want to sleep, some effect my skin (I have eczema)  and leave me with itchiness and sometimes red patches of flakiness. Other pills have been known to make me a little high, a little depressed or just don’t work. But I do own some white oval pills that do the job and only make me sluggish, turning work into a bit of a herculean task. Sadly as I have quite a lot to do today I don’t think those little friendly helpers are an option and I will just have to keep tissues by my side and try not to spray my computer.

But while I was contemplating my possibilities I wondered about alternative options, I have tried acupuncture and homeopathy in the past and they didn’t work, although I do know that others have had more success. I have tried upping my calcium and magnesium intake and it does partially work as it makes the sneezes less moist and my eyes a little clearer. So as I munch on a banana and spoon some yogurt I am hoping it will help me be less irritated and keep Mr Hay-fever at bay.

hiccuping my way through the day

Tags

health, hiccups, mammals, quotes, remedies, thoughts, trapped air

Yesterday, I had a hiccup attack. I don’t get them very often but they can be somewhat persistent. The involuntary contractions of my diaphragm muscle seemed to be settling in for a while so I tried all the usual tricks:I held my breath, drank some water really quickly and from the wrong side of the glass, a spoon full of sugar (yuck) and one of peanut butter (yum) and I even tried pulling my tongue (not as easy as it sounds). I couldn’t quite surprise or scare myself but I did make an attempt.

But my myoclonic jerk just wouldn’t stop. Now I know that it isn’t really clear why we hiccup but what I didn’t know is that only milk-drinking mammals hiccup. And the latest theory (Howes 2012) is that hiccups have evolved to allow mammals to coordinate suckling milk while breathing. Somehow hiccups are there to allow for trapped air burbles to escape from the stomach while babies drink, making it possible for more milk to be ingested.What confuses me is, that I wasn’t drinking milk – or anything for that matter – and I’m definitely not a baby. But since hiccups do seem to be also linked to stress, excessive laughter, too much food and drink, eating and drinking too quickly, swallowing air, taking opiates and chewing gum, I am sure one of those reasons was possibly to blame.

Since we call our small daily mishaps hiccups I began to wonder if maybe those involuntary jerks of life may have reasons as simple and surprising as their namesake. But maybe it is all just trapped air.

The universe hiccups and we poor fools try to figure out why.

Writer Mathew Quick

battling the bug below the duvet

Tags

being sick, bug, cold, duvet, flu, health, ill

After three days and most of today spent with a fever under my duvet I think it’s time to win my battle against this bug. And I have to admit I am quite fed up with having the flu (we are talking proper not being able to move flu, not just a bad cold)  – I couldn’t even read as I was shivering and had a headache, so I spent way too much time sleeping and  watching TV. The upside on that, I suppose, is I have caught up with a lot of series, both good and bad.

But I am fed up for another reason – I feel duped! I took all the vitamins and potions I could and they just didn’t do their job – the bug was stronger. So while I do seem to be coming out from crouching under my bed-covers, and the fever has subsided, I am still not feeling quite like myself. My nose is still stuffy, my chest congested and for some reason my right eye has decided to join in on the fun and has gone all red and puffy – yes I do look a treat.

So being fed up, for now, really just means I’ll be moving from the duvet to my armchair with my hundredth and one cup of hot herbal tea hoping that this bug will soon give up and annoy someone else.

healthy potions

Tags

Barley Grass, cod liver oil, energy levels, health, Hemp, immune system, kelp, Lucuma, Maca, potions, Rhodiola rosea, Spirulina

Everyone around me seems to have the sniffles, some have even succumb to full blow colds. The spluttering and coughing on the bus has become a permanent fixture and tissues seem to be in in everyone’s hands. For me this is a bit of a worry, since I literally can’t afford to get sick.  With the semester now back in full swing, for both lecturing and my masters, and having just stared my new job my biggest concern – other than getting everywhere on time – is staying healthy.

To help my immune system out I have now added a few healthy potions to my daily diet, in the hope that the flu will pass me by and to keep my energy levels up.

Since I was child I have (mostly) taken cod liver oil in all months that have an ‘r’ – starting in September all the way up to April I have swallowed a spoon-full of the golden goodness or popped a capsule into my mouth while having breakfast.  With the high levels of the vitamins D and A, omega-3  and fatty acids cod liver oil is an old remedy that helps up your immune system, is good for your brain, joints and skin.

A few months ago I started taking a capsule of Rhodiola rosea every morning with my breakfast. This herb has been used since 77Ad and it is said  help with lots of different things. It is thoughts to improve energy levels, enhance immunity and memory,  strengthen the nervous system, fight depression, elevate the capacity for exercise, aid weight reduction. I don’t know if it s working but I haven’t been sick since I started using it so it doesn’t seem to be harming me either!

But now I have added something new – a green powder of a superfood mix. Now I didn’t come up with this on my own but my lovely (extremely health conscious) neighbour told me about it and suggested it would help – in particular for energy levels. A natural skeptic I am not sure if it will help – but it really can’t do any harm since it 100% natural no added sugars and filled with known goodness. So this mix of Maca, Lucuma, Hemp, Barley Grass , Kelp and Spirulina (both seaweed types) is meant to lift up my energy, keep me healthy and add all those vitamins I may otherwise be missing.

And while the powder is really yummy (the one I have is quite savory – tastes of tomatoes and herbs – so I have been putting it into tomato juice or in my salad) I can only hope that this healthy powder does it’s job and all cold bacillus stay away. But if not at least I know I have tried and that’s really all one can do.

unpleasant U TI(me)

Tags

antibiotics, doctor, feeling sick, fever, health, photo, photography, unwell, UTI

We all enjoy a little me-time, especially when it wasn’t time that we had planned, for time that just suddenly opens up. That happened to me me yesterday, but the reason is not so pleasant. I awoke with a fever and some abdominal pain so I had to stay home from college and go to the doctor.

Yes, I have somehow contracted an uncomfortable UTI – how, who knows but being a woman there are many ways this could have happened – just having cold feet can be one of them. So now I have had to spend the last two days at home taking antibiotics and feeling low.

But hopefully by drinking lots of mugs of hot tea and sleeping more than usual(why do antibiotic make you so tired?) I will soon be back to my normal self. And while I do admit I have somewhat enjoyed spending some time at home in the middle of the week I hope the next time I find myself with some unexpected me-time it won’t involve tablets and doctor visits.

waking up with a headache

Tags

headache, health, migranes, quote, stress, types of headaches, work

From time to time I do get headaches, like any person I presume. However waking up with one is  a very rare occasion. So when I woke up this morning with a slow thudding vibrating through my head it was very surprising and extremely unpleasant.

There are many types of headaches: cluster, migraines, rebound, ice-cream and ictal but most of us only really experience tension headaches. And since I’ve recently had so much going on I think it is safe to assume that holding all my stress in my shoulders may have something to do with why my head is giving out.

With several pages left to read and still a good few things left to do on my list a headache really didn’t fit into my scheduling plan. However I am also not a fan of ‘little helpers’.

So, I decided to wait it out, maybe the more painful way of dealing with a headache but after a cup of tea, some food, a long hour of doing nothing, naught, nada the thudding began to subside, and I am quite sure that wearing my glasses added to lessening the strain.

Now with most of the morning gone I can only hope that the headache will keep slipping away and maybe, just maybe I’ll find the time for a relaxing walk to make sure that all my stress doesn’t end up in my head again.

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

Catherine the Great

 

green smoothie

Tags

food, green smoothie, health, healthy eating, helthy food, smoothie

the perfect green smoothie

yummy and healthy

I love making myself smoothies for breakfast, there is something so satisfying about all that fruit mixed in with almond milk and some cereal toppings. It isn’t just a very tasty way to start the day but a very healthy one too.

My preferred mix is blueberries with a banana, maybe some strawberries (or other berries), a pear or a peach and some spinach. Yesterday, however, I tried something a little new.

Instead of having an early morning smoothie I decided to have a lunch one, so I mixed it up a bit. I still used almond milk and spinach (fresh but from the freezer) but I added some celery, a kiwi, some cucumber, a small pear and a banana (it just makes for a better consistency).

This yummy green smoothie was not only the perfect mix of sweet and savoury but really refreshing – the kiwi added a bit of zing, the celery a bit of bite and the cucumber made the whole thing crisp.

Now I think that my morning berry smoothie may have a bit of competition!