+ Nutrition
and More

By Kate Fisher

Kate Fischer, MS, RD, LD owns Alameda Fitness
Center in Northeast
Portland, OR
503-548-4011
getfit@alamedafitness.
www.alamedafitness.com

Resolve to Try Something New:
Green Wellness Resolutions for 2009

Yet another year passes and we return to that infamous time of year when the endless barrage New Year’s resolutions ensues. The temptation to make that same fated resolution to lose weight, eat less, exercise more, taunts us from the commercials, the magazines, the advertisements. How many years have you revisited those very same resolutions, each with the same outcome come February, or if you are really diligent, March?

This year, I challenge you to try something new. The following ideas, given a good effort, have the potential to revitalize you from all angles of life. You will feel better about how you treat your body, nourish and strengthen from the inside out, examine how you treat your environment by limiting wasteful actions, and promote sustaining ways of living. Ultimately, this improves our total wellness — mind, body, and soul — while also positively impacting those around us. So this year, I challenge you to try out some of the following suggestions for ways to go green for wellness this holiday season.

Going Green for Nutrition
Choose Local Foods
Go local or grow local this holiday season. You can choose to support your local farmers, promote a boost in the local economy, and reduce the energy cost of transporting your food, not to mention enhance the quality and taste of what you put on your table.

In the Northwest, our climate allows us the luxury of being able to receive local produce year round. I was thrilled to find out our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm offers a late season harvest box, perfect for cooking up those holiday meals. If you want to really challenge yourself, consider the idea of the “100-Mile Diet” (information at www.100milediet.org) and challenge yourself to a day, a week, or even a month of “bringing your eating closer to home.” This website and book provide lots of helpful suggestions to get you started including utilizing local farmers markets.
 
Winter Farmers’ Markets
Farmers’ markets across Oregon and in the Portland area have late season sales; some even stay open through spring. The Oregon Farmer’s Market Association (www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org) offers information on farmers’ markets across Oregon, while Portland Farmer’s Market listings can be found at www.portlandfarmersmarket.org. The Hillsdale Farmer’s Market in Portland opens twice monthly November through April, while the People’s Farmer’s Market in southeast Portland is open year-round.

Stock up on winter favorites including wintergreens, winter squashes, root vegetables, and more. Not only are these local and seasonal but nutrient dense and high in fiber, providing for satisfying and healthy meals.  

Grow Local
If you are on the adventurous side, try to grow your own winter varieties, Oregon State University Extension Service offers a free print resource entitled Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest available at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/pnw/pnw548.pdf.

Crops you might consider are kale, collard greens, spinach, chard, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, leeks, cabbage, and carrots. Many of these crops need to be planted late summer or early fall; however, take the time now to enjoy crops of local farmers while learning and planning for next year‘s bounty!

Green Foods
Wintergreens not only are an accessible local food during the winter, but also an excellent source of nutrients for our bodies. As an added side bonus they are also extremely easy to prepare and can provide a simple nutrient-dense side dish in only a matter of minutes. Try sautéing wintergreens with olive oil, garlic, and a splash of lemon. 

Green Fitness
The Green Commute
Save gas, burn extra calories and reduce your impact on the environment. Choose alternative ways to get to work like walking or biking to naturally build fitness into your daily routine. Choose routes with challenging hills or neighborhood stairs to up the intensity of your workout.

Green Workouts
When you’re at the gym, keep these simple tips in mind to limit waste.
• Use cloth towels instead of paper towels.
• Use your own water bottle versus paper disposable cups.
• Turn electrical machines off when you’re done or try human-powered machines like rowing machines or spin bikes for an alternative workout.

Eco-Friendly Workout Gear
Numerous companies are now adding “green” clothing and styles to their shelves. Fitness companies like Simple Shoes, Patagonia, and Gaiam have infused natural products like bamboo, coconut, soy, and organic cotton into their line of products.
 
Recycle Your Old Workout Shoes and Clothes
• Nike regrind is made from old sneakers as part of their Reuse-a-Shoe Program. Visit www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe for more information.

• Common Threads Garment Recycling Program by Patagonia is designed for recycling certain types of clothing. Visit their website www.patagonia.com, click under “Environmentalism,” “What We Do,” then “Common Threads Garment Recycling Program.”

This year, take the opportunity to resolve for a better you in a new way, a way you can also resolve to help improve the lives of those around you as well as the environment in which we live. Ultimately, you may even find yourself achieving those other resolutions we so seek to meet each year — exercise more, eat healthfully, and celebrate a revitalized you.