Assess Your Lifestyle

Before you can change anything, you need to look at your life from an objective point of view. What things can you stop doing? There are probably several activities you engage in that only waste your time and prevent you from tackling what’s more important. For example, reduce the amount of television you watch so you have more time to create weekly meal plans. Or create a daily schedule to make room for recipe hunting and grocery shopping. Thinking ahead can help you stay on track.

Reduce and Add

While on the path to reducing those activities that hold you back, you have to consider the foods you eat too. With factory farming, meat and dairy products do more harm than good for your body, because they contain hormones and steroids. Plus, foods like cheese and milk only increase inflammation and mucus in the body. If you can cut down the amount of times you eat these foods per week, you’re on the right track. However, eliminating them is even better for you and the world, as factory farming causes soil degradation, pollution, water contamination, etc. Then you will have more room for nutrient rich foods such as cabbage, kale, pears, spinach, blueberries, garbanzo beans, lentils and other fruits and vegetables.

Eating healthier meals does take effort, but it’s all worth it when you notice the energy increase, strong immune system, glowing skin, etc. When you have your own garden, your journey to wellness also positively affects the earth.

So how can you make this a smooth transition? Below are some tips to help you reach your goal this year.

• Limit the number of times per week that you eat meat. It’s okay if you can’t eliminate meat from your diet all at once. Consider raising chickens in your backyard, because instead of buying meat from the market, you can get fresh, organic chicken and eggs right from your backyard.
• Add more color to your diet with homegrown fruits and vegetables. Starting a garden is quite a task, but if you have a successful one, you can freeze some of your harvest and have it for later in the year.
• Try alternative protein sources such as nuts, seaweed, whole grain breads and pastas, etc. You can add walnuts to your salad or create a honey pecan dressing.
• Partner with family or friends, because reducing your meat intake is hard work. It’s helpful to have someone to motivate you as well as someone who will experiment and exchange tasty vegetarian and vegan recipes with you. You can also learn some tips from experienced vegetarians or vegans who are trying to live more off the grid.

Adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet as your 2010 resolution is a great way to start the year, and you can get more out of your garden or backyard farm.

An easy source of protein to locate is nuts, because you can rely on the squirrels to lead you to the goods. A handful or so of acorns, which grow on oak trees, is equal to one complete vegetable protein source. Other edible nuts include chestnuts, beechnuts, black walnuts, hickory nuts, butternuts, pine nuts and pecans.

When it comes to your vitamins and minerals, eat a dandelion. These weeds are common, and they contain vitamin C. If you can’t stomach them raw, cook them over a fire and serve them like Italian greens. An alternative source of vitamin C includes rose hips.

Fortunately, every forest has a bunch of trees, which can come in handy for survival. If you peel back a tree’s bark, a soft, sweet inside is exposed, which can give you a quick source of minerals. In addition, the sap can be used to quickly boost your energy.

In the wild, it’s difficult to distinguish which mushrooms and berries are poisonous. However, some edible ones include the bearberry, blueberry, serviceberry, elderberry and high-bush cranberry.

Living off of the land and not the wildlife is possible, but it’s important to know the plant life in your region. A plant guide is a valuable tool to keep with you, so you don’t mistake a poisonous berry for an edible one.