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Empowered Actions

1. Plant a vegetable garden.
Invite a child or neighbor to join you!

Gardening has many benefits. A recent study on the impact of starting a vegetable garden found that the percentage of adults who reported eating vegetables “several times a day” rose from 18% before they started their garden to 85% at the end of the garden season. Families who participated reported improved food security and family relationships as well.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22194063

Make it communal: consider planting your garden in your front yard

www.houzz.com/front-yard-vegetable-garden

joining a community garden

www.igrowsonoma.org/gardens

www.communitygardensonoma.org/

communitygarden.org/find-a-garden/

or trading excess produce with your neighbors

www.foundfruit.com/group/fruitandveggieexchange#axzz2zqAGNzvi

www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/
stories/how-to-start-a-crop-swap

hesselgrange.org/home/calendar/18/1400-Growers-Exchange-4-30-6-40.html

communityresiliencechallenge.org/

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Empowered Actions

2. Make something you currently buy.

In just a few minutes, you can replace something you currently buy with a home-made version. In the case of foods, not only will it taste better, it’ll likely be healthier and fresher, too. Homemade alternatives are easier on your wallet, and think of all the other resources you’ll save. No more bottles and jars to throw out or recycle. Homemade goodies also make terrific gifts. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Vinaigrette or other salad dressings. Ditch the additives, pump up the flavor, and control the quality of your ingredients.

freshly-grown.com/10-organic-homemade-salad-dressings/

hummus

Hummus recipe from Ceres' Nourishing Connections Cookbook

yogurt

www.makeyourownyogurt.com/make-yogurt/what-you-need

hot sauce

leitesculinaria.com/67202/recipes-homemade-sriracha-sauce.html

orangette.blogspot.com/2007/03/hot-sauce.html

low-sugar jam

www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/make-delicious-low-sugar-
jams-and-jellies.aspx#axzz31FDxd2qx

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Empowered Actions

3. Try a new recipe from Ceres’
Nourishing Connections Cookbook.

Share your photo of it to inspire others. Email your photo to [email protected], and visit our Pinterest board to see what everyone else has been making.

Ceres Pinterest board

Pinterest.com/CeresProject

Nourishing Connections Cookbook

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Empowered Actions

4. Make a healthier drink choice.
More water, less sugary drinks.

Sweetened beverages are the major source of sugar consumption (the average American now consumes a whopping 3 pounds of sugar per week

www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/08/30/
how-much-sugar-are-americans-eating-infographic/

Recent studies confirm that sugar consumption has numerous adverse health effects. Click here to read our article Sugar: How Sweet it Isn’t. Other resources for sugar’s effects on specific illnesses include:

Brain function

www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/04/01/
what-eating-too-much-sugar-does-to-your-brain/

Heart health

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating-too-much-added-sugar-
increases-the-risk-of-dying-with-heart-disease-201402067021

drhyman.com/blog/2014/02/07/eggs-dont-cause-heart-attacks-sugar/
?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email
&utm_campaign=Newsletter+2-10-14&utm_content=Read+this+

Cancer

www.mercola.com/article/sugar/sugar_cancer.htm

Vinaigrette or other salad dressings. Ditch the additives, pump up the flavor, and control the quality of your ingredients.

freshly-grown.com/10-organic-homemade-salad-dressings/

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Empowered Actions

5. Trade screen time for time in nature or
a face to face visit with a friend or loved one.

Forty percent of Americans socialize more online than off, missing the subtle aspects of non-verbal communication, direct connection and deep conversation—internal or external—that come from time spent with friends and loved ones, or in solitude.

www.realsimple.com/work-life/technology/
social-media-addiction-00100000117069/index.html

www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/04/
health-benefits-of-unplugging_n_3528710.html

www.screenfree.org/

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Empowered Actions

6. Practice gratitude and
express your appreciation.

Some of the benefits associated with expressing gratitude and appreciation include better immune function and lower blood pressure; higher levels of positive emotions such as optimism and joy; improved relationships, less of a sense of loneliness. If you’re new at this practice, you’ll find some helpful suggestions and tools here.

greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good

and in this video

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8964envYh58

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Empowered Actions

7. Host a neighborhood
healthy potluck or block party.

www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/7697/
10-tips-to-organize-an-outstanding-block-party

Our busy lives often mean that we don’t know our neighbors well. A potluck can be an easy way to create more cohesiveness and connection amongst those living closest to you. With a theme of sharing delicious and healthy food, everyone receives double benefit. Studies show that social isolation has serious health risks, comparable to smoking or obesity.

www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/08/
dangers_of_loneliness_social_isolation_is_deadlier_than_obesity.html

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Empowered Actions

8. Commit to buying a certain
amount of food locally

There are a plethora of great reasons to eat locally produced food. Perhaps the most noticeable is that the food looks and tastes better, as it tends to be fresher than food that’s had to travel great distances to reach you. That travel has a cost beyond reduced taste. The average American meal includes ingredients from five foreign countries, and even domestically grown produce travels an average of 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate. The smog-forming emissions from produce imported to California are equivalent to the emissions from 1.5 million cars. Keeping it local also means your food spending is reinvested into your local economy. Curious about other benefits of eating locally?

localfoods.about.com/od/finduselocalfoods/tp/5-Reasons-to-Eat-Local-Foods.htm

Two great ways to get started are to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program

www.igrowsonoma.org/sites/default/files/u70/
Community_Supported_Agriculture_7_1_10.pdf

or to shop your Farmers’ Market

www.sonoma-county.org/agcomm/farmers_mkts.htm

To find a Farmers’ Market or CSA outside of Sonoma County, click here

www.localharvest.org/

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Empowered Actions

9. Drive less.

Try a bike- or walk-only day Biking or walking are slower forms of transit that enable you to notice your surroundings more and feel a greater sense of connection with your community and neighbors. The benefits are numerous, starting with: more exercise for you, less pollution and congestion in your town and on the streets. Here’s an informative blog post on the subject by one teen activist

smallimpactteen.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-benefits-of-driving-less.html

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Empowered Actions

10. Practice Meatless Mondays.

A diet heavy in animal proteins is tough on your body and on the environment. The Meatless Monday campaign encourages us to commit to a weekly day of enjoying alternate protein sources. The vast majority of animals raised for consumption are factory farmed, producing pollution from concentrated waste and requiring frequent antibiotics due to increased rates of animal illness. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that if all Americans eliminated just one quarter-pound serving of factory-farmed beef a week, the reduction in global warming gas emissions would be the equivalent of taking four to six million cars off the road.

You’ll find lots of tempting recipes in Ceres’ Nourishing Connections Cookbook, or on the Meatless Monday Pinterest boards

http://www.pinterest.com/meatlessmonday/

www.meatlessmonday.com

For more on the health and environment benefits click here

www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/why-meatless/

This website

shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-carbon-footprint-diet

compares the carbon impact of 5 different diets.

Or, watch this short video for more information

hwww.humanesociety.org/issues/eating/facts/meatless_mondays.html