2018 - Our Daily Green

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Why you need prebiotics with your probiotic

As the Daily Green family ages, we have begun to explore dietary supplements. While we are no scientists, we can offer anecdotal evidence of our experiments. And we are extremely pleased with the results.

At the beginning of the summer, Our Daily Green had the opportunity to partner with Vibranelle and Nutrivee to test the probiotic and prebiotic supplements.

While many folks have heard about the benefits of probiotics, many are not familiar with the way the benefits improve when taken with a prebiotic. We were among that group and wish to share all that we've learned.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that aid in digestion and help balance the good and bad bacteria that is naturally present in our digestive system. Prebiotics help as they serve as the food for the probiotics, helping them function more successfully.

According to the Mayo Clinic,  "Probiotics are foods or supplements that contain live microorganisms intended to maintain or improve the "good" bacteria (normal microflora) in the body. Prebiotics are foods (typically high-fiber foods) that act as food for human microflora. Prebiotics are used with the intention of improving the balance of these microorganisms."

For the past month, we have been using the pro and prebiotic supplements that Vibranelle and Nutrivee provided. Anecdotally, we absolutely noted a difference in our digestion issues on the days we took the supplements versus the days we did not. Based on our evidence, it is a good idea to take a pre and probiotic to aid your digestion.

Much of this may be considered too much information (TMI) but regularity matters and this seems to be a piece of the puzzle. To that measure, we toast the usage of pro and prebiotic supplements and thank the Vibranelle and Nutrivee companies for giving us the opportunity to test them out. 








Friday, March 2, 2018

Generations of Green

Many of Our Daily Green's readers have wondered how my personal love of green living and organic eating started. I always joke that I didn't have much choice. I grew up on an organic produce farm in the 1970s. (photo below -- pre-digital perfection in photography)

We thought it would be fun to share one of Mama Green's life lessons and I asked her to write up a blog post. Without further ado, I proudly present my new guest columnist, Mama Green, aka Carol Perzy, who runs a small floral shop aptly named Greenfield Gardens, in Litchfield, OH, in the same location since 1971. She will be periodically sharing her years of wisdom and enthusiasm here on Our Daily Green. Please give her a warm welcome!

(There is very little editorial work here, I did tone down her writing enthusiasm of multiple !!!exclamation points!!!, CAPS, penchant for bolding, ~tildes~, underlining and ...ellipses... a wee bit. It hurts the journalism side of my education, although in my mind's eye it helps me hear her passion for these topics.)

Litchfield Ohio Florists
1976 -- the article was bigger than my scanner


The GREENFIELD Thumb


It’s early March and time to start my Garden Seedlings. My GREEN thumb is throbbing. I have been able to placate the thumb all winter long. I am a “GARBAGE GARDENER”. As an environmentalist, I am concerned with waste.

A sensible way to deal with trash: “Don’t throw it~ Grow it !”

There are a number of vegetables that can be re-grown to produce a second-time around crop. Many of us have started sweet potato vines. Simply suspend a potato with toothpicks in a glass of water and let it grow. If you plant a garden, the shoots may be removed to start new growth. Or simply enjoy a trailing vine in your kitchen window.

Some of the easiest plants to re-grow: The base of a bunch of celery or romaine lettuce placed in a shallow dish will show green growth in a few days. Use the snips or plant after the roots show. Carrots, turnips, beets and scallions can produce eatable greens in a similar way. Leave an inch of the vegetables, set in water and watch them grow. Add the greens to salad, stir fry, or smoothies.  

If you choose to dispose of scraps... 

COMPOST THEM !
            “GARBAGE IN~ GARDENS OUT” and improve your soil. 

An easy and healthy way to imitate fresh-from the garden produce is sprouting. The health benefits of sprouts make up quite an impressive list, and they include the ability to improve the digestive process, boost the metabolism, increase enzymatic activity throughout the body, prevent anemia, aid in weight loss, lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, prevent neural tube defects in infants, protect against cancer, boost skin health, improve vision, support the immune system, and increase usable energy reserves.


2018
WOW~ and it is SO easy! All you need is a clean jar, some untreated seeds (organic if you can) water and a screened lid, sprouting top or just cheesecloth & a rubber band. Soak your seeds in warm water overnight. Rinse and set aside. Rinse (do not soak) each day until the desired length is achieved. They can be eaten at any stage. To stop the growth, cap and refrigerate for days.

I sometimes let my radishes go until a red tip and green tops show. YUMMY on a goat cheese wheat toast. Favorite sprouts include Mung beans, used in Chinese cooking, alfalfa, broccoli, radish, peas almost any seed that produces a plant. Grains can also be sprouted. Wheat berries make wonderful sprouted wheat bread. Sunflowers are fun to eat.

When all else fails, satisfy you GREEN THUMB by browsing the many colorful seed catalogs and allow yourself a “DROOL or TWO” as we wait for the first harbingers’ of Spring. THINK SUNSHINE!


Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Stop using plastic wrap! (product review Orblue Silicone Stretch Lids)

If there is anything in the kitchen more wasteful than covering a dish or wrapping food in plastic wrap, we cannot imagine what it is. Our Daily Green is committed to reducing the use of plastic, and hoping to altogether eliminate it in our homes where possible.

We were delighted to discover Orblue Silicone Stretch Lids in a list of must have green products. We contacted the company and said we'd like to try them out, and if we liked them we would tell the world!

Now we're telling the world!  Because these things are COOL! Photos below are from my own home. We stretched and tested them on containers of all shapes and sizes. The large stretch lids go up to 11 inches, so we put that to the test.

Honestly, it was not easy to stretch the lid that much, and it took a bit to keep it in place. We had to wrestle with the 11 inch bowl. But we won! Once we got it in place, it handily protected our salad until we were ready to add the dressing. The lids also fit odd sized bowls, including the 9" square baking dish and an oval planter that we just chose to see if it worked.

One lucky reader will receive a code for a set of lids. Please comment below for a chance to win. Winner will be chosen at random from the comments on March 1, 2018, midnight EST.  If you'd rather not wait to win, we've also included codes to order them instantly.


Silicone Stretch Lids LARGE 4-pack  Silicone Stretch Lids SMALL 6-pack



Goodbye to plastic wrap














We have a winner! Congratulations, Kathi! We will send you the info to order your free set of lids!