52-Week Challenge - Week 21

Happy healthy living everyone!  So, did you figure out your purpose in life last week?  I'm going to tell you - it's not something you can figure out in a day or a week.  Finding your purpose is a continuous process of evaluating and reevaluating your life and it can only be done if you really truly know yourself.   Here's what I know:  I have found that you will feel the most fulfilled when you are allowing yourself to serve God and others.  I have found that if you discover that one special gift that He gave you and use it to help your family, friends, and neighbors you will burn with desire to do it again and again and again.  And it is something that I am still working on. 

I am so very luck that I know what my passion is - I discovered it along the way and it wasn't a big AHA! moment for me.  One day after reading Good to Great I went, "Hmmmm, that is what makes my little light inside burn bright isn't it? Go figure!"  I am so thankful for being blessed with it because it brings so much joy in my life and the lives of others.  But there is a selfish part to me that wants to only keep it to myself and use it to further my life.  And that is not what He intended.  Again, I'm working on it but am getting better and better everyday.  My final thought is if you didn't get far with last week's challenge, keep working at it.  God has given you a special gift, but it is up to you to figure out what He gave you and then use it to glorify Him. 

This week's challenge is something near and dear to my heart - Go Organic. First let's clear things up: in order to be certified organic, a product must undergo a certification process that generally involves a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

• no human sewage sludge fertilizer used in cultivation of plants or feed of animals
• avoidance of synthetic chemical inputs not on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc.), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of biosolids;
• use of farmland that has been free from prohibited synthetic chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
• keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
• maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
• undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

There is a lot of research out there on the pros/cons of organic foods and I'm sure that this isn't the first place you have read about the benefits of organic foods.  But there is a bigger reason why "organically" grown foods can be better for your health - they are grown closer to the way they should be. 

I don't eat organics all the time, and I won't practice this challenge the way the author indended.  However, what we will and already do in our family is eat seasonably grown vegetables available from a "close" source.  The way we do this is by participating in a CSA and frequent a local farmer stand. 

This week, I encourage you to think twice about that apple or corn you are picking up.  Think about how far it had to travel to get to you.  Is it from the other side of the country?  What is the carbon-footprint?  Is there a better locally-sourced alternative?  With the farmer's markets in full swing, it's worth thinking about...  And something we did a lot of thinking about when we were in Korea and drinking ultra-pasturized milk that had a half-life for shelf-life yet the yogurt might be spoiled and the Thanksgiving turkeys showed up in October.  *shudder*   Of course, you could also focus on adding more organics to your diet by focusing on the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15.  Either way, do some research on organic foods and local food sourcing.  I promise, it is some of the best thinking you can do all day. 

Other Resources:


Dirty Dozen:  http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirty-dozen-foods

Clean 15:  http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Save-on-Sustainable-Gallery-44032808

Bountiful Baskets (CSA):  http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

CSA Finder: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Pick Your Own: http://www.pickyourown.org/

The book we're following: http://www.amazon.com/52-Small-Changes-Healthier-ebook/dp/B0056J4ER0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325722556&sr=1-1

Jenn's blog: http://thewoogies.blogspot.com/search/label/52%20Small%20Changes