Don't take life too seriously

How are you doing with your new Paleo habits? Are you steadily eating away at that elephant? Remember you need to keep reminding yourself until it becomes automatic.

Here's your last Lifestyle habit. (Yes!)

When you feel comfortable, then it's time to work on the next step. But not before.  Don't rush this. Remember Kaizen is about changing your life one tiny step at a time.

You should work on these habits only once all the 10 easy steps to becoming a Permanent Paleo Eater  are an automatic part of your everyday life.  Don't try to do everything at once or you will feel overwhelmed.

Check the list below. If you are still working on some of these habits then keep doing that until you no longer need to think about them.  Only then are you ready to move on.  Nobody is rushing you and nobody is keeping track.  This is YOUR plan and you decide when you're ready.

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step"

. .... then another, and another.... Take your time, do it right, and you'll build a solid base for a lifetime of easy and healthy Paleo living.

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I have incorporated the 10 steps to permanent Paleo eating into my life

1. I make sure I have an available source of pure water, and carry a water bottle with me when I go out
2. I get plenty of fresh air and oxygen, and I do breathing exercises to strengthen my lungs
3. I spend some time out in the sun each day without sunscreen
4. I spend my evenings calmly and get a good night's sleep
5. I have found the right supplements that work for me and I make sure to take them daily
6. I have a regular exercise program and move my body every day
7. I have a list of Simple Pleasures and I enjoy at least one every day
8. I enjoy some time alone every day
9. I make time for friends, family and loved ones

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Habit # 10 :  I don't take life too seriously

This is the last life habit, and in a lot of ways the hardest one, but also the most important.  Oscar Wilde said "Life is too important to be taken seriously." and most intelligent thinking people tend to agree with him.

Living healthy is important.  Eating healthy is even more important.  And making the most of your life is definitely the most important thing of all, but that might not mean what you think it means.

A lot of people treat life like some kind of game or race which they have to win.  It's all about having the most money, the most toys, and the most Facebook friends.  But when you think about it, isn't that all a pretty sad way to live? After all, why is it that your really want those things?  Doesn't it all boil down to Happiness and Love?

Yes, I know we all like nice clothes and luxury cars and beautiful homes.  And there is nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't let getting these things become too important.

For most of us, at the end of the day, it's the challenges we've overcome, the way we've made the best use of our talents, the people who we love and who love us, and how we have given back to make the world a better place, that really give us the most value and make our lives meaningful.

And like many self-help gurus are fond of telling us, it really is all about the journey.  I believe life is full of lessons we have to learn, but I also believe that it's meant to be enjoyed.  There are lots of ways to do things, so why not choose the most enjoyable way?  While you're working why not try to have fun as well?



I think it's all about getting your priorities straight and my oldest son has always been a perfect example of that for me.  He, like many people, has always wanted to travel.  But unlike most, he has always followed his dream.  When he finished school, instead of immediately tying himself down with a 9 to 5 job like many of his friends, he looked for work that would give him the leeway to travel, and even though he worked hard and did without many of the things others had, he spent part of every year travelling to places others only dream about.

He has benefited tremendously from these experiences, and while he now has taken on more work responsibilities, he continues to make sure his lifestyle is one that he loves. He has found that happy balance between work and play that makes his life a constant source of inspiration.  Isn't that the ideal way to live?

To often we don't spend enough time appreciating the wonders of the world around us. Life can be difficult and we can end up being way too serious about it.  And too dogmatic about how we think things should be. We forget that there are many ways and many roads and they will all eventually lead us to the same place.

So now that I've given you all the rules for eating and living, it's time to remind you that rules are made to be broken.  Live responsibly and do the best you can, but allow yourself some leeway to be human.  Throw away the rule book sometimes and just enjoy life.  Do your best, but every once in a while allow yourself to let loose and just do what you want to do.

I'm sure when Mark Sisson came up with the 80/20 rule in the Primal Blueprint, this is what he had in mind.  He's a lifestyle guru for many, but he also enjoys his life.  And I'm sure he means for all of us to do the same. As he is fond of saying :

 "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

Certainly I am just as guilty of forgetting this as anyone else.  One particularly stressful year I really was trying to do too much and putting too much emphasis on the wrong things. My usual philosophy in life is "Live and let live."  I don't believe in trying to convert anyone. I believe that example is the best way to teach anything, and everyone has a right to choose their own behaviour and beliefs.  However when it comes to my children I am often guilty of forget that rule.

One of my many projects was a crusade to improve my youngest son's eating habits and I was pretty relentless.  Now I'm not talking about a young child here.  My son was in his early twenties and living a responsible life away from home. I just felt that he could do better.

Even though he's a good kid and does at least listen to my advice before ignoring it, I'm sure he found the constant lectures very (to put it politely) tiresome.  He has always had a great sense of humour when it comes to looking at life, and after several months of being badgered by me, he gave me this birthday card. It now has a permanent place on my office bulletin board to remind me not to take life too seriously.

As any parent knows, sometimes your children are your biggest teachers.

“Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself.”   - George Bernard Shaw

Vegetables : Carrots

Here's an interesting fact.  Carrots are related to that lacy wildflower found along most eastern highways - Queen Anne's lace.  They now come in many shapes and sizes and there is a variety available for any soil and any growing season.

Health Benefits

Most people, even those who profess to hate vegetables, usually like carrots.  This is a good thing because carrots have a great many health benefits, some of which are :

• Are rich in vitamin A which can help improve your eyesight
• Are one of the main fighters and preventers of cancer, especially lung cancer
• Are low in calories so they make a great food for dieters and healthy snacks for children
• Contain a number of vitamins, minerals and other useful elements that help prevent stroke and heart attack
• Great for reducing blood sugar so often recommended to diabetics
• Using carrot juice as a tonic can help with dry skin, uneven skin tone, blemishes and acne
• Eating a carrot when you don't have a toothbrush handy will clean your teeth
• Regular consumption of carrots will help make your hair and nails stronger and induce more growth
• Are a great source of antioxidants and will help you age gracefully

There is really only one warning when it comes to carrots and that is to not overdo it.  Unfortunately some people seem to think that if a little of something is good, a lot is better - and this is very often NOT true.  Carrot juice is a good case in point.  Have a glass a few times a week can be a great tonic.  Having several glasses on a daily basis can actually turn your skin orange - and that's no joke.

How to grow Carrots

Spacing : In a Square Foot garden, you can plant 4 rows of 4 in one 12 inch square.

Since carrots are root vegetables, the most important consideration is your soil.  If you want to grow the long thin variety you have to have deep and loose friable soil.  If you are gardening in clay, the short and stubby variety are the best kind for you to choose if you want to have a successful crop.

Planting can be a bit of a pain because the seeds are so small.  You can now buy pelleted seeds or seeds on a tape which make this a bit easier.  Plant 2 or 3 seeds in each hole just in case some don't germinate, and then thin and keep the best plant that comes up.

Carrots are pretty easy to grow and don't tend to be attacked by many pests or diseases. They do require a lot of water so make sure the ground is always wet - but not soaked - or your carrots might crack from over-rapid growth.

Here are a couple of videos on how to grow carrots.

 And if you have very clay soil, you might want to try this method of growing carrots in a bucket.

How to use Carrots

Keeping a regular supply in your fridge and chomping on a raw carrot whenever you want a snack is the easiest as well as a tasty way to use carrots and reap all the benefits.

You can also use them in stir-frys and in soups,

 in salads and coleslaw,

as well as eating them mashed or roasted.

Because they are one of the sweeter vegetables, carrots are frequently used in baking as well. Having a healthy protein muffin made with carrots and walnuts for breakfast is a nice treat.

Since carrots are used in many dishes - such as this Burgundy beef - you are not likely to run out of ideas.  And because carrots will keep nicely in a cold place for many weeks if not months, they are a great staples to have on hand.

Carrots have many benefits, but like most things in life, you don't want to be extreme in your love for carrots.

Carrot juice, as mentioned above, can be a great tonic, but you don't want to indulge in this too often.  In some instances when eating solid food is problematic, having a raw juice instead is a great way to get all the benefits, but in the long run it's a lot healthier to eat your carrots whole.  You not only get the benefit of all the fibre but you also don't run the risk of getting too much sugar in your system and spiking your insulin.

Finally, here is a great idea for a kid-friendly summer snack, or even as a centrepiece for a summer party.  Found on  tasteandtellblog.com , these "carrot patch treats" are easy to make.  Just put paper cups with dip into tiny clay pots, stick in some baby carrots, and top with a sprig of parsley.  Alternatively you could use your own baby carrots from your own garden with the tops trimmed.

The inspirational garden today comes from gapphotos.com .  Here are leeks and carrots growing in a kitchen garden.

"Almost any garden, if you see it at just the right moment, can be confused with paradise."

                                                                                                                            - Henry Mitchell

Square Foot Gardening - Mulching and Watering

Here is the next instalment in my series on Square Foot Gardening.  If you've missed the other posts you can read them here :

Introduction to Square Foot Gardening

Square Foot Gardening - Planning

Square Foot Gardening - Building Beds

Square Foot Gardening - Soil Mix

Square Foot Gardening - Planting

Square Foot Gardening - Structures

Square Foot Gardening - Wheelchair Gardens

Square Foot Gardening - as a Home Business

And if you would like to buy the Square Foot Gardening book, it's available here.

Today I'm covering two topics - Mulching and Watering.  Since one very much has to do with the other I think both should be covered together.

Mulching

Mulch is like a protective blanket for your garden.  It serves a dual purpose really.  One, if you create a deep enough layer, it will keep weeds from sprouting in your garden and save you a lot of hours of work.  Two, mulch will help keep your garden soil moist even in the hottest weather.

As for what kind of mulch to use - there are many options.  At a garden centre the most common mulch is some kind of bark, and prices vary quite a bit depending on what wood is used.  The look of the mulch will vary as well because of the colour of the wood.  This kind of mulch can be ordered by the truck full for large gardens, but you can also buy bags of it in most garden centres and for a small square foot garden, a couple of bags is probably all you will need.

If you don't want to put out the money for mulch, there are cheaper alternatives though they do require a bit of work.  Newspaper and even cardboard can be very effective, and if you still have your daily paper delivered or have access to a lot of old newspapers this could be a great solution for you.  

You do however need to weight the paper down otherwise the first really good gust of wind will create a mess all over your garden.  A lot of people use compost to cover their newspaper, thereby giving their garden extra fertilizer at the same time.

Another good solution is to use grass clippings which most people have in abundance.  Just make sure to have a really thick layer of newspaper under the clippings which will prevent any weed seeds from germinating, and if you have your lawn sprayed with chemical fertilizer or weed killer then this solution isn't for you.

Another great mulch solution is dark plastic which will not only keep the earth moist but will also keep it warm - something that plants like tomatoes especially will love.  Again you need to make sure you weight it down somehow.  In the example above it was staples to the sides of the garden bed which works well.  Then all you need to do is punch holes where you want to plant.

everydayfoodstorage.net

How to water

When it comes to actually watering your garden here is what The Square Foot Gardening book recommends :

"Since your garden is one fifth (or 20 percent) the size of a conventional garden, you've automatically eliminated 80 percent of your watering and space requirements.  The 20 percent that's left can be taken care of with a time-tested method that is easy, quick, and compatible with good plant growth - hand dipping from the water pail !"

This is made easier if you have also planted your plants the way they recommend - in a "slight saucer depression" as illustrated in this drawing I made in one of my gardening notebooks.  This way the water will go exactly where it's needed - directly to the roots of the plant.  It's also a great way to conserve water, but unless you have a pretty small garden, this method could take more time than you are willing to spend, so I think it's worth exploring some other ways.

You can just water your garden with a hose, and having a water wand attachment that allows you to use a fine spray isn't a bad idea. In fact while your seeds are germinating I think it's probably ideal.  But once your plants are larger you have to be careful because you are watering the leaves not so much the ground with this method and there is more of a danger of fungus attacking wet plants.

Watering wands come in many different price ranges.  Here are just a few examples.
Orbit 18-Inch 9-Pattern Turret Wand Spray Nozzle 58291
Dramm 12501 Colormark Premium Rain Watering Wand 30-Inch Length with 8-Inch Foam Grip, Blue Dramm 12368 Classic Rain Watering Wand 16-Inch Length with 8-Inch Foam Grip, Silver

mrsfrisbieshouse.wordpress.com

Watering systems are of course ideal if you can afford them, but that's a topic for another post.  Using a sprinkler hose is a good compromise between buying an expensive system and watering by hand.

A sprinkler or soaker hose is just a length of hose that has small holes punched into it.  This allows the water to slowly trickle out into your bed.  Over time this will soak your garden pretty thoroughly. The illustration above allows you to see how the water seeps out, though I wouldn't set it up this way myself because you run the same danger of  ending up with wet plants with this layout as you would watering with a hose.

Here are a couple of examples of sprinkler hoses that you can buy at a very reasonable price. 

Andrews 50-Foot 2 Tube Sprinkler Hose 10-12348 

Flexon 50-Foot Three Tube Sprinkler Hose FS50

www.lthforum.com

In the above layout you can see how a soaker hose can be permanently attached to the walls of your square foot garden, allowing you to attach the hose when you want to water.  And as you can see with the planted version, the plants will slowly grow up over the hose so the water will end up where it's needed - at the roots.

Here is another view of the soaker hose in action.  You can see that the water is ending up exactly where it is needed.

How much to water

It isn't really enough just to have a watering system in place, you also need to know how much to water, and this very much depends upon the kind of soil you are working with.  There are basically three types of soil and each of them have different requirements.  

Clay soil has a very fine, tightly bound structure and water drains through it very slowly.  You have to apply a lot of water before the moisture will sink in to any useable depth and you have to water slowly or it will just run off the surface.  If you are growing plants in clay soil you need to water very slowly for a long period of time, so for you using a soaker hose is probably a good solution.  Especially since clay soil also dries out very slowly so you won't need to water as frequently.

Sandy soil is just the opposite.  It drains so fast you need to water quite frequently, but when you do water you don't need to water as much or as long for your earth to get thoroughly soaked. 

Loamy soil is the happy medium, and if you have built up your beds using a good soil mix this is what you hopefully have.  

In the Square Foot Gardening book, Mel has a chart of how much to water for each type of soil, but he also states that really there are so many variables involved that it's impossible to tell anyone exactly how much to water.  The weather conditions, the type of plants your growing, as well as the type of soil you have will all affect how much you need to water.  As Mell says :

"The best approach is to make sure your soil contains plenty of organic matter, and to observe your garden carefully and water when your plants need it, not just when this book or any other one tells you to."

Using warm water

Also recommended in The Square Foot Gardener is to water your garden with warm water as cold water puts your plants into shock and they temporarily stop growing.  Mel recommends leaving buckets of water out in the sun and then using those when you hand water.  

Leaving buckets of water actually by your garden is another good tip for when you have warm days during the spring but the nights are still cold.  Plants like tomatoes don't like any cold weather.  If you put your water buckets by these plants, they will warm during the day and then at night release their heat helping to keep your plants warm.

If you use a hose system, you really can't do too much other than to leave your hose out in the sun while it's still full of water.  This will help for at least the first few minutes of watering.

Again, for more information, you can buy the Square Foot Gardening book here.

Continuing with my watering theme, in today's inspirational garden I'd like to give you a glimse of Monet's garden in Giverny seen through a watering mist. (photo from giverny-impression.com)  This isn't a vegetable garden, but it's a lovely garden image just the same, and shows how beautiful a garden can look, even when wet.

"Almost any garden, if you see it at just the right moment, can be confused with paradise."

                                                                                                                            - Henry Mitchell