I made a choice to look for tools that I could use to “go green” such as checklist or monitoring programs. It makes me feel good that I will be taking part in “going green” starting today April 22, 2009.

So the hunt started and I found many resources but I’m only going to share a few with you. The top ones are shown below. If you know of any that are not on my list, please feel free to leave a comment with a link to those resources. Here’s to success in going green.

• Helping Your Family Go Green
• Martha Stewart – Going Green Checklist: 101 Ways to Get Started (PDF)
• Keetsa – You solution for going green in your bedroom
• Helping Your Family Go Green Checklist
• Earth911.com for Businesses website & the checklist

This is just a short list but I’m continuing to look for resources. Please feel free to post a comment with links to going green resources that may not be listed.

I took a little bit of a break during my 21 days to Healthy Living because I’m in the process of moving. But I do want to start back sharing how I’m developing my exercise habits during this time. I’ve shared how I am checking out Zumba and I’m loving it.

Another exercise that I added to my list is the slider. After talking ot my personal trainer, she said that it would be a great idea to add the slider because of the lateral movements I get to do during workout. I’ve been really excited to see my progress. I can tell that my choise to start-up with my healthy living program was a great idea.

Have you started your healthy living program? Do you have insight about a healthy living program to share with others? Please feel free to share.

Today’s Tip:

• Latara Ham-Ying: great stir-fry recipe

Baby Spinach and Chickpea Stir Fry

• 2 (14 ounce) cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 1 (14 ounce) can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 small red chilli, seeded and finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the oil in a  wok and add the cumin and onions, stir fry for approximately 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and chilli and stir fry a further 2 minutes.  Now add the chickpeas and tomatoes.  Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the spinach 1 minute before removing from heat and stir through.  Serve with rice or noodles.  

About the co-contributor:

I am LaTara Ham-Ying, your nature friendly scribe. I have always loved writing and I enjoy making words come to life. Over my 26 year writing journey I have developed curriculum, edited and published magazines and newsletters, taught creative writing courses, wrote a devotional for women, created compelling copy, gave words to a face, audio scripting, and more. As an expert in the field of natural health and living as well as vegan cooking and meal preparation, I have written articles, reports, and sales pages that encourage people to take action. My website is The Natural Writer

Tip 9: Track your eating habits. Keep a notebook, journal or even a blog that of what you are eating, when you are eating, and why you are eating. Are you eating because you are hungry? Or is it emotional? Are you at the computer working? Or are you at the table? You will be amazed at what you learn.

Mediterranean Vegetable Bake

• 3 red onions, sliced
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 eggplant, sliced
• 4 zucchinis, sliced
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into quarters
• 1 mozzarella cheese alternative (sliced or shredded)
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• Handful of fresh chopped basil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Slice the eggplant, place in a bowl and generously sprinkle with salt. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and gently sauté onions for approximately 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and sauté a further 2 minutes. Stir in the oregano and mix through. Set aside.

Place the onion and garlic mixture into a non-stick baking try (include any oil too). Now rinse the eggplant and pat dry. Arrange the eggplant slices, zucchini, pepper and mozzarella cheese alternative over the onion mixture. Alternate for a colourful and interesting dish.  Now season with a little pepper if desired and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour. Serve with fresh chopped basil sprinkled on top.

About the co-contributor:

I am LaTara Ham-Ying, your nature friendly scribe. I have always loved writing and I enjoy making words come to life. Over my 26 year writing journey I have developed curriculum, edited and published magazines and newsletters, taught creative writing courses, wrote a devotional for women, created compelling copy, gave words to a face, audio scripting, and more. As an expert in the field of natural health and living as well as vegan cooking and meal preparation, I have written articles, reports, and sales pages that encourage people to take action. My website is The Natural Writer

Tools and resources are good for your healthy living program because they help you stay on course as you obtain your goals. Realizing that I am not the expert about all the tools and resources available for use, I will share that I have been given some really great suggestions that have helped me during my transition to healthier living.

Case in point, Latara Ham-Ying, who is one of my co-contributors, has been providing excellent resource information about recipes that are not only healthy for you but are fairly easy to create. Heather Moreno, another co-contributor, gave me great advice for alternative ways to workort for times when the knee I injured is in pain. These types of resources have been very helpful to me as I transition to a healthier “me”.

The tools that I’m using during my transition are basis in nature. I wear a pedometer every day to measure the number of steps I walk and how far I walk. When I workout, I have a heart monitor that I use to make sure that I keep abreast of what’s going on with my heart. Since I am a very busy person, I have some in home exercise eqiupment that I use so that I will be able to workout. An additional tool that I use are exercise video such as Zumba that are not only fun but also teaches me new dance moves.

What are some of the resources that you have or tools that you use as you are transitioning to a healthier living? Please feel free to share.

Today’s Tip:

• Latara Ham-Ying: Healthy Living: Resource for Healthy Living

Tip 8: While you may not want to be a vegan or eat raw foods, reading magazines and books in these niches can only help you learn more about being a healthier you.

Couscous and Guacamole Wrap

For the couscous:

• 1 cup dried couscous, cooked according to package instructions
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
• 6 spring onions, finely sliced
• ½ cucumber, finely diced
• 1 tomato, finely diced
• ½ red pepper, finely diced
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 whole wheat tortillas to serve

For the guacamole:

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and stoned
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ red chili, seeded and finely sliced

Place the cooked couscous in a bowl and add all couscous ingredients.  Mix together well.  Chill for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile make the guacamole.  Do this immediately before serving or guacamole will brown (although the lemon juice does help prevent this a little).  Place the avocado in a bowl and add the lemon juice and chilli.  Mash with a fork until smooth and season with salt and pepper if desired. 

Warm the tortillas in a hot oven for 2 minutes or in a non-stick pan (one minute on each side).  Divide the couscous mixture into the tortillas and top with the guacamole.  Add a dollop of sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt.  Roll up the wrap and enjoy. 

About the co-contributor:

I am LaTara Ham-Ying, your nature friendly scribe. I have always loved writing and I enjoy making words come to life. Over my 26 year writing journey I have developed curriculum, edited and published magazines and newsletters, taught creative writing courses, wrote a devotional for women, created compelling copy, gave words to a face, audio scripting, and more. As an expert in the field of natural health and living as well as vegan cooking and meal preparation, I have written articles, reports, and sales pages that encourage people to take action. My website is The Natural Writer

My focus today is how to keep yourself encouraged to accomplish your goals of healthy living. It was hard to get into writing my blog post today because I’ve been business all day yet I felt that it was important to blog about my experiences today.

In the process of changing my habits in the health arena, I’ve found that keeping encourged is very important to accomplishing my goals for healthy living. Especially after I had a weekend where I had a boo-boo and slipped in my new eating habits. Yet I’m finding it rewarding to stick to my new healthy living goals as I see results such as my clothes becoming looser.

It would be great to hear how you have dealt with slips when you are trying to stick to your living healthy plan. Please feel free to share your experiences.

Today’s Tip comes from Latara Ham-Ying:

Tip 7: One of the first things you need to come to grips with in changing your eating habits is to realize that you are not perfect. You may fall off the wagon but don’t let it stop you from getting up and going forward with your goals for healthy eating.

One of the things that’s very healthy when trying to form new good habits is to occasionally gauge yourself. So today’s focus will be on determining how things are going and what my plans are for the upcoming week. I’m excited that during the past week I have made really great choices in regard to healthy eating and setting up my program.

In setting up my program, I was able to determine the baseline for some of the areas that are being affected by my healthy living program. I’m still creating the baseline for my exercise program but I’m done one thing and that’s monitored my steps and have a good idea what my daily goal will be.

During the upcoming week, I plan to solidy my exercise program with different activities such as Yoga, Zumba and other types of workout routines. I want to determine what works best for me and what will work into my plan for healthy living.

Today’s co-contributor is Latara Ham-Ying and she shares a great recipe.

“So your mind thinks, that is want you will do” is a powerful statement when you think about it. LOL, yes pun was intented. Today I want to share about the importance of dealing with a healthy mindset because you have to retrain your mind to think positive thoughts about healthy living continuously in order to be successful in making good habits.

A simple example of me doing this is when I go to a fast food place, I have the choice to get french fries with my meal of chicken strips or a side salad. I had to retrain my brain to choose the side salad over the french fries in favor of healthly living. Yes, I do also alternate between this mean and an Asian salad (LOVE THIS SALAD). Another choice I made was in getting plenty of rest so that I would be refreshed for the next day means that I have to go to bed at a decent hour so that I can get at least six hours minimum of rest. I’m still working on my mindset about exercise but it is picking up speed slowly.

How have you been dealing with creating a healthy mindset during your 21 days to sustaining a good habit of healthy living? Please feel free to share your experience or advice.

Today’s tip:

• Latara Ham-Ying: Your mind + Your Eating = Healthy Living

Tip 5: To help you maintain a healthy mindset with food, change the way you look at. Most of us live to eat when it should be the other way around – we need to eat to live.

Fruit sorbets are a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth.

You can make this sorbet with any of your favorite fruits.  Sliced strawberries, peaches, kiwi, bananas and mangos work well but really you can use just about any fruit of your choice.

Homemade Fruit Sorbet

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh fruit

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1 pinchsalt

sugar to taste

Directions: Spread sliced fruit in one layer on a baking sheet. Freeze, uncovered, until frozen solid.  Once the fruit is frozen, let thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Place in a blender with the orange juice and process until smooth.  Add a small pinch of salt and a little

About the Author:

I am LaTara Ham-Ying, your nature friendly scribe. I have always loved writing and I enjoy making words come to life. Over my 26 year writing journey I have developed curriculum, edited and published magazines and newsletters, taught creative writing courses, wrote a devotional for women, created compelling copy, gave words to a face, audio scripting, and more. As an expert in the field of natural health and living as well as vegan cooking and meal preparation, I have written articles, reports, and sales pages that encourage people to take action. My website is The Natural Writer