Change in Plans

 A new change in plans, yet again! Lately I have been feeling really nervous and unsure of "healthy snack week" because I don't think that teenagers will have a positive response to my efforts in eliminating, or at least limiting, their junk food intake. If there's one thing I've learned in the past, it's that it is extremely difficult to make people care about something that they don't normally care about, much less something that I am passionate about. I don't really think that I can stop bad eating habits with one week of awareness- it's more of a lifestyle that people must be accustomed to. Instead, I want to have "healthy snack week" in the lower school only- kids are much more willing to try new things, especially if someone older presents the idea. I think I'll be more successful with younger kids.

This weekend, I plan on purchasing the potatoes in order to plant them next week with the 4th graders. I also need to test my soil, for my own educational purposes, so as to remedy whatever the soil's deficiencies are. I also emailed an organic farmer named Robin Gibson who agreed to come and speak to the elementary students during "healthy snack week" to promote an organic and healthy lifestyle. This week will begin on the 14th of March and end on the 18th. I talked to Mrs. Locke earlier this week to get the "ok" from her and she's on board! To hype the kids up during the week, we'll have a poster contest from 3rd to 5th grade and the class with the best poster, promoting a healthy lifestyle, wins a prize that I have yet to come up with! That's all the progress I've made so far...

Busy Busy

Alas, I have decided to continue composting afterall! I decided that composting is a worthy activity to continue with the 4th grade because there's not many other ways to actively get them involved. I emailed Mrs. Price regarding another grant I should apply for, but haven't received a response yet. I need to do research on that myself. This coming week, I plan to research healthier snacks that I can sell for my healthy snack week. I also need to focus on advertising, which I am slightly nervous about. If there's anything I've learned, it's that it is really hard to get people to care about what you're most passionate about. So, I'm nervous that, despite my best efforts, the students will be apathetic to their health and to my project. I think most teenagers today don't care at all about their diet or their health because what they eat today doesn't directly affect their health. But, it will later, and that's what they need to know.

I also plan, either next week or the next, on taking a soil sample to the Clemson Extention Center, just for my own educational  purposes. Then, either this weekend or next, I will purchase the potatoes that I will be planting by Valentines day. I have also been progressing in my book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. It is a slow read because it is so full of information and it's hard to process it all and to understand everything Pollan talks about. It might take me the rest of the year to finish the book at the pace I'm going. Other than that, my senior project at the moment is static. Until next week!

A New Start!

           As you all know, due to the weather, we have not been in school all week, so there is really nothing new going on with my project. Although, I did email Mrs. Atherton to inquire about the healthy snack week and she was quite enthusiastic about it! She was also very supportive with my idea. She said she would lend me $50 to buy the snacks, but that it would have to be reimbursed, which puts the pressure on me to advertise and do all I can to make the student body enthustiastic and willing to buy these snacks. Although, I am still convinced that I may not need to borrow $50 because I think I can get donations. We shall see. So, that's pretty much all I have accomplished regarding senior project since my last update. I need to send Mrs. Price an email regarding another grant that I want to apply for. I think I definitely need to apply for another grant because I think my project has the potential to get the money! I also want to start reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan because it has everything to do with my project and I want to further educate myself on America's food system. Once I start reading it, I will explain in my blog what it is about and gather the highlights of it. Um, I believe that is all for now. Hopefully I'll have something more exciting to talk about it next week!

New Year, New Plans

            Tis now 2011 and here I am writing my first blog of the new year. Over the holidays, sadly, I did not really keep up with my plants. I watered them a few times, but other than that, they had to fend for themselves. When it began snowing, I completey forgot to cover them, and so I gave up all hope of survival. It turns out that my cabbage survived quite nicely. As for the other vegetables, they looked just as wilty as before the snow. So, no damage done by the snow itself. What can I say? I tried to keep my companions warm... but there was only so much I could do. The good news is that I can always replant. I don't think I"ll replant until later in February if that is what I decide to do. The cold weather is too much of a threat! and I have officially ended the composting. I'm sure you are all wondering what I will be doing with my senior project if I am not composting or focusing on the actual garden right now. Well, no worries, I have a plan! I just finished my new and improved timeline for the remainder of Senior Project. My main goal for the remainder of the year is to make people more aware of what they put into their bodies and how it can affect them. The way I will do this is I will have one week where only healthier snacks are sold during snack time while the junk is completely eliminated. The plan is to see the students' reactions and opinions of the new snacks- whether they purchase it or not and whether they think the new and improved snacks are still tasty. I want to have some sort of visual up at snack time, informing people of what junk food does to their bodies and how much sugar they are consuming with one twinkie... or something along those lines. Then, at the end of the week, I would like to show a viewing of Food Inc. to the whole school, which is what originally inspired my senior project idea. Here is what I want to do in each month:

January:

-quit composting

-talk to Mrs. Atherton about the healthy snack week/ have grocery list ready (call grocery stores for donations! And offer to advertise their products)

-talk to Mrs. Price about another grant I can apply for/apply for it.

-get soil tested to start planting potatoes

-remedy the soil’s deficiencies

-schedule a local farmer to come and talk to the 4^th grade kids, or even chapel perhaps (by the last week of January)

February:

-start planting potatoes (by 1^st week of February)

-plant other plants in raised beds (depends on the weather)

- come up with plan to officially integrate gardening into 4^th grade curriculum (by last week of February)

-have farmer speaker come in (by last week of February)

-email Mrs. Ledbetter about healthy snack week- come up with advertisement- put up posters about it. Anticipation is the key!! (first week of February or earlier)

March:

-viewing of the documentary FoodInc to the entire school and then the healthy snacks experiment for one week eliminating junk food completely and putting signs up around the school making people more aware of what they eat. (end of March)

-pick crops (if they survive the winter- donate them to good causes) (end of March/early April)

April:

-Mix in compost with soil? (I need Mrs. Holbein’s opinion…)

-Uproot left-over plants out of raised beds

-Comprise portfolio of senior project

Cold Weather-Can the plants survive??

        I believe today was my last day of composting with the 4th grade and in the senior commons. I would like to continue, but the bin that I dump it in might overload soon- it's getting pretty full. I am debating whether to continue for a little longer after Christmas. Hmmm... also, it has been so bitterly cold outside, I'm not sure whether my plants will survive... I have been putting on the tarps at nightime so as to keep them warm... or warmer, but there's only so much I can do. I have a bad feeling that they're going to die- they are a little wilty. Maybe I should just let them die and then replant once it gets a little warmer, because I honesty don't see much hope. Hmmm... at least there will be the planting of the potatoes in February. And at least I got to harvest raddishes with the 4th graders last Friday. They were really excited about the whole ordeal and I think they are going to donate them to the Soup Kitchen. Though it's not much produce, it's the experience of growing and harvesting that's really important.
Anyways, now that my research paper is done, next semester I'll have more time to read more about organic food and buying seasonably. I really want to read the Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. He is supposedly the food guru. The good thing about this project is that there are always things I can add to it if something unfortunate, such as the dying of my plants, happens. I can always plant more, continue to compost, read a book about it, etc. Well, that's all for now! Peace out until after Christmas Break! WOOOO!!!

The First Raddish

       Last Sunday, my dad and I covered up the plants because it was going to be really cold that night. We used 2 of our own tarps to cover 2 beds and the last tarp we had to purchase from Lowes. I was rather worried about the well-being of my plants because it was supposed to get below freezing that night. I left my plants covered the next day as well because it was bitterly cold outside. Tuesday, I uncovered them to discover them a little shriveled. But, they perked up again when I checked on them the next day. Yesterday, I went to uncover them only to discover my first raddish! It was actually growing outside of the beds on the actual ground, which I thought was funny. Anyways, so I was curious to see how far along the row of raddishes were inside of the beds and discovered that they are all ready to be harvested! They are all popping above the dirt in anticipation of being picked. So, I brought back that first raddish and showed everyone in my excitement. Mrs. Lummus and Mrs. Zion were especially excited for me. In celebration of my success, I taped the first raddish above the doorway of the Senior Commons. Everyone treated it as mistle toe, except instead of kissing, everyone was hip-bumping. It was a good day.
      Anyways, so on Friday, I am going to take the 4th grade class out to see the garden and help me pick the raddishes. Mrs. Lummus wants to give the produce to the Soup Kitchen as a gift from their class because they are going to volunteer at the Soup Kitchen in January. Even though there are not that many raddishes so as to make a significant difference at the Soup Kitchen, it's the thought that counts. Or I suggested that some of the students may want to take home some of the raddishes. I would like to have a day where we enjoy the vegetables we grow by eating them as a class, but unfortunately, raddishes aren't especially popular with kids. Anyways, the research paper is due tomorrow and I'm excited to get if off my chest. Because I did most of the work in the rough draft, I didn't have to stress over it much this week. I edited it last Saturday and was, for the most part, done with it then. That's about it for now. Until next week!

Artificial Sweetener vs. Sugar

As part of my Senior Project, I decided to write a health article for The Silver Scroll on sugar . Here it is:

Myth: diet soda is better for you than regular soda. Fact: It’s worse.

Think Diet Soda is healthier than regular soda? Think again. I’m sure most of you are wary of all the warnings and risks that everything seems to have these days. If you stand in front of the microwave, such and such might possibly happen to you, which can result in death. If you use electronics, which most everyone does, you have the risk of getting a brain tumor transmitted through the radio-frequency. You are probably thinking, “anything might give me cancer, so why bother trying to avoid the bad stuff?” Well, if you don’t at least attempt to avoid the bad stuff (like artificial sweetener), then, in the long run, something serious might really happen. It obviously has happened to people before- I mean, where do you think they get these “warnings” from? Real life! So, here is the cliché list of potential side-effects from using artificial sweetener that you probably won’t take seriously: loss of vision, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, memory loss, visual impairment, weight gain, increased cancer risk (I know you saw that one coming), and even death.  Sound worth it? I think I’ll take stevia with my coffee please (I’ll get to stevia later).

Asking yourself which is the best sweetener to use is like asking, as Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of Sweet Deception puts it, “which would you rather be hit in the head with, a baseball bat or a golf club?” They are both detrimental to one’s health. Girls, you may think you’re doing yourself a favor by buying the diet soda, but the fact is that diet soda does not help shed the pounds.  Studies have shown that it does exactly the opposite. How? Artificial sweetener stimulates your appetite, making you want to eat more than your metabolism can handle. This has been proven with rats. In an experiment, one group of rats was fed yogurt sweetened with artificial sweetener while another group was fed regular yogurt for 14 days. During this time, the first group’s intake of food drastically increased compared to the second group’s food intake. Yes, this applies to the human body as well. Scientists also discovered that the first group of rats’ body temperatures dramatically decreased, meaning their metabolism slowed down. Artificial sweetener not only causes you to eat more, but it causes your metabolism to slow down, which is a double whammy! 

So, what is the solution? Certainly not to resort back to sugar! Sugar, though not as bad for you as artificial sweeteners, still has its definite downfall. First off, it is addictive. Research studies indicate that “sugar may be similar to morphine and heroin in its ability to increase opioids in your brain that produce pleasure” (Sweet Deception). This explains the diabetes explosion in America over the past ten years- we can’t control our own insatiable cravings! Did you know that Americans, on average, eat an estimated 158 pounds of sugar per year? And sugar consumption rates are climbing higher all the time in the U.S. Obviously, sugar is not the answer to our dilemma. Is there a healthy substitute for sugar? Yes: Stevia. Stevia has no calories, and has been tested and deemed safe for consumption (though, haven’t all sweeteners?). It has no effects on blood sugar levels (in fact, it has been proven to help stabilize blood sugar levels) and is the least processed sweetener out there. Instead of causing diabetes like real sugar does, the stevia plant has been often used as a remedy. The good news is there are no reported side-effects of stevia- it’s 100% safe! It is exceptionally sweeter than sugar, so usage of it should be in very small amounts; a pinch will go a long way. Using stevia does take some practice, but the long-term benefits of leaving sugar and other artificial sweeteners behind make the adjustment worth it. Where to find it? A local health store. Trust me, it’s worth the investment.