Blue Zone Basics

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Simple Changes

The community in which I live is set to become Canada’s first city to adopt the Blue Zone lifestyle and I couldn’t be more excited! The principles behind this movement have been around for a while. I actually wrote about it back in April 2014 in How to Live to 100 and Stay Healthy.

If you haven’t heard about Blue Zone or aren’t sure what it is, here are a few basics:

What are Blue Zones?

  • A term to describe various regions of the world where people live active, healthy and much longer lives (more).

Why is it called Blue Zone?

  • During research, regions with the highest concentration of centenarians were (literally) circled on a map with a blue marker and then referred to as “Blue Zones” (more).

What is a Blue Zone lifestyle?

There are nine healthy lifestyle habits practiced by active, healthy, long-lived people:

  1. Move more by adding moderate, regular physical activities throughout your day (walk everywhere, garden, hike, etc.).

  2. Have a life purpose, something to live for beyond work.

  3. Slow down at times by adding stress-free routines into your daily life (meditate, pray, nap, happy hour).

  4. Eat (a lot) more plants and vegetables and lower protein intake (beans, whole grains and garden vegetables). If you do eat animal protein, keep your portion to the size of a deck of cards.

  5. Eat in moderation by practicing portion control (eat until you’re no longer hungry, rather than until you’re full).

  6. Drink alcohol moderately limiting to one or two glasses a day, preferably with friends and food.

  7. Incorporate a regular spiritual or religious community into your life. The choice of denomination doesn’t matter.

  8. Join a social circle or build a group of friends for companionship and to support each other.

  9. Make loved ones a priority by spending time with your children, spouse and elders. Show them your love.

If you already incorporate Blue Zone habits in your life or this inspires you to make a few simple changes towards a healthier and happier lifestyle, I’d love to hear about it!

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Buying Bulk Without Plastic

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Simple Changes

I’m continuing on my mission to eliminate single use plastic in my life.  One area that has stumped me until fairly recently was buying in bulk.

Bulk Spices from Community Natural Foods

A few months ago I discovered that Community Natural Foods allows people to use their own jars for bulk items. You simply bring the empty jar to customer service or any cashier to have it initially weighed (they write the weight on the lid). You can then go ahead and fill it and check out, where it will be weighed again. Since we buy a lot of our organic spices from this health food store, it works really well for us. They also accept cloth bags for bulk and encourage you to bring your own containers to their cafe. Read more in BYOC – Bring Your Own Container.

I recently noticed an ad for Bulk Barn Foods promoting Plastic Free July, offering 20% off all purchases made with reusable containers or cloth bags between July 11 and 24. They even have a Reusable Container Program where you can learn more. Good for them! I don’t typically go to Bulk Barn but I think I will check them out now.

It’s time that all grocery stores make the switch to offer plastic free alternatives. If you agree, mention this to your local store manager. I know I certainly will.

Filed under: Earth | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

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