30th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference 2014
Wow, what an amazing day. I have cultivated so much knowledge about the ecological community in this one day than I would have thought possible. One of my resolutions this year was to volunteer once a month, so for March I decided to volunteer at the GreenThumb GrowTogether conference. It felt so good to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about our environment and share the same passion for healthy organic living.
The conference started out with breakfast and then everyone branched off into the different workshops and classes. The first class I attended was called The Healing Kitchen taught by Eco Chef Sharon McGrail. I could have stayed and chatted with Sharon for hours - she has such an abundant knowledge about the medicinal qualities of food and the eco industry as a whole. I am all for natural and holistic healing methods, so you won't see me poppin' advils for headaches.
The goal is to "eat closer to the Earth", as Sharon explained. I realize it is critical to increase the nutrient and mineral density in our diet and to adopt healthy habits to prolong our lives. There are key products and ingredients we can keep in our kitchens that will optimize our health and at very little cost.
HEALTHY MUST-HAVES (cliff notes version):
1.Coconut Oil - We all know and love this magic. She gave us a list of 101 uses for coconut oil, so I will be sure to share it in a future post. My passion for this industry all began with coconuts….so I could go on and on about how wonderful it is when used topically and internally.
2. Pink Himalayan Salt - I will only use this type of salt when I cook. It contains 80+ trace minerals and has amazing health benefits (detoxifies the body from heavy metals, strengthens bones, helps absorb nutrients….to name a few). Table salts are depleted of all minerals we need and chemically processed with things we do not even want to ingest.
3. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar - I may or may not have just ordered a rather large bottle of this today. Thank you, Vitacost.com. I will devote an entire post to the amazing benefits of using RAW apple cider vinegar.
I have learned so much today and I cannot wait to share it all with you. I am just glowing with so much love for this community and I look forward to volunteer more for these organizations. Thank you, New York Cares, for all of these amazing opportunities!
Now I'm off to spend the rest of this rainy evening in the East Village drinking coffee.
Jules xx
