Veggie Teens

Earth Day! Do your part and Go Green

Today is Earth Day. Here is a guide to help make your Earth Day the greenest it can be.

• Use reusable lunch bags and containers.
  

• Use refillable water bottles.

• Take canvas bag to the go shopping instead of using plastic bags.

• Replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL).

• Turn off lights and unplug appliances when not in use.

• Recycle paper, plastic, and glass and buy goods made from recycled materials

As an Earth Day activity, eat vegetarian for a day; if you're a vegetarian, try eating vegan.

By the way, Veggie Teens was selected as one of the Best Cookbooks For Earth Day!

Do your part and GO GREEN.

Parents Beware: Watch for signs of eating disorders in vegetarian teens

The good news: A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that adolescent and young adult vegetarians had healthier intakes of fruits, vegetables, and fat, and were less likely to be overweight or obese.

The cautionary tale: The study also found that adolescent and young adult vegetarians were more likely to report binge eating with loss of control and engage in extreme unhealthful weight-control behaviors.

The lesson for parents: Ask questions about your teen's reasons for wanting to follow a vegetarian diet (see list). Ask about his or her feelings about his or her weight, body, and eating and watch for signs of eating disorders. If you are at all concerned, seek professional help immediately.

The bottom line: A vegetarian diet is a safe and healthful way for teenagers to eat but be on the lookout for signs that your teenager is claiming to be a vegetarian to mask signs of an eating disorder.

Michelle (Mom of a veggie teen)
Michelle May MD

Family Garden: Step 2 Planting

Our next step was to plant. Our garden has a limited amount of space, so we picked vegetables that we eat often. We chose peppers (spicy and sweet), four different kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and loads of herbs. Since this was our first time gardening and it was getting late in the spring planting season for Arizona, we decided to go with starter plants rather than seeds. We love salads, so we decided to try a pack of mixed greens' seeds because lettuce is supposed to be easy to grow. We water our plants daily and I'm eagerly waiting to see what happens!