Earth Day 2016 – Celebrating With Vibrant Festivities

Earth day 2016

Earth Day first started in 1977 as a world wide event to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day brought out over 20 million people into the sunshine for peaceful demonstrations of environmental reform. Today, Earth Day 2016 is observed in 192 countries and is celebrated by more than one billion people. I attended …

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Swiss Chard Behind the Scenes – Vibrant Taste Comparison

Swiss chard

Swiss chard, rainbow chard, bright lights, green chard, silverbeet, perpetual spinach, crab beet, seakale, mangold, spinach (in South Africa) – these are all pretty much the same thing with different names. I haven’t encountered too many recipes which call for raw chards. It can be tough and stringy, which isn’t pleasant for the unsuspecting chewer. When cooked …

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Marin Headlands Day Trip Adventure

Golden gate bridge san francisco

The Marin Headlands offer some spectacular views of the city of San Francisco, the bay, Pacific Ocean, not to mention the world renowned national park, Muir Woods. Its safe to assume most tourists to the San Francisco area only experience enough of the Marin Headlands to either walk across the Golden Gate Bridge or take …

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Aggregate Nutrient Density Index or ANDI

Aggregate nutrient density index andi

The Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) is a scoring method developed to evaluate the nutritional value of various foods. The ANDI score is calculated by taking into account the amount of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals per calorie in a given food. This scoring system is based on the principle that foods …

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OTC Allergy Relief: My Go-To Medicines

Bee collecting pollen, a major allergen

Allergy season never used to affect me. Sometime in my mid-twenties, I began to steadily be affected more and more by pollen, weeds, trees, grass, flowers, etc. With a strong love of the outdoors, I began my research for the best OTC allergy relief out there. Giant disclaimer: I am not a doctor and do …

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Carpe Vino! Seize the Budget Wines

Finding budget and value wines

Value wines are a great place to start when exploring different varietals and regions without breaking the bank. However, remember a lot of the varietal differences are far less pronounced than at higher end wine. Budget wines should be used to get a feel for the style of wine you like, but not an end-all …

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Cultured Pearls

Everything you wanted to know about cultured pearls

A History on Pearl Culture Pearls were the first gems discovered by man thousands of years ago. Since that time, people of many cultures have recognized the beauty and value of pearls. Pearls are the only organic gems and require no processing to reveal their natural beauty. At first, people relied on the chance finding …

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Improve Your Posture With These Simple Workouts

Posture improvement skeleton

Sitting at a desk and bending your neck to look at your phone all day can really put a strain on one’s back. Eliminate the pain of a stiff back and improve your posture with these simple workouts! Face Pulls They’re great for building up the rear delts, traps, rhomboids and rotator cuff muscles, and …

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Environmental Effects of Planting Non-Native Trees

Environmental effects of planting non-native trees featured

For most of the past 250 years, surprisingly it seems that Europe’s managed forests have been a net source of carbon, contributing to climate warming rather than mitigating it. The release of carbon otherwise stored in litter, dead wood, and soil carbon pools in managed forests was one key factor contributing to climate warming. Second, …

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