Total Immersion…Produce?

Most of us have heard of total immersion schools used to teach children another language. The child goes to school, learns all of their subjects and also learns a second (or more) language. Depending on the school and the grade level, the student may spend the whole day in a foreign language setting, or they may spend part/half of a day there. The instructor in the foreign language setting will generally teach in the language and not break back into English (if taught in the United States).

I have heard adults talk about going to a foreign country to learn the foreign language that is predominately spoken there. They wish to stay in the country for a while and immerse themselves in the language and culture. For some people, this is an “easy” way of learning the language.

Think about your own binge watching or scheduled watching of shows/television that you might do. Do you get in to a certain mind frame when you sit down to watch your show? Does your attitude change when you are in the middle of watching? Do you identify with the characters? Do you want the foods and the drinks that are on the screen too? (I am susceptible to wanting to drink while watching “mob” movies). Do you pick up slang and words and attitudes that the characters use and portray that you normally wouldn’t? You may not realize it, but I am going to guess that you are at least a little susceptible to bending and changing with the surroundings that you put yourself in. This isn’t reserved for only what you watch, it can also happen with a good book! My mother almost had to put a good book down because the author would not stop writing about the pastries that were served at the bed and breakfasts in the book! I on the other hand had nightmares, mixed with pain meds from a car accident (the one that started this whole journey) and I was 100% convinced the world really was like the science fiction book I was reading and that monsters really did exist. And one of those monsters was in my kitchen! But that is a totally different story, totally different topic…
; D

So immersion – it works. Surround yourself with the people you want to be like. Surround yourself with successful people. Surround yourself with healthy eating…

I am very, very lucky. I do not have TV. We have a TV, but it is not hooked up to regular channels at all. We have Netflix, I think we have Hulu right now, but I think we are cancelling it, (this is seriously my husband’s realm) and YouTube Red – so we do not have to watch ads. Why am I lucky? No ads. No forced drama in shows. No cheesy sitcoms. None of it. I am SO SUSCEPTIBLE to TV. It is disgusting. When I was a teen and lived with my parents, I could not walk into a room where people were watching TV and tell them something (during commercials, of course) because I would get so sucked in to the flashing lights and loud sounds that I would just stand their, practically drooling on myself, staring at the idiot box. Yep – ads and television are targeted at people like me, and I just sit there like a zombie soaking it all in, so I avoid it. Through avoidance, I also avoid unneeded advertising.

So why not try “healthful immersion?” Surround yourself with healthy activities, ideas and people. For example, my husband and I are working on the “Ton of Produce” project. We do not have the dashboard put together quite yet, so I am writing down the produce, weight, count and price (if I have it) for each purchase. I have been showing people my list and I am excited. Produce got me thinking of planting and growing a garden this year (I talk about it every year) which got me looking up seeds to plant for a vegetable garden. I have some in the garage, so I grabbed those and looked them over. Before I plant all of these seeds, I will need to ready the yard (weather permitting, of course). But I have not done that yet, so…of to the library to get farming magazines! Then my husband and I had some botany questions regarding produce (for the dashboard). The were having some difficulties finding our answers on the internet. I knew there was a children’s book at our library that I read to my daughter this summer that had the information I needed in it.

While still in the children’s section, we picked up these two board books that I have read over and over again to my daughter when she was a 1 year old so I could go over them again with her. Catawba-Lynn, my daughter, understands her colors and counting, now that she is 3, but I think it is great for her to repeatedly work on identifying her produce.

My husband and I decided to rely not only on children’s picture books for our information, but we took a trip to the adult’s section at the library and checked out some books on gardening, greenhouses and produce there as well. This book, Buying Produce, by Jack Murdich, has been a real treat:

I will get in to the details of these books in an upcoming post. However, this book is copyrighted 1986, which means it is older than I am (I was born in 1988). This is a comprehensive, dated stamp, if-you-will, of what purchasing produce was like in the beginning of my life. I remember distinct seasons for produce. I remember my mother waiting for the best or only available time to purchase specific foods. It is not like that anymore. In metropolitan areas, if you want fresh corn on the cob, you can buy it at any time. Might be hidden and expensive, but a store will carry it.

Then my husband got one of the board games he Kick-started almost a year ago, “Consumption, Food and Choices.”

This game is beautiful, informative, challenging and fun. We played one round and I won! (Usually does not happen). I wanted to play again, but our daughter woke up from her nap. I will write an article on this game, it is awesome.

So after playing the game on Sunday, and reading the library books, and looking at the pictures, and planning out the garden, and shaking the seed packets, and writing down the purchased produce…it was dinner time. Dinner on Sunday is leftovers. Last Sunday’s leftovers were:

Olives, chunk cheese, sliced apples, pears and oranges, blueberries, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, hummus and avocado spread (avocado and garlic salt, mashed up and made at home!) naan bread, and hard boiled eggs with seasoning salt. It was so good! My husband enjoyed it and my daughter exclaimed she had a “rainbow plate!”

I have had to spend the past two days driving to downtown Milwaukee, to sit in a room to do training for one of my jobs. Not my favorite thing to do. And it could end up being pretty unhealthy if one is not prepared. However, I have been running off of this produce kick, so both days I brought 3 different fruits, vegetables, nuts and hearty breads, to keep me going throughout training. And I feel great – because I can find some pretty unhealthy cafeteria food if I get hungry!

Sorry the pictures are a little dark, however I am looking forward to writing an article on the reading material and an article on the game. You should get some nifty pictures there!

What is a healthy meal you like taking to the office/work? Let us know in a message here! Thank you for reading and have a great one!