Become a Regular Unlearner, Eat Local, Develop Resilience

Hi Folks! Connor and Nick here from Healthy Living With Nick and Connor. Thanks again for being on our email list, it means a lot, and we are excited to share our weekly email with you. We hope you enjoy it! Here is what we hope you take away from this one: 

1. Build up the habit of unlearning. Question, prune, and trim your beliefs.

2. Buying local food will be healthier, tastier, and it will support the growers and artisans in your area.

3. Enjoy those things in life that you love most, but develop a sense of wellbeing that is independent of things you may lose.

Starter Mindset Tip: Become a Master Unlearner

         The act of unlearning is a nebulous idea as it goes against everything we’ve learned, but it is critical in maintaining the clearest, sharpest mind. Many great thinkers have alluded to this practice; George Bernard Shaw cautions “beware of false knowledge it is more dangerous than ignorance” similar to Stephan Hawking who warns “the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge”, and lastly the tale of the Zen master who keeps pouring tea into an overflowing cup as a way to demonstrate that just as an overfilled cup cannot hold more liquid, a mind filled with fixed beliefs and ideas cannot receive new knowledge. Unlearning is a practice that is challenging but allows for a fluid, plastic mind that thinks clearly. It involves letting go of what we think we know, accepting the possibility that we simply do not know. If we were in fact wrong about a certain idea, it allows us to approach it from a different perspective. Try to make a point of letting go of your fixed beliefs, or at least becoming less attached to them.

Health Recipe: Reconnect with Local Food Sources 

Timing: 15 minutes -  1 hour

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Serving Size: Small

Spiciness: Mild - medium

INGREDIENTS

You, and a map of your city

 REASONING AND BENEFITS

It has become much too easy to disconnect yourself from your community and its sources of food. Both socially and nutritionally you should reconnect! Eating things that are local not only is healthier, but it will almost certainly taste better, help support growers and artisans and will connect you with interesting people in your community. It may inspire you to try new things based on the season or the recommendations of the sources themselves. It supports local economy, reduces your carbon footprint and is fun. And lastly, think about it from the perspective of the farmers, artisans and local store owners. They love seeing people from their own community trying, cooking and enjoying their ingredients. Try to replace as much as you can in your fridge, freezer and pantry with local goods. 

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Once a week pick a part of your fridge or pantry and try to buy it from a local source. 

2.  Try to buy more and more of your food from local sources. Buy produce from local farms.

3.  Buy meat from a local butcher or farmer.

4.  Find a local source of sweetener; honey, maple syrup etc.

5. Continue until you have replaced as much as you can with local ingredients.

6. Foster these new relationships over years and many great recipes. 

PRO TIP: Bring your children to see all the effort that goes into growing and making the food they are eating.

* Get to know the people behind the food. Ask them questions about the process, try a taste of everything.

** If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with vineyards or coffee roasters, etc. go take a taste and a tour.

*** Connect with local neighbors and make trades.

Dessert Quote: 

 “Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose.” — C. S. Lewis