Eating from Urban Gardens, Day 3.5 Update

Eating from an Urban Garden can provide insight into many interesting concepts.  I've either foraged or fed myself from our very tiny backyard garden going on or the last 72 hours now, drinking lots more water than I normally used to.

Florida Permaculture Garden Cow Peas

Though I've yet to really get hungry, my want for salt and sugar spiked during the first couple days.  Going without salt has really had a significant impact on my body.

I caught several  fish Monday evening and have had plenty of protein.  Combined with sweet banana peppers, collard greens and black eye peas from the 'yarden' as Judy calls it, there has been plenty to eat.

Salt is pervasive in processed foods.  I never add salt to my food, except in the form of soy sauce or tamari, which I understand has lots of salt as an ingredient.

Yet by removing salt-laden processed foods from my diet, including soy sauce, for three days and drinking two gallons of water daily, I've lost a significant amount of previously retained body water.

My belly feels much less 'sloshy', I've shed four pounds water weight and my blood pressure has dropped by ten systolic points from 125 to 115.

The sugar urge has been easier to deal with.  Foraged saw palmetto berries have loads of natural sugars and 'quench' the urge for sugars.

I am looking forward and excited to see the end results after two weeks.

Eating from the garden and wild forage has also opened my eyes to an awareness of what the 'slow food' movement is about.  I spent four hours fishing Monday evening.  Four hours is a long time to spend on food, or is it?

Sitting in the beach chair under the brilliant early evening sky a calming wave of peace flowed through me.  All the stresses of the day soon disappeared and I felt one with the universe.  My breathing became deeper and more measured.  Not only was I fishing for food but I was also fishing for stress relief and health.  The experience was every bit as good as a yoga session or massage.

The effort expended with throwing the cast net for bait, setting up the beach chair and fishing rod and cleaning up afterwards actually moderated my appetite that evening.  Though I cannot do near as much as most because of my aortic dissection, I found clarity in the experience of actually spending effort for my meal.

Over the last three days I've come to realize just how addicted I was to packaged and quick food from the refrigerator.

Now I am just beginning to see the beauty of simple eating.  Our Urban Garden really offers all I need.

I am now seeing an amazing result around the corner as simple foods become more integrated into my life.

A small balcony or rooftop could easily provide a couple with all the food, year around, that they need.

More soon!