Arugula is also known as “rocket” and is originally a Eurasian cruciferous plant related to cauliflower, kale, and mustard. It grows wild in Asia and the Mediterranean basin and takes its name from the Latin term “eurca,” meaning caterpillar, because of the plant’s hairy stems.
Growing your own organic vegetables is the best way to ensure they will not be exposed to excessive, harsh chemicals. But what if you have sandy soil? Sandy soils are made up of loose, granular dirt containing small rocks and minerals. A common misconception of gardeners is that you cannot grow anything in this kind of soil. I am excited to tell you that even though a great deal of vegetables cannot thrive in this soil, there are a few that actually can. Check out these 7 vegetables that you can grow in sandy soil!
Farro is an ancient food of the people who lived in the Mediterranean basin. It fed the Roman army, was a biblical food, and is the national dish of Lebanon. Not only was it a staple but it was also a cure for many maladies. Farro was found to have first been cultivated in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East 10,000 years ago. Its initial use was as the main ingredient in bread. It is also known as emmer and by the 20th century was replaced with durum wheat.
Shakes, powders, pancakes, pills – if you are into fitness, there is no way you haven’t come across a supplement or two. Whether you drink protein shakes as a meal replacement or take omega-3s, among a host of other over-the-counter remedies, there is one thing you need to know.
Supplements in the United States are only ever regulated after the producer has placed them on your supermarket shelves or in your local health food store. This may also come as a surprise: vitamins also fall under this umbrella.
Couscous originated in the Berber tribes of North Africa and became a staple throughout the region. The Arabic word “kishusu” was a derivative of the Berber language. It came into existence between the11th century fall of the Zirid Kingdom and the rise of the Almohads in the 13th century. The first published mention of the food was discovered in an Arab cookbook in the 14th century. It was a popular food because it was easily prepared and convenient for nomadic tribes.
Buckwheat was first cultivated in Japan in approximately 5000 B.C.E. The plant then found its way to China and Siberia in about 1000 B.C.E. It migrated to Europe through Turkey and Russia between the 14th and 15th centuries and arrived in America with the Dutch in the 17th century. The name was derived from the Dutch word “bockweit” which means “beech wheat" as the fruit looked like beechnuts.
Plastic and plastic byproducts can take hundreds of years to decompose...IF they ever decompose at all. Toothbrushes, toilet bowl scrubbers, and towel racks are just a few items that are generally made from plastic or a plastic byproduct. I bet there are tons of pounds of those items alone all over the planet. There are always other options!
Wild rice is not actually rice at all, but the seed from a grass of semi-aquatic species found from southern Canada to the eastern United States along the Atlantic coastal marshes. It was the staple food for the Ojibwa and Chippewa people who gathered it by canoe and fire parched the seeds.
You likely learned about zinc – a type of metal – in chemistry class when you memorized the periodic table. Or maybe you have slathered on some thick, white sunscreen with zinc oxide in it? (Zinka sunscreen was all the rage in my middle school!) Perhaps you reach for a zinc supplement when you feel a cold or flu coming on?
Organic, holistic living is becoming more popular with the rise of big-name grocery stores like Whole Foods, the increasing trend of weekly farmer’s markets in cities across the country, and through practices like yoga. Many of us watch what we eat, are curious about where our food came from and want to know how it was produced.