Shinrin-yoku; Why nature is good for your health!

My family went camping and hiking while I was a child, I've gone canoeing about a dozen times, we visited forests while on vacation, but I never considered myself an "outdoorsy" girl.

While doing research on the architectural history of Chicago (where I grew up), I came across the interesting fact that the Cook County Forest Preserve District is the largest of its kind in the world, still not an outdoorsy girl, but I thought it was cool.

Through research for my work, I started learning about natural history of areas. This is what interested me. How the land was used and how it was developed. This idea spread and I eventually decided to take my son to one of the many Cook County Forest Preserve hiking trails in the vicinity of our house. It went better than I could have imagined and these nearby forests have turned into our favorite places. Being in the forest just made my two year old and I so happy. I knew there had to be health benefits for both of us, but it wasn't until months later when I read an article about shinrin-yoku, "Forest bathing", in Japan. I'm going to share excerpts from the article, as well as my own observations.

What is shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing? Well, here's the Wiki answer:

In Japan, a forest bathing trip, called Shinrin-yoku (森林浴) in Japanese and Mandarin, Sanlimyok (산림욕) in Korean, is a short, leisurely visit to a forest. Studies support claims of the benefits of Shinrin Yoku. These have demonstrated that exposure to nature positively creates calming neuro-psychological effects, as well as demonstrated reductions in stress, anger, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness.

History behind it, also from WIKI:

A forest bathing trip involves visiting a forest for relaxation and recreation while breathing in volatile substances, calledphytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees, such as a-pinene andlimonene. Incorporating forest bathing trips into a good lifestyle was first proposed in 1982 by the Forest Agency of Japanwww.rinya.maff.go.jp. It has now become a recognized relaxation and/or stress management activity in Japan.

I know what you're thinking, "Well you're from Chicago, of course you have the opportunity to spend time in the forest, all we have is a neighborhood park." 

1st off, I don't think most people think Chicago when they think of forested land. I never thought about it while I was growing up here. Look around you for opportunities, AND GO TO THAT NEIGHBORHOOD PARK. The rest of this answer, I'm going to support with science from the article cited at the end of this post. 

This, of course, makes sense. Spending time in any well-maintained green space improves the likelihood of social cohesion as well as mental clarity and well-being, says Julia Africa, program leader for the Nature, Health, and the Built Environment Program at the Harvard School of Public Health. Current research also shows that simply being in green spaces de-stresses us and can boost mood. If you’re up to take an actual forest bath, it’s not hard to do. According to M. Amos Clifford 's comprehensive guidebook, A Little Handbook of Shinrin-Yoku, all you need to do is find a forest or a park with some trees and wander around enjoying “sensory experiences—like the view of a stream, the sounds of birds, the changing aromas as you move along the trail, the texture and tastes of the air you are breathing, and the many patterns and forms of the world around you." Clifford suggests two-hour sessions. 

It's also good for the kid's health!

So, go out there, find your forest. I promise it will be the best therapy, church, classroom, bar, and gym all wrapped into one. 

http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/health-benefits-shinrin-yoku

Healthy, easy shrimp kabobs, that are actually leftover magic.

As you will come to learn, I force veggies on my family. I often enjoy tricking them into eating them, but more on that later.

I also rarely use EXACT recipes. This is one of those times.

I've made beef kabobs in a very similar way, but this is my first time using shrimp. My family's conclusion was a fantastic dinner, plus a good breakfast.

So, the recipes......

Kabobs:

• 
  
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 zucchini
• Handful of grape tomatoes. I only had a few, would have been great with even more
• 2 yellow onions
• 1 Lemon
• 3 red potatoes
• 1 bag of deveined, peeled shrimp*
• 1 Tbsp of oil. *
• Seasoned salt*
• Lemon Pepper
• Garlic powder

1. Chop all of the above fruits & veggies, set lemon aside
2. Boil water, place in potatoes. Boil for 5 minutes, dump water & let cool.
3. Dump veggies and shrimp in a big bowl, mix well.
4. Sprinkle oil over all, mix again
5. Sprinkle Season Salt all over until the top of mixture is coated, put lid on bowl & shake up again
6. Repeat step 4 with lemon pepper
7. Repeat step 4 with a few dashes of garlic powder
8. Assemble kabobs. I put a lemon on the top of each of skewer & it was a really great for overall flavor. It's optional though. I had a lemon that was near the end.*
9. Broil*
10. Put all your leftovers in a bowl in the fridge.

*Sidenotes
Veggies: This is a recipe where I like to use any veggies I have, especially ones that only have a day of two before they go bad. I would have liked to use mushrooms, peppers, tomatillos, broccoli, or cauliflower, but I didn't have any. THIS IS THE LEFTOVER MAGIC! Have you ever said, "OH crap. We have to eat (insert veggie here) before it goes bad.", then forget to use it and throw it out? This recipe is great for all those veggies! And the leftovers from dinner turn into breakfast.

Shrimp: I used precooked kind. You can use whatever kind you want. I usually prefer the uncooked kind, but it was nice to only have to peel tails with the precooked kind, versus the whole shell off of uncooked variety. If you get uncooked, be sure to cook it all the way. Shrimp should be pink.

Oil: I used vegetable. You could really use anything. I've used olive and once a teeny bit of grapeseed oil cause it was all I had.

Cooking method: I broiled mine. They could also be grilled

Flavoring: Again, I used what I know my family likes and what I had. This kind of recipe is one you could experiment with a little to find what your family likes.


Breakfast

1. Put potatoes in one pan to reheat
2. Place veggies in the other
3. Beat eggs & pour over veggies.
4. Cook, add cheese, eat

Potatoes and eggs can be done together. Whatever you want.


Let me know your thoughts!

The gardener's NEW best friend

I found this really awesome group/site/organization, so I'm going to rave about it for this whole post. I've heard of the Nature Conservancy group, I'm not sure exactly what they do, but I always figured it's good cause I like nature, and I like protecting it. So, I found this site by them that is beyond awesome and has me wanted to learn everything about them.

This program, Nature Works Everywhere, brings your garden to your tablet in ways that can engage any adult, like me, older kids who might not be into gardening, and even whole schools. It has resources for all of that! I haven't explored much beyond designing & planning my own garden, but take a look.....

First, the homepage. I signed up & did all that good stuff. 

*Sidenote: I haven't received one "promo" email yet, so another star on their chart for that!

Next, you design your garden. You can go back and change any of this.

You do perimeter, you can add paving, structures, different types of plants (veggies, pollinators, flower beds, etc.) At this point, you'll also name your garden.

 Here's Mine

Now, you'll have a dashboard like this: 

Now the fun starts!

Tracking what your garden does.

Through data collection, done by gardeners, and the resources of the site, it tracks all of this information:

You, your older children, your students, whoever, can make entries into different journals and track this info all season! Here are two I'm excited about and J will be doing when he's older. He's three, so I don't expect him to be capable of that, yet! haha

I am very excited about this, so go visit, https://www.natureworkseverywhere.org/home/

Let me know your thoughts, if you explore the sight more, or any activity ideas you have for the kiddos!

Just an fyi, I was not paid for this. I just think it's awesome and I will always promote non-profit organizations that I like.

The forest is my three year old's playground

Discovering bugs and walking our pups

Cook County, IL is known for so many things, mainly being the home of Chicago. Interesting fact, the Cook County Forest Preserve District is THE LARGEST FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT IN THE WORLD. It was also originally designed by a world renowned landscape architect. 

I have filled this post with some pictures from my most favorite forest adventures. All of them are from Forest preserves by our house. For exact locations, just ask. 

If you're thinking, "I don't live in Chicago. I don't live near any forests or nature," you're probably wrong. A path around a pond in a park, an open field, your own front yard, nature doesn't have to be big to capture a toddler's attention. 

My Playtime Philosophy combines the "Forest bathing" & "Classrooms with no walls" concepts 

 Again, I'm just making up this stuff as I go along, and I'm not perfect, but we find this shit fun.

We judge the success of the day by the mud on our boots

Finding beauty in the dead of Winter

River Trails Nature Center is one of our favorite places on earth. Outdoor/indoor playgrounds, Des Plaines River, walking trails, it's all just so cool.

Summer colors scavenger hunt

Another Summer colors scavenger hunt

Frolicking in the Forest throughout the Fall.

The possibilities of fun are endless in the forest. We just walk, J gets to explore, I get exercise. We have picnics, go on color scavenger hunts, look for animals, count the ducks. We do a lot of talking about our senses. 

"What do you see?"

"How is that different from last time?"

"Have you seen any colors like that before?" 

"How does that flower smell?"

"Think you can climb that tree?"

"What does that feel like?"

"How does it feel when compared to this?"

The beauty of this kind of play is that I don't need to have any answers and he doesn't have to be exactly right, cause there are no wrong answers. 

Let your child lead the conversation. Last week, we actually got lost when we went off the trail and I let the three year old get me and the puppy back to where we needed to be. I knew that heading in a general direction would work, but we were still legit lost. I asked him, "What is this ground like? Have we always been walking on grass like this?" "No mommy. We came through the prickly bushes, like those!" So we walked through the prickly bushes. Then I ask, "Hey Jimmy. If we find the creek we walked by, that will get us back to the path. Do you hear anything that will tell us where the stream is?" ......thinking..........."OOOO Let's go this way Mommy! I think I hear water running! We'll make it and get back." He was so proud to figure it out and explore along the way. If you haven't been out in a while, I suggest you try it again, take your kids, have fun. Don't be afraid to get a little dirty.

Call me the leftover queen

I love eating healthy. I love eating healthy, almost as much as I love TWO healthy meals from ONE easy dinner, aka leftovers.

Before we move forward, I define healthy as having a balanced diet of ALL food groups. I try to make unhealthy foods a little healthier, for example putting spinach and tomato on a burger, BOOM, healthy.

So we have this whole chicken in the crock pot that was last night's dinner and magically turned into chicken salad today.

So, first the crockpot chicken

• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tps black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 whole chicken
• Enough water to get chicken damp

1. Chop onion, place in bottom of the slow cooker

2. Mix all spices in a small bowl

3. Remove giblets from inside chicken

4. Place chicken in crockpot and pour water over it

5. Rub spices all over the chicken, even inside the cavity

6. Close crockpot and turn on high for 4-5 hours, or on low 5:30-7 hours

*Sidenote, this recipe is made even easier by stopping at the grocery store and buying one of those rotisserie chickens. Similar recipe, works just as well for next recipe

Chicken Salad

• Left over chicken, with skin, but removed from bones
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Mayonnaise 

1. Shred chicken. I use a food processor, but I'm sure you could shred this with a fork too. 

2. Mix onion & chicken together

3. Mix chicken/onion with mayo

4. Assemble sandwich

Voila! Dinner and lunch. Enjoy. If you try it, let me know your thoughts!

First blog post...yay

Hello all! I don't know how to start a "first blog post" post, so I thought I'd let everyone know who I am and what I am going to share on here.

My name is Jen Schwent. I have a three year old son who is amazing. I am a single mom. He sees his dad for one week, every six months. I live near Chicago with my parents, my son, and our three dogs. My heart, however, is in the back country in Southeast Missouri. I have family down there and I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in Historic Preservation. That's a mouthful.

As to what I'll be posting, I have no idea.

I love being outside and am really big on outdoor adventures/outdoor education.

I am studying to be a personal trainer, so I love all things fitness & health related.

I enjoy cooking quick, easy, crockpot meals for my family.

I also love growing my own food in my small garden.

This blog will probably be about all of that stuff. I can't promise I will post regularly, or that I by any means know what I'm doing. I'm just sharing fun stuff.