Calm sutra in Burnaby backyard garden

 ‘Calm Sutra’ in Burnaby backyard garden!

 What is meant by ‘Sutra’in sanskrit? It means a collection of rules.

Tomatoe




Kale- King of leafy vegetables, the super food of tomorrow. 

Do you feel stressed ? Do you want to know there is a way out? Stress means lack of calmness, or relaxation. Do you know there is relaxation at your own backyard? Do you think your backyard garden is something you can ignore? No, your backyard is the place where you can learn the realities of life, relax your mind, and make you stress free. It is here that you can transform yourself to a happy and healthy human being. Gardening is an anti-dot for ageing. It makes you sweat and detoxify. It keeps you physically, mentally and spiritually healthy. It connects you to the nature and God.  It is the place where God has told you to grow your healthy, delicious, nutritious, and diversified organic food. It is the best supermarket to get the finest vegetables and fruits without pesticides on earth. It is the place where you can grow healthy kids and families with team spirit. It is the place where you learn basics of micro-economics of saving.

According to Bible God created first the ‘Garden of Eden’ then Adam, the first man on earth.

Tomato on electric post!. One bucket .
2 plants-one on top, another at bottom
Vertical gardening best suited for
cities where ther is  no much place to grow.

32 tomatoes

 The Garden of Eden was created for mankind. “God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” Genesis 2.9, Bible.

Onion flower



Grapes-  'Vitis Vinefera' variety - in our backyard, Burnaby, Vancouver, Canada

Land is limited to modern urbanites. Why are the villagers healthy, when the urbanites are quite often sick? There are many reasons. One of the reasons is that the vegetables urbanites get from faraway places or countries are pesticide and preservative infested and vitamin depleted. Do you know the vegetables available in supermarket coming from far away countries lose almost 50 % of the nutrients on its way from the farm to your kitchen?  Do you know frozen vegetables are better than the fresh we found in supermarket? What is the solution for this? Start your own vegetable garden in your backyard. Grow your own food.God meant your backyard like ‘Garden of Eden’.  God intends it to do physical exercise, love nature, relax your mind and to grow food. Look at your backyard for organic food not at the supermarket.

 I started this in a small way. I researched many plants, books, videos, observed the plants growing for years to learn how to grow them. I tried, failed at times and reached success. When I failed my inspiration was Thomas Alva Edison who failed 10,000 times. I found that if I can grow a good garden anyone can grow a few vegetables at their backyard easily anywhere on the planet.

Our cat Yohan certifies the crop.

It is not only a place to grow food.  It teaches me the universal truth of living. It teaches the lessons to remain calm. This is what the universities won't teach you. 
What did I learn from my backyard?

 1.        What I sow is what I will harvest. I am the creator of my destiny. I cannot expect tomatoes when I plant watermelon. I planted tomatoes. I got them in abundance.

 2.            Life is an Echo. When I give love, I get love in abundance. When I take care of my lovely plants they greet me with its beauty and yield. Is it an answer for the increasing divorce rates, unhappiness, and depression in our society.  Give first, then take. Find happiness in giving rather than take or show the attitude of  let others give. 

When blueberry is filled with fruits it bows its head "Nameste""I bow you".
Humility comes when one is full and great.

 3.            Our life will be successful when we create all the positive ingredients for it.  When sun shines and temperature is warm my pole beans grow 4 to 6 inches a day. They open themselves to greatness and absorb the energy of the universe. Are we open to absorb greatness and energy from this universe? 

4.            When one is filled with greatness he/she becomes tolerant, humble and simple. My blueberry, when it ripens with plenty of fruits it will bend its branches to say “I bow you.” “Namaste”

Garlic- flower & seed. The wonder drug!

5.            Inner strength is better than outer protection and decoration. I give my plants self-made diluted enzymes, green tea rather than protecting by spraying insecticides. They don’t have much pest attacks.Their inner strength resists pests and diseases.

6.            Silence is better than argument, criticism, judgments, blame and quarrel. When weather turns harsh, my plants remain silent. When heavy wind blows, or sun gets hotter it remains silent. It always dreams of a better day. When the water gets dry the roots go silently deeper searching for water. 

7.            Be thankful to others. My plants give me fruits and vegetables for the care I give. When you see an 'iphone' think of the hardships Steve Jobs has undergone to produce  a super product and be thankful to him. Think of the days he has waited for a good meal in front of Hare Krishna temple, the days he had been pushed out from Apple Board of Directors, think of his sleepless nights and dedication and finally fall under the grips of cancer. What we enjoy today is the result of sacrifice of our parents and those who contributed to this world. Be grateful.

Currant

 8.            We are all born for a purpose. Plants give happiness from the day they shoot from the seeds. When it ripens it rewards with its fruits. When they die they fertilize the earth for the next generation. They say “I am born to make others happy, not to give any troubles”. We are the ones who make a brighter day.

Pole Beans, Leaf size - 12 inch

9. Give to others rather than take everything for you. My backyard is filled with different plants. Some of them I keep mainly for bees, some for birds and some produce for my friends. Imagine a world there is no bees. Then there is no pollination, no fruits, no reproduction and no food for mankind.  Help other creatures on earth which helps us in its own way. We are part of this uni-verse. A single song. Let us sing the song of life together in this planet.

10. Imagine a universe of unity, divine power and peace. That is the way to God. We got different vegetables, fruit trees and herbs in our garden.  They all live and grow together in harmony, no difference based on species, gene, colour, creed, religion or nationality. Sometimes the creepers climb on trees. They kiss each other, embrace each other, lean each other and hold each other. When they breath oxygen, when they photosynthesize with sunlight, when they get fertilizer and water from the soil, they feel the holy presence of God. They enjoy the divine power. Our backyard garden has a gift to share. It is the essence of collectiveness and harmony between creatures: earthworms, bees, plants, birds and humans. "I am; because of you". All our garden plants have a prayer for the whole humanity.

Fig tree with fruits riped

Om asatho ma  sath gamaya

Tamaso ma jyothir gamaya

Mrithyor ma amrtham gamaya

Om Santhi, Santhi, Santhi

O Lord! Lead me,

From untruth to Truth

From darkness to Light

From death to Immortality

Peace, Peace, Peace be with you

Juicy fig

When you realize the realities of life, you will learn the art of calming yourself, and the art of reducing stress. You won't react, but pro-act. You won't get angry fast. You won't show ego, pride, rudeness and arrogance. Instead you create a sense of universal love, patience, sacrifice and simplicity. There lies basics of calmness and godliness. Only in calmness lies the power of relaxation, health, creativity, and happiness. Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, Vivekananda, Albert  Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison etc. shown that through their life. Let us learn from them. This is the way to relax your body, mind and spirit. This is the sutra to calm down in your busy life. This is the mantra of life. This is the way to inner peace and happiness. Look at your backyard garden. Explore peace and happiness there.

Om Shante . (Peace be with you.)

'Namaste'  "I bow You"

Gold plum 5 years old  plenty fruits shared with others.



Gold plum fully riped





Kale the king of leafy vegetables, the superfood of tomorrow

Kale- The King of leafy vegetables, the super food of tomorrow!

Kale is called as " king of leafy vegetables" "queen of greens", and "a nutritional powerhouse"

Kerala is going to be diabetes capital of the world due to lack of nutrients in the food we eat. We eat more food rich in starch and trans-fats, less in nutrients required for the body. We are overfed, but under nourished. Kale can do a lot in controlling and preventing diabetes, cancer and frequent illness.

This blog is made for the public on public’s demand. I am getting a lot of queries on Kale : how to grow and how to use kale?  So I thought it is better to make a blog and upload it.

Why Kale?

Our mission is to educate people on healthy living, to save people from illness: losing vision, diabetes, asthmatic problems, cardiac problems, stress and cancer, caused by deficiencies of nutrients in the food. Currently our life is controlled by market economies and corporates, where reality is far away. We can live more happily if we aim for a  sustainable living.

Kale is the easy-to-grow super food. Kale can be grown easily, organically, anywhere in the world. It has got a lot nutrients, which is easily absorbed by the body. Our body cannot absorb full nutrients of certain leafy vegetables like spinach. They are called 'selfish'. But Kale is different . Kale is the 'Mother Teresa' among the leafy vegetables. Mother Terasa did not keep anything for her. She has given everything for others. Our body can absorb full nutrients of Kale.  

Kale is nutritious, anti-cancerous, delays,prevents diabetes and cataract.

Kale leaf - ready to eat

 It contains lutein, which improves vision, delays cataract especially among people after the age of 50. It contains many other nutrients such as beta carotene, that promotes healthy cell, Quercetin, that inhibits bad cholesterol (LDL), Kaempferol, that prevents cancer, Sulforaphane and indole-3 carbinol that repair cells and block growth of cancer,  Vitamin K, C, zeaxanthin and calcium which are easily absorbed by the body.

Kale contains  maximum lutein body can absorb among all leafy vegetables followed by Spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, peas etc. Kale is known as the KING of all leafy vegetables due to its nutrient content. Eat Kale, protect your eyes and body.

It is the future food, easy to grow, survives in winter in cold countries like US and Canada, and summer in hot countries like India , contains so many nutrients that will be absorbed by body. It attracts bees to its flowers in spring that will help pollination of other fruit trees like apple, pears, plum, currents, and berries. If there is no pollination you won’t get fruits.

A friend of mine, Canadian lady was almost blind. She started eating kale as per the doctor’s order to add leafy vegetable in daily diet. She improved her eyesight within nine months. Her story inspired me to start growing Kale. Another occasion I met a lady in garden shop, who survived cancer, and was searching for cheap kale leaves (super market charges $2.50 for 5 leaves) and wants to know how to grow kale at backyard. I was giving free supply of leaves till she setup her own garden. Two years I have done some research. I have visited the Native Indians garden in San Diego U.S.A. I have seen Kale there.  From farmers to nutrition experts, Native Americans to Europeans, North Americans to South Americans, magazines like 'Readers Digest', 'Nutrition action' all hail kale as super food. Now I am inspiring others to grow. It is a super food, used for centuries by Europeans, North Americans, South Americans and Native Indians in US, but mostly unknown to Asians.

Where do you get Kale?

5 year old Kale in Kerala. started in 2008



Kale flower-edible too

Kale flower -  Edible - use flower as leaf. You can eat it

A 5 year old kale ( started 2008) in KS Abraham's terrace, Kurathicadu,
Mavelikara, Kerala, gives full year leaves.



You can get fresh Kale green leaves from the super market. Moreover canned kale –(see the sites below) exported from Germany and Holland- are also available in supermarkets. Germany exports not only BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz, but also the super food Kale too.

 How to grow?

 The seeds are like mustard seeds. Grow in pots or ground.  Pick the leaves as it grows. After one year it flowers, but not in India. When the beans are matured, dry them and collect seeds.


How to propagate in India
In India our three year research  and experience shows it won't get flowers. One plant is surviving for the last four years, and is healthy too. It is found that best way to propagate is by cutting branches and plant it on the ground. It is taking so long to flower and get seeds.



Kale- in Munnar, Kerala in 2010
George Joseph's ,Thopan gardens, Kanthalloor.
We are encouraging people to be healthy. We serve that way.

 

Where does it grow?
There are mainly three types of Kale: Red Russian, Tuscan, and curly  green Kale. It grows anywhere on the planet earth. It is grown in  Europe, North America, Canada, South America. Recently we encouraged to grow this in Kerala, India,  like Kattanam and Kurathicadu, in Alleppey,  Trivandrum, Trichur, Kanthalloor in Munnar,  Idukki.  It grows well in Asia. Look at the picture left.

We were giving free seeds before. Now plants are available in Anju mathews farm in  Kattappana,  Idukki Dist, Kerala

Plants are available in Anju Mathews farm.

Please try online. This people are selling red Kale seed.

http://www.greenmylife.in/


Best way to eat
The best way to eat is fresh in salad. When you boil or bake it loses its nutrients as per the nutritionist.  For the kale recipe, goggle Kale  or search at the sites shown at the bottom of this page.

Kale seeds-like mustard-click to enlarge

For Further Reading. Click the URL for You tube videos

Karshakan face book URL

https://www.facebook.com/groups/603613809690378/

How to make potting soil- micro gardener

http://themicrogardener.com/easy-diy-potting-mix-recipe/

How to make potting soil for container gardening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djY37c-juRk


How to make DIY potting mix

http://themicrogardener.com/easy-diy-potting-mix-recipe


Grow Kale in containers.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Grow+Kale+and+Collards+in+Containers&Form=VQFRVP&view=detail&mid=2F1D923191340BC4B1692F1D923191340BC4B169

How to grow veg in pots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXJNWdn78so

Container gardening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn6IWlvMuJE

Delicious recipes you can make with kale.

1.       Add one or two leaves to soup to enrich with nutrients.

2.       Make Kale chips. (Note: half of certain vitamins will be lost while cooking.  Eat fresh as much as possible.)

3.       Add to muffins- Kale muffins.

4.       Add one or two leaves to vegetable curries.

5.       Prepare delicious Kale salad. Fantastic, delicious, highly nutritious and organic.

6.       Make vegetable Thoran ( a south Indian recipe with coconut, turmeric, cumin seed, onion  and chilly)

7.       Make Kale chutney- Add few leaves to your coconut chutney like coriander leaf chutney.

8.       Add  one or two leaves to your fruit juice to enrich with nutrients. Non citric may be good.

9.       Add one or two leaves to smoothies- frozen blueberries, banana or apple, strawberries, Kale

10.    Add one or two leaves in your morning cereals

12.    Sandwich. Replace lettuce with Kale. It is more nutritious, organic and pesticide free.

Kale Salad

Ingredients

1. 5 to 7 leaves of Kale
2. 5 tablespoon nut or nuts)
1. 2 table spoons of peanuts
2. 2 table spoons of pumpkin seeds
3. 1 table spoon of sunflower seeds
3. ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds ( grind it before putting in blender)
4. 1 table spoon of raisins
5. 1 Medium sized tomato
6. ¼ red Onion
7. 2 Table spoons of Cooking oil-(Coconut, corn, sesame, Sunflower etc). Preferably Olive oil
8. 2 Table spoons of vinegar  (Preferably apple vinegar)
9. Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Cut kale leaves in to small pieces.
2. Blend all the ingredients from 2 to 6 in a food processor to make the dressing.
3. Add the leaves and the dressing into a large bowl.  Add olive oil, vinegar and salt to the bowl and mix well.  
4. Peanuts and pumpkin seeds can be substituted with other nuts like cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts or almonds.
5. Enjoy the nutritious Kale and say “Good bye” to frequent illness.

If you are in India, if all the above nuts are not available use roasted peanuts in place of other nuts .

52 recipes from kale.  Please click the following
http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2012/02/27/52-ways-to-eat-kale/

Related sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kale

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html

Canned kale  sites

http://www.germancart.com/german-foods/kuehne/kuehne-gruenkohl-oldenburger-art-kale-660g.html

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=378960578833190
http://www.germandeli.com/lipgreenkalg.html







Kale- in Munnar, Kerala
George Joseph's ,Thopan gardens, Kanthalloor.
We are encouraging people to be healthy. We serve that way.








Trivandrum, Mr Pathrose's terrace garden,  Aswathy garden 









White sugar, Is it an Angel or slow killing poson?

White Sugar- Is it an angel or a slow killing poison?

Why we have more frequent illness in the last 50 years than our parents or grandparents, despite all the medical advancements? Are we consuming more medicines than our grandparents? There is a reason or reasons behind everything. Is increased sugar consumption a reason behind it? Fifty years back there was only very few who used white sugar. But now it is almost all people use sugar. We currently feel sweet is sweet, but we never know it turns into bitter later. 

If we go to any grocery or supermarket we may be able to observe that most of the foods contain sugar. From childhood we are habituated or rather addicted to sweetness. On a global level we are all addicted to sweetness.

Only very few have gone deep to learn the damage it creates on the body. Sugar depletes the multivitamins and minerals from our body. It makes thousands obese, because it is the zero-nutrient and high-calorie food, also known as calorie bomb. This depletion affects our immunity, and we are prone to frequent illness.

Is white sugar a food?
No. It is the only so called "food" that contains only calories and no nutrients or fibre. It is the creation of colonial countries in the late 16th century and spread across the globe through the colonies. It has spread on global level in the last  fifity years. Later it has been found one of the best means of commercial exploitation and business in the food industry. In Kerala many people know Pulikeezhu sugar factory,(Thiruvella) started by British. It is now closed.

Thousands of people are becoming diabetic, by increased blood sugar when they eat more sugar. More sugar makes people lethargic and damage the nervous system. A recent research has proved refined sugar which is mostly without chromium can elevate serum cholesterol and glucose levels. Chromium can lower both.
My friend is a tennis player. He likes sweet. His wife frequently made sweet rice pudding (payasam) as local dessert after the lunch. After 5 years of this food pattern he became diabetic at a young age. The wife was unaware of the danger of sugar. There are many people in the world who don't know the danger of white sugar.

Why thousands of children suffering from tooth-decay?  Sugar present in almost all children's favorite foods, chocolates, colas, cakes etc. leads to tooth decay.

Every day sugar indirectly creates a multimillion dollar business for the health industry: supplement manufacturers, weight loss programs, pharmaceuticals and hospital industry.

People who are sick, obese, diabetics etc. are unaware, because unknowingly they are slaves to their tongues. Sugar is considered good for the tongue but in reality it is bad for the body.

By seeing the danger in 2003 UN- World Health Organization warned the sugar content in food should not exceed more than 10%. A decade later nothing has changed. Recently  I visited a supermarket in Vancouver. The following table tells the sugar content of food we eat.

Sugar content in food

Foods	UN warning on sugar content  %	Actual sugar%
Muffin (cup cake)	10	25.6
Cake	10	26
Colas	10	12
Chocolates	10	25 to 66

If we analyze the sweets like ladu, jilebi, rasagula etc sold without food labels in the unorganized  sweet shops the sugar content may be between 25% to 50% or even more.

Sugar content may be more in USA because their sugar level is higher in almost all foods. Even the food portions like pizza, hot dog, burgers and colas are larger in size. Snacks are supersized and super sweet. It is appreciable that New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg has recently taken a step to reduce the size of cola drinks to trim down the waistline and obesity in New Yorkers. In 2012 Bloomberg passed a law banning sale of colas more than 16 ounces large.

In India, it is unfortunate white sugar is  still subsidized by Government Food program, leading to a diabetes epidemic. Sugar is extensively used in almost all foods especially children’s foods. Sugar-filled children’s food will create an addiction to sugar at a later stage and make the life miserable. In Canada the health department don't encourage to add sugar in the children's diet. In India food label does not contain sugar content.

In his book “Enzyme Nutrition” Dr. Edward Howell, a nutrition scientist describes how white sugar affects the body.

 “REFINED WHITE SUGAR- AN ARCH ENEMY”

 "Table sugar (sucrose) refined white sugar has been condemned by dentists, nutritionists and physicians for scores of years. It is the greatest scourge that has even been visited on man in the name of food. Endocrinologists agree that the endocrine system of glands and the nervous system cooperate to regulate the appetite so that the right amount of the right kind of food is taken. Sugar spoils this fine balance. Being almost 100 percent “pure” this high –calorie dynamite bombs the pancreas and pituitary gland into gushing forth a hyper-secretion of hormones comparable in intensity to that artificially produced in laboratory animals with drugs and hormones. Sugar is the culprit the endocrinologists have been looking for that been throwing the finely regulated endocrine balance completely out of kilter.”  

Around twenty thousand articles by researchers and nutritionists have been published  showing the role of white sugar  in making people sick.

Reduce sugar in every meal we take. Avoid keeping sweet food at home. Eat a fruit in place of sweet. Recently I read in health magazine, a lady who avoided sugar for 2.5 months reduced her weight by 22 pounds. Avoid sugar in coffee and tea.  Avoid sugar for some period of time: a week, a month or a year and observe the difference in your health.  You will say I should have done it before. A little change can save your vital organs.

Awareness is our best way against disease and corporate marketing. Parents, schools, and colleges have a role to play in keeping the health of the children, youth and adults.  Educate our children. Make them an asset and not liability with illness. We are highest of all creations. Our crown remains with us as long as we are healthy. We are born to educate each other and save our community from sickness.

If you feel you are addicted, build your mental muscle by meditation. Sit on meditation pose in a quiet place for five minutes to 15 minutes daily. Do deep breathing. Repeat chanting "God, give me the mental power to say 'No' to sugar". Imagine and say 'my body is important than my tongue'. Afterwards keep the affirmation "I am prepared and ready to avoid/reduce white sugar". Repeat for 3 to 4 weeks. You will get the mental power. 

Paul Ryan, American Vice President Candidate (year 2012) , Romney’s running mate said “I don’t eat sweets”  “I am a workout guy.” He stopped taking sweets at the age of 15, because in his family all his parents and grandparents died in their 50’s due to multiple health problems. Like him there are thousands of people who don't use sweet or white sugar for a healthy lifestyle.

It is not only white sugar,  fructose used in drinks made in US  "may be bad for the brain" 'Psychology today' October  2012 edition. 

 "Sugary drinks are linked to staggering 180,000 deaths each year" A recent (2012)  Harvard university study. See the blog on that.

This is an advertisement campaign initiated by New York  State
 to make awareness on obesity caused by sugary drinks.

You might know the  beautiful story of a lady who approached Gandhi to tell her son not to eat sugar. A young boy was obsessed with sugar. He had frequent illness. The mother was upset and approached Gandhi to tell him not to take sugar. Gandhi told her I will tell him after two weeks. The mother and son revisited Gandhi after two weeks. Gandhi told him not to take sugar, because it is not good for your health. The boy promised he will stop eating sugar. The mother was puzzled. "Bapu, why you did not tell him in the first time we visited you." Gandhi smiled, and told the mother “two weeks ago I was eating lot of sugar”. If Gandhi could control in two weeks you may require three weeks. Within two weeks  or three weeks you can create a new healthy lifestyle without sugar. Changing lifestyle is better to save life.

“The man who is temperate in food and recreation, who practices restraint in his actions, acquires self-discipline which removes sorrow.”   Bhagavad Gita, verse 17 Ch 6.
I wish you to be a healthy and happy person.

Click here for related blogs

http://motherkeralacom.blogspot.ca/2013/03/sugary-drinks-linked-to-staggering.html