Kate Geagan, MS, RD

While my snow covered backyard in Utah is no indication, much of the country is gearing up for spring. My question to you is: what will you grow this year?  If you want to move to more eco-friendly eating, pick at least one thing and go for it! Whether a tiny window box, a pot of herbs and lettuce on a city terrace, or a full blown garden in your backyard, the greenest food of all is that which you grow yourself.

Aside from your “crop” being some of the tastiest and nutrient packed foods you’ll likely eat this year, there’s a slew of other benefits: the added calories you burn in gardening, the strong roots of healthy eating you’re helping to nourish in your kids, and all of the resources (and carbon emissions) saved by growing actual food rather than grass, shrubs or flowers. This is not to mention money saved in your food budget, and the money saved on your shrink (exercise fights stress and boosts mood).

So take action. Start small, or go big. Visit www. backyardgardener.com for a jumpstart no matter where you live. You’ll be sowing good seeds in every sense.

As for me, as soon as the snow melts I will be planting a bunch of yummy lettuces in my pots this year rather than flowers. What will you be planting?

Depends on what you had. The Bon Appetit Management Company has a super cool tool online calculator specifically geared to food (there are lots of online calculators to calculate your home, your car, or your air travel, but to my frustration they usually omit food)…but here’s all you need to check out how cool your cuisine is-or isn’t, when it comes to the planet.

Log onto www.eatlowcarbon.org, drag and drop your meal onto the pan, and watch the thermometer rise depending on your choice. Cheeseburger? That’s 4 lbs of carbon (measured in carbon equivalents), or about 1/5 of a gallon of gas. Switch to a grilled chicken sandwich and cut it by more than half-down to 1.5 pounds. If you choose a grilled veggie and hummus sandwich instead and thin your footprint even further (down to 0.6 pounds). Oh, and  by moving your lunch down the “carbon thermostat”, you just also made a healthier choice that can help you move your belt in a notch, too.