TREES are essential to us - mankind would not be able to exist without them and the oxygen they produce for life on this planet.

• Trees also act as filters, cleansing the air that we breathe and the soil from pollutants and chemicals.

• Trees shield us from the noise we produce.
• Trees provide us with natural shade.
• Certain trees like Colorado blue spruce can make all the difference in flash flood endangered areas as the roots absorb water from the soil. By holding the soil in place, the movement of sediment and erosion is reduced.
  

• Trees are Nature's windbreaks which help in preventing soil and vegetation from drying out.

So next time you plan on cutting down a tree in your yard because it looks messy later in the year, remember that each one of those fallen leaves had a purpose and did a great job: It helped you breathe.

Last but not least, the monetary value. Mature trees - planted in the right location -  increase a home's value by 7 to 19 percent and help selling properties more quickly as well.
Forget the lawn - the value is in the trees.

Links:

http://www.realty101.com/value-of-a-tree-in-your-yard
http://whyfiles.org/107flood/3.html
htttp://chemistry.about.com/od/environmentalchemistry/f/oxygen-produced-by-trees.htm

ORANGE is a powerful color, it is one of the healing colors, stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange also means vitality and endurance.
The CARROT, a highly popular and common vegetable, versatile, healthy and enjoyable raw or cooked. The list of recipes using carrots is endless and the fact that the root with the pretty orange color is high in potassium, beta carotene and vitamin A makes it a powerful addition to one's daily nutrition.

Plenty of sunlight provided indoors is the only requirement needed along with keeping the soil/sand mixture (50% high quality rich potting soil and 50% sand - no play sand) on the dry side.
Carrots do not appreciate wet soil.

Links:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21

http://www.gardenguides.com/79857-grow-indoor-carrots.html

http://www.thecreativeideashop.com/seed-gifts.html

Susan Placek, Owner of THE CREATIVE IDEA SHOP

The fast-food style restaurant offers a nice variety of dishes, from Starters to Bowls - the Bombay Bowl with herb-roasted veggies, super grains, steamed kale, cannellini beans, cilantro/green curry sauce with coconut milk, almonds, hemp seeds was very tempting - Homestyle Plates, Burgers, Sandwiches, Soups of the day, Taco Plates and plenty of Sides to choose from. Patrons may pick pairs from each menu category.

After some consideration I decided to order 2 Sides, Steamin’ Kale for $ 3.50 with ginger-miso dressing,  sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and Cauli-Mashed Potatoes + Gravy for $ 3.25, made from fresh cauliflower blended with mashed potatoes, topped with porcini mushroom gravy with fresh rosemary, a combination that's right up my alley.

Links:


The VeggieGrill has currently 24 restaurants in Southern and Northern California, Oregon and Washington.
http://www.veggiegrill.com/index.html


Photography: http://www.cocoonworx.com

Don't we all have those days when we wish things would be as simple as black and white with nothing in between, without the millions of shades of grey that make our world as complex as it is? All the madness on this planet might be fixed easily if there was only either "good" or "bad".

For some unknown reason though the Universe doesn't work like that. Instead, we are all part of that mind blowing web called "life", where all is connected, where each single action of each single person matters and all is one.

It is my deepest desire to be part of something good, to be one of the many tiny little seeds in our society who crave for fundamental change on this planet, and who want to contribute somehow with something in this process of awakening the kind of human qualities that are lacking, but essential in becoming what we claim to be: HUMANE.

I chose Vegetable Seeds as a symbol of life, of new beginnings and of nurturing the human mind and soul, and combined them with one of my passions - being creative - for sowing Goodness and ultimately growing KINDNESS, COMPASSION, PEACE, HARMONY and HAPPINESS, envelope by envelope and seed by seed.

Contact for free logo personalization for businesses, organizations and non-profits and for wholesale.


Links:

http://www.welcometoplanetvegan.com/store.html

http://www.thecreativeideashop.com/seed-gifts.html

Originally - and that is 5,000+ years ago, Carrots were not grown for food but for a variety of ailments.

Based on the information historical documents and paintings provide, that's how long Carrots have been around and planted by humankind, also often mistaken for parsnips, one of their close relatives. Carrots were anything but orange back then, they were purple, red, white, and yellow. That is until the 16th century, when Dutch carrot growers invented the orange Carrot in honor of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. Cross breeding pale yellow with red Carrots resulted in the bright orange colored Carrot we know today.

With its measly 25 calories and 6 grams of carbs, but 2 grams of fiber per average size Carrot, this vegetable is an excellent source of vitamin A, giving you more than 200% of your daily requirement in just one Carrot. Furthermore these pretty edible roots are loaded with beta-carotene, a compound that is naturally converted to vitamin A when consumed. The deeper orange the Carrot, the more beta-carotene you’re getting.

Carrots are good for your eye-sight, for your bowels, for preventing or treating allergies and rheumatism, killing germs in the mouth and maintaining healthy gums, supporting liver function, and improving your skin and its tone. Carrots help reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood and the risk of heart disease, regulating blood sugar and lowering the risk of cancer development.

You may have known all of the above. But ...

Did you know that Carrots also provide excellent medicinal uses for your business too?

Carrots given out as Seeds are a powerful promotional ailment with health benefits for your business kicking in from the moment they are given out. The initial impact this giveaway causes what is known as the mental and physiological state of "surprise", triggering positively valenced emotions, followed by anticipation and the excitement of planting and experiencing the growing process from seeds to edible vegetables.

The carotene content of the harvested Carrots, providing a powerful anti-oxidant, becomes invaluable in the second phase of this all natural and organic treatment, which through consumption, helps your clients and prospects to protect their brains from oxidative stress, and ultimately supports the three main stages in the formation and retrieval of memory:

• ENCODING - receiving, processing and combining the given information
• STORAGE - creating of a permanent record of the encoded information
• RETRIEVAL - calling back the stored information in response to your efforts

Contact THE CREATIVE IDEA SHOP with your inquiry for a Carrot business treatment tailored to your needs.

Click here for more information about Carrot Seed Cards with FREE Logo Personalization and many other ideas for creatively using Seeds for GREEN, VEGAN AND ORGANIC business marketing and promotions.

Links:

http://www.TheCreativeIdeaShop.com  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot

ULRIKE MARIA, Owner of MODERN THOUGHT THEORIES

What are you grateful for today?

Recipe and image courtesy by THREE CHICKS TALKING ABOUT FOOD

KELP NOODIES WITH PEANUT MISO DRESSING

This is a recipe using kelp noodles recipe from Sea Tangle Noodle Company. Sea Tangle makes two different kinds of organic kelp noodles, such as plain and green tea, and as a organic food company that specializes in seaweed, they also package mixed sea vegetables (kombu, wakame, hiziki, seaweed stems and montagne), which you can serve with kelp noodles or in other dishes. These sea vegetables are rich in fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and iodine.

Ulrike Maria, Owner of MODERN THOUGHTS THEORIES

The ego is a peace-disturber, a troublemaker. It wants more and more, it doesn’t stop or find satisfaction. The inherent and characteristic goal of unfoldment and growth, striving to expand, is fully misunderstood by the ego-mind, as it sees this task as an accumulation of material riches and status, worldly powers you might say. However, the spiritual mind knows that the unfoldment of self consists of the humble awakening of Truth within. We have to expand our minds beyond our five senses; to truly ‘sense’ is to go beyond your accustomed limited perception. Mind always seeks to know and to expand its awareness.

“In the last analysis, life is found to be nothing but sense”, is stated by one of the great metaphysicians William W. Walter in the early 1900’s. Life, boiled down, hidden behind the veil of all perception, leaves a purely mental essence. Truth is mental.

Your work is to observe this inner sensing that is going on at all times. Do you see yourself as the dynamic, powerful, yet peaceful Soul you are? Or do you see yourself as struggling, confused, and always in a hectic state? Where is your inner peace?

Once we have mastered this inner harmony we can start sowing the seeds to include our surroundings and in the end, once we have found this stillness and calm within, it will naturally and effortlessly contribute to a grander picture. It will spread easily, and flow with the natural current of the Universe. It will certainly contribute to a better life and manifest into world peace, as we are part of Collective Consciousness, which is connected to the All-mighty Universal Source.

Links:


Links:

http://www.ModernThoughtTheories.com

http://www.examiner.com/mind-and-body-2-in-los-angeles/ulrike-maria-wilson

http://www.CocoonWorx.com (Images)