Veggies!

Take a fast quiz on the Fruits and Veggies Matter! web site sponsored by the government. The website is available in Spanish here, too. How old you are and how much you move around during the day determines the amount of delicious fruits and vegetables you will want to ingest.


I'm a Vegetarian: Amazing Facts and Ideas for Healthy Vegetarians
by Ellen Schwartz

112 pages

So, you've decided to be a vegetarian...now what? In 2002, when this book was first published, 13 million North Americans were vegetarians. Back then, the writers projected 1 million more would join the veggie lovers each year! You can calculate how many vegetarians there are today in 2008. Read about food consumption and the effects on our environment, which diseases you can stave off, and even learn about religious injunctions to avoid meat. See a list of vegetarian entertainers, scientists, philosophers, political leaders, writers, artists, and athletes.

Here is a sampling of vegetarian authors and artists:
Louisa May Alcott
Leonardo da Vinci
George Bernard Shaw
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Leo Tolstoy
Vincent Van Gogh
H.G. Wells

Other sections of the book include "Convincing parents...and other sticky situations," "Food, glorious food" (a brief historical timeline of vegetarianism), "Be smart, stay healthy" (guidelines to healthy eating), "Being a vegetarian - it's easier than you think" (nutrition), and recipes to plan extensive menus. Don't forget to check the websites at the back for more information.

The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook
by Judy Krizmanic
186 pages
"Recipes for all types of vegetarian dishes are accompanied by information and advice on vegetarian diet and quotes from teenage vegetarians." The green ink on natural colored paper supports the natural focus in this book. This is so easy to read it's nearly a crime to non-vegetable consumption. Who will let the meat run free after using these clear tips for transforming your eating habits? It is not written to pressure you to change, but you will be able to examine this alternative lifestyle with open eyes. The charts structured with "You gotta have", "If you don't like", "Try", and "Then try" explain vitamins and mineral necessities. Desserts and tips on how to eat in college conclude the book.

The Vegetarian Teen
by Charles A. Salter
112 pages
"Describes the benefits of vegetarianism, discusses proper nutrition, and includes a variety of recipes for main and side dishes, and snacks." This is a fast read with large print and a good introduction to the ideas that are expanded upon in the books noted above. There is a humorous spin to the writing. The question that opens the book, "What do you think of when you hear the word vegetarian?" is answered with, "Some hermit in India sitting on the floor in his loin cloth, with his scrawny legs curled up like a pretzel? A group of hippies living in a backwoods community?" The author tries to present a well-rounded view of vegetarianism without sticking to stereotypes or overwhelming the reader.


Truth or Dairy
by Catherine Clark
"When her boyfriend suddenly dumps her because he is going away to college, high school senior Courtney Von Dragen Smith is determined to stay single for her final year in order to concentrate on school, friends, and her cool job at the local vegetarian cafe, Truth or Dairy."


Wurst Case Scenario
by Catherine Clark
"Courtney, a vegetarian animal-rights activist, records in her diary the events of the beginning of her freshman year at a Wisconsin college, far away from Colorado and her boyfriend Grant, surrounded by cheese- and meat-lovers."

For a clever presentation of why eating dairy products is not a good idea, read Milk Sucks. If this isn't to your taste, try researching on the library databases! Read about The Health and Wellness Resource Center (and Alternative Health Module) for a great place to start investigating.

New Year's resolution - exercise

Stand up straight. Bend. To the left. To the right. What shoes are you wearing? Hey, can exercise be done in a dress? Of course!

Now imagine you are the universal man. Arms out. Now up. Now out and down.

Hands on hips. Lean to the side. Right knee up, left knee follow. Swing that leg. Trace each foot in an arc around. Squat and stand. Squat and stand. Kick, kick, kick, kick, and kick!

OK, the weights go round and round and set them down.

Now try this to the music of your choice.

Seek books at the library branch of your choice to support your new exercise (or dance) plan for the new year.

Eating

Insatiable: The Compelling Story of Four Teens, Food and its Power
by Eve Eliot
This may be fiction, but there is truth here. This "novel written in episodic format follows four teenage girls whose shame, fear, and confusion compel them to binge, purge, and refuse to eat in misguided attempts to feel safe and in control of their lives." This isn't a comic, though there is humor to help get you through this rough topic. Maybe this is about you. Maybe you are not alone, either. Read this for yourself, your friends, or for anyone you know who struggles with a difficult relationship with food.


Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder
by Nadia Shivack
"The author tells the story of her eating disorder using cartoons to illustrate her internal feelings and battle with bulimia." Shocking cover, shocking words, shocking portrait. This brave author reveals her inner most pain in order to help others. Nadia was 14 when she met Ed, her eating disorder. She writes, "maintaining dignity is not easy. Dear heart…only you know how little lies under the façade." She has a daily struggle uphill while continually battling the noise in her head. She writes words and she draws on the same notebook paper you see in every student's binder. The quirky drawings express pain, confusion, joy, sorrow, hope, and more. Artists will admire her honest expression throughout this remembrance. Thank goodness this book has been published.

List compiled at the end of the book:
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
www.anad.org
www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org
www.eatright.org
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eatingdisorders.html
www.aedweb.org

Afterword: "I've been hospitalized several more times since this book was first conceived and illustrated. Day by day I continue to recover, working on replacing the critical voice in my head with one that is more positive and loving. I hope that by reading this book, we will increase our understanding and awareness of eating disorders and lessen the shame, guilt, and isolation that so often occurs in women suffering from them, which keeps so many women and girls in silence and makes this illness so hard to treat. This book has been my inspiration to continue to recover, to know that I might, in time, be able to reach out to others still suffering."



Be Healthy! It's a Girl Thing: Food Fitness and Feeling Great
by Mavis Jukes, Lilian Cheung
"A guide for adolescent girls on how to stay healthy and fit, with information on nutrition and exercise." Read this lighter, but no less helpful, approach to the subject of staying healthy. Here are tips to enjoy eating and exercising. Share a new plan with friends and stay on track together. New Year's Resolutions can be as bold or gentle as you choose. Good luck, you can do it!

Time lapse food

Botulism by Maxine Rosaler
Are you afraid of the food that lurks in your refrigerator? Has it grown a warm moldy coat? Read this book about botulism "examining how one gets it, how to treat it, and its symptoms." Time to retire the tomato, whack that watermelon, and run away from the strawberries (they might take on a life of their own)!

Tomato


Watermelon


Rotting strawberries

Pumpkins rot after Halloween!

Pumpkin with music
time = 17 seconds

Get Carded @ the Library

Teens can "get carded" at the library throughout September in celebration of Library Card Sign-up Month. Any teen who shows their library card at a Fauquier library reference desk in September will get an (edible) prize!

A library card gives you access to books, magazines, music, films, and other familiar materials during regular library hours. But what do you do at midnight when homework is due the next morning? Take your library card in hand and hop online to our library web site. The databases connect you to full-text encyclopedia articles, newspaper archives, downloadable audio books, and even free practice tests. Explore Oxford Reference Online Premium for bilingual dictionaries, timelines, maps and illustrations, and excellent links to web sites. Click on Peterson’s Testing & Education Reference Center to take practice SAT, ACT, AP, GED, and career exams. Ask at a reference desk for help getting started.

Read more about how to celebrate this month at Fauquier County Public Library!

Eat your greens

Ogden Nash

Parsley
Is gharsley