Berlin still feels like the last cool city humans can be human before everything moves into the cloud. We took a five-day family trip with a Green Prophet mindset — low-impact, curious, no interest in polished tourist loops.

Generator Hostel is often recommended as a budget option for families in Mitte. We considered it but felt that Mitte is too far from it all, and instead contacted eco-leaning hotels to see who had space. Circus was full. Orania was almost full and offered a family room for 750 Euros, still well beyond budget. Michelberger, noted for its regenerative farm on the outskirts of Berlin, had two loft rooms available for a family of four, 300 Euro, — booked immediately. The location was excellent, the brunch breakfast was an added 24 Euro each (you can choose each day), and if you have time to linger, this farm-to-table option is worth it.

A cafe on the other side of the hotel offers a great place to have a cappuccino and a buttery croissant. Artists, designers and fashion types also pop in off the streets by day, and to hear DJs (and sometimes) live music by night. At Michelberger you are in the center of it all without leaving the hotel. I’ve never felt that way before, except once at a $10 a night hostel in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am too old for bedbugs and 7 people to a cramped dorm room.

Every other night a bean bag room on the 5th floor turns into a movie house called the Forest Theater, upgrading your trip to the feeling of a global nomad without having to travel to Chiang Mai. We peeked in on a film at 8pm and it was packed.

The loft bed setup in Michelberger made the room feel like a treehouse. We took 2 rooms for a family of 4, but 3 could fit comfortably if you are planning on being out of the room by day. Climbing up into the king bed every night felt like a repeat moment of “okay, I can live like this.” Beds and pillows were excellent.

Note on scent: the hotel uses aromatherapy-type smells in the rooms, lobby and common areas. They’re from natural oils and noticeable. If you’re scent-sensitive, just be aware — it’s part of the Michelberger identity.

Breakfast at Michelberger is a meal you actually remember. Sourdough bread, jams, vegetables, cheese, the best apple I ate in my life,  — a lot of it coming from the hotel’s own farm. It reminded us of farm stays in Sweden like Stedsans: real food, not hotel buffet food. Designers we know travel to Berlin and mark this place as THE place to brunch and we get why.

The Michelberger building used to be an East German factory. Now it’s full of laptops, fashion people, and families like us who are tired of standard hotels. You hear multiple languages at every table. The shared spaces are active but not chaotic. It’s rare to walk into a hotel and feel like you are part of something bigger.

Simple but good touches: Dr. Bronner’s soap in the rooms, mesh shelves, big desks, nothing overly designed but everything considered. My husband says that’s the German way.

The location is ideal — right next to Warschauer Straße S-Bahn and U-Bahn. From there you can get anywhere in Berlin or to the airport without thinking. Michelberger is in the quirky Friedrichshain district and it’s a walk or a two-stop tram ride to the Kreuzberg district.

Berlin from Michelberger — Walkable, Raw, and Full of Side Missions

RAW-Gelände is minutes away — graffiti walls, skate ramps, concerts, bars operating out of shipping containers, and informal market days where Berliners unload boots full of old Doc Martens and Adidas. Bargain and bring a hood or umbrella because Berlin weather shifts every hour.

Once a 19th-century train repair yard (the Reichsbahn-Ausbesserungs-Werk), this abandoned industrial strip is now one of the last true subcultural zones left in central Berlin. Since being taken over by artists and outsiders in the late ’90s, it’s evolved into a graffiti-covered hub packed with clubs, bars, an indoor skate park, a climbing gym, and a Sunday flea market. It feels less like a tourist site and more like Berlin holding onto its rough edges on purpose.

Skatehalle inside RAW is a full skatepark indoors with sessions for different skill levels and even wheelchair sessions. Teens will not be bored.

Dog Shit Park nearby (nickname earned) is where you meet people actually living in Berlin, not touring it. We met Collin there — former snowboard film guy — who said, “You look like you want to skate and spray paint. Why did you come here? Too bad not earlier, I could have shown you the alternative Berlin” in a way only Berlin locals can.

Boxhagener Platz (Boxi) is a short walk — calm park on weekdays, full flea market on Saturdays. RAW on Sunday felt more alive and less curated than the Boxhagener Platz, with stuff that can be bought on a Chinese website and sold as trinkets.

We ate mostly vegan and Berlin makes it easy. 1990 Vegan Living — Vietnamese-style vegan bowls, tofu panko sticks — easy crowd-pleaser. About 100 Euros for a family of 4 including alcohol. You can’t make reservations and if you have a chance, choose a table on the right side if you like action and people watching.

Iro Izakaya (vegan tapas and sake) was my husband’s top meal of the entire trip. It’s supposed to be Japanese but tasted like an Asian fusion restaurant. Also about 100 Euros for a family of 4 dinner. The kids still like ramen, so noodles and Asian food was an easy way for us to please all. A ramen bowl was about 15 Euros. I didn’t love the broth and had much better vegan ramen in Japan. You can’t please everyone all of the time.

Museums weren’t a focus, but the Vintage Computer Museum was a hit (Computerspiele Museum) — kids can actually play old Sega and arcade games without time limits. DDR Museum gave the kids a practical picture of East German life — like a kibbutz apartment but with more 70s wallpaper. It was my way to warn them about Communism.

Useful Stops for Teens and People Who Like Real Shops

• Green Fuzz – non-vintage alt clothing store, actually interesting.

• Wollparadies Fadeninsel – right next door, full of hand-dyed wool, very Waldorf-friendly.

• Voo  – scent and ceramic heaven, items look like they were pulled from a flea market but priced like art objects (just look, don’t commit).

• Search and Destroy Skateshop – for kids who actually skate, not just wear skate brands.

• There are vintage shops everywhere but they feel overpriced for someone who shops vintage in small charity shops in Canada. Even Humana, with its outlets around Berlin are very overpriced. Pop in though if you need a sexy dirndl costume for Octoberfest or a pair of Lederhosen.

Train rides in Berlin double as people-watching. Watch out for BVG tourist passes bought through an app. We made an expensive mistake, spending $250 for a 3-day local tram pass for our family. We mistakenly bought the pass that included museums free of charge, and one of the days all the museums were closed. We hadn’t intended on going to any of the museums that were free with that pass. I reached out to customer service and they said the passes are, sadly non-refundable. Try and research the passes and what you need online before your trip, and I suggest buying single ride tickets the first day you are there, to see if it’s worth for you to buy any passes. In some instances taking an Uber on short trips made it more worth our while.

Beyond that unpleasantness, the trains are great and easy to navigate. A little less easy for me than Japan.

Multicultural, relaxed, with vegan döner and kepap stands at almost everywhere outside of them. We tried Indian food one night at in Oranienstraße at Amrit (not far from the station) and it was forgettable, but a Pakistani taxi driver later told us where the “real” places were— filed for next time.

If You’ve Got a Few Days and Don’t Want the Usual

• Use Michelberger as a base and explore everything within a 20-minute walk before you even consider museums. We heard that the Natural History Museum is great for kids –– the aquarium too. But our kids have travelled to so many large cities from Toronto to Bangkok, where these kinds of copy-paste museums seem to be a carbon copy of each other and a place to go when you need to kill time and not get the true vibe of the place.

• Sit at RAW for an hour or a few and just watch. Get to Holstmarket 25. We didn’t make it, but it’s earmarked for our next stay.

• Let teens spend a session or two at Skatehalle while you explore Boxi or grab coffee. Book in advance so you aren’t disappointed. Skatehalle offers a beginner’s session for kids for 20 Euros on Sunday mornings from 9 to 11. My son loved it. They have a number of drop in times throughout the week.

• Mauerpark on Sunday for markets and karaoke

• Look up what’s on at SO36 or About Blank instead of Googling “best nightlife.” We caught a show with the teens at Prachtwerk. Berlin works better without lists.

• We didn’t get to the Liquidrom or Vabali spas this trip. The kids needed our full attention. Next time we will look for events at the Tempelhofer Feld, an old airstrip turned into a giant public park, and maybe a hike to Teufelsberg in Berlin, a man-made hill in the Grunewald Forest that is home to an abandoned Cold War listening station used by the US and its allies.

• Rent a bike and drive around without a plan.

Michelberger, designed by re-use architects: Jonathan Tuckey Design in 2018, is the best home base if you can stretch to it. From there, Berlin unfolds itself without needing much planning. Don’t sweat it by booking trips.

::Michelberger

The post Stay at Michelberger in Berlin, your home base for the last cool city on earth appeared first on Green Prophet.

Portland, Oregon is not known for its hot, humid weather, unlike the sticky heat we get over here in the Middle East, yet it is home to a new summer treat – the SolPop.

This is one of the healthiest alternatives to ice-cream and sugar-packed Popsicles since it is made mainly from fruit and natural juices. Finally something you can give your children without feeling guilty about sugar content and chemical coloring. Read on for recipes.

The idea of SolPop began in May 2008 when Aaron Harmon, his wife Danielle Koppel and their friend Noah Cable started testing out different flavors and combinations of fruits to see what worked best. They now have almost 40 different flavors including sweet and tart, savory, coconut-based and “wellness pops” to counteract the rainy weather.

Made from different fruit, vegetables and herbs, all of which are organic, these pops take the name SOL meaning Sustainable, Organic and Local. “Sol” is also the Spanish word for sun, referring to the brightness of the Latin-American sun. These SolPops bring some of that brightness to Portland with their great natural flavours.

The principle is a light refreshing summer treat, where there is only a limited amount of sugar added in the form of cane sugar, agave and fruit cider making this dessert essentially fruit on a stick. If you are not in the Portland area, however, you should try making your own healthy fruit Popsicle.

Recipe 1 – Frozen Strawberry Pops
Ingredients:

½ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 strips lemon zest
1 cup orange or apple juice
2 cups strawberries

Method:

1. Put the sugar, water and lemon strips in a saucepan and bring to a boil, waiting until the sugar dissolves
2. Remove the lemon strips and allow the syrup to cool
3. Puree the strawberries
4. Combine the pureed fruit with the syrup and fruit juice
5. Pour this mixture into moulds and put it in the freezer.

Experiment with the fruit: all you have to do it put your choice into a blender and freeze

Recipe 2 – Simple Fruit Popsicles
Ingredients:

450g crushed pineapple undrained
3 firm bananas
450g strawberries

Method:

1. Puree the pineapple, bananas and strawberries
2. Pour into moulds

So here you have a treat you can make for yourself based on anything you have around, from watermelon (which is packed with nutrients), to mint and other herbs which have their own benefits. Play around with the ingredients and find your favorite flavor for summer.

Read more on healthy fruit treats:
4 New Ways to Have Fun with Watermelon
Indulgence Locavore Style: Homemade Strawberry Jam

The post Frozen juice ice pops recipe – for low-sugar summer treats appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s all too easy for your mental health to take a backseat when life gets hectic. Juggling work, family, and social obligations can overwhelm and emotionally drain you. However, it is important to remember that caring for your mental health is just as essential as tending to your physical health. Here are some tips for getting your mental health back on track when you can’t slow life’s train. 

1. Take Advantage of Professional Help 

Professional help is crucial whenever life becomes too much to tackle in a healthy way. The first step is acknowledging that you need professional support. This realization will require you to listen to your thoughts and emotions. Feelings of anxiety or depression, mood swings, and stress that interfere with your daily life are indicators that it’s time to seek assistance. 

Depending on the situation, you may need to visit a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health specialist. You should research their qualifications and expertise areas and read patient reviews. A primary care provider is an excellent place to start if you need a recommendation. Consider whether you want to take advantage of mainly in-person or virtual appointments. 

Your treatment options will vary based on your symptoms, medical history, and long-term goals. For example, you may just need a safe space to talk about your feelings and thus decide to attend therapy once a week. In some cases, you will need a psychiatrist to write a prescription for medication. More intensive treatment like rehab for depression can be handled on an outpatient basis so you can still tend to your day-to-day responsibilities. 

2. Be Firm With Your Boundaries 

Setting and maintaining boundaries is foundational for adequately navigating the complexities and demands of life. Boundaries are the limits you set to protect your time, energy, and emotional well-being. Maintaining a healthy balance between managing your needs and accommodating the needs of others takes practice. The benefits of protecting your peace include reduced stress, enhanced energy, improved relationships, enhanced self-respect, and burnout avoided. 

Start by reflecting on your needs, priorities, and values. Then use that self-awareness to understand what you will and will not accept in various situations. You’ll also need to learn how to recognize when you feel stressed, drained, and overwhelmed with life to know when a boundary is necessary. 

In addition, learning to clearly and assertively communicate your boundaries is essential to healthy relationships. When expressing yourself, be sure to use “I” statements so you don’t accidentally come across as blaming or accusatory. One of the hardest parts of setting boundaries is learning to say no, especially if you have a history of people-pleasing. Remember that declining requests and speaking up when something is out of alignment with your life is OK. 

Once you establish your boundaries, it is crucial to be consistent. This consistency gives you and others a better understanding of your limits. For instance, if your boundary is not staying out late on weeknights, your friends will keep that in mind when making plans with you. 

3. Incorporate Self-Care Into Your Routine 

Incorporating self-care into your daily routines is a proactive approach to reducing stress, improving your mood, and building healthy coping strategies. Self-care can be any activity or action that supports your emotional and physical well-being. Caring for yourself could involve engaging in hobbies you love, hanging with friends who fill you up, and slowing down when needed. Self-care could also mean not overextending yourself with too many commitments and, as noted above, setting boundaries when necessary. 

Finding even the smallest ways to incorporate moments of self-care into your routine can make a big difference in your overall mental well-being. These tiny moments could include taking a short walk after dinner, cuddling with a pet, or reading a good book. Remember that prioritizing self-care is not selfish but essential for loving and caring for yourself. 

4. Take Care of Your Body 

One of the greatest things you can do for your mind is to properly care for your body. This care includes eating a proper diet, staying hydrated, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. When it comes to food, ensure you’re eating a variety of nutritious foods like organic fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins. These nutrients are foundational for brain health and mood management. 

Regular exercise is one of the best methods for boosting your mental health. Physical activity releases endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. Deep, quality sleep is fundamental to emotional well-being, so aim for the recommended amount each night and maintain a consistent sleep schedule. 

Limiting harmful substances is another way to honor your body and mind. Alcohol and drugs can exacerbate some mental health issues, which leaves you feeling worse and could create a cycle of dependency. Smoking can likewise worsen psychological and physical health, so seek support if you need to quit. 

Something else that’s harmful but we often don’t think about is EMF: the radiation that comes from our phones and other devices. New research suggests that EMF can cause headaches, fatigue, and even low mood. Investing in EMF-protection clothing can help reduce those symptoms. Brands like HAVN design fashionable and comfortable EMF protective clothing to help look after our bodies.

Getting Back on Track 

The chaos of life can be hard to tame, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your mental well-being. Incorporating these practices into your everyday life allows you to find the resilience and strength to keep moving forward. This personal growth can also allow you to become more productive and present in everyday life. Remember that caring for your mental health is a necessity, not a luxury. 

The post 4 Ways to Address Your Mental Health Needs When Life Won’t Quit appeared first on Green Prophet.

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It’s like finding a map back to your grandmother’s pantry, but with the tools of a climate-conscious chef.

Written with a deep reverence for local ingredients and a mindful kitchen, the book Think Eat Cook Sustainably teaches readers how to cook from intuition, not instruction. The philosophy behind the book is the method that surely grandmother’s knew once: and can now be passed in eco-conscious circles and permaculture kitchens. And it may be influenced from the authors experiences growing up in France. Everyone there knows that a soup stock needs celery, carrot and an onion.

The book by Rachel Khanna offers formulas—not rigid recipes—so that you can cook anything, from anywhere, with whatever the Earth gives you.

Are you drowning in recipes, influencer chefs videos, and master chefs showing you hot to cook with ingredients that are hard to find, or too expensive –– or simply not local to you? Do you find you get confused and can’t keep up with the latest Ottolenghis recipe?

Rachel Khanna offers something far more liberating: a formula for freedom in your kitchen. Her book Think Eat Cook Sustainably is not about following recipes to the letter. It’s about understanding the language of cooking—so you can improvise with what you have, honor what’s local, and reduce waste, all while creating deeply nourishing meals. She is a mother of four girls so no doubt earned her chops as a cook and it follows from her second book, Live Eat Cook Healthy. She understood the message of eating more vegetables and buying organic food was not enough to help people feed themselves more sustainably. She went for a “macro philosophy” in this book.

We were sent this book in 2020 and lost in the COVID madness, we just opened it recently and to our surprise, it’s a book that gives cooking tips along with a tour around the world to some of the most loved foods, which include meat, yes meat, and poke bowls and falafel and fish. It shows you in a handy guide on how you can choose a protein or a base for a recipe you want to cook and additional food items and seasonings to make a first class dish. It’s a guide on how to cook everywhere and anywhere, no matter what the pantry offers.

We have so many friends who have become global nomads and are now with kids living in rental homes in Thailand, in cheaper European countries like Portugal. This kind of book can also help you adapt to the palettes of children, working with local ingredients that may be unfamiliar at first.

Khanna, a former corporate strategist turned public servant and wellness advocate, writes with the clarity of someone who has lived many lives—and decided to root herself in the soil of sustainability.

With degrees from Columbia and a background in public policy and nutrition, she’s as comfortable discussing the US Farm Bill as she is fermenting vegetables in a glass jar. She served as a Connecticut state representative, advocating for food system reform, and brings this practical, community-grounded insight to her food philosophy.

Khanna worked for Morgan Stanley and Euromonitor International before entering politics. In 2007, Khanna started an organic meal delivery service Tiffin based in Banksville and serving Greenwich and Stamford and has now published two cookbooks.

Whether Rachel Khanna originated this movement of common-sense food philosophy or simply tapped into its rising current, I’m not expert enough in the culinary world to say. What I do know is this: in a time when food media often glorifies complexity, I found something refreshing in her approach.

I was especially taken by a recent and charming episode of With Love, Meaghan on Netflix, where a member of the royal family Meaghan Markle Sussex takes us into her life in California where she chooses to live with intention and simplicity—teaching others to do the same through the lens of food. The idea of returning to basic, adaptable formulas in the kitchen isn’t just empowering; it’s practical.

It nurtures community, teaches resilience to kids, and gently reminds us that sustainable living often starts right where we are—with what we already have. She also shows us, at least on camera, that preparing food and experiences for your children can be deeply satisfying as a parent and as a woman. The world needs more of that.

Some mouth-watering recipes on Green Prophet:

• Traditional Emirati Khameer Bread
• Turkish Winter Soup With Bulgur Gnocchi
• Rice With Noodles
• Baked Eggplant Slices In Tomato Sauce

The post Think Eat Cook Sustainably is a philosophy book in sustainable food, in edible form appeared first on Green Prophet.

Climate change poses a severe threat to food production, making it imperative to find sustainable methods that complement natural, regenerative, soil based farming. One such method is aquaponics, which grows fish and vegetables together using a water substrate with no added minerals. The fish poop supplies all that the plants need to grow. It’s been hard for dreamers and doers to find that sweet spot that balances several ecosystems at the same time: the fish in the pond, the food in the hydroponics beds, and both those parts together.

Researchers from a desert country, where food growing is limited due to lack of water, offer a new proof of concept for a new closed loop system called aquaponics that produces more fish and vegetables while using less energy than conventional systems.

Their findings were published in the journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling.

Prof. Amit Gross, at Ben-Gurion University has been working with his students and collaborators for the last decade on aquaponic systems. His system uses brackish, or salty water and combines farming with growing fish farms.

As we mentioned above, aquaponic systems grow fish while using the fish waste to grow vegetables hydroponically. Hydroponics was invented by NASA decades ago and later perfected by stealth cannabis growers in Canada who could run grow-ops between walls in their apartment throughout the winter. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada and the US and hydroponics a great method for controlled growing of high value crops, advances are needed to make it even more sustainable.

That’s where this new research steps in: coupled aquaponics are closed loop systems that recycle much of the fish effluent rather than reusing it outside of the aquaponic system. Where typically the fish solid waste is disposed of, Gross managed to treat it by anaerobic digestion and recover energy and nutrients into the system to form a near zero waste unit. This is the path to resolving the ups and downs and headaches of balancing the nutrient load in the system and what the plants need as they grow.

After more than two years of testing, Gross’s system demonstrated 1.6 times higher plant areal productivity, 2.1 times lower water usage and 16% less energy consumption per kilogram of feed than conventional systems.

His calculations suggest that upscaling to about one ton of fish will allow operation of the system with no need for external energy, less than 1% water exchange, negligible waste production as well as significant carbon sequestration.

Net zero, here we come? The next grow system for the spaceship to Mars and the first Mars colony? Sustainable food that can be grown in Antarctica?

“Feeding the more than 8 billion people on the planet while reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require innovative technologies. Those that combine two functions in one are obviously preferable. Fish are a sustainable high-quality source of protein with a far smaller carbon footprint than most other sources. Combining fish growth with vegetable production and preventing waste is a win-win-win,” says Gross who worked with Ze Zhu and Uri Yogev from Ben-Gurion University and Prof. Karel Keesman from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.

? Hydroponics, Aquaponics, and Cannabis: Growing Greener with Smart Agriculture

As the world looks for sustainable ways to grow food and medicine, modern farming methods like hydroponics, aquaponics, and even cannabis cultivation are leading a quiet revolution—especially in regions facing water scarcity, like the Middle East and North Africa.

Hydroponics uses nutrient-rich water instead of soil, saving up to 90% of water compared to traditional farming. Aquaponics adds fish into the mix, creating a closed-loop system where fish waste feeds the plants, and the plants clean the water. These systems can be set up in homes, urban rooftops, or greenhouses, making them ideal for future food security.

And yes, cannabis—the once-taboo plant—is gaining ground as a medicinal crop. Grown sustainably in hydro or aquaponic systems, cannabis can provide medical benefits without the environmental damage associated with traditional farming.

This green trifecta—hydroponics, aquaponics, cannabis—is not just a trend; it’s a glimpse into the future of ethical, sustainable agriculture.

? Learn More

Here are 5 useful links to deepen your understanding:

1. Hydroponic Farming in the Middle East

2. What is Aquaponics and Why is it Eco-Friendly?

3. Israel’s Medical Cannabis Revolution

4. Rooftop Farming in the Middle East

5. Smart Agriculture Innovations in MENA

The post New advances on making aquaponics a valid business appeared first on Green Prophet.

One hump or two? Feisty camels might have a bad rap, but their milk is low in fat, and full of vitamin C and iron. The next thing to hit Whole Foods?

At the tail end of breastfeeding week, we thought we’d draw attention to another kind of milk widely touted in the Middle East to be the magical elixir of health.

A staple of their diet, along with dates, camel milk has long provided Bedouins with the proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins necessary to survive a desert-dwelling existence.

And unlike cow’s milk, which creates allergies in many consumers, camel milk is blessedly allergen free. Camelicious bottles this humped concoction in different flavors and sizes that are available at supermarkets throughout Dubai.

1. The healthier choice:

Considered to be the closest substitute for mother’s milk, camel milk is not only low in fat and full of vitamin C, but it doesn’t curdle in the stomach. Therefore, it’s easy for the body to process it.

2. The Bedouins swear by it:

Travel to any Bedouin home, and you’re likely to find a camel nearby. After giving birth, mama camel can easily produce 5 liters of milk a day, though friendly coercion and good diet can stimulate more production. The Bedouins insist on the milk’s holistic properties, as indeed, it was used as a moisturizer and sunscreen as well as food. The Bedouin have plenty of health hacks. Find lots more here.

3. Free range:

The Emirates Industry for Camel Milk And Products (EICMP) Have Diversified Camel Stock, which is relatively free range.

No business in their right profit mind would admit to dodgy conditions for their animals, but the company Camelicious claims that their animals are happy and healthy. In addition, the camels bred for milk are  interbred with camels from Pakistan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, producing a superior genetic strain.

4. Camel milking is potentially more humane:

Camels are typically milked for 12-16 months after giving birth, before they are encouraged to breed again; the equipment used to milk them is designed to be safe for their udders and to avoid mastitis – a common condition among dairy cows.

5. Camel milk tastes good too!

Free of cow’s allergens, and milder than goat’s milk, camel milk just might be the perfect compromise. It’s not too sweet, and drinking it won’t cause an upset stomach either.

6. No chemicals added:

With 5 times the amount of Vitamin C in camel’s milk, and full of iron, camel’s milk needs no nutritional help. It has a shelf life of 5 days before pasteurization, after which it will survive for up to 3 weeks. Camel’s milk is just as versatile as other milk, used as it is to produce low-fat varieties of cheese, chocolate, and a fermented delicacy that is used in areas that lack refrigeration.

So, put away your carton of steroid-infused cow’s milk and genetically modified soy, and find yourself a liter of choco-camel milk instead. That is, for those who observe Ramadan, after the sun has set.

Fermented camel milk products include chal or shubat in Central Asia and Iran, khoormog in Mongolia, garris in Sudan, suusac in Kenya, leben (lben) in Arab countries, and ititu and dhanaan in Ethiopia

Updated, Feb 2025

More Food and Health News From the Middle East:

Chemicals Colouring Our Food – A Rainbow to Avoid

Organic Farms Growing in Dubai

Interview With Locavore Expert Leda Meredith

The post Six “Green” Reasons To Drink Camel’s Milk appeared first on Green Prophet.

Senior living spaces should provide a comfortable, healthy atmosphere to promote happiness and well-being. Eco-friendly spaces focus on natural, sustainable practices to improve air quality, resource use, and the world around us. Eco-friendly senior living facilities can provide a cost-efficient, healthy space for older adults to thrive without harming the environment. As a bonus, sustainable practices can significantly improve how older adults live in these communities.

1. Air Quality

Sustainable practices include better insulation, high-quality air filters, and indoor plant use to boost air quality. Older adults are prone to lung problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, pneumonia, and asthma. Improved air quality can reduce asthma attacks and ease symptoms of lung conditions. 

2. Stress Relief

Natural light, indoor plants, and accessible outdoor spaces are essential for an eco-friendly living space. These features have been scientifically proven to reduce stress, improve mood, and create a relaxing atmosphere. Sunshine also provides valuable vitamins and nutrients that older adults may have trouble receiving.

3. Heart Health

Exposure to calming outdoor spaces, better-regulated temperatures, and indoor plants can improve stress levels, air quality, and mood. A lower stress level can provide significant benefits for the heart, including lowering blood pressure, which can contribute to heart attacks and worsening heart disease. Better air quality means healthier breathing, which supplies more oxygen to blood cells to help keep the heart pumping healthily.

4. Mental Health

Eco-friendly senior living spaces can provide access to gardening areas, green transportation like biking or scooters, and social activities like sports. These activities promote exercise, socializing, and enrichment, improving mental health. Better air quality can bring more oxygen to the brain, supplying it with more nutrients. The knowledge of helping the environment through eco-friendly practices and living can boost mood, too.

5. Enrichment

Older adults can learn to garden, compost, incorporate green transportation practices, and recycle in eco-friendly communities. Learning new activities and becoming a part of something bigger and beneficial can provide plenty of enrichment for older adults, sometimes improving mood, mental health, and pain relief. Indoor plant life and access to natural light can also enrich the living environment.

6. Comfort

Comfort is a significant issue in many senior living facilities. It’s common for seniors to experience abuse or neglect, regardless of location. Neglect can include missed meals, health issues due to unregulated room temperature, or lack of medication. Abuse and neglect in senior communities are prevalent issues in every state. In Texas, there were 4,000 reported cases in 2022 alone. There were nearly 10,000 reported nursing home neglect cases in SC, but many go unreported. Florida seniors surveyed indicated that 75% had witnessed or experienced abuse or neglect. Eco-friendly living involves better ventilation, air quality, and temperature controls. These factors can prevent overheating or hypothermia in older adults with trouble regulating body temperature during periods without staff supervision, mitigating the chances of neglect or injury.

7. Building Quality

Natural materials, good air quality, and water filtration systems reduce strain on a building and its equipment (like air conditioning systems). These features make buildings last longer, reducing wear and tear. Better-quality structures make for safer, happier living spaces in senior communities.

8. Water Quality

Eco-friendly living areas can and should prioritize water recycling practices (rainwater collection, greywater recycling, and more). With water filtration and recycling systems, water quality is improved. Harmful pollutants and chemicals are removed from the water to make it safe for consumption. Water is crucial for health, particularly for older adults.

9. Pollutants

Senior living facilities are often in older buildings, where pollutants like microplastics, asbestos, and chemicals can be common. Eco-friendly renovations provide clean air, food, water, and other materials to reduce harmful irritants to the skin, lungs, and overall health.

10. Finances

Renewable energy like solar or wind power dramatically reduces the cost of utility bills in senior living communities, improving financial health for older adults. Electric transportation or vehicles eliminates the cost of gas. Water recycling can significantly reduce water usage, which saves money as well. Improved finances can provide more freedom and security for seniors in these communities.

Conclusion

Eco-friendly living spaces provide many benefits not just to the environment but to residents as well. For older adults, air quality, water quality, and pollution play a huge role in mental and physical health. In senior living communities that prioritize sustainable practices like renewable energy, water recycling, and air quality, there can be a significant increase in senior health and happiness. Good air quality can reduce the effects of common lung conditions in senior populations. Water recycling can improve the quality of water and remove harmful pollutants.

Access to gardening, indoor plants, and sunlight can improve mental health, lower blood pressure, improve heart health, and increase enrichment. Eco-friendly living may reduce the prevalence of neglect through temperature control and access to healthier living spaces.

The post 10 Ways Eco-Friendly Senior Living Spaces Enhance Quality of Life appeared first on Green Prophet.

When Amy’s Kitchen started in 1987, its co-founder, Rachel Berliner, admits she and her husband, co-founder Andy Berliner, had no idea it would become a juggernaut organic food pioneer. What began with one homemade vegetable potpie in their 1870s farmhouse has now expanded to up to 1 million meals daily.

“We always felt that if we did the right thing that the business would work rather than trying to have a goal of making this much money, we thought we had a goal of making this much good food and to make it the best we can and the highest quality,” Rachel Berliner told Simon Mainwaring during an episode of his “Lead With We” podcast. “And that’s always been our approach. It’s not the make the money first.”

It’s as authentic as this — if someone is hungry, Rachel Berliner wants to feed them. Amy’s Kitchen offers more than 250 products and budget-friendly multipacks of its popular burritos and a plethora of dietary options including vegan, soy-free, gluten-free, tree nut-free, and kosher items. 

Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s, Rachel Berliner told CBS News she recalls the organic garden in her yard and how it essentially established the roots of how she ate. “They taught me to always eat healthy and to never eat things I couldn’t pronounce,” Berliner said.

She added that while she didn’t like vegetables at the time, helping in the garden was expected. “My mom is a great cook, and I got a sense of what food should taste like,” Rachel Berliner said on “The Bite Goes On” podcast. “That’s what I do with the company, developing the meals and coming up with ideas.” 

When Berliner was pregnant and placed on bed rest, father-to-be Andy Berliner ventured out to find quick and easy vegetarian cuisine for her but returned with some pretty unsatisfactory options. The couple began experimenting with various vegetable potpie recipes, and eventually, their daughter — and the brand — were born.

Andy Berliner said the response within the natural food industry was explosive once they introduced their line.

“We started with one product, a vegetable potpie, organic vegetable potpie. And even though the product wasn’t fully developed at our first trade show and we didn’t think it tasted right yet, people loved it, and they loved the idea,” Andy Berliner said on “Lead With We.”

“And three months later, it was as if we’d been in business for years because it moved into all the natural food stores around the country, and people were saying come out with more products.”

During those early days of getting Amy’s Kitchen off the ground, Rachel Berliner told online training provider Talented Ladies Club in an interview that working from home allowed her to be a stay-at-home mom.

“In the beginning, our office was in our barn, and we worked from home,” she shared. “My mother was also a great help.”

Rachel Berliner revealed her mother actually wrote all the copy on the original boxes. The Berliners also solicited the input of friends and other family members to shape their creations. 

With careful attention to detail, Berliner says her approach to presenting the brand was different, just like the food it creates.

“I have a very unusual philosophy about the business, which I started right from the beginning,” she explained. “It’s kind of a subliminal message. Somebody is going to the store, and they’re buying this box of frozen meal, which is really not the most natural way to eat. The natural way to eat is to go to the farmer’s market, get your fresh vegetables, come home, and make salads and soups. But this time in this world, we’re too busy or we don’t know how to cook. But what we try to do is give them a connection to their food.”

Since the beginning, she says personal touches went into photographs used on Amy’s Kitchen packaging. 

“I always put a plate from my grandmother, and we have flowers in the garden, and I put a flower on the package,” informed Rachel Berliner, who studied art in college. “And we feel that at every step of the way, all the love that people put into the food, the farmers, the processors, the people working in the office, the people making the food, the shipping, everything — we just try to make it a very loving experience and caring experience.”

Growing Amy’s Kitchen With Care

Rachel Berliner admits that she takes great pride in sharing the joy of Amy’s Kitchen with the world. 

For the business owner, the feeling of enthusiasm over Amy’s Kitchen never gets old. It’s one of the reasons she still reads all the fan mail sent to the company’s California headquarters. “I do love reading letters from Amy’s fans who discover our free-from foods and tell us things like: ‘Thank you. I thought my life was over’ and ‘I thought I’d never eat my favorite foods again,’” Berliner said. 

Amy’s Kitchen has continued to expand over the years and now includes Amy’s Drive Thru in five locations throughout California. With a menu of organic veggie burgers, pizzas, burritos, salads, and shakes, Amy’s Kitchen’s customers requested fast food made with intention, and the innovative company delivered.

“We’ve got this great opportunity in Amy’s Drive Thru, and we certainly see that continuing to grow, and putting in restaurants in more and more places across initially California and hopefully eventually across the country,” says Paul Schiefer, president of Amy’s Kitchen.

Despite how big their enterprise gets, Rachel Berliner maintains the nucleus of Amy’s Kitchen is still centered around how it started. “We still taste in the farmhouse in Petaluma around the same table,” Rachel Berliner explained. “I wanted to refinish the table, but we decided to leave it the same color because we’ve been using it all these years.”

The post Amy’s Kitchen Co-Creator Rachel Berliner Explains The Earliest Days of The Brand  appeared first on Green Prophet.

We like a hot meal in the summer, but it has to be light, and it shouldn’t require a lot of time in the kitchen. This herbed and spiced fish stew needs only a few minutes of preparation, then half an hour to cook. Use organic vegetables if available. Any firm, white fish fillet works well for this recipe. Just make sure it’s  safe fish, first. Your best bet is to get a local fresh fish and ask the vendor to fillet it for you. And the stew makes a delicious sauce, so serve plenty of good bread, like these pitas, alongside.

Moroccan Fish Stew Recipe

Serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a hot first course.

Ingredients:

1  1/2  kg. firm white fish. Possible to use salmon.

1 package of cilantro, or parsley if preferred

2 onions, halved if only medium-sized, quartered if large

4 large cloves of garlic, peeled and whole. Put in more if you love garlic.

1 large tomato, or 2 medium tomatoes, thickly sliced

1 red or green bell pepper, thickly sliced

4 medium potatoes, thickly sliced

4 carrots, quartered vertically

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp. powdered cumin

1 Tblsp. sweet or hot paprika, according to your taste

salt and pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Method:

Use a wide, shallow pot, if possible. This is important because the pot liquid is less likely to dry out. Or you can try baking your dish as the Moroccans sometimes do, featured in the image above.

If you’re using frozen fish, thaw it out and put it to soak in cold water to cover; squeeze half a lemon into the water.  Let the fish soak for 10 minutes, then rinse it. Fresh fish doesn’t need the lemon water treatment.

Slice the fish into pieces about three fingers wide. Put the slices aside.

Place the cilantro or parsley on the bottom of the pot. Place the vegetables on top of the greens and set the pieces of fish on top of the vegetables.

Sprinkle vegetables and fish with the dry spices.

Pour the olive oil over the whole thing. Add no water, nor any other liquid. The ingredients will release their juices and form a thin, but rich sauce.

Cover the pot and set it over a medium flame. Check it after 20 minutes, making sure that it’s not drying out. When the vegetables are cooked through and the liquid has cooked down to a thin sauce, it’s ready: it should take about 30 minutes total.

Serve it hot.

Enjoy!

More summery recipes:

• Figs with Arak, Figs with Cream
• Seasoned Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
• Malabi, Silky White Milk Pudding

(Updated July, 2023)

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