Healthy Art

By

Veronic.a F.ree

I consider my home a haven from the chaos and stress that exists outside the walls of my house. My home is a place to rest my body and renew my spirit. It is this belief that generated the idea of decorating my home with healthy art. My personal definition of healthy art is artistic creations that nourish the body, uplift the spirit, and are visually appealing.

When at home I like to be surrounded by things that I find comfortable and pleasurable. I like to change the appearance of the interior of my home often. I don't make major renovations, just simple changes such as rearranging the furniture or changing color schemes or wall dcor. My idea of decorating with healthy art is a wonderful way to not only change the dcor in my home but to also change my eating habits.

Daily I am reminded by medical reports, the news media, magazine advertisements and various other sources of the importance of establishing healthy eating patterns. I know that in order to live a balanced life I must not only take care of my physical body but also nurture my spiritual and emotional needs. Healthy art creations provide the perfect way to maintain the balance I need.

In an attempt to establish a healthier diet I have stopped buying cookies and chips for snacks and started buying fruit instead. I also have started eating more vegetables. Space is limited in my kitchen. Finding a place to store the replacements for my usual junk food required some creativity. Fresh fruits and vegetables are too beautiful to be hidden away. In keeping with this idea, I now use them to make edible artistic creations to beautify my home. This way they serve a dual purpose. Healthy food is always in sight and within reach.

Baskets and bowls can be purchased for minimal prices at yards sales and flea markets. These make excellent starting points for creating edible displays. These creations need not be confined solely to the kitchen or dining room. Fruitful displays can also add beauty to a foyer or family room.

I enjoy creating arrangements with unusual fruits and vegetables. Buying fruit to match a tropical theme, a holiday theme or a certain color scheme gives me an opportunity to experience and enjoy flavors, textures, and aromas that I would not ordinarily experience. I've found a large variety of unexplored fruits and vegetables at local Farmer's Markets.

In spring and summer I like to incorporate flowers and herbs into my creations. A basket filled with fuzzy, aromatic peaches and blooms from summer flowers makes a soothing arrangement. (I put the blooms in individual vials and mingle them in with the fruit.) An assortment of tomatoes arranged around a container of basil is fragrant and uplifting. Red is an energizing color and basil has a unique aroma which makes this a winning combination. Mint is easy to grow. There are numerous varieties available that make wonderful additions to healthy art displays.

Decorating with fruits and vegetables is a slightly challenging in the fall and winter. Braids of garlic and strings of dried green beans and peppers make great edible art items. Wire baskets become artistically lovely when filled with various shapes, sizes and colors of onions and potatoes. Pomegranates are a favorite seasonal fruit that I like to use in my artistic designs. There are so many different varieties of apples easily accessible in local markets, that just a collection of various types of apples becomes a work of art.

Since I started decorating my home with healthy art I have drastically changed my eating habits. Reaching for a mango, kiwi, tomato, or carrot is much healthier than grabbing a cookie or munching on chips. Having beautiful arrangements of fruits and vegetables in sight and within reach serves more than one purpose. Healthy art nourishes my physical body and lifts my spirit, and adds beauty to my home.