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Issue 104
January 2003
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR. LIBRARY
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION
GEDDY GARDEN NEWTS
P. O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
Whateveryou can do, or dreamyou can,
Begin it."
Goethe
January is our time for assessing our personal lives and making plans for our futures. In other words, it is
the time for New Year resolutions.
Many people make resolutions that relate to their health. Exercise classes enrollment increases in January,
and more diet cookbooks are sold in that month, too. We are concerned with trying to improve our health through
eating proper diets. Like many others, a lot of my resolutions are concerned with food. I have been learning about
the nutritional value of certain vegetables and my goal is to include more of them in my diet. In 1790 Thomas
Jefferson was impressed with the amount of vegetables consumed by the French, not so much meat but wholesome
vegetables, and he tended to follow their example. I have no intention of ever becoming a vegetarian, even though I
am aware that about 4%
of Americans are today. However, I will aim to include more vegetables than I presently
eat.
There are certain ones that I consider the most important. Dark green leafy vegetables are rich in nutritional
value and contain lutein. Lutein acts as an antioxidant and is useful in filtering out dangerous sunlight and thereby
protecting the tissues of the eyes. Lutein can only be found in the foods you eat and vegetables like kale and spinach
are rich in lutein. I love spinach salad, so I can easily add that to my diet this year.
My doctor has told me to avoid a lot of carbohydrates, so I am aware of what I should not eat. It is
important that everyone get the advice of their doctor when thinking of changing their eating habits. For my health
a low carbohydrate diet is a must. Therefore, I avoid pasta, white bread, rice, and white potatoes. Avoiding the
white potatoes poses a real problem for me. I love potatoes in every form. Potatoes are rich in protein, vitamins,
minerals, vitamin C, iron, thiamin, phosphorus, and niacin. I will, however, substitute the sweet potato for the white
potato. The sweet potato is a very healthy food. It contains the daily recommended amounts of vitamin C, plus
potassium, and is a great source of beta carotene. I found that by sprinkling cinnamon on the sweet potato and
baking it you really do not need to give it the marshmallow treatment and it tastes delicious.
I plan to include more vegetables, but I will limit it to those I like. I do not want to feel I am punishing
myself. I've researched and found that lutein, which is important for my needs, is also found in tomatoes, broccoli,
oranges, and corn.
Fruits, of course, are also important in my diet. Among the fruits I plan to eat more often are strawberries.
Strawberries are a healthy food that reduce stress, calm anxiety, and they contain less sugar than lemons and
oranges. John Gerard wrote of the medicinal virtues of the strawberry and also suggested adding distilled strawberry
water to white wine to " relieve the spirits and make the heart merry."
The colonies were full of wild strawberries. In
Maryland a 17t- century colonist wrote, " Wee can not sett downe a foote but teed on strawberries." Most Virginia
planters grew strawberries and we find receipts in early cookbooks for strawberry preserves and jam. I will eat plain
strawberries and also plain blueberries. These are both foods that are good for you and taste good as well. The
antioxidant powers of the blueberry helps to ward off serious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer' s disease. They
are beneficial in providing good vision and anti -aging. In the 18th century a New England receipt combined both
strawberries and blueberries and nutmeg. A blueberry sauce was included. This dish was called blueberry buckle and
it is delicious, but a lot of sugar is involved.
�In the protein department fish is very good for you. I recently learned to eat salmon, which is high in
omega, which is good for the heart. I really do not like most fish, but I' ll try a little harder. Since most lipsticks
contain fish scales, maybe I can cover the fish category by wearing more lipstick.
Beverages are a major part of my diet. Due to the sugar in most fruit juices, I choose V-8 and tomato juice.
The top four sources of caffeine in the American diet are coffee, soft drinks, tea, and chocolate. I drink sugar -free
and caffeine -free soft drinks, but I will aim this year to include more water and tea. I already drink a good amount
of low -fat milk for calcium.
Another goal is to use less salt on my food. Salt is the most widely used seasoning in the world and I confess
to being an abuser. As a substitute I am adding more herbs for seasoning.
Garlic is a healthy herb that I plan to include in my life this year. Eleanor Roosevelt is said to have eaten
three chocolate covered garlic balls every day in her adult life in the belief that it would improve her memory. Her
doctor recommended it. I think I will pass on the chocolate covered variety, but Thomas Jefferson had a salad
dressing that I would like to try that contained garlic. It consisted of one crushed garlic clove and sesame or benne
oil. He wrote to John Taylor of South Carolina in 1808, " The African Negroes brought over to Georgia a seed
which they called Beni, and the botanists Sesa mum. I lately received a bottle of the oil, which was eaten with sallad
by various companies. All agree it is equal to the olive oil, a busel of seed yields 3 gallons of oil. I propose to
cultivate it for my own use at least."
I use more honey in place of sugar in my diet. It takes 12 bees their entire lifetime to make a tablespoon of
honey. All that energy should not go to waste. We should all eat more honey.
I have shared some of my resolutions, but dietary resolutions are not the only ones I made.
I hope to be able to keep myself financially solvent, but I also resolve to indulge in an occasional luxury item
if I feel the item will bring me joy. Nothing too extravagant, but an occasional frivolous purchase is good for the
soul.
I plan to continue in my exercise program for my good health.
Emerson said the means by which a soul attains its highest development are books, travel, society, and
solitude.
7fyou have a garden and a library, you have everything."
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Have you made your New Year' s resolution yet?
2anet juthzie
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geddy Garden News
Description
An account of the resource
The Geddy Garden News was a monthly newsletter produced by employee Janet Guthrie who worked for many years as a garden interpreter at the James Geddy House. The Library holds a partial run of this newsletter (issues 33-114 with some gaps) for the years 1996-2003. The newsletter ceased publication in 2003 upon Guthrie’s retirement.
Subjects covered most often in the newsletters are 18th century gardens, gardening publications, gardens of the Founding Fathers, plant uses, early and pre-Christian folklore, and seasonal customs. Much good and interesting information is found within these newsletters, but current users should be alert for some now archaic interpretive sources, Latin errors, and cultural generalizations, especially with Native peoples/nations of North America which are often treated as one culture instead of many.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Guthrie, Janet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Geddy Garden News, no. 104, January, 2003
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Guthrie, Janet
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation