art and health | Outside The Lines

What is your favorite food? While some dishes are enjoyable year round, there are a few seasonal treats that we crave in certain months. For instance, with autumn comes a taste for turkey and pie, especially apple and pumpkin. Winter seems to taunt us all year long with reminders of sweet cookies and hot cocoa. Spring is alive with fruits and vegetables that are coming into season, and summer is the time to grill meats and eat cold treats – like Popsicles.

Regardless of what season we are in, crave-worthy foods find ways into our homes. But we don’t reach for them because of taste alone; these are the foods that color each season. Baskets of jams in winter and bowls of fruit in spring become colorful, edible kitchen décor. But no food colors a kitchen better than fruits and vegetables.

Delectable greens, vibrant berries, plump tree fruits and unearthed veggies add color to each season while sparing us room in our waistlines.

Take a journey with us through each season, reviewing the tantalizing treats that come into our homes each year.

Summer

On a hot summer day, you probably find yourself cooling off in the kitchen. With a berrylicious ice pop in hand, you can treat yourself to a low-calorie, colorful treat.

In a recently released cookbook, “Vibrant Foods” author and photographer Kimberly Hasselbrink features “Summer Berry-Coconut Milk Ice Pops.” Add a splash of color to your freezer and bear the heat with this healthy sweet.

Fall

The rich colors of fall are best found in nature. One type of fruit has colors to match the many autumn hues. Harvested between August and November, a vast variety of apples line grocery stores each year. Pies, sauces, and salad accoutrements are all places where apples appear during this colorful season.

Winter

Winter blues seem to strike in the earliest months of the year. During this time, it’s tempting to let holiday sweets carryover into daily diets, but cutting out these cravings is easy with colorful, homemade soups. Tomato bisque, broccoli-cheddar soup and hearty stews are recipes that add splashes of color to this dreary time of year.

Spring

When the earth comes alive again with thawing temperatures and spring rains, fruits and vegetables begin to appear again. Bringing color into the home and shedding the holiday pounds is simple with green leafy vegetables. In addition to making salads, begin using lettuces to cook and present food. By adding lettuce to sandwiches and garnishing main dishes with the edible green, you can sneak in the vitamins and cancer-fighting qualities while adding a burst of green to every meal.

Food is a part of our daily lives no matter what season we are in. Enjoy rich colors, textures and flavors that complement each season.

Which foods do you like to eat in summer, fall, winter and spring? Share which treats infuse your kitchen with color and add health to your life.

Read more Segmation blog posts about color theory:

Food Never Looked So Good

Thanksgiving Scenes Influence Art

The Stories Behind Holiday Colors

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

Join us on SegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad

www.segmation.com

Remember being outside the school theater, waiting to see the cast list for the spring play? Or when taking a ceramics class was required and choir practice took place three times per week? These memories can leave a person longing for yesteryear. After all, many artistic opportunities dwindle post high school. Although, this is not the case for some senior citizens.

Throughout the years, there has been much talk about the aging population of baby boomers. But not all reports are true. With excellent health and good retirement plans, senior citizens are finding care facilities that meet their needs and interests.

In fact, some retirees are looking to artists colonies as places to live, remain active, and continue dreaming.

Retire in an Artist Colony

A new concept of retirement living is sweeping the west coast. In California, a number of senior artists colonies are springing up. These community living environments are purposed to offer art programs, physical activity classes, and encourage overall wellness in residents.

What makes these locations different from other retirement facilities is the enthusiasm participants have for the arts. This novel concept is attracting people who were (or are still) professional actors, singers, writers, painters, and more. It also appeals to those who are connoisseurs of the arts. These populations even welcome people who have always dreamt of becoming artists. With opportunities to live in senior artists colonies, these individuals are fulfilling their lifelong dreams.

Benefits of Art for Senior Adults

Regardless of the artistic path a person pursues, the results are destined to be positive. The act of creating a work of art is rewarding to the individual, and can boost his or her health and wellbeing. Some studies have reported that “older adults who participate in art programs have fewer doctor visits and lower healthcare costs, use less medication, experience a lower rate of depression, and even have fewer risk factors for entering a nursing home.”

In retirement years, art becomes more than a form of recreation and self-expression. It includes intellectual stimulation, emotional well-being, and physical benefits too. For those who spend retirement years in the throes of artistic interest, any living environment can feel like an artist community.

Read more Segmation blog posts about Art and Retirement:

Knitting Is More than an Art, It Is a Cause

Thomas Kinkade Is Remembered Through His Artwork

Vintage Typewriters Create Artwork

Be a Artist in 2 minutes with Segmation SegPlay® PC (see more details here)

Segmation

FREE Newsletter

Join us on FacebookSegPlay® Mobile iTunes now available for iPhone and iPad