TV Shows With a Simplicity Focus

Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska is a PBS show that many have seen or heard about: it's into its third season (though we don't get it here in San Antonio). Interestingly, there seems to be more and more television shows popping up with at least some content that appeals to those simplifying their lives.

Here are some, please feel free to add to the list:

Living With Ed, HGTV. Ed Begley, Jr. (loved him since St. Elsewhere - does this man age?) and his wife have a new, weekly reality show dealing with their environmentally-friendly home. Funny and educational. Here's Ed telling you about refrigerators: he calls them "energy hogs."

Living Fresh with Sara Snow, Discovery Health. This show (jumping to Discovery from FitTV) deals with eating fresh, locally grown, organic foods. An example of its focus: Sara's list of ten things you can do to "go green."

Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger, Food Network is a somewhat similar show to Sara Snow's Living Fresh. However, Krieger doesn't seem to leave the kitchen (Sara goes on field trips) and Krieger focuses on the cooking itself. She's got a growing recipe collection at the site - however, I'd double everything. From the show, I don't see this woman believing in leftovers.

Real Simple, PBS is another offering that I haven't seen. According to its site, "Want to know how to throw together a delicious last-minute dinner from whatever you have in the refrigerator? How to upgrade supermarket flowers into beautiful centerpieces? How to streamline your schedule? The answers are simple on Real Simple Television — a series unlike anything else on the air." Check the website to see if your local PBS station carries the show.

Simplify Your Life, Fine Living Network, offers more of a reality-tv perspective. Each week's show is named after the family guest-starring in that episode. As an example, "the Witkins," offers "When baby makes three, make way for more stuff. With some creativity and a few tools, the spare bedroom that's being used to store clothes can transform to a nursery. And expectant parents might be low on energy, but that's the very time you need a fitness routine for pregnancy and beyond--Geralyn Coopersmith has the perfect suggestion. Nutritious can be delicious, even for pregnant women, with these menus and some quick kitchen tips from Grace Parisi. And the same techniques will work just as well after the baby's born."

LowCarbCookworx, PBS-HDTV. Hosted by a husband-and-wife doctor team, healthy recipes are the focus. You'll hear discussions of things like the importance of magnesium here, and see them adding it to food, as well as making things like mock maple syrup (to avoid high fructose corn syrup) to go with high-protein waffles. Ed Begley would like this show.