Stress & IBS

One of my dear friends has been dealing with Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms for several years now. I have been giving her suggestions here and there on what to do to try to get rid of it. Until recently I was under the impression that IBS was one of those things that doctors would diagnose you with if they didn't know what was wrong with you. Now I know that IBS is something that doctors diagnose you with if there seems to be nothing wrong with you.

If you are having IBS symptoms, there is obviously something wrong... it's just nothing that doctors are testing for. They are looking in the wrong place. Here's what my friend has learned that has helped her tremendously.

After three years of dealing with IBS, I've learned what my "triggers" are and what I can't eat a ton of. If I have too much dairy, particularly cheese, or processed sugar, like candy or Splenda/Equal or things like that I get set off. Part of what I learned though was how connected your digestion system is to your nervous system.  My stress levels also had a significant impact on my digestion, maybe even more than my trigger foods.

With that, came my new years resolution: to be kind to myself.  The following have helped ease my stress, which in turn eased my IBS symptoms and digestion issues.

1. Drink warm water or tea after every meal.  Warm water not only eases digestion  by relaxing the muscles, but is also a natural detoxifier.  Keeping hydrated, especially with warm water has a certain comfort to it too!

2. Being mindful of what I am eating. I often rush through my meals, which either causes me to be hungry and crave my trigger foods later or causes indigestion.  Slowing down and bringing all the senses to my meals means that I eat only until I am full and helps my digestion system break down the food, rather than swallowing it whole practically.

3.  Deep breathing or alternate nostril breathing.  First of all, concentrating on the changing nostrils has definitely distracted me and allowed me to put my stressor in perspective.  Second, deep breathing is meditative even when you aren't going for that and has a calming effect.  Lastly, we are all given so many breaths so by making each one count slows you down to be in the moment.

~ L 

When was the last time your doctor talked to you about anything like that? Being someone who is prone to letting stress and anxiety get the best of me, I can relate to her suggestions about deep breathing and taking the time to eat, relax, and take care of yourself.

If your body is screaming at you, it may be more beneficial to check in on your stress levels and how you are  (or are not) taking care of yourself. To-do lists never go away & there is always tons of stuff to do each day.

Who is it going to effect if you take time out of your day to make sure you are taken care of? (hint: YOU!)

I love bibb lettuce

Since discovering how much I love bibb lettuce salads with other kinds of lettuce just don't compare. I probably wrote about this before, but the best way to make a salad with bibb lettuce is just add dressing. The second best way is what I'm about to tell you. I discovered it on the menu at my FAVORITE restaurant/bar/nightclub over the summer and I just made it myself.

I'm not exactly sure how they make the apricot vinaigrette so I winged it:

• handful of dried apricots (organic, unsulfured)
• raw apple cider vinegar
• raw olive oil
• water
• bibb lettuce
• Gorgonzola cheese
• walnuts

1. Soak the dried apricots in water overnight (they will take their original shape when done)
2. In food processor, add apricots (including water from soaking), oil and vinegar, blend.
3. Toss lettuce and dressing in bowl.
4. Top with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (organic) and crushed walnuts.

AMAZEBALLS! While the dressing is not exactly the same, it gives a similar sweet effect. This is definitely one of those things I could eat every day.

One thing about nuts. EAT THEM! (unless you are allergic) They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. There is nothing wrong with eating fat if it comes from the right source! Right source- fruits, vegetables, nuts. Wrong source: hydrogenated oils, fried foods, candy bars, etc. You get the point.  

And I'm eating my second bowl right now. 

Prop 37: My Humble Opinions

On November 6, 2012, California voters will decide whether to require labeling of food products containing ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (Prop 37). It is all I have been hearing about lately, and while I am completely against genetically modified foods, I am also completely against the government forcing companies to do anything about it. 

Here's why...

1. When the government gets involved in business it imposes tremendous costs on industry X, Y, or Z. This is often "in the best interest of the public", but it actually hurts everyone because it takes the responsibility and necessity of being informed away from the people. It tells people "don't worry the government will take care of you." 

2. The more regulations, the higher the cost. I'm sure that Prop 37 doesn't just effect companies that are producing foods including GMO's. There will for sure be collateral damage. Food will inadvertently become more expensive and the food available will not be any more valuable for the extra cost. 

3. The food industry is in bed with the government. I'm afraid that this monster is too big to tame overnight. There are a handful of corporations that own and control majority of the major food brands. They lobby in Washington, donate to politicians who will help them, have huge budgets. This is not to say that I don't believe that a few people can create a huge change (revolution if you must)... given the right circumstances a one person can change everything. But getting the government involved is not going to get GMO's out of our food. 

So what do you do? 

In light of the fact that most of the items at any given grocery store (including Whole Foods) contain genetically modified ingredients, you stop buying them. Companies are run off of profits. If the company loses profits it changes it's product(s) or it goes out of business. As much as it is important for everyone to not be eating genetically modified foods, it is more important for YOU to stop eating. And YOU don't need the government to tell you what is or is not genetically modified.

I'll tell you in a nutshell:

• any product containing corn that is NOT organic
• any product containing soy that is NOT organic
• any product containing canola oil that is NOT organic
• any product w/ high fructose corn syrup in it
• any product w/ hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in it
• any meat that was not humanely raised
• any dairy that comes from animals not humanely raised
• any fish that was not wild caught

Why the animals? Because they are fed corn and soy, and whatever they eat, we eat. 

The more fresh fruits and vegetables you buy, the less processed junk you will buy. It's that simple. But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy. 

It took me being completely grossed out by certain foods to cut them out of my diet- cold cuts, conventional meat, conventional dairy, factory farmed meat, most processed/packaged "foods" that are sold in the grocery store. It's hard to get over  what you are used to, but it gets easier the more you know about the reality of our food industry.

What will it take you to start changing the things you put in your mouth?

Is this a smoothie? or dessert?

I sure couldn't tell. I set out to make a smoothie, but it tasted so much like a creamy sorbet that I felt like I was eating dessert. And it was super simple!

• 2 frozen bananas
• frozen cherries
• frozen strawberries
• fresh blackberries
• plain Greek yogurt (made from raw milk)
• a little bit of water

I just put all of these in a blender, mixed for a minute, and voila! I ate a enough to fill me up, and then split the rest into cups and put in the freezer for later. You could do this with just fruit, or regular yogurt that you find in the grocery store (buy plain organic and add your own honey or agave to sweeten it- so much healthier!).

So technically this is a "RAW" food because the milk used to make the yogurt was unpasteurized. What's the deal with unpasteurized milk? The process of pasteurization rapidly heats the milk which deforms the protein and destroys the enzymes. Enzymes are the worker bees of the body that break food down and tell the body what it is  and what to do with it. The point here is once these deformed proteins are ingested by us, our body has a hell of a time figuring out what they are and what to do with them. Normally the enzymes that are found in raw milk are the ones that do all of the digesting. When raw milk enters the stomach, the enzymes are activated once the stomach reaches a certain pH and they start digesting the milk protein. That means that your body doesn't have to do any work to digest raw milk. 

You know how after you eat a giant meal you get sleepy? It's because all of your energy is being sent to the digestive track to take care of digesting the meal. When you eat enzyme rich food (raw foods) your body doesn't have to do much work because the enzymes present in the food do it for you. That means that your body can continue to work on repairing itself more (think immune system). It doesn't have to stop for hours to go take care of the giant cooked meal you just ate. 

There's your mini lesson for the day... Enjoy!

My thoughts on "occupying" things

Yesterday was Occupy You Food Suppy day #OFS. I get it that people are fed up with how things are being run- I am too. The government is in bed with big dairy, big business, big agriculture, big banks & everyone else who loves free money.

While generally I think it is a good thing that people stand up for what they believe in, "occupying" anything other than a job is really not going to benefit anyone- including yourself.

I agree that the food industry is a F'ed up. I agree that we are fatter and sicker because of it. I agree that something needs to be done. But what I don't agree with is "occupying" anything- except maybe the White House lawn (b/c whether you want to face it or not, all this bullshit wouldn't be possible without a big government, handouts, and lobbying). The Occupy Movement that started with Wall Street (which was in my humble opinion a bunch of misinformed, wanna-be hippies that had no real agenda and no work ethic) was such a time and money suck that I am not going to waste any more time talking about it. Now the Occupiers are occupying what? food stores? Monsanto's corporate headquarters? Who knows. As far as I could see it didn't make the evening news.

Here are some actual things every ordinary person who cares about themselves, their health, their wallet, and their families can do without having the I'm-a-hippie-and-I-need-something-to-cry-about stigma:

• buy more produce, it doesn't even have to be organic
• stop buying the junk that's making you and your children fat monsters
• buy seeds and start growing some of your own food (instead of spending hundred of $'s on pretty flowers for your garden)

It doesn't have to be this big to-do to make changes. All you have to do is vote with your fork and your dolla dolla bills yo! We don't need more farm bills or Occupy Movements. Get the government/evil food industry out of your food by changing the food that you buy. 

Conflicting Information About Raw Milk

Yesterday I was contacted by two different family members about news reports of people supposedly getting sick from raw milk. This coming after the news of the Feds shutting down a raw dairy farm in Pennsylvania because they sold their products across state lines. Frankly, I think it is udderly (pun intended) ridiculous that the United States Federal Government is so concerned with dairy farmers who run clean farms and provide a healthy product that is in demand by people who are disgusted by conventional dairy. 


I realize the problem in question is food born illness, but seriously there are spinach recalls and peanut butter recalls. No one ever hears of the feds raiding spinach farms or peanut butter factories, with guns, and forcing them out of business. 


No. The company does a recall and life goes on. Why is it that the Feds have such a penchant for eradicating raw dairy farmers? 


I just did a quick Google search of "raw milk recalls" and "milk recalls" and guess what? There are recalls of regular (pasteurized) milk due to contamination too. It's not just the raw milk that supposedly contains the bad bacteria. 


Here are the two articles that I was emailed last night. One is from The Washington Times and the other is from Natural News. 

Feds: Fresh milk 150 times more dangerous than pasteurized dairy

The federal government said Tuesday that fresh milk is 150 times more dangerous than pasteurized milk — a finding that bolsters the government’s argument as it goes after farmers who sell unpasteurized milk across state lines.

After a 13-year review, the taxpayer-funded Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said states where so-called “raw milk” is available had twice the rate of dairy-related disease outbreaks as states where those sales are banned.

And disease outbreaks from fresh milk are more serious in nature, according to the study, which found 200 out of 239 hospitalizations during the study stemmed from cases of fresh milk.

“Restricting the sale of raw milk products is likely to reduce the number of outbreaks and can help keep people healthier,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, director of CDC’s division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases. “The states that allow sale of raw milk will probably continue to see outbreaks in the future.”

Fresh milk devotees say pasteurization — the process of heating food to kill off bacteria — removes some of the health benefits of milk, and argue that when consumers know their suppliers, diseases from raw milk are not an issue.

But the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration say pasteurized milk has all the same benefits as unpasteurized dairy.

Sales of raw milk are governed by states, but the FDA has jurisdiction over sales across state lines and has banned them.

The issue has come to a head in recent months after the FDA sued to shut down an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania who sold to eager customers in the Washington metropolitan region.

After a judge ruled against the farmer, he said he would shut down entirely, including in-state sales, rather than fight the regulators.

(Original Source) 

Pasteurized milk 150 times more contaminated with blood, pus and feces than fresh milk - videos the CDC won't show you 

The vaccine-pushing, disease scare-mongering agency known as the CDC has put out a stunning piece of propaganda attacking fresh milk (raw dairy), claiming it is "150 times more dangerous" than pasteurized milk. This is all part of their anti-American agenda to crush food freedom and criminalize fundamental farming practices upon which this very nation was founded. (Yes, George Washington and the founding fathers drank raw milk, grew hemp and even smoked a little weed as medicine.) 

But what the CDC won't dare reveal to the public is the far more horrifying truth: Pasteurized dairy is produced in the dirtiest milk factories imaginable, where blood, pus, e.coli and other truly dangerous pathogens are routinely bottled into milk containers and fed to consumers.
That's the whole point of pasteurization, you see: To kill everything that might be alive in their ultra-dirty milk. The real purpose of pasteurization is not to simply "make milk safe" as is claimed by the CDC, but rather to allow the dairy industry to operate DIRTY. It's so much easier to just cook the crap out of the milk (yes, there's fecal matter in it) than to clean up their operations, get it? 

Thanks to pasteurization, conventional (non-organic, non-raw) dairy operators have no need to thoroughly wash their milking machines, no need to sterilize any milk containers, no need to wash their hands, and no need to maintain a clean milking environment whatsoever. It's just total filth with festering diseased animals dying on the floor and being physically abused by the corporate dairy operators (see video links, below). 

Dairy cows are routinely abused and left to suffer in total filth. 

Want to know how conventional (pasteurized) dairy cows are really treated? Here's something the CDC won't show you. 

Watch this highly disturbing video of dairy cows being kicked, tortured, abused and injured by conventional dairy workers. 

This was filmed with an undercover spy cam (WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGERY):  Video 

When you buy pasteurized milk at the grocery store, you are supporting an industry that tortures cows and produces a dirty, filthy product! 

Of course, the dairy industry would much rather force everybody to pasteurize their milk and outlaw clean raw dairy than to clean up their own act. That's the whole point of the CDC going after raw dairy: To destroy the raw dairy industry and force everyone to drink dirty, contaminated pasteurized milk that's extracted from tortured cows. 

Here are some other short videos you may want to view (WARNING): 

Dairy Cow Abuse - "Mercy For Animals" hidden camera in New York:
video

The disgusting treatment of (conventional) dairy cows:
Video 

Dairy cows with injuries and infections:
Video

ABC Nightline - Dairy farm abuse:
Video

So get it through your heads, folks: If you buy pasteurized, homogenized milk, you are supporting an industry of filth, torture, infected animals and dirty, dirty milk. 

Blood, pus, bacteria and fecal matter - drink up, kiddies! 

The reason all that milk has to be pasteurized is because it's strongly contaminated with:

• blood
• pus
• bacteria
• fecal matter 

In addition, conventional dairy cows are:

• Pumped full of bovine growth hormones
• Fed masses of antibiotics
• Fed tons of GMOs such as corn and soy
• Heavily contaminated with chemical pesticides

That's what you get when you buy "Pasteurized" milk. Plus the feces in the milk, of course.
So the next time somebody gets mad at you in bumper-to-bumper traffic and they scream out the window: "EAT SH*T!" just hand them a glass of pasteurized milk. Let them drink it, huh?
The cleanest milk in the world? RAW, fresh milk! 

You want to see a super clean dairy operation? Go to a raw dairy farm and check out their operation. It's the cleanest, most pristine dairy operation you'll ever find. And why? Because it has to be. If you want to produce clean, fresh dairy without pasteurization, you have to run a super clean facility with healthy cows, stringent cleanliness practices and a commitment to producing wholesome food. 

Only raw milk dairies have this kind of commitment to cleanliness. 

View this powerful comparison between pasteurized milk and raw milk:
http://organicpastures.com/whyraw.html 

In fact, if you took a gallon of unpasteurized milk from a conventional dairy and you compared it to a gallon of unpasteurized milk from a quality-certified raw milk dairy, I have no doubt you would find that the conventional dairy has at least 150 times the level of blood, pus, feces and dangerous bacteria (if not more).

In contrast, raw milk from a reputable dairy operation such as Organic Pastures (www.OrganicPastures.com) is the cleanest milk on the planet, bar none. Sure, it has friendly bacteria in it, but that bacteria is good for you -- it's probiotics. The CDC, of course, is so clueless about infectious disease that they hate ALL bacteria and want to destroy them all with chemicals or heat. 

The CDC won't dare discuss any of this, however. Instead, the CDC has resorted to what can only be called a raw milk fear mongering campaign using the exact same tactic they used to promote vaccine sales by pushing false swine flu fear. 

The only thing dirtier than pasteurized milk, it seems, is the CDC itself, which has degraded from a once-respected group of actual scientists to a cabal of junk science fear mongerers and political prostitutes who drop trow and bend over for Big Business (Big Pharma, Big Dairy, etc.) at every opportunity. Instead of doing something important to stop the spread of infectious disease (like promoting vitamin D, immune-boosting nutrition and improved sanitation), the CDC is now a total sellout to the interests of the corporate giants who feed us filth and call it food. 

So it's no surprise to see the CDC promoting pasteurized milk -- the very product whose digestive enzymes have been destroyed so that it causes allergic reactions in those who consume it. 

Pasteurized, homogenized milk also promotes heart disease, obesity, autoimmune disorders, constipation, sinus congestion and many other chronic health conditions. It is the perfect food for the uninformed masses who the U.S. government seems to be trying to keep in a state of lifelong disease and medical enslavement. 

Keep reading NaturalNews to learn more about what's wrong with conventional pasteurized dairy products. We're working on several articles covering this topic. 

And remember: 

Pasteurized milk is so disgustingly dirty that if they didn't kill everything in it with heat, the liquid would probably kill YOU. 

Sources for this story include:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/21/feds-fresh-milk-150-t...
http://organicpastures.com/
www.RealMilk.com
www.WestonAPrice.org

(Original Source) 

If you watched any of those videos, or have viewed any previously, you know how horrible some of these people are that are responsible for the milk that you drink. I don't know about you, but knowing what I know, I am not okay with spending my money on conventional milk products. 


I am going to continue to buy raw milk products.


If you are interested in finding out more information please visit Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

Black Market Milk

I finally got around to writing about my raw milk experience. I know there are people out there who would love to hear that I was violently ill, it was gross, it had green mold, etc. etc. Actually, it was awesome! The milk and cheeses I bought were absolutely fresh and amazing, and I will continue to buy raw milk and dairy products as long as I can find it.

I wasn't really sure what to expect. The place that I bought the dairy from, Udder Milk, was kind of secretive in the way that they deal with the customer. They were very strict about only handing it over to the person who placed the order and only accepted cash. I assume that this is because of the controversy that surrounds raw milk, and the fact that it is actually illegal to sell in NJ. Oops! I broke another law!

I bought raw whole milk (the cream actually does rise to the top!), raw mozzarella cheese, raw cheddar cheese, and raw heavy cream. Everything was great! The heavy cream is actually more like butter than what we consider heavy cream.

And! Remember how I was always complaining about super dry skin? Well, I just realized a couple of days ago that it has been at least a week since I have noticed my skin. I used to wake up in the middle of the night  scratching my legs. I would have to lather on oil, and cream, and more cream half way through the day, and a lot before bed. Annoying!!! 


I'm not exactly sure if it is all of the raw dairy I have been eating/drinking, but that is the only significant change I have made in the past month, which is what leads me to think this is the reason.

If you are interested in ordering raw milk you can find farms local to you at Real Milk. They have all the information you will need about the health benefits and where to find it depending on where you live. If you still need convincing there is plenty of information on the bogus research that the government is using to try to  make us believe that raw milk is horrible for our health.

Whatever U.S. Government! I will continue to drink/eat raw milk and cheeses because I am convinced that if raw milk were bad, there would be no mammal alive on this Earth. Think about it and then form your own opinion based on the research that you have done, not what some government crony is paid to say by Big Dairy.

Some of my other posts on the subject:


Milk Myth: It does a body good (Especially if it has hormones in it)
Organic dairy farmers want to talk with you...Big Dairy doesn't
In my quest to find the best possible food

5 Ways: Pizza

I don't know about where you live, but here in New Jersey we are fortunate enough to have THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD!! Unfortunately, that means we are eating white flour and loads of cheese. So I decided to make my own "healthy" pizza. Instead of loads of cheese, I used a variety of veggies and even one with fruit!

Pizza Dough:

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. organic bread flour
• 1 pkt. yeast
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/4 c. water + enough to make a ball of dough

1. Put the water, sugar, and yeast in bowl and mix.
2. After 5 minutes, add in flour, salt, and start mixing.
3. Add in water until a firm ball is formed. (shouldn't need more than 1 cup)
4. Let rise for 45 min.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
6. Sprinkle pan or stone with cornmeal.
7. Roll out out dough and brush with olive oil.
8. Add toppings & bake for 30 minutes.

Toppings 5 Ways:

• goat cheese, sliced green apples, onions, and rosemary (pictured above)
• fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, eggplant & fresh basil
• feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, bacon, & fresh thyme
• shredded mozzarella, tomatoes, garlic, peppers, onions, artichokes & sun-dried tomatoes
• Muenster cheese, tomatoes, diced Brussels sprouts, broccoli, & garlic

After brushing the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and layer on the cheese and/or tomatoes, then the toppings, then more cheese! By adding all of the vegetable toppings on you will find that you will use less cheese. Enjoy!!!

What is your favorite way to eat pizza?

5 Ways: Quiche

One of my goals this year is to complete my book. I started with the idea of writing a book a little over a year ago. Last year I spent a lot of time researching, cooking, and cleaning up what I ate. Throughout this process, the scope of what I want to turn into a book changed a few times because I wasn't satisfied. I always felt like my idea wasn't complete. Well nothing is ever really complete because everyday I learn something new, however, I feel now that I have a "mostly complete" idea.

In a nutshell, I am going to be putting together a step-by-step guide on how to de-junk your diet while still being able to eat very tasty, healthy, and seasonal food. It is about what to throw away, what to buy when, and how to make easy, relatively fast meals. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are the basis of this (and the newest addition) which is why I think it is so important to write a guide. How many of you can take butternut squash and turn it into 5 completely different tasting meals? How many of you know what to do with cranberries (besides cranberry sauce)? How many of you know why apples are so abundant in the fall? and why it is so important that we eat tons of them while they are ripe?

Working out weekly meal plans including mostly seasonal fruits and vegetables is what I am going to be working on, because fruits and vegetables are available at certain times of the year for a reason, and that is when we should be eating them- when they are in season. Plus it is cheaper to eat seasonally, and easier to eat locally because farmer's markets are becoming more and more popular.

So expect a lot of 5 Ways in the future.

This first one is quiche. This is just as easy as making an omelet, but tastier. The key is to either find a pie shell with healthy ingredients or make your own. Last weekend I had to make 3 of them for my BF's sister-in-law's baby shower so I bought some at Whole Foods.

Pre-made pie crusts should be made with real ingredients, unbleached flour (whole wheat would be best), and butter or palm shortening. If it is made with "vegetable shortening" it's no good- it's made with soy shortening.


Pie Crust (makes 2 shells or a shell w/ a top)

• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 stick organic butter, room temp.
• 1/2 cold water

1. In food processor (or with a pastry blender or fork), put dry ingredients & butter.
2. Slowly add in cold water until mix turns into a dough ball. Then stop even if you have water left over.
3. TIP: wiping the counter top with a wet sponge will prevent the wax paper from slipping.
4. Roll the dough in between flowered wax paper sheets. 

pastry blender

Making a quiche is simple...buy or make the shells, beat 8-9 eggs per shell, add the toppings to the eggs, fill shells, bake in 350 degree oven for 55 minutes. That's it!

Asparagus 

Spinach & Feta

The BF's Sun-dried Tomato & Eggplant

Broccoli & Cheddar

(source)

Goat Cheese & Artichoke

(Source)

What is your favorite quiche to make?

Eating Locally

locally grown produce at Whole Foods the end of last summer

I know it's the middle of winter and you are thinking...how can I eat locally? Nothing is growing (at least if you live in the north east). But there are other things you can eat locally besides fruits and vegetables.

I know I keep writing about Whole Foods, but I am fortunate enough to work close to one and they have been the best source of the unconventional sh** I have been looking for. There are many things Whole Foods sells that I do not agree with (like soy products), but there are a lot of things that I could not find any where else.

local cheese!

Whole Foods have locally sourced fruits and vegetables (when in season), local dairy, local eggs, and local meats. They, by far, have the best variety of organic dairy, eggs, and meat that I have seen in any large grocery chain. Too bad it is illegal to buy raw dairy in New Jersey (something that I hope will be overturned).

Another thing to start thinking about now is whether or not to join a CSA. (If you aren't aware....that stands for Community Supported Agriculture). When you join a CSA you basically buy a share of the crops that are produced by that farm. That means that you pay upfront for local to semi-local fresh produce. You get your fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies delivered to you every week. As with mother nature, there are no guarantees. Some years are better than others, but is great to know that your produce is coming to you straight from the farm. Who knows how long produce is sitting in the food store before you actually take it home (and who knows what has been sprayed on it at the farm AND when it comes into the country- yikes!).

Here are some sites to find a CSA near you:

• Local Harvest
• Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association
• Rodale Institute Farm Locator
• Eat Well Guide

Will I be joining a CSA? Probably not for the sole reason that I started a huge garden last year and it will be pumping out more than I could possibly eat. I am however going to make it a weekly thing to go to a farmers market once they start up in the spring. It's too early to talk about that, but I will be in a few months.

Here are some snippits from an article by Mark Bittman (one of my favorites!) about his experience talking and visiting with a CSA in Burlington, VT. Original Article

The Intervale, which is on the Winooski River, has been farmland for nearly the entire time humans have lived in this region, not only because land that floods is especially fertile (think of the Nile), but because it isn’t much good for anything else. “The Intervale was always a smart place to grow food,” says Will Raap, the founder of Gardener’s Supply, headquartered in the Intervale. “It’s fertile and flat, and there’s plenty of water. And as Burlington grew it didn’t get developed because it floods.” Twenty-five years ago, part of it was planted in corn and much of the rest had become an informal dump.

Raap happened upon the land back then, saw its potential and teamed with Burlington Mayor Bernie Sanders (the now-heroic Vermont senator, with whom I was touring the Intervale Center) to begin seeding and incubating small businesses and farms in the Intervale. The Center’s goals are familiar ones, but worth repeating: to use the land responsibly and sustainably, to help farmers make a living, and to make needed connections among people, farms and food.

Some of these farms have relied heavily upon the C.S.A. (community-supported agriculture) method of selling their crops. In a C.S.A., devoted consumers pre-pay the farmer for a percentage of the crop, usually stopping by the farm once a week to pick up a box of assorted produce. In theory, whatever is harvested that week is equally divided among shareholders. (In practice it’s more complicated than this, but let’s keep it simple.)

But C.S.A.’s have limitations for both consumers and farmers. To attract customers, farmers must diversify and plant 20, 30, even 40 crops annually, trying to grow each in quantities sufficient to satisfy all the shareholders. When it comes to kale, a prolific crop whose season begins early and ends late, this isn’t a problem. When it comes to eggplant, tomatoes, strawberries, peaches or any number of other foods whose abundance isn’t easily guaranteed … well, that’s serious work. (A common lament goes something like, “My basket had three strawberries and four pounds of kale!”) Then there are the inconveniences of picking up the box at the farm, usually at an assigned time. (This can also be a chance for community members to socialize and connect with farmers.)

For both farmers and consumers, there is also risk. When the floods associated with Hurricane Irene came this fall, some C.S.A.’s virtually ceased operations for the year. Bad for everyone.

Thus C.S.A.’s have limited impact in moving the food system forward, because most of the population prefers more traditional shopping.

And last but not least...local dairy. This is what I am most interested in now due to my recent enlightenment by Sally Fallon of The Weston A. Price Foundation. I am going to start sourcing raw milk, raw milk cheeses and butter made from raw milk that I can purchase. I want to determine a couple of things:

• first I want to see if I can taste a difference
• second I want to see if I can feel a difference
• third I want to see what the cost difference is

Here is a great resource if you are interested in finding raw milk by you: RealMilk

OMG I want to eat LIVER!

Well, I've gone and done it again. Just when I think I know enough to make informed decisions about what I am eating I learn something new that totally blows my mind and makes me rethink what I have been doing.

New year's night I ate dinner at my Aunt's house and liver and onions came up in conversation. We aren't weirdos...my grandmother used to eat it all the time. As soon as I heard that my face scrunched up and I got that feeling like "I could never eat organs!" Hahaha like it's any different than eating muscle (which is what meat is).

Anywho, I was just listening to a lecture by Sally Fallon of the Weston A Price Foundation on "what a healthy diet is". In a nutshell, Weston Price (who was a dentist) saw his patients coming in with awful teeth. He knew that diet had something to do with it so he set out to study a bunch of isolated "primitive" cultures around the world. They are referred to as primitive because they have no interaction with the "civilized world". His goal was to examine their teeth, their overall health, and the foods that they ate.

He went to each culture and did just that. He examined everyone from the elders down to the infants and found, to his astonishment, that the majority (99%) had perfect teeth and were generally of good health. Their babies were healthy, the old people were healthy. Then he recorded their diets. He set out thinking that their diets would be vegetarian. On the contrary they ate everything from raw milk to organ meats to fish heads (yum!).

What these "primitive" cultures ate depended on what they had available. There was a group of people in Switzerland that ate mainly raw milk products and a dense sour dough bread.

You ask...how is that possible? I thought carbs and dairy were bad?

Well the bread and cheese those people ate were completely different than the bread and cheese that we eat today. They did not pasteurize their milk which kills everything beneficial that raw milk has to offer, and the bread that they made was made in such a way that is easily digestible.

 There were a lot of similarities between how these "primitive" people ate but here are the few that intrigued me the most:

• they ate what was available to them (whether it was dairy, or bugs, or fish, or grains) 
• they ate entire animals/fish
• they ate the fattiest parts of the animals

How does this relate to liver and onions? Well until just recently it was common to use most parts of an animal. Two generations ago, people ate liver. And this is in New Jersey, not some isolated valley in Switzerland.

liver & onions courtesy of The Food Network

Since then, the no-fat/low-fat health claims have twisted us into thinking that we are healthier without all the fat. But these isolated "primitive" cultures around the world have proven otherwise. These cultures have been eating traditionally for hundreds if not thousands of years (depending) because it has allowed them to thrive and survive in their particular surroundings. They do not need doctors and scientists to tell them what nutrients are in what. They ate liver not knowing it is very high in Vitamin A & D. They did not explicitly know that Vitamins A & D are fat soluable (which means they need fat present to be absorbed). The liver is a fatty organ. They did not explicitly know that Vitamins A & D are important in that they allow all of the rest of the vitamins and minerals to be absorbed and utilized properly, as well as play a huge role in the proper functioning of hormones. Their animals were raised on a pasture, which in turn produces meat that is high in Vitamin D.

They weren't screwed up about what they should eat. 


Why do we (Americans) think we know it all? Why in a relatively short period of time have we screwed it all up? Who do we think we are?

After listening to this lecture, I got the uncontrollable urge to try liver. I heard horror stories from my mom and aunt about liver and onions, but I have a feeling that if I use enough butter and make a pate it will be delicious. I mean if the French can eat it (and a lot of it) why can't I?

Coming Soon...liver pate... are you yay or nay?

*By the way... if you were like me and against liver (or other meat) you can take a cod liver oil supplement, but not without butter!!! Butter makes everything better.

Potato Salad Heaven

No matter the bad wrap that potatoes have gotten, they are still a whole food. Yes they are a high-carb food, but if you have taken nothing from reading my blog so far please take this:

• your body needs carbs to function properly
• there is a difference between good carbs (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and bad carbs (processed junk devoid of nutrition)
• you can loose weight by eating nothing but carbs (the good ones)

Most of the dietary advice out there is totally F'd up. No fat, low-carb, no fruit, high protein- WRONG! In all the lectures I have listened to thus far from Integrated Nutrition and from my own research there is a common theme: to avoid chronic sickness eat mostly plant based foods. And the more the merrier. Now that doesn't mean that you can eat nothing but potatoes all day everyday (I wish), but it is important to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grains. 

In my (humble) opinion, it doesn't even serve us to focus on getting enough of a certain vitamin or mineral, anti-oxidant or phytochemical. That is just confusing and cumbersome. Instead focus on eating real whole foods, real ingredients, and a wide variety of them. That is one simple way you can get the range of nutrients your body needs without counting calories, percent of Vitamin C, grams of fiber, etc.

With that said...here is my fast, easy, and delicious potato salad:

• 5-6 sml potatoes (baked)
• 2 tbsp canola mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
•  thyme, a bunch
• salt & pepper to taste

You can also add hard boiled eggs, celery, rosemary, onion, turmeric, and you can use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. 

Do you have a favorite ingredient to add to your potato salad?

Just SOY No

I wrote recently on why I do not eat soy, and why I would never recommend that people eat it regularly. This video from Dr. Mercola sums up the dangers of eating soy very concisely.


         The Dark Side of Soy by Dr. Mercola

The vast majority of soy at your local market is not a health food. The exception is fermented soy, which I’ll explain more about later and even worse GMO soy that is contaminated with large pesticide residues as the reason it is GMO is so they can spray the potent toxic herbicide Roundup on them to improve crop production by killing the weeds.

Unlike the Asian culture, where people eat small amounts of whole non-GMO soybean products, western food processors separate the soybean into two golden commodities—protein and oil. And there is nothing natural or safe about these products.

Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, points out thousands of studies linking soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility—even cancer and heart disease.

Here is just a sampling of the health effects that have been linked to soy consumption:

• Breast cancer
• Brain damage
• Infant abnormalities
• Thyroid disorders
• Kidney stones
• Immune system impairment
• Severe, potentially fatal food allergies
• Impaired fertility
• Danger during pregnancy and nursing

As I have mentioned before...SOY IS IN EVERYTHING!!! Read labels, figure out if you are okay with the supposed pros & cons. I know I'm not, and my view on food is that it's virtue shouldn't be questionable. There is no controversy with eating kale or carrots.

What are your opinions about soy? Beneficial or detrimental?

Saturday Morning Pancakes

One of our weekend rituals growing up was pancakes on Saturday morning. My mother was always big on trying new pancake recipes, some of which were amazing, and some were less than (sorry Mom). Every now and again, I crave pancakes. I made pumpkin pancakes this fall, which is now one of my new favorites, but my all-time favorite however is plain old Bisquick batter. It is light and fluffy, and if you fry them in oil they get crispy edges! YUM!

Bisquick fried in oil however is not conducive to cancer prevention. So...I applaud my mother for being a pioneer in "alternative" pancakes and I plan on following in her footsteps. Mark Bittman's recipe above is great because it is simple and uses whole grain flour. Also, you can find all of the dairy products organic.

He describes how to make whole wheat pancakes that are not heavy and dense (the typical lament).

If you have a favorite pancake recipe post it in a comment!!!




12/11/11 UPDATE: I made pancakes last night for dinner, YUM! I added in chia seeds and apples. It was pretty... pretty... pretty... good! Instead of syrup I use raw agave nectar which is a low glycemic index sweetener but just as sweet.

Milk Myth: It does a body good (Especially if it has hormones in it)

If you need another reason to start buying organic dairy products...here you go.

I have read and watched a bunch of things from doctors, authors, researchers, undercover film makers. Cutting out conventional dairy (meaning non organic) is absolutely 100% one of best things that you can do for yourself...especially if you are worried about cancer. Actually, if you are really worried about your health and cancer I would cut out as much dairy as you possibly can. I mean I know that suggestion may have just blown your world to pieces, but seriously...

I was one of you...How am I going to cut cheese out of my diet? I LOVE CHEESE! And what am I going to put in my coffee? It took me a full year to slowly cut dairy out of my diet, and then I didn't eat dairy for a few years. This was not because I was worried about my health...this was because I was having back-end blowouts ALL THE TIME. It was starting to disrupt my social life.

Just recently I got over my coffee addiction by crowding it out with smoothies, so I drink almost no half and half anymore. I eat Greek yogurt every once and a while and only eat cheese on special occasions (or when I am nursing a hangover).

IF I CAN DO IT YOU CAN DO IT!

And...you do not need milk for strong bones. Just a tidbit of information...there is more bio-available calcium in dark green leafy vegetables than there is in milk. (Bio-available means that our bodies can absorb it better). Asians don't have Got Milk? campaigns, and you don't hear about old Asian ladies breaking hips. If they live without dairy, so will you.

In my quest to find the best possible food available for myself, I have found (as I have said before) that buying raw milk and raw milk products (milk that has not been pasteurized, homogenized, or processed in any way) is illegal in New Jersey. Why is it illegal for me to buy something that I deem as healthy? Why is raw milk that comes from a small farm (where the farmers actually care about their animals) considered more dangerous than milk that comes from Big Dairy (these shouldn't be called farms, they should be called concentration camps, because that is what they are).


Why is raw milk in the same illegal category as hard core drugs? 

Is that milk or heroine?

The Freedom to Buy and Sell Raw MilkMises Daily: by Karen De Coster (Original Source)

The August 3, 2011, shakedown of the Rawesome food cooperative in Venice, California, in spite of the tragic outcome, has produced one positive result. The ruthless raid on the part of miscellaneous government agencies has sparked a wave of unprecedented discord over the question, How can government dictate what we choose to eat when we each have unique standards for good nutrition? 

This federalista blitzkrieg came at a time when raw milk alarmism had reached an all-time high. The folks who wish to banish raw milk can't leave the issue alone, and instead they have ramped up a cacophonous crusade against one of nature's glories. Day after day, articles and news bits appear in the mainstream media, full of fear mongering and panic-producing propaganda in regard to the safety of raw milk. 

A July 2011 article on Dairyherd.com has some interesting survey results on comparative raw-milk regulations on a state-by-state basis. To summarize, 30 states allow consumers to transact with raw-milk producers while 20 states prohibit that act of freedom. And don't forget that federal laws prevent the sale of any raw milk over state lines. The federal government's response to the good white stuff moving over state lines is to send in armed soldiers in full battle gear to seize and destroy. 

Thirteen mini-regimes across the United States allow the sale of raw milk on the farm where it was produced, while four of those thirteen allow only "incidental occurrences," with that being defined as "occasional sales, not as a regular course of business; no advertising." Surely, the feds can interpret "occasional" and "regular" and "advertising" in a whole host of capricious ways. After all, it is the use of arbitrary laws with a host of potential interpretations that enables the feds to conduct their criminal operations that consist of seizing product and regulating small producers out of business. 

Four of those 13 states only allow raw goat milk while Kentucky and Rhode Island — now get this — require a prescription from a physician! Of course, you can interpret that to mean raw milkmust be medicinal (ask moms who remedy their child's allergies with raw milk), but then again, there's no such thing as a Big Milk Pharma that exists as a corporate arm of the state to keep its products available for the masses. Lastly, 11 states allow raw milk to be sold in retail stores outside of the farm. 

Several of the states that allow the sale of raw milk for human consumption have various twists and turns in their laws that make it very difficult to get the milk from the farm to the consumer. This essentially limits, or in some cases prevents, the sale of the product. However, imaginative entrepreneurs whose businesses are stifled by the government's despotic decrees have conceived the idea of herd shares, and this allows folks to jump through aboveboard hoops to buy a "piece" of a herd and get their raw milk. Though this is a costly administrative burden for both buyer and seller, any time that people can conjure up visionary ways to skirt the laws of the regime, freedom has taken a small step forward. 

It is important to note that Rawesome was a private, voluntary cooperative of consenting members who took responsibility for any potential risks. Rawesome members even signed waivers before becoming a food-club member. With all of the agencies involved (USDA, FDA, LA County Sheriff, CDC) over a period of a year, this jihad came at great expense to taxpayers. TheLA Weekly described it this way: 

The official word from the DA's office is that Stewart, Palmer & Bloch were arrested on criminal conspiracy charges stemming from the alleged illegal production and sale of unpasteurized goat milk, goat cheese, yogurt and kefir. The arrests are the result of a yearlong sting. The 13-count complaint alleges that an undercover agent received goat milk, stored in a cooler in the back of Healthy Family Farms van, in the parking lot of a grocery store. While it's legal to manufacture and sell unpasteurized dairy products in California, licenses and permits are required. Rawesome may have violated regulations by selling raw dairy products to non-members.

Among the many charges against owner James Stewart is one that immediately stood out: entering into private leasing arrangements with consumers. This charge is still fuzzy, and I am sure the feds can produce a whole book of crimes. 

In a recent edition of the Atlantic, an article was published that does a solid job of covering the Rawesome food-club raid and its aftermath. The Atlantic writer, Ari LeVaux, compares the Rawesome raid by federal and local agencies to the contamination of 36 million pounds of Cargill ground turkey (one tally is 77 known ill people, 1 dead). Rawesome was raided, trashed, and shut down, and meanwhile, Cargill executives were analyzing the costs of a recall vs. the potential for negative publicity from the tainted meat so they could voluntarily decide whether or not to recall the product. 

LeVaux went on to say that food freedom in America is vanishing. A quote from the end of the article states the following: "This is the state of food freedom in America today: It's being sacrificed in the name of food safety." But this is not about safety. These raids that are hostile to food choice are about 

• seizing power, which benefits federal and local governments and provides justification for their continued growth through the looting of taxpayers;
• eliminating the competition for the rent-seeking corporate state, meaning the big business–big government alliance;
• displaying the omnipotent power of the enforcement state (militarized police and federal/state agencies); and
• affirming rejection of any individual's right to self-ownership, and thus making the case that we are subjects to be ruled, including our behaviors and personal lifestyle choices.

The apostles of safety — assorted lawyers, corporate interests, meddlesome consumers, and other misguided safety advocates — have joined the government's campaign against raw milk to promote their own special interests and opinions. There is no tyranny of good intentions here. 

Another analysis I have not heard mentioned is that this raid was, in fact, a test case for the new powers granted to the FDA under the Food Safety Modernization Act. Yet when I wrote about this totalitarian decree just one year ago (see #1 here and #2 here), I received emails from many folks stating that my concern was embellished and misplaced. Yet this regulatory food bill has opened the doors for federal intrusion at the most basic level of choosing one's food. Food-freedomist author and blogger Dave Gumpert had this interesting comment on his blog: 

I'm beginning to wonder: Is the cruelty of depriving your population of essential foods a war crime? If there were a real war going on, with guns firing, it could be. A United Nations panel has accused the Sri Lanka military of war crimes for denying food to civilians in a war zone.

We're certainly edging closer to war here, as guns have been drawn in the war on Rawesome…. For now, the answer to government attacks on food distribution is to go underground, avoid fixed locations like the Rawesome outlet in Venice, CA. In the meantime, perhaps we should be gathering names for possible war crimes actions against those guilty of this basest of crimes — stealing the people's food. 

Rawesome had been raided previously, in 2010, and here is a very telling — and almost pathetically comical — video of cops barging into the organic-natural food store with guns drawn during the 2010 raid.

Meanwhile, the FDA recently went after Tucker Adkins Dairy of South Carolina like gangbusters. A handful of people allegedly got sick from the dairy's raw milk. So three people were confirmed sick — with diarrhea — and the FDA threw a ton of resources at the issue to propagandize against raw milk and promote the "safety" of the industrial milk product. The FDA even put out a newswire that was nothing more than an expensive propaganda piece. And to think that this massive spin campaign was waged over a few cases of loose stool? 

In spite of the fact that Tucker Adkins Dairy was publicly hung out to dry, the FDA failed in its attempt to cripple the dairy's reputation. The FDA admitted that the raw milk it suspected of harboring campylobacter tested negative. Still, the FDA's reaction was to continue the investigation to determine why a few folks got the runs, and they claimed the number of people who got sick was "probably higher" due to the fact that cases often go unreported. In spite of the lack of findings, one FDA spin doctor stated, "we don't doubt that Campylobacter caused this outbreak." 

One of the most glaring pieces of evidence that this war on raw milk is not about "safety" is this: the laws, for the most part, do not prohibit you from buying this allegedly hazardous product — they only force sellers and buyers to go around the regulations and conduct the transaction by way of a herd-share agreement. A similar thing occurs with cottage-food laws, where sellers of artisanal goods must comply with zillion-page documents that spell out what kind of products they can sell to others, where and how they can prepare them, what they must wear during food preparation, and how they must package and label the products. These cumbersome edicts regulate and restrict market access for small producers, putting them at a major competitive disadvantage. 

The FDA is, in desperation, trying to influence consumers against raw milk. Even so, sales of raw milk keep increasing and new consumers come into the market. Since the FDA does not have the power to regulate intrastate commerce, it is up to the states to regulate raw milk. The FDA's job, then, is to apply pressure on states to restrict or ban the sale of raw milk. 

The fear mongering over the dangers of raw milk is rooted in government–special interest propaganda with no basis in facts or science. In the interest of alarming the populace, the prohibition campaign has portrayed the decision to drink raw milk as a public danger rather than a personal choice. In response, Ted Beals, MD, delivered a presentation at the Third International Raw Milk Symposium in Bloomington, Minnesota, in May 2011, where he delivered these remarks: 

From the perspective of a national public health professional looking at an estimated total of 48 million foodborne illnesses each year; or from the perspective of a healthcare professional looking at a total of 90,771 (data from Healthy People 20204) confirmed bacterial foodborne infections each year (about 0.2 percent), there is no rational justification to focus national attention on raw milk, which may be associated with an average of 42 illnesses maximum among the more than nine million people (about 0.0005 percent) who have chosen to drink milk in its fresh unprocessed form. 

Using this average of 42 illnesses per year, we can show, using government figures, that you are about 35,000 times more likely to become ill from other foods than you are from raw milk. 

in the 2011 legislative session, bills to legalize or expand the sale of raw milk have been introduced in at least ten different states. FDA has already intervened in several of them attempting to persuade legislators not to support the bills. 

In spite of the fed's efforts to contain the states, the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund reports that: 

At my grocery store, Detroit Eastern Market, a farmers' market where 40 thousand people gather each week to buy, sell, and inform, I have noted that the folks who desire food freedom are in high visibility this year, and sales of herd shares are being advertised all over the market. It seems that the more government carries on its safety parade through its futile campaign of disinformation, the more people seem to brush off the spin as nothing more than second-rate hype and ignorable noise. (Original Source)

Here are some links to other articles on this subject:


New Raw Milk Legislation in 9 States Could Deter FDA Scrutiny
State Raw Milk Legislation

chrismadden.co.uk

For those of you wondering why I am on a hunt for raw milk, here is a link to all of the health benefits. While I do not eat or drink a lot of  dairy, I would like to have the option to get it when I want it. I am just going to have to break the law and travel over state lines to try to find a dairy farmer that will sell to me. It would be the first time, and probably won't be the last.