Monday, May 30, 2011

This is how you are being swindled. Conflict of interest, what?

The UK Department of health is clearly placing the health and well-being of their citizens in grave danger with this foolish decision. But I can't say I'm surprised. This action is a phenomenal testimony as to just how powerful the food industry is. It certainly rivals the drug cartels as to their pernicious influence on public health.

In the US, Americans currently spend about 90 percent of their food budgets purchasing processed foods, which offer very little in terms of nutritional value and instead typically contain ingredients that will actually cause you harm. According to a previous article in the New York Times, "no country has embraced the movement toward commercialized, prepackaged food as much as the United States. "

Sure seems that this latest decision is little more than a scheme to drag the UK down the same path of increasing corporate profits while rapidly destroying the health of the British people.

What Does McDonald's, PepsiCo, and Mars Know About Health?

That's an important question that the UK department of health appears to ignore. The evidence showing how processed foods and fast foods destroy health is so overwhelming you'd have to be buried in a Chilean coal mine to be ignorant of this connection. And yet some of the worst corporate culprits are now supposed to write government health policies to combat obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease!

According to The Guardian:

"The alcohol responsibility deal network is chaired by the head of the lobby group the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

The food network to tackle diet and health problems includes processed food manufacturers, fast food companies, and Compass, the catering company famously pilloried by Jamie Oliver for its school menus of turkey twizzlers. The food deal's sub-group on calories is chaired by PepsiCo..."

This is blatant folly. Additionally, the board created to oversee the work of these "deal networks" is ALSO dominated by the food, alcohol, advertising and retail industries! So what you end up with is foxes guarding the foxes that guard the hen house...

Making matters even more precarious for the public, The Guardian reports that "one group was told that the health department did not want to lead, but rather hear from its members what should be done."

In essence, the UK health department is giving carte blanche to industry to devise whatever "health recommendations" they see fit, and you can be sure of one thing – these industries will NOT recommend anything that could jeopardize their business! For example, they've already ruled out using pricing of food or alcohol as a strategy to change consumer behavior. What does that tell you? It's quite clear to me that nothing good can come out of this.

Poor Nutrition Drives Declining Health Statistics

It's not hard to predict that public health policies dictated by the likes of McDonald's, PepsiCo and Mars will be far from successful in creating recommendations to successfully curb obesity and diet-related diseases.

How could they? The very existence of these corporations relies on consumers maintaining their purchasing habits! And that's the crux of the public health disaster facing both the US and the UK. We all need to REDUCE our consumption of processed foods, fast foods, sugary snacks and sodas!

None of these types of "food" have any place whatsoever in a health-promoting, nutritious diet.

If you eat a fast-food burger, you can easily take in close to half of your daily caloric requirements. Add in fries and a soda and you may be nearing an entire day's worth of required calories in just one meal! But in that one meal, which is designed to be eaten quickly, on-the-go, you have not received the vitamins and minerals, the live enzymes and micronutrients, the healthy fats or high-quality protein that your body needs to function, let alone thrive...

Regularly eating these types of foods is a prescription for obesity, diabetes, and all the health problems associated with these conditions.

The obesity rate in the US is now nearing 27 percent, more than two out of three are overweight, and 1 in 4 Americans are affected with diabetes or pre-diabetes. If British citizens end up listening to the recommendations that arise from this unholy alliance between the UK health department and industry, British obesity statistics will soon mirror those in the US.

In fact, the UK is already closing in. According to the latest statistics from the UK NHS, a quarter of all adults in the UK are now classified as obese. As of 2008, nearly 17 percent of British boys between the ages of 2 and 15 also fell in the obese category, along with just over 15 percent of all girls.

The report also found that fresh produce purchases fell substantially between 2007 and 2008. Fresh fruit purchases fell by nearly 8 percent, and fresh green vegetables fell by almost 10 percent!

Only 25-29 percent of men and women, respectively, consume the recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, and British children fare even worse when it comes to consuming healthful foods, with less than 20 percent of children consuming the recommended levels of fruits and veggies.

Corruption and Bribes – Business as Usual in the Food Industry

There's a very real danger in letting the food industry call the shots when it comes to establishing public health policies. It just can't work. The food industry, just like the pharmaceutical industry, is fraught with corruption and questionable business practices, including bribery and racketeering schemes. Like other players in big business, those running the food industry are out to make a profit, and often this comes at the expense of your health. Three prominent examples of food industry manipulation include the cases of:

  1. Aspartame
  2. Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH/rbST)
  3. Genetically modified (GM) foods

You can read the entire history of fraud and deception that led to the approval of aspartame here, but, in a nutshell, the evidence that showed aspartame was harmful was ignored or falsified, and the artificial sweetener was pushed through the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process by a select few who stood to benefit handsomely from its profits.

Ditto for rBGH. The U.S. FDA didn't even require that rBGH be adequately tested before allowing it on the market. And, the fact thatgenetically modified (GM) foods have been allowed to infiltrate the market at all is a major lesson in the corruption of the food industry.

Further, the food crops currently subsidized in the US are corn, wheat, soy and rice. Growing little else but corn and soy means we end up with a fast food diet. In essence, these commodity programs are subsidies for the creation of junk and fast food, not REAL food that could have a positive impact on public health.

In short, regardless of where you live, the food you depend on to survive is slowly being degraded, devalued, and de-humanized by giant corporations and short-sighted, lackadaisical governments. And soon the UK will provide their citizens with even more highly questionable health recommendations fashioned by the very companies that actively created the health crises' of obesity, diabetes and alcohol- and diet-related diseases in the first place...

Take Control of Your Diet and Your Health With these Crucial Four Steps

Folks, whether you live in the US, the UK, or elsewhere, the current madness appears to be Universal... So, what's the answer?

Quite simply, you need to start thinking for yourself, and ignore much, if not most, of the health- and dietary advice you get through the conventional channels. Fortunately, "eating healthy" is actually far easier than most people think. Here's a quick and dirty summary:

  • Focus on raw, fresh foods, and avoid as many processed foods as possible (for those who still have trouble understanding what "processed food" is: if it comes in a can, bottle, or package, and has a list of ingredients, it's processed)
  • Avoid foods that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) like the plague, but don't just limit it to HFCS, you must limit ALL sources of fructose to less than 25 grams per day, and that includes fruit. If you are taking the average amount of fructose you are consuming three times that or 75 grams. At that level any fruit will cause more harm than good for all but those engaging in unhealthy levels of aerobic cardio activity.
  • Limit or eliminate grain carbohydrates if you have diabetes, are overweight, or have high cholesterol or high blood pressure
  • Replace sodas and other sweetened beverages with clean, pure water

If you're new to healthful living, those four basic steps can put you on the right path toward vastly improved health, regardless of what your government's dietary guidelines are. For my Top 10 Healthy Lifestyle recommendations please see this previous article.

The Best Sources for Safe, Nutritious Foods

Contrary to popular belief, your local grocery store is generally NOT going to be the best source for healthy, fresh food. Rather, the best place to find safe, nutritious food is at your local farm or from your local farmer's market or organic food co-op. If you live in the US, the Coop Directory Service (www.coopdirectory.org) can help you find a co-op near you. My web page Promoting Sustainable Agriculture also lists resources for high-quality produce, meats and other foods in your area. If you're in the UK, check out the Organic Portal (www.organicportal.co.uk).

Keep Learning!

Knowledge truly is power, and the more people become informed, the faster real and needed changes can come about. Below are several wonderful films that will give you an excellent overview of the health dangers of fast food, and the problems with modern agriculture. I highly recommend you watch and share these with your friends and family!


Sunday, May 29, 2011

Bread. How I love you and everything horrible about you as well.

Some things that I cut out of my diet are never, ever coming back... but there are a few that I miss a lot. One of them is bread. Bread in all varieties. Some of my favorites were chewy pizza crusts, or flaky biscuits in the morning with eggs and cheese. Just a yummy burger on a bun. Tacos stuffed with meat and grilled veggies. Focaccia with some lettuce and tomato. Bagel with veggie cream cheese. Hell yes! Bread was a wonderful thing!! Bread with every meal. Bread for everyone, all of the time!! Bread is one of those food that makes everything better. And then it was gone. All of it. Gone. FML. I can assure you that these were traumatizing times in my life. The fat kid AND the jew in me were like "bitch, this is not OK".
After years of looking at recipes I finally found ones that really filled in for some of my carby, yeasty, useless, loves for bread. Pizza crusts and tacos have come back into my face. Hell yes!


The first recipe is for a Zucchini wrap. Using only 3 ingredients this wrap is awesome for food combining because it is a neutral food so not only can you fill it with anything but you don't have to wait to go from starches to proteins. Additionally, it is so versatile. Sometimes I want to have tacos so I use this wrap and I make it with cayenne and onion and paprika . Other times I want something more light so I put rosemary and thyme in it and fill it with just some greens and tomato and drizzle with oilve oil. Hooray creativity!!! I dehydrate the wraps just enough, so that they are dry but still wrapable. If you dehydrate them a little longer they make great thin crispy pizza crusts. Keep them thicker if you like thick crusts.

Zucchini Wraps
1 large zucchini
1 cup water
3/4 cup flax meal
*optional Any spices of your choice

Food Processor
Lined dehydrator Tray


Cut zucchini into manageable chunks for your food processor
Add all in processor, and process until smooth
Place in dehydrator at desired thickness
Put in deyhdrator on 110 for about 6 hours, and flip
Take out when preferred dryness is reached


I never understood why the onion bread at the table was just bread with 4 pieces of onions in it. This is real freeking onion bread. It sticks to your gums, is nice and chewy, and is super heavy. It is a meal on it's own. But it's mostly veggie so it's OK. I promise. Again, i usually just slice up some tomato on it and thats good enough for me. Be creative! Don't let the long list of necessary appliances fool you. It's not that bad! Suck it up and make some yummy bread!

Onion Bread
3 large yellow onions
1 cup flax meal
1 cup ground sunflower meal
1 tbsp coconut oil

Large pan
spatula
large bowl
dehydrator
nut grinder
food processor

Chop up the onions with a food processor so they are a nice shape.
Heat oil in the large pan, and begin to brown the onions
While they are browning (which will take a while) use a nut grinder to make 1 cup worth of sunflower meal
Add the sunflower meal to large bowl, and then add the flax meal to the bowl and mix the two flours up
Get back to the onions, making sure they are evenly browned.
Once the onions are browned add them to the bowl with the flax and sunflower meals. Combine well. (I like to get messy and use my hands but thats cause i'm a slob. Use the spatula if you aren't as adventurous. Also if you are going to use your hands.. wait a few minutes. Those onions are insanely hot)
Place better on the dehydrator sheets at a desired thickness at about 110. Leave for 8 hours and flip. Let dehydrate another 5 or 6 hours until desired consistency is reached

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Rewind... This is why you should give a shit...

I got sick about 5 years ago. I went to a few doctors, told them my symptoms, and they put me on all different types of meds. Nothing worked. One guy, a "specialist" in fancy Manhattan told me I was fine, just "unlucky". Really? Fuck you doc! Unlucky!!?? Then my dog got sick and what to you know! The same antibiotics I was on, so was he! I had enough. I turned to the internets and tried to educate myself as best I could.

I decided I had candida. Everyone has candida in their bodies. See, our bodies are filled with good bacteria, and bad bacteria. Candida is the bad bacteria, and when the good guys can't keep the bad guys at bay anymore, we get sick. Candida shows its self in a number of ways. Some are worse then others and it's really almost anything. From severe things like serious digestion issues, to small things like bad breath, candida may be a culprit.

There are ways to treat candida yourself. You need to bring your body back to a balance. This can help get rid of any ailment actually. So I started doing the Body Ecology Diet, doing colonics, and using Young Living Essential Oils to better myself. Now I still think i'm in recovery mode. I'm not there yet, but i'm much better then I was.

Most importantly i'm educated now. I know what goes into the food I eat, and the medicines I take and I would never go back to the standard american diet, or using western medicine.

The goal of this blog is to show anyone fun, healthy recipes that don't involve the crap ingredients that are making us sick every day. The goal is also to educate so I'll be posting articles about food and the industry as well.

So, why should you give a shit? Did you know that a bottle of essential oil only has to have 5% actual essential oil in it for it to be OK to label it 100% essential oil? That means it can be 95% filler, 5% oil and still say essential oil. WTF? What the hell is the filler?? Did you also know what a whole bunch of the pesticides sprayed on fruits and vegetables to keep bugs off of them are derivatives of agent orange? These guys go in the fields, spraying this shit wearing hazmat suits... and then we eat it like its nothing. This doesn't piss anyone else off??

We can all heal ourselves, and feel better physically and mentally. It takes work, and discipline, but it's totally doable. So give a shit, do it yourself and give a big "eat a fat one" to the people who are trying to keep you sick. But do it with a smile, and some food that tastes better then theirs anyway! Empowering stuff, i'm telling you.

Frankenfood... ick!

Biotech Hides Behind Patent Laws to Quench Independent Safety Studies

Companies like Monsanto and Syngenta simply will not allow independent researchers access to their patented seeds, citing the legal protection these seeds have under patent laws. In other words, if their genetically altered seeds have something wrong with them that potentially could cause consumer illness, Monsanto and Syngenta would rather not have you find out about it.

Why?

You might sue them for putting your health in danger! Or a farmer using their seeds might sue them because their claims of increased crop yields is a myth. If fact, lawsuits like these have already begun appearing in court.

Does this remind you of the public health debate that went on for decades over another multi-billion dollar industry -- cigarettes? For decades the companies producing this cancer-causing product denied they caused any harm, denied nicotine was addictive and even ran advertisements featuring doctors claiming cigarettes were good for your cough.

They produced scientific study after study by their funded research scientists claiming there was no health threat whatsoever from cigarettes. Executives from every major cigarette company even lied to Congress under oath, claiming they had no knowledge cigarettes were addictive, when in fact they did know—they even manipulated the nicotine content of cigarettes to keep you hooked!

Is it really necessary to go through the same experience again with GM crops that independent scientists are now linking to frightening and dangerous pathogens?

Isn't it time to demand these crops be tested for long-term safety once and for all? If not now, when? After the population starts showing strange new health problems that no one can seemingly explain, like spontaneous abortions and infertility?

Can Large Corporations Be Trusted to Put You First?

One of the prime lessons that emerged from the recent home mortgage scandals, , or from our experience with the cigarette companies, just to name a few examples, is this: Major corporations operating with little or no regulation or real government oversight simply cannot be trusted to put anything above their quest for profits.

Not your financial health, not your personal health, not even the law.

A public corporation is a legal entity whose mandate is to produce profits for shareholders (with the exception of non-profits, which are not the same), while at the same time shielding the human beings who are running it from legal claims for the actions taken by the corporation, it's:

"A body that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members."

So Monsanto primary purpose is to protect its profits at the expense of everything else, and the human beings running them essentially can't be held accountable for wrongdoings in the quest for profits.

In the case of Phillip Morris and other tobacco manufacturers this means employing medical professionals to produce grossly misleading PR, lying to Congress under oath, and in the case of Big Pharma, paying their researchers to produce studies that that support the idea that their product is safe.

Would you really expect the corporate giants Monsanto or Syngenta to behave any differently?

While I am not against corporations seeking a profit, I am quite adamantly opposed to corporations manipulating government regulators (who are nowadays simply former executives of the corporations themselves!), producing biased scientific studies that blatantly distort data and lying to the public to accomplish their goals. And until Monsanto and Syngenta submit their GM seeds to independent analysis by scientists not funded by these companies, I will remain skeptical about their safety claims. It is important to note that they are currently stonewalling ALL independent researchers from safety testing under the guise and legal excuse of "patent protection".

GM Seed Producers are Already up to the Same Tricks as Big Pharma and Big Tobacco

The evidence is already in against the GM seed producers, and it's quite clearly in line with what happens when the government doesn't independently evaluate, test or study a for-profit corporation's product that goes into your body and may produce some unintended consequences.

According to the LA Times article above:

"The dangers [of GM crops] ought to be clear. In 2001, the seed company Pioneer, owned by Dow Chemical, was developing a strain of genetically engineered corn that contained a toxin to help it resist corn rootworm, an insect pest. A group of university scientists, working at Pioneer's request, found that the corn also appeared to kill a species of beneficial ladybug, which indicated that other helpful insects might also be harmed.

But, according to a report in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Dow said its own research showed no ladybug problems, and it prohibited the scientists from making the research public. Nor was it submitted to the EPA. In 2003, the EPA approved a version of the corn, known as Herculex."

Also from the same article, more evidence that GM seed producers are trying to keep you from finding out some key claims they make about their products (increased yields in this case) are absolutely not true:

"Research restrictions [on GM seeds] also hamper scientists' ability to assess how genetically engineered crops perform against other modified crops, traditional crops, approaches such as organic farming and the seed companies' promises.

There's reason to be suspicious. Using USDA and peer-reviewed data, the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed corn and soybean yields in the U.S. after the new seeds were introduced. We found only marginal increases due to genetically engineered traits -- not a result promoted by the industry."

Christian Krupke, a Purdue University entomologist who was quoted in the above Los Angeles Times articles sums up this problem very clearly:

"[The GM food] industry is completely driving the bus."

GM Crops – More Widespread than you Think, and Linked to Potential Health Hazards

With the vast majority of planted corn crops in the US (over 90 percent) and soy crops (over 95 percent) now being GM varieties, the American public has a right to ask producers of these foods whether they are safe for long-term consumption. And the answer these GM seed companies have consistently giving us?

We don't know really know. And we aren't going to let you find out, because it might interfere with our bottom line.

Just to be clear, we are talking about a food product that has been genetically altered by blasting DNA from one species into the DNA of a food crop, typically so the food crop will either resist dying from pesticide (allowing the crops to be drenched in pesticides!) or to create a new strain of food that produces its own pesticide, internally, while it grows.

And guess what, this increased pesticide load on these GM food crops ends up on your dinner plate, and ends up in the feed given to feedlot animals. So your milk, eggs, chicken and beef are all likely tainted with a lifetime supply of foods either saturated in pesticides or genetically altered to internally produce pesticides.

There is also evidence suggesting that this pesticide-producing corn, soybean and canola continues to produce pesticide once it'sinside you (or a feedlot animal), colonizing your gut bacteria and genetically altering it to also produce pesticide within your own cells.

In essence, you become a pesticide producing organism. And do I even need to tell you this pesticide is harmful to your health?

This is both horrifying and perfectly legal, although it clearly violates the spirit if not that actual letter of the Delaney Clause of 1958, an amendment passed by the US Congress to protect a safe US food supply, which states:

"The Secretary of the Food and Drug Administration shall not approve for use in food any chemical additive found to induce cancer in man, or, after tests, found to induce cancer in animals."

Using the interpretation of "chemical additive" in the broadest sense to include living organisms whose DNA has been altered to produce pesticide (possibly inside your body) through man-made biological experimentation, then GM crops internally producing pesticides simply must fall under the purview of the Delaney Clause -- but to date GM crops have not been tested beyond a few days time and currently present absolutely zero long-term evidence that their altered DNA does not lead to cancer in either man or animals.

When in fact pesticides have for years been linked to cancer, along with a host of other diseases from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to miscarrages.

Are GM Crops Contaminating Non-GM Crops?

In the US, over 90 percent of all canola grown is genetically modified, compared to just over 20 percent in the rest of the world.

According to Nature News, the research team discovered two varieties of transgenic canola in the wild, plus a third GM variety that is a cross of the two GM breeds. One of the transgenic varieties found was Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola, which is engineered to be resistant to glyphosate, and the other was Bayer Crop Science's Liberty Link canola, which is resistant to gluphosinate. The third variety contained transgenes from each of these, and is resistant to both types of herbicide.

The truth is Monsanto and Syngenta have unleashed something into nature that will proliferate, cross-breed, and create new plants that we simply do not understand. This is particularly disturbing when it comes to food crops, such as canola, which is used in a vast number of processed food products consumed by millions of people.

The fact that GM crops can infiltrate conventional crops is a concern for any food where GM experimentation is taking place. For example, in 2004, Hawaii reported widespread contamination of papaya crops by GM varieties. Even seed stocks sold as conventional were found to be contaminated, which threatened the existence of organic papaya.

These types of transgene contaminations are completely unavoidable once you start growing them out in the open– including the cross-mixing of GM breeds.

Science has recently revealed that the genome (whether plant, animal or human) is not constant and static, which is the scientific base for genetic engineering of plants and animals. This means that you may not necessarily get the results you think you're going to get when you insert or remove genetic material.

Instead, geneticists have discovered that the genome is remarkably dynamic and changeable, and constantly 'conversing' and adapting to the environment. This interaction determines which genes are turned on, when, where, by what and how much, and for how long.

They've also found that the genetic material itself has the ability to be changed according to experience, passing it on to subsequent generations.

How Genetic Engineering Really Works

Many people now have the flawed assumption that genetic engineering is a very precise, refined science.

Not so, explains Jeffrey Smith in a previous article:

"… in order to understand the risks associated with GMOs, I'm going to back up and talk about the process of creating a genetically modified organism because if we understand that, then a whole host of things that can go wrong all of a sudden become clear.

… The biotech industry gives you this impression that it's a very clean process. We just take a gene from a species and carefully splice it into another, and the only thing that's different is it's producing some new beneficial protein to produces some trait.

This is far from the truth.

What they do is – let's say you want to create a corn plant that produces a pesticide. So you go to the soil bacterium called BT for "Bacillus thuringiensis" and you change it so it's more toxic, and you make millions of copies of the gene.

You actually put a piece of a virus there which turns it on, it's called the promoter. It's the "on" switch that turns this gene on, 24/7, around the clock.

You make millions of copies and you put it in a gun and you shoot that gun into a plate of millions of cells, hoping that some of the genes make it into the DNA of some of those cells. Then you clone those cells into plants.

Now the process of insertion and cloning causes massive collateral damage in the DNA that could have higher levels, and do have higher levels, of allergens and toxins.

… Anti-nutrients of soybeans that are genetically engineered have as much as seven times higher the amount of a known allergen cold trypsin inhibitor when compared to non-GM soy, in their cooked state.

There is a new allergen in genetically modified corn. There is a new anti-nutrient in the [GM] soy which blocks the absorption of nutrients.

They don't look for these things. These are found after they're on the market by some few of the independent researchers that are doing their work."

Farmers have long used BT spray on crops, and because it's a natural bacterium, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the biotech companies claim it is safe for human consumption.

However, this too is clearly misguided optimism.

Jeffrey Smith continues:

"Based on peer reviewed published studies, animals like mice that were fed BT had damaged tissues and immune responses as powerful as if they've been fed cholera toxin, and then they became multiple-chemically sensitive to where they started to react to formally harmless compounds."

Can We Reverse the Trend in GM Crops?

According to Jeffrey Smith, a leading opponent of GM crops who has written two books on the subject, from the ABC News article above:

"We're seeing a level of reaction that is unprecedented," says Jeffrey Smith, an activist who has fought the expansion of genetically engineered foods since they were first introduced 15 years ago and written two books on the subject. "I personally think we are going to hit the tipping point of consumer rejection very soon."

The silver lining in all of this is that we actually don't NEED policy changes to kick GM Foods out of the market!

Like Jeffrey Smith suggests, the only requirement is getting enough people to consistently avoid buying anything containing GM ingredients, and the food manufacturers will do the rest. They WILL respond to market demands, because if they don't they go out of business.

This means avoiding and boycotting every product with corn or soy as an ingredient that does not carry the USDA Organic label. It may sound like a daunting task for you as an individual shopper, but there are resource guides available.

For a helpful, straightforward guide to shopping Non-GMO, please see the Non-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible Technology.

You can also avoid GM foods that are not found in processed foods, if you know what to look for. There are currently eight genetically modified food crops on the market:

SoySugar from sugar beets
CornHawaiian papaya
Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)Some varieties of zucchini
Canola (canola oil)Crookneck squash

This means you should avoid products with corn, soy, canola, and any of their derivatives listed as an ingredient, unless it's labeled USDA 100% Organic.

What You Can Do NOW to Avoid GMO Foods

It is crucial to purchase authentically certified organic foods as that will assure you will not receive artifacts of industrial processing and any GMO surprises. Currently due to corporate collusion with the US government GMO labeling is prohibited so the only reliable way to differentiate non GMO food is to purchase organic.

You will of course also avoid or dramatically reduce your exposure to pesticides, hormones and antibiotics that are nearly universally added to GMO meat and of course potent herbicides like Round Up that is sprayed on nearly all GMO crops.

There is one important exception, especially with respect to meat in that it doesn't have to have the "official' organic certification if you can do the certification yourself. Certification can be an expensive process and many small independent farmers are simply unable to afford it. So if you personally know the farmer and visit the farm and are confident it meets the standards then it is will likely be just fine. Just far more work than most of us have the time for.

The crucial point is to absolutely know the source of your food. If you can't grow or raise it yourself then you better be darn well confident that you delegate that responsibility to someone or some organization you trust. That is one of the reasons I rarely eat out and consume over 95% of my food at home.

Remember food is a critical part of the equation of "Taking Control of Your Health", you simply must get it right if you want any real chance of avoiding chronic degenerative disease.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

APPLIANCES!!!!! THEY ARE TAKING OVER!!!

So my house has more appliances then Home Goods. Ok that's totally a lie, but there are a lot. Or maybe I just need more space.... Anyway. If i'm going to do this blog thing about all of the food I'm cooking and eating, and posting recipes, I should probably give a heads up about all of the appliances I use.

Lets start with ...
The Microwave. A huge giant tremendous NO NO! I could write a whole blog on the terribleness of the microwave. Maybe I will... but for now, just no microwave. There is no love in microwaved food.

My top 3 absolute favorite, couldn't live without...
The Dehydrator. There are tons of types and sizes (insert dirty joke here) and different ones work for different people. Dehydrators are good for jerky and fruit leather traditionally. I don't use mine for either. I make breads, chips, and cookies with it mostly. I love my dehydrator.

The Food Processor. Hand mixing? I said from the beginning i'm truly a fat kid and there's just no way. Food processors are awesome for everything. You can process a lot to make super liquidy, or a little to make stuff chunky. Batter for cookies and breads, or pates, soups. I don't think there is nuch a food processor can't do. Food Processors are wonderful.

The Nut Grinder. That's right, I said it. "The Nut Grinder"! Dun dun dun!! I don't use your typical carbo processed flour. Mostly I use nuts as flour, so I need a nut grinder to turn almonds and sunflower seeds into almond flour and sunflower flour. Yay! Plus it's way cheaper to do it yourself.

And the rest of the gang...
The Nut Milk Maker. I'm kinda lazy, as all fat kids tend to be. I could buy a strainer and cheesecloth and bags... or I could just put my nuts in a nut milk maker and bam! It's all done. Yeah, that's how I roll.

The Juicer. Vegetable juices are absolutely an acquired taste. When I started juicing I hated it but now I can appreciate and love it. It can get pricey to juice cause you need a lot of veggies but juicing is super healthy. Also, you can use the leftover fibers of the juiced veggies in tons of recipes so it doesn't suck so bad being expensive and all.

The Blender. I need a new one. The blender is good for small stuff. Kinda like the kid brother of the food processor.

The Veggie Peeler. Yes, I know I have stated how lazy I am, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet. Although a lot of the skin on veggies is good for you, it can also be loaded with pesticides and crap, more so then the yummy innerds of the veggies. Sometimes I take the skin off and use a hand held veggie peeler. It takes two seconds to do, and one second to clean. Might as well burn a calorie somewhere.

The Oven. Everyone has one. Learn to love it. They also come in small medium and large so whichever works for you is Ok with me. I won't judge you to your face.

So thats it. Your basic tools for cooking with Moe! I'm sure there may be a few I forgot about. Meh. We are big boys and girls. Work it out.

C is for cookie, and cookie is for Moe!

It's really not as tough as people think to have a healthy meal without many of those high allergy, fake food ingredients. A salad with chicken, or a piece of steak with some veggies, no problem. The desserts... baked good... that craving for something sweet... that's where it starts to suck! So I spend a lot of time looking up new and fun recipes online, because I make so much food on my own. As I have said over and over, if it's gluten free, its got sugar. If it's sugar free, its got gluten. I tried looking up raw recipes, and those use a lot of dates, which is fruit. FML!!! After lots of tries, and much wasted food, I think I got it. Here are two cookie recipes I can get fat over. The Coconut Toffee Almond Cookies I can get my boyfriend to eat. That's stellar! Like, I mean I have arrived! They are melt in your mouth yummy. And The Raw Mint Love Cookies! Imagine if those timeless thin mint Girl Scout cookies and a Chewy Chips Ahoy macked it hardcore style and had double scrumptious baby cookies. I know, it makes you feel dirty, but in that good way!
Please enjoy, and let me know how it turns out for you!

Coconut Toffee Almond Cookies
1.5 c shredded fine coconut
1.5 c almond flour
1/3c + 2 tbsp coconut oil
12 drops Toffee Stevia
4 swirls Vegetable Glycerine
1 tbsp Cacao

Food Processor
Cookie Tray
Spoon

Mix all in food processor
Drop onto cookie sheet (no need to line or oil up)
Refrigerate at least 10 minutes

These cookies take at least ten minutes to set and that's it! The coconut oil hardens them up, so no baking required. Be careful in transport though. They will melt in heat.


Raw Mint Love Cookies
1 cup sunflower flour
1 cup flax meal
5 drops peppermint essential oil
1 packet stevia
2 tbsp cacao
2 tbsp vegetable glycerine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 t vanilla
3 tbsp water

Food Processor
Lined Dehydrator Tray
Knife

Mix all except water in food processor. After all is mixed together nicely, add 3 tbsp water. It should start to make a cylinder shape in the processor. Let this go around for a few seconds. Take this cylinder, and like a package of store bought cookie dough, slice off rounds onto dehydrator.
Dehydrate at 115 overnight, or until desired chewyness is reached.

Good luck with that. I always eat the last cookie before it reaches the dehydrating tray, and i usually have eaten them all in less then 24 hours. I have the willpower of a champ, except for these cookies.