Monthly Archives: August 2011

Energy What?

I am horrified by an ad I just saw. Remember the mouthwash strips invented years back? The ones that you put on your tongue to dissolve that left your breath minty fresh? Well someone has taken them to the next level and created an energy strip or sheet that works the same way. Remove from the package, place on your tongue, and poof, instant energy.

It's bad enough that there are hyper-caffeinated beverages on the market, it's really awful that there are mini-shots of energy product, and let's not forget all the other atrocious caffeine products such as caffeinated soap and panty hose. Now we have this? I'm truly astounded and upset.

How much caffeine do people think they need? And if they need that much isn't it time to consider perhaps that they are trying to do too much? If someone is not awake enough during the day perhaps it's time for them to look at how much sleep they're getting. Maybe their bedroom is not restful enough, is it a dark, cozy, no-tv, no-computer, no-gaming system space? Poor sleep, or not enough sleep are key reasons that people feel tired and then reach out for caffeine or sugar as a way to boost their flagging energy. Getting good quality sleep, and enough of it, can often reduce the extreme fatigue that seems to be plaguing us.

So why am I so against this product? For adults caffeine is generally considered safe up to 300 mg per day. This product contains 100 mg of caffeine, plus high doses of B vitamins. Oh yeah, they also come loaded with artificial flavors, sucralose, polysorbate 80, artificial colors, plus some other chemicals thrown in for good measure.

One of my big worries about this product, aside from the nasty ingredient factor, is the potential for abuse. The delivery system makes it far too easy for small children to get their hands on it, especially if it is tossed into a purse or a car cup holder along with gums, mints and other similar items. It's also something that will be very easy for teens to overuse.

I can only hope that this product will be pulled from the shelves as quickly as possible.

Raspberry Vinegar

by Mirafruit, pantry, preserving, vinegarraspberry, raspberry vinegar, recipe, vinegar

Raspberries are coming in to season. Their fragrant luscious aroma greets me every time I walk into the produce section of my local grocery store. And their plump juicy red fruit temps me. I love raspberries and truly miss the raspberry bed I had in Connecticut. It was stocked with four different varieties each bearing at a different time pretty much ensuring a summer full of fresh flavorful berries.

Sadly the drought here in Texas has done a number to my fruit bushes. The trees seem to be holding their own but the elderberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and goji berries are all shriveled and I'm not sure they're going to make it.

Raspberries are such a wonderful fruit because not only are they tasty, they're so versatile. They go great in fruit salads, eaten fresh, baked into scones or crumbles, on top of oatmeal, in a smoothie, the list goes on. Plus a little as one half a cup provides 4 g. of fiber, over 25% of your daily value for vitamin C and just over 20% of your daily value for manganese. One of my favorite, extravagant ways to use raspberries is to make a raspberry vinegar. This way I can enjoy that fragrant summer flavor all year long.

This is my favorite recipe using raspberries from Fancy Pantry which is one of my best-loved preserving cookbooks.

Raspberry Vinegar

By Fancy Pantry cookbook

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

8 C. raspberries, cleaned, rinsed and drained
3 C. white wine vinegar

Instructions

The recipe calls for the raspberries to be used in two portions. You can freeze 4 C. for later.
Crush 4 C. raspberries and place them in a sterilized, heatproof 2 quart jar
Add vinegar and and cover the jar
Set the jar in a deep saucepan and fill with water to come halfway up the jar
Set over medium heat and bring the water to a boil
Reduce the heat and keep the water simmering for 20 minutes
Remove the jar and set aside, uncovered to cool the contents
When cool, add a lid to the jar and set it aside
Shake the jar every day for 2 weeks
Strain the jar to remove old raspberries, it is okay to lightly press the berries to extract all the juice
Crush 4 C. raspberries and pour infused vinegar over them
Repeat the scalding as done above
Let the vinegar rest for two weeks, shaking every day
Strain the vinegar discarding the fruit, it is okay to lightly press the berries to extract all the juice
Line a funnel with an unbleached coffee filter and place in a sterilized bottle
Filter the vinegar into the bottle
Cap or cork the bottle and store in a cool dark pantry

Notes

The vinegar may develop sediment as it stands, this is okay but the vinegar can be re-filtered if you wish

Black Bean Casserole

by Miraflexitarian, herbs and spices, legumes, recipes, vegetarian

black beans | photo: Paul Goyette

Unfortunately this got eaten before a picture was taken so no casserole picture. [note to self: learn to take more photographs of food]

Over on my Facebook Fan Page I posted a Meatless Monday menu of black bean casserole, roasted asparagus, spring onions, cauliflower and cauliflower greens. It was a delicious dinner. I received a request for the recipe and decided to post it over here at the blog.

I love oven roasting veggies, it's such a simple way to put them together and really makes fabulous leftovers. And black beans are a great flexitarian choice; they're tasty, easy to prepare, and go well with so many different types of dishes.

Adding beans to your diet, if you don't already eat them, is such a healthy thing to do because not only are you getting protein, you're getting lots of fiber. One cup of black beans provides 15 g. of fiber and 15 g. of protein. A pretty good deal in my book. Even better you're also getting a lot of B vitamins, primarily thiamin and folate, plus iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese.

This black bean casserole is one of my favorites because with the addition of the corn tortillas it makes a complete protein. The original recipe that I developed calls for a generous sprinkling of shredded cheese on top however due to my new dietary restrictions I am avoiding cheese. I've discovered that the rice cheeses and other “fake” cheeses are just too unpleasant for my palate, both in taste and texture so I've been feeding what I bought to the dogs (who are thrilled) and just leave out the cheese altogether. But if you're a cheese fan and can eat it, use about 3/4 C.

Being where we are in the growing season at the moment with tomatoes so very expensive (and my garden burned to a crisp due to drought) I've turned to my favorite Pomi Chopped Tomatoes which come in a box rather than a can so there is no BPA. When tomatoes are in season and not hideously expensive I definitely prefer them and use about four in this recipe.

Black Bean Casserole

2 T. olive oil
1 large red onion chopped small
2 cloves garlic minced (more if you like lots of garlic)
2 ribs celery chopped small
1/2 of a 26 oz box of chopped tomatoes
2 cups cooked black beans
1 t. cumin
6 medium size corn tortillas cut or ripped in half
2 T. minced cilantro
1 T. lime juice
2 spring onions chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly grease a medium round pie dish
In a pan heat olive oil, saute onion until wilted
Add celery and garlic and saute until celery is wilted
Add black beans, tomatoes, and cumin, cook until heated through
Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste

In pie pan layer 4 corn tortilla halves with 1/3 black bean mixture
(the top layer is where the cheese goes if you're using it)
Repeat layers ending with bean mixture
Cover and bake 30 minutes
Remove from oven, sprinkle with spring onions, cilantro and lime juice

Note: when tomatoes are in season and I use fresh I often top this with some chopped tomato

Dinner At The Counter

by Mirameat, reviews, wwme

Our family went to dinner at The Counter last night, a new eatery in town. The concept behind this place is that it is a build-your-own burger joint.

Walking in we were greeted by very friendly people with fantastic music in the background. My husband and I were amused that somehow the place has managed to hit the exact right blend of music. Not only did we like it, our teenager liked it and our young server liked it too. We were given a menu that allowed us to create our perfect burger from four different proteins, the choice of a burger or a bowl, followed by a very wide selection of cheeses, toppings, sauces, and a choice of buns.

My husband ordered a beef burger with gruyere cheese and an assortment of toppings, our daughter choose a veggie burger with her topping preferences and I choose a chicken breast to be served in a bowl. Several things stood out with our order that I thought were fabulous. Their beef is humanely raised, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free and they claim it is never frozen. The veggie burgers are made in-house and are not simply reheated, cardboard tasting, burger-shaped pucks. My salad was made with organic greens. All three tasted absolutely delicious. The beef was tender, juicy and very flavorful. The veggie burger was, quite frankly, the best veggie burger I have ever had. I'm not sure how they make it but it was moist and really stood out compared to any other veggie burger. My chicken salad came on a bed of organic greens with the most amazing pesto. I loved the fact that my sauce came on the side so I could choose how much I put on my meal. We also shared some sweet potato fries with a horseradish mayonnaise. While I'm certainly used to eating mayonnaise with my fries I will confess that I really don't like horseradish so I was suspicious of why anyone would put it into mayonnaise. It turned out to be the perfect compliment to the fries. Not too strong, certainly not overwhelming, just a tiny bit of bite that went very well with the sweetness of the thin cut fries. We ended the meal by sharing an oversize chocolate chip cookie that was so large we wound up taking half of it home. And speaking of taking it home, I was really happy to see a wax paper lined box instead of a styrofoam container.

A few things stood out to me that I think would improve the restaurant. The artwork was great but I felt that otherwise the blue and chrome decor was rather cold and sparse. I'd love to see it warmed up a bit. I'm a little disappointed that with all of the wonderful local, organic, humanely raised, etc they still had conventional ketchup on the table. Sadly that ketchup is made with high fructose corn syrup and not a healthy choice. I would also have liked sea salt and fresh ground pepper on the table.

Overall I think this restaurant has a lot going for it and I hope that it will be successful and stay in the area. I love the concept, I really like a lot of their food choices and what they stand for. I absolutely admire the fact that a number of things, their sauces, the veggie burger, and even their cookies are all made in-house on the premises. That speaks a lot to the quality that they are going for and it shows in how tasty their food is.

I liked the food so much that as I was walking out the door I was already thinking about ideas for what I will build the next time I go back.

If you haven't been yet go check it out, they have locations all over the country and even a couple of locations in Ireland.

Pondering Plastic

by MiraHMN

Yesterday was another Holistic Mom's Network twitter party. The topic of conversation was plastic and it's insidious presence in our homes. It may seem innocuous but really there's more than meets the eye. All week long as I was waiting for the twitter party I looked around my home at all of the different ways we use plastic. I was stunned to realize that there was far more than I thought.

plastic bags | photo: Trosmisiek

Many people have given up the paper or plastic question at the grocery store and bring re-usable grocery bags. One of my challenges these days is to not use the thin plastic bags that the grocery store gives out in the produce section. I think the time has come to make some produce sacks, the challenge is that it's not nice and see-through for the clerk. I don't use many of them, trying to take produce by itself whenever possible; however for some things like beans, mushrooms, etc it's not really feasible. So I'm planning on working on that to reduce my plastic usage. As we discussed last week when talking about paper….it's one step at a time.

The expert in charge of the twitter party was Beth Terry who blogs over at My Plastic Free Life and goes by the twitter handle @PlasticfreeBeth. Her website is full of amazing information, links and resources on the steps to a plastic free life page including this great video on making produce bags from old t-shirts. In addition to Beth's wonderful website there is also a lot of useful information to be found at Earth 911.

BPA laden receipts |

The startling thing for many is learning just how pervasive plastics are in our lives. Many of us focus on BPA because that's what's in the news. There's even a study currently underway to examine the blood of cashiers to see how high their BPA levels are because they handle receipts all day long. Those receipts are coated with a powdery form of BPA that transfers easily (something to think about next time you eat a snack after purchasing it and handling that receipt). As Beth points out, it's important to remember that BPA-free does not mean it's totally safe.

I also learned that chewing gum is made with polyvinyl acetate. Seriously? Apparently the only brand of gum currently available that is all chicle is my favorite Glee gum. But I confess to sometimes having other gums as well. Not anymore. I discussed this one with my husband last night and we will no longer be buying other gum. Turns out this will also reduce our plastic packaging because Glee only packages in cardboard.

Even more disturbing was what I learned about bio-plastic. This is being touted as the best replacement because it is supposed to break down. However it turns out that many bio-plastics are made with GMO corn. Since I try to avoid GMO foods it bothers me that this product is still finding it's way into the environment. According to one thread in the party last night some bio-degradable plastics have a mystery ingredient that helps them to break down faster. Researching it on the internet I come up with the information that that chemical is “proprietary” and so does not need to be shared with the general public. Other information states that it may “leave some toxic residue but the environmental impact is lessened.” This is not something that I want in my environment at all.

glass straws | photo: Wizdomseeker

Just as with last week, the subject of straws came up again. Of course you can get glass straws from Glassstraws.com or you can purchase stainless steel straws. What I thought was really cool was discovering this link to a tutorial on making your own DIY travel cup. I can see that I'm going to make re-evaluating my travel container choices my second priority after those fabric produce bags. And don't forget to carry your own travel beverage with you. If you travel through airports it can go empty through security and then be refilled on the other side.

PlasticfreeBeth set forth a Plastic Challenge. I'm not quite ready to do that yet although I will be paying more attention to the plastic usage around our house. After last night, and after watching the trailer for the documentary movie Bag It this morning, I'm certainly more educated and more committed to making changes.

It's 9:00 a.m. and already I've handled the following plastic:

light switches

household plastic objects | photo: cjp24

toothbrush
toothpaste container
dental floss container
shampoo bottle
razor
deodorant container
mascara container
lipstick container
eye liner container
cell phone / case
supplements/vitamins containers
computer
pen

and probably a few other things that didn't creep into my awareness. Whew, that's a lot of petroleum product! Definitely need to look around and see how I can reduce my usage.

Do you have any great non-plastic tips? I'd love to hear them.

The Journey Continues

by Miraflexitarian, transition

I am still on my dietary journey, each day learning to make these changes. Yesterday I had a moment where I really missed cheese. I just wanted to make myself a big chef-style salad. In the past it would have been no meat and perhaps two kinds of cheese. Now it's meat, no cheese. And knowing that I couldn't have the cheese made me want it more.

After the first two weeks of my dietary changes I am now adding in more vegetables and fruits. The testing that I did broke my food sensitivities into 3 categories, high sensitivity, moderate sensitivity and low sensitivity. For the first two weeks I ate nothing on the list, even the low sensitivity list. It got really boring.

I have a confession to make. I don't like cooking for myself. I much prefer to cook for others. I like eating with others and I certain love when people cook for me. But if I have to cook specifically for me…not so much. And because of my dietary changes I was doing a lot of that. And it got boring. For anyone who knows me, that's a surprising statement. I LOVE food, I like thinking about it, talking about it, researching it, helping others with their food. I love food. But because of the restrictions I am on it I started to become less enthusiastic about my food. I figured out a few dishes that were dietarily compliant, figured out how to add back in the meat slowly (still working on that) and tended to live on the same 8-10 recipes.

Now that I'm able to add other foods back in I am all of a sudden much happier. In part I am now able to eat an expanded list of foods which is always a good thing. Plus many of the foods on the low sensitivity list that have been added back in are grillable veggies. In the summer that is one of my all-time favorite ways. (If it was winter I would be making vats of soup!) I like to make up several large salads, grill a huge batch of veggies and then make composed plates by adding in a protein.

I am learning so much from this experience. Part of it is a deeper respect for some of the dietary changes I sometimes ask folks to go through as we work together on their journey toward health. I have had my own journey and have certainly done many of the things that I ask clients to do (such as a candida cleanse) but this time around the process seems much more mindful. As I journal my food choices and how my body is responding to the reintroduction of meat I am much more aware of how I feel and why I am making some of these choices. In many ways to a much greater extent that ever before. I am also learning to understand some of the complexities that can lead to boredom with food. I am grateful for this deeper understanding of myself but also because I believe it helps me to better help others.

And the journey continues…

Eco Friendly Living

by Miraenvironment, habits, health, HMN

Yesterday I attended the Holistic Moms Network twitter party. It was great fun; I learned a lot about a wide variety of eco-friendly ideas and shared in some great conversations.

tree | photo: dieraecherin

The topic of the party was people talking about different ways to cut down on how much paper we use. According to PeopleTowels, “Each person in the US uses about 335kg of paper each year–that's 7 times the world average, even twice the average for industrial countries.” That's a lot of trees! And don't those trees look better as trees rather than a methane-producing, decomposing mass in the landfill?

This discussion got me thinking about the holistic lifestyle many of us are trying to lead. We bring our own drink containers (stainless steel, BPA free plastic, or glass) instead of taking styrofoam or paper cups from vendors. We bring shopping bags to the grocery store instead of using paper or plastic. Many of us are looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact.

Canteen | photo: Broken Sphere

I confess that I am a work-in-progress in this area. I think my success rate with the grocery bag issue is about 80%. I even now bring shopping bags into other stores, not just the grocery store. The challenge is getting them back into the car if I've been using a lot of them. We do have a water bottle and BPA free hot cup for each member of the household and they do get used frequently. We've shifted to dishtowels instead of paper towels. All of the eco-friendly ideas that many people are starting to adopt. But there's always more that can be done.

I felt energized by the discussions going on and came across a number of new-to-me products and companies that I wanted to share. These are products which will help me continue to reduce my environmental impact; something I consider to be an important part of the balance to a holistic life.

PeopleTowel

PeopleTowels – This company sells reusable small towels that are a great size to take with you on the road, to the office, when you travel. I confess the nerd side of my nature fell in love when I discovered that they had a special towel for Towel Day.* One of the great things about their towels is that although they have lots of really cute ideas and great towels they also have an option where you can design your own. So if you want to create a theme set of towels, put pictures on a towel, put one of your kids art projects on it, you can. And these towels will last for years. I've already ordered a set of five plus a Towel Day towel and can't wait for them to arrive.

Another topic that came up was the idea of straws. To be honest we don't use a lot of straws in our house but when we do they are always plastic. Until now. It turns out that you can get either glass straws or stainless steel ones. The glass straws are available from a company called Strawsome. They have all different sizes, bubble tea, regular, smoothie, plus colors, plus you can get them personalized. Another option for reusable straws that I like a lot is these stainless steel straws. This is something that I could easily carry in my bag to use when I am out. One challenge that I see is what do you do with a used straw if you use it at a restaurant. But I like the concept a lot and love the thought of not wasting plastic.

As part of the eating out section of the conversation I was re-introduced to the concept of bringing your own takeout container to restaurants. There are two reasons I like this idea and why I plan to start implementing it. One is that most restaurants use styrofoam and I have a strong aversion to it. It hangs around in the landfill forever and if you put hot food into it you are then absorbing some of the plastics that are released due to the heat of the food. Bringing your own takeout containers is such an eco-friendly idea. You can reduce waste, still have your takeout (I often wind up with lunch for the next day as most restaurant portions are far too large for one person), and have containers that you feel good about using. I've decided to go through my BPA free containers and see which ones are going to be designated for takeout. And I'm going to work on the habit of bringing them with me.

Another part of the conversation was about using cloth napkins which in turn opened up a discussion about cloth sandwich bags. We do use cloth napkins in our house. Not 100% of the time, when I have a party I confess I buy paper because I just don't have that many cloth napkins. But on a daily basis it's cloth and we have a good size, mis-matched collection. When talking about the idea of reusable sandwich bags I came across only one resource for food-safe plastic fabric. If you decide to make your own reusable sandwich bags please do not use PUL or oilcloth, neither of those is acceptable for food contact. This discussion lead me to realize that I think I want to set aside some time to make a few reusable sandwich bags and while I'm at it whip up one or two sets of napkins that actually all match.

I encourage my health clients that we are working one step at a time. It's important to remember this when you are moving toward a more eco-friendly life as well. If you try to change everything at once it's too much. You are trying to remember and be consistent about too many things. You are not learning and setting those new habits. When I first started with shopping bags my success rate was about 10%. I wouldn't remember to bring them in to the store or I wouldn't have enough reusable bags. While I still forget from time to time to get them back into the car I do use them the vast majority of the time. I've also gotten very good about telling cashiers that I do not need a bag if I am only purchasing a few products and can easily carry them when I've forgotten my bags. That was my first big eco-friendly step. Little by little I added others. You can do the same. Pick one thing that is important to you. Practice and develop that habit. When you are comfortable that you are utilizing it the majority of the time, move on to another one. Slow and steady is the way to make effective, long-lasting, positive change.

What do you do in your home to be more mindful of the environment? I'd love to hear ideas and resources. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

*Towel Day is May 25th. It is celebrated by fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy written by Douglas Adams. Rule #1 is “Don't forget to bring your towel.”

How To Do A Rotation Diet

by Miraallergies, health, transitionallergies, rotation diet

When diagnosed with food sensitivities you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed. Especially since the foods you are most likely to develop a sensitivity to are the ones you eat most often. Once diagnosed, either by a doctor or through testing, it's important to have a rotation diet.

What is a Rotation Diet?

In simple terms, a rotation diet means that you are not eating the same foods every day. It's not a specific diet per se, such as Paleo, Keto, Mediterranean, etc, but rather a conscious way of eating that reduces your exposure to food proteins. Following this type of a plan requires you to write out what you can eat without repeating a food more than once every four days. By following a rotation diet plan you are able to eat a variety of foods without building up sensitivities to them. This is because with a four-day gap in consumption you are not overconsuming to the proteins in those particular foods on an everyday basis.

Rotation Diet Basics

Here is an example. When it comes to nuts most people eat a lot of almonds. In fact, they may eat them every day, or even multiple times per day. But by eating almonds every day there is a possibility that you will eventually become hypersensitive to the proteins in them. That would then eventually show up on a delayed hypersensitivity test and you would need to avoid them while working on a program to support gut health. By avoiding the foods that you are identified as sensitive to for 3-6 months and doing a supportive nutrition plan, you can potentially restore your insides to the point that you can eat some of those foods again.

Using the category of nuts and seeds for someone with an almond intolerance this might be a potential plan:

Day 1 - flax seeds, pistachio, hazelnuts (also called filberts),
Day 2 - brazil nuts, cashew, pinenuts
Day 3 - chestnuts, pumpkin seeds, walnuts
Day 4 - sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pecan

At the end of the four day period you begin the rotation again.

It's important to note that peanuts are not really a nut. They are a fatty legume which tend to be one of the top food sensitivities and allergies. Therefore we do not include them in the rotation.

This pattern of rotating foods every four days applies to each category of food:

Dairy (if tolerated)
Herbs and Spices
Fish/Shellfish
Fruit
Poultry
Meat
Nuts and Seeds
Oils
Vegetables

Eggs are included in the poultry category and are consumed with their protein, i.e., chicken eggs with chicken, duck eggs when you are eating duck, turkey, quail, etc.

In the case of severe or a significant number of food intolerances, you may need to follow a rotation diet for an extended period of time while you work on your gut health.

The Raw Milk Controversy: Health, Rights, And Industry Interest

by Miradairy, FDA, health, USDA, WAPFdairy, milk

In case you missed it on the news, there was a raid of a store in California that was selling raw milk. The owner and two suppliers were arrested and an unknown amount of raw milk was dumped. As I understand it this was a store that essentially functioned as a buying club. Consumers were required to be members before they could buy. I will grant that the government claims the raid was in part because the store owner did not have the proper permits. The owner apparently thought that because his operation was a private buying club not a public place of sale he did not need one. However leaving aside that permitting misunderstanding, this is not the first time that there have been raids against raw milk sellers; last May there was a raid in Pennsylvania and there have been many others. For some reason it appears that raw milk and it's advocates have been targeted and are being dealt with by force.

The Benefits of Raw Milk and The Need for Legislation

I find this sort of thing disturbing for a number of reasons: 1. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation's Real Milk Campaign there are lots of health benefits from drinking raw milk. If the government feels that raw milk is so much of a problem then create legislation for it. But honestly Diet Coke is horrific to our health and there is no legislation there. This over-reaching attack on one product seems excessive and misplaced; 2. Those who want to drink raw milk should have access to it, they are aware of the risks and most of them are dealing with farmers that they trust to run a clean operation; those who don't want to drink raw milk don't have to. I'm not sure how this is considered a problem, raw milk is always clearly labeled and is only sold to those who specifically search it out; 3. The raids frequently go after raw milk producers or stores where they sell raw milk yet I am easily able to buy raw milk cheese and butter at my local big-chain grocery store. In order to make these products the producer has to start with a raw milk product. If the raw milk cheese producers can get approval to make and sell their product why not the base product?

Denial of Rights and The Influence of Industry on Legislation

I find all of this attention toward raw milk producers confusing in part because in other areas the governmental agencies in charge are clearly not doing their job. In the recent ground turkey recall it has come to light that the USDA suspected a problem two weeks before it actually forced the recall. The egg recall from last summer revealed that the owner had years of health and environmental violations. And the peanut butter recall from two years ago showed that the company had serious health violations but was never shut down. So major manufacturers appear to get a nod-and-a-wink while farmers and consumers are arrested and subjected to armed arrest? I feel that those who want to eat a certain way are being denied their rights. Going back to point number one above, smoking kills yet we still sell cigarettes, alcoholism and drunk driving are a big problem yet we still sell alcohol. I don't see raw milk as being harmful or costly to society yet it's being portrayed as this over-reaching evil product that kills. I'm truly puzzled by this attitude. Is it because cigarettes and alcohol and junk food generate big profits and those industries can afford to fund political legislators while small farmers and small groups of consumers can't? And why does it seem that the efforts of those agencies which are supposed to be protecting our food supply are being unevenly thrown against a minority population that wants nothing more than what they consider to be a healthy, nutritious food? I know many people have started to buy cow shares in order to preserve their right to have access to raw milk but even that appears to be under assault. I have come to believe that raw milk is the next dairy battle. Although I remember drinking it when I was a kid I don't recall it being popular or easily accessible and I certainly don't remember news headlines about it. Now that it is more available and more in demand it has suddenly become a problem? When organic milk became more publicized for it's lack of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides the dairy industry pushed back hard and tried to block labeling that stated milk was "rBGH free" because this would cut into their profits (note: rBHG is sometimes referred to as rBST). They did win a legislative ruling that milk which was labeled rBGH free also had to carry a statement that there was no difference between milk with and without the hormone. This was later shown to be not true with one study reporting rBGH milk had "Fat levels, particularly long chain saturated fatty acids incriminated in heart disease, are increased, while levels of a thyroid hormone enzyme are increased." For many people the only way to ensure added-hormone free milk was to purchase organic which is legislated not to contain it. I will make a side note here - just because a cow is organically raised does not mean that it is not still in some sort of a feedlot operation. The organic label does not automatically ensure fat, happy, grass-fed cows regardless of the cute pictures (which is sad because milk from grass fed cows is better for you). Organic simply means that cow is not fed GMO feed, not shot up with artificial hormones and not pumped up with antibiotics. If you want grass-fed, free-ranging cows you need to either raise them yourself or get to know a farmer who raises their animals that way. Now that manufacturers have lost the organic dairy war and more organic dairy products are arriving on the shelf regularly, the big producers are getting into the business themselves. I'm sure much of this is profit driven. If people are willing to pay more for organic dairy and you can't legislate it away then you might as well join in. But raw dairy is different. It doesn't travel well unless it's been turned into something like cheese or butter. That means a shift back to local smaller scale farming. I guess that's somehow seen as a problem.

Continuing To Learn

by Mirahealth, transition, vegetarian

As I move forward with my new nutritional plan I am struck by the realization that it's not easy to make one meal that satisfies everyone in my household. With one vegetarian, one emerging flexitarian, and one committed omnivore meals are a little more challenging.

Because my choices are limited by my rotation diet I am having to think and plan ahead more so that I can make multi-stage meals that can be finished off or enhanced for the other members of the family who do not need to avoid dairy, etc. Quite honestly I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet and it's definitely an eye-opener.

I hadn't thought that it would be so difficult. After all over the years I have managed various different dietary needs folded into what was once a household of five. Low fat, low cholesterol, low carb, various different dietary plans all rotated through our house before I became a Nutrition Educator and learned more about whole foods and eating according to the needs of your body rather than a one-size-fits-all dietary plan. Obviously through my training and work I have come to see clearly how we are all bio-individual and one-size does not fit all. I'm feeling a little humbled as I learn to juggle this new nutritional state of affairs.

On the other hand I'm feeling fairly good about the dietary change. I did try a few bites of chicken, and the next day my stomach wasn't too happy, I am taking it slowly and plan to start introducing some broths into my diet as well. And I'm reasonably content with what I am eating the rest of the time. It turns out (at least a few days in) that I don't miss dairy as much as I thought I would. The biggest challenge at the moment is to remember what day of the rotation I am on and to plan meals. For example, today is corn for my grain and black beans for my protein. So we're having taco bar. That's easy I can set everything out buffet style and folks can help themselves. But I do need to think ahead if anything, like beans, needs to be soaked or otherwise prepared.

It's a learning adventure and one that I realize will help me have a deeper understanding of what I suggest for some clients. As I mentioned in my last post, I've written a lot of Rotation Plans, but I've never followed one myself. It's one thing to comprehend it and entirely something else to understand it.