Thursday, December 2, 2010

www.nourishingnancy.com!

I've moved! Click on purple link to go to www.nourishingnancy.com ! See you there!!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Moving over to Word Press

Alright folks, I've enjoyed being on blogspot.com, but it's time to step things up a bit! I will now post on my new blog location: www.nourishingnancy.com I even upgraded to a dot com!! So from now on, just use nourishingnancy.com and you'll see my new home on the net. Remember to be sure to subscibe to my new site on wordpress.com, so you'll get an email alert on new posts and access to everything the sight has...and will have to offer as things progress. See you over there ; )
Your in health and friendship,
Nourishing Nancy

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Learning about raw milk everyday

Just posted another article at Examiner.com: It is the fourth installment outlining different things about raw milk. I started by writing about the difference between the "play" milk, most consumer's buy, and the natural living food, that you have to put some energy in getting, only in a more diplomatic tone.
It was just going to be one article, mind you. Then my thoughts went from not only how heat changes this food, but the history of when and why pasteurization began. That led me to what effects homogenization have on milk, and the fourth one focused on the economic benefits to farmers of raw milk.
Each article brought research with it; I knew much of the information, but reading it again helped me to focus my thoughts. It's sort of like when you look up a word in the dictionary: You wind up looking up ten other words, out of curiosity, before you remember to look up the word that brought you to the dictionary.
I didn't realize until today that we have the right to drink milk in it's unadulterated state in every state of this country. Somewhere inside my head, I thought I was harboring an illegal substance in my house; something that made me feel a touch of intelligent defiance; kind of like people reading important literature in the face of the book burnings.
Someday, there may be a movie made about this grand stand for freedom that each of us takes by purchasing a liquid that has become such a bright red target. I guess that is a positive place to start from: Now the only thing left to do is to make it legal to sell raw milk from any state in the union. We're better off than I thought!

Keep it positive and keep it real!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Can't stomach vegans anymore

I always try to keep my posts positive, but today's one of those days. My examiner articles are to be professional and journalist like; here I get to say it like I feels it. I just need to clear the cyber air a bit about militant vegans: I've never seen/read anything like it!
I, stupidly, did some snooping around today on some other examiner articles and, much to my dismay, kept winding up on vegan examiner spots. Now, I was a vegetarian/vegan for several years. My reasons are my own for doing it, but I will say I was very devoted to it. I was misguided, however, into thinking that that was where real food was found. Real food is what has been eaten on this planet for millennia: that includes animal foods, sorry, but it does. I now know animal foods are important to eat and I know they're what the body needs, because my first daughter was born with telltale signs of deficiency: rotting teeth, missing teeth, allergies, asthma, eczema, a narrow face, a too small palate, colic...shall I go on? I think I made my point.
Unfortunately, I didn't find this out until after my third child was almost one. I did go back to eating meat, but there's so much I have learned through the Weston A. Price Foundation that I wish I knew before I had to see physical evidence of lack of nutrition.
While I was a vegan, though, I don't remember screaming (or cyber screaming) at anyone about my beliefs. If asked I gave my reasons for my choices, but I didn't try to convert anyone. I did try to convert my now husband into a non-hunter, but I cook the meat he brings home now; so you can see how aggressive I was about things.
It's sad to see so many people fighting over this issue, and, honestly, I see most of the belligerence coming from the vegan camp. I can respect their views to not want to eat "anything with a face": I get it, I was there once. What I can not stomach is the complete denial of a way of living that has been going on for as long as humans have farmed: Can the vegan mentality not at least give some credence to the fact that animals on pasture feed the earth and the animals feed us? That not all land is perfect for farming vegetation and can be used to feed animals which can then feed us? Even if they turn away from the eating of the animal for belief's sake, can they not see the logic in a sane and ecologically sound system, for Pete's sake?
I read a whole long article on Mother Jones magazine online about different opinions from different informed writers. Out of four, only one was in favor of what I just wrote: Joel Salatin, who is a pioneer farmer of Polyface Farm. His comments were amazingly coherent, and I actually got some insight from them. The rest were in favor of a completely, or at least mostly, vegetarian/vegan planet.
What shocked me the most were the comments: 90% percent were cyber screaming at Joel Salatin. The audience couldn't even give some air time to his farming views. Even if they disagreed with his eating views, how do your eyes not open when hearing about his farming practices? I mean, this is what we have lost...our history of farming is born again in this man, and people still don't get it. They are still screaming the same facts they spew at factory farmers...they just don't get it.
I'm just sad that's all. But mostly I just needed to get it out. I didn't post any comments back to the screamers, but it did affect me enough to write about it.
I write because I hope to share, to enlighten, to inspire others to a healthier way of eating; one that tastes great, is great for you, and great for the planet. If you choose not to read, I promise I won't look you up and cyber scream you a new one.

Bloomberg should say yes to salt - New York healthy food | Examiner.com

Bloomberg should say yes to salt - New York healthy food | Examiner.com

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Slow roasted venison: amazing!

I recently made a slow cooked 31/2 pound venison roast; it was roasted with a raisin/orange juice sauce that gave it a wonderfully sweet taste. There is enough of the raisin concoction to use as a condiment served with the meal, as well.
It cooked in the oven for over 4 hours, but, wow, was it worth the wait! I've had venison roasts often over the years, but rarely used them because I wasn't sure how to cook them; plus, some of my escapades with the cut were chewy and dry: Figured it out!!
The recipe is from a fantastic book by Shannon Hayes, called "The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook": Love this book! If you cook grass fed meats, I suggest you pick up a copy; every recipe seems better than the next.
As usual, I support grass fed (pastured) meats because of the incredible nutritional value; the support to local and small farmers; and the environmentally sound and more humane approach. Funny, but I just commented on an article written by a vegan who was bashing the organic poultry and meat farmers. The commercial organic farmers are guilty of all the crimes he suggested, but I brought up the need to let his readers know about pastured animals for the reasons I mentioned above.
Hope you try the recipe and the grass fed meats! Here's the recipe:

For the raisin sauce:
2 T unsalted butter
1 sm. onion, finely diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
2 c. raisins
1/3 c honey
2 c fresh orange juice
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 T orange zest

For the roast:
Oregano-Salt Rub
   1 t dried rosemary
   2 T dried oregano
   2 t coarse salt
   1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 venison raost, about 3 pounds
4 slices thick-cut bacon (also grass fed if possible)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
To make the raisin sauce: Heat the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Add the onion and apple, and saute over medium heat until soft. Add the raisins, and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the honey and the orange and lemon juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook until the sauce is reduced by one-third. Add the zest, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer.
Using a potato masher, squash half of the fruit to blend it with the liquid. Remove 3/4 cup of the sauce ot use for basting the roast. Reserve the rest to serve alongside the cooked meat.
Rub the Oregano-Salt Rub into the meat. Lay the strips of bacon on top of the roast, blanketing it as completely as possible. Set the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. roast for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, basting at least twice with the raisin sauce. Turn the heat down to 170 degrees, insert a meat thermometer, and cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 130-135 degrees, about 3-4 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with the raisin sauce.
Remove the roast from the oven, and tent loosely with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Spoon any pan juices on top of the sliced venson adn bacon, and pass the reserved raisin sauce seperately.

Enjoy!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Colbert Report on Raw Milk: great parody with some truth!

The Colbert Report on raw milk is well done! It makes a joke out of a raw milk raid recently in California. My guess, however, is that no one doing the parody actually knows about raw milk's true benefits. It's possible that the jokes about the possiblity of illness from raw milk was used to balance out the piece; I would have preferred if they asked the FDA to show them documentation of those illnesses that they claim is the reason for protecting the public from this health food.

It is a positive thing, though, to see a parody done on the topic. This is definitely a testament to the fact that the issue of raw milk and the FDA harrassment is making people pay attention. There was also an article this month in Time magazine.

I have said it before, and I am not alone in this thought, but this is a real issue of our freedom.  Food freedom is our right, and protecting that right starts with voting! It also involves making healthy choices, and supporting small farmers. Now, I think I'll down a large glass of cold grass fed raw milk---and draw the shades before I do so.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Nutrition course for teens

I'm absolutely signing up for this course on teaching teens (I have two...well, one's a tween) nutrition. It's not that I don't, somehow, interject my beliefs on nutrition, at least once a day; or show them how to cook something to make it more nutritous, but this course is seperate from me. Yeah, and sometimes kids learn differently from others than they do from Mom:  "Mom says that all the time", is an anthem running through their heads, but not necessarily a deep learned skill. Even homeschooled children are sent to other parent's homes for that very reason.

It's also good to support others who are spreading this most vital message to our children:  Our children will be the teachers, mothers, and lawmakers one day. Information about real food, butter, healthy animal fats, pasture raised animals; and packing your body with nutrient dense foods before having children, once you are pregnant and while you nurse, are skills for life. Teaching this information now may produce a different outcome for your children's children--basically, your grandchildren!

Hope you'll give it a look!  Thanks for reading.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Raw milk for sale in PA

I just returned from a visit to Pennsylvania, where my parents live, and also where I bought raw milk.... in a STORE.  I had to pinch myself, really; how come I can't buy this in a store in New York?  Oh yes, a little thing called legality.

It is still a complete, unimaginable perplexity to me to realize that an amazingly healthy food/drink like milk can be deemed illegal in this state, or any state for that matter.  The fact that it is not boiled to death should have no bearing on it's sale, in my opinion.  It is only a choice of whether you like your milk with nutrients in it or not; the same way some like their milk with chocolate in it or not.

I realize that there are many people in total ignorance about the topic:  My father won't touch the stuff for fear of needing a serious dose of antibiotics shortly after consuming it.  It is something that took me a moment to get used to when I started drinking it.  Fear put in our minds by authority figures can be debilitating, sometimes.  However, the powers that be are totally aware of both said fact and that they have no claims to back up their fear mongering.  So the practice of controlling this healthy substance continues.

I could be walking to the corner store to buy my wholesome raw milk--because it is my choice, because it is my right to make up my mind about what enters my body, and because no one has stopped it from going from our local friendly farmer to my local store;  unfortunately, that is not the case in my home state of NY because it is illegal here.

I support every effort to make raw milk available to all who are astute enough to want to buy it.  I support the right for farmers to sell that choice to consumers.  Here's to a future returning to the land of milk and honey....a land rich in health!  

Monday, September 6, 2010

Nourishing Nancy: Eat Drink Local a fun event on the North Fork

http://www.examiner.com/healthy-food-in-new-york/eat-drink-local-event-on-the-north-fork

Eat Drink Local a fun event on the North Fork

Now that's why I enjoy living out on the East End of Long Island....the cool events and the great local foods!  From September 26 through October 6, edible magazine has put together an event called Eat Drink Local to celebrate the local harvest.  With the fall colors, the cooler weather, and all the wonderful autumnal eats, a celebration is definitely in order.

There's something about this time of year that gets me back in the kitchen after a summer of barbecues and eating out.  It's time for the roasts, the meat loafs and the roast chickens.  I start thinking succotash and pumpkin pie and apple cider, and all these can be gotten locally by me:  the North Fork is brimming with artisanal foods and organic farms selling all kinds of seasonal items.

So while Eat Drink Local is going on, I'll be in my glory sampling all that the season and my area has to offer.  Slow down, eat locally and enjoy the season!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

More food contamination??

What's going on lately with all the veggies and, now, cold cuts being contaminated?  Thank goodness people aren't being poisoned by everyday food items....it's only raw milk we need to fear.  Right?  It's always amazing to me to see how many foods are causing terror in our food system, and yet there are outright raids on the poor small farmers trying to provide raw milk to an increasingly larger group of people.

Story after story is surfacing about how hard food officials are on a food that has it's own internal cleansing ability, while incident after incident of food contamination is reported in the news.  In fact, it's getting to the point of being a monthly event; and who gets raided?  Raw milk farmers.

I'm always so aware of how lucky I am, when picking up my raw milk from the co op I belong to.  I'm grateful to the cows; the farmer who helps produce the milk; the guy who drives the truck to Long Island, packed with this nutrient rich food for my family; and the naturopathic doctor who knows enough to give her patients access to it!

I will continue to support those farmers, support my family, and support our health with grass-fed raw milk.  I'll also keep envisioning positive changes in the laws that support freedom of producing and buying raw milk.  I think appreciation brings more of what you are appreciating:  I appreciate my freedom to choose.  I appreciate this great raw living food!  Support your dairy farmers.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Stop factory farming...really?

Following a silver Prius today, I saw a bumper sticker that said, " STOP Factory Farming!!".  Great, I thought, others are getting the message about the Abominable Snow Monster that has eaten all the small farms across the country; but will we really every stop the factory farming??  Really?

In my humble opinion, that is a ship that has sailed, and will continue to sail, for probably as long as this planet turns.  Perhaps I am a pessimist, but I'm also a realist:  Factory Farms make money....and lots of it. This is how we feed the masses, and the masses don't care about where the food comes from or how it came to be; they only care about how much they have to pay for it, and how it tastes.  

Wow, that's harsh, right?  Yes, but in that dark cloud lies a silver, maybe even golden, lining:  You and I can still do what we do; we can still spread the word about how important small farmers are--how they help the local economy, the planet, and our bodies by giving us nutrient dense foods; we can still buy locally, and write our blogs, and teach our children what's truly nourishing to our bodies.  What we can't do is stop a steaming locomotive that will have it's way because it has the money and power to do so.

Focus on what you want and resist the urge to fight what is; that's going the wrong way....and it's exhausting.  Stay positive folks!  Just by spreading the word we enlighten so many others:  That is the way to salvation and a great grass-fed burger!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

SPEAKING OF NATIVE AMERICANS....

Speaking of Native Americans, I happened upon a wonderful site that will show some wonderful examples of pre-modern tribes.  My own observation was that the late 1800's seemed to be the last of the full expresssion of their original diets.  I'm no scholar on this, but it is just an observation of the regal expression of their faces from those early pictures; it seems to be missing from the later pictures-- in fact, they are not even in their traditional attire in several pictures during the 1900's.

Here is the site:  www.firstpeople.us   Check it our yourself.

Here is a wonderful legend that was told about maple syrup:  Even too much natural sweeteners can cause harm, as observed by these very wise people.


Native American Legends

Gluskabe Changes Maple Syrup

An Abenaki Legend


Long ago, Long ago, the Creator made and gave many gifts to man to help him during his life. The Creator made the lives of the Abenaki People very good, with plenty of food to gather, grow, and hunt. The Maple tree at that time was one of these very wonderful and special gifts from the Creator. The sap was as thick and sweet as honey. All you had to do was to break the end off of a branch and the syrup would flow out.
In these days Gluskabe would go from native village to village to keep an eye on the People for the Creator. One day Gluskabe came to an abandoned village. The village was in disrepair, the fields were over-grown, and the fires had gone cold. He wondered what had happened to the People.
He looked around and around, until he heard a strange sound. As he went towards the sound he could tell that it was the sound of many people moaning. The moaning did not sound like people in pain but more like the sound of contentment. As he got closer he saw a large stand of beautiful maple trees. As he got closer still he saw that all the people were lying on their backs under the trees with the end of a branch broken off and dripping maple syrup into their mouths.
The maple syrup had fattened them up so much and made them so lazy that they could barely move. Gluskabe told them to get up and go back to their village to re-kindle the fires and to repair the village. But the people did not listen. They told him that they were content to lie there and to enjoy the maple syrup.
When Gluskabe reported this to the Creator, it was decided that it was again time that man needed another lesson to understand the Creator's ways. The Creator instructed Gluskabe to fill the maple trees with water. So Gluskabe made a large bucket from birch bark and went to the river to get water. He added water, and added more water until the sap was that like water. Some say he added a measure of water for each day between moons, or nearly 30 times what it was as thick syrup. After a while the People began to get up because the sap was no longer so thick and sweet.
They asked Gluskabe "where has our sweet drink gone?" He told them that this is the way it will be from now on. Gluskabe told them that if they wanted the syrup again that they would have to work hard to get it. The sap would flow sweet only once a year before the new year of spring.
The People were shown that making syrup would take much work. Birch bark buckets would need to be made to collect the sap. Wood would be needed to be gathered to make fires to heat rocks, and the rocks would be needed to be put into the sap to boil the water out to make the thick sweet syrup that they once were so fond of. He also told them that they could get the sap for only a short time each year so that they would remember the error of their ways.
And so it is still to this day, each spring the Abenaki people remember Gluskabe's lesson in honoring Creator's gifts and work hard to gather the maple syrup they love so much. Nialach!

Monday, July 26, 2010

"Eclipse" Native Americans Need Weston Price Makeover!

For those of you who've visited me before, you may or may not have noticed my Edward Cullen quotes at the bottom of my blog:  This means I'm a Twilighter, as well as being a Real Foodie, and that I've, of course, seen the newest film, "Eclipse" (fours times, but who's counting).   "Eclipse" brought in some Queluete  (this is a Northern Pacific Native American tribe) tribes people from the past.  I'm sorry, but I just need to comment:

The Native Americans they showed from the 1700's--I believe that was the time period, judging from the clothing--had horrible teeth (all crooked and yellow), narrow faces (obviously aiding in the crooked teeth), and pock marked faces.  Native Americans of the past, before the advent of the white man's food, were described, in many accounts from travelers of those days, as being of strong stature, beautiful well-formed faces, and perfect white teeth; so beautiful were these people that the white people's description was one of utter awe in their meetings with Native Americans of the past.   They seemed to describe them as the ultimate in human example.

They ate all the foods that Weston A. Price discovered back in the 1930's:  Pastured animals, as they hunted in the wild, full fat meats (Native peoples threw away lean meat as unfit for human consumption), some fermented or soaked grains, and fish, where available.  Their physical appearance was one of magnificence because they ate a diet that produced the ultimate in healthy humans.

How did they know what to eat?  We know that information was passed down from generation to generation;  much like teaching life skills to the young:  Food education was of top priority to these folks due to their, obvious, cause and effect seen in their babies.  "We eat this because it makes healthy babies" was translated over and over from tribe to tribe all over the globe.

They listened to their instinct; they watched nature and other animals; they trusted in their knowledge and were rewarded for this vigilance:  Native Americans, like many other indigenous peoples, were free of many of the diseases that are rampant in today's society and had perfect teeth--no dental caries, no need for braces.

The producers of "Eclipse" were, assuredly, unaware of this very important detail:  They also were using today's Native Americans who, sadly, are just as mangled from modern foods as the rest of modern society.  Can you imagine what those original peoples looked like?  Can you imagine what we, ourselves, would look like, and feel like, if we had an original diet?

I'm not sure that feeding these healthy foods to my children today will produce those "perfect babies" of days-gone-by in one generation, but I know it's a beginning; I know that in a few generations we could be back to where we once were-- if only we would see the light and realize we could all use a Weston Price Makeover.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

THE KOMBUCHA KAPER!

What the "bleep" happened to my Kombucha?!  Really!  I went shopping with the kids at Wild by Nature the other day, and when I went to grab my beloved Kombucha--there were none; not only of one brand, but ALL brands were off the shelf.  I literally could feel my blood pressure building as I created a scenario of the story and then the REAL story of what was going on.

The answer from the customer service girl was "oh, yeah, they recalled Kombucha", and she handed me a sheet of utterly useless information.  It gave me not a hint of the back story.  Later after googling the event, a photo of Lindsay Lohan came up holding a bottle with a statement from GT Kombucha that this incident had nothing to do with Lindsay.  Apparently Lindsay has used up her lot of alcohol in this lifetime, so .05 percent more in one day set off the SCRAM police?

The possible elevated alcohol level is the reason it was "voluntarily" taken off the shelves.  A guy who is making a killing on a product that has gone from a single flavor (original) to over a dozen different flavors, doesn't "voluntarily" stop doing business without an amazing amount of fear to precipitate that event.  So, who made the call to Whole Foods that Kombucha (the healthiest thing to hit the grocery shelves in decades) may have a slightly happier amount of alcohol in it than intended (if that's even true)?  I don't know.  

That is the real story here; the other is why everything healthy is being so attacked in this country.  My friend sent me a youtube link that brought up lots of conspiracy theories about the groups that may really be running this world--this, right after seeing that, makes me want to throw my TV out the second floor window shouting "WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE"!  Or at least....I'll see if I can locate a baby to start making my own Kombucha.  Meanwhile my inner hippy is still chanting:  Never trust the Man!

Friday, June 25, 2010

GRANDMOTHER'S WISDOM FORGOTTEN?

Food.  What an amazing topic.  Each and every one of us have different tastes and a different relationship with food.  I try and write about my feelings on discovering how important foods that truly nourish our bodies are.  I aim to inspire, even incite you to bring this into your own homes.  Our children are in our hands with this issue, and so it carries much weight, in my book.

A friend, who is very spiritual, invited me to listen in on a podcast of some indigenous elders (grandmother's, to be precise) who would be sharing some important messages and stories on healing our ailing "Mother Earth".  I noticed that there was mention of sacred earth, sacred ceremonies, and other sacreds, but no mention of sacred foods.  Is it possible that these indigenous grandmas had forgotten what a good bone broth could do for the sacred people of mother earth?

I was, and still am into many spiritual ideals.  I've studied and observed many different studies from wicca, buddhism, astrology, chanting, all the way up to the spirit of Abraham (which in my book, makes the most common sense), but none of them have addressed this Sacred Food issue.  I feel strongly that food needs to have something nutritious to really feed our bodies, and be prepared with love to truly feed our souls.

I wrote about this issue in my last post, but I was startled to see the omission of the word foods from the other sacred things mentioned in anything attached to indigenous people.  If there is one great wisdom these individuals have to share, it is there knowledge of Sacred Foods (fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, etc).

Thinking about what we are eating and honoring this process is something I will continue to bring up.  I think we need to hear it.  Again.  And again.  And again.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

THANK HEAVEN FOR SACRED FOODS

Over the weekend, there was a Confirmation in our family.   The pastor at the service shared a fable about a farmer who wanted to save some money by feeding his donkey saw dust in place of his regular food.  The farmer increased his ratio of saw dust for food gradually, not noticing any ill effects to his donkey, until the rations were all sawdust.  When the donkey died, the farmer seemed perplexed with the cause of the donkey's demise, so the story went.

The pastor brought the moral down to being watchful of what one adds to their life--as in good food, good thoughts, good deeds, etc.; my husband, later sharing his view of the story, claimed the farmer was just a cheap business man who was so trying to keep all the profits, he killed the product; my thoughts hogtied the food issue, of course.  Isn't this what has happened in our food industry, I thought?  Isn't this why our food is full of ingredients we can't pronounce and devoid of any life-giving content?  And finally, has anyone taken any notice of this in this church, or anywhere, but me?

Sadly, I probably was the only one who even went to that issue when food was, in fact, the issue. Interesting to be in a place of worship when what we ingest was the topic.  Once upon a time, people all over the planet saw foods as SACRED.  Yes, sacred.  That's why there were so many ceremonies wrapped around them, why foods were usually involved in all ceremonies and festivities, and why many foods were called SACRED FOODS.

Weston A. Price traveled the world and found out what those sacred foods were--he even wrote a book about it.   If you haven't already, check it out on the bottom left.  Sally Fallon's, Nourishing Traditions (where I got my blog name idea), is a cookbook filled with many of those sacred foods.  Certain foods were thought to be sacred because indigenious people worshiped these foods by observing their blessed effects on the bodies of their children.  They noticed that with these sacred foods their babies were born healthy, had round faces with adequate room for all their teeth to come in (no need for braces--is that even heard of anymore?) and free of cavities, and robust health, both physical and emotional.

Imagine children with warm color in their cheeks, no circles under their eyes, beautiful smiles, happy dispositions, high intelligence, with no attention deficit problems or hyperactivity; children with round faces (not pointy chins, sadly, like myself and my children) with adult teeth that come in perfectly spaced, bright, pearly white, and immune to dental decay (even if you DIDN'T brush and floss); children that have perfect eyesight, great hearing with no ear infections, beautiful blemish-free skin, shiny hair, and strong, lean bodies  (without joining every sport offered).

This would be Heaven, but not Earth, you say.  This WAS Heaven on Earth before modern foods!  Please, please do yourself and your family a favor, and go to www.westonaprice.org and look at the beautiful specimens of that Heaven on Earth.  They were the Adams and Eves we thought only existed before Eve grabbed that apple.  The real evil was not knowledge, but walking away from our knowledge.  We humans had the intuitive instinct that guided us towards what to eat to keep ourselves healthy and happy; we followed these principles body and soul.  Sadly, today this knowledge seems obscured...coming around, but still quite under the radar.

This knowledge is slowly coming back into the mass consciousness, but marketing is still king, and our taste buds still rule.  As long as there are ingredients in modern foods that fool (and cheat) our taste buds, our bodies will still fall victim to the malefic effects of modern food.  Today, however, I was happily surprised to read an article on, drum roll please....kefir!  Perhaps there is still hope.

Native Americans believed that what we do today affects the next seven generations.  In fact, Seventh Generation, a green company, uses this slogan for their earth-friendly products.  Today's children can benefit, with some amazing results, from the sacred foods of our ancestors.  Perhaps the "heaven on Earth" will take a few more generations to attain the ideal we once lived; but if we can pass on one thing to the next generation,  let it be that what we put in our bodies must truly sustain us--in a sacred way.  We might even see a few more healthy donkeys.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Cool Video!!



I've always equated learning about the REAL food movement and the Matrix movie.  Hope watching this was informative and awakening in a Cartoon Channel kind of way.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Awesome Pumpkin Bread


Last night I baked an incredible Pumpkin Bread; it was moist and sweet and the kids loved it!  I packed some for their lunches today, along with some homemade bone broth chicken soup.  I just love that feeling of sending a bit of home and my love with them to school.  It may sound corny, buy I bet they have a better day (energetically speaking) just by having all those good vibes pouring out of their lunch boxes.   I don't always pack a lunch with so much homemade effort as today, but today's lunch got it right.

My Pumpkin Bread is made without yeast, by the way.   It is made by leaving spelt flour and yogurt (Seven Stars brand is organic, all natural, and full fat) in my warming draw, which has a proof setting, overnight.  Leaving a dough in a warm place overnight helps to make the bread more digestible; grains are a tough one for our bodies if not treated this way.  Not only does it make the bread  more digestible by leaving energy for our bodies to attend to other things, like thinking and staying healthy, it allows the nutrients in the flour (especially if it is freshly ground flour) to be absorbed more easily.

The next day you simply add the rest of the ingredients and bake--easy!  Then I spread on some homemade cream cheese and raw honey and kissed my fingers in that French kind of gesture.

Homemade cream cheese is procured by taking raw milk and leaving it out of refrigeration for a day or so until the milk divides itself into whey (the yellowish liquid) and curd (the cream cheese solid).  The whey I use for fermenting veggies, like pickles and sauerkraut, and the curd/cream cheese is what I spread on the Pumpkin Bread.  The cream cheese from raw milk can be a bit bitter, for my taste, but by adding just a bit of honey, it was delicious.

Making your own food the traditional way is a bit like science.  That alone can be beneficial for the kids, plus they are getting the best food on the planet.  Enjoy the recipe, and leave me a comment!

3 c           Spelt Four
2 c           Yogurt, Kefir, or Buttermilk  (keep them full fat for better results and taste)
3              Eggs
1/2 c        Maple Syrup
1 tsp        Sea Salt
2 tsp        Baking Soda
2 tsp        Allspice
2 tsp        Cinnamon
1 tsp        Ginger
3/4 can    Pumpkin
4 T          Melted Butter

Mix and soak flour and yogurt in warm place atleast 24 hours.  Blend in remaining ingredients after soaking and pour in buttered/floured casserole pan.  Bake at 350 approx. an hour.  Test with fork or toothpick.

Use your own judgement on spices--more or less to your liking.  Enjoy!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sometimes, the Truth is Sweet

By now, you've heard that Princeton has come out with a scathing report on the effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup (something my friends and family are surely tired of hearing me repeat....for years now).  Yes, HFCS can cause you to GAIN weight, as if eating those Twinkies and washing it down with Sprite weren't enough!

What kind of sweeteners would be a better idea, you ask?  That's what I'm here for:  To give you the best darn advice I can find.   So let's just explain, briefly, why I don't recommend anything other than the ones I will below.  White sugar, Florida Crystals, Raw Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, and others like these are simply white sugar with a bit more brown sugar in them.  The problem with them is that they have been denatured, or rather, stripped of their natural nutrients.  Yes, sugar actually can be nutritious; you just need the best sugars.

These sugars won't let you down, and with some fat (good animal fats) in your diet, they won't bring you up--your blood sugar, that is:

Maple Sugar:  Pure maple sugar, Grade B is the best.  You can find this on Amazon!  Good stuff.

Molasses:  The natural by-product of white sugar.  Just get the unsulfured versions.

Honey:  Raw, unheated, unprocessed is best.  Some health food stores have them, or on-line.

Rapadura or Sucanat:  These are unrefined sugars that have all their yummy nutrients still intact.  Look for them in most health food stores or, again, Amazon.

Stevia Powder:  They are now selling this in supermarkets nationally.  I'd still look for the health food versions, just to be on the safe side.

Date Sugar, Maple Sugar, Rice Syrup, Sorghum Syrup:  All in the health food stores or on-line.

All of these are traditional sweetners; in other words, they've stayed the test of time.  Anything made by man/industry is usually a messed up thing to put into your body.  Especially into the growing bodies of our children.  Keep them safe and healthy, and go for the natural sweetness Mother Nature has provided.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My Girl Sally!

Just caught this video on Sally Fallon Morell's visit to the UK.  For those who are not aware, Sally is the founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation which is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of the public on traditional diet principles rediscovered by Dr. Weston A. Price.  

Dr. Price wrote his book back in the 1930's during a time when non-modernized people, not yet exposed to modern foods, still existed.  He studied them to find answers to why their health was so robust; they had no tooth decay, their jaws had room for all the teeth (no braces), they were free of degenerative diseases, and they were...happy!  Yes, they were free of depression, ADD, ADHD, and every other capital letter we can gather together to explain our newest fun malfunction of the human psyche.

I have been studying the invaluable information of Dr. Price and Sally for several years now, but I always pick up something new when I give a listen to one of Sally's lectures.  I hope you feel the same after listening....and I encourage you to do just that.  It may be the best hour you've spent in your life!

Wise Traditions UK 2010 - Sally Fallon Morell Part 1 from Wise Traditions UK on Vimeo.
 

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Feed Our Soul

Last night, I caught an episode of Bill Maher.  One of his guests was Alice Waters, who is famous for creating the edible schoolyard, wherein children grow, eat, and learn about vegetables they grow on the school yard.  In fact, I had helped my daughter, Chloe, plant one at her school last year....not realizing who had influenced this back-to-nature goodness we were participating in.

Alice is also owner of a very well respected restaurant, called Chez Panisse, in California.  Her restaurant's website tells her story, books reservations, and sells her many cookbooks.  www.chezpanisse.com   Although all this seems a few years new to me and others who are now seeing a flurry of books on the subject of REAL Food, Alice had her epiphany about food on a trip to France in the summer of 1964!  A pioneer to the movement, I would say.

She is a very relaxed soft spoken person, and in this age of sound bites spit at infomercial speed, Bill Maher seemed a bit perplexed waiting for her thoughts to brim to the surface.  Oddly enough, even with the limited outflow from Alice, she made a point that was the most poignant one I've heard.  We need to bring the soul back into our food.

There is a reason we join together for meals:  Our food feeds us on many levels.  It is a social gathering; when else do we have time to smile, listen, and laugh with our families?  Our food feeds our bodies for growth, sustenance, and healing.  However, there is another level not discussed often:  Our spiritual connection to our food and each other.

My husband comes from a big Iitalian family.  I always admired how the family came alive around the food in his home.  It was more than just something to consume....it was a party...always.  The food had been cooked mostly from scratch and all Italian.  Lots of meats and fish and cheese.  I'll skim over the fact that there was white pasta served, because that was the way and did not detract from this soul filled food.

My own family was partly German.  We had a Pot Roast that cooked all day to tenderize the meat and add incredible flavor.  That was my families "party" food.  It always felt special to me and I understood what this food felt like when it entered my stomach.  There was a sense of fulfillment that went with the connection we all had with each other and our food.

This is what Alice Waters was referring to:  A need to return to a time when food was our connection to who we are.  This only comes from food that is first filled with this kind of spirit to start with.  REAL Food is food that we have knowledge of where it came from, that is clean and fresh, and this is put together by someone with love.  Yes, love adds to the food....more than we can even comprehend.

I doubt a "Happy Meal" could ever bring that true emotion out of anyone, but that is what the corporation is hoping to remind us of.  A feeling of being truly happy from our deep connection to our food.  It is what has been missing from our homes, our restaurants, and our souls for too long.  It is what we truly yearn for when we stare blankly into the open refridgerator, or the menu at a fancy restaurant, or reach out for a healthy cookbook to help us feed ourselves and our families.

A small simple statement with enough impact to open hearts and minds.  Yes, feed our body, all the healthy REAL Food we can get our hands on, but once again...Feed Our Soul;  this is what our senses are really asking for.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Fresh and Sour Is Only For REAL Milk

Just heard something on the radio on the way home this morning about a couple of blokes in England that thought up a cute new gimmick for milk cartons:  They will show the words "fresh" and "sour", accordingly.  The announcers were thrilled, but it made me think:  That's not accurate!

To use those terms, fresh and sour, it would need to be REAL raw milk.  Fresh milk, in many countries, means unpastuerized milk.  There's truth in that, as that's the freshest milk you'll get!  Check out imported cheeses....if it says "fresh", it means unpasteurized, or raw, milk.  And the usage of sour is incorrect, as well.  Pasteurized milk goes RANCID!  All the live enzymes (and basically everything else that makes milk a health food) is lost when you pasteurize milk.  It no longer can naturally change into a soured milk...which is another wonderful transformation of REAL raw milk.

Only REAL raw milk sours;  pasteurized milk becomes...garbage.  Fresh milk is raw milk.  The white stuff you buy in Stop and Shop is a milk food--just like Cheese Wiz.  Perhaps that will be the next new gimmick for milk.....milk in a can?!   Perish the thought.

Check out www.realmilk.com for info on raw milk!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Post Bunny Blues

Now that the Easter Bunny has gone into hiding again till next year, it's time to clean up our gut from the calamitous forage into white sugar's grip!  Ooh!  Like that!  Let's add some good ole' probiotics and enzymes to our digestive track to eat up what the Easter Bunny left behind.

Too many candies and sweets can really wreck havoc with our immune system, starting with our intestinal tract that, by this time, is screaming for some assistance!  Give it some helpful kefir (pronounced ke-feer) to do the trick.  A good yogurt is also a an option, as is any fermented unpasteurized drinks (like kombucha) or fermented veggies or chutneys.  These products eat up sugar fast than you can chow down on a 12 oz. chocolate duck!

"Nourishing Traditions" has many recipes for fermenting vegetables, fruits, and chutneys, and even drinks. If that just sounds like too much work after cooking for an army of people this weekend, most health food stores carry an array of fermented products.  Try to keep it organic with few additives, and your system should be up and running....purring, in fact, in no time!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

REAL Food by Dr. Sue

I found a new website, through www.hartkeisonline.com, and thought I'd share one of their statements about the difference between today's food and our great-grandmother's era.  Today, we need to say our great-grandmother, as opposed to grandmother, because all the dubious ingredients and odd happenings to food started creeping in even by the post-war era of the late 40's.  Seems pre-war is better in buildings...and food!

My desire to feed my family REAL food is so strong, that sometimes I avoid hanging out with other families for dinner because of it.  Sad to say that so many folks are still not aware of the garbage that is passed off as real food.  Even worse is the fact that most parents are packing this stuff for kid' lunches, having it for dinner, and serving it to guests.

It is an effort to find, cook, and make sure you eat REAL food; I feel it is an effort worth making.  Almost everything that today plagues our health can be traced back to this fake food most are ingesting every day, every day, every--DAY!  I hope you'll read that statement again...it's a big one.  You can deny it, ignore it, and reply with a "Happy Meal", but now it's in your head.  Glad I could put it there.

Here's the writings from Dr. Sue from her website www.nourishmd.com  Hope you'll flip through her other stuff....lots to learn.


Dr. Sue writes:  Your great-grandmother didn't have high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils or enriched flour in her kitchen.  Nor did she have artificial colors, sweeteners or flavors.  Her family didn't eat food from animals that never saw the light of day, were overcrowded and caked in their own manure.  These animals didn't eat soy and corn, nor were  they medicated with steroids and antibiotics.  Your great-grandmother didn't prepare foods covered in pesticides or even worse,  foods filled with genetically-modified ingredients.  It wasn't available.  All of this fake food is relatively new, created in a lab by food companies who want foods that trick our taste buds, stay on shelves longer and cost them less.

You see, organic is a marketing term.  The reality is your great-grandmother fed her family organic foods and lots of local foods.  She didn't have to worry about navigating through all of the marketing lies, food labels, or grocery store aisles.  Food was REAL, unadulterated and nutrient dense.  She probably grew some of her own food and canned it for the winter months...imagine!

When we talk about REAL food, we're talking about the food our bodies were meant to eat and enjoy every day.  The food our bodies need to thrive at the cellular level.  The food our children deserve.  The food that will keep us and the planet healthy.

Remember, you vote with every bite!  What are you voting for?  Organic?  Local?  For a healthy family or planet?  You can change the world with every bite.  Choose REAL food!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Orange You Glad You Knew?

I'll be getting a book in the mail through Amazon in a day or two called "Squeezed".  I found in through www.hartkeisonline.com, who is run by Kimberly Hartke, the publisher for WAPF.  This is also where I got the link for the Raw Milk Symposium in Wisconsin.  "Squeezed" is all about the "fresh squeezed" orange juice you and my husband thinks they are drinking when they buy those "not from concentrate" juices.

Although, I'm already aware of the fact that it is neither fresh nor squeezed, I thought it would be advantageous to read up on it a bit more.  Not only is orange one of the most pesticide laden crops, but the juice is "squeezed" by grinding up the skin (full of pesticides) and all into the juice.  It is then boiled to death and soy protein is added to prevent the separation in the juice (ever notice how the solids never fall to the bottom?).

That's just a "taste" of what I'm aware of.  Can't wait to read more about it.  Blog to follow. Feel free to check it out yourself through link below.  In the meantime....drink your raw milk instead.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Raw Milk Symposium in WI

Check out the Raw Milk Symposium in Wisconsin add now on this page.  Lots of info about the show and a very important event for those interested in raw (real) milk.  Also, Sally Fallon Morell will be in NYC on the 27th of March discussing that exact subject.


AN EVENING LECTURE WITH SALLY FALLON MORELL
REAL MILK: WHAT’S THE REAL DEAL?
Saturday, March 27, 2010, 7:00-9:00 PM
Subud Chelsea Center
230 West 29th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues

Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation and leading
advocate in the real milk movement, will speak about the safety, health,
economic and legal issues surrounding milk.  Come learn why full-fat raw milk
from grass-fed cows on pasture is nature’s safest and healthiest food, and the
key to revitalizing small family farms and reclaiming our constitutional rights.


REGISTRATION
General Admission: $20
Weston A. Price Foundation or Traditional Nutrition Guild Member: $15


~Space is limited.  Pre-registration is strongly suggested~
Credit card registration: http://www.brownpapertickets. com/event/97887

Please send payments by check (made out to Weston A. Price Foundation NYC
chapter) to: Claudia Keel, One Union Square West suite 309, New York,
NY 10003.  Send an email to claudiakeel@earthlink.net to inform us of your
forthcoming  check.

Sponsored by the Weston A. Price Foundation NYC Chapters

Monday, March 22, 2010

Happy Spring!! Happy Cows!!

Yes!  Finally, the breath of Spring enters the air....and raw milk will once again be abundant.  I look forward to this time of year because, usually by now, our frozen milk supply has begun to dwindle.  I begin in the Fall to stock up on the raw milk I buy through our food coop, here in Riverhead.  By December, my freezer is so full, the thought of opening the door becomes a daunting thought.

Over the weekend, we had my in-laws over for an italian meal.  For desert, my son asked for some milk with the cookies they had brought; the milk with all the cream lying on top always elicits a look, a question, or both.  This time, however, the conversation wandered into reminiscing. They remembered when all milk was delivered like this--the cream on top (unhomogenized).  Raw milk was perhaps a rare occurance by the sixties, by un-homogenized was the norm.  They remembered fighting over the cap to lick the cream.  Yes, in those days people allowed children to eat fat....imagine that?!

I feel proud and a sense of safety for my family that we drink such amazing milk.  It is worth every funny look, fear-mongering comment, and misinformation that has ever been splashed at me.  I know this is how people have been drinking milk for millennia and it is how I would love to see all communities go back to drinking it.

For now, I'm just happy to be getting milk again from those happy cows from Upstate, New York.  They're happy because they are eating grass, as they were designed to eat; getting fresh air and sun, which helps every living creature; and living with dignity, because nature is the rule rather than the exception.  I hope you get to enjoy this milk...you'll never go back to that stuff that's labeled "milk" in your grocery store, again.  Moo!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Mighty Neighborly of You

I have a friend, here on the North Fork, who raises her own chickens and geese for the delicious eggs they so graciously supply daily.  It was a normal part of life for most citizens a few generations ago, especially in rural areas, to have chickens and other livestock of your own.  Today, most people simply stand on line at Waldbaum's for something that resembles real eggs.
 
If you have never had the good grace of having REAL pastured eggs, I suggest you seek them out.  The difference is quite marked.  The taste is much more flavorful, the color of the yolk (if the chickens are getting sunshine. insects, and greens)  is anywhere from a deep yellow to an incredible deep ORANGE--I mean orange, too!--and the nutritional value skyrockets!

I just read on Weston A. Price Foundation's facebook page that someone loves their raw milk so much that they are going to buy a Jersey cow!  Now, that my friend's is dedication.  I would love to raise my own animals, but to be frank:  I know exactly what goes into it.  Think taking care of a puppy is a lot of work?

I'm honest enough with myself to admit when something is over my head.  With three kids and a new puppy, raising Clarabelle and the chics is way over!!  I'm very fortunate to have friends who have the energy, time, and patience to put into raising their animals so I can simply make a donation to the food supply and share in the bounty.

It is too sad today that the food you buy from the supermarkets is so suspect that we must seek out other food sources.  However, even though most of America saw what's really going on in our modern day food industry on Oprah, I still doubt most people will put in the effort to seek out other food sources at all.  Not only does it take a great effort (or atleast going out of your way a bit more), but it takes knowing who and where to go to get this alternate food.  Food that is grown and raised properly and where you know the source personally.

 I lucked out with a husband who hunts (the best meats you'll find), and I live in an area where people have surplus property to raise animals.  I also joined a co-op to purchase other meats, raw milk, raw cheese, raw butter, and sprouted grains.  Looking back, I did think it all a bit strange and extremist when I first embarked on this journey....but once you taste REAL food and see the results in your family, I can't imagine any other way of eating.

I can imagine a world of people happily exchanging food the way they used to before the advent of the Super-market.  I can imagine going local for all foods:  To Jenny for your eggs, Steve for your milk and dairy products, and Ernie for your maple syrup and fermented products.  Perhaps you'd be coming to me for some fermented chutney's, or even some soaked and oven dried nuts.  With awareness, who knows where we're headed!  

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Cream Always Rises to the Top

There's been much to do about the movie, "Food, Inc.".  Leave it to the Oprah Effect to bring food awareness to the masses!  A million of these posts and a thousand more Sally Fallon's could never approach what being on the Oprah show can do in an 8 minute spot!
Michael Pollan, the creator of "Food, Inc.", has also written many books.  I read "Omnivore's Dilemma" and thought:  Others are finally becoming aware, writing books about it--and it's become a NYTimes bestseller!  Who woulda thunk it.
I loved all the information about the confinement cows, the corn industry, the soy, and biodynamic farmers, but put the book down once Michael started talking low-fat.  He sites Weston A. Price several times and uses the Weston A. Price Foundation website as a link (only as a farmers rights advocate group), but, sadly, he lost Weston's original message:  Indigenous peoples had less disease, perfect teeth and arches, and happy dispositions because their food was filled with amazing amounts of vitamins and minerals.  Foods that were full of fat from their meats, organ meats, seafood, eggs, butter, milk, and cream.
There are so many great sayings hinting at a time when fat was understood to be the best life could offer..."The fat of the land", "The land of milk and honey", "chew the fat", and, especially, "the cream always rises to the top"!  
Fat and cholesterol are so important to optimal health, and yet it is still demonized in our society.  Our children are especially at risk from all the low fat, no fat milks they drink.  You're stealing the intelligence right out of their brains if you're not giving them full fat, folks.  Sorry, but someone needed to say it.
This needs to be the next "ah-ha" moment in this country.  Keep reading, keep learning, and for your health's sake....eat your full fat foods!  Just like my favorite saying, this information will rise again to the top!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Site to Behold

I love this site from Chris Masterjohn!  If you have any doctor friends that spew out facts at an alarming speed at you about cholesterol and health.....send them to this site, and keep your own blood pressure down!  I'm not great at keeping a log of percentages and facts in my head.  I write about what I live, what I feel, and what I observe.  If you need the other stuff, see Mr. Masterjohn.  And tell him I sent you!


http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/index.html



Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Ten Best Things to Pack in a School Lunch for a Healthy Punch

The Ten Best Things to Pack in a School Lunch for a Healthy Punch

What Do We Feed Our Children For Lunch?

Making lunches every weeknight for my children is NOT the sweetest part of my day.  Usually, I'm getting tired from a long day, my kitchen is still a mess, and my kids are still not in their PJs.  Religiously, however, I perform this ritual to ensure that they are bringing something "nourishing" to school, because you can be certain the schools are not doing that for me!
Have you ever gone to the school and experienced the lunches?  Frankenstein meets Captain Crunch comes to mind.  Leaving the health of your children to the companies who supply this food is a really bad idea.  Unfortunately, since not many moms know what real food is, they don't know enough to tackle this issue.
Again, the "Nourishing Traditions" book has some wonderful ideas, and I wrote an article for www.naturalnews.com that outlines the whole thing.  I've included a link and hope you'll read and use some or all of the ideas.  Every little bit helps!
Well fed kids=happy, smart, well-mannered kids!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Diet Rebel Cookbook

Looking forward to seeing "The Diet Rebels Cookbook" in the bookstores, as it is from the same philosophy as Sally Fallon.  Great to see others informing the public about what TO eat...not just  what NOT to eat!  Kudos!  See the link below.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Where's The Beef....Coming From?

So, excuse me if there are a few typos this evening, as I'm home from Bryant and Cooper after a stiff Cosmo and tall glass of Cabernet.  Alright, it was Merlot....hard to admit after "Sideways".  Bryant and Cooper is a super high-end hotspot in Manhasset.  They serve steaks and steaks and--steaks.
I couldn't help thinking about where this steak was before it filled my plate.  If you've read "Omnivore's Dilemma", then you already know what confinement cows go through:  Standing in their own sea of feces,  constant need for antitbiotics due to eating grain, which a cow was not born to eat, infections, cancer....ugh.  Not what I kept in my mind whilst ruminating my tender piece of filet mignon.
Yes, sometimes even though you know what constitutes a truly healthful food, you either eat what's served or stay at home.  Most restaurants have not become enlightened about grass fed beef; it would have been sitting on my plate were it so.  A cross-my-heart, hope-to-die, honest opinion is that confinement cow beef is a very distant second to grass fed beef.
Now, mind you, this was a very upscale restaurant.  They offer the best of the best to their customers--they are, after all paying a high enough price for it.  However, their best is not as flavorful, as juicy, or, most certainly,  nutrient-dense as grass fed beef....or venison!  My husband, being the great white hunter, brought us an abundance of venison this year.  Every cut is full of flavor and just blows away the beef I had tonight.  Amazingly, I'd bet less than a handful of people in the restaurant would even know that.
Public awareness and demand must continue to rise to change what is sold in eateries and food stores.  That's where the WAPF and blogs like this come in.  Awareness, baby, an awakening!
Oh, and about those drinks I indulged on.....I drank my kefir to eat up some of the sugars when I returned home.  Thank the Goddess Saraswati  for spellcheck and.....DON'T tell Sally.

Sweet dreams of nutrient-dense foods!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Kefir in Waldbaums?

I felt a bit fashion forward the other day when carousing Waldbaums and saw kefir!  If  you aren't already familiar, kefir is a probiotic drink much like yogurt, only not as thick and a bit sweeter.  It's a real staple for me and my family when adding good bacteria into all of our guts.
When I first drank this and told friends and family about it they gave me a look like dogs do when their trying to figure you out.  It is pronounced Ke-Feer, by the way.  It's the way the Europeans pronounce it, and that's good enough for me.
Never expected to see this in Waldbaums, but I guess kefir has gone mainstream.  With it now being common knowledge that your intestinal tract is a major part of our immune system, corporate interest has spiked.  I'm glad to see this positive change, except-- watch what you're buying.  Buy the highest quality kefir you can find.  The corporate ones have dubious additives and who knows if it is active any longer.  The longer it's on the shelf, the less bang for the buck.
Now if you want the BEST kefir:  Get some pasture raised raw milk and ferment it yourself.  I have a friend I get it from occasionally.  I'm sometimes too busy or lazy to do it myself.  Perhaps I should have called my blog "The Lazy Nutritionist".
I will always defer to Sally Fallon and the "Nourishing Traditions" book for all recipes for fermenting loads of things.  With her recipes, I think you could ferment  my mom's old slippers and they'd be mighty tasty.  Fermentation increases the nutrient content of every food it interacts with.  So check out Sally's book; a book I can't recommend enough....or live without!
Eat Well--Live Well!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

"Whole Foods Sucks"

Catchy name, I hope?! Nourishing, after "Nourishing Traditions", by Sally Fallon, and Nancy, after all it is my name. I was going to call this blog "Whole Foods Sucks" to get some immediate attention; not because I hate Whole Foods, other than their lowfat/vegetarian agenda, but because of another blog I read which is making a big stink about said agenda. I did use it in the title, forgive me.
The blog was by Raime Saunders, and she's on the Weston A. Price Foundation's team; Whole Foods is, for lack of a better analogy, playing offense. You can go onto www.agriculturesociety.com to read the whole (excuse the pun) article.
Whole Foods is, like Wild-by-Nature and countless other organizations, backing the ole' lowfat diet with limited or no animal products. The WAPF is trying to counterbalance that through information passed down from traditional peoples the world over. Raime is a very informed linebacker and scores several times. Raime also wrote a cool book on tooth decay called, "Cure Tooth Decay", which I read feverishly trying to fix my child's teeth that were rotting out when emerging from the gums (I can thank a vegetarian diet for that one).
I guess I'm thinking football due to all the aggression that sometimes comes with finding our way to ourselves. Everything we do, think, and act upon defines who we are and are becoming. Following the wise dietary advice of Weston A Price has been part of my journey and many others. Answering to others about that choice has always caused some hairs on my neck to bristle. There have been outright battles to stuffy feelings in my kitchen when others bring their own ideas of nutrition (or lack thereof) into my lair! And, yes, I have been known to turn into a fire breathing dragon when confronted.
I wrote on Raime's blog that we need to keep our focus on the positive, that so many people are unaware of...well, anything nutritious. Takeout IS their idea of a home cooked meal.
We tend to attract what we are focused on (some philosophy from Abraham-Hicks), I reminded Raime. You see, when this guy, named Chad, attacked Raime for "negative" comments about vegetarians, I saw the smoke venting through my nostrils. I could sense her frustration with this dude, too. Once I calmed my own ego down, I realized that that is where their conversation had gone (no offense meant to anyone here). Something I had been liable for many times before, and now could recognize in someone else--someone on "my team".
Yes, it's great to share our ideas and, hopefully, attract others to our playing field. It's fun and exhilarating to meet others whom we feel akin to, but equally exhausting to clash with others who do not greet our dietary beliefs with as much enthusiasm. It has become a "Religion of Foodies", with each group fighting for higher moral ground concerning what we eat for supper.
I feel warmly comforted by my knowledge that this diet is the diet of traditional, unmodernized people; that when America was a stronger, healthier nation, we ate pastured meats, eggs, whole unhomogenized milk (raw, as well), liver and other organ meats; and that soooo many people are turning on to this diet today. Deep down, I think most people truly are yearning for this type of diet--I know I was when I became a vegetarian and thought that was the answer. Let's face it, real food tastes like REAL food, because it is.
I have high hopes for this country, along with the rest of the world, coming back to traditional foods. I do think, though, that the path to people finding us must be won with love and patience. Seekers will always find us: We on the WAPF team. Rising above the name calling can be trying, but it must be done. Now, I sound like a pacifist with a bible in my hand....oh boy, I'll leave well enough alone.