Thursday, December 2, 2010
www.nourishingnancy.com!
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
Your in health and friendship,
Nourishing Nancy
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Learning about raw milk everyday
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!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
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!
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.
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.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
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!
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
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!
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!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
How to shop healthfully for your family - New York healthy food | Examiner.com
How to shop healthfully for your family - New York healthy food | Examiner.com
Check out my new article on examiner.com!!
Check out my new article on examiner.com!!
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.
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.
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