Mmmmmm Blueberries!
Jul 29, 2008
Blueberry season has begun here in Michigan! This past week we went blueberry picking at the local U-pick place a few miles from home. Blueberries are my favorite fruit and here’s why:
1. They are one of the lesser sprayed fruits (low on the pesticide list).
2. They’re relatively inexpensive here ($1/pound this year for U-pick)
3. They are easy to pick and there are no stems, pits or peels to remove.
4. To stock up on them for the rest of the year you can just rinse them, throw them into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze them! They break apart easily even when frozen.
5. They are extremely high in antioxidants.
6. They’re so versatile! Throw them in granola, oatmeal, a smoothie, yogurt, a pie, cover pound cake with them or just eat them plain.
7. They’re delicious!
Posted In: Nutrition/Health | In the Kitchen • Comments (0)
France
Jul 14, 2008
I have a confession to make.
I have an unexplainable passion for France, particularly Paris! Maybe it’s the romance associated with that place. I mean, who wouldn’t love to kiss beneath the Eiffel tower? Maybe it’s their beautiful language. Maybe it’s the gorgeous countryside. Maybe it’s their love and appreciation for food.
I think....
it’s all of the above!
There is an excellent, excellent article on the French way of eating posted at “Almost Fit” that I highly recommend you check out! The French eat in a way that most Americans would consider unhealthy and yet enjoy much better health than those in the U.S. The French are proof that real food is best for our health and for our enjoyment! Here’s the article: ”Food, Drink, and Decadence: How the French Stay Thin”
Someday I just know I’ll get to visit France. When I do, I’ll buy fresh baked bread from the boulangerie each day and sit along a river with brush in hand pretending that I can paint! :)
Posted In: Nutrition/Health • Comments (2)
Buying Seafood
May 09, 2008
Seafood, if not polluted by mercury and if harvested in an eco-friendly way, makes an excellent addition to a healthy diet. According to Ideal Bite there will no more seafood left in our oceans by 2048 if we continue to harvest seafood the way we do. Current methods of harvesting are unsustainable and need to be changed. We can do our part by buying only fish harvested using sustainable fishing practices.
Environmental Defense offers a pocket guide to selecting seafood (Pocket Seafood Selector) that I’ve found quite helpful. It’s nice and small so it’s easy to keep in your purse or wallet for reference when you’re at the grocery store or a restaurant.
Posted In: Nutrition/Health | Green Living • Comments (0)
Fresh Raw Milk
May 05, 2008
Mmm, it’s that time again! After a three month break (as is best for the cows) we’re now receiving fresh milk again from our cow share! I have to admit, I’m a total milk-a-holic! As a child I drank lots of powdered milk and for a few years as an adult I drank pasteurized homogenized milk. Neither of those can compare to the luscious smooth taste of unadulterated fresh milk!
Raw milk is not only fabulously delicious but it’s incredibly healthy! It’s full of beneficial bacteria that we rarely find in the modern diet. In contrast to pasteurized homogenized milk, ALL of the enzymes, protein, vitamins and minerals in milk are available for our body to use.
Milk from cows that are free-range is much safer to drink than the milk you buy in the store from feed-lot cows. The government tries to scare people into thinking raw milk is dangerous and yet they hide the fact that you’re more likely to get sick drinking pasteurized milk!
Here’s a few raw milk facts (as quoted in “Raw Milk, Nature’s Nutrient-Rich Food"):
“With raw milk, teeth are less likely to decay.
Raw Milk promotes growth and calcium absorption.
Raw cream prevents joint stiffness.
Raw milk prevents scurvy and protects against its secondary infections of flu, diphtheria and pneumonia.
Children fed raw milk have more resistance to tuberculosis and other infections than children fed pasteurized milk.
Pathological organisms do not grow in raw milk but proliferate in pasteurized milk.
After three generations on pasteurized milk, cats developed numerous health problems and pathologies of behavior. At four generations, all reproduction ceased.
Pasteurization destroys vitamin A, B complex, vitamin C, enzymes and whey proteins.”
ABC News: Raw Milk - ABC News did a segment on raw milk. This is the transcript of it along with excluded facts concerning raw milk.
Realmilk.com - Story after story of how raw milk has helped improve people’s health.
Posted In: Nutrition/Health • Comments (7)
Cholesterol Hoax
Apr 16, 2008
It never ceases to amaze me how money is the driving force behind so much of our world. So much of what is considered to be “science” seems to be tainted by bribery. An example of this is the whole “cholesterol is bad” fad. The idea that high cholesterol leads to heart problems seems to be everywhere and yet there is no evidence that this is true. This flawed theory has only served to pad the pockets of many in the food and drug industries. Traditional, healthy fats such as real butter, lard and olive oils have been replaced with harmful processed oils and fake butter (margarine).
Those with high cholesterol are actually living the longest! Cholesterol is made to protect us from infection! So if yours is high, no need to worry! The only consequence may be you will outlive your low-cholesterol friends!
The Cholesterol Myths
The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics
Cholesterol and Heart Disease—A Phony Issue
The Benefits of High Cholesterol
Posted In: Nutrition/Health • Comments (1)
