Do You Ever Eat REAL Food?

Courtesy of Project Swole

"‎20 Healthiest Foods That Are Actually Unhealthy Foods"


These 20 healthy foods are actually unhealthy foods, but you probably thoughts they were the healthiest foods of all. Don't fall for foods labeled fat-free, low-fat, and reduced-fat. Learn more.These 20 healthy foods are actually unhealthy foods, but you probably thoughts they were the healthiest foods of all. Don't fall for foods labeled fat-free, low-fat, and reduced-fat. Learn more.




Allow me to provide a quick summary of the site's list of “healthy food”:

Fat free, but full of sugar and chemicals.
Reduced fat, but increased carbohydrates.
Low fat, but high glycemic index.
Sugar free, but artificial everything else.
No added sugar… because the all natural version has enough sugar to give you type II diabetes anyway.
“Diet” food, but it causes cancer in lab rats so don’t drink/eat too much of it.

Run for Congo Women

Want to make a difference in the lives of women in the Congo? Consider donating to my Run for Congo Women on June 26th in Portland. All proceeds benefit Women for Women International, a non-profit funding education and skills training for women in war-torn countries.

We have a great team of ladies participating in the run. Our team is named after a woman of war that I currently sponsor out of Kosava who is benefiting greatly from the Women for Women International program. Please visit our personal fundraising page: http://www.active.com/donate/RFCWportland2010/belkize



Learn more about the movement at www.runforcongowomen.org.

Bon Appetit!!!

Side Note: By far, the most toxic contributor to damaging the environment is eating animals i.e. industrial animals. 99% of the U.S. meats come from industrial farms.

What do you think about when you eat chicken? If you don't want to know what your really eating, stop reading now... but, for the sake of argument... again, ignorance is not bliss!

So, let's say you could care less about the environment. Let's say that you could care less about being insane and torturing animals. Consider this from the USDA:

"Retained Water in Raw Poultry Products

Poultry is not injected with water, but some water is absorbed during cooling in a "chill-tank," a large vat of cold, moving water. The chill-tank lowers the temperature of the slaughtered birds and their giblets (hearts, livers, gizzards, etc). During this water chilling process, turkeys and chickens will absorb some of the water, and this amount must be prominently declared on the label. It is not unusual for poultry to declare 8 to 12% retained water on the label."
 
Now consider this: That "chill-tank" is notoriously know as "fecal soup."
 
"Water in chill tanks has been aptly named 'fecal soup' for all the filth and bacteria floating around. By immersing clean, healthy birds in the same tank with dirty ones, you're practically assuring cross-contamination. Chickens that bathe together get contaminated together."

This is a random site, but what they're discussing is common practice. So, if  this doesn't bother you then by all means...
bon appetit!!!

Eating Animals

As some of you know, a few years back I went through my I'm-totally-grossed-out-by-meat/dairy-vegan stage. Although I went back to eating meat, I haven't drank milk since. Things have changed again. This time my reasons are not simply based on what makes me nauseous during pregnancy... this is about health, the environment and animal welfare. I honestly cannot see looking back.

I've been trying to continually educate my self. After reading book after book on the food industry, my children and I will no longer be consuming industrial meat. Of course, I wish the same for my husband. It is indefinite on whether we will be eating meat again at all; eating the occasional family farmed animal isn't the most horrible thing on earth. Family farmed and "humanely" slaughtered animals are an exception that I am half-way comfortable with at this point.

My dog is dead. I do not own pets and I don't wish to. My point? This isn't about being an "animal lover." I thought I knew what was in my food... I read... I thought I knew again... then I read and read and read. The latest? Eating Animals.

Wagering

Why is it the EPA's responsibility to prove that plastic chemicals are unsafe rather than the manufacturers proving it's safe in the first place? This week in TIME there is a huge spread on just this very subject. It is not published online yet, but I recommend suffering your way through the article if you happen to come across the magazine.

Toxicologists say that as long as the toxin levels of a said product in your body is low enough, it is considered "safe." Common sense tells me that out of all the thousands of new chemicals introduced into our modern synthetic lives in the past century, there hasn't been enough time to deem them "safe." We've lived thousands of years without them.... why is it so necessary now? Guess that new gadget or toy is more important than our health.

Green Cleaning

I was flattered when Kara told me that her mom's friend wanted to interview me for an article on homemade cleaning products. There are so many people around me that I feel know just as much or more than I do about the subject. So, I was a bit intimidated to say the least! The article is supposed to be out either the first or second week of April in The Beaverton Valley Times. I should have included their Sustainable Life section in my last blog as one of my favorite websites!

On the subject of cleaning products, today's email from EWG was on that very subject. Much more thorough than I could ever be! Check out their Healthy Home Tips. In case you don't read the article, one important thing to know is that manufactures are not required to put the ingredients of cleaning products on the label.

Guess who's back?

I want to continue this monotonous blogging subject of living more sustainably. Life's Fruit is too much of an integrated passion of mine. There have been too many passed up opportunities that I have seen something that I wish I would have written about.

Everyone has different things that drive them… green can mean protecting your health and environment. For some people, they may only have concern over certain part(s) of our ecosystem. Making new choices in how we live our life's can be overwhelming. Therefore, when we make lifestyle changes it is a good idea to do this slowly so that we don’t get discouraged with our new “inconveniences”. Since people are convenience and money motivated, I've seen where this has prevented them from incorporating green practices OR people simply turn a blind eye. Ignorance is not bliss.

Before getting into a general overview of areas of our life’s that may need examined, I'd like to add that I realize we all need a strong foundation. For my family it begins with Cornerstone Builders, Inc. We have a strong belief in building green and our company not only supports our family through ethical practices, but has the potential making changes throughout community.

With family in mind, please remember to educate your children! Keep in mind that with each change you make it is an opportunity to teach your children and get them involved. Whether it's hands on teaching or reading them a book such as Wangari's Trees of Peace or The Lorax, I have found that my children are very receptive.

Minimize Garbage
• Recycle everything- Plastics of almost all kinds can be recycled. Visit Far West Fibers; they take more than curbside
• Compost- Metro Paint on Swan Island has program or a home-made one
• Cloth Diapers- search Craigslist
(This saves money because we have very little garbage to dispose of.)

Food may seem expensive, but once you learn a new shopping system you will find a new way of looking at food and a new ease in buying. Although quality food seems expensive, this is the true price of what it cost to make food. In the end you will pay less financially for your health and environment. Cheap food is only cheap because we pay taxes that subsidize farmers, but only benefits agribusiness. All the while the environment, public and farmers suffer the consequences. If you want to educate yourself some more, a great and easy read to begin with is In Defense of Food although there are lots of great books out there!
• Eat Local
• Join a cooperative market
• CSA’s (community supported agriculture)
• Farmers Markets
• Eat family farmed animals
• Grow a garden
• U Pick- fun for the whole family
• Eat in season
• Learn to can/freeze

Organic? Sometimes you have to make a choice. Do I eat strictly for my health and not for my environment? Organic is not always better if it means buying food that had to be shipped from afar. You won’t get the same assurance if it’s not USDA-accredited, but local means it’s going to be fresher and grown in much smaller crops than industrialized monocultures (Monsanto.) This makes the crops less dependent on chemicals. What’s my pick give the option? Local, organic and family farmed animals of course!

Air Quality… Rid of Toxins:
We are exposed to a lot of toxins and synthetic products in our homes. Some may not seem extremely harmful, but when you are exposed to them in multiple facets on a daily basis and can prevent it, why not? Remember that we need to properly dispose of chemicals.
• Change cleaning products in home;most can be home made.
• Rid of plastics, but at a minimum, do not use with food especially in microwaves.
• Change and check on safety of products: hair products, soaps of all kinds including laundry/dish, make-up, toothpaste and lotions.

This very basic beginning to changes that are available. No matter whom you are or where you live there is always something that you can be doing that is more sustainable.

Here are few additional resources:
• Eat Wild The #1 Site for Grass-fed Food & Facts
• EWG (Environmental Working Group)
•Organic Consumers Association
• Earth911
• Oregon Environmental Council