Safe Eating

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Nuts and Twigs – 10 Day Detox

Have started a 10 day detox to deal with my prednisone fueled rises in sugar and A1C levels.  It is a tough road….but I am down 6 pounds during my 4 day modified version and three day full-on version.  Works out to be a half pound a day on the modified version and about a pound a day with the full-on version.  Lots of folks have been asking questions about the detox. Here are some tips from someone in the trenches.

The diet is good for most people, not just diabetics or pre-diabetics.  We ALL get too much sugar – one of the biggest offenders being packaged convenience foods and fast foods.  It is doing a number on our health. It can cause inflammation throughout the body that can bring on or worsen all kinds of problems.  Good luck if you decide to give it a try!

1. You can find info online by searching Dr. Mark Hyman 10 day detox. He has some books that you can purchase or borrow from a library in print or ebook format. Two of his books are “Blood Sugar Solution” and “Blood sugar Solution Cookbook”.

2. I would recommend taking a week before starting full-on to ease out of grains, sugar and dairy. Cut it back a little each day. It is tough! Remember – it is NO grains, not even oats or gluten-free.

3. NO PACKAGED FOODS. Most have added sugar.

4. Make large batches of soup to keep in the fridge and the freezer. It is HARD to eat enough to keep you going on this diet. I have not been able to physically get down more than 700 calories per day. Soup has been my salvation. We cooked up a bunch of clams for dinner and made a clear broth with veggies. I then made a hearty vegetable soup, and combined the left over clams and broth with it – as well as keeping some plain. That gets me through the evenings when I am hungry. Chicken soup is up next.

5. Here is a very weird tip. Peanut butter is not allowed on the diet because peanuts are not nuts – they are legumes. Cashew butter and almond butter ARE allowed. But what do you spread it on? No crackers or bread. In desperation, I discovered that it tastes very good on slices of zucchini or yellow summer squash. Really!

6. Also having trouble with no coffee or tea. I tried herbal tea. Not for me. Water is so boring. Solution? I cut up a strawberry and put it in with my water.

7. Stock up on blueberries and raspberries. And kiwi fruit is good.

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Saving the world, one meal at a time

Most of these ideas are easy to do. The saddest thing though is how expensive it is to eat organic. Why is it that we have to pay MORE for foods that do not have chemicals or antibiotics added to them? It is all about volume. If more of us bought organic, then organic would become cheaper.  

One thing we all CAN do is to buy local fresh produce while it is available. The season is upon us here in the Northeast at last!  Farm markets are increasing in number and size,  and are fun to attend. Some of them even sell grass fed/free range meat and eggs.  I buy my eggs from a farmer down the road from me. It is a pleasure to see the chickens outside doing what chickens are supposed to do. And it is a joy to see the pigs out in the pasture doing what pigs are supposed to do, rather than wallowing in a muddy, enclosed pen.  Or worse yet…a CAFO for pigs. 

My husband and I are on fixed incomes now, but we try to cut back on other expenses so we can buy GOOD food.  You will be surprised how much better it tastes.  Yes – there are studies that say there is no difference in the nutritional value of GMO veggies and organic.  That skirts the issue of pesticides completely.  The nutrition might be there – but do you really want to consume pesticides and antibiotics which are used – amazingly – in veggies, not just in meat.? We can all make a big difference in our environment and in our personal health!

Not enough time to eat non-processed food?  I admit that we are eating better now that I am retired.  But I have come across many great recipes on America’s Test Kitchen that can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes and, at the most, require a half hour in the oven.  One tip?  Roast your veggies.  They taste AMAZING (especially when brushed with a little olive oil and seasoning) and they do not have to be “supervised” the way boiled veggies need to be.  Also – when you are cutting onions, celery, carrots etc. – it does not take much more time to cut twice as many. That makes for an even easier meal a day or two later.

Mostly – let’s save the world a bite at a time!

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Think Marketing Can’t Fool You?

Alas – we are fooled every day. My health issues and my environmentalist tendencies – egged on (literally) by my hippy-environmentalist daughter – have spurred me into studying about the relationships between personal health and global health. Big agribusiness has been a major shock for me….a girl who grew up across the street from a dairy farm. My childhood memories are filled with stopping at cattle crossings as the lumbering, sad-eyed cows slowly crossed the road. I spent happy hours at the barn petting my favorites at milking time, playing with the barn cats, enjoying the scent of hay…and watching the cows go out to pasture, becoming the sweet backdrop to my rural world.  So….it was a shock to find out about CAFOs.  If you don’t know what that means – watch this video and find out!

No One Applauds This Woman

Yes, I know, the woman is an actor.  But the content, I can assure you, is accurate.  The audience is real – and their shocked reaction is real.  Wow!