Day 172

Thoughts: I got a daily inspirational email today from Jinjee who is the creator of The Garden Diet. The Garden Diet is home to father Storm and mother Jinjee and their five children! Storm has been eating a raw-vegan diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in their natural unheated state for over 30 years and is known for his body builder's physique. At 61 he looks far younger than his years. Jinjee started eating a raw diet 17 years ago. Her before and afters show her weight loss transformation. Their family is 100% raw-vegan and thriving! On their site they share experiences through photos, blogs, and videos. The children all look so healthy, shining and glowing, clear pure skin and bright white eyes. It is very inspiring. www.thegardendiet.com

The email from Jinjee said "I was talking to an older wiser friend today, and we got to talking about our ego and how incessantly it can chatter to us, usually about negative things. She found that even better than pushing the thoughts away and trying to think positive thoughts, if she just observed the negative mind-chatter from her mature center, her essence, her core, looking at them without judgment but with just mild interest, then they would soon fade away.

Patience with ourselves is very important. Anger at ourselves just gets us more angry with ourselves. A lot of addiction, including food addiction, stems from trauma, and trauma is just a part of life. We have to really love and be patient with ourselves, as we would with a child we really love. And through this patience, we will be able to heal and grow in to better choices. Our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health is healing and growing as we attend to each of these areas, and when we grow in one area it affects all the others to create balance and harmony in our being."

Storm Talifero, below at 53 years old, raw vegan for 31 years! Workouts include yoga, weights, martial arts, swimming, mountain climbing, bicycling, running, hiking.


Challenges: I'm good at finding something wrong with this moment. I take myself out of the moment by thinking. And the thinking has self indulgent thoughts of "This moment would be better if I had some more nectarines. If I had water im really dehydrated. If I wasn't so full. If I wasn't so bloated. If I wasn't so puffy. If I hadn't of put on the weight I just did. If my career was going exctly the way I want it to. If I had an abundance of money". I have been being aware of this and then reminding myself to be in the divine moment and to give up that there is something wrong.

Triumphs: The more people that think yes we can, the more people will think yes we can and then YES we can.

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon juice. A cucumber. Peanut butter (pure crushed peanuts). Chocolate Balls.

Lunch: Brazil nuts. Brown rice, I love just plain rice, it's so simple and so fufilling.

Dinner: Eggplant with garlic, basil, tomato, and green beans and brown rice. Recipe below mmm mmm mmm!



Dessert: Blackberries! Mmmm I love them, they are so squishy and bouncy in my mouth and then they pop and fill my mouth with a sweet sweet sweet taste, and sometimes a little sour too!

Snacks: No snacks.

Recipe: Eggplant and Basil

Ingredients:
-Eggplant
-Garlic
-Tomato
-Fresh basil or dried basil (Fresh is always best)
-Walnuts
-Baby spinach
-chilli
-green beans
-brown rice

Directions:
Pre cook some organic brown rice
1. Chop all your veggies. Small pieces if you like delicate mouthfuls, or chunkier pieces if you like a whole mouthful ;)
2. Fry garlic and chilli in olive oil
3. Add eggplant, let it cook for a few minutes until the eggplant has soaked in the juices
4. Add the tomato, beans and fresh basil. Put a lid on and let it steam for a few minutes so the smells and tastes can whirl around together.
5. Add the baby spinach and walnuts. Put a lid on it and let it steam until the spinach is soft and read to eat
6. Serve with rice ... Enjoy!

Exercise: Practising presence while doing menial tasks!

193 days to go!!!

Day 171

Thoughts: Is there mercury in the fish? There is mercury in all fish.

In spite of the health benefits provided by omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils, people are decreasing fish in their diets due to high levels of mercury found in some fish. Elevated levels of Mercury, a toxin affecting cognitive development in unborn children, is being found in many species of fish raising health concerns from eating mercury laden fish. In America one-in-six children born every year have been exposed to mercury levels so high that they are potentially at risk for learning disabilities and motor skill impairment and short-term memory loss.

What is mercury?
Mercury is a naturally occurring metal, which has several forms. The metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white odorless liquid. This is the type of mercury used in thermometers. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas.

It is a metal found in various forms such as volcanoes, undersea vents, forest fires, and weathering of rocks all release it. It has been identified on the sun as well as in meteorites and moon rocks. Since mercury is an element, it is not biodegradable. Once it enters the environment, it stays there. There are three forms of mercury that exist today. The silver mercury found in thermometers, barometers, batteries, and dental fillings is metallic mercury. It is also used in gold mining and the production of chlorine gas. It stays liquid at normal temperatures but evaporates when exposed to atmosphere. From there, it can return to the soil and water through precipitation. Mercury combined with non-carbon elements such as chlorine, sulfur, and oxygen is called inorganic mercurials. This type of mercury is used in some skin-lightening creams, topical antiseptics, disinfectants, and antibacterials. Lastly, mercury that combines with carbon is organic mercury. It is the organic form, methylmercury, which has led to the fish consumption warnings.

Mercury is what was in my immunisation that the doctor told me if I got pregnant within 3 months I would have to get an abortion. Mercury is what is believed to be the cause of autism. (Read my blog Day 163 on mercury in vaccinations)

One government analysis shows that 630,000 children each year are exposed to potentially unsafe mercury levels in the womb. If the government and its scientists know about the mercury problem, why do so many people continue to be poisoned?

What happens to mercury when it enters the environment?
Methylmercury builds up in the tissues of fish. Larger and older fish tend to have the highest levels of mercury. People can breathe in small amounts of mercury metallic if a spill occurs at home or at work.

Why is there mercury in the fish?Primarily it's due to contaminents in bodies of water, whether in oceans, lakes, streams, etc. The majority of this pollution comes from manufacturing or agricultural industries either through dumping contaminents illegally or through the process of run-off, i.e. crop dusting plans spray crop fields with herbicides and the chemicals drain into lakes, streams, etc after it rains. From a manufacturing standpoint, the Mercury is released through smoke stacks, and when it rains, the rain carries the Mercury into the lakes, streams, oceans, etc.

Bacteria convert the Mercury into a form that is easily absorbed by small insects and other organisms. When fish eat these, they absorb the Mercury. When a bigger fish eats a smaller fish, it absorbs it's Mercury as well and this is how it moves up the food chain to humans.

What areas of the world are affected?
The entire world. There is not one place, not one fish and not one ocean that does not contain mercury. The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, tested fish from nearly 300 streams across the country for traces of mercury, and found that every sampled fish contained the substance.

What about farm raised fish?
Farmed fish have more problems. Not only do they contain mercury, the conditions in which fish are farmed may be the reason infections such as columnaris disease are becoming increasingly virulent, as aquaculture creates selective pressures that encourage the most lethal strains of disease to thrive. That is the conclusion of a 23-year study conducted at a fish farm in Finland. According to the research, led by Dr Katja Pulkkinen of the University of Jyväskylä and published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, the high density of fish, the stress of the animals and even the treatment administered to them have acted as selective pressures favouring the more virulent strains of the pathogens.Columnaris disease, caused by the bacterium Flavobacterium columnare, leads to skin lesions, fin erosion and gill necrosis and has become a serious problem in aquaculture. In the US, it is one of the biggest causes of death in farmed catfish, costing the industry millions of dollars a year.


What are the effects of mercury on my body?
The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Methylmercury and metallic mercury vapors are more harmful than other forms, because more mercury in these forms reaches the brain. Mercury in the mother’s body passes to the fetus and may accumulate there. Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults. Exposures to high levels of mercury can permanently damage adult organs, including the brain, kidneys, and a developing fetus. Effects on brain function in adults may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems.

How do you tell if mercury is present in fish?
Mercury is odorless and colorless. There is no way to clean or remove mercury. It can’t be cut, cleaned or cooked out.

If I shop at a fish market, how do I know if the fish sold there are safe to eat?
Most fish contains safe levels of mercury, however, pregnant, nursing, women planning a pregnancy in the next year and small children should not eat:

•Swordfish
•Shark
•Bluefish
•Striped Bass
•Freshwater fish caught in RI (other than trout caught in stocked waters.)
•Tile Fish and King Mackerel (Although not regularly caught or consumed in Rhode Island, these species are included in FDA Advisory.)
What fish are safe to eat?

Is there a way of measuring mercury in a fish? What level, if any, is safe?

The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA has collected fish and sent them to a laboratory for analysis. This analysis is costly and takes time. (If you wanted to analyze the fish you bought, by the time you got the results back your fish would be too old to eat). RI adopted the EPA Ambient Water Quality Criteria of 0.3 parts per million (ppm). Fish found to have this amount of mercury or less in them are deemed "safe".

Is there a medical test to show whether I’ve been exposed to mercury?
Tests can measure mercury levels in the body. Consult your doctor or other health care provider to see if this is right for you.

How long has there been mercury in fish?
The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about mercury in swordfish since 1986. The problems of mercury in fresh water fish were discovered more recently.

Have humans have artificially raised the levels of mercury?
Mining and industrial applications of mercury have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution. Due to its ability to conduct electricity, measure pressure, act as a biocide, preservative, and disinfectant, mercury has become a commodity. During coal combustion, two forms of mercury are released: oxidized (ionic) mercury and elemental mercury. Mercury originally produced in one area can deposit in another country or region.

What about fish sticks and fast food sandwiches?
Fish sticks and "fast-food" sandwiches are commonly made from fish that are high in mercury.

Should I eat fish at all?
You make your own mind up after reading this statement from the worlds richest, billion dollar company, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), "Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children's proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits. However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury."

Is There Mercury In Fish Oil Capsules?
A study published in 2005 in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, concluded that fish oil capsules may be indeed safer than fish meals when it comes to mercury pollution.

Do companies purify their fish oil?
Companies use purification methods such as molecular distillation to ensure that their fish oil has been purified from environmental contaminants. And many are independently certified safe from the point of view of having safe levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and other compounds.

Will our fish ever be mercury-free?
“This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. So unless the Earth has a huge transformation and reduce pollution, machinery, factories, then no.

An article I saw on the net today:

The country continues to fish at-risk species that its population doesn't even want to eat:
Over the past few weeks, Japan has once again been spotlighted as a great villain of sustainable fishing. "The Cove," the documentary about illegal dolphin fishing off the Japanese coast, won the Academy Award for best documentary. Its producers staged a sting on a Los Angeles Japanese restaurant that served illegal whale meat (the restaurant has now been closed). And now Japan has managed to keep a proposed international trade ban on the Atlantic bluefin tuna from being passed at a United Nations conference in Doha, Qatar.

The bluefin, which can grow up to 150 pounds, is widely believed to be in danger of extinction -- its population currently hovers at about 15 percent of its historical size. Last week's attempt to protect the fish pitted the United States and the European Union against Japan, which, according to the Times of London, managed to convince enough countries of the potential economic dangers of a ban to keep the motion from going through. (Japan consumes 80 percent of the world's bluefin tuna catch, largely as sushi and sashimi.)To read the full article go to www.salon.com

http://www.health.ri.gov/environment/risk/fish_faq.php
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_there_mercury_in_fish
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/environmental/200511mercuryvsomega-3fattyacids.html
http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115662.htm
http://www.pbs.org/now/science/mercuryinfish.html
http://www.ktradionetwork.com/tag/fish/page/2/
http://www.salon.com/life/sustainable_food/index.html?story=/food/feature/2010/04/26/usda_testing_end_local_meat
http://theearthdiet.blogspot.com/2010/04/day-163_13.html

Challenges: There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all. ~Robert Orben

Triumphs: Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A apple. A cucumber.

Lunch: Salad, green lettuce, spinach and avocado.

Dinner: Eggplant dish. Recipe below!

Dessert: Chocolate balls!

Snacks: Chocolate balls!

Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls in blog day 115.

Eggplant Recipe:

1. Chop into pieces, brocoli, eggplant, zuchinni, garlic, chilli, and tomato.
2.Fry zuchinni and garlic in the olive oil until it has absorbed the oil (you can also use macadamia oil, coconut oil and avocado oil).
3. Add the rest of the vegetables and turn heat off and put lid on fry pan. This wil steam th vegetables and flavour together. Add fresh basil.
4. Serve mmm mmm


Exercise: Went for a walk to the library today to hire the film "Ghandi" and a walk to the post office to send mothers day cards!

194 days to go!!!

Day 170

Thoughts: Fish, cereal, yogurt and other basic food can be very healthy, until it is corrupted in the hands of food manufacturers. The more food is processed, the unhealthier it becomes. The healthiest foods have no list of ingredients. They are what they are. Here Christopher Wanjek presents 10 healthy foods gone bad:

1. Fish Sticks
The fish part is usually pollock, rather healthy. The stick part seems to be the remaining 20 ingredients listed on the box, which aren't so healthy. Doctors have been advising people to eat more fish for years, because they are high in healthy fats and low in unhealthy fats compared to beef and pork. Yet when you buy processed fish products or when you order deep-fried fish from a fast-food joint, the bad starts to outweigh the good.

2. Yogurt
Armenians in my neighborhood when I was growing up used to make their own yogurt, which is essentially milk fermented with certain bacteria. This is high in protein, calcium and vitamins and can be eaten by adults, who generally cannot digest milk well. What is sold in mainstream U.S. supermarkets under the name yogurt is really a dairy dessert loaded with sugar and processed fruit, disguised as a health food. Try plain, fat-free yogurt and add your own fruit.



3. Canned Soup
Soup is remarkably healthy, inexpensive and easy to make. A lunch of hardy homemade soup and bread, cooked in bulk and frozen in individual containers for the week, will cost less than a dollar a day. Canned soup, on the other hand, is a miserable concoction of salt, fat, artificial additives, preservatives, water and maybe part of a carrot. One serving typically contains 1,000 milligrams of sodium, about half your daily allowance. Save your chicken and beef bones and vegetable tops and make you own broth.



4. Green Tea
Green tea is widely consumed throughout Asia and is nothing short of an art form in Japan. The tea contains antioxidants and other healthful components shown in clinical studies to possibly prevent cancer, heart disease, senility and other diseases associated with aging. But most Americans don't like the taste, so what you get here is a green tea drink loaded with sugar and other additives, sold under the disguise of a health drink. Any ingredient after the words "green tea" on the bottle chisels away the health benefits.

5. Russet Potatoes
At the risk of pissing off Idaho, the Russet varieties of potatoes, with their brown skin and white flesh, are only marginally healthy to begin with. Cheap and hardy, yes, with a few nutrients, they serve some purpose as a filler. But their starch is quickly converted by the body into blood sugar, called glucose, and raises the risk of diabetes and obesity. And because they are arguably the least flavorful of the hundreds of potato varieties in the Americas, we have to do things to make them tasty. We boil and mash them and cover them in butter, or we cut them into strips, deep-fry them and cover them with salt.



6. Popcorn
Popcorn today rarely resembles the healthy treat it used to be. Popcorn is, well, corn. It's high in fiber, low in calories, and contains only nominal traces of sugar, salt and fat. That changes, of course, when you add sugar, salt and fat. Microwave popcorns are the biggest offenders with their long list of ingredients to enhance flavor. Try buying popcorn kernels in bulk for pennies a serving and control the amount of salt and (real) butter.



7. Sliced Bread
The most common form of bread in Americaethe mass-produced white, soft doughy bread in plastic bags with a shelf life of weekseis likely a major component of obesity and diabetes. True bread is flour and water with a pinch of salt and yeast. Packaged white bread contains flour plus sugar, corn syrup and often a dozen other ingredients. The processing creates a food product that, once eaten, is quickly converted to blood sugar, called glucose. This causes the pancreas to work overtime and ultimately destroys the organ. Even mass-produced whole wheat breads are unhealthy because they are made palatable by some evil means: the unholy trinity of sugar, salt and softening additives.



8. Breakfast Cereal
True cereals---the likes of wheat, barley, rice and oats, to name a few---are and have always been the most important food of the human race. The combination of protein, healthy fat and vitamins is unbeatable. The word "cereal" has been hijacked, however, by food producers who make tiny, crunchy breakfast cakes out of true cereal with the addition of sugar, corn syrup, salt, food dyes and preservatives. Try oats with raisins, or barley with 100-percent fruit spread. These are far healthier and far cheaper.



9. Commercial Organic
It started as a brilliant idea. Dedicated farmers would become stewards of the land, shunning the toxic chemical pesticides and fertilizers that had proliferated after WWII. They would raise food naturally, cultivate diverse crop varieties native to their soils. Animals raised for food would be treated with care and dignity. And for 30-some years, this has been the case. But organic food is so popular that its value system is in jeopardy. Big players such as Wal-Mart and Kraft want part of the profits, and their demand for cheaper production methods undermines what it means to be organic. And so we now have organic milk from caged cows force-fed organic grain. And we have organic junk food with organic ingredients flown in from around the globe, disguised as health food by virtue of the organic label.



10. Pizza
What a pity that most Americans have never eaten pizza and confuse it for the junk food advertised on television. In Italy there are laws defining pizza, which set allowances on the type of flour, tomato, mozzarella, olive oil, basil and oregano. Pizza is inherently nutritious and filling. Street corner pizza shops in Philadelphia, New York and other large cities kept close to the original idea of simple, fresh ingredients. Then came the pizza chains, which put most local shops out of business. Fresh ingredients were replaced with preservative-laden, cheap and fatty ingredients that could be mass-produced, frozen and shipped across the country. Commercial pizza is now a high-calorie, high-fat, high-sodium, low-nutrient food.



GOOD FOOD GONE BAD http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_good_food_bad.html

Challenges: The bottom line is that it is environmental conditioning that really affects 99% of our actions, and all diligent behavior studies have proven this time and time again.

Triumphs: People become alcoholics not because they have a genetic predisposition, but because of the influence of their parents or friends. If you abuse a child, very often they grow up to abuse other children. When the mass media promotes a certain idea in society, such as "terrorism", the public is conditioned into believing this is true and a real threat, regardless of reality. The fact is, we are emergent, vulnerable organisms and always undergoing influence, conditioning and change to a certain degree. - The Zeitgeist Movement .com

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. Apple. Peanut butter, crushed peanuts.

Lunch: Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts. Apple. Cucumber.

Dinner: A salad, with 1 avocado, lettuce, green spinach and cucumber.

Dessert: Chocolate balls with peanut butter.

Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls blog day 115!

295 days to go!!!

Day 170

Thoughts: Chemicals.

(This blog thanks to Diana Mitchell and Catherine Friend)

The Hazards of Household Cleaning Products, by Janice Hughes - Share Guide Publisher

Many of us use toxic chemicals in everyday life. Sometimes we are aware of it, sometimes not. Many actions which appear to be harmless actually involve the use of harmful chemicals. Household cleaners, garden pesticides, paints, batteries, detergents, even flea powders can be hazardous to our health and the environment
Detergents, degreasers, stain removers and pesticides have made our homes miniature chemical factories. Hazardous chemicals endanger the environment by contaminating our groundwater, lakes and oceans. If these hazardous products in the home are ingested, absorbed through the skin or inhaled they can cause illness that may only appear years later.

One of the biggest culprits in ocean pollution is phosphates, common in laundry detergents and some cleaning products. The average consumer nationwide uses about 30 pounds of laundry detergent a year; all together, Americans use about 8.3 billion pounds of dry detergent and a billion gallons of liquid detergent each year! High phosphate levels can kill life in rivers, streams and oceans by causing "algae blooms." Algae slimes dense enough to suffocate marine life have been swelling around the world, especially in coastal bays. They are largely caused by fertilizing pollutants called "nutrients" in human sewage and farm runoff.

Some marine experts call this type of ocean pollution a silent, global epidemic that if unabated could destroy American's most scenic and commercially valuable waters. From Long Island Sound to the Santa Monica Bay, nutrients have devastated many popular fishing spots and shellfish beds. Many coastal bays have turned the hue of pea soup, and some have regressed to "dead zones"--water so depleted of oxygen that only primitive creatures such as bacteria and algae can survive.
Some progress has been made in tackling this problem. Phosphates have been banned in many areas. But some supermarket varieties still contain them. In addition, many other household cleaning products contain harmful solvents and harsh chemicals that destroy the natural processes involved in wastewater treatment. In addition, hazardous waste products should not be disposed of in a septic system. These materials kill valuable bacteria in the system. This includes even small amounts of latex paint rinsed off of rollers and brushes.

Many of us tend to think anything sold in a supermarket must be safe, but often labels do not contain complete and accurate information. Many common household cleaning products are actually classified as hazardous waste! You should not dispose of them in the trash; please take them to your county's hazardous waste collection center.

There is another side to this issue besides the pollution of our environment--our health, and the safety of our children. Chemical levels can be up to 70 times higher inside the home that out. Over 100 chemicals commonly found in homes have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, psychological abnormalities, skin reactions, headaches, depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains, dizziness, loss of sleep, asthma. . .the list goes on. Housewives have a 55% higher risk of getting cancer than do women working outside the home. This most likely has to do with the products they use on a daily basis.Nervous disorders and respiratory problems have also been linked to hazardous substances in the home.
Every year thousands of household poisonings are reported. Many are fatal. Approximately 70% of all poisoning accidents occur in children between the ages of one and five. Almost all childhood poisonings are caused by unsafe storage and handling of household cleaning products and medicines. According to Poison Control, dishwashing detergent accounts for more accidental poisonings than any other household substance. Dandruff shampoo, if swallowed, causes vital organs to degenerate. Household ammonia, when mixed with bleach is a deadly substance. Bug spray can remain active and airborne in your home for up to 30 years.

Seniors are also at risk. With increasing age, people become more vulnerable to the harmful effects of environmental chemicals due to the deterioration of physiological and biochemical processes, which include certain age-related biochemical, morphological and functional changes associated with the nervous system. For example, the elderly are likely to suffer more than younger people from exposure to carbon disulfide and to certain pesticides and chemicals.
The most common ingredients in household cleaning products include alkalies, acids, detergents, other toxic chemicals. Alkalies are soluble salts that are effective in removing dirt without excessive rubbing. Alkalies vary in strength; the stronger one cause burns, and if swallowed can cause internal injuries and even death. Acids are beneficial in removing hard-water deposits, discoloration and rust stains. Acids can irritate and injure the skin and eyes. Oxalic acid, used in some toilet bowl cleaners, is extremely poisonous.

Caustic household cleaners can cause severe burning if swallowed or put on the skin, Symptoms of poisoning include redness around the mouth, drooling and difficulty in swallowing. Never make someone who has swallowed a caustic substance vomit or give a "neutralizing" agent, as the chemical reaction can cause further burning.) It is best to give water (about a cupful) and seek emergency advice from poison control.

Many of the chemicals found in our homes are used to make our lives easier. But we don't realize the consequences of using many of these substances. Think before you pour waste down the sink. Only natural substances should be disposed in our sewer systems. Be wary and read labels. And whenever possible, use alternative non-toxic products that will curtail the destruction of the environment.

www.chemicalfreeparenting.com

Check out this Earth Choice Add, it's awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5IM1iCPYp0



Challenges: Where are we going?

Triumphs: When we think of sustainability, often we think of durability, longevity and environmental respect. In general, a sustainable practice is a practice that takes the health of the future into consideration. However, this idea isn't just reserved for the physical, material world- it also applies to thought, belief, human conduct and society as a whole. - The Zeitgeist Movement www.thezeitgeistmovement.com

What I Ate Today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A green apple. Brazil nuts.

Lunch: A green apple and cucumber and ginger juice (good for the gallbladder). Brazil nuts. Peanut butter (pure crushed peanuts) mmm mmm.

Dinner: A salad with spinach, green lettuce and avocado. A completely raw food day :)

Exercise: A walk around Amityville :)

195 Days To Go!!!

Day 169

Thoughts: Acne.

(This blog thanks to Stephanie Long Lomenick)

This blog goes:
1) Acne
2) Acne Cure Myths
3) How Acne is caused, the root cause
4) How to get rid of your acne for good and forever
5) The Quick Action Plan for Acne

Acne is a skin disease. About 60% of people in the world are suffering from less or severe forms of acne. Who hasn’t encountered the dreaded ‘zit’ at some point in their life, making acne one of the most common of all skin disorders.

Acne is NOT normal and should NOT be happening at ANY age.

Acne is NOT hereditary. And you will NOT have to have acne for the rest of your life.

If you've ever spoken to a dermatologist, they commonly say that acne is a natural thing because of genetics. This is not true. Acne is a sign that something is wrong with the body, and unless you do something about it now you may get other health problems later on in life.

So it is best to deal with your acne now rather than wait.

Don't spend money on expensive treatments or creams...not needed! The acne industry makes millions of dollars off your acne!!! They love it!

Here are some natural cures that you can do to rid your acne, fast and forever!

First of all here are some acne myths that we need to understand do NOT work! Basically any 'product' that they are making ALOT of money off you, is not the cure.

Acne Cure Myth : Cleansers, gels, lotions, creams, acids and others topicals are extremely unlikely to clear up your acne. The reason why they are useless is because they don't get close to handling the CAUSE of acne. The simple fact is that using something like baking soda, which only costs pennies, is more effective than most of the cleansers on the acne market.

Acne Cure Myth : Antibiotics kill the bacteria on the skin involved in the last stage of the development of acne. The bacteria on the skin mutates and becomes resistant to the antibiotics. But the healthy bacteria in the gut doesn't mutate, and they get wiped out. This can mean you get worse acne than normal.

Acne Cure Myth: Accutane. It boggles the mind that paid professional doctors prescribe this dangerous drug to their patients. Avoid.

Acne Cure Myth: Overwashing and Underwashing. If you overwash your face your skin will get dried out. This can worsen acne, but obviously overwashing isn't the cause of acne. Likewise if you underwash your face your skin will get oily and this can worsen acne as well. The best thing to do is wash your face twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening or before bed.

The only real way to cure your acne is to handle the ROOT cause of acne.

The root cause is the simple underlying reason you get acne. And no it's not
bad genes or anything to do with hygiene.

And guess what: the greedy acne companies don't want you to know what it is...

YOUR BODY IS TOXIC!!! It is acidic which creates too much acid for the body to handle and so it pushes it's way out through the skin. And can you imagine the smell of the arm pits and the poo from a body with acne. Acne is showing you on the outside how upset the inside of your body is. And the more agressive the acne, it is saying "abort abort abort body is toxic and needs a clean out!!!" so it forces you to do something about it. And then you don't do anything about it, and you instead put a creeam full of chemicals on it in the hope that artificial atoms can clean something that is pure. It makes it worse, activtates the body, and the body pushes back even harder to see that NO TREATMENT OR CREAM WORK and the only thing to do to prevent this skin disease forever is to look inside. Now do you see how putting cream on top of your acne does no good?

Blackheads may suggest the need for better hygiene, or magnesium and vitamin A. Chronic, numerous whiteheads can also form during acne outbreaks, suggesting vitamin B1 deficiency or absorption problems (that's why a colonic is heaven, it sucks away the sludge stuck to your bowel walls and allows your digestive system to do it's job and absorb the nutrients). Consistent raised spots on the outside of the arms and sometimes even the thighs, resembling "chicken skin," may suggest need for magnesium, vitamin A, or essential fatty acids and the need to avoid foods that inhibit the absorption of these nutrients, such as trans-fatty acids found in margarine and hydrogenated oils, such as cottonseed oil and palm kernel oil.

Chemicals that cause acid in the body which creates Acne:
-facial creams
-soaps
-shampoos
-makeup

FoodS that cause acid in the body which creates Acne:
Certain foods can also aggravate acne conditions because of their high-acid forming effects on the body, stay away from all acidic foods
-fried foods
-trans fats
-iodized salt
-alcohol
-all processed foods
-chocolate
-fruit juices
-carbonated beverages
-caffeinated beverages
-all dairy products
-meat, Pork, Lamb, Beef, Chicken, Turkey
-Excessive long-term intake of seafood or other high iodine foods may also cause acne in some people.
-Vinegar
-White Pasta
-White Bread
-Wholemeal Bread
-Biscuits
-Soy Sauce
-Tamari
-Condiments (Tomato Sauce, Mayonnaise etc.)
-Artificial Sweeteners
-Honey
-Drinks
-Fizzy Drinks
-Coffee
-Tea
-Beers
-Spirits
-Fruit Juice
-Dairy Smoothies
-Milk
-Traditional Convenience Foods
-Sweets
-Chocolate
-Microwave Meals
-Tinned Foods
-Powdered Soups
-Instant Meals
-Fast Food
-Fats & Oils
-Saturated Fats
-Hydrogenated Oils
-Margarine (worse than Butter)
-Corn Oil
-Vegetable Oil
-Sunflower Oil
-Peanuts
-Cashew Nuts
-Pistachio Nuts

THE CURE TO ACNE FOR EVER (Are you really ready for your acne to go for ever?) Eat alkaline foods to alkalize your body, your body organs will rest and the acne will dissolve and then disapear. Acne can NOT survive in a alkaline body. Read my Blog Day 34 on Alkaline and Acidic.

ALKALINE FOODS:
-Vegetables
-Asparagus
-Artichokes
-Cabbage
-Lettuce
-Onion
-Cauliflower
-Radish
-Swede
-Lambs Lettuce
-Peas
-Courgette
-Red Cabbage
-Leeks
-Watercress
-Spinach
-Turnip
-Chives
-Carrot
-Green Beans
-Beetroot
-Garlic
-Celery
-Grasses (wheat, straw, barley, dog, kamut etc.)
-Cucumber
-Broccoli
-Kale
-Brussels Sprouts

Fruits
-Lemon
-Lime
-Avocado
-Tomato
-Grapefruit
-Watermelon (is neutral)
-Rhubarb

Drinks
-'Green Drinks'
-Fresh vegetable juice
-Pure water (distilled or ionised)
-Lemon water (pure water + fresh lemon or lime).
-Herbal Tea
-Vegetable broth
-Almond Milk

Seeds, Nuts & Grains
-Almonds
-Pumpkin
-Sunflower
-Sesame
-Flax
-Buckwheat Groats
-Spelt
-Lentils
-Cumin Seeds
-Any sprouted seed

Fats & Oils
-Flax
-Hemp
-Avocado
-Olive
-Evening Primrose
-Borage
-Coconut Oil
-Oil Blends (such as Udo's Choice)

Others
-Sprouts (soy, alfalfa, mung bean, wheat, little radish , chickpea, broccoli etc)
-Bragg Liquid Aminos (Soy Sauce Alternative)
-Hummus
-Tahini

General Guidance:
Stick to salads, fresh vegetables and healthy nuts and oils. Try to consume plenty of raw foods and at least 2-3 litres of clean, pure water daily (ideally enhanced with pH drops).

mmmm bliss the fruits and veggies chillin at my place

The Quick Action Plan for Acne

1. Massage your skin, where needed, with bergamot, camphor, geranium, juniper, lavender, or neroli essential oils.

2. Ayurvedic practitioners recommend making a paste of ½ tsp each of turmeric and sandalwood paste with enough water, and applying to pimples. Also, drink half a cup of aloe vera juice twice daily until acne clears.

3. Eat an organic whole foods diet, with plenty of organic cooked and raw vegetables, and whole fruits. Eat alkaline foods like I have suggested above.

4. Drink eight glasses of pure, filtered water daily. Also, daily have two glasses of raw juice, combining carrot, beet, and celery juice, or, carrot, cucumber, and lettuce (not iceberg), and spinach, with carrot predominating.

5. Combine the tinctures of herbs such as sarsaparilla, burdock, and cleavers in equal parts, taking ½ tsp three times a day. Drink an infusion of nettle several times a day and apply tea tree oil topically. An infusion of calendula mixed with equal parts of distilled witch hazel can be used as a cleansing wash. Steam sauna your face with red clover, lavender, and strawberry leaves.

6. Useful homeopathy remedies are Pulsatilla, Silicea, Berberis, Ledum, Sulfur, Arsen alb., Belladonna, and/or Carbo veg.

7. Enjoy full body immersion hydrotherapy treatments such as steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, colonic irrigation, hot and/or cold compresses, and steam sauna your face with red clover, lavender, and strawberry leaves.

8. Useful supplements are vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin B complex, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc. Also include omega-3 fatty acids, brewer's yeast, chlorophyll, and pancreatic enzymes with meals.

9. Expose your face to sun and air at least 30 minutes a day, and exercise daily. Get sweaty. Waste and toxins are eliminated by the skin through sweat pores. Keep your skin clean by washing your face three times a day with soap made from the herb calendula officinalis, or using other alternatives to soap. Rinse with warm water and pat dry. Squeezing pimples or whiteheads may cause infection. Keep the skin free of oil. Get sufficient sleep.

10. Make facial masks from natural products; leave on overnight to help dry the skin if acne is caused by excess oil.

11. For long term relief and health be sure to do a colon cleanse. This clears out the toxins in the blood and excess waste in the body. Colon cleansing will healp clear up a lot of issue, expecially acne. It's time to get healthy! No one with acne has healthy bowels. There is an accumulation of toxins in the bowels.Thus, constipation or irregular bowel movements worsen the problem. Get a colonic!

12. A tea can be made from equal parts of Oregon Grape Root, Dandelion Root, and Burdock Root. Brew 1 teaspoon of this mixture per cup of boiling water. Simmer 5 minutes, then steep for 15 minutes. Up to 6 cups per day for 12 days are taken, or less if nausea or an upset stomach occurs.

13. A tea of Vitex has often been considered useful, especially when premenstrual symptoms and hormonal imbalances are involved.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080120164532AAuujJS
cureremedies.org/natural-acne-solutions
http://www.naturalcures.com/
http://www.thesecretacnecure.com/

Challenges: The cure to anything is the root cause. - Liana (hehe)

Triumphs: All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain? - Buddha


What I ate today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. A beet, carrot, celery and ginger juice.

Lunch: Ginger tea (Cut up ginger with boiled water). Green apple. Brazil nuts. Peanut butter (crushed peanuts).

Dinner: A patch of veggies! Brocoli, carrot, garlic, brown onion, spring onion, zuchinni, basil, potato and green beans oh and a sexy smooth yellow chilli! Cooked in olive oil. With brown rice mmm mmm mmm!

Dessert: Blueberries.

Snacks: Another green apple.

Recipe: A Patch Of Veggies:
1)Chop all your veggies, potatos, garlic, onion, fresh basil, carrot, zuchinni, brocolli, chilli, and grean beans.
2)Cook the potatos, onion, chilli and garlic until potatos are half firm.


3)Add the rest of the veggies.
4)Put the lid on it, cook until your desired softness mmm I like to pretend I am in snowing France and I leave it cook until the veggies are soft and smooth. Mmm it's like an explosion of sweet energy in the mouth!



Exercise: A walk to the library and to Walgreens to buy my mum a card for Mother's Day! I got her the coolest card! MUM IF YOU ARE READING STOP READING it's of a little girl on a toilet seat and you open it up and it sings, like it's actually a recording in the card, "Don't ya know that your some kind of wonderful?!" and it reads 'Years of potty training and you still know how to handle all the crap". And I'm going to print a photo of my head and replace it with the random 2 year old on the front. Like Hi mum heres a card with a photo of someones baby on it. Ha! Lame. I know, but my mum will get a laugh and that's all I care about!

196 days to go!!!

Day 167

Thoughts: Thoughts: “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”

In 1825, the French philosopher and gourmand Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote this.

The number of flavors is infinite, for every soluble body has a peculiar flavor, like none other.

Those persons who suffer from indigestion, or who become drunk, are utterly ignorant of the true principles of eating and drinking.

Taste seems to have two chief uses:

1. It invites us by pleasure to repair the losses which result from the use of life.

2. It assists us to select from among the substances offered by nature, those which are alimentary.

In this choice taste is powerfully aided by the sense of smell, as we will see hereafter; as a general principle, it may be laid down that nutritious substances are repulsive neither to the taste nor to the smell.
Close the nose, and the taste is paralyzed; a thing proved by three experiments any one can make:

1. When the nasal membrane is irritated by a violent coryza (cold in the head) the taste is entirely obliterated. There is no taste in anything we swallow, yet the tongue is in its normal state.

2. If we close the nose when we eat, we are amazed to see how obscure and imperfect the sense of touch is. The most disgusting medicines thus are swallowed almost without taste.

3. The same effect is observed if, as soon as we have swallowed, instead of restoring the tongue to its usual place, it be kept detached from the palate. Thus the circulation of the air is intercepted, the organs of smell are not touched, and there is no taste.
Those who eat quickly and without attention, do not discern impressions of the second degree. They belong only to a certain number of the elect, and by the means of these second sensations only can be classed the different substances submitted to their examination.

Let us now look philosophically at the pleasure and pain occasioned by taste.

The first thing we become convinced of is that man is organized so as to be far more sensible of pain than of pleasure.

Of all the senses though with which we have been endowed by nature, the taste is the one, which all things considered, procures us the most enjoyments.

1. Because the pleasure of eating is the only one, when moderately enjoyed, not followed, by fatigue.

2. It belongs to all aeras, ages and ranks.

3. Because it necessarily returns once a day, and may without inconvenience be twice or thrice repeated in the same day.

4. It mingles with all other pleasures, and even consoles us for their absence.

5. Because the impressions it receives are durable and dependant on, our will.

6. Because when we eat we receive a certain indefinable and peculiar impression of happiness originating in instinctive conscience. When we eat too, we repair our losses and prolong our lives.

Appetite declares itself by languor in the stomach, and a slight sensation of fatigue.
The whole nutritive apparatus is moved. The stomach becomes sensible, the gastric juices are moved and displace themselves with noise, the mouth becomes moist, and all the digestive powers are under arms, like soldiers awaiting the word of command. After a few moments there will be spasmodic motion, pain and hunger.

INGESTION.
Appetite, hunger, and thirst, warn us that the hody needs restoration; pain, that universal monitor, never ceases to torment us if we do not obey it.

Then comes eating and drinking which are ingestion, an operation which begins as soon as the food is in the mouth, and enters the oesophagus.

During its passage, through a space of a few inches much takes place.

The teeth divide solid food, the glands which line the inside of the mouth moisten it, the tongue mingles the food, presses it against the palate so as to force out the juice, and then collects the elements in the centre of the mouth, after which, resting on the lower jaw, it lifts up the central portion forming a kind of inclined plane to the lower portion of the mouth where they are received by the pharynx, which itself contracting, forces them into the oesophagus.

One mouthful having thus been treated, a second is managed in the same way, and deglutition continues until appetite informs us that it is time to stop. It is rarely, though, that it stops here, for as it is one of the attributes of man to drink without thirst, cooks have taught him to eat without hunger.

To ensure every particle of food reaching the stomach, two dangers must be avoided.

It must not pass into the passage behind the nose, which luckily is covered by a veil.

The second is that it must not enter the trachea. This is a serious danger, for any particle passing into the trachea, would cause a convulsive cough, which would last until it was expelled.

HOW PEOPLE USED TO FAST.
The practice of fasting, I am sorry to say, has become very rare; and whether for the education of the wicked, or for their conversion, I am glad to tell how we fast now in the XVIII. century.

Ordinarily we breakfast before nine o’clock, on bread, cheese, fruit and cold meats.

Between one and two P. M., we take soup or pot au feu according to our positions.

About four, there is a little lunch kept up for the benefit of those people who belong to other ages, and for children.

About eight there was a regular supper, with entrees roti entremets dessert: all shared in it, and then went to bed.

DEATH
God has subjected man to six great necessities: birth, action, eating, sleep, reproduction and death.

Death is the absolute interruption of the sensual relations, and the absolute annihilation of the vital powers, which abandons the body to the laws of decomposition.

“Are you there, nephew?” said she in an almost inaudible voice. “Yes, aunt! I think you would be better if you would take a little old wine.” “Give it to me, liquids always run down.” I hastened to lift her up and gave her half a glass of my best and oldest wine. She revived for a moment and said, “I thank you. If you live as long as I have lived, you will find that death like sleep is a necessity.”

These were her last words, and in half an hour she had sank to sleep forever.

Challenges: I have been utterly ignorant of the true principles of eating and drinking for the majority of my life. It's only been since The Earth Diet that I have started appreciating food and actually tasting it instead of just gulping it down!

Triumphs: Less indigestion!

What I ate today:

Breakfast: A beet, carrot, celery, ginger juice. Strawberries. 1 nectarine.

Lunch: 4 nectarines. Raw cauliflower. 4 chocolate balls.

Dinner: Avocado with walnuts. Brazil nuts.

Dessert: A nectarine.

Snacks: Peanut butter (crushed peanuts)

Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls is in blog Day 115

Exercise: A walk around Amityville :)

198 days to go!!!

Day 168

Thoughts: Today is Earth Day!

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find resources of strength that will endure as long as life lasts”...Rachael Carson (This blog is thanks to Earth legend Diana Mitchell!).

My blog today is from Mother Earth News "What You Need To Know About The Meat You Eat".

Supermarket beef is an unnatural, industrial product. The good news is there are better and safer options. Learn how to avoid hormones, antibiotics and other unwanted chemicals in your food; stay safe from mad cow disease and E. coli, and choose better beef, including grass-fed, organic and locally raised options.

Today’s industrialized process reduces the nutritional value of the meat, stresses the animals, increases the risk of bacterial contamination, pollutes the environment and exposes consumers to a long list of unwanted chemicals.You can’t see it. And you can’t always recognize it by reading the label. But the beef in your supermarket has gone industrial.

Before factory farming took hold in the 1960s, cattle were raised on family farms or ranches around the country. The process was elemental. Young calves were born in the spring and spent their first months suckling milk and grazing on grass. When they were weaned, they were turned out onto pastures. Some cattle were given a moderate amount of grain to enhance marbling (the fat interlaced in the muscle). The calves grew to maturity at a natural pace, reaching market weight at two to three years of age. After the animals were slaughtered, the carcasses were kept cool for a couple weeks to enhance flavor and tenderness, a traditional process called dry aging. The meat was then shipped in large cuts to meat markets. The local butcher divided it into individual cuts upon request and wrapped it in white paper and string.

This meat was free of antibiotics, added hormones, feed additives, flavor enhancers, age-delaying gases and salt-water solutions. Mad cow disease and the deadliest strain of E. coli — 0157:H7 — did not exist. People dined on rare steaks and steak tartare (raw ground beef) with little fear.

What’s in Your Beef?
Today’s industrialized process brings cattle to slaughter weight in just one or two years. But it reduces the nutritional value of the meat, stresses the animals, increases the risk of bacterial contamination, pollutes the environment and exposes consumers to a long list of unwanted chemicals.

The beef contains traces of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals that were never produced by any cow. That hamburger looks fresh, but it may be two weeks old and injected with gases to keep it cherry red. Take a closer look at that “guaranteed tender and juicy” filet of beef. The juiciness may have been “enhanced” with a concoction of water, salt, preservatives and other additives.

More ominous, the beef also may be infected with food-borne bacteria, including E. coli 0157:H7. Some experts believe this toxic E. coli evolved in cattle that were fed high-grain diets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of beef products are recalled. One of the largest recalls to date took place in October 2007 when Topps Meat company recalled 21.7 million pounds of hamburger because of potential E. coli contamination. The massive recall actually put the company out of business.

And now there’s mad cow disease, a mysterious disease that is not destroyed by cooking and has been fatal. You could ingest “prions” (abnormal proteins) by eating even a well-done rib roast. These prions infiltrate your brain, perforate it with holes, and cause death in a few years’ time.

After the calves are born, they spend the first seven to nine months grazing on grass, the same way calves have been raised for generations. But when they reach 500 to 700 pounds, they are herded into trucks and shipped to auction barns where they’re sold to new owners and trucked to distant feedlots. The journey can take up to a week. Upon arrival at the feedlot, the stressed, thirsty and hungry calves are herded down chutes and subjected to a number of procedures, which can include dehorning, castration, branding and tagging. Then they are dewormed and vaccinated against various diseases. A common practice is to mix antibiotics with the feed, whether the now-stressed animals show signs of illness or not. Tetracycline, an antibiotic important for humans, is one of the most commonly used medications.

Lastly, the calves are implanted with pellets that contain growth-promoting steroid hormones that lose their effectiveness in a matter of months. Many animals are given new implants of higher potency to replace them. The aggressive use of hormone implants can add 110 pounds of lean meat or more to a calf. Every dollar invested in implants returns five to 10 dollars in added gain for each animal in the six to 12 months they spend in the feedlot.

Hormones are just one way to speed the growth of young calves. Another strategy is to feed them an ultra high-grain diet, the standard fare in most feedlots. One reason calves are switched from grass to grain is that grain is a more concentrated form of energy. Calves fattened on grain reach maturity months ahead of grass-fattened calves. The less time cattle spend in feedlots, the greater the profit they return. Corn is the grain of choice because it’s especially high in energy.

According to a May 21, 2007, article in The Wall Street Journal, reliance on junk food has shot up in recent years because the cost of feed corn has doubled due to the increased use of corn for ethanol production. According to the article, one farmer now feeds his cattle a ration that is 17 percent stale candy and 3 percent stale “party mix.” Another feeds a 100 percent byproduct diet, including French fries, tater tots and potato peels.

Some byproduct feedstuffs are high in protein and are considered a welcome addition to a high-grain diet. This list includes chicken feathers, salvaged pet food, ground-up laying hens (known as “spent hen meal”) and urea, a non-protein source of nitrogen synthesized from ammonia and carbon dioxide that is widely used as fertilizer. Urea can sicken cattle if not mixed carefully with feed.

The USDA does not require producers to tell you what the animals were fed.



An Industry Gone Mad
Beyond the obvious “yuck” factor, there is a compelling reason to restrict the use of byproduct feedstuffs in cattle production: It can spread mad cow disease, the most frightening disease in the history of the cattle industry. Until 1997, many of the cattle in the United States and Europe were fed blood, meat and bone meal from other cattle. Scraps of meat and bone left over from the slaughtering process were rendered (heat-treated), ground into meal and then fed back to the cattle. In essence, cattle were being fed to cattle, turning herbivores into carnivores — and cannibals.

The meat industry now uses a mechanical process called Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) to strip every scrap of meat from the bones. AMR increases the risk that spinal cord and other nervous tissue that can harbor BSE will enter the food supply. The Food Safety and Inspection Service has tightened the regulations about which parts of the animal can be stripped, but the process is not risk free.

So You Want Better Beef?
Finding an alternative to industrial beef takes effort. The cattle industry is highly consolidated,but you can find beef from cattle that were not fed filth, pumped up with hormones or treated with unnecessary antibiotics. And you can make sure it’s good and fresh. Better choices are beginning to pop up in natural and specialty grocery stores, on the Internet and in a growing number of traditional supermarkets. Here are a few pointers on how to find them:

•Opt for organic. The use of growth-promoting hormones and antibiotics is not allowed in certified organic beef production. Nor is feed made from animal byproducts, including meat, blood and bone meal from chickens, pigs and ruminants.

•Go for the grass. Choose beef from cattle that were 100 percent “grass-fed” or “grass-finished.” These animals are raised on their natural diet of grass from birth to market, and are not routinely given antibiotics and hormones. Look for a comprehensive grass-fed label from the American Grassfed Association in the coming months.

•Look at labels. Check for phrases like “Naturally Raised,” “No Hormones Added,” “Raised Without Antibiotics” and “Never Fed Animal Byproducts.” But don’t be afraid to do a little detective work; these kinds of labels rely primarily on the integrity of the producers, rather than independent certifying agencies.

•Comb your community. Don’t be afraid to ask your local producers how they raise their beef, and beware those who don’t want to answer you! You can find producers near you at farmers markets and on the Web. Try www.eatwild.com or www.localharvest.com.

•Poke the package. Look for thin, flexible plastic wrap that clings to the meat. Modified atmospheric packaging, or MAP, requires meat to be wrapped in thick, gas-impervious plastic with enough head room to trap the gases that keep the meat looking fresh for an unnaturally long time.

•Deduce the date. Meat must have a “Sell by” or “Use by” date that states how long the meat is likely to remain safe to eat. But producers are not required to tell consumers when the meat was packed. Processors who use MAP avoid listing the packing date, as it would spoil the illusion of freshness. Look for meat that tells you exactly when the meat was packaged for sale.

•Buy beef and nothing but. It’s easy to avoid injected beef. The large print usually boasts “Extra Tender and Moist” or “Marinated for Flavor.” But the fine print of the label reveals injections of up to 30 percent of a mysterious water-and-chemical concoction.



To read the full article go to the link below
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2008-02-01/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-Beef-You-Eat.aspx
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day

Challenges: Watch FOOD INC. It's a documentary film that examines corporate farming in the United States, concluding that the meat and vegetables produced by agribusiness have many hidden costs and are unhealthy and environmentally-harmful. You see how they treat the cattle, then how the meat is cut and processed and packaged after they are slaughtered. You even see a farmer sticking his arm right into the cows stomach WHEN THE COW IS AWAKE! Yep I didn't believe it until I saw it either.



Triumphs: Organic!!! Thank you to all the organic farmers out there who are constantly challenged, make less money and do it for us and the earth!

What I ate today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. Strawberries. A nectarine.

Lunch: Raw cauliflower. A cucumber. Strawberries.

Dinner: Salad, green lettuce leafs, avocado and spinach mmm mmm!

Dessert: No dessert.

Snacks: Grapes.

Exercise: The only exercising I did today was my mouth hehe rehearsing a video audition for Ward Parry :)

197 days to go!!!

Day 166

Challenges: Self judgment.

Triumphs: Selflessness.

What I ate today:

Breakfast: Water with lemon squeezed in it. 2 nectarines.

Lunch: Avocado. Brazil nuts. Walnuts. Peanut butter (crushed peanuts). Yes I had a nut party in my mouth. 2 nectarines.

Dinner: Chopped potatoes, carrots, zuchinni, green chilli, onion, garlic, brocoli, with basil and corriander cooked in olive oil. Blissssss.

Dessert: Chocolate balls with peanut butter.

Snacks: Raw cauli flower. Green Grapes. A nectarine.

Recipe: The recipe for chocolate balls is in blog Day 115.

Exercise: Walking around Amityville my new home in USA :) No it's not like the Amityville Horror, it's a beautiful small, simple and peaceful town.

199 days to go!!!