Last week I read the article, “Farmer In Chief” written by Michael Pollan. It is probably the most thorough article about our current food and agricultural system here in the U.S. and what we need to do to shift the agriculture policy to make it better. Pollan calls it his “Sun-Food Agenda” and it is written as an open letter to the next president. In my opinion, this article is simply amazing. And even better, Obama read it and even quoted from it before he was elected:
There is no better potential driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy. I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollan about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it’s creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they’re contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs. That’s just one sector of the economy. You think about the same thing is true on transportation. The same thing is true on how we construct our buildings. The same is true across the board.
Willie Nelson, the musician and the president of Farm Aid, wrote a letter to Obama offering him every resource that Farm Aid has available to assist him in creating a new farm and food policy that supports a sustainable family farm system of agriculture.
From the letter:
There is broad agreement that our farm and food system needs to be drastically reworked. The good news is that the work of building an alternative to the industrial food system is well underway and Farm Aid is proud to have been a leader in this work, something we call the Good Food Movement. The Good Food Movement has grown and thrived almost entirely without the support of the federal government. However, now is the right moment for the leadership of our country to take a role in this important movement. In fact the future of our economy, our environment and our health demand it.
I am waiting to see how this all will unfold once Obama takes office. The way things are run now is clearly not working for anyone on any level anymore. This has to and will change at the policy level and thankfully we have a very aware president-elect that will make sure at least some major agricultural changes take place at that level. It’s already been shifting at the grassroots level as you can tell by the huge surge in consumers buying organic produce, pasture raised meats, attending farmer’s markets, joining CSA’s and the rising awareness of people wanting to take charge of their health starting with nutrition and knowing where their food comes from.
I especially love that he wants to make school food come more from local farmers and be of higher nutritional quality. This is going to really help the low income families who rely on this food program sometimes as their kids’ only source of calories for the day.
Bring Farms to Schools: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will support providing locally grown, healthy foods to students as a part of the school meals program. This will both reduce childhood obesity and grow vibrant rural economies, supporting community-based food systems and strengthening family farms. They will support funding for farm-to-school projects for food, labor, equipment, and staff training. They also will allow schools to give priority to local sources when ordering food. Currently the USDA prohibits schools from requesting local products during the bidding process. Finally, they will expand commodity support to include the school breakfast program as well as the school lunch program.
The farm to school program is already being initiated in one school district in my county right now and I’m hoping my school district will be next to embrace this program.
This is just so great, I’m completely excited that finally I can be happy my government has listened to We The People and will act upon what is best for it’s citizens and not the corporate greed system that has been destroying us and our planet for so long.
This past weekend I attended a Sustainability Fair that was sponsored by my town and was completely free for us to attend. They even served a free lunch. The info I have below is really important and I feel very lucky that it was presented to us. This Sustainability Fair was a major highlight for me to have right here where I live since this lifestyle has been a passion of mine for the past 13 years.
Having lived in my conservative town for the past 6 years, I really never expected the concept of real sustainable living to reach the mainstream consciousness here so soon especially since this town is not as liberal or environmentally friendly as other places in my county. Attending this entire day long, well coordinated conference with expert speakers talking about all areas of sustainablility and how do we work together to achieve this for the single purpose of making this town the most sustainable and eco-friendly place to live was just so deeply rewarding to me on so many levels.
At the fair, they had an expo area with lots of companies explaining what they do in different areas relating to environmentalism. They also had presentations in different rooms by a few different panels of experts, most of whom were local to either my county or state. The topics covered were: Agriculture, Water, Alternative Energy and Recycling. There was also a keynote speaker and then lunch then a breakout session where we went to brainstorm and give ideas on each topic.
Since there was only time to go to two presentations out of the four, can you guess which two I picked? If you read this blog regularly, you can tell I’m pretty passionate about healthy food especially seasonal, local and organic plant based foods. Agriculture was my first stop and it was great.
There were 3 presenters and the first was a man named Tom who owns a large, local farm and builds solar powered farm equipment. His designs have been patented and he is now developing a solar powered tractor. His description about his whole way of living was inspiring to me.
Another man, Adrian from our county commissioner’s advisory board spoke about better farming practices and the need for younger, sustainably aware farmers since the average age of farmers now is 55. He spoke about how all of the confined animal feedlots (CAFO) are just so cruel to the animals and horrible for the environment also use the most fossil fuels and contribute to the the largest output of greenhouse gasses (including dairy and all kinds of meat production). That’s huge and the sooner we do away with these inhumane ways to raise livestock and go back to the local farms for pasture-raised flesh foods and dairy, it’s better both for the people’s health and the greatly minimized environmental impacts. We should not be eating animals everyday, 3 times a day. Plant based foods are healthier and better for you and the planet. Limit the intake of animal based foods (especially the cheap, antibiotic-laden factory farmed meats & dairy) because they are the biggest contributors to our planet’s degradation. CAFO also uses and pollutes enormous amounts of water (which I will speak about in part 2).
Next, a woman named Cindy spoke that runs our farmer’s market here in my town of which it is part of the larger county run farmer’s markets organization and there are many of these markets here in my county which is a great thing for the people and the local CO farmers. She said on the last day of the season (Nov.1st here), our largest farmer’s market in the county made $80,000 just from selling produce. Not from the arts and crafts vendors or the prepared meals food carts. Just the farmers themselves. That is astounding to me (and to them, too!) because it shows how many people are really interested in fresh, regional, seasonal, organic foods. It is what we need for our health and what is also good for our planet. So glad it’s on the upswing.
She also spoke at length about how many people are considered “food insecure” and how food banks and shelters are adding 200 people every week in our county and it’s only going to get worse as we go into this economic depression. There was talk about some trial programs my town just did with growing potatoes in a public park area on only about an eighth of an acre and volunteers came and dug them up a few weeks ago and donated all of the potatoes to the food bank. They grew several hundred pounds with very little effort so more of this type of growing on public land will be happening in the future to benefit the food insecure.
Cindy also spoke about the farm to school program aka – the “School Food Project” that they are trying to get established in my school district. Currently, in the bigger city in my county their school district is being trained by none other than Ann Cooper from Berkeley, CA’s school district (and I posted a great TED video of her speaking a few weeks ago). This woman is an amazing dynamo in terms of getting off the processed, subsidized food bandwagon which helps to make kids fat and unhealthy and she is also teaching the kitchen workers how to cook real food again from many locally sourced food items from farmers and it’s all done on the school’s budget. She also advocates teaching and growing a garden at each school and educating the children about where food comes from. I truly admire this woman and am so excited she is working with our neighboring school district because this means that program will come to my school district at some point and I would love to help out with getting that going. This is especially great for all of those children that have to rely on the free breakfast and lunch program and who have to consume many highly processed foods everyday. This will help turn the children’s health around by eating high quality, nutritious food which will also increase their mental acuity as well as educate them about sustainable living skills, too. All win-win.
Next, in part two I will write about the water and climate change presentations I went to and the very enlightening info I learned there.
I can’t tell you all how happy I am that we as a nation can now move positively in a Greener direction with the election of Obama as President. He has said that one of his first initiatives after stabilizing the economic whirlwind that’s going on right now is to get alternative, sustainable technology going here so we can end our dependence on foreign oil, create millions of jobs that cannot be moved overseas and lower our carbon footprint which will basically save the planet at the same time.
Since I write (and live) a mostly green, sustainable and health blog, this is one of the chief things that I have wanted to see for many years. Having been involved in this lifestyle since the mid 1990’s, I can’t tell you the heartbreak I have had over watching Bush not give a damn over the state of our planet and therefore the people and animals who have to consume the water, air and frankenfood allowed to be so polluted and denatured under his administration. I am OVERJOYED and FILLED WITH HOPE that we can actually survive now. For a while I was not too sure. I think Obama will make wise choices for each position in his administration and even Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s name is on the short list for heading up the EPA which I personally think is an excellent choice considering all the years he’s worked so hard for the environment through the NRDC. (I highly recommend you read this letter from the president of the NRDC through that link).
It gives me goosebumps to see good people that work for the greater good of all to be put in positions of power to ensure we clean up the gigantic toxic mess Bush/Cheney let happen and make our planet safer and cleaner and greener again for our children to grow up in. We do need more regulation in certain areas and many people have been working hard to get certain legislation passed such as the Kid Safe Chemicals Act, the Safe Toys Act, getting the US to sign the Kyoto Protocol, etc. This is necessary and needed to keep us and our children safe. Regulation is not a bad thing especially when corporations are getting away with murder, basically to make a profit. We are not lab rats, we are fellow citizens of the world who are being polluted on so many levels that millions of us are sick and dying, again good for the corporate drug companies to make a buck, not good for the people suffering and dying from toxic overload that causes cancer and other diseases. Obama is aware of these issues, has young children and wants to focus more on preventative medicine and good health and wants to clean this up. That is something stellar to see in a leader because preventative medicine is inexpensive and does not make much money for the drug companies.
And to be clear, I see him as a human, dealing in the world of duality just like the rest of us humans and I don’t hold him up to be a savior or anything like that. I am just so happy that a person of high intelligence, thought and caring for many different issues and is progressive and wants to do things differently and more wisely than the old and decaying ways that no longer work for us as a collective. Those ways just simply won’t work anymore. It won’t be easy, we are going into an economic depression and have to deal with getting through that chaos even with Obama as president.
When I heard “44th President” I was excited because the number 44 is a “power number” according to numerology (which is the metaphysical science of the vibration of numbers developed by Pythagoras in the sixth century BC) and the definition of the number 44 is “universal builder with insight; can institute and assist world-wide reform for the good of mankind; can manifest his postulates.” I feel Obama’s energy and soul wisdom is the right person to embody the power of this title. He is fair and balanced and listens to the advice of others who may not agree with him. That is a mark of a great leader. I know he is fulfilling his karma and will be a real unifier of humanity who is ushering in a new way for us all. And lawd knows, the entire planet is desperate for the US to go in a new direction!
Have you seen the footage of the viewing parties across the globe on our election night and the massive celebrations taking place in other countries once Obama was elected? I think that really says something and we Americans need to take note of that. The most powerful nation on earth has finally chosen a leader the people of the world feel represents the greater good for all. And I hope and pray that we all can move forward working together for this very purpose because we don’t have that much time left to keep destroying the planet without more and more dire consequences being thrust upon us all.
Here is a Ted Video of Ann Cooper of the Berkeley, CA school system giving a talk about what she’s done and how she has changed the way kids eat school lunches. She teaches cooking classes for kids, shows them where food comes from, and has basically overhauled everything including a pie chart of what should be on a child’s plate for meals, etc. Her talk is very informative and passionate and I loved it. I feel just like she does about this subject and was so happy to see someone here in America making a difference like this and also supporting the local farmers, educating everyone on child health through good nutrition, the dangers of chemicals in our food especially on a child’s body, growing gardens at school, etc. A great video and clearly a great woman.
I just returned home from a much needed week long break we took to see my friends and family in NY for a friend’s wedding. It was awesome. There truly is nothing like hanging out with old friends and in NY, I have many that I keep in touch with. As much as I love living in CO, it always makes me so sad to leave everyone at the end of my trip. Each day I woke up and I didn’t care about what was going on in the world and instead I saw many different people and we just laughed so much, ate great ethnic (vegan) food, played with all of the kids (my son just loved that) and just got to hang out and be me. My son got to see and understand more about his mama on this trip now that he’s a bit older and he got to play with so many cousins and friend’s children and spent quality time with my aunt who babysat him while we were at the wedding.
One of my friends who was the maid of honor gave a beautiful toast and at one point said, look around the room, see how many people (the bride) is still close with for more than 25 years. (I have been friends with the bride for 28 years already). She said this is because of the kind of character she has and the quality person that she is. I agree. The old, enduring relationships are with the kind of people that are there for you, know all about you and how you have evolved as a person over time and love you regardless of it all. This is such a rare and beautiful thing because as it is with any relationship, it takes some work and effort to maintain.
Our last day there we drove into NYC and took my son to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the natural history museum, went to Central Park then met my uncle for dinner at a restaurant I’ve been dying to go to – Pure Food and Wine. It is a gourmet raw vegan restaurant and the food was amazing – we all liked it and I have new ideas of things to try to re-create here at home. The highlight of the whole meal had to be the dessert – 3 different raw vegan ice creams. Oh.My.God. They do have a $2,000 ice cream machine in the kitchen which makes it come out like gelato. One was an ice cream cone with chocolate ice cream dipped in a hardened shell of raw chocolate, the other was a pistachio ice cream sandwich dipped in the same raw chocolate shell and the third one we tried was a chai tea ice cream pop covered in the raw chocolate shell. All so good and the ice cream sandwich tasted like marzipan which is one of my favorite desserts so I had to ask what the ingredients were and the waiter told me that it was really the Italian almond flour in the cookie part that gave it that flavor. I am so trying this at home soon! My son, Mr. Picky ate a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dinner. I figured at least it’s all healthy ingredients since he wouldn’t eat anything else on the menu. He loved it and loved the other ice creams for dessert, too. Now I need to get a good ice cream maker since I only have the REI roll it on the floor kind of ice cream maker you use for camping. Not the same.
The other great thing for me about being in NY is that it’s a very liberal state and that makes me feel right at home. CO is a “purple” state so there is more opportunity to encounter others with a much more conservative viewpoint on every single issue out there – even ones like my current congresswoman voted for that hinder support for low income children in my own town which makes me so sad for them and disgusted by her (she’s done many other actions I don’t like, either). Good thing she’s up for re-election and hopefully she won’t be back to do more damage.
On our plane ride home, there was a current issue of Rolling Stone Magazine left behind so I was psyched to read it since I don’t normally read that mag and of course, there is a big political article in it (many, many details) about “The Real John McCain.” I’ve read a lot about both candidates over the past few months and just like I pick my friends, I want to choose my candidate on the content of their character and their integrity. This article goes into detail with facts from his biography, interviews he’s given to the press over the years as well as interviews the journalist did with his fellow POW’s and other military personnel – even info about the Reagan’s viewpoint on his actions which was surprising to me. I highly recommend you check out this article as it’s the best one I’ve read about him, bar none: http://www.rollingstone.com
I really hope we can rebuild our country and focus again on the people of this country and taking care of us all so we can become a strong nation again. We are looking and acting pretty wounded right now out in the world especially because of what’s happened to our economy. We who live here are lucky to live here, it is a great nation and I am fully aware of that from having lived abroad in other countries.
I am hoping we all will elect the president that understands that and wants to help rebuild us as strong people first. I want my son to have opportunities for good health care and education that won’t cost us an arm and a leg to provide it for him and better laws to get rid of putting special interest groups first over what is safe for him (and us) to ingest and breathe in. If we had that, we wouldn’t have to go look up in the Skin Deep website about products we use on our bodies to see if the unregulated chemicals in the products we buy are safe for us or not or have a need for the Safe Toys Act or the noxious toxins that are allowed to be put into our air and dumped into our water supply, or injected into our food supply – even through the factory farm animals most people eat everyday, etc. We need an overhaul of so many systems to help us become a strong and healthy nation and the tides are finally turning where enough people are aware of and care about these issues now.
As Suze Orman always says, “People first, then money, then things.” I really hope we get the opportunity to finally put all Americans first instead of continuously catering to the greed of the corporations and the wealthiest 1% of Americans. If we don’t focus on the people, I think we will see lots more devastation and death with increasing global warming catastrophies doing a number on this planet as well as a bankrupt financial system and extreme amounts of homelessness and poverty all over America and the world, too since we’d be in the midst of a global depression. Yeah, happy thoughts, I know. I hope all of my American readers will take all of this into consideration when choosing who to vote for. There really is only one logical choice who will put the people first and if you don’t believe me, be sure to read the above article.
Well this is yet another bit of highly disappointing information I learned today. The Path To Freedom Blog posted today that Monsanto owns about 40% of all the fruit and veggie seeds sold in the U.S. and they are growing. It’s not bad enough that they’ve taken over grain production and made it into frankenfood and are destroying many family farms in the process but now they are invading the fruit and veggie seed market, too.
Here is what the PTF folks have to say about this:
We aren’t talking genetically modified seeds here were are talking about who is supplying the seeds. Even if you purchase non gmo seeds from a seed company who touts a ‘Safe Seed Pledge’ that variety may still be OWNED by Monsanto. Sorry to break the bad news to you, but that’s the facts folks. We, yes even PTF, is supporting the big M by purchasing seeds from our favorite seed companies and you probably are too.
Out of the 2,500 varieties that Monsanto has acquired from the Seminis takeover, here are a few of the published veg varieties that we know that Monsanto owns:
Beans: EZ Gold, Eureka, Goldrush, Kentucky King, Lynx, Bush Blue Lake 94
So what to do? Start saving fazing out listed Monsanto owned varieties, reach where your seeds come from and or save your own.
Taking Back Our Food Supply
Before agriculture became an industry, every gardener, farmer was responsible for the availability of seed for next years crop. With this recent merger and marketing tactics that has allow a certain “M”-onopoly to take over over the majority of the seed population. Seed-saving is one among many tactics of reclaiming our power (and freedom) to grow our own food, and an indispensable step towards fully sustainable and secure future.
I kept having insights and dreams about saving seeds before this growing season started. I was shown a local seed bank happening in my area and really, I’m not that skilled at seed saving and all it entails even though we have owned the book, “Seed To Seed” for many years just for this reason that one day we would have to rely on ourselves for ensuring our food production. Needless to say, we’ve slacked in that department over the past few years what with moving to the ‘burbs, major home renovations and having a kid and all. I’ve even discussed this a few times this past spring with different people in my area (including my friend Julie, a master gardener) to find out if there was a seed bank already happening where I live – there isn’t. Clearly why I’ve been shown this over and over again before we started growing anything this season was for a reason and we have been diligently saving heirloom organic seeds this summer the way my husband learned from his homesteading mom and step-dad.
This is bad news, people. Being more self-sufficient even with your own garden is becoming increasingly more important everyday. I recommend that you read up a bit on this topic if you don’t already know about what’s going on. It’s a big deal and I’m not kidding. Those who control the seeds of life control everything and they definitely do not have our best interests at heart.
Btw, which political party do you think they are affilitated with? Just saying.
The Child Nutrition Act includes legislation for the National School Lunch Program, which provides federal assistance for school lunches. This act is being reauthorized in 2009, and theUSDA would like your input on what needs to change. Submit your recommendations for improving vegetarian options by fax at 703-305-2879, or online. They are accepting comments until October 15, 2008.
Well you don’t have to twist my arm to get me to give my two cents to the USDA on what needs to change for the school lunch program! I am really hoping that many people will take action and give their comments to the USDA to help all of our children receive better nutrition and more whole, unprocessed foods in every school across America.
If we can get foods with high fructose corn syrup and other additives and preservatives removed from the menu as well as adding more vegetarian food options and non-dairy fortified drink options, our children could only benefit. They would be eating more fiber, vitamins, minerals have stable blood sugar for many hours of the day and will be eating more plant based foods and less processed foods which can only help them. It will also assist in lowering the childhood obesity rate that is skyrocketing here in our country and cutting down on consuming so much pasteurized dairy will reduce congestion issues (sinus, ear infections, sore throats) and constipation, too.
Last year, the PCRM published a “School Lunch Report Card” based on their criteria for healthy, whole foods and non-dairy options in some of the larger school district cafeterias. There is a lot of good information on this report, they did a really thorough job and it’s worth it to check it out.
Another great website on this school lunch issue to check out is also researched by the PCRM and is called Healthy School Lunches.org.
Right now I am in the midst of one of the biggest detoxes I’ve ever undertaken. And that’s saying something since I’ve done many different things over the years. Ten years ago, my husband and I followed “The Body Ecology Diet” for several months to clean our bodies from candida and parasites. We didn’t have any major problems but Michael did have pretty bad seasonal and some pet allergies. And some food ones, too. All of that warranted a good internal cleansing and we did that together. This was also our first attempt at making lacto-fermented saurkraut (as recommended by the book) which came out badly and we haven’t tried it again until this summer and we are lacto-fermenting veggies like crazy! We had excellent results from doing this program which really is a good cleansing and very healthy way to live. Michael’s allergies were almost totally gone!
Along with that particular cleanse, we did some colonics as is also recommended in the book. We really didn’t like the “closed circuit” colonics that we did so I’ve never gone back for them even though I am aware of how important it is to keep your colon clean. There is a quote from the Royal Academy of Physicians of Great Britain that says, “90 percent of all disease and discomfort is directly or indirectly related to an unclean colon.” Now that is really saying something. 90 percent. That’s a lot.
Being on a raw vegan diet is very deeply cleansing in itself. I thought I was doing enough sufficient exercise to sweat out the toxins that were being dredged up by this cleansing diet but I guess not since I’ve been having weird rashes come out on my skin the past few months. This is basically past prescription meds I’ve taken and heavy metals, solvents, etc that I’ve been exposed to over the years trying to make a quick exit through the largest elimination organ we have – the skin. It all gets stored away in the liver, one of our most important organs in the body that performs over 500 tasks everyday. Most skin problems are related to liver congestion or stagnation and the body trying to rid itself from it. I’ve known this and have done many liver flushes and herbal liver tonic blends over the years to try to keep mine in good working order.
A liver flush is generally a concoction blended in the blender every morning and drank on an empty stomach for 10 days then a 3 day break then do it again. Clearly this was not enough to get at the deep seated stuff for me. I also have been having visions of colonics so I knew it was a message and that I needed to do them again but I just didn’t like the kind I did before and didn’t realize there was another way until I started to read about it in some of my books.
I investigated this other type of colonic that has been recommended by many health experts and this one is called the “gravity feed” method. It is the most gentle way and very effective at cleaning you out. I found a practitioner in my area (that cured herself of liver cancer) and she is highly knowledgeable of many rather unpleasant facts and stories relating to sickness caused by toxed out people that she has treated over the years. I loved her right away and knew she was the person for me!
I read this Q & A that was sent in to Jinjee from The Garden Diet to answer. She is a raw vegan mother of 5 raw vegan kids. I feel the info she gives is very important for all mothers to keep in mind:
Question of the week:
Q: All the years before becoming raw, i drank fish oil/cod liver oil daily. lately i literally feel like i’m loosing my mind, forgetting things, catch myself not thinking straight, anxiety, sadness (not like myself). i called our family naturopathic doctor and he says that without a doubt it is the lack of fish oil in my diet combined with breastfeeding my toddler = brain loss. he said that the body will get the (DHA) from my brain to give it to the breastmilk for the child = mom becoming sad and a little crazy. he said that is the reason for post-partum depression. and people just do not know it. what do you think? how do you have 5 children, nurse them, and not lose your mind?
A: Regarding losing your mind, I’m not totally happy with my memory but I attribute it to too much on my mind at any one time. Yoga, prayer, or meditation helps me a lot when I do these regularly. Breathing deeply is also good! And of course exercise is awesome for the brain as well as the body!
Here are some more fatty raw foods that can grease the brain:
purslane – an herb you can add to your smoothies, or eat plain! Very yummy! With natural vegetable DHAs
olives
olive oil
avocados
durian
coconuts – we think these are so important to brain function that we use these in our recipes and plain daily, even though they’re unfortunately not organic.
nuts, seeds, tahini, nutbutters, nutmilks
flax, flax seed oil
hemp seeds
hemp seed oil
ochra
If you significantly up the fats in your diet, you’ll find a lot of nice things happen, including thinking better and feeling happier!
But what about those well-known teachers who recommend limiting fats on the raw diet? Well, I simply disagree with them. Maybe a low fat raw diet works for some people, but not everyone. You have to find what works for you!
If you are a stressed out mama and you crave something like potato chips or lots of meat, that can very well be your body signaling it’s need for good quality fats. Do an experiment with yourself and either eat some healthy fats with your food – preferably not heated to get the most benefit – or pop a flax or hemp oil or fish oil capsule in your mouth or drizzle the oil on your salad, put it in a smoothie, etc. Use enough of it, don’t skimp and see if that helps you feel any better. It may take a few days of doing this but it does kick in pretty quick. These types of fats are essential to your body and you must eat some everyday especially if you are nursing.
I did my own experiment this summer with a low-fat version of the raw vegan diet. Since there was so much good fruit and veggies available everywhere and I’ve been reading up on the LFRV way I decided to up my fruit intake, not eat any dehydrated foods and not really eat much fat containing foods. I love to eat lots of sweet fruits and to juice the greens and veggies from my garden or eat a big salad and have not had the desire to make any real recipes since it’s been so hot out so it’s been easy to do this. I was really living on just fruit and greens and very little fat – a handful of olives or seeds, a little avocado once in a while and an occasional Israeli Salad (one of my all-time favorites). I have not eaten any raw chocolate, either since June or early July. That’s unheard of for me! I also hardly made any raw desserts like pies or cobblers, either.
Well, I’ve determined that someone sensitive to sugars (namely me who has had insulin resistance before) needs the fat to counteract that. Fat is grounding and nourishing and I think I’ve been craving and eating some of my son’s cooked vegan foods (millet, quinoa and beans) the past 2 weeks because of the lack of eating adequate fats all summer. When I ate a decent amount of raw fats everyday in my diet I didn’t crave much of anything at all. I found this whole experiment so interesting because my body really told me what it needs to stay in balance. For me personally, too much sweet puts my body out of whack and makes me crave the opposite end of the spectrum – dense cooked foods. Eating some cooked food again has been interesting and doesn’t make me feel better, either. It makes me tired, actually.
I made a big batch of Israeli salad (olive oil) and a big massaged kale salad (olive oil and avocado) today and have been slurping it down – I really couldn’t get enough of it. Clearly my body was craving good fats and now I feel really satisfied. I’m glad I gave the low-fat raw way a try and I’ve had lots of fun eating tons of juicy, organic watermelon, nectarines, peaches, plums, cherries, melons, etc (I would never eat much fruit in a day before going raw due to the IR) and now I know that my body needs enough of the healthy fats everyday to balance out the glut of sweet summer fruits. There are many people who thrive eating like this but as I’ve found out, I’m just not one of them. I also notice that I do feel more even-keeled all day eating the healthy, nourishing fats and a well balanced raw vegan diet – and that’s a good thing for both myself and my family!
For the past few months, I’ve been really not happy with our filtered water that I drink everyday. Our tap water is really very good, it’s originally Rocky Mountain snow melt then it gets treated and comes to our tap. We then filter it with a very high quality double carbon filter to take out the additives that was put into the water. As with everything with me this year, my taste buds have changed so much and now it doesn’t taste as good to me anymore. It’s still just fine for my husband and child and pets, though.
When we lived in the mountains, we had the most pure water (and air) that I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink. Our yurt tanks were filled from a well that tapped into an underground spring that is fed by a glacier and the water has been tested to be even more pure than Evian. We got to bathe, drink and cook with this water everyday. I remember when we first moved down to the valley and got our filter, I was so unhappy with it compared to that water. I eventually adjusted to the (in my mind) sub-par water taste and dealt with it. I can’t do it anymore, I have been craving the “old” water everyday for months now.
The little hippie town next to where we lived in the mountains actually has a pipe in place where this glacier-fed spring water comes to the surface and starts to run down into the creek. You can fill up there all you want for free. This same creek runs all the way down the mountain and into my neighborhood creek 2 blocks from where I live so I think about this special water a lot. I have filled up containers at the source many times over the years but it’s a 45-60 min. drive from where we live now and I don’t have the time to do it that often. There is also a small water delivery co. that fills up at this source and brings it down the mountain to large holding tanks and fills up 3 and 5 gallon glass or plastic water bottles and has dispensers, too and delivers it all over down here in the valley.
This would be a new, extra monthly expense for us and we talked about it in the winter and finally agreed that we would do it because it’s such incredible water to drink and it’s worth it (plus I wouldn’t shut up about it!) and we don’t really buy anything else to drink except occasional juice because we usually make enough of our own fresh juices.
We got our first delivery in July when my mother-in-law was visiting us. Two five gallon glass containers and a stand and dispenser. I was in heaven and so was my husband, son and MIL. Everyone noticed how much better it tasted and we drank 10 gallons within a week’s time! Granted, it was sweltering outside and we were drinking a lot.
There really is something to be said about drinking many thousands of years old “structured water.” The water crystals are shaped like mini snowflakes and when joined together form a honeycomb shaped liquid crystal structure. When water first emerges from underground and pours into a stream or creek, there is so much life force in it and it has the minerals of the earth surrounding it absorbed in it’s structure. It’s a very healing water with no pollution since it’s coming from deep underground. There are all kinds of different healing properties to such a living water. Each source is different and works in different ways depending on where you find it on the planet. It’s important to keep the water cool and away from light to help it keep it’s crystal structure intact.
I’m actually very lucky to have another great water source besides this one that is an “artesian” spring water. But, I prefer the taste and the energetics of the glacier water – and I can get it in large glass bottles so there can be no leaching of anything. Nothing beats the taste of pure Rocky Mountain spring water. It has also won taste test competitions to be rated as the best tasting water west of the Mississippi and is in the top 5 internationally.
We’ve had our second delivery already and every time I drink this water or make a sun tea with it I’m so psyched! It tastes so good and feels like there is body or depth to it, almost like how you would taste different wines for their different flavors and depth. If you think about our physical bodies being made up of mostly water and you then feed it crystalline structured, pure water, well it’s got to be doing something good for us then you would think.
All I know is that I’m extremely happy and grateful to have this water in my life everyday again and so happy that it’s available in my area!
Well you don’t have to twist my arm to get me to give my two cents to the USDA on what needs to change for the school lunch program! I am really hoping that many people will take action and give their comments to the USDA to help all of our children receive better nutrition and more whole, unprocessed foods in every school across America.
When we lived in the mountains, we had the most pure water (and air) that I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink. Our yurt tanks were filled from a well that tapped into an underground spring that is fed by a glacier and the water has been tested to be even more pure than Evian. We got to bathe, drink and cook with this water everyday. I remember when we first moved down to the valley and got our filter, I was so unhappy with it compared to that water. I eventually adjusted to the (in my mind) sub-par water taste and dealt with it. I can’t do it anymore, I have been craving the “old” water everyday for months now.
There really is something to be said about drinking many thousands of years old “structured water.” The water crystals are shaped like mini snowflakes and when joined together form a honeycomb shaped liquid crystal structure. When water first emerges from underground and pours into a stream or creek, there is so much life force in it and it has the minerals of the earth surrounding it absorbed in it’s structure. It’s a very healing water with no pollution since it’s coming from deep underground. There are all kinds of different healing properties to such a living water. Each source is different and works in different ways depending on where you find it on the planet. It’s important to keep the water cool and away from light to help it keep it’s crystal structure intact.
