It's October and You Know What That Means!

I Heart Wednesday - The Morning Smoothie

Well...it's 1:26 on Thursday morning, but I'm doing my best.

Each morning Havah and I enjoy a fruit smoothie. We try to make it as yummy as possible, but keep still keep it simple.

Starting your morning with fruit, even if it is just a piece of fruit means that you are filling your body with alcaline forming, vitamin rich food.

My smoothie is a bit different each morning. I keep several key things in the fridge to make it a success.

Frozen:

Mango

Pineapple

Left Over Bananas

Organic Peaches

Organic Berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc.)

Any ripe fruit that was about to go bad on the counter

100% juice (my personal preference is anything but apple or grape - they don't always taste or combine well with what I'm making)

Raw Almonds (usually soaked)

Any combination of two to all of the the above gets tossed into my vitamix and blended on high for about a minute. I use half juice and half water when I'm adding the liquid. Frozen fruit can often not be as sweet as you would expect because they flavor doesn't really come alive until things are at room temperature. A room temperature fruit smoothie just seems kind of gross. Adding the juice will increase the sweet flavor. Using half juice and half water means I'm not overloading myself with sugar that my body can't handle.

I always toss in a handful of raw, soaked almonds. This adds some protein and will help keep my blood sugar stable for hours to come. Raw almonds are the only alcaline forming nut. They also add a yogurt like taste to the smoothie.

The berries and peaches are organic because they have a very high pesticide residue even after washing them. Pesticides are there to ward off and kill bugs. Definitely not something that you want to put in your body on a regular basis. In past years I have not been such a stickler for organic fruit, but since we are consuming it daily and in high quantity it is becoming a higher priority. Honestly, when I use conventional berries Havah tends to keep a diaper rash and her skin isn't as soft.

I price hunt of frozen fruit as it can be expensive if you buy it all at Whole Foods. Here in KC I find the best prices are at Price Chopper, Costco and I get the organic stuff from our food cooperative or Whole Foods.

I could make this every morning, but at least once a week I feel the need to change things up.

Now for something completely different.

The Beloved Coconut Shake

1 young Thai coconut (sean likes his coconuts like his women...just ask him)

1/2 cup raw soaked almonds

2 T of natural sweetener (maple syrup, dates, honey or agave - risky i know)

1 T of vanilla extract (though sometimes I like more)

1/2 c ice

Open that young Thai coconut and pour in all the water - freezing the meat or adding a bit for some extra good fat. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. This makes the most amazing morning shake. Packed with tons of nutrition, good fat and electrolytes.

It is pretty easy to get creative with this. We often add:

orange zest (think cream sickle)

cinnamon

cacao - risky again!

coffee grounds

So enjoy your mornings! Make a great smoothie. It doesn't require much but a blender and a few minutes. There's no worrying about fruit going bad on your counter and your kids will love it.

Misconception Monday

After an amazing week with my family I will attempt to blog regularly again. Attempt...

They Henry's always eat healthy.

NOT!

While I have packed my little brain full of glorious nutrition and health information - I break and bed the rules. This doesn't exactly mean that I have ice cream every time I want ice cream. It does mean that this week I had cupcakes on two occasions this week. Next week I will not be eating cupcakes.

As a general rule the Henry's eat food for meals, that almost always means plants. At times that can mean plants on pizza! We love the Vegetarian Gourmet Pizza from Papa Murphy's.

I was watching a video on Paul Nison's blog this week where he interviewed Frederic Patenaude. I can't remember the exact quote, but Patenaude said something along the lines of, "It's not what we eat in a meal that counts, but what we eat in a day." I'm not looking to every piece of food I put in my body to provide me with perfect health, though that does make a huge impact. I first look to The Creator. Health and life are a gift from Him! Life is a gift as well and I plan to enjoy it! Sometimes that means I enjoy food that bends and breaks the rules of what I know to be healthy. They may be high in fat, salt, sugar and refined something (hello cupcake), but these things are the exception. I've worked hard and long (longer than I'd like to admit) to kick my addictions to these brain stimulating foods. They can be just like drugs. Being eight months pregnant means that the battle is raging!

In order to win this battle I change my expectations. There are seasons of total abstinence, raw food and not breaking a single one of those golden health rules. I love these seasons. I feel great. I know I'm doing my body a tremendous favor. The longer I eat this way the more I want to eat this way! Then there's the rest of the time. I don't want to set myself up for failure. That feels horrible and only leads to binging. This may not be the case for everyone, but I know myself well enough to know that if make food a religion I will fail miserably and food will fail me! I want to teach my children good lessons in health and nutrition. I want to help them make good life long decisions that will promote health and an enjoyable life. It is totally possible to have an enjoyable life on a raw food vegan diet. That just isn't a realistic life for my family.

I have my regular food patterns, the rule that I almost never dismiss. I take Barley Life every morning. I know that barley grass juice is one of the best things I can put into my body, so I don't skip it. Next I have a fruit smoothie or at least a piece of fresh, raw, ripe fruit. If I do these two things first thing in the morning I feel better all day and make better food choices all day. I also follow closely to a Levitical Diet. God gave us some rules about food that I think are most beneficial for long term health. Most days I choose to eat a plant based diet. I enjoy it and I understand the benefits that I reap from sticking with it. I don't beat myself up with my food facts, but I use them as tools in my tool belt. I use them to get what I want and to avoid what I don't want!

It's in the Water

I've always known that fluoride was bad, but I didn't realize how bad. When I was younger I can remember one of my sisters had to have her front teeth replaced because fluoride had caused her teeth to rot! The dentist that told us that and replaced those teeth gave me regular fluoride treatments when I would go for a cleaning.

In my last post on coconut oil I confessed how hard it has been for me to give up deodorant. Now for my next confession...I love to use "normal" Colgate toothpaste. I have used the Tom's (gross) and the TJs brand (not as bad) but have never successfully made the switch. I did have found a few that I thought were okay, but ouch - they are expensive. So...I'm considering making my own. The other bad thing about the store bought natural versions is that they almost always contain sodium laureth sulfate. I've read enough on it to know that it is something that really does not belong in your mouth. The next time you think about it take a peek at your labels friends. It is in almost every kind of soap (hand, dish, shampoo, toothpaste, carpet shampoo). Google it if you're interested in the topic because I'm not talking about SLS today, I'm talking about fluoride!

Actually, I'm doing talking and will let Dr Kim from www.familynatural.com take it from here. Check out this video. I thought it was good.

5 Things to Consider About Fluoride

Author: Dr. Kim, March 19th, 2010

I began doing some research in preparation for this blog post on fluoride, and there’s just SO MUCH info out there. I just don’t have the time to learn most of it, and I don’t like super long posts. So, here are my5 main points. The longer, original post with more info and links is below:

1. Fluoride is a man-made TOXIC BYPRODUCT. Meaning, it’s chemical waste that would cost billions of dollars to dispose of properly.

2. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. It has been proven to be deadly, and harmful even in small doses.

3. Your body is not capable of metabolizing fluoride. Whatever goes in, stays in. It gets stored in your fat, where most toxins are kept. The only way to rid your body of it is through a purposeful detoxification.

4. Fluoride in small doses added topically to your teeth MAY help reduce cavities. There seem to be more studies showing that it causes tooth decay. (And whatever is happening to your teeth is also happening to your bones–you just don’t see it) The problem is, we get MUCH more than just a little, and if we’re drinking it, it’s not just topical.

5. Adding fluoride to your water without your consent is, in my opinion, horribly unjust. If you have fluoridated water, everything you drink and cook, and even bathing adds fluoride to your body. Call your water company to find out if you have fluoridated water.

What Is Fluoride?

Fluorine is an element. It is a gas, never occurring in its free state. In microscopic amounts complexed with other minerals, it is often listed as a trace mineral, a nutrient for human nutrition.

This has nothing to do with fluoride or fluoridation. The fluoride added to 90% of drinking water is hydrofluoric acid which is a compound of fluorine that is a chemical byproduct of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing. Such fluoride is manmade. In this form, fluoride has no nutrient value whatsoever. It is one of the most caustic of industrial chemicals. Fluoride is the active toxin in rat poisons and cockroach powder. Hydrofluoric acid is used to refine high octane gasoline, to make fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons for freezers and air conditioners, and to manufacture computer screens, fluorescent light bulbs, semiconductors, plastics, herbicides, — and toothpaste.

It also has the ability to burn flesh to the bone, destroy eyes, and sear lungs so that victims drown in their own body fluid.

Yeah. I want to drink that.

Once in the body, fluoride is a destroyer of human enzymes. It does this by changing their shapes. In human biochemistry, thousands of enzymes are necessary for various essential cell reactions that take place every second we‘re alive. Without enzymes, we‘d die instantaneously.

Here‘s the short version: fluoride is a toxic byproduct in the manufacture of nuclear arms, aluminum, cement, steel, and phosphates.

Millions of tons of this poison are produced every year. Imagine the cost of containing and disposing of those mountains of waste every year. It‘s in the billions.

But what if lobbyists from these industries could present “scientific studies” paid for by the industries, and provide for a continual stream of media presentations about the health benefits of fluoride, and create unimaginably lucrative positions for “research” and “education” within the American Dental Association and the AMA, and do all these things in a consistent and unending way, year after year?

What are the economic advantages of that? Simple: instead of paying money to dispose of toxic waste, money could now be made by selling fluoride to the water companies of the nation.

They‘ll use the public water supply as a sewer for industrial wastes. And now with these new billions added instead of subtracted, there‘s plenty to go around, for everyone involved. Out of the Red, into the Black.

I Heart Wednesday - Coconut Oil

I heart coconut oil.

www.wiki.com says:

Coconut oil is extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconut harvested from the coconut palm.

Of all of the things in my pantry the coconut oil might get more use than anything else.

I use it for all kinds of things.

Deodorant - I make my own. The main ingredient is coconut oil. Oh friends, I have a list of products that I have held onto dearly through the years while I transitioned to a healthy, natural lifestyle. "Normal" deodorant was on the top two of the list. I have clung to my aluminum filled deodorant, failing miserably ever time I tried to give it up. Come on, who wants to stink?? Surprisingly, this has been a MUCH easier transition than I would have expected. The recipe I use works much better than Tom's, Jason's or any other natural deod I've tried.

Make-up Remover - massage into your skin and over eyes then rinse off with a warm wash cloth - I LOVE this part of my day

Moisturizer - there are so many strange things in lotion. Skin is SO thin. Whatever you put on your skin goes into your blood stream. Not only does it work really well, but it is purely plant oil. Nothing strange about it and it smells nice. Perfect for dry baby skin (cradle cap, paci face, winter dry skin, red skin around a runny nose - you get the idea).

Hair Goo - Pregnancy hair has not been so nice to me. Most days my hair ends up in a pony tail or bun. On the other days I use a little to smooth down the frizz.

Diaper Rash Cream - When Havah was in diapers (and sometimes still) I would rub a little on her tush when she started to look rashy. I have had to use other creams, but this is my first choice and usually her skin responds pretty quickly.

Anti-fungal cream - Confession...I have a weird toe nail. I suspect a nail fungus (ewww gross!). It has been that way since I was 11, so it's been a few years. I've started applying apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. I've noticed a tremendous improvement in the nail since I've started doing this regularly. I know several folks who've had rashes quickly disappear by applying coconut oil regularly. A much better option than most RX creams that kill everything alive on your skin.

I think you get the idea. If it doesn't look normal just put some windex...I mean coconut oil... on it.

In the kitchen I use it:

In place of crisco - I've made some delish chocolate covered strawberries recently. Adding 2 tablespoons of c/o has made them pretty close to perfect.

In raw recipes - I have a few favorites, like Andrea's Raw Cheesecake, that call for coconut oil. They are usually luxury items, but oh they are good.

Whenever we need to "cook" with the oil (sautéed veggies, baked potatoes, making popcorn, etc). I don't advocate using oil on a regular basis in food because it just doesn't promote health and can contribute to heart disease, but if you are going to use it - and I do - this is the one to grab!

The rule of thumb with oils and cooking is - if it is solid at room temperature it is safe to cook with (butter, c/o). I do sometimes make eggs in butter, but really I prefer to use the c/o if I'm going to cook with oil. There is no cholesterol in the coconut oil and there's plenty in the butter.

So there -put some coconut oil on it!

Myth Busting Monday

If you buy it from the health food store it must be healthy!

Many times I have walked into Whole Foods and checked my brain at the door. It's so easy. You can just turn on auto-pilot and start filling your cart! Unfortunately, just because something comes from the health food store does not make what you are buying healthy. No, not everything at the health food store is organic, actually "whole food" or even good for you! If you go to Trader Joe's and buy sugar - guess what folks - it is still just as bad as any other sugar and might as well be from the discount grocer. I LOVE to shop at health food markets like Whole Foods. It is easier to find the things that actually are healthy foods, organic produce and some of those hard to find products that might not be available anywhere else. But quite often things are over priced at these grocers.

I may write more on these topics later, but just so you get the idea:

Ice cream at the health food market is STILL ICE CREAM! There may be less chemicals, but I'm betting there's still just as much sugar and fat!

Just because the vitamins come from the health food market does not make them good for you.

The "snacks" at the HFM most of the time are still junk food!

Just because the packaging says - Good for you, less fat, less calories, less salt, vegan, gluten free, raw, organic bla bla bla does not mean that it is any of the things!

Just because it is organic does not make it healthy. Come on...I can buy organic dog food, but I'm not going to eat it! On a side note, there are a few things that should always be organic, but the list is pretty short.

I can buy whatever I want from the HFM, buy some oil while I'm there, take it home and deep fry it. While this might taste like a piece of heaven it is probably not good for me.

All of that said, again - I still LOVE the health food markets and suggest that you support them! At the same time, I make it a practice to buy healthy, whole food items at the regular grocer nearest to my house. When I go into Price Chopper I make sure I buy a piece of organic fruit every time I go in. I want my local market to know that I want and will buy good, local, organic products! While the HFM already recognizes the need for these things my neighborhood grocer may not! When I'm at Wal-Mart I might buy the organic, local apple just to tell them - HEY! I want to support my local farmer! I want to support the biodynamic farmers who are growing food in a way that supports health for people and the planet.

Not So Much...

Well I had high hopes of writing a post today about the environmental impact of our diets. Exciting - I know. :) Well at least I think so.

I started reviewing some of my notes from one of the classes I took on the subject and realized that I should take more time to collect my thoughts.

Right now I'm watching James Oliver Food Revolution. An ABC Show where British Chef James Oliver has come to "revolutionize" the diets of Americans. I don't exactly expect him to do that. I don't know that I fully agree with his food choices, but he's making FOOD. I do think that having a show like this on ABC prime time will expose the void of nutrition in our diets and the abundance of sugar, salt, fat and artificial ingredients. You can watch the first episode here if you are interested. In the first episode he goes to a public school Huntington Beach, WV. Apparently, Huntington Beach is the winner. Congratulations! You are the fattest, most unhealthy city in the United States, leading the county deaths from heart disease and diabetes, ranking #1 in obesity. The United States is the winner too! We lead the world in health care expenses. In turn, we rank 37th in health care quality according the the World Health Association. We are the fattest country in the world.

I feel so passionate about health. I'm not exactly sure why. I think health is a REALLY important topic. I REALLY like to talk about it. So, if you are reading this - you will be subject to my ranting, statistics and recipes on the topic. This is, if I can keep up this blogging streak...

Almond Milk

I have my weekly routines of making a few staple items. Our kitchen always has something soaking, fermenting, blending, dehydrating and is that molding?? Almond milk is one my favorites and it is one of the easiest to make.

We use almond milk for a couple of different things:

Cereal - A common question is, "Since you don't drink milk, what do you put on your cereal?". Granola, boxed cereal or my favorite - Buckwheaties - YUM! I make cereal once a week by sprouting buckwheat groats, blending them then putting them in the dehydrator. Really...it only takes about 10 minutes of work total. We do sometimes have boxed oat milk for Judah, but it usually has a few ingredients I don't like and usually a lot of sugar.

Smoothies - I make a smoothie each morning...sometimes twice a morning. This is a great alternative to add some flavor without adding a bunch of sugar.

In coffee - Sounds crazy and not my first choice. Sean and I make coffee each Saturday. On the weeks where I forget to buy whole cream, or we aren't lucky enough to score our friend's raw cream he pulls from the top of his fresh milk, we use almond milk. It has a little vanilla flavor in it so it is quite yummy (just not as "creamy").

On it's own - This can be quite a filling and nutritious snack. It is one of Havah's favorites.

So here's how you make it:

1 cup raw almonds

5 cups filtered water

1/4 cup of low processed sweetener (raw honey, agave and my current favorite grade B maple syrup)

1t vanilla extract

Optional Ingredients: maca powder, hemp seeds (YUM!), stevia or cacao for chocolate almond milk

The almonds and water go into the blender on high for 2 minutes. I then pass the liquid through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth. Save the almond pulp!

The liquid goes back to the blender to get the sweeter, vanilla extract and anything else I want to add. Then I store the extra in the random jars my husband saves and keep it in the fridge.

Having a high speed blender is nice, but not totally necessary for this recipe. I heart my vitamix.

I freeze the almond pulp and put it in my buckwheaties each week.

Another great recipe for Almond Milk is here. Just scroll to the bottom.

*A side note on milk and cream. I have a big beef with cow's milk. I posted on that here. I have been checking out local sources for raw goats milk. Nutritionally I am okay with it. Mainly we want it for the cream to make butter.

We buy whole cream that comes from our local dairy. My main concern with cow's milk is the protein content. The higher the fat content, the lower the protein content. Whole cream is the best option.

Havah's Room

I've had three friends ask me this week to post pictures of Havah's room. There's never a good time for me to get photos, so you'll have to excuse my poor lighting and craigslist camera.

The artwork above the changing table is from Sarah Sulek. Designer and friend extrodinair. The changing table is from Marci Lewellen. We found it on the side of the road and spay painted it white. I LOVE finding treasures on the side of the road. The hope chest was my 17th birthday present. Handmade by Art Fore, my piano teachers husband.

Notice the post its. I recently realized that I was the only one in the house who knew what was in each drawer. Now everyone knows!

The crib is from Craigslist. Got it for less than $100 and refinished it while I was pregnant.. Amazing branches and leaves along the wall are by , Christina Ortega, Jocelyn Winterman and me.

The glider and dresser are also from the side of the road also. :) Sean snagged the glider and I recently recovered it. The dresser got a can of spray paint and a cute piece of fabric modge podged to the top of it. This dresser is for baby brother. His crib will eventually go where the glider and night stand are now. The glider will go to where the hope chest is currently. The hope chest will go to my room.

This painting is from my grandmother. She painted it for me when I was little. It has hung in my room almost all of my life. I am happy to have something so special in Havah's room.

You can just catch a glimpse of the curtain in this photo below. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it. My mom made the most amazing curtain for the window with the fabric that inspired the color on the wall. I LOVED the gray Amy Butler fabric and wanted it to be a part of the nursery. Katchen Weaver encouraged me to go for it and paint the walls gray. Thank you Katchen!

This is Havah fresh in bed. That smile is because she just spotted her paci. If you look closely at this photo or the one above of her crib you will see that her bumper pad is completely smashed. She loves to jump on it. Mom made her a beautiful quilt (currently rolled up on the glider), bumper pad and crib skirt. All with a delicate trim that she hand folded and sewed into place. Hours and hours of work. Thank you mommy!

Here she is offering you a taste.

Have you ever seen a room filled with so much love? My dearest friends worked hard with me to make her room so special. She has almost no appreciation for it, but I am so in love with it. I have spent countless hours in this room and think of my friends when I sit and rock my baby to sleep.

There are many more small details about the room that I could share...but that's probably enough.

Oh look! I found the picture of the window covering!

Corn Syrup is Natural (j/k)

Have you seen these new commercials about corn syrup? - It's Natural. Right...

Here's one of them.

Of course, the people who paid for these commercials have no vested interest in you buying products with corn syrup in them do they? They don't have any vested interest in your long term health! I just LOVE how the concerned mom ends up looking and feeling like a complete idiot! The surprise is how many of the products we consume that have corn syrup in them. Take a look at the back of your snack crackers, bread, any candy, coffee creamer, ketchup and the worst of all...soda. That's why the only soda you should by is this soda - no corn syrup.

I recently found a great blog radio show. Well With U. There most recent show was on corn syrup.

Below I'm posting their show on corn syrup and some info from their blog. If you don't read the whole thing at least check out the parts about leptin. If you can't see the radio player - try clicking on the blog title or refreshing the page.

Tomorrow evening Well With U Radio is having a free online seminar tomorrow evening. It should be interesting. Paul Nison (he's the bomb too) will be sharing along with a few other speakers on Health According to the Scriptures.

So the multi-national food conglomerates and their advertising firms want you to believe that High Fructose Corn Syrup is natural because it “comes from corn”, and is fine “in moderation”?

Well, let’s take a closer look at how it’s made so you can make an educated decision!

Converting corn starch into corn syrup

• Corn starch is converted into ordinary corn syrup through a process called acid hydrolysis. In this process, the wet starch is mixed with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid and is heated under pressure. The hydrochloric acid and heat break down the starch molecules and convert them into a sugar. The hydrolysis can be interrupted at different key points to produce corn syrups of varying sweetness. The longer the process is allowed to proceed, the sweeter the resulti?g syrup.
• This syrup is then filtered or otherwise clarified to remove any objectionable flavor or color. It is further refined and evaporated to reduce the amount of water.
• To produce a corn syrup powder, also called corn syrup solids, the liquid corn syrup is passed through a drum or spray dryer to remove 97% of the water. This produces a crystalline corn syrup powder.

Converting corn syrup into high fructose corn syrup

• Ordinary corn syrup contains dextrose sugar which is about three-quarters as sweet as the sucrose sugar in cane or beet sugar. In many sweetener applications this is an advantage because it does not overpower the other flavors in the food. However, in some applications, such as soft drinks, a sweeter taste is desired. To improve the sweetness of ordinary corn syrup, it undergoes a further process called enzyme conversion. In this process, the dextrose sugars in the syrup are converted into sweeter fructose sugars by the action of an enzyme in a series of steps under carefully controlled temperatures, pressures, and acidity. This produces a high fructose corn syrup with a 42% fructose content. It is used in canned fruits and condiments.
• To produce corn syrups with a fructose level above 50%, the 42% fructose syrup is passed through a series of fractionation columns, which separate and hold the fructose content. The separated portion is about 80-90% fructose and is flushed from the columns with deionized water. A portion of this is retained and sold for use in “light” foods where only a small amount of liquid sweetener is needed. The remainder is blended with other 42% fructose syrup to produce a 55% fructose syrup, which is used in soft drinks, ice cream, and frozen desserts.
• Powdered high fructose corn syrups can be produced by evaporating the water from the syrup and then encapsulating the powder grains to prevent them from reabsorbing moisture. Pure fructose crystals may be obtained by further processing the 80-90% fructose syrup. It is used in cake mixes and other food products where a highly concentrated, dry sweetener is desired.

Today, corn syrups are an “important part” of many products. In 1996, there were 28 corn-refining plants in the United States that processed a total of about 72 billion lbs (33 billion kg) of corn. Of that amount, about 25 billion lbs (11.4 billion kg) were converted into corn syrups and other corn sweeteners. These corn-based products supplied more than 55% of the nutritive sweetener market in the United States.

Fifty-five percent! And this is something the Corn Refiners Association seems proud of. Americans currently consume about 25% of their total calories from sugar, and about half of that in the form of fructose. So, what’s so bad about that you say? Here’s a little lesson about precisely how dangerous it really is.

Leptin: the reason why obesity and obesity related deaths are on the rise

• To sum up a complex process very simply, the hormones your fat cells produce impact how much you eat and how much fat you burn.
• One of these hormones is leptin, and leptin sends signals that reduce hunger, increase fat burning and reduce fat storage. That is, if your cells are communicating properly and can “hear” this message.
• If you are eating a diet that is high in sugar — this is the same type of diet that will also increase inflammation in your body — as the sugar gets metabolized in fat cells, fat releases surges in leptin.
• Over time, if your body is exposed to too much leptin, it will become resistant to the leptin (just as your body can become resistant to insulin).
• When you become leptin-resistant, your body can no longer hear the messages telling it to stop eating and burn fat — so it remains hungry and stores more fat.
• Leptin-resistance also causes an increase in visceral fat, sending you on a vicious cycle of hunger, fat storage and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome (a group of symptoms including diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol that increases the risk of heart disease) and more.

Leptin, the hormone responsible for satiety (feeling satisfied), simply isn’t working. And it’s all because of massive surge in sugar intake spearheaded by the yearly conversion of over 25,000,000,000 (twenty-five billion) pounds of corn into corn syrup. Corn syrup is now found in every type of processed, pre-packaged food you can think of. In fact, the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in the U.S. diet increased by a whopping 10,673% (that’s more than 100x) between 1970 and 2005, according to a report by the USDA.

(And, by the way, this is just part of the High Fructose Corn Syrup story. There’s a lot more to come…)

When I Grow Up

About a year ago I heard a lecture by Pam Popper. It was on propaganda in food marketing. One of the BEST lectures I've heard on the topic. Pam Popper, like T. Colin Campbell, is the bomb. When I grow up I want to be like Pam Popper. If I've spiked your interest enough - go to www.youtube.com and search for videos by her.

Dr Popper runs the Wellness Forum and has a great blog. When I have an extra $250 I'll complete her course.

Below I'm pasting two brief posts from her blog on general health and nutrition that I thought were just great!

03/24/2009

Top 5 Tips for Weight Loss

Replace calorie-dense foods with more nutritious calorie-dilute foods.

It's easy to lose weight while consuming a plant-based or vegan diet (provided you eliminate the oils) because the fiber content of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes will fill your stomach without the consumption of many calories. It takes 3,000 calories of meat to fill your stomach, while it takes only 200 calories of vegetables.

Don't rely on willpower.

The best way to stick with a plan of dietary excellence is to sanitize your house and office -- get rid of the bad foods and stock up on good foods. If your choices for a sweet treat are melons, apples, and pineapples, you'll choose one of those. If the choice is between fruit and cookies, and you're like me, you'll probably at least some of the time, choose the cookies!

Exercise!

Most people will find it difficult to achieve and maintain optimal weight and body composition without exercise. It's common for people losing weight to plateau at some point, and the scale does not start to move down again until they start moving!

Be patient.

It takes 90 days for people to feel satiety on a low-fat, law-salt, low-sugar diet. Your cravings for bad foods will go away once you stop consuming them regularly.

If you fall off the wagon, start again!

It's common for people who want to stop smoking to try several times before they succeed. Friends and family encourage them to keep trying, since we all know that smoking is a terrible habit. Yet when people revert back to old eating habits for awhile, they often consider themselves failures and stop trying.

Dietary excellence will not only help you to achieve ideal weight, but will also help you to reduce your risk of disease, and improve your length and quality of life! Keep trying until you get it right!

Top 5 Tips for Disease Prevention

Reduce the amount of animal protein in your diet

Dr. T. Colin Campbell of Cornell University has been conducting research on the effects of diet on health for decades. According to his findings, which you can read more about in his best-selling book, The China Study, animal protein is a powerful cancer promoter.

In laboratory experiments conducted at Cornell University, lab rats were given aflatoxin, a known cancer-causing agent and then fed diets with varying amounts of animal protein. Researchers concluded that the development of foci (clusters of cells that grow into tumors) was dependent on the amount of animal protein in the diet -- at 20% of calories from animal protein, all of the animals developed foci. At 5% animal protein, none of them did. When animals with foci development were fed a lower protein diet, foci development was reduced sharply. The researchers had, literally, found a way to "switch on" and "switch off" cancer.

Later, in extensive populations studies in China, Dr. Campbell's researchers found that the influence of animal protein on the development of cancer and other diseases in humans was significant. The percentage of animal protein in the diet was highly predictive of cancer rates, and even accounted for differences in health outcomes among family members.

Achieve and maintain ideal body weight and body composition.

People who are overweight not only have a higher risk of developing degenerative diseases, but are a high risk of dying from them as well. Additionally, carrying extra body fat causes increased production of hormones like estrogen and testosterone, which contribute to significantly increased risk of breast, prostate and other cancers.

Women should strive for a body composition of about 20% body fat, while men should keep body fat at around 17%.

Eliminate dairy products

The consumption of cow's milk products has been linked to juvenile diabetes, chronic infections, constipation, asthma and allergies in children; and breast and prostate cancer in adults. Remember cow's milk is for cows!

Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes!

Plant foods a rich in antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber and other nutrients that are essential for health, and which offer protective effects from degenerative disease. The healthiest people on the planet eat the most plant foods, and the least amount of animal foods daily!

Exercise!

The human body was designed to move! Exercise helps you maintain optimal weight and body composition, lowers cholesterol levels, helps to keep hormone levels in check, assists in building strong bones, elevates your mood and stimulates your immune system.

Strive to spend 45-60 minutes per day in your target heart zone, and include aerobic and strength training, as well as flexibility exercise like yoga in your daily routine.

Poop Goes in the Potty

Havah has been spending plenty of time in the bathroom the past two week. I decided that March 1st would be the beginning of a potty experiment. She has done so well! She's not entirely out of the woods, but is doing a great job. She comes to me and tell me "change diaper". She's not wearing a diaper, so I know it's time to go sit on the potty. :) We haven't mastered outings or naps, but when we're home she's golden!

The first day she pretty much peed all over the kitchen floor (we tried to stay in the kitchen most of the day). By the end of the day I was wiped out from keeping my eyes on her every second. It has gotten better and better every day. Earlier this week she did have an accident that was pretty funny. I won't tell the story here because it does involve some embarrassing details that I would leave up to her oldest sister to share. I also have some cute videos to share, but they will have to wait until I can get them uploaded to my computer.

I found a few articles that were pretty helpful. You can check them out here and here. But the BEST thing to have is an amazing sister to call and ask questions.

Hoping Inspiration Continues

My brain has been going on the topic of nutrition. I'm planning to start writing - when time and inspiration participate - on my favorite recipes, nutrition and my cute kids. We'll see if I can follow through.

Below is a trailer to Forks over Knives. I'm really looking forward to the release of this film. Dr T Colin Campbell is the bomb. I have so much respect for him and his colleagues. Dr Campbell wrote an excellent book called The China Study. I read the book and then went on to take his course at Cornell University on Plant Based Nutrition.

Homemade Almond Butter

I've had it in my head for weeks that I want some TRULY raw, sprouted, homemade almond butter. We happened to buy several pounds of truly raw almonds a while back and it just so happens that our Green Star Juicer was back in the house today, so I set to making some almond butter.

• Almonds washed
• Almonds soaked
• Almonds into juicer with the blank screen - this didn't work so well because I didn't feel like getting a total work out to press them through the juicer. SO...
• Almond in the food processor to break them up
• Almonds back to the juicer (this made more mess, but did make for less work)
• Almonds back to the food processor where I added Celtic Sea Salt and raw honey
• Almonds to the blender to try to cream them up

The end result was just a BIG MESS and almond butter that doesn't taste all that great. The texture is kind of weird. The next time I want almond butter I'm just going to Whole Foods.

So instead of trying to dig the sticky remains of this butter out of the blender I decided to just leave it in and make some almond milk. Now that turned out good!

Long Time No Blogging

Hi Blog Friends....if there are any of you still out there. I have some blog worthy news. Sean and I are having a son! I would be excited about a boy or a girl, but I am quite excited about a little boy. Dogs and snails and puppy dog tails right? Sean says not right. :) We'll see.

Late Night Fun

After my sister sent me a few fun sewing blogs I was motivated to make a few fun things myself. My staple outfit is a plain shirt from the Gap Outlet and jeans, also from the Gap Outlet. Having an abundance of plain shirts I decided to practice on these.


This shirt was a bit too bit, so I cut it down. Then I took one of Judah's old t-shirts that had holes and stains in it and cut 1 in strips to sew on to the shirt. Mom suggested using a glue stick to place the strips. That worked MUCH better than pins.

This one only took a few minutes, but was really fun. Again, I took an old t-shirt of Judah's that was about to head to the trash. I'm looking at the Goodwill bag with new eyes. Oh the possibilities!

Lastly, here's a picture of Havah in her diaper - no ruffles. She's enjoying her morning smoothie. Havah is a lot of fun these days. She talks non-stop about anything that comes to mind. I can understand a lot of it, but most of it I just pretend. Her favorite person right now is Dad. Last night when I tucked her in bed she sang a song to me about her "dadeeee". So sweet.

I'm Still Learning

Havah is 17 months old now. After 17 months of having a daughter you would think that I know how to pack a diaper bag. For the last several months she's just needed a diaper and our nursing cover. She's not had a blow out since she was teeny tiny, she doesn't usually want food or a cup while we are out.

Last week we were at Walmart when I got the a big surprise. A wet baby! Her poor little pants were soaked because her diaper had failed her. I went to the car to change her, but was only able to change her diaper. :( Learning lesson #1.

Lesson #2 - We've been trying out nursery at church and at school (I volunteer at the kids school 2 hours a week). It has not been very successful. The other day one of the volunteers asked where Havah's cup was. I explained that I hadn't brought one. She looked at me like I was pretending to be a mom. Then she asked what I had for a snack. Again, I failed to bring one.

This week we were a little more prepared. Cup, snack and even the secret weapon...magic baby paci. Too bad it didn't work. One of the caregivers brought her to me 20 minutes after I dropped her off. She hadn't stopped crying the entire time.

Anything else that I should have in my diaper bag? Any suggestions about taking her to childcare?

M is for Milk

It is generally assumed that cow’s milk is a perfect food. This is not exactly true. I am not a fan of cow’s milk and that is an understatement. In past years I always had milk around. I was sure it was good for me. It has good stuff in it, right? Yes! Good stuff for a calf!

Years ago my friend Megan told me about a girl who was a vegan. I had never heard of such a thing. She explained to me that humans are the only animals to continue drinking milk after normal breastfeeding years. They refuse to be weaned. At the time I was very surprised, but later realized that humans were the only animals smart enough to continue to drink milk. Riiiiiiight….

Well here’s what I’ve come to learn:

Cow’s milk is mucus forming. Have you ever noticed that after drinking a glass of milk or (this one might hurt) after eating an ice cream cone you need to clear your throat? That is a friendly little deposit from your friend the cow in the back of your throat. Perfect for breeding bacteria.

Dairy products create an acidic environment in the body. When the body is acidic it then goes to work correcting its PH, as the body is at a slightly alkaline ph. In order to balance the PH of the body certain minerals are released to neutralize this acidic environment. The main one being…calcium. Calcium is released from the body in order to balance out PH and help digest the protein in the milk. Hmmm wonder where that calcium comes from.

Cow’s milk is the best source of casein protein. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? There is casein in Mother’s Milk, but there’s 300x more in cow’s milk The protein in cow’s milk is made up of 87% casein protein. Casein protein is known to be cancer promoting. Check out any research done by Dr T. Colin Campbell who conducted the largest research project on nutrition ever.

Cow’s milk is intended to double a calf’s body weight in 6 – 8 weeks (human’s usually require 6 – 8 months). God being the genius He is, put in the milk what is necessary to get that cute little calf to pack on the pounds as fast as possible. Strange enough he didn’t put the same thing in human milk…

Now let’s look at Insulin Like Growth Factor. Insulin has properties in it to help your body to grow, but IGF-1’s specific role is to cause the body to grow. IGF-1 tells everything in the body to grow, normal tissue (bones) and foreign tissue (cancers). In cancer research IGF-1 is a VERY hot topic. We make our own IGF-1, but cow’s milk has far more in it than our bodies can appropriately handle. I don’t fully grasp this one, but Dr McDougal does. You can check out his video here. The dairy industry says, “Drink milk it will make you big and strong” and they’re right! In a study published in 2003 participants were given 40 grams of milk protein. Their IGF-1 was increased by 39%. That’s 39% more growth hormones than God put in our bodies. Maybe you’re thinking about switching to soy protein and soy milk options. In this same study participants who got Isolated Soy Protein increased the IGF-1 by 69%! (please note that Isolated Soy Protein is not the same as regular soy products)

Contrary to popular believe, dairy products do not prevent osteoporosis, in fact the countries that have the highest incidence of osteoporosis, have the highest intakes of dairy.

In an article published in the American Journal of clinical Nutrition (1990 vol. 52 pg142-6), they indicate that dairy products may in fact contribute to osteoporosis. “ ……the protein content of milk might have a negative effect on calcium balance by increasing urinary calcium excretion….”

But what about raw milk? Isn’t raw milk supposed to be good for you? All facts listed above are true of both raw and pasteurized cow’s milk. While there are far more live enzymes in raw milk which help you digest the milk, I would still exclude it from the “good for you” category. Now I could go into what actually happens when milk is pasteurized, but that would be A LOT more writing. There are several health, humanitarian and environmental issues closely connected to pasteurizing milk. If you are interested you can search for it yourself. I will say this, my husband tells me if you feed pasteurized milk to a cow it will die.

Now onto my last and favorite objection to cow’s milk. Prepare yourself…this is going to be a big statement. Consumption of cow’s milk is more closely related to Type 1 Diabetes than smoking is to Cancer. Take a moment and read that again. For this very reason the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children not drink cow’s milk for the first two years of life. I get a bit overwhelmed with this one and could provide you with a lot of information, so if anyone is actually interested in hearing the science and research behind this one I’ll do a separate post on it.

Now when you go out there and begin searching this topic out for yourself please keep something in mind. The dairy industry is BIG and they have lots of MONEY. Check your sources! Make sure you’re getting good info that’s not being funded by the dairy industry or someone who profits from you buying milk.