Green Pancakes!

I've become a bit more of an experimenter in the kitchen these days.

To satisfy my craving for pancakes the other night, while understanding that I really needed to eat some vegetables, I ended up with Green Pancakes.

Now, let it be known that I don't make very pretty shaped pancakes. Never have and probably never will.

Tractors are Sexy

Oh Blog, how I've neglected you!

There is so much to catch up on, I'm simply feeling overwhelmed. Where to start?

To begin with, I finally bit the bullet and bought a VitaMix! But I don't regret a single penny I paid (rather like my MacBook Pro!) I don't even have to chop an apple into more than 4 pieces in order to blend it into my smoothies. Or my pancake batter. I make hot soup that is still considered raw and full of nutrients and enzymes. Homemade hummus is super easy and cheap. Yes, I will post pictures and recipes. Soon. (Someone had better hold me accountable to that!)

In other news, I'm now on the lookout for a large piece of earth (to borrow a phrase from the Secret Garden). And by large, I mean at least 25 acres or more. In a second-best case scenario (the best being what God already has planned--which we can't even imagine yet), a retiring farmer (or anyone, really) would donate said land to us and our compadres to support our cause and mission of communal farm living.

Snake Oil Salesmen Had it Right?

I almost deleted an email this morning, writing it off as a silly forwarded message that would tell me to send it along to 14 other people in the next hour or I didn't really love Jesus (are they kidding me?). But I'm so glad I did read it (and that it didn't judge my email habits in connection with the King of the Universe).

Inside was a great little article shedding some light on the evolution of "healthcare" in the West. With all the talk about "healthcare" reform in the government (which I don't really keep up with since I don't watch the news....better things to do.....), this offers a fresh perspective on an alternative--a "third way," if you will, to borrow a phrase from a respected author, Shane Claiborne (changed my life.....I recommend his stuff).

ps-I'm not hating on people who became doctors or nurses because they wanted to help people. But I do believe there are far, far better ways to build health and help others. Ways with no harmful side effects and big corporations who stand to profit big time from people's illness and/or fear.

Time Keeps on Ticking

Forgive my absence from the blogging world.....Busy-ness overtook me (and made me tired too). 

So, in an effort to let you know that I am, indeed, still alive, I figured a new recipe was in order. I'm working on a jam-packed post on sunshine (and cancer, toxic chemical sunscreens and the like....) so stay tuned for that. 

In the meantime, a busy, non-posting past few weeks calls for a recipe that caters to busy times (so punny.....I get that from my Dad).

This is more like a recipe template, which means you can use whatever you happen to have on hand, as well as be incredibly creative if you'd like.

Got Milk?

If you do have milk in your fridge (and who doesn’t?), you might want to take a gander below at what could be in that yellow carton. And what it’s doing inside your body.

Let’s say you pick up a gallon of “normal” cow’s milk from the gas station or grocery store. It looks healthy enough. But things are not always as they seem (to reference the Arabian salesman at the beginning of Aladdin. Love that movie!)

That one gallon of milk is teeming with hormones and antibiotics. Bottom’s up!

(At this point you may be eyeing your toddler who is innocently playing with her dolls whilst consuming said hormones and antibiotics. This is a normal reaction. Don’t be afraid to take the sippy cup away from her after reading the rest of this post.)

Noodle-less Lasagna

Or a gloried meatloaf. It was more or less a cross between the two. 

It was our dinner last night. And it was tasty!

Share-worthy, in fact. So share I will....

Zucchini Casserole

2 small zucchini

1 1/2 lbs. ground meat

1/2 small onion

3 cloves garlic

3 eggs

2 Tbsp. Bragg’s liquid aminos

2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 7 oz. cans tomato paste

1 pint ricotta cheese

pinch of Stevia

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Yes, I Know I'm Crazy....

There is no microwave in my kitchen. When we learned what it does to our food, we unplugged it and stowed it away on the top shelf of a closet.

I’m not exactly sure what to do with it just yet....I would feel morally responsible for selling the “death box,” as my friend Thomas likes to call it (though he still uses it.....), and allowing a poor unsuspecting soul to further deteriorate his or her health. “Here, you can have this disease-causing machine at a reduced price! Today only!”

So why do we do our very best to avoid food cooked in microwaves?

So glad you asked.....

A few of my favorite things....

At the risk of sounding like Oprah, I wanted to share a few items that I just really like.

My Camelbak Better Bottle tops the list! I have a thing about drinking through straws. I seem to drink more that way, and I run a far smaller risk of spilling my water down the front of me in a moving car. Yes, unfortunately, this has happened more times than I’d like to admit.....

But, the Better Bottle, which is made from BPA free plastic (a much safer option with far fewer harmful chemicals that can be leached into your beverage), does not spill or leak at all. You just bite down on the mouthpiece and drink from the straw. So much easier to tote around with me when I’m not worried about it tipping over and spilling in the car.

If you’re not a fan of the straw concept, my hubby has a Klean Kanteen made from stainless steel. When you order from their website, you can even choose different caps.

Me duele mi cabeza....

Translation: My head is killing me, give me some pills!!

Well, ok, literally it just means 'my head pains me' en espanol, but you get the idea. And yes, in years past, the option of harmless looking little pills to ease the throbbing pain in my temple seemed like a great option.

Until I learned that meds like Advil, Tylenol and Aspirin are the leading cause of kidney and liver failure. And taking them for 6 months or more doubles your risk of heart disease and stroke.

There are always risks and negative side effects when something un-natural is introduced into our bodies. And since God didn't leave us hanging in the face of adversity, it's good to know there are plenty of natural cures and preventions for something as common as a headache.

Beef....It's What's for Dinner

I’ve never been scared of eating red meat. I love it actually. Never crossed my mind that red meat was bad for my heart. Never paid much attention to studies done by the government or the FDA. Guess it’s all well and good at any rate, cuz all those silly studies done about red meat killing those rabbits had one minor flaw…..

…..rabbits are vegetarians by nature.

There goes that theory!

Granted, when consuming red meat, it’s good to know what else is in there. Growth hormones? Antibiotics? Pesticides from eating sprayed corn crops? Yes, yep and uh-huh. (By the way, all those tasty sounding poisons are found in the milk of the cow as well, and no, the pasteurization process does not remove them. More on that later….)

So what’s a girl to do? Give into scare tactics and avoid red meat like the plague? Far from it! Clean, healthy red meat is chock full of an essential fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA from here on out). CLA is an amazing substance that our bodies definitely need.

I had to buy new pants.

I wasn’t even trying, but I had lost a few inches around my middle and my thighs. So when it started to become obnoxious to hike up my pants all day (but let’s face it, who wouldn’t prefer to have that problem instead of having buttons popping OFF their pants?), I bit the bullet and went to the store in search of new clothes. (Of course, being the bargain shopper I am, this required scouring the clearance racks for a while!)

My body was just responding naturally to changes in my diet (simple changes really, but ones that required an overhaul of our kitchen cabinets and a complete change in perspective). My family and most of my friends think we’re crazy (ok, they found us out. ha!), but I’m not complaining when I slide on pants that used to be tight on me, only to find they are now saggy and baggy. Kind of a nice feeling with bathing suit season just around the corner……just a thought.

I realized that the food most of us eat really isn’t food at all.

Coming Home

First post. A rather daunting task.....I'm wanting to say something incredibly witty and clever to set the tone and make you come back and visit again. But i figure this post will eventually get lost in the archives anyway and we can move onto more important things...

...like living a thriving, vibrant life to 120 years old.

...like how to afford to eat organic.

...like why it's so cold in my apartment.

I tried. I really did. I put on another pair of socks, another blanket on the bed. But I just had to turn on the heat today! I complain (often) about being cold in the winter (ask my husband. or my co-workers. or anybody really), but when the weather makes one turn toward spring and the unit goes off, i like to keep it off. The thought of saving a zero or two on the utility bill inspires me to suck it up and just keep shivering.

But I know that in the end, being able to feel my fingers to type out this post is worth the few extra bucks. After all, I have big plans to spread the Truth about our health, our food, and all the other things that go along with that.

So I'd love it if you'd follow me on the journey. I'll even turn the heat on for you....