The Cancer Controversy

I sparked quite the controversy the other day on Facebook.

People came out of the woodwork to get across their point of view.

But I see it all being positive. Because these things need to be talked about. Issues that are otherwise generally accepted as truth need to be brought to the surface. Lies need to be exposed.

The issue? Cancer. 

Here was my original post:

You don't get cancer which MAKES you UNHEALTHY. You get cancer BECAUSE you are UNHEALTHY. (via Matthew McAlees) So true!

Dinner on an Empty Fridge

We've been on a tighter budget these days since we are (drum roll please....) saving up to spend a year traveling New Zealand!

(You can follow our journey on our travel  blog: There & Back Again)

At any rate, I had yet to get to the grocery store the other night and was faced with an empty refrigerator.

Ok, maybe it wasn't completely empty. We had chicken sausages--but we had eaten those the past 2 nights in a row. We had sweet potatoes--but we had eaten those the past 2 nights in a row.

And there were a handful of containers of leftovers. But nothing really substantial.

So I was forced to get creative! But I think the final product turned out rather nicely:

Carrot Raisin Muffins on a Rainy Afternoon

Usually muffins are a weekend breakfast treat. Like cake for breakfast.

But the other afternoon I had a craving for a baked good.

I needed something warm and moist and comforting.

Earlier the day was sunny and the sky was blue (lending itself nicely to a picnic lunch). But the afternoon turned gray and rainy. And cold.

Cakes & breads take too long to cook. I wasn't in the mood for cookies.

But Carrot Raisin Muffins did the trick nicely!

Street Food: Moroccan Harira

Welcome to another installment of ethnic recipes from my Street Food cookbook.

This is a Moroccan Harira. A bean soup. It's also considered Morocco's national soup.

(Does the US have a national soup? Who knew that sort of thing even existed...)

But I do know that hearty soups are perfect for fall weather!

5 Ways to Multi-task with Coconut Oil

Could anything in this world be more wonderful than coconut oil?

(Ok, besides goat cheese, the Silly Goose, & Jesus?)

In all seriousness though, coconut oil definitely tops the list of must-have products on my list.

Coconut oil (and all coconut products, really) have gotten a terrible, though incredibly undeserved, reputation over the last 50 years or so. People freak out over the caloric intake of coconut products, bemoaning and lamenting the saturated fat found in coconut milk and coconut oil.

Truthfully, eating a low-fat diet is one of the worst things you could possibly do for your body (50% of your cell membranes are made up of saturated fatty acids. No healthy fats=a terrible hormone imbalance=all kinds of problems with weight gain, hair loss, or painful or irregular menstrual cycles). Eating healthy saturated fats can actually help you lose weight!