Dinner and a Garden

It has been one week since I planted my little seeds and I am happy to say that a couple have germinated. I hope the others will follow suit soon. Of course winter decided to arrive the day after I planted my babies. With the changing season came sunny weather. Almost as if Winter needed to get one final and most ultimate storm out of the way...now Spring has come and the weather is warm and the sun is shining. We'll see if Winter tries to come back through again. I think the last frost is still to come. But anyway, my Nevada Lettuce and Marketmore Cucumbers have sprouted and it makes me giddy! Gardening is so much fun, as is cooking from scratch. Currently I am in the process of letting pizza dough rise for pizza dinner. I am going to put together a caprese style pizza and a veggie deluxe. My dough has a mix of both whole wheat and unbleached flour and flax seed (my new favorite source of omega 3's). For both I am marinating pizza sauce all day. Tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil. The first pizza will have heirloom tomatoes, extra basil, jack cheese, parmesan, and grilled chicken. The second will be zuchinni, red bell pepper, and scallions. Paired with a cold glass of organic hard cider. This is heaven.

Green Thumb I Have Do I?

Yay! I have 10 half wine barrels now. I am working on my compost. I know next year my compost will be much better since mine isn't quite aged this time. I read up on my seeds that I have and what they need to thrive. I've got red bell peppers, anaheim chilies, genovese basil, cilantro, green zebra tomatoes, orange honeydew, marketmore cucumbers, easter egg radishes, and a couple others! I really hope I can pull this off but I'm also going to get some transplants from the nursery just in case I don't have the green thumb of my dreams. It's quite exciting...growing your own food...I can tell will be a very liberating experience.

Meatless!

Tonight Travis made us southwestern vegan chili! Three types of beans, non-GMO corn, bell peppers, jalapeno, and onion. I made the corn bread (with added flaxseed -- Omega 3s!). Of course it wasn't vegan anymore after I added sour cream and raw cheddar cheese, but still vegetarian! I think we will have to make meat more of a rarity than we are used to and that's because we just don't have access to organic meats. I can buy smart chicken breasts/sausage and organic bacon at the natural store. I also have been buying grass fed beef from Outer Aisle but they were closed when Trav got there yesterday and today. We get sick of chicken at every meal (plus it can get expensive). So until I get my 1/2 cow and pig (which I hope to be going in on with some friends) we will continue to think up more vegetarian meals. It's hard to change your perception of what a meal should entail...but I'm realizing it's okay to leave the meat out sometimes!

Organic Choc Chip Cookies

Yesterday I made some amazing cookies. In fact I think I ate about 20 of 'em and still can't stop...

2 sticks of softened (not in microwave preferably) organic butter
1/2 cup organic unrefined sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar
2 organic eggs
1 squirt organic agave syrup
1/2 cup organic flaxseed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 and 1/2 cups organic unbleached white flour
1 big organic dark chocolate bar

I first preheated the oven to 375. I then used a hand mixer and started on the butter first. I added everything but the flour and chocolate in. Then I added the flour a little at a time. I used a mallet to break the chocolate bar into a million pieces (some chunky, some powdery). I added the chocolate last, folding it in. I did small spoonful drop cookies and baked for 10 minutes. They turned out just how I like, cake-like and fluffy!

What Will My Garden Bring??

I am getting very excited about our garden! Next week we are getting wine barrels (since I have no yard). I am doing a ton of reading on composting. I need to get some good soil and add in the compost a couple weeks before I plant according to something I read. I also am not sure when I should start to germinate my seeds. I've also read up on the perfect planting days on the Farmer's Almanac. It says you can start planting today.

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/calendar/gardening/

Heavy Metal

Trav laughs every time I say something along the lines of, "The heavy metal is poisoning us!". I am of course not talking about the music genre. I am referring to the mercury, aluminum, and lead that builds up in the human body. Did you know there is mercury in amalgam (silver) fillings? I read somewhere that there is enough mercury in one filling to kill a lake full of fish. Of course the American Dental Association denies that any of the mercury can leak out into our mouths (and be ingested) but there are many dentists who believe quite the opposite. I don't have insurance so I can't get mine removed anytime soon so for now I am taking Chlorella (a powerful derivative of chlorophyll that works as a detoxifier and is awesome for the digestive system).

I put two and two together and I realized that so many diseases are caused by the toxic build-up inside of us. Toxins that are allowed by the government. Which brings me to my next toxic topic: vaccinations.

I believe that through common day sanitation most of the diseases they vaccinate our children for would have a low occurance anyway. Polio for instance is only transmitted through human feces. Does anyone you know come into contact with human shit on any kind of regular basis? No, because we live in a day and age where we don't have to worry about poop in our water (hopefully?).

This article does an absolutely amazing job of summing it up: http://www.doctoryourself.com/vaccination.html

Healthy people don't need vaccinations. We have an immune system for a reason. By getting vaccinations you are only polluting your body further with toxins that are causing worse diseases than the one you are trying to protect yourself from.

I was shocked to learn that multiple sclerosis is linked to mercury poisoning. They have found chelation (completely depleting your body of the heavy metals and then adding back in what you need) quite effective and some have claimed to be cured. Doctors in our country don't mention alternative therapies, instead they just give you an incredibly expenisve prescription that treat symptoms and not the cause...

I vow to always try the natural way first for whatever ailment I may encounter. I am done with chemicals that have helped me none.

Vote for a Long Healthy Life

I believe we are still a nation that is for the people, by the people. What it comes down to is consumerism. What you buy (or don't buy) is your vote. My personal vote is for things that occur naturally in our world. I vote against chemical infested food and drugs.

We all have our vices. I gave up smoking cigarettes for my New Year's resolution and it was hard but I concluded that life is too short to make it shorter. I also realized there was no point in caring about my food so much if I couldn't give up something the government actually tells us causes cancer. My next "sacrifice" will be my iphone. My husband and I are trying to keep cell phone use to a minimum. Afterall, there is mounting proof that cell phones cause cancer. In fact San Francisco is implementing a law that "requires cell phone retailers to display and distribute a state-produced fact sheet that explains radio frequency emissions from cell phones and how consumers can minimize their exposure". Of course the Big Cell Phone lobbyists are now suing the city of San Francisco. The corporations with the most money will continue to sell dangerous products. Just because it is on the shelf doesn't mean it can't hurt you. Simply we can't trust our government because of the lobbying that occurs. The fact of the matter is I love life's little pleasures but I love LIFE more.

The government tells us it's our fault for getting addicted to prescription pills (although most doctors don't even go through the list of side effects first), it's our fault for getting fat (even though they continue to sell things such as high fructose corn syrup), and it's our fault for getting sick (we all know how the health care system is in this country - expensive and ass backwards). When did we start relying on the government to point us in the right direction? We should be relying on family and friends who actually have our best interests at heart. They will continue to sell us things that make us sick as long as we keep buying them.

I especially refuse to put any of my hard earned cash into Monsanto's pockets. I don't like corporations who think they can play God, He doesn't need any help...in fact I'm pretty sure He knew what he was doing.

Chicken Sausage Pasta

Last night I made a pasta dish with homemade tomato sauce and chicken apple sausage. It turned out really yummy!

First I chopped up a huge organic tomato and warmed up some olive oil ( I accidentally picked up the wrong oil. It didn't have a USDA organic seal, so remember you have to be very careful when reading labels. The olive oil subsequentially is the only NON organic ingredient in my pasta. You of course should pick the right one.) I added roasted garlic, mini bell peppers, and a half cup of water and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I then added fresh basil and let the sauce simmer for about 20 more minutes. While the sauce was a simmerin' I started water to boil my fussili pasta in. I then chopped up the smart chicken and apple sausage. Once the water boiled I added the pasta and then started to brown my sausage in a skillet. 10 minutes later my sausage was browned to perfection and my pasta was done. I shredded a little raw sharp cheddar cheese to add on top and there you go: dinner!

Sugar is sugar - your body can't tell the difference

I try to not let myself get angry at the food industry because that would only create my own personal hell, and I in fact love my life and am grateful for everything I am and have been given. This is something that really grinds my gears though. The corn industry's commercials on how "corn sugar" is the same as cane sugar. Okay let me start off by pointing out that they are in fact talking about high fructose corn syrup. One of the main purposes of these commercials is to get Americans to accept the new name "corn sugar". The corn industry is awaiting approval from the FDA to get high fructose corn syrup off the label and corn sugar on it! I of course passionately believe that no matter the name this nasty stuff needs to be banned (following Europe's example). Of course Big Corn didn't waste any time using the new name in their advertisements. A new name for the same product simply to trick the American public into trusting it again. It turns out the cane sugar industry did not like the comparison and is now suing the corn industry. It's pretty obvious that there is a difference in the two products. One is granulated white powder and one is laboratory made sticky syrup. One comes from the Earth and one is made by scientists. On top of it all high fructose corn syrup has been associated with obesity, among other ailments. Lets face it: Americans consume more sugar than any other country in the world and we are the fattest (coincidence? I think not). I also wanted to point out that when a label says "sugar" it doesn't mean that it is pure cane sugar. It is in fact more times than not, a blend of cane sugar and genetically modified sugar beets. Yummy....not. Moral of the story? Avoid processed food. I love dessert and couldn't go without it. For me life is too short to not enjoy the pleasures in it. I simply use organic unrefined sugar and bake from scratch and it's a beautiful thing.

Our health starts with the soil up...

We live in a world today where we have to be constantly careful. Sometimes I don't know who to trust. I never questioned anything in my life as much as I have the last few months. There are moments when it really feels quite hopeless. I know though there is something more powerful than any of these corporate giants and that power is love. If you must lie, steal, cheat, or enslave people to make your money then I am not envious of you. I am starting to realize that most people only care about one thing: money. Isn't it funny how that green stuff really makes the world go round? Something that you can't even take with you to the grave, can actually take precedence over a living, breathing person's life.

Example number one: Americans are not healthy.

The US of A is home to the largest percentage of obese people. Part of the problem is the food industry's idea of "diet food" which is usually processed crap, but a larger part of the problem is that even when you do eat fruits or veggies you are getting a large dose of chemicals with it. Not only that but studies have found that organic produce is jam-packed with more nutrient dense calories than that of conventional (chemical) fruits and veggies. And yet the stuff that is worse for you is less expensive and mass-produced. Processed food is a huge problem. It's packed full of man-made laboratory experiments aka my new favorite thing to research - GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Biotechnology has taken over agriculture. Out with the farmers and in with the government telling us how to grow our food supply. Food comes from the Earth and not from a lab in my opinion but the government says it's the same and requires no labelling. Am I really to believe this? Or am I to believe the blatant evidence that the same people run the USDA, FDA, and EPA that have worked for the BIOTECH giant Monsanto. The government has their hands so deep in Monsanto's pocket that all morality has gone out the window. Other countries require the labelling of GMOs so why is America always the last to know? Kind of like how high-fructose corn syrup is banned in Europe but still as prevalent as ever in our country. Tell me another reason why this is happening besides for the plain fact that somebody got greedy?

Example 2: Medications that do more harm than good.

Why does the FDA continue to approve drugs without proper testing? It could only be one thing - you got it - MONEY. My way of thinking is that no innocent person should die so that someone else could live. Even if one little lab rat had an adverse reaction, I'd say nope not good enough yet! But for some reason there's a rush...why when most pharmaceuticals have more side effects than curing abilities? Most drugs on the market cover up a problem instead of getting to the bottom of it and fixing you inside out. It's pretty obvious to me that it starts with healthy eating, exercising, and sunshine but most doctors don't even really bring that up. I had a doc offer me Xanax when I was 20 years old when I wasn't even anxious! Lets face it, it's not hard to attain prescription pills...I have to assume that it's because the dr gets money for selling certain prescriptions. More people die from prescription drugs than illegal drugs every year and that to me is a problem. Why is it the APPROVED drugs are hurting us so much? They are also finding that antidepressants not only cause suicides but they can also cause homicidal tendencies. Isn't that the main thing you are trying to avoid when taking an antidepressant? Even worse doctors are prescribing drugs for children more and more. I believe they are making us sick so we have no choice but to buy their drugs that don't work!

These are two areas I have been doing a lot of research on and would appreciate anyone else' s feedback or opinions. I want to know what I am eating. I don't want to eat something that adequate testing has not been done on. Monsanto even says on their site "if you don't want to eat GMOs, then you need to eat USDA certified organic". Well, fine I'll do just that and I will start my own garden, too! I encourage YOU to do the same.