Foodgnosis

Money Walks and Talks, No Chickens Say So

2009-08-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Fallacy: Meats at Whole Foods or other similar markets cost more. Truth: Not if you shop it right.
This is not a plug for Whole Foods Market, but I have been buying my meats at Whole Foods for years and people tell me that they don't because it is too expensive. I do not agree because I always buy what is on sale or go to their store location where the economy/family packs are available. When I do so, I don't have to wait for a sale but buy in bulk packs of 3lbs or more and get the reduction on the price per pound by 30 cents or even more.
If you want to know why you should buy chicken there, simply visit online video sites such as Google Videos or You Tube and see how non-organic fed and factory farmed (soon-to-be supermarket) chickens are raised and treated. This will help you decide if you still want to support that industry. Chickens are the least protected livestock, for some strange reason, and since there are no laws, regulations etc. to enforce, they are grossly taken advantage of. Feed your family or yourself healthy poultry. How? You might begin by looking at the price of chicken regular retail in your supermarket and comparing it to Whole Foods Market (or a similar market's) at a reduced price or in a family value bulk pack. Can you see that there's not much difference? You also will see, when you get home, a huge difference in the quality. Buy some chicken from the conventional supermarket and boil it (for example to make chicken salad) and get a good whiff of the steam as it is cooking. Next, buy a Whole Foods (or similar strict guidelines non-factory-farmed organic meat market) bird and do the same, notice the aroma, notice the difference. Decide now where your dollar will go. Remember, "where the money goes so goes the supermarkets" and you may even, in the process of deciding, make some poor chickens really happy birds. I have included a video link, not to some horrible graphics of abused chickens but of rescued birds behaving normally in good free range conditions. They are eating grass, lettuce, cabbage and interacting peaceably as they should when put in normal outdoor conditions. This is the way their lives should be, before we even think about them becoming our food. You have heard that "you are what you eat". To view video: click here for Rescued Cage Free Birds And, for an very very short film without any narration to see a marginal show of abuse side by side with the beauty of normal birds (and with musical score) see video: click here for PART ONE and for a new narrated video: click here for the NEW ENGLAND - USA area (newly added).
Please ask yourself, "How much money am I saving by buying caged factory-farmed chickens?" You decide what is on your plate by deciding where your dollar goes, we have the power to end all abuse. Remembering that: "we are what we eat", let's all get "unconventional" about what we allow be set before us in our markets and make changes for the better. Things can change, your very dollar will determine the future food, our very vital corporate health, and the kind treatment of God's helpless creatures, chickens and baby chicks.

No Moot Just a Hoot for Mousse

2009-08-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Why is it amazing? You will get a hoot watching this couple present a video recipe for the most amazing chocolate mousse you will ever make in the blink of an eye. Now about the amazing part, here is why. When you have a teenager in the home, and you are a health food nut, he or she will become very suspicious of you when you are in the kitchen. After all, if it does not look and feel like ordinary junk foods, or at least what they are accustomed to seeing as daily food fare in typical restaurants and markets, their eyebrows will rise and "no thanks" will be the response that you surely will get. Well I can promise you raised eyebrows but not from your teenager but from an amorous couple that make this presentation. The mousse is made using chocolate powder, I would stick to raw cacao powder for the max nutritional value, and to keep your blood sugar from spiking use raw dark agave (or yacon syrup) for a sweetener, I did and it was awesome. Of course, if you add the dairy whipped topping, you might consider using conventional powdered cocoa, as dairy will block the avalanche of health benefits found in powdered raw chocolate; cacao. I filled some funky wine glasses with the mousse and made 4 servings. Depending on how large the avacados and goblets the serving size can vary from 4 to 6 servings. Now if you are raw vegan, then you will surely say that I cheated by whipping up some fresh organic whipping cream with some added vanilla extract sweetened with again, agave as a topping. If you really whip your cream to the firmest consistency, but not dry, it will hold in your fridge for a day or two. Now back to my teenager, he thanked me and said he liked it, he NEVER knew that it came from the world of raw foods --(yes!). So enjoy! Recipe is simple, see the video at http://www.icyou.com/topics/nutrition/healthy-raw-chocolate-mousse-recipe+

To Wine or Not to Wine - "Sulfites Added"!

2009-07-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

Recently my friend Bev and I were discussing the benefits of wine, how it's fermentation makes it a low glycemic beverage. "But have you ever read the fine print on a wine bottle?" pointing to the label she read, "Sulfites Added", and asked wide-eyed, "What's that?" "I don't know, I will have to look that up." was my response. It usually says somewhere in tiny print on most wine bottles, "Sulfites Added". So just what are these "sulfites"? Another health threat? Well, not really. Like peanuts are a threat only to some, it's the same with sulfites. They are natural substances "found on grapes, onions, garlic, and on many other growing plants, and no wine can be 'sulfite free'." Apricots are naturally high in sulfites, 2 ounces contain about ten times as much as wine, so they are a type of "allergy test" for those predisposed. Throughout history man has added sulfurs or sulfites to wine or wine barrels to prevent dangerous organisms from growing in the wine. Without adding these, your wine will last at best 18 months and that includes bottling, store shelf and your shelf life at home. If you do have an allergy and need a "sulfite free" wine, they are available according to the article referenced. The article enntitled Sulfites and Wine can be found at Wine Intro.com and states "How Free is Sulfite Free?

The ATF, the governing body for wineries in the US, allows wineries to call a wine sulfite free when the levels of sulfites are under 10 parts per million (ppm). This is much lower than many sulfite-rich foods like dried apricots."

So click on Sulfites and Wine to get the details, and, unless you are allergic, enjoy your next glass of wine!

The New "Organic" at Whole Foods Market and Just What is GMO Anyhow?

2009-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Whole Foods Market "Organic Non-GMO" label just kicked it up a notch by submitting to stricter testing! Yeah! "Organic" just got a "whole" lot better, if you pardon the pun. We all knew that a tough economy would produce some wonderful effects in products and services through the wonder of via competition in the various retail markets. We see it here at Whole Foods, still my favorite, most balanced and varied a market for "real" food. While, like any market it does have it's problems (for example: that it leans to cater more to the gourmet than the hard core health nut at times, but as weak human beings no one is complaining as we walk past some flash-in-the-pan products), these recent stricter guidelines will make their "organic" just the right flavor of desirable than the competition's: the "supermarket organic" that we all know is a corrupted organic . So what is "GMO"? I hunted down the best Google link that I could find for you, go here to see why your organic should be non-GMO and why you should avoid genetically modified organisms! For the full story click here.

Busted for Chocolate

2009-07-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

ARRESTED, that's right, for carrying chocolate in it's raw form, for carrying Dr. Bonner's peppermint soap, and even tea tree oil in your suitcase at the airport or anywhere that they are using NIK test kits designed to detect illegal substances. That is correct, people are in jail for these tests that are giving incorrect results or for those who can afford the court costs in the thousands, are exonerated. This is a must read. From the article, "The story starts in August 2008, when the two raw foodists were stopped at Pearson Airport carrying their own brand of organic chocolate made of unrefined cacao, maca root, hemp seeds and goji berries. When Canadian Border Services applied a NIK test, their sweet treat registered positive for hash, and Obadia was told he would be charged at a future court appearance." Catch more at: BUSTED FOR CHOCOLATE

Grocery Store Wars

2009-06-27T22:03:00.001-07:00

A great short feature film that is a must see (only a few minutes that will make you smile, promise) click here to see: Grocery Store Wars

Fresh from the Farm Milk?

2009-06-27T21:22:00.001-07:00

I should have pictures of a farm and cows but there was a torrential rainstorm and we had to run into the barn in a flash, and without camera. It was open house at "Founded in 1800, Oake Knoll Ayrshires At Lawton's Family Farm, a 15 acre farm run by Terri Lawton". We met Terri's mom and went through a short orientation to the raw milk world by asking questions. We enjoyed sampling the fresh made cheeses made right there. The chive flavor was yummy. We had our first taste of raw milk, it's great, tastes like ordinary milk, just more flavorful. Next time I go I promise to have photos for you, this time you'll have to suffice with my storytelling. For more info on raw milk benefits see RAW MILK FAQ.

David Wolfe's Cacao Dessert

2009-06-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

Why not begin with a recipe from David Wolfe's "Naked Chocolate", the raw food cacao bible. Some of his recipes were featured on Beliefnet from the book, which is not primarily a recipe book, but a textbook of sorts with oodles of history on the bean itself throughout the ages.

Dark Chocolate Sauce
4 heaped tablespoons of cacao powder
3 tablespoons of agave nectar
1 teaspoon of coconut oil

Mix all the ingredients together to form a paste. If you need it runnier, add more agave. If you need it a touch creamier, add some more coconut oil.