I am not (and never have been) a big breakfast person. Occasionally (in the past) we went out to a local place for breakfast (the sausage/egg/cheese/pancakes types of place). However, most mornings I would just eat something simple like a small bowl of cereal and have some coffee. Lately I have been eating a very small bowl of Ezekiel 4:9 whole grain cereal and still having a medium-sized cup of coffee. I usually supplement that with some form of fruit. During the day I will have a fruit for snack, and a lunch of whole-plant-based something; e..g. a veggie wrap.
I do not yet have a juicer/blender. That will be corrected soon.
I was not aware of the downside(s) to processed soy products.
well, I was using a small amount with my morning cereal. Is all soy bad, or just the milk products?
We make our own cold cereal and pour unsweetened soymilk on it to soften it up: http://beanland.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/on-our-plates/ . That's about the only soy in our diet, aside from tofu once a month or so, and it doesn't bother me.
We eat cold cereal a couple of times a week, oatmeal a couple of times, smoothie a couple of times, and once a week either whole grain pancakes or muffins. We try to have fresh fruit every non-smoothie morning as well.
We make our own cold cereal and pour unsweetened soymilk on it to soften it up: http://beanland.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/on-our-plates/ . That's about the only soy in our diet, aside from tofu once a month or so, and it doesn't bother me.
We eat cold cereal a couple of times a week, oatmeal a couple of times, smoothie a couple of times, and once a week either whole grain pancakes or muffins. We try to have fresh fruit every non-smoothie morning as well.
-Anne
The thing is that soy is just another legume not a super, can't-live-without-it health food. Ideally, people would be getting most of their calories from leafy green things, other veggies, and fruits. Soy can be a part of your diet just like other beans but the focus on tofu, soy milk, tempeh, TVP, fake burgers, fake bacon, fake turkey, etc. etc. etc. is way over the top.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
tofu, soy milk, tempeh, TVP, fake burgers, fake bacon, fake turkey, etc. etc. etc.
I was under the impression that tempeh (esp the 3-grain variety that is more commonly sold in health food stores) was a step above the other things in that list because it's just whole beans/grains slightly fermented to bind them together.
In the soybean fermentation process, end results such as miso, tempeh, natto, and soy or tamari sauce are produced by a host of beneficial yeast, mould, and bacteria. Whole-food, fermented soy powders, milks, and yogurts are also cultured with multiple species of beneficial bacteria.The many benefits of soybean fermentation include the following:
Improved digestibility. Unfermented soybeans are difficult to digest, partly due to the high amount of protein enzyme inhibitors and hard-to-digest sugar structures. During the fermentation process, the enzymes produced by the beneficial bacteria and other microbes break down, or predigest, the specific complex carbohydrates (sugars) found in soy and most other legumes. This process also renders the proteins more digestible and easier to assimilate than those
in the whole soybean. For those with a compromised digestive system or difficulty digesting protein, this is especially helpful.
Enhanced nutrition. Soy fermentation converts minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, copper, and zinc into more soluble forms and can also increase vitamin levels in the final product. Some beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are able to concentrate large quantities of thiamin, nicotinic acid, and biotin, thus forming an enriched product.
Medicinal benefits. Substances in fermented soy foods have been found to alleviate the severity of hot flushes, to have a protective effect against the development of cancer, to cause a reduction in cholesterol, and to inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis. The probiotic bacteria produced during soy fermentation are known to enhance healthy intestinal flora and correct digestive tract imbalances.
Increased bioavailability of isoflavones. Isoflavones (phytoestrogens naturally occurring in soy) are converted by the bacteria into their “free” or aglycone forms for improved absorption and more effective usage within the body.
I was under the impression that tempeh (esp the 3-grain variety that is more commonly sold in health food stores) was a step above the other things in that list because it's just whole beans/grains slightly fermented to bind them together.
Kind of like kombucha?
Yes, it's better; however, soy's still just a legume no matter how it's processed.
Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance.
The thing is that soy is just another legume not a super, can't-live-without-it health food. Ideally, people would be getting most of their calories from leafy green things, other veggies, and fruits. Soy can be a part of your diet just like other beans but the focus on tofu, soy milk, tempeh, TVP, fake burgers, fake bacon, fake turkey, etc. etc. etc. is way over the top.
I am not even getting that close. The most I have had is the soy milk in the morning. Today, in fact, I had my first edemama pod (while eating the vegie bento at Teaism). I had one, and only one. Does not do a thing for me. Bland. Not worth the effort. I didn't even eat but one small bite of the tofu/miso side. I was too full from the grilled vegies.
I ended up returning my first Vita-Mix, mainly because it was a huge kit from Costco with too much stuff. I have been Vita-Mix free for a few weeks, but this week I went and purchased one locally. The professional series. It comes with a very nice cookbook from the Culinary Institute of America, but I would still like to spend some time with the Vita-Mix cookbook, if anyone has one they might be willing to lend.
So this week has been getting back up to speed, mostly smoothies, but tonight I realized I was out of pasta sauce, so off to the cupboards to see what I can whip up. I have to admit I did very well with my first attempt. The only thing I would do differently would be to use about 1/2 the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes and bottle some extra for leftovers.
Here is what I used, simple, quick, no added sugar and tastes great.
medium onion
garlic
red pepper
lightly sauteed these with a little oil
1 can diced tomatoes (next time use 1/2 the liquid)
tomato paste
fresh tomatoes
green onion
oregano
basil
black pepper
small pinch of salt
red pepper
blend smooth
add
black olives
mushrooms
sauteed items
blend, but leave chunky
So this week has been getting back up to speed, mostly smoothies, but tonight I realized I was out of pasta sauce, so off to the cupboards to see what I can whip up. I have to admit I did very well with my first attempt.
.
.
.
heat and add to whole wheat pasta. :eat
Confused about statins and cholesterol level
Man, can it be confusing to figure out what is and isn't true in the world of health. I am currently very confused about the health benefits of statins to lower your cholesterol when your cholesterol level is moderate (~180).
A number of years ago, I had a total cholesterol level of 250. With very rigorous exercise (running 8 miles a day) and cutting almost all fat out of my diet, I dropped that to 180 without any medication. Well, neither the extreme amount of exercise or the strict diet were maintainable for me beyond a couple years so my cholesterol went back up and my doctor prescribed a pretty low dose of Lipitor. I was lucky to get a good result from the low dose have no noticable side effects, confirmed by regular blood tests and my cholesterol level stayed around 180 on the Lipitor, even when I wasn't eating that well or exercising much.
Then, along came my switch to a Vegan diet 1-1/2 years ago. With that I lost 30 pounds and my cholesterol (still on the Lipitor) dropped to 152. Knowing that a cholesterol level at or below 150 is believed to almost eliminate your chances of heart disease due to plaque build-up, I was glad to see that low a level.
Now the question is whether I should stay on the Lipitor or not? There seem to now be two camps of beliefs. One says that getting your cholesterol down to 150 is an admirable goal and some people (even some doctors) take statins to reduce their level from 180 to 150. The other camp says that statin's benefit in reducing mortality or improving quality of life for people that don't have heart disease is completely unproven and they can have some negative side effects - perhaps even adding to certain kinds of cancer risks.
So, I'm looking for the best scientific information I can find on whether it's advisable for someone with a modest cholesterol level (say 170 to 180) to use statins to reduce their level to 150? Any good sources of information? There is so much on the web about cholesterol and statins that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack to find good, recent scientific reports on this subject using Google.
Since I haven't been off the statins since I've been on the vegan diet, I don't actually know what my cholesterol level would be without the statins today. The last time I watched my diet strictly and did a lot of exercise without the statins (more than 10 years ago), I could get it down to 180. So, I'm working on an assumption that it would again be in that neighborhood. Perhaps it wold even be a little higher than that today since I don't currently get near as much exercise as I did back then.
Any helpful scientific articles you can point me to would be much appreciated. I'm looking for articles with real scientific evidence in them.
From the article:
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]More than 10 years ago, Blankenhorn and colleagues showed that coronary artery disease can be halted or reversed by lowering lipid levels with medication. 8 More recently, Dean Ornish and other investigators confirmed the benefits of a low-cholesterol diet. Their results showed that patients derived the most benefit if lipids are lowered by diet combined with medical therapy, rather than by diet alone or by modest diet changes combined with medication. 9-11"
From the article:
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]More than 10 years ago, Blankenhorn and colleagues showed that coronary artery disease can be halted or reversed by lowering lipid levels with medication. 8 More recently, Dean Ornish and other investigators confirmed the benefits of a low-cholesterol diet. Their results showed that patients derived the most benefit if lipids are lowered by diet combined with medical therapy, rather than by diet alone or by modest diet changes combined with medication. 9-11"
-Anne [/FONT]
Thanks Anne. This is a great start and is what I have been led to believe over the last few years. I'll check out all the scientific references in the article too and see if they help further.
I saw the segment on TV. When you are young and get as much exercise as he does, you can probably get away with that kind of diet.
I was a bit surprised the story was presented this way because I know that many world class swimmers work very closely with dieticians to make sure they are getting the nutrients that will maximize their performance. The Stanford collegiate swimming program in the 90's credits some of their success to their research and programs for using healthy eating to maximize swimming performance. I believe that's where the (somewhat dated now) zone diet originally came from.
Shoulder Saga: Well, I've seen a physician, a physiotherapist, an acupuncturist and had an MRI. The acupuncture worked an absolute miracle. It feels like she has slowly untied a great big tangle of knots through my shoulders, arms and back.
The MRI shows that no muscles are torn but that my humerus is slightly out of line (mildly dislocated), and thus causing pinching and irritation of nerves and muscles with some motions.
So next step is a different physio, to try and realign the joint into proper position!
I feel much, much better overall and now the pain is specific to one location with certain movement.
Now it is time to get back into proper eating habits!
Mmmmmmmuffins
I just had to post this tweaked muffin recipe because it came out so gosh darned good. This was a variation of Anne's wonderfully versatile berry bran muffin recipe, which BTW is so great I think it needs to be in every baker's basic cookbook.
I had somehow ended up with a bunch of whole wheat pastry flour so I substituted half of the whole wheat flour in the recipe with it. Since pastry flour typically results in a softer, more tender cake, it worked magic on these. The result is so moist and deelish I would never have guessed that these were 100% free of dairy and oil.
Wet:
1/2 cup oat bran, mixed with -
1 cup water with 2 TB almond butter stirred in
3 smooshed bananas
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup really chunky applesauce (this stuff is practically just chopped, cooked apples)
3 TB water mixed with 1 TB flax meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 TB flax meal
1.25 tsp baking soda
1.25 tsp baking powder
large pinch salt
1.5 TB ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup (1 really big handful) dried currants
Added dry to wet and fold in, baked for 23 minutes at 375 degrees.
It's so difficult to not eat the whole batch in one sitting... :uhoh
Thanks! Me too. And I have seen an odd, positive and unexpected result of feeling better.
I have really only been starting to do a better job with food the last week or so, and still am not anywhere near 100% ETL or vegan.
I have been completely free of anti-inflammatories and other painkillers since seeing the acupuncturist.
My weight today, after work, is 2 lb lower than it ever was when I was having success with pseudo veganism. So all of the weight that I had put back plus another couple pounds, are gone.
I heard a news clip that said that stress can significantly add to belly fat, and I suspect this to be true based on my experience.
Furthermore, the physiotherapist I saw today thinks that I have late stage frozen shoulder. What doesn't fit is that I never lost full mobility, and that I am recovering far quicker than average. Perhaps more kudos to my pseudo ETL eating habits
Anyway, today I was able to extend both arms well beyond anything that I've been able to do for the last 6 or more months, and I am thrilled with the recent weight loss too!
Life in general
How does life get so complicated, and does it have to be this way?
I so want to eat healthy, and my diet it typically better than most. I have been basically vegetarian for more than 10 years now, because I can't stand the thought of eating animals. I do eat fish and sefood occasionally, but I could easily drop that. I started a small garden this year and am now collecting some wonderful fresh vegetables and hopefully my fruits will come in well next year. I mill my own flour. I buy organic whenever I can, including milk and meat for my husband and kids.
I'll never get my husband to go vegetarian, or stop him from eating out, but I do what I can.
My issues right now are this. Time. Time to mill the flour and bake the bread. Time to take the veggies and other whole foods and make something tasty and nutritious. Time to homeschool my kids. Time to pay the bills, take care of my cats, dog, horses and chickens (which I have for pets and eggs). It all sounds simple, but there are scary stats everywhere. Women who stay at home are 50% more likely to get cancer, due to exposure of all the cleaning materials. WOW. Switch to more natural products. Hormones and antibiotics, insecticides, etc in the meat, dairy and vegetables. Switch to organic. Overprocessed foods, switch to whole foods. Pastuerized/homogenized milk is more likely to make you sick than raw milk. Try to find a source for raw milk and think about buying a milking cow (seriously). Start reading this thread and apparently dairy isn't good for you. Question the meaning of life. More trips to the grocery store, more time cooking and baking, more time cleaning (let's face it, Clorox wipes are super fast and efficient). Read reports on this, books on that. Oh, and how clutter adds stress. My whole house is cluttered and it drives me insane. Am I rambling? I'm sure I am. I turn away from the mess, decisions, chores, work, and kids and hide in my computer where I can ignore it all for a while. Not healthy at all.
So...anyone else go through this? Wondering how so much of this country, at least, is bent on finding more time to fit in more stuff, so we buy things to save us time: convenience foods, convenience cleaning products, convenience drinks, drive thru this and that, online ordering. What am I saving time for?
I think I'm going to grab a box of trash bags and go from one end of this house to the other. Get rid of the crap. Find the things that we really have to have, and try to find a healthier, more fulfilling way to live. Which, I pray, will include what goes on in my mind, as well as into my body.
Sorry for the novel. Just needed a place to unload.
Life gets complicated because we let it get that way. For all the reasons you have, there are many, many other issues we all face. Getting up to commute to work, travelling away from home on a job assignment, quick foods to to make up for lost time, finding the time to relax/vacation, planning that vacation, sitting in traffic, etc., etc., etc.
Your idea of "cleaning up" is something I have been looking at/slowly doing. Getting rid of clutter helps a lot. You feel better when you can move around in your own house/apartment.
As for you Emily: what about getting rid of the horses, chickens dogs and cats (o.k. keep one dog)? Stop all of the baking for a while. Free up the time for you. I know that is extreme, but maybe it would do you good to get completely out of the hold that life has on you and restart? Something to consider at least.
BTW, good work up there at the contest stuff. I don't participate for my own reasons, but I think what you are doing is marvelous.
Comments
Sounds good!
Blender = Vitamix
Juicer = Breville
re: soy. Not everyone is on board with my negativity. Most forms of it are highly processed, though.
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Just kidding.
Vitamix is on my list to get. I, for some reason, thought it was a juicer too.
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
We make our own cold cereal and pour unsweetened soymilk on it to soften it up: http://beanland.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/on-our-plates/ . That's about the only soy in our diet, aside from tofu once a month or so, and it doesn't bother me.
We eat cold cereal a couple of times a week, oatmeal a couple of times, smoothie a couple of times, and once a week either whole grain pancakes or muffins. We try to have fresh fruit every non-smoothie morning as well.
-Anne
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
I was under the impression that tempeh (esp the 3-grain variety that is more commonly sold in health food stores) was a step above the other things in that list because it's just whole beans/grains slightly fermented to bind them together.
Kind of like kombucha?
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
From alive.com
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
Heading out the door for Sunday Brunch.
In case you're too lazy to navigate to the brunch menu:
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
http://photos.mikelanestudios.com/
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
I agree, I don't go ga-ga over soy - I was just defending tempeh from being lumped in with the other health-food evils.
(It's pretty good stuff, and the only source of millet in my diet at this point)
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/eek7.gif" border="0" alt="" >
I'm at a loss for words.
I can't believe he put his shoes on the table!
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
www.ivarborst.nl & smugmug
So this week has been getting back up to speed, mostly smoothies, but tonight I realized I was out of pasta sauce, so off to the cupboards to see what I can whip up. I have to admit I did very well with my first attempt. The only thing I would do differently would be to use about 1/2 the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes and bottle some extra for leftovers.
Here is what I used, simple, quick, no added sugar and tastes great.
medium onion
garlic
red pepper
lightly sauteed these with a little oil
1 can diced tomatoes (next time use 1/2 the liquid)
tomato paste
fresh tomatoes
green onion
oregano
basil
black pepper
small pinch of salt
red pepper
blend smooth
add
black olives
mushrooms
sauteed items
blend, but leave chunky
heat and add to whole wheat pasta. :eat
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
Man, can it be confusing to figure out what is and isn't true in the world of health. I am currently very confused about the health benefits of statins to lower your cholesterol when your cholesterol level is moderate (~180).
A number of years ago, I had a total cholesterol level of 250. With very rigorous exercise (running 8 miles a day) and cutting almost all fat out of my diet, I dropped that to 180 without any medication. Well, neither the extreme amount of exercise or the strict diet were maintainable for me beyond a couple years so my cholesterol went back up and my doctor prescribed a pretty low dose of Lipitor. I was lucky to get a good result from the low dose have no noticable side effects, confirmed by regular blood tests and my cholesterol level stayed around 180 on the Lipitor, even when I wasn't eating that well or exercising much.
Then, along came my switch to a Vegan diet 1-1/2 years ago. With that I lost 30 pounds and my cholesterol (still on the Lipitor) dropped to 152. Knowing that a cholesterol level at or below 150 is believed to almost eliminate your chances of heart disease due to plaque build-up, I was glad to see that low a level.
Now the question is whether I should stay on the Lipitor or not? There seem to now be two camps of beliefs. One says that getting your cholesterol down to 150 is an admirable goal and some people (even some doctors) take statins to reduce their level from 180 to 150. The other camp says that statin's benefit in reducing mortality or improving quality of life for people that don't have heart disease is completely unproven and they can have some negative side effects - perhaps even adding to certain kinds of cancer risks.
So, I'm looking for the best scientific information I can find on whether it's advisable for someone with a modest cholesterol level (say 170 to 180) to use statins to reduce their level to 150? Any good sources of information? There is so much on the web about cholesterol and statins that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack to find good, recent scientific reports on this subject using Google.
Since I haven't been off the statins since I've been on the vegan diet, I don't actually know what my cholesterol level would be without the statins today. The last time I watched my diet strictly and did a lot of exercise without the statins (more than 10 years ago), I could get it down to 180. So, I'm working on an assumption that it would again be in that neighborhood. Perhaps it wold even be a little higher than that today since I don't currently get near as much exercise as I did back then.
Any helpful scientific articles you can point me to would be much appreciated. I'm looking for articles with real scientific evidence in them.
Homepage • Popular
JFriend's javascript customizations • Secrets for getting fast answers on Dgrin
Always include a link to your site when posting a question
Just found this so I haven't read the articles yet, but you might start here:
http://www.heartattackproof.com/moderation_kills.htm particularly references 8-11.
From the article:
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]More than 10 years ago, Blankenhorn and colleagues showed that coronary artery disease can be halted or reversed by lowering lipid levels with medication. 8 More recently, Dean Ornish and other investigators confirmed the benefits of a low-cholesterol diet. Their results showed that patients derived the most benefit if lipids are lowered by diet combined with medical therapy, rather than by diet alone or by modest diet changes combined with medication. 9-11"
-Anne
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
Thanks Anne. This is a great start and is what I have been led to believe over the last few years. I'll check out all the scientific references in the article too and see if they help further.
Homepage • Popular
JFriend's javascript customizations • Secrets for getting fast answers on Dgrin
Always include a link to your site when posting a question
12,000 calories a day :yikes and not a lot of fruits and veggies.
take a look at a typical day here.
Yowza. How does all that food even fit inside one person?
I saw the segment on TV. When you are young and get as much exercise as he does, you can probably get away with that kind of diet.
I was a bit surprised the story was presented this way because I know that many world class swimmers work very closely with dieticians to make sure they are getting the nutrients that will maximize their performance. The Stanford collegiate swimming program in the 90's credits some of their success to their research and programs for using healthy eating to maximize swimming performance. I believe that's where the (somewhat dated now) zone diet originally came from.
Homepage • Popular
JFriend's javascript customizations • Secrets for getting fast answers on Dgrin
Always include a link to your site when posting a question
The MRI shows that no muscles are torn but that my humerus is slightly out of line (mildly dislocated), and thus causing pinching and irritation of nerves and muscles with some motions.
So next step is a different physio, to try and realign the joint into proper position!
I feel much, much better overall and now the pain is specific to one location with certain movement.
Now it is time to get back into proper eating habits!
Wish me luck!
ann
My Galleries My Photography BLOG
Ramblings About Me
I just had to post this tweaked muffin recipe because it came out so gosh darned good. This was a variation of Anne's wonderfully versatile berry bran muffin recipe, which BTW is so great I think it needs to be in every baker's basic cookbook.
I had somehow ended up with a bunch of whole wheat pastry flour so I substituted half of the whole wheat flour in the recipe with it. Since pastry flour typically results in a softer, more tender cake, it worked magic on these. The result is so moist and deelish I would never have guessed that these were 100% free of dairy and oil.
Wet:
1/2 cup oat bran, mixed with -
1 cup water with 2 TB almond butter stirred in
3 smooshed bananas
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup really chunky applesauce (this stuff is practically just chopped, cooked apples)
3 TB water mixed with 1 TB flax meal
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 TB flax meal
1.25 tsp baking soda
1.25 tsp baking powder
large pinch salt
1.5 TB ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup (1 really big handful) dried currants
Added dry to wet and fold in, baked for 23 minutes at 375 degrees.
It's so difficult to not eat the whole batch in one sitting... :uhoh
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Thanks! Me too. And I have seen an odd, positive and unexpected result of feeling better.
I have really only been starting to do a better job with food the last week or so, and still am not anywhere near 100% ETL or vegan.
I have been completely free of anti-inflammatories and other painkillers since seeing the acupuncturist.
My weight today, after work, is 2 lb lower than it ever was when I was having success with pseudo veganism. So all of the weight that I had put back plus another couple pounds, are gone.
I heard a news clip that said that stress can significantly add to belly fat, and I suspect this to be true based on my experience.
Furthermore, the physiotherapist I saw today thinks that I have late stage frozen shoulder. What doesn't fit is that I never lost full mobility, and that I am recovering far quicker than average. Perhaps more kudos to my pseudo ETL eating habits
Anyway, today I was able to extend both arms well beyond anything that I've been able to do for the last 6 or more months, and I am thrilled with the recent weight loss too!
My Galleries My Photography BLOG
Ramblings About Me
How does life get so complicated, and does it have to be this way?
I so want to eat healthy, and my diet it typically better than most. I have been basically vegetarian for more than 10 years now, because I can't stand the thought of eating animals. I do eat fish and sefood occasionally, but I could easily drop that. I started a small garden this year and am now collecting some wonderful fresh vegetables and hopefully my fruits will come in well next year. I mill my own flour. I buy organic whenever I can, including milk and meat for my husband and kids.
I'll never get my husband to go vegetarian, or stop him from eating out, but I do what I can.
My issues right now are this. Time. Time to mill the flour and bake the bread. Time to take the veggies and other whole foods and make something tasty and nutritious. Time to homeschool my kids. Time to pay the bills, take care of my cats, dog, horses and chickens (which I have for pets and eggs). It all sounds simple, but there are scary stats everywhere. Women who stay at home are 50% more likely to get cancer, due to exposure of all the cleaning materials. WOW. Switch to more natural products. Hormones and antibiotics, insecticides, etc in the meat, dairy and vegetables. Switch to organic. Overprocessed foods, switch to whole foods. Pastuerized/homogenized milk is more likely to make you sick than raw milk. Try to find a source for raw milk and think about buying a milking cow (seriously). Start reading this thread and apparently dairy isn't good for you. Question the meaning of life.
So...anyone else go through this? Wondering how so much of this country, at least, is bent on finding more time to fit in more stuff, so we buy things to save us time: convenience foods, convenience cleaning products, convenience drinks, drive thru this and that, online ordering. What am I saving time for?
I think I'm going to grab a box of trash bags and go from one end of this house to the other. Get rid of the crap. Find the things that we really have to have, and try to find a healthier, more fulfilling way to live. Which, I pray, will include what goes on in my mind, as well as into my body.
Sorry for the novel. Just needed a place to unload.
Your idea of "cleaning up" is something I have been looking at/slowly doing. Getting rid of clutter helps a lot. You feel better when you can move around in your own house/apartment.
As for you Emily: what about getting rid of the horses, chickens dogs and cats (o.k. keep one dog)? Stop all of the baking for a while. Free up the time for you. I know that is extreme, but maybe it would do you good to get completely out of the hold that life has on you and restart? Something to consider at least.
BTW, good work up there at the contest stuff. I don't participate for my own reasons, but I think what you are doing is marvelous.
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy