Dr. Lucy's Treats

Check out Dr. Lucy's "treats" from her dedicated bakery.  Tried the chocolate chip cookies and I'm spreading the word: delicious and vegan!  Who would think those two words could go together.

Perfect timing to talk about gluten free as the next episode is "in the can": SuperMom 101 Show: Epsiode 3 (please be patient - takes a few seconds to load the video).

Here's a link to the full line of Dr Lucy's Treats

Who is Lucy?

When Dr. Lucy Gibney discovered her child had severe food allergies, she got down to some serious medical research—in the kitchen. What began as a mother’s tasty recipe for her child has today developed into a delicious alternative for people with or without special dietary considerations.
Lucy's cookies and cakes are gluten free and made without milk, eggs, peanuts or tree nuts, but you'd never know it—they’re scrumptious. We employ the very best allergen control methods to help safeguard you and your family.

Best health always!

Fast and easy: Split Pea and Ham Soup - what to do with the leftover ham hock

Quick and Easy recipe that keeps the kitchen warm and smells great cooking  on a snowy New England morning.  (And it's bitter cold - so cold in fact that the pipes froze in the downstairs bathroom.)

1 (24oz) bag of organic split green peas. rinsed

1 hearty ham bone or 3 cups diced ham

1 chopped onion

3 ribs celery with leaves - chopped

3 garlic gloves, minced

2 cups sliced carrots

9 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

Layer ingredients in dutch oven in the order given above, adding the broth last.  Do not stir.  Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours at 300 degrees or lower for 8-10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off the bone.

Split Pea with Ham Hock before the Broth was added -
split peas are on the very bottom of the dutch oven

Grain Brain - The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain's Silent Killer

by David Perlmutter, MD a board-certified neurologist.

 Excited to read and a tad anxious as well. I'm certain that once I finish the last chapter, I will never look at "what's on my plate" the same way again.

Food Inc. Chicken Farmer…five years later

Excerpts from "Take Part" post: "Food Inc" Chicken Farmer Goes Rogue - Says Goodbye to Factory Farming

Carole Morison (Chicken Farmer featured in Movie): Becoming disgusted with the conditions on the farm and the pressures from Perdue was a gradual buildup of things until the final questioning of myself: “How did I get like this?” 

Carole Morison: Perdue showed up on the farm when the Food, Inc. film crew was here. When the company finally figured out who was visiting, we received a letter threatening contract termination for “violating bio-security.” 

Congratulations to Carole Morison!

My husband and I saw Food Inc. in the theatre when it was first released, and I was so sad that there was only (maybe) eight of us.  When we walked out - I was so bummed out - and my husband said, "this movie is great. You know how long it takes to turn a big ship - it's turning and this movie is helping to turn it."

Here we are five years later - Congratulations Carole! And, thank you to all those that shared their stories and created Food Inc.- our teenagers watch the movie in their high school science classes. Imagine, food has become science. Meanwhile, America has never been fatter or sicker and strangely we can't seem to figure out why.

Best health to all and thanks again Food Inc. for changing the world one plate at a time.

Thanks Giving

For the abundance of God's Blessings today and always…

Friend made above centerpiece -
My sister suggested the stems with seeds to feed the birds

And may our hearts not be too heavy as we give thanks where there is an empty seat at the table.

p.s. My sister suggested I take the long thingy sticks - how's that for not knowing what they are called - and place in my garden for the birds since they had seeds on them - it worked!

9 health risks hiding in your Thanksgiving dinner

9 health risks hiding in your Thanksgiving dinner

Warning:  this post can be depressing.  Try and focus on the "Quality" of your food and not the "quantity" and your waste line will be thankful too.

The health benefits of tree nuts*

During a 30-year Harvard study, regular nut eaters were less likely to die of cancer or heart disease.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/20/3767370/eating-nuts-is-tied-to-lower-risk.html#storylink=cpy

New England Journal of Medicine - Quick Video - Study Overview

*p.s. A peanut is a legume and not a tree nut.

Fooducate:9 Tips for Healthy and AFFORDABLE Grocery Shopping

Terrific post: Fooducate: 9 Tips for Healthy and AFFORDABLE Grocery Shopping

Posted comment:

Great tips!  I'd also suggest to be sure to read your labels to keep out the "cheap" ingredients  (high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils) from your shopping carts.    If I can't make it in my kitchen, find it in my cabinet, or pronounce one of the ingredients - it doesn't go in my cart.  

Love the idea about trying one new produce per week.  True story:  last night I made brussels sprouts - haven't had them in years.  They were frozen so I gently thawed and threw in the oven with a tad of olive oil to finish cooking.  As I was eating them, our fourteen year old kept asking me what they were and the first two times I pretended not to hear.  When I offered him one - he must of had 10.   Looks like I'll be making brussels sprouts again soon.

Best health to all...

Huh? New cholesterol treatment guidelines could double number of Americans taking statins

A "real" apple a day helps keeps the doctor away. - Ben Franklin

Daily Dose at www.boston.com

Comment posted 11/14/2013:

Ask any cardiologist about the correlation between what's on your plate and heart disease.  Strange, the article only mentions "may not eat as well" in the very last sentence.  Plus, how come no mention of the horrific side effects some may experience when taking a statin, i.e. Parkinson's like symptoms.

Meanwhile, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration - notice it's not the U.S.D.A. - because it is manufactured in a laboratory - not grown in a field) cautions against trans fats (a.k.a. partially hydrogenated oil).   No wonder America (and her children) have never been fatter, sicker or more malnourished.  We're consuming highly processed, chemically engineered, genetically modified, steroid injected, antibiotic feed, artificially colored and flavored, fake food.  

After I had cancer 12 years ago at the age of 38 I shop for only "real" food - that is I can pronounce everything on the label and make it in my kitchen.  Can't do that with hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup and just got back my cholesterol levels - yep - they're a-o-k.
Best health to all....

p.s. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. - Ben Franklin

Trans Fats (aka partially hydrogenated oils) and a world of health problems

Please don't let the food industry convince you that taking away trans fats (aka partially hydrogenated oils) is taking away your right to eat a fake, chemically engineered food product that leads to a host of health problems.  Ask your local heart doctor (American Heart Association) what foods she suggests you stop eating after a heart attack.

Keep reading the labels - on everything!

This is great news:  Here are a few resources that will hopefully enlighten your world and have you reading labels more diligently:

Even the city of Boston realizes the HUGE health risks

Harvard School of Public Health

22 Worst Foods for Trans Fats