Flying Dragon Wellness ~~~~Nourish Your Inner Fire

Triple F

2012-01-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

fun flirty fabulous-that’s you baby
but triple F might be stuck in the muck that's called life.
Down in the douldrums under all the laundry to be done and the bathrooms to be cleaned
leave it all behind, baby, and take some time for you.
Climb to the top of the laundry pile and jump off, free as a bird, and close to the floor, so no pain on landing
that is, if you want to land
or should we soar like the birds, transmute into our dragonfly souls, wandering, enticing, mesmerizing…
it is you.
come out wherever you are.

The Guest House

2011-08-01T14:46:00.002-04:00

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

Beautiful Acroyoga-watch out SYTYCD!

2011-07-27T09:12:00.002-04:00

Give Love

2011-07-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

MC Yogi - Give Love (Giving4Living Mix) from MC Yogi on Vimeo.

True Success

2011-01-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

The spiritual secret is this: What you seek, you already are. True success is discovering your inner divinity-its the ability to love and have compassion, trust your intuition, and awaken to your unlimited creative nature- Deepak Chopra

Every day I am working to be truly successful...

Great Tips on creating a healthy and environmentally friendly kitchen this holiday season!

2010-11-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

To check out Jane's Holiday Kitchen Tips: to:
Choose food low in added chemicals and pollutants.

Use non-toxic cookware.

Store and reheat leftovers safely.

visit:
http://ewg.org/healthyhometips/JanesHolidayKitchen?utm_source=yea10hhtng&utm_medium=email&utm_content=first=link&utm_campaign=fund

AGAVE is worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup

2010-03-30T08:08:00.003-04:00

I never would have guessed this...but goes to show that even the "healthy" foods market is prone to deception and corrupt ethical practices...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food-fraud.aspx

Nanotechnology in your food?

2010-03-26T15:04:00.000-04:00

Do you really want more crap in your food that you don't know about?

Check this out:
http://www.aolnews.com/nanotech/article/regulated-or-not-nano-foods-coming-to-a-store-near-you/19401246

The NAG diet

2010-03-23T08:04:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Rikki at dietdessertndogs.com, I now know about the NAG diet, and it sounds great-pretty much how I try to eat now. What do you think?:

1) NATURAL: foods that are not processed or are minimally processed. So nothing packaged, no frozen dinners, no prepared cakes, cookies, buns, muffins, breads, nothing with preservatives, colorings, additives, chemicals, or anything like that. If you can eat this way (at least some of the time) you’ll find two things: first, your groceries are cheaper. When you buy brown rice and cook it yourself along with onion, peppers, and herbs, you are paying waaaaay less than buying pre-packaged rice pilaf mix. Second, everything you eat is more filling, more substantial, and, eventually, more satisfying. You’re getting real food, with real nutrition. Oh, and a third, one worth mentioning: everything takes much longer to cook.

2) ALIVE: For optimum health, “live” or raw foods are recommended, 30-50% raw each day). This could mean a fresh apple cut up into cereal, a salad with lunch, baby carrots for a snack, cucumber slices with dinner. Or it could mean a raw almond-veggie pate. Raw foods contain health-enhancing enzymes that help us to digest food better, faster and more efficiently.

3) GOOD QUALITY: this trait refers to many things, but generally think, “organic.” Its absolutely essential is that any animal product be organic. Yes, its more expensive but would you rather pay now or pay later with your health. As well, local products from producers/farmers you know are a wonderful option as well. Try your local CSA, farmers market, and such for the best food that may not be organic, but is raised humanely, by people you know and trust, and who infuse their food with loving kindness. You not only eat well that way, but contribute to saving the planet.

4) PORTION CONTROL. Eat moderate amounts of very healthy foods, with small amounts of less healthy foods (such as beloved desserts or a glass of wine occasionally). You dont have to eat until you feel full. Aim to use 9 inch plates or leave at least 1/3 food on bigger plates. As well, have the veggie portion be double that of the starch and meat (if included).

5) EXERCISE. Technically, not part of the diet, but an integral part of the plan related to it. The mission is to alternate weights/strength training with aerobic exercise, 5 to 6 days a week.

Food Revolution-Sign the Petition

2010-03-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

The Story of Bottled Water

2010-03-22T13:37:00.001-04:00

The Story of Bottled Water

Posted using ShareThis

Nutty Chocolate Crispies

2010-02-16T19:58:00.001-05:00

Don't these sound delicious?

Nutty Chocolate Crispies

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice syrup
½ cup almond butter
½ cup barley malt sweetened chocolate chips
3 cups brown rice crispies cereal

Directions:

1. Heat brown rice syrup and almond butter in a large skillet, over low heat until creamy.
2. Stir in the chips until they melt.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in rice crispies.
4. Gently press into a baking dish and allow mixture to set until firm, about 30 minutes.
5. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Thanks to my alma mater, IIN, for the recipe!

Health Care Reform will create a food revolution

2010-01-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

This is a great article by Michael Pollan. Check it out:

http://www.alternet.org/story/142597/michael_pollan:_health_reform_will_create_a_dieting_revolution?page=1

Love thyself

2009-12-10T12:30:00.004-05:00

For someone that struggles to love her nicely padded body every day (yep, thats me!), Anne Lamont's words are a godsend:

I do not live in my thighs or in my droopy butt. I live in joy and motion and cover-ups. I live in the nourishment of food and the sun and the warmth of the people who love me.

To read it all, click here.

Ever wanted to start your own business-perhaps in coaching?

2009-10-28T08:52:00.002-04:00

As you know, I'm a graduate of the world's largest nutrition school, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. My own time at IIN changed my life--it helped me improve my relationship with food, achieve my highest state of health possible, and share this knowledge with others.

Registration for the October Distance Learning program is closing soon. Enroll by October 30 to join the Fall session. This is also the last year of the live Professional Training Program--there only 100 seats left! As a graduate of the school, I am able to offer a $500 Fall Tuition Scholarship to either program if you mention my name when you enroll this month. And tuition for the live program increases by another $500, so NOW is the time to enroll for the biggest discount ($1000 by Oct 31).

So if any of this intrigues you, I highly recommend you call (877) 730-5444 for a free career counseling call. An Admissions Advisor will walk you through the basics:

your iPod and personal health counselor
your personal website to launch your practice
support to start seeing clients while you're still in school
University and National board certification
schedule, testing, curriculum, finances

You can also find out more information about IIN with new videos at their website, www.integrativenutrition.com. When you sign up to become a student this month, you'll receive a $500 Fall Tuition Scholarship just by mentioning my name! (Offer valid for new enrollments from October 19 through November 16; cannot be applied retro-actively or combined with other offers.)

And, as always, please call me if you have any questions about IIN. It changed my life and health, and maybe it will change yours!

Yours in health,

Kelly

Become your own Superhero

2009-10-21T11:30:00.004-04:00

From the artistic genius of Keri Smith...

Concerned about the Swine Flu/ Vaccine?

2009-10-20T13:58:00.006-04:00

If so, you have to read this article:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/20/Mild-Swine-Flu-and-Over-Hyped-Vaccine.aspx#

And if you do receive a flu vaccine and suffer any side effects, make sure you report them even if your doctor does not:

www.vaers.hhs.gov

I will not be vaccinating my children with this vaccine, despite both of them being classified as high risk (infant under 1 and child with asthma). I think the risk of the vaccine side effects are so much greater than their risk of getting a serious enough case of the swine flu to cause serious harm. I will be making sure they wash their hands often however, and are getting enough sleep, and are getting adequate doses of vitamin D, and taking all the other precautions warrented this flu season.

What are you going to do? What do you think about the vaccine?

Control that stress, weigh less

2009-09-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

From the Yoga Journal Daily eNews:

In response to stress, levels of the hormone cortisol rise; for people who continue to worry, those levels can stay high. Elevated cortisol levels not only stimulate eating, they ensure that any additional calories are efficiently converted to fat. Worse, under the influence of cortisol, that fat tends to get deposited in the abdomen, a particularly unhealthy place. Big bellies are linked to insulin resistance—a precursor to Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes—and heart disease.

What can YOU do to control your stress and weight less? Contact me if you need suggestions or would like to schedule a complimentary 1/2 hour health assessment($75 value).

Normal food is crazy enough

2009-09-22T11:25:00.005-04:00

Jurriann Kamp, editor of Ode Magazine states in his June/July editorial:

It’s better not to manipulate food. It’s healthier to eat it as it is, without additions or subtractions, without artificial ingredients, colors or other craziness. Tomatoes are healthier than ketchup; sugar—in moderation—is better than the substitute aspartame, which has been linked to cancer. Flour, too, is better the less it’s refined; it’s more nutritious with vitamins and minerals intact. Even fat isn’t as bad as we’ve been told, which our cover story makes clear. We need fat, the good old-fashioned stuff we’ve been eating for centuries, not the manipulated variety. Ordinary fat (again, in moderation) is healthy.

The simple message is: Stick as closely as possible to the original food. That means no chemicals, such as fertilizers or pesticides. It doesn’t mean there’s no place for convenience. You can make a pizza without odd ingredients; check out your natural foods store. The trick is to eat “normally”- which is crazy enough.

I definitely agree, don't you?

Read the whole editorial by clicking on the title link...

Elizabeth Gilbert on TED

2009-09-16T13:57:00.001-04:00

Women-Get Empowered

2009-09-15T08:41:00.005-04:00

Here are my amazing friend Eileen Lunny's (Empowered Women in Action) commitments to get empowered...what are yours?:

To live the life of an Empowered Women, I have found a few concepts that I needed to commit to, for me to embark on this journey of self discovery. Each one has been vitally important to my overall well being and an important part of my daily routine. Without any one of these, I would not have the clarity to listen to, honor and acknowledge that still small voice within. These important steps are:

1) Surrender any compulsive behaviors that are preventing you from being still/ living the life you love.
For me this meant everything from sugar, caffeine, alcohol, diet soda, and the list goes on – for you it may be some of these or things like excessive shopping or working, a relationship –anything which causes an obsession for you and what you know when you are still is something that is blocking you from living your best life. If you have tried to do this on your own and haven’t been successful –join a support group or ask your close friends and family for support. Your well being is worth it.

2) Exercise. It is not negotiable.
Years ago, I was a “non-exercise snob!” I had lost and maintained a 45lb weight loss for over 5 years and I was proud to tell you I did it all without exercising. I thought I didn’t need it –until I heard my still small voice say “it’s time for you to give up caffeine.” It actually took an ulcer for me to be willing to take that important step, but once I wasn’t using caffeine I discovered that I had absolutely no energy any more. I then heard my inner voice calling me to exercise and my reply was always, “no not that! I don’t exercise, I don’t like to sweat, I don’t have time…” Finally I felt so run down that I had no choice but to try following my inner guidance. At the suggestion of a friend, I started with yoga because I was told it doesn’t feel like exercise. I moved slowly towards a more rigorous workout, and now I currently weight train two days a week and I do intense cardio training 3 days a week. I have found that not only does exercise move oxygen through my body, but it gives me more energy and helps my psyche. Take it from me – I know. Find the time – as if your life depends on it because it does.

3) Commit to some quiet time each day– sitting with yourself in stillness.
They say the only wrong way to mediate is not to do it and I agree. I had to start with 5 minutes on the oven timer, and if you find yourself facing resistance to this practice then I would suggest you do this too. I still struggle today with getting still and getting quiet, but when I make that commitment it makes such a difference in my day. It is impossible to follow our dreams and move forward with our inner most desires without making time to listen for what they are and learn about who we really are.

4) Make time for myself in my day or my week.
I am trying to block off a chunk of time each week just for me. This is not a time for errands, chores, being helpful to others– it is really me time – to do the things I love or just nap, watch tv whatever my spirit calls me to. I have a girlfriend who blocks off half of the time her son naps and that is her time. Put this on your schedule as if it were a work meeting or a kids event – in other words treat it with the care you would that – no cancelling or not showing up. Again, you are worth it.

5) Get a support network I could not have done this work if I did not have the love and support of the incredible honest, loving woman in my life. This journey is not meant to be travelled alone. Join our support group of Empowered Women (click here to learn more) or create your own!

Egg Replacers

2009-09-14T19:40:00.002-04:00

Here are some replacement foods for those that want to avoid eggs in their recipes:

2 tbsp corn starch = 1 egg
2 tbsp arrowroot flour = 1 egg
2 tbsp potato starch = 1 egg
1 heaping tbsp soy powder + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg
1 tbsp soy milk powder + 1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water = 1 egg.
1 banana = 1 egg in cakes
Egg Replacer" by Ener-G Foods Inc-gluten and diary free

This is info from the Sneaky Chef, Missy (thesneakychef.com)

Enjoy!

Thrive in 30 with Brendan Brazier

2009-09-01T13:16:00.004-04:00

Lesson 1: Stress and Diet

Lesson 2: Nutrient Density and High Net Gain Nutrition

Lesson 3: Myth Busting: the whole truth about protein, fat, and carbs

Lesson 4: Alkaline vs. Acid

Lesson 5: Digestion

Lesson 6: Superfoods

Lesson 7: Food Sensitivities

Lesson 8: Superfoods + Fitness =

Lesson 9: Activity

Lesson 10: Mental Health Hat-Trick

Lesson 11: Get Connected with our planet

And coming soon:

Lesson 12: Now What?

Go to Thrive in 30: 30 days to optimum health and vitality with Brendan Brazier to register for the whole series.

Amazing Results through Certainty and Visualization

2009-08-25T09:26:00.004-04:00

Here is a great video from Tony Robbins.
http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/320/interview-with-frank-kern-and-john-reese/

You will learn the following:

The "4-Square" System For Creating Massive Action TODAY.
The number one thing that's holding you back...and how you can banish it from your life forever.
The subtle mental shift that millionaires use to get a financial jumpstart.
A short exercise that destroys your nagging skepticism and builds your momentum to succeed.

Enjoy!

Grocery Store Wars

2009-08-18T10:59:00.001-04:00

REAL FOOD NOW!

2009-08-18T10:53:00.001-04:00

The skinny on fast food

2009-08-18T10:49:00.001-04:00

The Meatrix I and II and 1/2

2009-08-18T10:37:00.004-04:00

Organic Centers Response to FSA study that found organics not better for you...

2009-08-03T16:09:00.003-04:00

Organic Center Response to the FSA Study
July 2009
Author(s): Charles Benbrook, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist
The Organic Center

Donald R. Davis, PhD.
Retired Research Scientist
University of Texas at Austin

Preston K. Andrews
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architechture
Washington State University

An advance copy of a study appeared today that will be published in the September edition of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." The published paper, "Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review," was written by a team led by Alan Dangour, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and funded by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA).

In their written report, the London team downplayed positive findings in favor of organic food. In several instances, their analysis showed that organic foods tend to be more nutrient dense than conventional foods. Plus, their study omitted measures of some important nutrients, including total antioxidant capacity. It also lacked quality controls contained in a competing study released in 2008 by The Organic Center (TOC). Last, the FSA-funded team also used data from very old studies assessing nutrient levels in plant varieties that are no longer on the market.

The London team reported finding statistically significant differences between organically and conventionally grown crops in three of thirteen categories of nutrients. Significant differences cited by the team included nitrogen, which was higher in conventional crops, and phosphorus and tritratable acids, both of which were higher in the organic crops. Elevated levels of nitrogen in food are regarded by most scientists as a public health hazard because of the potential for cancer-causing nitrosamine compounds to form in the human GI tract. Hence, this finding of higher nitrogen in conventional food favors organic crops, as do the other two differences.

Despite the fact that these three categories of nutrients favored organic foods, and none favored conventionally grown foods, the London-based team concluded that there are no nutritional differences between organically and conventionally grown crops.

A team of scientists convened by The Organic Center (TOC) carried out a similar, but more rigorous, review of the same literature. The TOC team analyzed published research just on plant-based foods. Results differ significantly from the more narrow FSA review and are reported in the study "New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods."

The TOC findings are similar for some of the nutrients analyzed by the FSA team, but differ significantly for two critical classes of nutrients of great importance in promoting human health – total polyphenols, and total antioxidant content. The FSA team did not include total antioxidant capacity among the nutrients studied, and it found no differences in the phenolic content in 80 comparisons across 13 studies.

Unlike the London study, The Organic Center review focused on nutrient differences in "matched pairs" of crops grown on nearby farms, on the same type of soil, with the same irrigation systems and harvest timing, and grown from the same plant variety. It also rigorously screened studies for the quality of the analytical methods used to measure nutrient levels, and eliminated from further consideration a much greater percentage of the published literature than the FSA team.

While the FSA team found 80 comparisons of phenolic compounds, the TOC team focused on the more precise measure of total phenolic acids, or total polyphenols, and found just 25 scientifically valid "matched pairs." By mixing together in their statistical analysis the results of several specific phenolic acids, the FSA team likely lost statistical precision.

Instead, the TOC team focused on studies reporting values for total phenolic acids, and also applied more rigorous selection criteria to exclude poorer quality studies.

The TOC team found –

Twenty-five matched pairs of organic and conventional crops for which total phenolic acid data was reported. The levels were higher in the organic crops in 18 of these 25 cases, conventional crops were higher in 6. In five of the matched pairs, phenolic acid levels were higher in organic crops by 20% or more. On average across the 25 matched pairs, total phenolics were 10% higher in the organic samples, compared to conventional crops.

In seven of eight matched pairs reporting total antioxidant capacity data, the levels were higher in the organically grown crop. Of 15 matched pairs for the key antioxidant quercetin, 13 reported higher values in the organic food. In the case of kaempferol, another important antioxidant, the organic samples were higher in six cases, while five were higher in the conventional crops.

In the TOC study, there were an ample number of matched pairs to compare the levels of 11 nutrients, including five of the nutrients in the FSA review. For the five nutrients covered in each review, the TOC team was in general agreement with the FSA findings for two (nitrogen and phosphorus).

The London team did not assess differences in key individual antioxidants, nor in total antioxidant activity, important nutrients that have been measured in several more recent studies.

Across all the valid matched pairs and the 11 nutrients included in the TOC study, nutrient levels in organic food averaged 25% higher than in conventional food. Given that some of the most significant differences favoring organic foods were for key antioxidant nutrients that most Americans do not get enough of on most days, the team concluded that the consumption of organic fruits and vegetables, in particular, offered significant health benefits, roughly equivalent to an additional serving of a moderately nutrient dense fruit or vegetable on an average day.

Why the Different Results?

A review of the London-based team's methodology and study design points clearly to why the FSA and Organic Center studies reached some different conclusions.

Inclusion of Older Studies

The FSA review included studies over a 50-year period: January 1958 through February 2008. The TOC team included studies published since 1980. Most studies published before 1980 were found flawed for purposes of comparing the nutrient content of today's conventional and organic crops.

Most of the older studies used plant varieties no longer in use, and did not measure or report total phenolics or antioxidant capacity (since these nutrients were just being discovered). The older studies used analytical methods that are now considered inferior, compared to modern methods.

Further, since the 1950s, plant breeders and growers have consistently increased the yields of food crops, leading, in some cases, to a dilution of nutrients. In 2004, one of us (Donald R. Davis) reported evidence for a general decline in some nutrient levels in 43 garden crops between 1950 and 1999 (Davis et al., "Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999," Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23(6): 669-682; a summary of the Davis paper is posted).

Similarly, an Organic Center report by Brian Halweil describes in detail the evidence linking higher yields and nutrient decline ("Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient levels in the U.S. food supply eroded by pursuit of high yields,").
Thus, results in the FSA study are likely confounded by the team's decision to include data from over three decades ago.

New Studies Support Greater Nutrient Density in Organic Foods

Since February 2008, the cut-off date of the London study, some 15 new studies have been published, most of which use superior design and analytical methods based on criticisms of older studies. The Organic Center is updating its earlier analysis with these additional studies. These new studies generally reinforce the findings reported in the March 2008 TOC report, particularly in the case of nitrogen (higher in conventional crops, a disadvantage), and Vitamin C, total phenolics, and total antioxidant capacity, which are typically higher in organically grown foods.

The Center's study finds that protein content and beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, are typically higher in conventionally grown foods, but since both are present at ample or excessive levels in the diets of most Americans, these differences do not confer a nutritional advantage nearly as important as heightened levels of phenolics and antioxidants in organic foods.

Exclusion of Studies Analyzing Results on "Integrated" Farms

The FSA team excluded studies comparing organic foods to "integrated" and biodynamic production systems, stating that "integrated" systems are not conventional. Most conventional U.S. fruit and vegetable producers are now using advanced levels of Integrated Pest Management. Thus, "integrated" systems are now a more accurate description of "conventional" agriculture in the U.S., than a definition grounded in monoculture, the calendar spraying of pesticides, and excessive applications of chemical fertilizers. The London team did not report in the published paper which "integrated" studies were dropped, but we suspect some important U.S.-based studies may have been eliminated.

TOC Study Applied Much Stricter Screens for Scientific Validity

The two teams agree that many published studies are methodologically flawed, and hence should not be included in comparative studies. But the FSA and TOC teams used very different rules to screen studies for scientific quality and to select matched pairs for analyses.

The FSA team cites five criteria: definition of the organic system; specification of the plant variety (i.e., crop genetics); statement of nutrients analyzed; description of laboratory method used; and, a statement regarding statistical methods for assessing differences. The London team states that they simply required some discussion of these issues in published papers, but did not set or apply any qualitative thresholds in judging scientific validity.

The Organic Center team focused on the same factors (plus several others) and used stated, objective criteria for assessing them. The TOC team reviewed the statistical power and reliability of the analytical methods, a process that eliminated dozens of results. Finally, the TOC team insisted upon a close match of soils, plant genetics (variety), harvest method and timing, and irrigation systems, all factors that can bias the results of a comparison study.

Inclusion of Market-Basket Studies

The FSA team included some market basket studies, for which there is no way to know the specific circumstances of the farm locations, the plant genetics, the soil type, or harvest method and timing. In the Organic Center study, market basket results were judged as "invalid" based on several quality-control screening criteria.

Coke and Del Monte plot to deceive mothers & minorities about dangers of BPA

2009-08-03T16:05:00.000-04:00

From the Environmental Working Group:

We're fighting back. Call now to demand no more BPA in their products.
June 2009

Share This!
Read the BPA industry's internal memos for yourself!
Call these toll-free numbers to protest Coca-Cola: 1-800-GET-COKE, ext. 2
Del Monte: 1-800-543-3090

Sample script: "Hello, My name is ______________. I'm shocked and disappointed in your unethical approach to business when it comes to BPA - placing profits ahead of my family's health and using fear tactics to placate consumers about a clearly dangerous chemical. BPA needs to go - NOW. Thank you."

After you call... 1. Tell us about it. Send EWG an email describing the conversation.
2. Get your friends to call. Send them an e-card to your friends today.
3. Donate to EWG so we can keep these big corporations from profiting off your family's health.
Take the quiz to see what the BPA industry is cooking up. It ain't pretty.
Last week food and chemical lobbyists met in Washington, DC to save BPA - they're desperate to block state and federal efforts to regulate their $6 billion industry.

We were shocked when we read their internal meeting memos, which revealed a dangerous and unethical strategy to keep your family eating and drinking from BPA-laden containers - despite the mounting scientific evidence that exposure to even extremely low levels of BPA can impact health, particularly during early infancy. Get the full story on Enviroblog.

QUESTION: Which of these tactics did BPA industry lobbyists concoct?
Employing fear tactics like threatening consumers with limited access to affordable baby food. (Guess they don't want to talk about the safe substitutes for bottles, cups, and formula cans already on the market).

Using a "pregnant young mother who would be willing to speak around the country about the benefits of BPA" as their 'holy grail' spokesperson.

Focusing fear tactics on historically exploited populations including "Hispanic and African Amercians and the poor."

"Befriending people that are able to manipulate the legislative process."

All of the above.

ANSWER: (E) All of the above. Ready to fight back? So are we.

Call these toll-free numbers to protest
Coca-Cola: 1-800-GET-COKE, then press 2
Del Monte: 1-800-543-3090

Sample script:

"Hello, My name is ______________. I'm shocked and disappointed in your unethical approach to business when it comes to BPA - placing profits ahead of my family's health and using fear tactics to placate consumers about a clearly dangerous chemical. The BPA needs to go - NOW. Thank you."

After you call...
1. Tell us about it. Send EWG an email describing the conversation.
2. Get your friends to call. Send an e-card to ask your friends to call today.
3. Donate to EWG so we can keep these big corporations from profiting off your family's health.

Print this page.
E-mail this page.

So Im an ambassador

2009-04-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

for my alma mater IIN, and they sent me this great email about their new F.ree Career ToolKit:

This complimentary toolkit includes:

An up-to-date analysis of the health coaching profession in a downloadable mp3 format. It's called, "Why Do Health Coaching," and features founder of IIN, Joshua Rosenthal. You'll learn about the emerging field of health coaching and how you could be an important player in the future of nutrition and health. This lecture will give you a well-rounded view of health coaching as a career (as well as the beneficial results you might just get with your own health.)

An informative excerpt from the book Integrative Nutrition: Feed Your Hunger for Health and Happiness. It's titled, "Primary Food," and clearly explains how to find the work you love and love the work you find. (After reading this, you might find more peace and clarity in what you want to do with the rest of their lives.)
Detailed Case Histories and stories of IIN graduates. Hear their intimate experiences about the impact they're making in their families and communities. You may even hear a story that resonates deeply with you.
Options of how to work this exciting training into your life without sacrificing any of your activities (even if you already have a job). One of the most popular aspects of studying at IIN is the distance learning option so you can learn at your own pace no matter where you live. (AND you'll discover how much ongoing support is built into the program.)
A complimentary one-on-one career coaching session with one of our trained Admissions Advisors. As a team you will design your potential, personalized career in the health and wellness field. (By the way, there is zero pressure or expectation in this session. It's simply an objective appointment to show you the possibilities and answer your questions.)

AND The program at IIN is backed by sound scientific research and tons of happy, healthy success stories - one of them is MINE (I'm even profiled in the book "Integrative Nutrition"-look in Chapter 1!)

To download your F-R-E-E Career Starter Kit, please visit this link.

Whether you're looking for a new, significant career, want to reclaim your own health back, or simply coach others on how to make better nutritional choices, I believe IIN can do for you what it did for me.

P.S. If you have any questions you'd like to ask me personally by all means email me back. I'd love to help you get answers. And make sure you mention my name to get a significant enrollment discount if you decide to attend...and you can do it all via distance learning...

And if you want to receive my monthly email for free, be sure to visit the contact page of my website:

PA Dept of Agriculture Sucks!

2007-11-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

NY Times article about Pa Dept of Agriculture making the following labels illegal on milk and dairy products starting Jan 1, 2008:

"No rBGH"
"From cows that haven’t been treated with artificial bovine growth hormone"
"Pesticide Free"
"Antibiotic Free"

Looks like Im buying my dairy in NJ.

Just remember, if you buy organic milk, it automatically means (at least until the organic standards are decreased) that it has no pesticides or antibiotics, and the cows have to have access to pasture...so despite this labeling law, you can still know you are doing the right thing.

Call your Congressman about the US FARM BILL

2007-08-02T10:24:00.000-04:00

The House is dangerously close to passing a bill that's almost identical to the current unfair Farm Bill -- the one that's been paying subsidies to millionaires and dead people instead of local farmers.

Support for farmers transitioning to organics and working family farmers. Healthier school lunches. More funds to feed hungry children and seniors. Protection of water and wildlife. The 2007 Farm Bill could do it all, but time is running out for reform.

I just joined the Environmental Working Group Action Fund's campaign for a fair Farm Bill by calling my Representative and asking them to support the Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment. Call your Representative today and ask them to support it, too!

The "Fairness Amendment," offered by a bipartisan group of legislators, will put America on a new course for family farm and food policy.

It will provide a more reliable safety net for America's organic and family farmers at less cost to taxpayers and provide new resources to address our country's hunger, health, environmental, and fiscal priorities.

Call your Representative today and ask them to support the Fairness Amendment!

For more information, visit www.ewg.org/farmfairness or www.ewg.org.

Improve Your Self Confidence

2007-07-26T12:35:00.001-04:00

Improve your self confidence in 15 minutes

I used to be frighteningly under confident in social situations. And although people who know me now would never believe I used to doubt myself so much I literally had to learn confidence until it became a natural part of me. I can tell you relaxed optimistic confidence is just, well so much more fun.

Here I'll tell you about the things that made the most difference to my confidence levels...

Some people have naturally high levels of confidence but everybody can learn to be more confident

Firstly, it's important to get a clear idea of what self confidence really means, otherwise you won't know when you've got it! So, self confidence means:

1) Being calm. For every situation in life you need to run on the appropriate level of emotion. Too much emotional 'leakage' into a experience can spoil the experience. You make great strides towards confidence when you begin to relax in a greater range of situations.

2) Being cool. The second part of self confidence is about being able to relax with uncertainty. To be 'cool' in a situation really means relaxing with not knowing how things will pan out. If you truly tolerate uncertainty, you can do pretty much anything.

3) Not being too concerned with what others think of you. You know when you imagine what some place is going to be like before you go there but when you get there it is totally different to your imagination? That's how reliable your imagination is! Stop trusting your imagination so much. I've long since stopped bothering to imagine what others think of me because so often I've turned out to be wrong.

4) Being specific - where do you want confidence? 'Confidence' is meaningless until you tie it to something specific. You are already confident that you can read these words or can switch a light on and off. So you don't need more confidence everywhere. To get what you want in life you have to establish exactly what you do want. Where do you want confidence in your life? Think about the specific situations now and write them down. You beginning to steer your brain towards confidence.

5) Understanding that what you expect is what you get. Your brain is an organ that needs clear goals to work towards. When a task has been set in your brain it will do everything it can do to bring about the completion of that task. If you've tried to recall someone's name but can't, hours later you'll often find their name pops into your head.

The 'trying to recall' experience set the task or blueprint for your brain's future subconscious behaviour which eventually produced the name for you - when you weren't thinking about it consciously. You can use this natural mechanism to start feeling more confident. But, to ensure you set the right task for your subconscious mind, the next point is vital.

6) Don't task your mind with negatives. Instead of: 'I don't want to screw up' (which sets the task of 'screwing up' for your brain), set the blueprint for what you do want! Your brain doesn't work towards what to do by being told what not to do. And nature has given you a wonderful natural tool to set the right task blueprints with.

7) Use nature's goal-setter: Now you understand how vital it is to set the right task for you brain, you need to know how to do this reliably. Good hypnosis will strongly 'program' the right blueprint in your mind through the use of your imagination. If you powerfully imagine feeling confident and relaxed while in a relaxed hypnotic state it will be hard for your unconscious mind to do anything else. The blueprint for relaxation has been set firmly into your subconscious mind.

3 simple strategies to get you feeling confident quickly:

1) Think specifically of the time/place/situation you want to feel confident in. Remember 'confidence' doesn't mean anything until you attach it to something specific.

2) Focus on words in your mind right now that describe how you do want to be in that time and place. Maybe words such as 'calm', 'relaxed' or 'focused'. Remember your brain works on clear positive instructions.

3) Close your eyes for as long as you like and think about how those words feel. Then, imagine the situation itself and rehearse it in your mind feeling confident and relaxed. This way you set the right blueprint or 'task' for your unconscious mind.

You can repeat this often to make it more effective and use it with as many areas of your life as you need to. If you listen to a hypnotic cd or download that can make the benefits even more powerful (see my profile below). So if you feel like you'd be blessed with less confidence than some other people you can start redressing the balance by using your mind in the right way right now.

It took me years to learn how to be more confident - now you can do it in a fraction of the time. Good luck!

Boost your confidence now at HypnosisDownloads.com

Article by Mark Tyrrell of Hypnosis Downloads.com.

The How Tos of Composting

2007-07-18T10:41:00.000-04:00

According to Wikipedia:

Composting is the process of producing compost through aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter. The decomposition is performed primarily by aerobes, although larger creatures such as ants, nematodes, and oligochaete worms also contribute. This decomposition occurs naturally in all but the most hostile environments, such as within landfills, extremely arid deserts or cold weather such as boreal winters or polar regions, which prevent the microbes and other decomposers from thriving.

Composting can be divided into the two areas of home composting and industrial composting. Both scales of composting use the same biological processes, however techniques and different factors must be taken into account.

Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Rather than allowing nature to take its slow course, a composter provides an optimal environment in which decomposers can thrive. To encourage the most active microbes, a compost pile needs the correct mix of the following ingredients:

Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen (in the case of aerobic composting)
Water
Decomposition happens even in the absence of some of these ingredients, but not as quickly or as pleasantly. (For example, vegetables in a plastic bag will decompose, but the absence of air encourages the growth of anaerobic microbes, which produce disagreeable odors. Degradation under anaerobic conditions is called anaerobic digestion.)

The goal of a composting system
The goal in a composting system is to provide a healthy environment and nutrition for the rapid decomposers, the bacteria. The most rapid composting occurs with the ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio of between 25 and 30 to 1 by dry chemical weight. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 25 to 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. For example, grass clippings average about 19 to 1 and dry autumn leaves average about 55 to 1. Mixing equal parts by volume approximates the ideal range. Commercial-grade composting operations pay strict attention to this ratio. For backyard composters, however, the charts of carbon and nitrogen ratios in various ingredients and the calculations required to get the ideal mixture can be intimidating, so many rules of thumb exist to guide composters in approximating this mixture.

Materials for composting
Given enough time, all biodegradable material will compost. However, not all compost feedstocks are appropriate for backyard composting. Most backyard systems will not reach high enough temperatures to kill pathogens and deter vermin, so pet droppings, non-vegetarian animal manure, meat scraps, and dairy products are best left to operators of high-rate, thermophilic composting systems.

Certain substances should not be composted by the average homeowner, as they require more sophisticated systems.

These substances include non-vegetarian animal manures and bedding, by-products of food production and processing, restaurant grease and cooking oils, and residuals from the treatment of wastewater and drinking water. Composting will also break down petroleum hydrocarbons and some toxic compounds for recycling and beneficial reuse. The use of composting for such purposes is most commonly referred to as a form of bioremediation.

High-carbon sources provide the cellulose needed by the composting bacteria for conversion to sugars and heat, while high-nitrogen sources provide the most concentrated protein, which allow the compost bacteria to thrive.

Some ingredients with higher carbon content:
Dry, straw-type material, such as cereal straws
Autumn leaves
Sawdust and wood chips
Some paper and cardboard (such as corrugated cardboard or newsprint with soy-based inks)

Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content:
Green plant material (fresh or wilted) such as crop residues, hay, grass clippings, weeds
Animal manures (choose vegetarian horse manure, cow manure, llama manure, etc.)
Fruit and vegetable trimmings
Seaweeds
Coffee grounds
Poultry manure provides lots of nitrogen but little carbon. Horse manure provides both. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.

Mixing the materials as they are added increases the rate of decomposition, but it can be easier to place the materials in alternating layers, approximately 15 cm (6 in) thick, to help estimate the quantities. Keeping carbon and nitrogen sources separated in the pile can slow down the process, but decomposition will occur in any event.

Greasy food waste and wastes from meat, dairy products, and eggs should not be used in household compost because they tend to attract unwanted vermin and they do not appropriately decompose in the time required. However, eggshells are a good source of nutrients for the compost pile and the soil although they typically take more than one year to decompose. If recycling of meat and dairy products is desirable, Bokashi is a suitable alternative, which uses fermentation. However, even in Bokashi, liquids like milk and oil should not be used. Manure from non-vegetarian animals should never be used, and neither should human or pet waste.

Composting techniques
There are a number of different techniques for composting, all employing the two primary methods of aerobic composting:

Active (or hot) composting allows aerobic bacteria to thrive, kills most pathogens and seeds, and rapidly produces usable compost. Aerobic bacteria produce less odour and fewer destructive greenhouse gases than their anaerobic counterparts. In addition, they are usually faster at breaking down material and the faster material is broken down, the faster compost is created for your garden.
Pasteurisation in a hot compost (such as the Compost Oven) will occur in any garden compost bin if the temperature reaches above 55 C (131°F) for three or more days. To achieve it, you need to keep your garden compost bin warm, insulated and damp since this encourages the cultivation of actinomycetes, a vital bacteria in the pasteurisation process.

The pasteurised soil naturally created through heat in the garden compost is valuable for the composting home gardener, since the pasteurisation process is otherwise both expensive and complicated, and adding chemicals to produce the pasteurisation effect makes the compost less healthy.

Passive (or cold) composting allows Nature to take its course in a more leisurely manner, while leaving many pathogens and seeds dormant in the pile.
Cold composting is the type of composting done in most domestic garden compost bins in which temperatures never reach above 30 C (86°F). Cold composting is characterised by individuals putting their kitchen scraps in the garden compost bin and leaving them untended. This "scrap bin," having a very high moisture content and without aeration, is likely to turn anaerobic and generate foul odours, including significant adverse greenhouse gas emissions.

When composting this way, a gardener can improve the process by adding some wood chips or small pieces of bark, leaves, twigs or a combination of these materials distributed throughout the mixture. This material helps to improve drainage and airflow.

Such composting systems may be either enclosed (home container composting, industrial in-vessel composting) or in exposed piles (industrial windrow composting).

Home composting
Home composters use a range of techniques, varying from extremely passive composting (throw everything in a pile in a corner and leave it alone for a year or two) to extremely active (monitoring the temperature, turning the pile regularly, and adjusting the ingredients over time). Some composters use mineral powders to absorb smells, although a well-maintained pile seldom has bad odors.

Microbes and heating the pile
An effective compost pile is kept about as damp as a well wrung-out sponge. This provides the moisture that all life needs to survive. Bacteria and other microorganisms fall into a variety of groups in terms of what their ideal temperature is and how much heat they generate as they do their work. Mesophilic bacteria enjoy midrange temperatures, from about 20 to 40°C (70 to 110°F). As they decompose the organic matter they generate heat, and the inner part of a compost pile heats up the most.

The heap should be about 1 m (3 ft) wide, 1 m (3 ft) tall, and as long as is practicable. This provides a suitable insulating mass to allow a good heat build-up as the material decays. The ideal temperature is around 60°C (140°F), which kills most pathogens and weed seeds while providing a suitable environment for thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria, which are the fastest acting decomposers. The centre of the heap can get too warm, possibly hot enough to burn a bare hand. If this fails to happen, common reasons include the following:

The heap is too wet, thus excluding the oxygen required by the compost bacteria
The heap is too dry, so that the bacteria do not have the moisture needed to survive and reproduce
There is insufficient protein (nitrogen-rich material)
The solution is to add material, if necessary, and/or to turn the pile to aerate it.

Depending on how quickly the compost is required, the heap can be turned one or more times to bring the outer layers to the inside of the heap and vice versa, as well as to aerate the mixture. Adding water at this time helps keep the pile damp. One guideline is to turn the pile when the high temperature has begun to drop, indicating that the food source for the fastest-acting bacteria (in the center of the pile) has been largely consumed. When turning the pile does not result in a temperature rise, there is no further advantage in turning the pile. When all the material has turned into dark brown or nearly black crumbly matter, it is ready to use.

Worm Composting
Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going into burgeoning landfills. Worm composting or vermicomposting is a method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting. The worm then excretes a soil-nutrient material called worm castings. This is why wise farmers have historically wanted to have healthy worm populations living in their fields. Worms are at the bottom level of the food chain, and thus are critical to healthy soil. In a nutshell, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. Some good gardeners have developed a radical composting product, made through a brewing process which runs distilled water through Red Wiggler worm castings. The nutritious elements and microorganisms of the castings are captured in a concentrated liquid form, named worm tea. By using worm tea on your plants and gardens, you put healthy microorganisms back into the soil where they thrive and multiply, creating a much healthier growing environment for your plants.

Industrial composting
Industrial composting systems are being increasingly installed as an alternative form of waste management to landfill along with other advanced waste processing systems. The industrial composting or anaerobic digestion can be combined with mechanical sorting of mixed waste streams and is given the term mechanical biological treatment. Industrial composting helps prevent global warming by treatment of biodegradable waste before it enters landfill. If this waste is landfilled it breaks down anaerobically producing landfill gas that contains methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Most commercial and industrial composting operations use active composting techniques. This ensures a higher quality product and produces results in the shortest time (see compost windrow turner). The greatest control, and therefore the highest quality, is generally achieved by composting inside an enclosed vessel which is monitored and adjusted continuously for optimal temperature, air flow, moisture, and other parameters. See In-vessel (also en-vessel).

Large scale composting systems are used by a few urban centers around the world. Co-composting is a technique which combines solid waste with de-watered bio-solids. The world's largest co-composter is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which turns 220,000 tonnes of residential solid waste and 22,500 dry tonnes of biosolids per year into 80,000 tonnes of compost using a facility 38,690 square metres in size (equivalent to 8 football fields). The aeration building alone is the largest stainless steel building in North America (the size of 14 NHL rinks).

Other ingredients
Some users like to put special materials and activators into their compost. Adding commercially available Effective MicroorganismsTM helps to keep the balance between "good" and "bad" bacteria. A light dusting of agricultural lime (not on the animal manure layers) can curb excessive acidity that can slow down the fermentation. Seaweed meal can provide a ready source of trace elements. Finely pulverized rock (rock flour or rock dust) can also provide needed minerals, as opposed to clay (which is trace mineral-poor and/or leached rock dust).

Animal manure should only be collected from vegetarian animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, llamas, etc. Pet waste, human waste, and non-vegetarian animal waste should not be used in the average compost heap.

Human waste can be collected by composting toilets (in this case, human feces). However, such compost is usually not used as a fertilizer for plants that are directly edible (e.g., salad crops). Most composting toilets do not allow for the thermophilic activity needed to completely kill off the pathogens and bacteria. However, if these high temperatures are reached, there is no danger of contamination, and the resulting compost can be safely used on food crops. Most composts heaps are unable to reach those temperatures. Composting toilets should only be used as a way to reduce waste in the environment, not as a fertilizer; in the case that they are used with crops, they should only use human waste for non-food crops, or with careful filteration, food based crops.

And from the G Living Network, comes more insight (http://gliving.tv/theroots.php):

Container Composting

There are sound reasons for composting in containers, although there is debate as to whether slatted or closed sided bins are preferable, for this will affect air circulation within the compost pile, as well as the potential for heat loss. The Indore method developed by Sir Albert Howard and the Shewell Cooper method favour slats, while the New Zealand Box method advocates the use of closed sides.

Mike Morrison's (Australia)approach has been a departure from traditional methods with the Compost Oven comprising of patented bubble film with an embedded self aerating and heating device to keep the compost warm, damp and insulated against heat loss.

There are also differences between these techniques in terms of activators (that is, high nitrogen content organic substances to stimulate high bacterial activity within the heap, e.g., urine, grass mowings, comfrey leaves, etc.) and materials used. However, most agree that a good mixture of carbon and nitrogenous materials, usually created in layers and on a base consisting of rougher, stemmy material (to encourage air circulation) that is in contact with the soil are essential to all successful composting processes.

For those who do not have a lot of space, composting can be carried out with good results by using cylindrical bins provided that attention is paid to the all-important issues of aeration and C:N ratios. Such bins are available proprietarily, and are often supplied by local authorities at low cost to encourage recycling.

Genetically Modified Foods

2007-07-16T14:59:00.001-04:00

Liberty News-Organic is so Important!

2007-07-16T14:35:00.000-04:00

Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom

2007-07-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

A NEW DAWN

GRAIN OF SAND

POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT

THE POWER THAT WE HAVE

THE FEELING MACHINE

FIND THE MIRACLE

GO WITHIN

Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom

2007-07-10T11:35:00.000-04:00

A NEW DAWN

POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT

THE POWER THAT WE HAVE

THE FEELING MACHINE

FIND THE MIRACLE

Prem Rawat-Maharaji "The Perfect Instrument"

2007-07-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

Prem Rawat / Maharaji "The Best Relationship"

2007-06-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

Concerned about childhood obesity? The Media Isn't!

2007-05-18T07:35:00.000-04:00

From Campaign for a Commerical Free Childhood:

Today, the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Digital Democracy released a new report that documents how major food, soft drink and fast food brands are deploying a panoply of new techniques--including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video, and three-dimensional virtual worlds--to target children and adolescents, often under the radar of parents. The report - "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age" - is available at http://www.digitalads.org/

The report is a wake-up call for policymakers and anyone concerned by the escalating epidemic of childhood obesity. Even as junk food marketers claim to be cleaning up their act, the food industry is exploiting the latest technologies to target children in new and insidious ways.
A coalition of advocacy groups - including CCFC -- submitted the report to the Federal Trade Commission today, calling on the agency to expand its investigation of food and beverage marketing to include the full of range of digital marketing to children and adolescents.

Examples cited in the report include:
To "create a compelling way to connect with the younger demographic," 600 McDonald's restaurants in California launched a mobile marketing campaign, urging young cell phone users to text-message to a special phone number to receive an instant electronic coupon for a free McFlurry dessert.

Coca-Cola's "My Coke Rewards" program offers special codes in its products that enable young people to access a website, where they can earn such rewards as downloadable ring tones and "amazing sports and entertainment experiences." This technique is part of a strategy for behavioral profiling, where marketers compile a detailed profile of each customer, including demographic data, purchasing behavior, responses to advertising messages, and even the extent and nature of social networks.

Food marketers are commercializing online communities by aggressively moving into MySpace and other social networking sites. One technique is to create "branded profiles" that invite children and teens to become "friends" with popular spokescharacters. "Welcome to the King's Court," beckons the Burger KingMySpace profile. "The virtual home of the Burger King. He's giving away free episodes of the Fox shows '24,' 'Pinks,' and 'First Friend.'"
Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one viral video, "Molly Grows Up"--which generated more than 300,000 views--a young girl is shown ordering "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty."

The Mars candy company enlisted the musical group Black Eyed Peas to make a series of "webisodes" called "Instant Def," in order to promote Snickers bars to teens, an example of brand-saturated environments that weave products seamlessly into interactive entertainment content.

To learn more, please visit http://www.digitalads.org/.

Thanks,
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=347609204&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialfreechildhood.org%2F

Two Angry Moms Talk about School Lunch

2007-05-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

FOOD FIGHT
THE SCHOOL LUNCH REVOLTION WILL BE TELEVISED
www.thefamilygroove.com (May 2007)

Asthma. Allergies. Type II diabetes. Obesity. Behavioral issues. Many of us are aware of these conditions because children we know are afflicted by one or more of them. And while it seems like we as parents have no control over these conditions affecting our children, in reality, we do. We know that by paying attention to what our children are eating and helping them to make healthier choices at home, we can make a difference in our children’s health. But what happens when your kids aren't at home?

In their documentary, Two Angry Moms, about the battle to change school lunch programs across the nation Dr. Susan Rubin, a dentist, holistic nutritionist, founder of Better School Food (www.betterschoolfood.com) and mother of three, and Amy Kalafa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, health counselor and mother of two, have drawn a line in the cafeteria sand, exposing what your children are being served five days a week, the long-term effects of such poor nutrition and the fight they've encountered while seeking to foster a school lunch revolution.

Additionally, these two angry moms traveled across the country filming examples of school food programs that do work, proving that change is possible. The movie highlights the fact that when communities support local farms, when kids get connected to where their food comes from, when school buying power is used to promote educated, healthy children, there is a positive effect not only on our children, but on the environment and on everyone in the community.

Here our resident nutrition expert, holistic health counselor Kelly Scotti talks to Dr. Susan Rubin, one of two women on the front lines of our children's future.

Why should parents care about the food served in school?
Schools have a responsibility to create a healthy, supportive environment for kids. Schools that model better food on campus report higher test scores, fewer behavioral problems and less absenteeism.

Studies have shown that what kids eat now will impact their lifetime eating habits. Since one to two meals a day, five days a week for nine months of the year are eaten at school, there is a significant connection to the what children are served at school and their overall health and nutrition for the rest of their lives.

If those school-based habits are poor, then our children could suffer from ill health, nutritional deficiencies, depression, disease and more, especially if those habits are not counteracted in the home. Additionally, the sad reality is that even if children have healthy habits at home, many times they have no healthy options in school. The fact is that most schools buy the cheapest food they can, so even the healthiest at-home eaters are forced to eat poorly for a quarter of their childhood (notwithstanding those that bring their lunches).

“We need to flood our schools with fresh whole fruits and vegetables. Partner with the local farms and get fresh, inexpensive produce for schools. Limit the processed foods that are allowed to be served at school. And maybe even outfit school kitchens with cooks and appliances so things can be made from scratch with quality ingredients. At a minimum, mandate full nutritional disclosure for school foods to allow for informed parental decisions,” says Dr. Rubin.

Dr. Rubin also tells us that many children suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, where there is a disconnect between a child’s understanding of food and where it comes from, causing them to make poor nutritional choices. Many children nowadays don't know that meat comes from animals like the cows they see on the way to school, salad leaves grow in the ground or that apples grow on trees. Only when that disconnect is addressed through education and hands-on experience can we see children taking more of an active role in making good food choices. In schools and at home, we can teach our children about planting their own food and let them take ownership for helping to feed themselves and their families.

What is so bad about school food?
School foods have lots of harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated or poor quality oils, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified fillers and tons of sugar. Schools are not required to disclose the ingredients or additives in the food they serve. Nowhere on the weekly lunch menu in an average school in America is an ingredient list provided for each (or any) of the food choices offered daily, so many parents choose their kids' meals blindly, not knowing if the choice they make is a healthy one. For most parents, the only way to ensure their kids’ meals are healthy is to pack lunches for them; however, brown bag lunch is a luxury not afforded to many children in America.

In addition to the obvious lack of nutrients and overabundance of junk food our children are being plied with on a daily basis, one must consider the message all this poor nutrition is sending to our impressionable youth. (What does a 10 to 15-minute lunch period tell them about the importance of proper eating habits?)

Dr. Rubin emphasizes that this movie-come-movement is not about taking cupcakes away from school parties, it's about ensuring that a core basis of nutrition is available to our children in schools. Rubin says “it’s not just about taking out the bad stuff. You’ve got to put good food in, along with food education. The food IQ of parents, children and the schools needs to be raised.”

Why can’t someone else change the system?
As Rubin and Kalafa have found through experience, the system is hard to change for a number of reasons. State and federal legislation is too slow and food industry lobbyists have too much clout. Food service companies make too much money serving poor quality, nutritionally deficient food. And school boards don't feel that the school lunch program is a priority, as they have so many other issues with which to deal.

What can you do?
So then, it comes down to the parents to foster the school lunch evolution. Contact your congressman and tell him to support the Farm Bill (click here to find out about the Farm bill). Contact your school board and let them know you want healthy, fresh food served at your children’s school. Let your demands be known and make your voice be heard.

Texas Agriculture Secretary Susan Combs said it’s going to take two million angry moms to change school food. Rubin and Kalafa were the first two to wage the fight—now it's up to you to join the battle.

Want to be one of the two million Angry Moms? Go to www.angrymoms.org.

Two Angry Moms will be in select theaters this summer and available everywhere via DVD.

Everything I needed to know about eating I learned from my son

2007-04-15T08:22:00.000-04:00

Before my son was born, I imagined all of the wonderful foods to which I would introduce him. First, I imagined him
drinking from my breast and getting all of his initial nourishment from my body. Then I imagined his first spoonful of solid
food and his reaction to it. I even imagined teaching him about how to use a fork and spoon. However, not once in my
imaginings did I picture him teaching me about food and eating—but he has, and in doing so, has taught me about life and
how to live.

A little less than a year after my son was born, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to learn about nutrition, dietary theory, how to feed my son a healthy diet and how to teach him lifelong healthy eating habits. During my studies, I also learned about pesticides, genetically modified foods, dangerous food additives, labeling laws that side with the food manufacturers, the perils of processed foods, mercury and PCBs in farmed fished, factory farming and on and on. For the first time in my life, I was truly frightened by the current state of our food. I was also really confused as to what I should feed my son to protect him for all of the aforementioned dangers and how to give him the nutrients required for his growing body.

I begin to eat rigidly, avoiding all processed foods, all fish that wasn’t wild Alaskan, all beef that wasn’t grass-fed, all chicken that wasn’t free range and antibiotic free. I obsessed about food and how to protect my family from its many insidious dangers. I no longer enjoyed food because I was afraid of it. I no longer savored the smells from the kitchen because I would think about unlabeled additives that might be in it causing the food to smell that way or the coloring added to the meat to make it look the way it does. How could I teach my son to love all aspects of eating—food shopping, preparing, cooking and then sharing an amazing meal with family and friends—when I couldn’t do that myself?

Little by little, he taught me how to teach him. By paying attention to how he explores the world, I was able to recognize the things he needs from me to make good choices and feel safe about those choices. Here are some of the things I learned from my son:

Forget the scary, food should be fun
It's fun to smell food, to let it run down your chin, to throw it at the dog. It's fun to experiment with different tastes, textures, smells and combinations. It's fun to put a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. It's fun to throw caution to the wind with recipes and see what happens. How do you have fun with your food?

Exploring your food adds to your enjoyment of it
My son loves to put things in his mouth, especially food. He loves to experience what things taste like and how things feel on his tongue. He explores the shape of things, the texture of it, the soft or hardness of it. He looks at it and plays with it. My son reminds me that food can be a joy for all the senses.

He also loves to expand his abilities and create new things. He helps me in the kitchen by stirring the meal, adding in vegetables and spices and even by naming a new dish. And he is much more willing to eat something he has helped prepare.

Be consistent
Most of us know that our children thrive on routine and that applies to eating as well. I have found that that my son feels most safe and free to try new foods when I stick with the routine of cooking with him close by, allowing him to help with food preparation and then eating with him at the dining room table, rather than in front of the TV or in the car. When his routine is consistent, he is able to explore his boundaries, learn what behavior is permitted and what is not and feel comfortable asking questions and trying new things.

Be a good role model
At this stage of my son’s young life, my husband and I are his primary role models. It is important that we live up to that responsibility. Rather than disparage the state of food in this country, I need to talk about all of the amazing options we have for food in our area, including community farms, breeders of organic meat and food cooperatives. I need to show him how food is grown and let him grow his own food in our garden. I need to use positive words when I talk about food and all that it encompasses. I need to be able to put aside my food fears and show him that food can be nourishing and fun.

Lighten Up
If I continue to feel negative about food, my actions and thoughts may teach my son to be scared of food, to abuse it or to use it for more than the nutrients and calories it provides. I need to trust that the experiences my son has with food will teach him to enjoy it and to explore it without fear or baggage. I need to be his guide, to teach him what I know, and to allow him to choose the direction he takes. No matter what his age, it is important that I provide him with respect for his decisions and his intelligence rather than force my opinions on him (outside of sticking that fork in the outlet, that is).

Have Patience and Fortitude
My son’s attitude about food and his willingness to experiment with it is variable depending on his mood. I have learned that it is important frequently present those good-for-him foods that he refuses to eat, since he will actually eat them every now and again. Yes, I get frustrated when my son throws his food or spits it out or smacks it away, but that’s where patience comes into play. As parents, we need to be willing to keep trying and not assume the worst (he’s not going to eat it no matter what). I only give up after 10 exposures, which is the time is takes for the palate to change. If he still refuses it then, I can feel more confident that he really does not like it and that it is not just his willfulness.

No matter what, though, I do not reward my son’s food behavior with more food, like dessert. If a child learns that he can only get dessert after he eats his veggies, then he will know that dessert is a treat and veggies are not and that can be counterproductive to his eating healthy. Heck, why not make vegetables dessert?

Be Prepared
My son cannot choose to eat well unless I have healthy choices on hand when he gets hungry. Toddlers have smaller stomachs than adults and need to eat less at each sitting, but more frequently than adults. Because of that, I always carry healthy snacks with me wherever we go. My son loves raisins and dried cherries, trans fat free wheat crackers, chopped carrots and peppers, mixed fresh fruit (apples, oranges, applesauce cups), veggie chips and, of course, sippy cups filled with filtered water to keep him hydrated.

I also make sure that I have healthy food on hand at home that it is easily and quickly prepared once we arrive home from our day. I like to cook with my slow cooker, so a fresh meal is prepared every day and the time preparing the food is easily accomplished in the morning. I also like to cook a big batch of the staples I use all week in my cooking, such as quinoa and chicken, as well as cut and wash all the vegetables at once, so the preparation of the foods that do not go in the slow cooker is done ahead of time. That stops my son’s hunger tantrums and allows us time to have a nice meal as a family before his bedtime.

Most of all, my son has taught me to trust my instincts. Deep down, each one of us knows that we are good parents. Why would you be reading this article if you weren’t? We love our children and instintively we know what is good and bad for them. Just as they know the same about themselves, though we need to guide them to that knowing. We know what foods will nourish us and them and commit ourselves to learning everything we can in order to make this world a place that is satisfying, sane and healthy for our children.

Just Veggin' Kids

2007-03-15T07:55:00.000-04:00

HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI TELLS US IF A VEGETARIAN DIET IS ENOUGH
FOR A GROWING CHILD

Lately my son has been on a vegetarian diet. Not that you
should call it vegetarian, since it is primarily a fruit and
yogurt diet, based on his youthful impulse to eat the same foods at
every meal for weeks on end. His choices,however, have
caused me to ponder the benefits of a vegetarian diet for him
and wonder if he could get all of hisnutritional requirements fulfilled with such a diet.

When I think of vegetarians, I think of people that eat no meat.
There are actually four types of vegetarian diets. A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy products and eggs, but no meat,poultry, or fish. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, but no other animal products. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products, but no
other animal products and vegans eat food only from plant sources.

Research has shown that the benefits to following a vegetarian diet are many: decreased incidence of type II diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, decreased cholesterol levels, decreased cancer incidence and decreased exposure to pesticides and antibiotics, especially if the diet is organic. Additionally, some families have found that following the more restrictive vegan diet has decreased their child’s incidence of ear infections, digestive issues, and respiratory issues such as chest congestion and asthma. But are these restrictive diets appropriate for a rapidly growing infant or toddler?

Most dietary experts agree that a balanced, whole-foods based, well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet is a great choice for people of all ages, including infants and toddlers. Though certain vitamins and minerals are only found in meat and dairy products naturally, supplementation can be used to provide those nutrients just as well as animal products.

For children, well balanced means it has to include foods or supplementation that contain the following nutrients, which are essential:

Calcium
Sea vegetables, such as hijiki, kelp, wakame, nori, and kombu
Green leafy vegetables, such as kale, turnip and mustard greens and Watercress
Nuts and seeds, including sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios
Beans, including chick peas and pinto beans
Grains, including amaranth and quinoa
Tofu processed with calcium sulfate and tempeh.
Cheese, milk, yogurt and eggs
Dried figs
Blackstrap molasses
Calcium fortified beverages, including soy milk, orange juice, etc.

Please note that the following things decrease the calcium stores in your body:
Soft drinks
Refined sugar
Excess salt

Nightshade vegetables including tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all contain the calcium inhibitor solanine.

Essential Fatty Acids
The key members of the omega 3 family of EFAs are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA are only found naturally in oily fish, while ALA, which can be converted to DHA in the body, can be found in:

Seeds, such as mustard, flax, and pumpkin and oils from those seeds
Soybeans/soybean oil (always choose brands labeled non-GMO)
Walnut oil
Green leafy vegetables
Whole grains
Spirulina and other vegetarian marine algae
Canola (rapeseed) oil
Fortified eggs and grains

Iron
Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, watercress, and swiss chard, beans (soybeans, lentils, lima, kidney, navy)seeds, eggs, dried fruits, whole grains (including wholemeal bread), iron-fortified cereals and bread, blackstrap molasses and edible seaweeds

Using iron cookware when cooking acidic foods can also contribute to dietary intake of iron.

As well, vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so offering citrus fruits with iron-rich foods can also contribute to amount of iron in the body.

Protein
Legumes, tofu, tempeh, grains (wheat, oats, rice, barley, buckwheat, millet, pasta, bread), nuts (brazils, hazels, almonds, cashews) and seeds (quinoa, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame), dairy products, soy yogurt

Vitamin B12
Dairy products, eggs, and vitamin-fortified products, such as cereals, breads, and soy and rice drinks. In supplements, look for the words “cyanocobalamin” or “cobalamin” in the ingredient list, as these are the most absorbable forms of vitamin B-12.

Please note, breast-fed infants of vegetarian/vegan mothers need B-12 supplementation, as B-12 deficiency can result in permanent neurological damage in infants.

Vitamin D
Sunlight (exposure without sunblock) and in fortified products such as soy milk, margarine, eggs and breakfast cereals.

Zinc
Nuts and nut butters, wheat germ, brown rice, fortified breakfast cereals, dairy products, spinach, tofu, tempeh, miso, and legumes (beans, peas, and lentils).

In addition to nutrient requirements, there is also the issue of caloric intake. While most vegetarian children eating a balanced diet do not have an issue meeting their calorie requirements, it is a concern for vegan children. Fruits and vegetables tend to be very fibrous, and can fill up your little one’s tiny stomach quickly, thus leaving little room for higher calorie foods. As such, if your child follows a vegan diet, it may be necessary to give him peeled fruits and vegetables, which are less fibrous. To increase caloric intake, you can add some refined grain products, pure fruit juices, or healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and seed butters into your child’s diet.

It is also important to ensure that the produce you buy is organic. Not only is organically grown produce more sustainable and environmentally friendly, it is safer for your children. When you choose non-organic produce, your child may be exposed to pesticides and genetic modification without your knowledge. Non-organic produce that is genetically modified is not required to be blatantly labeled to indicate such. The only way you know that a product has been genetically modified is if it has a five-digit number that starts with an 8 on its label (conventional produce is four numbers starting with a 4 and organic is 5 numbers beginning with a 9). Pesticides from non-organic produce are visually non-detectable and can be absorbed right into the root systems of the plant, where the pesticides cannot be washed off. Because children are more susceptible to pesticides and toxins in their bodies due to their decreased fat stores, it is essential to choose organic for their health.

Please make sure to discuss your child’s diet with your pediatrician if making a switch to vegetarianism or veganism. Your doctor can provide you with information on supplementation and things to look for in the case of malnutrition, as well as information regarding foods listed in the table above that have allergen potential or could cause choking.

A well-balanced, well-planned, vegetarian or vegan diet can meet the needs of your children as they grow and are healthy options in this day of super-sized, fatty, sugary fast food, factory farmed, antibiotic-ridden meat and dairy products, and mercury and PCB polluted farmed fish.

Some menu ideas for the vegetarian child:
Pizza crust topped with tomato sauce, vegetables, and rice cheese
Veggie stir fry with brown rice
Quinoa salad with greens and garlic
Pasta with marinara sauce
Veggie meatloaf
Banana and strawberry smoothies with organic soy yogurt
Celery with peanut butter
Cashew butter sandwiches
Fresh or dried fruit
Noodles with peanut butter sauce
Raw vegetables with hummus
Mashed potatoes with garlic and olive oil
Flaxseed muffins with carrots and raisins
Veggie burgers with salsa on whole grain bread
Tofu hotdogs
Guacamole on pita bread

For more veggy good ideas and information, go to:
www.vegetarianbaby.com/nutrition.shtml (Articles galore for vegetarian children and parents)
www.healthybelly.com/articles/pickyvegetariankids.htm (Vegetarian school lunch recipes)
www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_diets_for_children.html (Vegetarian diets for children with recipes, sample diets and more)
www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Diets/vegetarian_kids.html (Rationale for going vegetarian, with recipes and sample lunches)
www.vegansociety.com (Great general information site)
www.vegfamily.com (Great general information site)
www.vegsoc.org/youth/youngveggies.html (Great general information site for kids)
www.vegforlife.org/kid_parents.htm (Great general information site)
www.kidshealth.org (Great general information site)

Or check out these books:

Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman and Reed Mangels Ph.D., R.D
Leprechaun Cake and Other Tales: A Vegetarian Story-Cookbook by Vonnie Winslow Crist and Debra Wasserman
Raising Vegetarian Children : A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony by Joanne Stepaniak,Vesanto Melina

Drink diet soda, gain weight?

2007-02-15T14:26:00.000-05:00

From Mercola.com

Artificial Sweeteners Ruin Your Body's Ability to Count Calories

A study revealed that eating artificially sweetened foods and drinking sweetened beverages might hinder your body's ability to estimate calorie intake, thus boosting your inclination to overindulge.

First Study on Artificial Sweeteners
The first group of rats were given two liquids, both of which contained natural high-calorie sweeteners. The second group of rats were given two liquids, one that was sweetened with saccharin. Both groups were given a sweet, high-calorie chocolate-flavored snack after 10 days into the study.

Findings From the Study
Rats that were given the artificially flavored liquids had a more difficult time differentiating their calorie intake and displayed the tendency to overeat.

The rats given artificially sweetened drinks were found to consume three times more calories than rats that didn't receive any sweeteners in their drinks.

Second Study on Artificial Sweeteners
For the duration of 30 days, two groups of rats were fed their regular food along with a high-calorie supplement. One group was given a supplement similar the heavy consistency of chocolate pudding. The other group was given a supplement that had the consistency of chocolate milk.

Findings From the Study
The rats that were given the chocolate milk-like supplement experienced a notable weight gain over the rats who received the pudding-like supplement. Researchers concluded that the rats who were given the milk-like supplement had a harder time estimating calories than the rats that were given the pudding-like supplement. Researchers compared the results of this study to the Pavlovian theory where dogs were conditioned to associate the ringing of a bell to food. Researchers also stated that the rats in the study showed a similar relationship between the taste or texture of a food and the number of calories it contained.

More....

THINKING THIN WORKS!

2007-02-09T23:06:00.000-05:00

For Immediate Release
February 9, 2007

THINKING THIN WORKS!
Kelly Scotti, CHHC, helps clients manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.

Clients of Flying Dragon Wellness have found success in attaining and maintaining their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction and support from a Holistic Health Counselor.

Kelly Scotti, the Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness (http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com/ ), is a board certified Holistic Health Counselor that helps her clients transform their lives and their weight through individual and group programs based on a whole-foods, organic diet. She teaches her clients about nutrition and the premise of bio-individuality, leads them in cooking classes and health food store tours, and guides them to manifest their perfect weight using the Law of Attraction.

The law of attraction is the premise that the Universe provides what you think about and focus on. If weight loss or weight gain is desired, Kelly explains, it is important to focus on an ideal weight, that which is believable and makes the person feel healthy and happy, rather than focusing on the loss or gain that is desired. In this way, you are always focusing and attracting to you that ideal weight. If instead you focus on needing to lose weight, for example, you will always be attracting to you a situation in which you will need to lose weight.

Kelly has found that this novel approach to weight loss has been successful for her clients, if they fully believe and expect to receive results. It is only when her clients doubt the possibility of its occurrence that the desired results are not achieved. She supports them in this process by seeing them for twice-monthly sessions for three to six months.

The premise behind the Law of Attraction is fully explained in the film The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret has been featured on the Larry King Live, Oprah, and Ellen shows.

Flying Dragon Wellness is a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in the heart of Bucks County, Pa. Their truly holistic approach to nutrition counseling encompasses all types of nourishment: food, relationships, spirituality, a fulfilling career, physical activity, and mental health. Sessions take place in person or over the phone, depending on the location and desires of the client. For a limited time, they are offering a free initial health consultation by phone. To take advantage of this offer, please visit the contact page of http://www.flyingdragonwellness.com and reference LOA. Kelly Scotti, CHHC, is also available for lectures, workshops, and corporate wellness programs.

The Satisfaction of Enough

2007-02-08T23:21:00.000-05:00

I found the satisfaction of enough when I had everything I ever thought I wanted, and realized that I was left wanting. I had a job that was rewarding and paid well, a wonderful family, good health, plenty of friends, the 4 bedroom house with an in-ground pool, a sunroom and 1.5 acres of land, and still I felt empty. Only through recognizing and focusing on my internal abundance was I able to stop, simplify, and feel satisfied.

For me, the satisfaction of enough comes through self-love, about learning to love myself, and recognizing that everything I need is in me, and reflected in my life. I have an amazing husband and two year old son, who support, awe, and restore me, a holistic nutrition counseling practice where I assist others on their path to wellness, and the tools to recognize and decrease the impact my footprint has on future generations.

In my life, enough is educating the public about the dangers of pesticides, genetically modified foods, artificial sweeteners, PCBs and Mercury in farmed fish, and the perils of factory farming. Its about choosing organic and local foods, growing my own garden, teaching my son about conscious eating and the joy of cooking. Enough is about making a difference in peoples' lives.

Enough is paring down my closet to include only those clothes that I have worn in the past year, that fit correctly, that make me feel beautiful. Enough is recognizing I do not need any more clothes. Enough is taking those excess clothes and giving them to people that need them.

Enough is about feeling abundant no matter the size of my bank account, about practicing gratitude as a catalyst for abundant thought. Enough is consciousness, a focus on the breath, each breathe we take. A focus on eating, on each bite of food we take, our mouths chewing, tasting, nourishing our bodies and spirits. Enough is living, truly living through total awareness. Enough is serene, and peaceful, and beautiful, and satisfying. I am enough.

Picky Picky Picky Part 2

2007-02-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

PICKY, PICKY, PICKY -PART TWO
LAST MONTH HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI TOLD US WHY OUR TODDLERS ARE SUCH LIMITED EATERS. (CLICK HERE TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.) THIS MONTH SHE DISHES ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

The first rule of life with a picky eater is don't prepare special foods just for him. Make one meal for the whole family. If you do prepare something special for your child, you are leading him to believe that he controls what is served at meal times. Instead, you can modify slightly by altering the presentation of the main course or leaving off the sauce. If your child is hungry, he will eat something no matter what is in front of him—provided he knows he will receive nothing else for the rest of the evening if he does not eat at that time. It's important to set boundaries around family meals now in order to avoid future struggles.

Meal time should be eaten at the table. According to Erin Patterson at Small Bites (www.smallbitesonline.com), this is a great way to get your little ones to try new foods. Kids like to mimic their parents’ behavior, so you can use this to your advantage. When they see what you are eating at the dinner table, they might become intrigued and want to try some. A few nights ago, I made a delicious veggie and bean soup with various spices, a little hempseed and kelp flakes and I wanted Connor to try it. So I offered him a bowl at the dinner table. He saw the green things floating in the broth and refused, pushing the bowl dramatically away from him. When my husband and I continued to eat the soup, however, Connor decided he wanted his bowl back—along with mommy’s spoon. He then ate 10 whole spoonfuls, greens, spices and all.

Patterson emphasizes that the transition to the table may be difficult, especially as your little one may not want to sit in one place too long, but it is something you can and should work on. She creates routine by giving a five minute warning before mealtime and then blessing the meal when everyone sits down. She only offers the family meal, watching portion size for her daughter. If her daughter doesn’t eat the meal, she doesn’t eat for rest of the night. “By having a ritual and setting boundaries, it helps kids feel like they are a part of something and makes being at the table a positive experience for them,”Patterson adds. She goes on to say that kids are constantly trying to assert their independence and push their limits, so it's important not to force foods on them too much, yell at them for not cleaning their plate or pressure them to eat. That could lead to the development of negative food issues in your child.

Make food more fun for your toddler. If he’s not eating try presenting the foods in a unique way, use novel utensils like chopsticks or play games like counting the number of colors on his plate. I put frozen bananas and strawberries in the blender to make what I call “ice cream” and my son eats every bite. Making funny faces with food, like homemade wheat pancakes with raisins for eyes, berries for the nose and half a banana for a mouth, can also work. Or perhaps assign a silly name to a dish. The Gourmet Dinner Service Kids in Sydney, Australia includes in their options “Chook on Wiggly Worms,” a.k.a. organic honey soy chicken on a bed of noodles with zucchini and corn, as well as “Bird in Creamy Maze,” a creamy organic chicken pasta with pumpkin and cauliflower, and “Piggy in the Middle” made with bacon, corn and pumpkin frittata. Not only do these dishes have fun names, but they are mostly foods that let your child explore the meal with their fingers. Finger eating might make a bigger mess, but it's definitely more fun.

Give your child limited choices so he can feel like he is making a decision. It's much easier to have your child pick from two vegetables than you trying to prepare five or six or forcing him to eat the one on his plate. In fact, studies show that your child is much more likely to eat something he picks. Or perhaps include all the ingredients in one easy meal, like the one pot pasta or chicken and winter vegetables listed in the recipe section.

You could also start offering a variety of foods and spices to your child early on, before the pickiness sets in. Evie Failla, of Edie’s Organic Edibles (www.ediesorganicedibles.com), believes early introductions to exotic ingredients made her son a venturesome eater. Some of her best sellers, all tested on her son first, include Portabella Mushroom and Vegetable Risotto, Shepard’s Pie, Sesame Ginger Stir Fry, and Broccoli Casserole.

No matter what, always praise your child for trying new foods and never use food as a reward or punishment.

If children are allowed to turn down foods, are not forced to eat and are given good choices, instinctively, they will come to choose foods that are healthy and recognize their body’s signals for hunger and satiety. Fostering these healthy habits now will help them to not abuse food later on in life.

Getting your toddler to eat a healthy, varied diet can be frustrating, but the ideas listed above can help ensure meal time will not be a battlefield. It will instead be a time your child can feel safe, loved, supported and free to make his own choices—something all of us want in our lives.

One-Pot Pasta
Adapted from One Bite Won't Kill You by Ann Hodgman
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 onion, diced into small pieces (minced)
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 red pepper, minced
1 green pepper, minced
¼ cup chopped mushrooms (pieces as tiny as you can make them)
1 (14 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 lb/1 cup pasta
2 cups water

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions.
2. After three minutes, add the turkey and herbs and cook slowly. Break up the lumps of meat and cook until the meat is brown and cooked through.
3. Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and veggies. Cook for three to five minutes, stirring often.
4. Add the pasta and water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Then lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for half an hour. Stir every few minutes to avoid scorching.
5. Add up to ½ cup of water, if too dry. Sauce will thicken and pasta will be ready to serve.

Kids try this: Add a little Parmesan cheese to mommy and daddy’s bowl—and yours too.

Chicken and Winter Vegetables
Recipe provided by Edie Failla of Edie’s Organic Edibles
Serves 6

Ingredients:
Chicken legs on the bone, family pack
FlourExtra virgin olive oil
1 leek, white part only, washed and sliced
1 sweet potato
3 diced carrots
3 diced celery sticks
Chicken or vegetable stock

Directions:
1. Lightly coat the chicken with flour and brown them in a little oil for three to four minutes.
2. In another frying pan that can be place in the oven, sauté the leek and onion in a little oil for five minutes until soft and golden.
3. Put the chicken into the pan with all the vegetables. Add enough stock to cover the vegetables.
4. Cover lightly and cook in oven at 350 for one hour, turning the chicken and stirring the vegetables half way through.
5. Before serving, take the chicken off the bone, chop it into small pieces and add it back to the dish.

Kids try this: Count how many pieces of chicken are in your bowl. Can you identify the vegetables?

Mediterranean Quinoa
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 cups vegetable broth or stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and peppers. Cook and stir for about five minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for about two more minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa, vegetable stock and tomato puree.
5. Return to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until quinoa becomes soft.
6. Stir in the diced tomatoes and add seasoning. Cook until heated through, then serve.

Kids try this: Count the number of colors you see on your plate. And then count the number of colors you can eat.

Published Feb 2006 in The Family Groove Magazine (www.thefamilygroove.com)

The Urban Nutrition Initiative

2007-01-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

It is so wonderful to find such important health initiatives in our local area!:

Mission
The Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI) is a university-community partnership that engages K-16+ learners in an active, real-world problem-solving curriculum that strives to improve community nutrition and wellness. It is located in the Philadelphia, Pa area.

Programs
• School Gardens
School gardens offer opportunities for children to become engaged in positive ways to beautify their school and improve the quality of life in the community. School gardens form the base of UNI's peer-education program. Students of all levels can benefit from their experiences in the garden. There's always something new to learn!

• Fruit Stands
School-based produce stands serve as the cornerstone of UNI's approach to nutrition education. These markets, operated by students, combine entrepreneurial education and problem-solving.

• Farmer's Markets
Farmers' markets are an important solution to the problems of America's food systems. From connecting low-income communities with fresh local produce to providing farmers with important avenues to sell their products, farmers' markets encourage a healthy attitude towards eating well.

• Community Fitness
Exercise is a vital component of good nutrition and overall health. UNI's community fitness evenings at University City High School help children and their families to establish regular healthy exercise habits.

• Food Education
Food is a sensory, fun and nourishing experience and at UNI, we create programs that focus on these ideas. Food Education at UNI is a dynamic and holistic program that incorporates the school garden, farmerþs markets, community youth and adults, and communities of faith into the experience.

Goals
• Create and sustain an interdisciplinary K through 16+ curriculum that engages students as agents of school and community health improvement and simultaneously results in increased educational skills and abilities.
• Work with university faculty, students, public school teachers and community residents to realize schools as centers of community health promotion; places where active, healthy lifestyles are an integral part of education.
• Advance an ecological approach to nutrition education that emphasizes the interdependence of food, environment and human health through growing, cooking, eating and selling healthy foods. UNI programs fall into three general categories:
• Increasing food and nutrition knowledge.
• Increasing the supply of healthy foods.
• Encouraging and supporting active lifestyles.

UNI strives to serve as a model for effective school-based health promotion programs that can be adopted and adapted to meet the needs of schools and communities around the world.

Visit http://www.urbannutrition.org to find out more or to get involved!

Young Living Oils

2007-01-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

I am so pleased to announce that Flying Dragon Wellness will be featuring Young Living Oils, Nutritionals, and Skin Care in our practice. Aromatherapy is something that I have been interested in for a long time, and I am excited that I can offer such exceptional products to my clients and the general public.

For details about the oils, the Young Living Product line, or how you can add these items to your practice, or even start your own YL business, please email me using the link to Young Living Oils to the right side of the page.

Namaste-I honor the light within you.

Paper or Plastic? Neither!

2007-01-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

Check out this information from reusablebags.com:

Paper Bags Are Better Than Plastic, Right?

The answer to the "paper or plastic"? dilemma is: Neither. They're roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution.

Issue 1: Energy and natural resources
It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag. ENERGY TO PRODUCE BAG ORIGINALLY (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 594 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 2511 BTUs (Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry.)

Of course, most paper comes from tree pulp, so the impact of paper bag production on forests is enormous. In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases.

Issue 2: Pollution
The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. As evidenced by the unmistakable stench commonly associated with paper mills, the use of these toxic chemicals contributes to both air pollution, such as acid rain, and water pollution. Millions of gallons of these chemicals pour into our waterways each year; the toxicity of the chemicals is long-term and settles into the sediments, working its way through the food chain. Further toxicity is generated as both plastic and paper bags degrade.

POLLUTANTS PAPER V.S. PLASTIC Paper sacks generate 70% more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. Source: "Comparison of the Effects on the Environment of Polyethylene and Paper Carrier Bags," Federal Office of the Environment, August 1988

Issue 3: Recycling
It takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper. But recycling rates of either type of disposable bag are extremely low, with only 10 to 15% of paper bags and 1 to 3% of plastic bags being recycled, according to the Wall Street Journal.

ENERGY TO RECYCLE PACKAGE ONCE (BTUs) Safeway Plastic Bags: 17 BTUs Safeway Paper Bags: 1444 BTUs Source: 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry. Although paper bags have a higher recycling rate than plastic, each new paper grocery bag you use is made from mostly virgin pulp for better strength and elasticity.

Issue 4: Degradability
Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, nothing completely degrades in modern landfills because of the lack of water, light, oxygen and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed. A paper bags takes up more space than a plastic bag in a landfill, but because paper is recycled at a higher rate, saving space in landfills is less of an issue. At the end of the day using reusable bags and containers are the real answer!

PICKY, PICKY, PICKY

2007-01-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

PICKY, PICKY, PICKY

ARE CHEERIOS AND YOGURT THE MAIN STAPLES OF YOUR TODDLER'S DIET?

HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI EXPLAINS WHY:

Broiled Coho red salmon with millet and black bean stuffed green peppers. Free-range roasted chicken breast with butternut squash risotto. These dishes sound as good as they taste. And yet, my son wants nothing to do with them. It doesn’t matter that the salmon is straight from Alaska and that I spent all day cooking. My son, two this November, wants only yogurt. The same kind he has had for the last 25 meals he has eaten.

When my son requests to eat something, he will systematically reject every choice I offer him. Even though I know that picky eating is a hallmark of the toddler stage, I still wonder in frustration about why only two or three months ago my son was willing to try everything I put on his plate. What can I do to get my adventurous eater back, so that I can make us both those yummy and healthy gourmet meals?

First, let’s explore why a toddler might be picky. Between the ages of two and five, children begin to recognize what they like or dislike, are able to make choices based on those preferences and are able to tell you those choices. So rather than trying new foods or eating a food that touches another food or eating something that mommy and daddy want them to eat, they say no and/or they ask for something else. This nay-saying is a big part of their need to assert their independence and will.

Rebellion aside, children’s taste buds are much more sensitive than our adult taste buds. So, for example, something that is mildly bitter to us could be hugely so to them. In addition to that, extra sensitivity can be caused by a chemical known as phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is found in foods such as such as strawberries, oranges, apples, turnips, broccoli and green beans. PTC causes foods to taste extremely bitter or virtually tasteless, depending on your child’s genetic makeup. A child’s food preference, then, might be out of their control regardless of their assertion of will. That could explain why my little guy spit out the bok choy/apple/date juice I gave him the other day.

In general, people have a genetic preference for sweet and salty foods. This is a survival mechanism leftover from way back when we needed to be protected from eating poisonous foods. In the case of your toddler, however, it is a frustrating fact when you want more green vegetables in his diet. Beyond the tastes of food, things such as texture and appearance also make a difference in food preferences. Children like smooth creamy things, such as yogurt and ice cream because they feel good on the tongue, in addition to their sweetness. Something really spicy, ...more

Free College Courses for All (from MIT, and others!)

2007-01-06T18:34:00.000-05:00

I for one am going to take all of the nutrition courses John Hopkins offers...

By Gregory M. Lamb, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jan 4, 3:00 AM ET

By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world's most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world. Learners won't have to register for the classes, and everyone is accepted. The cost? It's all free of charge.

The OpenCourseWare movement, begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002 and now spread to some 120 other universities worldwide, aims to disperse knowledge far beyond the ivy-clad walls of elite campuses to anyone who has an Internet connection and a desire to learn.

Intended as an act of "intellectual philanthropy," OpenCourseWare (OCW) provides free access to course materials such as syllabi, video or audio lectures, notes, homework assignments, illustrations, and so on. So far, by giving away their content, the universities aren't discouraging students from enrolling as students. Instead, the online materials appear to be only whetting appetites for more.

"We believe strongly that education can be best advanced when knowledge is shared openly and freely," says Anne Margulies, executive director of the OCW program at MIT. "MIT is using the power of the Internet to give away all of the educational materials created here."

The MIT site (ocw.mit.edu), along with companion sites that translate the material into other languages, now average about 1.4 million visits per month from learners "in every single country on the planet," Ms. Margulies says. Those include Iraq, Darfur, "even Antarctica," she says. "We hear from [the online students] all the time with inspirational stories about how they are using these materials to change their lives. They're really, really motivated."

So-called "distance learning" over the Internet isn't new. Students have been able to pay for online courses at many institutions, either to receive credit or simply as a noncredit adult-learning experience. Many universities also offer free podcasts (audio or sometimes video material delivered via the Internet).

View the rest of the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070104/ts_csm/cmit .

New Year, New You

2007-01-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

If you are ready to make a permanent change, I invite you to visit the website www.intentionengine.com . Manifest your wildest dreams into reality. They also allow you to view the entire version of THE SECRET (Rhonda Byrne) under their Top Resources tag.

I am ready to manifest my best self-are you?

Zero trans fat does not mean zero trans fat

2006-12-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

‘0 grams trans fats’ is very misleading on food labels

Been surprised while reading nutritional information and ingredients on food labels recently.
Since the beginning of the year, food manufacturers have been required to list on the label the amount of deadly trans fats in each serving.

But I’m discovering that foods labeled “0 grams trans fats” often do have trans fats in them. The ingredient label says so. Mentions “partially hydrogenated” oils of one kind or another.

So, “0 grams trans fats” does NOT mean zero trans fats. All it means is less than 500 milligrams of trans fats per serving. And, as supersize Americans know, very few of us eat just a “serving” of anything.

And most important to know, there is NO safe amount of man-made trans fats for human consumption. It is believed that the body can metabolize from 1 to 2 grams daily of organic trans fats found in tiny tiny amounts in vegetables, nuts, meats and so on. But there is no amount of man-made trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils or highly heated vegetable oils) that is safe for consumption. Not 1 to 2 grams. Not 500 milligrams.

To put “less than 500 milligrams” into perspective, consider this:
The federal government’s “recommended daily allowance” of Vitamin C — a nutrient essential for life and health — is only 60 milligrams for adults. That’s PER DAY.

Yet the same federal government allows food manufacturers to pack more than 8 times that much of trans fats — a deadly substance known to clog arteries– into EACH SERVING of foodstuffs and to then label the food as having “0 grams of trans fats.”

499 mg of trans fats is a pretty potent slug. And it can be cumulative. You can eat a serving (or more) of several foods at a meal that each have “0 grams trans fats” according to the label but secretly are destroying your health by pumping trans fats into your bloodstream.
Trans fat labeling is a (more…)

– ken winston caine
www.mindbodyspiritjournal.com

Getting Back to Wellness

2006-12-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

Todays Daily Om
www.dailyom.com

December 11, 2006
Getting Back To Wellness

Seven Quick Fixes To Feel Better
The signals our bodies use to tell us we need to cleanse ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally are multifaceted and often mirror symptoms we associate with illness. If we heed these signs, we not only feel better quickly but also stave off poor health before it can start. These quick fixes for common ailments can get you started.

1. Applying pressure to the acupressure point between the thumb and forefinger can release blockages causing pain, tension, and fatigue. You can relieve a headache naturally by squeezing for 20 seconds and releasing for 10 seconds, without letting go, four times.

2. To breathe freely, irrigate your nasal passages with a neti pot and warm salt water. As you clear and soothe the sinuses, congestion associated with allergies or infection will gradually disappear.

3. Apple cider vinegar is a powerful purifying and detoxifying agent. Soaking for 20 minutes in a warm bath infused with two cups of apple cider vinegar pulls toxins from the body and can clear blocked energy.

4. The foods you eat can have a profound impact on your outlook and mood. Eating a small yet satisfying meal rich in complex carbohydrates can lift your spirit and help you let go of feelings of anger, irritability, and depression.

5. Anxiety and fear dissipate quickly when countered with conscious breathing because concentrating on the breath enables you to refocus your attention inward. You can ground yourself and regain your usual calm by taking a series of deep belly breaths as you visualize your feet growing roots that stretch miles down into the earth.

6. Though tuning out can seem counterproductive, a few minutes spent lost in daydreams or listening to soothing music can help you see your circumstances from a new angle when you feel frustrated.

7. If you feel ill health coming on, brew a wellness elixir. Simmer three sliced lemons, one teaspoon freshly grated ginger, one clove freshly minced garlic, and one quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper in five cups water until the lemons are soft and pale. Strain a portion into a mug and add honey by tablespoons until you can tolerate the taste. Drinking this potent mixture of antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal ingredients three times each day can ensure your symptoms never progress into a full-blown illness.

After a while...

2006-12-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

I have just recently unearthed this poem from my office files and felt it appropriate to post:

After a while you learn
The subtle difference
Between holding a hand
And chaining a soul,
And you learn
That love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and and your eyes open,
With the grace of a woman,
Not the grief of a child.
You learn to build your roads on today,
For tomorrow's ground is uncertain.
After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns
If you get too much.
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting for
Someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn
That you really can endure...
That you really are stong...
And that you really do have worth.

2006-12-07T22:49:00.000-05:00

SUPERFOODS TO THE RESCUE
ARE THESE POPULAR PABULUMS REALLY THE PANACEAS FOR WHAT AILS YOU? HOLISTIC HEALTH COUNSELOR KELLY SCOTTI DIPS INTO THE POWER AND THE PROPAGANDA BEHIND NATURE'S SAVING GRACES.

Originally published in the October 2006 edition of thefamilygroove.com

Superfoods have been promoted in the media for the last few years as the answer to everything. Want age-defying beauty, optimal health, clear skin, higher brain functioning? How about preventing cancer? Superfoods are touted as the miracle cure-all for everything bad that can happen to you. But riddle this: what if there really are no superfoods? What if there are only foods that, depending on how much you eat of them, the speed and the manner in which you eat them, how you prepare them, what they are combined with, and whether or not they are organic, influence their classification as good, bad or neutral?

Yes, it's true.

All of the factors I just listed affect the effect food has on your body and your mind.Ultimately, if your diet is varied and full of whole foods, and you take time to enjoy the process of eating, then foods will affect you positively, prevent disease by boosting your immunity, aid in digestion and more. It sounds to easy to be true, right? But, in fact, most whole foods when eaten in combination with one another are nutritional powerhouses, a.k.a. superfoods.

Okay, so for those of you that still have to have your superfoods shopping list, let the rescue begin with the basics:A food has to be organic to be super. Yes, organic costs more, but buying organic ensures your food will have a higher nutrient content, making these “superfoods” even better for you. Also, organic is safer for your children because they don't allow the use of pesticides or genetic modification in organic foods. Remember that in order for foods to be super for our kids, they have to contribute to proper brain function, provide our children with the macro- and micronutrients they need, give good sustained energy, not cause inappropriate weight gain, and be appetizing to our picky little girls and guys. Portability and easy access are a plus. That’s a lot of pressure for these little foods. Let’s see if our top 20 list (in no particular order) rises to the challenge:

Grapes
Portable and powerful, these little balls of joy provide your child with polyphenols (antioxidants), vitamin C, and natural sugars. They give an instant energy boost.

Berries
Low in sugar, high in phytochemicals, antioxidants, fiber, calcium, magnesium and zinc, these sweet treats are easy to eat and easy to carry. Pick one or try them all: blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries and more.

Oranges
Rich in beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamins B1 and 6, potassium, folic acid, calcium, and iron, oranges are colorful, sweet smelling and a real treat for our little ones—and don’t forget, very accessible and portable.

Bananas
A rich source of Vitamins B and C, potassium, magnesium and iodine. They are easily digested and a high energy source—and again, very portable.

Apples
Every colorful apple provides five grams of fiber and lots of antioxidants, including flavonoids and other polyphenols. Apples, however, are one of the most pesticide-sprayed crops, and most non-organic apples are waxed to make sure they are not damaged in shipping ( and who wants to eat that?), so be sure to choose organic.

Avocados
Avocados are fruits that provide a terrific source of monounsaturated fat, an essential part of your child’s proper growth and development. In fact, over 60 per cent of a child's brain is comprised of fat. Good fat should make up a third of your toddler’s daily calories to support proper brain functioning.

Broccoli
You might need to dress it up a little (did anyone say melted cheese?), but broccoli is loaded with disease fighting chemicals and vitamin C. Chop it up and serve it incognito in a main dish—your child will never know it's there.

Mushrooms
A great source of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and selenium, mushrooms are also easy to put into varied dishes without the risk of discovery.

Tomatoes
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a potent carotenoid antioxidant. Cherry or grape tomatoes are easy for an on-the-go snack. The bigger tomatoes can be chopped into salads, wraps, salsa, and more for lots of tasty options.

Carrots
Carrots contain high levels of beta carotene, are fun to eat and easy to carry.

Nuts or natural nut butters
Essential fats are the key here. Be sure to choose peanut butter and other nut butters that are natural to avoid high fructose corn syrup and other yucky ingredients. And make sure you give only chopped nuts to kids under five to avoid choking.

Beans
Filled with fiber, protein and iron, beans are a nutritious addition to a child's diet, and very easy to put in soups, grind into spreads (hummus anyone?), salads and more.

Cage Free, Organic Eggs
Eggs are a complete protein, and contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that support eye health. They are low in sodium, and great for your little one’s growing body. You can also buy omega-3 eggs, which offer your child essential fatty acids for brain development support.

Yogurt
One cup of yogurt provides 13 grams of protein and almost 500mg of calcium, making it one of the best sources of protein and calcium for your child. Yogurt also contains probiotics which help promote immune system functioning and healthy digestion. Throw in some berries for a taste treat. Make sure to choose varieties with no added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Sweet potatoes
These root veggies are loaded with beta carotene, vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium and iron. Mash’em up and serve’em hot. They make great food fight material as well, and spice up the color of any wall—so beware.

Mangos
This tropical fruit provides more than a full day’s serving of beta-carotene, as well as fiber, potassium, and vitamin C. They are so good and juicy—and portable, but be sure to bring a napkin or wipe.

Quinoa
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) looks and tastes like a grain, but it's a seed that contains copious amounts of iron, potassium, vitamin B, fiber and protein. A ½ cup actually provides all the protein your child needs in a day—that’s some seed. You can prepare it as a rice-type dish or like porridge. It’s good any time of the day. My son and I like it with a little balsamic vinegar as a side dish, or with some pure maple syrup for breakfast.

Salmon
Salmon contains heart-healthy omega-3 polyunsaturated fat, tastes good, and is easy to prepare. Choose wild Alaskan salmon to decrease risk of mercury contamination.

Whole grain bread
No Wonder bread on the list here. White bread and refined whole wheat can lead to blood sugar havoc, weight gain and fluctuations in energy. Look for breads made with 100% whole wheat or whole grain in order to keep your child’s energy level up and his/her glucose level regulated. Whole grains are rich in complex carbohydrates and add beneficial phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals to your child’s diet.

Green leafy vegetables
Greens, such as spinach, kale, bok choy, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce, contain beta-carotene, vitamin B, calcium, lutein and zeaxanthin that work together to support overall health. Getting your child to eat them might be a challenge if you toddler is like mine and avoids anything green. However, a variety of quality green drinks and powders have sprouted up in the last five years, and my little one loves them (as long as I call them juice). Take a look below for more information on some of the green drinks you can find in your supermarket or health food store, and my favorite home recipes.

Dark Chocolate
After you fill your child up with all the great foods listed above, its time for you to indulge in my number one super food: pure, dark organic chocolate. Loaded with magnesium, antioxidants and chemicals that mimic the love response in our bodies, a little piece of dark chocolate is a little piece of heaven. When it’s really dark, you only need a little to fill up that sweet spot.

At the end of the day, just know that the more good foods you can add into your child’s diet, the more likely he or she will make good food choices in the future. Avoid those sugary, processed, junk food traps. For now, load them up on the goodies above, as part of a varied, colorful, organic diet and watch them thrive.

Superfoods Key

Phytonutrients/phytochemicals
These are plant-derived compounds that are not essential to your health, but are believed to improve your health. Phytochemicals, called polyphenol antioxidants, for example, give fruits and vegetables their vibrant hues of green, orange, red and purple.

Antioxidants
These sustenances help neutralize harmful food digestion byproducts called free radicals that can lead to cancer, allergies, heart disease and other age-related diseases.

Flavonoids
These are the best-known antioxidants. Think citrus fruits, berries, onions and tea. Flavonols, isoflavones, and anthocyanidins are subgroups of the flavonoids. Over 5000 naturally occurring flavonoids have been characterized from various plants.

Carotenoids
These are the pigments that protect dark green, yellow, orange and red fruits and vegetables from sun damage, and they work as antioxidants in humans. There are over 600 of them, but the most well known include beta-carotene (vitamin A), lycopene, and lutein.

Vitamins
Nutrients considered essential to health.

Minerals
In general, these are trace elements, salts or ions such as copper and iron. These minerals are essential to human metabolism.

For superfood recipes and shopping lists, check out these super sites: www.wildoats.com/u/recipe200/ and www.wildoats.com/u/health100454/ .

For those of you that prefer books to the Internet, check out Superfoods for Babies and Children by Annabel Karmel or The Organic Baby and Toddler Cookbook by Lizzie Vann.

The Scoop on Green Drinks
Some of my favorite combinations include:

Bok choy, green apples and strawberries
Raspberries, blueberries and collard greens
Romaine, cucumber and mango

I change up the amounts of each of the ingredients every time. For the most part, I include four or five leaves of the greens with about a cup or two of fruit and about 16 ounces of pure water. That makes about 32 ounces of juice. I have a very powerful blender called a Vita-Mix (http://www.vitamix.com/) that allows me to make the combinations above without having to throw out of any of the good pulpy stuff (like some juicers do).

If you don’t have time or the equipment to make your own green drinks, you can find two of my favorite at the grocery store:

Naked Juice Green MachineOdwalla Superfood™
Micronutrient Fruit Juice Drink

Not only do they taste good, but they are good for you, and a much better choice than regular sugary reconstituted fruit juices available. If buying brands other than the two listed above, make sure you read the label to confirm they contain real juice and not just sugar. Also try to buy varieties that are labeled organic and GMO free.

Another option is green drink powders. For a list of some of the powders available, their ingredients, and directions for use, visit http://www.energiseforlife.com/green_drinks.php.

Kelly Scotti, HHC, is the Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness, www.flyingdragonwellness.com,a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in Bucks County, Pa. She's Board Certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and obtained her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. She and her husband also run an online baby boutique for boys, www.ohboybabyboutique.com. Kelly sees clients at her office location in Pipersville, PA, as well as conducting counseling sessions over the phone. For more information, or to schedule a consultation, please email Kelly at flyingdragonwellness@yahoo.com.

Gratitute and Attention

2006-12-07T22:37:00.000-05:00

Exploring the Link between Gratitude and Attention
by Gregg Krech

"If the only prayer you say in your entire life is ‘thank you' that would suffice."- Meister Eckhart

Your eyes are still closed when you hear the beeping of your digital alarm clock go off on the small wooden table next to your bed. Without opening your eyes your arm naturally reaches over to press the black "snooze alarm" button - a motion you repeat just about every morning. But this morning nothing happens. The beeping continues – and is getting a bit irritating. So now you open your eyes and watch your index finger press hard on the correct button. More beeping. You hit another switch which should just turn the alarm off completely. Still more beeping. In a fit of frustration you finally pull out the cord from the electrical outlet. Ahh.... quiet at last. Perhaps it's time for a new clock.

A few minutes later you find yourself about to get up from a brief stop at the toilet when . . . . the toilet won't flush. "I'm really starting off the day in great shape," you think. You get dressed and start the coffeemaker to give you a bit of a jolt, but when you come back to the kitchen there is hot water and coffee grounds all over the table. Now you're beginning to think that this is a bad dream and you must still be in bed. But it's not over. You open the door to grab the morning paper and quickly check the news before leaving for work but . . . no paper! You look to the left, to the right. Did someone take your paper? Did they forget to deliver it? No time to speculate further. Got to get to work. As you drive down the highway to work, you're thinking about how rough the morning has been when suddenly . . . the person driving in the next lane changes lanes – cutting you off and almost running you off the road. When you arrive at work your heart is still racing and you take every opportunity to share your "extraordinary" morning with your colleagues. What a relief it will be when this day is over!

If you've ever had a day when everything seems to go wrong you can probably sympathize with the subject of the story above and it appears understandable that he or she would feel frustrated and perhaps have a sense that the world is a pretty unfriendly place.

To begin to understand the relationship between attention and gratitude we need to turn the story around. Imagine a day when . . . .

- the alarm works perfectly- the toilet flushes just the way it's supposed
- the coffeemaker produces a hot, aromatic cup of coffee
- your morning paper is waiting outside your door
- no other car crashes into you or cuts you off on the way to work

Now what happens? Do you arrive at work feeling overwhelmed with gratitude – with an attitude of appreciation for all the people and things that are supporting you on this glorious morning?
Probably not.

Habits of Attention

Most likely your attention has identified and attached itself to some other problems. If there's no particular problem going on that morning, your mind may ruminate about something that happened in the past or anticipate some difficulty that may occur in the future. It is common for our attention to focus on the problems and difficulties we are facing because we have to pay attention to such challenges in order to handle them. Unfortunately we can develop a "habit of attention" in which we fail to notice the many things that are supporting our existence – our health, our work, our family, and our efforts to accomplish the things we want to do. The more this "habit of attention" has developed, the less likely we will be able to experience gratitude.
I first made the connection between Gratitude and Attention when I discovered a Japanese method of self-reflection called Naikan (like the name of the camera).

The word Naikan means "inside looking" or "inside observation." This method of self-reflection is primarily based on three questions:

1. What have I received from others?
2. What have I given to others?
3. What troubles and difficulties have I caused others?

As you can see these questions are very simple. And when I participated in a 14 day retreat in Japan in 1989, these questions became the framework for me to reflect on my entire life. I reflected on each stage of my life and on every person who had playing a meaningful role in my life since my birth (my mom, dad, grandparents, teachers, friends, colleagues, ex-girlfriends, etc. . .) When I stepped back from my life and began quietly reflecting on everything that had been done for me and given to me (question #1) I was surprised and overwhelmed by how much I had received in my life. The day I left that retreat I felt more cared for, loved and supported than ever before. It was as if I had a blood transfusion and gratitude was now simply flowing through my veins and arteries. I had learned to notice what I had not been noticing. Through self-reflection I had learned about attention and gratitude.

That two week retreat inspired me to return to Japan many times to investigate, in more depth, the Japanese art and practice of self-reflection. I have yet to discover a more profound method for cultivating gratitude and reshaping our attitude and understanding of our lives.

Let's consider three of the greatest obstacles to gratitude. They are:

Self-preoccupation
We are so preoccupied with our own thoughts, feelings, needs and bodies that we have little attention left over to notice what is being done to support us. You might think of your attention as flashlight. As long as you shine the light on your problems, difficulties, and aches and pains, there is no light available for seeing what others are doing for you.

Expectation
When I turn the switch on my bedside lamp I assume the light will go on as it (almost) always does. Once I've come to expect something, it doesn't usually get me attention. My attention isn't really grabbed until my expectation isn't met (the light bulb doesn't work). So my attention tends to gravitate away from what I expect and towards what I don't expect.

Entitlement
The more I think I've earned something or deserve something, the less likely I am to feel grateful for it. As long as I think I'm entitled to something I won't consider it a gift. But when I am humbled by my own mistakes or limitations, I am more likely to receive what I am given with gratitude and a true sense of appreciation for the giver as well as the gift.

To experience a sense of heartfelt gratitude we most overcome these three obstacles. Self-reflection provides a path for doing so. It allows us to pause to appreciate what is being given to us rather than focus on what we don't have. It allows us to consider the countless objects and human beings that made it possible for me to get to work or turn on my computer. Through self-reflection, we can come to see everything we have, and are, as gifts. And through self-reflection we begin to train our attention to notice what we haven't noticed.

It is rare to meet a person whose life is full of gratitude. Many people don't truly appreciate what they have until it is gone. And having lost the opportunity to be grateful, they simply find another reason to be disappointed.

If you wish to cultivate gratitude you must develop a practice. Without practice, there is no development of skill - only an idea. You cannot become a grateful person just by thinking that you want to be grateful. Sometimes we are engaged in a practice, but we don't think of it as a practice. For example– complaining. Complaining is a wonderful practice if you wish to cultivate disappointment, resentment and self-pity. Have you ever tried this practice? It is quite effective. Each time you complain you get better at complaining. It is like learning to play an instrument.

Most of us are better at the practice of complaining than at the practice of self-reflection. We have developed a habit of attention – to notice the troubles others cause us. And we have developed a habit of speech -- to complain to others about these troubles. But to cultivate gratitude, we need to develop a new habit of attention – to notice the concrete ways in which the world supports us each day. And we can then develop a new habit of speech – expressing our gratitude to others.

So start your practice today. Notice. Reflect. Express. Hey, what's that sound? Oh, it's the alarm on my watch reminding me I have an appointment. What a nice feature. It frees up my mind to attend to other things. Thanks, watch. And thanks to my wife Linda who gave it to me. And thanks to all the people who made it. And thank goodness my finger works well enough to shut it off. Time to move on.

Gregg Krech is the Director of the ToDo Institute and the author of several books including A Natural Approach to Mental Wellness and the award-winning book Naikan: Gratitude, Grace and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection. He conducts ToDo Institute's annual distance learning courses which include Working with Your Attention in April and A Month of Self-Reflection in November. More information on these courses is available by emailing the ToDo Institute at todo@together.net

A great reason to buy fresh and local

2006-10-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

New York Times
October 15, 2006
The Way We Live Now

The Vegetable-Industrial Complex
By MICHAEL POLLAN

Soon after the news broke last month that nearly 200 Americans in 26 states had been sickened by eating packaged spinach contaminated with E. coli, I received a rather coldblooded e-mail message from a friend in the food business. “I have instructed my broker to purchase a million shares of RadSafe,” he wrote, explaining that RadSafe is a leading manufacturer of food-irradiation technology. It turned out my friend was joking, but even so, his reasoning was impeccable. If bagged salad greens are vulnerable to bacterial contamination on such a scale, industry and government would very soon come looking for a technological fix; any day now, calls to irradiate the entire food supply will be on a great many official lips. That’s exactly what happened a few years ago when we learned that E. coli from cattle feces was winding up in American hamburgers. Rather than clean up the kill floor and the feedlot diet, some meat processors simply started nuking the meat — sterilizing the manure, in other words, rather than removing it from our food. Why? Because it’s easier to find a technological fix than to address the root cause of such a problem. This has always been the genius of industrial capitalism — to take its failings and turn them into exciting new business opportunities.

We can also expect to hear calls for more regulation and inspection of the produce industry. Already, watchdogs like the Center for Science in the Public Interest have proposed that the government impose the sort of regulatory regime it imposes on the meat industry — something along the lines of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system (Haccp, pronounced HASS-ip) developed in response to the E. coli contamination of beef. At the moment, vegetable growers and packers are virtually unregulated. “Farmers can do pretty much as they please,” Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America, said recently, “as long as they don’t make anyone sick.”

This sounds like an alarming lapse in governmental oversight until you realize there has never before been much reason to worry about food safety on farms. But these days, the way we farm and the way we process our food, both of which have been industrialized and centralized over the last few decades, are endangering our health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that our food supply now sickens 76 million Americans every year, putting more than 300,000 of them in the hospital, and killing 5,000. The lethal strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, responsible for this latest outbreak of food poisoning, was unknown before 1982; it is believed to have evolved in the gut of feedlot cattle. These are animals that stand around in their manure all day long, eating a diet of grain that happens to turn a cow’s rumen into an ideal habitat for E. coli 0157:H7. (The bug can’t survive long in cattle living on grass.) Industrial animal agriculture produces more than a billion tons of manure every year, manure that, besides being full of nasty microbes like E. coli 0157:H7 (not to mention high concentrations of the pharmaceuticals animals must receive so they can tolerate the feedlot lifestyle), often ends up in places it shouldn’t be, rather than in pastures, where it would not only be harmless but also actually do some good. To think of animal manure as pollution rather than fertility is a relatively new (and industrial) idea.

Wendell Berry once wrote that when we took animals off farms and put them onto feedlots, we had, in effect, taken an old solution — the one where crops feed animals and animals’ waste feeds crops — and neatly divided it into two new problems: a fertility problem on the farm, and a pollution problem on the feedlot. Rather than return to that elegant solution, however, industrial agriculture came up with a technological fix for the first problem — chemical fertilizers on the farm. As yet, there is no good fix for the second problem, unless you count irradiation and Haccp plans and overcooking your burgers and, now, staying away from spinach. All of these solutions treat E. coli 0157:H7 as an unavoidable fact of life rather than what it is: a fact of industrial agriculture.

But if industrial farming gave us this bug, it is industrial eating that has spread it far and wide. We don’t yet know exactly what happened in the case of the spinach washed and packed by Natural Selection Foods, whether it was contaminated in the field or in the processing plant or if perhaps the sealed bags made a trivial contamination worse. But we do know that a great deal of spinach from a great many fields gets mixed together in the water at that plant, giving microbes from a single field an opportunity to contaminate a vast amount of food. The plant in question washes 26 million servings of salad every week. In effect, we’re washing the whole nation’s salad in one big sink.

It’s conceivable the same problem could occur in your own kitchen sink or on a single farm. Food poisoning has always been with us, but not until we started processing all our food in such a small number of “kitchens” did the potential for nationwide outbreaks exist.

Surely this points to one of the great advantages of a decentralized food system: when things go wrong, as they sooner or later will, fewer people are affected and, just as important, the problem can be more easily traced to its source and contained. A long and complicated food chain, in which food from all over the countryside is gathered together in one place to be processed and then distributed all over the country to be eaten, can be impressively efficient, but by its very nature it is a food chain devilishly hard to follow and to fix.

Fortunately, this is not the only food chain we have. The week of the E. coli outbreak, washed spinach was on sale at my local farmers’ market, and at the Blue Heron Farms stand, where I usually buy my greens, the spinach appeared to be moving briskly. I tasted a leaf and wondered why I didn’t think twice about it. I guess it’s because I’ve just always trusted these guys; I buy from them every week. The spinach was probably cut and washed that morning or the night before — it hasn’t been sitting around in a bag on a truck for a week. And if there ever is any sort of problem, I know exactly who is responsible. Whatever the risk, and I’m sure there is some, it seems manageable.

These days, when people make the case for buying local food, they often talk about things like keeping farmers in our communities and eating fresh food in season, at the peak of its flavor. We like what’s going on at the farmers’ market — how country meets city, how children learn that a carrot is not a glossy orange bullet that comes in a bag but is actually a root; how we get to taste unfamiliar flavors and even, in some sense, reconnect through these foods and their growers to the natural world. Stack all this up against the convenience and price of supermarket food, though, and it can sound a little. . .sentimental.

But there’s nothing sentimental about local food — indeed, the reasons to support local food economies could not be any more hardheaded or pragmatic. Our highly centralized food economy is a dangerously precarious system, vulnerable to accidental — and deliberate — contamination. This is something the government understands better than most of us eaters. When Tommy Thompson retired from the Department of Health and Human Services in 2004, he said something chilling at his farewell news conference: “For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do.” The reason it is so easy to do was laid out in a 2003 G.A.O. report to Congress on bioterrorism. “The high concentration of our livestock industry and the centralized nature of our food-processing industry” make them “vulnerable to terrorist attack.” Today 80 percent of America’s beef is slaughtered by four companies, 75 percent of the precut salads are processed by two and 30 percent of the milk by just one company. Keeping local food economies healthy — and at the moment they are thriving — is a matter not of sentiment but of critical importance to the national security and the public health, as well as to reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Yet perhaps the gravest threat now to local food economies — to the farmer selling me my spinach, to the rancher who sells me my grass-fed beef — is, of all things, the government’s own well-intentioned efforts to clean up the industrial food supply. Already, hundreds of regional meat-processing plants — the ones that local meat producers depend on — are closing because they can’t afford to comply with the regulatory requirements the U.S.D.A. rightly imposes on giant slaughterhouses that process 400 head of cattle an hour. The industry insists that all regulations be “scale neutral,” so if the U.S.D.A. demands that huge plants have, say, a bathroom, a shower and an office for the exclusive use of its inspectors, then a small processing plant that slaughters local farmers’ livestock will have to install these facilities, too. This is one of the principal reasons that meat at the farmers’ market is more expensive than meat at the supermarket: farmers are seldom allowed to process their own meat, and small processing plants have become very expensive to operate, when the U.S.D.A. is willing to let them operate at all. From the U.S.D.A.’s perspective, it is much more efficient to put their inspectors in a plant where they can inspect 400 cows an hour rather than in a local plant where they can inspect maybe one.

So what happens to the spinach grower at my farmers’ market when the F.D.A. starts demanding a Haccp plan — daily testing of the irrigation water, say, or some newfangled veggie-irradiation technology? When we start requiring that all farms be federally inspected? Heavy burdens of regulation always fall heaviest on the smallest operations and invariably wind up benefiting the biggest players in an industry, the ones who can spread the costs over a larger output of goods. A result is that regulating food safety tends to accelerate the sort of industrialization that made food safety a problem in the first place. We end up putting our faith in RadSafe rather than in Blue Heron Farms — in technologies rather than relationships.

It’s easy to imagine the F.D.A. announcing a new rule banning animals from farms that produce plant crops. In light of the threat from E. coli, such a rule would make a certain kind of sense. But it is an industrial, not an ecological, sense. For the practice of keeping animals on farms used to be, as Wendell Berry pointed out, a solution; only when cows moved onto feedlots did it become a problem. Local farmers and local food economies represent much the same sort of pre-problem solution — elegant, low-tech and redundant. But the logic of industry, apparently ineluctable, has other ideas, ideas that not only leave our centralized food system undisturbed but also imperil its most promising, and safer, alternatives.

Michael Pollan, a contributing writer for the magazine, is the author most recently of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.”

The Organic Myth

2006-10-13T15:41:00.000-04:00

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005001.htm?campaign_id=nws_insdr_oct6&link_position=link1

The Organic Myth
Pastoral ideals are getting trampled as organic food goes mass market

Next time you're in the supermarket, stop and take a look at Stonyfield Farm yogurt. With its contented cow and green fields, the yellow container evokes a bucolic existence, telegraphing what we've come to expect from organic food: pure, pesticide-free, locally produced ingredients grown on a small family farm.

So it may come as a surprise that Stonyfield's organic farm is long gone. Its main facility is a state-of-the-art industrial plant just off the airport strip in Londonderry, N.H., where it handles milk from other farms. And consider this: Sometime soon a portion of the milk used to make that organic yogurt may be taken from a chemical-free cow in New Zealand, powdered, and then shipped to the U.S. True, Stonyfield still cleaves to its organic heritage. For Chairman and CEO Gary Hirshberg, though, shipping milk powder 9,000 miles across the planet is the price you pay to conquer the supermarket dairy aisle. "It would be great to get all of our food within a 10-mile radius of our house," he says. "But once you're in organic, you have to source globally."

Hirshberg's dilemma is that of the entire organic food business. Just as mainstream consumers are growing hungry for untainted food that also nourishes their social conscience, it is getting harder and harder to find organic ingredients. There simply aren't enough organic cows in the U.S., never mind the organic grain to feed them, to go around. Nor are there sufficient organic strawberries, sugar, or apple pulp -- some of the other ingredients that go into the world's best-selling organic yogurt.

Now companies from Wal-Mart (WMT ) to General Mills (GIS ) to Kellogg (K ) are wading into the organic game, attracted by fat margins that old-fashioned food purveyors can only dream of. What was once a cottage industry of family farms has become Big Business, with all that that implies, including pressure from Wall Street to scale up and boost profits. Hirshberg himself is under the gun because he has sold an 85% stake in Stonyfield to the French food giant Groupe Danone. To retain management control, he has to keep Stonyfield growing at double-digit rates. Yet faced with a supply crunch, he has drastically cut the percentage of organic products in his line. He also has scaled back annual sales growth, from almost 40% to 20%. "They're all mad at me," he says.

As food companies scramble to find enough organically grown ingredients, they are inevitably forsaking the pastoral ethos that has defined the organic lifestyle. For some companies, it means keeping thousands of organic cows on industrial-scale feedlots. For others, the scarcity of organic ingredients means looking as far afield as China, Sierra Leone, and Brazil -- places where standards may be hard to enforce, workers' wages and living conditions are a worry, and, say critics, increased farmland sometimes comes at a cost to the environment.

Everyone agrees on the basic definition of organic: food grown without the assistance of man-made chemicals. Four years ago, under pressure from critics fretting that the term "organic" was being misused, the U.S. Agriculture Dept. issued rules. To be certified as organic, companies must eschew most pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers, bioengineering, and radiation. But for purists, the philosophy also requires farmers to treat their people and livestock with respect and, ideally, to sell small batches of what they produce locally so as to avoid burning fossil fuels to transport them. The USDA rules don't fully address these concerns.

Hence the organic paradox: The movement's adherents have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, but success has imperiled their ideals. It simply isn't clear that organic food production can be replicated on a mass scale. For Hirshberg, who set out to "change the way Kraft (KFT ), Monsanto (MON ), and everybody else does business," the movement is shedding its innocence. "Organic is growing up."

Certainly, life has changed since 1983, when Hirshberg teamed up with a back-to-the-land advocate named Samuel Kaymen to sell small batches of full-fat plain organic yogurt. Kaymen had founded Stonyfield Farm to feed his six kids and, as he puts it, "escape the dominant culture." Hirshberg, then 29, had been devoted to the environment for years, stung by memories of technicolor dyes streaming downriver from his father's New Hampshire shoe factories. He wrote a book on how to build water-pumping windmills and, between 1979 and 1983, ran the New Alchemy Institute, an alternative-living research center on Cape Cod. He was a believer.

But producing yogurt amid the rudimentary conditions of the original Stonyfield Farm was a recipe for nightmares, not nirvana. Meg, an organic farmer who married Hirshberg in 1986, remembers the farm as cold and crowded, with a road so perilous that suppliers often refused to come up. "I call it the bad old days," she says. Adds her mother, Doris Cadoux, who propped up the business for years: "Every time Gary would come to me for money, Meg would call to say 'Mama, don't do it."'

Farming without insecticides, fertilizers, and other aids is tough. Laborers often weed the fields by hand. Farmers control pests with everything from sticky flypaper to aphid-munching ladybugs. Manure and soil fertility must be carefully managed. Sick animals may take longer to get well without a quick hit of antibiotics, although they're likely to be healthier in the first place. Moreover, the yield per acre or per animal often goes down, at least initially. Estimates for the decline from switching to organic corn range up to 20%.

Organic farmers say they can ultimately exceed the yields of conventional rivals through smarter soil management. But some believe organic farming, if it is to stay true to its principles, would require vastly more land and resources than is currently being used. Asks Alex Avery, a research director at the Hudson Institute think tank: "How much Bambi habitat do you want to plow down?"

IMPOSSIBLE STANDARD
For a sense of why Big Business and organics often don't mix, it helps to visit Jack and Anne Lazor of Butterworks Farm. The duo have been producing organic yogurt in northeastern Vermont since 1975. Their 45 milking cows are raised from birth and have names like Peaches and Moonlight. All of the food for the cows -- and most of what the Lazors eat, too -- comes from the farm, and Anne keeps their charges healthy with a mix of homeopathic medicines and nutritional supplements. Butterworks produces a tiny 9,000 quarts of yogurt a week, and no one can pressure them to make more. Says Jack: "I'd be happiest to sell everything within 10 miles of here."

But the Lazors also embody an ideal that's almost impossible for other food producers to fulfill. For one thing, they have enough land to let their modest-sized herd graze for food. Many of the country's 9 million-plus dairy cows (of which fewer than 150,000 are organic) are on farms that will never have access to that kind of pasture. After all, a cow can only walk so far when it has to come back to be milked two or three times a day.

STEWARDS OF THE LAND
When consumers shell out premiums of 50% or more to buy organic, they are voting for the Butterworks ethic. They believe humans should be prudent custodians not only of their own health but also of the land and animals that share it. They prefer food produced through fair wages and family farms, not poor workers and agribusiness. They are responding to tales of caged chickens and confined cows that never touch a blade of grass; talk of men losing fertility and girls becoming women at age nine because of extra hormones in food. They read about pesticides seeping into the food supply and genetically modified crops creeping across the landscape.

For Big Food, consumers' love affair with everything organic has seemed like a gift from the gods. Food is generally a commoditized, sluggish business, especially in basic supermarket staples. Sales of organic groceries, on the other hand, have been surging by up to 20% in recent years. Organic milk is so profitable -- with wholesale prices more than double that of conventional milk -- that Lyle "Spud" Edwards of Westfield, Vt., was able to halve his herd, to 25 cows, this summer and still make a living, despite a 15% drop in yields since switching to organic four years ago. "There's a lot more paperwork, but it's worth it," says Edwards, who supplies milk to Stonyfield.

The food industry got a boost four years ago when the USDA issued its organic standards. The "USDA Organic" label now appears on scores of products, from chicken breasts to breakfast cereal. And you know a tipping point is at hand when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. enters the game. The retailer pledged this year to become a center of affordable "organics for everyone" and has started by doubling its organic offerings at 374 stores nationwide. "Everyone wants a piece of the pie," says George L. Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley, the country's largest organic farm co- operative. "Kraft and Wal-Mart are part of the community now, and we have to get used to it."

The corporate giants have turned a fringe food category into a $14 billion business. They have brought wider distribution and marketing dollars. They have imposed better quality controls on a sector once associated with bug-infested, battered produce rotting in crates at hippie co-ops. Organic products now account for 2.5% of all grocery spending (if additive-free "natural" foods are included, the share jumps to about 10%). And demand could soar if prices come down.

But success has brought home the problems of trying to feed the masses in an industry where supplies can be volatile. Everyone from Wal-Mart to Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST ) is feeling the pinch. Earlier this year, Earthbound Farm, a California producer of organic salads, fruit, and vegetables owned by Natural Selection Foods, cut off its sliced-apple product to Costco because supply dried up -- even though Earthbound looked as far afield as New Zealand. "The concept of running out of apples is foreign to these people," says Earthbound co-founder Myra Goodman, whose company recalled bagged spinach in the wake of the recent E. coli outbreak. "When you're sourcing conventional produce, it's a matter of the best product at the best price."

Inconsistency is a hallmark of organic food. Variations in animal diet, local conditions, and preparation make food taste different from batch to batch. But that's anathema to a modern food giant. Heinz, for one, had a lot of trouble locating herbs and spices for its organic ketchup. "We're a global company that has to deliver consistent standards," says Kristen Clark, a group vice-president for marketing. The volatile supply also forced Heinz to put dried or fresh organic herbs in its organic Classico pasta sauce because it wasn't able to find the more convenient quick-frozen variety. Even Wal-Mart, master of the modern food supply chain, is humbled by the realities of going organic. As spokesperson Gail Lavielle says: "You can't negotiate prices in a market like that."

While Americans may love the idea of natural food, they have come to rely on the perks of agribusiness. Since the widespread use of synthetic pesticides began, around the time of World War II, food producers have reaped remarkable gains. Apples stay red and juicy for weeks. The average harvested acre of farmland yields 200% more wheat than it did 70 years ago. Over the past two decades chickens have grown 25% bigger in less time and on less food. At the same time, the average cow produces 60% more milk, thanks to innovations in breeding, nutrition, and synthetic hormones.

It's also worth remembering how inexpensive food is these days. Americans shell out about 10% of their disposable income on food, about half what they spent in the first part of the 20th century. Producing a budget-priced cornucopia of organic food won't be easy.

Exhibit A: Gary Hirshberg's quest for organic milk. Dairy producers estimate that demand for organic milk is at least twice the current available supply. To quench this thirst, the U.S. would have to more than double the number of organic cows -- those that eat only organic food -- to 280,000 over the next five years. That's a challenge, since the number of dairy farms has shrunk to 60,000, from 334,000 in 1980, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. And almost half the milk produced in the U.S. comes from farms with more than 500 cows, something organic advocates rarely support.

What to do? If you're Hirshberg, you weigh the pros and cons of importing organic milk powder from New Zealand. Stonyfield already gets strawberries from China, apple puree from Turkey, blueberries from Canada, and bananas from Ecuador. It's the only way to keep the business growing. Besides, Hirshberg argues, supporting a family farmer in Madagascar or reducing chemical use in Costa Rica is just as important as doing the same at home.

Perhaps, but doing so risks a consumer backlash, especially when the organic food is from China. So far there is little evidence that crops from there are tainted or fraudulently labeled. Any food that bears the USDA Organic label has to be accredited by an independent certifier. But tests are few and far between. Moreover, many consumers don't trust food from a country that continues to manufacture DDT and tolerates fakes in other industries. Similar questions are being asked about much of the developing world. Ronnie Cummins, national director of the nonprofit Organic Consumers Assn., claims organic farms may contribute to the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, although conventional farming remains the proven culprit.

Imported organics are a constant concern for food companies and supermarkets. It's certainly on Steve Pimentel's mind. "Someone is going to do something wrong," says Costco's assistant general merchandise manager. "We want to make sure it's not us." To avoid nasty surprises, Costco makes sure its own certifiers check that standards are met in China for the organic peanuts and produce it imports. Over at Stonyfield, Hirshberg's sister, Nancy, who is vice-president of natural resources, was so worried about buying strawberries in northeastern China that she ordered a social audit to check worker conditions. "If I didn't have to buy from there," she says, "I wouldn't."

For many companies, the preferred option is staying home and adopting the industrial scale of agribusiness. Naturally, giant factory farms make purists recoil. Is an organic label appropriate for eggs produced in sheds housing more than 100,000 hens that rarely see the light of day? Can a chicken that's debeaked or allowed minimal access to the outdoors be deemed organic? Would consumers be willing to pay twice as much for organic milk if they thought the cows producing it spent most of their outdoor lives in confined dirt lots?

ETHICAL CHALLENGES?
Absolutely not, say critics such as Mark Kastel, director of the Organic Integrity Project at the Cornucopia Institute, an advocacy group promoting small family farms. "Organic consumers think they're supporting a different kind of ethic," says Kastel, who last spring released a high-profile report card labeling 11 producers as ethically challenged.

Kastel's report card included Horizon Organic Dairy, the No. 1 organic milk brand in the U.S., and Aurora Organic Dairy, which makes private-label products for the likes of Costco and Safeway Inc. Both dairies deny they are ethically challenged. But the two do operate massive corporate farms. Horizon has 8,000 cows in the Idaho desert. There, the animals consume such feed as corn, barley, hay, and soybeans, as well as some grass from pastureland. The company is currently reconfiguring its facility to allow more grazing opportunities. And none of this breaks USDA rules. The agency simply says animals must have "access to pasture." How much is not spelled out. "It doesn't say [livestock] have to be out there, happy and feeding, 18 hours a day," says Barbara C. Robinson, who oversees the USDA's National Organic Program.

But what gets people like Kastel fuming is the fact that big dairy farms produce tons of pollution in the form of manure and methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide -- gases blamed for warming the planet. Referring to Horizon's Idaho farm, he adds: "This area is in perpetual drought. You need to pump water constantly to grow pasture. That's not organic."

Aurora and Horizon argue their operations are true to the organic spirit and that big farms help bring organic food to the masses. Joe E. Scalzo, president and CEO of Horizon's owner, WhiteWave, which is owned by Dean Foods Co., says: "You need the 12-cow farms in Vermont -- and the 4,000 milking cows in Idaho." Adds Clark Driftmier, a spokesman for Aurora, which manages 8,400 dairy cows on two farms in Colorado and Texas: "We're in a contentious period with organics right now."

At the USDA, Robinson is grappling with the same imponderables. In her mind the controversy is more about scale than animal treatment. "The real issue is a fear of large corporations," she says. Robinson expects the USDA to tighten pasture rules in the coming months in hopes of moving closer to the spirit of the organic philosophy. "As programs go," she says, "this is just a toddler. New issues keep coming up."

Few people seem more hemmed in by the contradictions than Gary Hirshberg. Perhaps more than anyone, he has acted as the industry's philosopher king, lobbying governments, proselytizing consumers, helping farmers switch to organic, and giving 10% of profits to environmental causes. Yet he sold most of Stonyfield Farm to a $17 billion French corporation.

He did so partly to let his original investors cash out, partly to bring organic food to the masses. But inevitably, as Stonyfield has morphed from local outfit to national brand, some of the original tenets have fallen by the wayside. Once Danone bought a stake, Stonyfield founder Samuel Kaymen moved on. "I never felt comfortable with the scale or dealing with people so far away," he recalls, although he says Hirshberg has so far managed to uphold the company's original principles.

The hard part may be continuing to do so with Danone looking over his shoulder. Hirshberg retains board control but says his "autonomy and independence and employment are contingent on delivering minimum growth and profitability." Danone Chairman and CEO Franck Riboud expresses admiration for the man he considers to be Danone's organic guru, but adds: "Gary respects that I have to answer to shareholders."

The compromises that Hirshberg is willing to make say a lot about where the organic business is headed. "Our kids don't have time for us to sit on our high horses and say we're not going to do this because it's not ecologically perfect," says Hirshberg. "The only way to influence the powerful forces in this industry is to become a powerful force." And he's willing to do that, even if it means playing by a new set of rules.

By Diane Brady

The waitress of manifestation

2006-10-10T11:29:00.000-04:00

I watched the movie The Secret a few weeks ago...and feel my life transformed by the power of it...the law of attraction, as well as intrigued to learn as much as I can. I found this explanation of it on www.elijah.cc and wanted to share:

Blessings, fellow seekers of Light! As 2004 comes to a close, and we fly into 2005, it is a perfect time to envision our intentions for this next segment. The greatest gift we were given as human beings is the gift of manifestation. This is available to us all. We no longer need to be slaves to a system that takes all of our energy and gives us back a percentage, and then programs us with the belief that this is just the way it is, and there is nothing we can do about it. Quite the contrary, we can indeed manifest anything “our hearts desire" simply by putting our attention on it.
Here is the mechanics of manifestation, in three easy steps:
1. Get a clear picture in your head of what you want to manifest.
2. Fire it up with your heart (feel emotion for it)
3. Let it go, and Trust that it is coming to you.
It's like we're all sitting in the diner of life. Flow, the Universal Waitress asks us daily: "would you like to order something now?" All we need to do is say "yes, I'd like to have a relationship, and I would like this person to honor me and love me as I love and honor them." Inside of yourself, you're already feeling how good that will feel, and the satisfaction of meeting and being with this person. The Universal Waitress writes down your order, and cheerfully goes about cooking it up. Then, you let go and continue the conversation with whomever you're with, or keep reading your book, or whatever else is there in that moment. The problem with most people is that they order something, but then immediately think "Oh, I don't deserve that" and cancel it out, or perhaps they order something, and then run around the diner, chasing the waitress, yelling and complaining "Why isn’t my order here yet? When will it be here?! Ill never get it will I? This always happens to me!" Sound familiar? Or worst yet, is when people NEVER ORDER ANYTHING. And they can't figure out why nothing is coming to them. And then there are those who order poison, or drama, or abusive situations … The possibilities are endless. So let's all get this manifestation thing down, and realize that we can order ANYTHING WE WANT. Once we know that it becomes fun! Especially when we look in our pocket and realize that we have a Gold card with unlimited funding. All you need to do is B, and all you need to B is U! You wouldn't doubt the waitress at Denny's, so why on Earth would you doubt the Great Goddess, the beautiful, resourceful, Universal Waitress???? She's waiting for your order.

I think I'll take the quinoa salad on rye...with a side of divine wisdom, health and enduring love for my family, and wealth beyond my imagining. Thanks, universe!

Community Supported Agriculture

2006-09-15T17:04:00.000-04:00

You might say, what the heck is that...well I have definitions for you from my local CSA, Pennypack Farm (pennypackfarm.org)...every Friday afternoon I get to pick up fresh, organically grown, local produce and I love it. You should try it...beats spending your paycheck at Whole Foods (though I do love Whole Foods)...

Community Supported Agriculture

Pennypack Shares Being Packed
What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
Community supported agriculture (CSA) is defined as a mutually beneficial partnership between a farm and the people who consume the food produced there. One of the unique advantages of a CSA is that it relieves the farmer of some of the risk inherent in growing food, and distributes it over a wider community who agree to share the risks along with the benefits.

Sustainable Food Systems
Industrial farming operations produce food for large-scale processing. They aim to maximize yields through the use of artificial soil additives, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, large automated equipment, inhumane treatment of animals, inadequate containment of animal wastes, and wasteful irrigation methods. These techniques are known to cause negative side effects: topsoil degradation and loss, underground water contamination and depletion, high fuel and electricity consumption, pollution of air and streams, and the many adverse health and ecological effects that can be expected from these kinds of byproducts. Standard accounting practices defray the negative costs associated with these side effects from the market price of food produced using industrial farming and processing techniques, so in effect the public subsidizes the processed food industry and large private agribusinesses in addition to the price paid for their products at market.

By contrast, community supported agriculture using natural and organic farming methods aims to be ecologically and economically sustainable over long and even indefinite periods of time. By reducing or eliminating adverse side effects we also reduce or eliminate the hidden or delayed costs associated with them, and the true unit cost of food production is paid by the consumer. CSAs also help promote a sense of community and intimate connection with the vital processes that sustain all life.

How CSA Works
Consumers and farmers work together on behalf of the Earth and each other. While the farmer tends the Earth on behalf of everyone, consumers share the cost of supporting the farm and also share the risk of variable harvests, as well as the abundance of particularly fruitful seasons. Membership in the CSA is based on shares of the harvest. Members are called shareholders or customers and they subscribe or underwrite the harvest for the entire season in advance.

What are the rewards?
CSAs foster connections within communities and with the Earth. CSA farming practices improve soil to produce tasty, nutritious, locally grown food. CSA customers purchase season-long shares of flavorful, chemical-free, naturally ripened produce picked up at the farm or at a pre-arranged delivery point each week.
In a CSA, people of all ages gain a close relationship with the soil, the seasons and each other through the ageless art of growing food. CSA families have fun visiting the farm regularly and take pride in belonging to a community of like-minded neighbors who support ecologically sustainable agriculture and preserving open space. CSA share holders are interested in more than vegetables. They know they're working with a professional grower who shares their environmental and social concerns, and they're interested in their fellow share holders.

What are the risks?
Like any agricultural enterprise, a CSA's crops are subject to annual variations in climate, plant diseases and populations of insects, rodents, deer and other crop-loving species. CSA customers benefit most when growing conditions are favorable to crops. While the share price may remain constant from one year to the next, some crop yields may increase or decrease relative to the previous year.

Organization
There are typically three groups involved in the farm: the farmers, core group and consumers. The farmers do all the actual farming work. The core group is a group of 5-12 people that includes farmers and consumers. The core group makes sure that the food is being distributed, and in some cases is responsible for collecting payments, organizing community events, and finding more consumers as required. The consumers group includes everyone (including farmers). Their responsibility is to financially support the farm and see that all the food is consumed.

Cost
The Garden/Farm Plan enables the farmers to draft up a detailed expense budget for the coming year. The length of season, crops grown, labor costs, etc. affect overall costs and share prices. The Garden/Farm Plan may be drawn up with a specific number of consumers in mind. Many CSAs simply take the budget and divide it evenly among the number of consumers to arrive at the average price of a share.

CSA Is About Learning
CSAs also act as training centers for people who wish to learn the skills of farming and management of CSA operations. These "hands-on" trainings are called " apprenticeships ". In addition, CSA members often volunteer their time to work in the garden so that they may informally learn about horticulture or other gardening skills.

Distribution/Delivery
In many CSAs, crops are harvested twice a week. Some CSAs offer full and half (or split ) shares. Pickups are held at the farm on harvest days, and some CSAs deliver shares to other locations for convenient pickup. Customers who come to the farm usually have the option to pick some of their own food right from the field.

First Podcast and so much more...

2006-06-15T22:07:00.000-04:00

This post is being written by a recent graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrtion-thats me! I graduated last weekend-YEAH!!! I am now officially a Holistic Health Counselor, soon to be certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. I am also the featured nutrition expert for the ezine The Family Groove (www.thefamilygroove.com) which launches on June 18th, and have been asked to do a weekly expert podcast for sheunlimited.com . Wow, thats me! Its such an exciting time, and a busy time. I still have the baby boutique, and my son, now 18 months old, is amazing, a little bundle of male energy, but Im not as young as I once was, and its hard for me to keep up. But enough of that, this is for positive energy only. And in that regard, here is the script from my 1st podcast on June 14, 2006:

Hello everyone… This is Kelly Scotti, Founder and Director of Flying Dragon Wellness, a nutrition and wellness counseling practice in the heart of Bucks County, Pa. I am a board certified Holistic Health Counselor, and my mission in this life is to help my clients and ultimately the world find the wholeness and happiness they deserve. I hope to have the chance to work with each and every one of you. You can find out more about my practice at www.flyingdragonwellness.com.

Before we jump into tough issues like genetic modification of food and widespread pesticide use (the heavy hitters as I like to call them), I first want to define what holistic health is, and my philosophy regarding nutrition and lifestyle change. This is especially important because there is not an accepted standard definition of holistic health, and you might have a completely different idea of what it is than I do. Who hasn’t been confused or maybe a little scared of words like Holistic or Alternative …i'm sure some of you know what I’m talking about. Though this concept is definitely gaining widespread acceptance throughout the country, some people still judge it as “not normal” or a little weird, and I want to show you how “normal” it really is.

Suzan Walter, President of the American Holistic Health Association, has found that holistic health is often defined in one of two ways:
First, Holistic can be defined as a whole made up of interdependent parts. You are most likely to hear this referred to as the mind/ body connection or mind/ body/ and spirit. When this meaning is specifically applied to illness, it can include a number of factors, such as dealing with the root cause of an illness; increasing patient involvement; and considering both conventional (allopathic) and complementary (alternative) therapies.
Holistic also serves as a synonym for alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, reiki, massage, meditation or more extreme things such as bach flower remedies and shamanism. The weird factor comes into play when people use alternative treatment exclusively, avoiding doctors and pharmaceutical medication that we have been conditioned to believe is the only way to be healed.
Many of us in the US are not used to integrating all aspects of ourselves when we explore treatment options for an illness or when we want to lose weight, since how can a disease be caused by the food we eat or how can my weight be related to the fight I had with my husband? In my opinion and that of many others throughout the world, however, everything we do, everything that happens to us, and everything we are influences our health.
A holistic health practitioner may use any variety of natural healing suggestions to work in partnership with an individual toward greater health, balance and integration. This approach to health recognizes the patient as a whole person, not just a disease or a collection of symptoms. In the course of treatment, holistic practitioners address the client's emotional and spiritual dimensions as well as the nutritional, environmental and lifestyle factors that may contribute to dis-ease.

My philosophy regarding nutrition and lifestyle change is considered holistic because it is rooted in food, but it encompasses everything that causes us to eat…from our body’s basic requirements for the energy and vitamins and minerals that we obtain through the food we eat, to our primary food, that which nourishes us that is not something we put into our mouth. Nutrition is really just a secondary source of nourishment. There are so many other things that nourish us: Love, touch, meditation, fun, exercise, spirituality, self-expression, nature, close friends and lovers, our children, and play all feed our souls and our hunger for living. And the more primary food we have in our lives, the less dependent we are on the food that we put in our mouths to nourish us. Alternatively, the less primary food we have, or the more out of balance we are with our primary food, the more we are likely to turn to what we put into our mouths to find comfort. To define nourishment as a balance of all aspects of our being is truly holistic.

I invite you to explore the primary and secondary foods you have in your life with a free one hour health consultation. I see clients in my office in Bucks County, Pa or over the phone. My one on one counseling sessions guide you in discovering the reasons you eat what you eat, and help you define and reach your goals around food, whether that be finding out what foods are good for you individually, for your blood type, your body type, your ancestral type, to finding out what really nourishes you inside and out. I am also available for lectures, group counseling, and for developing corporate wellness programs. Please visit www.flyingdragonwellness.com to find out more, and to schedule your FREE one hour health consultation.
Until next time, Namaste. I honor the light within you.

Limiting Nutrasweet/Equal

2006-02-14T21:54:00.000-05:00

II have encountered many new things through my studies at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition...and have found that many of the foods and food additives we eat every day, knowingly or unknowingly, have tremendous effects on our day to day functioning. And yet, when we go to the doctor to get treatment for chronic illness, or take over the counter medicine for headaches and the like, we don't always dig deeper into our eating habits for the cause.
Most people looking to lose weight consume sugar free products instead of the sugar full to save on calories. Those who want soda drink diet soda, thinking that they are doing better for their body since they are avoiding the calories of regular soda. But many of the sugar free processed foods include nutrisweet as an ingredent (especially diet sodas), and there have been numerous studies that show the extreme effects nutrasweet (aspartame) can have on a person's health. The following article from newswithviews.com states the many effects of nutrisweet toxicity:

DONALD RUMSFELD AND ASPARTAME

Aspartame is an additive found in diet soft drinks and over 5,000 foods, drugs and medicine. It was approved in 1983 for use in carbonated beverages. However, there may be more sour than sweet when it comes to aspartame.
In reality, aspartame is a drug, not an additive in the sense many people associate with that word. It interacts with other drugs, has a synergistic and additive effect with MSG, and is a chemical hyper-sensitization agent. Dr. John Olney, who founded the field of neuoscience called excitotoxicity, attempted to stop the approval of aspartame with Attorney James Turner back in 1996. The FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross told Congress that without a shadow of a doubt, aspartame can cause brain tumors and brain cancer and violated the Delaney Amendment which forbids putting anything in food that is known to cause Cancer. Detailed information on this can be found in the Bressler Report (FDA report on Searle).
Dr. Olney isn't alone in attempting to reach out to the medical community and warn the American people about this drug. Dr. Ralph Walton, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine has written of the behavioral and psychiatric problems triggered by aspartame-caused depletion of serotonin.
According to the top doctors and researchers on this issue, aspartame causes headache, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma and cancer. It worsens or mimics the symptoms of such diseases and conditions as fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue and depression. Further dangers highlighted is that aspartame liberates free methyl alcohol. The resulting chronic methanol poisoning affects the dopamine system of the brain causing addiction. Methanol, or wood alcohol, constitutes one third of the aspartame molecule and is classified as a severe metabolic poison and narcotic.
Dr. Woodrow Monte in the peer reviewed journal, Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health, wrote: "When diet sodas and soft drinks, sweetened with aspartame, are used to replace fluid loss during exercise and physical exertion in hot climates, the intake of methanol can exceed 250 mg/day or 32 times the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit of consumption for this cumulative poison."
Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, MD, author of "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills," wrote about the relationship between aspartame and macular degeneration, diabetic blindness and glaucoma (all known to result from excitotoxin accumulation in the retina).
The medical text, Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, by Dr. H. J. Roberts is 1038 pages of symptoms and diseases triggered by this neurotoxin. The claim is made that aspartame has even caused the epidemic of obesity because it makes you crave carbohydrates so you gain weight, and the formaldehyde accumulates in the adipose tissue (fat cells) according to the Trocho Study. Further accusations are that aspartame is also responsible for the epidemic of diabetes as it not only can precipitate diabetes but simulates and aggravates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, can cause diabetics to go into convulsions and interacts with insulin.
The effects of aspartame are documented by the FDA's own data. In 1995 the agency was forced, under the Freedom of Information Act, to release a list of ninety-two aspartame symptoms reported by thousands of victims. It appears this is only the tip of the iceberg. H. J. Roberts, MD, published the medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" -- 1,000 pages of symptoms and diseases triggered by this neurotoxin including the sordid history of its approval. [See Video "Sweet Misery, a Poisoned World"]
Since its discovery in 1965, controversy has raged over the health risks associated with the sugar substitute. From laboratory testing of the chemical on rats, researchers have discovered that the drug induces brain tumors. On Sept 30, 1980 the Board of Inquiry of the FDA concurred and denied the petition for approval.
In 1981, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, ignored the negative ruling and approved aspartame for dry goods. As recorded in the Congressional Record of 1985, then CEO of Searle Laboratories Donald Rumsfeld said that he would "call in his markers" to get aspartame approved. Rumsfeld was on President Reagan's transition team and a day after taking office appointed Hayes. No FDA Commissioner in the previous sixteen years had allowed aspartame on the market.
Dr. Betty Martini has worked in the medical field for 22 years. She is the founder of Mission Possible International, working with doctors around the world in an effort to remove aspartame from food, drinks and medicine. According to Dr. Martini, aspartame has brought more complaints to the American Food and Drug Administration than any other additive and is responsible for 75% of such complaints to that agency. From 10,000 consumer complaints FDA compiled a list of 92 symptoms, including death.
The history of aspartame and its approval has a political history as well as a scientific one. According to Dr. Martini,
"When Donald Rumsfeld was CEO of Searle, that conglomerate manufactured aspartame. For 16 years the FDA refused to approve it, not only because its not safe but because they wanted the company indicted for fraud. Both U.S. Prosecutors hired on with the defense team and the statute of limitations expired. They were Sam Skinner and William Conlon. Skinner went on to become Secretary of Transportation squelching the cries of the pilots who were now having seizures on this seizure triggering drug, aspartame, and then Chief of Staff under President Bush's father. Some of these people reach high places. Even Supreme Justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto attorney. (Monsanto bought Searle in 1985, and sold it a few years ago). When Ashcroft became Attorney General, Thompson from King and Spalding Attorneys (another former Monsanto attorney) became deputy under Ashcroft. (Attorneys for NutraSweet and Coke).
"However, the FDA still refused to allow NutraSweet on the market. It is a deadly neurotoxic drug masquerading as an additive. It interacts with all antidepressants, L-dopa, Coumadin, hormones, insulin, all cardiac medication, and many others. It also is a chemical hyper sensitization drug so that it interacts with vaccines, other toxins, other unsafe sweeteners like Splenda which has a chlorinated base like DDT and can cause auto immune disease. It has a synergistic and additive effect with MSG. Both being excitotoxins, the aspartic acid in aspartame, and MSG, the glutamate people were found using aspartame as the placebo for MSG studies, even before it was approved. The FDA has known this for a quarter of a century and done nothing even though its against the law. Searle went on to build a NutraSweet factory and had $9 million worth of inventory.
"Donald Rumsfeld was on President Reagan's transition team and the day after he took office he appointed an FDA Commissioner who would approve aspartame. The FDA set up a Board of Inquiry of the best scientists they had to offer who said aspartame is not safe and causes brain tumors, and the petition for approval is hereby revoked. The new FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, over-ruled that Board of Inquiry and then went to work for the PR Agency of the manufacturer, Burson-Marstellar, rumored at $1000.00 a day, and has refused to talk to the press ever since.
"There were three congressional hearings because of the outcry of the people being poisoned. Senator Orrin Hatch refused to allow hearings for a long time. The first hearing was in 1985, and Senator Hatch and others were paid by Monsanto. So the bill by Senator Metzenbaum never got out of committee. This bill would have put a moratorium on aspartame, and had the NIH do independent studies on the problems being seen in the population, interaction with drugs, seizures, what it does to the fetus and even behavioral problems in children. This is due to the depletion of serotonin caused by the phenylalanine in aspartame."

According to a press release put out by the National Justice League on April 26, 2004, lawsuits were filed in three separate California courts against twelve companies who either produce or use the artificial sweetener aspartame as a sugar substitute in their products: Defendants in the lawsuits include Coca-cola, PepsiCo, Bayer Corp., the Dannon Company, William Wrigley Jr. Company, Walmart, ConAgra Foods, Wyeth, Inc., The NutraSweet Company, and Altria Corp. (parent company of Kraft Foods and Philip Morris).

The suits allege that the food companies committed fraud and breach of warranty by marketing products to the public such as diet Coke, diet Pepsi, sugar free gum, Flintstone's vitamins, yogurt (including Yoplait) and children's aspirin with the full knowledge that aspartame, the sweetener in them, is neurotoxic.
Dr. Martini recommends that consumers read all labels on any food, medicine or drinks they intend to consume.
Posted: May 9, 200412:18 AM Easternby NWV Staff Writer© 2004 NewsWithViews.com

Please note, The FDA has listed 92 documented symptoms in their reports on aspartame including:
Numbness
Headaches
Fatigue
Vertigo
Nausea
Palpitations
Weight Gain
Dizziness
Irritability
Anxiety
Memory Loss
Blurry Vision
Rashes
Seizures
Blindness
Tinnitus
Joint Pain
Depression
Hearing Loss
Spasms
Addiction
Loss of Taste
Insomnia

Also, aspartame can trigger or exacerbate the following diseases:
Brain Tumors
Multiple Sclerosis
Epilepsy
Fibromyalgia
Graves Disease
Chronic Fatigue
Epstein Barr
Parkinson's
Alzeheimer's
Diabetes
Mental Retardation
Lymphoma
Birth Defects
Systemic Lupus
DEATH
MISCARRIAGES and INFERTILITY

ASPARTAME CAN BE FOUND IN:
instant breakfasts
breath mints
cerealsugar-free chewing gum
cocoa mixes
coffee beverages
frozen desserts
gelatin desserts
juice beverages
laxatives
multivitamins
milk drinks
pharmaceuticals and supplements
shake mixes
soft drinks
tabletop sweeteners
tea beverages
instant teas and coffees
topping mixes
wine coolers
yogurt

Aspartame has also been found in products where it is not listed on the label. One must be particular careful of pharmaceuticals and supplements.

Included below are a few books that will give you more information and statistics:

· Blaylock, Russell L., Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (Health Press, Santa Fe,
New Mexico, c1994). One of the best books available on excitotoxins. Well worth
reading!
· H. J. Roberts, M.D., Aspartame (NutraSweet), Is it Safe? Available from the
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.
· Sweet'ner Dearest, Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network
· Mary Nash Stoddard, The Deadly Deception, Available from the Aspartame
Consumer Safety Network.
· Barbara Mullarkey, Editor, Bittersweet Aspartame - A Diet Delusion, Available from
the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.
· The Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, The Aspartame Consumer Safety
Network Synopsis.
· Dennis Remington, M.D. and Barbara Higa, R.D., The Bitter Truth About Artificial
Sweetners, Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network

Your body is the keeper of your soul. Be aware and take care when putting anything into it.

Flying Dragon Wellness is a reality

2006-02-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

Greetings, everyone. This mom is now the proud mother of a health and wellness practice called Flying Dragon Wellness (www.flyingdragonwellness.com). I am offering free one hour health consultations in person or over the phone, and would love the opportunity to talk with all of you. If you are interested, please go to the website, hit the contact tab, and email me. I will then give you a link to the consultation form, and we can go from there...hope to speak with you soon!

ps-Baby Connor is getting older every day. He is going to be 15 months old in a few days, and he was featured in a local Chicago magazine advertising the OH BOY! Baby Boutique. We love him so.

pss- OH BOY! is having a huge sale until the end of March. We are offering 20% off every in-stock item...and there are over 250 of them. And we offer free shipping on orders over $100. www.ohboybabyboutique.com

The Power to Shape the Future

2005-11-22T22:51:00.000-05:00

This is a great poster from dumplinglunches.com regarding getting our little ones to eat, and creating an atmosphere conducive to dining well!

Wes and Willy coming soon!

2005-11-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

Though my time is stretched dangerously thin lately, I am still working hard to add new designers to the OH BOY! repetoire. We will be adding Shilav, Wes and Willy, and Cabana Life for Spring 2006. These designers have great clothing for boys, and Cabana Life's clothing and accessories are all SPF50+! So make sure to visit soon, and check out our new lines (and revisit our current ones!).

Holistic Health Counseling

2005-11-09T23:53:00.000-05:00

So I will soon be adding another title to my name, that of certified Holistic Health Counselor. I am currently enrolled at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC, and it is incredible. In June, I will be able to see clients and help them on their path to whole nourishment, body, soul and mind...

If anyone is interested in helping with my homework assignment, and would like to complete a free health history (and have me review it with you for 1/2 hour-thats free too!)...please feel free to comment to this post and I will forward you the form.

Its such a wonderful life, huh?

Feeding the boy

2005-10-25T22:01:00.000-04:00

Calling all breastfeeding moms ...I'm in a little dilemma about what to do about breastfeeding after my son turns one. I am exclusively pumping, so the question of weaning is not applicable here, but I am conflicted about stopping, especially in light of all the food allergies that my son may have that I am not currently aware of. I know that he did not do well when I drank cow's milk, so I gave that up and drank soy milk whenever I needed a milk fix. But I have read so many things about soy being a leading allergen too... I don't want to stop pumping, thinking my son will do ok without my milk, and then find out otherwise. On the other hand, I am worried that the constipation my son has suffered from for the last three months may be from my diet, and I don't want him to suffer constipation anymore either. But can we feed him well enough so he gets all of his nutrients from his food (because Mommy and Daddy don't have the best eating habits right now)? Or should we switch him to formula? His one year checkup isn't for another three weeks, so I can't talk to the doctor at length at this time-and to stop breastfeeding around his birthday would mean titrating down on my pumping now. So what do I do?

What, o wise mothers out there, have you done? Any advice for the newbie?

My hubby's going back to work

2005-10-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

My husband has been a stay at home dad for the past 11 months. He has done a great job taking care of our son, but has now decided to go back into the workforce. We are going to put our son into daycare, and while I am a little worried about how he is going to adjust, and whether or not day care will be good for him in comparison to the benefits of having a stay at home parent, most of me is excited. Mainly because I will not be the only breadwinner in the family anymore...that role is a tough one. And too, because I think my son will benefit from the socialization provided by daycare, and maybe become more independent (he is pretty attached to daddy!).

So, anyway, anybody know of any good positions for a great dad with a ton of sales experience?

Taking a step back to relax

2005-10-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

Anyone out there hear of DailyOM (www.dailyom.com)? I recently subscribed to their emails, and I love them. I get them around 5pm every weekday, with an hour of work to go. They ground me, and help remind me that I am loved and that I need to nourish my body and soul. Their emails help me through that last hour of work, and set the tone for the remainder of my evening and the next day.

I hope you enjoy DailyOM like I do. And remember, no matter what you do in a day, or who you take care of-a son or daughter, a husband, your parents, take time to nuture your self-your whole self-mind, spirit, and body. If you don't take care of yourself, how can you find the means to take care of anyone else?

A Great Recipe

2005-10-15T19:52:00.000-04:00

I am starting a course to become a Holistic Health Counselor in a few weeks, and have been studying the materials that were sent to students to review before class. Included in these materials was a DVD of whole food recipes. There are recipes for root vegetables, greens, sweet veggies, squashes, and all sorts of healthy things. I decided to make a butternut squash soup with ginger tonight, despite the fact that I have never had butternut squash, have never made a soup, and don't really like ginger (I'm so daring...).

The recipe was simple:

Medium Butternut Squash
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp grated ginger
Spices to flavor
4 cups water (approximate)

First cut the squash into similar sized pieces (after peeling it). Then put the olive oil in a large pot and heat on a high flame. Toss in the onions and wait a minute or so. Then put in the squash. Add enough water to cover the squash. Bring the water to a boil, then turn down to a low flame. Simmer for 30 minutes. You can grate the ginger into the soup when it is cooking, or add it right before you mash the squash (for a stronger ginger flavor). I added 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, and 2 tsp of cinnamon for flavor, but the recipe did not call for it. After the 30 minutes, all you need to do is mash the squash (or mix it with a hand held mixer or use a strong wisk) and you have butternut squash soup. I was suprised at how easy it was, and how delicious it tasted. More importantly, I cooked something healthy for myself and my family...what a great feeling!

I cant't wait to learn more, and perhaps begin to cook more often from scratch, so I have more energy to do all the other things I need to do...and maybe lose some weight, meet some wonderful people, and teach my son (who will be a year old in 5 weeks!) good eating habits from the start.

For information on the nutrition program that I'll be attending in November (one weekend a month in NYC until June 2006), go to www.integrativenutrion.com. If you sign up as a friend of mine, we can both save an extra $500 on tuition...

In The Name Of Fashion

2005-10-05T23:29:00.000-04:00

Do you know that there are daddy diaper bags, and daddy baby wipe bags, and wipe holder covers, and oh so much more in the name of fashion. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has created personalized baby wipes. It seems that every time I go online, I am assaulted by products that defy classification, products so over the top that they make me wonder exactly what this world is coming to. But people buy these things by the truckload. I know I only carry exactly what I need when I go out with my son...most times, its a plastic grocery bag with a diaper and wipes and a bottle-the essentials. Or I carry his diaper bag, stuffed to the rim with every possible toy he might need to not go into meltdown mode. So who really needs funky fabric baby wipes container covers? I guess, when I think about it, we all do. Or at least, we need things that make us feel stylish and up-to-date, and we all know that most times when you have a baby or toddler, it is hard for our clothing, hair and nails to make us feel that way.

Tuxedo Onesies

2005-10-03T18:59:00.000-04:00

I first came across tuxedo onesies when I was starting my site in May 2005. I happened upon a site called Ktrix that had really fun punk onesies and thought they would be great to carry...so I ordered them and made a mistake in posting them to my site, thinking that the order would be fulfilled in few weeks. Well, I got three orders for them right away...and I thought, everyone else thinks these are cool too...and this will be great for her site and mine too. Well, the order was never fulfilled. I waited three weeks, then four weeks, then I called and asked when they would be arriving and was told three more weeks. Well three more weeks rolled around, and still no order...so I ordered just one of them from the site, thinking that if she couldnt fulfill my wholesale order, if they are still posted as in stock on her retail website, I will get that order and at least be able to ship something to my customer. I waited another two weeks with no word, and finally posted a complaint on paypal. I was credited my fee, but never received my order. I was very upset, and my customer was disappointed. I will never do business with Ktrix again. Something good came out of it, however. So focused on finding a tuxedo onesie for my customer, that I searched all over the internet, and finally found something close. Ante Ru's Design Center in California makes personalized tuxedo bibs. These bibs are adorable, well made, and the personlization makes them very unique. The bib is black with a faux tuxedo shirt, embroidered black buttons, a bow tie, and a hankerchief that matches the tie, on which your little boy's name resides. I have one for my son, and he is the hit of every party or dinner outing with it. Some people even forget that I brought my baby to a fancy restaurant when they see how cute he looks, and how well dressed he was for the occasion. I asked Ante Ru (aka Ruth Gilbert) if she would let me carry them on my site, and the rest is history. Ruth has even created a tuxedo onesie for my site, after I told her about my elusive search. She is a class act, as are her tuxedo creations. You can see more of her handmade goods (trick or treat bags, full size double sided bibs, etc) at www.anteru.com. Tell her Kelly sent you.

Two More Months

2005-09-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

So it has been two months since I have last posted, and not much has changed. I am still working 14 hour days (or more), pumping every 6 hours so that my son can get his needed nourishment, and diligently looking for new vendors for my online store. I am also taking a free Search Engine Optimization Course (http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/seo-optimization.htm) to boost my site's page rating AND decrease my website ranking, and so far have found the class to be eye-opening, educational, and LOTS of work. It is taught by a woman nicknamed Cricket, who is tough but endearing-she seems to really care about the people in her classes (and allowing us to take the class for free when she could be making a killing on it is soooo cool of her). Hopefully I will make it through all 12 lessons! I found this class through Jill Caren, a woman I hope will partner with OH BOY!. She runs a photo design firm in NJ and I would love for her to do some work on my site or allow me to feature her work for purchase (check out her work at http://www.expressionspb.com). Isn't the web a cool place...allowing me the pleasure of running my own business and meeting women like Cricket and Jill.

Boy am I tired

2005-07-31T22:26:00.000-04:00

Boy, am I tired...its been a little over two months since I started my online baby boutique for boys, I work a full time job that is not the website, and I have to take care of my two boys, Mark, my husband, and Connor, my 8 month old son. And now, the start of the blog...a way for me to document the trials and tribulations of starting a business and learning all the ins and outs of motherhood and balancing work and family life. How does everyone do it? First, sleep...

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