GMO

Hi everyone...

I don't ever know if you want me to send out emails for this information or just post them on the blog, but here it is one way or the other, and let me know if you'd rather I just send emails.  And sorry this is long.  Feel free to ignore if you prefer, I just wanted to share some of the research I've been doing in case it helps any of you.

I just had a really in depth conversation with the specialist that has been helping my family to get well (and doing a great job at it) about some important issues and I thought you might be interested.  We asked him how we can avoid getting these same health problems in the future, since we are working so hard at detoxing our bodies and getting us well.  We don't want to keep having to go back every month, and keep getting rid of this junk if we can avoid getting it in the first place.  It's cheaper and so much better on our bodies.  His answer, in short, "It depends on what you eat."

So I probed.  If we're paying him, I want to know how I can take our health into our own hands and not have to pay him so much, although I do love him and what he's done for us.  I told him what we've been trying to do... nothing artificial, cutting out most dairy and meat and replacing it with fresh fruits and vegetables, trying to make everything from scratch, incorporating lots of healthy grains, growing our own food with no pesticides, etc. etc.  What more can we do?

Remember the section in Food, Inc. on Monsanto?  The soybean giant that has control over most of the soybeans grown, which are all GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms).  I was a little disturbed about that section of the movie, and I know I've shared with you before that that is why we don't do soy milk.  Well, apparently they have bought up a bunch of other companies and now almost all grains that are available in regular stores are GMO. Grrrr!!!

Why is this a problem?  For a few reasons, but this page explains a lot if you are interested.  This is another page that explains why you should avoid GMO foods.  Here's some tips to help you avoid GMO's.  There's a ton of reading material out there on the internet and many have written books.  It's not hard to find, which is why I'm shocked that I didn't know all this before. I mean, I knew GMO's were bad for you, but I had no idea how prevalent they are.  These are all from the same site,  but seriously, there's a ton out there. There are many countries that won't allow any GMO foods and there are whole non-GMO zones in Europe, which is why some people go on vacation to Europe and all of a sudden start feeling better.  Here's an interesting article about non-GMO countries.

I was so proud of that 8 grain cereal that we looove at our house and now I am just frustrated and feel like there's nothing safe to eat anywhere you go.  I know there is, it's just sad that it takes such constant vigilance (Thanks Alaster Moody...) just to keep your family healthy.  And don't worry, I haven't gone insane and I don't take my own food with us everywhere we go, but sometimes I feel like that's the only way to keep it out!  The specialist we've been working with said the same thing...he pretty much takes his own food with him everywhere he goes.  He put Cory on a one month cleanse, and it's going to be rough to get all that junk out right now, but we will do our best.

Oh, and our garden?  Unless you specifically by non GMO seeds, they are GMO.  Double Grrr!!!  We do have some heirloom tomatoes that the seeds date back to pre-GMO days so those are good.  We have already found some good sources (like this one) for non GMO seeds for next year, but until then...

Obviously, this should all be taken with common sense.  Most people, including us, can't afford to get rid of all of that junk completely.  And obviously eating food grown in your own garden is better than getting it at the grocery store, even if the seeds are GMO.  At least it's fresh and you can eat it so quickly after harvesting that most of the nutrients are still there.  A good tip is that if you can't smell it (it doesn't have much fragrance), it isn't very nutrient dense.  Think, plasticky tomatoes at the grocery store.  And obviously it's still better to eat the multi-grain hot cereal for breakfast than Fruit Loops.  I hope this hasn't come out as alarmist, but I am concerned about it because I've seen first hand what happened when you let this stuff build up in your body for years and years.  This is just taking healthy eating to the next level.

I still have a lot of research to do, but from what I've read, you're mostly safe if you buy organic.  Honeyville farms are non-GMO for the most part.  Here's a link to their supposed GMO policy.  It's not official, but it's consistent with a lot of other things I've read about their company-take it for what it's worth.  Also, Bob's Red Mill's website states that, "All of our products come from identity preserved seeds. This means the seed planted in the ground is non-GMO. We simply can't guarantee against cross pollination due to natural occurrences such as wind drift, so we do not label our products GMO-free."

In good news, though, both Cory and Jocelyn have moved up to the next level of detoxing (finally!) which we attribute to doing the alkaline water.  The last time we saw the doctor, there was still some bacteria that was hanging on and we couldn't move forward until we got it out.  We started drinking the alkaline water the next day and we've been on it a month.  We saw him again this week and all that stuff we've been trying to get out for 6 months is gone and we are moving forward!  Yay!!  If any of you have access to it, we obviously are big fans, although we haven't had to fork out the money for the machine which makes it easier.

I also had a good conversation with him about vaccinating kids, but that's for another day.

Great Site

Hi again...

A friend of mine told me about this site and I have spent a lot of time looking around and reading his blog.  He is well-informed and writes well.  I love the content because it matches my philosophy almost exactly.  It also has some good recipes and other nice posts about preventative dental care through nutrition to nutrition book reviews.  He also does a weekly goal to help people live healthier one baby step at a time.

Click here to go see Word of Wisdom Living

Produce for Kids

Another great resource I came across this morning:

Produce for Kids

They have a bunch of recipes to help you try and get more produce in your kids

Informative videos

A friend of mine just sent me this link and I thought it had some good information on it.  I thought the super foods videos were good.

Click here for the link

Interesting Articles

Just thought I'd share some interesting blogs/articles that I have read recently.

7 Dangerous Food Additives to Avoid

5 Misleading Food Label Claims I know we're all smart, but these are good reminders.  The "All Natural" thing just bugs me.  What is natural about butter granules?  Just sayin...

Is Sugar Toxic?

Surprising sources of MSG

Food Coloring and Kids

What Happens to Your Body an Hour after Drinking Coke I'm sure we all don't drink coke, but even if you don't read the article, click on the link it has for the sponsors of the American Dietetic Association...yikes.  Don't worry about that at all...

Also, I found a great vegan blog that has some great stuff I'm going to be trying out next week, and let you know if it's worth trying!

Bountiful Baskets

Okay, so I don't know if I'm the last person on the planet to know about this......but in case you guys don't already, I discovered the coolest thing this week. It's the Bountiful Baskets food co-op. How it works: on Monday you visit www.bountifulbaskets.org and place your order. Each basket is $15 with a $3 first time basket fee; occasionally there are add-ons - this week it was bread, granola, tortillas, or an extra order of produce specifically for mexican dishes. You must order at least one basket to get any add-ons, and I think you can order up to three baskets.

Then, on Saturday, you go to your local pickup site, (selected at the time of order) and get your basket. Guys, this is a seriously good deal. For $15 I got a full laundry basket full of produce. There were bananas, peaches, strawberries, canteloupe, grapes and pears, celery, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, and broccoli. I meant to take a picture of all I got for that steal of a deal, but didn't. Anyway, suffice it to say that it is a great deal. And I thought I'd share it with my veggie lovin' friends in case you didn't already know about it, because this is perfect for us, right? It also runs year round too! One thing to note, the baskets sell out fast, so make sure to get on the site as soon as it opens for the week. I think in Utah it's 8:00 pm on Mondays.

Walmart Brand Organic

Hello all!

So today I went to the grocery store and had a first! I bought ORGANIC MILK!!! It was Great Value Brand (Walmart's Store Brand). At first I was on a high... affordable (ish) organic milk! Yes! But as I drove home the thought struck me: "Does organic mean grass fed?" We all watched Food Inc. We all know why that matters... so I did a little poking around on the internet and found this article:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_2404.cfm

I think it's worth taking the time to read. I don't know completely how I feel about it yet. I still feel like I bought a better option than normal milk... but I guess it's still not the best. Is it worth the price if I'm not getting the FULL benefits of organic milk? Jury is still out.

Anyway I am still loving our Stonyfield Farm yogurt, and I hope to make small switches to Organic as time goes on.

I'd be interested to know what you think of the article if you have the time to read it.

--Much Love

Ashlee

Check it out!

Hey friends! I just found a really cool site, and I thought I'd share. Super Healthy Kids. It has a button on the side-bar that you can click on to get weekly meal plans that include breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner. Not all meals listed include a recipe, but you get an idea and could easily google one I'm sure. Also, not all recipes are vegetarian, but most could be adapted. For the most part I was really impressed.

Menu planning is something I struggle with.....I've been on the computer for over an hour looking for ideas! And that's just for dinner! Do you guys have any great suggestions for menu planning? I don't have enough veggie recipes in my arsenal yet to just make a monthly meal plan out of the file yet, and I'm struggling! My family doesn't do well without variety so I can't just make the same things over and over. Comments and suggestions much needed and appreciated!

ME

I have no idea where to put this post, so I am just putting it here. Ashlee told me to share this information with you and I think you will like it.

I should probably give you a little back ground first. It was eight months after I had my three year old that I developed IBS. I quickly started talking with my mid wife and she suggested to increase fruits and veggies in my diet. Well, I did just that and I went from having three attacks a week (12 a month) to one a month.

About seven months after having my nine month old daughter I remembered that I had once had IBS (I had no attacks during pregnancy). I quickly started changing my diet again. However, I felt that I needed to do more than I had done before but I didn't know what that was. I began by increasing fruits and veggies and eating less of sugar. On new years eve my friends told me about a book, "Eat to Live". It sounded like the missing piece to my puzzle. I began reading it and quickly adapted it to my life style and every day diet.

I have always been a pretty healthy eater (ask Ahslee, she will testify) but my weight was always stuck around 158-165 lbs (I am 5 "9"). I dance, exercise and eat so well but that is just where my body wanted to be in weight. In the past 6 weeks I have lost 16 lbs. I never go hungry and because I breast feed I actually eat more than most people. I am now 150 lbs and the number is still goint down.

You are pretty much vegan for six weeks and then you add meat and dairy back into your diet if you choose to. If I do, it will be sparingly. To me that means red meat once a month, chicken twice a month and fish once a week. Dairy and sugar will be sparingly as well.

I also eat 1-2lbs easy of veggies and fruit a day (a lot of salad) but I love it. My hair feel different, people have commented on my skin tone and my dark circles under my eyes are getting lighter.

If you want to talk to me about this, then email me and I will send you my number.

Sorry that was a lot. Thanks for listening.

Love,

Emily