Can Real Food Cure?

Going Raw

2011-05-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I've posted. I probably have no business doing a blog in the first place. But, I just had to post about my latest food adventures!

I did the GAPS diet faithfully for one month in January. Then I began to incorporate those old favorites, popcorn and raw milk, back into my diet. I didn't really see any changes in how I felt. Then, one day in mid-March I suddenly decided that I wanted to focus on eating food raw as much as possible. Since then I have made a number of very exciting discoveries!

First, I quickly realized that I much prefer eating green leafy veggies like kale, collards and mustard greens raw over eating them cooked. I chop the green into pretty tiny pieces and then marinate in olive oil and lemon. When I eat them, I mix them with other common salad veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers. I like to add dulse and raw soft goat cheese to my salad, as well as home-made lacto-fermented veggies like sauerkraut and pickled cucumber. For dressing I liberally add more olive oil and raw vinegar and perhaps some crushed garlic.

At first I stuck to what I know with the raw meat. I ate thinly sliced fresh, raw rib-eye cow steak from grass-fed animals. I usually just added some olive oil and lemon and some of Lewis Labs' nutritional yeast (which is delicious). But I do love variety and color in my meals. I may eat the same sort of thing over and over again but that thing has to be interesting and exciting.

So I gradually started experimenting with different meats. I've done goat, bison, lamb and venison, and all of them are totally delicious. The all taste better raw than cooked, as far as I'm concerned (especially the lamb, goat and venison). I don't do chicken anyway and raw pork does not appeal to me. And of course I have done an interesting mix of fish and seafoods. I always try to marinate the red meat for a few hours in olive oil and lemon. And I only like to eat the meat thinly sliced. Also, it is very important to buy very high-quality tender meat and fresh is always best.

The standard way I eat the red meat is with the olive oil, lemon and nutritional yeast paired with sliced avocado and cherry tomatoes. If I'm in the mood I sprinkle the whole thing with balsamic vinegar. This is actually quite fabulous and I highly recommend everyone try this recipe. I don't think the balsamic is the healthiest thing, it is not raw and it has grape must in it, but it is so good!

Another way that I prepare the meat is; after marinating I add a tahini dressing or I dip each piece in some homemade pesto. I also sometimes make homemade basil mayonnaise and mix that with the meat. But whatever dressing I have on the meat, I always try to have some fresh herbs mixed in. My favorites are dill, cilantro and basil. But one could get very creative with this and have quite an array of tasty sauces and dips to eat with the meat.

Tahini Dressing (1 serving)

1 tbsp. raw tahini

1 tbsp. raw yogurt

1/4 clove garlic mashed

squeeze of fresh lemon or orange

(sea salt is optional and really not necessary, raw food is so full of flavor I use hardly any salt lately)

Mix ingredients and smother meat in the dressing. Simply wonderful! This is especially good with lamb and goat.

Homemade Basil Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. mustard

1 clove crushed garlic

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves and other herbs (dill is divine)

3/4 cup olive oil (or other healthy vegetable oil)

Add all ingredients to food processor, except the oil. Blend well. Slowly, ever so slowly, add the oil as the machine is running. Stop every so often to check consistency. You want it to be thick and to not separate out in the fridge. Olive oil does have a strong flavor so using another veggie oil may be good. Just make sure it is unrefined and mechanically pressed and of course organic. Sunflower oil and sesame oil may be a good one for this.

I just want to share one last dish I have been greatly enjoying lately. I have been buying fresh, raw octopus, chopping it up into small pieces and marinating it in lemon and olive oil for a few hours. Before eating it I drain the juice and then I mix it with the above homemade mayonnaise. It is a seafood salad!! I do this with other fish as well, like raw shrimp.

So, my most exciting discovery is that I can thoroughly enjoy eating raw meat with a variety of delightful tastes! I love what I'm eating now. The flavor of each food is so pure when not cooked. It feels so good afterward but it is also fun and tasty during. How cool is that?

Update on GAPS: The Enema and More

2011-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

I believe I am now on day 16 of doing the GAPS diet. I have been doing very well. I would like to mention one thing that threw me for a loop. Last week I began taking a probiotic with a strength of 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units) with strains of: lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium bifidum and lactobacillus bulgaricus. I started off slowly and noticed little change. However once I upped my dose to 2 capsules I got a nice experience with cramping and diarrhea. After that I continued to take about 120 billion or more CFU per day for several days.

What I noticed was that even though I didn't have diarrhea things moved quite quickly through me. I thought this was positive but then I started having signs of problems. I was more hungry, I had a few cramps in my foot, my eye began twitching and I woke up with a nightmare. Having hypothyroidism I believe that it is easy for me to show symptoms of a calcium imbalance quite easily and I believe that is what was happening. So I discontinued taking the probiotics and within one day the symptoms were gone!

I'm mentioning this because I think it is important to note that probiotics should be taken with care. If your body does not have time to absorb your food you will not be getting the nutrients you need. I also want to emphasize that if I hadn't been paying attention I could have missed these subtle signs. It is always important to observe our bodies.

Besides that I've been doing very well. I was missing popcorn terribly because I felt like I was being deprived. I like my evening snacks and this is a favorite snack for me. So I struggled to find an alternative. First it was nuts, but I don't think nuts are an ideal food for me. Then I made a yogurt shake with banana and berries. That was good but somehow it wasn't hitting the spot. And then I tried a recipe from the GAPS book. I have made some modifications:

"Apple Crumble"
1-2 chopped apples
leftover pulp from juicing veggies
3 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. honey
ground nuts (optional)
raw whipped cream (not for GAPS people, but perhaps cultured cream would work)

Mix veggie pulp with eggs, butter, vanilla, honey and nuts. Spread apples on the bottom of a pie dish. Cover apples with the veggie mix. Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with plenty of cream.

It is quite tasty and satisfying to me. So I'm not missing the popcorn as much anymore. And it is so nice to be able to put all of that veggie pulp to good use. I always feel bad about throwing it away.

And now on to the important business of reporting on the enema! I hate to let anyone down with this but.....it was quite uneventful. It was much easier than I thought it would be and I felt quite relaxed and calm afterward, as if I had gotten a really nice massage! Imagine that! So, for anyone curious about doing a coffee high enema, don't be afraid. Here is a link to a page that explains the coffee enema: http://www.drkelley.com/CANLIVER55.html#_Toc434239890

Day 8 GAPS: Time To Transition

2011-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Today I incorporated some dairy into my diet. I feel no different but I kind of messed up on lunch because I didn't have a high-protein main course available. And at breakfast I didn't have time to cook eggs so I didn't get enough food. This left me hungry prematurely, again. I will continue like this for a few days, using yogurt and cheese. And I will see if I have any adverse reactions. I don't suspect I have issues with dairy but I wanted to make sure.

After today I think I will hold off on posting for awhile, unless there is some interesting change. I'm still waiting for the enzymes and the enema stuff.

Day 8:

Breakfast
1 home-made sausage cooked lightly in stock. Spinach and bok-choy cooked lightly in stock. Yogurt, banana and raw egg yolk shake.

Lunch
3 eggs cooked omelet style with cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Celery, cucumber and cilantro salad with sauerkraut and nutritional yeast. Raw liver shake (2 chicken livers soaked in fresh lemon juice, 8 oz. beet kvass, 4 oz. veggie juice, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp. raw honey, dash of cinnamon).

Dinner
Veal marsala (Veal cutlets dressed with salt and pepper and lightly cooked in stock, butter and coconut oil. Cutlets removed from heat, garlic and mushrooms added to sauce and cooked lightly. Marsala added and mushrooms cooked further. Mushrooms removed from heat, butter added and sauce reduced. Simply divine!!). Lacinato kale lightly cooked in stock. 8 oz. water kefir.

At night I get hungry and then I crave something crunchy. Mostly I miss popcorn. I am looking for a good crunchy, salty, buttery snack that has no starch. Any ideas?

Day 7 GAPS: My Grocery List

2011-01-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

I've made it through 7 whole days! I hate saying that because it has been a walk in the park and no big deal at all. I do wish I had a good evening snack though. I get hungry around 10 PM. Maybe I should just go to bed!

I thought it would be cool to write my grocery list because I think half the battle with eating well is planning. It is also important to have plenty of easy, quick recipes to refer to. I don't follow recipes for the most part, even though I love doing it, because I just don't have time. I cook really, really simple food, as can be seen from my meals :)

So this is my grocery list from today:
bananas
blueberries
apples
oranges
avocado
bok choy
beets
lacinato kale
cilantro
broccoli
green peppers
fennel
spinach
kale
cucumbers
celery
asparagus
(all organic so far)
ground pork (pasture-raised)
ground beef (grass-fed)
2 rib-eye steaks (grass-fed)
veal scallopini (pasture-raised and staying with mama)
Manna bread (for my daughter)
prosciutto
mineral water

And that's it. This came to 190$. No processed food. Enough food to last me for about 3 days (I buy my eggs and dairy elsewhere). The water was about 15$ of that. So, I guess eating this way is not cheap but I don't really ever go out to eat so in the end it may even out.

Day 7:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs with stock and sea salt. 2 pieces of homemade sausage. Bok choy and spinach cooked lightly in stock.

Lunch
Rib-eye steak cooked lightly in stock and butter with sea salt and black pepper. Steamed broccoli with butter and sea salt. Cucumber, celery, sauerkraut salad with olive oil, raw vinegar, nutritional yeast, freshly ground flax seeds and sea salt. 8 oz. of veggie juice with 1 raw egg yolk.

Dinner
Rib-eye steak cooked lightly in stock and butter with sea salt and black pepper. Kale lightly cooked in stock. Cucumber and celery salad with sauerkraut, olive oil, raw vinegar, and sea salt. 8 oz. of veggie juice with 1 raw egg yolk. 8 oz. of water kefir.

My version of Steak with Demi-Glace-ish Sauce

I'm not sure if this is how to make a real demi-glace sauce. It's probably just an extremely simplified version of it. But this is how I make it:

I sprinkle sea salt and black pepper on both sides of the steak. Then I cook the meat covered on the lowest burner in a small amount of stock (1/8 cup?). When the meat is brown but still very, very rare on the inside I remove it from the heat and cover it to keep it warm. Then I add a whole lotta butter to the stock and turn up the heat to medium-high. With the cover off the stock evaporates and quickly reduces to a thick sauce. I like it to be quite thick so I watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. When it's done I pour it over my steak. It's really quite delicious and perhaps part of the reason why I am able to eat so much steak and still enjoy it!

Day 6 GAPS Diet: What is "holistic"?

2011-01-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

This GAPS stuff is getting pretty easy. It is just part of my daily life and I don't seem to miss anything. The only thing is that I am still hungry earlier than usual! This is kind of annoying.

The other big news is that I had what I believe is a "die-off" reaction today. I started taking a new probiotic (PB) today. It is supposed to have 30 billion CFU (colony forming units). It sounds like a lot but I think we have over 1 trillion little guys in our intestines on a normal day. Anyway, I took my new PB after lunch and about an hour later I felt it. Without getting too much into the gore, suffice it to say that I had cramps and then diarrhea. After I got rid of the diarrhea I felt perfectly normal, as if it had never happened. That was weird!

So, I went to hear a talk today on the "Gut-Brain Connection". It was given by a doctor who works with severely autistic children. She was very sweet and seemed quite dedicated to her work and appeared to truly want to help people. She had some interesting details about different sorts of overgrowth issues and how that can adversely affect the brain. In her discussion of treatment she mentioned diet, PBs, herbs, antioxidant supplements, antibiotics and movement.

I would recommend her to someone with an autistic child but I was slightly disheartened to see that she still is following a western-oriented approach to care. I know they mean well but so many doctors make this mistake. Actually, I don't know if it's a mistake or if they are responding to patients' "needs".

This woman talked about all the testing they do; stool, urine, blood, saliva, etc. And they pinpoint the specific "bad organisms" and attempt to control them or kill them. But to me this appears to be an allopathic approach. Of course they use diet but they also use herbs, oils and antibiotics when necessary. Is this really getting to the roots of the problem? Perhaps, but probably mostly by chance I'm sure. There are countless unknown organisms in our guts, if we only find the ones we know and try to attack them then how are we going to cure ourselves? It seems that even holistic doctors cannot get away from the allopathic model of: "you take this for this" (ie: there is a "symptom" and lets take a remedy to get rid of that particular symptom). How does this differ from taking medications? Except that the substances may be less toxic, the approach is still the same.

I questioned her on this point and she said, "well that's why we use the herbs". I think she is missing the point. Herbs may alleviate some symptoms but I can't see how they'll cure the core issue. Why does someone have autism? Is it because they don't consume enough herbs? No. I can guarantee not. I'm not claiming to have all the answers of course. But I think that a holistic approach is more constructive. Why focus on individual manifestations of imbalances? Nutrition is king in my opinion and everything else is directed at managing symptoms. Let's call it what it is.

Anyway, maybe this doesn't make any sense and I'm just babbling. Perhaps I need to hash this out more in my mind and I would welcome comments on the question of what it means to be truly holistic in your approach. To me it means forgetting about the label of the disease (and this has taken me quite some time to come to terms with) and working on improving the health of every cell in the body. This is done by nourishing those cells properly. With the right nourishment the cells will do their jobs properly. Attitude matters as well. But it's important to remember that the brain cells need to be nourished properly for them to function properly. So it can be difficult to have the right attitude until your brain starts getting what it needs.

In my own personal experience I have come to a place where I don't want to focus on my "immune system" or my "thyroid issue". What I want to do is elevate the state of health of my whole body and with that strengthen my weaknesses. I don't want to know the name of the yeast that has taken over in my belly (or whatever "reason" someone will come up). I want to restore balance, give my cells what they need and make sure they get rid of what they don't.

Day 6:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs, 2 home-made sausage, sauerkraut, sliced celery.

Lunch
Leftover veal stew meat with kale. Sauerkraut, cucumbers and celery with nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs). 8 oz. water kefir. 8 oz. vegetable juice with 2 raw egg yolks.

Dinner
Rib-eye steak lightly cooked in chicken stock, butter, sea salt and black pepper. Steamed broccoli and string beans with freshly ground flax seed, butter and sea salt. Pickles.

Day 5 of GAPS Diet: Eat 3 Square Meals

2011-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

Today I missed lunch and I was starving!! I ate breakfast late, at about 9:00 and then later went to a meeting. I was only able to eat 1 boiled egg before the meeting and so ended up eating "lunch" at about 4 PM! Yikes, I was so hungry!! And after I ate my lunch I was hungry again by 5 PM. This reminded me of something I already know about myself. If I don't eat 3 square meals at about 4-5 hour intervals it makes me hungry and it throws me out of whack. I know this varies from person to person but I've found that I do best eating those 3 square meals, without snacking.

Day 5:

Breakfast
3 scrambled eggs cooked with chicken stock and sea salt. 2 pieces of home-made sausage cooked slow and low with beef stock. Kale lightly cooked in chicken stock.

Lunch
1 boiled egg.
Ground beef and kale cooked in stock. 8 oz. of water kefir.

Dinner
Veal stew meat (cooked all day at 175 degrees in beef stock, tomato paste, sea salt and black pepper). Kale lightly cooked in stock. Leftover fish chowder soup. Sliced cucumbers with lacto-fermented pickles, celery and sauerkraut, dressed with olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt.

Day 4 of GAPS Diet: Under The Weather?!

2011-01-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to see that I was a bit under the weather today. I haven't been sick in over 2 years, not even a cold. Occasionally I get tired for a day and I notice this often coincides with other people in my family being sick. So, when I say "under the weather" I mean "tired". But it is quite a noticeable notice so I know it's not just from lack of sleep or something. Today I felt like that, groggy and tired. I pretty much carried on with my normal day-to-day stuff and eventually felt normal (after lunch I think).

The reason why I mention this is because I have noticed that these tired episodes only occur when I don't have milk for one reason or another for a few days. I know milk is demonized a lot but of course raw milk from healthy grass-fed cows is a completely different food from the boiled junk they sell in the stores. I haven't had milk, yogurt or cheese for 4 days now and I just wonder if there is some correlation....

Anyway...

Day 4:

Breakfast:
3 scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil, 1 piece of home-made sausage, spinach and bok-choy cooked in beef stock

Lunch:
Ground beef lightly cooked in beef stock with kale and asparagus. Celery, tomatoes and cucumber salad with sauerkraut, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs), olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. Fresh vegetable juice. Raw liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey).

Dinner:
Creamed cauliflower fish/clam chowder. Sliced cucumbers with sauerkraut, freshly ground flax seeds, olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. 8 oz. water kefir. A few blueberries.

I noticed that eating 3 eggs made me feel much better. Eggs do well for me in the morning. The sausage is necessary as well, but not as much when I eat the eggs. Food was good today! Especially the ground beef soup. And I was proud of myself for coming up with a good idea for the clam chowder. I was a bit concerned because I usually make clam chowder with cream and I am not eating cream right now. So I steamed some cauliflower and then added it to the stock and blended it with the hand-held blender and it turned the soup into a nice white, milky-like texture. It actually tasted fantabulous and the children didn't know it was cauliflower. They gobbled it up! This is a great discovery for replacing dairy (for me that is) in soup. When I'm back on cream I'll do both :). And it thickened up so I didn't miss the arrowroot powder, which I usually use as a healthy thickening agent.

Creamed Cauliflower Fish and Clam Chowder:

1 bulb garlic
4 tbsp. butter
sea salt
1 quart fish stock (home-made)
1/2 quart chicken stock (home-made)
2 dozen Littleneck clams (soaked and cleaned in filtered water)
1 small head of cauliflower
2 fillets of light-colored but firm fish (snapper, tiliapia, halibut, yellowtail, rockfish, cod)

Begin steaming cauliflower. In a separate pot saute garlic in butter and sea salt until garlic is soft. Add both stocks and clams. Cover the pot and bring to a low boil. Cook clams until they open completely. Discard any clams that do not open. Turn down flame to low, remove cooked clams and let cool. Add firm but cooked cauliflower to broth. Use hand-held blender to pulverize cauliflower completely. Add fish and cover pot. Allow fish to cook for just a few minutes. Meanwhile cut up clams into small pieces (or as desired). When fish is done add back clams and voila.....

This is a very quick and easy meal to prepare and it's quite tasty!

Day 3 of GAPS Diet: Enzymes

2011-01-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

I found out about the enzymes today from my friend and mentor Jim Marlowe. He said that digestive enzymes are taken to help digest protein. This can be helpful for people with allergies because it helps break down protein molecules so that they do not slip through the intestinal walls and cause allergic reactions. Included in a high quality enzyme supplement will also be proteolytic enzymes, which digest "antigen-antibody" complexes. These enzymes can be used therapeutically to diminish an autoimmune response. They also reduce inflammation and reduce abnormal tissue growth, including cancerous and non-malignant tumors. WOW! I am going to order some tomorrow!

Today is my daughter's 9th birthday so I cooked her some lovely muffins. The reason why I know they're lovely is because I've had them before. I was going to NOT eat one but my hands just had a mind of their own! Luckily they are relatively GAPS-friendly muffins. For anyone avoiding grains they are perfectly wonderful muffins. I got this recipe at a lecture given by Jennette Turner of "Dinner With Jennette".

"Basic Coconut Flour Muffins"

6 eggs
1/4 c. butter, softened, or coconut oil
1/4 c. milk or 1/3 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. maple syrup (I used honey)
1 tsp. vanilla (I used 2, I'm a fan)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2/3 c. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
(options: fresh or frozen berries, nuts, lemon zest, chocolate chips

1. In a mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and salt. Mix with an electric mixer until very smooth
2. In another bowl combine coconut flour and baking soda and mix well.
3. Pour the coconut flour mixture into the batter and mix until there are no lumps.
4. Pour the muffins into well buttered muffin tin (I use stone) and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until they start to brown around the edges."

The consistency of these muffins would make you think there was some sort of grainy or starchy ingredient but there isn't any. Not exactly GAPS sanctioned because of the baking soda and the honey has been heated but I couldn't resist. I haven't been craving anything but when those delicious muffins were right in front of me, what was I supposed to do? No regrets! I know this is a relatively minor transgression.....

Day 3:

Breakfast:
1 1/2 soft-boiled eggs, 2 home-made sausages, spinach and bok-choy lightly cooked in beef stock with butter and sea salt.

Lunch:
Rib-eye lightly cooked in beef stock with sea salt and black pepper (forgot butter). Cucumber, celery, avocado and tomato salad with sauerkraut, freshly ground flax seeds, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs), olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt. Dino kale lightly cooked in beef stock. 8 oz. water kefir. Liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey).

Dinner:
Pork shoulder (reheated in stock). Asparagus lightly cooked in stock with butter and sea salt. Sauerkraut. Fresh vegetable juice (celery, cucumber, cilantro, kale, green bell peppers) with one raw egg yolk. 6 oz. water kefir.
Coconut muffin.

I am still feeling a bit hungry in between meals. I probably need more fat but I can't seem to get enough. I have to remember to use more butter when I'm cooking. My breakfast doesn't seem to be providing me with enough of something. I am hungry by 10:00 or so, which is not typical for me. I tried eating whole boiled eggs today but I'm not a fan of the egg whites so it made me gag, which is why I only ate 1 and 1/2 eggs. I had to stop. Perhaps I will cook my eggs omelet style like I usually do......I feel that the breakfast is setting me up for more hunger later on, even after lunch. I need a very hearty breakfast!

I am warming up more to those liver shakes, they're really not bad at all.....

Day 2 of GAPS Diet

2011-01-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

I suppose I should clarify that I am attempting to do the GAPS diet and I don't claim to be doing it exactly as Dr. McBride lays it out. I may make some mistakes. For the most part I am attempting to follow Dr. MrBride's recommendations.

Today I found out about how to do the coffee enemas. The reality of actually doing an enema hit me and I am curious to see if I can actually go through with it. The purpose for doing the coffee enema is to cleanse the liver and the colon. It is a recommendation by Dr. William Kelly who is famous for this "unorthodox" approach to curing cancer. Yes, there are doctors out there who claim to be able to cure cancer without the use of damaging treatments like chemotherapy.

I won't go into Dr. Kelly's methods right now but his teaching was key in the further development of the concept of biochemical individuality. You can read his short book online at: One Answer To Cancer . It is fascinating and his work has been taken up by Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez in New York City and by Bill Wolcott, the author of the The Metabolic Typing Diet.

The concept of eating in harmony with your metabolism has been key in my reaching the level of health I've achieved. Reading the books mentioned above has been helpful but the greatest influence for me has been the teachings of my mentor and friend, Jim Marlowe. Jim is a local nutritionist here in Chicago and he is simply brilliant.

The most significant changes for me have been the almost complete elimination of cravings and dizziness and a remarkable improvement in my emotional state. I am calm, cool and collected, I do not have mood swings, and I feel good all the time. Sometimes I feel so good that I am tingling with bliss. This occurs most often after lunch when I've eaten one of my favorite meals in peace and quiet. It may sound corny or like I'm just saying this but it is true. The reason why this is so significant for me is because I used to feel discontented a lot. A state of existence that I assumed was just normal. And there were usually one or two days every month when I would feel blue. I was never to the point of being "depressed" on those days but I felt moody and had a certain sense of hopelessness. This is completely gone.

I also no longer have an unreasonably strong fear of flying. I used to have diarrhea (TMI?) the day I was to fly. My palms would get sweaty and I would be very nervous. I sometimes bordered on a panic attack if there was any delay or turbulence. Now, when I fly I still feel uneasy but nothing like I used to. This past autumn I took 6 flights and I was quite calm on each flight. I would like to emphasize that I have had no psychological counseling on this matter. Neither did I do anything different in terms of preparing to fly. The only change I've made is in my diet.

I digress. Maybe I'm avoiding the whole enema thing.....No, I actually have to admit to being very curious about it. But I will try to spare everyone the gory details about my enema experience. I have received quite specific directions on how to do the coffee enema. You can see Dr. Kelly's instructions on the coffee enema firsthand if you would like more details. Coffee enemas should be done under the guidance of a doctor.

Day 2:

Breakfast:
2 soft-boiled egg yolks with 2 home-made pork sausage. Spinach and bok-choy lightly cooked in chicken stock with salt and butter.

Lunch:
Rib-eye lightly cooked in chicken stock. Sliced celery and avocado eaten with olive oil, raw vinegar and nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs). Broccoli soup (leftover). Liver shake (1/2 chicken liver raw, freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon, 6 oz. home-made beet kvass, dash of cinnamon, 1 tsp. raw honey) and 8 oz. home-made water kefir.

Dinner:
Meat from meaty soup bones cooked in beef stock. Dino kale lightly cooked in chicken stock with salt and butter sprinkled with freshly ground flax seeds. 6 raw oysters. 1 soft-boiled egg. Sauerkraut. 8 oz. water kefir.

I have been feeling fine, perhaps I little more hungry than usual but no cravings. I noticed today that my hands are drier than usual. Otherwise I've noticed no real changes. I am still waiting for my probiotic supplements.

Day 1 of GAPS Diet

2011-01-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

After more-or-less abusing my body over the holidays (and enjoying every minute of it) I'm back home and I am ready to try a new strategy, which I have been contemplating for some time. It is called the GAPS Diet. The GAPS Diet is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) created by Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas in America in the early 20th century. SCD was later popularized by Elaine Gottschall in her book "Breaking The Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet". Gottschall wrote the book after her success with it in curing her daughter, who had suffered from severe ulcerative colitis and neurological problems.

Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride, the author of the book, "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" (GAPS) has used the SCD diet coupled with other practices to help many people suffering from autism, ADD, ADHD, depression, anorexia, schizophrenia and many other health problems. She expands on the SCD in various ways, which I will describe as I write about my "plan" for the next month. The goal is to improve my immune system function so that it is no longer attacking my thyroid. I will keep a personal record of what I eat and how I feel. After 3 months I will test for antibodies against my thyroid tissue.

The Plan:

Week 1

Avoid the following items:
All industrially processed food
All sweeteners except for raw honey, eaten raw
Most dairy, except butter and ghee
All grains and starchy vegetables and seaweed
All starchy foods such as arrowroot powder, cocoa, carob, baking powder, etc
All spices except salt and pepper

Eat mostly the following items:
Stock and stock-cooked meat, fish, seafood and vegetables
Raw and undercooked eggs
Lacto-fermented vegetables
Fresh vegetable juice
Raw meat and egg yolks
Nuts and seeds
Fruit
Raw Honey
Butter and ghee

Encourage Healing With the Following Practices:
-Drink 2-3 cups of homemade water kefir daily
-Take the following supplements (which are unique for my needs): zinc and vitamin A
-Take Fermented Cod Liver Oil (www.greenpasture.org) and High Vitamin Butter Oil daily
-Take 1 probiotic capsule daily (with a total strength of 30 billion CFU of 3 different probiotics: http://store.natren.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=N&Screen=PROD&Category_Code=019&Product_Code=60090)
-Drink fresh vegetable and fruit juice daily
-Eat raw liver at least 2-3 times per week (either juiced or blended in beet kvass)
-I may take an enzyme supplement but I am still looking into that option.
-As usual, avoid, as much as possible, all toxins in my environment.
-Weekly coffee enemas (will talk more about these later....he, he, he)

Week 2-Week 4
Depending on how I feel I may introduce home-made yogurt, some cheeses and cultured cream at this point. I will also add spices and some raw veggies.

Day 1:
Breakfast:
Homemade pork sausage (seasoned only with salt and pepper) with 2 soft-boiled egg yolks. Spinach and bok-choy slowly cooked in chicken stock.

Lunch:
Rib-eye steak, celery and dino kale slow-cooked in chicken stock with salt and pepper. 1 egg and 2 tbsp. butter added to "soup" at the end. Freshly ground flax seeds and nutritional yeast added to the soup. Sauerkraut on the side. 8 oz. of fresh vegetable juice with 1 raw egg yolk.

Dinner:
Pork shoulder slow-cooked at 175 degrees with stock, salt and pepper. Broccoli soup (stock, broccoli, butter, salt and pepper), sauerkraut, sliced cucumber. Water kefir.

So far this has been easy. The meals have been very satisfying and I feel really good. But I do feel the pang of the "forbidden". I normally don't even crave things like chocolate or popcorn but the thought that I CAN'T have them makes me want them. Humans are so simple.

"What Jill Eats" Series

2010-12-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

If you are ever feeling under the weather, or if you just want to give yourself a boost, drink raw liver. This is some powerful stuff. I usually drink it in my special liver drink (see below) but today I juiced the liver, which is another easy way to get some raw liver nutrition. I actually make it a habit to drink raw liver juice at least 1-3 times per week. Try it, it's not as bad as you may think.

Breakfast: 1 piece of bacon, 1 soft-boiled egg yolk, celery sticks and sliced cucumber. Raw, home-made yogurt with 2 raw egg yolks and 1/2 banana.

Lunch: Leftover goat curry, 1 soft-boiled egg, mushroom, spinach and tomato salad with raw, home-made sauerkraut, sprinkled with nutritional yeast and dulse.

Dinner: Clam and fish chowder (recipe below), sauteed kale, bell pepper, cucumber and celery salad with raw chevre (chive and garlic) and freshly ground flax seeds. Tall glass of fresh vegetable juice made with raw liver. (see below)

Clam and Fish Chowder:
2 dozen little neck clams
1 lb roughly chopped Rockfish, snapper or other white fish
2-3 tbsp. butter
1/2 large onion
1 whole bulb garlic
potatoes (optional)
sea salt
black pepper
1 tsp. dried or fresh thyme
dash of white wine
2-3 cups fish stock
1 cup raw cream

Soak clams in cold, filtered water for at least 30 minutes to remove sand. Saute onions and garlic in butter until soft. Add thyme and wine and then add sea salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for about 1 minute. Add Rockfish and saute lightly for 3-5 minutes and set aside.

In a separate pot steam clams until they are fully open. Remove from heat, remove meat from shells and chop into small pieces. Add stock to fish/onion mixture, bring to a light boil, add clams and reheat. Add 1 cup of cream (preferably raw but if not try to avoid ultra-pasteurized).

If you are adding potatoes: Dice potatoes and boil separately. Add into soup with clams, just to reheat.

Jill's juice today:
2 stalks celery
1 whole green pepper
1/2 cucumber
1 whole fennel stalk
2 carrots
1 whole, raw chicken liver
1/2 bunch cilantro
few leaves of kale

Jill's Special Liver Drink:
1/2 chicken liver or 2 oz. beef liver
1 raw egg yolk
4-6 oz home-made beet kvass
dash of cinnamon
juice of 1/2 lemon

Add all ingredients to food processor and mix. Drink with a smile! Drink quickly if you have issues with liver. But the cinnamon is great at cutting the taste.

"What Jill Eats" Series

2010-12-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

Meals should be enjoyable. It's no use eating the perfect foods while stressing about it. Eat what you enjoy, eat in harmony with your metabolism and eat fresh, high-quality foods as often as possible and you may see an improvement in your health. Lunch is the one meal that I often eat alone and in peace. I love my lunches because I can eat whatever I want and no one is complaining about the food or yelling at me :)

I savor my lunches. I eat slowly, usually sitting in the sun or with a lit candle, listening to my favorite classical music. It is a spiritual experience. It enables me to really experience how delicious and nourishing my food is. And often I feel a rush of "feel-good" hormones as I am eating. Top that off with the fact that my meals are infinitely satisfying to me on so many levels; visually, texturally, nutritionally and taste-wise, and you have a recipe for health!

Breakfast: 1 soft boiled egg, 2 pieces of bacon, 2 celery sticks, raw home-made yogurt shake with banana and 2 raw egg yolks

Lunch: Raw ribeye steak marinated in olive oil, lemon and soy sauce, sauteed kale, bell pepper, cucumber and celery salad with olive oil, vinegar and sea salt, mixed with sauerkraut raw garlic/chive chevre, freshly ground flax seeds, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs) and dulse. 8 oz. of water kefir.

Dinner: Goat curry (recipe below), mushroom, spinach, and tomato salad with olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt mixed with raw chevre and sauerkraut. Fresh vegetable juice mixed with beet kvass and 1 raw egg yolk.

Jill's Goat Curry Recipe:

1/4 cup butter or ghee
1/2 large onion
1 bulb garlic
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
other chopped veggies (optional) such as celery, carrots, potatoes, string beans, etc
home-made curry powder (see below)
2 lbs. goat stew meat
2-3 cups beef stock (or other stock)
8-12 oz. coconut milk
1 tbsp. arrowroot powder (optional)
Almonds, cashews or peanuts (optional)
Lacto-fermented sauerkraut or other LF vegetable such as carrot, daikon or kohlrabi

Warm ghee. Add onions and stir and saute at low-medium heat until soft. Add curry powder, garlic, tomatoes and other veggies and saute until veggies are slightly soft. Add goat meat and continue to saute and spread curry powder on meat. Brown meat slightly (optional). Add beef stock and coconut milk and cook at very low temperature for 6-8 hours. If thicker consistency is desired add arrowroot powder before serving. To add powder: remove some warm broth and add to arrowroot in a cup or small bowl. Dissolve powder in broth and then add back to curry. Let heat for a few minutes until sauce thickens. Serve with ground almonds or other nuts and the fermented veggies (they go so well with curry, something I learned in Japan). If your curry is too spicy add yogurt (a trick I learned in India).

Home-made Curry Powder:
1 tbsp. cumin seed
1 tbsp. coriander seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. clove seeds
1 tsp. fenugreek seed
1 -2 tbsp. turmeric powder (or seeds?)
dash to 1 tsp. chili powder (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp. cardamon
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
dash of allspice
dash of cinnamon

Grind seeds in a coffee grinder (this is an invaluable kitchen tool and can be bought for about 10$). Mix all ingredients.

If you don't have all of these spices the curry will still come out great, as long as you have at least cumin, turmeric, coriander, chili, salt and pepper. The more spices you can add, the more complex the taste will be. Freshly ground seeds render a tastier curry as well.

I often mix the seed portion of curry powder in larger amounts and store in a jar. When I want to make curry I just grind and then add the other powders.

"What Jill Eats" Series

2010-12-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

I suppose it's presumptuous to assume anyone cares what I eat, but I think there may be a few out there. Perhaps out of sheer curiosity, perhaps for new meal ideas, perhaps for fodder to make fun of me (enter my brothers).....who knows.

Joking aside, this is actually serious stuff. I feel fabulous most of the time. I'm not perfect and I don't want to be but I do feel great in spite of a persistent underlying weakness in my thyroid. For a long time I've been looking for the magic reason why my thyroid is not working right. You know, that one thing that is going to cure me. Well I've come to the realization that it is most likely a set of factors that have contributed to that weakness. And I think I have accepted the fact that I have a weakness (OK, maybe I do want to be perfect).

You see, I feel soooooo good. My mood is even, I'm calm and accepting, I have lots of patience and I just feel content all the time. There is this underlying pervasive feeling of satisfaction and sometimes even giddiness that I walk around with. My kids do get me frustrated sometimes, again, I'm not perfect, really. And sometimes things bother me but I soon return to that calm, content feeling. And I have plenty of energy, which can come in handy sometimes. My point is that I think it may be valuable to share with others about what I am eating. And perhaps other people can post their ideas as well.

Please keep in mind that everyone is unique in how they metabolize food. (ie: how they produce and use energy) So my needs will not be the same as everyone else. Right now I tend to have a mixed need for high and medium protein foods and low and medium carbohydrate vegetables coupled with a moderate need for fat. Grains rarely make an appearance and fruit is eaten as desert, if at all. Dairy is eaten raw of course. Eggs I usually have in the form of just the yolks and I eat them mostly raw. In the summer I was eating a lot more raw beef but in this cold weather it just doesn't feel right.

I always pay attention to my body. Anyone who is focused on eating well should be engaged in this process. Eating well is an art form. There is the need for knowledge of course, but that must be coupled with intuition, open-mindedness, and careful observation. Dogma is for the dogs. Whatever you learn from a book or from a nutritionist should serve as a guideline, not a rule. If you are inspired to make a change, do so, but listen to your body. It will tell you what works and what doesn't.

Yesterday this is what I ate:

Breakfast: 1 soft-boiled egg, 2 celery sticks, 2 raw egg yolks in a banana and raw yogurt shake

Lunch: 4 chicken legs (marinated overnight in lemon, butter, fresh garlic, sea salt, thyme, rosemary, and sage and then slow-cooked in a covered pot at 225 degrees for 8 hours), 1 soft boiled egg yolk, cucumber, spinach, and mushroom salad with olive oil, raw vinegar, sea salt, nutritional yeast (Lewis Labs is the best), dulse and freshly ground flax-seeds. A glass of water kefir.

Dinner: Pork shoulder (marinated in mustard, sea salt, black pepper, tomato paste (from a jar not a can), and garlic powder and then slow cooked at 225 degrees for about 8 hours) eaten with slices of gruyere cheese (this is a fabulous combination by the way). Also, sauteed kale and a tomato, celery and orange bell pepper salad with olive oil, raw vinegar and sea salt.

After dinner: Green Pasture Fermented Cod Liver Oil mixed with Butter Oil and Kombucha. (Green Pasture is the only brand I would recommend for cod liver oil.) Cod liver oil taken with butter oil has a synergistic effect.

Simple, Delicious and Nourishing

2010-05-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is such a great meal and most kids will love it.

Ribeye Steak with "Creamed" Broccoli Soup

You can cook the ribeye however you like. This is super-duper easy. Either broil on low until done to preference (the less you cook the meat, the more nutrients will be maintained). Or you can slice the steak thinly and saute in butter and salt (literally you can cook for 1-2 minutes). Or you can do a Carpaccio (I usually eat this for lunch: raw ribeye sliced thinly and then drizzled with olive oil, naturally-fermented soy sauce, raw vinegar and Lewis Labs' Brewers Yeast).

The soup is a bit more involved but still very simple.

Creamed Broccoli Soup
(this can be dairy-free quite easily)

1 head broccoli
dash of thyme
4 tbsp. butter (can substitute with olive oil or leave out)
5-6 cloves of garlic (or a whole head if you want to give the immune system an extra boost)
sea salt
4-5 cups stock (chicken or turkey is best but beef would be fine as well)(use home-made stock if possible)
1 tbsp. raw cream per bowl of soup (optional)

Wash broccoli and soak in filtered water to remove any little critters. Saute garlic and thyme in butter, olive oil or a bit of stock (or all three). Once garlic becomes fragrant add broccoli and about 1 tsp. sea salt and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add stock, cover and bring to a light boil. Simmer until broccoli is tender but do not overcook (you want to retain the nutritional value of the broccoli). Puree contents of soup. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowl and add 1-2 tbsp. raw cream.

Note: If you are not using cream you may want to use less stock so that the soup is thicker. You can also easily thicken soup with arrowroot powder (Remove some of the warm liquid from the soup, add to small bowl with about 1-2 tbsp. arrowroot powder and dissolve with a spoon. Return thickened liquid to soup and stir in. Soup will take a few minutes to thicken).
Arrowroot powder is rich in calcium and is completely gluten-free.

Some Simple Recipes

2010-05-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

It should be easy to cook. I usually make super-duper simple dishes so I have time to do other things like make sauerkraut and cheese.

Here are some recipes I like:

Homemade Sausage:

1 lb. pork sirloin cut into 1" cubes
1/2 cup pork fat
1 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground rosemary
1 tsp. ground onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tbsp. dry sherry
3 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 cup stock (beef, chicken, duck or turkey)

Mix pork, fat and all spices together in food processor. Form into patties. Heat stock and butter in frying pan. Cook patties in stock and butter on low flame with pan covered until cooked through (or leave pink on the inside if preferred).

Tuna Tartar:

3/4 lb raw sashimi-grade tuna
1 avocado
2 tomaotes
1 tsp. dried wakame seaweed
1 tbsp. diced fresh dill
1 tbsp. diced fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. diced fresh scallions
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
cayenne (optional)

Rehydrate wakame in hot filtered water for about 30 minutes. Chop tuna, avocado and tomatoes and place in a medium-sized bowl. Drain wakame. Add all other ingredients to bowl and mix together. Add dash of cayenne to add some spice.

Meatloaf:

1 lb ground chuck
1/2 lb ground sirloin
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs (preferably home-made)
2 tbsp red wine
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3-5 cloves finely minced garlic

Grind dried herbs in a spice grinder. Mix all ingredients in a bowl (by hand, do not squeeze meat). Place in a loaf pan to set mold, then remove meatloaf onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until desired temperature (135-155 degrees depending on your taste). If you have a grinder, grind the chuck and sirloin yourself.

Raising The Bar

2010-04-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

King's Hill Farm is doing on their land what I have always imagined all farmers do (I now know they don't). They are practicing what is known as permaculture, and they're doing it in their own unique way. If you're unfamiliar with permaculture, one visit to a farm that is practicing it is worth a thousand words, but this is part of how Wikipedia defines it:

"The intent is that, by rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals can design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements — ones that reduce society's reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that Mollison identified as fundamentally and systematically destroying Earth's ecosystems."

I recently visited King's Hill Farm, near Mineral Point, WI for a day and I received the grand tour, including; petting the two sun-burnt pigs, walking with the chickens and ducks, visiting the hot greenhouses, getting yelled at by the geese, walking through a field of young berry bushes, nut and fruit trees, being mesmerized by the beautiful turkeys, petting a baby Peking duck, looking at the beehives and mushroom plants in the woods and chasing the llama (oh yeah, and I brought home a pet tick too).

Joel Kellum, the farmer, led the tour barefoot, naming plants at a rapid pace and encouraging us to touch the animals. Joel has a connection with the earth that can only remind me of Dickon from A Secret Garden. It is almost as if he knows something about the land, the plants, the animals that others wished they knew. He shares a secret with them, he seems to be one with them. This allows Joel to be extremely creative with how he is building this "self-sufficient human settlement". It appears that he works part knowledge, part intuition, and all love. There is room for trial and error because he is going to make it work no matter what. And he certainly has the skills, the dedication and the passion to make it work!

Of course, without Jai Kellum, the farmer/businesswoman/yoga teacher/ and mom who also manages the CSA and the website, it probably wouldn't work. Jai makes sure that the bounty of the farm gets into the kitchens of all those people looking to eat quality, organic produce, eggs and honey. Jai's easy-going, sweet personality is contagious and, I would bet, her sensibility tempers many of the decisions made on the farm. Together they're a great team and I imagine their children have an envious life with 800 acres of well-cared-for land to roam around on.

There are two reasons why I feel compelled to highlight this farm. One reason is that I think it is very important for every conscientious consumer to visit local farms and witness how much hard work and dedication it takes to provide high-quality food. If nothing else it will make people appreciate their farmers! Even better, it may foster loyalty and a desire to stand up and fight for our local, sustainable farmers. It bears repeating: without our farmers we have no food!

Another reason is that I think King's Hill Farm should serve as a model for other farms. I shop at multiple farmers' markets and buy from a diverse group of farmers, but I'm sorry to say that very few of them actually practice any form of diversified farming. And no, 60 different types of vegetables is not diversified farming. Pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese, bees, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and mushrooms; that is diversity! Let's all gently encourage our farmers to move in this direction. This is what it means to be "sustainable". The duck and chicken poop fertilize the earth and make for yummy food! A farm without animals will never be truly self-sufficient.

As we drove home from the farm (with unknown tick as passenger, I won't go into the gory details) it was absolutely striking to see corn field after corn field. Is this what we want? Do we want our farmers to produce a few crops that end up in the bellies of tortured animals or as another un-recognizable ingredient in a long list of processed foods? What kind of love could there be in that? I'm not knocking them, most of them are barely surviving themselves, with their houses 1/5 the size of the stainless steel grain storage tanks that tower over them. And the system has them so deeply embedded in debt and a convoluted web of government subsidies and toxic chemicals they are mostly little more than indentured servants.

But without a revolution, how can this change? How about by putting our money into farms like King's Hill and taking our money away from factory-farmed food and highly processed garbage passed off as food at a cheap price? Yes, I think it's a good place to start. You can also visit your local farm, and thank them for all they do. And most of all, be prepared to be part of the revolution, because as it is now, the system truly is unsustainable.

For those living in the Chicago area, King's Hill Farm will come weekly to Green City Market, Oak Park Market, Independence Park Market and Glenwood Sunday Market. Give their delicious food a try.

Fluffy Radical

2010-04-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

I've always been off the grid, with just about everything I've done. My parents had a large organic garden in the back yard and we grew up eating fresh veggies and tofu and brown rice stir-fry. My lunch bag was usually filled with a sandwich of whole wheat bread, sprouts and avocado with perhaps some fresh fruit. I used to look longingly at the fluff and peanut-butter, white bread sandwiches my friends had.

As I got older I began to appreciate being "weird" and even to embrace it. For a long time I avoided shaving my legs and considered myself a feminist, "not to be controlled by any man" (I grew out of that one). With my children I went even more radical and had home-births, breastfed for years on end and never let a needle come within 10 feet of them. Now I eat in a way that makes some people think I'm too extreme. You know; real food, no processed food, lots of raw animal protein and fresh veggies. But all the while, even though I mistrusted government and big businesses I still had a naive belief in their inherent relative benevolence and a quiet acceptance of their necessity. So I suppose you could say I was a fluffy radical; going about my business but not truly questioning the gravity of the matters at hand.

The gravity of the situation truly hit home this past weekend, when I spent a whole day at The 2nd Annual Raw Milk Symposium sponsored by the Farm-To-Consumer-Foundation. It may sound silly to those who have never gone out of their way to drink real milk on a regular basis, but this type of gathering can make profound changes in the hearts and minds of those who take the time to attend. When listening to the deeply moving words of the likes of Michael Schmidt and the intensely motivating words of Mark McAfee one cannot help but be outraged and motivated.

When you look at what is going on with raw milk farmers, the true intent of our government, at the behest of corporate interests, becomes painfully obvious. The government is kicking the butts of raw milk producers; raiding, confiscating, harassing, manipulating, threatening and flat-out wasting wads of dollars in destroyed product (and government money). All in the name of public safety. Well, I hate to point out the obvious, and pretty much any relatively informed consumer can figure this out, but if the government were truly concerned with our safety, wouldn't they be doing these very same things to factory farms and mega-sized slaughter-houses? It is well-established that these are the source of the vast majority of food-borne illness outbreaks and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But this is what we only see on the surface. As infuriating as it is, it is not the core issue. The real issue is that raw milk represents a kind of food freedom statement that those in power do not want to hear. The very simple ideas;"I can eat what I choose" coupled with; "As an informed consumer I choose to eat real food that is produced locally with minimal processing", scare the living daylights out of those who would control every morsel that enters our mouths.

Everything I knew in my heart to be true about corporate greed and government's inability to do their job was staring me in the face this weekend. And one cannot turn away from that. My comfortable illusions have been shattered! They (meaning the greedy and power-hungry who control our food supply) are truly intent on making as much money as possible and they really, really don't care that it is slowly killing many Americans. They really don't care that our rural countryside has turned into a desolate and depressed endless sea of corn fields, factory farms and mega grain-processing plants. They truly, really don't care that that our country is filled with overweight, drug-dependent, tired, stressed-out, sick people! Really, they don't. And the scary part is that not only do they not care, the continuation of this status quo is in their best financial interest and they know it. They will stop at nothing to maintain it. And this is easy for them because usually a nice, shocking smear campaign, like highlighting how raw milk will kill you, is all the ammunition they need. Fear is a powerful weapon, but fear and total control of almost every public outlet of information is pretty much unstoppable.

So what hit home is that raw milk issues are not just about raw milk and the warm and fuzzy notion of drinking this nourishing liquid in its unadulterated form. What the fight over raw milk is about is food freedom. Every time a governmental bureaucrat enters the private property of a farm, harasses them (and often their children), confiscates their products, forces them to dump their products (for months upon months) and essentially forces them to choose between bankruptcy and giving up their many years of blood, sweat and tears, they are infringing upon our rights, as consumers! The reality of our food production and distribution system in this country is so eloquently and violently displayed when you look at what is going on with raw milk farmers. Raw milk is the poster child for food freedom!! Even if you never have the good luck to sip a glass of fresh raw milk from happy, healthy grass-fed cows, raw milk is important to you. And I mean it.

If this has in any way motivated you to step up your game and to really fight back against corporate interests in what you put in your mouth, here are some things you can do today and beyond to help in the fight for food freedom:

1. Call your local and federal legislators and tell them what you think. S.510 is up right now in the Senate. Call your senators and tell them you support the amendments being proposed to this bill by Senator Testor that will protect small-scale farmers and food artisans from the more onerous requirements. More detailed info about the bill and what to say to your senator here.

2. Join the Farm-To-Consumer-Legal-Defense-Fund and/or the Farm-To-Consumer-Foundation. These organizations are dedicated to helping farmers fight back and they're doing an excellent job!

3. Most important of all, buy local!! Support your local farmers with your dollars, stop feeding the greedy bellies of mega-corporations. This means eating little or no highly processed food and completely avoiding conventional meat and dairy. No crackers, chips, pasta, soda, fast food, (where do you think all that corn goes?) etc. I know, I know, it sounds totally radical. But that food is bad for you anyway. You'll feel much better without all that junk and the joy of buying directly from someone you know who has worked hard to bring you the best quality food they can, is unmatched in shopping experiences.

4. Always be on alert to help out by attending meetings and rallies, calling elected officials, giving donations, even just sending a letter of support to a farmer who has been beaten down.

I'm not sure if food can fully cure but I do know that junk food can kill. I refuse to let anyone tell me what I can and cannot eat but without real farmers there won't be much of a choice. Please, please let's all support our local farmers who are giving their hearts and souls to provide us with real food!!

Quick and Fabulous Dinner

2010-03-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so I made dinner in 45 minutes today. I served Cioppino with steamed broccoli soup and salad. If you have never had Cioppino before I suggest you try it, it is simply (and I mean simply) wonderful!

Ingredients for Cioppino:

2 dozen Manilla clams
1 dozen large shrimp
1/2 lb halibut (chopped)
1/4 cup olive oil
3-5 tbsp pastured butter
5 cloves garlic
herb mixture (see below)
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 head of fennel
1/2 cup red wine
3 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
juice of 1 lemon
2 cups fish stock
tabasco sauce is optional

You can use pretty much any fish or seafood for Cioppino.

Herb Mixture:
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt

Just put in spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

I started by soaking the clams in filtered water. Then I chopped the garlic, fennel and onion while I waited for the butter and olive oil to warm. As soon as I added the garlic I pulverized the dried herbs in my spice grinder.

I then added the onions, fennel and herb mixture. After letting them heat for a few minutes I added the wine, vinegar and fish sauce. I let that reduce for a few minutes (meanwhile separately I chopped the broccoli for the soup and began steaming it) and then I added the home-made tomato sauce (canned in the summer), the lemon juice and the fish stock (made from last night).

By this time the clams were ready to be scrubbed and rinsed, so I did that and added them to the soup and covered the pot. During that time (about 5 minutes) I quick as lightning peeled and de-veined the shrimp (butterfly them to make this process go quickly) and added them to the soup with the halibut. I covered the pot and let them cook for 2 more minutes and turned off the heat.

At this point I removed the broccoli from the steamer and put them in a small soup pot with about 4 tbsp butter and some sea salt and then I made the salad (a simple salad of lettuce, cilantro, avocado, red bell pepper and cucumber). Then I added some duck stock (home-made last week) to the broccoli, heated a little and pureed in the pot. I dressed the salad with olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar and wheat-free tamari.

And that's it. Simple but really, really tasty. The broccoli soup may seem like an odd addition but that was a request from my daughter.

A few days ago I made red snapper, which I bought whole at the store. I saved the head and bones for my fish stock. You can make fish stock from any whole fish but white fish is best (and red snapper and halibut are really the best, but both are pretty pricey).

Fish Stock:
I put the carcass in a pot and added about 2 quarts of filtered water and about 2 tbsp vinegar (any kind will do). I let that soak for about 1 hour and then added 1 onion, 1 head of garlic and some slices of ginger. Then I turned on the heat to low and simmered overnight.

About 10 minutes before I was ready to drain the stock I added some fresh parsley to the stock.

To drain I used a strainer and a funnel and I strained the hot liquid into quart-sized Ball jars. I immediately plunged the jars in ice-cold water to cool quickly (this helps with gelatinization) and then put the jars in the fridge to fully cool.

Stock is easy and sooooooo good for you! It is packed with minerals and the gelatin aids in digestion. There is a reason why people have served chicken soup when you get sick. But it only works if the soup is made with high-quality stock.

The fish stock was my inspiration for the Cioppino. Stock, butter, cream and salt are magic ingredients that make everything taste good.

As far as eating raw today, well, I did OK.

Breakfast:
3 raw eggs with raw cream and strawberries pureed in the food processor (Jill's shake)

Snack:
2 pieces of raw cheese

Lunch:
Raw ribeye steak sliced and eaten with Lewis Labs' Brewers Yeast and dipped in soy sauce and vinegar. Salad with dulse. Egg drop soup (this was super easy to make)

Snack:
Raw liver shake: Add about 4 oz of raw liver (I used beef but chicken or duck is much more mild) to food processor, add 1 raw egg, 3 tbsp raw cream, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbsp raw honey and 1 tsp cinnamon and process. Take a deep breath, muster your courage and drink up. If you can't handle the aftertaste (which the cinnamon greatly reduces) have a strong drink to chase it with, kombucha works beautifully)

Dinner is above.

Egg Drop Soup:

5 eggs from pastured chickens
1 quart duck, turkey or chicken stock
4 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 cup tomato sauce
sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat stock and thicken with arrowroot powder (take about 1/2 cup of hot stock, add to a small bowl with arrowroot powder and dissolve, then add back to stock and stir until thickened). Add tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. Crack eggs in a bowl, turn off heat, add eggs to hot stock slowly, whisking as you add the eggs. Serve immediately.

This is a simple soup that is a wonderful complement to any meal, the stock helps with digestion and is rich in minerals, the arrowroot is rich in calcium chloride (balances acid/alkaline in the body), and the eggs (provided they are from pastured animals fed a healthy supplemental diet) are full of good fat and cholesterol, protein (in particular the detoxifying sulphur-rich amino acids), omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins D and K.

2010-03-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

Something about spring just makes you want to get all healthy, doesn't it? I recently heard a great theory as to why we have this impulse. Originally, the term, "spring cleaning" was not meant for cleaning out the cobwebs or washing your back deck, it actually referred to the process of cleansing your body as the weather grew warmer and more humid. The theory as to why people did this is that in the winter your cells slightly, yet significantly, constrict in order to retain moisture and heat, but in the spring your cells are able to relax and expand and so do not hold on as tightly to heat and moisture and, it so happens, toxins. This makes spring-time a perfect opportunity to cleanse your cells of built-up toxins because the cells just don't cling to them as strongly. So trust that instinct that is telling you to change your diet and get a few more nutrients in there. Those nutrients are the little soldiers that facilitate a continual state of detoxification.

So, perhaps that is why I've decided to take up writing in this blog again. Last year I started this blog in order to account my experience with a raw milk diet. After my dismal failure I turned away from the blog, thinking I didn't really have time to sit around and tell people what I was eating and how I felt. As boring as that may sound to some, for some reason now I do feel like sitting around and writing about what I eat and how I feel.

So, since last year, I've learned many, many things and I hope they will all come out in various entries in bits and pieces. I still take medication for my autoimmune issues (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) and it irks me to no end. I've improved my nutrition greatly over the past year and I feel absolutely fabulous most of the time. I haven't been sick in over 2 years and I have tons of energy, I have improved strength and stamina when I work out and I don't get achy joints or back pain afterward, my period comes and goes with little or no discomfort, I rarely have cravings for sweets (which I used to have all the time) and, best of all, I have a pretty constant high state of contentment in life.

As I go I will blog about all of the things I do to keep myself in a calm, peaceful state of contentment with plenty of energy, but today I will begin to talk about what I have been eating (this is obviously key to health). I hope to include my daily food in here as well. Many people have asked me for recipes so this will be a good place for me to start recording some of my favorite recipes.

2 days ago, I had 3 amalgam fillings replaced with pretty porcelain ones. Despite my dentist's best efforts, I'm pretty sure there is some extra mercury floating around in me somewhere right about now. So on the advice of my mentor I am leaning toward eating a detox diet. I refuse to say I'm going all the way, no exceptions, because if the raw milk diet taught me one thing, it was that life happens, you gotta go with the flow. I also hope to talk another time about the importance of staying cool with food. Faithfully striving is great, fanatical up-tight adherence is perhaps not so healthy. And that is the goal, now isn't it? To be healthy, in the highest sense of the word.

So the goal is as much high-quality raw animal and vegetable food as possible in ratios that are appropriate for my individual metabolic needs.

This is today:

Breakfast: 2 eggs cooked omelet-style with raw cream and sea salt and my daily shake: 1 raw egg, 4-5 tbsp raw cream, and a handful of fresh berries mixed in the food processor (could work in a blender), 2 slices of bacon

Snack: Home-made raw farmer's cheese with fresh garlic, onion, leeks and sea salt, 2 pieces of organic salami, 1/2 stick of celery

Lunch: About 4-5 oz of raw ribeye steak, eaten with olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, sea salt and homemade pesto dressing, 2-3 tbsp. raw chevre with nutritional yeast, and a salad of red bell peppers, celery, cucumbers and olives

Snack: 6 oz. fresh juice of celery, cucumber, red bell pepper, fennel, and cilantro with 2 heaping tbsp raw cream and 3 raw eggs.

Dinner: Garlic-Herb Red Snapper with Cauliflower, 3 heaping tbsp. sauerkraut and 1/2 cup beet kvass

Recipe:

Garlic-Herb Red Snapper with Cauliflower (GF, Can be DF)

2 red snapper fillets, about 6 to 8 ounces each
4 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (add more if you love garlic)
3 or 4 drops Fish Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning, or your own favorite seasoning blend, (be careful of MSG here), or your own favorite seasoning blend (I took 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp. sea salt and crushed them in my spice mill, I didn't use all of it in this recipe, I just kind of threw in what looked good)
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon snipped fresh or frozen chives, optional
3 to 4 tablespoons plain or seasoned bread crumbs (gluten-free bread crumbs work just as well)
2 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional

Preparation:

Place snapper fillets in a baking dish.

In a skillet, melt butter with garlic, fish sauce, seasoning blend, pepper, parsley, and chives, if using. Cook on low for 2 minutes, just to blend flavors. Brush both sides of fish fillets with the butter and herb mixture. Toss bread crumbs in the remaining butter mixture; sprinkle over the fillets. Grate cheese over fish (optional). Bake at 350° for about 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets, until fish flakes easily and is no longer translucent.

Cauliflower:

1/2 head chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup grated cheese (monterey jack or cheddar work well)

Saute cauliflower in same pan that you heated the butter-herb mixture in. Add a little salt. Cook until slightly softened. Place in baking dish, sprinkle grated cheese over cauliflower and heat in oven at 350° for about 6-7 minutes, until cheese is fully melted.

Good stuff!

Moutain Goats Make Good Cheese

2009-06-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Imagine a long dusty road winding up and up a French-country mountainside scattered with cows and alternating steep and rolling pastures. The red-tiled roofs of the quaint country houses dot the valley below; resembling the roses and geraniums grown so profusely throughout the area. The farmhouse is nestled on a ledge overlooking the green undulating hills and valleys below. There is a warm, soft breeze that occasionally belies the presence of farm animals but in a pleasant, unobtrusive way. Above the farm the hills rise on three sides decorated with tall grass, wildflowers and large tumbled rocks. This is goat heaven here and we can't help but think of Heidi and her friends. We are fortunate enough to have stumbled upon a biodynamic farm up here in the French Vosges Mountains. They have about 100 goats, a dozen or so pigs, about 10 beehives, a crowd of chickens, a duck, a few roosters and a pony. There are lots of rocky paths leading up the surrounding hills, that provide even more spectacular views of the valleys below. These are the regular stomping grounds of the lovely brown and black goats.

The farmers settled this corner of the mountain about 30 years ago and have been tending their goats and creating their delicious chevre ever since. They have lodging quarters in the old barn, which is attached to the farmhouse. Dinner was simple. Alsatian Tarte Flambe topped with bacon and cheese with a fresh salad, roasted potatoes and, of course, 5 local raw cheeses. Our host, the daughter--in-law of the family is from the French side of the Swiss Alps but her mother is Irish so she speaks perfect English with a slight French accent. She cooked and served us dinner with her baby on her hip (I tried to hold the baby but she was a little shy). It was delicious! There were two of their goat cheeses, one fresh and one aged, one aged blue cheese and two other local cows-milk cheeses.

Our children loved this place. They ran from the rocky hills to the smelly pig barn to see the goats and to pet the donkey, and back again. Before we left we watched a little chevre-making and bought as much as we could fit into our cooler. The fresh Chevre is so sweet and soft and fluffy we can't help but stick our fingers in it and eat a small block on the ride down the mountain.

When in Germany, eat.

2009-06-18T11:30:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile. I have been spending most of my free time working on my website. But now that I am on vacation in Germany I have taken a bit of a temporary break from that work. What I have seen yesterday and today in Germany has inspired me to write a bit here. The green and golden rolling hills bathed by the warm sunshine against the backdrop of a sparkling blue lake and snow-capped jagged mountains is enough to set one aday-dreaming.

I am staying on a farm. The building we are in was once a chicken coop but it was converted to a rental house. There are two farmhouses, one other building that was a mill (also converted to a rental house) and a horse stable on the property. The owners come from a long line of land-owners and their property goes on for acres, earning the master the title of "The Baron" in these parts. Don`t let the image of a "chicken coop converted to a rental house" fool you. It is a charming building with all the modern conveniences of a typical German home, large windows, solid doors, spacious bathrooms, high-speed internet, and the best light-blocking blinds I have ever seen. Coming from the city it is so calming to sit on the balcony and watch the endless gentle commotion of the lush countryside. Twice a day we see a stampede of horses running across the plateau on the hill we look out over and on clear moments we can see the Alps sparkling in the distance. In the nearby town colorful houses serve as the palette for the annual neighborly fight over who can produce the most prolific and healthy roses. Our landlords here may just win. They are both in their eighties and they are outdoors working on their land from early morning to late evening. They grow or raise almost all of the food they eat. Needless to say, they are extemely healthy.

I am not sure if it is the scenery or if it really is so, but the food here is just spectacular. Today we shopped at the local biodynamic store. No, that was not a typo, there is actually a store that sells only biodynamic food here. Until I really started focusing on eating local foods I was eating lots of swiss cheese, in particular I am a huge fan of emmenthaler. I bought some today, since it certainly can be considered local here (we are about 30 minutes from the Swiss border). And now I can say with confidence that there is something to be said for buying food near its source. I have never had Emmenthaler this good, despite my buying the fancy stuff at Whole Foods. The salami, the olives, the cheese, the raw milk and yogurt have been beyond words. And the cloudberries, currants, strawberries and cherries we have picked in the back yard have all been delightfully luscious and tasty.

For dinner last night we ate roasted peppers and sausage, potato salad, a lettuce that we cannot figure out the name of with ripe red tomatoes, sourdough bread with gobs of raw butter, raw sauerkraut, feta cheese with basil and olive oil and lots of cold raw milk. All of this stuff comes from our neighbors (except the olive oil but even that is not that far away) and all of it was delicious. Who needs desert when dinner knocks you off your feet (not to say I turned down the rich dark Swiss chocolate).

Another strange and wonderful thing we saw today was a German biodynamic dairy. It is part of the Waldorf school here in the nearby town. Of course we went there to get our supply of raw milk but our children were mesmerized by the brown cows munching on huge piles of fresh grass. I had never seen anything like it. The cows were fed fresh grass in the barn (I would have put an exclamation point at the end of this sentence but I can´t find it on this German keyboard). As far as I know cows are fed hay in the barn, not fresh grass. It made the barn so beautiful to see the floor covered in mounds of freshly cut green grass. The milk has a complex sweet and rich taste. It is out of this world and we are drinking a bit more than a gallon a day between the four of us.

OK, I suppose I have induced a little mouthwatering. I will stop here and maybe write more another day.

On To Other Things

2009-06-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't been writing in my blog because I've chosen to dedicate as much of my time as possible to creating a website. The website is called "The Village Life". My vision is to create an online community for families to connect with other families and generate opportunities to create a modern urban "village" life.
Right now I am focusing on the "Feed The Farm" section, which has a local-eating guide, a farm visit guide, and has specific information about local organic, sustainable and biodynamic farmers. In the course of researching all of this I have been surprised to find some very interesting locally grown foods and I have spoken to many articulate and intelligent farmers dedicated to nourishing their land and their neighbors.
I am also planning on including a clothing/gear exchange, community networking forums, and school and care-provider review forums, among other things.
Needless to say, this is taking all of my time so I'm not sure if I'll be writing much here in this blog. I am thoroughly enjoying this work for the website. I don't know where it will lead but I have such a passion for what I'm doing that I'm not too worried about that right now.

Local and Delicious

2009-05-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Since the weather has improved and now I'm eating more food I've really been focusing on buying local as much as possible. I'm giving myself another personal challenge; to eat local foods as much as I can. I have to admit right here that there are some things I don't want to give up, like fresh fruit in the winter (apples) and specialty foods like capers and curry powder made from freshly ground Indian spices. So I'm not going to even attempt to go there. But I do feel like it will be an exciting journey to eat veggies when they're in season, not just when I'm in the mood. I am embarrassed to say that I don't really know what is in season and when (which comes from a long history of supermarket shopping). I'm excited to see what sort of bounty there is to be had in this region.

So I joined a local organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). That right there will show me exactly what is in season. And it will force me to get more variety, as most farmers growing on a local and smaller scale will put more diversity in their crops. And many are reviving certain foods that were not able to keep up with the supermarket demand for durability above all else.

I am located in the mid-west, Chicago to be more specific, so I will be writing about only what is going on here of course. In New Jersey, where I used to live, the season seems to be about 2 weeks ahead of this area. I can't speak specifically for other areas but most of the food I'm getting here should be available in many regions of the U.S. at some point.

So I went to the large and lovely Green City Market yesterday and I saw a ton of asparagus, some mushrooms, some lettuce and spinach (grown in a hoophouse), some maple syrup, and lots of cheese, meat and eggs. Cheese, meat and eggs are easy to do local all year-round so that is already a large amount of food that we have no excuse for not buying local. As for the fruit and vegetables, I plan to eat a large portion of them fresh and, by hook or by crook, to preserve the rest of them to be eaten in the colder months.

The asparagus we have eaten lightly steamed with hollandaise sauce and roasted with mushrooms, olive oil, butter, garlic, salt and pepper. And I'm going to make soup next week. After next week I will buy a tidy amount and freeze it to be made into soup in the winter. Apparently asparagus is not the best (taste-wise) after being frozen and is then better suited to be eaten in soups.

Mushrooms can be eaten in an infinite number of ways so I don't think I have to go into that. As to how long they will be available locally, we shall have to see. I roasted some with my asparagus today and I will saute them with the spinach tomorrow. As the mushroom season draws to a close I will pickle them. My great-grandmother from southern Italy used to pickle them and that was probably one of the most divine condiments I ate as a child. I'll have to get the recipe.

I also bought some beef bratwurst at our local farm (biodynamic). The wife is from Germany so I figured she should know what she was doing. And she does! It was absolutely delicious! I cooked them in some filtered water in a covered frying pan for a bit and then took the top off and browned them. I also cooked some finely chopped shallots in white wine (2 tbsp) and beer (1/2 cup) until it was a syrupy consistency, I let it cool and then added it to some creamed butter (1 stick) with mustard powder (2 tsp), freshly crushed brown mustard seeds (1 tsp), prepared mustard (2 tbsp), and sea salt. We ate this mustard-butter with the bratwurst and it was wonderful.

I had to take a moment to remind myself and my family how fortunate we are to be able to eat such fantastic food. And we don't have to feel guilty about eating butter and beef because we know it is some of the healthiest food you can eat. It's funny how the food we really want to eat can actually be healthy if done right (ie: meat and dairy from pastured animals).

For the Love of Enzymes

2009-05-22T17:08:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days when I just really wanted to make a soup out of what was in the house. So I sauted onions, garlic, and ramps in a huge dollop of home-made butter and some olive oil, then added carrots and celery and cooked a bit more. I then added the various bits of stock I had in my fridge (beef and chicken) and some fresh thyme and oregano and salt and cooked till the veggies were softened. Then I pureed it up in the pot and added some arrowroot powder dissolved in warm stock and a large cup of fresh raw cream. I heated it a little more and served. It was very tasty and nourishing.

I've been reading a lot about enzymes lately and have been reminded of their importance to our health. Since reading Nourishing Tradtions I've made it a habit to start each meal with an enzyme-rich food. For breakfast it's yogurt, for lunch it's home-made raw sauerkraut or pickles or a mayonnaise, ketchup or mustard condiment. For dinner I always have salad with raw vinegar, beet kvass and olive oil and often I add avocado.

All of those foods/condiments are rich in enzymes when prepared properly (raw yogurt, cold-pressed olive oil and avocado are full of enzymes naturally, the other foods I ferment with whey so they are enzyme super-foods).

Because the Western diet is pretty much all cooked-foods, it is basically devoid of enzymes. Our body produces enzymes but apparently we have a limited potential for the amount that can be produced. But everytime we eat these completely cooked meals we are relying on our body's enzymes to digest the food. This puts an undue burden on our pancreas (where enzymes are assembled). However, if we eat foods rich in enzymes then digestion can be initiated even before we put the food in our mouth. And after the food enters our bellies it sits there for awhile before it is passed to the lower part of our stomach. During this time the food could be getting broken down by food enzymes or it could just be sitting there, putrefying (ew). It has been said that life span is inversely proportionate to the amount of enzymes the body needs to produce. So, use those food enzymes, make them do the work and let your body rest a bit.

By the way, this I think was one of the wonderfully beneficial aspects of the raw milk diet. Raw milk is chock-full of enzymes so it is digested wonderfully efficiently by the body, allowing healing to occur.

Yay for Hollandaise

2009-05-20T16:03:00.001-07:00

I went to the farmers market today. Wow, it's wonderful to be back in the world of food! There wasn't much compared to high summer but it was still wonderful to see all the local goods and to see what is in season here in the midwest.

I ended up buying a bunch of asparagus and some raw milk cheese. The asparagus was everywhere so it was hard to choose which farmer to buy from. In the end I bought from a friendly farmer who got into great detail about her planting methods. That's a good way for a farmer to establish differentiation. So I took that fresh asparagus home and I did like my sister did all last month (she lives in southern Germany). I steamed them very lightly and while they were still hot I poured some delicious Hollandaise sauce over them and tossed it together in the bowl. Out of this world fabulous!

To make the Hollandaise: I mixed 1 raw egg yolk (from pastured Illinois chickens) with about 4 tablespoons of melted homemade raw butter, 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice in my food processor (blender would be fine). Eat warm. It is so quick and really so tasty.

My children ate 3-4 pieces of asparagus each. This is a lot for them, lately they have been so picky about vegetables.

More Than Food

2009-05-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

Food is heavy. I've still been consuming mainly milk and yogurt but I feel a difference just by eating relatively small bits of food. And guess what? I now weigh 125 pounds! And I do feel really good. But I also feel a little weighted down by the food. In my case, I suppose this isn't such a bad thing. For the most part I've been eating eggs, vegetables, fish, fruit, nuts and beet kvass. I almost feel like I could live like this.

I do feel my desire to cook and bake has come back though (I'm sure my family is happy about that). This weekend I baked banana bread, rolls and almond cookies, I made sauerkraut, kvass, and crunchy nuts and I spent more time on dinner each night. It feels good to be in the kitchen again. I've also felt more inclined to do yoga again. My body was starting to feel a little tight.

Yoga is so amazing. I do believe food can cure but I think it needs a little outside help too. Exercise is great for our health. I know it sounds cliche, but for me yoga has made a huge difference in how I feel. I do want to add that over-doing it is not healthy and can be counter-productive. As a wise man once said, "I take an Ayurvedic approach to exercise; don't overdo it". I think I could take an Ayurvedic approach to everything in life.

Anyway, back to yoga, I think it is key to good health. I'm not down-talking other forms of exercise. Yoga can complement them but without it I think there will be something missing. Yoga is one of the few exercises that gets your blood going, improves flexibility and strength, massages your inner organs, and relaxes you all at the same time. It is unique in that it actually works out every part of your body (if done right). I feel a rush after my yoga unlike any other endorphin rush I get because it is coupled with such a deep sense of relaxation.

Here is my dream tropical vacation day:
1. Get up and eat a wonderful breakfast of eggs, fresh tropical fruit and yogurt
2. Relax and read a book for awhile
3. Do yoga outside in the beauty of nature
4. Go into a hot spring bath
5. Have sex (I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I think this is as natural as eating)
6. Eat a wonderful gourmet lunch (fresh-caught fish and salad perhaps?)
7. Relax and read a book for awhile
8. Go for a swim in the ocean
9. Get a long wonderful massage with essential oils
10. Have sex (sorry again)
11. Eat a luscious local dinner

Doesn't that sound nice? Sorry to go off on the tangent but I feel so fluffy from my yoga and my milk.

Maybe if I did that once a month or so my immune system would function properly?

Maybe it's more than food?

Go Michael Pollan

2009-05-15T17:46:00.001-07:00

Today I ate a few good things; leftover bay scallops for lunch, salad and guacamole for dinner. I realized that 95% of my food intake is still milk and yogurt (ran out of kefir today). It's odd that just a little bit of food makes a big difference in how I feel.

I would like to refer everyone to this: http://www.foodrenegade.com/michael-pollan-on-marketing-food/

Michael Pollan, author of "In Defense of Food", has an interview where he touches upon the evils of industrial agriculture and factory farms, makes a plug for buying real food on a local level, and talks about the effect of industrial food production on our health care system and our environment. And more. Check it out and pass it on.

The Joy of Eating

2009-05-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

I miss my milky clouds of milk. Say what you will about this crazy milk diet idea but I was enjoying the temporary ethereal quality of my life. There was a lightness and a surreal haze to my perceptions of the world around me. It almost felt like I was in a bubble. It's sort of hard to explain. But the sharpness has returned and those I share the road with may be happy about it. Although the dust bunnies I chased around my house today may not be so happy.

Of course I'm still drinking a lot of yogurt, milk and kefir but food is also on the table. I really, really like food. I always got excited about eating good food before this diet but now it is positively thrilling. I had some delicate bay scallops today. I soaked them in milk for a few hours (he, he) and then I just cooked them for about 5 minutes in butter, heavy cream and sherry. Oh, the joy. And salad, oh, salad, it is so wonderful. It engages all of the senses. The varied textures, the smell of the fresh tomatoes, the crunch of the lettuce, the vibrant colors and of course the glorious taste of fresh avocado, olive oil and tarragon vinegar. There is really nothing like it.

Yes, I miss my milky state of mind but there are dishes to be cooked and goodies to be baked.

Day 11: Eating Food

2009-05-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today I find it difficult to write. I woke up with vertigo again this morning so I have decided to phase off of the milk diet. This is sad news for me. I so wanted to see where it would take me health-wise.

I know most people think I'm being unwise to do this diet and some friends will be relieved to hear I'm ending it. But I still believe it is an amazing way to improve health, given the right circumstances. It is unfortunate for me that I was unable to do this thing properly. I've made some mistakes, but it also may have not been the best time for me to do it. Whatever the reasons, I have to start eating more food. The milk diet may or may not have caused the increase in incidences of vertigo but I can't take the risk of not knowing. If I continue to have vertigo after stopping then I will know it wasn't the milk and then I'll probably be even more annoyed with myself for stopping. But I often have to remind myself to take a more lighthearted approach to life so it will be good practice.

I weighed in at 123 pounds today. I'm still drinking lots of milk, yogurt and kefir but today I supplemented with beef stock at breakfast and sardines with home-made mayo at lunch. Tonight I will have some beet kvass and some collard greens. I've been advised to take it slowly but I did have some food over the weekend so it probably won't be such a shock to my system. Ho-hum.

I also wanted to note how I make my yogurt, as per some requests. It is not thick like Greek yogurt but it's super easy and quick to make:

I put my full-fat milk in a container with a top (that can go in the oven), add yogurt from the previous batch and then I put it in the warmed oven and leave undisturbed overnight (for about 18 hours is good actually). I heat the oven a little, then turn it off and then put in the milk. Ideally you want the yogurt to be in an environment that's about 85-95 degrees for the duration (over 100 degrees and the enzymes will start to die). That doesn't really happen in my oven but it still works somehow. It always comes out a little runny but sweet and delicious. The ratio is 1/2 cup of yogurt to 1 quart of milk.

Raw milk yogurt has all of the benefits of raw milk (obviously) plus an increased amount of good bacteria. Instead of buying probiotic supplements you can have your own homemade probiotics that taste delicious and cost less.

Day 10: Still Hanging In There

2009-05-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

I have a headache. Well, I've had it since last night to be honest. I'm also frustrated because after getting through last week and feeling great on the full-fat milk I just want to keep going. I don't even crave steak or burgers anymore. So it's annoying that again I don't feel well.

I had another cup of beef stock today too. I'm going to run out and since I don't have any more knuckle or marrow bones I'm going to buy a yellow-fin red snapper tomorrow and make some fish stock. The stock feels like rocket fuel when I drink it. It's pretty amazing. I've been reading Nina Planck's book "Real Food" and she talks about the health benefits of stock. The fat gives a huge boost to your immune system, the gelatin helps your body utilize the protein and the whole thing is rich in easily digestible calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. And it tastes good too.

Back to my rich, white, scrumptious milk. It is unfathomable that I still love the taste, smell and texture of the stuff! And the milky milk feeling in my mouth after a nice cold glass. We shall see what tomorrow holds. I hope I feel better.
Oh, I almost forgot, I'm up to 122.5 pounds. Yay!

Day 9: Fat Is Where It's At

2009-05-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

OK, I cannot express enough the importance and beauty of fat. I am going to be the world's expert on how NOT to do the raw milk diet by the time this thing is done. Starting with not being on bed rest. But, more importantly, skimming my milk like a dodohead. "Duh", is really the best word that comes to mind.

Now that I am not skimming my milk it's like night and day. I'm not dizzy or weak. I don't feel hungry either. Phew! This thing is actually fun!

I did have some beef stock this morning because I was feeling a little weak. It felt and tasted great. I am still taking this thing day-by-day, if I feel any bit of weak or tired or dizzy I will have stock. If that doesn't help I will have some eggs or meat. But I feel great right now.

I've learned some lessons:
1. Milk is to be drunk with the fat.
2. Listen to your body.
3. Your body needs fat, lots of it (I knew this intellectually but now I know for real)

Day 7 & 8: Milk Diet or No Milk Diet: Which Is It?

2009-05-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I had a vertigo spell again. When I woke up in the morning I felt a little dizzy so I had a few cups of yogurt and a cup of beef stock. But after a few hours I began feeling strong vertigo so I crawled back in bed and took a short nap. When I woke up I felt pretty weak and felt the need to eat something. I had 2 scrambled eggs, which gave me a burst of energy and my vertigo began to fade.

I felt disappointed to be fading off the the milk diet but the noticeable difference made by small bits of nutrient-dense foods was undeniable. The rest of the afternoon I drank yogurt and in the evening I finished the rest of my milk. I made some halibut for dinner and had a small piece. It gave me another boost of energy. I drank one more glass of yogurt before bed bringing down my supply to about 2 cups.

Today I finished my yogurt first thing (I had to leave 1 cup for my next batch) and all the milk was gone. I had 2 more eggs and again some halibut for lunch. Then we got the wonderful news that the milk was in. At the pickup spot I sat leaning out of my car, opened a jar over the curb, and filled my glass 3 times to drink (yes, I brought the glass with me). It was so absolutely delectable. I think I'm addicted.

I can't really figure out what I'm going to do next. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I relish having an organized and well-planned life, so this is disconcerting for me. I do have another 10 gallons ready and waiting (which wasn't enough last week, so that's a problem too). But I feel that I've lost the purity of the fast by eating food. I'm also a perfectionist so it's usually all or nothing. OK, I have issues. Let me see.......I guess I'm going to try to go with the flow.

One thing I'm going to do is keep the cream in the milk, at least for a few days. Our cows are Holsteins (which produce milk that is less fatty than Jerseys) so perhaps after skimming the milk there wasn't enough fat to give me sustenance. The other thing I'm going to do is drink stock or eat eggs if I feel dizzy. I really, really don't want any more dizziness or vertigo spells and I need to gain some weight (still at 121). And that's my plan for now. Day by day is my new motto.

Day 6: Farmers Are Cool

2009-05-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Today I happened to be talking to a very nice farmer who is dedicated to producing the highest quality raw milk by feeding his cows only grass and hay. This is quite a rarity for dairy cows in this area. They say the cows won't produce enough milk on hay in the winter. But he is managing to do it. And it so happens that he has also done the "milk diet". For 28 days. He gave me encouragement and said it did wonders for his health. And he did it without bed-rest, working and he has 8 kids!! I'm way out of his league.

Since the beginning of this thing I have been wrestling with the issue of not having enough energy to get through the day without dizziness and weakness. I also have not regained my weight so I remain at 121 pounds (at 5'7"). But I have to acknowledge the fact that I am trying to be a purist with what I consume while I conveniently ignore the maxim to stay on bed-rest. I think it would be too much to ask of my family for me to go on bed rest for a month so it is out of the question for me right now. And so I have come to the conclusion that raw milk, yogurt and kefir alone are not enough to sustain me any longer. But, I was lucky enough to get the good piece of information from the farmer today that drinking stock is a great supplement for the milk diet. I'm sure purists would disagree but they would also have me on bed rest.

So today I had a nice warm 8 ounce glass of beef bone broth and it made a HUGE difference in how I feel. Normally at this time of the day I am faded and listless, not much help to anyone. I get in bed early and read stories to my girls because there is not much more I can do. But today I feel much better and no dizziness! It's amazing what a difference the stock has made. So that will be my strategy from now on. Thanks to the milk farmer!

I do have another potential problem. I am low on milk and yogurt and out of kefir. I probably have a total of 6 quarts of sustenance left. And I most likely won't get my milk until Sunday evening. So we shall see how that all pans out.

Day 5: Blessings On Our Meal

2009-05-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

Food should be appreciated more. I think this is part of the problem in our country these days. Food is taken for granted. It is cheap to buy and easy to prepare. There is no need for hours of slaving in the field or the kitchen (for most people). With the industrial revolution came easier lives for farmers and moms. And I'm not knocking this but we have come to the point where it is too easy. So easy that we don't really care. We don't care (or know) what went into making the food or transporting it. We don't care what effect it has on our bodies and our health. We act as if food doesn't matter.

When food doesn't matter it is easy to eat junk and feed your kids junk. I often wonder how people can be so blase about what they put into their bodies. I was guilty of this too. So I suppose I can answer the question myself. I have to admit that I just really didn't think it mattered. Now, I do believe that it matters. I really do think that you are what you eat (which would make me a tall glass of milk right about now).

But I also think that attitude is important. I remember reading somewhere that in Ayurvedic thinking your state of mind when preparing food can affect it's nutritional value. So, it's not just about eating the perfect diet, it's also about doing what feels good. Striking this balance is hard. But it is also important to remember that comfort food is usually the stuff that is not good for you.

Back to my original thought. If there was a way to make people appreciate food more then perhaps people could be convinced to eat more healthy foods. One way to do this is to introduce people to super tasty AND healthy food. Like a juicy grass-fed steak smothered in butter, heavy cream and mushrooms (you can tell I'm still craving the steak). This is actually good for you and it's delicious. A twinkie might not look as good after that meal. Another way is to bring them to farms. I think if we visited sustainable farms and created a connection with the land, the food, and ourselves, we might appreciate food more.

And when you appreciate food, I mean, really appreciate it, you probably won't eat as much. Savor each bite, enjoy the whole experience (I think this is also an Ayurvedic concept) and you will feel satiated with less. It is also our duty to pass on an appreciation of food to our children. I love this about anthroposophical pedagogy (basis for Waldorf education). They really try to instill a reverence and appreciation for food at each meal. I need to work on that more.

So, speaking of appreciating food, I love food and I miss it. I know I spoke with big words about drinking milk for 30 days but I just don't see it happening. I just don't feel healthy right now. I do admit that during the day I feel pretty good and I have been having pretty strong endorphin rushes but by about 3 PM every day I feel dizzy and weak. My optimism wanes with the passing of the hours each day. Perhaps I'm not consuming enough and for sure I'm not resting enough. I am supposed to be doing this whole thing on bedrest but that is not an option for me with 2 little ones.

Without this blog I would have stopped this thing days ago. I am proud to say that I haven't cheated at all, like I don't even lick my fingers after peeling a banana for my daughter. But I do find it hard to go on. And yet hard to give up.

Day 4: Milk Do Your Magic

2009-05-06T16:32:00.001-07:00

Today I had a lot of energy and I was quite bouncy. Food was not as enticing for some reason. I'm somewhat over the whole food thing (not). I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm over it but I'm not dying to eat food. I watched with little interest as my family chowed down on some cottage bacon with rice and salad (as you can see dinners are a very simple affair these days).

I forgot to mention that I had lost 7 pounds over the weekend. I know, it's crazy! But I'm happy to say that I did gain 3 pounds back and I'm now at 121. I look skinny. And I don't like it one bit. I was actually hoping to fill out a little from doing this. I guess that one day of fasting really affected me. I'm also having a dizzy spell right now. I was doing really well today, more energy than I had had for days but just in the past hour or so I'm feeling quite dizzy. It is so annoying because I was really hoping to feel energized and spunky and to be getting plumped up from all this milk. Instead I've been dizzy, tired, and weak and I'm getting even more skinny.

The thing is, when it comes down to it, it sucks that I can't eat but if I was seeing more physical results I would be more motivated to keep this thing up. I can definitely handle the temporary loss of food if I am getting some great results in return. But so far, nada. I've also noticed that my feet are still tingly and my thyroid still feels swollen.

So, come on milk, do your magic.

Day 3: The Miracle of Milk?

2009-05-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

I am operating under the assumption that this raw milk diet is actually very good for me. Yes, I know this is obvious but the concept really hit home today when I began to wonder if the diet IS good for me. Perhaps I'm making a big mistake. What if I suffer some sort of long-term damage from this?

The doubt was initiated by a long spell of my head vibrating. I don't understand it any better than you do. The only way I can describe it is that my head felt like it was vibrating, a little. It's the same feeling you get when you've just finished brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush. I was also feeling weak and a little dizzy.

And with this feeling of lousiness I began to think that this stupid, crazy thing was a bad idea and that I really, really wanted a piece of steak with a nice tasty salad. And I'm sick of kefir, it's awful stuff and I can't get the taste of grass out of my mouth. Okay, I'm done complaining.

So I went back to the book that spurred the temporary bout of insanity that makes me think a raw milk diet is a good thing. And this is what he said;

"Various other symptoms may arise while one is taking
milk, such as headache, backache, pains in the limbs,
feelings of weakness and lethargy, or sleeplessness."
"All the symptoms manifested are
indications of the house-cleaning and rejuvenation which the
body is undergoing, and are no sign that the milk should be
discontinued."
"Where these symptoms develop, I believe the individual
can consider himself extremely fortunate also, for it shows
that the milk diet is not only producing a favorable reaction
in the system, but that the vitality of the body is sufficient to
bring about this reaction with the proper aid. While such
symptoms may not develop in some individuals with great
vitality, rest assured that they will not develop where the
vitality has been lowered to the point from which there is no
return. Also be assured that there is no other régime that
will bring these symptoms and the returning health they
indicate more quickly, and yet with less severity than will
the milk diet."
"We have in the milk diet, without doubt, the most
powerfully effective of all agents for the eradication of
poisons, toxins, waste, and unnatural elements of any
nature; and for the restoration to normal of any tissue and
function capable of restoration; and for removing all
obstacles to the highest manifestation of the vital force
within the body. No other single food can compare with it,
and, for many disorders, no combinations of foods can equal
it for effectiveness."
(The Miracle of Milk, Bernarr McFadden)

So, I decided to rest a bit. Because this guy really knows how to talk up milk.

About an hour later I felt much better and I've been fine all afternoon. Quite relaxed and languid actually. I've decided to just take this whole thing day by day now.

Day 2: Now I Know What It's Like To Be A Starving Artist

2009-05-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

OK, I miss food. But I do feel much better than yesterday. By 7 PM tonight I will have consumed 102 ounces of milk, yogurt or kefir. I did the math this morning. I would start at 7 AM and drink 6 ounces every 45 minutes throughout the day until 7 PM. For some reason I did the math a little wrong though because I thought that would add up to a gallon but now I realize that it is a little less than a gallon (a gallon is 128 ounces). And I am a little hungry so tomorrow I'll shoot for a gallon.

I am normally a person who does too much thinking. I'm always planning and organizing. I'm also one who lives by the laws of common sense. I am punctual, fast-paced, and aggressive (you can imagine how I drive). I'm not a spacey-type of person and I always lament that I'm not as creative as I would like to be. So, it came as a surprise to me today that I was very lucid in certain areas (like speaking to farmers about how they divide up a 1/4 of a cow and the politics of small-scale farming) but for the most part I am a total space-case.

It has taken a bit of effort to remember exactly what it was I was doing. I've been driving like someone who has no particular place to go. And I've spent long moments staring off into space thinking about nothing. I also took a long leisurely nap with my daughter. These are pretty much positive things for me because I do need to slow down.

But I also feel a slight sense of panic that has come with the apparent loss of control. I like to have my house clean and to be operating right on schedule. But in order to keep up to my usual standards I would have to muster up the strength and willpower that I seem to be saving for something else. So I suppose that I'm letting the housekeeping go and the cooking (a little) and just kind of going with the flow of things and not worrying about time as much.

Day 1: Anything is Better Than Nothing

2009-05-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

I fasted all day on Saturday and it was pretty horrible. The first half of the day I was OK but as the day progressed I began to feel more and more weak. I thought I would have become grumpy but instead I just started to fade away. I remembered that McFadden (the guy who wrote the book I am following for this diet) said that the more body fat you have the longer you should fast. Since I have like 18% body fat I decided that one day of fasting was enough. This was sort of a no-brainer when I woke up this morning with a major vertigo spell. I was so weak and my head was spinning so much I was going to vomit, pass out or both. But I immediately began drinking some of my yogurt and felt much better within an hour.

So today is Day 1 instead of tomorrow. But that's OK. I didn't get my milk until about 1 PM today so until then I had to have my yogurt (which was fine) and my kefir (which I had let sit too long and was therefore quite sour and the unhappy consistency of runny yogurt). The milk tasted sweet as pie when I finally got some!

So far my impressions are thus:
I am glad I have this blog because I need all the motivation I can get to keep doing this.
I have no idea in the world how I'm going to get through this month.
Milk is delicious but a cup an hour gets old after about 3 hours when that is all you can consume.
Yogurt sweetened with bananas is delightful and I miss it.
I miss all food. Food is wonderful and I look enviously at all of the sane people in this world who have no desire to do an exclusive raw milk diet.

Some Things I Love About Milk

2009-05-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you wondering why I think raw milk is so cool, it just so happens that in responding to an anti-milk article online I have written down a few of those reasons.

Here is the article, in case you are curious: http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html

And below is my response to it. The first part, in quotes, is from a posting of mine on a forum and after that is what I wrote today. I haven't eaten at all today so my brain is a little funny. Please excuse any typos!

"I agree with a lot of what he says about milk because he is talking about pasteurized milk. He's right on and I think the dairy (and meat) industry is carrying on with horrendous acts of cruelty to animals. And they are creating a product devoid of essential enzymes (to facilitate digestion) and nutrients.

However, what I am advocating is a completely different product. Animals that are kept on small-scale farms by conscientious farmers will never have pus in their milk and any diseases will be caught early on. These animals are extremely healthy and pathogens are monitored on a daily basis. Their milk is filled with enzymes, vitamins and nutrients that are hard to find in such abundance elsewhere. (BTW, human milk is filled with pathogens as well, but, just like raw cow's milk, the natural bacteria inhibit the overgrowth of these pathogens in the milk and in the belly. i.e.: they actually protect you from those other foods that cause the majority of food-borne illnesses, like spinach, sprouts, peanuts, etc).

And I really don't get the argument that we are to eat like other animals. How does that argument hold water? Are we to eat like tigers (raw meat)? Or cats? (raw meat) or cows (grass?) Why are we to eat like other animals? They don't all eat like us.

And if one is to argue we were meant to eat only what we did in H/G times then we better go empty out our pantries. First and foremost: sugar. Oh, and don't forget to get rid of all those handy crackers and cereals, oh, yeah, and bread, rice, beans, corn, popcorn, fruit rolls, soy milk, almond milk, a whole slew of veggies, HFCS, the list could go on and on.

Milk in it's natural state was consumed by humans way before agriculture. MOST of the things we consume today were introduced into the human diet long after milk was. So by this guy's logic, we were not meant to eat that other stuff either. He also denigrates meat. Does he mean to imply we didn't eat meat either? There are many who would take issue with that one.

He says we get too much protein. My response is, we don't get enough fat. A high protein, low fat diet is almost as bad as a low protein, low fat diet. We need fat and lots of it; it just needs to be good fat, not in the form of vegetable oils.

If you really want to give your children healthy food, the right place to start is probably avoiding all refined sugar and processed foods and only feed whole foods that you have obtained from a local source. (oh, wait, that could be raw milk)

So IMO, the only reason why you wouldn't consume raw milk (besides those with real allergies to casein and such) is because you don't like it (to turn his argument around)."

In his article Dr. Kradjian says:

"Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term
nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less."

My response to this is: Raw milk from healthy cows contains the following beneficial elements:

Enzymes: According to Dr. Edward Howell, author of the book, "Food Enzymes For Health and Longevity"
"It seems that we inherit a certain enzyme potential at birth. This limited supply of activity factors of the life force must last us a lifetime......Other things being equal, you live as long as your body has enzyme activity factors to make enzymes from......If enzymes were in the food we eat they would do some or even a considerable part of the work of digestion by themselves. However, when you eat cooked, enzyme-free food, this forces the body itself to make the enzymes needed for digestion. This depletes the body's limited enzyme capacity.....This state of enzyme deficiency stress exists in the majority of persons on the civilized, enzyme-free diet." (Howell 78-79) He goes on, "In fact, low enzyme levels are associated with old age and chronic disease. There's not much hard evidence on whether taking additional enzymes will extend the life span. However, we do know that laboratory rats that eat raw foods will live about three years. Rats eating enzymeless chow diets will live only two years. Thus, we see that diets deficient in enzymes cause a thirty percent reduction in life span. If this is held true for human beings it may mean that people could extend their life spans by twenty or more years-just by maintaining proper enzyme levels." (Howell 24-28)

Raw milk contains the following enzymes: Lactase: helps break down lactose into simple sugars; galactose and glucose, Galactase: breaks down galactose, Lactoperoxidase: assists with oxidation of organic substances in milk, Lactoferrin: kills many pathogens that are attracted to iron, assists with iron assimilation, and strengthens the immune system, it has been approved as an anti-microbial against E. coli, Catalase: protects cells, Amylase: aids in digestion, Lipase: can separate fatty acids from triglycerides (the absence of these enzymes in pasteurized, homogenized milk causes the milk to go rancid), Phosphatase: bacteria destroyer. (The Untold Story of Milk, Ron Schmid, 106-108)

Ron Schmid in his book, "The Untold Story of Milk", summarizes the value of enzymes in raw milk. "These enzymes play a vital role in the assimilation of the vitamins and minerals in milk, support the immune system, and provide powerful protection against pathogens. They are what make raw milk a living food." (Schmid, 108)

Bernarr McFadden writes the following about enzymes in raw milk, in his book "The Miracle of Milk":

"These ferments or digestants undoubtedly act as stimulators and regulators
of nutrition, and are identical in their function with certain
of the digestive enzymes secreted by various organs in the body."

Pasteurization kills almost all enzymes, rendering it a dead food.

Raw milk from healthy cows will contain the following nutrients:

Vitamin A: contains large amounts, this vitamin is essential for growth, protein, mineral and vitamin digestion and assimilation, blood and bone health

B Vitamins: support "healthy nerves, skin, eyes, liver, muscle tone, and cardiovascular function; they protect us from mental disorders, depression and anxiety. Deficiency of the B vitamin complex can result in the enlargement and malfunction of almost every organ and gland in the body." (Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, 38)

mineral salts help to balance the body's acid/alkaline balance;

lime, flourin, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and iodine and other mineral salts which are easily assimilated by the body from raw milk and are essential for the health of teeth, bone, brain cells, nerve cells, and ductless glands;

leukocyte cells which happen to be similar to those white blood cells in our blood and when added to our blood aid in fighting disease cells;

Vitamin C a strong anti-viral and vital in the prevention of scurvy. "it is also needed for a whole host of processes including tissue growth and repair, strength of capillary walls, lactation and adrenal gland function. It is vital for the formation of collagen, the body's structural substance." (Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon, 38)

fat which is essential for nutrient absorption in the food, is crucial to our basic cell growth and health, is necessary for our brains to function properly and aids in hormone production.

Essential Fatty Acids: available in the milk of grass-fed cows, they protect against disease and are important for brain and memory function. The typical American diet these days has an excess of Omega-6, so the Omega-3s in raw milk from grass-fed cows provides another means to balance this excess

Vitamin D necessary for strong bones and teeth and normal growth and unfortunately is so deficient in our diets that most doctors prescribe it as a necessary supplement

Beneficial Bacteria: Found in abundance, aid digestion and protect against overgrowth of bad bacteria, often kill pathogens, act as a natural antibiotic,

Pasteurization and homogenization either destroy these essential nutrients or make them difficult for our bodies to absorb. The highly acidic, force-fed grain diet given to most cows (even organic) results in the reduction or abscence of many of these nutrients.

So, in essence, raw milk from grass-fed, pasture-raised cows is an extremely beneficial food that is packed with lots of essential nutrients that are lacking in the typical American diet. It is an easy and delicious way to get the nutrients and bacteria we need to maintain good health and it is much cheaper than supplements. Kids love it too!

Dr. Kradjian goes on to say:

Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk
of a mammal other than a cow, let's say a rat. Or perhaps
the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly
some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I'm
not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is
for human infants, dogs' milk is for pups, cows' milk is for
calves, cats' milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly,
this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good
judgement on this one.

There is evidence that humans have been drinking the milk of other mammals for over 30,000 years (to put that into perspective, corn has only been around for about 7,000 years). Humans across the globe, throughout history have valued milk as a reliable source of nutrients and energy. It has been regarded as a sacred food by many ancient cultures. Humans have (and sometimes still do) consumed the milk and blood of cows, buffalo, bison, reindeer, yak, goats, sheep, and antelope. And as I stated above, we also consume every other part of the animal, why not also the milk? I don't see the basis for this argument. I think that it is just his personal opinion that humans shouldn't drink milk.

Well, I could go on for hours on this guy because he really leaves himself open to criticism but I am on my fast right now (no food for 2 days) and my brain is not functioning too well. I applaud him for attacking the horrible ways cows are treated and the health risks of consuming conventional, mass-produced, pasteurized and homogenized milk. But raw milk from pasture-raised cows is really completely different, incomparable actually.

I Will Miss Salad

2009-05-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

Check out other great posts at http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-fridays-may-1st/

On the eve of my fast I chose to eat Corned Beef Hash. How sick is that?! I didn't really choose per se, I just didn't plan well. The corned beef hash was good though. It was my first time making and eating this dish. As I was eating it though I was thinking that I should have made some steak with mushrooms instead, one of my favorites. But I think I will miss salad the most!

Tomorrow and the next day I will be fasting on water, and more water. Ho-hum. This is the least exciting part of this whole thing for me. I don't do well with no food.

Before I begin this "diet" I really want to have my blood work done to see what my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), T3, T4 (thyroid hormones) and my antibodies (Hashimoto's indicators). The problem is that the insurance company doesn't want to pay because I just recently got tested. I'm still debating whether or not to do the test anyway. I really want to see if the raw milk diet has an effect on those indicators.

I know it is not as objective but before starting I do want to note how I feel overall.

I am pretty flexible and don't feel like my muscles are tight or tense (even without yoga in the past week).
I have plenty of energy as long as I get 8 hours of sleep; anything less and I feel tired but not exhausted.
It takes me about 15 minutes to fall asleep at night.
I remember my dreams about once a week or so.
I sleep fairly deeply.
I often tense my jaw and sometimes I grind my teeth at night.
I have a strong feeling of contentment emotionally.
I feel very relaxed (in general).
Lately my endorphins are pulsing pretty regularly (I can feel them).
My right foot is occasionally tingly and/or swollen (down from daily and in all 4 limbs about 2 months ago)
My right hand and right foot "fall asleep" in the night about once or twice a week (down from nightly about 1 month ago)
My cheeks are red but I have only a small amount of acne (compared to pretty visible chronic rosacea about 7 months ago)
I sometimes get a small rash on my hand where my rings are.
My feet tend to have dry skin and some calluses.
My hands get dry if I am too lazy to use my rubber gloves religiously.
If I eat something that is not a protein after awhile of not eating I get a head rush.
Sometimes I feel dizzy if I stand or sit up too quickly.
Possible TMI: I rarely have gas and I have pretty frequent bowel movements but sometimes it is a little dry and pellet-like (there I wrote it).
I weigh about 124 lbs and I have about 18% body fat.

So that's about it I think. I am excited about starting this but a little nervous. I've met a few naysayers. We shall see.

I Can Learn From Heidi

2009-04-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

I slow-cooked chick peas (that had been soaked for 24 hours) in the crock pot all day today. I crushed garlic (lots of it for swine-flu protection) with salt in my mortar and pestle and added it to chopped tomatoes, fresh parsley, olive oil, mustard and lemon juice. Then I mixed in feta cheese and the chick-peas. I think rice could be added to this for the complete protein.

On a much more positive note than yesterday, I am going to praise Heidi. I am reading this lovely book with my daughter and it is so inspiring I feel like moving to Switzerland and becoming a goat-herder (well maybe not that inspiring). At each meal they relish the fresh bread with toasted cheese and fresh goat's milk. It seems that that's about all they eat. Oh, and some cured meat as well. Doesn't that just sound delightful? The beauty of it for me is that it is so simple, yet infinitely nourishing. And Heidi has such a lust for life that she appreciates it all and stands in awe at the simplest of things.

This is the kind of value I would like to see my children embrace. First, I suppose I have to embrace it. Unfortunately, living simply seems to be quite complicated.

Swine-Flu Ranting

2009-04-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

When I eat a hamburger I cook it just enough to brown the outside and then I smother it in my homemade pickles, mayo, mustard and ketchup. I don't use a roll, that detracts from the taste and I'm off gluten anyway. Fermenting your own condiments is a fun and surprisingly easy way to increase nutrient-bang-for-your-buck. These condiments are fermented naturally with salt and whey so they are loaded with life-giving enzymes that take some of the burden off of your body to digest the food.

So, I feel the need to rant and rave about this swine-flu thing. I know, everyone is pretty sick of hearing about it but there are 2 issues that I want to think about and I haven't seen them addressed in mainstream media.

The first issue is cytokine storms. In a very layman's nutshell a cytokine storm is an exaggerated immune system response to a previously unknown pathogen. Normally cytokine acts as a sort of dispatcher to immune cells. It tells them where to go and keeps them on their toes to do their job killing the bad guys. The problem is that sometimes these cytokines get out of control, start acting wild and don't do their dispatch job correctly. This can be quite damaging to the body because if there are too many of these immune cells going all crazy your body can't handle this. An example is if a cytokine storm occurs in the lungs then the overabundance of the immune cells can block airways and cause death.

This was a major problem in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Those with strong immune systems tend to be the victims of cytokine storms, hence the death of many people in the age-range of 20-45 years old. This has been the case in the current swine-flu outbreak as well.

It would be nice to see some media coverage on this one. They keep saying education is key, blah, blah, blah, but they're not saying anything useful. "Wash your hands". Gee, thanks.

I did find this website: http://www.bird-flu-influenza.com/relenza-tamiflu-alternatives-folk-medicines-antivirals.htm, which gives helpful information about treating for bird flu (with cytokine storms in mind). They recommend some things that are anti-viral and some that inhibit cytokine production. It is very helpful. Some things listed are: raw garlic (anti-viral), Vit C (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), green tea (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), St. Johns Wort (anti-viral and cytokine inhibitor), freshly squeezed apple juice (anti-viral) and more. Some things to avoid were: elderberry juice, honey, chocolate, Kim chi (they all enhance cytokine production) and more. Check out this page if you're worried.

Another bone I have to pick is with the fact that there is absolutely no coverage of the origination of the flu virus! It has been reported (all over Mexico) that the virus comes from a "pig farm" in Perote, Mexico. Ah, guys, that place is no more a farm than my backyard. What it is is a Confined Animal Feeding Operation or CAFO (our gov came up with this name). Do you want to see Wikipedia's definition?

"Confinement at high stocking density is one part of a systematic effort to produce the highest output at the lowest cost by relying on economies of scale, modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease and pestilence exacerbated by these crowded living conditions."

(Just in case you didn't know, we are talking about animals here, live animals that actually have nerve endings and everything)

And they go on to say:

"The UN and OIE estimate that in coming decades there will be billions of additional consumers in developing countries eating meat factory farmed in developing countries, but currently only about 40 out of the around 200 countries in the world have the capacity to adequately respond to a health crisis originating from animal disease (such as avian flu, West Nile virus, bluetongue, and foot and mouth disease). Widespread use of antibiotics increases the chance of a pandemic resistant to known measures, which is exacerbated by a globally distributed food system. Decreased genetic diversity increases the chance of a food crisis."

I don't know about you but I have two reactions to this. One, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Two, why are those friggin' things allowed to exist?! Oh, but wait, don't tell me, because I know why.....without them the industrial agriculture giants cannot make billions and billions of dollars. Well we wouldn't want to jeopardize their bottom line in the name of say, reducing the risk of a pandemic virus killing untold numbers of people, now would we? Oh, and what about allowing the doomed animal to live a decent life? No, that would go against everything you are taught in business school about maximizing profits and lowering costs.

Do you want to know what I read in a great book called, The Untold Story of Milk, by Ron Schmid? On page 206-207 he quotes an article from the New York Times Magazine written by Michael Pollan, "To Visit a Modern CAFO".

" Piglets in confinement operations are weaned from their mothers 10 days after birth (compared with 13 weeks in nature) because they gain weight faster on their hormone- and antibiotic -fortified feed. This premature weaning leaves the pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a desire they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them. A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring. 'Learned helplessness' is the psychological term, and it's not uncommon in confinement operations, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their lives ignorant of sunshine or earth or straw, crowded together beneath a metal roof upon metal slats suspended over a manure pit.

"So its not surprising that an animal as sensitive and intelligent as a pig would get depressed, and a depressed pig will allow his tail to be chewed on to the point of infection. Sick pigs, being underperforming 'production units', are clubbed to death on the spot. The USDA's recommended solution to the problem is called 'tail docking'. Using a pair of pliers (and no anesthetic), most but not all of the tail is snipped off. Why the little stump? Because the whole point of the exercise is not to remove the object of tail-biting so much as to render it more sensitive. Now, a bite on the tail is so painful that even the most demoralized pig will mount a struggle to avoid it."

That might make you think twice about buying conventional meat again. And just because it is organic, doesn't mean that they're not doing this to the animals. The key to buying quality meat is small-scale, local and pasture-raised animals. These animals are not forced to endure the horrors of mass-production confinement operations. If we buy from local conscientious farmers we are speaking with the loudest voice there is, dollars (or pesos). Let's take our money away from fat corporations with absolutely no regard for the animals nor for the health of the general public, and give it to local farmers who are struggling to survive with no government subsidies and not a lot of consumer love.

And perhaps we won't have to live in fear of catching some bizarre pathogen that crosses 4 species?

French Onion Soup

2009-04-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

My french onion soup is just so delectable! I saute 5 onions in about 3-4 tablespoons of butter and another 3 of olive oil and a pinch of thyme for about 15 minutes. Then I lower the heat and simmer for another hour or so. I then add 2 tablespoons of high quality cognac and cook it off. Then I add about 5 cups of home-made beef stock, bring to a boil and simmer for another 20 minutes. I transfer the soup to an oven-safe pot with a lid (I forget what these are called), grate in about 1/2 lb of comte cheese, then bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. I don't add bread because of the gluten-free thing but it's good either way, I've found. Yumilicious!

If food can cure then this soup must be very effective.

I'm really on the countdown now. Four more days of eating. OK, I'm getting nervous.

The Beef High

2009-04-25T17:58:00.001-07:00

As my husband would say, "mmmmmm, pork". His home country has pork as the national animal, he, he, he. One day I decided to marinate some pork chops in soy sauce, garlic and lemon and I cooked it up the next day with brown rice slow-cooked in beef stock. My husband thought he had died and gone to heaven. "This is Pork Adobo!" he breathed, as he abandoned his fork, grabbed another piece and began to chew on some fat.

There is a peace in our house now, that wasn't there before. And it's not just because my husband is finally married to a woman who cooks what he actually wants to eat. Rather, it is due to, what I call, the "beef high" (although this term is somewhat self-limiting). With the drastic change in our diet came lots of lovely endorphins.

I was brought up in a "hippy household" I suppose. We had a huge garden, we ate tofu, brown rice and fresh veggies. Meat was taboo, especially after my step-father took a part-time job at a local chicken slaughterhouse. When I was little I craved meat and sugar and ate them whenever I had the chance. As an adult I unconciously accepted the theory that meat is bad for you but at the same time I was never fully convinced. I trudged along on pasta, chicken, veggies and more pasta. Food was never really very satisfying. Oh, things did taste good but I was never satisfied, somehow I was looking for more. Maybe that's why I was able to scarf down 3 heaping bowls of pasta in one meal. Oh, and that's probably why I gained a lot of weight.

But once I started eating high quality red meat, pork, seafood and a lot more fat I began to get endorphin rushes at almost every meal. And one day I realized that my overall mood was much calmer and peaceful than it had been. That feeling is still with me, 6 months later. It is hard to describe but it is something like; now I am blessed with a sweet contentment that stays with me all day. And "pork bliss" aside, my husband has noticed he feels the same way.

Now, I liken this to driving a VW for a long time and then getting behind the wheel of a mercedes. You may have been perfectly content with the VW but it wasn't until you drove the mercedes that you realized something was sorely lacking (lucky for us the good food is more accessible than the mercedes).

If nothing else, I think we should enjoy life. That is why I want to drive the mercedes and eat wholesome food that gives me a rush.

Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays

2009-04-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Another real food lover has a blog called "Food Renegade". Every Friday bloggers, all holding the common interest of fighting to get real food the norm, share links from her site to our various posts on the topic.

Quoted from Food Renegade:

"Well, fellow Food Renegades, it’s that time of the week again! We are bringing together a collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies — each from a lover of Real Food.

Last week’s carnival was inspiring! Thirty-seven bloggers participated, many of them first timers. If you didn’t check it out, you should. You’ll find a wealth of great articles and posts there. It’s my personal hope that Fight Back Fridays will unite many of us coming from within different circles of the Real Food Revolution so that our influence can grow, so that we can change the way America (and the industrialized world) eats!

So, let’s have some fun."

Check it out. Lots of great posts: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-fridays-april-24th/#comment-2206

Indulge No More

2009-04-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express how wonderful it is to be eating a nice juicy steak! And this isn't just any steak. It is tenderloin from a pasture-raised cow that has been broiled in garlic, mushrooms, sea salt and sherry, just enough to brown the outside. This delectable delight was served with short-grain brown rice that was slow cooked in butter, beef stock and sea salt. I know your mouth is watering.

I have finally gotten used to not eating bread. I am going gluten-free until after the milk diet because I've read that gluten is a common cause of many health problems, one of which is Hashimoto's (which I have). I also thought that it would be easier to do the milk diet if I slowly cut back on things that I really relish so that I'm not going through multiple with-drawls all at once. I just love having my lovely home-made rolls with tons of butter and raw honey. Oh, I don't even want to think about it. But my cravings for it have passed now (after about a week).

So the gluten thing is a non-issue now (although I hope to be able to tolerate small amounts later on). I'm going to make a nice big batch of peanut butter cookies and carob chews. Those are to be eaten at night with large and luscious glasses of raw milk. Can you hear me sighing?

But, they have to be finished by next Monday because that is when I stop that sort of indulgence. I think that by May 1st, when I start my 2-day fast, I should be over craving those carob chews and peanut butter cookies.

Carob Chews, if you are not familiar, are simply wonderful, delightful snacks. I got the recipe from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.

You will need:
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 cup carob powder
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 Tbls almond extract
1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut meat
1 tsp sea salt

First I grind the almonds, cashews and salt in my food processor (mind you I have soaked and dried the nuts beforehand). Then I gently heat the raw honey (just to body temperature so the enzymes stay alive) in a double-broiler. I add the carob and extracts to the honey and mix with a wooden spoon. Then I pour the mixture into the ground nuts and add the coconut meat and mix in the food processor. After, I spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. When it's cooled I take it out, let it warm a little and cut into little squares and re-refrigerate. They are a great, energy-boosting snack that kids love!

Yes, I Admit It, Milk Can Be Nasty

2009-04-21T16:22:00.001-07:00

Leftovers. Still good though. But I added some lightly steamed broccoli with my all-time favorite dip: yogurt with mashed garlic, salt and lemon. So simple, so tasty!

For those of you whose reaction to hearing that I will consume only raw milk for one month is, "that is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of", I understand where you're coming from. I too found milk pretty repulsive, basically my whole life. But the thing that you are thinking of when I say milk is quite different from the heavenly liquid I will be consuming in large amounts in May.

Conventional milk that you buy in most supermarkets is stuff that I would avoid at all costs. If it is ultra-pasteurized and homogenized (almost all of it is) and lowfat you are talking about something that is completely different from the original product.

The original product itself is pretty nasty. Think about it, cows forced to stand continuously on concrete floors while they are milked incessantly (average over 6 gallons a day) and fed anything from GMO grains and soy by-products to bovine growth hormones (so bad they are illegal in Canada) and "sludge" (ethanol by-product filled with lovely chemical residues). And don't forget the antibiotics and pus that come out of these heavily medicated yet sickly animals (average life span is 42 months for a confinement cow as opposed to 12-15 years for a pasture-raised one).

And since there is so much nastiness in the original product, pasteurization is a wonderful tool. Who needs to worry about keeping pathogens out when you're going to cook it anyway? Ultra-pasteurized milk is cooked at a cozy temperature of 230 to 285 degrees F! Boiled milk anyone?
Yes, it kills all the bad stuff, but it kills the good stuff too. You know, the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and beneficial, pathogen-killing bacteria. Mmmmm, my favorite, dead bacteria in my cereal! Don't think that just because it's dead it can't affect you, some say that this cooked bacteria can cause an immune response that leads to autism. I don't think this theory has been subjected to much research but why risk it?

Homogenization breaks down the size of the fat globules in milk. Makes' em tiny so we don't have to see how much fat is in there. Although people used to like that because it gave them a clue as to how healthy the cows were that the milk came from. The healthier the cow (good diet of grass and hay and lots of time outdoors usually did the trick) the more cream would be in the milk. Oh, yeah and homogenization has been linked to heart disease.

But why would big dairy manufacturers care about your health? Ultra-pasteurization and homogenization make it possible for milk to be shipped across the country. This stuff does not go bad! You don't even have to refrigerate it for up to 6 months! They just put it in the cooler section because no one wants to buy milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated.

And don't think that just because it's organic that you're in the clear. Read the label. Almost all organic milk you see these days has been ultra-pasteurized and much of it comes from cows living out their dreary lives in confinement.

Lowfat is not where it's at. In the process of making skim milk nitrates are produced (carcinogenic) and cholesterol is oxidized (linked to plaque build-up in the arteries). Not happy news for those drinking skim milk to avoid cancer and heart disease! And although there is lots of protein in the milk there is not enough fat for our bodies to absorb it properly. So our body calls in the Vitamin A reserves from the liver to help out. Sigh.

OK, so all of you milk-haters, we're on the same page with that stuff. But raw milk that comes from healthy, happy cows who spend their time grazing pesticide-free grass is just brimming with good stuff. Maybe I'll touch on it lightly and save more for another day. But for now let me just say that the raw milk I'm thinking of has the following: phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, vitamins A, C, B6, B12, and K2, and is loaded with protective bacteria and life-sustaining enzymes. And there is lots of fat, making it quite easy for your body to digest and absorb these nutrients.

Yum.

Flouride or Fat?

2009-04-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Fabulous fish chowder! Yesterday I started a fish stock from a lovely red snapper. Today I sauteed onions in butter, added some fresh thyme and a bay leaf, then put some potatoes and my still-hot fish stock in the pot and simmered. After awhile I added the snapper meat, sea salt and some fresh raw cream, heated a little more and it was ready to enjoy. I served it with salad and a lovely eggplant torta (courtesy of Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon). A gluten-free tasty meal!

One day last October, while I was brushing my younger daughter's teeth I noticed that there were some funky brown spots on her teeth. Ahhhhhhh! My child is not perfect?! Cavities?! How could it be?

This is what really started me on my journey to find out if food can cure, although that wasn't my intention at the time. I absolutely refused to accept the party line that says, "if you're child has a cavity the problem is in her mouth, and if we extract the cavity, all will be fine". I saw the cavity as a symptom of some hidden problem in her body.

I went to a "holistic" dentist just in case (I've also discovered on this journey that so many "holistic" care-providers have an agenda to sell their stuff or some other stuff like vitamins, etc and it's really quite a shame) and she said my daughter has 2 borderline cavities. She recommended a massive dose of flouride to stall the decay (so much for holistic care). Of course I refused the treatment. But at this point I felt better knowing that her teeth weren't about to fall out or anything.

Then I discovered a book called "Cure Tooth Decay" by Ramiel Nagel. And in it I was introduced to the concept of stopping tooth decay through a healthy diet and also to the teachings of Weston A. Price. Wow! This was a new world I was entering!

Up until that point I was like most health-conscious thinking people in America, I thought that cholesterol, saturated fat and basically meat were all things to avoid whenever possible. Vegetables, chicken and well, I don't even know what, tofu maybe, were all good things to eat. Low-fat was the way to go. I have to say that up until that point I hadn't really ever been committed to one style of eating for health reasons. I more just went with food I enjoyed eating that didn't make me sick (like I wouldn't eat McDonalds because it made me feel horrible but I would eat a ton of Haagen Dazs).

Suddenly, I was allowed to eat cream and butter and red meat and whole milk and more cream! On the other hand, I did feel chained to the kitchen because now I had to soak my grains, nuts and legumes (to neutralize the phytates that block mineral absorption), I could no longer buy boxed cereal and granola bars for my kids snacks and I had to make my own sauerkraut and yogurt. Local, pasture-raised meats and dairy, fresh veggies, and lots of good fat were to be the mainstay of my diet. Processed foods, rancid and oxidized vegetable oils and refined sugars were out.

Over time I became accustomed to slaving in the kitchen (which I really do enjoy at heart) and things became easier. Now I feel like somewhat of a pro and the food I cook is, if I may say so myself, fabulous!

Oh yeah, my daughter's cavities have not progressed at all. Yay!

Why Is My Thyroid Sick?

2009-04-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

I have to ponder this question.

But first, I have to talk about what I ate for dinner! Because that is infinitely more exciting....

I slow-cooked my short grain brown rice in coconut milk and home-made chicken stock (made with chicken feet) and sea salt for a long time. I also cleaned some wild-caught shrimp and grated some horseradish into some of my special home-made ketchup to make a cocktail sauce. And of course there was my famous salad and sauteed greens. We ate some of the shrimp raw and some flash-boiled. It was pretty good and it is such a simple meal (and can be done more quickly if you buy cleaned shrimp.

So in January I went to a routine check-up at the doc and did some bloodwork. He called me a week later to tell me my TSH (that is the hormone that stimulates the thyroid to do it's job) was extraordinarily high. He was shocked because I had no symptoms. Needless to say, I was shocked too.

So what followed was a month or two of anxiety, filled with countless doctor visits and lots of deep breathing moments. You see, I was unwilling to just go pick up the synthroid as my (now fired) doctor had advised. I knew I had a crazy, out of control number on my bloodwork (TSH: 147) and I didn't really know much else about hypothyroidism. So my mission was to find out what was causing the problem and to find the least invasive way to manage it.

The more I read, the more disheartened I became. I subsequently found out that I had Hashimoto's (an autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to attack your thyroid). Even the doctors with the "alternative" approach agree that once you go autoimmune you never go back. And as my anxiety increased I began to have numbness and tingling in my feet and hands when I laid down at night. I was told it wasn't phsychosematic but I realize now that stress aggravates thryoid issues and that my stress was bringing about these symptoms. The more I felt the symptoms, the more stressed I got.

So, I eventually started taking a somewhat "natural" medication called Armour. It is made of pig thyroid hormone (not the synthetically produced hormone in Synthroid and others). I take a very low dose of 30 mg a day. The funny thing is that even before I started taking the Armour my TSH had gone down to 41 (in about one month). I know that my diet can take the credit for this one!

I recently got more bloodwork done and my TSH is now 7. I'm not sure if the Armour did it or not but my (new) doc was shocked at how quickly my TSH and antibodies had improved (especially on such a low dose). She recommended I continue to do whatever the heck it is I'm doing.

So I sort of do know why my thryoid is sick but it's still a mystery as to why my immune system is malfunctioning. Will raw milk change things??

The Cow Said YES!

2009-04-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

And yet another move toward the milk month! I have officially gotten my cow to agree to give me enough milk! This was the final step and now that I’ve taken it I suppose there is no turning back. I’m excited and still a little nervous.

Let’s see, I had leftover chili tonight. Oh, but for lunch I had a good one. My special salad (2-3 types of lettuce, avocado, tomatoes tossed with wheat-free soy sauce, beet kvass, raw vinegar and olive oil) with a can of skinless, boneless sardines smothered with my delish home-made mayonnaise. This was an intensely satisfying dish but I was craving a glass of milk afterward and we’re all out.

The funny thing is that about 30 minutes later I was overcome with wave after wave of nausea (something I haven’t experienced much since eating the “real food” way). It was pretty bad so I put a tablespoon of whey (the real stuff baby) in a glass of water, drank it and within 5 minutes the nausea had vanished. Coincidence? Perhaps.....

So I think we are guilty of programming our children to enjoy sweets from very early on. What would you think if you saw a mom denying her child cake at a birthday party? Perhaps you would pity the child for missing out on one of the joys of being a child? Maybe criticize mom for being so rigid?

Why are we so sure this is what kids need? Is it because we want it so badly? Is it possible for us to stop the rampant addiction to sugar by denying it to our children. Do we even want to? Why do people feel compelled to give sugary sweets to kids? I would have to say that there are two distinct groups on this (well there may be more but these are the 2 types of parents I usually encounter). Group 1 tries to avoid giving sugar, somehow fails with all the peer pressure and then feels guilty or uneasy when their little ones indulge. Group 2 has no problem at all with it, thinks it is just part of being a kid and that it probably doesn’t do all that much damage anyway. And I suppose this is neither here nor there but those of us who try to avoid it are really annoyed at Group 2’s behavior. Why do we succumb? Why does a group 2 even exist?

I have to venture a guess to say we succumb because our genes tell us to. Basically, we really do give a s**t what people think about us because societal acceptance is a precursor to survival. Back in the day when we were hunter/gatherers we needed husbands to stick around (or wives or partners) to help keep the kids alive and we needed neighbors and kin around to help us stay alive too. The best way to keep them around was to follow social rules. This present day longing to belong comes from the ancient necessity to belong. So when everyone else is pouring pounds of sugar down their kids throats without a thought we figure that’s the norm so we do it too. OK, this is over-simplified but doesn’t it make sense?

Now does Group 2 exist because of the same reason? Peer pressure? Maybe that was the norm when they were growing up so it will be the norm for their kids? maybe they felt deprived as a child? Of food or love? Maybe they feel guilty for something they are not providing to their child, like wholesome food or love? Maybe they just want to be cool parents?

The only thing I can say is that they surely are NOT setting their kids up to survive. They may have the appearance of being able to survive (popularity brings friends and mates) but their bodies are more likely to be sickly (in the short or long-term).

Raw Milk Diet Progress

2009-04-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve made another move toward “the raw milk diet” today. I’ve found a home for my gallons and gallons of milk bottles! A friend will store them in their basement refrigerator. This is wonderful because it was one of the obstacles to doing the diet.

Today I made my most delicious “wild caribbean chili” (recipe courtesy of The Joy Of Cooking). Yum! Ground beef sauteed with onions and garlic, add some cumin, salt, pepper, lime and orange juice, a little unrefined whole cane sugar, black beans, beef stock and crushed tomatoes. It is soooo tasty and the combination of the ground beef with the beef stock makes it delightfully digestible.

Why Do We Love Sugar?

2009-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Alaskan salmon that’s been slow-cooked with butter, cream, fish stock, dill, shallots and sea salt with quinoa that has been soaked overnight then slow-cooked with coconut milk, beef stock and sea salt. And collard greens sauteed with butter, garlic and sea salt and my daily salad; 2-3 types of lettuce, avocado, tomatoes tossed with wheat-free soy sauce, beet kvass, raw vinegar and olive oil. That was dinner.

The Brazilian cheese bread was OK yesterday but not so good re-heated today. I think I need to mix it, bake enough for that day and freeze the rest.

I went to the doctor today. She OKed my raw milk diet! She said she is not too excited about it but she’s not against it. We will monitor my liver and kidneys. She’s a pretty good doctor though. She actually listened to me and didn’t say I was crazy.

My blood work was better too. I take small doses of Armour (30mg day) and my TSH (Thyoid Stimulating Hormone) went from 41 on Feb. 13 (down from 147 on Jan 5 and that was before I took the armour) to 7 on April 2nd. My antibodies improved greatly as well. I’m still not within normal range on these things but everything is moving in the right direction. This is where I make a plug for the way I eat. The doctor was amazed at how quickly my levels are adjusting on such a small amount of thyroid hormone. I’m convinced that it is because of how I eat and my regular practice of yoga. Now, if I can discontinue this gluten-free thing that would be great (as I bite into my day-old, dry Brazilian cheese bread). I can’t help it, I love my freshly baked whole wheat rolls! I still have to cook them for my family and my mouth drools watching them.

Now my thought of the day. What stops people from eating well? I know this is a huge question. But I want to ponder it. I’ll start with sugar. Addiction to sugar is rampant in our world today. The average sugar consumption for Americans is huge! Anywhere from 64 to 150 pounds a year, depending on who is talking. Now it’s pretty common knowledge that humans have been gifted with an innate sweet tooth, to facilitate breast-feeding (breast-milk is sweet!). But back when we were running around catching animals and picking berries we didn’t have too many chances to munch on a snickers, so there weren’t very many sugar addicts. Now that sugar is readily available, like on every street corner and checkout aisle, it is pretty hard for us to resist. And what we often forget is that every time we eat a french fry or a piece of white bread there occurs a peak in blood sugar levels. Those empty carbs are converted into sugar right away. So don’t think you deserve desert after you’ve had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread (even the peanut butter may have sugar in it). But you will most likely crave something sweet.

One of the major problems here is that most of what we eat is not satisfying. Why is it not satisfying? Because it is nutritionally empty. Let’s look at a typical meal for me one year ago.

Breakfast: boxed cereal (organic honey Os perhaps) with low-fat milk, then an all-natural turkey sausage and organic egg on an english muffin

boxed cereal: highly processed under high heat and pressure (shown to be extremely difficult to digest and to cause peaks in blood sugar production, perhaps even more than sugar). Any nutritional content is pretty much useless because my body was unable to absorb it.

organic low-fat milk: A highly processed, dead liquid devoid of valuable enzymes and containing only small amounts of nutrients. Being low-fat it had some of the natural fat replaced with a powdered form of milk that was commercially dehydrated causing oxidation of the cholesterol in it. And it is highly likely that the original product was extracted from sickly, undernourished, over-pumped cows fed an unnatural diet of soy and corn (yes, even organic milk can be bad)
turkey sausage: A highly processed product with a high-sodium content, but at least there must have been some nutrients in the meat.

organic egg: this was probably the most nutritious thing I ate all day

english muffin: it was white! oh boy, blood sugar peaks, empty calories, no nutrients

So what was my breakfast? Pretty crappy! The egg was really the only saving grace and that wasn’t from a pasture-raised chicken so it was of less value.

So after I consume this breakfast that actually did more damage than good, what did I feel like eating? Some sugar anyone? My body was crying out for more, more, more! I had given it some energy but not much else.....where was the calcium, magnesium, Vit A, Vit D, Vit C? So the bodies natural reaction is to ask for more! This is one reason why people can’t control themselves, their bodies are calling out for more.

Is Gluten Our Enemy?

2009-04-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

I started off the day with the usual: yogurt and eggs. Yummy! So, is it possible that we have eaten too much wheat? Throughout history, when wheat (and other grains and legumes) were consumed, they were usually first fermented or sprouted. Now we know this was done to neutralize the phytates and difficult-to-digest elements such as gluten. Humans consumed grains this way for thousands and thousands of years (times vary depending on the grain) without our developing heart disease, diabetes and leaky-gut syndrome. But as civilization “advanced” people came to seek easier and quicker ways to make food. Quick-rise breads came with the discovery of the wonders of yeast (as opposed to the slow-rise of sourdough breads). And people probably started to consume more bread-products.

With the industrial revolution families began to leave the farms and to work out of the home more. More and more people moved to metropolitan areas and more women left the home to work. This necessitated a lot more “quick” meals. Breast-feeding and cooking began their wane. By the 1920s people were still mostly cooking and breast-feeding but not as they had done 50 years earlier. Women had tasted freedom and who could blame them for wanting more? With these changes on the home-front and technological advances in machinery the concept of industrialized food processing became very appealing for profit-minded businesses (well, what other kind is there?). Companies began to find more and more inroads to alleviate the workload of working moms. How convenient it would be to buy your bread instead of slaving at home?
Fast-forward to now. It is all too common for women to work out of the home, even with tiny newborns. The average American consumes a large amount of processed food. And we eat a ton of wheat products, almost none of which have been fermented or sprouted. A lot of our health problems today are probably derived from the way we eat grains. (Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are also big culprits in the demise of our health) Unfortunately for us it would be way too costly (read: lower executive salaries) for big food manufacturers to soak or ferment grains. Don’t want to mess with the bottom-line. And now big pharma is there to pick up the slack. They are making billions on our sick, diseased, fat bodies. It seems it is easier for us to take medication than to change our ways.

So perhaps gluten is not the enemy. Maybe we need to get back into the kitchen and start soaking and fermenting our grains from their whole form. Gluten is a friend (unless you are already gluten-sensitive), and that boxed food is not!

The Raw Milk Challenge

2009-04-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I start this blog on a rather bold front. I am now on a countdown to the beginning of my exclusive raw milk diet. I will be drinking nothing but milk for 4 weeks. There, I said it, I can’t turn around now! I’ve begun preparing my body by completely cutting out gluten. I’ve heard that gluten causes all kinds of nasty diseases. I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT) and it certainly sounds like a nasty disease. It also just so happens that many people who have gluten-intolerance also have HT (and other autoimmune diseases), and when they stop eating gluten they are able to alleviate many symptoms.
Now this brings me to an interesting thought that has been rattling about in my head. Why are people so intolerant of so many things (and I’m not talking prejudice here, that’s another conversation)? You’re either gluten-sensitive, or lactose intolerant or you suffer from multiple allergies or something. There is a long list of possible culprits, let me tell you. And there are champions of each of these causes. See because I believe that our bodies used to be pretty darn perfect, we functioned quite wonderfully, a long time ago. Now we’re all broken down and fat and diseased and tired and stressed out! What the heck is going on?
I am on a quest to answer this question to my own satisfaction. I have always been curious about this stuff. Like, why do so many people need glasses? How could we have carried on our species way back when we were hunter/gatherers (HG) if half of us couldn’t see the darn animals?! We would have died out pretty quickly. So I’m guessing all this vision trouble is a relatively new thing. But my real probing of the question of why we are so messed up really picked up speed when I found out I was one of the sick ones!
I will ponder on this regularly. One thought I have is, perhaps we just eat a bunch of junk and it’s killing us. What do you think? A possibility?