I Am Down To Eating Carrot And Celery Sticks

Well, it's my turn to have to have a special kind of diet. I have always prided myself on being able to eat almost anything and adapting to changing my eating habits, when necessary, but this time, the tables are turned.

  For the past several months, I have cut out most white sugar by substituting my need for sweets by using liquid stevia or xylitol. I have also found that coconut sugar is an excellent substitute for the real thing. But cutting out anything with grain? You must be kidding?

  Grain products make up probably 75% of my diet, or more. I can't imagine life without bread products or cream of wheat. I can't just let go of pasta, can I? After all, I use imported organic semolina to make my pasta products with.

   Most everything I make is organic and should be safe, at least from an organic standpoint. But can a pre-diabetic person eat organic flour and not have any serious side effects? I don't know. Not yet, anyway.

   So, I have made a start in my diet. Now, instead of having pasta for lunch, or eggs on toast, I will have an omelet. I will make my omelet with as many interesting ingredients as I can find. For example, today I made the omelet with cooked sausage, mushrooms, and cheese. Tomorrow I will make ricotta cheese and add that to the omelet. Somehow, cheese and omelets seem to be made to go together.

   When I come up with a new menu containing the limited amount of food I can eat, I will post it somewhere here, so that others who are newly found pre-diabetic human beings, can find something to eat, besides beans.

   Now for the dessert! Where's the dessert in all this. Step #1 is to make ricotta cheese. You can use ricotta cheese in many recipes, and since dairy products are fine to eat for a pre-diabetic, ricotta cheese is a good choice. Ricotta cheese is used in Italian cakes. If you can find a recipe for Italian cakes that doesn't use flour, please post the url in the comment box!

   I could eat ricotta cheese right out of the bowl. Put some stevia in it and whip it up. Maybe it would make a nice dip for zucchini slices! Not!

3 Foods that can be eaten by pre-diabetic people:

* Omelets
* Ricotta Cheese
* Smoothies Made With Protein Powder (sugar-free)

Oh, and I also found some gluten-free beef jerky in the pantry. After I spend days on Pinterest, I will update my list of allowed foods for pre-diabetic people.

Which One Is It? Quantity or Quality of Life?

People wonder why in the world do I want to eat and live in a healthful way. Especially since it is so much easier to buy prepared food that tastes great, why would I go through all this trouble? Is it so I can add a few more years to my life?

Think about it this way: If you live to be elderly, would you rather live on a farm or in a nursing home? Would you rather have a mind that thinks clearly, or would you rather be sleeping all day, not even knowing or caring where you were?

Perhaps you are not willing to give up your Big Macs or Oreos. You might be thinking, living clean only adds a few years to one's life. I would rather keep my junk food and lifestyle and live a few years less. That is your choice, and I will not interfere with that.

But perhaps you don't understand the deeper issues. It's not so much about quantity of life as much as it is about quality of life. If you ever see someone dying of cancer, you should be thinking, what can I do to help? What can I do to prevent this horrible disease from taking over my loved ones? If you don't see the correlation between our modern, western lifestyles, and the rise of disease such as cancer, diabetes, and allergies, then take a moment to look at some statistics.

   In 1985, my father died of cancer. No one expected it. It came suddenly and he died a terrible death. Back then, the statistics for cancer were about 1 in every 4 persons. Today, cancer is even greater than heart disease. Now the statistics for cancer are 1 in every 2 people. That means 50% of the population in America will probably succumb to cancer, sometime during their lifetimes.

   The problem is, most people today did not see the slow change in our environment and food industry. Americans today assume that we always had grocery stores and food that came in boxes. But that is not true. In the early to mid 1900s, most of the food eaten was grown on local farms, without the use of modern pesticides and herbicides. By the mid 1900s, supermarkets were becoming more and more popular. But they probably were not as lacking in nutrients as they are today. Today, people prize convenience. People love what is easy to make. It is a lot easier to open a box, put the ingredients in a bowl and add water, then put it in a pan and bake it for 25 minutes, than to collect the ingredients and prepare them yourself and do whatever baking or cooking is necessary. Believe me, cooking food that has nutrition is by far harder than just opening a box and adding water. But food on the shelves of grocery stores is full of additives. Some are preservatives. Some are coloring and flavoring. Agricultural farms give antibiotic shots to their animals to help prevent them from getting sick. What they don't seem to know is that, in turn, we are consuming antibiotics and they are getting into our systems as well. Growth hormones are given to the animals as well. Could this be a reason why girls go through puberty much earlier than their grandmothers did?

    Think of household cleaners. There are many toxic ones out there. They are not only toxic if taken internally, but they are toxic to breathe in the fumes and when they have contact with our skin, our skin absorbs the toxins and they get into our bloodstream. Did you know that chlorine is carcinogenic? Fluoride is another carcinogen. The FDA approves it in very small amounts, but, we don't get small amounts. Think about how many times you have to brush your teeth? Every time you brush your teeth, a little fluoride gets into your mouth. Several tooth brushing experiences will cause the amount of fluoride to add up. Plus, fluoride is mandatory to be in our drinking water. Of course, this is only in America. Europe doesn't allow fluoride in the water over there. Fluoride has ended up in our soil, and many plants are now contaminated that are growing in these places where the soil has taken up fluoride.

   So, the question is not, how much longer will one live if they eat right and live right. The question is, what kind of quality of life do you want? Perhaps you don't have any motivation for living. Maybe you are depressed or see no reason for living. The Bible says, 'Where there is no vision, the people perish'. Those who have no vision for their lives will wander aimlessly, without purpose.

   So, do you want to live in a nursing home one day? Do you want to die of a horrible disease that could have been prevented? Or, do you want to live out all your days in good health, with your memory intact?

   If you are one of those who are depressed or lacking vision for your life, God has a different idea about why you are here. God didn't create you to mope around and be depressed all your life. God created you for something much higher. He made you so that you could worship Him. You could live a life designed by God, instead of a self-centered, self-seeking life, which goes nowhere but to the grave. If you would like more info on this, please go to http://thegospelconversation.blogspot.com   or   http://test4gp.wordpress.com

Coconut - It is Good For You

With all the talk about how good coconut oil is for you, as well as other parts of the coconut, it is worth investigating. I just saw a Facebook post saying that coconut oil will help you lose weight. There was also a picture with it ( a drawing) of a woman with a tape measure going around her waist. On the final picture, this once fat woman was now slim, due to taking coconut oil. Maybe this is the key to losing weight.

Last year, my mother in law, who lived about 2 hours away from us, was suffering from dementia. I had heard that coconut oil helps with dementia, so when we went to visit her, I made her some candy with coconut milk and oil. I love this stuff, and she did too, according to what I had heard. She was becoming a picky eater, but there was no problem with her eating the candy I made (I don't even think I added any sugar to it). If I lived up there, I would have given this to her all the time, but because we lived so far away, it was hard to get this homemade candy to her.

When I sold Shaklee, we had available some informal classes on nutrition and health, and I was in a place where I could go to these classes. I learned a lot from them. They taught us how to make protein balls with their protein powder. The recipe goes something like this:

Protein Powder Balls

1/3 protein powder
1/3 honey
1/3 peanut butter

Combine and roll into balls. Eat and enjoy this nourishing snack.

I have come up with my version of something similar, but with the value of coconut too.

Coconut Protein balls

1/2 cup protein power
coconut cream (a can of coconut milk separated. Put in fridge to help with separation before opening)
flaked coconut (you can get unsweetened)
Peanut butter (optional)
1 TBS. coconut oil

Coating
Chocolate chips, melted (I would use chocolate chips that have a high percentage of cacao).

This recipe is a little tricky because the coconut cream will make it very soupy and hard to work with. Take a can of coconut milk and put it in the fridge for a while, then open and the cream part should be separated from the liquid like milk part. Combine protein powder, coconut cream, coconut, peanut butter, if using, and oil. Add more protein powder if too soft. The rolled balls will be very soft, and they need to be refrigerated for them to harden. After they are rolled, place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
I have put too much protein powder into them and then they become kind of hard when in the refrigerator. You can add peanut butter if you want to, but it is not necessary. If you like peanut butter, it is a good choice to add. If you leave the peanut butter out, the coconut protein balls appear like Mounds bars. Also, coconut butter can be added (see picture below).
Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler or on very, very low heat. The chocolate chips are the only thing in this recipe that contains sugar. I have added liquid stevia to the mixture to make it sweeter.
Dip the balls into the melted chocolate chips. Put back in the refrigerator to harden again.
I don't really have any measurements to this, and I add the ingredients until they make a fairly good consistency. They will be very soft until refrigerated.
Another word about chocolate chips; If they are heated too high, the chocolate will 'seize' which I guess means that the melted chocolate will be grainy and will not spread. Been there. Done that.

This coconut butter is a
good addition to the
protein balls

Chocolate chips that are highly recommended

This is the coconut milk I use.

Shredded coconut is a good addition
to many recipes

On Making Homemade Aspirin

Did you know that aspirin originally came from the bark of the white willow tree? Originally, the bark was steeped in hot water and made into a tea. We can still make this original form of aspirin today.

  Who wants to buy a product that says it's intended on helping us, when it has gone through a factory and has other ingredients added to it for various reasons? It is probably worth it to learn how to make one's own aspirin.

You can get a little teapot similar to this one at amazon.com Tea Beyond PINK Glass Teapot Butterfly 710ml 24 Oz Non Drip with Infuser

 Here is the first step: Taking the white willow bark and placing 2 teaspoons into the little glass tea pot.

You can also get white willow bark at amazon.com White Willow Bark Cut & Sifted Organic - 1 lb,(Frontier)

Step 2: Add 1 cup very hot water to tea pot.

Step 3: Let hot water steep for a couple of minutes.

Step 4: Pour steeped tea into a cup.

I have even added liquid stevia to the tea. Yummmmm....

To Vaccinate Or To Not Vaccinate

I don't really have an answer for this question, from my angle yet, but what I want to do is to just look at this issue and see exactly what we are dealing with.

We have people fighting all over the Internet about this topic, if you haven't noticed. But what exactly are we fighting over? Personal rights? Fear of autism in our children in the future? Anger at people who selfishly don't want to vaccinate their children?

I am not an authority on this subject, but have been reading quite a bit lately, just because the articles are in front of me, from both sides of the argument.

I would also like for you to read another person's article on this subject:
http://authenticsimplicity.net/2015/01/5-indisputable-facts-vaccines/

To summarize my thoughts, I do not think this issue is over whether we should vaccinate our children or not, based upon facts. The CDC and FDA have warning about taking the vaccines, but those who give out the vaccines either ignore them or don't know about them.

We should just learn the facts as best as possible, and not attack people who are on the other side of this issue. There are valid reasons why people do not want to vaccinate their children. It helps if we know what these reasons are. (Go to the link above for more information).

Years ago, we were at a church service, and out in the lobby were some children coughing. You could tell they had whooping cough. I remember getting irritated that the mom would not have vaccinated her children. My baby was possibly exposed to whooping cough now.

   Not sure why someone would bring their children with whooping cough into public areas. Fortunately, for their sake, a doctor was there and gave them some medicine. Grateful that my baby didn't catch the sickness!

  I used to see a stereotype of people who didn't vaccinate. They were those families who had home births, and who home schooled. It almost looked like some kind of rebellion to society to vaccinate your children, whenever I saw these people and their families. Maybe they were in some kind of silent contest of who could be the most radical? I didn't know, but back then, I thought that not vaccinating your children went a little bit too far.

   Now that I am older and more informed, I am seeing an alarming trend in society, particularly in America. I see the American Cancer Society who has been working for decades to find a cure for cancer, yet being unsuccessful. Yet, I have also seen people, not related to the medical society, come up with cures for cancer. What happens to these people? Many times, they end up in jail. The FDA doesn't approve of what they were doing. There has been a lot of talk about genetically modifying seeds to make plants resistant to sicknesses and also to make them resistant to the harmful affects of herbicides, like Roundup. Again, the FDA together with Monsanto, are defending their 'right' to genetically modify plants. But what would happen if Monsanto continues to work with genetically modifying plants? What would that lead to? One farmer found out. Apparently, he planted seeds on his farm, but the seeds were tainted with Monsanto's genetically modified seeds and produced the kind that were put out by Monsanto. The farmer claimed that he never planted any Monsanto seeds. He was arrested and went to jail. The fear of what could happen, is that Monsanto could actually take over the whole food industry, and put the local farmer out of business, or create laws that would prohibit people from farming and gardening, altogether. If the government has its way, all food would be processed and owned by corporations like Monsanto, and we would not have a say in the kinds of foods that we want to eat.

   We see commercials advertising all these 'wonder medicines' that can help with the sicknesses we have today. By law, they have to put the disclaimer on them though, which makes it kind of funny. They tell the side effects of taking the drug and the warnings. Many times, one of the side affects is 'death'.

   All these things tie in with each other, and vaccines are included as well. We have the FDA which forbids selling root beer, the way it was originally made. Root beer used to be made from Sassafras root and bark. A study done using mice indicated that drinking root beer made from sassafras could cause liver cancer. Mice were given the equivalent of a human's consumption of 3 gallons a day for a long period of time. First of all, I don't know anyone who is going to drink 3 gallons of root beer every day for months. So now, when we buy root beer from the grocery store, it is made with tons of sugar (which is approved by the FDA) and artificial colors and sweeteners. Did you know that sugar feeds cancer cells? This same group approved of sugar being added to food, even in large amounts, forbids using Sassafras in soda.

   I think we are probably the sickest nation of people in the world. Is there any wonder why? With a McDonald's on every corner and most of our store bought food being filled with sugar and other chemicals which are approved by the FDA, this is no mystery.

   I know of two people who recently got the flu vaccine, and they got really sick afterward. I know of a young woman who almost died from a vaccine when she was going to leave the country and was required to be vaccinated. Recently, we are having a measles epidemic and are being encouraged to have our children vaccinated. There is question of whether or not to penalize those who choose not to vaccinate.

   Why is it that we cannot understand that the best prevention is to use preventive care instead of running to a doctor after we get sick? Vaccines are a type of preventive measure, but again, we choose to take the preventive measures we like, instead of the ones that are best. We would rather get a shot than to give up McDonald's hamburgers or fries. We would rather risk getting a shot that contains harmful chemicals and potential side effects than to give up drinking Coke or Pepsi. It is so much easier to buy a box of scalloped potatoes that are already prepared (but full of preservatives) than it is to buy some potatoes and make scalloped potatoes from scratch.

  The key to being healthy and staying well is to build up our immunity systems. The key to building up our immunities is to get rid of the toxins that cause inflammation and lower our resistance. Are we willing to do that? That is the question. So far, the answers I have seen, for the most part, are 'no'.

   We live in a society that embraces convenience and searches for what makes us happy. We think that shortcuts are always good and that there is little or no effects on our lives, by the things we do to our bodies. There is always a trade-off though. Taking care of our health is hard work, and we as Americans do not like to do 'Hard things'. We like the easy, quick, fun way out of difficulties. If something is hard, or takes a process to accomplish, we avoid it. If something is as simple as 'I like this so I will eat it' then we eat it. But if we have to learn about that thing we are eating, it will be too much work for us, and we just simply, in ignorance, enjoy it. Then, somewhere down the road, we suffer. Go figure.

  I can make a lot of connections for people on this topic, but I would rather just put out the information, and also statements made by the FDA and CDC, as well as real time events that have taken place (see above link). You don't need to be a genius to figure things out. I am not one who believes in a conspiracy theory either (except the one concerning the devil being behind all evil ultimately). I believe there are evil people in key positions making very unwise decisions concerning our health, and the fear of it all is that the choices they make will result in their being enacted as law, when they see those who do not agree with them rising up. We can point fingers all we want to. We can expose all the facts, but ultimately, we are the ones who placed them in office to begin with. And now, we are reaping the consequences of decisions being made today, following an era of an apathetic society when it comes to having a standard of right and wrong.

  It is up to you to make the decision of whether or not to vaccinate your children (or yourselves). I am not going to be angry with people either way. The only thing I ask is that we look at the facts (and, for the sake of space) I did not put anything here concerning the 'facts' and statements made by other authority figures. The link above will bring you to more information on that.

Flavorful Mexican Corn Recipe

Here is a recipe I came up with this morning as my son needs a Mexican side dish recipe for an event he is attending tonight. I will not make this one for my family, as we have a certain family member who finds Mexican food repulsive! You can make this recipe as clean as you want to. You can find organically grown corn, peppers, and onions, and you can use butter that is made from cows who are grass-fed and who have never been treated with growth hormones or antibiotics. But, if you do decide to cook with butter, always remember that butter burns. You can ruin a meal quickly by heating up butter on too high of a heat level. If you are cooking something with oil or butter, if it starts smoking, you have gone past the smoke point and the oil is no longer any good. (I will make this recipe for myself and for others in our household who are find with eating Mexican food.)

Flavorful Mexican Corn

12 oz. corn (If using canned, drain)

¼ cup chopped pepper (I like green or red peppers. Use hot or sweet or a mixture. Just remember, a little bit of hot pepper goes a long way! Be careful when cutting hot peppers up if you use them).

2 TBS. chopped onion

3 TBS. butter or peanut oil

¼ cup grated Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste, if desired

Place butter or oil in large skillet. If using butter, do not turn the stove temperature above medium. Turn skillet on and let butter or oil heat up. Add corn and sauté for about 5 minutes or until corn is heated through. Add chopped pepper and onion and continue to sauté. Turn skillet off when the pepper and onion are cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Place in a bowl and add cheese. Stir until cheese is mixed in. Serves 4. Source: Susan Seifert.

A note on hot peppers: People have burned their fingers while cutting up hot peppers! I took some jalapenos to a slumber party, and a woman was cutting them up. Her finger burned all night long! If you do get a burn from hot peppers, do not use water to extinguish the burn. Use vinegar instead. Water will not take the burn away. Do not touch your face or eyes until you know that all the juice from the pepper is off your hands. 

Alleviating Sore Throat Pain Using Natural Means

With the flu season upon us and all those bad germs surrounding us, what is one to do when she gets a sore throat? Here is a link that gives several natural methods to help ease a sore throat. Even with the best immunities and detox methods we use, it is still possible to get a sore throat. There are natural things to do to relieve the symptoms.

Sore-Throat-Remedies - Alternative Medicine About.com

Interestingly enough, I have been taught to do some of these things. When I was pregnant, I had a sore throat and the doctor told me to use salt water and gargle with it. My mom used to mix honey and lemon together. Sometimes, we ate it straight off the spoon, but we also had it in tea.

Here is a list of the suggestions they put on the page:
*Marshmallow - This is not the marshmallows that you put in your hot cocoa. Marshmallow is actually a plant that has excellent health properties.
* Licorice Root - Another plant (not candy) that helps with sore throats.
* Slippery Elm - Sounds kind of gross. But it is a plant that can be made into cough drops which have been reputed as helpful with sore throats.
* Sage Tea - Oh how I want to grow sage! Make it into a tea to help with sore throats.
* Honey - You can do a lot with honey. Honey also has some antibacterial properties.
* Warm Black Tea - This might be something you make every day anyway!
* A Lemon Drink made from Lemon, Cayenne, and Honey
* Gargle with warm Sea Salt Water

So there you go. Now, off to find a recipe for natural, homemade cough drops, now that I have the ingredients in the house.

Some Ingredient Resources, teas, and natural cough drops: