Category Archives: Uncategorized

Adventures In Australia

This article was contributed by my friend Cindi Hall. We've known each other since way back when, she was one of my first customers purchasing whole ground flours from me and learning how to use them in her kitchen. Over the years she's become a great local advocate for healthy eating and avoiding GMOs. I'm also grateful to say that she's been a huge supporter of the work and writing that I do. She and her family went to Australia earlier this year and she was kind enough to write this article and send these great photos. Sounds like the tucker is pretty good down there.

When my husband decided to attend a conference in Australia, it was the perfect opportunity for our family to travel with him and experience one of the most environmentally friendly places I have seen. As a woman who tries to eat healthy, cares about the environment, and still has the energy to sit through 36 hours of total travel time, it was the vacation of a lifetime.

We had arrived in Sydney early June 2013, the beginning of Aussie winter. The 70 degree temperatures were warmer than I had expected. Sydney seemed to be relatively clean for such a large city. There were recycle cans on the street with the garbage cans, not much graffiti, and a friendliness that I had not anticipated. Being used to the blank stares of New York people, the Aussies look at you and smile when walking the sidewalks of busy Sydney. This alone was such a pleasure.

As we walked in the city towards their famous Opera House and Botanical Garden, I started noticing all the runner/joggers along Circular Quay. It was a beautiful waterfront that had large areas for runners and people passing by or sightseeing as the ferries come in and out.

The Botanical Gardens, which is free for all visitors, was amazing. Among the beautiful trees and shrubs, there were many people walking and running along the paths. I noticed people sitting on the grass, relaxing and eating lunch. I observed their small coolers and brown bags, instead of the McDonald’s and Starbucks you typically see in the US when people dine in a park. I found this interesting. On the other hand, in Australia where a cheeseburger costs around $30, I think I would be brown-bagging my lunch, too.

My family and I did enjoy many meals out and paid dearly for them. However, it was worth every dime to eat such healthy meals. I realized that the menus would have small print by certain choices. Terms, such as “grass fed” and “non GMO,” were prevalent. I thought at first it was just the restaurants we chose or perhaps we were in trendy parts of town.

As we walked through the city and its shopping plazas and malls, I did take note of the food courts. There were smoothie/juice bars in all the malls. Also, they were not the kind of smoothie that is made with red liquid from a box (probably laced with chemicals). I watched as they cut up fresh fruit and placed it in a blender or juicer. As I walked through the food courts, which were much smaller than in the US, there were no fast foods being sold. There were fresh sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Yes, there was the usual Chinese food take-out, but not the usual choices of five fast food places, with their grease and carb-oriented meals.

At one mall, I even spotted a store that sold beautiful fresh fruit and veggies. It was then that I realized something pretty important regarding the Aussie philosophy about health and wellbeing. With their focus on fresh foods and exercise, the people of Sydney could actually eat all those chips (French fries to us here in the States) that are served with each restaurant meal and still not become obese.

We also had the opportunity to fly North to the Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The first place I noticed in the Sydney airport was The Juice Bar. Again, fresh fruit cut up and put through a juicer. Can you imagine seeing that in an airport, of all places?!

Once we arrived at our final destination of Port Douglas where it is warm all year, similar to Florida, I thought it might be a different story. Port Douglas has beautiful, untouched beaches and gorgeous natural areas. The hotels are not allowed to clean, cut back, or trim the plant foliage and trees in any way. They are permitted to have one narrow path from the beachfront hotel to the beach itself, but everything else needs to remain as is.

While walking the beaches, I discovered that they look very much like those on that old TV show, Gilligan’s Island. Large coconuts fall from the trees and drop to the sand. Also, palm leaves and branches rest on the sand where they have landed from previous storms. Then, I began to notice the people in the area. As it was immediately before peak tourist season, it seemed that most of the people there were locals who were running/jogging along the water’s edge. It was a joy to see people out wind surfing, too. Not eating food sold from the beach concession stand, people were out being active as a part of their normal life style. Come to think of it, I never saw any beach concession stands anywhere. That’s a statement about the Aussie point of view in itself.

While in Port Douglas, we did have our share of treats. Being a major chocolate lover, with no apologies to Mira, I had to try their candy. I tried the same brands as we have in the US: Nestles, Cadbury, and M&M’s. However, I did notice the list of ingredients. In the US, we have High Fructose Corn Syrup and many other words I can’t pronounce or will I even try to spell them. Their candy listed natural ingredients: sugar, whole milk, and cocoa beans. Also, I noticed the menus of places we ate, which featured “Grass Fed,” “organic,” and “non-GMO.” I was happy to see these labels pop up and have the choice of eating foods that were not chemically created. What I really enjoyed most was ordering salad. Their salads were so fresh, crunchy, and beautiful . The Australians seem to take care preparing each meal, as if they have special pride in their healthy masterpiece.

Although I love our country, it was such a pleasure to visit the great country of Australia and to experience the Aussie approach to healthy life styles. I have no desire to continue that day and half total travel time on a regular basis, but I would advise anyone thinking of visiting: Save every dime you can and go to Australia. I hope each person who travels there comes home with a bit of that Aussie sense of preserving nature and a focus on getting real food back in our American menus.

Halloween Treats – An Alternative Viewpoint

by Miraholidays, substitutions, Uncategorized

In just a few days it will be Halloween. It's a fun holiday, I admit. After all who doesn't like playing dress up and running around collecting treats. When the kids were little it was a month-long anticipation-fest. Deciding what to be, making costumes, participating in the neighborhood Boo Bag festivities, choosing which treats we would give out and then ::drumroll please:: the big night.

How many kids?

For whatever reason over the last couple decades we wound up living in areas where our house was part of the local Halloween central. I'm talking, literally, hundreds of kids. In a wide variety of diverse settings:

A small, rural town in Vermont where the houses on Main Street were hard hit by the hordes that came from all over town, and I mean the entire town
A high density Texas suburb where kids pretty much stuck to their own neighborhood but there sure were a lot of them — when your houses are on 7,00-10,000 square foot lots with 2-3 kids in most of the houses, well, you get the picture
A small rural Connecticut town where our street was THE place to be. Van-loads of children from our town as well as van-loads of children from surrounding towns all descending on our doors — some of the kids employed a technique called ‘double masking' where they wore one mask on the way down the street and the other mask on the way back, hitting all the houses both ways to try and get EVEN MORE candy

But it's always fun to see all of the kids and their costumes and their excitement. I love this time of year and have so much fun with it. However as the years went on and I learned more about what's really in our food I became less and less enthusiastic about what is, after all, the main purpose of Halloween for many kids. The sugar fest. I began to look for alternatives that did not add carcinogenic chemicals to their little bodies, no artificial colors, flavors, or other additives which, after all, are not real food.

Alternative treats

Over the years I spent a fair amount of money on organic, natural treats but the year we hit over 300 kids I stopped. It just got to be more than our budget would allow. So I started handing out treats of a different kind. And the funny thing is… the kids loved them. I had thought that they might prefer their candies and sweets. But really they got so much of that at other houses. Plus due to the sheer volume of trick-or-treaters, everyone was braced for the onslaught and the neighbors mostly purchased small candies. There's also only so many different kinds of snack-size or fun-size treats available, so the contents of the bag looked very similar from house-to-house. At our house, rather than getting the same thing that they got everywhere else, we were giving them something fun and new.

What sorts of things did we give out? It's amazing what you can find:

glow in the dark bracelets
glow in the dark rubber duckies (these were very popular surprisingly)
Halloween themed hacky sacks
fake creepy things – bugs, spiders, bats, and snakes
Halloween frisbees

There's also a number of strategies for swapping out the candy once the kids have collected it. Here's a great list from the Holistic Mom's Halloween Roundup.

The real food philosophy

Alternative treats and swapping out can be a great way to be able to participate in the holiday without compromising the health of the kids.

I love the dress-up part, and admiring all the costumes that come to my door. With the bigger kids I always ask them to do a trick to “earn” their treat. I've had kids tell me jokes, do hand-stands, make silly faces, it's hilarious. One time I asked a young man, “What do you say?” He looked at me rather puzzled and softly said, “Please?” To which I laughinly replied, “What about Trick-or-Treat, smelly my feet?” He laughed and I gave him a double helping.

I love the excitement and the fun of being outdoors at night. It's a special time of year. But when it comes to the sugar overload and the negative ingredients I'm no longer a fan. I want to to be as true to my real food philosophies as I can.

In the meantime, if you have any alterntive suggestions or know of a place selling great Halloween swag, let me know, there's still time to swap out the sweets or to plan for the year ahead.

Eating On The Road

by Mirahealth, Uncategorizedroad, snacks

I'm off unexpectedly off on another trip. Thanks to my friend Trudy Scott I found out about Author101 in Las Vegas and was able to work it into my schedule. I'm so excited to be going to this conference and thrilled to be learning more of what I need to know as an author to help get the word out about my book and it's important message.

One of the not so fun parts of traveling is trying to figure out what to eat when you're on the road. As someone who eats gluten free and is very mindful of additives and GMO it's not always easy to find good food on the road. Especially in an airport. There are small changes happening though. There appear to be more salad bars, some with organic greens, there are options for fresh fruit, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a veggie juice bar in Philadelphia on my last trip.

I was walking toward my gate in Philly. Next to the Dunkin Donuts and across from the Philly Cheesteak count I saw a display of veggies and a juicer! I was amazed and delighted. I stopped and spoke with the woman behind the counter, telling her how excited I was to see a veggie juice bar (instead of the all-fruit-added-sugar smoothies that seem to be everywhere). She smiled and told me I was the third person that morning to tell her that. I ordered a carrot, cucumber, celery, greens and lemon juice. She asked me if I wanted a little ginger (I hadn't seen the ginger), I said yes and off she went to juice it all up. While some of those veggies would have been best quality if they were organic (to avoid pesticide load), it's important to remember that we don't want to get over-stressed about things like that. Just the ability to have fresh juiced vegetables in an airport is a big deal as far as I'm concern. It's a great start and one which will hopefully catch on and keep growing. I happily paid for my juice and went to my gate to wait for my flight.

So here I am one week later, back at gate 16 heading out, this time to Las Vegas. When I travel I look at my trip and decide how much food I'm bringing with me. Because I'm loaded down with conference supplies this time there's not much room for while-I'm-in-town-food, but there's definitely always room for on-the-road food. Here's what I'm taking with me this time: road snacks

Seaweed snacks are great. I find them mildly addictive, salty, great flavor, and just a little crackle. When I was in here last week several people saw me eating this "green stuff" and wondered what it was. I was engaged in reading my book when first one person and then a few more asked me what I was eating. I told them and offered them a taste. Two people actually tried it and decided that they liked it! That was kind of fun.

A hard boiled egg. A great source of protein easy to eat and in it's own protective container.

Mixed nuts and seeds that I've roasted in coconut oil and seasoned with Kelly's. This is an amazing seasoning which is made from organic garlic, hawaiian sea salt, and organic nettles. It's mouthwateringly delicious and I use it on my snack mixes but also on salads, greens, roast meats, baked potatoes and more.

Carrot and celery sticks. Wrapped in a damp paper towel (to prevent them from drying out) this is a great crunchy food for on the road and helps me get at least a little more veggie into my day.

A Raw Crunch Bar. These are my new favorite snack bar. Made from raw ingredients they've got some sweetness to them but are not overwhelmingly, cloyingly sweet like many protein bars. They're still a treat food as far as I'm concerned but I wouldn't go so far as to put them in the candy-bar-masquerading-as-protein category.

Coconut water powder. I know, it's kind of funny. Coconut water, just add water. I haven't tried this yet but plan to once I'm on the plane. I find travel to be very dehydrating. But you can't bring liquids on the plane with you. And aside from plain water or tea they don't sell any liquids that I want. I'm not a gatorade fan and certainly not interested in all the juices, power drinks and more. So I'm going to give this a try and see if they electrolyte balance helps and how it tastes.

If you plan ahead it's possible, and less expensive, to eat healthy when you're on the go. I'd love to hear your travel food tips, please share them below.

Kitchen Tips

by MiraUncategorized

I recently discovered a new kitchen tip. I'm geekily excited about this new tip. Let me explain.

I live in Texas. It's insanely hot here for many months of the year. After moving here I began to understand the concept of a “summer kitchen.” An outdoor space where you can cook and not worry about heating up your house. At our house that's the barbeque grill, but I do a lot of cooking inside anyway. So I'm always looking for ways to maximize the use of my oven. If I'm going to roast a chicken there are other things going into that oven so I can squeeze as much in there taking advantage of the heat as possible, without having to turn on the oven any more than is truly necessary.

My newest kitchen trick? I just discovered that you can cook eggs in your oven. Well…yes, we all know that we can cook eggs in the oven. But it turns out you can hard cook (can't say boil if you're not boiling, now can you?) eggs in the oven. 325 degrees for 30 minutes. They come out great. And the best part? They peel like a charm. For me the peeling is often a problem as I get my eggs from a friend who raises pastured eggs. Often I get them within a day or two of laying. And in my experience, the fresher the egg the harder it is to peel. But it turns out when they are baked they peel perfectly. Every. Single. Time. I love it!

Then I started thinking about other kitchen tips and tricks and decided to share a few of my favorites here with you.

2. Baking Rice – this is a great way to make rice without having to watch the pot or be as concerned about sticking. When I make rice in the oven I have never had it stick. 1 cup of brown rice + 1 3/4 cups of boiling water or broth + a pat of butter + a pinch of salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the other ingredients, cover, and slide into the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Perfect every time.

3. Cutting Round Vegetables – cut a small slice off the “bottom” and you'll have a flat surface to help keep the vegetable from rolling. Sounds silly but it took me a long time to figure this one out. I used to cut everything in half and then cut from there. You get a nicer presentation and more even pieces if you cut off a small slice.

4. Ice coffee or tea – when making coffee or tea take your leftovers and freeze them in ice cube trays. Then when you need to cool down your drink (a necessity in the summertime if you live in Texas — or any place hot) you can cool it down without diluting it. Delicious!

4.a. This goes for wine as well. You can freeze that last little bit to use for sauces. [Unless you're making vinegar, then it goes
into the vinegar pot.

5. Back to eggs – crack eggs on the counter, not the edge of your bowl. You'll be less likely to get shell fragments in your dish if you do that.

6. Stacked Baking – when you need more room in your oven consider putting one baking sheet on the shelf. Then put a raised cookie cooling rack sideways across the baking sheet. You have just created another space for another baking sheet. I use this all the time, especially during the holidays when trying to get as much as possible into the oven.

7. Order of operations – this is so important it probably should have gone first. Write things down. If you're cooking multiple things in your oven write down how long everything takes to cook, what temperature, and then figure out when things need to go in and out of the oven. When you're cooking for a big family dinner, for a party, or doing a once-a-month cooking spree this is very helpful to maximize your oven time.

8. Crockpots outside – in the summer you can plug your crockpot in on a screened in porch. This way it doesn't heat up the house but sits there cooking away until dinner time. I do recommend that it's in a screened space though to prevent any unwanted visitors from checking out your delicious crock.

9. Saving Jars – I save jars all the time. They're great for storing spices which I buy in bulk, fabulous for filling with last little bits of leftovers (rather than in plastic), and in a pinch make a great lidded containers for protein shakes. But I don't like all of the labels on them and peeling them is messy, messy, messy. Until I discovered this trick. After you've emptied the container rinse it (but don't run it through the dishwasher yet). Fill it with boiling hot water and let it sit for about 2 minutes. For the majority of the jars I've ever dealt with this loosens the glue and the label peels right off. There is a bit of glue left on the jar but this washes off pretty easily. Then run the jar through the dishwasher and voila! Another great storage container.

10. Lemon Dust – I love to use lemon flavoring in a lot of things, for baked goods, for sauces, to sprinkle over roast chicken. I make my own very easily. When juicing a lemon (which I do almost every day – it's an alkalizing addition to water) first peel the lemon. Then cut it in half, squeeze half into your glass and save the other half for the next time. Take the peels and lay them out on a plate allowing them to air dry. When they are dry I collect them in a jar. When the jar is full I run them through my food processor turning them into dust. A pinch at a time, it's a delicious addition.

If you have a favorite tip or trick, I'd love to know about it. Please share in the comment section below.

photo: cyclonebill

Student Nutrition

by Mirahabits, substitutions, Uncategorized, unhealthynutrition

The kids have gone off to college. Some for the first time, some returning to that parent-free no nutrition guidelines environment. If you've just sent your student back to school you may be wondering what they're eating.

Unfortunately for many of them if it's not standard college fare (often run by cafeteria companies such as Aramark) it's fast food. As parents we know this isn't a great choice but now that they're off on their own it's tough to get information across to them.

Here are five fabulous tips for your college student are:

Portion Control

Dining halls make it easy to overeat. Be mindful of your portion sizes. Start small. If you're still hungry you can go back for seconds, but if you load up your plate chances are high that you will over-eat.

Don't Skip

You're in a hurry and it's tempting to skip breakfast but don't do it. Eating a balanced breakfast keeps your metabolism going and your blood sugar stable all day long.

Rethink Your Drink

Cool, they have soda at every meal, even breakfast! NOT! Those empty calories sure add up. And diet soda is high in chemicals that are not good for your health. Juice is also freely available but very high in sugar. Make sure you stay hydrated and drink more water. Consider adding lemon to flavor it a little. Get a water bottle and take it with you around campus. Or see if mom and dad will spring for one of those soda makers and make your own sparkling water right in your room.

You Are Not A Hobbit

Avoid the fourth meal. That late-nite pizza or mac-and-cheese at midnight? Not a good idea. If you're hungry have a healthy snack (such as low sugar protein bars, fresh fruit, raw nuts, fresh veggies, hot air popcorn, or yogurt) but don't eat a full meal right before bed. You won't sleep well and you'll pack on the pounds.

Get ZZZZZs

Sleep deprivation affects not only your ability to think straight, it also changes your metabolism and your hormones making it harder for you to make good food choices. Aim for seven or eight hours a night. The occasional all-nighter is going to happen, but try not to make it a habit.

and a bonus tip:

Exercise

Hitting the books means lots of sitting. This sedentary lifestyle can really contribute to weight gain. Remember to stay active. Walk to class if possible, go to the school gym (it's FREE!), or join in some sort of club that encourages physical activity. Keep moving and keep off the pounds.

Other issues which may be challenging include the fact that most, if not all, fast food is highly addictive. The more you eat it the more you want. And because it's so energy dense, meaning a lot of calories/fat/sodium/sugar, it can often lead to weight gain.

Learning how to choose nutrient dense foods, or high nutrient foods, is an important part of a healthy college lifestyle.

September Is Cholesterol Awareness Month – Part 2

by Mirafish, health, oats, tomatoes, Uncategorized, vegetables

More about cholesterol

In part one of this series of articles for Cholesterol Awareness Month, you learned some of the important facts you need to know about cholesterol and how it can affect your health. In part two you're going to learn about some healthy foods to add to your diet which can help to reduce cholesterol and support better overall health.

Good for you food choices

Let's start by remembering that if a label says the product is low-fat or fat-free this often means it's been adulterated with chemicals that are probably not good for your health. For optimal health it's important to avoid a highly processed SAD (Standard American Diet) plan and instead eat real, whole foods which are delicious as well as nutritious.

Omega 3 fatty acids

These are excellent for heart health. Unfortunately, the modern/SAD diet tends to be very high in omega 6s and does not include nearly enough omega 3s

cold water fatty fish: salmon, tuna steak, arctic char, mackerel, cod/sablefish, haddock, herring, anchovy, and sardines.
walnuts
flax seeds and chia seeds

While you do need omega 6 fatty acids in the diet, many people are getting too much of this and not as many of the omega 3's. Plus certain omega 6s should be avoided; these are typically found in:

soybean oil
corn oil
canola oil
peanuts and peanut oil
safflower oil
sunflower oil
grapeseed oil

Fiber

Adding fiber to your diet is a great idea not only for cardiac health but also for gut health. A higher fiber diet will help to form bulk for your stools and also provides prebiotics, the food that the probiotics in your gut need to live.

Whole grains such as buckwheat, quinoa, and oatmeal (old-fashioned rolled oats, oat groats, or steel-cut, NOT instant)
Legumes – beans, lentils, chickpeas

Note: if you're not used to eating fiber start slow as too much can cause intestinal distress.

Olive oil

A delicious way to cook, dress salads, or create a dipping sauce, olive oil is a heart-healthy food that you want to make sure is part of your pantry. Be sure to choose extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil as many “light” olive oils are highly processed and don't have the same benefits.

Vegetables

Sadly these days most people think that salad counts as a vegetable. But what they're really eating is nutritionally deficient iceberg lettuce with a few pieces of other vegetables, croutons, candy-coated nuts, or dried fruit, and drowned in chemically laden, high-calorie dressing.

If you're going to have some vegetables I want to encourage you to choose real vegetables packed with nutrients. Colorful, tasty, and good-for-you choices include:

avocados (high in monounsaturated fats)
brassicas – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts(high in fiber and phytonutrients)
tomatoes (lycopene is great for reducing LDL)
sweet potatoes (high in beta-carotene and fiber)

Polyphenols

Found in a number of delicious foods this category of antioxidants is highly supportive of heart health and a very delicious way to support lowering your cholesterol.

Green tea
Red wine
Grape juice
Cocoa products (such as dark chocolate or cocoa powder) – due to caffeine and/or sugars these need to be eaten in moderation

How much to eat

The following are appropriate serving sizes for the foods referenced above. Food journaling is a good way to monitor how much and when you are eating so you can build your nutritional plan to incorporate more of these foods:

Protein – 6-8 ounces of animal protein / 12-24 ounces of vegetable protein
Leafy Greens – 3-4 cups per day
Colorful veggies – 2-3 cups per day
Complex Carbs – .5-1.5 whole grains / 2-3 medium root vegetables
Fruit – .5-1.5 cups
Booster foods – 2-4 tablespoons (seaweeds, greens powders, nutritional yeast, seeds, spices, and herbs)
Liquids – 1-3 cups per day (nourishing broth, green tea)

note: 3 tablespoons = 1 teaspoon

Don't forget to check out the other articles in this series

If you enjoyed this article join The Ingredient Guru Community to get the ingredients for living a healthy life.

Manuka Honey Health Benefits

by Mirahealth, sweeteners, Uncategorized

Long used by people as a source of sweetener, honey is added to foods and beverages, but can also be used for medical purposes. As a sweetener it is primarily composed of fructose and glucose. While mild and health supporting, honey does present a health hazard to children under one year of age due to the potential for naturally occurring botulism spores. For this reason children under one year of age should not be given honey.

There are various kinds of honey available, all made from different nectar sources. These different types of honey have a number of properties which can help treat a range of health problems. A few types include avocado, clover, fireweed, buckwheat, blueberry, alfalfa, eucalyptus, but there are many more. Honey also comes in a number of different forms, crystalized, raw, on the comb, creamed, and dry among them.

Honey is produced in all over the globe; in United states alone there are over 300 different kinds. When it comes to taste, darker honey has a stronger taste while the lighter honey is milder in flavor.

When it comes to health benefits, Manuka honey is at the top of the list. It is produced mainly in New Zealand where the bees feed off of the Manuka plant (which is native to New Zealand). What sets Manuka honey apart from other varieties is it's anti-bacterial properties.

Normally used to treat minor burns and wounds, it can also be used for a wide variety of health issues. Not only does it have extraordinary antibacterial properties, it also boasts great antiviral, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties as well. There is even emerging evidence that manuka honey may fight MRSA and possibly prevent antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Below is a list of common ailments helped by the use of manuka honey?

Hair Problems: Many people believe it can prevent common hair problems like split ends, hair loss, hair thinning, dry scalp, and more. simply mix a tablespoon of the honey, a tablespoon of mayo, and an egg together and then apply it directly to your hair.

This will also help moisturize your hair in the process to help give your hair a good shine. Make sure you massage the mixture into your head and leave it there for at least 10 minutes before rinsing out.

Stomach Problems: Manuka honey is thought to help calm your stomach for certain issues such as indigestion, stomach ulcers, and acid reflux. Suggested usage is to eat 1 to 2 tablespoons of the honey thirty minutes prior to consuming a meal. The beneficial properties of the Manuka will quickly go to work to calm your stomach.

Colds and Coughs: The antibacterial properties can coat your throat and stop the coughing. Some suggest that is may also fight off bacteria. Suggested usage is 1 tablespoon of raw Manuka honey to help fight a cold when you feel it coming on.

Gum Disease: Another antibacterial use for Manuka is it's use as a mouthwash to help eliminate bacteria responsible for gum disease, bad breath, and tooth decay.

Cuts & Burns: Manuka honey is also used for treating minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. Once the wound is cleaned thoroughly apply the honey directly to it and make sure you cover the surrounding area of the cut as well.

Found in most health food stores, more grocery stores are beginning to stock it as well. To make sure you are getting 100% raw Manuka honey with all its health benefits you have to check the UMF of the brand. If you notice a brand of Manuka honey doesn't have the certified UMF trademark on it don't buy it.

John Maddox writes articles for a variety of sites. He also runs the website How To Get Rid Of Cellulite promoting natural ways to get rid of cellulite.

photo: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos

Factory Farming And Gmo

by Mirabig-ag, farming, gmo, Uncategorized

Over the years farming has changed dramatically. Shifting from smaller, generational, family farms, that were often handed down and grew a number of different crops to corporate behemoths which grow only one crop, and that is often a commodity crop. Sadly one of the losses suffered from this shift in the agricultural system is that of a connection to our food.

Most people don't know who their farmer is anymore. And there is no accountability for the overuse of chemicals, pesticides, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Corporate farming relies on these chemicals and other additives to increase their profits.

Even more disturbing is the challenges that face those farmers who want to produce organic or sustainable crops. The subsidies currently paid by the government are for commodity crops and tend to favor the large agribusiness corporations. These subsidies also make it more profitable as larger operations that focus on subsidy crops receive more funds. This makes the concept of the family farm more difficult as many small farmers appear to no longer be able to support themselves simply through farming.

It is a sad and startling thought (and I am far from the first person to say this) that organic food production used to be the ONLY form of farming. As chemical fertilizers, pesticides, larger scale operations, and mono-cropping have been developed they have become the norm. There is an unfortunate side effect of this with regard to our health and the health of future generations.

The time has come to educate ourselves about where our food really comes from. And to develop a relationship with those who produce it (to the best of our ability — admittedly this is not always possible in all areas for all types of food). Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to eat multiple meals in one day. Doesn't it make sense to feed ourselves well and support those who grow our food so that we can have the best food possible?

Farm to Fork: Our Toxic Food System infographic

Paleo Primer

by MiraUncategorized

When everyone is trying to throw the latest health craze at you, it can be really difficult to make sense of all the information out there on TV and in your favorite health magazines. Its enough to make anybody want to throw their hands up and eat a big bowl of ice cream. When you begin to look as food as fuel and medicine, though, it is much easier to adopt a healthy lifestyle that can improve your health, longevity and athletic performance.

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What’s In Season

by Mirafruit, seasons, Uncategorized, vegetables

We're about to shift seasons again. That means a whole new influx of fresh fruits and vegetables that are typically grown at this time of year. While many of us are able to afford to eat whatever we want whenever we want it, we miss out by not eating seasonally. By choosing to eat produce when it grows we are often able to get food that is more nutritious, that tastes better, and potentially is grown closer to home.

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