There are so many juicy things to talk about this week, I tried not to ramble on and on too much, but youza guys, there's a lot going on out there. The Real Food Movement is MOVING, and I'm loving it! If you're reading this then that means you must already be a Real Food weirdo like me, or well on your way to being one soon, so you're loving all this too, I'll bet. 🙂
If you have been following the British chef Jamie Oliver, then you’ll want to visit this Slow Food site and take action to help give kids the school food they deserve. Haven’t the first two shows been AWESOME? (Here's a link to the 2nd Jamie Oliver show.) Can you believe the lunch lady who was appalled that he wanted the kids to use silverware? Obviously I wish he’d talk more about healthy fats instead of jumping on the dump truck load of “disgusting saturated fat” as he called it (how sad that he doesn't know better), but besides that, WOW is this some good stuff. And like Kent says, he doesn’t cook low-fat on his shows so I doubt he’s over on the dark side. And I also just saw him on a YouTube video talking about making a pork roast from a “beautiful outdoor reared pig.” Yay! I also heard that his ratings were through the roof! I can’t wait to hear what all of you think about this. 🙂- Do you want to hear about the POWER of Real Food? I just got an AMAZING email from a reader friend, Jeannine. Read her comment at this New Year’s Day post, and see what a DIFFERENCE Real Food can make!!!
If you already read the post on Jimmy Moore's weight issues last week, you may want to check back for the comments which are really making me think. As a matter of fact, after comments from Matt Stone, I shot off an email to a trusted low-carber…I'll keep you posted.- Coming tomorrow: next up in Kitchen Stewardship’s Clean Out the Junk series (see my recent post for more info) is Amy @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free talking about gluten of course! 🙂 I’ll be linking to my post about gluten sensitivities and some gluten-free recipes. By the way, for all my local readers (around Grand Rapids, MI): my friend, Deb, is opening her gluten-free store soon. It’s called, “Saffrons – A Gluten Free Marketplace” and it’s on Plainfield, across from Lowes. Grand Opening is May 1st at noon.
- As I said in last week’s tweet: I am BEYOND excited about what's in the plans for our downtown area: a Grand Rapids year-round Urban Market!
- I’m not sure how many new readers may not have seen my post on breast cancer, but here it is if you missed it: Hormone Replacement and Breast Cancer Risks. Be sure to read the comments because there’s a lot more helpful info to be found there. Now see what you think about this recent news article on the controversy over breast cancer screening. After I wrote that post last year I got a mammogram, but it was a TOUGH decision for me. I just got a card in the mail and now they want me to have another one – yearly after you’re 40. Yeah right. Nope.
- Did you see the New York Times article on raw milk?
- This excerpt from an article about a new study on High Fructose Corn Syrup cracked me up: “Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, characterizes the study as an example of “efforts to disparage high-fructose corn syrup and perhaps drive it out of the marketplace.” Ya THINK? Of COURSE we want it out of the marketplace!!!
- Anybody want a crash course in Weston A. Price? Jenny just wrote that great post about him. I wrote one a long time ago: “Who is Weston A. Price?”
- Read Dan’s take on Health Care Reform, very well-written I’d say.
- Dan had another great post this week with a recap of the Healing Miracles conference he went to. Perhaps because three people in my family have Type II Diabetes, this quote especially caught my eye:
If you have been following the British chef Jamie Oliver, then you’ll want to visit this Slow Food site and take action to 
If you already read the post on“Julian Whitaker has been healing patients through nutrition for over 30 years now and the message he brought to the conference was that curing the prevailing type two diabetes is a simple thing; you have to do SOMETHING with the patient's weight. In most cases when a patient uses pharmaceutical solutions to treat their disease, weight gain is inevitable. People have an average weight gain of 20-40 pounds when on insulin. Considering this and the fact that DEATH is another side-effect of these drugs, it's insane to consider this. Using natural, simple answers such as fasting and proper nutrition with real food, patients can cure themselves.”
11. I'm putting this one way at the bottom because by now only my most faithful reader friends will still be here reading and I know you won't mind how far off topic this is: have you seen “The Blind Side“? I JUST finished it and it was such a beautiful story I just had to tell someone and see if you guys loved it, too. (#1 in Amazon DVD sales right now!)
Got to the bottom! My husband and I just watched The Blind Side a few nights ago. So inspiring! (Except for the fact that the real family owns about 80+ Fast Food Restaurants). But at least they used their wealth to help a fellow human being in need even if they are contributing to the suffering of millions of factory farm animals.
I know, I think I sort of let that part drift right out of my brain… (I did used to love Taco Bell, though – thank God it doesn’t even sound good now…my homemade Mexican does, though. I think I know what’s for dinner!)
Kelly
Yep, I hung out to the end, too. Thanks for the good reads!
Hi Kelly, I made it to the bottom and I’m a new reader. I know that I found your site by a link from somewhere else, but I forget where. I just want to let you know that I Love what you’re doing to educate folks and to help us all further educate ourselves. Keep it up! Know that if I’m changing my family’s diet, then the movement is spreading.
~Heidi
Hey, Kel!
I actually got up earlier today to get to stuff that I can’t normally get to in my busy Homeschooling Mom day! So, I clicked into this earlier post and read to the bottom! Yay! Actually, I read the bullets, and clicked into the articles that interested me most today, namely the idea of the downtown year round Grand Rapids market, and the raw milk article. I appreciate so much the information I find on your site because I don’t get the newspaper and I don’t watch the news on TV (or anywhere, for that matter!). I am really excited about the proposed market downtown and would frequent it! It is just another way that GR is becomming a larger, more urban city, and it is fun to be a part of its growing expansion. Also, I think the FDA guy quoted in the New York Post article on raw milk is a dim wit…..
Blessings, and again, thanks for all you do!
Sue E.
Hi Corky (WK Aiken), way up in comment #16, you’re rockin’ on the yogurts! I sure wish you lived closer, I’d buy some!! I tweeted today about the sad state of affairs in the yogurt aisle at the grocery store. 7 rows of yogurt and only 1/8th of ONE section had whole milk yogurts! Others tweeted back and said they have NO whole milk yogurts at their stores. All the more reason to do what you’re doing! If you’d ever like to do a guest post to share your recipes, I’m sure my readers would be all over that. But if you’re going to sell it, maybe you don’t want to give away your secrets – completely understandable if that’s the case. Anyway, after all that chit-chat, I have no idea about your pineapple question. Hopefully someone else will jump in to help.
Kate, loved your story about how your kids can eat Real Food (raw milk and sprouted grains) and stay healthy. Many, though, don’t see what the fake stuff is doing to them ’til it’s too late and it’s so sad that they can’t catch on sooner. It took me ’til I was 35 to get a clue though, so what do I know?
Kathy, about thermography, be sure to check out my breast cancer post as that’s discussed in the comments I believe. I don’t know much beyond what’s there.
Linda, how blessed your brother is to have you. You may be saving his life. I pray my family all come on board as much as my sister and brother have recently. I talked to them both today (THEY called ME to talk about stuff – yeehaaw!)
I love love LOVE hearing from all of you. It makes all these late late late (go to bed Kel) nights worth it.
Made it to the end. LOVED The Blind Side :o)
I made it all the way through and, as always, it was a pleasure!
I just saw parts of a J.Oliver show. I saw the part where he buried the fryer in the back yard and thought, The problem is probably trans fats, not fats!!! I did like his take that they need to spend time in the kitchen preparing food from scratch. Dorm food and cafeteria food really messed me up in college and then as a teacher.
Beth
I read the whole thing. Great post with lots of interesting stuff. 🙂
Always make it to the end and then usually re -read it and ones from the past. I have learned so much from you and your posts! Thanks!
Blindside is one of the best movies ever! Sandra really deserved a win for that one- loved her character in that. I was actually so excited to see that movie (just from the previews) that hubby & I saw it one of the first days it opened in theaters.
And, loved Food Revolution too (so glad it got good ratings too!). I know he doesn’t have everything right, but just encouraging people to eat real food & not processed (poisoned) food or “fast” food is a giant leap in the right direction for all of us! I just read in an article today that 50% of the food Americans eat is processed food. You know that’s an average… but if it is even 50% for most people, changing the way you eat 50% of your food is a huge thing. I couldn’t believe lunch lady Alice sees the ingredients in the food :p (maybe for the first time?) and she said, “It doesn’t bother me”. Ugh!
Hi Kelly,
You always have so much good info. I always go to the end so I don’t miss anything. I am learning so much from you and the others who chime in. I even got my mom to stop using nonfat milk powder for her milk (yuk) and she bought slightly pasteurized nonhomogonized whole milk to use for Passover. That’s what I buy. I would rather have raw. I think I convinced my brother to start taking fermented cod liver oil. I’m especially concerned about his health because he had triple bypass surgury several months ago and I’m sure he is sticking to the lowfat diet his doctor recommended. By the way, I gave him the Nourishing Traditions cookbook for Hanukah. I’m trying!
I have been watching Jamie Oliver too and had the same reaction when he talked about saturated fat. I signed on to that email about sending a letter to my senators about the school lunch program. Who knows if they’ll listen. I haven’t seen The Blind Side but I want to.
I look forward to more of your newsletters and everything else you put out there.
Kelly, I read the whole thing. Also wrote down the side bar of WAP about what beans to use acid and others don’t.
All my life I have been eating beans, soaked but not added acid to it.
Kelly, I love your site, and the Blind Spot was so inspiring! God may not send each of us a homeless teenager to take care of, but each of us is called to open our hearts to love in so many ways.
This is why I simply cannot agree with Dan’s post about the Health Insurance reform bill. It simply is not true that every good thing we get from government, or other sources, comes at a loss to someone else. The supply of good in the world is endless!! The miracle of the loaves and fishes comes to mind- when Jesus took the 5 loaves and fed thousands with them- not just those who had been smart enough to bring their own food.
We all pay for things we do not believe in. I pay the government to murder people in my name in foreign wars and to come up with laws that require me to support the pharmaceutical industry through immunizations. I pay for car insurance even though I am a careful driver and have never had an accident. Everything we buy puts money in the hands of people whose values we may disagree with. Paying to help sick people seems like such a minor compromise compared to these others.
While healthy eating is very important, it is not a guarantee of good health and accident-free living. I know of a four year old girl with a rare genetic disease who has already exceeded her life-time cap of insurance. My grand-daughter was born with her intestines outside her body, requiring immediate and repeated expensive surgery. My son fell off his bike last summer and needed stitches…
Does our whole system need an overhaul to promote healthy living instead of agri-business profits and drug company profits? Yes it does! Does this bill do that? No it does not. But that does not mean the insurance reform it does accomplish is not needed.
What this bill does is try to bring health insurance back to its very Christ-like roots. We all pitch in a little so that if any of us needs help, the money is there when we need it. If you refuse to buy in- and then get hit by a car- the rest of us end up paying for you anyway. This bill says that is not fair- everyone buys in. The bill says that insurance companies cannot hike rates whenever they want more profits; they cannot spend more on making themselves rich than on helping the sick; they cannot cut you off once you get sick and actually need help. I think these are good things.
The Christian plans Dan mentions are simply low-end insurance plans. They may even “count” under the new law. Lobby to include these medical plans, instead of trying to undo a good thing.
Sorry for such a long post- some things just get me going!
Nice round-up! I look forward to seeing The Blind Side. I got to hear Michael Lewis talk about the book when it first came out and I still haven’t got around to reading it. I’m stuck on Good Calories, Bad Calories. ;- )
I caught the second Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (the Comcast programming said it was a repeat of the opener, so I’m not really sure what I saw). I couldn’t believe the school official who acted like she was doing Jamie such a favor, saying that he couldn’t come back unless he stayed within budget and the kids ate the food. The most amazing parts were seeing how the kids couldn’t identify any fresh foods whatsoever — they’d probably never been exposed to them at home. Does no one but WAPFers cook anymore?? And not knowing how to use utensils at age six? Good grief. That poor family with the son that’s prediabetic; they hadn’t taken their kids to the doctor or dentist in years?! It looked like they had a pretty nice house, they weren’t destitute. How do people get so clueless?So sad. Jamie was patient and kind with them so they didn’t feel attacked (I’m not sure I could have been so diplomatic). I was so pleased that the father didn’t oppose Jamie’s help, but it seems like they weren’t really following his recipes when so much produce was left in the fridge.
The one false note for me was the scene where they dumped the kids’ school food on a big tarp and grossed everyone out. Even good food will start to look bad if you treat it like garbage. And of course the discussion of how gross and disgusting saturated fat supposedly is was way off-base. It doesn’t seem to jibe with Jamie’s attitude when cooking, so I hope he gets set straight on the need for naturally saturated fat in the diet. Otherwise, he’s doing a terrific job. We are lucky to have his help.
You guys all make my heart do happy flip-flops. 🙂
Peggy, when I read your sweet note I thought, “MY post was well-written?” I had to go back and read it again, and promptly found a couple blatant errors to fix! 🙂 I don’t have a lot of self-confidence in my writing (I’m such an amateur and it shows!), but I get the info out and that’s my main goal. Thanks for your sweet comments. And how fun about you and your hubby cooking together. Kent & I like to do that, too, especially on those rare afternoons that we’re not rushed.
Martha, I wish my teen would say such things!!!
I’ll reply to the questions as soon as I can. 4 year old is at preschool and I have to get tomorrow’s post polished before he gets home!
Kelly
I made it to the bottom! 😉
I felt like the NY Times article didn’t really show much effort to substantiate any of the claims of raw milk, but just took the word of raw milk opponents that there is no good science behind it. They pointed to Weston A. Price, but did so w/o talking about what spurred on his research / what he found.
On a related note, thanks for linking to the posts on Weston A. Price, they gave me something more tangible I can point some of my food-curious friends toward!
Ya, all the way to the last topic! I always like to read your mix-up. thanks for sharing.
Hey, thanks for the link to the article on breast cancer screening. My annual exam is coming up, and I haven’t had a mammogram in about 3 years. I’m 44 and am not sure I’m interested in doing another one soon. Very thought-provoking. Thank you!
What do you know about thermography? I’ve read a little about it as an alternative to mammography, and it seems like it’d be more thorough and precise. More expensive, too, because insurances don’t cover it. I’ll be curious to see if it makes a dent in the popularity of mammography.
Hubby and I loved “the blind side” in the theater. I have Jamie Oliver’s show set up to record. We all watched the first two Saturday night. Our three oldest were revolted by the food eaten in the school and in the families home. Our 14 year old boy said he would rather eat LIVER than all that stuff! He hates liver and loves pop, pizza and fast food.
How delightful to wake up and read this encouraging, well written, article and ample supply of links! Kelly, I most appreciate how you do not allow discouragement to color your writing. You lead with humor and confidence that one healing family at a time will grow, spreading the good news of good health through real food throughout our nation.
I sometimes am timid to share my success stories of overcoming a myriad of degenerative health problems through real food, raw milk, raw cheese, fermented cod liver oil, and preparing food the Nourishing Tradition’s WAY. I had to let actions speak louder than words when trying to get my husband on board. He witnessed the return of my health and vitality and now helps me make the bone broths. He used to claim that he didn’t know where the butter compartment was in our refrigerator. Now he has become really good at making soups. His health is improving and it has helped to keep him motivated and to help me soak, roast all of our nuts. (We are recent “empty nesters” and sharing this new food journey has been fun. Especially after almost 30 years of being the sole cook for the family.)
Thanks for keeping us uplifted. It’s easy to become overwhelmed. The time required and additional steps at first can appear daunting but your common sense, can do spirit and sense of humor have helped me get over it.
Thanks for your ongoing support. You are like a good friend believing that we can do it and then keeping the guilt to a minimum when we still have so far to go.
Bless you Kelly,
Peggy Swank
Bakersfield, Ca.
I love all of your links! I look forward to them on Mondays.
I made it to the bottom too! lol. I read the NY Times article, I think it’s fairly balanced. Too funny about making the FDA mad, though. And I’m glad they pointed out that it should be a legal right to have access even if they don’t like it, because that’s true! Freedom, indeed.
We’ve recently been able to reintroduce dairy to our household after many months without and both my “milk allergic” children tolerate raw dairy just fine. (Incidentally my toddler is also — finally — doing okay with sprouted grains, but still has a bad reaction to unsprouted ones). Of course there’s “no difference” between what I buy and supermarket products — looks the same, must be the same! Sigh.
Of course I made it to the bottom. How could I not!? I loved Blind Side. I can’t wait for my husband to see it as well!
I made it to the bottom! and yes i did watch the blind side. It was a great movie.
Read every word! I just caught up on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution this weekend and have to say I was so shocked at the current situation in US schools! Regardless of his stance on fats, I am so happy to see him doing something about it. Even if the specific schools don’t end up changing, at least he’s bringing awareness to the problem. That’s the first step.
Hellloooooooo, up there . . .
I has me a question regarding a recent home-made yogurt outcome that was less than satisfactory.
I’ve been doing my own yogurts now for some time and have it down to a fairly refined science (to the point where I’m approaching restaurateur friends regarding using Offically Okey-Dokey kitchens to make products for summertime Farmers’ Markets, but that’s a different story.)
My various berry, vanilla, honey-cinnamon and banana concoctions have been wowzers. Then came the pineapple . . . fresh, sweet pineaple that, when mixed with the rich, buttery, full-fat grass-fed yogurt, created an aftertaste somewhere between latex paint and fishing boots (at a guess.)
I have to assume the acids in the fruit are mixing badly with the fats, but I have had pineapple yogurt before and not suffered this calamity. Is it the artificial or over-sugared nature of the other products that makes them palatable and thus I am doomed, or is there an answer I have yet to discover?
Thanks to all for any input.
Perhaps the enzymes in the fresh pineapple caused your yogurt to flop. I know that fresh pineapple cannot be used in gelatin (jello), but canned pineapple can.
Soli – Also (sorry I forgot this part of your question) they all benefit from an overnight soak, even the peas, and adding a pinch of baking soda is helpful for all the other beans, especially peas.
Soli –
The beans that need an acid are white beans (navy beans), black beans, fava beans, and lentils – 1 tablespoon per cup of beans. Then garbanzo beans need 2 tablespoons of acid per cup of beans. This information is from Nourishing Traditions and an article at the Weston A. Price Foundation website, called “Putting the Polish on those Humble Beans”:
http://www.westonaprice.org/Putting-the-Polish-on-Those-Humble-Beans.html
Kelly – Great links – what a busy Monday. I’m looking forward to what transpires from the low-carb conversation. Also, fantastic news about getting your party planner done!
Ah, thank you Wardeh! It’s so nice to be able to ask questions rather than trying to thumb through the book and find all the material.
We read every word! Thanks for all the great info.
I love the Blind Side. It was a fabulous movie. Great links. I love all the legwork you do, getting us all the interesting info. about real food movement. Great post on the healthcare plan. Scary, that the gov’t is able to force us to pay for something we don’t want or need. Even scarier how it’s going to affect our economy.
Made it 😉
I loved how the principal on Jamie Oliver’s show finally decided to help Jamie when he saw how upset the parents were about the quality of the food! His attitude totally changed!
i, of course, made it to the end, but didn’t go through each link,although i can’t wait to check out the ones that were new to me, thanks for the info, truly great!!
Hey Kel,
I emailed you a link to the real food journals this morning, but it was late. Sorry!
The Blind Side book is also a great read. Some additional stories that did not make into the movie. I highly recommend picking it up!
Well, I read your recommendation, looked at the Amazon description, and bought the DVD on the spot. Sounds great! Thanks, Kelly. 🙂
made it. =) love all the links!
I always make it to the bottom!! Great posts!
Thank you for bringing up “The Blind Side”. I saw it last winter. It makes me smile just thinking about it. I join in with you in encouraging everyone to see it.
Happy Monday everyone. I have yet another real food prep question and hopefully someone with more experience can tell me. When soaking dried beans and peas, do all require something extra in the liquid to break down the phytic acid? I’m coming to the period when I like to make bean and lentil soups (with delicious homemade bone broth of course), but I don’t know what needs soaking and what does not. Among the dried legumes in my cupboard are navy beans, black eyes peas, lentils (these I know need soaking), and one which gets made more in winter: whole yellow peas.
Thanks in advance dears. 🙂
Hello, I made it to the bottom! Great links. ;o)