It’s been a lovely week so far, especially weather-wise. Temperatures have moderated somewhat today back into the mid 60’s. The previous two days saw temps in the mid 70’s both of which then produced thunderstorms. Now, there is a raging forest fire over 8,000 acres about 30 miles away and getting closer to homes. They have fire crews and water planes working the fire to get control.

Thunderstorms are a rarity in this area, so when one occurs it is something to check out. While driving into town a couple days ago, there were cars pulled over, windows down, and occupants intently watching and listening to the display. My guys stood outside to see the lightning and hear the thunder.

Just before the lightning began, my daughter was enjoying the weather while sitting on her deck. A young mother moose and her brand new offspring came into their yard from the woods. The cow had not yet finished the delivery process and the twin calves were so wobbly they couldn’t yet walk. The cow probably brought them into the yard for safety. It is really late in the year for new calves, especially with loose dogs and bears around and a young, inexperienced mother. We hope they make it.

Yesterday, my husband and I drove down to the end of the road and out onto the spit. I needed to get some jewelry down to the galleries and it was a gorgeous drive. There were a couple times that eagles were intently looking at Muppet while we were walking. I keep him on a short leash and eagles don’t usually take the chance of getting too close to people and their dogs.

Did you see the video clip today about the young moose that wandered into a hospital emergency room in Anchorage yesterday? I was surprised that he didn’t panic and run through the glass door that was closed.

Then today, also in Anchorage, a young man came home and found his home had been ransacked by a black bear that crawled through his dining room window. The bear made a mess of the kitchen, left his calling card (and thereby the identification of the culprit) and exited before the young man returned home.

Soon we’ll be eating fresh caught salmon, but for dinner tonight it was routine; rotisserie chicken, cole slaw, and baked beans. Fresh bing cherries were enjoyed as an after dinner treat.

We’ve lost about 4 minutes of daylight this week.

Till next time…

By Dr. Carolyn Dean

June 19, 2005

NewsWithViews.com

The U.S. Delegation to Codex has just issued a formal written statement

to

the Codex Alimentarius Commission that the United States, during the July

4-9,

2005, meeting in Rome, will support compulsory rules created by this

international organization directly overruling U.S. law regarding access

to vitamins.

The U.S. law that is about to be vanquished is the Dietary Supplement,

Health

and Education Act of 1994. Codex is a joint venture between the United

Nation’s World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization.

(WHO/FAO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has already stated that it will

enforce

Codex “guidelines” as the world standard for trade in dietary

supplements. This

will mean that gradually, pill-by-pill, our access to the dietary

supplements

we depend on will disappear.



For those not familiar with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education

Act

of 1994, it was passed because 2.5 million ordinary citizens wanted to

make

sure dietary supplements such as herbs, vitamins, minerals and other

food-based

supplements could stay on the over-the-counter market. Movement to create

this

law, known as DSHEA, started when a 1992 FDA task force published a

report

announcing the FDA’s desire to remove these products from the shelves as

they

represented a “disincentive for patented drug research”.

Immediately following this announcement, millions of Americans learned

about

how famed vitamin doctor, Jonathan Wright’s patient-filled medical office

was

raided the same month by nearly two-dozen gun-toting, flak-jacketed FDA

agents

in the name of regulating supplements. Battering down an unlocked office

door, these agents, backed by burly sheriff’s department deputies, lined

up staff

and patients against the wall, pulled IVs from patients arms in middle of



treatments, confiscated patient records, took the hard drive from the

office

computer all because Dr. Jonathan Wright was using nutritional

supplements to heal

very sick people who could not get help from standard allopathic medical

care.



As the story developed, it turned out that this Gestapo-style raid was

standard operating procedure for the FDA and as the general public became

aware of

just how many doctors’ offices, manufacturing companies, distributors and



health food stores had been assaulted by similar raids, the horror of all

this

forged a mighty health freedom army that resulted in unanimous passage of

DSHEA.

The idea of the law was two-fold:

1. DSHEA was to make a clear distinction between FOOD, which is

considered

generally safe and did not need to have permission from the FDA to be

allowed on

the market and DRUGS, which are generally toxic, potentially deadly and

in

need of lengthy evaluation before they were available to the public under



prescription from a doctor.



2. DSHEA provides the FDA with plenty of legal authority to remove herbs

or

dietary supplements from the market providing the agency has plenty of

REAL

evidence of REAL harm to the public. The FDA also has the authority to

limit the

amount of a supplement to low levels IF the agency has plenty of REAL

evidence

to prove higher levels ARE ACTUALLY dangerous.

The FDA and its Big Pharma backers have never liked DSHEA because these

products and the related natural healing arts services often related to

them are

putting the allopathic drug/surgical/chemical medical industry to shame.

In my book, Death by Modern Medicine, using the allopathic medical

industry’s

own official reports, I document how 784,000 people die every year in the



American medical system while following doctors’ orders in a

highly-regulated

allopathic system. The proof that dietary supplements and the

practitioners who

promote them are safe and work as expected is evidenced everywhere.

Studies

conducted all over the world have shown that supplements are actually

safer than

food and there is simply no hard evidence to show there is ANY risk

factor

worthy of discussion, much less needing universal “risk assessment”.



Yet, the U.S. Delegation, along with its Big Pharma backers are bound and



determined that Codex force “risk analysis assessments” upon the American



dietary supplement industry so they can bypass the expressed will of the

American

people.



The REAL reason for promotion of “risk assessment” is based on two

agendas.

First, to be able to strip the over-the-counter marketplace of everything

but

low quality, low dose-level products that won’t do much to support or

improve

health. Second, to set up the framework to allow Big Pharma to take over

the

supplement market as a new form of drugs where prices can be jacked up

outrageously and doled out by doctors for a fee.



UNDERSTAND THIS: If you do not ACT NOW, you and everyone you love, will

be

condemned to living under an international law that denies your basic

right to

maintain your health. WITHOUT HEALTH, YOU HAVE NO FREEDOM!

ACT NOW! http://www.friendsoffreedominternational.org/

Related Article:

Codex Alimentaris Ends US Supplements in June 2005



© 2005 - Dr. Carolyn Dean - All Rights Reserved

It's so easy to give absolutes to everything our five senses encounter on a daily basis. It's also easy to give into absolutes when learning the concepts of holistic medicine. One concept which I also addressed on the forum today is that of processed/packaged foods. True, most foods out there in this "dosage form" are less than healthful choices. However there are some good snack items available that have very real and very explicit expiration dates from companies and farms that are looking out for our best interest and not just the bottom line of their products.

Such was the case when I reached into my cupboard and pulled out a product that I did not even get to try called, "California Suncakes" vegan apple snack. Made only with oats, brown rice syrup, apples, brown rice flour, soy protein concentrate, soy flour, apple juice, dried plums, and cinnamon, I ripped open the package which expired 5/30 to find mold all over it last week (around 6/18). Yes, it's packaged, yes it's convenient, but it's preservative-free and A-friendly. A good compromise in this fast-paced overly processed world.

Such was also the case last week when I went to Madison to take care of Grubster who asked me before I got to his place if there was anything I needed from the grocery store before I took care of him for his wisdom tooth removal on Friday. I told him to just get me some fresh fruits. Indeed, when I opened his fridge he delighted me with box of blueberries and a box Driscoll's organic strawberries! This was last Thursday evening. Friday, Saturday, Sunday rolled by and I was still nibbling on berries from time to time but had not yet finished them. When I took the berries to work on Monday, I left the remainder of the strawberries in the car because they were beginning to look fuzzy. By the time I came back out to the car at the end of the day, they were covered in fuzz! While I unfortunately wasted some perfectly good berries by not eating them sooner, it was so peaceful to see mold build up so quickly! I was happy to know I have been eating whole foods!

Cheers to actually eating these foods in a timely manner when purchased next grocery trip and not letting the spores get to them first, heehee! (Part of this is purchasing less foods at each trip and not stockpiling more than I can eat unless I'm accurately predicting a third world war, haha.)

As I have written in the past, I firmly believe in eating as seasonally as possible. Many times, foods are available year round only because of greenhouses, imports, and of course modern methods of storage/food preservation...even concerning what should be fresh food. This can make it hard for people to know just what is in season and what is not.

So, just what are some AB friendly summer foods? Eggplant, squashes (like zucchini, patty pan, sunburst, and yellow squash), cucumbers, garlic, shallots (sorta like a cross between an onion and garlic in flavor), ginger, red leaf lettuce, green beans, Yukon gold potatoes (be wary of these if weight loss is a goal, in my experience they can slow it down, and that is true of any potato), melons (honeydew, muskmelon (called cantaloupe in the USA) and, watermelon), cherries (one of my personal favorites), peaches, figs (another personal favorite), plums, berries (black, blue, raspberry, etc.), and my long awaited basil! There’s also thyme (yum), sage, rosemary, chives, oregano, parsley, dill, cilantro, and mint to name just a few off the top of my head. Tomatoes will be coming in soon, too!

Why was I waiting impatiently for basil to return? I don’t like to pay the prices for the fresh basil that the groceries charge. What do I do with it? Three favorites are adding it to spinach salads, make pesto (I use manchego for the Parmesan), and Caprese and Panzanella salads. Another one is Pizza Margherita. Have you ever had a turkey bacon, basil, lettuce & tomato sandwich?

It’s time to get out my tart pan. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a tomato tart and I miss ‘em. A nut crust filled with fresh fruits makes a very nice dessert tart. I am particularly partial to flavoring the cream cheese based filing with some canned crushed pineapple and then topping it with pieces of strawberry, kiwi, and blueberries.

To keep the fruit on the tart looking glossy and fresh, brush it gently with a little bit of melted 100% fruit apricot preserves. Want chocolate? How about a dark chocolate & raspberry (or blueberry) tart? How about fruit pies?

How about something to add a little extra to your table (but you don't necessarily want to eat it)? There’re nasturtiums, pansies, and roses. Lavender is available now, too, if you have any musty places that could use some scent.

Vanilla beans have come down in price in my Penzeys Spices catalogue. They’re nice to bury in a container of sugar. Later, when the weather turns cool again, use both the vanilla flavored sugar and the bean itself in your baking.

Speaking of vanilla, I want to add a reminder to check your labels - even those brands you have become familiar with as blood type friendly. The ingredients used can and does change from time to time.

For example, the brand of vanilla extract that I bought recently has corn syrup in it. A tomato sauce brand that I purchased as a matter of routine now has green bell peppers in it. That’s fine for my O husband, but not me.

One last thing before I end this blog. Since my last entry, I have started dry body brushing before I take my shower. I would like to recommend it. It feels very good. So good in fact that I went out and also got a man's shaving brush to use dry on my face in addition to the big brush that I use on the rest of me. I now understand, at least in part, why pets like to be brushed all over regardless of whether they are dogs, cats, or horses.

We are now at the apex of our summer daylight hours. There was only a 4 second increase today over yesterday. We’ll be within a few seconds of this daylight length for a couple days and then daylight will begin decreasing rapidly until December. I guess the shape of the earth has something to do with the rates of increase and decrease. Those changes vary from just a few seconds to six or seven minutes in a day’s time. Sunrise today was at 4:34 am and sunset will be at 11:39 pm. Tomorrow will be the same length except for the number of seconds. We will have 19 hours, 5 minutes and 8 seconds of daylight today! I sure do love it!!!

A couple grizzlies were in the neighborhood by the bike trail a few days ago. Passersby noticed the grizzlies, stopped and boarded a family and another walker on the trail before they wandered into the grizzlies paths. They are still looking for easy meals and young animals. They may have just been chased off by their momma to be on their own and were checking out new territories.

The sun is warm today and there’s not a cloud in the sky. There is just a slight breeze and the temperature is 67 degrees. That’s much nicer than we had for that arts and music festival on Saturday. Early in the day we had cool temperatures and heavy rain, then more of a shower. As the rain left, the mosquitoes invaded. Then a breeze began that chased the mosquitoes away. By late afternoon it had become partly sunny and evening was clear skies and a light breeze. At 9 pm I was beginning to worry about getting a sunburn, but the sun went behind some trees by10 pm so I didn’t stay exposed for too long. The weather kept most people away for most of the day.

We’ll have a nice dinner tonight. I saw that my husband has some salmon fillets thawed. He’ll most likely bake them. I’ll steam some broccoli and carrots to serve with brown rice.

Till next time…

OK, as I made what appears to be my last lone road trip to Madison until Grubster comes to Minneapolis, I was listening to the CD set from the IfHI 2005 conference. An important point made by Dr. D was that we should focus less on avoiding the avoids, but more on adding in the beneficials. This morning I took this advice to heart and finally busted open the Whitewave Sea Veggie Tempeh that has been sitting in my fridge for the past month.

Wow! I really like tempeh! In fact, I could almost say that I'm in love! And you know? It has such a nice texture and taste that I would almost be tempted to say that it is a perfect A substitute for potatoes! One word of advice is to follow the package directions which suggest frying it in a little butter (I used ghee) or oil (I added a little sesame). Also add a clove of garlic and coriander (which I unfortunately do not have as a sole spice right now). Then add soy sauce. Fantabulous, I say! Fantabulous! This is such a nice morning substitute for eggs for those of us trying to mix it up a little bit and get a few less animal products in our diet.

Back in college, I tried preparing some tempeh on a kabob with my college boyfriend. I must have done something terribly wrong because it just did not come out right, and since then I've found the experience difficult to re-try tempeh. I am pleased to say that my aversion is permanently disabled!

Another great place I've had the pleasure of visiting recently is Intelligent Nutrients (www.intelligentnutrients.com). At an insightful presentation made by Horst Rechelbacher, I was able to meet Horst himself as well as other members of his corporate staff. He inspires me tremendously because he sees corporations' role in the health of people and the planet as the solution, not the problem. Clearly, his teams are headed the right direction at Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients. So many beautiful and healing products are available at the IN. The essential oils are to die for! (As I'm sure many people have in ancient times but we won't go into that direction this blog.) The IN sells many sustainable wood products (incense made with sandalwood, etc.). Beautiful tea and coffee products.

Well, I've been to many other places recently to eat, but I've been really focusing on buying my first home right now. Bear with me if you don't see many blogs or if I appear to not be responding to questions....

And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you asked me a health question, PLEASE do not leave it in the comments section of this blog page. Read the above header intro blog if you have not already. Go to the forum if you have a question. I have an account on the forum. Please leave only COMMENTS in the comment section. If you wish to contact me directly, you may email me at eklus@creighton.edu as another option. But because of the way my computer is set up currently, HELP ME HELP YOU! and go directly to the forum to ask myself and others questions.

Thank you again for reading and enjoy the summer solstice and full moon in capricorn today!

My friends... This is somber news indeed... I URGE you to act on this. Tell EVERYONE you know to act on this. Tell everyone you DON'T know to act on this...

I have a new blog with some good recipies below this... A recipe you will not be able to make after/if CODEX passes. In fact... The good Dr. D will be out of a job... The Blood Type Diet will be illegal....

COMPLACENCY IS NOT AN OPTION! OUR RIGHTS ARE BEING VOTED AWAY DAILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE ACT NOW!



"CODEX by its rightful name is called a tool for tyranny."



Scream Now or Forever Kiss Off Your Access to Nutritional Supplements, organic food, and FREEDOM!

From Rima E. Laibow, MD

From: http://educate-yourself.org/cn/codexnearlylaw09jun05.shtml

June 9, 2005

On Mon 06/06, Dr. Johnson < drjohnson@ix.netcom.com > wrote:

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS

LETTER FROM RIMA E. LAIBOW, MD

Condensed Version

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS (Latin for "Food Rules")

March 23, 2005

Let me ask you if you know anyone who has actually read all 15,000+ pages of the working documents of the Codex Alimentarius Commission? Well, I have. As such, allow me to attempt to put an end to any confusion you may have about Codex Alimentarius by sharing what I have learned and what I believe to be a reasonable and appropriate level of concern.



Following is a summary of what Dr. Laibow found in reading all 15,000+ pages.

The World Trade Association (WTO) is very close to taking away our right to buy, sell or use almost all nutritional supplements. In addition, the ability of physicians to legally practice environmental or natural medicine and the rights of patients to chose these treatments are about to be criminalized here in the United States.

Currently in the U.S. nutrients are classified as foods [under the 1994 Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act (DSHEA)] and any substance not explicitly forbidden is permitted as a nutrient. Under CODEX, any substance not explicitly permitted by CODEX policy is banned as a nutrient. The CODEX preamble specifies that supplements and nutrients "may not be used to prevent, treat or cure any disorder."

Natural health options will become illegal if either of the following occurs:

1) the United States is "harmonized" with the WTO this spring while compliance with CODEX is still "voluntary"



2) total compliance becomes mandatory, as it will be after the next CODEX Commission meeting in Rome July 4-9, 2005.

Once CODEX is implemented, either through "harmonization" or mandatory compliance, we will be forced to follow the European CODEX model in which it will be illegal to manufacture, buy, sell, recommend, or use any but 28 ultra-low dose nutrients whether you are a consumer or a licensed health professional. Only synthetic versions of that short list will be allowed and natural supplements, herbs, enzymes and other non-pharmaceutical treatments will be banned. The only legal health option left will be the pharmaceutical one.

CODEX regulations have been "harmonized" (i.e., approved) in the EU, Canada and Australia. The United States is next unless we act decisively and act now.



On August 1, 2005, 75 percent of the natural substances currently available in health food stores and pharmacies in Europe will become illegal as a direct result of CODEX.

Once implemented, CODEX ALIMENTARIUS does the following:

VITAMINS, MINERAL, NUTRIENTS AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES

The European Supplements Directive is the model administrative agency for CODEX and permits a total of 28 ultra-low dose nutrients. All other nutrients-for example, alpha lipoic acid, CoQ10, fish oil, and curcumin-are banned. Vitamin C, for example, at any dosage higher than 200 mg per day will be illegal. CoQ10 will be totally forbidden at any dose.

Only synthetic forms of permitted nutrients will be available. All natural versions will be illegal substances. Only synthetic nutrients (at ultra-low dosages) manufactured by pharmaceutical companies will meet the molecular standards for use in humans or animals.

HERBS AND HERBAL TREATMENTS

The European Supplements Directive has produced a very short list of herbs which may be used and the conditions for which they may be used (another short and very trivial list).

All other applications of herbs and any other herbs besides those listed are strictly forbidden.

TRADITIONAL HEALING ARTS

CODEX stipulates which conditions may be treated using herbs and allows only minor, self-limited conditions. Treating any other conditions with herbal remedies will constitute a crime.

Ayurvedic, Tibetan, tribal and other traditional medicines which use herbs and natural substances will be forbidden world-wide.

Herbal, shamanic, energy based (e.g., Reiki and acupuncture) medicine are forbidden forms of treatment

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMOs)

CODEX makes the un-labeled use of GMOs legal in all foods under all circumstances.

Farmers in Iraq, for example, must purchase their seeds from Monsanto and are forbidden from retaining seed crops under the new Iraqi constitution. Similar laws exist in other places.

TOXIC RESIDUES

CODEX sets permissible upper limits for pesticide residues, toxic chemicals, hormones in food and other environmental contaminants that are many times higher than levels advocated by chemical and pesticide industry lobbying groups.

ANTIBIOTICS, GROWTH STIMULANTS AND OTHER HORMONES IN FOOD ANIMALS



CODEX mandates that all animal feed must be treated with antibiotics, hormones and growth stimulants world wide.

Organic, free range and biodynamic farming will become illegal.

IRRADIATION OF FOOD:

CODEX mandates irradiation of food under circumstances now hotly contested by food safety advocates.

The standards which comprise CODEX are virtually complete: final ratification of the entire package is expected at the Codex Alimentarius Committee meeting in Rome July 4-9, 2005.

What we ALL need to do immediately:

Send blank email for info and three faxable letters: codex@getresponse.com Three sample letters can be copied or downloaded in Word format:

http://www.HealthFreedomUSA.org/letters.htm

2) Sign the letters

3) FAX the three letters to your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative

(do not use regular mail or email)

Fax numbers of Senators and Representatives, listed by state:

http://www.failureisimpossible.com/contactcongress/

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/



We need to have a minimum of 1 million faxes to Congress in the next 4 weeks.



Optional

Become a supporter of the Natural Solutions Foundation, a not for profit organization to preserve, protect and defend health freedom in the United States - http://www.HealthFreedomUSA.org



The Natural Solutions Foundation has commissioned a major documentary to tell the story of CODEX to the American public. Become a supporter of this effort.

http://www.HealthFreedomUSA.org also provides a good discussion of the domestic legislative assault on health freedoms.

Another resource for financial freedom: www.freedomclubusa.com.<br />


FAX Codex Letters

Find congressmen & fax numbers here:

http://www.failureisimpossible.com/contactcongress/

- then -

1) Open attached Word letters. 2) Add Congressman and Fax

3) Add you Name and Address



Fax your 3 letters to all your congressmen. No fax? http://www-usa.tpc.int/sendfax.html

- then -

Email these links to everyone you know and be sure they follow thru.

Email: codex@getresponse.com (have them send blank email)

Web: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org

Web: http://www.freedomclubusa.com

Freedom Club USA

5295 Hwy 78, Suite D147

Stone Mountain GA 30087

United States

---

See also:

Why Say "No" to CODEX?

http://www.HealthFreedomUSA.org/no/

CODEX 101

http://www.HealthFreedomUSA.org/codex101/

Today I received the last of the prolotherapy injection series. I was really apprehensive as last week’s injections were almost painful and I’m a big wimp. Today’s injections were more ‘normal’ and really didn’t bother me. Hopefully this will be the end, but most people need ‘maintenance’ injections to keep everything in good working order. My ND said some come in monthly and some every six months or so. I’m to determine my pain level in two days and based on a scale of 1-10 I’m to come in when the pain increases two points. Waiting too long could require redoing the entire series. It is working!!!

I’m sporting a misshapen face today. A tooth has abscessed and needs some attention. Guess I’ll give the dentist a call tomorrow. I have a horrid gagging reflex that begins whenever any foreign object (especially dental related) gets near the rear sides of my wide-open mouth. I can get a roomful of people to turn pale. This oughtta be a fun week. Yuck!

We’ve been experiencing some beautiful days and fantastic sunsets. A couple nights ago as I was heading to bed shortly after midnight, I glanced outside and the clouds just above the horizon were ablaze with color. It was spectacular! It is 10:38 now and the sun is shining through my front (north) windows and into my eyes. My birds are singing and enjoying being covered by sunlight! Tonight’s sunset will be at 11:36 and sunrise tomorrow will be at 4:35 am. Today’s daylight will be 19 hours 1 minute 54 seconds! Next week daylight will begin to diminish.

Last night I went into town shortly after 10:30 pm and was delayed by the construction crews working on our new bridge and soon-to-be upgraded road. Constructions crews work all night during the summer taking off just a couple hours when it gets almost dark. They get a lot done when the traffic and other busyness subsides.

The summer solstice activities are scheduled for this weekend even though it isn’t until the 21st. I’ll be having a booth at an arts and music festival on Saturday. It’s an outdoor event and we’re not to take down our booths until 11 pm. That’s going to be a long day. Fairbanks will have their midnight sun baseball games and other activities this weekend.

Our tulips are beginning to loose their petals, the lilac bush is showing buds, and the wild roses are beginning to bloom profusely. Other wildflowers are also beginning to bloom. I just went to get my nighttime tea and looked outside. Our true blue poppies are almost ready to open. I wish I knew enough about digital photography and computers to take a photo and enable you to see them. They were developed about 60 miles north of Anchorage and are large, bright blue, and oftentimes there are more than one to a plant!

Momma moose and their ‘temporarily red’ newborn babies can be seen once in a while. A momma ran across the highway in front of me a few days ago. I stopped for her and waited before proceeding as I expected wobbly babies to follow. Only after I began moving did I see them still in the woods. Momma either came back to them or called for them to cross the highway. Fortunately, most people are on the lookout for these animals and give them plenty of opportunity to cross the road. Moose and caribou are notorious for just darting into the road totally unaware of cars and associated dangers.

Food… Yes, that is why we’re here, isn’t it? Tonight’s dinner was prepared by my husband. He baked halibut steaks from a halibut he caught last fall, and prepared a good mixture of vegetables. Good eating and enjoyed by all.

Salmon season will open tomorrow for kings, but my husband usually waits to fish for the reds. Reds have lots more flavor than the others. I really enjoyed the big king he brought home last summer. The taste was very mellow. Till next time…

Music: The Smashing Pumpkins ~ Mellancholly and the Infinite Sadness

Mood: Nag Champa



Good day fellow stewards of the planet... Wanted to drop in and share a couple of delicious vegan recipies with ya'll... I found these here and there... Modified them them to be vegan and blood type "A" friendly all at the same time! They're also gluten free, provided you use the appropriate ingredients. Try 'em out, yo.. They're easy and fantastic... Here goes:

Spicy Kale-Almond Pesto and White Bean Pasta

1 bunch kale

4 oz. rice penne pasta (dry)

1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted

1 1/2 Tablespoons garlic (about 5 large cloves)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Juice of two lemons, divided

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 19 oz canwhite/cannellini/great northern beans (whatever's clever, eh?), rinsed and drained

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Cut lower stems from kale. Steam kale over 2 quarts (64oz) water for 5-7 minutes 'till tender. Transfer to a collander to drain. Do not discard water. Add pasta to water on stove and return to a boil, stirring. When pasta is al dente (sticks to the wall when tossed at it!), drain.

2. Meanwhile place almonds in a food processor (or good blender) and process untill well chopped Add garlic, nutritional yeast, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and juice of one lemon. Carefully squeeze water from steamed kale and remove stems. Discard stems. Pat dry leaves with paper towel and chop roughly. Pat dry again, and add to food processor. Process untill all ingredients are finely minced. While processing/mixing, add 2 Tablespoons olive oil untill a nice thick pesto is formed.

3. In a medium bowl, toss beans with juice of other lemon and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt.

4. In a large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. Add paprika and fry for about 1 minute. Add kale - almond pesto and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. If pesto seems too thick, thin 'er out with a 'lil bit 'o' water. Add pasta and beans, and toss gently untill thouroghly heated. Serve immediatley.

Sounds good, eh!? The original recipei called for parmasean instead of the nutritional yeast, and red pepper flake instead of the paprika. It also calls for a sprinkle of frsh ground black pepper before serving... he he he. Modified it to msake it suitable for you beautiful people.

Here's hoping your ingredients are organic and clean. Here's hoping you bought them at an independant health food store or a co-op. Here's hoping you're using wooden utensils instead of plastic and metal. Here's hoping your pots and pans are stainless steel, glass or ceramic. Here's hoping you're not using aluminum, adonized surfaces, or Teflon. Here's hoping your mixing bowls are also glass, stainless steel, or ceramic. Here's hoping if you are using plastics, the recycle codes are 1, 2, 3, or 7 HDPE. And finally... Here's wishing you a beautful day, and all the abundance this world has to offer... Bless you. Peace out.

This has been a most interesting week! Sunday evening on the late news was a report of a three mast, 300 foot schooner belonging to the Mexican Navy being docked in Seward for the next few days. They also said it would be available for boarding for visitors. Well, Monday morning I told my husband about it and asked if he’d like to drive over to Seward and check it out.

So, shortly after noon we began our drive of slightly over 100 miles to Seward. We brought Muppet along for the ride, too. We made a few short “doggie” pit stops for him and I made a surprising discovery. I was able to climb both up and down the embankments he chose for a look-see! Prolotherapy at work!

We say a young bull moose in velvet, wild roses in bloom, and eagles cavorting. There was still some leftover snow from avalanches, but the vegetation was very lush and green everywhere else. As lush and green as it is here, it is even more so as one gets nearer to Seward. They get a lot more rain than we do.

Entering Seward we could see the vessel docked in the harbor. It is very beautiful. I can’t spell or pronounce the name, but it was commissioned in Sept. 1982 and tours around the world. Everyone was extremely pleasant and we were shown much. I’d really recommend climbing aboard if you ever have the opportunity.

We were told that a flotilla met and escorted the vessel. The sails were all up on the masts and they fired the cannons as they entered into the harbor. That must have been a magnificent sight.

Now, almost as magnificent was the fact that I was able to climb both up and down the steep stairs in the ship, AND even climb up and over a tall entryway into a cabin! I wouldn’t have even dreamed about doing such a thing just a month ago! On the last flight of steps going up, I did need to pull myself along a bit, but I wasn’t in pain and there wasn’t a jerkiness in my knee joints! WOW!!!

After we left the vessel and took Muppet for another pit stop, we went to a Greek Restaurant we’ve visited on other trips. We each had rather BTD compliant dinners that were very delicious.

On the way out of town we stopped by a friend’s house. He gave me some rockfish ivory to use in my jewelry making. The ivory comes from the ears of the fish. I already had some halibut ivory (ears), so now I’ll make up a few pair of earrings to show them off.

On Wednesday's prolotherapy session I received my fifth injections in each knee. I have just one more to go next week. They were quite uncomfortable. My ND said the last two are more uncomfortable than the earlier ones. I’m guessing it is because the cartilage is busy re-growing and taking up the space that was available when we first started. Anyway, just one more shot in each knee and I’ll be able to do more than I have in the past 40 years!

Yesterday was our 26th wedding anniversary!

First off, I would like to offer, once again, my apologies for being derelict in my blogger duty. And, as usual, the reason is that life happens. I hope that I will be able to do a better job of blogging this month than last. That said, on with my blog.

To begin, I would like to talk about differences. Regardless of whether you are an AB secretor or a nonnie chances are good that we share some likes and dislikes, but we are each individuals rather than cookie cutter duplicates of each other.

For instance, one of the AB’s I am aware of is allergic to eggs, whereas, I’m part weasel when it comes to scarfing down eggs. We AB’s are supposed to do very well with soy products. While I love tempeh and several other soy items that I have tried, I ALWAYS either end up with a migraine or literally get physically sick off them.

The only two exceptions to this, to date, have been Mori-Nu brand tofu bricks, fresh and/or frozen edamame (a type of large sized soybean), and the soy that gets added from time to time to things like canned fish. Even that soy broth will bother me if I have it too frequently.

Why? I have no clue. I do, however, know that I do better when I do eat the tofu and the fresh/frozen soy, which brings me to the second half of this blog. I have found a source of dry roasted soybeans.

They taste, to me, just as good as nuts. This is especially good because I have not been making very good food choices as of late...to the tune of I have, again, started to gain the weight back that I had previously shed.

I have not completely fallen off the wagon. The avoids are avoided, for the most part, but the wheat and white potatoes crept back and the portion control was, well, less than ideal.

Today, I received my T-Tapp program in the mail. No, T-Tapp is not part of the BTD, but I am mentioning it because I found out about it from a fellow BTD blogger (Rachel) and I am using this weekend to get familiar with the program. I am going to use it with a new commitment to following the BTD portions (with an emphasis on beneficials) and getting regular exercise.

So what’s that to do with dry roasted soybeans? I love nuts, but we’re only supposed to have about a handful a day of ‘em. Therefore, now, I can have “extra” nuts in the form of the soybeans. They’re about the size of a peanut, crunchy, and very portable. I won’t be using them in trail mixes like nuts, but they are tasty when sitting at my desk at work. Since they are dry roasted, they won’t use up any of my oil allotment for the day.

If you would like to try them yourself, the ones I found at the store can be found online at www.justtomatoes.com. They are available for mail order if you can’t find them at your grocery.

Just one more thing before I close this blog: summer fruits ‘n’ veggies are just around the corner! Yummmmm...and that’s another blog.

Happy weekend everyone!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Well, I am back. Thank the Universe for that one.

I haven’t blogged in a long time because, basically, I lost 2 months of my life while on the anti-depressants (I’ll call them ADs from here on in as I hate typing the whole word).

2 months.

It’s been an interesting experience, and I am very grateful for it.

What happened was this. As you can read in my last blog, I came to a point in my life where I started to feel myself going down emotionally. I was also feeling some pressure from my husband and my mother to try going onto ADs again. I can’t put the blame on them. The truth is that the situation of my life was wearing me down. I was losing my positive thinking to the habits and patterns of the past. I, temporarily, forgot my path. I was looking for a quick fix.

Immediately after I started taking the ADs, I started to feel the benefits of them. The obsessive thinking patterns became less and less and I was feeling calmer. I had a few side effects, but they were very few. I felt that I had made a good choice in starting the drugs again.

Keep in mind something that I had forgotten to take into account before going on the ADs – I had started The Pill back up a few months earlier. I had been on The Pill for so many years of my life (of the 42 years on this planet, I had been on The Pill, in one form or another, for close to 25 years) that I didn’t take into consideration any effects that The Pill might have on my emotions. I had started The Pill again because I feel that I am edging into perimenopause, and my periods were really getting difficult (very heavy, etc.). I decided to try Seasonale, and I really LOVED the fact that I was having just a little bit of break-through bleeding once in 3 months. It seemed like the best thing to come along in a long while.

I didn’t take into consideration that being on Seasonale, in and of itself, could be exacerbating my emotional state. I forgot that - many, many moons ago, when I first went on The Pill at age 16 - it affected my emotions. In fact, I am now thinking that The Pill might have been part of all of the emotional mêlées in my life. Anyway, it didn’t click that I had been going along pretty well, in spite of everything going on, but all of the sudden I was feeling emotionally overburdened.

Anyway, after about 2 weeks or so on the ADs I started to have some serious side effects, the biggest of which was continual and life-destroying lethargy. I found these symptoms very similar to when I was a Vegan: I was tired all of the time – tired to the point of not being able to function. All I wanted to do was to sleep and when I DID sleep, it was not refreshing at all. My ability to control my food was out the window. I have been dealing with very bad food cravings for the past 2 months, and almost nothing I did was getting them under control, AND, frankly, I didn’t care. I wasn’t able to workout – the lethargy and the bone-deep exhaustion prohibited that. Of course, this is a lethal combo for Type O’s and I am very thankful that I have not put on a lot of weight. I can easily put on 15 or 20 pounds a month if I go all out and don’t exercise, and I don’t believe that I have gained weight at all, although I am a lot softer than I was 2 months ago.

About 1 month into this, I thought that, perhaps, it was the BRAND of AD that was causing this. After all, I had told the Dr. the wrong pill when he asked what I had been taking before, so maybe that was it. I switched myself from Effexor to Lexapro. I had been on a combo of Celexa (Lexapro precursor) and Welbutrin for years and that was what seemed to work for me. Again, initially, I felt better. However, after a week or two, I was right back in the same place. On top of which, my sex drive was gone. In fact, most of my drive of any kind was gone.

I finally realized, about 3 weeks ago that I just could not continue with this – that I, physically, could not continue living like this. However, there was more:

I am NOT religious. I was raised Unitarian by a Jewish mother who converted to Unitarianism before I was born. I have been baptized; I have read the Bible from cover to cover. I have converted to Catholicism, and truly given Christianity as much of myself and I could. I read many books by Huston Smith – one of the truly great theologians of our time – about the world religions, examining all of the most pertinent to see if any of them called me. As much as I really found Hinduism the most interesting, with its many paths to god, none of it worked for me. There were nagging questions that were never resolved by any religions. Then, buy an odd set of circumstances, Conversations With God, by Neale Walsh came into my hands and that series of books changed my life. I will not go into details here, but I finally found something that truly made sense to me, just as the BTD does. Though I don’t believe that that series has all of the answers, it certainly makes my path clearer. One of the things that I truly believe is that we create each and every experience in our lives and that those experiences are completely independent of the outcome. Now, that might not make sense to you, but it does to me.

What this means is that all experiences are valid, needed and worthy. I realize that, buy going on The Pill, I was depriving my body of the full experience of WHERE IT IS. By manipulating my body, I was stopping a natural process that is neither good nor bad, but just “IS”. Additionally, by taking the ADs, I was not allowing my mind and my soul, to accept that each moment of life is perfection. I wasn’t allowing myself to make the CHOICE to let go of my fear and to embrace all circumstances, no matter what arrives.

You see, that is my true belief. That is what the Conversations With God series has helped me to figure out: that we have absolute and true choice. That I am not constrained by any outcome and that all outcomes are blessing because of their experience.

I often thought about the apostle, Paul, who was blinded on the way to Damascus and later healed by Christ. He spent much of his life after Christ’s death in prison, and yet his writing is that of pure joy. I thought about the mindset of a person who could live imprisoned, yet joyful and happy. I know that Paul found his joy in Christ and that Christ was his motivation and salvation.

Though Christ is not that for me, I find that I understand that pure and absolute value of embracing whatever comes, is the road to peace. Not judging the outcome, not placing a “want” on what is to happen, allows one to find perfection in each and every outcome and each and every moment. I realize that, but choosing to take the ADs and The Pill, I was denying myself the very journey that I had created for myself.

I truly don’t want to miss a moment of that journey.

I am working this week to clean up, not only my house, but also my food. I have been a mess with my eating recently, although I still managed to keep myself 70-80% compliant. I am going to take it slowly. I am going to just work on making better choices and lowering the amount of starch in my diet a little at a time.

I am also starting my t-tapping again today. I miss it, and I miss how I feel when I am finished.

I leave you with a wonderful writing that has always helped me, no matter how I am feeling:

_

(Clipped from the Unitarian Universalist Newsletter, San

Antonio, TX)

GUEST MINISTER COLUMN by Rev. Elizabeth Anne Smith

From the Spanish poet Antonio Machado come these lines:

I dreamt last night

oh marvelous error,

that there were

honeybees in my heart,

making honey out of my

old failures.



I haven’t been the same since I read those words. I copied

them down and put them on the wall next to my mirror, so

that I see them every morning. They speak to me of hope and

change, of forgiveness and new beginnings. They say to me:

"Our lives are filled with failures, but if we allow time

and grace to work in us, then transformations of unspeakable

sweetness can occur." They say to me that it is never too

late to learn and grow from places that we'd given up on.

___

Rachel

Oh, how I miss having cousin Bridget live right across the street from me!! Back in December, she and Joe moved to North Carolina and I had not seen her since! Well, tonight she flew into town for business so she picked me up downtown and we had a lovely dinner uptown at the French Meadow together tonight!

They had the most fabulous rainbow trout w/beans and spinach and Bridget had the Nicoise salad. We both drank our red wine and dipped the fabulous bread in the fresh olive oil.

Since I had an entree, I was entitled a free dessert and decided to go for the vegan apple crisp. It was so perfectly fresh with mint as part of the fruit "salsa" on top of the crisp.

It was fun to catch up with her and tell her all the crazy dramas in my life. As author Neal Karlen and I would agree, there is so much more to the "back story." (Hi Neal! Don't worry, it's all good!)

Well, off to bed now I guess. Life: decisions, decisions. Ugh. Not so much into that decision-making process. Some people would consider getting a job or paying taxes or having a kid the trademark of entering adulthood. For me, it's making decisions. Decisions, decisions.

Decisions....

I walked up a flight and a half of stairs today, smoothly and pain-free for the first time in over 40 years! I was actually able do this after 4 prolotherapy shots! I’ve still to receive two more shots in each knee, but it sure seems to be working! My knees did hurt after the climb, but as the injected ingredients are supposed to irritate the cartilage for it to be able to re-grow, I guess that is still okay. Most of the time there is just a dull ache. My ND says that is the way it should be.

Shortly after midnight a few nights ago as I was putting Muppet outside for a few minutes, I heard our robins singing up a storm! As it was still quite light (although an hour after sunset) the birds were busy singing, chirping, and catching bugs of various sizes. You can actually hear them chirping and singing through most of the night, but it was just extra special to hear them so loud and clear that night.

Tonight, on the way into town to watch grandkids play soccer, we had to slow for a small herd of caribou contemplating crossing the highway. They saw all the cars, turned and jumped back over a gate to wander in the thickets. I didn’t see any new babies, yet. Most moose calves have been born, so the caribou should arrive shortly.

A young grizzly scampered through my friend’s yard yesterday just after her daughter and grandkids came in from the yard. It was about a two year old, undoubtedly just out on his own and not sure yet where to roam. There was also a report yesterday of a black bear and dog playing in a yard near a school! It was also about two years old and was safely removed from the area and transplanted. Fortunately, not all bear encounters end badly. That is all to be expected when you live in bear territory, especially jhust after hibernation or when the salmon are beginning to run.

We’ve been enjoying the abundance of fresh fruits that have started arriving at the grocers. After the first couple weeks the prices become almost affordable! By late July and early August, the farmers’ markets will be brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables.

In the fall the wild berry harvest begins in earnest. With my knees improving, maybe we’ll be able to pick an abundance to freeze or make jams. We’ll have to strap on the pistols loaded with some high powered bullets just in case a bruin decides he doesn’t want to share with us. It is rare for there to be encounters, but few are foolish enough to wander through the thickets unarmed.



Back to the present. Fresh vegetables are also coming into the stores and taste so good eaten raw or steamed to perfection. Such aromas! It’s late and just the thought of some lightly steamed broccoli is making my mouth water. Maybe some of that would make a nice bedtime snack. Gotta go check that idea out…

This is part two of my story about a month spent visiting Turkey, from the end of April until the end of May. I am still digesting the many events that transpired during my visit, the people that I met.

Most of the month was spent in Istanbul, enjoying different activities every day. I think almost everything was a new experience for me in some form or other. We took a side trip south to Izmir, Konya and the region of Cappadocia, after which we came back to Istanbul. We travelled by bus, which is what most Turks do. The buses are clean and a reasonably happy experience, and very inexpensive. For example, the 10 hour ride to Izmir from Istanbul cost $30 each. The buses have a little tray that lowers just like in the airplanes. From time to time someone would come around and offer various things – water – tea or coffee (if you can call Nescafe and coffee creamer “coffee”), some snacks that are not good for B non-secretor blood types, and a squirt of a cologne which is used as a refresher for the hands and face by almost everyone in Turkey. When the buses stop, all the smokers immediately get out to light up – and that’s almost everyone on the bus. I did meet some non-smokers, but they were in the small minority. Even 10-year olds smoke in Turkey, and except for the buses, they smoke everywhere. If you don’t live in Canada, you may think this is normal. It is not normal in Toronto, Canada. We have had anti-smoking by-laws in effect for quite a few years. Smokers are not welcomed in any public place any more. The workplace was the first to ban smoking, followed by restaurants, and now even bars. You can imagine how much the smoking affected me. I even had ashes on my shirt one day from the man sitting next to me in an open-air restaurant!

Sorry about that smoking tangent. Back to the trip to Izmir, Konya and Cappadocia. We had arranged to stay with a friend of a friend in Izmir while still in Canada. Our host turned out to be a policeman who wore his revolver at home while getting ready to go to work in the mornings! He and his family were incredibly hospitable. We said we’d wanted to visit the home where Mary, mother of Jesus, had lived her last days, to visit Ephesus, and to see the cave where 7 youths, early Christians, had slept for 200+ years and then walked out and spoke to people. We got so much more than that. I am still in awe of the special treatment we received, and all the many stops we did make in that one day. The peak experience of the whole trip was the visit to Mary’s home. I expected wild tourists interrupting the place, but found instead some very respectful and devotional people meditating, praying and reflecting. I lit a candle, said a prayer, and drank some of the water from a spring that had been there at the time Mary had lived, though not running out of the tap I used! Our host introduced us to a few other police officers, and they steered us through the area, including a museum with artifacts from Ephesus, a folk museum, a wonderful lunch in a lovely open air restaurant, etc., etc., etc. They would accept no payment for anything we did, not even a glass of tea! Ephesus is an old Roman city that has a LOT of marble ruins. At first glance it doesn’t seem to be much, but it keeps on going and going, ending in the library, several pillars and arches still standing. They are continuing to excavate in the area, and the end result will surely be very mind boggling. There is a huge amphitheatre which illustrates the size of the population of Ephesus.

While in Izmir, we met a man who owned a grove of olive trees and made oil. He said that they use olive oil to help to heal any small cut or bruise that is sustained. They just put it on immediately the injury happens, and healing is hastened. I quite believe that it is effective, since it is beneficial for all blood types. Izmir is located in a quite warm climate, so they are surrounded by fig, peach, olive and citrus trees for some distance. It was wonderful to see so many orchards in the vicinity.

After a full day and two evenings in Izmir, we set out for Konya. But not before the uncle of our host arrived early in the morning to give me a bouquet of beautiful roses and other flowers freshly picked from his garden. We’d visited the uncle briefly the night before, to have some tea and visit the family including a couple of daughters and grandchildren who arrived at the same time.

Konya is the home of Jelaluddin Rumi, the mystic poet, who lived in the 12th century. He is said to have starting the whirling practice engaged in by the Turkish dervishes. Revered as a saint, his tomb is also a museum, and visited by people from all over Turkey, who come to pray for his soul. It was an all-day trip from Izmir to Konya, arriving at 7 p.m. We stayed in a hotel near the tomb and were the first people in line the next morning, after getting breakfast nearby. As people gradually joined us close to the opening time, I opened my bag and produced my head scarf, a white handmade one with lace on the edges, to the vocal approval of all the people - men and women - around us. Some of the women adjusted it for me so that it covered all of my hair. The experience of being next to the coffin of Rumi was the second biggest “high” of my entire trip. He is very well loved, and the inside of the building is beautifully decorated with many rich colours, calligraphy and a lot of gold. There are many coffins beside him, his father, who was a renowned scholar and teacher, his son, who followed in his footsteps, and several of the chief students. In the museum area, one can look at some of his garments carefully placed in glass cases, with other artifacts. There were many ancient Qur’ans on display. Outside, we walked about downtown Konya and visited the mosque housing the shrine (body) of Alad-din, belonging to the Selchuk empire long, long ago.

Before leaving Konya, we visited a school connected to the one that my friend had attended as a student. They greeted us graciously, gave us tea, and found a contact person to see in Cappadocia, in the town of Nevshehir. The contact was a school residence, and although these people knew nothing about our imminent arrival, we were provided with a room in which we could stay. We were administered to by a student of hospitality and tourism. Coming back from a meal, we were told that the director of the residence wanted us to stay with him, so we walked over to his apartment, greeted by his wife, holding his infant daughter, about 6 months old. The two days we spent in Cappadocia were simply amazing. The director gave his car, a driver was found, and a young man who has one more year of study to go before being licenced as a tour guide went with us to explain everything we saw. His English was excellent, and he had a lovely sense of humour, so it was really a treat. The first day we climbed in and out of various caves, including down into the valley and then up to the highest part of Cappadocia. For those who know nothing about the area, it was created millions of years ago when three volcanoes erupted in the vicinity of each other. Natural erosion created a landscape that is a collection of conical shapes. Being constructed of lava, when the early Christians and other people in the are were being persecuted, they quickly discovered that they could easily carve spaces big enough to live in, which is what they did. They carved multiple dwelling caves with many rooms, and there are a great many Byzantine churches there as well. It is a very distinctive landscape.

The second day we went a little further north where the landscape has flattened out, and explored a couple of underground cities which were amazing in their scope. Water was brought from a distance and stored, food could be kept for many months, air shafts were incorporated. There were huge discs of rock that could be quickly rolled into place if invaders were entering the city, with holes in the centre through which a spear could be inserted to kill the unwanted attacker. The first city went four stories down into the ground, and the second went down eight stories. They were apparently connected by a tunnel under the ground. The really amazing part about Cappadocia is that there are some 3500 underground cities, all interconnected. They are beginning to excavate some of them at this time. We also visited a beautiful valley with a river running through it, and caves with churches inside them in various areas all along the river banks.

The trip back to Istanbul was undertaken overnight, so we boarded the bus at 9 p.m. and arrived back in Istanbul around 8 a.m., a little sleepy, and more than overwhelmed by the generosity of the people we’d met in those few short days. The total cost for the bus tickets was 105 Turkish liras each, give or take worth one Canadian dollar. A bargain beyond belief.

Our hostess in Nevshehir used a clay pot to cook supper on our second day. The food was so delicious that we bought a similar one in Istanbul before we came home. Our meals are beginning to taste as delicious as our friends!

And thus ends part two of the saga of my visit to Turkey.

Music: The Smashing Pumpkins ~ Adore

Mood: Super Hit



Hello fellow stewards of the planet. Think about that for a second... We can either deny our responsibility, or embrace it. There's a nice happy place between complacency and fanatacism. Let's try and find it, eh? Anyway...

Just been extremley busy as of late. Trying out new things to try and target some issues with the ol GI tract... I'm starting to wonder if it doen't haven anything to do with digestion/sluggush bowels at all... Maybe undiagnosed dual inguinal hernias? Internal prolapse and strictures? Complications due to a past lower back injury? Of course, I've suspected all these before... Just not sure what avenue one who doesn't believe in MD's and invasive, radioactive diagnostic techniques should travel down... Ya' dig? Trying out colonics and accupuncture as of right now... The colonics totally wipe me out... No pun intended... I definatley don't have the surge of energy and well being that some people get... Only tried the accupuncture once thus far... Going again on Sat. I'll let ya' know how it goes...

My new thing with food lately has been brazing various greens. Take a nice skillet. No aluminum/teflon/adonized crap!!! Use stainless steel my friends. Surgical grade will have the least amount of tin and nickel. Back to that skillet... Throw some ghee or olive oil into it.... Heat it up. Now... Thin slice some shallots, onions, and or garlic. Brown thos for a bit... Then... Cut strips of Kale, collard greens, swiis or green chard, mustard greens, whatever! Throw the strips in and coat them nicely with the oil. Heat them just untill they begin to wilt. You don't want to over cook them... Save all those beneficial enzymes! Viola! You have a delicious sauteed salad type of thing to eat before the main course, or serve the main course on top of it. It's the goods. Eat your greens.

I've been sauteeing tempe much the same latley. Serving it with the greens. I really dig the White Wave brand that includes the sea veggies. Awesome. Little paprika, litlle cumin... Oohhh yeah... Gettin' hungry... I truly believe that cultured soy is the only way to go. I simply DO NOT vibe with tofu and soy milk anymore... Upsets my stomach pretty bad. I think you need a very healthy digestive system to properly utilize and eliminate raw and processed soy foods. Miso, natto, shoyu, tamari, tempeh, and other cultured/fermneted soy being the exception... Just my thoughts....

A lady asked me what she could do to "reverse her polarity." Apparently she's a walking superhero, able to shock anything she touches, and herself, whenever she wants (and doesn't want!)

Here's what I would do...

DRINKING IONIZED WATER: Boil 32oz filtered water (preferably RO) for at least 15 minutes. Store it in a stainless steel thermos. Sip this throughout the day, every day! The water will have a powerful negative charge after the extended boiling. It's benefical on a hundred fronts if you ask me... Try it!

Later gators. Forgive the spelling.... Going fast... Again...