FRIENDS & FAVES
BLOGS&SITES
| Recently in Health Category
m o r e (coming clean on chemicals)
Slow Death By Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things is a quirky yet ominous title for a book that will get you thinking. In it, Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, two Canadian environmentalists, give the lowdown on the ominous chemicals that have come to define our age and their impact in a quirky way: by exposing themselves to chemicals and then testing their bodies.
It may sound more extreme than it is though--after all, we're exposed to crazy toxics everyday in every way it seems. They just made a deliberate effort for a few days to do common acts that come with doses of synthetic substances like eating tuna fish, getting a carpet cleaned, drinking from cans, using personal care products, and eating from plastic containers. That kind of everyday stuff.
Both their personal experiment and their years of experience and research demonstrate this: There are chemicals lurking everywhere from socks and underwear to frying pans to baby bottles to sofas to light switches to food and food packaging to televisions to toys to deodorant and shampoo. And those chemicals show up later, in our own blood and urine, in arctic animals, in fish, in our land and water.
And the most susceptible among us are babies and kids.
The seven deadly chems Smith and Lourie looked at:
Phthalates, Teflon, PCBs, Mercury (a non-synthetic metal), Triclosan, 2,4-D (the herbicide), Bisphenol-A (BPA).
I won't divulge the results of their tests, but it was an amazing read and ride tracking these pollutants and learning the true cost of chemicals.
The news is not all bad!
The authors have super recommendations about keeping toxins out of your home, life, and bloodstream here. And I concur that small actions can make a difference. By not using antibacterial soap, for example, you're not exposing yourself or loved ones to Triclosan and you're, in your small way, telling the major soap companies you're not interested in those products.
But the fact is that these chemicals are so pervasive and in so much stuff that they simply need to be regulated or banned altogether. And chemical companies aren't hearing that--in fact, they're thinking of new ways to douse and spray and treat things with them. So we need to speak louder. By reading this book, by spreading the word, by making choices at the store, and by telling the government we care about the lasting, detrimental effects of deleterious chemicals in everything.
A few resources to get started:
Environmental Working Group
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Center for Environmental Health
Moms Rising
And now, for the giveaway!
Simply make a comment on this post by Monday, April 26th at 3:00 p.m. (PST) and I'll randomly pick a winner to get a copy of Slow Death By Rubber Duck. (I've read it once so it's not pristine, but it's in almost perfect shape.)
Send to a Friend
m o r e (burning cookware questions answered)
Unfortunately, I've been using nonstick muffin pans since I got married, seven and some years ago, back when I wasn't yet privy to the noxiousness of nonstick.
(Nonstick surfaces coated with Teflon are pretty dangerous when exposed to high heat--the fumes can even kill pet birds! Read more on toxic nonstick here).
While I've shunned nonstick cooking pans for a long time (see my efficient, healthy cookware here), it just didn't click with the muffin tins that I bake with almost once a week. Until recently when I decided it was high time. (Here are some suggestions on how to reuse discarded nonstick pans if you do the same.)
So I thought about it and did some research. I came up with wanting a solid stainless steel pan, but after searching local independent stores, then chains like Sur La Table, then online, all I could find was an aluminum version with a stainless steel coating. Was this safe? Was the coating enough?
I decided this was a good time to give GreenAnswers.com a try. There, you ask the community a question and you get answers. And you can give them too.
I got this answer which states I'm probably safe with the coating but encouraged to get cast iron. A good, thorough answer to my question. I was pleased.
My only problem is that while I love my cast iron skillet, for muffins, Lodge only carries ones that hold six and it is pretty darned heavy to boot. I think I'm going to stick with the stainless steel coating, but I'm not totally thrilled with the compromise.
Do you have any suggestions/muffin pan secrets to share?
Or questions to submit at GreenAnswers?
Finally, here's Eartheasy's roundup on healthy cookware.
Send to a Friend
Photo credit: dothezonk
m o r e (ancient, beautiful air purifying)
I've toyed with posting about Sort of Coal for a long time. I probably haven't because it's on the expensive side. But in honor of my indoor air quality post and because it's just so intriguing, I can't resist now.
Instead of using an air purifier, one traditional Asian way of eliminating chemicals, smells, and too much humidity from the air is by using charcoal. Which is burned wood. Which is carbon.
The women behind the company don't want perfumes and chemicals making our spaces smell good. They want them to be pure and natural.
So they've reinvigorated white charcoal.
From the source:
"Activated charcoal begins as regular charcoal and is then "activated" with oxidizing gases, such as steam or air, at high temperatures. This oxidative process further erodes the charcoal's internal surfaces. This increases its adsorption capacity by creating an internal network of even smaller pores or we can say the heat opens up millions of small spaces between the carbon atoms and turn it literally into an atomic sponge that adsorbs both organic and organic impurities."
This is a technique that has been used in Japan and Korea for a very long time, but is newer to us.
The wood is from branches harvested from Japanese forests, not disturbing the trees. The products themselves are effective for years and can be reactiviated with sunlight. When you're done, it seems each can be safely added to your soil outside, making plants happy.
And each is exquisitely beautiful. Much prettier than an air purifier machine! In fact, even without the health properties for the indoor environment, white charcoal pieces (which actually appear black but without any mess or dust like the charcoal we think of) could be bought purely for aesthetic purposes.
Some sorts of coal freshen up the fridge, some clean water, and some purify and balance the air.
So, what do you think? Like it? Sort of?
Send to a Friend
m o r e (breathing free indoors)
You can read my guide to cleaning up your indoor air over at Your Daily Thread today.
Could be as easy as kicking off your shoes.
Read the guide here.
Send to a Friend
Photo credit: christinathedork
m o r e (healthy eats, simplified)
I don't do recipes. I never have. In fact, I once schemed a no recipes cookbook but it never got off the burner.
Mostly I don't use them because I have a very plain palate and because I like to just throw things together. (Of course, I do get out the instructions for baked goods.)
This is easy when all my 99% of my produce comes from the farmers' market and I get grains from the bulk bin. I sort of always have whole foodstuffs on hand and veggies go nicely with anything. My protein--I do eat poultry and fish--comes from Whole Foods at this point because I can purchase it from a farm pretty closeby that doesn't use antibiotics or hormones and treats the birds better. Ideally, I want to venture to the larger Hollywood Farmers' Market for chicken raised by people I can meet in person sometime soon.There's been little motivation though as my husband currently walks to ours every Saturday.
For fish, I get sardines that are on the green light list when considering health and overfishing and mercury. So, this winter, I'm just steaming or stewing up what I've got and am usually ending up with a soup. Like the one pictured: a miso base with chard, shitake mushrooms, millet, and kabocha squash, which I can't find at my f.m. and consider a splurge. (Here's one way to cook it--I just cut in half and put said half face down in some boiling water; it cooks pretty fast and is done when soft and crumbly--yum!.)
There are a few details and photos of my simple, daily creations at my Flickr set called simple cooking if you want to see what's in my bowl some days of the week this winter.
I've got the rundown of my healthy, efficient cookware as well.
And you can browse all my lim(b) projects here.
Send to a Friend
m o r e (tricky water-savvy ways)
I was disappointed to discover last week, during a days-long torrential downpour in L.A., that my house-like apartment building doesn't have rain gutters. Thus, no rain barrel to collect said downpour for me. Boo. But I won't let it stop me. Enter the shower bucket from Ripple I've got my eye on.
Ripple's got a whole line of practical, motivating water conservation products.
The bucket is designed to be used in the shower, if you're a little wimpy like me and wait for your stream to warm up in the winter before taking the plunge. Then you can use that unused water in your garden. It's actually a set of three, the smaller ones for use in the kitchen sink--say for water used when rinsing produce or leftover from dish-washing (safe for plants if you use natural, biodegradable soap).
It promises it will help you save precious water by the bucket full. Each folds up flat and can be recycled at the end of its life.
If you're on a mission to stop up your water drain, there's other stuff that could be useful (and cute)--like sink stoppers and digital shower timers.
Of course, you don't have to get fancy or even buy anything to conserve blue gold.
Check out this post I did on whittling water use (with a link to a GOOD guide on the subject), most of it pretty low tech.
As I say there, I let the yellow mellow, have installed a low flow shower head and faucet aerators, and am lucky to have a low flow toilet in my apartment. What I need to work on? Shutting off the faucet at the bathroom sink while I'm sudsing up.
You can figure out your WATER FOOTPRINT here. You may be surprised at how actions like recycling and not eating meat slice your H2O consumption. One pound of steak takes over 1,500 gallons of water to produce!
Okay, what are your tricky water-saving ways in your home?
Send to a Friend
m o r e (chemical-free H2O)
So the debate about which water is better, healthier, and cheaper has already been decided: it's tap water over bottled hands down (read more about the bothers of bottled here). Just two little facts: we use 15 million barrels of oil a year to manufacture plastic bottles and bottled water makers aren't required to disclose information on where their water came from or how clean it is.
Tap water is more regulated, cleaner, tastes better, and is much, much cheaper. As for on the go or out and about, a safe reusable water bottle takes care of that.
Okay, but there are still some of us who want to make sure our tap water is pure. Chlorine has done much to save lives and disinfect drinking water, but I like the idea of getting rid of it once that water's been cleaned. I also like that water filters get rid of other microbes, VOCs, pharmaceuticals, and anything else gunking it up.
I use an Aquasana Countertop Filter that I heard about from a sustainable living store I used to blog for. Not only does it get out the baddies, it leaves in trace minerals so the water truly tastes great. And the company claims that the cost factor works out to 10 cents a gallon, a far cry from getting those big plastic bottles delivered every month. I signed up for its warranty program so my replacement filters get sent automatically and any time anything breaks (forever!), I get the parts for free with just a small s&h fee. It's pure, it's reasonably-priced, and it's plastic-free.
See how Aquasana compares to other filter systems if you're thinking about starting or switching to filtered glassfuls.
Then there's the shower. Again, maybe it's not totally necessary, but I don't love the idea of bathing in chlorine everyday. So, I use a shower filter that is compatible with my low flow shower head. I have to say that a few days after switching to filtered water, my hair and skin were softer and smoother. Plus, I felt better knowing I wasn't breathing in chlorine fumes.
Here are two I like:
Rainshow'r shower filter (and there's a bath ball, particularly for babies' bathtime). Rainshow'r products are made in CA.
New Wave Enviro's shower filter version is sold at many Whole Foods (and likewise has a bath model). New Wave products are made in the U.S as well.
Send to a Friend
m o r e (creature connection)
I confess I have never ridden a horse. Maybe there was a pony ride way back when, but I have virtually no experience with these powerful creatures. So I was intrigued to read the article, "Horse Power," in the hard copy of October's Natural Health.
There's a whole school of psychotherapy that uses horses to heal. I love that. Just standing next to, grooming, or interacting with an elegant equine can help deal with anxiety, depression, anger, and more. From doing a little poking around, I think there are programs that are simply targeted for personal growth as well, and plenty for kids to conquer their fears and feel empowered.
I'm thinking one of my holiday activities is going to have to include hanging out with a horse.
If you have the same hankering to get in or back in the saddle, visit The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association for listings of places with special horse healing programs. There's one not too terribly far from me called Big Heart Ranch where rescued animals of all stripes--horses, chickens, llamas--and humans get to know each other (it even offers organic gardening!).
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (natural prescriptions)
I had appendicitis about two weeks ago, and the little mystery organ ruptured to boot. Through the experience of pain, surgery, and a four day hospital visit, I found a strength and resiliency I didn't know I possessed, especially after seeing my dad in various hospitals for about a year and always thinking to myself, "I could never do that." But then I did and I was at peace and grateful (if nauseated and in pain) the whole time.
That said, hospitals are not always the most healing places. I had incredible nurses and assistants (they're unsung heroes, really) and am thankful to the kitchen staff for their work, but still, no sunlight, no fresh air, freezing temps, loud buzzing, red jello, turkey meatloaf in a plastic microwaved container (which I didn't eat), and mass amounts of drugs (that again, I'm thankful for for saving my life) don't conjure up what most of us imagine as the most therapeutic environment.
So when I got home, I tried to get some of the things I hadn't gotten for a while. (I also read a book on Florence Nightingale, who quite agreed that a hospital should be warm, comfortable, and full of natural light and oxygen).
Here's some of what my healing prescription has included in hopes that should you have a health blip on your radar, you may find some of it useful:
*Daily sunshine, weather permitting. I even put my scars in the sun for a few minutes everyday.
*Daily walks, even when I could just hobble around the park one time.
* Healing foods like free-range, organic chicken broth and plenty of miso soup. We found Cold Mountain light yellow miso which is super easy and delish. White rice (sans fiber) and steamed greens--bok choy, chard--and carrots/celery were welcome as well.
*Rest and sleep.
*Plants to look at. I was lucky to have a view of a tree and a hill from my hospital room--almost unheard of. I also focused on the couple of flower arrangements I received. Once home, it was looking at nearby trees when outside and indoor plants when in. They've proven to help people recovering from surgery faster (I believe the study was even done on appendectomies).
*Tea! I've been on chamomile and oolong mostly, but I imagine most warm teas would work wonders.
*Qi gong and meditation. I couldn't do standing qi gong, but even in my hospital bed and certainly once home I focused on breathing, visualizing, and bringing green, healing light to all parts of my body.
I'm incredibly grateful to be alive, to have health insurance in times like these, and to have the tools to heal in hand.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (organic skin food)
I discovered The Body Deli at the newish eco hair salon in my neighborhood, Primrose Organics (which goes the distance, scouring Craigslist for vintage vanities and used scissors as well as using only non-chemical, organic hair shampoo and goop and all the rest).
This stuff looks good enough to eat--after all, most of it is made from natural, raw edibles like cucumbers, rosehips, blueberries, yogurt, and plant oils (check out an ingredient list here). And that's the idea, that it's offerings really are a deli counter for the body--skin food.
I also like that you can search by skin type to find the perfect elixir for you.
You'll find its literal brick and mortar deli in Palm Desert, CA, but if you can't travel there (or to these spas that carry the line), here are the top picks that tickle my fancy from the website:
Sea Cucumber Gelee: Made from cucumber, aloe, and greens from the sea, this gel is cooling and moisturizing. In fact, it's so fresh you have to keep it in the fridge.
Rose Geranium Cleanser: Consciously concocted, this should give you a good, protecting clean, even if you've got rosacea or ultra-sensitive skin.
Body Souffles: Any of the souffles look perfectly whipped with the best stuff for dry skin--shea, coconut, and cocoa butters. I'd go for uplifting rose or almond joy (I may not eat marzipan any more, but who doesn't love the scent?).
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (human-powered transportation)
Rails to Trails is doing what it sounds like, converting unused train tracks into walking and biking paths that connect people to places they want to go.
The benefits are boundless. Not only do you get a place to meander and self-motor around your town away from paved thoroughfares, you get to actually go somewhere more feasibly without the car. The Conservancy's mission is to connect people to mass transit and other destinations while providing access to natural, navigable space.
Another bonus? Trails are good for our feathered and furry friends, too (not to mention scaly-skinned). Paths connect and create ecosystems for plants and wildlife while they're at it.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (serene sleep spaces)
My journey to a healing eco-bedroom started three years ago when I heard Mary Cordaro (a wonderful woman and bau-biologist) speak at a green living store. She is an expert in making house and home and planet harmonious and in green building and renovation that will help you heal.
I walked away with my very first natural, sustainable pillow, made from kapok, which I still own and love.
I also walked away knowing a whole lot more (maybe more than I wanted to) about how truly toxic our homes can be. Instead of planning a whole home remodel, Mary recommends starting with the most important room in the house or apartment, the one where we (hopefully) spend at least eight hours a night and where we should be resting and rejuvenating and restoring our bodies and minds.
Here are some of the components and steps to create a bedroom that heals you (or your child), sustaining you and the environment: (And don't worry, you can take any steps you decide to, one at a time.)
The room
*Turn off your wireless modem at night and unplug other electronic devices. *That said, make your bedroom free of any unnecessary electronics. Make sure you charge your cell phone, etc. in another room so your body isn't pulsing with any more frequencies than your own dream waves. *Use a clock that's battery-powered so those giant red or blue lit numbers aren't staring you down all night. Get one you can click to see only when you need to know the time. *Unclutter. Make your sleep space free and clear. It shouldn't be a place for bills or computers or stuff on your to do list. It should be a place for sleeping, resting, making whoopee, and that's about it. *If you invest in an air purifier, this is the room for it. *If you can, pull up your carpet, harborer of dust mites and mildew and all manner of things. Opt for sustainable flooring options like cork or bamboo or reclaimed wood that can be easily cleaned and won't offgas toxic fumes/stains. If you've got cold feet, use a natural-fibered area rug--they're now widely available; just do your homework on it. *Try to get your bedroom dark enough at night so you can't easily see your hand in front of your eyes. * Stay away from window coverings produced with vinyl (PVC) as it's toxic to make for worker and world and the offgassing isn't good for you either (watch Blue Vinyl for the full expose). Investigate natural blinds or shades made from bamboo or organic cotton. * A lot of furniture contains icky glues and stains that offgas formaldehyde (crazy, I know). I'm slowly (very slowly) replacing mine with vintage wood pieces or solid wood that doesn't contain press board. I just invested in a beframe from Pacific Rim Woordworking--it's consciously made from forest stewardship certified maple.
The bed
"...the most important piece of
furniture in your home is your bed, where you spend a third of your life. We are
most vulnerable when we sleep. Our bodies let down, shed metabolic waste,
regroup and regenerate. A healthy, natural and well-designed mattress can
provide the right conditions for all the important processes of the body's natural
electrical system, internal organs and subconscious mind to work smoothly and
without interference."
The problem with conventional mattresses is they are laden with synthetic materials derived from petroleum. Add to that chemical flame retardants, glues, and the pesticide residues from fabrics and you've got an unhealthy not to mention unnatural mix. Okay then there are the metal coils conducting EMFs and dust mites colonizing your comforter. Here's the good news. Over a three year journey I have now cleaned up, healthed up, and environmentally-friendly-upped my bed. And you can too!
*Invest in natural, sustainable pillows filled with kapok or another organic, healthy material. *Before you can invest in the natural, 100% latex (from the rubber tree) mattress, you can at least get a 100% cotton dust mite cover to keep the critters away from your body. (I actually started with a plasticky one from Target, then upgraded to cotton--again, it's a process.) *Get 100% organic cotton sheets. *Get a duvet that's got a healthy, sustainable fill. Mine is half wool, half silk--natural and naturally dust mite resistant and temperature regulating for our bodies--warm in winter, cool in summer. I don't have those overheating moments in the middle of the night anymore. *Get a 100% organic cotton duvet cover. *Finally, when you've got the cash to make an investment in something that will help your sleep and your sinuses, get a natural latex mattress from a retailer/manufacturer you can trust. Mary's article will help you find one. I got mine, mind you after three years of saving, at Green For Baby north of Los Angeles. It will last twenty to thirty years! A worthy investment indeed in my own well-being and a product that's made from natural sources in a respectful way.
I can honestly say that on my new, lasting, healthy, natural mattress, I am sleeping more soundly than I ever have in my life. It's comfortable, it's clean, it's green, and it's naturally healthy and healing.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (nourishing)
Project Peanut Butter [via the print version of GOOD] was launched by pediatrician Dr. Mark Manary who has worked with malnourished children in Malawi and Sierra Leone in Africa for twenty years (two places with some of the highest childhood mortality rates around).
He's figured out that a formula with peanut butter (essentially ground peanuts, along with powdered milk, sugar, and vitamins and minerals) offers a 95% recovery rate for kids trying to bounce back from too little sustenance.
(And who doesn't love peanut butter? I guess people allergic to it.)
Send to a Friend
m o r e (organic, fair trade in your cup o tea)
I confess I normally buy tea in bulk when I can, but I was so drawn to Zhena's Gypsy Tea tin of Sense of Peace on the shelf I couldn't resist it. And now I hardly drink anything else in the morning (afternoons are reserved for chamomile).
What I like most aside from the low caffeine/highly healthy white tea infused with soothing peppermint and real rose petals that are said to be good for, you guessed it, love and the heart (and even creativity):
It's organic. It's Fair Trade.
There are other inventive flavors along with a selection of biodynamic loose green tea leaves grown uber-sustainably and offered in lovely flavors and a drink pink line specifically for women's health. And I'm thinking the samplers make a sensible, eco-friendly, hand-picked gift you can be sure someone will use and relish. Oh, and for cool summer sipping: iced teas.
And if you want to go behind the tea label, r ead more about Zhena who, armed with training in aromatherapy and a love for tea and her son who needed costly surgeries, tapped into her gypsy lineage and got brewing. It's an amazing story.
Send to a Friend
Asbestos, it's that popcorny stuff up on the ceiling, the darling of 60s construction, right? Right. But it turns out asbestos is also a byproduct of our energy industry, like coal and oil processing. And it turns out it's not banned in the U.S. as many of us may have thought. Bill Hawthorne of the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center wrote the following message about the dangerous link between this substance, this disease (called asbestos cancer), and all our health.:
"Byproducts of dirty industries such as coal and oil processing include cancer-causing substances like asbestos [and asbestos is found in 3,000 commercial products]. A U.K. study conducted in 2002 indicated that coal and oil industry workers are at a much higher risk of developing Peritoneal mesothelioma (associated with asbestos exposure). Dr. Valerie Rusch among many other doctors who specialize in this area understand these are substances that can be directly traced to antiquated pre-regulation equipment in industries whose environmental hazards are even more inherent. Investment in clean industry means not only a healthier planet for our children and grandchildren, but also a healthier place for us to live today. So please, take action, whether big or small. Live a little greener, be more conscious, even talk to your state's congresspeople; every litle thing each individual does will eventually come full circle in helping to end the use of asbestos."
Find out how to detect and deal with asbestos in its various forms (from insulation to vinyl flooring) in your home from ehow here. And here are a few organizations who are working to change our energy industry in addition to the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center:
Architecture 2030 is specifically working on green building issues and has a 14x stimulus plan to help our economy and our environment at the same time. We (can solve the climate crisis) wants clean energy in 10 years and thinks that together, WE can do it. (This one's got Al Gore on board.) 1Sky wants 5 million green jobs, to drastically cut climate pollution, and have no new coal plants by 2010 (that's next year!). (This one's got Bill McKibben on board.) 350.org is all about solving the climate crisis and getting our level of carbon dioxide back down to the scientifically-safe 350.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (natural pain relief)
As a writer, I am married to a machine: my computer. I also happen to carry a lot of stress and tension in my neck and shoulders. So while I believe much of pain relief comes from addressing emotional issues we carry and getting exercise, fresh air, and balance, there are natural tools to help as well.
Here are four my fabulous new chiropractor recommends that I've found super useful in managing sometimes aches and pains (I'm not a health care professional so what I say is not intended as prescription, just possibility):
1. Traumeel. This homeopathic cream or gel (take your pick) is safe and natural and anti-inflammatory and has healing stuff like arnica for injuries,aches, pains, and even bruising. I've found it effective.
2. MyoCalm--with Valerian Root Extract. For those more serious episodes of muscular pain, this natural muscle relaxer with Valerian Root along with Calcium and Magnesium truly soothes.
3. Dr. Riter's Real-Ease Neck Support. This is not a green product at all in that it's fashioned from plastic and some scary foam, but I really like it in terms of how it works. I use it once a day for about 15 minutes (a great excuse to lie down and meditate) and it truly does ease and relax all the muscles of the neck and shoulders. My chiro says it's a must for all her writers and computer workers.
4. Epsom Salt. Totally natural (and dirt cheap at any drugstore!!) Magnesium Sulfate is a huge treat for sore selves and can be used in a variety of ways for muscle and mind relaxation ( see 13 ways to use epsom salts for relief here). I've been putting a cup or so in a warm bath (along with jojoba oil and lavender) for a splendidly soothing soak.
To your health.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (green yoginis)
Many a yoga studio is making it a priority to help itself and its clients protect the planet through myriad actions. Could be encouraging biking to class and installing a bike rack, could be serving organic, Fair Trade tea, could be carbon offsetting, could be switching to energy-efficient lighting, could be using reclaimed materials in flooring.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (healthy home cooking)
Over the last year in my kitchen, I've invested in two items that have proven to be fabulous, one super healthy and one super efficient. And the ones I already had that were stainless steel. Here's my roundup of pots and pans:
*A Lodge cast iron pan that is totally safe and even beneficial, adding iron to foods cooked in it. Since it takes a while to heat up and cook things, I use it for poultry and cook extra--making two to four servings at once to lay off using it for a couple of days in between firings. You don't ever use soap on it--just rinse/scrub with a brush. The best part? This item will last a lifetime. Or more! I got my cast iron skillet here for less than twenty bucks.
*A Fagor pressure cooker. I use this for soaking and cooking beans and grains (my faves being barley, black beans, adzuki beans, and chickpeas). To cook two or three cups of black beans only takes 8-10 minutes after boiling! Compare that to the two hours it took with my regular old pot and that's a huge energy cut. Across the board, pressure cooking takes a third of the time as regular boiling and simmering. Plus, cooking beans in a pressure cooker offers a perfect alternative to meat and it's also an easy way to stock up on whole grains that will last the week. (And don't worry, these days they're safe!)
*A stainless steel steamer and a stainless steel saucepan--the first I use for steaming veggies or making soup, the second for oatmeal and noodles and everything in between.
*A stainless steel electric kettle. This little appliance is the most efficient way to heat up water, and if you get a good quality stainless steel variety, you won't get any icky metal or mineral build ups. I clean mine with six tablespoons of vinegar every month and it's squeaky clean and long-lasting. You can buy an electric kettle here.
*Finally, a toaster oven is highly efficient for little warm-ups that would take a lot of time and energy in a stove or broiler. I use mine for warming tortillas mostly....
*One great chef's knife (and a sharpener to keep it sharp forever). I recently got a Victorinox chef's knife that was recommended by a guy who wrote a whole book on knives, so he should know.
*Bamboo or stainless steel ladles, spoons, and such. Stay away from plastic serving/cooking utensils as the plastic can, and seems to me, will melt.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (mindful movement)
World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day is Sunday, April 19th. While both are yoga's cousins and just as ancient, they're much more off the radar. And they need not be. Both are 2,000 year old Chinese healing modalities that include simple, elegant movement and meditation--it's what I saw older folks doing in the park every morning when I lived in Hong Kong.
I've found Qi Gong and the principles/movements outlined in The Healer Within to be a centering, positive, healing addition to my weekly routine. The basic concept is that we all have qi/chi or life energy and these "exercises" that anyone of any age or fitness level can do move and strengthen that life energy. And yes, it works.
I have a dear friend who controls Rheumatoid Arthritis with Tai Chi, it's been proven that both T.C. and Q.G. lower blood pressure and reduce anxiety and I've heard even more stories of either beautifully battling or coping with cancer or healing other ailments with a regular practice of these ancient arts.
And I recommend The Healer Within to get you started on your journey if you're interested.
Send to a Friend
 m o r e (mindful meat)
For those of us who are meat eaters, for whatever reason, we can still make a difference for farm animals and the environment by eating it mindfully. I still eat poultry and turkey and occasional pork because I had some ill physical effects when I was an accidental vegetarian for a few years--one thing that makes me feel better about this is that the Dalai Lama also had health troubles when avoiding meat and now goes vegetarian every other day--a great practice.
By switching from an average American diet (heavy on the animal products), to a more vegetarian way of life, it's like driving 8,000 fewer miles in your car every year in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Why? Farm animals like cows and pigs produce methane gas and nitrous oxide. Not to mention the other tolls it takes to raise, say, beef, like clearing rainforests to plant feed like soy (no more room for pasture grazing) and the vast amounts of water it takes to produce a steak. And as more countries begin to eat our Big Macs ( meat intake has risen 33% in India, China, and Brazil), so grows the problem.
So while emissions solutions are underway on global meat farms, one of the best things we can all do is cut back on red meat.
So, consider going veg every other day like the Tibetan spiritual and political leader. Or if you can't go without that much, consider just one day a week. Meatless Monday's thrust is for our health and reducing Americans' saturated fat helping by 15%, not our earth, but that's just a side (and waist) benefit. There are plenty of vegetarian recipes there to peruse, just opt for local, seasonal ingredients as you pick and choose.
So to celebrate Monday, consider making it meatless. One warning though, if you're replacing meat with tofu, make sure it's organic so you don't get any GMOs. I've been loving extra firm organic tofu in soup, with buckwheat soba noodle, with brown rice, you name it.
Send to a Friend
|
*Probiotics! The antibiotics are what had me feeling worse than anything else so my husband found me Udo's Choice, recommended by our little local natural foods market. It's a little pricey, but we sprung for the big guns to restore my digestive flora in these trying times.