Surviving the 1st Trimester

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The first trimester is always extremely difficult for me just to get through. And it hasn't gotten any easier with subsequent pregnancies. I thought last time, pregnant with my first boy, was the worst I'd ever felt. This time it was even worse. The extreme exhaustion and constant nausea hit me with a vengeance and I had to keep reminding myself to keep breathing and that I would survive this again. At least, I hoped I would! Each day I couldn't wait until (a very early) bedtime when I could escape my misery for several hours in sleep.

With that said, I know women who are so sick (some of them the whole pregnancy) that they have trouble keeping any food down and sometimes end up in the hospital with IV fluids. I am very grateful never to have been that bad off and greatly admire those who somehow survive such experiences.

Having used essential oils for years, I was hopeful I could combat some of the nausea with ginger, peppermint, or lemon this time. But I found out in a hurry that any smells, no matter how good or natural, didn't help at all. My sense of smell was just too heightened. So that remedy was out.

Every pregnancy, in my efforts to get myself feeling better, I learn a lot about what my body needs. Last pregnancy I learned that I was hyper-sensitive to MSG and that if I avoided it (in all its many forms), I would feel a whole lot better (see post here). After pregnancy I was no longer as sensitive but because I had already developed the habit of avoiding MSG, it was easy to maintain that healthy change to my family's lifestyle.

I am now officially in the second trimester (phew!) and have felt considerably better the last couple weeks, which has been the greatest relief in the world! But I'm noticing that certain things in foods still affect me and if I'm not vigilant I may pay for it for a day or two afterward. I'll get into that a bit later...

Because the first trimester this time around was so terribly yucky, I learned a lot about what is happening inside the body and what the body needs to recover from everything required to grow a baby. Many thanks to my friend, Emily, who supplied me with the needed information to start me on this journey! I offer these insights, suggestions, and tips in an effort to help others. I realize not everything will help everyone, but I feel compelled to share, hoping these ideas may improve another expectant mother's quality of life. (Note: The below remedies were in addition to my healthy, whole foods diet--although, during the first several weeks, diet becomes a matter of whatever I can tolerate, which isn't much):

1- First of all, in my frequent, small snacks I learned I needed salt! Often. I craved it many times a day, which is not normal for me (except during the first trimester of pregnancy). Interestingly, I learned that at about 5 weeks (see this site) the placenta begins to fill with amniotic fluid, which is of the same makeup as ocean water, even with the same minerals in the same amounts! Suddenly I understood why my body needed extra salt during those few weeks.

2- Besides salt, my body needed lots of water, of course, since it was producing that amniotic fluid. And this will continue to be the case throughout pregnancy, as the fluid changes and increases over time. I always stay very hydrated, but I noticed that water wasn't helping me feel better or more hydrated by itself. I still felt a lack of something. So learning that the amniotic fluid also contains electrolytes taught me that I needed to add electrolytes to my diet somehow. I was happy to learn that instead of guzzling sugary Gatorade or other sports drink I could get  a small bottle of electrolytes to add to my water, a mere drop per glassful. It doesn't have a taste or smell, but it has made a difference for me, so I continue to drink it in all my water. (You can easily find Elete online on Amazon.)

3- I found myself craving orange juice and potatoes every day for a while there, so it was no surprise when I found out that both foods contain lots of potassium. It was therefore logical to conclude that my body was deficient in Potassium, which is an electrolyte. I felt better when I drank orange juice and ate potatoes, even though otherwise I was mostly surviving on Saltine crackers. :(

4- Another thing I learned a lot more about was cell salts. These are mineral salts that can be absorbed directly into our own body's cells to help repair cell dysfunction and restore the balance of minerals in our cells. (See this article for more information on how cell salts work.) For expectant women who can't keep food or water down, cell salts can be particularly helpful. For me, they did lessen my nausea--in fact, I'm still taking them every day for a while longer. I purchased all 12 of them (Hyland's brand) online. If you would like to know the proper daily regimen for morning sickness, please leave a comment or email me. It's a little involved but very worth it.


5- Even after doing all of the above, I was feeling more stable, though not perfect, and was concerned that with all my food aversions I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed from my food. And for the first time I also wasn't taking a prenatal vitamin because they make me sick during the first trimester and I've been trying to weed out synthetic vitamins from my family's lifestyle. So I talked to my friend, Tonya, an herbalist at the School of Natural Healing. She recommended that I take a certain number of Dr. Christopher's Vitalerbs capsules as well as wheat germ oil capsules every day. (Leave me a comment or send me an email if you would like to know my prescribed regimen.) It took me a couple weeks before I was able to swallow as many of them as I was supposed to, since I had an overactive gag reflex for a while, but once I started I could tell they were helping me. I felt a little more stable, reassured that I was getting much of the greens I needed but couldn't tolerate eating yet, and--hallelujah!--they were even helping my constipation.

6- The next thing I found that helped was having an NAET treatment (see my article about NAET here). During that treatment I wasn't at all surprised to find out that my minerals were "all out of whack." My provider balanced my minerals and I felt considerably better. Since then I haven't craved salt like I did and only need orange juice a couple times a week instead of every day. I also feel like I'm doing much better getting the nutrients I need from my food and assimilating them properly, which I wasn't doing before.

7- While I was at my NAET provider's, she also did some Emotion Code work on me (see my article here). That always helps, without fail. It also reminded me that I need to be doing the Emotion Code on myself more regularly, since I can and it works.

8- A couple weeks later I went back for another NAET/Emotion Code/Energy treatment as a follow-up to my last appointment. I was doing much better by then but was still having trouble assimilating protein. I felt like anytime I ate protein other than dairy, my whole body shut down to digest it. That is a very uncomfortable, unnerving experience! Plus, it's not convenient for a mom of three young children. My provider helped with that and I've been concentrating on adding more varied proteins back into my diet, such as (fresh) eggs, chicken, turkey, red meat, nuts, and beans. (I haven't done well with the latter yet, which used to be one of the staples of my diet, but I did successfully eat and enjoy hummus last week, so we're making progress!) I really do feel much more stable when I eat the proteins my body needs.

© Remyrw | Dreamstime Stock Photos

9- Finally, I've been noticing that I don't have a good reaction to products with processed soy, corn, or other GMO foods. We don't eat many processed foods, but for those we do eat I've been watching labels even more closely for soybean oil and ingredients made with corn--which are in almost everything. I've had to pay extra for non-GMO tortilla chips and even forego eating the delicious corn on the cob we've receive that isn't organic and therefore almost certainly GMO. Sadness... But it's worth not feeling crappy the next day.

10- The last thing that has helped recently, on days when the nausea returns, is the Sea Bands my sister sent me. I'd never used them before a few days ago and I've been impressed! They really do work to reduce nausea, and quickly. My sister-in-law wears Psi Bands during pregnancy, which are another type of acupressure band, and they really help her also. I wish I had known about them 10 years ago, when I was pregnant with my first!

So there's the saga, forever documented before I forget! I hope at least one of these ideas helps you or a woman you love who is suffering with the effects of "morning" sickness. And if it's you, hang in there! You're not alone and you will get through this. :)

Homemade Spinach (or Chard) Dip

This is a very popular recipe, which I am re-posting here as a Family Favorite, even though it's not liked by all the kids. I recently discovered that it can also be made with fresh chard from the garden, in place of spinach, if desired.

In 2011 I wrote:

Like a lot of people, I love the spinach dip that is made with an envelope of Knorr vegetable soup mix. But a few weeks ago I wasn't surprised, in checking the ingredients, to find monosodium glutamate listed (and not at the end). So, last week I determined to find a recipe to make it from scratch and see how it turned out. It didn't taste exactly like the Knorr mix variety (though the inclusion of MSG I consider cheating; who knows what it really tastes like), but it was quite tasty and we enjoyed it on raw vegetables, tortilla chips, and crackers. (I found the recipe at vivianskvetch.blogspot.com and then made a few modifications.)

SPINACH DIP FROM SCRATCH

1 c. sour cream
10 oz. spinach
1 c. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced or put through press
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1 c. red bell pepper, chopped
4 oz. water chestnuts, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste (I thought it needed at least double this amount)
Freshly-ground pepper to taste
dill weed, to taste
garlic salt, to taste

If you are using fresh spinach, tear off stems (unless it's baby spinach, in which case you can get away with leaving the stems on). Wash and leave some of the water on. Cook until wilted--a couple of minutes on stovetop. If you're using frozen spinach, thaw. Either way, squeeze out excess water and chop. (If using chard, wash, dice, and cook till soft, then cool.)

Mix sour cream and mayonnaise together in bowl. Add garlic, onion, red pepper, water chestnuts, and spices and mix well. Blend spinach into mixture. Chill for a couple of hours.

If you are using a bread bowl, prepare it just before serving so bread won't get soggy. Slice the top off and cut or scoop out inside, leaving walls of reasonable thickness, at least an inch or so. Spoon dip into hollowed-out bread. Cut up leftover bread (from the top and inside) to use for dipping.

If you're not using a bread bowl, serve dip in ordinary bowl with your choice of raw veggies, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.

Guest Author: Cynthia's Story

When I learned from one of my readers that she rooted out all the MSG in her diet and thereby drastically improved her health, I asked if she would write up something about her experience that I could share with others. She graciously complied and sent me the story below. We share it in the hopes that it helps someone else...


My journey with MSG begins with the common story of a working mother with three active children and a traveling husband. My time was stretched thin, so I had resorted to quick Hamburger Helper/Kraft Macaroni and Cheese/Marie Calendar Pot Pie dinners during the week, and McDonalds/Pizza Hut/Taco Bell type meals on the run. I also made, on the weekends, meals that utilized Lipton Onion Soup mix to make a beef roast or a meatloaf.

Over a time span of about 10 years of this I started developing health issues that were classified (due to no other explanation the doctors could think of) as Fibromyalgia. I also was not sleeping and I was retaining water. During this same period, my step-son was diagnosed with ADHD. His child psychiatrist recommended to keep his diet as healthy as possible and to avoid all MSG products in addition to a script (prescription).

This is where my research began of the foods in not only fast food but also in sit-down dining and grocery store products. It was important to know that labeling laws at this point had not caught up with the game of elusive labeling where MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) was also hidden under the names such as "spices" (that are undefined), "Autolyzed Yeast", and "flavorings," just to name a few. One of the best resources I used was the following website: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html.

Before my research was over I had discovered some things that amazed me. Did you know that the state of California uses MSG for growing its vegetables? Neither did I. I discovered purple onions in a Central Market from California that were so large that they would spill over the largest hamburger bun. This cannot be normal. This made me look long and hard at buying organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible (especially when the skins are consumed). I also discovered that the Ruby Tuesday chain's baked potatoes were treated with MSG to keep them from spoiling and to add more flavor (when they presented me with an allergen list before ordering!). Cantina Larado gets their chicken and beef in pre-marinated pouches that are loaded with MSG--so much for fresh Tex Mex, as the sign indicated.

You will find that most food chains do not like to discuss food prep...so avoid these as they are hiding their practiced use with the stuff. Most everyone will tell you MSG is a natural ingredient that is found in tomatoes, corn, and onions--which is true--but you would not eat a couple of bushels of it in a hamburger from your local favorite food chain if they did not put it in there! Too much of anything is going to have a negative effect.

I could go on and on about my discoveries and this would be longer than anyone would care to read. So moving along, I will tell you that I also discovered, not only from reading but by physical experience, that MSG affects the neurological system as well. It tricks the mind into thinking the food you are eating taste good, which enables a cost savings to the food industry, allowing them to forego real food products such as salt, onion, garlic, etc. And in turn, it also creates addiction so that you will consume more of the product. It is a win-win for the companies making money and a lose-lose for the consumer who has a rise in medical care cost and weight gain. Oh yes, the product will also mess up the body enough for you to gain weight. Remember, your liver and pancreas can only filter out so much. The rest is up to us. So before it was all over with, my nerves in my digestive track, hands, tongue, feet and face were subjected to pain.

Today, through getting back to food basics in cooking and only going to places that serve "real" food (this includes marinades to salad dressings made in their kitchens) I no longer am suffering from the nerve pain or the "Fibromyalgia". I am able to work out and hike like I used to. I sleep again, which is a major big plus for my health. I no longer take any medicines for the troubles that MSG caused me. But I will be on a prescription multivitamin indefinitely, due to the nerve damage it caused. I am grateful that Michelle Obama has made it her personal mission to monitor the food our children eat and the impact it is having on them. If the rest of us get on the same page, we can get back the quality of food that we once had in our grocery stores, and drive down the price of quality so that it is affordable to all American families.

Best wishes to all who are trying to better their diets. Below are some links that assisted me in my search for truth:

http://www.cascadewellnessclinic.com/sports/excitotoxins.shtml
http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm
http://www.3fatchicks.com/4-foods-commonly-containing-msg/ http://www.rense.com/general35/hidd.htm

What Soy Foods to Avoid

For those who may have not taken the time to go to all the links I posted in my previous article on soy foods, I thought I would briefly post specifics on what soy foods to avoid (taken from this article). This is as much for my benefit as for anyone else's because, while I consciously avoid buying soy food products for my family, I sometimes forget what other names they are known by. And these ingredients are found so often in processed foods--yet another reason to make everything from scratch.

Soy foods to avoid include:

• Soy milk
• Soy protein powder/bars
• Soy nuts
• Soy cheese
• Soy burgers
• Soy yogurt
• Soy ice cream
• Soy baby formula

Less obvious soy foods to also avoid (which are typical in processed foods):

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
• Textured plant protein
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
• Vegetable protein concentrate
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Lecithin (usually from soy)
• Vegetable oil (usually from soy)
• Vegetable broth (usually from soy)
• Bouillon (usually from soy)
• Natural flavor (usually from soy)
• Mono-diglyceride(usually from soy)

And for those with particular sensitivity to soy, the list is even more extensive, including isoflavones, guar gum, and mayonnaise. See this article for the entire list.

Why We Don't Eat Soy Foods

I cringe every time I hear a particular ad on news radio about "heart healthy" diets that include soy foods. There is so much bad eating advice given by nutritionists and governmental programs that it is, in my mind, criminal. If you do the research, you'll find, as I have, that soy--particularly in large amounts--is actually very unhealthy and can, in fact, cause health problems.  (And I'm not even talking about soy as an allergen; did you know it's in the top 8 list of allergens?) Now, I like soy milk and soy nuts, but I haven't felt good about including even these in my family's diet the last couple years.

Note: Most researches agree that soy eaten in its organic, whole food form (such as edamame and soybean sprouts) is healthful, but proponents of soy foods do not generally issue such limited recommendations. And Dr. Mercola goes even farther, to say that only fermented soy is healthful.

One big argument for soy foods that I often hear is, "The Asian world eats lots of soy and they have the healthiest hearts." Well, "lots" is actually a misconception. In the Cornell study of China, cited in an article on the WAPF website, it was found that the Chinese ate only about 2 teaspoons of soy per day--in other words, a condiment amount. Interestingly, the Japanese daily diet contains a third the amount of soy protein as the US's FDA recommended amount--which recommendation was made, incidentally, after one study funded by the soy industry.

As explained in the above article, high amounts of soy in the diet can cause disruptions in hormones, the endocrine system, and thyroid function, and can really cause problems for infants fed soy-based formulas. (Another article discusses how these formulas are similar to birth control pills!) But the problems don't stop there. Yet one more article I found at WAPF debunks the most popular soy myths. Here are a few of them:

Soy foods...

• Are processed in a way that denatures proteins and increases levels of carcinogens,
• Do not supply needed B12 to the vegetarian diet because "the compound that resembles vitamin B12 in soy cannot be used by the human body; in fact, soy foods cause the body to require more B12,"
• Do not prevent osteoporosis because they "cause deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D,"
• Do not prevent heart disease because "in some people, consumption of soy foods will lower cholesterol, but there is no evidence that lowering cholesterol improves one's risk of having heart disease" (one of the biggest myths in modern medicine, that most people think is fact--a topic for another post),
• Do not enhance mental ability. In fact, "In Japanese Americans tofu consumption in mid-life is associated with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease in later life,"
• Contain a lot of MSG because "free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods."

On the Weston A. Price Foundation website, there is an article that explains the process soybeans goes through to make soy milk, which shows quite clearly that soy foods aren't even "real food" and are very processed. How the FDA and the American Heart Association ever became convinced that such products were healthful is blatant proof that the people in those organizations never did the research. In my humble opinion...

If you're interested in learning more, you can check out these other websites:

The Great Soy Controversy by Real Food Forager (which includes links to 3 studies)

Dr. Mercola (which includes a video about the dangers of soy)

Wise Woman Tradition (which includes what soy foods to avoid and which ones are actually healthful)

Year in Review: What I Learned in 2011

The year 2011 was quite a learning year for me and my family. I suppose most years are for most of us, as we strive to become more educated and more proactive, but last year was particularly eventful for us. So I wanted to look back and see what were the biggest things I learned--the top 20, to be exact. This post may be more for me than for anyone else, but I hope that it may provide a good review for others of you as well.

In 2011 I learned:

• A lot more about the evils of MSG (here and here), its many hidden forms, and how to avoid it
• The value of red meat and the necessity (for us) of adding it back into our diet
• The joy of purchasing a vehicle in full--ie, owning it free and clear from the date of purchase (which is the only way we've ever done it, but I had forgotten how good it feels!)
• More about essential oils (particularly those from the company I buy mine from, which are so pure they can also be taken internally) and the science behind why they work (This has been so empowering! I happily use them regularly on myself and my family now)
• More about refined sugar and the plethora of negative health consequences resulting from its over-consumption
• A lot more about the value of baking soda and its surprising uses (here and here)
• Why infant circumcision is completely unnecessary and why we chose not cut our baby boy
• How important magnesium is to our health (and that I need it daily)
• Why we decided to wait to cut our baby's cord
• The joys of Freecycle
• How easy it was to can pickles all by myself for the first time (and boy, are they yummy!)
• To value the Five Love Languages again as I re-read the book about children's
• About Reglan (and Fenugreek) and how it saved us while I was hospitalized with pneumonia
• More about the amazing properties of garlic
• How to grow and harvest potatoes (a first for us last year!)
• About root cellaring
• About the school lunch "Food Revolution"
• The recipe for the most scrumptious pumpkin bread imaginable
• How much wood is in the processed and fast food diet (eewww!)
• About the Emotion Code and how amazing and empowering this information is (If I could, I would underline this one three times!)

As the year drew to an end I also realized how many more vegetables we are eating, just as a matter of course, than we used to. I attribute this healthy improvement to our weekly Bountiful Baskets, which provide us with more vegetables than we would otherwise be able to afford (or honestly think of buying) and enforce the eating of them (since we have so many and I don't want them to go bad). I love that I desire vegetables every day now, whereas I used to be pretty ambivalent (even as I knew I needed to do better at including them in our daily diet).

As I look over the above list, I am amazed at all the learning that was crammed into one year! I believe that one of the main reasons for life is to learn, so seeing this list makes me happy. And, of course, learning without applying the new-found knowledge is pointless, so I am also happy about all the ways I was able to help my family improve our health last year. If my blogging has served no other purpose, the fact that it documented our improvements in 2011 and showed me all I've actually learned, it is worth it. 

Here's to a great 2012 for all of us, with a lot of learning and application along the way!

Freeze-Dried and Dehydrated Meals

Our family has recently been working on getting our 72-hour kits up-to-date, and in the process my husband found a food storage company online from which he ordered a sample.  I was skeptical to begin with, just knowing that these meals are supposed to have a shelf-life of 25 years.  I've heard ads from a similar company on the radio and have wondered about their preserving technique and why those foods taste so good, according to all accounts.  My reasoning was how could something manufactured and pre-prepared that lasts that long possibly be good for the human body?  And is MSG the reason these foods taste so "delicious"?  But I was willing to give it a try, since we needed to figure out what our options are, beyond the regular staples of food storage.

Well, we received that sample in the mail last week and tried it over the weekend.  I haven't made Rice- or Pasta-Roni for so long (it all contains MSG) that it was weird to just boil water and pour the stuff in.  It also didn't smell very palatable to me as I was stirring it up.  And as I read the ingredients I found four MSG ingredients: hydrolized soy protein, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, and disodium phosphate.  There were also three probable others: yeast extract, "natural flavor," and spices.  As I complained about what we were about to eat, my husband teased me about it, so I stopped talking and just tried it.  I wasn't a bit surprised that it tasted better than it had any right to or that I wanted more after my first helping.  I knew that both sensations were fake.  After a small second helping I had to have a helping of some real food to stabilize myself, which helped me feel better.  My husband, on the other hand, was looking a little green around the gills.  It tasted good to him too and he had a hard time not eating more of it, but even before he finished eating he could tell it wasn't making him feel good.  Then he was the one complaining--and no more teasing.

Thus, we have learned an important lesson: Prep-prepared freeze-dried or dehydrated meals really are packed with MSG (which also acts as a preservative).  I suspected as much, but it took this experience for us (my husband especially) to realize that we would rather have food storage staples with which to make simple meals that don't make us feel gross, than have "gourmet" pre-prepared meals that have lots of flavor.  Of course, in the case of our 72-hour kits, we may have to fudge a bit, but as that is a limited amount of meals, I'm okay with that.  If it came down to it, I'd rather eat some MSG-laden food than die of hunger.  But not for the long term!

Interesting note: The owner of the company who sent us the free sample called for feedback and when I told him about the MSG thing, he acknowledged unfortunately that will always be the case with such foods.  I wonder if a brilliant person down the road will discover a way to prepare and preserve foods for very long term without the use of harmful additives and chemicals...

MSG and Nitrates

Back in December I wrote a post about my pregnancy aversion to MSG. Over the last few months it has gotten easier to avoid MSG as I have learned about its many hidden forms, gotten in the habit of checking everything I buy, and not ever going out to eat.

About the same time as I figured out that MSG was my problem, I realized that nitrates and nitrites affect me similarly. (Of course, MSG is often included in items that have nitrates, so the two come together a lot.) As long as I stay away from over-processed meats, like lunch meat, sausage, and bacon this sensitivity isn't that difficult to avoid. And now that Hormel makes a few lunch meats without any preservatives, nitrites or nitrates, MSG, or artificial ingredients, I can still enjoy lunch meat on my sandwiches.

The sad thing is, when you really look into the MSG issue, you realize that while most restaurants claim not to have any MSG in their foods, almost all of them do. And you can't ask employees or even the cooks about it, because more than likely they don't know about all the hidden forms.

MSG Continued (YouTube Video)

Since the issue of MSG is now constantly on my mind (see previous post about this topic), I am continually learning more about it. One of the interesting things my research brought up is this YouTube video by Dr. Vincent Bellonzi. It's almost 10 minutes long but well worth your time if you are at all interested in what MSG does to the body, brain, and emotions.

I really wish more people knew about this stuff and we could all band together and make some big changes in the food industry!

Hidden Sources of MSG

Every pregnancy I experience different aversions and/or cravings, and my current pregnancy is no exception. My first pregnancy I could not tolerate any onions at all--and I normally love them. The second time, I constantly craved fish and potatoes. This time, after a lot of trial and error and paying close attention, I figured out that I can't handle MSG (monosodium glutamate). Like a whole host of other people in this world, MSG gives me headaches, nausea, and a generally yucky feeling. Though for some people the reaction is much more dramatic, my symptoms are enough to steer me clear.

But avoiding MSG entirely, I'm finding out, can be more difficult than I thought (even when eating at home), because of all the hidden sources of MSG. And this is coming from someone who was already consciously trying to avoid MSG and eats almost exclusively home-cooked foods from scratch.

One reason is because "more than 40 different ingredients contain the chemical in monosodium glutamate (processed free glutamic acid) that causes these reactions." Can you believe that?! I had no idea before I started researching. Some of these ingredients include anything with "glutamate," "hydrolyzed," or "caseinate" in the label. (Click here for a more detailed list.)

And, get this: There are 3 ingredients that "work synergistically with MSG to enhance flavor. If they are present for flavoring, so is MSG" even if there is no MSG listed in the ingredients! I found this out when I ate a few croutons that I thought didn't contain any MSG. But they still made me feel yucky, so I investigated. And sure enough, they contained 2 of these 3 ingredients that work with MSG: disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, disodium ribonucleotides.

Companies are very clever with labeling these days, so we've got to be even more clever.

Knowledge + action = improved health = power

Healthier Alternatives

Tomorrow night I will be giving a short presentation at my church on nutrition. My topic is healthier alternatives--which is much of what this whole blog is about. It was a bit difficult to condense everything I thought of to discuss, but I managed to fit onto one page what I felt were the most important things to cover (it doesn't fit quite the same here). I include it below for those who are new to my blog or those who may appreciate a refresher, complete with links to places where I talked about them (or found the information) in more detail.

COOKING WITH HEALTHIER (AND USUALLY CHEAPER) ALTERNATIVES

• Try to do most of your shopping around the perimeter of the store (or better yet, produce as much of your own food as you can). (See Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food.)
• Cook from scratch - Get as close to possible to the natural source. Ex: Kroger’s All Natural sour cream has only cream, milk, and enzymes. Use butter instead of margarine. Even make your own spice mixes and cook desserts from scratch too.
• When you do buy prepackaged/prepared foods, check ingredients: The fewer the ingredients the better--and if you don’t know what some of them are, it’s probably better to opt for something else. (Again, see Michael Pollan.)
• Avoid MSG (monosodium glutamate). It’s added to many bottled sauces, salad dressings, canned soups, premade spice mixes, bullion, prepackaged foods, and even some sausages (not to mention many restaurant foods).
• Eat more vegetables. Try planning some dinners more around vegetable (and bean) dishes than meat dishes. This can also be cheaper.
• Limit or cut out white flour and refined grains. Bake with whole wheat flour and whole grains, including whole grain pastas and brown rice. Whole wheat flour is best ground fresh, since wheat begins losing its nutritional value (particularly its protein content) 72 hours after it is milled. You can also save a lot of money by grinding your own.
• Add more beans to your diet (preferably cooked from scratch). Ex: Substitute hummus for your vegetable or chip dip. If you do use canned beans, be sure to rinse off the sodium. Beans are super nutritious and very inexpensive. (Tips on how to get rid of much of the gas when cooking dried beans.)
• Refined sugar: Cut it down or out! Examples:

- Use healthier substitutes like honey, fruit juices, or raw sugar.

- Drink 100% juice instead of punch or soda.

- Replace fruit snacks with dried fruit.

- Instead of pancake syrup, use honey. Buy items such as peanut butter and

applesauce without sugar.

- Conscientiously check for corn syrup on labels and limit intake (there’s even some

new ketchup without it!)