I’ve been an emotional person for as long as I can remember.  But in pictures of me as a child, I always had a smile on my face.  No matter what was going on internally, I managed a smile for those around me.  That smile also hid the pain inside, the confusion, the internal dialogue, and the sadness.  As I grew up I learned how to hide it even more with eating, perfectionism and typical type A behavior.  Anything sound familiar yet?  Here I am in my late forties and perimenopause sneaks in over the last year and because of [...]

I am at a point in my life where I wonder…is there something else I could be doing to feel better?  It seems when I hit 40, it was harder to stay fit and healthy and another weird symptom appeared every month or so.  At 47, I am wondering about perimenopause, fatigue, my thyroid, weight gain, stiff and achy joints and even heart palpitations.  It is my intention here to share a little of what I am going through and maybe help you find some answers too.  My menstrual cycle started changing about a year ago.  Longer, shorter, heavier, lighter….all of [...]

In these times when we are hearing so much about swine flu, I thought I’d add my two cents regarding how I feel about the rumors and the lies being told.  To be honest, I don’t know which are lies and what is the truth about this issue.  I DO KNOW this, it is possible to protect and promote good health.  I also know that I have set a plan with my daughter in college just in case “they” come around and start requiring immunizations at her school (that’s not from a fear standpoint…that’s just common sense).  I will share [...]

Are you still asking what is MSG, not to mention consuming it?  Maybe I can help a little.  Let’s look at what it actually is and why it’s used in our food and then you can make a choice about whether you consume it or not. Monosodium glutamate, according to Wikipedia, (also known as MSG and sodium glutamate), “is a sodium salt of the non-essential amino acid glutamic acid.  It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavour enhancer.”  Ingesting this processed free glutamic acid (MSG), can produce a variety of reactions in many people.  [...]

Remember when rice came in just two flavors?  Brown or white?  And brown rice wasn’t an option in my house.  What I remember is brown rice just took too long and had no flavor at all.  Oh, the variety of options today and the many different ways to cook rice.  Wikipedia states “…rice is the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population…..it is the second highest worldwide production…providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.  In early 2008, some governments and retailers began rationing supplies of the grain [...]

I’ve mentioned many times in this venue how raw, living food is what will allow the body to heal.  Not cooking your food keeps enzymes, oxygen and water content in your food, and therefore making it better able for your body to absorb.  Heating destroys nutrients and your food’s enzymes.  Heating also destroys water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and all the B vitamins.  I still eat a small amount of cooked food, but it just doesn’t taste the same anymore.  I’m eating more vegan food as well as high raw foods.  The past couple of weeks, since I’ve been moving around [...]

I’m all about giving you new reasons to eat healthy.  New ways to make your trip to the grocery store more interesting.  New things to think about.  Well this next post may sound weird, but I believe it.  And if I believe it, it must be true, right. We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat”, right?  Well here’s a list of new reasons to eat your way to health.  Again, it’s not all about what you put in your mouth, as much as what you are NOT putting in your mouth anymore.  The body knows how to [...]

One of the chemicals used to make Teflon is called PFOA (ammonium perfluorooctanoate), also known as C-8.  I decided to do a little more research into C-8, when one of my readers sent me a link to an article about babies being exposed to hundreds of dangerous chemicals in the womb (thanks Taylor).  Before I even began to think about getting pregnant over 20 years ago, my parents had already supplied me with enough information regarding toxic chemicals in products I use on my skin, not to mention what I eat.  I knew that what I ate or put on [...]

I remember eating salad growing up.  I remember carrots and potatoes placed beside the meat on my plate.  I remember tuna added to the spaghetti sauce.  I’m sure we had vegetables.  My brother had a garden in our backyard.  I remember pictures of him tending to it.  Most of my knowledge about vegetarian and living food comes from my parents, but not when I was a kid.  I learned most of it later on in life when they both started their own vegetarian/living food lifestyle.  The body requires electrically charged foods.  This energy comes from sunlight and many veggies are a [...]

According to Wikipedia, “Non-dairy creamers are liquid or granular substances intended to substitute for milk or cream as an additive to coffee or other beverages.  They do not contain lactose and are therefore not considered dairy products……”.   These so called “dairy substitutes” contain sodium caseinate, corn syrup or other sweeteners and flavorings, and partially hydrogenated soybean oil.  What I do know about these is you don’t have to store them in the refrigerator.  That always scares me.  Like that yellow cheese my Mom used to make grilled cheese when we were kids that was stored on the shelf! Let’s break down [...]