Hot Peppers Are Cool

I love going on Face Book or through my emails and learning about how food can help us be healthy and the benefits of eating certain types of foods. I am learning something new every day. I would like to share some of the things I am learning, so here is one item in a pic. The picture speaks for itself. Plus, I have a hangup with growing peppers even though most of them are treats for my bird, Petra, who is now 25 years old.

Hot peppers are cool. I am trying to grow pepperocini peppers, and purple jalapenos, and so far, I grew one little tiny purple jalapeno and I put it with the meat that I was cooking to make tacos with last week.

I Made Almond Meal

I made almond meal. So, what? Almonds are very expensive, plus you have to practically grind them to death to get them to turn into meal.
Why would anyone even bother? So far, I have managed to almost be sugar free. Now I want to be more gluten-free. This whole process is a very expensive, time-consuming endeavor.
Will I lose weight if I make chocolate chip cookies using almond flour instead of regular flour? Only time will tell. But, if I want to continue on my course in growing my gluten-free, sugar-free food regiment, this is the only alternative I know of, that might actually work. I literally can have my cake and eat it too, if almond flour works well in place of regular flour.
What I would hope would happen in my tiny lifetime, is that, by the end of my life, when I truly am elderly, that 1. I won't be in a nursing home, 2. I will be able to think clearly, 3. I won't die of a horrible disease like cancer  4. I will be able to walk.
Maybe all these little details will help me to have a strong enough immunity to keep my body healthy and strong. I will keep studying and researching for food alternatives. And maybe one day, I just might write a cookbook.

My Cliff Notes on Two Articles on Becoming Gluten Free and Why it is Important

   I found two articles today telling the reason why you should not consume wheat products (as well as other grains). I still hold my opinion that this epidemic is due to the fact that our plants have been genetically modified. I find it amazing that people can go to other countries and eat bread and wheat products without any problems, yet, here in America, they cannot eat products made from gluten without getting sick. Plus, the amount of chemicals we use here is devastating. No wonder we are a sick country.
   Here is my summary of the first article. This article, written by Mark Hyman, explains the basics of gluten and the affects of it on people today. A study was done by The Journal of the American Medical Association, which gives the risk factors for those who are gluten intolerant. Gluten can be the leading cause of serious health issues for many. Here is an excerpt from the article: "Something you’re eating may be killing you, and you probably don’t even know it! If you eat cheeseburgers or French fries all the time or drink six sodas a day, you likely know you are shortening your life. But eating a nice dark, crunchy slice of whole wheat bread–how could that be bad for you? Well, bread contains gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and oats. It is hidden in pizza, pasta, bread, wraps, rolls, and most processed foods. Clearly, gluten is a staple of the American diet." Here is the url for this article: http://www.undergroundhealth.com/gluten-what-you-dont-know-might-kill-you/     

 This is just a side note: I seem to see a network of things happening in our country that will lead us to become sick, and when we become sick, we go to the doctor and get medicine. What is the problem with that? It's like a cycle, where the causes work together like a network. I don't want to sound political, and this is just my observation, but in short, it looks like the government supports and funds organizations and corporations that encourage us to eat in an unhealthful way, which causes us to have to go to the doctor, and then get medicine. The AMA and FDA work together with pharmaceutical companies. That's how pharmaceutical companies make lots of money. Nothing is wrong with wanting to make money. But what is wrong is that preventive measures can be taken to help us stay well, yet, those measures are discouraged by the FDA and other governmental supported structures. They work hand in hand with each other to keep the medical economy in business. Then add corporations like Monsanto, which are on top of all the other corporations like pharmaceutical companies as well as garden/farming companies. So, Monsanto produces genetically modified plants under the guise of protecting plants while using 'safe' pesticides on them, and patenting these seeds so no one else can use them. Now we are finding that these plants lack nourishment, and all that was done years ago is now backfiring on us, as well as them. Only they still don't want the public to know what is going on, so they have people defend their cause on television (I heard this with my own ears recently). 

Let me tell you about using a 'safe' pesticide on my dog. Years ago, I had a dog who had tons of fleas that I couldn't get rid of. I got some 'Sevin' dust which was supposed to be safe to use on animals. I put some on my dog and thought he was going to die. Never again will I trust any pesticide that is supposed to be safe around animals. 

It is hard to fight Monsanto, for they are highly protected by the legal system. And no wonder, Michael Taylor, a lawyer for Monsanto, is also the chief of the FDA (although maybe not any longer). But see how they work together, and how this is causing us to be a sick nation?

I also think about the people who are in jail because they found a cure for cancer and they shared their 'cure' but the legal system found out. Yet, many, many years have gone by and the cancer research organizations have not come up with a cure yet. The only thing they come up with is treatment that may or may not work, or may only delay the cancer from developing. This is how the government works.

I said all this to say, we really can be healthy, but it only comes from learning and practicing preventive measures. In other words, we can prevent ourselves from getting sick in the first place, but you won't hear that from government sponsored organizations! Thank God for the internet, and for those doctors and medical authorities who really do want to help people stay well. So, onto the next article...

 The second article I read is written by a doctor named William Davis. Dr. Davis helps people to take measures to reduce their blood sugar level. He has them remove all wheat products, as well as other grains, in order to achieve this goal. After people eliminated all gluten products from their food regiment, they returned to see the doctor and the blood sugar levels were down. Many also lost weight. Some of the other affects were, loss of pain due to arthritis, improvement in asthma, and relief from irritable bowl-syndrome and acid-reflux. This doctor also wrote a book called, Wheat Belly, and if you go to his web site, http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/about-the-author/ you can sign up to receive recipes.
  I personally think all of us would be better off if we could get rid of products made with white flour and sugar, but I know that is easier said than done. For example, I was at a restaurant yesterday, and bread is always served. Salad dressings almost always have sugar in them, or they may contain gluten as well. Sauces have sugar in them. Drinks have sugar in them unless you ask for unsweetened or water. I ordered a side dish of onion rings and I didn't get a 'side' dish of onions, I got a platter of them! I have learned to adapt many recipes to make them sugar free or even gluten free, but even with my accomplishments in doing those, Mark Hyman and Dr. Davis would still not approve. Their recommendations would include getting rid of potatoes and tapioca starch as well. No grains of any kind (not even oatmeal) and you should be on the road to recovery. Like I said, easier said than done. But, it is a goal we can work toward, and who knows, maybe those extra pounds will really and truly come off. If nothing else happens, at least we will be a little bit healthier. And we might just live a little longer with a little less pain as well. Not a bad deal, I think.

Make Your Voice Known - Ask Store Clerks The Hard Questions

     I have started asking questions of those who work in the stores. I love the meat department especially. The questions I ask the butchers seem to be too hard for them to answer, but it gives them something to think about and take those questions back to their managers if they hear them enough.
   I could imagine a business meeting composed of those who work at the store I shop at. It might go like this:
  Produce Clerk: Does anyone here know if the corn is.. I think the lady said GMO? Anyone know what GMO stands for?
  Produce Clerk 2: Come to think of it, I kind of remember a couple of people asking something about GMOs. I don't know what they are either.
  Meat Clerk: GMO is Genetically Modified something. I had a few people asking that about the meat. The main request I keep hearing is for grass-fed beef. What's up with the grass-fed beef? Why is it becoming so popular?
  Butcher: I had someone call and ask if there were some kind of growth hormone in the beef? Heck, how do I know what they do with the cattle? What's the deal here? Meat is meat.
  Manager: Maybe we need to look into these things. If enough people are talking about them, then we need to be one step ahead and do our homework.

  I think our stores, if they are worthy of our shopping efforts, will listen if we speak. Ask if the corn is GMO. Ask if the salmon is farmed or wild. Ask if the beef is grass-fed or has been given growth hormones. Keep asking. Do your own research. Find out why you beef needs to be grass-fed or corn should be non-GMO. There are other issues as well to attend to, but this is a good place to start.