If you haven’t already heard, one of the first and most important things Michelle Obama has done as first lady is to plant an organic garden on the white house grounds. This is the first white house garden since the Roosevelt’s! So what is the big deal and who cares if it’s organic? Well apparently big agriculture and the surrounding industries such as fertilizer and pesticide companies care. There was quite a big tug of war over this seemingly innocent garden before it was even started. Read more about that here. No matter what your political stance is, I think healthy organic food is something that everyone can appreciate and support. I for one am happy that Michelle-O stood her ground and went forward with the garden despite the resistance from the agriculture industry. Now Mrs. Obama will write a book about her gardening experience. This is sure to be a good read and will hopefully open up some people’s eyes about gardening, agriculture, and the food industry as a whole.

Thinking about the influence of this White House garden and book got me thinking about the current culinary state of our union. Certainly things have improved recently with raised awareness from the Food Network and movements towards organic and local foods. But overall the food and drink we consume every day in this country is pretty much an afterthought. Americans take for granted that they can eat anything they want, anytime they want, and just assume that since this is America it will all be good. In most other countries food is carefully selected, then enjoyed and appreciated as it should be. In other countries (many more than you think) people are just thankful to have any food that is available to eat for survival.

In Portland locally grown organic fruit and veggies are more common than not. Portland is the new foodie capital of the U.S. Our great farming climate and the locavore culture that supports Pacific Northwest farmers has a lot to do with that. If you don’t believe me just watch the Food Network and see how often Portland is featured. Better yet come out here yourself for a food/wine/beer tour of unbelievably good food and drink for reasonable prices.

Unfortunately some other areas of the country are slow to catch on to this grass roots trend that is also beneficial to the environment. However in my recent travels I’ve been surprised to see that many places I would not have expected are beginning to slowly embrace the benefits of farmers markets and locally produced food and goods. I suspect that in the coming years food and water will be the subject of wars as the human population continues to explode on this planet. More species and habitats will be wiped out while natural resources, food, and fresh water become scarcer. In the meantime the best that we can do on a local level for ourselves and future generations is to take an interest in local organic foods from farmers markets or start growing our own food, even if it’s in pots on the back porch.

Organic natural food is good for your health, and good for the environment. Food is after all a basic ingredient of our survival. So why should we endure eating poor tasting produce that is genetically modified, full of pesticides, and grown in bulk halfway around the country, or even the world? Instead you could pick tomatoes and other produce right from your back yard all summer long, or visit local farmers markets to get much better product than you can find at the local grocery store. If you do grow your own don’t limit yourself to veggies. Herbs, fruits, beans, grains along with many other things can easily be grown in a home garden, and other beneficial products like local honey can be bought at farmers markets.

As spring approaches we are getting ready to plant our own garden, which hasn’t been without some resistance from the ridiculous HOA in our neighborhood; but that is another looong story. Even in Portland there are some people who just don’t get how important local and home grown garden food is. Many people forget, or just don’t know that human’s mastery of agriculture is the seed that advanced civilization grew from. Sadly something as basic as agriculture can even get so big that it no longer becomes efficient, effective, or safe. Next time before you take a bite out of that Big Mac or TV Dinner, take a minute to ponder where that food’s ingredients actually came from, and what they went through before getting to your plate. If you really knew it might just make you lose your appetite.

Today’s fresh, local, and organic food and gardening movements, including Michelle-O’s white house garden, are reclaiming what the faceless greedy corporations have taken out of our food. Those things being taste, nutrition, and the knowledge of where your food actually comes from. With spring just around the corner do you have plans for your own vegetable garden this growing season? If not you might consider giving it a try. Just remember some plants can be genetically modified or have other issues, so do your research and try sticking to organic or heirloom varieties. Good luck and happy gardening!

Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, and Mint from our garden last summer

This is part 3 of 3 in the Sunshine Series. Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.

Some people say sunscreen actually does more harm than good as stated in this article. If you read the article you will see two arguments against sunscreen. First is that it blocks your body from getting sun rays which help you produce Vitamin D, a deficiency that can bring about cancer and other conditions. As mentioned in the previous blog in this series that little detail can easily be fixed by taking a Vitamin D supplement. The second concern is that your skin will absorb toxic chemicals that are in the sunscreen. Most people think of their skin as a sort of armor, however this is not necessarily the case, so this point is valid. Your skin can absorb a surprising amount of toxins from topical solutions, sprays, and even bathwater. I’ll admit that cosmetics and skin science is not my area of expertise, so to shed some light on the subject I’m reposting an old blog that Charlotte wrote at JavaFoto about sunscreen.

In an effort to improve my health while also enjoying the outdoors, I started walking during my lunch hour with a friend from work Sokbun. During our walk today, she asked me what sunscreen brand I used. Well, I use Boots Botanics on and off but mostly off since it is a bit greasy. I usually mix it with the regular moisturizer that I love and it sort of works. It has been so nice and sunny lately so I think it is time to get back into a regular sunscreen routine. She mentioned “California Baby” was recommended by Skin Deep. This website was created by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to promote awareness of cosmetic safety. I searched the site and found it to be a good resource for both safety and effectiveness. Well, time to get a search party going…

First candidate: ALBA BOTANICA SUN: MINERAL SUNSCREEN – FRAGRANCE FREE SPF 18 available at Amazon.com

Review: Great rating by EWG except for the lower SPF. I was hoping the lower SPF would make it lighter but it is still thick. Much lighter than the SPF30 but still hard to apply evenly It seems that this would be typical for non-chemical sunscreen.

Epionce Active Shield Lotion SPF 30+

Review: This one is lighter and spreads evenly but has a greasy feel to it. An hour later, it still felt greasy. I also noticed that the fine lines on my face became more prominent. EWG did not have any ratings for this brand. I got the sample from VanderVeer Center and the “set” of skincare products costs $195 for a six-month supply. I guess it could be worth it if the products work wonders for your skin. It didn’t on mine. I did like their regular moisturizer. It was light and made my skin soft.

I decided that I might be better off to go with a “middle of the road” product so I went for the classic Cetaphil.

Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF15

Review: A little bit thicker but very similar to Epionce without the greasy feel It did feel greasy at first but after a few minutes it settled down. Also, I had to make sure my skin was not dry, otherwise, the sunscreen would cake up a little bit in the flaky areas. This is the one I like best so far. I will stick to this for now until a better one comes along. EWG rated it as safe except for the last ingredient Triethanolamine. They also did not like the low SPF but for everyday use, I am not too concerned. For extended outdoor exposure, I would reach for the Alba sunscreen.

When it comes to sun protection the stakes can be high whether you do or you don’t use it. I’d recommend reading up at the Environmental Working Groups Sunscreen Guide, and about Skin Cancer at the American Cancer Society, and then make a decision for yourself. Probably the best sun protection is to just cover up, but even clothing can let damaging UV rays in. According to this site dark clothing provides better sun protection than lighter clothing, but since they absorb more sunlight dark clothes tend to be hotter. That is why people in the tropics often wear lighter clothing. A way around the clothing dilemma is to buy clothing that has UV protection built into the fabric. These can be found at sporting goods stores like REI.

There are a few other areas of concern with sun protection that many people neglect or forget about. Snow and water can reflect sunlight upwards causing you to burn in unexpected places, and faster than normal. You will burn faster at high altitudes where there is less atmosphere to block the rays. When you are submerged in water your skin will still burn. You can get burned on cloudy or cold days. Your eyes can get sunburned causing serious damage, so its always best to wear shades that have UV protection and wrap around or block UV rays from the side. Last but not least your skin will burn faster when its dry; from a dry climate, dehydration, swimming, or any other activity that robs your skin of its natural moisture. If you do get burned try some of these remedies to ease the pain.

I feel that when it comes to sunscreen the pros outweigh the cons. I use sunscreen regularly, but also try to cover up with long sleeves and pants when possible, along with a complementary sun hat and UV protective sun glasses. My face is particularly sensitive to sunscreen and will break out horribly if I use anything that contains oil, which will clog my pores. I’ve found the brand that works best for my face is Eucerin Sensitive Skin Sun protection, I usually get 30 SPF. Although it ranks as middle of the road health-wise according to the EWG  Sunscreen Guide, it’s still better than most of the usual suspects. It’s also oil and fragrance free which is gentle on my skin. I will typically dilute it with a little water before putting it on my face so that it spreads more evenly and lighter. Since Eucerin is a bit expensive I usually use something else for my arms and legs when necessary. That will typically be whatever Charlotte recommends for me, or happens to have on the shelf at the time. From her “Skin Deep” blog post I’m guessing that her selections are probably better than anything I’d pick out.

I remember seeing billboards with the Coppertone girl in Florida when I was growing up, but despite that advertising campaign the message to wear sun protection didn’t sink in until I was an adult. It is really up to the parents and authority figures to get educated on skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer. Then make an informed decision on how to protect themselves, and their children whose skin is much more vulnerable and sensitive than adults. Don’t take my word for it though. If you think I’m making a bunch of fuss about nothing then just ask the Aussies who have one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Crikey!

Although not very stylish, this sunhat is much better looking than Melanoma spots. Speaking of spots, pay no attention to the ugly clear cutting tracks in the picture, it’s all part of the logging industries plan to destroy the planet.

This is part 2 of 3 in the Sunshine Series. Part 1 is here.

There is a reason that John Denver said “Sunshine on my shoulders, makes me happy”! That reason is that he was getting a lot of sunshine in Colorado, and it was in fact making him happy. If any of you remember him then you know he usually had a pretty good tan going so it is doubtful that he was wearing any sunscreen, which might not have made him happy.

After doing some research I’ve found that sunlight does not contain Vitamin D, but rather your body creates it in response to direct sunlight. Too much Vitamin D won’t hurt you, but too much sun exposure will. By taking Vitamin D supplements your body can build it up so that you are able to go through periods of time without it. It is not uncommon to see vitamins or supplements with RDA % amounts in the hundreds or thousands range for Vitamin D and some others. This study goes into further detail on how much is really needed, and how much is too much.

It does appear that sunscreen can block the rays your body needs to produce the Vitamin D making reaction. Also interesting is that it seems people with darker pigmented skin have less capability of producing Vitamin D from natural sunlight. This leads some researchers to speculate that might be a cause for higher rates of certain types of cancer in African Americans. With all of these concerns some doctors are now advocating some sunshine without sun protection, and even indoor tanning.

I’ve lived in and experienced firsthand three different types of sun worshipping cultures in the U.S. so I find the tanning salon trend very alarming. I grew up in Florida where people rarely wear sun protection. When I was a teenager my tan was so dark that you might think I was Seminole Indian. Today I’m very fair skinned, and when I visit Florida my relatives always ask me why I look so pale. I still have huge sunspots on my shoulders and crow’s feet around my eyes as reminders of my past growing up in the Sunshine State.

Me skimboarding when I was 15, my sister in the foreground was also overly tan.

When I moved to Texas I was appalled at all the people walking around with orange unnatural looking tans that made them look as if they just jumped out of a microwave oven. The source of these unsightly tans was tanning booths or spray can tans, both of which are undoubtedly unhealthy. It was not uncommon to see orange stains on people shirts around the sleeves and neckline from the fake spray on tans that make you look like Hulk Hogan. To get an idea of the tanning disaster I’m talking about take a look at these celebrity tan disasters. Although there are plenty of places to get sunshine in Texas very few people venture outdoors in the searing heat, and outdoor activities simply aren’t popular in the Lone Star Shopping Mall State. This is where the all too convenient tanning beds come in. People in Texas are very concerned with material things I observed, and looks are one of those material things. Ironically Texans eat so much that they are considered of the most overweight states in the union, go figure?

After Texas I moved to Colorado where I quickly adopted the Rocky Mountain active outdoor lifestyle in order to enjoy the 300 days of sunshine per year. After an incident of skiing without sunscreen I came home looking like the Human Torch. Thereafter I always wore a sunhat and sunscreen whenever I went outdoors. However, many of my fellow Coloradoans did not. I knew many people who were very fit and healthy looking, but otherwise looked 20 years older due to over-wrinkled leathery skin. This was mostly a result from sun exposure at higher altitude, and to some degree the arid weather. If you feel wearing sunscreen is an inconvenience then consider wearing a sun hat to protect your face where the skin is most sensitive and susceptible to wrinkles. Case in point, I actually know a guy in Colorado that had to have a melonomia spot surgically removed from his face, and he was still in his 20’s.

So the point I’m trying to make with my abbreviated autobiography is that with a deteriorating Ozone Layer skin cancer has become a much bigger problem than it ever was in the past. Despite the fact that getting fresh sunshine without sun protection will help your body produce Vitamin D, I would not recommend it. Instead Mulder and I both recommend getting out in the sun with protection, and enjoy the psychological benefits that sunshine gives you. There is no need to fry yourself under UV rays to get your Vitamin D when you can just take sunshine in a pill. If any of you decide to try popping a pill to kick the winter blues be sure to come back and leave a comment to let me know how it works out for you. As for what kind of sunscreen to use, Charlotte will enlighten us on that topic in part III of the Sunshine Series.

This is part 1 of 3 in the Sunshine Series.

Mulder Sunbathing on the deck

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the news and the anchorman said “today will probably be the last sunny day of the year”. Talk about a downer! Since then we’ve actually had a few sunny days, but otherwise it has been rainy as predicted, and more on the way. The gray curtain of the Pacific Northwest winter is about to descend up us and it won’t leave until around Spring Break. To make matters worse we are pretty far north so the days are much shorter here than in the south. That means that soon after you “Fall Back” for daylight losing time it can get dark before 5:00 PM. If you work 9-5 in an office you may not see sunlight for much of the winter. According to this BusinessWeek article Portland ranks Number 1 as America’s unhappiest city. Ouch!

For those who don’t live in this part of the country you might have misconceptions about the notorious winter weather out here. It doesn’t rain all year long, and it doesn’t rain all the time in the winter either. However it is almost always cloudy and overcast from November-February. It’s not just partly cloudy overcast either. I’m talking about a dark gray 100% cloud cover that looms overhead emitting drizzle, fog, freezing fog, humidity, and the constant threat of rain, which does happen quite often. To top it off the humidity makes the temperature feel colder than it really is. The temps usually hover in the 40’s during the day, and 30’s at night, rarely deviating from that cycle. To make matters worse many people in the seasonably cloudy northwest get SAD (seasonable affective disorder) during the long winter months with minimal sunshine. Many locals will tell you its all hype and the cloudy weather doesn’t bother them. Others are more frank about it and just accept the fact that it’s a seasonable thing. While I enjoy the indoor hibernation of being “rained in” for a while I can tell you it gets old very fast. By the time January rolls around it can be a downright drag.

Before you start feeling SAD let me share with you some good news about how to cope with the winter blues. It’s very simple really, so simple that you might kick yourself for not thinking of it sooner. Take a vitamin D supplement. Sounds ridiculous I know, but it actually works. This was suggested to me by another Coloradoan who moved out here and felt SAD in the winter. After leaving a place that has about 300 days of sunshine per year and moving to a place that has about 300 cloudy days a year it can be a difficult adjustment. I might add that in my case I had been working swing shift inside of a factory building that had no windows at all. Additionally I am slightly lactose intolerant so I drink very little milk, which is a good source of Vitamin D for most people. Something had to change.

I’m not usually one to promote taking pills to fix problems, especially pharmaceuticals; however when talking about natural holistic supplements I do feel there are many advantages to be had. In a time when most people’s diets consist of processed foods you miss out on a ton of vitamins and minerals that our ancestors got naturally from real food. Additionally people’s lifestyles have changed over the last several hundred years with the advent of the indoor factory job starting during the industrial revolution, and today with cubicle jobs. Simply put people don’t get out enough, and don’t eat enough natural foods, which amounts to an unnatural lifestyle.

With this in mind I bought a bottle of Vitamin D pills for about ten dollars, per my fellow Coloradoans suggestion. These pills each contained 1000 IU of Vitamin D3, or 250% of your RDA (recommended daily allowance). According to this article and others I’ve read, the RDA of Vitamin D is outdated and should be much higher than the current standard. Apparently this outdated standard is the amount needed to prevent rickets. That is a malnutrition condition that my Grandma used to warn my sister and I that we’d get if we didn’t eat all of our food. If only I had the Internet and Google back when I was a kid I would have informed Granny that nobody in Florida has a Vitamin D deficiency.

When winter settled in last year I started taking the Vitamin D daily. The first day I took the sunshine pill I felt like Superman at work. It was just one of those days that I felt absolutely terrific like I was on vacation at the beach. I wondered if it could all be in my mind, maybe the power of suggestion. Over the next few weeks the effect was less significant, however if I stopped taking it for a week or so, and then took it again I would definitely notice a difference. Very rarely do you get a noticeable feeling from taking a vitamin or supplement like you do from a drug like caffeine. In this case however, I have concluded that the Vitamin D does have the effect of making you feel as if you spent a day in the sun, but without the sunburn.

If you’re still not convinced then let me tell you about our doggie Mulder who is a regular sunbather. Every chance he gets, but especially in the wintertime, he will find the only available patch of sunlight in the house or yard and just go sprawl out there. Sometimes it’s just a small corner in the backyard where the sun is shining, or a spot in the hallway where the sun is beaming down from the skylight. He is always excited to go on a walk, but especially if it has been raining recently and the sun makes an appearance. That is when he will really campaign for a “W” (walk). Some of his political strategies to speed up the W are staring out the front door window pane and then looking back at me with longing puppy dog eyes. If I get up out of my office seat he will get excited and start walking around in circles and snorting as if to say “oh we’re going now”? I have a hard time saying no to his enthusiasm so he usually gets his way. I wonder, does he naturally know about the benefits of catching some rays, while I’m just now figuring out?

You talking about me?

There are other ways to beat the winter blues too. Many folks around here try taking a vacation to someplace sunny during the winter months. We haven’t had this opportunity yet, but I do think a trip to Hawaii in January sounds delightful. I also like to go skiing or snowboarding where you can feel surprisingly warm being all bundled up, and get lots of sunshine reflecting off the snow. Of course it is absolutely necessary to wear sunscreen on the mountain or you will be fried to a crisp, but this brings up another concern. Does sunscreen block Vitamin D like it blocks UV rays? I’ll explore this concept in the upcoming part 2 of the Sunny Series.

This post is part 2 of 3 in the Healthy 2010 series.

There are only a few basic material things in life a human needs to survive; air, water, food, and shelter. Beyond that everything else is a luxury. Air is a given and I’ve talked about water in previous posts. Food is pretty important so why do people take it so lightly, or should I say heavily? Most people (myself included) have a few basic problems with their diet that can cause health and weight issues. In some cases people know what the problem is but ignore it. In other cases they let their lifestyle dictate their diet, or they just don’t take the time to care about what they eat. Occasionally an individual may be disillusioned into thinking their diet is perfectly fine when in fact it is not.

For most people the biggest problem in their diet is eating more calories than they burn. This doesn’t always mean how much you eat, but also how much of what specific foods you are eating at certain times. Too much of anything is usually bad for you. I’ve gone through many tweaks and improvements in my diet over the years for various reasons. Besides having a fairly healthy diet I’ve been fortunate enough to have pretty good harmony with my body so when I eat I’ve always been able to tell when enough is enough. Furthermore when I eat or drink something that isn’t good for me my body is usually affected in some kind of negative way. For example when I eat something with too much salt I will usually get a terrible headache which makes me think twice before making the same mistake again. I do have a little problem with snacking and sweets (especially chocolate), but I don’t want to be a bad influence on anyone so I won’t outline all the different kinds of chocolate I have in my snack attack arsenal. Instead I hope to be a positive influence by outlining some of the finer points that I have learned over the years to maintain a healthy diet, and maybe I can work on my own snacking problem too…

Eat a balanced diet
Sounds cliché eh? Well you all know this fact well, but too many people still eat subsistence junk food just to get by. The false notion is that if you are filled up then you are good to go, but your body is not like a car where you can get by on whatever fuel happens to be the cheapest and easiest. Do your research and take the time to plan out a quality balanced diet that meets all of your health needs. Here are a few things to think about when you are considering what is right or wrong in your diet. People need protein but too much meat can be unhealthy, especially fatty meats like beef. Try eating grilled chicken breasts or sliced turkey sandwiches instead of double cheeseburgers or fried chicken. Healthy alternative sources of protein include beans, nuts, lentils, dairy, quinoa, etc. Fish is very healthy, but can contain high levels of mercury depending on the type. Do your research to find out which types of fish are sustainable and contain less mercury. Dairy is a good source of protein, but can have other issues with RGBH hormones and lactose which affects most people to some degree or another. Try buying organic milk that is free of RGBH, or convert to soy milk. We drink Silk brand organic soy milk which is excellent. For carbs there are what is known as good carbs and bad carbs. The bad carbs have a high glycemic index, or in other words they are rapidly digested. Examples of those are potatoes and white bread. Good carbs would include whole grains and healthy fruits. The South Beach Diet book does an excellent job of explaining this and is a good read even if you don’t do the diet. More on that in the next section.

Go on a diet (guys this means you too)
I know there are a lot of fad diets out there and I don’t believe in any diet that says eat all carbs or all protein, because anything that doesn’t include a healthy well balanced meal just isn’t healthy in the long run. Many of the all protein meat crazed diets that have come out in the last decade do help you lose weight, but it doesn’t always stay off and certainly is not healthy. Likewise being vegetarian isn’t always a healthy choice either. I’ve known vegetarians that make up for the lack of meat by eating sugar filled goodies. Going vegetarian will usually mean you eat less overall because you have less options, but you still have to eat quality food. A good diet is all about eating well balanced meals. One diet I do think is good is the previously mentioned South Beach Diet. It initially starts you off on a shocker diet of mostly protein, and then reintroduces good carbs back into your diet after the 2 week introductory phase. Even though I was not overweight I went on this diet some years ago with my wife I still lost 15 pounds over the course of the diet. For me this was a little too skinny and I eventually went back to my original weight after eating normal again, but I have always been more conscious of my food selections since then.

Eat the right foods at the right times, and likewise avoid the wrong foods at the wrong times.
As you know breakfast is a very important meal in the day. I’ve never been a big breakfast person and often skip it altogether, so this is something I also need to work on. Generally speaking you should eat a good meal early on to get your body fueled for the day. Whatever calories you eat in the morning should be burned off during the day so if you are going to eat something indulgent this is the time to do it. On the flip side of this dinner and especially midnight snacks or anything around your bedtime is something you have to be very careful of. What you eat during this time will not be burned off like your earlier meals so they can make a big difference in your waistline. Nevertheless some people like me feel the need to eat something before bedtime. I stay away from sweets and large meals and usually opt for a small bowl of whole grain cereal in soy milk to hold me over. As an overall rule you usually want to eat most of your daily caloric intake earlier in the day, and try to eat a healthy low carbohydrate meal in the evening.

Learn how your body needs and uses food
There are a lot of theories and ideas on what and when you should eat. Read up on these ideas, try them, and then follow what works for you. One of many examples I can think of from reading fitness magazines is to make use of what is called a protein window. The idea is you eat a meal with high protein content during your protein window so your body will utilize that protein to help rebuild muscles. The two main protein windows are within an hour of working out, before or after, and just before you go to bed. You body is active and looking for protein (and carbs) to recover during and after your workout so this is obvious and should be considered. The theory on eating before bedtime is that your body will utilize the protein you eat to rebuild your muscles during the night. Pure protein meals like a grilled chicken breast (by itself) are usually low in calories and won’t make you gain weight so this isn’t a bad thing at all. You might keep this in mind if you work out frequently, but late night is not the time to carb up, nor do you need to make a practice of eating a midnight protein meal unless you are a serious body builder. The idea here is to take the initiative to learn what your body needs to be healthy and don’t be afraid to change your diet to see if you get better results.

Stop the mindless eating
Everyone should be conscious of what and how much they are eating rather than just blindly shoveling food into their mouths. Mindless eating is snacking, eating too much, and not paying attention to what you are eating. You don’t want to deprive yourself to the point that you eventually binge, so remember that moderation is the key here. It is always better to eat overall smaller meals with healthy snacks now and then to hold you over, as opposed to 2-3 large meals with long stretches of growing hunger in between. Some examples of healthy snacks are mixed nuts, yogurt, fruit, raw veggies, etc. Aim for a healthy balanced diet with the right amount of healthy carbs and protein; and don’t be afraid to throw in an occasional treat. For me the treat is one bite of 72% dark chocolate after a meal (about half an ounce). Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and a great choice for a healthy snack in moderation. Be warned though, it does contain some caffeine so it’s not a good choice for kids, and it is poisonous to dogs (along with grapes and raisins) so keep it out of their reach.

Portion your Food
After Charlotte and I got married she gained a little weight and one night asked me why I thought this was happening. I told her simply it is because she is eating exactly the same amount of food that I was. I am quite a bit taller and heavier than her, not to mention being male which means I need more food and burn more calories. Even though I eat less than the average American, when she was eating the same amount as me she was still eating more than her body could handle. She started weighing her portions of food out on a kitchen sized digital scale, and would eat only that predetermined portion. I thought this was funny at first but it turned out to be very effective for her, and she still does this with most meals! Another habit to get into is if you go out to eat at a restaurant try splitting a dish with your significant other, or split your dish in half before you start eating so that you can eat the half portion for lunch the next day. When I was working out heavy in the past I would sometimes force myself to eat more than I naturally would so that I’d gain weight. Once I stopped working out frequently my appetite took a long time to return to normal. This is something to keep in mind for anyone who eats more than they should for any reason.

Cut down on the Salt and Sugar
American food is full of salt and sugar and both of these come in many forms. All of the processed, prepackaged, and fast food we eat is loaded with both of these culprits along with many other undesirables. Sodium makes your body retain water causing you to feel bloated. Your body needs to sweat to cleanse itself, but when you eat too much salt you end up holding water and other impurities that your body should be purging. Too much sugar is obviously not going to help matters either. Soda, candy, and anything with corn syrup (see Children of the Corn blog) is just packing the pounds on your waistline, so exclude those from your diet as much as possible. The French are known for their deserts (believe me they do eat them), but you rarely see overweight people in France, or Europe for that matter. What’s the difference? People over there eat more natural foods from markets, and much less processed foods; a good example to follow.

Make a drastic change in your diet such as cutting out MSG, Corn Syrup, or both!
I stopped eating foods with MSG about 10 years ago. My diet was instantly transformed because suddenly about half of the food I normally ate was eliminated, which meant I had to cook and buy more natural and organic foods. We recently cut out corn syrup as well, which cut out many more of these junk foods that we previously thought were ok. While adjusting your diet in this way may seem like a hardship, just think of it as a positive change in lifestyle. Remember its ok to fudge once in a while. I’ve found good alternatives to Heinz ketchup at Trader Joes and Whole foods that don’t have corn syrup. However if I’m at a restaurant and have French fries in front of me I’m still going to use whatever ketchup is available, because what’s a French fry without ketchup? By the way fries or pommes frites as we like to call them are another big weakness in my diet…

Eat lots of fiber
It’s a dirty topic but someone’s got to talk about it. You need fiber in your diet to keep your digestive pipes clean. Take care of your body just as you would a vintage car. Eating fiber is like putting fuel injection cleaner in your gas tank. When you don’t get enough fiber digested food hangs around making you feel bloated and clogging up your intestinal track. Fiber helps your digestive system run clean and keeps you regular. Fibers can be naturally found in fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains to name a few. If you feel like you can’t get enough of these foods naturally then you can buy fiber supplements at any vitamin store. There are many varieties of soluble and insoluble fiber so if one doesn’t work well then try others. Anything with psyllium husks usually works very well. Additionally fiber is thought to help reduce the risk of prostate cancer which is very common in American men.

Hit the health food store
You can get great products and free advice at the local vitamin and supplement store, or in the equivalent department of an organic grocery store like Whole Foods. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and try new products. Items like protein powder, fiber supplements, multivitamins, and flax seed oil can be great additions to your diet. I’ll cover some of these topics in more detail with future posts. Just don’t overdo it with any one product, and be sure to ask get the opinions of multiple people in addition to online research before taking anything new.

Eat slower and chew your food better
Instead of eating until you feel stuffed try to estimate how much food you should eat before you even start your meal and stick to that amount. It takes about 15 minutes for your brain to get the message that your stomach is full so if you eat slower you’ll be less likely to overeat. When you eat slower you generally tend to chew your food longer which makes your brain feel like you are eating more. Well chewed food will be easier to digest. Taking your time to eat a healthy nutritious food should be an enjoyable experience preferably shared in the company of others, rather than a cheap fill-up at a fast food joint. An added bonus to eating healthy and slow is that you will have less gastric disturbances with good food that is eaten properly, in comparison to fast food that is quickly consumed.

Eat at home
Somehow people have the misconception that restaurant food is actually good for you since it looks and tastes so good. This is usually not the case. Fast food is almost always low quality junk food, and restaurant food is more often than not high quality junk food. Many of the chain restaurants serve little more than overpriced frozen and processed foods that are loaded with MSG, salt, preservatives, corn syrup and other junk. This article outlines examples of sandwiches from both fast food and chain restaurants that sound healthy but are anything but. Instead of falling into the convenient trap of eating out all the time take the time to shop for good quality groceries and cook your own meals. Don’t just buy the same frozen, bagged, and canned junk food at the grocery store though. Buy the good stuff and try shopping at the farmers market for fresh wholesome foods. Cook large meals so you can eat leftovers for a couple of days rather than going out. Cold cut sandwiches are healthy, easy, and cheap too. Even convenient delivery pizza on occasion (thin or whole grain crust is better) can be good for multiple meals and is usually healthier than most other fast foods as long as you are conscious about the toppings. Implementing some of these strategies into your food routine will help you shed the excess padding off of your waist and put it back in your wallet where it belongs.

Many children growing up in the U.S. today are overweight, or at least weigh more than they should be for their age. I’m not even 40 yet and I can still remember back to my grade school days when there were only a couple of kids in the whole school that were really overweight, and most kids were skinny as a rail. Today you only have to go to your local mall or other teen hangout to see that times have changed. There are many factors involved here but today I’m going to try to shed some light on Corn Syrup or High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which has made a hefty difference in the diets of children in this country.

Although invented much earlier, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) was really introduced in the mid 70’s, and then became heavily popular in the 80’s when it eventually replaced sugar in almost all processed foods and drinks. Most conventional grocery stores sell primarily processed foods outside of the meager produce section. Next time you go shopping at a conventional grocery store take a closer look at the ingredients in some of your regular items. You’ll likely see that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), or some form of it is surprisingly high on the list of ingredients in a wide variety of food products. Ketchup, jelly, fruit juice, Gatorade, most soda, waffle syrup, salad dressing, and energy drinks, are just a few examples of things that you would think might be somewhat natural, but aren’t. They are all powered by HFCS, typically one of the main ingredients.

Corn also known as Maize is very common in the U.S. If you drive through the Midwest you will see miles and miles of nothing but corn. All of this corn has to go somewhere, and with the help of the Corn Refiners Association, it does. Where there is big money, there is also propaganda, advertising, lobbyist, and government. It’s cheap to grow, and cheap to buy. There is nothing wrong with natural corn which has many uses and forms such as delicious popcorn. However in its dumbed-down commercialized U.S. version, corn is not all it can be, and in many cases like HFCS corn is more than it should be.

So what is so bad about HFCS you might wonder? It does come from good ol’ corn after all, right? Well yes, but HFCS is not so natural and wholesome. I’m no chemist but I know that HFCS is a result of a complex refining and genetic modifying process which is done in a pollution emitting factory. This cheaper sugar alternative works out great for soda manufacturers and other processed food companies who save millions using it as a sugar replacement and preservative. Unfortunately this savings comes at the expense of your health!

Since HFCS is not sugar it is likely that the body does not metabolize it in the same way that it does natural sugar. You would think most people would have learned by now that pretty much all sugar substitutes are bad. Saccharin causes cancer, Aspartame (NutraSweet) has been linked to Alzheimer’s, Xylitol is poisonous to dogs, and Splenda the latest craze is highly controversial? HFCS doesn’t get the same bad rep as these other sugar substitutes because it isn’t designed or marketed to be a healthy sweet substitution like the others. The products it resides in are generally not diet or low fat foods. People who eat and drink products containing HFCS generally aren’t concerned about their health, so why would they complain about something that tastes like sugar and acts like sugar².

For those of us who are concerned about our health one solution is to stop buying products that contain HFCS. If consumers boycott HFCS, and instead purchase products that contain natural sugar or cane sugar, then eventually manufacturers will have to go back to making products with real sugar the way nature intended. Some products like jelly bought from a farmers market might have nothing more than crushed fruit, which is really all you need. Fruit is nature’s candy, why the smuckers would anyone corn-coat it?

If you are concerned about eating real sugar, don’t be. Deprogram yourself from the media and diet fads so you can reevaluate what your body really needs. Protein, carbs, and sugars are natural ingredients to a healthy body and diet, especially for energetic growing kids. Too much sugar can be a bad thing, but too much HFCS is likely much worse. You wouldn’t sprinkle sugar on your salad would you? If not then why would cover it in salad dressing that is loaded with HFCS? Knowing is half the battle. Being selective and educated about what, when, and how much you eat is the key to winning the battle. To learn more than you’ll ever want to know about HFCS read this three part blog posting. Part-1, Part-2, Part-3.

Most school cafeterias today have vending machines serving up HFCS in the form of processed drinks, food, and candy to the kids of Generation Corn Syrup. It’s not like the old days when the only option was a brown bag or a school lunch that included the 4 food groups. When I was in elementary school milk was the only option for a drink, and we could only have chocolate milk on Wednesdays. Today’s kids seem to eat whatever they want and their choices are usually influenced by what their friends are eating or what they see on TV. Don’t leave it up to the schools, government, media, or other kids to teach your kids what to eat. Take it upon yourself to learn what is and isn’t good to eat, and then pass this information down to your kids so you don’t end up raising Children of the Corn Syrup.

I’ve always been a cell phone slacker. You know the type, that carries around an outdated phone that just isn’t cool anymore. I would usually get a basic semi-cheap phone with the smallest footprint possible just so I can carry it around in my pocket like a pack of gum. In most cases I’ve been willing to stay one step behind the latest technology, especially when it came to cell phones because I have a computer that can perform all of the same tasks. Besides it was only ten years ago that I painstakingly figured out how to call my home phone number and enter a code into the answering machine to get my voicemails. I would have to quickly enter the code before the greeting was over to prevent burning another quarter on the pay phone I was dialing from. I’ve come a long ways since those days, or so I thought.

Like so many people that have been pushed reluctantly into the the computer age, I’m being pushed into the Smartphone age. The cell phone I was using just wasn’t cutting it. Text messages were nearly impossible to send, and at times during a call I’d get a violent screeching sound out of the blue. Dropped calls were a daily occurrence, and most of the time I couldn’t even get a signal in my own home. The best or worst problem (depending on whose perspective) was that the phone would turn off after my wife called me. No ring and no missed call indication; the phone would just power off. Oddly enough this almost always happened when my wife called, and rarely when anyone else called. Some friends would joke that was really just a bonus feature, but my better half didn’t think it was so funny.

I found out that I get a healthy discount on cell phones through my employer, and my current cellular contract was about to expire, it was time to upgrade! I started my research in typical fashion by reading reviews posted on cnet and amazon wireless. When I mentioned to a (much younger) coworker that I was thinking about getting a Blackberry he said nonchalantly “don’t get the 8300 model because it has one of the highest radiation levels of all phones”. I’ve always known that cell phones emit some sort of signal that could potentially be bad for your brain, but beyond that I didn’t really have much more knowledge of the issue, nor did I initially consider factoring that into my buying decision.

I located the article my coworker told me about on cnet called Cell Phone radiation Levels. The article explains what the SAR (specific absorption rate) is for RF signals into the body, and how that number is regulated by the FCC on cell phones. In the U.S. the maximum allowable amount is 1.6 watts per kilogram. Surprisingly the allowable SAR limit is higher in Europe at 2.0. In the side column of the CNET article there are links to different manufacturers so you can look up the SAR rating of most cell phones out today.

The CNET article states just like many others including this one from CNN that there is no conclusive evidence that cell phones are dangerous. Common sense does however tell us that anything unnatural like radiation coming out of a device we put next to our brain can’t possibly be a good thing over long periods of time. There has been so much made over this subject in the last 10 years or so since cell phones have become commonplace that you have to wonder if there really is something to all of this. Consider this, people have always known that smoking is a bad thing, even before surgeon general warnings and links to lung cancer. They just didn’t know how bad it was until the last few decades.

Even before I researched this topic in detail I always took precautions when using my cell phone by using a wired headset when on long conversations. It’s safer anyway when you are doing any type of activity while talking on the phone, and in many states (including Oregon starting next year) a headset will be required by law while driving. Keep in mind Bluetooth devices still have their own SAR levels, but most likely its much less than the phone itself.

While in the cell phone store I asked a few different sales associates about cell phone radiation levels and they all seemed to be very knowledgeable about radiation and the SAR subject (not to be confused with SARS). Most of them just dismissed it as “it’s just a fact of life” and suggested getting a Bluetooth headset (additional sale) to reduce your exposure. One salesman commented that living within 3 miles of a power plant is a greater radiation risk than using a cell phone. I was unable to substantiate that via google search, but did produce this Wikipedia article on the topic which outlines a dizzying amount of information that basically translates to- he says, she says, but who really knows for sure.

I’ve often wondered if living in an urban area with all of the radio frequencies of radio, tv, phones, wifi, power lines, and everything else that goes along with city life is in itself more dangerous to our health than living in a small remote town with a population of around 10,000. Certainly living in a downtown area would be the most harmful when you add in other factors like pollution, however your quality of life might be more rewarding if you can walk to the local store, bar, coffee shop, and weekend festivals. This of course only applies if you live in a nice downtown like Portland. The bottom line is you have to figure out what gives you the most reward, and what you are willing to sacrifice for that reward; be it health, time, money, or otherwise. This applies to many other things in life as well. Reward vs sacrifice; its a delicate balance.

As I pondered this philosophy I reviewed all of the phones I was interested in. The Blackberry Bold I was initially interested in had one of the highest radiation levels at 1.51 which I deemed unacceptable. Another phone by Sony Ericson boasted the best camera available in a cell phone at 8 megapixels which was very cool, but it wasn’t even a smart phone and had SAR levels of 1.32, plus no qwerty keypad. Non smart phones typically seem to have a much lower SAR level on average, but that isn’t always the case. Check this article for a list of the 10 best and worst SAR level phones.

I eventually decided on the RIM Blackberry Curve 8900 which had a relatively low SAR level for a smart phone at 1.01. Note that other Blackberry and even some curve models do have higher SAR ratings like the Curve 8300 which is 1.51 like the Bold. The BB8900 I chose allows me to send a text message about 10 times faster than my old phone, makes a good iPod impersonation, and I can check the weather at the trailhead in a web browser; outstanding! The real deciding factor for me was that the Blackberry is the email king of cell phones, it’s like having Outlook on your cell phone!

To me I feel it was worth it to enhance my life and communications with others by upgrading to a smartphone. I’ll still keep an eye on this topic though, and use my headset whenever possible. Additionally I won’t be carrying this new phone around in my pocket 24/7 like I have with phones in the past, but that is ok because I won’t need to, this phone actually rings before it disconnects the call.

Water is everywhere so people tend to take it for granted. Approximately 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, and the human body is made up of about the same percentage. Naturally this means you need to keep your body hydrated on a daily basis with good clean drinking water. By drinking beverages such as soda that are full of ingredients other than water you are just making your body do extra work to get what it really needs.

In some parts of the world people are lucky to have any clean drinking water at all, much less water to bathe or cook with. Here in the good old USA water flows freely, which means many people use and unfortunately waste it without an afterthought. This easy access to the world’s most important resource has led Americans and residents of other first world countries to take water for granted. It was only recently that those same people began to question the purity of water that comes out of their tap. That is when the bottled water craze began.

Some of you might think drinking bottled water is a good solution, but I’d argue against that notion. Plastic bottles are clogging up our landfills, and it has been exposed that most bottled water is merely tap water or filtered water given a fancy name with a high price. If you do drink bottled water you should use your own reusable bottle that is BPA-free (you can get these at REI), and fill it with filtered water from home or work. Using your own water bottle or mug can save several paper or styrofoam cups every day.

So if bottled water isn’t the answer then what is? Let me tell you a little story that led to my path of clean water enlightenment. Many years ago, in a previous life I lived in Dallas, Texas. During these years I was more worried about what was in my beer than in my water, but one day I had a water revelation. I was playing tennis on a hot summer day and couldn’t help but notice that I wreaked of chlorine smell. I began to notice this after any activity where I sweat profusely, which in Texas can be something as simple as walking out to your car since temperatures often get into triple digits during the summer. All of this sweating of course means you have to drink a lot of water to rehydrate. The tap water where I lived in Texas was really poor quality, so bad that you could smell the chlorine in it when turning on the faucet. It only makes sense that if you drink this chlorinated water your body has to work overtime to purge your system of the chlorine.

Chlorine is a poisonous gas/liquid that is sometimes used to kill bacteria in water. You can read more about Chlorine at this web page from the CDC Chlorine Facts Page. My question is “if it is poisonous enough to kill you then why would you even want to intake it in small quantities, and wouldn’t that cause your body a lot of damage over years of exposure?” I took the first step to solving this problem by buying a cheap Brita filter from Wal-mart which did help a lot, but it still wasn’t quite enough.

When I moved to Colorado I found a local filtered water place called Water To Go  (also in Oregon) where you can bring in your 5 gallon (or whatever sized) jugs and fill them up for about 40 cents per gallon. They run their water through a 12 stage filtration system so it basically comes out completely purified. You can really taste the difference, or should I say not taste all the things that shouldn’t be there.

I know there are over the counter water filters that you can install in your sink and I think those are an excellent choice too, but usually pricey for the good ones. Currently we still fill our bottles at Water To Go, or Whole Foods Market. In the future we might get a home filter installed so we can have filtered water for all of our cooking and other needs.

Additionally we put a filter on our shower head from a company called Rainshow’r that filters out chlorine in the shower so it doesn’t dry out your skin. I immediately noticed a difference from this too. Previously my skin was always dry and sometimes itchy. When you take a hot shower your pores open up allowing your skin to become more vulnerable to absorbing harmful chlorine and other contaminants.

Whether or not you think using a filter on your shower head is a worthwhile practice is up to you, but drinking filtered water is a clear choice that everyone should consider. Everything you put in your body must be purged at some point; if it isn’t then it is unnaturally building up in your body which is likely to lead to bad news down the road. As with anything there are plenty of arguments on both sides of this issue. I’d recommend that you do your own research and decide for yourself if you think your water source is clean and safe, or if there is something funny in the water.

People ask me all the time why I waste money on organic foods, or go through all the effort of my restrictive diet to abstain from beef and avoid eating foods with MSG, corn syrup, GMO’s, RBGH, and other items the FDA claims are GRAS (generally regarded as safe). The main reason is simply that I enjoy living a healthy lifestyle. The more I learn and research health and green topics the more adjustments I make. We all have the ability to adapt, and in this country almost always the means to adapt, just not always the will to change. Unfortunately some people have the attitude “who cares we are all gonna die anyway”. That is really just another way of saying “I don’t know any better and I’m too lazy to learn or change”. If that sounds familiar and you are just going through the motions in your life, then you are really missing out on good food and a lot of other things. It’s time to wake up and smell the organic coffee! 
 
The reason I bring all of this up is that I recently watched a very disturbing documentary called “The Future of Food”. It basically discusses corporate control over food and farming in America and GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) that are bioengineered. I have always loved watching documentaries because they are educational and usually expose facts and ideas that government and corporations would rather you not know about. “The Future of Food” was one of those documentaries that really open your eyes to a part of everyday life of food that affects everyone on earth. After watching this I felt like breaking out some protest signs and marching on Washington!

Many of the questions I had about food and GMO’s were answered in this film. Other topics such as growing your own food, buying organics, joining CSA’s were discussed and justified as part of the solution. My only complaint about the documentary is that I wish they had spent more time talking about solutions and less time making me mad about the details concerning the problem. I guess the point is that if people don’t fully understand the problem enough to get mad about it they won’t be motivated to change. Point taken! If you want to get mad about your food and government too then just watch the intro to this documentary from the link below, or better yet just watch the whole documentary and get really mad!

The current situation with agriculture reminds me of when oil prices doubled last year driving up inflation and helping to fuel the fire of the bad economic state we are in now. The reality of just how dependant we are on oil and the foreign countries that produce it became glaringly apparent. People became more conscious of the record profiting oil companies and lobbyist that have their hands in the pockets of government officials, auto industries, and just about everything else.

Now just imagine instead of an oil crisis there is a worldwide food shortage. Drought and overpopulation cause people even in this country to scramble for food and stockpile items like rice and beans just so they can be assured of their own future of food. In reality this is already happening in many parts of the world, but if another factor was added to that list you would have the perfect storm that could starve the world. Do you think when a loaf of bread suddenly costs 10 dollars people would wake up in a hurry and get educated about what we are eating, where it is coming from, and who are the corporations pulling all the strings? You bet!

“The Future of Food” talks at length about a handful of corporations that have been making and patenting genetically modified seeds since the 70’s. These modified seeds are designed to grow crops that withstand pesticides which are specially formulated to kill everything else except those crops. How convenient! If this all sounds like a racket, well it is. These corporations are all in bed with each other along with the FDA and lobbyists. The scary thing is that these seed and insecticide corporations are so greedy they continue to modify and patent new GMO’s such as suicide seeds that will sprout crops that produce sterile seeds that won’t sprout when replanted. This is all to make big money. Farmers will have to buy seeds every year from these corporations instead of saving their own seeds like they have done since the dawn of agriculture. These seed corporations have already put many small farmers out of business by suing them for having the GMO pesticide resistant seeds/crops mixed in with their own crops, which happens naturally from birds/bees/wind/etc. Here’s the real kicker- imagine what happens when these new GMO suicide seeds get mixed in with natural crops! The seed companies will rule the world, or what’s left of it.

The best thing we as consumers can do before it gets to this inevitable point is to get smart about food, and use the one influential power we have (besides our voice and vote) which is our buying power. What we buy dictates what is sold. It’s simple economics- supply and demand. So when you read food labels, buy organic foods, shop at farmers markets, join CSA’s, and grow your own food you are not only becoming what we call in Portland a “foodie”, but you are fighting corporate control. You can grow your own food, plant organic veggies, and use organic seeds instead of genetically modified ones. Local nurseries are better bets to find natural and organic plants than big corporate chain stores. For our own garden we have used mostly organic seeds and plants with no pesticides or unnatural fertilizers. We have found a really good seed company locally  in Oregon called Territorial Seed that uses only natural organic seeds. Next year we plan to buy all of our seeds from them and make sure everything in our garden is completely organic.

One additional thing we can do is demand that products containing GMO’s are labeled like they are in Europe. If you go into your local organic grocery store you will see many products that say “no GMO’s”, but you will be hard pressed to find a product in the U.S. that says “contains GMO’s”. Americans lead the way on many different fronts, but when it comes to food we could learn a thing or two from our neighbors across the pond.

Europeans are years behind America in food technology, and that’s a good thing. Instead of fast food restaurants and chain grocery stores on every corner you have local bakeries and farmers markets. That is the way it has been done for ages, and it’s how the people in Europe like it. Having firsthand experience with food in Europe and America I can tell you- there is no comparison. Americans want easy, fast, and cheap food; basically anything that comes in a box, bag, or can. Even most American restaurants shamefully serve what amounts to upgraded tv dinners at a premium price. When you go to a conventional grocery store the only natural looking food is in the produce and meat department, but alas even that is bioengineered in this country. Imagine if Americans decided to get smart about their food and used thier loud voices to demand change. It would change the Future of Food in this country, and maybe the world. Personally I’m all for new technology and lifestyle improvements, but when it comes to food I’ll take it the way nature intended it to be, not the way man has made it to be.

The "Small" Bin

Recently we attended the Everything Green Oregon event at the Oregon Convention Center. There were a wide variety of businesses and organizations there promoting their business or cause. Some of the more interesting booths included water filtration products, electric car exhibit, and solar energy companies.

Being foodies we were most interested in the CSAs (community supported agriculture) and organic food. As Marcel talked about in the last post, we’ve already signed up for one local CSA that will last us throughout the summer. At the convention we found another option that compliments that seasonal CSA.  Organics To You was offering a 50% discount to try their service of a home delivered box of fruits and veggies. The delivery is free and the box is normally $33, but at the show we signed up for the first time special for $16.50. What a bargain! We did pay full price ($4.25) for the eggs (farm fresh from Banks, OR) which were not included.

The best thing about this service is that it is year round and you can sign up for a delivery whenever you want, rather than paying for a whole season up front and getting it every week. During the winter months there isn’t as much available locally so only about half of the items are local but it’s still all organic. We thought we would try it for a one-time delivery, and then if we like it maybe get this box once a month or so in the winter when the regular CSA’s are not available.

Wednesday night a typical crazy Portlander who looked like Hyde from That 70’s Show (but with even bigger hair) showed up on our doorstep with the box of goodies. As you can see from the picture above, it is a very good variety of fruits and veggies along with our farm fresh eggs. Last night I made some potato leek soup. Yummy…this has motivated us to eat more fruits and vegetables. Between the CSA, Organics To You, and our own garden goodies, I’m looking forward to good wholesome eating all year long