February Goal: Meal Plan

I can now cross off another of my goals for the New Year: a 14-Meal Rotational Plan. These are dinners only. Breakfast and lunch look very similar unless a smoothie or juice substitute for a meal. Snacks include beef jerky, kale chips, fermented fruit leather, boiled eggs, and avocado ice cream.

We currently follow a grain-free diet, as outlined in the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Meals are based on inclusion of organ meats, fish, fats, and free-range, organic poultry.

1. Meatloaf (include kidney, heart, and liver, as well as green juice pulp). Adapted from Rejuvenating Recipes' Delicious Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
2. Spaghetti squash with vegetable stir-fry and green salad. *
3. Chicken fajita lettuce wraps with guacamole.
4. Blackened salmon with vegetable (adapted from this recipe, using ghee instead of vegetable oil).
5. Roasted chicken (we include extra drumsticks). I typically adapt this recipe, substituting ghee for the olive oil.
6. Beef brisket with onions.
7. Spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce.
8. Chicken salad wraps with homemade mayonnaise.
9. Sausage (include kidney, heart, and liver, as well as green juice pulp). Adapted from Millie's Sausages at Rejuvenating Recipes.
10. Mexican vegetables (lots of red/green bell peppers) with salsa and guacamole. *
11. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes made with squash and coconut flour (adapted from this Grain-Free Pancakes recipe).
12. Chicken drumsticks and vegetable casserole.
13. Lemon pepper salmon.
14. Chili (add beef bone for extra fat).

* Meatless meals.

All meals are served with fermented vegetables and/or drink, as well as chicken broth/vegetables.

Vegetable options include sautéed greens, steamed vegetables, oven-baked veggies, and mashed cauliflower.

Food Awareness

In his profound work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, published in 1938, Dr. Weston Price documents his findings after studying people groups untarnished by processed foods. Dr. Price found that those groups who left their native diet for "modern," processed foods showed clear signs of physical degeneration. Dr. Price's research has never been disputed.

"The evidence seemed to indicate clearly that the forces that were at work were not to be found in the diseased tissues, but that the undesirable conditions were the result of the absence of something, rather than the presence of something." Dr. Price concluded it was the absence of nutrients.

What are processed foods lacking? What is added that disrupts them? What exactly goes into foods produced in a factory? The following Food Awareness Quiz from momsAWARE is designed to help us ask these questions. These aren't commonly known facts, so the purpose is not to score well—it's designed to help awaken us to the clear connection between our health and foods stripped of their nutritional value.

Here is a sampling of the 15 questions featured on the quiz:

1. This is the ingredient list for which product?
   
   UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, SALT, EMULSIFIERS (MONOGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN), DEXTROSE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (FLAVOR ENHANCER), ONION POWDER, BAKING SODA, DEHYDRATED COOKED CHICKEN, HYDROLYZED CORN AND YEAST PROTEIN, SPICE EXTRACTIVES, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE (FLAVOR ENHANCERS). CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
   
   a. Ramen noodles
   b. Campbell's Chicken & Stars Soup
   c. KFC Popcorn Chicken
   d. Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit
2. The symbol pictured at right, the radura, is commonly found on food packaging. The radura signifies:
   
   a. Organic
   b. Genetically modified organism (GMO)
   c. Irradiated food
   d. Additive-free
3. Acrylamide, a chemical deemed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer to be a "probable human carcinogen," is commonly used in caulking, food packaging, and some adhesives. Food and cigarette smoke are the two major sources of exposure. Which of the following foods contains the highest level of acrylamide?
   
   a. General Mills Cheerios
   b. Hershey's Cocoa
   c. Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Natural Gourmet Potato Chips
   d. Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds
4. The following oil is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a biochemical insecticide, acknowledging that this substance "has low chronic toxicities."
   
   a. Canola oil
   b. Peanut oil
   c. Safflower oil
   d. Cottonseed oil
5. TBHQ (tert-Butylhydroquinone), a chemical preservative which is a form of butane, is also used as a corrosion inhibitor in biodiesel. Which of the following consumer products does NOT contain TBHQ?
   
   a. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
   b. McDonald's Big Mac
   c. Keebler Vanilla Wafers
   d. Purina dog food
6. The United States is the largest producer of corn in the world. According to the EPA, 80% of all corn grown in the U.S. is used for:
   
   a. Food for animals
   b. Processed foods
   c. Ethanol
   d. High fructose corn syrup

How did you do? To find out, see the comments section of this post. To further test your knowledge and learn more about the foods we consume, visit the momsAWARE Quiz Center and take the Food Awareness Quiz.

Toxic Talk Tuesday Today!

Join my husband Chris and me today, February 7,  for another Toxic Talk Tuesday on Chris Fabry Live! We'll continue our conversation about healthy eating and introduce the exciting momsAWARE Natural Year Challenge, both Food and Household editions! Tune in live at 2:00 p.m. Central time or visit the Chris Fabry Live! website to listen via audio stream or podcast.

Garlands of Rosemary

I have a keen interest in the subject of working memory. I lost a great deal of memory function while living in our toxic home. I also have an interest in the subject of chemicals. Because of our exposure, we have eliminated them from our home and diet.

Last fall the staff at our small charter school allowed me to conduct a science experiment. The experiment asked one question: Do chemicals and/or essential oils affect working memory?

The chemicals used were perfume, dryer sheets, and window cleaner. The essential oils were lavender, peppermint, and rosemary.

We decided to allow each child to participate. Some would be test givers; others would be test takers. More than 40 students participated over the course of two weeks. We conducted control tests measuring the working memory of each participant using Digit Span Testing.

According to Psychology Wiki:

Digit span testing is a measure of memory span which is the number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Where numbers are used it is also known as digit span, and the test is called digit repetition. It can be seen as a measure of working memory (or short-term memory, depending on the psychological framework used), although other factors such as attention and comprehension also contribute to the performance on this test.

In a typical test of memory span, a list of random numbers is read out at about the rate of one per second. The test begins with two to three numbers, increasing until the person commits errors. Recognisable patterns (for example 2, 4, 6, 8) should be avoided. At the end of a sequence, the person being tested is asked to recall the items in order. The average digit span for normal adults without error is seven plus or minus two.

Reverse repetition is more difficult and requires more processes besides immediate recall.

Here is one of our test sheets:

The directions were as follows:

"I am going to say a series of numbers for you to remember. When I am finished, I want you to say them in the reverse order in which I said them. Do you understand, or should I give you the directions again?"

On separate days we asked the participants to smell a designated scent for 30 seconds. We had them wait silently for two minutes and then tested them with the alternate set of numbers.

Our findings were inconclusive for the most part, with one significant exception.

Colin's graph shows the increase and decrease in scores for the three essential oils. Rosemary clearly had an impact on working memory. Of the 43 test subjects, 2 scored lower after smelling the oil, 11 remained the same, and 30 showed improvement. What is even more interesting is that those 30 individuals improved by a total of 46 points!

Our experiment simply validates what Greek scholars knew centuries ago. They wore garlands of rosemary during examinations for focus and recall. Shakespeare understood this benefit as well. In his play Hamlet, Act 4 Scene V, Ophelia gives her brother Laertes a flower, saying, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance."

This 2003 study concluded that "rosemary produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors, but also produced an impairment of speed of memory compared to controls." (We didn't test the speed of the recall, simply the performance.)

What is it about rosemary that helps memory? According to Dr. James Duke, former U.S. Department of Agriculture chief of medicinal plant research, "Rosemary contains more than a dozen antioxidants and a half-dozen compounds reported to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine." Acetylcholine is a vital neurotransmitter, and when compromised, has been implicated in memory deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease. See this article for other reported health benefits of rosemary.

Greek scholars, Shakespeare, and a USDA official all agree with our middle school students. Rosemary is a wonderful herb well worth. . . remembering!

Rashes

Brandon reached into the refrigerator the other night and applied some whey to a rash on his arm. The rash is nothing new. It's been there for more than four years. Fortunately, it has substantially diminished in size. The rash used to go from the top of his arm straight through to the inside of his elbow. Many times I wondered if the pigment would ever return. Slowly but surely, his rash is healing; it's down to a patch at the top of his arm.

Every now and again he'll decide to put something on it, and whey is one of our options.

I had no idea the rashes we experienced while living in our toxic home were connected with our environment. Of course, the skin is an easy port of entry and exit for the body, so in retrospect it's obvious.

Since our detoxification process began three years ago, we've seen some incredible rashes, many of them more dramatic than the ones we saw in the house. I've captured a fraction of them in the slideshow below.

What are some helpful solutions for rashes? These are our top five:

1. Calcium bentonite clay. I keep a jar of liquefied clay in the cupboard. Living Clay offers an excellent quality product. Add clay powder to water at a ratio of 1 part clay to 8 parts water. Calcium bentonite clay can be combined with raw apple cider vinegar for added benefit.
2. Grapefruit seed extract. GSE is antimicrobial and often helps with itching. NutriBiotic offers a reliable option. GSE is best diluted before application.
3. Tea tree oil. Also highly antimicrobial.
4. Whey, kefir. The probiotics in homemade dairy products can be very beneficial and soothing.
5. Coconut oil. Unrefined virgin coconut oil is optimal. Wilderness Family Naturals offers an excellent option.

Kids and Diet

"How will my kids possibly adjust to a life without processed and refined foods?" This was my greatest concern as I moved toward an all-natural, whole foods diet two years ago.

It's not been easy, but our kids' willingness to try new foods has astonished me. Recently Colin (age 12) and Kaitlyn (age 13) were required to write a compare-and-contrast paper about their family's diet versus the typical American diet.

Colin took a somewhat humorous approach, raising only two commonalities: water and onions. As for the contrast, Colin pointed out:

I can't have half of a quarter of the food America eats. Therefore, my differences outweigh my similarities. Like, for instance, take sugar-infested Pop-Tarts. Everybody knows what a Pop-Tart is, and yet I have to miss out on the enjoyment of the soft crunch as you sink your teeth into it. But, I deal with it and continue to move on and stay healthy.

Kaitlyn compared the two diets to high school crowds, with the majority of Americans in the popular group and our family in "the outsiders."

For "the popular ones," it is typical to eat processed foods daily. The normal routine for my family a long time ago was wake up, eat cereal, head out the door, munch on some Doritos for snack, have a Lunchable, and come home to Macaroni and Cheese. This is not the case anymore. We now eat NO processed foods. None whatsoever; zip; zilch; nada. In fact, most of our food is bought from local farmers markets, which introduces the next difference between us, the outsiders, and typical Americans.

Usually, it never enters one's mind that they could get to know their own farmer, but for my family, not knowing the farmer is almost foreign. I have met, chatted with, and even visited almost all of our farmers. We know who we can trust and who we can't, which, I think, is very valuable. I used to pick a package off of the shelf without even thinking about where it comes from or what was in it and drop it into the cart. Most people do. Just like the popular clique in high school. They don't necessarily think deep about their actions; they just. . . jump on the bandwagon.

If I had a penny for how many differences typical Americans have with my family, I would probably be rich. But, money isn't what really matters. People get what's fast and affordable for their own convenience, but, no. My family and I have to do everything the hard way. Trust me, it's not easy, but it is the healthier choice. A while ago, we used to be like that; make food in just a minute. That's the drawback of eating healthy. You must throw all of your conveniences out the window and wait for your food like in a high-end restaurant. If my tummy is rumbling and I long for some food, I can't just pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Instead, I must chop vegetables, get some meat source cooking and fully cook a stir-fry that takes about 30 minutes to make. Although it takes that much time, it is absolutely, positively worth it in the end when I get to taste the spices, vegetables, and meat blended together perfectly and there are no side effects afterwards.

I doubt Robert Frost was thinking about food choices when he penned The Road Not Taken, but I find his words encouraging.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

As I reflect on Kaitlyn's essay and our decision to return to traditional foods, I am reminded how daunting the road was and still is at times. But our return to real food has, indeed, made all the difference.

New Year's Goals

I’ve set some goals for the New Year (it's never too late). Twelve goals, for each month of the year. Of course I have some relational and spiritual goals as well, but the following goals are related to food, cooking, and health. I've found that one goal per month is realistic and much better than a weekly goal. I've also found that I learn best through my mistakes, so a full month gives me more time for trial and error.

My New Year's goals:

1. Grow wheatgrass.
2. Perfect our soapmaking recipe. (I failed in my first try and moderately succeeded in my second try.)
3. Make natto. (Natto is a fermented soy food—something I'm eager to try with organic, non-GMO soybeans. Proper fermention helps deal with the antinutrients while offering a powerful probiotic. Here is an interesting article on the subject.)
4. Make a liver recipe that my family will eat. (I eat raw liver and make capsules with dessicated liver for my kids, and throw in liver when I make sausage or meatloaf. I have yet to try to make a meal out of liver.)
5. Prepare a 15-meal menu planner.
6. Make pickles that taste as good as Bubbie's.
7. Learn to compost.
8. Make mustard.
9. Make cultured butter.
10. Expand my herb garden to include the herbs used for Four Thieves. (I love cleaning with Vinegar of the Four Thieves!)
11. Make a printable shopping list which includes all the items I order from the food co-op, online, Whole Foods, etc.
12. Make fermented salsa.

I purchased a brand new binder to help me stay focused and organized. I am in the process of collecting information sheets/recipes for each goal. Below is the binder, alongside my first goal: Wheatgrass.

(My first batch of wheatgrass went fine until I overwatered. I tossed the moldy batch and so far so good with batch #2.)

If all goes well I'll head into 2013 with a meal plan, a compost pile, and a shopping list! And some nice fresh wheatgrass, of course.