Microwaves: How An Appliance That Was Supposed To Facilitate Our Lives Puts Us In Danger

I’ve been able to have the priviledge to speak with some very knowledgeable health gurus recently.  We’ve all known for years that the use of microwaves are not recommended but yet some how life always takes over and we turn to appliances that instead of helping out harm us and our families.

I’m personally not a huge microwave user but yes, I do have one in my home.  The worst part is that I can admit that when I do use the microwave it tends to be food that is consumed by my children.  I can explain!  My kids (mostly my daughter) are on a tight schedule.  Dinner for them typically is around 4:30.  That is the time I usually am making dinner therefore, the kids for the most part have dinner from the night before.  Today though I made a conscious decision to keep to our schedule but as I was cooking our dinner I added the kid’s dinner to heat up on the pan.

You might be wondering why all of a sudden I am going out of my way to change our habits.  Well Earlier this week when chatting with a friend she shared with me that not only radiation is emitted but the chemical composition of the food is changed as well.  By changing the chemical composition of the food it makes it even harder for the body to digest but it also changes the pH level of the food.  You can take a food high in alkaline.  Once microwaved the pH level is alarmingly acidic.

So here I am trying to consume as much raw, local and organic foods which we all know is not cheap but then I ruin the quality and goodness for the sake of saving some time.  At that point I might as well be giving to my children fast food every day.

I currently have a wall mounted microwave.  While I have the will power to avoid usage I will be removing all together.  I just have to first figure out what to put in place.  I hope this makes you think twice when reaching towards the microwave.

Ten Reasons to dispose off your Microwave Oven
From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, one can conclude this article with the following:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term – permanent – brain damage by ‘shorting out’ electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].

2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.

3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.

4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.

5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.

6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.

7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumours]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in UK and America .

8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.

9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.

10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

*Taken from http://employsnews.org/2011/12/11/microwave-test-an-eye-opener/.

Passion Versus Purpose

Morning all!  I have been super busy this morning making calls for some very exciting stuff coming up.  As I’m sitting here chatting with mom (yes, she’s back from Spain and boy did I miss my morning chats) I was filling her in on my week.  I was telling her about all my exciting calls and chats I had had and one that particularly resonated with me.  When speaking about my passions I was told that it was not a coincidence or passion but yet it was my purpose in life.

You know when you have those AHA moments?  Well this definitely goes into my top  10 Aha Moments.  Hope this makes you think and put into perspective what your purpose in life is.

Peace & Health
-J

Gluta What?

What is glutathione you might ask and why do I care?  Well Glutathione is an essential amino acid.  As stated by Dr. Mark Hyman, “Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants.”  Glutathione helps fight infection, cancer, heart and many others.

Studies have found that Glutathione levels were high among young healthy patients versus sick and older patients.  Now you may ask why is this important aside from helping prevent disease.  Well living in a modern industrialized world that we do there are concerns with our glutathione levels.  Glutathione is naturally produced and because we live in a world of go, go, go, we are making it difficult to produce enough in order for our body to eliminate the toxins we are exposed to.  Glutathione levels are compromised when our body’s are exposed to poor diet, environmental toxins (cellphones, microwaves, radiation, air / water pollution, etc.), stress & medications.

So how does glutathione work?  When our bodies are exposed and ingest toxins the job of glutathione is to have the toxins grab hold of the glutathione and naturally expel.  When we are over exposed and our body does not produce sufficient glutathione is when disease starts to emerge.

Glutathione levels can be increased by having a glutathione producing diet as well as eliminating environmental factors that we can control.  As mentioned Glutathione is made by our body.  It is not in foods but there are foods that help promote your ability to produce glutathione.  Foods such as avocados, asparagus, broccoli (all cruciferous), garlic, spinach, sulphur foods, tomatoes, tumeric & watermelon.  For those meat eaters out there even FRESH, unprocessed meat that are range and hormone free have been linked to help the body increase glutathione.

There are supplements of glutathione you can also take but it is suggested to be taken in conjunction with a diet high in glutathione promoters and moderate exercise (over exercise will deplete)

All of this is not that hard to achieve.  It all goes back to conscious eating and making the right choices.  Remember that balanced hormones prevent disease.  When our bodies are not at homeostasis is when encounter challenges that may potentially be detrimental to our lives.

Finally, as suzanne somers stated when speaking about people facing disease, her suggestion was, “Eating like your life depends on it.”  Taking small steps to a healthier life style is not about giving up on foods.  It is about making a conscious decision towards a life with those you love.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh2PYQBICWs

Juice Fast Summary

It has almost been a week since I completed my juice fast.  I feel like it not only was a way to detox my system for a whole week but it taught me a lot along the way.   I had a day that things were just not working for me and all i wanted to do was grab hold of some chocolate with a bag of potato chips... hello emotional eater!!!  thank goodness i kept true to my fast and did not cave in.  


overall i was happy.  there were moments that it was nearly impossible.  fasting is very difficult while being out and about.  although i did pack juice with me to take with me it was not nearly enough to sustain me throughout the day.  


also, there are a few different fasts out there.  there are many that you can eat and there are some that all you do is have juice.  I had done a lot of research prior to deciding what i would do and decided that i would do the best of both worlds.  I had juice all day and had a fasting approved meal for dinner.  I chose this because dinner time is sacred in my home and even though i could have sat down with a pitcher of juice i wanted to keep the week as normal as possible.


dinner would consist of beans or a large salad of mixed green or veggies.  the misconception of many is that you will be “starving” but in all reality you should not be hungry.  the first 3 days i did not go out and i was fine.  i actually felt quite energized.  some of you might already know from following me on twitter or facebook that I suffer from insomnia.  the funny part was that for that week between 9 and 10pm I was completely exhausted and had to go to bed.  


There were some ups and downs just like in everything you do in life.  the down was because i was detoxing i had a few cluster breakouts of acne that I am still trying to get rid of.  although quite annoying it is an indicator of many of the impurities that were trying to escape.  the up which many would appreciate is that aside from toxins exiting my body i lost 2 solid pounds.  may not sound like much but i am only 5 ft and my jeans are feel quite comfy :)


i will be doing another juice fast.  i have not decided if i will be doing 1 week every month or maybe a 14 day fast in a month from now.  may sound drastic but truthfully the more i make positive modifications to my life the easier it becomes.  i think that my biggest challenge at this moment would be to give up cheese.  it’s not like i’m sitting here eating wedges of cheese all day long but it is a food that i really enjoy as a snack.


also, maybe for some of you a week might be too long.  why not try 3 days or even 1 day?  you’ll really feel a difference.

How Did It All Start?

Earlier this week I received this question for Dana W.  I decided going forward I will be answering all emails with questions via my blog.  They are all excellent questions and many of you might have the same questions.


Dana M.


Hello ; ) i was reading some of your blog and ive been super intrested in fasting/juice...how did u get started and what kind of juicer do i get!?


Truthfully I’ve been having green juice since I was a little girl.  My wonderful parents raised my sister and I in a way that we appreciate and eat all foods.  In saying that my mom was a stay at home mom that cooked a warm homemade meal 7 days a week.  By the time my sister and I came home from school she had our green juice served with a snack of pretzels and a cheese stick.  To this day my sister and I still crave or miss our pretzels and cheese sticks when we have our green juice.  When college came around life got a little hectic and we stopped drinking our green juice.  Not until the past year have I really gotten back into the swing of things.  I’ve also made some modifications to our green juice.  I don’t add dairy, all ingredients are organic (except cucumber... it’s a pain in the neck to find organic so I just peel off the skin and in it goes) and most importantly I along with my children drink it 1-2x a day.


As for the juicer, it depends on what your goal is.  I will be writing a post on the difference between juicing and blending soon. (I know I keep saying that but there truly is so much I want to say yet I’m a little limited and my writing tends to be in the crack of dawn or late at night.)  My green juice is more of a meal replacement for me since it is quite filling so I use my Vitamix (the Cadillac of blenders).  By blending you are keeping the fiber from the pulp of the fruit and veggies which has done wonders for my constant battle with bloating and constipation (sorry just keeping it real.)  In a short comparison if you go for the juicing route which is also excellent but different because you are getting rid of the pulp which in return will make a runnier more juice like consistency.  The benefit of juicing is that because there is hardly any work your body needs to do in order to digest and metabolize the nutrients get absorbed much quicker.  Since the juicer I really want is currently out of my reach (cold pressed) I am using a Moulinex juicer that happened to be in my parents garage. Which reminds me my dad was the one who started me on juicing (I think that is where the Moulinex came from.)  As a little girl I suffered from really bad nose bleeds and from what I remember he bought the juicer and would make me beet and carrot juice to increase my iron levels.  Don’t I have the best parents?!?!


There are other fantastic juicers aside from going all out on the Norwalk.  Breville is also known for their juicers and they have a variety of price points to fit your needs.


Though I am not a certified health coach (not yet) at this moment do not have my own personal fasting regiment.  I have an idea and the basics already but I would not feel comfortable “prescribing”  What I can recommend is for you to purchase or read up on wellness warriors such as Kris Carr, Joe Cross and Kimberly Snyder.  Start off with them.  Also if you have a Netflix account watch documentaries such as Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (follows the life of Joe Cross who was very ill and taking lots of meds.  It show that by fasting along with careful monitoring of a doctor he not only lost a tremendous amount of weight but also was able to get off all his medications.) Also, Forks Over Knives & Crazy, Sexy Cancer made a huge impact in my life.


Also, if you are not used to juicing I would take it slow.  The goal of juicing and fasting is to get or keep your body at its optimal health levels with the added bonus of shedding some pounds along the way.  Juicing and blending is time consuming and requires some planning out.  Why not start with just having a juice or smoothie once a day and gradually move up.  


I hope this answered your questions and I will be going into depth on some of the topics I touched upon.  I appreciate all questions and will answer as fast as I possibly can.


Peace & Health
-J

H&M Conscious Collection

H&M Conscious collection

Today was a typical tuesday of our weekly outing with my mom.  We were doing a little shopping in midtown manhattan when the window display of h&m caught my eye.  Basically, h&m created a collection made from sustainable materials such as organic cotton, hemp and recycled polyester.  The collection consists of ready to wear and red carpet inspired pieces for men and women.  Pieces are from  $9.95 to $299.

Nothing sexier than green fashion at an affordable price.

Peace & Health

-J

Chi Chi Chi Chia!!!

Chia is Mayan for “strength”.  Now who doesn’t want a little strength?  A few years back many of you might remember the infamous Chia pet commercials.  You would water the “pets” and green sprouts would emerge.  Well those same Chia pets were made of the same chia seeds that are now being proven to be beneficial to our daily lives.  Chia seeds have been around for hundreds of years and are native to central and southern mexico and guatemala.  

Chia seeds are one of nature’s highest plant based sources of complete protein. THey hold more omega 3 than salmon and high in antioxidants.  They also have more calcium than milk, more potassium than a banana, more antioxidants than blueberries and more iron than spinach.  Chia has also started to be incorporated into the feed of chickens and cattle making the eggs and meat more nutritious.

Aside from being one of the foods with the highest nutritional value they can also be used in place of butter or oil when baking .  For example, if a recipe call for 1/2 cup of oil you would use 1/4 cup of oil and a 1/4 cup of chia seeds.  The reason why you can substitute is because chia seeds when exposed to liquid or moisture grow in size and become heavier.  They have an ability to retain moisture and therefore, require less fat when baking.  

also, because chia seeds absorb liquid it prolongs hydration and keeps you fuller longer.  When chia seeds are exposed to liquid they become gelatinous.  What is gelatinous?  Gelatinous means that it becomes a jelly-like consistency.  By becoming gelatinous it helps eliminate old accumulated waste in the intestines as well as keeping you regulated.

Dr. weil has even suggested adding chia seeds to commercially prepared infant formula and baby food.  I personally add 1-2 tablespoons of chia seeds in my green juice daily.  I have also added to my homemade granola bars.  There are endless opportunities in which you can add chia seeds if you eat dairy you can sprinkle over yogurt or make a delicious Chia Fresca *See below for recipe.

Now that chia has started to get more exposure it is more easily found.  You can purchase online or local health food store.  Try by adding a sprinkle over your food and slowly increase your daily intake.

Peace & Health

-J

Chia Fresca (Chia limeade)

4 Tablespoons of Chia seeds

1 Cup of Filtered water

1/2 lime

1 Teaspoon of Stevia

Let chia seeds soak with cup of filtered water for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes add lime and stevia.

You can add all types of fruits for a change.  Crushes raspberries, blueberries, pomegranate, etc.

Homemade Easter Bread

I was out food shopping yesterday afternoon. I went to one of my favorite Italian markets Seven Brothers in East Northport, NY. Having a little time on my hands I noticed a lot of goodies that they carry gluten free pasta, organic produce and even vegan artichoke raviolis! I was there to buy some ravioli for that evening’s dinner as well as some good meats for my hard working husband. The funny part was when I asked them for some ribs and to make a few pieces of brasciole I got the anti-Christ look. If you are not Catholic you might not know that for lent omnivores are not allowed to eat meat. ESPECIALLY on the friday before Easter (Good Friday)... it’s a HUGE no no. Anyway, the butcher and I sparked a conversation and I told him I was cooking for my husband for Sunday since he won’t be home. Truthfully I wanted to explain myself because I felt guilty for even buy the meat. Anyway, that’s the good part about not eating meat it was one this I didn’t have to worry about this year.

Well back to the point of this post. They have a homemade bakery in the market and saw the array of different Easter breads. I was tempted to buy one when something in me just came over me and I wanted to make it myself. Also, as a parent one of my biggest goals is to build tradition and memories for my children. I want them to be proud of me and for them to some day build the same memories and traditions. Now if you know me I’m not the best baker. I have only recently become patient. I think it stems from my mom. She is truly an AMAZING cook but OUTSTANDING baker. No boxes or shortcuts in her kitchen. In saying that I always felt like what’s the point? I have Mommy lol! Yes, I’ve been spoiled all these years.

I went home, made some homemade sauce, made my husband’s Easter dinner and dinner that evening. At about 9pm I ran out to get the ingredients I needed for the bread. Of course I like to make things more difficult for myself and as I stood there looking at the recipe and organic aisles wondered if I really had to go off the recipe and make some changes. I took the risk and made the changes I felt comfortable with. While I still have to thank Open My Ears, Lord for her post on blogspot for her post http://openmyearslord.blogspot.com/2012/04/italian-easter-bread-once-again.html That is where I got most of the information and inspiration from. So here is my version....


Organic Easter Bread With A Twist

2 and 1/4 to 3 and 1/4 Cups of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbromated Unbleached White Flour
1/4 C Organic Raw Sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package dry yeast
2/3 cup Almond Milk
2 TBLS Earth Balance Organic Butter Spread
2 Organic Cage Free Eggs
1/2 C Organic Raisins Soaked In Rum (I used Zacapa Rum from a town in Guatemala that is known for their rum. I am not a fan of rum at all but it’s amazing that the entire time I was making this bread all I could think of was that my Grandfather would love this since it was his favorite.)

5 Colored Unshelled Eggs (Had to use non-organic because I couldn’t find white and brown eggs are not easily tinted.)
Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Combine milk and butter and place over low heat until liquid is warm. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 min. at medium speed of mixer, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add 2 eggs add 2 more cups of four. Knead on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a warm, greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
After the dough has doubled in size (about 2 hours), punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. While you let the dough rest, covered, for about 10 minutes and add raisins.
Knead the raisins into the dough. Divide dough in halves (lengthwise, rolling each piece into a rope about 14 inches long. Twist ropes together loosely to form a braided ring on a baking pan. I used a little cooking spray on the pan to prevent from sticking.
Place the eggs in at the twists in the braids. Brush the bread with melted butter.
Cover the bread again with a light weight towel and let it rise (just like above) until it has doubled. About 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven.

Prior to baking


Set the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Check the bread at 25 minutes to make sure it has not browned too much. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Post baking

The Easter bread represents the meaning of Easter and Christ.

Braid = Crown of thorns Christ wore
Eggs = New Life
Bread / Yeast = Rise of Christ

Mommy oops!

This is what happens when you are in the middle of writing a post and your realize you’ve left your 27 month old on the potty too long.

He decides to get off the toilet, start taking his clothes off and redecorate the bathroom with toilet paper. FANTASTIC!!! How can I get upset at that face though?

***Don’t mind the unruly hair. He has an appointment this afternoon. :)

Fasting On The Go

Today was a more challenging day. And not because I had no will power or determination but because traveling while fasting is very difficult when you have no access to a juicer. I was able to get up early enough to make some juice for my commute. For lunch I had a vegetarian lentil soup and tons of water. Mom and I were spring shopping this afternoon when it hit me. That sluggish oh my goodness I need to eat something feeling. Luckily I have to admit I have not had that feeling the past 3 days. I’ve had a juice or smoothie at hand and cut the hunger before it became famine. I was sitting in the middle of the dressing room watching my mom try on different clothes when all I could think of was a juice. I remember mom asking me about the outfit she was trying and before I could let her finish I just said I need to drink something. I pulled myself together had some water and was able to calm myself down. So well that I was able to go into the children’s department and check out some spring clothes for the kiddies.


After that it was time to go home but I knew that I would not be able to wait until I got home to make some juice for myself. I caved in and had a small mesclun salad with chickpeas, carrots, beets, tomatoes, cucumber and ginger vinaigrette dressing. I still had a craving for juice and the area we were in there was no juice bar to be found. The best I could do was Jamba Juice (not my personal favorite because of the added sugar but you take what you can get.)


The funny part was as soon as I got home I took a shower and ran straight to my kitchen to make my own juice. It’s amazing when you are used to eating fresh organic homemade meals and juices nothing will truly satisfy your craving until you get what you want.

Proud Mommy Moment

This morning I had lunch duty at my daughter’s school. I was at my post hanging out with Amanda and her little group of friends when a teacher came up to me and asked if I was her mommy. Truthfully I had an “Oh my what is she going to tell me.” moment. I have no idea why I would be concerned since she has never given me any issues and especially when it comes to school. As I went to answer yes she said, “I love Amanda she is such a sweet girl. But I love the snacks and lunch you give her. The kids in her class could learn a thing or two.” Of course I was beaming. Mrs. Hanel (the teacher’s assistant) proceeded by saying, “You’re a great mom! How did you do it?” I just said that I always made my own baby food and that what ever we have for dinner (which is always a home cooked meal) is what the kids eat. I am not running a restaurant that everyone can have a different meal nor do I believe that kids should just be given mac and cheese with hot dogs. Though it is okay as a treat or whenever there is a time constraint on the other hand it is by no means a norm in our home.

Also, might I add I had made a smoothie before I left home and made enough to bring for Amanda. Charlie and I had our’s at home. When I went to hand Amanda her smoothie Charlie and Amanda started bickering over the darn smoothie. I’m having a true mommy brag post now but I am truly blessed and proud to have 2 very loving and adventurous angels.

Back to Basics

With all the different juices to chose from sometimes it just comes down to what you have in stock at home and the time you have at that moment. I was getting a little tired today from having had lunch duty at my daughter’s school, food shopping in the morning and caring for a 2 year old. I wanted to get a quick jolt of energy before my daughter got off the school bus. I grabbed my bag of carrots, apples & ginger and decided to go with it. My mom and sister were around so I made some for them as well. The family that juices together stays together... hahaha! Just as I was done juicing I gave my brother in law a try and he loved it. By then the little princess was home and guess who wanted some? So after all this juicing who was the person that had no juice? Me of course. It wasn’t a big deal because I just went ahead and made some for myself. I was teasing them that they were taking away my juice and to remember that I was the one fasting. I’m glad I am able to make juice for my family and have them genuinely enjoy them.

So what started as a 3 glass plan became 5. How awesome is that!

Juice Fast Day 1

Today was the first of next 7 days of my juice/smoothie fast. I started off with my sweet potato smoothie for breakfast (about 12 ounces) which kept me full until about 1pm. Around 1 I started gathering all my ingredients for my green juice. The list is quite long and not your average green juice. Though I have tried and enjoyed different versions, I always fall back to my green juice. I typically don’t add a banana but today I wanted to so the thickness of the banana would keep me fuller longer. You would think that with only juice I would feel tired and dying to put some food in my mouth. Honestly, I felt with a lot of energy and oddly very empowered. I kept say to myself in my head, “I am and will be happy. I chose to start this and I have the power to stop when I’ve had enough.”

I had a busy day with the kids. My daughter’s friend come over for the afternoon to decorate some cookies and Easter eggs. Then I realized my family was getting together to have Sunday dinner. No matter what I refuse to not even sit down and spend some time with my family. At first I was going to sit there with my juice and even though I know I would have been fine I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. So I decided to have about a cup of whole wheat pasta with red sauce and a huge bowl of mixed green salad. I didn’t eat the meat but did have a thin slice of semolina bread. Dessert was easy to say no to . I did though have a cup of blackberries followed by more green juice.

Though today was not the perfect juice fast day I am very happy. There is room for improvement and everyday with be more perfect. Oh and the picture above was the amount of juice I consumed today. I have exactly 2 cups left over which I am tempted to drink but I am not hungry and it’s getting late so I might just say a little prayer and throw it out. Till tomorrow...

Peace & Health
-J

Green Easter Basket

I was grabbing all my greens this afternoon when I saw my bowl full of beautiful shade of green. I couldn’t help but wonder if the Easter bunny were to bring me a basket boy would I be thrilled to have this in my basket. But if you are a parent I’m sure you can’t get off the hook as easily. Though holidays are great time to have your little ones enjoy a treat here and there try to think outside of the box. Instead of those life size chocolate Easter bunnies try to grab a book with maybe a mini Easter bunny. Don’t know what to get an infant? What about a classic wooden toy.