The Study of Macrobiotics And Me

Here is just one thought or example of the philosophy of Macrobiotics.  I do not practice this diet but I am currently studying aspects of the diet and I am really intrigued by the concept of the universe and eating locally and seasonally in order to stay in line with your environment and the universe.


Now, the more I think about this I began to realize that our parents and grandparents lived by this all their lives.  They knew what you needed to eat when you were sick and they prepared foods based on what was locally grown and available. 


It really wasn't until international trade and intercontinental shipping became prominent that this began to change and most of us starting to eat completely out of season, even out of our country foods that where not native to our environment.  We put ourselves out of sync with the universe and nature.  No wonder illnesses started to increase.  We also lost the instinctive ability to choose foods to heal ourselves.  We are no longer tapping into our instincts on what to eat and when.

Through my studies at The Institute For Integrative Nutrition I listened to Andrea Beaman's lecture, "Learn about Macrobiotics" and I quote "George Oshawa believed that Nature is God and God is truth.  To know God is to recall nature and to acknowledge the greater order of things." If you are living somewhere and eating foods from somewhere else not local, like another country or climate your body will become confused. You will be lost to your environment and this goes against nature and the entire universe."


This supports the movement to eat seasonally and locally.  This actually is ancient practice in macrobiotics. Now this doesn't mean you can never eat a banana or coconut.  It's not what we eat occasionally it's what we eat daily that confuses our bodies.  So enjoy the occasional banana or salad in the winter but don't make a daily habit out of it.

Great example given by Andrea is when she lived in New York and in the winter she was always freezing, she could never get warm no matter what.  What she discovered is that she was eating based on the low fat diet she was on consisting of salads and berries during the winter.  These foods are cooling foods and are grown in the summer months.  What her body needed was stews, (organic) lean meats and root vegetables which are warming foods.  Once she changed her diet to be in line with her environment the issue was resolved.

Isn't that amazing?  What are you eating that could be out of line with your environment?  What changes can you make today that would put you back in alignment with the order of the universe?  Make a list of current ailments or conditions then after implementing a diet of preferably organic locally grown, seasonal whole foods, revisit that list after a couple of weeks and see where you are with those ailments or conditions.  There's no denying those results, tried, tested and true on you.

Jackie Bennett
Health Coach

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Another Way to Kill Small U.S. Farmers: Seize Their Bank Accounts on Phony Charges

This is an interesting situation to say the least.   What I want to point out here to everyone is the constant divide on government regulation.  On one side we have those that do not want big government which includes oversight and regulations in many areas of our lives from banking, to grocery, to farming.  We want our freedom to choose and decide for ourselves what is right for us and our families but we don't want products and or services that will harm  us or our families. 

On the other side we see gross manipulation of the law and huge amounts of profits being made at the expense and health of the people.  We have those that seek greater regulation in order to stop the injustice that is happening to all areas of our economy.  Profit over public health and safety!  Unfortunately, added regulations and laws are usually met with big dollars from lobbyist groups who have the power and influence to either eliminate the regulation completely or have it so washed down that it basically becomes useless and essentially is more of a self regulating law or regulation. 


We also need to understand that we are a free enterprise society and in a free enterprise society innovation and products are produced to create a profit for the company, person, business or corporation selling the product or service.  We need to understand as well how the corporate structure works and what the primary goal is for any corporation or business.  The primary goal at the end of the day is to make money for the stockholders and owners.  Now, that doesn't always include decisions or products that are truly safe for you to consume or take part in.  Yes, we have government regulations in place for some things but the regulations are grey to put it nicely and are left to wide open areas of interpretation.  This gives the corporations and small business the ability to introduce products and services in order to give us more choices and freedom to choose.  

However, what we are really dealing with is our government allowing abuse of power by corporations that have grown so large with so much monetary power that they have essentially taken over our food supply chain.  They have learned how to avoid being considered a monopoly and they have the funds and the power to get around anything that gets in their way.  

So what does this mean for the consumer of products and services? 

• For one the money to buy our politicians and political system needs to be eliminated on capital hill and corporations should not be allowed the same rites as a human being.  They are not humans they are corporations.
• We have to be involved in every part of the decision process of our products and services we choose.  We must stop selling out to slick marketing campaigns and tactics to sell you products and services based on our over busy lifestyles and over consumption of quick, fast convenient products and services.  This opens the door to many products and services that are and will be harmful to you and your families.  Now, I am not saying everything convenient or fast is bad.  However, if you don't take the time to read the labels, find out where things are coming from and what they are made of your quick, fast convenient product or service may not be what you bargained for.
• It appears to me that what is the driving force behind our terribly flawed and sick food supply chain is the consumer demand.  We created the demand and the market responded.  If you want healthier more sustainable safer foods than you have to put your money there and start purchasing safer more sustainable grown and produced products.  What is in your cabinets in the kitchen and the bathrooms?  Are you supporting the chemical companies with products that are toxic and unsafe for your family?  Are your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator filled with processed, packaged foods made with numerous chemicals that aren't truly fit for human consumption?  
• Step back and take a good look at your lifestyle and determine if you are allowing things in that are unsafe due to lack of time or convenience.  If so, what lifestyle changes can you make to remedy this situation?

Now, these are just my opinions and a few suggestions on what I have seen and read and researched and what you can do to make an impact and bring about change.  

Read the this article below and start researching and reading about what is happening in our own backyards.  See what is happening with our food supply chain and Corporate Agriculture Farming Organizations and Confined Animal Feeding Operations and become part of the change.



By Dr. Mercola

In its latest move against small farmers who dare to operate outside the umbrella of CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) and Monsanto-dominated crops, the U.S. government has seized $70,000 from a small dairy farmer in Maryland. The feds did this under the "Bank Secrecy Act," which requires that paperwork be filled out for any cash deposit in excess of $10,000.
The farmers, Randy Sowers and his wife Karen, made deposits totaling more than $295,000 from May 2011 to February 2012, but each transaction was less than $10,000.
Now they are being accused of "structuring," a violation of federal currency reporting requirements, as the feds are accusing them of deliberately depositing money in increments of less than $10,000 in an attempt to evade Currency Transaction Reporting requirements.

Government Seizes $70,000 On What Grounds?

The dairy farmer's "crime" stems from his weekly sales at local farmers' markets. The sales averaged about the same amount each week and, dutifully, the Sowers deposited them. They'd reportedly never even heard of the Bank Secrecy Act or "structuring," but that was of no interest to the feds—the consistency of the amount the Sowers deposited, always less than $10,000, raised red flags to the feds, who claimed that this was indicative of a crime.
The government promptly seized about $70,000 from the bank account, then issued a warrant for the seizures. As reported by Food Freedom News:ⁱ

"The Dept. of Justice has since sued to keep $63,000 of the Sowers' money, though they committed no crime other than maintaining their privacy. Without funds, they will be unable to make purchases for the spring planting. When a similar action was taken against Taylor's Produce Stand last year, the feds seized $90,000, dropped the charges, and kept $45,000 of Taylor's money.
Knowing that most farms operate on a very thin margin, such abuse of power wipes out a family's income, and for a bonus, the feds enhance the monopoly power of Monsanto, Big Dairy and their supply chain.… Former Maryland assistant U.S. attorney Steven Levin told the paper [City Paper], "The emphasis is on basically seizing money, whether it is legally or illegally earned. It can lead to financial ruin for business owners, and there's a potential for abuse here by the government.""

The raid on the Sowers was conducted by an agency created in 2009 to go after money-laundering criminals. The agency started out with a bang by seizing $1.2 billion from a real money launderer, but it appears that what it's interested in now is making criminals out of small business persons, including small farmers.

Why Are Family Farms Under Attack?

 

If they're not seizing bank accounts, it seems the government will find other ways to attack small farmers. A family farm in rural Michigan—and possibly others—may be shut down by a new state law that designates certain breeds of hogs as a threat to neighboring hog breeders and croplands.
Basically, the fight is over the definition of feral hogs vs. domestic hogs. The dictionary definition of "feral" refers to an animal running wild. But Michigan authorities have taken it a step further and extended the definition to include enclosed private hunting preserves and small farms that house what authorities call an "invasive species" of hogs.
There is no genetic test to determine whether the species on these farms are truly invasive, so authorities are basing their cases against these farmers solely on visual observations. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) uses this vague description to describe the prohibited hogs, and makes it clear that this does not apply to the domestic hogs raised on CAFOs:ⁱⁱ

"Wild boar, wild hog, wild swine, feral pig, feral hog, feral swine, Old world swine, razorback, eurasian wild boar, Russian wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus). This subsection does not and is not intended to affect sus domestica involved in domestic hog production."

Other descriptions supplied by the MDNR include such a wide variety of characteristics that virtually any pig other than the familiar pink domestic breed raised on CAFOs could potentially be deemed "feral":

• Erect or folded/floppy ear structure
• Straight or curly tail
• Solid black, wild/grizzled, solid red/brown, black and white spotted, or black and red/brown spotted coat colorations
• "Other characteristics" not currently known to the MDNR

Interestingly, the Big Pork industry has been planning this anti-feral pig campaign for years, and even bragged about it in a 2010 newsletter.ⁱⁱⁱ It was the same newsletter where they declared a win against the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in Ohio, where HSUS was seeking legislation to end the practice of sow gestation stalls (cages so small the sow can't turn around or move).
What this means for residents of Michigan is that soon they will be unable to purchase sustainably and humanely grown meat from the Mangalitsa "wooly" hogs raised on Baker's Green Acres farm. This particular breed is being raised by only a handful of small farms across the country; whereas more than 2 million pigs are slaughtered each week in the United States, only about 50 of them are Mangalitsas (which have been called the "it" pig by the New York Times, as several high-end restaurants and specialty markets have featured the rich, naturally raised meat^iv).
But, of course, this issue is about much more than pasture-raised pork from a heritage breed ... it's about your ability, your right, to purchase and consume pure, unadulterated food – a right that continues to be threated for those living in the United States.

FDA Also Threatens Your Right to Food Choice …

Another glaring example of government going out of its way to prohibit your access to pure, unprocessed food is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) war against raw milk. When the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) filed a lawsuit against the FDA over their raw milk ban, stating that banning raw milk in interstate commerce is unconstitutional, the FDA rebutted with the following extremely concerning and outrageous statements:

• "There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food."
• "There is no 'deeply rooted' historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds."
• "Plaintiffs' assertion of a 'fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families' is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish."
• FDA's brief goes on to state that "even if such a right did exist, it would not render FDA's regulations unconstitutional because prohibiting the interstate sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk promotes bodily and physical health."
• "There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract."

Since when did the FDA have authority to tell you what you can and cannot eat and feed your children? Apparently they believe they've had it all along. If you go by these assertions, it means the FDA has the authority to prohibit any food of their choosing and make it a crime for you to seek it out. If, one day, the FDA deems tomatoes, broccoli or cashews capable of causing you harm (which is just as ludicrous as their assertions that raw milk is harmful), they could therefore enact such a ban and legally enforce it.
What this means is that freedom of food choice is a myth if you live in the United States, and this simply is not acceptable. No one, and certainly not any government agency, should be able to restrict your access to pure, unadulterated food, but the dairy industry and other industrial farmers that depend on CAFOs employ powerful lobbyists will stop at nothing to persuade government to remove the small farmers from the market entirely. The truth is, if enough people start demanding naturally, sustainably and humanely raised meat, dairy and produce, the giant farming monopolies that currently dominate the market would not be able to compete.
Their businesses depend on pesticides, CAFOs, genetically modified seeds, growth hormones and the like … so when they see all-natural creameries like the one operated by Randy Sowers and his wife Karen, or natural farms like Bakers Green Acres gaining loyal and growing customer bases, they get nervous – and they get the government involved in any way they can.

Please Support Your Local Small Farms

The healthiest food choices are nearly always those that come from responsible, high-quality, sustainable sources.
This is why I encourage you to support the small family farms in your area. This includes not only visiting the farm directly, if you have one nearby, but also taking part in farmer's markets and community-supported agriculture programs. Now that summer is almost here in the United States, fresh produce and other wonderful whole foods are available in abundance. Not only is the food so much tastier and healthier when you get it from sustainable, non-CAFO sources, but there is something about shopping for fresh foods in an open-air, social environment that just feels right. An artificially lit, dreary supermarket -- home to virtually every CAFO food made -- just can't compete.
If you want to experience some of these benefits first-hand, here are some great resources to obtain wholesome food that supports not only you but also the environment:

1. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
2. Farmers' Markets -- A national listing of farmers' markets
3. Local Harvest -- This Web site will help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
4. Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals -- The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
5. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) -- CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.
6. FoodRoutes -- The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSA's, and markets near you.

Finally, for more information on the ongoing attacks against small family farms in the United States consider watching Farmageddon: The Unseen War on American Family Farms, a documentary by Kristin Canty. But I warn you … the injustices it contains may just make your blood boil.

References:

---

• ⁱ Food Freedom News April 23, 2012
• ⁱⁱ Michigan Department of Natural Resources December 13, 2011
• ⁱⁱⁱ Michigan Pork 2010
• ^iv NYTimes.com December 29, 2010

Sources:

• Food Freedom News April 23, 2012
• Frederick News-Post April 20, 2012
• Cheboygan Daily Tribune April 18, 2012
• Michigan Department of Natural Resources December 13, 2011
• Michigan Pork 2010

Reaping and Sowing

 
I have done allot of personal development over the last two years, spiritually, mentally, physically and in business as well.  I have come across a common thread in all of these areas, and that is the law of Reaping and Sowing.

Bible
The bible has many verses about reaping and sowing.  Yet, so many times when we think of this law we think about doing good deeds, giving money, donating or supporting good causes.  Although these are all good and well and certainly not to be dismissed as an important part of reaping and sowing, I think we so often miss the part of what we reap and sow to our own minds and how it comes out to those around us.

What are your thoughts like?
As we go about our daily lives we have thousands of thoughts that go through our heads.  Thoughts that help us to decide what to do, what to eat as well as how we react to a particular situation and can even affect how we sleep.  What we fail to realize is that we are sowing to our own minds.  We are telling ourselves things all the time that convinces us that what we are doing is OK, even though we know in our hearts that what we are doing is wrong or against our spirit.  We feel it yet we continue to sow our minds with lies in order to not have to deal with the tough decisions or sometimes to block feeling certain emotions or from having to deal with confrontation.  We even tell people one thing and do the opposite as a way to avoid speaking the truth and dealing with a particular situation or to avoid following a rule or a law.  We leave out information when speaking to someone so that we can convince ourselves that we never said that so it's ok.  Or as the saying goes with a twist "What they don't know won't hurt them."  Stop telling yourself lies, and speak the truth to yourself.

Marketing, Deception & Lies
Now, this doesn't happen overnight.  We are bombarded with marketing, deception and lies on a daily basis.  We need to open our ears and our eyes to exactly what is in front of us without the emotions attached so we can clearly see the message or have a clear understanding of what the message is.  You reap what you sow!  Removing the emotion allows us to process the experience honestly and be able to know whether we should or should not allow it to dictate to our mind which in turn affects the body and your spirit.

Spew it
What we think and say to ourselves will spew from our mouth.  If you sow lies and deception, even if it's to yourself (which eventually comes out in your actions to others) you will reap lies and deception.  If you sow honesty, integrity and truth this is what you will reap.  If you sow love and compassion, even to yourself you will reap love and compassion.  You have heard this saying "Treat others the way you want to be treated". What I recommend is you treat yourself the way you want others to treat you as well.  You reap what you sow!  When we align our thoughts and our actions with truth and with our spirit we will feel strength, peace and personal integrity.
 
Every wonder why there is so much anger in your life?  Ever wonder why some people have so much drama all the time?  Why is it that nothing every goes right?  Maybe it's because you are reaping what you sow.

Just a thought,


Jackie 

Black Bean and Corn Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Hello everyone,  I have a wonderful recipe to share with you that I prepared just the other night.   It is so simple and quick to make.  Now I always recommend when you can to use the regular beans and soak them like the recipe shows but we don't always have the time to do things this way.  So, I used a can of organic black beans, rinsed them and used them in the recipe which cut the time to cook by more than an hour and a half and cut the preparation time as well.

The reason it is recommended whole food and not canned is that canned foods have added sodium as a preservative and to much sodium is not a good thing.  So, if you have had your share of sodium for the day (eating out or processed foods) I would not recommend you use canned anything if at all possible.

So, if you are using whole beans not canned the following would apply.

Whole beans:
Soaking the beans overnight releases the gases from the beans that can cause problems with digesting beans.  You don't want to salt your beans in the beginning of the cooking process.  Salt causes the beans to contract and close up and it will take longer for your beans to cook.  Add salt when your beans are about 3/4 of the way done.  Discard soaking water from beans.  Add beans, bay leaves and 3 cups fresh water to a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam that rises and discard.  Lower flame, cover and simmer for one hour.  Add sea salt and continue cooking for 30 minutes or until beans are soft.   

 Canned beans:
Now, I did not use the bay leaves for the canned version since they are already cooked.  However, you can experiment and add them and heat the beans on the stove for the added flavor.  Just move on to the next step in the recipe which is preparing in a bowl.

In a bowl:
Mix corn, red onion, red pepper, cilantro and cooked beans in a bowl.  Whisk lime juice, red wine vinegar, sweetener (of your choice preferably not white table sugar which is bleached, I used fructose available at any local grocer) olive oil, cumin, black pepper and sea salt.  Pour dressing on top of beans and veggies and marinate 35-40 minutes (or longer).  Marinating outside the refrigerator is recommended because the cold temperature slows down everything and it will require longer to marinate.
Serves four. 

Free E-Book
Well there you have it.  Hope you enjoy this recipe and be sure to visit my health coach site for more recipes and wonderful information.  Be sure to download your free copy of "Integrative Nutrition Feed Your Hunger for Health and Happiness".  

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This wonderful recipe was provided by IIN Healthy Cooking CD with Andrea Beaman, national recognized food expert, featured chef on Bravo TV's "Top Chef", and 1999 graduate of our school


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