Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Interesting websites

http://www.storyofstuff.com/
http://tissue.greenpeace.ca/
http://gmoguide.greenpeace.ca/
http://terigentes.com/

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Too good to keep to myself

Pad Siew


Marinade

1-1.5 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons dark sweet soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped shallots


Marinade 1.5 cup ounces of thinly-sliced beef, pork, or meat of your choice in the marinade for about an hour.

Ingredients

Marinated meat (above)
16 ounces wide rice noodles
2 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce
2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 eggs beaten
1/2 teaspoon Thai pepper powder


Method

Soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes then rinse in cold water. Add noodles to a pot of boiling water and boil for 1 minute, then rinse in cold water again. Transfer to mixing bowl, separate the noodles and toss thoroughly with sweet soy sauce. Set aside.

Heat the wok and a little oil to stir fry the marinated meat until it just begins to cook. Add the noodles, cook quickly then add broccoli and stir again. Push the noodles and broccoli to the sides of the wok to open up the middle, then add beaten eggs. Spread the eggs a little cook for a moment. Just before the eggs set, fold all the noodles and broccoli together and stir well with remaining ingredients.

Transfer to serving plate

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Salt

Sea Salt vs Table Salt

Sea salt is healthier and more flavorful that traditional table salt. Available in coarse, fine and extra fine grain size.

Manufacturers of sea salt typically do not refine sea salt as much as other kinds of salt, so it still contains traces of other minerals, including iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and iodine.

Ordinary table salt has been stripped of it's companion elements and contains additive. In studies table salts have been link to hypertension and other heart or blood illness. Table salt also gives many people the feeling of being bloating.

Natural sea salt is a healthy replacement for ordinary table salt on the market; it contains about 80 mineral elements that the body needs. Sea salt has nutrients and minerals that help your body preserve the blood cells. Overall, sea salts are better for you. If you haven't tried it, switch salts for a week and you will see a difference.

That being said, you still don't want to consume sea salt in excess.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Pesticides

Protecting our families' health from chemical exposures can start with minimizing children's exposure to pesticides. It is now well established that pesticides pose a risk to vital organ systems that continue to grow and mature from conception throughout infancy and childhood. Exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals during critical periods of development can have lasting adverse effects both in early development and later in life. The metabolism, physiology, and biochemistry of a fetus, infant or child are fundamentally different from those of adults; a young, organism is often less able to metabolize and inactivate toxic chemicals and can be much more vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides. The nervous system, brain, reproductive organs and endocrine (hormone) system can be permanently, if subtly, damaged by exposure to toxic substances in-utero or throughout early childhood that, at the same level, cause no measurable harm to adults. The developing brain and endocrine system are very sensitive, and low doses at a susceptible moment of development can cause more of an effect than high doses. It is especially important to reduce pesticide exposures of babies and young children so as to minimize these risks.





FRUIT OR VEGGIE
1 (worst) Peach (highest pesticide load)
2 Apple
3 Sweet Bell Pepper
4 Celery
5 Nectarine
6 Strawberries
7 Cherries
8 Kale
9 Lettuce
10 Grapes - Imported
11 Carrot
12 Pear
13 Collard Greens
14 Spinach
15 Potato
16 Green Beans
17 Summer Squash
18 Pepper
19 Cucumber
20 Raspberries
21 Grapes - Domestic
22 Plum
23 Orange
24 Cauliflower
25 Tangerine
26 Mushrooms
27 Banana
28 Winter Squash
29 Cantaloupe
30 Cranberries
31 Honeydew Melon
32 Grapefruit
33 Sweet Potato
34 Tomato
35 Broccoli
36 Watermelon
37 Papaya
38 Eggplant
39 Cabbage
40 Kiwi
41 Sweet Peas - Frozen
42 Asparagus
43 Mango
44 Pineapple
45 Sweet Corn - Frozen
46 Avocado
47 (best) Onion (lowest pesticide load)

Friday, April 3, 2009

Seafood

I LOVE seafood in pretty much any form. I have always avoided eating endangered species and tuna that wasn't dolphin friendly. That is just the tip of the iceburg.

Did you know that shrimp trawlers drag the ocean bottom for wild shrimp, which damaged bottom habitat and ensnares other creatures. For each pound of shrimp caught by these means 10 pounds of unwanted sea life is caught (most of which die unused)

Look for sustainable seafood, and ask your local fishmonger if that is what they carry.

For more information check out these websites;

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521&redirect=seafood
http://blueocean.org/home
http://seafoodchoices.com/home.php

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Good News!!!!!

Bulk Barn now carries chia seeds on a regular basis! These are a great addition to the clean eater's diet. I mix them into my morning oatmeal (along with puffed quinoa), and in my yogurt. They digest easily and are an excellent source of EFAs (more so than flax) . For more information on this "supergrain" try one of these sites;

http://www.integratedhealth.com/featured-health-products/organic-chia-seeds.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/012153.html

Tomato Salad


This is so quick, easy, healthy and tasty...

1/4 c. basalmic vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
5 large tomatoes, diced
8 - 10 frash basil leaves, shredded
pearl bocconcini, 1 container (optional)

Combine all ingredients. Serve over a bed of organic baby spinach.