MSG - The Hidden Dangers

Posted by Ferbit at 9:45 AM

It's been over a year since I wrote here and I apologize for the delay. It's just amazing how busy life gets as your kids grow!!! :) A good friend of mine asked me a question on MSG the other day. I avoid it like the plague, but then it dawned on me that I'd never written about it much here. I've only mentioned avoiding it casually. MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it excites brain cells to the point it's toxic. It's basically fertilizer for cancer cells... And the things it does to a developing child's brain is just sickening.

Very scary stuff, but it's so hard to avoid since it's in EVERYTHING - chinese food, canned soups, powdered soups, microwavable meals, fast food restaurants, salad dressings, etc. And it's not just in everything, it's also DISGUISED behind many different names such as hydrolized protein, natural flavoring or smoke flavoring. It doesn't always just come out and say "monosodium glutamate" like it should.

I found a fabulous 4-part special on the dangers of MSG that I thought I'd post here. Part 2 is broken into 2a and 2b because it was the longest segment. Enjoy!

Dining Out: What are you really paying for?

Posted by Ferbit at 4:24 PM

I've asked myself this question many times over the past year when we we get the wonderful opportunity to have "date night" together. We've been finding ourselves more and more drawn to small, organic restaurants. There's something about going out and knowing you're being pampered and NOURISHED at the same time. We are so lucky here in the Northwest to have a nice selection of natural, sustainable, organic restaurants. We've been to several over the past year and really enjoyed the experience. We've also found ourselves being choosier where we take the whole family out for meals (we usually eat at home) when we go out - opting to eat deli or prepared foods at PCC or Whole Foods... or a quick dinner at Chipotle's Mexican Grill (LOVE that place!).

Last weekend for date night, we chose a fabulous restaurant called Bennett's Bistro on Mercer Island. They filter their own water (in a huge, 3-chamber filtration process), serve vegetables and fruits from local farms, RAW cheeses from local dairies, Sunshine Dairy (the brand I buy) products and sustainably farmed meats and seafoods. The meal was absolutely fantastic.




We ordered the salmon poki appetizer (raw salmon on top of avocado with a poki sauce), which was to die for! Then I ordered their "Tip of the Iceberg" salad with a blue cheese-lemon vinagrette, Oregonzola raw cheese, toasted hazelnuts and tomatoes - I substituted the iceberg lettuce for romaine. Horus ordered their turkey burger with Beecher's (local cheese company) mac-n-cheese and chipotle cilantro coleslaw. Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

I'm so proud of how natural and organic my own kitchen has become... It's already expensive to SHOP for organic and natural grocery items... I guess part of me just can't get over thinking - why pay extra money for food that I wouldn't serve my family at home? At least when we're home, I know (for about 95% of our food) WHERE it came from, EXACTLY what's in it and HOW it was raised/farmed.

How do you feel about this? What does a fancy dinner really mean to you? Does it mean just simply spending a lot of money? Does it mean getting the absolutely best, most expensive food available (like a mouth-watering, well-marbled, fifty-dollar, corn-fed steak or the most beautiful, bright-orange fillet of salmon), regardless of where it came from and how it was "farmed?" I ask myself this question constantly when we go out to eat - anywhere. ...and if it's not the greatest restaurant, I try to pick the most natural item on the menu.

Do you think about this when you eat out AT ALL or am I just a weird-o? :)

Crying Over Asparagus

Posted by Ferbit at 7:19 PM

Yes, you heard it right. CRYING over asparagus. :) My five and a half year old CRIED tonight because I ate the last stalk of asparagus. Horus roasted it in the toaster oven with butter and sea salt for dinner tonight. It was sooooooo yummy.

As I was shoving the LAST STALK into my mouth, my 5.5 year old FREAKED OUT. I sat there with an un-chewed piece of asparagus crammed in my mouth wondering what to do. I decided it was way too gross to regurgitate it, so I chewed and swallowed it.

SHE STARTED CRYING!!!!!!!!!!! I'm totally serious! I just about fell on the floor, I felt so bad! At the same time, I was just swelling with pride that she liked the asparagus that much. I had always thought she ate it because I told her it was yummy and healthy. I didn't realize she actually LIKED IT that much! :)

Anyway, lesson learned. BUY two bunches of asparagus next time. :) That was the only way I could stop her quivering lip was to promise I'd buy an extra bunch tomorrow.

I know I've been MIA lately, but things have just been crazy here. Thank you for the wonderful emails you've sent! I've greatly appreciated them. I'll be posting a new blog later this week - stay tuned because I WANT YOUR THOUGHTS! :)

You got to love this country

Posted by Horus at 5:51 PM

I'd like to post a true story written by a very close friend of mine. I don't even really need to comment on it as it speaks for itself. Just wanted to share. -Horus

"So in the midst of all these lies the liberals are forcing us to believe, I thought I’d share some truth about the inequity of our system.

As you know, my stepdaughter just had a baby last September, out of wedlock and totally unprepared. It’s not a proud moment for my family, especially with my values but unfortunately my stepdaughter always chose to rebel against me and my wife, and chose the path contrary to our advice and guidance. In my opinion her biological father is to blame for the resistance he had towards my positive influence on his daughter. It’s long story so I won’t bore you with details but suffice it to say her teen years were terrible and put a strain on my relationship with my wife. Having said all that I do care for her and always wished her the best. However, I feel it necessary for her to be accountable for her actions and learn from her mistakes. My wife and I do help her a bit financially but we limit it to helping her support the baby, but of course her and her boyfriend are learning what it takes to be grownups, or so I hope they are.

Their views towards politics and society are what you would expect from people in their situation and this is what really pisses me off. Of course, because they made this decision to have a baby without any preparation and follow the “traditional” path to starting a family, they can’t financially support the child. This isn’t a problem because our Government makes it way too easy for people not to worry about such things. All doctors bill for both the baby and my stepdaughter from the moment of conception are paid in full by our state. She doesn’t even have a co-pay. I'd also like to mention that she doesn’t have to wait at some dingy clinic to see a doctor, she sees the same family doctor we have had for years. All prescriptions for her and the baby are paid for as well. The baby’s formula, diapers and other essentials are paid in full by the state.

This isn’t as a result of receiving a welfare check but rather is a program called WIC funded by the Washington taxpayers. I am sure other states have similar programs. What really gets my goat is that we just did her taxes last night (she isn’t even responsible enough to do them herself) and it appears that she will be getting a refund of about $3,700. She only worked part time last year and only paid a total of $900 in combined federal taxes. This is outrageous.

My main problem with this is that she will never appreciate this and understand the inequity of the system. Like many people who have made poor decisions in their lives, they see no problem with others having to pick up the bill for them. With Obama and Clinton running around filling their heads with ideas that Republicans are evil and out to get them, they of course become Democrats. There is a sense in these people that the Government is here to take care of everything and that no one should be held accountable for their actions. They fuel the fire of class envy by claiming such lies that only the rich get tax breaks and that the poor get nothing from their Government. How can I possibly make her see the truth and accept responsibility for her actions.

This is the true circumspection of Hope not the Audacity of Hope."

Honey Cilantro Salad Dressing

Posted by Ferbit at 7:00 PM

Honey Cilantro Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra virgin, organic olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 large tablespoon of raw honey
• 1 clove garlic
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon pepper (your preference)
• 1 small handful organic cilantro

Blend all ingredients (I have the same blender she uses in the video - Magic Bullet) - LOVE IT.

This salad dressing was absolutely fantastic!!! I didn't have any persimmons or cheese so I only added chopped bosc pears with a spring salad mix. Absolutely fantastic and both of my little girls devoured theirs!

I use a local raw honey called Guilmette's Busy Bees from Bellingham, WA.

I just love Lucy Lock from Mercola.com. She is a patient of Dr. Mercola's and does all of his recipe videos. I thinks she's humorous to watch and I love her accent. :) Enjoy!