MaM?

Did anyone out there participate in the March against Monsanto today?

I did. With the whole family.

What a great feeling to finally get out and activate myself after all these years of accumulating anger against the current food system. Or should I say biotech system, I do not consider that stuff food. STill, I know I eat something of it almost every single day. I mean many of the veggies that are non-organic have probably mean treated with chemicals coming from this company. The few times I buy meat or eat out, I probably eat something that has been touched by the claws of the giant.

It is so frustrating but at least today I felt great trying to do something more than just getting angry.

The fight continues. Eat organic.

Skin rash update

Remember my skin rashes? Remember the curing from the inside out?

Well, I finally made it to a doctor who knows what she is doing. And this time I mean really knows. She gave me a list of what to eat and what not. Basically, she had me drop milk products and yeast (which I do not eat much anyway) from my already quite ok diet. I mean, I already dropped sugar and gluten years ago. I dropped coffee in March when I realized just a zip of coffee will make my nights miserable. And I have been trying to eat myself (and sleep) towards a better skin since Easter. But without success. The cortisone cream that another doctor prescribed got the rashes to to calm down, but only while I was using it. A week later the rash return, in foll blown. Just as I knew it would...

Well it just seems that I have become sensitive to milk. I prefer to think that it was a reaction of the change of environment, the stress and the lack of sleep that did it. I hope there is a chance that I will be able to digest some milk product again once I have my gut back in balance. The doctor also prescribed a heavy dosis of probiotics. These aren't for sales in any health store or farmacy, I had to order them directly from the distributor. They arrived yesterday and I immediately started taking them. I am boosting the gut bacteria by having three doses a day. The doctor said it is safe to take up to 4 doses a day, and I have recently read a blog where the blogger had talked to a gut-bacteria specialist about exactly this: that if your gut is out of balance, fermented food won't do the trick: you need to overpopulate your digestive tract with beneficial bacteria. So I am doing just that. And the rash is back at what is was when I was treating it with cortisone. Amazing!

The taste of real food

I have had the help of my mother this week in the kitchen. Today she commented that the food we have eaten has been really tasty. I said, well, that is what real food tastes like. We have had meat soup made from scratch. That means with bone broth and the meat that could be found on the bone, which by the way is the best meat ever, and it is almost free when you buy a stack of bones from your organic farmer. We have also had chicken soup based on a complete real hen (no fake chicken here). It had to cook for over two hours, but oh my, it was a good chicken broth that came out of that hen! Oh and then we had hen liver, cauliflor and some fried cold smoked salmon. Also good. And simple.

I have also made some waffles, all grain and milk free. And this morning I made pancakes for the whole bunch. We are getting more eggs this afternoon, home delivery. So I needed to make space. Not to speak of the space needed for the 70 kilos of highlander beef that is arriving with the eggs... Got the big freezer installed last night...

Life is good in the house of a foodie! :-)

Protest or Growtest?

Here is an interesting site to check out in these days running up to the big Anti-Monsanto March on May 25. I am linking to the movie "The world according to Monsanto" but the site has a lot more than that to offer.

Growtest - The world according to Monsanto

I find it fascinating! Should we create awareness through protests against these companies or should we simply sidestep them by growing our own food and dealing with our own local farmers (who does not buy anything from these companies)? The latter is what is called Growtest, you grow your own vegetables in protest against the current food system. It is an emerging movement within the larger food movement that has been around now for about a couple of decade gaining force with books such as "the Fast Food Nation" and movies like "Food Inc", or local-food promoters such as Jaime Oliver.


What do you think is more effective? Protesting out on the streets, demanding the right to know what is in our food, as far as genetically modified seeds are concerned? Or growing your own food and thus not giving your support to the current food system?

I guess I am in favor of both. Both are needed. Awareness must be raised through protests, and it is probably the only way, even if minimal, that we will be able to stop further laws to be implemented that favor these large scale solutions on the cost of small scale more natural solutions. Then again, in order to show to the masses that this really is a viable option, that you can feed the world (or at least your community) also through small scale solutions we need to growtest.

My growtest is currently going through its first stress test. They have been placed on our balcony for more sun.

I am also planning to participate in the March against Monsanto  in my town. What about you? Are you growtesting or protesting this spring?

Made my day!

Today I had a beautiful start of the day. I went down to the hair dresser in our house to get some soap for the new house. We started talking about gardening, hens, milk and cows and one thing led to an other and suddenly I find myself giving advice on how to bake in our way. I realized I possess a world of knowledge. A world of knowledge that I have naturalized. I do not even reflect upon it, or think of it as something strange. I know where to shop glutenfree natural flour. I know how to use coconut oil. I know how to sweeten stuff with only dates and banana, and if needed honey. I know what psyllium husk is and how you can use it in baking. Heck, it seems like I know a lot of stuff that is unknown to many out there.

Maybe I shouldn't be downplaying my knowledge? Maybe I should cherish it and let it come alive more often. Well, let's see if there is anyone interested when I'll hold my sugar, wheat and milk free cooking course next fall at an institute here in town. Maybe it is worth it. Maybe there are people that really want to know!


Once I get into the new kitchen, I hope I can start baking and experimenting in the kitchen again. It's been a while. But in our tiny current hideaway you do not do a lot of experimenting. Or correction, a lady of my generation has a hard time doing a lot of experimenting there. My grandmother used to make a complete four-course dinner for ten in that same space. But that was then and this is now....or maybe, that was her and this is me! ;-)

Marketing food to children: Pester Products

Gotta love it

...when the clock turns 22:00 and my eyes are almost wide shut. Hoorrrrray, my efforts are working, cortisol levels seem to be back to normal (almost, still wake up damn early)!

So goodnight and auf wiedersehen. My pillow is calling. What a wonderful feeling.

Hate sleeplessness. Love sleepiness!