Sugar and wheat free doughnots - do they exist?

... Soon I will find out.

Happy Walpurgis to you all!

Spa moments

I don't know what's the deal with me these days... I have not set out to reveal that I am a food fanatic, nor that I am a blogaholic on food related issues - impressive list of blogs I've gathered since September - but still, whenever I come in contact with the outer world, strangers in particular, THEY start referring to their food and health habits, provoking me to reveal some of my accumulated knowledge on the subject.

I already mentioned my visit at the hair dresser the other day. Well, yesterday I paid a visit to the top spa of helsinki at this moment (hubby only gets me the best of the best Christmas gifts). And go figure, I was determined to keep silent about my diet changes and so forth, after all I was there to RELAX! But what do you know, the massage had got no longer than my feet and lower legs when the lady started making points about my health: well first; I need to drink more water (yes, she has a point there!), then I should do stretching twice a day (this is when she got to my shoulders, auch!) and muscle building is also necessary if I am to avoid back problems. She then added that my body seems to be doing ok, no stomach issues and no kidney issues (she can feel that in certain spots under the feet!!). At the point when she started going off on the excellent status of my skin, I had no other option than reveal my secrets: that I attribute my relatively good skin to the exclusion of wheat and sugar.

During our conversation I also found out about her own health concerns and I felt a desperate need to give her advice. By I stayed silent (except for advicing her to quit sugar, obviously) and when I got home and told hubby about the conversation (after giving him a big kiss for the excellent Xmas present) he said that this is where I could have made a difference. That I should start trusting myself on these things already...

As I still find it all so confusing and biased, I have a hard time positioning myself in all these extreme positions: between meat and vegan, between raw and low carb, between fat and vegetables. But one thing is for sure: I am quite convinced that sugar is bad, modern wheat is bad, milk in the quantities consumed up here in the north is bad, and margarine is most definatelly bad.... and vegetables, yes they are good, very good, especially when organic. Anyway, me as a client is in no position to give out advice on nutrition at a spa... particularly not as I have no formal training in it...

Well, the masseur was a true inspiration for me. Her way of confronting life seemed ideal, and I really really liked talking to her. The two hours at the spa was not only relaxation for the body, it also gave food for thought for my overly stressed out mind! Time to start meditation! Maybe yoga, that will combine the stretching with the meditation...

Homemade chocolate

I just made some homemade chocolate. The cacao butter that I bought before Christmas has been taking up space in my overcrowde cupboard and thus it was time to do something about it... I also wanted to show Kidone that living a life without sugar doesn't have to be so bad. Yesterday she was upset seeing so many kds snacking on licorice... SO I made some chocolates.

Raw home made chocolate:

75 g cacao butter
3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2-3 tbls agave syrup (yes, I am no fan of this, but it was also something I had do get rid of, taking space in the fridge)
spiced with maca powder, "nypon" powder and vanilla powder.

Melt butter, add other ingredients. Poor in ice cube molds and after cool place in freezer for 30 minutes. Ready!

Little bit of this and that

And so I am done discussing white man's burden for today, and before I am off to bed to get started on an interesting (academic) book (yes I know, I should allow myself a break sometimes.. like endless surfing on the Internet during office hours) I'll just plot down some thoughts.

First, just so that you know, today I bought a box of premade liver-casserole. The ingredient list was too long, it included both sugar and milk powder but I was also tired and knew that the kids would not eat what I had to offer them anyway. In the end we ended up eating dinner at the kids friends place, healthy and all. But in the evening the tummies were not satisfied with what I had to offer (I've also given in to premade gluten-free bread lately) so they got the liver casserole as well. Cold. And Kidone ate two plates. The beauty of industrial made food. The appealing taste, even when served cold!

Second, I hear rumors that Starbucks will enter the Finnish market soon. Wouldn't bother me - not the kind of place I'd visit anyway (when was I last time at Robert's coffee? When was I out for a coffee last time?). Especially not now that I am trying to get rid of coffee (this week I have been having problems to stay away... too tired, too many tempting situations.... And the result? Leg-cramps in the night, tonight so strong that I almost could not get out of bed to get rid of them. Lousy coffee, why do I drink it!?! But what I was going to say was that there is a somewhat amusing moving on starbucks out on youtube. Watch it if your interested in green consumption and the like. Nice animation but really, who are Starbucks fooling here? And did Zizek really sell off his ideas to be used in marketing purposes? I've seen a different clip earlier... it didn't end this way. Brutal.

Now off to bed before the cortisol hits my bellyfat!

GMOs in Chile

Got interested in avoiding GMO:s

And found this site where the products genetically modified in the food shelves in Chile are listed.

http://conmigo8.blogspot.com/2010/09/lista-alimentos-transgenicos-chile.html?spref=tw

I'd better spread it to family and friends over there.

Be ware of "organic"

Today I learned that "organic food" from Brazil is actually just another way of Big Agribusiness to wrap their products in attractive packages for the European consumers. The real organic food of Brazil is called agroecologic and that makes up for over 65% of the Brazilian population's food intake (good for them, hope the small scale farming will survive!!!). Well, agroecological if it is free from those toxins spread from all the soy plantations that is. The average Brazilian has 5 liters (!) of pesticides go through their body each year, a by-product of the industrially produced foods - which most of them are shipped to the external markets. But the toxins, they stay at home... well at least most of them. Anyone care for some Brazilian beef? Fed Brazilian GMO soy?

They soy business and everything it aliments is probably the darkest part of food history on this planet. It just makes me so sad that I want to shut my ears and sing "lalalala". And go figure, just yesterday I picked up a piece of tofu from the grocery store. First one in ages. Think I'll leave it be. Soy isn't healthy anyway. And never again. Promise.

I'll do some investigation on this organic-agroecologic at some point. But now I have to focus on postcolonialism - what a suitable topic after a day like today. Exhausted, and yet another paper to write.

And one more thing; this just shows that true organic food is that which has been produced close to your home. Well, for me what does that mean? Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, oatmeal in the winter, blueberries in the summer and apples in the fall. Forget chocolate, coconut, coffee, bananas, mangos, avocados, almonds, cashew etc... maybe we should move somewhere tropical? Caribbean, wouldn't be too bad...

(Note: my source for this information was maybe not the most unbiased you can find in Brazil, but she served these facts, facts that need to be verified, no doubt.)

Speaks for itself.

Lustig, like a good wine, getting better all the time!