Good Bye Shelia

I am saying good bye to Shelia who is afraid to step to far over the line in expressing herself. I am very passionate about certain things and I have let a few comments cause me to edit myself and not say somethings that I have really felt compelled to say, well no more. Every American should be aware, informed and inquiring on their own. I do not know anyone who has not known someone affected by health issues. If you did not watch Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution you can go the website below and watch every one of the shows in their entirety as well as the Oscar winning documentary "Food Inc.". I have been following Jamie in his journey and I watched Food Inc. Friday morning on PBS.org. They first aired the documentary on Wednesday night April 21st. They are now streaming it live via the web until April 29th, 2010, lucky for me and anyone else who missed it. Both of these should be required viewing for everyone.

After watching Food Inc. Friday morning and then watching Jamie's last show it all came keenly into crystal clear focus in a major OMG moment. To witness the fight that Jamie has been fighting and to see how it slammed like a speeding train into the message from Food Inc. was astonishing.

The conglomerate of companies that now own our food here in American and dictate to our farmers and in turn to each and every American on what we eat is more than disturbing. I encourage everyone to grow some of your own fruits, vegetables and herbs if at all possible. Shop at farmers markets, buy as much locally grown as well as organic produce as possible and seek out organic farm raised meat sources instead of the supermarket offerings.

I myself recently started a new type of garden because I have limited space, called a straw bale garden. I blogged about it and I have been posting on facebook. I went to the farmers market yesterday and then stopped by the feed store where I purchased my straw bales, I spoke to the owner and found that there is someone in my area that raises grass feed organic beef. I am thrilled and plan on contacting them and visiting their farm as soon as possible.

You owe it to yourself and the ones you love to watch these two shows. I really hope that you do, I also realize that just because this is a passionate subject for me does not mean that it will be for everyone else. But all you really have to do is take a look at the health of Americans and that should be enough for you to be at the very least, more than just a little curious...

http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/photo_gallery_watch.php
The documentary Food Inc. is available for purchase on Amazon as well you can find the link at PBS.org.


http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

Unbelievable, We Need This Wake Up Call

If you have not been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, then you should take a look. His first stop is in Huntington, West Virginia at an Elementary School. Last night I thought I would lose it. These children could not even identify vegetables when he held them up. I am not talking about anything difficult, they could not even identify tomato's or potato's! They knew what a french fry was but not what vegetable they came from. He was also trying to show kids the best parts of a fresh chicken as he cut it up. When he had it down to the carcase he asked the kids if they wanted to eat the carcase and they wanted nothing to do with it. He then proceeded to put the carcase in a food processor and turned it into yucky glop. He ran it through a sieve and then mixed it with binders and other stuff and smashed it down and took a cutter and cut out chicken patties which he cooked in oil then the kids wanted to eat it! OMG are you kidding? Gag me! Another thing is these kids did not even have forks and knives to eat with and did not know how to even use them before he got there. They were only eating things that could be eaten with a spoon. This is a great show to watch, I really encourage you to follow Jamie on this journey. It is eye opening, you can go to this link and watch all the shows to date.

http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

Food Inc.

I am in no way telling anyone what is right or wrong for your own person or your family when it comes to the food you eat. It is however my prerogative as a blogger to bring information to your attention and let you decide on your own how you feel about it. I will not state where I stand on the issue because it is a personal decision for everyone to make for themselves.

Food Inc. is an American documentary that was made by filmmaker Robert Kenner. It is interesting and does bring up thought provoking questions. The film has been the cause of a lot of controversy as well as a great deal of support. I am attaching a link to the Offical Food, Inc. site. Take a look at the "About the Issues" area on their site. There is information there that is food for thought.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-issues.php

More Alarming News On BPA

More and more information is coming forward on the dangers of BPA. Bisphenol A is a harmful chemical found in polycarbonate plastic and is in an alarming amount of everyday products making our exposure to it off the charts. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that mimics the action of the human hormone estrogen and changes the natural pattern of the body. Some of the effects at even low BPA exposure include prostate cancer, breast cancer, early puberty onset, alterations in gender-specific behavior, decreased sperm count, affects on fertility, behavioral effects including hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, impaired learning and other changes in behavior. BPA might also be causing diabetes, aggressiveness, heart disease, and decreased sensitivity to chemotherapy in cancer patients.

BPA is contained in everything from baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles, the lining of canned foods and canned infant formula just to name a few. The infants consuming canned formula are at the greatest risk from the leaching of BPA. They have also discovered that infants are being born with BPA in their systems already. BPA is being passed from the mothers body to the baby through the umbilical cord. Yikes! As if new mothers do not have enough concerns already now it is the baby bottles, sippy cups, canned formula and the amounts of BPA in the expectant mothers body. It is overwhelming!

We should not be heating up anything in the microwave or the oven that is in a hard plastic container, if BPA has not already leached into the food it will during the heating process, it actually leaks out 55 times faster than normal. The same heating issues apply to washing plastic containers in the dishwasher. I was shocked to know that the lining of canned food products contains BPA and it does leach into whatever is contained in the can. Below are some links you may find helpful and contain more information on BPA and a guide on plastics. As always, I may bring something to your attention but I always encourage you to do your own research...

http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1855853,00.html
http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77083

Superbowl Eats!

Every show on T.V. is showing food for the super bowl! So my question to you is what are you going to be noshing on and what is your main fare for the big day? With this blog I would you guys to participate and under comments list your menu for the Superbowl, include recipes for your favorite Superbowl snack or half time meal. Lets mix it up today and who knows maybe you will be able to pick up a new recipe. I have posted my favorite wing recipe and I have included some links for those of you who are not quite sure at this point!

My Personal Addition:
My favorite wing recipe is made with Tiger Sauce, for every package of wingettes, one bottle of Tiger Sauce should be used. Heat oven at 325* and bake till meat is falling off the bones, 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours your choice. Make sure you have plenty of napkins wet and dry because you are going to need them!

As for who I am pulling for tomorrow it is the New Orleans Saints!! Go Saints!!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=9625676
http://www.recipezaar.com/Teriyaki-Wingettes-330304
http://www.bellaonline.com/subjects/7702.asp
http://www.foodnetwork.com/