Don’t do it again, you know, wait until the night before the holiday gathering to shop for food. It’s what most people do. I get it, most of us are busy with all of our worldly problems and put such trivial chores as shopping for food at the bottom of the to-do list. But do you really consider purchasing life sustaining food for your family as something trivial? I don’t think so, I think most of us have great intentions but end up with some ‘’not so healthy’’ food on the dinner table. The most spoken words after holiday meals is, I ate too much! You hear all the folks who can’t get off the couch say that, every year, every holiday, 3 hours after the meal! In no way am I making fun of those who overindulge, I used to be one of them. But now I have formed a new opinion after having only seconds to live! It’s not necessarily the amount of food that makes you visit the toilet round the clock for 3 days straight after that so-called great meal.
The real and unfortunate problem with most last minute food is that it’s been heavily refined and becomes highly inflammatory, causing weight gain and disease! Not something you would want to give your family, right? Of course not, we love our families, we just get busy! Most packaged, canned or bagged food has ingredient lists that resemble a chemical factory. Food additives are a scary thing! Just google any packaged food ingredient list and lookup the one that sounds like a petroleum product that resembles paint thinner. You’ll find out real quick, it is paint thinner!! Inflammatory chemicals such as MSG, processed sugars, colorings, preservatives, hydrocarbons, mercury and trans fat just to name a few are the real problem. These ingredients have much more effect on your body than simply overeating. Not saying overeating is healthy but these types of ingredients are the real culprit. They are the real reason most Americans are plastered to the couch in self induced diabetic comas after holiday meals. Just eating an overload of MSG and processed sugar alone is enough to make your heart race, swell your joints and give you intestinal cramps and headaches just to name a few. Overeating healthy food does not cause these problems, eating chemicals does! How do I know this? My blood test results acknowledge it. And maybe yours can too if you make the same changes I made.
Want to change your ways and watch your family become extremely healthy? Sure you do, so start here. Find your closest farmers market and support your local farmers, the payback will be well worth it. Markets don’t just sell fruits and vegetables. You’ll find beef, pork and chicken, milk and many more healthy and tasty items. Learning to shop off the grid takes time, shop there now and constantly search for better farmer friends. Have you ever chowed down on smoked ham or turkey from a local organic farm, if not, you might want to give it a try this holiday season. Also learn to make homemade sauces, creams, breads and desserts that are free from harmful chemicals.
There’s enough sickness in the world but it doesn’t need to be at your house. You don’t have to live like that, life is full of choices and this one should rank at the top of your list. It takes a little planning at first to cook like your ancestors did but your family will love you for making this new way of life by simply cooking like great grandma did, without the chemicals. Enjoy the holidays and let’s see something new on the table!
~John~
It’s apple season so let’s eat apples! The decades old saying ‘’an apple a day will keep the doctor away’’ is actually somewhat true. Apples are a delicious and healthy treat and obviously in favor with over seven thousand and five hundred varieties to choose from. Some records suggest there may be as many as thirty thousand varieties with 4.9 million tons grown in America alone in 2021. Red delicious has been a decades old popular variety in the western world but new varieties have been modified such as the now famous honey crisp and seems to have made their way to the front of the shopping cart. Genetic modification of plants is not new, it has been around since 1940. So the slow destruction of our once safe food system actually started almost a century ago. The cons of this growing process is that altering food in this unnatural manner may cause allergic reactions and increase antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is usually caused by foods that are raised or grown using excessive amounts of, yes, antibiotics! When new data suggests GMO crops are safe, just who is it that suggests this new data? Is it the apple growers or is it the universities that do ‘’paid research’’ for the apple growers? I would be inclined to just eat what mother nature puts here naturally, just for us!
Some people think apples are overrated and will just make them full when eaten. They certainly are not overrated and becoming full of healthy fiber and nutrition on a daily basis is actually a good thing. Apples are a great source of vitamins A, C, B-6 and potassium and serotonin. These natural nutrients can help with metabolizing insulin, healthier skin, better sleep, weight loss and preventing cancer and heart disease through great gut health, just from eating delicious apples. Apples don’t need to be boring either. Try eating an apple with fresh dates, it certainly adds to the great nutrition and tastes just like caramel without the processed inflammatory sugar. This and other delicious combinations will help you add more healthy apples into your diet.
The bulk of an apple’s nutrients (like many fruits) are found in the skin so be sure to find non-sprayed organic fruit for your family, and don’t peel. Where do you find such apples, you might say? That’s easier than you might think, especially during apple season. First of all, get out of the monster mega stores and look for your closest farmers market. I purchase mine there and even pick from the farmers trees myself. Apple orchards dot the landscape around the country. The privately owned small farm is what you’re looking for. Don’t be embarrassed to ask the farmer questions, ask if they spray chemicals and what they fertilize with. Even ask them what they water with. Unchlorinated water such as well and/or spring water is great for growing the best apples, like mother nature intended. If the farmer evades your questions faster than it takes a rotten apple to fall to the ground, tell them to have a nice day and move along. You won’t hurt their feelings but you might hurt your family’s health if you don’t ask. It’s ‘’your family’s’’ health we’re talking about here, not there’s.
The average American consumes an average of 25 apples per year. That’s less than 1 apple every 2 weeks. That’s equivalent to eating a salad twice monthly and thinking you’re healthy. There’s no better time than apple season (now) to load the family in the car and head out to a local apple farm and/or farmers market. It might just be one of the best gifts you’ll ever give your family, do it now and tell them I sent you!
Stay Healthy America
~John~
