Healthy Diet Regulations

Posted under Government - FDA

I found this article interesting. I love the concept of price controls on basic needs - and the fact that a healthy diet is considered a basic need in the Phillipines.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/dec/27/yehey/business/20071227bus10.html

It would be great if we could adopt something like this in the U.S.
Yeah, right…

See ya!

Carole

a.k.a. ‘Mother’

give up on perfection and have fun anyway

Posted under Holidays

There’s a lot of pressure to be happy this time of year. Put all your cares aside, buy everyone you know gifts, and find time to spend with a hundred people that you otherwise don’t take much time to see during the year.

Crazy, isn’t it?

And while you’re at it – eat a years worth of sweets in one 2 week period.

The stress and poor diet is enough to kill you. Literally.

Now add all of your hopes for a magical perfect holiday. Which of course is rarely ever going to happen.

You’ve got to give yourself a break already.

People are going to have too many plans, and your party might be the one to get nixed.

You might have too many plans, and can’t make every party.

It might snow and no one is going anywhere.

You might not have the money to buy the kinds of gifts you’d like to give.

You might not have the time to get everything set up perfectly.

You have 2 choices. Accept things as they are and make it as special as you can anyway, or mope and let everyone know how miserable you are – and make them feel miserable too. It’s easy to make people feel miserable. It seems we’re predisposed to that sometimes. But it takes a special person to say – fine, we’re going to have fun anyway.

I had 4 days of merriment planned for this year. As things fell apart one by one, I am now having Christmas Dinner. That’s it. Oh, I’ll have houseguests, but the plans for each day have fallen apart in one way or another.

My daughter and I will be alone for most of Christmas Eve. That might seem sad. But, we haven’t had a chance to bake those cookies, and this will be the perfect opportunity. We can have a nice dinner together, and finish up any wrapping and surprises for Christmas morning. I know the time will go way too fast.

Like many of you, money for gifts is limited. I focus on my daughter, and my best friend and her kids. Everyone else gets something created from Gifts from the Heart(h). I got Christmas coffee mugs at Walmart for 70 cents each. I picked up Christmas kitchen towels, pot holders, and stuff like that – cheap. I’ll pair those with a nice coffee or hot chocolate. If I have time to make the fudge and ‘people chow’ fine. If I don’t – oh well.

I don’t know about you, but I like getting Christmas towels. Mine really need replacing pretty much every year or two. I bring out the Christmas mugs at Thanksgiving. I always appreciate ornaments or other decorations. Some of mine are so old and falling apart – but I hate to get rid of them. Many were gifts. Many were hand made.

Wouldn’t you like your gift to be cherished like that?

My friend was telling me that her tree is up, and she loves it. Every ornament has a story. She knows who gave her each one, or why she picked up a special one. That’s what makes a Christmas tree magical. Not white ornaments on a black tree, or whatever the current trend may be. It’s the stuff from the heart.

A couple other quick gift ideas –

Netflix subscription is a great gift. Anyone I know who’s gotten one has really liked it.

A gift certificate from Restaurant.com. You pay half of the face value, and you can print it right up on your way out the door. I’ve given those a few times. You can even slip the certificate into a card for those people who live farther away – but it probably won’t get there by Christmas at this point L 

So don’t be beating yourself up because you can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars. It truly is the thought that counts – if you took some time to put some thought into it. Spending a lot of money on meaningless gifts isn’t any fun.

The best way to enjoy Christmas? Be flexible and don’t expect perfection. Sometimes good enough is perfect.

Hey, while I was writing this article, my Christmas Dinner went from 6 people to 15 people. I don’t have 15 chairs. And I only bought a 20-pound turkey. So I’d better get going! And it won’t be perfect. But it will be a wonderful day filled with family and friends. What more could you ask for?

OK, OK, I didn’t mean to give me your whole list. I hope Santa brings all you’ve asked for

Have a Very Merry Christmas.

 

Carole

a.k.a. – ‘Mother’

keep your pets safe through the holidays

Posted under Holidays, Pets

Some things around the holidays can be very harmful – even fatal for your pets.

 

Eating tinsel can cause choking, and it’s not fun to clean up after. While eating ribbon is not necessarily toxic – (though they could choke), it’s also a real pain to clean up after. I’ve had to resort to stick on bows. No more curling ribbon in this house!

 

Eating pieces of broken ornaments can cause cuts and bleeding.

 

Poinsettia, holly, and mistletoe can cause stomach upsets. If they are drooling, vomiting, or have diarrhea, get them to the vet.

Depending on the size of the dog and how much Chocolate they eat, chocolate can cause a caffeine-like overdose which may lead to high heart rate, agitation, tremors, or seizures. 

Grapes and Raisins can cause kidney disease. If your dog is lethargic, not eating, or vomiting – get them to the vet.

Macadamia nuts can make them extremely sick, but it goes away in a day or two. They may be weak or unstable, vomiting, or have pale mucous membranes.

Onions can cause a type of anemia that causes the red blood cells to rupture. They may not get sick for a couple of days after eating onions.

Bread dough can expand inside your pet causing extreme pain, poisoning, and kidney failure.

Peelings from fruits (including tomatoes) or potatoes can cause stomach upsets. Do not give your pet any green peelings from fruits or potatoes. They can eat green vegetables though. My dog loves broccoli.

 Remember that table food is generally not good for your pets. This time of year it seems so caring to feed your pet some extra treats in the form of scraps. But it’s best not to feed them something they don’t normally eat. The extra hub-bub is already stressful for them. Keeping your pets healthy is the most caring thing you can do.

 

Carole

a.k.a. – ‘Mother’

live responsibly

Posted under government

You do know that we the people in the great U.S. are in a lot of trouble, right? If you don’t, you really need to look at what’s going on because what’s coming isn’t pretty. And as long as everyone just continues to stroll along acting like nothing’s happening and turning a blind eye – things will continue to get worse until there is no turning back.

We are lied to everyday by the government, the medical establishments, the food industry, the F.D.A., wall street, corporate head honchos, and anyone else who stands to make big bucks off of you.

Here are some facts –

The number of people over 50 who cannot find suitable employment is quietly growing.

The cost of running your home – electric and gas – has risen astronomically.

The price of gasoline has tripled. (yet people continue to run gas guzzling S.U.V.s and Mercedes)

Water levels are rising. Even though it certainly doesn’t feel any warmer where I live, I have to admit that the lake is higher. Shorelines are eroding all over the world.

The perceived safe packaged foods on the store shelves have caused skyrocketing increases in disease.

The nutritional value of foods has been diminished due to over-farming and dangerous chemical pesticides, and hormones.

The F.D.A. and medical establishments continually slander the effectiveness of natural alternatives to prescription drugs – preferring to keep people dependant on costly medications to maintain a health problem rather than cure it.

The deflated interest rates have caused more spending and less saving – leaving nothing for people to fall back on. No one is terribly excited to save when you can only earn 2 or 3% on your money. Better to spend it, right?

We’ve outsourced jobs to other countries where people are willing to work for far less money – leaving fewer jobs here at home.

While outsourcing has allowed big corporations to make more money – it will now become a problem to pay for it with the decreased value of the dollar. Plus, as many of the countries become consumer countries, the workers demand more wages, in turn, increasing the cost of goods and services that used to be cheaper.

The government and its people are drowning in debt with no way to pay for it all.

Everyone is looking for the next president to solve the problems. The truth is – only by taking responsibility for your life can we ever hope to turn things around.

There are a lot of things that are under your control, at least to some extent.

As far as being able to make more money – honestly, I’m still working on that myself. It’s up to each and everyone of us to find a way to support ourselves. I believe that if we were to buy from each other – that would help us all. Have any thoughts?

Insulate your home better. Buy new windows. Do whatever you can to cut your consumption of fuels. Wear sweaters in the winter. You don’t have to keep it tropical indoors in the winter, and you don’t have to keep your house cold enough to house penguins in the summer.

Ditch the gas guzzling vehicles.

Eat real foods instead of packaged foods.

Eat a balanced diet and take vitamins to keep your health, and keep your health care costs down.

Eat organic as much as you can afford to.

Eat meals together as a family as often as possible. It’s proven that kids from families who do this have fewer problems.

Quit spending more than you earn. Work on getting out of debt. Save money. Maybe it’s time to admit that all the spending and all the accumulation of stuff isn’t making you any happier.

Vote with your wallet. If they aren’t making money, they have to change or go out of business. It’s not about sweatshops and saving animals and trees – though everyone likes to hide behind those kinds of issues. It’s about poisonous chemicals in the food you eat, and rising medical costs, and various other issues that continue because people don’t want to change their bad habits.

And when it comes to the president – make sure to do your research. And make sure to get out and vote – even in the primaries.

Remember that the president’s main job is to run the country, not to run your life. You should do that yourself. And if you don’t someone else will – but you won’t like it. And you probably don’t like life the way it is right now too much anyway. Don’t you think it’s time for a change?

NewsTarget is running an article that you should read about some disturbing things the government is up to. I tend to find Mike Adams to be a bit extreme most of the time – but what he alleges is going on is truly upsetting. Read the whole page - A Surveillance Society Works Both Ways >>> (keep reading past the cartoon)

We need to take the blinders off and start taking more control of our lives, and we need to do it quickly – before it’s too late to turn back.

Maybe it’s time to resurrect George Orwells book “1984.” We had to read it when I was in school, many years ago. I never forgot the visions of the main character hiding in a corner in his home where the cameras could not see him. There are many things happening now that make that not so far fetched after all.

Think about it.

Carole

a.k.a. – ‘Mother’

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Heaven With Garlic

Posted under Super-Foods

This has been a week from ‘you know where’.

Car problems. 7 inches of snow on the ground with another 4 on the way - starting now. A job from… well - the same place, getting home to walk the dog through all that snow, shoveling all that snow (I live on a hill - snow blower isn’t viable) a cat that’s been leaving deposits all over the house today, pet sitting for the neighbors, when it’s not snowing - it’s frigid - 4 degrees when I left for work this morning, and did I mention the car problems? Afraid to go too far, even if it was nice out.

So tonight after work, I had to go to the bank, then to the pet store to get stuff to clean up the little problems, run home, feed all the animals in the 2 houses and let the dog out. Then off to the auto parts store to get the part needed to fix the car this weekend, then to the grocery store for some important items that you don’t want to be left without during a snow storm. Then make phone calls to coordinate the weekend - Lord willing and the snow doesn’t rise. Then walk the dog and shovel snow.

Eat?

I almost gave in and pulled in to Micky D’s. Almost.

But everyone around me is getting sick and dropping like flies, and I’m already stretched well beyond my limits - so I talk myself into eating better.

While at the grocery store - I see 1/2 a roasted chicken. Perfect. I have salad fixings, and a sweet potato at home. Cool.

When I bit into the chicken, there was enough garlic to kill all vampires in a 10 mile radius! After the inital shock, it was really good.

Did you ever notice how great you feel after eating garlic? Pizza, lasagna, garlic bread? Yum!

Out of curiosity, I went to my food guide in High Energy Eating and looked up garlic. Here’s what it says -

Garlic
Lowers cholesterol and blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels. Also thought to actually destroy cancer cells, kill viruses and bacteria, and of course, keep vampires away. It binds toxic minerals such as lead, and carries them out of the body. Has been used for centuries to heal many ailments. Ancient Egyptians used garlic to help them sleep. They also used a mixture of garlic and olive oil to cure earaches. Russians used it as an antiseptic during World War II, using the juice directly on wounds. Also good for sinus and respiratory problems, fights off colds. Onions, leeks, chives and scallions are also in the same family. Unfortunately, cooking destroys some of its power.

So, if the Ancient Egyptians used it to help them sleep, it must have some soothing qualities. I know I felt a lot better after eating, and it will fortify my body against all those sicknesses!

For a little extra insurance, I’m going to take my vitamins, drink some green tea, and get a good night’s sleep so I can get up and shovel more snow before heading off to work!

There’s a lot of great tasting healthy food you can make in minutes. You’ll feel so much better, and you’ll be much happier because what you ate tastes so much better than those ‘other’ fast choices.

I’m always much happier when I’ve eaten well. Follow my lead and talk yourself out of the bad choices, and you’ll be a lot happier too. I promise.

Looks like it’s going to be a long hard winter. Take care of yourself!

Carole

a.k.a. – ‘Mother’

 

 

P.S. The food guides in High Energy Eating are a lot of fun. You can discover all kinds of things about the foods you eat.