Quote for the Day

Our lives begin to end the day we became silent about things that matter.

~Martin Luther King Jr.

Wellness Wednesday

As part of my low-cost/high-health cookbook project for our local food pantry, a few weeks ago I met with a very nice woman from our county's cooperative extension office.  She will be holding some cooking classes for clients of the food pantry, so talked her to find out what her needs were and how our cookbook could help satisfy some of those needs.


We talked about the need for healthy snacks for children and she emphasized the need for healthy alternatives to soft drinks.  As someone who is very concerned about what we are putting into our food system and ultimately into our bodies, I was taken aback by some of her examples which including making a juice mix using diet ginger ale.  Of course this led me to the following two thoughts:  We take out natural fat in healthy foods (i.e., yogurt), replace it with sugar, and call it healthy.  We take out sugar, replace it with chemicals, and call it healthy.  Rather than continuing to consume excessive amounts of adulterated foods, maybe we should just consume more moderate amounts of food in their natural state?  What we need to do is follow author Michael Pollan's advice:

1. Eat [real] food.
2. Not too much.
3. Mostly plants.

If we followed this advice, we would save our health and our wallets, as we would be putting the diet food/supplement/book industry out of business and reduce our healthcare costs.

More on Iris

My daily life continues to revolve around my bottle-fed baby, Iris.  It was touch-and-go at first, with Iris having a hard time with being bottle fed, but I think we've turned the corner and she should grow into a nice, beautiful (and, hopefully, unspoiled) doe.  Here are a few pics of my girl:

Iris with some of the other girls

 Iris having her lunch

 Getting some special attention

 Isn't she a beauty?

Happy Mother's Day

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

~Jewish proverb

Wellness Wednesday

Sometimes things that are bad for you, are also bad for others.  I've read of the health benefits from chocolate, but the truth is most of us consume far too much of it.  By eating too much of it, or by eating milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate, we cancel out any potential benefits.  However, you might start cutting down on chocolate consumption after watching this movie trailer that Lisa at Retro Housewife Goes Green shared on facebook:

Disappointed

All weekend and into today, I've been struggling with an overwhelming sense of disappointment - disappointment in my community.   You see, on Saturday there was an event for domestic violence awareness, a chance for the community to come together in strength and solidarity.  This event included the opportunity to walk a labyrinth, something one doesn't get to do every day.  Light refreshments were also served.  However, in the time I was there, the only visitors were those of us who are already part of the domestic violence coalition.  And I noticed that we are all transplants to the area.  Not one single local person visited.


In contrast, when our local Olive Garden restaurant opened a few weeks back, over 100 people lined up before the doors were even open.  Guess we know the priorities of our local citizens.


Things like this make me want to give up on community efforts.  Why bother?  Often it seems that few people who were born and raised here really care.  And in my experience, except for when those "hot button" issues are addressed, the local community of faith rarely gets excited about or involved in anything meaningful.  I see a lot of selfish activity within the religious community, projects or activities that benefit the church or temple, or easy projects, ones that involve shopping for gifts or donations.  But seldom do I see the community go out of it's way to support a need that does not somehow have a personal connection.  It's all about us and our friends.


It just seems so selfish.  I do understand that people have very busy lives and sometimes it's hard to find time to help others.  But from my viewpoint, I find that many of my neighbors who complain about lack of time are never too busy to go to the latest, greatest, newest restaurant or store or to spend hours watching television or surfing the internet.


Of course, there are those in this area who do care and who do some very important work.  But the list is short, and it always seems to be the same people thinly spreading themselves across a community that needs a lot of help.  So, I'm grateful for what we have, but I think we can do better.

Quote for the Day

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

~Saint Augustine