Links with great information and resources

Wow! Have I had my eyes opened this past week?


Watching Food Inc, reading eating animals and doing some research. I thought I knew a lot when it came to food, health & nutrition and in a few minutes of research I was proven very wrong.
Yes, I know, this is a subject most of us wish to ignore.

We say “I think I'll skip that", or “I’d rather not know". But this is a matter that affects our children and their children and the earth that we are trampling on by not paying attention.

It is vital to look at this!

Even if somehow the care and treatment of the animals means nothing to you, you cannot avoid that fact that it all ties together. Factory farming is causing more global warming effects than all the transportation combined in the world.

This is pretty amazing and it deserves a closer look.

I have done a lot of research in a little time and found reliable sources that have loads of information for consumers.

I urge you to read some of these reports, look at the scorecards of the milk you are buying and the soy products. The ones that opt not to participate should obviously be avoided. Many of the major organic players in the market make you think you are buying one thing when in actuality you are not getting what you are paying for.

Pay attention! Read labels and research the brands you are buying you will be surprised if not appalled by there unconscious behavior towards the environment as well as the inhumane and cruel treatment they evoke on the animals.

I will post sites that can help you find local farmers that grow grass fed and finished beef, free range clean fed poultry, pigs, turkeys and on and on. Find a local dairy that grass feeds the cows and treats them humanely.

There are so many sources with the internet now and you can find them and in most cases set up easy delivery or pickups for these products that are well worth there price.

I know I can go on forever on this soap box but really this is a new passion for me.

I have always been conscious about what I buy, what we eat and how I cook. Now, I am sickened with the research in finding that I have been buying products that I believed in and backed up to many of you when asked. Only to find out they are no better then the next guy.

On a POSITIVE note there are a few that I was relieved and ecstatic to discover hold up to there name. Organic Valley and Eden soy and Wildwood products to name a few.

The change that is needed in the world around our food system will only change if every consumer takes a stand. You have to buy the products that you can consciously back and rely on.

~Eat seasonally whenever possible according to your area. or grow your own garden and food with heirloom organic seeds like the ones you can buy from Peaceful Valley Farm (link below) and many others.

~By from your local farmers and local dairies. Go visit them first and ask questions. If they don’t let you visit then DON'T buy their products.

We can change this and take back our food system one consumer at a time.

LunaMamaP

http://www.vitacost.com/Referee?wlsrc=rsReferral&ReferralActionId=702000075723

http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

http://www.localharvest.org/

http://www.nongmoproject.org/

http://www.cornucopia.org/

http://www.groworganic.com/default.html

http://www.polyfacefarms.com/

Here are just a few of the helpful, informative sites. The Polypace farm is the farm in Food Inc. many local farmers are following his footsteps and running there farms this way. Reading his site is helpful in giving you a guideline for what to look for in a sustainable, humane, conscious farmer!

Sunchokes - yummy little things

I stumbled across this peculiar little vegetable and I just had to share. It also happens to be related to the Sunflower.

Sunchokes ( Jerusalem artichokes), I know I have heard of them briefly. So briefly, that they slipped my mind like many things.

I was in the market the other day buying what I thought was the tiniest piece of ginger root I had ever come across. To my surprise when I got home it was far from a ginger root. It was however this marvelous little white crunchy thing. Of course, I googled it and found that it has many health benefits and can be prepared and eaten many ways. I found sources stating benefits from diabetes to intestinal health.

Sunchokes are very rich in inulin, a carbohydrate linked with good intestinal health due to its prebiotic (bacteria promoting) properties. These health benefits come at a price; the food can have a potent wind-producing effect.
Sunchokes also contain vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium and are a very good source of iron.(Eating the seasons, 2008)

http://www.eattheseasons.com/Archive/sunchoke.htm.

We tried it tonight ,raw and on salad. My little 10yr old made the most beautiful salad with fresh herbs, mixed greens, cucumbers, apples and raw chopped sunchoke. It was magnificent!

Here's to trying new things!

Blessings,

LunaMamaP

Welcome to my blog!
Here I am trying to think of how to compose my first post. I have been thinking about doing this for sometime now.
My hope is that I can use this blog as a vessel for posting wonderful recipes I stumble upon or make up ! The ones that turn out anyway :) and all the ones I get asked for as well.
I also hope to share some of the wonderful festivals and daily life rhythms that we have in our life in hopes that some of them will inspire you to make them your own with your family.
Right now it is a work in progress and a place for all the chatter that runs through my head !
Who knows what else will come up. I seem to always have my hand in something new and something old , while dipping each of my toes into 10 other things.
Usually if I hear or read about something that sounds interesting or fun to me I am going to dive head first and try it. So I will post my successes and my failures.
For now I am off to meditate on the wonderful first class I had at Cakes for the Queen of Heaven. The amazing imagery and visualizations that arise out of the myth of Demeter and Persephone and the bond that exists between mothers and daughters.
Blessings
LunaMama P