bread pudding.

So they made this as a snack for us all the time in Costa Rica and though I knew it had eggs in it and i usually don't consume those, this was probably my favorite snack. I mean it's got carbs, protein, and some good fats...oh and some sugar, but whole grains help slow it entering your blood stream and cinnamon levels off the blood sugar too, so it's not all that bad, right?

My family was definitely diggin some bread pudding at Thanksgiving and then the dogs had quite the meal with the leftovers. Needless to say, there were some disappointed people, especially George and Sarah White who had been looking forward to it all day. (brother and best friend since kindergarten)

Though it did add some laughter just thinking of the chaos as two massive weimaraners and two small maltese fight over the HUGE pan of bread pudding. I'm talking this could have been a dessert for like 20 people...left some lovely gifts as well.

ANYWAYS! My mother and I decide that we will make some more to appease the cravings going on and of course I insist on making it as healthy as possible. So, though I don't know exacts because really I had no clue what I was doing ( I looked at a bunch of recipes to get a feel for the type of ingredients and amounts, then kind of winged it) these are the ingredients that I used.

Mixed the two of these for the bread;

Sprouted Ezekiel raisin bread

100% whole wheat, organic bread (the ezekiel doesn't get as soft and gooey)

Then I decided to throw in some raw wheat germ

Mixture of ( to be poured on top);

organic, farmers market, range free, hormone free eggs (only the best of the best! ha)

almond milk

coconut oil

cinnamon

nutmeg

vanilla

organic cane sugar (maybe you could do it with honey too?)

wouldn't it be nice.

I hope that someday, asap, we are able to go to the grocery store without the concern of what we are buying. It would be so nice to go to the store and not need to look for labels saying organic or non-gmo, or labels that do not include high fructose corn syrup, msg, and all of the other evils lurking in the grocery store. This is just an unnecessary worry/stress that people do not need to worry about. It is just bizarre to me that I have to go out of my way to find food not laden with chemicals, pesticides, excitotoxins, and other dangers.

Shouldn't it be weird to have food that is sprayed with chemicals, injected with hormones, laden with pesticides, full of antibiotics...? This is what is weird to me, not people striving to eat all organic so that they eating pure fruits and vegetables, not chemicals.

I think we are getting closer and closer to having this paradigm shift and I truly look forward to it.

While I am enjoying the cold...

I also really miss the beach and summer. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time in the sand and waves this summer ( a little too much of it was spent in the chemistry lab and classroom).

So though it is cold and wintery outside, I would love to be in the sand building something like this...It is just a tad bit more extravagant than my usual drip towers, but I think I could handle it.

...I might make my dragon a little kinder though, or possibly harry potter fighting a dragon...

Turkey Day.

It's Thanksgiving, THANKSgiving, I want to reiterate that and what the real meaning and name of this holiday is. It is a day for us to give thanks for everything in our life, not just the turkey on our plates. It has turned into turkey day instead of this day of thanks it was meant to be.

I am thankful for so many things that it would almost be incessant for me to list, but very broadly, I am thankful for...

-All of the people in my life right now; family, friends, teachers, acquaintances, everyone involved in my life.

-Where I am today, where I was yesterday, and where I will be in the future

-The people who used to be part of my life because you have been part of who I am and still are everyday.

-All of the people who will become part of my life today, tomorrow, or in 30 years

-PASSION, TRUTH, LOVE, JOY

So today I wanted to make this holiday less about food and more about life and everything good in it. I am just drinking juice today so that I focus on what I am thankful for and not my belly. It is probably a little inconvenient and weird considering, but I hope it doesn't draw attention because I am doing it for me and not because I want to be the odd one out at our massive southern cooked meal. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and appreciates the love that has been put into all of the food that will be eaten today. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

protecting our right to REAL, natural, organic foods

Monsanto is a group that creates genetically modified foods, sells the seeds despite dangers, sues small farmers, and so on...

A lot of information is going on about legislation that is about to be passed and we know that a lot of things that go on in government are based on lobbyists or where funding is coming from, so here's a website that shows the contributions that monsanto makes...

http://www.monsanto.com/Documents/2009-political-disclosure.pdf

I recommend everyone subscribe to the Food Democracy Now! Team because they will send you emails about legislation that is about to be passed, information on GMO and how you can help stop it and send you direct links where you can sign petitions and join in the fight to protect our food.

orange slices.

I really miss playing a hard half of soccer and then one of the moms pulling a cold bag of cut up oranges out of a cooler for us to eat at half time. Something about that was so great and refreshing.

Plus they are fun to make faces with.

then there are these nasties which i have always thought were gross, but they do remind me of my grandparents. I am glad I loved the real orange slices over these sugar slices.

love somebody.

oh my.

"Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it.

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color."

YUMMMMMMMM. Who doesn't want a good bite of that? so gross.

half potato half fish vegetable?

This is just one of the weird things that people have thought of testing while creating genetically modified foods. Genetically modified foods are really a scary thing to me and I want everyone to learn about the dangers and just bizarreness of the whole thing as well as the corruption. Watch The Renegade Health Shows multiple videos on GM foods and go to this website and sign the petition!

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/

read and learn! but most importantly...
SIGN THE PETITIONS AND WRITE TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES! takes literally 20 seconds.

eating organic is super trendy...

Okay, so eating organic really is becoming a "trend" and what all the cool people are doing, but that's not the reason to eat organic. There are multitude of reasons that I could go on and on about, but that's not what this post is about.

I am talking about large food companies and corporations suddenly putting out a trendy little organic line, to go with their already popular products. For instance, sunsweet has an organic line of prunes, one that is conventional but without preservatives, their normal prunes, and then they have ones that you can buy that are individual pre-packaged in little "candy wrappers." Now, while I do like the idea of making a dried fruit your "candy," this company is sending off a multitude of ideas.

They have an organic line, which shows some concern with sustainability, but it seems more as though it is just a gimmick to make more money. Especially when they have just the opposite of sustainable when creating a product that is producing more trash than necessary with individually wrapped prunes.

Now this is just one company that I am pointing out, not to say that they are definitely using their organic line for purposes of charging more for the "trendy" item. But this seems to be more and more viable as the organic trend reaches more and more people.

So, my question to others and myself is, do we feel better about organic when the companies we are buying from may have ulterior motives for their organic line? My choices in buying organic aren't just for my health, but also the environment and sustainability. Are these companies slowly switching over to a more sustainable practice or is it just a gimmick?

These are really important questions for me to ask myself and for others to think about because there is so much more to organic than just less chemicals. My goal is to buy the most sustainable and healthy product available to me through the most sustainable and aware companies who aren't just "going green" to market better or make more money, but because they understand the need for it and want to educate others as well.

Just some food for thought...

never forget to play.

I don't mind the crisp in the air today because it's so beautifully accompanied by the sunshine; it's one of those perfect fall days.

I have been thinking a lot about being a kid and going outside and playing and how nothing could keep you from the longing to play. No amount of rain, snow, cold wind, or hot hot sun made you think twice about running around and just playing. I think it's important to always hold onto this and always have this longing to play. I just want to have a moment every day where I just play, I'm entitled to that.

...because when I think of fall I think of driving on country roads on the way to my grandparents and admiring the beautiful colors the leaves were turning.

What is your state of mind?

"You can’t solve a Problem from the same Consciousness that created the problem." -Einstein

genius.

"Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."

-Albert Einstein