Archives for 2010

Backyard Farming Is A Feminist Act

So says Peggy Orenstein last week in The New York Times Magazine. Are you a stay-at-home mother who keeps chickens, maybe a small garden, perhaps even a beehive? Do you dabble in preserving your food, making your own bread, and cooking nourishing, wholesome, seasonal food for your family? Then you’re what’s quickly becoming known as a “femivore,” a woman who turns her homemaking into something more earthy and industrious than the consumer-driven model that’s dominated America’s cultural landscape for the last half century.

Fight Back Friday March 12th

Welcome to yet another Fight Back Friday! Today we’re bringing together another collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies from members of the Real Food Revolution.

Who are they? Why, they’re the Food Renegades. You know who you are — lovers of SOLE (Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical) food, traditional food, primal food, REAL food, the list goes on. I believe that by joining together, our influence can grow, and we can change the way America (and the industrialized world) eats!

So, let’s have some fun.

Announcing a Real Food Nutrition & Health Course

In the world of homeschooling, the options for Nutrition & Health curricula are down right scary. Everything out there teaches the USDA Food Pyramid’s fear of fats and love of grains. Everything. Never mind that the grains are refined, extruded, denatured constructs of modern engineering. Never mind that the meats come from an inhumane, unsustainable, and unhealthy industrial food supply. Never mind that the dairy is all pasteurized, fortified, and full of antibiotics and pus.

If you’re trying to teach your kids to love Real Food (food that is traditional, old, sustainably and ethically grown or raised, etc.), you won’t find a textbook to support your view. If you’re trying to teach your kids to love saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, and tallow, you won’t find a curriculum that even comes close.

So, for the past six months, I’ve been writing a book just for you. It’s written at a high school level, and covers the same basic topics that are covered in a high school Nutrition & Health course. Only there’s a difference. I’m on your side.

Fight Back Friday March 4th

Welcome to yet another Fight Back Friday! Today we’re bringing together another collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies from members of the Real Food Revolution.

So, let’s have some fun.

PLU Codes Don’t Indicate GMO Produce

A while back, I stumbled onto a little known fact. The PLU codes on produce at your supermarket actually mean things (besides what kind of fruit or veggie it is)! For example, organic produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 9. Conventionally raised produce has a 4-digit PLU code, and (wonder of wonders!) genetically modified produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 8.

When getting fresh vegetables from local farmers, PLU codes don’t seem all that important. After all, I can just ask the farmer about his growing practices and where he gets his seed from. So, I tucked away this handy bit of knowledge about supermarket produce, thinking I might use it some day.

Then this week, I read an eye-opening article by Jeffrey Smith (the founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology). He says PLU codes don’t reveal the GMO origins of produce. Why? Because they’re optional.

WINNER plus $59.95 off COUPON

It’s always good to announce a winner. I feel like the bearer of such joy. It’s like Christmas.

But another part of me is always a bit disappointed for all the people who didn’t win. That’s why I’m so thankful when a sponsor chooses to end a giveaway with a generous coupon. A good coupon is sort of like winning, too. Isn’t it?

Anyhow, Marilyn at Urban Homemaker has graciously decided to offer you $59.95 off ANY drinking water system in her store! So, that goes for the Aqua Dome as well as the other Multi-Pure systems she sells.

Fight Back Friday February 26th

Welcome to yet another Fight Back Friday! Today we’re bringing together another collection of recipes, tips, anecdotes, and testimonies from members of the Real Food Revolution.

So, let’s have some fun.

Wyoming Food Freedom Act

Remember the Pennsylvania “Pie Gate”? Little old ladies forbidden to serve homemade pies at a Church Fish Fry?

Well, that sort of thing won’t happen in Wyoming. Last week the state’s House of Representatives passed the Food Freedom Act out of committee in support of cottage industry foods. A similar bill became the law of the land last year, but excluded potentially hazardous foods such as dairy products, canned foods, and sauces from protection as “cottage foods.” This bill would widen the scope what’s considered an exempt “cottage food,” and food-safety advocates are hotly criticizing the expanded definition.

GIVEAWAY: Aqua Dome Water Purifier ($225 value!)

Despite the studies released year after year demonstrating just how dangerous, toxic, and unhealthy our tap water can be, we still keep using it. After all, it’s federally-regulated. Surely that must mean it’s safe? Surely if our local tap water were unsafe, someone in authority would have told us about it? Sadly, no. Last month,…

WINNER: Stackable Sprout Garden & 15% OFF COUPON

If you didn’t win last week’s giveaway for the Stackable Sprout Garden, I’ve got some good news for you. Julie at Cultures for Health is offering 15% off all sprouting supplies for the next week!

So, if you’re interested in starting some sprouts to help bring a little Spring into the depth of your Winter, now’s your chance. In my family, we love adding raw sprouts to our salads. My favorites are broccoli, radish, and mustard. I also love sprouting lentils before adding them to soups or stews, and my favorite sprout for stir fry meals are mung beans (the Chinese have sprouted mung beans for thousands of years.) Sprouts are a cheap vegetable, easily grown all year indoors and with limited space, and surprisingly nutritious.

So, now for the winner: