This Farm Bill Ain't "Small Potatoes"

While the pending Farm Bill legislation may not be as intriguing as who Tom Kat will choose next, it will have much more impact on our lives.

Depending on how it plays out, we could see huge reductions in Food Stamp allocations at a time when 1/3 of U.S. children live in poverty; relaxed regs on food inspection, living conditions for animals that will eventually become meat, and the proliferation of GMO's.

Also pending is how much subsidy will be allowed for commodities, particularly corn. Corn, of course, being the staple for high fructose corn syrup that is an ingredient in75 percent of what lies on grocery store shelves and contributes heavily (no pun intended) to the obesity crisis.

What if the bill evolved from the platform that every American should be well and able so that they can play a contributing role in our society? How about that?

Keep in mind that about $300 billion will be divied up per this legislation.

How about starting with what's available in the food basket?  Lots of fruits and vegetables? It's an underpinning for good health, so why not subsidize farmers who provide them, particularly if they are organic. Or provide incentives to families who grow their own?

Would we not logically wean ourselves from corn products and lose some of those extra pounds?

Of course, then, we'd want the meat we buy to be raised in sanitary, humane conditions because we're going to be eating it!

And we'd certainly want to be able to hire enough food inspectors to avoid deadly food poisoning, as was the case with Colorado cantalope last year.

This would be assuming we actually view people as the human capital that we absolutely rely on, every day, to show to gas up our airplanes, deliver our food, stock our shelves, and care for us when we're sick.

Three hundred billion dollars spent with those things in mind could go a long way towards making us a healthier nation.

Contact your Congressman. Then let's see what happens.

Dogs Should Eat Well, Too!

My nine-year-old dog was getting pretty fat, eventhough I was walking him him every day. Logic told me that if I fed him less, eventually he'd weigh less.

I couldn't figure out why that wasn't working until my daughter made the observation that he wouldn't lose weight until he started eating better. She said the chow he was eating was comprised of more fat than nutrients, and until I purchased a higher quality dog food, nothing was going to change.

It hit me that for all I have to say about eating well, I had failed to apply that knowledge to what I fed my dog.

So I invested in a better brand of dog food, kept up the exercise, and in a little over a week I noticed he looked a little bit slimmer.

Of course, it's no different for anyone who wants to drop some weight. Start eating more nutrient-packed foods and your body will begin to reshape itself by dropping excess weight.

You don't save a thing by buying cheap food, for yourself, or for your pets. What you don't invest in quality food will end up getting spent on visits to the doctor or to the veterinarian!

Heat, Fires & Savoring What We Have

Nothing reframes priorities like natural disasters, and the record-breaking heat wave we're experiencing in this country is doing just that. As crops burn in the fields and water evaporates, it's easy to translate what's important.

Food and water.

You can forget the paper money you've got stashed away, or the pulse on your 401K. Without water to drink, or healthy food on the table, it means "nada"!

The visual for me is that less than a mile from my home, the Colorado River is ankle-deep, while smoke billows on the horizon above the Bookcliffs from a fire that has raged for days. Over in Colorado Springs, over 300 families have lost their homes to fires of epic proportion there.

All of a sudden, giving thought to which shade of paint to select for my kitchen walls or which style of sandal to purchase seems glaringly inappropriate in the light of what appear to be obvious shifts from life as we know it.

Am I a doomsdayer?

No. That would be to focus on hand-wringing or mindless distractions.

Every day of our lives, there are choices that lie before us as to how we might play a better role in our world.

I believe it begins with gratitude.

For me, I'm grateful that I even have a kitchen, or a strong body so I can do the things I need to do ~ with or without new sandals!

And if you have good food to eat and fresh, clean water to drink, don't miss any opportunity to whisper a prayer of thanks!

Mindfulness Isn't Thinking!

There's a veritable "mindfulness" movement going on!

I've married it to "eating" in my blog entries, but it's so much larger than that. And, if you apply mindfulness to eating, you can then apply it to the other areas of your life.

When you create enough space in time to step back and be aware of your food choices, eventually you will find it easier to act on that awareness and make better choices. The other benefit is that when you create some space in time, a pause, you begin to ratchet down your stress level.

The reason "mindfulness" is resonating now is because we're all wound way too tight trying to control everything as the ground shifts beneath us ~ and we're finding that our inner terrain is all we can really count on.

When it comes to that universal challenge of eating well, our minds run like hamsters in a cage as we research the best way to do it, make a plan, and then mentally flog ourselves when we don't make it happen.

But in that calming arena of "mindfulness," we discover that we're not in this to "win," because there is no finish line. Every moment is our opportunity to feel better, and the food choices that we make play a very large part in that because the better the food, the more energy is delivered at a cellular level.

We've been so programmed to investing our efforts in the future, or worthlessly, in the past, that we neglect the very real opportunities before us, right now.

To be mindful, or fully present in the moment, is our reset button.

We all get caught up in the momentum of the things we have to do everyday. Just don't let your food choices become a part of that blur.

Take some time and savor something that you know is good for you!

Why Do We Do What We Always Did?

(I've taken a break while I dealt with allergies this past month ~ Now I'm back at my keyboard!)

So why is it that we choose foods, or drinks, we know are going to make us feel bad later? Why is it that despite previous experience, we continue to do what we said we wouldn't? Part of it has to do with the definition of insanity: Doing the same think over and over again, but hopin for different results.

It's the "hoping" part.

We "hope" to feel better. We "hope" to lose weight. We "hope" we'll make better choices ~ next time.

"Hoping" implies that something's going to happen without any participation from us. Of course, there may be some real physicial addictions at play that we need to recognize and be aware of.

But if we ever want to change our lives, we have to, by intention, put ourselves out there. It starts with looking closely at what we believe about ourselves.

Do we believe we deserve to feel better? That we deserve to nurture ourselves with good food?

We make the choices that we do becuase there is some perceived reward for us ~ maybe just calming uncomfortable emotions, or feeding some emotional hunger that we mistake for physical hunger.

Knowing that what we seek isn't to be found in that bag of salty potato chips is a start.  Then find something that really does nurture you and choose that instead!

Of Food & Finances

There’s an article in USA Today this week about how the “millennials” are struggling with financial literacy.

They’re not alone. Plenty of “boomers” who majored in liberal arts back in the day, yet failed to pick up an economics course, are probably in the same boat.

For those trying to figure out where to find firm footing amidst all this economic turbulence, I suggest starting with food.

Here’s where I’ll repeat my old “saw” ~ Americans waste 40 percent of the food they buy in grocery stores and in restaurants. Since we all have to eat every day, all that wasted food can translate into wasted cash that could be set aside for a car payment, utility costs or a savings account.

So where do these “millennials” and every other struggling American start?

The answer is in their kitchens. With some planning, we can eat better and spend less.

Somewhere along the way, we mistakenly learned to equate meeting basic needs with deprivation. We stopped viewing having a place to live, good food, clean air and clean water as the abundance that it really is.

So lacking economic certainly or a road map on how to find it, we need to look to the one area that we clearly can control; and that’s what buy and what we eat.

Cut down on the coffee and the soda pop, and carry a water bottle. If you’re spending as much as $5 a day on that, you’ll save about $25 a week, or $100 a month.

Buy more veggies and learn to stretch your meat portions. Meat is expensive, and our bodies need much less protein than we think.

Incorporate whole wheat or gluten-free pasta into your menu planning. True, it’s a source of carbs, but you can lessen its glycemic effect by cooking it no longer than seven minutes. (Keep the pasta portions smaller, and top it with lots of sautéed veggies).

If you’re still stymied by the plethora of food choices, start by buying a bag of apples and eat one every day for a week, without making any other changes. Pay attention to every bite, and truly savor it, knowing that it’s improving your health and nurturing your body. (A bag can cost as much as a latte’!)

Then start doing some simple menu planning. Even just having a fresh garden salad in the fridge can always be a fallback. (Serve it with the kids’ macaroni and cheese; just give them more salad than pasta!)

It’s easier than you think, and you’ll soon find out that it’s “money in the bank!”

Diabetics Should View Food as Their Pharmacy

That Southern belle of kitchens everywhere, Paula Deen, has provided huge absolution for millions seeking solace and comfort from food by providing recipes and demonstrations on how to cook up sugary, high-fat, palate pleasers.

Examples range from her “sweet tea” to entrée’s like her cheesy macaroni & beef casserole, to dessert finales like her skillet-fried apple pie (cooked in 1/2 inch of oil~ seriously!)

Earlier this year, she announced she has Type 2 diabetes.

She’s on a couple of meds to control her diabetes, and said she still enjoys those kinds of dishes, but in smaller portions.

That’s a good start, but her path could be so much better.

Truth is, there’s a better example to be set for the 26 million Americans with diabetes, 90 percent of whom have the Type-2 variety.

Because avoiding saturated fats, high-fat dairy and animal products especially ice cream, cheese, hot dogs, bacon, hamburgers and sausage ~ all those things Paula Deen fans love ~ can go a long ways towards even reversing diabetes.

As for the “sweet tea”, sodas and juices ~ those should be the first to go!

The acidic properties of the “white stuff” like white bread, rice, pasta and sugar help to insure that that environment of inflammation continues ~ putting out the welcome mat for those illnesses we to want to avoid, namely diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Those rolling blood sugar levels that are the hallmark of diabetes can often be quickly stabilized by combining regular exercise with plenty of high fiber fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. That is, of course, minus the dollops of butter when they’re served up “Southern style”.

Just cutting sugary drinks from your diet can improve your glucometer readings in a matter of days!