In the Beginning…

Hello there,
I thought my first post was going to be one of the raw recipes that I greatly enjoyed but I think instead it will be a compilation of things. My mind hasn’t been still for very long today so I am afraid that I may jump around a little during this post. I will attempt to stay directed.

I like kale…yep, that’s right KALE. I never thought I would, but I do. I just tried it for the first time in a great recipe that I got off Gone Raw yesterday while pretending to work. Ug work…that’s another topic…back to KALE! So this recipe is amazing, or at least I thought so (but I added some stuff). Instead of cayenne I used a fresh Thai chili pepper…yum! I also added fresh chopped garlic and sesame seeds. It was super tasty. Before a couple years ago, I never even knew kale could be eaten. When I was growing up, I worked at a restaurant where they used it, but only as a garnish…it was PRETTY…but I never thought it was edible! Thank you to my insatiable need to learn anything nutrition related I have branched out! So if you haven’t tried kale, I recommend it, YUM!

Nutrition…sigh… In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am obsessed with nutrition and other health related stuff. I get a lot of funny looks at work and people tell me constantly that I eat like a rabbit. But honestly, I don’t care. I think that what you put in your body is so important! I can’t even begin to tell you how important I find this. I love nutrition! I love food! AND I love learning anything I can about either. I have a ton of cookbooks and health books. I read as much as I can either on line or in books. I am a subscriber to Natural News’s RSS Feed and the Organic Consumer Association as well as a multitude of other groups and sites. I firmly believe that peoples health is directly related to what they eat and how what they eat is prepared. After all, “you are what you eat,” right?

Personal choice plays a very important role in the entire process of being healthy. Step one, make the choice. A lot of times sticking with that choice is the hardest part. When your loved ones think that you are crazy because of how you eat, care for you self or those you are in charge of (children or pets) it can be very difficult to stick with your choices and feel good about it. At first I did not have a lot of support from my family (or my husband’s) with the decisions I make. I think my mom thought I was absolutely insane the first time I showed up at her house with my dogs and 4 pounds of raw chicken…yep raw. But my dogs love it and thrive on it! I did all my research and made sure that I was offering my pets the best things possible. In my mind, providing them with a raw diet (much like my recent choice to go raw) was the way to do that. Holistic health is another area my family almost faints at, they have gotten a lot better but still, it took a little getting used to. My sister still thinks I am crazy. I have just given up on that front. I love her to death but we are complete and polar opposites…I’m the south pole, I want penguins! Ultimately I have to live in my body. If I don’t do what I think is absolutely best for it, is that truly living? Or living in the way that I wish to. My body is my temple, so I will continue to educate myself and better myself to make sure that I am taking 110% care of it.

I guess my last thought of the day is on politics. I am way out in left field here I know, but I was listening to NPR on the way into work this morning and almost had a heart attack at the news I heard. How is it that a man (Ted Stevens to be exact) who is a senator in Alaska can be going to trial for 7 counts of federal corruption and still win the republican primary? Apparently he is innocent. I am having a hard time understanding how ANYONE who has that status and accepts any type of monetary ‘gift’ from a major corporation with MAJOR interests in a particular region (ie VECO in Alaskan Oil Reserves) is allowed to continue to be a ‘champion for the people.’ Maybe I am naive, heck, that’s probably what it is. But excuse me for believing in the US constitution and thinking that as a representative of the people you should, hmm…I dunno, represent the people! I am sure there are a lot of people in Alaska that could have used a little extra money…why in gods name does an already well off SENATOR take money from a company that no doubt has intentions of (eventually) putting a dirty tub ring around Alaska and putting all the fisherman out of business. This is OIL we are talking about people! OIL! Black Gold! The stuff corruption is made of! HOW can you justify voting something (even if it hasn’t been proven yet) back into office! If he isn’t elected and it’s found that he’s innocent is it really that big of a deal! He’s already been in office for 40 years! He’s 84 years old…does he really need another 6 years?! What’s the point. Ug…I’m done venting…this just seems absolutely ludicrous to me…but it is highly possible I have no idea what I am talking about. I just can’t understand not having a certain amount of accountability. What would be happening to any common person?

Thank goodness for the freedom of speech…I think that is enough for me today. Sorry for veering so horribly off topic but I had to put it out there.

Next post I plan on sharing my Lemonade recipe…YUM!