Food Learning 101

But my parents told me I shouldn't eat green bananas.


Good thing I didn't listen to them xD

lol, well perparation is key.  I dont think you can just eat them raw like that, but check with several Carribean recipes where green banana and plantain consumption are common.  

Kudos to this show to bring attention to the problems with sugar and for admitting that a lot of the dietary fat hysteria was overblown.  Sadly, they still neglect to mention that grains also metabolize into sugar in the body (how many spoonfuls would THAT be on top of the visibile sugar amount?).  And they still insist government regulation is the solution, when government is largely responsible for this problem in the first place.  

Still, it's worth a quick watch.

I wanted to see if pecans were harvested any differently than almonds, but nope... about the same.  ^^;



Walnuts?  Also the same process, although the video is more complete and cool... ^^

Phew, after all that heavy automation, I figured something a little more basic is in order.  And for some delicious pine nuts, yum.... ^^

Mmmm... well this wasn't really that good TBH as it still focuses too much on agriculture (which itself can be very destructive) and often gives government a free pass, but I guess it's helpful as far as learning about chemical pesticides and GMOs...



This should NOT be confused with the 2014 documentary of the same name, which I also saw today and found to be a complete pile of crap. :<

I just got done reading the book of the same namesake as this Youtube video, and it was both wonderful, thoughtful and frightening considering that a lot of the author's previous beliefs about nature and the environment mirrored a lot of what I used to think when I was much younge (and contemplating that kind of lifestyle). Granted both the book and the author are very polarizing in the vegetarian/vegan world, and in fact the book can be very upsetting to people who are sensitive to any kind of challenge to their belief system.  But to those that care to listen, they will appreciate the underlying commonality of justice, sustainability, and an underlying desire to be proactive in saving the world somehow. And people impassioned to feel as such owe it to themselves to listen to other points of view, and take what they can use to broaden their perspective and improve on what they love to do.    

While there is some aspects of the book (and in the video) I don't agree on as far as views of global warming, human population and feminism, as well as the occasional scientific oversimplifications, I'm happy to look past that and embrace it as a work of heart and feeling, like a person simply wishing to get her voice heard first and foremost.  I certainly can relate... whether I'm right, wrong or a little bit of both, I rather speak my mind, ask questions and seek knowledge, rather than stay quiet.  

Oooh, I've been able to intake a LOT of new information in the last 48 hours that have plugged in a few more knowledge gaps or misconceptions I had up until recently.  For instance, regarding cows, I was under the impression that they used carbohydrates (as in glucose) as their primary fuel, and this is only correct as far as them being herbivores who seek out plant matter.  

But in reality, what I should have said is they DIGEST carbohydrates as their primary food SOURCE, because in reality the cow itself can't physically digest the grass (or in the case of awful feed-lots, grains). Instead it relies on bacteria in its rumen to do all the plant digestion for it, which they do efficiently, breaking it down into glucose or amino acids (protein) or fatty acids (fat).  This is not unlike how bacteria handle the breakdown of soluble fiber and resistant starch in our own large intestines (converting it to fatty acids which are digestible to us), only a cow's digestive system is MUCH LARGER, and more complex.

It's this microbial soup (including the microbes themselves) that serve as the digestible food for the cow in her stomach and intestine, offering ample amounts of fat and protein.  So in effect, the macronutrient requirements of a cow are not terribly dissimilar to humans, in as much as it needs lots of fat, some carbs and some protein, as opposed to all carbs, some protein and no fat (as might be the assumption).  

This is likely the case in all other mammals as well... macronutrient requirements are the same, but methods to acquire them are different. Herbivores are efficient at getting fat from plant matter, carnivores are efficient at getting their glucose from protein breakdown, and omnivores are sort of the jack-of-all-trades.  Human digestive tracts are very small, but efficient at absorbing immediately-digestible macronutrients, which can either be a good thing (as far as absorbing omega-3 rich fat) or a bad thing (as far as absorbing too much glucose or fructose).

Anyway, back to cows, here's some educational videos that describe their digestive process a little better than I can.  

More about cows, this time from Joel Salatin, a farmer who uses what's called a Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing model.  This is a method that accomplishes several benefits, including letting animals eat their natural diets, letting grasses and plants live out their normal growth cycle, eliminating the use of harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers by natural fertilization from animal manures, and controlling weeds and pests especially in the presence of multiple animal rotations (say, cow grazing followed by chicken grazing followed by goat grazing and so forth).  

On top of that, and based on a previous video I posted earlier, this also helps nourish and even CREATE new top soil, given how dependent it is on overall biomass, which it gets a lot of through mass grazing by animals.  In nature, grazers don't typically destroy the lands they feed off of, but rather eat grasses as part of a moving grazing herd that eats what it needs and moves on, but not before depositing some essential poop in return.  

I thought Joel Salatin was ingenious, so I figured I'd listen to one of his lectures.
Turns out he is a genius, so I love this.  

Per my reply to Tex' 'Dear Cia' today, here's one of the many homemade mayonnaise recipes that can be found on Youtube. This particular one is neat since it's very fast and effective, using an immersion blender to force the emulsification.  ^^

The presenter uses olive oil, though just about any healthy oil or fat can do; likewise, the lemon can be substituted for lime, vinegar or mustard, or even a combination of all of them.  It's YOUR mayonnaise, do it however you want it.  

I just noticed I don't post a lot of website links, so gotta correct that. ^^

Here's one to determine how to address Dyslexia with diet, given how much of our playerbase it affects.  Note that a certain evil grain rears it's ugly head yet again... XD

http://www.livestrong.com/article/536572-dyslexia-and-diet/

This is very relevant to me atm, but if you have a cold or flu consider taking a little bit of oregano oil (or "oil of oregano" if you want something milder).  It is has powerful anti-microbial and anti-viral properties, and I'm taking it to make short work of my illness (combined with a few other things). It is a bit nasty to take, but dilute it with olive or coconut oil, and it'll be more palatable.

Just bear in mind that because it's such a powerful anti-microbial/viral/fungal agent, it could possibly harm probiotics (although the guy in the video doesn't seem to think so).  I probably wouldn't take it too frequently -- mainly while you're sick or suspect an up-and-coming illness.

Joel Salatin! You're my hero!!!

A good use for all the thousands of vacant lots in cities.

Time to learn about... PEMMICAN!!!  YAY!!!!!
[also, this series looks awesome, I may post up some more later] ^^

Episode 2 of this awesome Pemmican series!  

We interrupt this awesome series on Pemmican to bring about a very interesting [and infuriating] documentary on GMO... 

Warning, it's long and may cause facedesking.  :/

Wow... watched the movie this morning and I'm definitely impressed and disturbed at the same time.  A lot of things I knew about already (such as the horrors of grain-fed cattle), but many more things I didn't know about at all, and it was great this this film shed some light on a lot of the technical and societal problems of this commodity crop, and the efforts by government to subsidize its overproduction...

An example of pasture-raised pigs, where pigs can express their "pigness"....

Another nice documentary I watched... not particularly well-made and it had some questionable guest speakers and solutions, but I appreciate that it put so much focus on sludge oils, a true bane to our health for the past 100 years....

I moved the Food Learning thread to the Learning section because... I wonder why... XD

In any case, here's the latest riveting presentation by one of my great heroes and favorite authors, Joel Salatin.  Enjoy! ^^

Woohoo!! This small speech is amazing...
Don't let the title fool you, his advice is far more pragmatic.  

Resistant Starch, ftw!!! XD

Incidentally, I LOVE green plantains and bananas, so they're my primary source of Resistant Starch (and in fact, I usually slice green plantains in a mandoline, fry them in ghee or tallow, flavor them with pink salt, and keep them around as plantain chips.  Yum!

Another great speech by Joel Salatin; I love hearing these while working. ^^