Food Learning 101

A nice little video on the horrors of what I like to call "sludge seed oils", or processed hydrogenated trans fatty acid oils made from industrial byproducts that are nevertheless labeled as "heart healthy".  Granted, the speaker doesn't talk about the role of sludge seed oils in heart disease, but I guess cancer and autoimmune diseases are shocking enough.

Recently I've been buying some raw grass-fed cheese (which is tasty, although definitely different), but it occurred to me that people may still not be fully aware about what "grass-fed" or "grass-finished" means. So here's a quick [albeit simplistic] video about it:



It can still be rare to find grass-fed products, but I've noticed it's becoming increasingly less so as time goes on. Last year my nearest commercial supermarket had zero grass-fed meat; now it has about 4 offerings from the token grass-fed brands (like Tallgrass Beef), and while they're still ridiculously-expensive, it's nice to know they're there in a pinch. Also before it only had grass-fed butter (Kerrygold), but now it inadvertently offers grass-fed cheese via the Kerrygold brand (at some point hopefully other brands will decide to follow the Irish, lol). XD

As for the lady's thoughts on CAFO's being more productive... they ARE productive at producing a lot of food in one spot. However, when taken as a whole, they're not productive at all compared to traditional farming methods since CAFO's still require enormous amounts of power, oil and feed (in the form of grains, which require more power, oil and chemicals on their own) to manage, plus all their manure waste gets concentrated as well to the point of reaching toxic levels. Factor in the fact that the meat/dairy/eggs are nutritional inferior and probably more likely to get people sick, and there's really no benefit to torturing animals in and destroying the environment with CAFO's.

Some may sight cost, but that's only possible because we subsidize the cost of grains used as feed, plus CAFO's destroyed traditional farms too. Travel back 100 years ago, when grass-fed was the norm, and meat and milk were surprisingly affordable.

Hey hey,

Well today I finally got to watch Interstellar at my local cheap-o cinema, and while it was a very original and interesting movie, it was definitely a drawn-out borefest that annoyed me more than it peaked my curiosity.  I was definitely begging the movie to end, and thank gawd it did... three hours later. XD

Worse, the premise of the ecological apocalypse of the movie (basically the Dust Bowl of the 1930's on steroids) was completely avoidable since all the farmers of the movie were growing the very crops that CAUSE severe soil erosion, such as wheat and corn. Corn was painted as the last food crop left on Earth, which is ironic given this grain sucks up nutrients from the soil like it's no tomorrow... and no nutrients means dryer soil that can only grow more food with chemical fertilizers and is vulnerable to... yep... erosion.  So instead of going through the trouble of wishing-in magical wormholes and building giant space colonies powered by quantum physics, why not just simply grow or raise your food smarter?

Granted, this scenario CAN happen because people (or specifically, governments and agribusinesses) are indeed THAT stupid and THAT greedy, and, are even as we speak, destroying their environment to create artificial conditions of scarcity.  But to even pose this problem as an inevitability -- as well as broadcasting the myth that we can all survive only on corn, without DYING -- has as much intelligence to it as justifying the irrigation of crops with a sports drink and then wondering why food won't grow....



So let's leave the quantum mechanics to building space vehicles, and recap on real solutions for improving soil health, improving food security, improving livestock management, improving rotational agriculture, and getting better quality food while doing all of the above!  Here's a recap on managed grazing for those who missed this earlier....

Avocado's question reminded me that sometimes we're not fully aware (or don't remember, lol) how our cells work in our body. So I'll try to post some more videos about how our bodies make use of vitamins minerals, macronutrients, oxygen, etc, so we can have a better understanding (and appreciation) for how you're kept alive. ^^

Here is a good starter videos...

hehe, not food related per-se, but it's definitely health-related. It's been a few hours since my standing desk conversion thingy arrived in the mail, and so far I'm having a blast with it. It raises my laptop to around waist level and I can type on it comfortably and vigorously without feeling bad about sitting on my arse all day (plus I don't get backpain either).  I feel more calories expended and overall pretty great... AND I can dance to awesome music, hehe. XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8v6cZ21vlc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG07rYStCjw

So anyway, while I'm here doing the Conga while typing away on my awesome Chromebook, here's a little video briefly explaining the benefits of standing and standing desks...



And one that gives some more hardcore examples of treadmill standing desks, that are definitely the cream of the crop (if a bit silly and/or expensive). XD

Yay, coconut oil!!! XD

And a quick explanation of the different types of coconut and the methods to open them.  I personally love both the white and brown coconuts. ^^

I found a nice series of info videos that are charming, informative and beautifully created, with important things to keep in mind about our modern food production, and its better alternatives... ^^

Some people have been asking me about Vitamin D lately, and I figured it's time for a new video on it... one a bit shorter and more practical than the one I usually post up.  ^^

Time for another infographic!  This one about aspartame, which is not the only terrible synthetic sweetener out there, but it's definitely one of the most nefarious.  XD

YAY, MUSHROOMS!!!

Time to learn a little more about fungi, an often-neglected but always important living kingdom.  ^^

In an effort to expand my horizons, and tap into the wisdom of traditional cuisine (as well as some paleo anthropology), I've decided to take a foray into the world of entomophagy.  I'm not quite ready for full creepy crawlies (much like how I dont stomach seeing fully intact shrimp or lobster), but flours based on insects (specifically crickets) is a good and safe first step.

Here's some promotional videos for the two brands I'm in the process of trying...

Many thanks to Sarah for introducing me to the world of itty bitty teeny weeny food videos...

Here's a tajine dish!  YAY!  I love tajines!  XD

Yay, I love these little infovideos... ^^

Posting a video by writer and researcher Denise Minger, who's book I'm reading currently (and it's awesome). This is a rare topic whereby a person in-the-know actually takes a very cautious and balanced approach to... *drum roll*... meat!  Not quite in the same way as we've heard, so it's definitely worth a review to expand your horizons, even for those of us who think we know everything there is to know about meat...

Another cool graphic video, this time about the heart. ^^

FACE... BANG... ON... DESK....

Hey all,

A little something on GMOs... although I'd probably toss in their genetically-manipulated organisms as well since they're the insidious precursors to GMOs.  

Let's celebrate Big Sister Weekend with an informative video on... TRANS FATTY SLUDGE OILS!!!

Like... Ewww!  XD

This doesn't offer much that we don't already know, but the graphics are cute. ^^

Ooh, learning. A lot of this is amazing, but stuff I already knew. Nice job Cia -- but would you mind if I posted mini-lessons here, On whatever food articles I find around that may be interesting to some peoples?

Sure.  I haven't posted here in a while although I should, but anyone is free to contribute to here or the wheat thread.

A subject quite dear and near to me. ^^

OMG, this video was amazing!  LONG, but totally worth it if you want to learn more about sugar and fructose (in a more sensible way compared to things like Fed Up)!  ^-^

Time for learning... ^^

Since GLOOOOOOten gets tossed around a lot, I figured I'd post a little something describing what it actually is.



Note that "gliadin" as I know it is pronounced "Guh-LIE-den"... May sound unimportant, but gliadin is a nasty little bugger that is largely responsible for gluten being so problematic. ^^;

I also adore the message at the end and the reason I dislike the term "gluten-free".  There is a lot more wrong with [mutant modern] wheat than just its gluten protein, and to phrase it in the narrow scope of just gluten detracts away from any of the other anti-nutrients, hormone disruptors, Leptin inhibitors, plant phytates, fructose/fructans, appetite-stimulating opiates, and blood sugar problems it also brings with it.  

I'm nowhere near as harsh against Spelt, for example, despite the fact that it's a close ancestor of modern wheat and that it also carries this dreaded GLOOOOten (albeit chemically-different and weaker).