GMO's? Are you kidding me?

Wow....  So I just watched a film the other day called "The Future of our Food" on netflix.  With out going into too much detail it was talking about how food has been genetically modified and the links that it has with cancer, allergies, and many other issues.  I became so upset when I found out that there have been no human trials on this food and there is no labeling on food to let you know if a food is genetically modified or not.

I was so upset that I couldn't even juice that morning.  I didn't even want to eat at all.... ever.  I found myself being crabby most of the day, but then realized that I have already made so many changes in my family's diet and have mostly excluded the food that is/could be genetically modified.  What about the other families who have no idea?  How can the government let this even happen?  One could only assume that this is their way of population control.  I would bet that if people were told about GMO foods and health risks (similar to a warning that is on a pack of cigarettes) people would choose not to use these products. 

I felt even more guilty when I heard that somewhere around 80% of soy grown in this country are genetically modified.  When breastfeeding didn't go so well after the first 2 months with my son Brandon (now 6 years old) I fed him soy formula.  Brandon is the only son that I had given soy formula to and he is the only child that has these allergy/asthma problems of my 3 kids.  (Steph was breastfed exclusively for 13-14 months, and Zachary was breastfed til he was 6 months then put on regular formula) I feel extremely guilty for not looking into things more back then.  He has issues with allergies and a slight case of asthma and I feel responsible for it.  I am hoping that as my kids learn to love fruits and veggies as their mother does, that these issues for him will reverse.

I also read a book called "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  It was recommended to me by another juicy friend who is actually starting up a challenge for this.  The low down of the book basically discusses the importance of "whole foods" being the most important for our bodies.  Lots of fruits and veggies, some beans, nuts.  I am looking forward to starting it this next week so that I can maybe have better success with that than how I have been doing with being 100% raw.  This allows you to eat much of your food raw, but also a good majority cooked.

I feel kinda weird about trying all these different ways of eating, but ultimately - how would a person know if they can stick to something if they don't try it out in the first place. 

I am really looking forward to watching the DVD that came in the mail today from Netflix called "Dying to Have Known."  I'll let you know how it turns out....  Still really looking forward to seeing the film "Forks Over Knives" but it is not even showing in MN anymore.... kinda sad that I never made it to the theatre, but I saw on Amazon that it comes out on DVD sometime in August.... 

Well all.. have a great weekend!  I have one more paper to write for my college course and then I am done with school for the rest of the summer.... SOOOOO excited!!!

Juice on peeps!

Where'd I go??

So I took a little bit of a break from the blog...  Going raw is much more difficult than I could have imagined.  As of now, I am to the point where I for sure juice for breakfast, and usually juice or eat something raw for lunch.  Dinner has been my downfall.... 

Another thing I have noticed is, while I am busy making dinner for myself (preparing raw stuff), I have been trying to cut down dinner preparing time for my family.  I got into a rut where I was making frozen pizzas or chicken nuggets for the hubby and kids.  Sounds like a raw deal right?  (sorry...not punny....)

I found that while I am making myself healthier in the process, I am still feeding poison to my family.  Not cool at all. 

So I realized that I need to find a happy medium...  At the moment, my husband refuses to eat fruits and veggies.  (Unless it is potatoes or corn on the cob with loads of butter.)  I suggested that the least I could do was prepare real foods in a healthier way without using boxes of processed junk.  So the rules (oh great... here I go with more rules...) for the house will be no trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils, no high fruitous corn syrup, and limit the white flour (hopefully using whole grains instead).  I'd like to reduce/eliminate the regular milk, and use a rice milk and cheese.  Oh yea, and no nitrates!

So the hubby agreed.  I also started him on this really awesome supplement called GREENSuperFood made by AmaZing Grass.  It tastes so much like chocolate milk, that he drinks it willingly...  Some of the ingredients include, organic: wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, spinach, chlorella, broccoli, acai, maca, carrot, beet, raspberry.... with many others.....  and get this... he drinks it with rice milk! SCORE!!!

While this isn't exactly close to the goal of raw that I want for myself, it is helping me make a transition slower and easier to stick to.

I have found that while I am eating more and more fruits and veggies, that meat does not go well in my diet....  it may soon be eliminated totally.. :)  we will see.... but that's not a rule... yet..

So when does this start??  Well, I agreed not to throw away stuff that is already in the house, but we can not buy more of it.....  So...  I would say that this has started already- with the intent of doing even better when all the processed junk is gone...

Juice on people.... 

Day 11: Quit eating raw, and lets go to McDonalds!

The title of this post is inspired by my 6 year old son Brandon.  He has been very good at trying various things (including my new things from Pure Market Express) and has seemed to like most of them...

When I told my husband this, he mentioned Brandon might just want the toy.  Sure enough, when I asked Brandon if he wanted the food or the toy, he couldn't help but break out in a smile and said, "well...  the toy, I mean... no... no.. MOM!!!  I want the chicken nuggets."

I was pretty close to feeling bad for him... but I found out about Brandon's motives and I'm not convinced he really wants to eat McDonalds. 

For the record, the rest of the family is able to eat whatever they want, it just can't be from a fast food place.

My Dad is no longer doing the challenge offically, but I still put a juice on his bedside table and he drank it for breakfast.

We ended up having a non-raw pizza for dinner last night, and needless to say I felt a little ill after eating it.  I felt so weighed down compared to how I feel after I eat a raw meal or my juice. 

So today I'm back to eating raw.... 

I'm trying to convince the hubby to let me make a small order for a few entrees to the raw food delivery place here in MN....  It sure is nice to have a fancy raw meal once in awhile... :)

Now I just have to check out the ecopolitan....