Monday, April 05, 2010

Alternative Cooking Bloggers' Awards

There are a lot of people out there who are suffering from...Modern food! Some know it, some don't. Some have light sensitivities while others suffer from life threatening allergies. For other people the immune system is compromised or the digestive ecosystem has been wiped out.
For all these people food, which is supposed to be what keeps us alive & healthy, has become a source of pain and sadness.

Why? Well, modern food has nothing to do with what your grandparents ate. As a matter of fact, if you read the labels carefully when you go shopping, in every frozen, canned, prepared or ready-to-use meal you'll find 1 or more of the following foods (in their natural and/or many modified forms):
  • Wheat (which has been modified to contain high amount of gluten and is a natural source of glutamic acid. Contains anti-nutrients.)
  • Soy (which contains high amount of phyto-estrogenes as well as aluminium. To be edible, it should be fermented. Also contains anti-nutrients and glutamic acid.)
  • Nightshades (mostly potatoes and tomatoes which contain 4 known types of toxins which can make you seriously sick, not to mention that tomatoes contain glutamic acid.)
  • Yeast (convenient for lazy baking since it makes the dough rise without true fermentation like in sourdough bread. The result is a hard to digest loaf of bread, high in phytates (anti-nutrients) and glutamic acid).
  • Salt (much more than the required daily dosage to make your blood pressure rise, your kidney fail and make you thirsty so that you can drink a gallon of soda afterwards).
  • Sugar (highly refined & addictive and also the cause of a whole lot of diseases & health problems including diabetes, hypoglycemia, tooth decay...etc)
  • High fructose corn syrup (made with pesticide laden GMO corn. The whole process is highly toxic).
  • Hydrogenated oils (oils that have been modified from their natural state for a longer shelf life and to clog your arteries)
  • Eggs (from non-vegetarian chickens fed a vegetarian diet of GMO soy & corn as well as a little flax to cover for the lack of omega 3s. Chickens aren't meant to lay eggs all year long and surely not 24/7.)
  • Pasteurized milk (deprived from the natural nutrients and beneficial bacteria found in raw milk, then loaded with artificial vitamins to compensate for the ones lost during pasteurization (which aren't absorbed by the body). Note that any powder form will most likely contain glutamic acid).
  • Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, nutrasweet, splenda...etc, all known neurotoxins)
  • MSG (the most commonly used neurotoxin. Makes fake and bland tasting food super tasty and addictive.)
I could continue and talk about farmed fish, soy & corn fed farm animals...etc, but this is a vast topic and there are excellent books out there that go into deeper details.

And in the middle of this fake food madness, there are still people fighting to feed themselves and their families the right stuff. Even folks with serious allergies can & should eat real and nutrient-dense foods. Because once upon a time, food was your first (and for some maybe only) medicine. So why should the life & health giving food be poison rather than medicine?

I've never been officially diagnosed with anything but I've always been in tune with my body. I have removed all the foods that seemed to harm me, have done a lot of research & reading and found explanations and answers that no doctor ever gave me. Your body knows what's right for you so you need to listen to your body.

Today I'd like to pay homage to fellow bloggers & cooks who chose the path to health & healing for themselves and their families:
  • Elana from Elana's Pantry has chosen to use almond flour instead of a the usual gluten free flours, starches & gums offered to coeliacs. Her recipes are tasty and nutritious, gluten free & dairy free...You won't feel deprived. She's also the author of "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook".
  • Kelly from The Spunky Coconut also cooks delicious gluten free, dairy free & sugar free meals (sometimes also egg free and raw). She also has a way with creative baking using combinations one would not normally think of such as buckwheat flour, coconut flour and cooked beans...And you know what? It works! Kelly is also the author of "The Spunky Coconut Cookbook". (I believe she is currently writing a second cookbook...)
  • Kim from Affairs of Living is the queen of innovative, alternative & hypoallergenic cooking. She doesn't try to make a gluten free version of a common dish, she has her own way of cooking. New, tasty, different and nutritious. We both avoid the same foods and love vegetables! (I am looking forward to her future cookbook!)
  • Jennifer from Momma Jen's Hypoallergenic Kitchen Adventures is also a creative cook and often surprises me. She follows the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and there are a few restrictions with this diet (which can be tough for some people). Her cuisine is as natural and nutritious as can be. I have made her eggless bean pancakes a few times (using cooked beans instead of bean flour because commercial bean flours aren't soaked & dehydrated prior to grinding) and they are both filling & delicious!
Be well ;).

3 comments:

Kim - Affairs of Living said...

Wow, thank you! I'm honored! I love your write up, as well as those other bloggers. Thank you for your kind words - you deserve an award too! xoxo Kim

Anonymous said...

Wonderful information and great reminders for me. When I get some spare time this evening, I'm going to take a look at those blog links. Enjoy reading your blog.
~Kimberley~

Zenseer said...

Thank you Kimberley.
I hope these blogs will be as useful & helpful to you as they've been to me.

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