Date Nut Balls! Easy Treats For Last Minute Holiday Sweets And Parties!

It's party season for the next week or two! Here is a simple recipe loaded with delectable sweetness. Bite sized treats looking like baby snow balls, they're perfect for any winter get together! Do you see my edible fruit/veggie tree sitting on the buffet table behind the snowy date nut ball pyramid in the photo above? You can find that very popular colorful edible tree post here along with simple instructions. Both of these dessert recipes are fun to make, and to eat! Mmmm I can't wait!!! Let's do this nut ball thing!

The kitchen equipment required to mix the date nut ball mixture is a food processor, or a high speed blender, as a regular blender will not handle the gooey sticky dates. Remember to soak your nuts of choice the night before you make these date nut balls, and you are ready to begin. If you do forget, then soak the nuts six hours before you make this easy yummy dessert. I did not soak the cashews, as they do not respond well to soaking.  

You can use any other soaked nuts you prefer, and if you use only two kinds of nuts that is fine too. For example you could use walnuts and macadamia nuts if that is what you have in your pantry. As long as you use 3 parts nuts/seeds to 2 parts dates, your mix will turn out okay. Everyone loved the combination I put together for the date nut balls in my recipe below. You know I had to add superfoods to this raw vegan dessert. These date nut balls will look just beautiful on your holiday buffet table!

Easy Date Nut Balls

3oz Hazelnuts

3oz Cashews

6oz Almonds

6oz Walnuts

1 oz pumpkin or sunflower seeds

1 TB Hemp seeds

2 TB ground flax seed

2 cups Medjool dates that have been soaked 30 minutes

Coconut flakes

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Rinse your pre-soaked nuts and drain off the water. Remember I did not soak the cashews. Carefully pit your dates! You don't want to throw away the entire mixture because you missed one! Place your pitted dates into a bowl and just cover the dates with spring water. Let dates sit in bowl for 30 minutes while you get the nut and seed mixture together. Get out your food processor or Vita Mix blender, and gather all of your ingredients together. Add the nuts, seeds, cinnamon, and vanilla into the food processor. I used the S blade. You could add 2 TB of the coconut flakes in with the nuts and seeds if you like, although this is optional.

Then add 1/2 of your soaked and carefully pitted dates. Pulse all into a medium grainy texture. At this point add the remainder of the dates to the food processor. I also added about 2 TBS of the sweet water liquid from the date bowl into the food processor. If your mixture gums up around the blade, stop the machine and move the mix around. Pulse till medium grain again. Any ingredients can be adjusted to create the right texture. Transfer from food processor into a bowl and mix well. 

Form into small balls and roll in coconut flakes to coat the outside. You can see from the photo we made half of the balls small, and half of the date nut balls larger. Three small balls are about 100 calories, so don't over eat these very sweet treats! You can store them covered in the fridge for up to two weeks. Honestly these wont last longer than a few days! Enjoy! Everyone else will!

It just would not be a complete holiday date nut ball recipe without sharing one of our favorite seasonal traditions... watching the classic 'Delicious Dish Schweddy Balls' video. Slip on into your crazy Christmas sweater and giggle along with this funny skit while it is still available online. How Alec and the girls remain serious while delivering these lines is a mystery! Click on the link right now to view, as it's not always easy to find. You will be LOL to this old SNL!




Don't rely on Pete! Get yourself a festive sack! Date nut balls are great for holiday food gifts! Super easy to make! Good times!!! And wayyyyy better than rice and tap water for Santa. Our food lifestyle does not wreak havoc on the digestive system 'cause we be eatin' good in the neighborhood! Season's Eatings to All! And to all a good night!

The Story Of Cheese... And Salt... Sugar... and Fat... Oh My!

Did you watch the entire video above? So how did you like that piece of information? Lots-o-cheese got shoved into our lives for a different reason than you thought. Put's a new spin on why some of the processed foods are lurking on your supermarket shelves. Cheese became an "ingredient" because the government had caves full of cheese leftover from the dairy industry creating "fat free" milk. So just when you thought you were avoiding fat by drinking fat free milk the dairy industry sold you on the idea you must be eating more cheese! There are many curious stories surrounding the sick sad world of modern industrialized food. The CEO's do not eat their own food. Many of them get their food from organic farms. If you start to watch food documentaries, and read a few food books, you will sadly learn the truth about what you really are putting into your body, as well as the bodies of those you love. Knowledge is power...and to have power over your old eating habits, you need information you can use about the true story behind the "food stuffs" at your local supermarket. Eating does not only involve your mouth, tongue, and stomach. It involves your mind. Mind over matter. Mind over cheese. Is it possible to change our minds about what a friend calls "The gift from the Gods and food heaven" Cheeeeeeeeeeese?

Cheese is such a little thing in life. Or is it? Think about how many foods you have been eating since you were a child with cheese included. Hey, would you like extra cheese on that pizza? I am survivor of eating those cheese stuffed pretzels, peanut butter cheese crackers, cheese steaks, cheese fries, cheese dips, grilled cheese sandwiches, ham and cheese, cheese puffs, cheese omelets, and the list goes on and on. So cheese is not a little thing after all... It was and is, a big freakin' part of our modern lives! The average person now eats 33 pounds of cheese a year. Geezzz Cheeeeeeeese!

Most people look at me now, living my nutrient dense plant eating lifestyle, and say, "I cannot do that... I cannot give up cheese!" Well let me be honest... cheese was the very very last item to go of my unhealthy favorite foods. Little cans of dripping cheese for nachos was my go to comfort food of choice every week for years. Even when I finally gave up the canned cheese to get off processed foods, I then switched to "organic" mozzarella and provolone for a few months. Still I was loving the cheese, as this was during my transition and learning time, and that is okay. Not only did the eventual knowledge of what I was really eating change my mind, but my new and improved taste buds eventually rejected anything oily. So it was my taste buds that decided there would be no more cheese for me. This was a natural outcome of actually tasting and experiencing real food. When I first went into transition, I would often take the time to ask myself to really experience on all levels what I was putting in my mouth. What was the actual taste? What was the texture? What did I like about it? Those little questions worked every time. Try it yourself! Really experience the taste and the texture rolling around in your mouth and on your tongue. Talk to yourself! haha! Ask your self those questions. You might be surprised. I tried this with fast food chicken nuggets last year. Never ate them again. No problem.

For me cheese started to taste like oily rubber. It was tasteless. A big chewy blobby gob. Liquid cheese became an oooey-gooey oily smear. This was no longer food to me. Now imagine this chewy blob going down through your body. Oh my! Let's not even go into the awful things it does to your intestinal pipes. Surely I don't have to tell you about what it does to your arteries. Let's take a handful of that ooey gooey glob and shove it in a pipe. I definitely think it will stop the flow of whatever wants to move through the pipe. Now that's the picture to keep in your head, as you eat cheese. Your friendly giant corporations and your corporate government would like you to clog all the pipes in your body. This result helps their friend big Pharma. Win, Win, for them. Not so nice for you.

Salt, sugar, fat, Oh My! These ingredients may each be different, but the results are about the same...they are dangerous to your health! Yet you will find them eagerly waiting for you in just about every processed food at the supermarket, and in an over abundance. You are, or were, addicted to this stuff. Yes, that's the trick of it, and that's the corporate plan for you, and your friends. "They" have got to get those chemical laden foodstuffs to last for months or even years on the store shelves. And they have got to get you to buy that old stuff! So "they" just add any of the fat, sugar, salt, combinations they scientifically know you desire, to that cardboard food fakery, and people really do believe it tastes great. The industry calls it the "Bliss Point." Yes food is the drug, and don't bother thinking abut the cumulative effect from doing this everyday for years and years to your body. This magical food is a wonderful convenience too. You have no time to cook, or think... Right?  Well, they count on that. Just grab and go, and believe us that it's safe. They have been convincing you of this idea all your life.

This insider information can be found in a new book titled "Salt, Sugar, Fat: How The Food Giants Hooked Us" which shares how the food industry leaders have been intoxicating you into a life of unhealthy eating. Ingredients are maximized to addict you to these foods, and get you to be a 'heavy user' of the commodity. The book is written by The New York Times Investigative Reporter and Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Moss.  It was Michael who made the informative video above about the story of cheese. I love that cheesy video! 

Are donuts and pizza what grew on trees hundreds of years ago? Oh modern packaged foods, why do people think you are the only thing to eat? Alas so many people strangely believe food comes in a box, can, or a bag, and that product which has been on shelves in warehouses for months is better than the real thing. This belief in fake food stuffs has been systematically done over generations. Look at the old ads above. A good documentary to watch about this subject is "Hungry For Change."



Yes I realize there are those who see my new healthy lifestyle choices as extreme or odd. How did we get to the point where people think that the real food that grows on trees, or up from the ground, is the weirdo stuff? Marketing 101 folks. Look...there is an entire aisle in the food store dedicated to soda. Soda is pure empty calories, and diet soda is actually dangerous. In every food store across the nation there are cases upon cases of soda... a mixture of sugar water, high fructose corn syrup...chemicals that rot the brain and cause disease. Watch any sporting event and what do you see? Soda and Beer commercials. Ironically those are the products I literally grew up surrounded by, as my father was a beer and soda distributor. I played among the boxes in the warehouse as a child. We always had a large supply of soda in every flavor at our house, including blue soda. I loved it. As a teen I thought the color was cool and the taste was sweet. Good...right? What did I know, I only learned what I lived. It took informing and arming myself with the truth about the food industrial complex to get unhooked from the monster. This new book talks about a famous company that in its quest to rapidly increase profits would like us to drink more soda than water. No, it's not really to make your life more beautiful, or give the world a hug. It's your money for nothing, money for sickness in a bottle. I am the weirdo for saying that.

 

Oh I can hear the naysayers now. Don't say I can't eat soda, diet soda, cheese, and my salty n' sugary snax (also owned by the same soda companies). For goodness sakes, how will I live? "No, I cannot. I will not. It is not possible." 

Transitioning off of processed foods is a continual process of letting go of the old ways, it is not all or nothing, or all done at one time. Don't give up on 'you getting healthier' for a false idea of 'what you think' the restrictions will be. Use my 'Substitution' and 'Avoid' pages to get started, and help you to move away from addictive processed food stuffs. How about saying, "I cannot live being fat and sick everyday," or "I cannot live sticking myself with an insulin needle," or "I cannot live taking copious pills everyday to live," or "I cannot live having my chest cut open by a surgeon," or "I cannot live with the huge doctor and hospital bills I will have to pay from eating cheap junk everyday," or "I can not live... if I am dead..."

We do need to change our 'mindset' about sugar, salt and fats. These are the ingredients that damage all parts of our bodies, cause disease, and eventually kill people. After my cancer diagnosis Dr. Furhman told me no more dairy, sugar, salt, oil, or meat products. I had serious disease, and I have to get serious with what I eat. It was not hard for me, because I had already been transitioning off of these addictive foods for months. Perhaps if I had gotten my breast cancer diagnosis months before, it may have seemed like a devastating thought to not eat cheese anymore from that point on. Fortunately I had already replaced the old salty and sweet snacks with many new options, and that list keeps growing! Since I already knew and experienced far tastier foods, I had no problem with his statement. One out of three people will get a cancer diagnosis, perhaps it would be good for you to consider making changes now before you endure a medical crisis. So hang in there! Just give yourself time to try the new things to eat that are the healthier options. Try something new each week, and get rid of something old each week. I have been there and done this, over time it gets easier. The first week or two may be difficult. Just get yourself a bunch of new options to put in your pantry and refrigerator. Eventually you will actually be craving the new whole foods too. Instead of processed foods being 70% of our diet, how about making them just 20% instead. Does that seem doable?

Less cheese is a start. I use nutritional yeast and hemp seeds on my veggie filled naan pizzas now instead of the old style cheese. We love it! For my hubby's part, he temporarily ate goat cheese with crackers when he felt a need for cheese, until he gave it up as well. This seems to be a better alternative for those in transition, as it's drier and not oily like processed cheese foods. Dairy from cows contains too much fat, hormones, antibiotics, micro plastics, and possibly GMO's from the feed they ingest. Dairy creates inflammation in the body. Since the body has to deal with the inflammation, the body does not have the time to do the work of keeping you well by fighting off other things...it's too busy with cheeeeese.

Anyway after 14 months if I eat any products with fat or oil in them. I can now feel the oil coating my mouth. You know, it's that same feeling you get in your mouth after you've eaten some greasy fast food fries, especially if they were cold. As the body becomes clean, I have found that it will let you know the dirty low down naturally! Certainly makes it easy to get yourself to eat even cleaner. I had to recently stop eating my favorite lentil chips, because I can now feel the oil.

Sugar and salt and fats! Oh my! So how is your food future looking? Do you think it is time for you to stop the corporate madness, and your addiction to their fake foods? Knowledge is truly your power. Read about how they got you hooked, and give up the conditioning. Watch some food documentaries. Begin cutting back, and then eventually eliminating, and replacing these unhealthy choices. Start substituting alternatives each week for your family, till you have only the healthy choices in the house. It works. I was in the grocery store with my four year old grand daughter recently. I pointed out the display of big Honeycrisp apples. She walked right over, picked one up, and took a big bite out of it! Right there in the store! THAT is exactly how a child is supposed to react to seeing healthy real food! I loved it!

Being that this blog is for people in various stages of transitioning from the regular supermarket processed foods, I will not leave you with a broken heart about your processed snack love-life. You will still find on my recipe page a naan pizza that uses organic cheese. On my shopping list page I included a list of package foods at the bottom of the post that we have used. There are organic non-GMO chips and crackers you can eat on occasion, or during your transitioning phase. For example I happen to like Garden of Eatin blue sprouted chips, Seedlander crackers, and Mary's flax crackers when I need some crunch. For sweet snax I like Organic Fruit and Nut bars, and Go Raw's mini Carrot Cake Super Cookies. So your packaged snack life is not over, they always make something new! But it is not a pass to gorge on this stuff either. When you visit your local organic snack aisle be sure to read the back labels of even the organic processed foods. Look out for the sugar, salt, oils, fats, chemicals, soy, carrageenan, and msg. The least amount of ingredients the better. Big corporations are behind many national organic labels. Make sure it has the green USDA organic label and hopefully says Non-GMO as well. Always be aware of what you are putting in as the fuel for your wonderful body. This is what gets you around in life, you would not run your car on soda and fat. So why do it with your most important vehicle.

Having fresh fruit, and a small handful of unsalted nuts everyday is a healthier alternative to cheesy puffs. Instead of cheese, use salsa or hummus with your chips. Instead of chips use celery and carrots for dipping. Need ice cream? Freeze a ripe banana for 24 hours, mash it up, and add berries or nuts. Get a Ninja Creami machine. You can be sure that I will be eating a vibrant colorful helping of fresh high nutrient organic plants, enjoying fresh green smoothies, and green juices too. That's deliciousness for real. No chemicals. No extra salt, sugar, or fat needed. Natural sweetness! I hope you consider giving up the excess salt, sugar and fat in your life, and getting out of the unhealthy corporate paradigm! Eat real whole foods most of the time, be healthy, and glow. I'm not a perfect eater. Don't put that pressure on yourself. Although if we are what we eat, ...I'd rather be a peach than a blob of sugary, salty, fat, any day! 

Food Is The Problem, Food Is The Solution

Gardening is a subversive activity! Take the power back over your health, and your money, by growing your own food. Say no to bottles, boxes, and cans! Dig in, and create your food freedom! Let's lower the toxic effects of the industrial food model on our bodies and grow our own. Live in the city? You could get involved in local community growing groups and take back those wasted vacant city lots. Below are a few excellent video TED talks about this revolutionary garden subject. Time to get down and dirty!

Since we just moved to a different home, our goal will be to utilize planters, containers, and perhaps some raised beds. There are many ways to grow food even if you don't have the standard yard garden plot space. For example: you could cover a wall with old gutters, poke a few drainage holes in plastic contractor buckets and kiddie pools, or plant directly on concrete as seen in John Kohler's video about Urban Adamah's many diverse container ideas. Right here on this blog you can check out my "Dirt" page filled with information, videos, and links for where to purchase seeds, worms, rain barrels, rock dust and other related supplies for getting started with your own organic home garden. 

Some people complain about the cost of organic foods, or the lack of availability of fresh produce. This is your chance to start your own 'Victory Garden' movement... which is about your 'Victory' over bad industrial chemically laden processed foods, and then reclaiming your good health in a less expensive way. You will be getting outdoors into the sun, moving your body, feeling zen in the dirt, happy to see your bounty grow, and eating healthy. Certainly a powerful mix of goodness just for you! Earth magic!

Below is a video from Ron Finley, a guerrilla gardener from South Central Los Angeles. He has an uplifting, yet real approach. Where he lives wheelchairs are sold on the corner, and dialysis clinics are popping up as quick as those fast food joints in the city. Read more about Ron and his "put a shovel in your hands" approach here.



Look at this town in England that invented a whole new way of changing the look of a city! Enjoy Pam Warhurst talk about the simple steps it took to create the sharable 'Incredible Edible' gardening. You will love her, and their creative result! Lot's of ideas!



No post on gardening would be complete without a video from the always enthusiastic John Kohler, one of You Tubes biggest advocates for 'Growing Your Greens!' You will be amazed as this video progresses at the size of the greens grown in a garden John visits! You will find John to be a resource of unending information on this channel which helps in all areas of growing organic food and plants!

 

Now it's your turn, as the growing season is now upon us. Get your food revolution on organic gardening citizens! The Sun, Earth, and plants await you and your beautiful growing Spirit. Thrive and stay alive!

UPDATE April 19 2013: I found this wonderful related article at the Jay Kordich Blog here.

My Family Elitist? The Propaganda Machine And Dr. Oz Unleashes Attack Against Healthy Organic Food! Crazy Double Speak!

The latest smear campaign by Big Ag is to call everyday people who want to be healthy..."elitist."  I would not be surprised if Big Pharma and the "sickness industry" was behind this push too. After all, they need everyone to get sick and diseased to keep filling their coffers too. The propaganda minions are now very hard at work trying to convince the American public that organic foods are just extremely expensive 'elitist foods' that are no different than other supermarket foods. The lying liars are now promoting that people who actually choose to buy their food local, buy from farmers directly, choose organic or sustainable grown foods, are "snobs" who think they are better than everyone else. Sound familiar? Have you also been hearing the recent food lies and myths put this way lately? I certainly have, and I am going to share a couple of instances that you can check out for yourself. Make your own informed decision, about what you think is happening. Take time to research any information or article on your own.

First, let me ask: Do you know how to spot propaganda when you hear it or see it in action? A simple guide is that no matter what the subject is of the current discussion, or the particular topic, that you need to just follow the money trail. Although some may come at you in lovely advertisements, much of the deception will come in the form of "media people" or shows where there are "big name advertisers" who are actually the ones behind the face selling you "their" viewpoint. They will present their so called "experts" who will be backed by foundations, or think tanks, which are actually "front groups" funded by corporations and their interests. In addition you will usually get quotes from members, or scientists of a well known "University" where it is now common to promote certain corporate thinking, because those corporations are behind funding and grants to said Universities. Get the idea? No matter what the subject matter of the propaganda, keep your eyes open to these tactics, that are being used to convince you of their message. Be a free thinker and research the issues of this world for real. Don't get it from corporate owned big media news. They are in the business of "selling" you a story.

I believe the reason this organic attack is happening right now, is to stop the huge progress that eating healthier has had on people making informed choices in the supermarket, especially about GMO awareness. Organic and Non GMO products are on the rise. So now the multinational corporations are going after the everyday uninformed people "before" they learn the benefits of choosing to eat healthy. This is an attempt to keep consumers in the dark about what is really in their food, and in the old supermarket patterns of their childhood. They are trying to reinforce the belief that organic is so expensive and not worth the money. The current story they are spreading is the food myth that eating organic and local, is really just an expensive elitist fad. They are hoping this gives people a good excuse 'not to do the work' to learn how to get healthy by changing what they eat all day long. This is especially viable if that is what the consumer really wants to hear. Beyond that, it is an insult to all the people of the 99% who regard their own health and the well being of their loved ones as of paramount importance. And never do these talking heads ever bring up that the unhealthy industrialized foods are subsidized to keep them cheap! Hello! That is why organically or sustainably grown crops cost more! The multinationals get all the freebies from the government at our financial and health expense. The food system is rigged from the inside in so many ways.



I was in our natural organic food market today inspecting all those 'snobby elitist' customers. It was around lunchtime, and the cafe and aisles were buzzing and bustling with all manner of 'elites.' You know, those elderly elites, the middle age elites, the young people elites, the deaf elites, the child elites, the Latino elites, the black elites, male elites, female elites, business elites, and the always ubiquitous crunchy green elites. The store was full of these people who thought they were better than everyone! Who do they think they were? Maybe they are people who care about nutrition, good health, and feeling great, and do not want the pesticides, fungicides, hormones, antibiotics, chemicals, toxins, GMO's, and various poisons that are found in most processed foods. I suspect they would like to eat produce that does not come from 1500 miles away, that was picked way before it was ripe, and fumigated with gases to make it look the proper natural color.

Yes it's true the people who care about their health are now 'name-called' as "elitist" and "snobs,' in order to keep the other uninformed citizens the sick sad recipients of the detrimental consequences of GMO's and chemically laden processed foods. What I really saw in that natural foods store was a cross section of America, a diverse crowd of friendly happy people of every economic strata.  Stopping by the food chain Wegman's afterwards, to pick up a few additional "organic" items, my husband jokingly said,"Wegman's must be the gateway drug to the elitist natural food store!" 

The most recent attack on the good people of America came from a familiar face, and is disappointingly someone that is supposed to be a proponent of good health. Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose television show reaches 3.5 million viewers daily certainly has a lot of clout reaching the public with his "opinions" about health. Yet it was he who just wrote an article for the December 3rd 2012 issue of Time magazine promoting the "name calling" of everyday Americans like myself, who buy locally grown and organic products. You can read the Time magazine article on their website in its entirety if you are a subscriber, It is called: "What To Eat Now - The Anti-Food-Snob Diet." In this article, Dr. Oz used a common underhanded divisive political tactic... class warfare. Calling those who eat organic or local as part of the snobby 1%, and the supermarket industrial eaters are the everyday 99%. Did you pick up the reference to the occupy movement in a twisted mirroring attack. Upside down and backwards. Dr Oz's condescending remarks were actually surprising considering his own personal lifestyle and diet choices. He has stated while talking about his own family that, “The foods that we eat right now tend to be foods that come out of the ground looking just the way they look when I eat them. They’re unadulterated, they’re real foods. I try to eat them raw if I can.” I have noticed that Dr. Oz promotes mixed messages both in his writings and his show. So back to the Time magazine article because I would like to respond to a few assumptions and statements from my elitist locavore snob point of view.

Keep in mind the quote from Dr. Oz above while reading this new quote from him. "...Somewhere...a farmer's market is selling fresh, organic leaf spinach that might have been sprouted from the soil an hour ago. This we are told by any number of glossy cookbooks, TV cooking shows, food snobs and long-winded restaurant menus, is how we are supposed to eat now." Pay attention to the language and the words used to infer a certain connotation. He then goes on to name-call fresh or organic food, "Boutique foods" and "just not very democratic." Really. Sounds like a political word even with a lower case "d". Does Dr. Oz even mention that many of those less expensive supermarket foods and multi-national companies that create mass produced processed foods and GMO crops get huge government subsidies, and that is why they are actually so cheap? Also it's the mono-culture farming techniques that create cheaper foods as well. Hmmmm no. The next political statement used is about not having to eat like the 1% (like him?) to be healthy, and that the diet of the 99% "can" be good for you. The catch phrases : 1%, 99%, and 'elite organic diets' are all used in the same small paragraph. Are you seeing a trend here? The occupy movement of the common people is being used to represent corporate America? I for one can see right through that shameless tactic. I am not buying that the very people who protest companies like Monsanto, which just spent 8 million dollars spreading their lies about GMO's during the Prop 37 campaign in California, are now only interested in eating 'cheap convenient' pesticide and GMO laden foods.

Dr. Oz suggests we "Give (frozen) Peas a Chance" Well yes Dr. Oz, as an elitist healthy eater, I do buy frozen vegetables and frozen berries too, but I do make sure they are organic. Am I so much better than everyone else? No. I am just not interested in the pesticides that are used in the old standard industrial choices. If you cannot get fresh organic produce, we know frozen is the next best thing. And yes, 'The Queen's Table Blog' always recommends reading the labels of every product, whether it is organic or not. If the label is a long list of additives, sodium, chemicals, MSG, sugars etc. you just do not buy it. Keep it simple when it comes to product ingredients is the rule.

Dr Oz did not address the reason to skip the organic processed foods because some of the brands are fronts for multi-nationals like Kraft and Coca-Cola, or that the regulations on small farmers make the term organic a thorn in the side to some local sustainable operations. No Dr. Oz was just pushing and disseminating a divisive name-calling disinformation agenda, meant to confuse the public or keep them ignorant. So to address this just a wee bit... Do you realize how many Multi-nationals now hide behind organic/natural looking companies? There is much to learn about that situation. Here are a few processed food companies I would not purchase anything from, even when they are in the natural food stores, or on the organic section shelves. I would suggest you consider a boycott of these fake-out brands below as well. Many are familiar names that have been bought out by the major players in the industrialized food and agriculture business.

Fake Out Brands That Support GMO Foods

Cascadian Farms

Muir Glen

Lara Bar 

Honest Tea

Naked Juice

Odwalla

Kashi

Gardenburger

Horizon Organic

Ben and Jerrys

Silk

Similac

Morningstar Farms

French Meadow

Bear Naked

RW Knudson 

Lightlife

Alexia

Back To Nature

Santa Cruz Organic 

Green and Black

Imagine

Rice Dream

Arrowhead Mills

Boca Foods

We must be vigilant about the fakers and the those who are supporters of GMO foods.

Now to the subject of canned foods being just as good as fresh...Really? Oh c'mon that darkish grayish flavorless green bean in the can is the same as the bright fresh green bean or even the steamed option? I am laughing at the silliness. 

I am into nutrient density and the availability of the most enzymes available to my cells. My vibrant good health and loss of 60 pounds this year is the result of that focus, and change in my diet... so fresh organic is always my first choice. In reality do we ever buy canned items? Yes we do. I do buy a few beans and soups in cans, but only those stated to be organic, not to contain GMOs, and lined with pba free materials. I mostly buy beans dried, prefer buying soup in boxes more often than cans, and my  processed organic tomato products are always purchased in glass jars only! Most weeks I make my soup from scratch using my organic and local grown vegetables. We don't walk through any food store aisles putting items in our carts willy nilly just because they are labeled organic. You do not turn over your good sense to any corporate entity. Let's get real about shopping smart in any store situation. Even at Farmers Markets you have to ask questions as to the sustainable practices the farmer follows. Oh there goes my elitist snob attitude again.

Dr. Oz posts a list of industrial supermarket products that he feels are better, or "winners," instead of buying organic. In his article these are presented as some kind of quick proof that organic choices are worthless, or a just a lowly "tie" in some comparison circumstances. So the message  here is to save your money and buy the old brands you grew up buying. Our good ole' TV celebrity Dr. Oz claims regular honey is a winner. Well apparently Dr. Oz is way behind in his research. Just read my blog post titled "Honey Isn't Honey... Honey" for the dirty low down on that industry. He then admits more chemicals are used to extract supermarket olive oil, and also claims an egg is an egg! I laugh in your general direction! If chickens are fed GMO grains as their food, you are then the recipient of GMOs in your body. Have you ever seen the big fat orange yolk of a chicken that eats weeds? No comparison. Here is a short post about the nutritional differences of store bought vs. pastured chicken eggs from Polyface farm. Then Dr. Oz basically says supermarket milk may contain hormones and antibiotics, but who cares, it's cheaper so buy it! After all he keeps touting that saving money is far more important than any health concerns! He didn't even mention the pus. How forgetful. As a heart doctor why isn't he telling people not to ingest oils, sugars, mercury, and dairy anyway? I wonder. No thank you for your advice Dr. Oz, and I say that in my most snooty elitist voice! 



Above is a video of Michael Pollan giving an overview of what not to eat, beginning with anything advertised, including feedlot meats. So let's not leave out the Dr.Oz doublespeak about feedlot meats. Dr. Oz agrees that these animals contain antibiotics, hormones, and common things like ecoli bacteria, but he says if you don't care about these sort of things, just go ahead and eat the feedlot meat. It's cheaper! Oh yea! He also uses the code words "meat boutiques and high-end butchers" to make sure you read "elitist" into his words. Dr. Oz out and out lies about there being no nutritional difference between feedlot and grass fed pastured meats. I may no longer eat meat and dairy, (because I had a breast cancer diagnosis this year and those foods contribute to cancer cells), but I sure as heck would like my meat eating friends to choose the healthiest leaner versions of this animal product, and that is not feedlot or mass produced meat. Holy major food borne illness outbreaks! Dr Oz says the supermarket burgers are fine if you grill them. Please people, get your meats from a local farm where your burger is not made of a thousand diseased cows. It tastes better too. Try some elitist Bison burgers.

I recently decided to watch an episode of The Dr. Oz Show online called "Has This Doctor Found The Fountain Of Youth?" at the Dr. Oz website. This featured an interview with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Seen in many of my favorite food documentaries, Dr Fuhrman is a well known believer that nutrition equals health, and that the 'quality' of what you eat does matter. I enjoyed the little snippets of information that Dr. Fuhrman was able to get across in those short TV segments. What I found really disturbing was in the following segments that Dr. Oz did called, "Eating Right For Your Metabolism." The shows message changes from Dr. Fuhrman's great vegetable, fruit, nuts, seeds, nutrient dense based food pyramid, over to Dr. Oz's motherload of carbs, dairy, meats, and white looking foods. Where is the healthy rainbow of veggies and fruits that was just talked about in the previous segment with Dr. Joel Fuhrman? Gone! What a way to confuse the public! You need to watch the segments for your self with Dr. Fuhrman and then the following segments with Dr. Oz, on this page of Dr. Oz video episodes.

These mixed signals seem to be a trend with Dr. Oz's message. For me, since he jumps all over the place on what 'flavor of the moment' he is recommending, he is not a credible source of health or food information. Dr. Oz is entertainment that people mistake for information. Media driven advertising... advertising driven media. Not the place to learn.  For the other side of this issue, a must read is from 'The Cornucopia Institute' (They promote justice for small scale family sized farming and information about organic foods and agriculture). Their article is called "Organic: Food Justice for the 99% " which goes over the Time Magazine Article point by point with their response to Dr. Oz and Time magazine. Here is an short excerpt from that excellent article: 

"First, we must set the record straight. Scientific studies show that milk from pastured cows contains higher levels of beneficial fats. Beef from grass-fed cattle and eggs from pastured hens are lower in cholesterol and saturated fat and higher in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamins A and E. Organic strawberries and tomatoes contain more healthy antioxidants. These are all undisputed facts laid out in a myriad of published, peer-reviewed scientific papers."

The next articles you should read comes from Mike Adams, The Health Ranger, who is well known in food, health, and nutrition circles because of his website "Natural News." A quote from his email alert:

"Dr. Oz, always a corporate shill for Big Pharma, has now gone off the deep end on organics. In a new TIME Magazine article, he has attacked organic consumers as "snooty" and "elitist" while cheering the benefits of feedlot beef, pesticide-laden foods and conventional agriculture (grown with GMOs). Here are the shocking details of Dr. Oz's total betrayal of the organic community and his embracing of Monsanto, DuPont, Bayer and Big Ag giants."  

Read Mike Adams opinion article here. I especially love his Update of questions for Dr. Oz in order to respond to criticisms of the Time magazine piece. My thoughts too Mike!

Here is a link to 'The Morning Joe' show on MSNBC, where Time magazine has taken the "99% diet" as they so smugly named their message, on the road, and is promoting the article nationwide. The Time Magazine managing editor 'pretends' it's so difficult to even 'say' the word "locavore," poor guy is only a lowly managing editor after all, and words are just so hard to comprehend and pronounce. Note: this story is only during first half of the linked video. Additionally those on the panel of taking heads just had to promote the "Oh we cannot feed the world with this type of sustainable organic farming" line again. Oh my! Yes, the only solution is we just need to eat the GMOs and spread the chemicals of Monsanto around the world, to help the poor. I will put a little video at the bottom of this post explaining that lie that is attached to every conversation about growing foods without chemicals, toxins and GMO's. 

Too bad you are not one of Dr. Oz's family members, as they are eating mostly raw vegetarian meals grown locally. Did you know that his wife Lisa Oz was part of the anti-GMO documentary, "Genetic Roulette?". Hmmm what's up? I guess only the real wealthy elite are 'allowed' to eat in a healthy manner. Do not pay attention that Dr. Oz promotes double-speak. So do not eat like 'his family' you 99%, just get back into those aisles of the supermarket and enjoy the music.

Wouldn't it be nice to commend those people who really are being proactive about their health and nutrition no matter what strata of society they are labeled? You have to ask why these talking heads feel the need to degrade people who are taking charge of their good health. This is even in the face of convenient junk and fast foods constantly being advertised in the most appealing psychological ways possible. Yet, these same media people will talk incessantly about how fat and lazy the 99% is these days. Oh yeah it's double speak and industry driven. Well how big is the soda and snack aisle where you live? You know it's the entire length of the store here! That empty caloric chemically addictive stuff is soooooooo important. Same goes for those toxic GMO cereal aisles. A waste of space, that my elitist butt is happy not to visit any longer!

You can also go directly to the White House to get mixed messages about what constitutes healthy food. For instance Michele Obama touts the importance of eating healthy and makes sure her family is fed only organic foods. Yes it's the lovely organic garden outside of the White House vs. President Obama quietly filling the FDA and USDA with Monsanto people. Well isn't this the usual doublespeak you get from politicians anyway? Yes, seems it's the rule that corporations, lobbyists, and investors come first, before our good health and truth. Read this eye opening article by Jon Rappoport about the first family's food smokescreen.

Since we had Dr. Oz reaching million of women a day... whom is the other demographic to go after in the population? I believe it's the young and middle age adults. Keep them all ill, and ill informed. If you can handle the constant f-bombs, try to find an episode from Penn and Teller's show called "Bullshit" about organic food. Perhaps the real name of this show should be as my spellchecker created ... "BullshiLL." Are we to believe a show like this has real science? Real experts? Oh brother! Now that really is BS! Penn and Teller are in the business of deception, so who better to be the shill of multinational Big Ag corporations, that much should be obvious. 

Penn and Teller present their first transparent name-calling in the form of a young couple that represent the hippie stereotype of people who would eat organic. Personally we think these are actors playing a part. If they are real people, they were chosen because they seem very airy and unusual. They present the choice to eat in a healthy manner as something crunchy green stupid people do because they are suckers who believe anything looney. Since the majority of people who choose local and organic foods do not look or act like this, this should be a big red flag. People who research food information, and see the correlation between nutrition and health, are actually "in my biased opinion" intelligent people. The message in this show is quite transparent. Let's look at who they provide as their 'experts' on the subject of organic food.

First expert: Alex Avery, Food Policy Analyst, The Center For Global Food Issues at the The Hudson Institute. Here is a list of the companies supporting this Hudson Institute. 

* Ag Processing Inc     
* American Crop Protection Association     
* American Cyanamid
* Archer Daniels Midland     
* Cargill     
* Ciba-Geigy
* ConAgra Foods     
* Conrad Black     
* CropLife International
* DowElanco     
* DuPont     
* Eli Lilly and Company
* Exxon Mobil     
* Fannie Mae     
* General Electric Fund
* Heinz     
* IBM    
* Lilly Endowment
* McDonald's    
* Merck     
* Microsoft
* Monsanto     
* National Agricultural Chemical Association     
* Nichols-Dezenhall Communications Management Group
* Novartis     
* PayPal     
* PhRMA
* PriceWaterhouseCoopers     
* Procter & Gamble    
* Sunkist Growers
* Syngenta Crop Protection     
* United Agri Products     
* Westfield Corporation

I think that list above says enough about that so called "expert" on organic farming.

Next expert: Ronald Bailey of Reason Magazine. In his bio he is touted as one of the personalities that has most significantly contributed to the biotech industry. He produced the TV shows 'Think Tank' and 'Techno Politics'. Hmmm. I suppose he would be a sour puss on Organics and non-GMO foods then. Sorry, but I don't believe the American Cancer Institute as a "fact based" source either. As a person diagnosed with cancer this year don't even get me started on the 'business of cancer.'

Here are a few of their false arguments against organic: 

All farmers use pesticides, and organic farmers use quite a number of pesticides and some of them quite toxic. Today's pesticides that corporate industrial factory farmers use are so much safer.

Really? Well I KNOW my personal local CSA farmer does NOT use pesticides at all. Plus that is also why you limit the number of processed foods you purchase even if they are organic, because we are not there watching over them.

People who buy organics do not pay attention to the big manufactures of Organic products in the marketplace.

Wrong. See my comments in the Dr. Oz area above about that subject Mr. "Assume." Plus we are well aware of the various levels of organic labels such as 100% vs. 70%, or that the product is made with some organic ingredients. That is why it is always best when buying any processed food to keep the ingredient list simple. Best to buy real whole foods.

People who buy organics eat food from China.

Would I trust an organic food grown in China? No I would not! I always read any label even if it says organic. Actually the stores we choose DO list the point of origin of produce, and often the name of the farm too. Just look at the produce tag it will tell you what state it comes from for goodness sake. That is why buying local is best!

People who buy Organics are stupid hippies.
No, they are everyone, and they have to be intelligent enough to see through standard propaganda and mind control techniques that multinational interests have used on a culture for generations.

We would not be able to feed the world....blah blah blah without our chemicals and GMO technology.

It always eventually comes to the world domination of food plan in the chemical manufacturers' scheme doesn't it? Do you really believe they care about poor people around the world? Just research what happens when they muscle their way into countries. Then they pull out the line, "You just don't care about the billions of people who will die if we don't do this chemical proprietary agriculture." Do those chemical companies care about all the people who are dying from them taking over foreign farming as we speak? No.

It's elitist!

Oh there is that fake front man for Monsanto and friends again, talking about those of us who choose local and organic: "There is a political cache to it. I am purer than thou... blah blah blah..." Really? Really? It's that elitist name-calling tactic brought out again, and again.

I admit I may be a bit biased toward organic and fresh local food, because I actually have become much healthier from changing my food quality this past year. Also you should also know that I don't drink coffee, and I don't eat pesticides daily if I can avoid them! So how can I know anything? I only have my personal results. Call me elitist all you want but, I am not interested in the "food-like-stuffs" from dudes in white lab coats. Check out my post on how they got you to eat more cheese on everything, and overdose on fat, sugar and salt products here.

Do your own food research, and do not get it from celebrity TV people, television shows, or ads. Make extra sure it is not coming from fake deceptive front group propaganda experts, or paid scientists either. Get it from people who tell you who they represent, and who use actual unbiased scientific findings. Not science rigged so the outcome represents what the seller and a corporation wants it to look like. Oh what a concept. 

I prefer to get my food information from various sources, and that includes doctors like Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who keep on point with the good nutrition message every time you see them, read them, or go to their websites. Check out the many links and the various documentaries on my Inspiration page, my Reference page, and my Rabbit Hole pages above.

On the Penn and Teller show in the beginning of the full episode they do their slimy fake farmer routine supporting the Big Ag pesticide myth about "feeding the world." Well here is another perspective on that feed the world BS below. Try to keep in mind it is really about chemical companies selling chemicals, and food for profit. Their food plan is not about healthy options, or helping the poor third world countries.



You can read the Food Myths companion guide here.

There is much research on the internet about the corporate control of the food regulatory agencies like the FDA and the USDA. They are being run by the multinational corporations with a huge focus on Monsanto's agenda. Those are the facts. I have documentaries on my Inspiration and Rabbit Hole pages that discuss this problem in length, especially in the Monsanto documentary. Which industries get special treatment from the FDA and the USDA? Who gets subsidized? Who reaps the benefits of the Farm Bill? What and whose food products are affected? The answers are why bad food is cheap. They certainly do not support the small local farmer who is trying to grow you healthy safe food! They make it as difficult as possible with regulations for the small guy, not the big guys. They eat them up, run them out of existence, ruin their lives until they can absorb them. They want to control all the food and seeds of the world, and they do not like you growing your own healthy food either!  Mega corporations like JPMorgan, Coca Cola, Kraft and The Corn Refiners of America, plus many others, support flawed farm bills and unhealthy SNAP legislation. They actually make billions directly just through the Snap food stamp program alone. The USDA SNAP program actually promotes unhealthy manufactured products. In reality it serves these corporate giants to keep the real 99% and especially the poor people ill and diseased. The real elitist 1% industries and banks who receive the real government welfare that is counted in trillions, feels we deserve to eat cheap junk processed food stuffs, and stay sick. This is because that helps their investments in chemicals, fertilizers, GMO crops, and pharmaceuticals.  It is that simple. Feeding the world is a crock of real BS. They have done nothing but ruin many countries. Look into the suicide rate by farmers in India in recent years.

When it comes to our food, the system is set up as an inside job for industry and their investors. No matter what side of the political fence you sit, this current food system is not in your best interest or health. THAT is why I eat local, fresh and organic. And I stay far away from that fake illusionary political fence, where neither party has any interest of doing anything with integrity. It is all about their kickbacks, lobbyists, lawyers, and their immense insatiable greed. Keep a look out for the lies, the deceptions, the misinformation, and the spin, that is meant to keep the real 99% fat, sick, and nearly dead. Eggs are eggs, milk is milk? Well Monsanto is Monsanto. Greed is greed. I am not buying what they are selling. I am the 99%. Happy shopping! Support your local farmer, and the producers of real healthy foods!

Isn't it funny how deciding to eat food the way our ancestors ate is seen as the weirdo thing to do? Before the industrialized and chemical age people actually ate food from their home gardens. Call me all the names that make you feel better, although I have found that perhaps it is not a good idea to blindly turn your life over to corporations if you intend to live a long and healthy life. In this modern age I believe in the right to know where our food comes from, and what exactly is in processed products, or on real looking foods. That includes knowing if my food contains GMO's or pesticides. This is so we can make informed decisions about the foods we are eating everyday. It does affect our health in a major way, as well as the health of the farm workers, and the farmers involved. Yes food matters! When we wake up to the corporate Matrix of the fake food illusion we will become healthier. Funny how that works! Take the control of your life and health away from the predatory chemical corporations who have been making us sick. Being healthier will help you to lead a happier vibrant life and able to fully enjoy the world around you. Don't give up! Keep spreading the word! 'The Queen's Table' supports you in your quest for knowledge and health. Please use my tab pages above this post to learn more, and start feeling better! Thanks for all your positive feedback! I love hearing your inspiring stories of success by changing the quality of your food choices to organic or home grown! Be happy. Be healthy. Be peace.



You can follow the further adventures of 'The Meatrix' series in the links below. 

Meatrix II         Meatrix II 1/2

Well it's time for dinner at my groovy little hippy elitist home, and I am off to dine on my healthy elitist boutique snob-diet food. Tonight it's homemade vegetable soup, loaded with all organic vegetables and hulled barley grains, that I soaked myself. Served with a side salad of fresh organic produce, along with a green veggie juice. Yeah... that's how this healthier elitist continues to roll baby! Snoot snoot.

Update: Read my related article about White House pushing Subway as "Healthy!"
Related posts from other bloggers:
Natural Living Mama "Are You A Food Snob?"
Shows that Dr.Oz just weeks ago said that pesticides are dangerous for your children.
Natures Nurture "Dear Dr. Oz Why Are You Attacking Organic Food?"
More examples of Dr. Oz promoting organic foods before he flip flopped.