Next was the Quinoa tabbuleh. It was a little moist because I was paranoid I'd burn it but is still yum! It was dressed with tons of spices, red onion, tomato, and herbs.
Last, a new experiment. Massaged Kale salad with pear and toasted sunflower seeds. Trust me on this, its amazing! You cut the Kale into thin strips, dress it with 1 tsp salt and massage it for a few minutes. It takes the bitterness right out of the kale! The original recipe called for apple and gorgonzola cheese but i am allergic to apples and am trying to eliminate cheese from my diet.
Damn. It was the best freakin vegan meal I ever had! Fresh, whole, organic, good food. I feel amazing.
Holding in the anger, holding in the anger........
*frustration*
2. Buy local & talk to your farmers - this is the best way to ensure you're eating real foods. It's estimated that up to 85% of pre-packaged and processed foods contain GMOs, so buying fresh from the farm is a great way to avoid that.
3. Avoid the Top Four GMO Crops of Soy, Corn, Canola and Cottonseed - most blended oils in North America contain canola and cottonseed. Replacing these with 100% extra virgin olive oil is a safe alternative.
4. Encourage your favorite food providers to label their food GMO-free. We don't need the government to force companies to label their foods, and we're seeing more and more that we as consumers have tremendous power, and if enough of us ask for GMO-free labels, and support the companies that use them, we'll see a huge increase in labeling. And we're already starting to see this.
Get to know the companies that are labeling their foods GMO-free.
5. Buy Organically Grown Food - For now, the organic certification process is a relatively safe bet to ensure your food is free of GMOs, although this may not be the case in the future. Help support global sustainability by purchasing certified organically grown food.
6. Conventional Sugar - Over 90% of this year's sugar beet harvest will be Monsanto's GM Roundup-Ready Sugar Beet. That means if you are using sugar, or eating anything with sugar in it, you're eating GMOs. Alternatives to sugar are listed here.
7. Grow your own food - Plant a garden using heirloom seeds! (thanks to Amy31415 on YouTube for pointing out this important tip!)
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More tips, from A Little Bit of Green - "7 GMO Products I Bet You Are Still Using":
Iodized Salt - Iodine doesn’t like to stick to salt crystals so it needs a little “glue” in the form of corn starch. And the manufacturer doesn’t even have to list it on the label. Isn’t that nice for them.
Fresh Fruit & Vegetables - Have you heard that most fruit and vegetables aren’t GMO? They might not be when they come off the tree but many are by the time they get to the store. Apples, cucumbers and many others are coated with a layer of wax or oil mostly derived from cheap GM corn.
Canned Goods - Nice, cheap citric acid no longer just comes from citrus. Take a look at your canned tomatoes, fruit juice, etc. If they aren’t organic and they say citric acid or absorbic acid you may be looking at code for GM corn.
But here’s some information that may keep you away from opening the can:
1. Extra pounds
Soda is a significant contributor to obesity. Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more -- it may sound counterintuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight. Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.
2. Liver damage
Soda damages your liver. Consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to the increased risk faced by chronic alcoholics.
3. Tooth decay
Soda dissolves tooth enamel. Soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda's acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.
4. Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease
Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance that changes the urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Drinking one quart (less than three 12-ounce cans) of soda per week may increase your risk of developing kidney stones by 15 percent.
5. Diabetes
Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda also stresses your body's ability to process sugar. Some scientists now suspect that this may explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.
6. Heartburn & acid reflux
Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn. Many carbonated beverages are very acidic. They also deliver a lot of air in the form of carbon dioxide, which can cause distension of your stomach. And that distension appears to be associated with more reflux.
7. Soft drinks = Soft Bones = Osteoporosis
Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of your skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in your blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of your bones.
8. Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure. It doesn't matter if the soda is regular or diet.
9. Heart disease
Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome -- a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, and low levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol. Having three or more of the symptoms increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
10. Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress)
Gastrointestinal distress includes increased stomach acid levels requiring acid inhibitors, and moderate to severe gastric inflammation with possible stomach lining erosion. Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of your stomach and other gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of your stomach and duodenal lining.
Source: Squidoo Jan. 23, 2009
A. Yep, i believe so
2) What was your dream growing up?
A. to be the first female astronaut to Mars
3) What talent do you wish you had?
A. More creativity
4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
A. a cosmopolitan. nothing can beat its simplicity, and i love cranberry juice!
5) Favorite vegetable?
A. All of them? :) I guess Asparagus cuz thats the first one that pops in my head. I also love spinach, eggplant, tomatos...
6) What was the last book you read?
A. Wheel of Time book 4
7) What zodiac sign are you?
A. Pisces, gemini rising
8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A. a rainbow heart tat on my left shoulder blade; about to get a chamsa henna style tat on my lower back; bellybutton ring and several earrings
9) Worst Habit?
A. not finishing the projects i start
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
A. of course!
11) What is your favorite sport?
A. Does yoga count?
12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A. cautiously optimistic
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
A. play cards or something
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A. I got asked by a starbucks customer where the nearest graveyard was
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A. I actually like to work
16) Do you have any pets?
A. A black toy poodle named Oreo
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A. I'd be like 'hey yo, whats up?'
18) What was your first impression of me?
A. you seemed cool but i was overwhelmed by a large group of people i didn't know and busy flirting with
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
chavah . ;-)19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A. just weird
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A.i would like my features to be more middle eastern - olive skin, slanted eyes, dark hair
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A. depends on what it is that you are doing
22) What color eyes do you have?
A. Green, its not easy being green, being the color of leaves
23) Ever been arrested?
A. not yet
24) Bottle or can soda?
A. neither. i don't really drink it that much
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A. pay off my debt. I'd prefer a vacation to europe though
27) What's your favorite place to hang out?
A. NODA, Thomas street
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
A. yes-ish
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A. read and craft projects
30) Do you swear a lot?
A. hardly at all. i kicked that habit when i began working with kids
31) Biggest pet peeve?
A. laziness
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
A. resourceful
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
A. yes yes yes
35) Do you believe in God?
A. In a higher spiritual power, yes
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
A. uh sure
SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!! YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY
- Location:uncc
- Mood:
chipper
Heres what i did:
- I ate all vegetarian
- I ate my lunch outside on the grass
- I recycled all the waste I made that could be recycled
- I preened my garden, my entire bowl of lettuce for lunch today came from my garden!
- I continued using my Diva Cup instead of creating waste with tampons and pads
- I used glass cups for my drinks work instead of paper and plastic
- Mood:
sleepy
I want to buy a decent digital camera with my tax return, any suggestions? I'm not picky and am not versed in specs for any sort of computing devices, lol. It would be great if it had video recording capabilities as well. By budget is $125
asim and foxxtrot1 ! I had to get my license renewed today. My picture actually looks super cute!! Imagine that! So now I'm set til 2017, or til i move. Hopefully the moving will come first!
Definitely enjoying having a break from school. I actually have some me-time, aside from working.
Hope everyone is having a great week so far!
- Mood: chipper
The man I grew up calling my grandpa (my father's step-dad) just died today. He lived into his 90's and was a good man. I wasn't close to him but he was always great with us as kids. He was a man of strong religious conviction and one of a soft heart. I will always remember him bouncing me on his knee as a kid and his great, welcoming smile. He never sent us away without a toy or some money - $20 was a lot to a poor kid in my day! He had the chance to spend more time with me and my siblings than any other grandchildren. He has survived cancer, lived a full life, and was married to a loving woman. I will always value how much he cared about my family as it became his own. I only wish I had gotten to know him better.
~May he rest in peace~
- Mood: sad
foxxtrot1 was super sweet to me and had a wonderful time being there with him. Well, its back to the grind i go. Hope everyone had a great weekend!- Location:uncc
- Mood:
bouncy
- Location:uncc
- Mood:
awake
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