Tuesday, July 31, 2012

My Inexpensive Wonderfoods

I wrote:

Yes, thanks! We LOVE banana based smoothies and milkshakes!

Talk about inexpensive too! I'm on a very limited BC Disability Income so that is really important and I need organic!

Here in Nanaimo, B.C. we regularly get organic bananas at the Superette Foods on the corner of Albert and Wilson for twenty seven cents a pound or if we buy the whole box, even cheaper! Would you believe, we bought a 40 pound box today, July 31, 2012 for just $2.99! That's right less than 7 and 1/2 CENTS per pound!

Until the bananas begin to show brown spots the natural sugars haven't yet developed, but most people reject them as "overripe" as they are picked green and that is what they believe bananas should be like: firm and green! We take our haul home and slice them into rounds, putting 2 to 2 1/2 bananas in each Ziploc bag and then freeze.

Also we have a discount health foods store (Nanaimo Green Store) that sells frozen almond Silk, 1.89L for $1! We usually buy a box of six for $6.00. We thaw the Silk as needed and add the frozen bananas in our blender. Experiment until you get the desired consistency. Also today we got strawberries at the Superette: Dole Fresh, 1 pound for $.99! We treat the strawberries the same way as bananas and if we feel like "splurging" add the strawberries and bananas 50/50. Still way cheaper and far more nutritious than a fast food outlets "milk products shake!

We've also begun adding the frozen bananas to our green smoothies coz they (bananas or mangoes) help to take away the "swamp odor" and act as an emulsifier.

I have been told that I'm suffering CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) and the only way doctors have for me to get better is a stent or invasive surgery. I prefer the natural way first, am already getting better thanks to raw foods like these.

This was in response to: Legalize Banana Smoothies by Frederic Patenaude frederic@fredericpatenaude.com to me







Hi Chris,

This morning I woke up with this incredible craving for
bananas!

In the summer, we have so many delicious fruits available,
like mangoes, peaches, watermelon, cherries — that I find I
don't desire bananas that much during that time.

Yet this morning, my craving for bananas was so intense that
I ended up running to the store to get some.

And then I came back and made this huge banana smoothie.

After drinking it, I got this surge of energy.

I thought, this stuff is so good it should be legalized!

Oh wait, bananas are not a drug...

But they might as well be one, a great natural energy
booster.

The best way to get started eating more raw foods is to make
giant banana smoothies in the morning. And your smoothies
don't need to contain just bananas!

Use bananas as a staple, but also add other fruits and
greens such as:

- Frozen fruits (berries are great)
- Fresh seasonal fruits like mango or peaches
- Baby spinach, Swiss chard, kale
- Fresh herbs (try crazy combinations like basil or mint)
- Fruit that will go bad soon if you don't eat them (like
that wrinkled apple in the back of your fridge)

For variety you can even replace water with some
almond-milk. Store-bought almond milk may not be raw, but it
doesn't contain that much fat at all, and adds an
incredible, creamy taste to smoothies. You could use it
occasionally as a treat — but not all the time.

You just can't go wrong with banana smoothies. As long as
you use ripe spotted bananas as the base and some liquid
(1/2 cup to 1 cup), then you can add almost anything but
sawdust to the smoothie and it will taste good.

Banana smoothies are excellent after exercise, as a recovery
drink. Try adding a bit of fresh celery to it to make it
even more like a real recovery drink. Celery adds natural
sodium which helps in rehydration.

The great thing about bananas is that they are fairly cheap.
By calories, it's certainly the most affordable healthy
choice you can make.

When I lived near Montreal, I would buy an entire 40-pound
case of organic bananas at a distributor for around $30-35.

Even if you can't afford organic bananas, don't be afraid
to buy conventional. Conventional bananas are listed very
low on the list of pesticide-containing foods. Due to their
thick skin, they are considered pretty safe.

Sometimes, you can find bananas for less than 50 cents a
pound! When I was younger, I would often buy them at less
than 30 cents a pound in some stores. It seems like the days
of really cheap food are over, but at least bananas have
remained relatively cheap.

I'm not one of those people who say you must absolutely eat
30 bananas a day.

You just need to eat the amount of fruit that you need,
based on your energy levels and your lifestyle.

I personally could not make bananas the #1 staple of my diet
all the time, but I enjoy them often and overall, it's
probably the main fruit that I eat throughout the year.

If you've procrastinated giving raw foods a try, start with
banana smoothies. You'll love them so much that you'll
wonder when they'll become illegal!

Frederic

PS: To comment on this article, go to:
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog/?p=2445

Our Address Is:
Raw Vegan
358-1917 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7
Canada

Bananas in Smoothies and Milkshakes

I wrote:

Yes, thanks! We LOVE banana based smoothies and milkshakes!

Talk about inexpensive too!

Here in Nanaimo, B.C. we regularly get organic bananas at the Superette on the corner of Albert and Wilson for twenty seven cents a pound or if we buy the whole box, even cheaper!

Until the bananas begin to show brown spots the natural sugars haven't yet developed, but most people reject them as "overripe" as they are picked green and that is what they believe bananas should be like: firm and green! We take our haul home and slice them into rounds, putting 2 to 2 1/2 bananas in each Ziploc bag and then freeze.

We have a discount health foods store (Nanaimo Green Store) that sells frozen almond Silk, 1.87L for $1. We thaw the Silk as needed and add the frozen bananas in our blender. Experiment until you get the desired consistency.

We've also begun adding the frozen bananas to our green smoothies coz they (bananas or mangoes) help to take away the "swamp odor" and act as an emulsifier.

I have been told that I'm suffering CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) and the only way doctors have for me to get better is a stent or invasive surgery. I prefer the natural way first, am already getting better thanks to raw foods like these.

This was in response to: Legalize Banana Smoothies by Frederic Patenaude frederic@fredericpatenaude.com to me







Hi Chris,

This morning I woke up with this incredible craving for
bananas!

In the summer, we have so many delicious fruits available,
like mangoes, peaches, watermelon, cherries — that I find I
don't desire bananas that much during that time.

Yet this morning, my craving for bananas was so intense that
I ended up running to the store to get some.

And then I came back and made this huge banana smoothie.

After drinking it, I got this surge of energy.

I thought, this stuff is so good it should be legalized!

Oh wait, bananas are not a drug...

But they might as well be one, a great natural energy
booster.

The best way to get started eating more raw foods is to make
giant banana smoothies in the morning. And your smoothies
don't need to contain just bananas!

Use bananas as a staple, but also add other fruits and
greens such as:

- Frozen fruits (berries are great)
- Fresh seasonal fruits like mango or peaches
- Baby spinach, Swiss chard, kale
- Fresh herbs (try crazy combinations like basil or mint)
- Fruit that will go bad soon if you don't eat them (like
that wrinkled apple in the back of your fridge)

For variety you can even replace water with some
almond-milk. Store-bought almond milk may not be raw, but it
doesn't contain that much fat at all, and adds an
incredible, creamy taste to smoothies. You could use it
occasionally as a treat — but not all the time.

You just can't go wrong with banana smoothies. As long as
you use ripe spotted bananas as the base and some liquid
(1/2 cup to 1 cup), then you can add almost anything but
sawdust to the smoothie and it will taste good.

Banana smoothies are excellent after exercise, as a recovery
drink. Try adding a bit of fresh celery to it to make it
even more like a real recovery drink. Celery adds natural
sodium which helps in rehydration.

The great thing about bananas is that they are fairly cheap.
By calories, it's certainly the most affordable healthy
choice you can make.

When I lived near Montreal, I would buy an entire 40-pound
case of organic bananas at a distributor for around $30-35.

Even if you can't afford organic bananas, don't be afraid
to buy conventional. Conventional bananas are listed very
low on the list of pesticide-containing foods. Due to their
thick skin, they are considered pretty safe.

Sometimes, you can find bananas for less than 50 cents a
pound! When I was younger, I would often buy them at less
than 30 cents a pound in some stores. It seems like the days
of really cheap food are over, but at least bananas have
remained relatively cheap.

I'm not one of those people who say you must absolutely eat
30 bananas a day.

You just need to eat the amount of fruit that you need,
based on your energy levels and your lifestyle.

I personally could not make bananas the #1 staple of my diet
all the time, but I enjoy them often and overall, it's
probably the main fruit that I eat throughout the year.

If you've procrastinated giving raw foods a try, start with
banana smoothies. You'll love them so much that you'll
wonder when they'll become illegal!

Frederic

PS: To comment on this article, go to:
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog/?p=2445

Our Address Is:
Raw Vegan
358-1917 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7
Canada

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Bats and other natural predators in the Pacific Northwest

‎"Bats are the primary predator of agricultural pests—one bat eats 2,000 to 6,000 insects each night. Plant afternoon-blooming or night-scented flowers to attract moths, and the voracious bats that follow will help control your local mosquito population. Evening primrose, phlox, night-flowering catchfly, fleabane, goldenrod, four o’clock, salvia, nicotiana, and moonflower are all good choices." http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/making-it-home/how-to-save-backyard-bats?utm_source=wkly20120720&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=titleBruce
1 · · ·

Friday, July 20, 2012

Pets or Food?


  • I wrote:
Indeed, heartless towards our prisoners! We foolishly love them more than humans! We decide what they will eat, where they will go, if and when they procreate, and we take food out of the mouths of the starving millions of humans not so fortunate as us(?) Third world blood supports our "lifestyle"! The young lady living in her mother's mobile across from mine, has supposedly 10 adult cats of which three have just had litters. (they are unneutered or spayed) She feeds them and her 1 dog, on Purina dry food (instead of carnivore food: meat) and when they are let out, they come over to my freshly dug and planted garden and do their extremely smelly, offensive, sticky bombs they hide just under the surface! I am sickened by the smells of them marking "their" territory by spraying. Worse is their fighting and yowling when they are mating! They do this with impunity; park management says they can do nothing, neighbours have phoned the SPCA who can likewise do nothing. I'm not sure if the Nanaimo animal control officer has been called or not. As for me I am in the process of erecting netting on the perimeter of my garden and will cover the garden enclosure a with 1. pre-existing trailing blackberries, I'm training 2. use an existing Hawthorn tree 3. scarlet runner beans 4. climbing nasturtiums 5. Take a page from the young lady across from me: let the Himalayan Blackberries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_armeniacus take over and out! Or how about Kudzu in Canada!? I well remember Kudzu and it's thickening role instead of things like cornstarch to thicken my stirfries during my macrobiotic studies... Empower Yourself...FOOD AS MEDICINE Heal Yourself With Natural Foods by Gabriele Kushi


So I hope to keep the cats out and shade the tin box I now live in...Another neighbour had accused me of flinging cat poo at his RV and when I denied it, he called me a toilet mouth profanity...wanted a fist fight with me to prove his point!...his girlfriend won't speak to me because I ordered them off my mobile pad, when he threatened to return and "get me", I phoned the RCMP!  They could do nothing! Mr. Toilet Mouth neighbour "probably meant "he would get me .... a PIZZA!! Another neighbour (also a food gardener) has even gone so far as to suggest winterizing them! (the cats, although maybe it should be the pet "lovers". A most gruesome way to die...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol_poisoning Any other ideas people? After the poo flinging accusations the young lady told me to fling it at her mother's place. (I again denied it although I have a suspicion who flung poo...). Instead I have twice bagged it up and delivered it to her porch...she said if it was anyone but me (the old man) she would throw it to my face! sigh...

This was due to the following public exchange on Facebook:
irk Becker shared Rustic Hound's photo.
I want to be friends with these crazy people....I'm not kidding!
3 · ·

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Free Eats!

The W in GROWN FOODS is for Wild or Wet.

My wanderings and gleanings of the past two weeks gave me:

(Do you recognize them BEFORE I label them?)






Outside Annamie's apartment in Nanaimo are some Ornamental Black Cherry Trees that had incredible showy double blooms this spring, but when I tried to eat some of the fruits two weeks ago, they were all stone, small and very bitter. But with the recent rains, they have filled out and now have some pulp on them. When I arrived home last night I was trying them, they are delicious! (and free!) so I'm picking some more today... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_blossom
























Just outside the trailer park I now live at in South Nanaimo: Southgate Mobile Home Park
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Southgate+Mobile+Home+Park%2C+Nanaimo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a  are some of the best Saskatoon Berries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_alnifolia I have ever seen or tasted anywhere! Plump and juicy, thanks to the rains again!


















I've been eating my Orange Day Lilies before they bloom, but with all the work at my trailer-home, I let one get away and yesterday morning it was in full bloom. I've never tried them raw, used to just fry the bloom pods, but now, curious and knowing them to be safe, I nibbled the bloom. Delicious! Gobbled it all up! Feeling fine as I write this today! Lol  I'm expecting a feast today as three pods should be blooming...But before you eat... Always research what you're doing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylily

I've been at this for 35 years, since I moved to Victoria from Edmonton in 1977 and have a wealth of resources that I use. Any questions on gleaning, herbs or wild foods and locations in and around Nanaimo, let's talk? Anyway, off to work (and my a/c) ?



Dust Bowl, 2012 - ??

Climate change is contributing to a massive drought in the midwest of the United States.

This is the result. Click LIKE if you agree that this isn't any kind of world to leave for our children.
5 · · ·

  • 11 people like this.

    • Susan Anne Carter Oh dear...what have we done.
      9 hours ago · · 2

    • Doug Janzen And Republicans still say there is no proof that man is causing the warming. Fools, mean and ignorant fools.
      9 hours ago ·

    • Carol Spencer add Herr Harper in there as well..but is anyone stopping the rampant consumption of cheap goods from hugely polluting countries? is North AMerica the worst polluters?..and this has been affecting places closer to the equator for decades..now it is coming home to roost
      8 hours ago ·

    • Doug Janzen I always want to simplify my life, less consumerism. Does Harper also say "no such thing" when it comes to climate change/global warming?
      8 hours ago ·

    • Carol Spencer yes he did, but has backpedalled...decide for yourself..you might be amused.. http://www.harperindex.ca/ShowCategory.cfm?Show=Cat4

      www.harperindex.ca
      The Harper Index: Analyzing persuasion techniques of Canada's Conservatives - The Promises - The Record - The Responses

      7 hours ago ·

    • Doug Janzen
      Confusing. I'd like to see Canada adopt the Kyoto guidelines. And make it a national priority to make an electric vehicle for commuting and hauling goods. We are a big country, a cold country, so we need a "made in Canada" solution for this. I want to be the world leader in this so we'd cut greenhouse gasses. Then make the oil sands as damn clean as possible. I know we need oil but REALLY make it as clean as getting the stuff out of the ground can be. I was a roughneck for a couple of years, I know the oil 'bidness' is messy but seriously just do it!

      7 hours ago ·

    • Chris J. Slater Back to the past to see what lies in our future UNLESS we begin to take RESPONSIBILITY now (I'm thinking it's probably too late already! The canary in the coal mine died - killed by Corporations like Monsanto's monoculture Round-Up (TM ) Ready GMO's!) The Dirty Thirties http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl Only FOOLS think they can continue to take from the good earth without putting anything back! Rip out what God decided was best for the climate and microclimates and use CHEMICALS (herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, etc. to live better today!! It's foolish people, regardless of their politics, that do this to us! Dead, dry soil has no life to impart to our food. And if our food isn't dead enough already, we can always make sure its D - E - A- D by cooking the life from it! GROWNFOODS - Green, Raw, Organic, Wet (or Wild) and most important, Natural FOOD.

      en.wikipedia.org
      The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing...See more

      10 minutes ago · Edited · ·

Friday, July 13, 2012

A Tribute to Dr. Ann by Victoria Boutenko


I truly admire Dr. Ann Wigmore. Whenever I order a shot of wheatgrass, I feel like I personally know Dr. Ann. Wheatgrass juice makes me healthier. I owe the opportunity of drinking it at my local co-op to Dr. Ann. Thanks to her, people in the whole world can drink wheatgrass juice and enjoy its countless healing benefits. I find it amazing how Ann Wigmore is continuing to touch our lives decades after she has passed away, even though many of us have never met her, or even heard her name.
Dr Ann in her garden Not only did Dr. Ann discover and thoroughly research the great healing properties of wheatgrass, but she also developed and thoroughly described the process of growing wheatgrass in trays at home or any location. She came up with an inexpensive wheatgrass juicer to make this elixir of life available to everyone. I appreciate many of Dr. Ann's inventions, which we all conveniently utilize in our everyday lives while thinking that they have existed forever. Who remembers today that raw gourmet food began with Dr. Ann's "seed cheese" and "raw soup" recipes. She invented for us "nut milks" and dehydrated crackers, "almond loaf" and "live" candy.

Dr. Ann introduced a variety of sprouts into our lives. She also came up with a sprouting bag. Whenever my family travels, we always pack sprouting seeds to guarantee a fresh supply of greens. Dr. Ann called sprouts Living Foods. It is hard to imagine that these words didn't exist some time ago.

Dr. Ann discovered the many healing benefits of blending foods, especially greens. Dr Ann Wigmore lived the last several years of her life almost completely on blended foods, a large part of which consisted of greens. She noticed that blended foods were assimilated more easily. For instance, she would say about fruit, "If I have an apple, I will blend it instead of munch it, because I don't want to waste its energy or mine." She observed that eating blended food gave her superior health and cut her hours of sleep down to two hours per night.

Before Dr. Ann, people utilized blenders for "insignificant" purposes like whipping eggs and making cocktails. Today, we cannot imagine a raw food kitchen without a powerful blender. Dr. Ann Wigmore clearly saw the tight connection between organic soil and human health, and she began promoting organic gardening and composting in the sixties when most people were just beginning to embrace chemical fertilizers as the future of agriculture.

I see Ann Wigmore's uniqueness in her ability to pay attention to a wide spectrum of events, to explore living on this planet as one whole process, and to apply her expertise to many different aspects of life. She didn't choose to be a specialist in just one narrow field as many others have done. She dared to form her personal opinion about everything she encountered, be it blood analysis, colonic irrigations, fasting, food composition, bacteria, gardening, or drinking water. Due to her all-inclusive vision, she was able to create a healing system that has helped thousands of people.

Dr. Ann was known to work vigorously and productively. She invented new ideas daily. She kept herself in notably excellent shape, always running, never walking, sustaining herself on just two hours of sleep per day. At the ripe age of 82, Dr. Ann didn't have a single gray hair. This fact was so unbelievable that her students asked her permission to study her hair in a lab to see if it was dyed. The test proved that it was her natural color.

In addition to her profound research in the field of human health, Dr. Ann was an animal rights activist, she fought against the fluoridation and chlorination of drinking water, against chemical pollution, and many other things.

The latest discoveries in science prove Dr. Ann was right in the majority of her predictions and recommendations. I believe the day will come when medical students will study Ann Wigmore's books as they study Hippocrates today.

Dr. Ann is well recognized all around the world. In my travels I continue to encounter people who ask me if I have heard of Dr. Ann Wigmore. This inquiry is usually followed by an exciting story about another human life saved by Dr. Ann's teachings. I doubt it is possible to calculate just how many lives this brilliant woman has saved. She herself was one of the healthiest people on the planet in the 20th century. Dr. Ann was living her talk and practicing in her own life everything that she was teaching. Most of all, however, people who met her in person remember her for her benevolent loving spirit.


Historic Ann Wigmore Memorial Conference

Vilnius Congress Concert Hall, 19th-20th September, 2012
Conference: "Living Foods and it's effect on Degenerative Disease"
Klaipeda University 21st September, 2012
Ann Wigmore Festival of Life and Commemoration
Sept. 22, 2012 Kruopiai, 22nd September, 2012

REGISTRATION FORM
For registration and more information, please contact the coordinators by email: conference@estravel.lt, or by phone.: +370 5212 5803.
To download the Registration Form Please Click Here