Where Has the Time Gone?

If I were a teacher (oh, I actually am) and had to grade myself on blogging, I suspect that my grade would be less than a C for consistency or lack thereof. Each blog post might be an A or B but the lack of frequency would drag the grade down. With that said, and the self-flagellation out of the way, I can now tell you what I've been doing that's prevented me from blogging more often. (Listen for the excuses, if you read them, call me on them.)

As much as I'd like to say that I NEVER get ill, that's just not the case. I live in the world and sometimes those nasty germs and viruses get me, just like they do you. I take as many precautions as possibly but short of going the Howard Hughes route, I live in the world and as they say things happen.

In early March, I got hit with some stomach bug (from the one time that I ate outside the home) that I thought that I shook off through eating fermented foods, especially miso (South River is my favorite) and kombucha, rice and baked potatoes for the better part of a week. I was feeling better for a few days, and once again I ate at some potluck meals and wham -- I got knocked down again for close to another week. Back to rice, baked potato, miso, kombucha and home-fermented sauerkraut as tolerated. Finally started feeling better but a bit weak after the bodily assault. Throughout all of this I was writing and planning future classes. Luckily when I was teaching, I was feeling just fine. (Thank my lucky stars for that because teaching cooking when you feel lousy is just NO fun.)

I then went to Anaheim for the Natural Products Expo for just one day where I sampled my way through many products that I wouldn't necessarily consider "natural" but many that were. If you have any questions about the show, just ask me.

My favorite quinoa people from La Yapa quinoa from Bolivia where there. They call theirs, "Quinoa with a Cause", as they support education in Bolivia. I am pictured here with Tania, who is Bolivian. Check out their website. And while you're there, you can see my video on cooking quinoa in a pressure cooker.

Then I went to Oaxaca, Mexico for 6 days and all was well with the world. Saw some ruins, checked out Zapotec weavers, saw the Big Tree (any photos don't do it justice -- you have to just see it), went to markets, ate great food (stay tuned for posts and photos of the food) and then visited some friends of friends of friends and did what you shouldn't do - I drank the water because I saw it come out of a 5 gallon bottle. Trouble was that I didn't know where that bottle was filled, and with what. So, guess what? Traveling home the next day and wham -- sucker punched in the gut again, and there goes the eating for a number of days. Back to my regimen, which by then I had down pretty well.

Finally, I am feeling better and ready to get to work on food. I have a jar of cabbage, golden beets, green garlic, daikon radish tops, ginger, garlic and Oaxacan chipotle pepper fermenting on my counter top, inspired by the sprouting and fermenting class that I taught earlier this week. Once fermented (which will hopefully happen by mid-week next week) I plan to eat this regularly to help keep my gut healthy and resistant.

I have about a week to go and then I leave town again for Portland, Oregon and then Seattle. I am quite hopeful that I'll be able to drink the water and get back to blogging.

If you've got any wonderful stomach bug remedies, please share them in the comments below.

Cross Blog Conversation (CBC) with Family Foodies

I've never done this kind of thing before but when asked if I would have a CBC, cross blog conversation with Debbie at Family Foodies, I said, "Yes." Those of you who know me, know that my motto is, "I'll try anything once (but not animal products in my mouth, thank you)."

Debbie asks me how I suggest that a typical steak-loving, non-vegetarian transition to a more healthful way of eating?

Debbie, I consider this one of my specialties because I recommend that you include more vegetables every day. Then along with that, more other healthful plant foods that might be out of the realm of "normal" such as substituting quinoa or brown rice for white rice or potatoes.

Let me share the story about my husband who wasn't a huge meat-and-potatoes guy but he's also no vegetarian. I started giving him better salads, switching from iceberg lettuce to romaine. Then I included a mix of darker lettuces. I didn't do this all at once but over a month or so. He now loves the salad mix (minus the weeds, as he still doesn't like the bitter stuff such as arugula or dandelionand eats at least 3 to 4 cups of it each night. On his own, he asked me to pack him a container of fruit at lunch and a container of vegetables. So, he makes sure that he gets the recommended 9 servings each day, at least during the week. Once you're eating all that produce, and make sure that it's as fresh and local as you can get it, so it tastes best, you are likely to eat less of the other things. Or at least that's the hope.

You can also go the Meatless Mondays route, making sure that at least one day a week you skip the meat. Once you get a few good recipes under your belt, it may be easier to incorporate more vegetarian meals.

Confirmed meat-eaters often like dishes such as chili, which you can make in many meatless variations with a variety of different beans.

When I attend potlucks or other functions, I bring a dish that I want to eat which is often colorful and filled with vegetables. It might be something like a quinoa salad, sweet and sour summer squash or hummus and vegetables, soup or stew, depending upon the event and the meal. Fresh and vibrant vegetables are almost always a hit.

Unless there is meat in every dish, I find things to eat. But nothing bugs a vegetarian more than people hiding meat in dishes that could easily be meat-free such as a vegetable-based soup made with chicken or beef broth.

Some of my family's staples at holiday meals such as Curried Squash Soup, Roasted Root Vegetables and Fruited Wild Rice started out as what I made for me but now everyone eats them.

I think that you mentioned the key word: transition. Most people need to make changes over time to be most successful, especially with a big dietary change such as eliminating meat and other animal products. Get a few good cookbooks (guess this is when I plug The Veggie Queen cookbook) or look online at my website or other blog posts. I also have have colleagues and fellow bloggers who do great work. See my list on the sidebar here.

And, Debbie, keep making those salads but see how you might make them interesting without the cheese by adding little tidbits such as dried fruit, nuts, olives, capers or avocado. It's all a process and I encourage you to give it a try especially because it's good for the whole family. Children mimic what you do and if you want your kids to have a great start on health, it's through what they eat.

Now, my questions for you: what do you think really stops you from eating or trying more vegetarian foods? Is it the perceived time that it takes, or buying the stuff? Or maybe you think that your husband won't like it. I'd love to hear.

Life is for the Living and You'll Be A Long Time Dead

I know that this blog is about food but it's also about life and living it well. And despite the fact that I am a Registered Dietitian, writer and a host of other things (some of which I will not discuss), I may have missed my calling in the philosophy department. In all my years of school I did not take one philosophy class but somehow I manage to espouse my ideas almost daily.

The title of this post however is dedicated to my father who just passed away last week. Those were his words, and with that in mind, I'd like to share a little bit about my Dad, Bernie.

Bernie loved to eat, and when you look at photos of him over the years, you can tell when he really liked to eat food that was not very good for him, as he looked heavy. When he was in his 50s, he likely had a silent heart attack, confirmed later by doctors. He wanted to know what to do so my sister sent him Dr. Dean Ornish's first book on reversing heart disease.

My father was a voracious reader and a bit of a fanatic, so he followed Ornish's advice for quite some time. After doing so when he went back to the doctor, he'd managed to regrow capillaries to his heart. My Dad was also into exercise and used the Nordic Track like a madman for many years.

He'd often ask me for advice regarding what to eat and saw how I followed a vegetarian diet and leaned in that direction.

Luckily as he got older, he slowed down just a bit on the exercise and got a dog, a Boston terrier named Sweetie, that he walked daily until just a few months ago. He also mowed the lawn often, which was a lot of work on more than an acre of property.

After the Ornish plan, my Dad ate pretty well, including lots of fresh food, made by my mother who likes to cook and has a garden. A few years ago, I sent my father a copy of The China Study by Colin Campbell. He then adopted a vegan diet, and said that he felt better than ever. And that might have been true for awhile.

Last year he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. If his doctors had been paying attention, they would have likely caught the cancer earlier as my Dad's PSA level was elevated. He also had GI problems, caused by a hospital stay, and likely needed Vitamin B12 shots but didn't receive those either.

The moral of this story is as Sandy Lewis, MD, the cardiologist from Portland, who shared the Super Shuttle to the Denver airport as I left to go to the funeral, said, "No one gets out alive."

So, I encourage you to treat each day as if it could be your last. Find something to be grateful for, appreciate the people around you, and enjoy fresh food, clean air (if you've got it), nature, your pets, your work, and life in general. There are no bad days, just some are better than others. They all give perspective and a frame of reference.

When I'd ask my Dad how things were going, he'd usually say, "It's better than the alternative." When he stopped saying anything like that, I knew what was in store. The end isn't usually easy, so in the words of Jennifer Stone of KPFA radio, "Go easy. And if you can't go easy, go as easy as you can."

Bernie reminded his 3 daughters that life is not a popularity contest but that kindness, generosity and sharing wisdom all count. And I hope that what I've shared with you today has an impact in some way.

Smile, enjoy, live well -- it's the best revenge.

Back to The Vegetables -- Shaping Your Plate

A conversation with Sarah Martel of Health Transitions helped me figure out the best way to tell you how to eat. I am an intuitive person and eater. I can muddle through almost anything by trusting my gut.

But I know that not everyone can do this. As I explained to Sarah how I've been unable to articulate my healthier way of eating, she told me that she's simplified it. She tells people that we are made up of 70% water, so if you eat 70% of the watery, less concentrated, foods such as vegetables and fruit, and 30% of the other food such as beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains and other dense foods, that it works out just right.

So yesterday when I put my cooked red rice into "my bowl" (yes, I try to eat out of one special, beautiful ceramic bowl), I realized that I clearly put in too much. I took half of it out, leaving about 3/4 cup, and then added my tofu and many vegetables equaling about 2 cups (leftover from my Winter Vegetables Beyond Broccoli class the prior night), and topped it with curried cashew creme sauce. That was breakfast. And I felt satisfied for hours.

So, whether it's your plate or bowl, take a look and determine if you've got the best proportion of food on it? Is it close to the 70/30 ratio that Sarah mentioned? If not, I'd suggest that you work toward that. It takes practice and sometimes things get out of whack but luckily, there is always the next meal or snack. And snacks, well that's another story (or blog post). Be on the lookout for kale chips two ways.

The Road to Dietary Salvation is Dotted with Vegetables

This past week a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that it's not low carb, low fat, low-anything else that helps people lose weight and keep it off, but it's eating fewer calories.

Many of you might not know this but at least 3 times in my adult life I have had to lose a significant amount (I am small so I won't share the number but it's been about 15% of my body weight). I did it by paying attention to what I put in my mouth and eating as many vegetables as I could. And you know that I really like vegetables so...

In my opinion (and by this time if you've read previous posts you know that I absolutely have one), the easiest way to eat fewer calories is by filling yourself up with vegetables and other plant-foods. I put vegetables first because you can eat almost unlimited amounts of the more watery or dense green vegetables such as (I'll start with those in season here in Northern CA) greens, think collards, Swiss chard, kale, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, onions, leeks and garlic, and then the warmer weather vegetables such as summer squash, cucumber, tomatoes, eggplant, radishes and many more.

The vegetables that are still good for you but present issues due to their higher caloric nature are potatoes, carrots, parsnips, corn, peas and winter squash. There are some that fall between these categories. Beets and celery root are the only two that come to mind.

As for the other plant foods such as beans and grains, the beans will give you more bang for your buck and fewer calories, depending upon how many you eat. In-season fruit is wonderful, in moderation. This time of year in the Northern hemisphere in the U.S. we don't have an issue with this as we are in "apple-pear-citrus" season so the temptations are few.

My message is not something new for me and not something that I've studied for endless hours. I know that it works because I practice it myself. I eat lots of food and I maintain my weight. I eat salad almost every day. My husband now does this, too. And not just a small amount but at least 3 cups each with dinner. See how you can squeeze in extra vegetables such as those sprouts that I've been raving about for a while now. Add greens to your cooked vegetables. Shoot for eating a bunch or two or three a week.

I don't have any magic and I'm not going to give up my vegetable evangelism. I've now shared my story on the road to salvation. I hope that you'll come along.

If you like what I write you can subscribe to my blog by signing up in the box on the right hand side of the page.

10 Things that The Veggie Queen and John Ash have in Common

I was going to write a post specifically about 1 subject when it dawned on me that John Ash and I share a number of characteristics which I wanted to share with you. Not quite as interesting as Letterman but...

Here goes:

1. Our names start with the same letter
2. We both live in Sonoma County -- Santa Rosa to be exact
3. We're writers
4. We encourage people to use local ingredients
5. We're each cooks and not bakers or gardeners
6. We're each irreverent when we teach and love to share stories
7. We've shared the same behind-the-scenes person, who we both adore
8. We support local and encourage others to do the same
9. We encourage farming without poisons, or the Cide sisters as John refers to them (pesticide, fungicide and herbicide)
10. We've both been sprouting in our kitchens for many years

And it's the last one that I will really post about next time. So, be on the lookout for more about sprouting.

The 'Veggie Queen Finds All Kinds of Tea at New Mexico Tea Company

I just wrote about tea for Vegan Culinary Experience online magazine but somehow I didn't know about New Mexico Tea Company when I wrote the story. They contacted me on Twitter about their rooibos tea with vanilla and blood orange. And I am looking forward to trying it.

If you've read this blog, you know that I am a big tea advocate so I am drooling a bit, into my tea cup, as I look at the New Mexico Tea company website. Heck, if I had put a link to the site in my story, I wouldn't have had to write anything at all about tea -- it's all on there. From white to green, black and oolong to Pu-erh plus 41 herbal tisanes, which are more up my alley.

If you're into tea and don't have a wonderful tea shop, like I do here in Sonoma County at Infusions in Sebastopol, then check out New Mexico Tea Company online or next time you are in Albuquerque. I can honestly say that I have not yet tried their products but love the way that they have divided up the tisanes into categories, including medicinal.

Remember that plants are your best medicine, so get them everyday. Tea certainly makes the grade and will enhance your life if you give it a chance.

The Veggie Queen's Healthy Resolutions 2009

I'll start by saying that I don't make resolutions, I set goals. Here are the goals that I am suggesting that people adopt for 2009. They are all related to health but not necessarily eating because we are not only about what we put in our mouths (even though sometimes it seems that way).

1. Give Up Bottled Drinks to Save the Planet and Your Waistline

The only thing that I drink in a bottle is the water that I put in it. While this doesn't make me perfect (darn), it helps me maintain a healthy weight and I feel good about not contributing to the massive number of bottles going into the waste stream. I am also not consuming the extra calories from sweetened drinks. The current estimate is that Americans are getting one-third of their calories from drinks. That fact amazes me. So switch to water, and put it in your stainless steel or glass bottle. Or make your own tea and put it in there. At home or work, drink tea or Teecino. One cup of coffee a day is probably OK (but not for me).

NOTE: According to my RD friend and colleague, Jeff Novick, MS, RD, LD/N, the 1/3 of calories may be an overestimate. Jeff says that it could be anywhere from 250 to possibly 600 calories a day consumed from drinks. Just one 12 ounce soda, and most these days are in the 16 to 24+ ounce range, has 140 high fructose corn syrup calories. You can do the math.

2. Pay Attention to What you Put in Your Mouth, and Forget the Diets

In a few weeks I will be presenting a program called Diets Don't Work. I truly believe this. I also believe that we are all different, and that what works for me, not might work for you. I can tell you, though, that choosing unprocessed food is always the best choice. Since life isn't perfect, sometimes you'll have to make choices other than the best ones. In those cases, do the best that you can. Planning helps a lot. I notice that I tend to eat whatever is in the house. So, pay attention to what you buy on a regular basis. You know that I am always going to recommend that you have lots of vegetables around -- fresh or frozen are best, except for corn and tomatoes, in which case canned is OK.

3. Change Your Attitude (if and when you need to)

What you think about what happens is your only reality. If you think something is bad, or you cheated, or ___________ (fill in the blank), that's how it is. Take a deep breath and step back to assess the situation. I often realize that things could often be worse. And I told myself this even when everything was wiped off my hard drive on my computer (twice last year). If your glass is half-empty, get a new glass or a new way of looking at your glass. We are all lucky, just not every day. My favorite saying, "Things always work out, they just don't always work out the way that you thought that they would."

4. Learn to stretch

I do yoga on a regular basis. The stretching that I am referring to has to do with both my mind and my body. Even if you start by devoting just 5 minutes a day to warming up your muscles and giving your back a good stretch, you will benefit. After 13 years of doing yoga every week, my back is in pretty good shape, and when it gets out of alignment, a good twist will often get things back to "normal" (eliminating a trip to the chiropractor). So, really the recommendation, is change your "normal" so that it includes stretching every day.

5. Move, Learn, Love and Laugh More

Very few people exercise too much so if you can squeeze in a little more movement, do it. But don't fall into the trap of saying, "I worked out so now I can eat ice cream, cookies, have a beer, or ??" That doesn't work. You're not fooling your body.

Learn something new as often as you can by reading, listening, watching and interacting with others. The interaction is good no matter how you get it but if you're just sitting at the computer, it can be a pain in the butt. Live interaction is good.

They say that the people who live the longest after chronic illness such as heart disease are the ones who have the best support systems. So, connect with other people in whatever way you can. There are a few older men that I see at the farmer's market twice a week. I know that they go there as much to socialize as to shop. And that's good. I always stop and say hello and have a conversation if I have the time. (Now I know why a trip there takes so darned long, it's all those men...) Appreciate the people in your life, have gratitude for what you've got and spread the love.

I almost forgot laughter but I believe it may be the best medicine since it's free and you decide whether or not to take it. Figure out what makes you laugh and find it. Read jokes, comic strips (Dan Piraro is not only a nice guy but a vegan artist who writes the strip Bizarro. Many of those make me laugh.), movies, watch comedy, listen to my friend Jeff Novick give one of his nutrition presentations, laugh at yourself, watch You Tube videos -- or whatever gets your funny bone twitching. I always feel better after I laugh, especially at myself or from a funny movie (sight gags really get me). Whoop it up today.

For more specific eating tips, check out this newsletter by friend and fellow dietitian and health coach Kathy Nichols.

I hope that your 2009 got off to a great start, if not start over.

Did you know that you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on one of the boxes on the right hand side of the page? Then you'll get all the blog updates.

Stevia Approved for use In Soda

You will see the new Coke soon with stevia. I am not sure how this will affect the soda drinking public but we shall see, likely a few years from now. This blog post chronicles the history of sweeteners. It's very interesting.

I say, drink water, drink tea, drink juice and stay away from soda, unless you've fermented it yourself. To find out more about that, check out how to make your own root beer.

Learning to eat and drink real foods is vitally important to your health. Choose whole foods most often, especially during this chaotic season.

A good dose of garlic, hot chilies, shiitake mushrooms and miso in some combination will likely do you good.

My Japanese Food Week with Natto and Shoyu

As if using fresh yuba (the soybean skin) in my cooking wasn't exciting enough for me, I got an invitation from one of my former students who is Japanese to try natto, a traditionally fermented soybean product. I have mentioned before, or at least I think that I have, that eating fermented foods is a good thing.

And I may have even possibly posted about trying natto once before. I said that it was right up there with one of the 10 most disgusting foods that I have ever had. Well, I need to rescind my comment on natto. I tried frozen natto and it was beyond gross and smelly.

The natto that I tried today, produced here in the United States, just 10 minutes from where I live, in Sonoma County, is a very different food product. It doesn't have a ton of flavor and certainly not one that I would consider disgusting. I must point out that the texture is certainly not something most Americans are used to, as it is a bit gummy. I was told that the stickiness contains that nattokinase which is the beneficial part of the natto. The soybeans used in this natto are non-GMO beans from North Dakota that are not like any soybean that I have ever seen or used, they are much smaller.

Traditionally natto is eaten daily on top of rice with shoyu and mustard or wasabi, often for breakfast. I tried my natto with some shoyu and ate it on a lettuce leaf. It was delicious and a most interesting appetizer -- very fresh.

This brings me to shoyu -- I happened to be at http://www.gourmet-natto.com/ when there were some Japanese visitors who own a shoyu plant in Japan. I left with a small bottle of 2 year old shoyu, made without water. This is not what we usually see here in the US, unless you spend more money on your soy sauce, which I occasionally do. I actually use tamari, not soy sauce, since I know that it's usually a higher quality than the brown stuff in bottles.

I met with Minami and Shun and it was a great pleasure. I learned more about Japanese foods in one short visit with them than I had anticipated. I cannot wait to have my students try natto to see what they think. And I may have to take a trip to San Francisco to get some special Japanese products. Minami told me that he knows one of the best tofu makers in Japan. Perhaps I should just resurrect my idea of the Tofu Tour to Japan. Are you interested? Let me know by posting a comment here.

Today a Rainbow, Yesterday a Sun Shower, What's Next?

I know that this post might not seem like it has anything to do with food or eating but it, of course, does. I love rainbows. Seeing them seems almost like a miracle to me. They are always there but don't often show themselves. Well, vegetables seem to me to be another type of miracle. You can take one seed and produce an entire plant, that yields multiple fruit, grains, nuts, beans -- whatever happens to be growing. Now, this is obviously an entirely different animal than a cow, goat, pig, chicken or even a human being. How on earth can one seed carry so much potential?


It boggles my mind. And that's what rainbows do for me -- give me a new perspective. And yesterday when there was a brief sun shower but not a cloud in the sky that was interesting. Thankfully I was in Petaluma, a small city, and there were other people who were also looking skyward to see where the water was coming from, otherwise I might have been completely baffled.


And my rainbow today occurred when there is no rain, just a large cloud and then sun's rays from which it could reflect. All this as our harvest season winds down, and I have tomatoes, figs and peaches drying in the dehydrator. I'm savoring the last of the green beans, summer squash and eggplant. The wonders of nature are inspiring but especially the vegetables.

Why Sauerkraut? And other probiotic questions.

I read an article yesterday that in a poll of 1000 people in the US only 15% had any idea of what probiotics are, and my guess is that many have heard the word but are still unsure of what these living marvels do.


This means that there are far too many people who just don't know that eating live food can make a difference in their life. (But that's because so many Americans eat food that's way beyond dead -- processed beyond recognition.)


Probiotics help populate your gut with beneficial bacteria -- the stuff that's supposed to be there, that sometimes gets wiped out by antibiotics or GI disturbances. Also, there are prebiotics, which help keep your system healthy, in beans, whole grains and other vegetarian foods.


The other day I made sauerkraut. It is incredibly easy to do. And today I am eating some delicious pink kraut, that didn't cost me $10 per pint, which I just verified at the store today. Mine cost me $2.50 for the cabbage and I ended up with 2 pints, which is quite a savings. And where shall I spend what I've saved, I keep asking myself.


But back to the kraut. I did not grow up eating this stuff. And, in fact, since I don't eat hot dogs or sausages, which is what I think most people do with sauerkraut, I have to find other ways to use it.


One of the best, to my taste, is to mix it with cooked brown rice and vegetables. It's best if there's ginger or hot peppers in the mix. The cool and sour of the kraut, is a great complement in this simple-foods dish. I must admit that I first had something similar at Cafe Gratitude which was called The Macro Bowl (but of course, it had a name something like I AM LOVED or GRATEFUL).


A daily dose of sauerkraut will likely help keep your system populated with the good guy bacteria. And it will keep you healthier. If you want to know more about making sauerkraut and other fermented foods, check out http://www.wildfermentation.com/. Sandorkraut tells all.

Here's to your health and the health of your gut. Isn't that where your intuition lies?

Jeff Novick Entertains at McDougall Advanced Study Weekend

Today I had the chance to listen to my fellow Registered Dietitian, colleague and friend Jeff Novick as he presented at the McDougall program to a group of about 100 very interested people. Jeff is very funny. And he also provides a lot of useful information.

His talk today was on label reading and why you want and need to avoid processed and packaged foods. He explained that most of what you read on a label is a lie, and it is really your responsibility to learn how to judge a product. His rules were simple, and I won't repeat them in case you get the chance to hear Jeff speak. I don't want to ruin your fun or his.


The one thing that he did discuss that I want to echo is about sodium in the diet. He provided the following statistics:

• 77% of the sodium in your diet comes from processed and restaurant food


• 12% occurs naturally in food


• 5% is from what you use in cooking


• 6% is added at your table

So you can see that eating at home cooked food and adding a bit of salt is just fine. One of my biggest complaints about eating in restaurants is that the food is too salty for me. I'd rather undersalt and then add a sprinkle on top, where you can really taste it.

I am going to be carrying a line of seasonings in adjustable grinders that contain salt and seasonings. They are perfect for boosting flavor in a big way.

Eating real food at home is the ideal way to get what you need nutritionally and for taste.

Considering Blackberries

Throughout the summer I think about blackberries because they grow wild where I live. They are an amazing plant with a good defense. You likely know the saying that the best offense is a good defense. Well, blackberries have it down.

I see the green berries forming early in the summer, and watch the vines grow long and thorny. Then when the fruit is ripe, the vines get incredibly unruly and tangled so that picking the berries can be a painful affair. The vines snake across the path and even up into trees -- they are good at movement for something without legs.


There are 2 kinds of blackberries that grow here -- one is large and the other is small. And when they are ripe, they are equally as delicious. When they're not quite ripe, and picked by mistake, they are both sour. They're always full of fiber which means that they have seeds although when dead-ripe and almost falling off the plant, the berry seems to just melt in my mouth. This is the exception, not the rule.


Some of the best berries are hard to get to or hidden high in a tree. I'm short so they are a challenge to pick but worth it.

And as I worked on this blog post, I came across a link to a rat study recently done on black raspberries and their anticancer effect http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/mediaroom/press/article.cfm?ID=4214. That fruit likely contains the same kind of antioxidant activity as blackberries. So eat them up, when you can easily get to them.

Cucumber Show and Tell

It's so much fun to do show and tell with adults. I just had the chance to do that with 7 kinds of cucumbers that I brought just for that purpose. Let's see if I can name them here:

1. Armenian


2. Striped Armenian or painted serpent


3. Suyo long (Japanese)


4. lemon


5. New Zealand (whitish yellow)


6. Pearl (white)


7. pickling

I, of course, could have also included an English cuke and a regular supermarket type, or a Greek if I had been at the previous Saturday market to buy one. So I guess that I could have gone as high as 10 different cucumbers. And if I had my Amira growing this year, or the Indian type that I grew last year, it could have been even more. Amazing, I think.

After the cucumber show and tell, I got people to taste a delicious purple kohlrabi. One of the people told me that she'd seen the kohlrabi before but thought that it looked weird so didn't want to buy it. Now, she'd changed her mind.

I so enjoy having people try a new-to-them vegetable, turning them into converts. Those are wonderful a-ha moments. And I am sure to have many more in the future. I hope that you will, too.

Nature's Treats While Walking the Dog

I get up and walk my dog every morning when I am at home. I love the ritual of doing it -- most of the time. I walk no matter what -- cold, hot, rainy, windy, sunny, foggy or anything else. I'd have to say that I most enjoy walking the dog when we both have our needs met.

This morning was a perfect example of that. Bear wants to sniff, take care of bodily functions and eat as much oat grass as he can find. I, on the other hand, want to get a bit of exercise, observe nature and forage for wild fruit, and eat s much as I can get my hands on while walking a dog.

Today was glorious as it's a bit overcast, which is much better than 80+ degrees at 7 a.m., and cooler. Before we even hit the creek path, I had picked a ripe blackberry (notice the restraint here -- just 1 blackberry), followed by an unctuous ripe fig from a tree that I affectionately refer to a "my fig tree", which just happens to be on someone else's property and hangs on the side of the fence that I can get to. Now, if I were only taller I could get more figs. And, if I didn't have the dog with me, I could really stop and pick. But 1 ripe fig was absolutely wonderful, and a good way to start out.

As Bear found one of the few patches of green oat grass,, I spied a small, ripe, dark red wild plum which I picked and ate. Delicious. But Bear did not want to leave his oat grass eating and move on. I said, "Bear, I think that you are more into eating grass than I am into picking fruit." He was now chewing on dead grass. But then, I realized that he was done with grass-eating and I would continue to consume small amounts of fruit throughout the walk, as I found it: a few more blackberries, a yellow wild plum, a pinkish wild plum and then the path ended. So, my fruit escapades were done.

Throughout the walk, I reflected on nature's abundance and how we need to appreciate it. It became apparent to me that eating refined sugar is not a good option when you can eat real fruit and have it be so satisfying. I do eat foods containing sugar occasionally but they just don't compare to what our mother has to offer. Please keep this in mind.

And if you get a chance to walk a dog, have a good time while you're doing it. It could change the way that you see the world. It has for me, and for that, I thank Bear.

I Can Make You Thin But Why Would I Want to?

Last night I watched the I Can Make You Thin show on TV. The host Paul McKenna is a PhD, a hypnotist, and England's top selling non-fiction author. He has 4 golden rules for eating and he didn't make them up -- I probably did 20+ years ago. They are:

• Eat when you are hungry
• Eat what you want
• Eat consciously
• When you think you are full, STOP eating

He tells people to put down their forks and chew their food thoroughly. This is all sensible info. But he's lying about making people thin, and I don't think that is so important. Being thin isn't what counts -- it's being healthy and loving yourself, no matter what weight you are. If you are exercising and eating right, chances are you can lose weight and get to your ideal body weight, which might not make you thin.

I don't think that thin is your target. Not everyone ought to be thin, and some of us have it easier than others in the being thin department. But don't let that fool you because even some people who are thin (like moi) have been heavier at times in the past. 6 months or a year of inattentive eating does lead to weight gain. The same is true once you start paying attention -- the pounds can and will come off.

And no one is likely to dispute that eating lots of vegetables can help lead you down the thinner-than-thou road. Give it a try -- and fore go the Ranch dressing, unless you must, be do it consciously.

The Veggie Queen's Husband's Secrets for Health

The other morning my husband said, "I know that I haven't gotten sick because of vegetables, fruit and my medicinal mushroom capsules. And you can blog about it."


Everyone in my husband's office has been sick with some cold, other virus or the flu. Somehow my husband, who doesn't eat nearly as well as I do, has managed to ward off those bad bugs. He has been taking Mushroom Science medicinal mushroom capsules for almost a year now. They stimulate your immune system to keep it healthy at a very deep level.

Hubby has managed to stay healthier than most years by doing this - repelling almost every illness that has swept through his office. In addition to the better eating, he also takes a packet of Emergen-C each morning in the cold months, and Omega-3 capsules each day. That's the formula that is working for him. He also strives to eat at least 9 servings of vegetables and fruit daily, which he does often but not always.

His other self-care technique is using the neti pot daily with a special sinus salt that contains essential oils. And when it feels as if something is about to get him, he uses Sinus Buster with echinacea which is an intense but amazing product.

In addition to any of these things, I also suggest washing your hands more often than you think that you need to at this time of year. And take a few minutes each day for some relaxation and breathing.

I could go on and on about self-care techniques that might work but for now, I'm just happy to my husband has made a connection between what he puts in his mouth and his health.