Dirt! The Movie

Next time you are wondering what to watch over the weekend, check out the trailer below for: Dirt! The Movie. ~ check Net Flicks live streaming or your local library for some great food for thought.

About the ultimate natural resource of all life on earth.  "Yet most humans ignore, abuse, and destroy our most precious living natural resource. Consider the results of such behavior: mass starvation, drought, floods, and global warming, and wars. If we continue on our current path, Dirt might find another use for humans, as compost for future life forms."

DIRT! The Movie brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impacts of soil.

If you take anything away from this film, know that we’re all in it together. The benefits of fertile soil are available for all of us to enjoy and the responsibility rests on all of us to take care of it. 

Insurance companies pulling the plug on kids!

  In September 2010, when we first staring writing this journal, a health reform mandate took effect requiring insurance companies to cover children with pre-existing medical conditions until the age of 19.  To lessen their burden, insurance companies have realized a way out: drop offering all child-only plans. Reportedly, at least six large insurers, including Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna and Humana have stopped offering policies to children who are not covered by their parents' policy. The LA Times reported that as many as half a million kids will be affected by this move.

Of course there was an uproar over this change of policy.  However, instead of spending time and energy being frustrated and angry with the insurance industry or our government, we thought we would be practical and do something worthwhile with our time by looking at the more serious problem of the worsening health of American children in general; we need to get to the bottom of this problem and focus on reversing this epidemic.  Kids must start eating healthy food to avoid sickness and disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, auto-immune diseases and behavioral disorders, which are all on the rise and have been linked time and time again to bad diet and poor lifestyle habits.

We want to remind people again that we don't need to depend on insurance policies to provide a sound and good future for our kids. We need to set them up so that they won't need to rely on the healthcare industry. The magic cure for true health and well-being for kids today is parental awareness and involvement. Parents must lead by example. Kids want to be healthy! 

Who wants to live the rest of their lives fat, sickly, uncomfortable and feeling misunderstood and alone? 

The problem with kids today is ~ they are slowly eating themselves to death. Please take a few minutes to watch this very informative ABC news report. Note that this report was done in 2003. The state of our children's health has only deteriorated since then.  There needs to be a dramatic change...NOW.

We are what we eat. Click here for How to Build Your Immune System Naturally with Recipes.

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 cup organic all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 4 tablespoons cold organic unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large organic egg
• 2 tablespoons organic 2% milk

For the Filling:

• 2 small organic russet potatoes
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
• 5 medium organic carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons organic all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup organic 2% milk
• 3 stalks organic celery, sliced
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie organic chicken, skin removed
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt "Total" 
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Prepare the crust: Pulse the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter, one piece at a time, pulsing until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Separate the egg; refrigerate the egg white. Beat the egg yolk and milk in a bowl, then add to the food processor, pulsing until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the filling: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prick the potatoes with a fork and bake directly on the oven rack until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly, then peel and break into small pieces.

Bring the chicken broth, carrots and thyme to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook 2 minutes; cover and keep warm. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the milk, celery, potato pieces and the warm broth mixture and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chicken, yogurt, peas and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the filling to a 2-quart casserole dish. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick and slightly larger than the dish. Beat the reserved egg white in a bowl; brush over the dough and season with salt and pepper. Press the dough against the sides of the dish. Place on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Per serving (1 cups): Calories 482; Fat 19 g (Saturated 8 g); Cholesterol 137 mg; Sodium 795 mg; Carbohydrate 47 g; Fiber 5 g; Protein 31 g

About trans fats, saturated fats & partially hydrogenated fats

Trans fats, saturated fats and hydrogenated fats promote inflammation and raise total blood cholesterol levels and are strongly linked with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, many types of cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Why then, do manufacturers of food continue to use these disease-promoting fats? MONEY, why else! These fats increase the shelf life of their food products, even though they are decreasing the life of the unsuspecting consumers who continue to eat their extremely unhealthy products.

Trans-fatty acids are especially bad for health. They are found mainly in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, snack foods, processed foods, and many fried foods. They raise the bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and lower the good (HDL) in our bodies.

Saturated fats are found mainly in animal fats ~ in meat (including poultry), whole-milk dairy products, egg yolks, and to a lesser degree, seafood. Some plant foods such as coconut and palm oil are also high in saturated fats.

Partially hydrogenated fats act like and are as disease-promoting as saturated fats.

The American Heart Association now recommends cutting saturated fats to less than 7% of total calories and trans fats to less than 1%!

Most people eat 4 times as much saturated fat than trans fats and will not calculate these bad fats in their daily diet ~ so the best ways to cut them out are:

• Cut down on fried foods and commercially made cookies, cakes, crackers and snack foods.  If the label lists 'hydrogenated' or 'partially hydrogenated', avoid it!  Stay away from foods that contain more than 3 gms of trans fats or saturated fats per serving ~ the lower the better.
• Cut down on meat and dairy products as well as tropical oils (coconut & palm.)

Scientists at Wake Forest University found that diets rich in trans fats may cause the redistribution of fat tissue to the abdomen (the worst place to store fat for health & appearance) and lead to a higher body weight, even when the calorie intake is the same.

People work SO hard at losing weight via exercise and diet. It is a matter of controlling what you eat, not neccessarily how much!

Year of the Dragon

Today begins the highly anticipated Year of the Dragon.

The dragon is the only animal that is legendary in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. It is the mightiest sign, symbolizing dominance, ambition, good fortune and intense power. 

We hope that opening our first green2go restaurant & marketplace during this esteemed year is a sign of all the good things to come. We know that our restaurants will work to make truly healthy eating easy for all ~ so that we may live happily and comfortably to enjoy many more years of the dragon!

Custom dictates that most families begin the first day of Chinese New Year with a vegetarian meal to counteract the effects of the excessive feasting on New Year's Eve.

The meat-free meal is also considered fortuitous for attracting good karma by refraining from eating anything that has been killed.

Here's to a new year and to Meatless Mondays all year long!