Foodies Avenues

A Holiday Ham, Turkey, Duck or ?

2011-12-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

What will you be serving this Holiday ? Will it be the same traditional fare as last year and the year before that or will it embrace a new cultural cuisine due to diet changes, family interacial relationships or just mere curiosity with a need to explore outside of the traditional holiday fares ?

I say yes to experimenting although we will be serving some of the traditional palatte pleasing holiday foods. There will be honey-baked ham, jellied whole cranberries, fresh baked apples, I am hoping for some type of squash pureed with marshmallows whipped into them, shrimp, a few cheeses like brie, camembert, a little Cotswold Chunk, garlic and cheese biscuits, maybe even some ham-spread on toast points, and perhaps some left over oysters that won't make it into the bread all natural stuffing for either turkey, duck or pheasant you'll serve.

The menu is up to you and I would love to read what you will be serving and since it is only less than 10 days away, lets correspond quickly !

Have a very Happy Holiday,
sharing the light,
Erica the ~enlightenment advisor

2010-12-29T14:19:00.000-08:00

If you wish to indulge in healthy tasty foods, read on . . .

Red Yeast Rice

mini pecan personal pies

Cholesterol busting

safe holiday candy

Circus crackers

aged SWISS CHEESE

Expensive but makes an Italian meal !!

Thank you for reading and happy holidays to ALL !

Humans aren't the only creatures who get hungry

2010-12-29T13:21:00.000-08:00

For the best SALMON Entree your cat will appreciate,
I highly recommend this, its the cats meow I hear . . .

Fixin it Hot, Fixin it SAFE !

2010-01-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

A hearty and all natural dinner with Carroll Shelby's Texas Chili

Product Review

When it is colder than 40 degrees this household of creative inspirationalists experiment with hearty stews, chili, soups and casseroles. This week it was a stew-meat ground beef chili with a 'special ingredient' that made it oh so hot inside while it was oh so cold outside.

The chef also known as sync_ron_icity on the web likes to veer from the traditional recipes and create his own; of course Carroll Shelby offers him the base foundation. I am thrilled especially that this food product is made without ANY FD&C dyes, NONE and that is very nutritionally and psychologically re-assuring. Paprika in which much of the redness is accounted for besides the cayenne which is a deep reddish-brown, offers a bland if not sharp spice to the tongue when tasted as a stand-alone spice. But when added just right, makes this chili perfect.

So this is safe food and made to enjoy without the frills. The recipe is located below:

| Sync_ron_icity’s Version |

Staple components for this meal:

3- to 3 and ½ pounds of meat (ground AND stew pieces)
Three 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 8 ounce can of tomato paste
3 sliced in half Roma tomatoes
5 full garlic cloves whole and peeled
2 small onions cut in quarters
Two 8 ounce cans of diced or stewed tomatoes
1 knife-tip drop of ‘special ingredient’ (review soon to be)
1 box of Carroll Shelby’s Original Texas Chili
*patience, skill and an extreme regard for the digestive tracts of loved ones

There is a secret to his chili being the best and without giving away his ‘million-dollar’ idea, I will advise use your best judgment about absorbability and the use of fresh versus canned items. There are ways to ruin a great pot of chili if one of the ingredients is added to early or one is added too late. So with that said sync_ron_icity just advises you tenderize first if individuals with sensitive gums and teeth want to appreciate their meal without frustration. Stew meat is difficult to purchase without having used it in several other preparations before. Learn what works best for you.

In your ceramic 6 quart casserole insert that fits inside a metal slow-cooker element, you can place the cloves of garlic peeled and whole with the onion pieces and fresh spices besides what is in here. He is not pleased about the oregano because this is NOT spaghetti sauce so the added ‘special ingredient’ replaces the distate and accentuates, I mean really accentuates a certain heat . . .

*If any of you wishing to marinate the stew meat in some spices and oil to tenderize can, we do not and sync_ron_icity only braises whatever meat or poultry he will use.

For this slow-cooker preparation, he braised the stew meat in a little canola oil for about 8 minutes flipping once. The pieces were small but for tenderizing, whack with mallet along the grain and pulverize if need be. He drains the fat from this pours the meat into awaiting vegetables of the slow-cooker now filled halfway to the top with the 3 cans (24 ounces of sauce), 2 cans of water, 3 sliced romas, 8 ounces of paste and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. About thirty minutes later the beans which are 32 ounces (2 16 ounce cans with the chili sauce in there) of chili beans by Bush are followed with browning in cumin or paprika the ground meat of whatever choice you have, we had lean 90% ground round and then adding this to the slow-cooker.

The rest of the creative inspiration is slowly and deliciously congealed by heat and cooking properties that occur in the marriage of vegetables, sauce, meat and beans. As with any marriage the appreciation of this one is not only it the satisfaction it delivers but the process in which it was performed, consumer-driven to succeed in fulfilling the hunger drive ! For about $3.50 you can feed your family of four for at least three days as a cup goes a very long way. Packaging of all material inside and out are recyclable so go ahead stock for winter cold and make it hot, inside !

For the unsafe food stuffs still being sold to you . . .

Do you trust what you eat is really safe?

We Will Boycott That Product Containing Hazardous Additives!

read Boycott FD&C here

Dangers of Aspartame--a known neurotoxin !

2010-01-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

I will get right to the point with this one--Equal Sweetener with Nutra Sweet is commonly added to coffee, teas, hot and cold beverages as well as now it can be used in baking and cooking. It dissolves very rapidly in both hot and cold beverages. I have never enjoyed the taste even remotely as it is yes sweet at first, but a very artificial metal-burnt tin kind of artificialness I just would rather be without.

Aspartame the ingredient in Nutra Sweet, chewing gum, multi-vitamins for your infants and toddlers, candies, breakfast bars, sodas, an endless list two miles long--this is a known neuro-toxin. If you do not believe me, go to your library, get online for chemical components of this stuff then take out a chemistry book and do some cross-referencing. You won't be happy with the results, I wasn't !

In experiments done on various lab animals it was discovered that this chemical induces mini-strokes or adverse reactions including dizziness, severe headaches, nausea, black-outs, memory loss, bleeding in the brain and is PROVEN to cause brain tumors, various cancers and even a myriad of cognitive dysfunctions associated with autism spectrum disorders. Still want to consume something with Aspartame in it ?

Did you know that when Aspartame was first discovered being used in the food and beverage industry, it was listed as a bio-chemical warfare agent by the Pentagon. So why is this stuff being continued to get added to hundreds of consummable products ? I have a suggestion not just a rant, should you or one of your loved ones come down with a sudden unexplainable symptom or unusual reaction to something ingested, take note of it. I encourage for this to be dealt with intellectually, please begin keeping a food mood journal which can pinpoint certain reactions to this particular sweetener. The occurance should be seen as a pattern and able to be stopped with no longer ingesting aspartame. I am looking into reversing the damage but have yet to find something or I would offer the therapy.

In the meantime, folks just read your labels !!! Make sure if you or a loved one has a reaction, contact a poison control center and go to your nearest hospital. Early on see the symptoms from ingestion and begin removing this stuff out of your diet if you use it.

Many sudden deaths in children have been linked to aspartame laced sodas. This substance has also been linked to Fibramyalgia, MS, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Parkinson like symptoms and complications in Diabetic patients. The list goes on and on.

I strongly recommend searching the internet for information on this and your local library and talking with other parents on the known side effects of aspartame. I am not going to give you advice on asking your doctor because he or she is inside BIG PHARMAS pocket and it really won't do you any good with someone who is so strongly backed by our messed up govt officials. My body system cannot metabolize effectively the refined white processed and bleached sugar but I choose raw cane, some have a problem with that as well. But heck that is natural baby and this is not !

"Recent Independent Aspartame Research Results & News"

Here is the link:

Aspartame News

Sugar is not bad for you, Really . . .

2009-12-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

Update as of 12/15/11-- It seems since this post was written, a few too many tooth abscesses were ocurring and sluggish-ness was not appreciated. Since this post, I went two more weeks liking the raw cane and a few months later, being the dumb-ass for it. Body acts differently and age told me, find a different sugar as your teeth need help. Well Xylitol and plant sugars that are different in chemical composition than glucose, have been replacing the favorites of yesteryear . . .

Raw unprocessed and un-refined non-chlorinated or bleached sugar can be healthier for some people but again not so much for all. I used to prefer and thought my body did too any raw cane sugar because it was less harsh on my system.

PAST of 1995-2007-- As some of you readers may know, and those newbies that do not, I suffer from an over-production of estrogen in which sugar based anything tends to cause a healthy environment for ovarian cysts. Well we don't want a healthy environment for those but rather for our better selves. Since I took into consideration that also synthetic birth control and junk food high in both msg and artificial colorings and flavorings had created a cesspool in my reproductive organs, I began my transformation and modified my diet drastically.

I discovered that in disciplining myself through weening my body off those nasty things, I could get cyst free and stronger; although I did not anticipate so much weight loss. I am skinny but not so drastically that it is just mere skeleton, but much slimmer than in my late 20's and early 30's. The weight loss comes with avoiding at all costs monosodium glutamate, refined and chlorinated bleached sugar, and not using any synthetic birth control. Course at my age, a nice young 43, the last one is not a problem as pregnancy is slim after 38 especially with a history of ovarian cysts and endometriosis on my maternal side. All these factor in and getting back to why 'raw sugar' is better and healthier is because it actually metabolizes properly and hardly leaves a residue for bacterium to cling to.

This is important and tasty to know, huh ? I thought so . . . Any questions ?

Safety first in Foodies 101

2009-12-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Does the safety of the food you need to survive concern you ?

It should . . .

There is a very wrong practise being exercised by major food and cosmetic industries across the United States. The adding of hazardous fully-disclosed carcinogenic material specifically Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and more importantly the 'lake artificial dyes'. This is definitely a habit our manufacturers need to cease doing. The harmful, brain-damaging effects of most of the 'lake' agents such as FD&C (standing for Federal Food and Drug Commission) yellow 5, 6, and Reds #4, 34 and 40 are real issues that are not being dealt with accordingly. The data on what SLS or SLES containing products do to further destroy the cognitive resources, is neurologically frightening. Why do you suppose there is such a myriad of cognitive disorders based on evidence of lower intelligent quotients and increased hyperactivity levels in individuals and children who appear otherwise, normal ?

I am citing this in a copy/paste fashion to further elaborate my thoughts on and seek yours . . .

"Both Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and its close relative Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to "foam up". Both chemicals are very effective foaming agents, chemically known as surfactants."(1)

" . . ."there are over 150 different names by which it is known. Now why confuse the average consumer, mom or dad ? In fact, SLES is commonly contaminated with dioxane, a known carcinogen"(2)

So why are we allowing this to be added again ?

This particular problem, adding of a surfectant like SLS or SLES is causing scalp damage for me. This is what makes this particular blogpost more personal. I want parents of small infants and children, who are seeking safer products for their newborns and toddlers delicate little bodies and minds, to be "WELL INFORMED". I discovered that even 'no more tears' Johnson Shampoo for babies was creating some itchy spots on my scalp that were reinforcing the need to scratch. When scratched, it blleds. When left alone awhile, it dries and adheres to the hairshaft suffocating any real nurturing a natural product can offer. The sodium laureth sulfate used to make the shampoos lather well does work well for that job; however the residue I build up using these shampoos, is not being removed by the cleansing and debriding a shampoo is meant for and my scalp health suffers.

I now come at a difficult crossroads because many of the products we eat and use for beauty and cleansing do contain dangerous chemicals and artificial flavor and color dyes as well as SLS or SLES and finding more than one or two that do not will be a challenge. I am on a new quest before I feature products that contain hazardous un-safe agents in our foods or cosmetics, let me do more research on those that are truly 'SAFETY FIRST in FOODIES 101.

I shall return . . . the Enlightenment Advisor, miss erica hidvegi

taken from<1)(2)InfoCentre

Food is a source of info and energy, an avenue of self exploration into health, wealth and . . .

2009-12-04T12:22:00.000-08:00

The avenue of food is one that most people take seriously due in part to the famous slogan, 'you are what you eat'. It is one I travel on with exuberance and caution due to a diet that manifested in a few health problems over the course of four decades. I am slender yet still rather healthy looking when I see myself in a mirror. Some males who prefer a larger more curvaceous woman might not appreciate the super-slimness, yet I take stock in what I am rather than what they want me to be.

I attribute most of my slimness to only eating when hungry, cutting out all refined processed foods specifically those loaded with msg (monosodium glutamate --bad reaction to this but thats a separate blog post) or white refined sugar. I also cut out heavy liquors and add a red wine usually a bottle lasting 3 months. Our family keeps the pantry stocked with legummes, nuts, and no hazardous chemical-added canned goods while the fridge is stocked (when affordable) with fresh veggies, a variety of cheeses, breads, no more lunchmeats, and fruit. You might find some dessert item home made or as close to healthy, store purchased.

Our food is what makes or breaks us during the time we are up and functioning with the rest of the chaos in the world. So it is important to travel the avenue with some sense behind what goes in the alimentary canal. My mother, bless her heart, is very ingredient-conscious now since I have been researching heavily the influences on our brain and overall development psychologically when looking at what we eat and how much is used or abused by the body system. The addition of hazardous artificial colorings or texturing improvements are DANGEROUS. Our food as well as our local grocery stores are being scrutinized more directly as we as consumers should not tolerate unsafe foodstuffs. All in all one should factor in bloodtypes, bodytypes and ability to metabolize effectively so that what you eat that is safe, nutritious and delicious is right for you exclusively. No person is really exactly the same in value obtained from the food they eat although similars Like-minded individuals compatible with one another tend to navigate to a palatte of mutual yumminess !

Food is supposed to be nutritious and delicious--never say can't be both until you have experimented with different raw spices and fresh produce ! I get to assist in some of the menu preparing and when I do a fusion of exotic and simple combine and the bland becomes wonderful. If bitter sets you off with greens, add a little raw cane sugar or beet juice and WOW the veggies that Popeye ate besides spinach are to just fall over and beg for . . .

So travel with me through these blogposts of foodies on an avenue of exploration into why, when, where and what is it about the food we eat that makes us so unique !
sharing the light,
miss erica hidvegi,
the Enlightenment Advisor
my web4you