A friend and I were in the hospital this weekend visiting someone who is quite ill. As a result of his illness, he's having difficulties eating and he's lost a significant amount of weight. In order to give him an alternative to the "food" the hospital provides (namely Ensure and unidentifiable pureed stuff that made us both gag upon looking at it), I made some brown rice cream that we brought in for him.
Brown rice cream is rice that is cooked for a long time with significantly more water than normal, and then the cream is squeezed from the pulp through cheesecloth to leave a very nourshing and comforting result. It's beneficial for people who are having trouble swallowing, digesting, or who are very sick and weak.
Because our friend was so weak, we had to feed him spoonfuls of the brown rice cream. The change was amazing! He became more coherent in speech, more active and aware, and then slept more soundly when he fell asleep. The nurse's aid came in to take his blood pressure, and this had normalized since the previous measurements which had been too low.
It was truly remarkable to see!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
can't imagine life without whole foods
Whoever said that eating healthy was boring? I absolutely LOVE being macrobiotic!! It's so much fun to prepare artful meals and share them with others. The best part is to see how happy people feel after a macrobiotic quality meal.
What's for breakfast?
The wedding I catered was a brunch set on the beach in Hawaii Kai. One of the dishes was Tofu Florentine that had a tofu hollandaise sauce on top.
Blessed to live in Hawaii
We enjoyed 100% vegan chocolate, coconut date, and carrot walnut cupcakes at a wedding I recently catered. See my website for more photos at www.macrobiotichawaii.bravehost.com/photos.htm.
Hijiki Tartlet
When I got home last night, I was inspired to try some new dishes, and stopped to get some little tart pans at a great store called Executive Chef on my way. I made a delcious oat, walnut, brown rice and whole wheat pastry flour crust and sprayed some olive oil into the tart pans before filling them with the dough. After this, I made hijiki with corn, scallions, apple juice, onions, carrot and ginger, and on top, piped some carrot tofu sauce. They are really hard to keep from popping into your mouth!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Frankenfish in the ocean
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FISH ESCAPE INTO THE WILD"The result of these weaknesses is that the extent of research under way in Canada and any accidental release of (genetically engineered) fish may not be fully known." Statement in a Canadian Government Audit released this week that reveals lax regulations have allowed untold numbers of experimental frankenfish to escape unreported into natural waterways. http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10823.cfm
Toxic Plastic Soup
DISTURBING NEWS OF THE WEEK: TOXIC SOUP OF PLASTIC TWICE THE SIZE OF U.S. FORMS IN OCEAN
The University of Hawaii is set to launch an expedition with the goal of confirming a new trash "continent" in the Pacific Ocean. A vast expanse of floating trash has been collecting in the Pacific Ocean into a mass that scientists are now referring to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The thick mass of plastic soup, located approximately 500 miles east of California, is now reported to be twice the size of the Unites States. The collection of debris comes as no surprise to experts in this area. According to a recent report from the UN Environment Programme, on a global level, each square mile of ocean water contains an average of 46,000 pieces of floating garbage. Learn more: http://alerts.organicconsumers.org/trk/click?ref=zqtbkk3um_1-118x3236x3355345&
And a reply came in after posting the message above:
Hey Naturally,
Saw your site had previously posted about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch out in the middle of the oceanic desert so I wanted to send this along.
At VBS.tv we had read all the articles about this environmental problem but didn't see much in the way of video. So curiosity and the challenge compelled us west to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to show what other people had only been writing about. We go all the way out ( 2 straight days on a sail boat) expecting to see a floating dump, looking for our money shot that will make us famous.
Here's the bad news, there is no money shot. What people don't get is that it's not really a patch and it's not really an island, both of which you might be able to contain and control. No, what we found is much worse. It's like a gigantic toxic stew and it's a big big problem that we need to pay attention to now.
The series starts on April 7th on VBS. We decided to go against the conventional wisdom that internet video is for those with short attention spans, and are rolling out 12 episodes.
You can go here to view the trailer for Toxic: Garbage Island and follow the series - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/
The host, Thomas Morton, will be on CNN Headline News to discuss Toxic: Garbage Island: April 12th & 13th @ 7:30pm, 9:30pm and 12:30am if you find your self flipping through the channels.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Rory Ahearn
VICE/VBS.tv
All 12 Parts of Garbage Island + Special Bonus Episode on Bisphenol A on VBS.tv
Hey Earth Lovers,
Pardon the mass email. Well, it's been a long journey out into the Great Northwest Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean but our environmental oceanic Odyssey is complete. Now the hard part starts.
With Earth Day still recent but fading fast I just wanted to email you all and let you know that all 12 parts of Toxic: Garbage Island, plus a special bonus episode are up now on VBS. Education and awareness are the first steps we need to make if we are going to right this situation, people should not be able to claim ignorance anymore.
It's our mess and now we have to clean it up. The series has been a huge success thanks to all of you who talked about it or posted. Heck, we even got on CNN and ABC News.
You can watch all 12 episodes by going here: Toxic: Garbage Island on VBS.tv - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/
We also did a special bonus episode. An interview with Frederick Vom Saal, Ph.D on Bishpenol A which has been all over the news as of late with plastic drinking containers. Super disturbing.
Interview on Bisphenol A with Dr. Frederick Vom Saal - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1519713792
Want to see Thomas on CNN? - http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/04/14/ntm.garbage.island.cnn
Any recap post or just telling your friends to check out it would be awesome.
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to recycle,
Rory Ahearn
VICE/VBS.tv
The University of Hawaii is set to launch an expedition with the goal of confirming a new trash "continent" in the Pacific Ocean. A vast expanse of floating trash has been collecting in the Pacific Ocean into a mass that scientists are now referring to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The thick mass of plastic soup, located approximately 500 miles east of California, is now reported to be twice the size of the Unites States. The collection of debris comes as no surprise to experts in this area. According to a recent report from the UN Environment Programme, on a global level, each square mile of ocean water contains an average of 46,000 pieces of floating garbage. Learn more: http://alerts.organicconsumers.org/trk/click?ref=zqtbkk3um_1-118x3236x3355345&
And a reply came in after posting the message above:
Hey Naturally,
Saw your site had previously posted about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch out in the middle of the oceanic desert so I wanted to send this along.
At VBS.tv we had read all the articles about this environmental problem but didn't see much in the way of video. So curiosity and the challenge compelled us west to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to show what other people had only been writing about. We go all the way out ( 2 straight days on a sail boat) expecting to see a floating dump, looking for our money shot that will make us famous.
Here's the bad news, there is no money shot. What people don't get is that it's not really a patch and it's not really an island, both of which you might be able to contain and control. No, what we found is much worse. It's like a gigantic toxic stew and it's a big big problem that we need to pay attention to now.
The series starts on April 7th on VBS. We decided to go against the conventional wisdom that internet video is for those with short attention spans, and are rolling out 12 episodes.
You can go here to view the trailer for Toxic: Garbage Island and follow the series - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/
The host, Thomas Morton, will be on CNN Headline News to discuss Toxic: Garbage Island: April 12th & 13th @ 7:30pm, 9:30pm and 12:30am if you find your self flipping through the channels.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Rory Ahearn
VICE/VBS.tv
All 12 Parts of Garbage Island + Special Bonus Episode on Bisphenol A on VBS.tv
Hey Earth Lovers,
Pardon the mass email. Well, it's been a long journey out into the Great Northwest Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean but our environmental oceanic Odyssey is complete. Now the hard part starts.
With Earth Day still recent but fading fast I just wanted to email you all and let you know that all 12 parts of Toxic: Garbage Island, plus a special bonus episode are up now on VBS. Education and awareness are the first steps we need to make if we are going to right this situation, people should not be able to claim ignorance anymore.
It's our mess and now we have to clean it up. The series has been a huge success thanks to all of you who talked about it or posted. Heck, we even got on CNN and ABC News.
You can watch all 12 episodes by going here: Toxic: Garbage Island on VBS.tv - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/
We also did a special bonus episode. An interview with Frederick Vom Saal, Ph.D on Bishpenol A which has been all over the news as of late with plastic drinking containers. Super disturbing.
Interview on Bisphenol A with Dr. Frederick Vom Saal - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1519713792
Want to see Thomas on CNN? - http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/04/14/ntm.garbage.island.cnn
Any recap post or just telling your friends to check out it would be awesome.
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to recycle,
Rory Ahearn
VICE/VBS.tv
Consumer Alerts: Kind of shocking
CONSUMER ALERT:CANCER-CAUSING INGREDIENT FOUND IN LEADING "ORGANIC" & "NATURAL" PERSONAL CARE PRODCUTS
A newly released study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and overseen by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman (author of The Safe Shopper's Bible), revealed the presence of the undisclosed carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane in leading shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care and household cleaning products claiming to be "natural" or "organic". The study results, to be released this weekend at the Natural Products Expo in California, are already sending shockwaves through the "organic" and "natural" body care industry. Laboratory tests showed that products certified under the USDA National Organic Program DID NOT contain this toxin, but most of the best selling personal care products claiming to be "organic" (but not USDA certified) contained the cancer-causing ingredient. All leading self-proclaimed "organic" brands have at least a few individual "certified organic" ingredients, but for most of these top-selling brands, the product, as a whole, is not USDA organic certified, thereby allowing the presence of synthetic toxins. Similar studies have revealed the presence of this toxin in conventional personal care products, but this is the first study indicating the presence in misleadingly labeled "organic" and "natural" products. Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/comingclean.cfm
_______________________________
CONSUMER TIP OF THE WEEK:HOW TO AVOID 1,4-DIOXANE IN YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
Some of the products found to contain 1,4-Dioxane: JASON Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate Organics (see a full list of OCA's study results here)
Remember that just because a personal care product labels itself with the words "organic" or "certified organic" doesn't mean it meets any specified organic standards.
Look for products that are certified under the USDA National Organic Program (or a similar German program) and products that bear the "USDA Organic" seal.
Search product labels for ingredients with the following in their names to avoid products containing 1,4-Dioxane: myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other eth, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol.
In general, avoid products with unpronounceable ingredients to be sure to avoid synthetic toxins and carcinogens.
A newly released study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and overseen by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman (author of The Safe Shopper's Bible), revealed the presence of the undisclosed carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane in leading shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care and household cleaning products claiming to be "natural" or "organic". The study results, to be released this weekend at the Natural Products Expo in California, are already sending shockwaves through the "organic" and "natural" body care industry. Laboratory tests showed that products certified under the USDA National Organic Program DID NOT contain this toxin, but most of the best selling personal care products claiming to be "organic" (but not USDA certified) contained the cancer-causing ingredient. All leading self-proclaimed "organic" brands have at least a few individual "certified organic" ingredients, but for most of these top-selling brands, the product, as a whole, is not USDA organic certified, thereby allowing the presence of synthetic toxins. Similar studies have revealed the presence of this toxin in conventional personal care products, but this is the first study indicating the presence in misleadingly labeled "organic" and "natural" products. Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/comingclean.cfm
_______________________________
CONSUMER TIP OF THE WEEK:HOW TO AVOID 1,4-DIOXANE IN YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
Some of the products found to contain 1,4-Dioxane: JASON Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate Organics (see a full list of OCA's study results here)
Remember that just because a personal care product labels itself with the words "organic" or "certified organic" doesn't mean it meets any specified organic standards.
Look for products that are certified under the USDA National Organic Program (or a similar German program) and products that bear the "USDA Organic" seal.
Search product labels for ingredients with the following in their names to avoid products containing 1,4-Dioxane: myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other eth, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol.
In general, avoid products with unpronounceable ingredients to be sure to avoid synthetic toxins and carcinogens.
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