Using Coconut Oil

We got a free quart of coconut oil from Tropical Traditions (see my review at Freaky Frugalite) and the stuff is pretty good! In the review, I mentioned that we’ve used the oil predominantly for cookies. Well, my daughter recently used the oil to grease the skillet for making scrambled eggs. Talk about creative, huh? Theegs had a light coconut taste, but the results were pretty tasty! I don’t like coconut very much (except fresh coconut– I love the fresh stuff), so I think she wondered what I’d think. It wasn’t bad at all. I’ll have to send her a flurry of thank you cards for all the cooking she’s done this summer.

I recommend that you check out my review of the oil. When I first got the oil to review, I wondered what I’d do with the stuff. I never cooked with anything so exotic. But we’ve been using it on bagels and etc, and it’s really pretty good. And after I did a little research into the company, I am very impressed. They have dedicated their business to ofering natural, healthful products. They even have organic foods and grass-fed meat! Worth a look. The website is Tropical Traditions. I’m going to give them my business regularly.

Half of All Grocery Meats May Have Staph Germ

My mind did a few freaky little somersaults after reading this headline today: Nationwide study finds U.S. meat and poultry is widely contaminated. :-O

The Translational Genomics Research Institute in Arizona performed tests on meat and poultry in several grocery stores throughout the country, and discovered that half of all meat tested were tainted with drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. And “DNA testing suggests that the food animals themselves were the major source of contamination.” Let me guess what that means: animals are living in filthy conditions where disease spreads, or are so glutted with antibiotics in the feed that the germs are gaining the upper hand.

It makes me totally disgusted.

By the way, the U.S. occasionally tests for the presence of various staph germs in consumer meat, but the more dangerous Staphylococcus aureus isn’t one of them.

There are ways you can protect yourself from food-borne bacteria. The Department of Health issues these guidelines:

1. Wash your hands, all food contact surfaces, and fruits and vegetables. Do not wash raw meat and poultry. Washing meat can allow most bacteria that are present on the surface of the meat or poultry to spread to ready-to-eat foods, kitchen utensils, and counter surfaces.

2. Separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing, or storing foods.

3. Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill microorganisms. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of 40°F and 140°F. To keep food out of this danger zone, keep cold food cold (below 40°F) and hot food hot (above 140°F).

4. Refrigerate perishable food promptly and defrost foods properly. The refrigerator should be set at no higher than 40°F and the freezer at 0°F. Toss out leftovers after 4 days!

5. Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or any products made from unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized juices, and raw sprouts.

Weed Eaters

Wow, my daughter passed this video along to me. What do you think?! It’s a commercial for a DVD set showing you how to harvest and use the herbs and weeds that grow everywhere… but the information is pretty neat. When I was a girl, my parents went “redneck,” and we ate squirrels and some weeds. Some of the plants this guy lists is pretty intense.

I just may check it out. Lord knows, we really need to be more self-sufficient and healthy. If you have any information to pass along about this topic, PLEASE DO. I’m rather wary of “self improvement” media… as Mark Twain said, “Be careful what you read in health books; you may die from a misprint.” lol But I’m willing to check it out.

More to come.

Raw Meal Green Drink Update #2

Weeelll….. I haven’t been drinking it regularly. Honestly, the stuff is disgusting. I’ve tried mixing it with grape juice, orange juice, strawberry Quik, chocolate milk, and Ovaltine. One of my readers suggested I dump it in a strawberry smoothie– which I haven’t done yet and intend to do as soon as I can get my daughter to make one.

But the green powder taste permeates EVERYTHING. There is no disguising the taste. I can only tone it down a little. The drink is akin to powdery latex paint. It’s sticky and clings to everything (including the cup– I have to thoroughly rinse the cup out with in the kitchen or bathroom faucets, or the stuff will dry on the cup).

With that said, it’s VERY healthful. I just feel better when I take it. My hair is starting to grow in a little thicker again, my fingernails are growing stronger. My skin is still blotchy, though, I don’t know what’s up with that (maybe I need more Vitamin C?).

I’m reading a book, Seven Pillars of Health by Dr. Dan Colbert. It’s good. I’m at the part where he says that in today’s world– due to the toxicity and lack of nutrients in soils– we NEED to take a multivitamin for good health. I never used to think that- I thought we could get all the nutrients we needed from food. Nope. Gee, I really regret not taking my prenatal vitamins. :S

Anyway, I’m on a vitamin regimen, on top of that yukky green drink I have to take every day. :-p

More Experimentation with Raw Meal Drink

I hope this is not too boring for you. It’s not like I’m blogging about fabulous games on the xbox or reviewing spectacular films or books… raw meal drink is rather… well, boring, I guess.

But I WANT to drink this stuff; I WANT to be healthier. So far, I’ve tried mixing the raw meal powder with plain water, orange juice, strawberry smoothies, and stawberry-flavored milk. This time I tried it with grape juice.

Well…. it’s “OK.” That’s what I keep saying with all my experiments! The more I try various mixes, the more I realize that nothing is really going to taste good enough for me to desire drinking this stuff. I have to force myself to drink it.

The grape juice is, so far, the sweetest drink, and it hides the raw powder taste the best. However, a big glass of grape juice bothers my digestive system, so I may have to take small sips throughout the day. Or, just have one small glass of grape juice and another small glass of strawberry milk later in the day.

A few readers have asked if this raw meal drink is having any effects. Yes, after I drink it, I do feel a little energy boost. It’s not an energy drink, by any means. I think my body is so malnourished that I can literally feel the nutrients going in, lol! I also eat several handfuls of raw kale everyday, too (it’s SOOO good with balsamic vinegar dressing!). I am still not drinking the raw meal drink every day, like I should. According to the directions, you have to drink two full scoops (one scoop is about as large as three or four tablespoons) per day. Gosh, that’s a lot for me to endure. The only time I have ever had two full scoops in a day was the first day I got it, and today. But even drinking one scoop makes me feel better.

I don’t feel better EVERY day yet, only on the days that I do drink this. I’m pretty determined to douse my body with good stuff, so when this runs out, I’ll be getting more (even though it is very expensive). The label says that the drink helps to suppress your appetite (it’s a “meal replacement” supplement), but I haven’t found that. I have a weird metabolism, so I’m not surprised.

So that’s my latest review. I am not likely to experiment with drinks anymore, as I think I have used up all my ideas. I don’t foresee putting the powder in my coffee or tea.

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