Cancer & Radiation

The past couple weeks I have done a lot of reading.  I have always loved reading and I'm fascinated by different subjects, so I'm always reading books from various authors.  The book I just finished is 'Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About' by Kevin Trudeau.  In his book he talks about the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and how, in his opinion, they are making and keeping America sick.  I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but he does have some valid points.  The book was very intriguing.

In the book, Kevin Trudeau talks about cancer.  He talks about possible causes ad why there has been such an increase of cases over the past couple decades.  He proposes that it is because of lack of nutrition as well as chemical additives in foods, lotions, etc.  He also talks about  how radiation, in fact, breeds cancerous cells instead of lessening them.  He wrote the book several years ago.  Today, I found an article on Yahoo News about radiation.  You can read it here.  It is interesting to note that we are just now 'hearing' that radiation is harmful.  Have you ever wondered why you have to wear a lead vest when you go to the dentist and get x-rayed?  It is to protect your heart from radiation.  Interesting, isn't it?

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

Last night I had a discussion with some friends about food.  We are all careful about what we eat, so the discussion was our tricks of the healthy food trade.  We try to get a healthy balance of protein and calories and sometimes that can be a challenge, especially when you want to change things up.  One of my favorite things to do is have tuna fish and cottage cheese.  The idea was met with several grossed out faces until I explained that the idea started with a tuna fish sandwich and cottage cheese on the side.  I was in a hurry one day, so i popped open the can of tuna and mixed it with half a cup of fat free cottage cheese.  The reason I like this is because it gives me a lot of protein without a ton of calories.  Protein is the key to losing weight and shrinking inches.

Here is the challenge:  What is your favorite protein packed healthy meal? 

Leave me a recipe, (either comment or email me at cheffiejo@gmail.com), and I'll go through, try them, and pick my favorite.  Whomever wins will get a special prize....  :)

Sugar, Sugar Everywhere...

Sugar is Public Enemy #1.  Why?  Because of all the awful things it does to our bodies!  Let me explain.  There are different kinds of sugar. There is natural sugar ,(that is found in fruits and vegetables), and processed sugar, (found in pretty much everything else).  Natural sugar is not the problem.  It's all the highly processed crap we eat.  Did you know things like salad dressing, potato chips, salsa, and mustard have sugar in them?  Hard to believe, but it's true.  The biggest question is why manufacturers would put sugar in everything.  There are two main reasons:

• Processed sugar is cheap, (especially high fructose corn syrup)
• Sugar is addictive, so if it's in your food, you'll purchase more

High fructose corn syrup is one of the worst!  The spot in your brain that registers high fructose corn syrup is the same spot in your brain that is affected if you shoot heroin.  Did everyone catch that?  Eating foods with high fructose corn syrup in them gives you the same high as heroin!!  SCARY!



Throughout the next few weeks, I'll be talking more about foods, both good and bad.  There are a couple documentaries that I absolutely love:  Food, Inc and Super Size Me.  They both put quite the reality check on the food industry.  As a whole, people are more educated about food than they have ever been.  We, as consumers, have the power to drive the market towards fresh, wholesome foods!  Use that knowledge!  One great guide to take shopping with you is the Eat This, Not That Supermarket Survival Guide.  The entire series is absolutely awesome!  It pays to shop smarter.  Your body and health will thank you!

Lack Thinking

Energy has really been on my mind as of late.  I know I have already blogged about it.  On a daily basis I am reminded that attitude is everything.  People are nice to you when you're nice to them.  It just makes sense.  you also find the things you're looking for in life when you're attitude is right.  I often listen to the Prosperity Series by Randy Gage.  He talks a lot about what he calls 'lack thinking'.  Lack thinking is that 'broke' mentality.  You are what you say you are.  If you say you go from paycheck to paycheck, guess what?  You'll go from paycheck to paycheck.  Amazing, isn't it?  So, why not lose the lack thinking.  Still confused on how to do that?  Write yourself a mission statement.  Here is part of mine:

I Am:

Professional

Competent

Captivating

Wealthy

Healthy

Self-Sufficient

Focused & Consistent

Coachable

Like I said, this is only part of mine.  I am very clear that I have all of this inside me, bursting out!  I am positive and moving forward.  I am on purpose.

Healthier Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Last night my mom and I decided we wanted a little treat, so we made chocolate covered strawberries.  Who doesn't love chocolate covered strawberries?  (Unless you're one of  my sisters and the chocolate gives you migraines...  sorry E & S!)  Since we're both watching how much sugar we consume, we decided to make the chocolate a little healthier.  We used 85% dark chocolate and sugar free chocolate chips.  I melted the chocolate down over a double boiler (of sorts.  In this case it was a small stainless steel pan and a small metal bowl).  The best way I have found is to use a high temperature spatula to stir the chocolate.  A high temp spatula can handle the heat and won't melt.  Once the chocolate was melted, we pulled the chocolate off the heat and dipped our strawberries.  I wasn't sure how the chocolate was going to taste, but I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised!  The strawberries were a tasty little treat!

Kitchen Tools

I started cooking and baking when I was a little kid.  By the time I was eight, I was making dinner for my family with minimal supervision.  By the time I was twelve I was making yeast breads from scratch.  When I was sixteen I was making cakes from scratch and revising recipes to accommodate food allergies.  Being in the kitchen has really always been my first love.  As you can probably imagine, I have tested and tried as many products as possible trying to find things that I like.  About a year ago, I came across the coolest tool I have ever used!   It is made by Wilton.  It's called a Batter Blender.  When I bought it, the package said it was great for making brownies, but I have used it for everything!  I use it when I make cake batter, buttercream, literally everything.  I love mixers, but sometimes, I just want to put a little extra love into what I'm making.  This is where the batter blender comes in!  My professional knife set from culinary school has some of the most amazing tools in it, but I seriously LOVE this little tool.  Wilton, I bow down to your awesomeness!