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Q&A microwaves

microwave

A friend has asked me to ask Spirit about the microwave. Here are her questions and Spirit’s answers. The list of questions isn’t exhaustive, so if you have questions please add them in the Comments.

Is it ok to use a microwave?

The answer is neither yes or no. A microwave is a tool in the kitchen and it depends how people use it.

If so, what are the recommended guidelines?

In general, any food that is cooked in the microwave for over 10 minutes (without stopping the microwave in the middle) will not be cooked evenly and can cause burns if eaten immediately after the microwaving.
If the door is damaged in any way, the microwave should no longer be used.
The microwave should be placed where children under the age of seven can’t open it, but not so high that food containers are difficult to insert and remove.

Will the food be less nutritious?

No.

Is it OK to use one for heating (as opposed to cooking)?

Yes.

What about flash cooking vegetables?

Vegetables cook better on the stove top when the heat is high and the cooking time is short.

Is it OK to use plastic containers in the microwave, as long as the food contains no oil? Is it OK to cover food with a plastic cover? a beeswax-infused cover?

The best containers for microwaving are glass. The best covers are microwave approved (from a reputable company), paper, and not old (old means in terms of usage: no scratches or tears). No to beeswax coverings and plastics that can melt in a dishwasher.

Is it important to stand some distance away while it is working?

Several factors affect the distance to stand. Older people who are not ill can stand next to it, while ill people or children should stand farther away. The issue is not radiation, but of vibrations that affect blood flow and digestion.

Is it OK to cook porridge in the microwave?

Yes.

How often should one have the MW checked for excessive radiation?

If the microwave is damaged so that the door doesn’t close completely, get a new microwave.

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Eating during the time of social distancing and isolation

Being at home during this time of social distancing and isolation is an opportunity to adjust eating habits and explore food possibilities. It’s an opportunity to move away from eating out–and even from take-away–and turn to food preparation, preparation of food at it’s best!

The first step is to understand the importance of what we eat and how we eat it. Here’s a blog post to begin your understanding: “The year 2020 begins with Food 20/20“. (I’m currently working on a book to expand on the Food 20/20 plan.)

Besides thinking about the food, we also need to think about the atmosphere in which we eat. Some of us are in isolation alone, others are with family, and some are with friends. If you’re eating alone, please keep this information in mind:

“Eating alone is balancing as long as the eating is thorough, nourishing, and done while sitting. If the eating is rushed or delayed or inadequate nutritionally, then the eating causes imbalance. Reading while eating is not detrimental unless the material being read is upsetting. Watching TV or the computer while eating is not detrimental unless the material being watched is upsetting or worthless. Eating while standing at the refrigerator or elsewhere in the kitchen causes imbalance in the emotional and spiritual levels.”

If you’re eating with family members, please keep this information in mind:

“Eating with family can be as nourishing as eating with friends, when family members are considerate. When a family member is unkind during a meal, the eating can cause imbalance because of the emotional state of the body during food intake. Consistent discomfort at mealtimes can lead to eating disorders and other emotional/ spiritual problems. In general though, family meals are very important and should be prioritized.”

The quoted information is from the book Vitality!— How to Create a Life That Is Healthy.

Staying in the home more is an opportunity to prepare food yourself. The benefits of cooking from scratch are explained in this blog post “The health benefits of food from scratch“. There are many recipes online to try. I have a food blog with nutritious and yummy recipes: Yumtritious Eating!

This time of social distancing and isolation can be confusing and overwhelming. Staying in good health will help us all get through it. The first step to good health is healthful eating. If you can avoid sugar and sugar substitutes, your health will be more balanced. This blog post can help you understand the different types of sweeteners: “The Facts: Sweeteners from natural to laboratory-made, Best & Worst“.

[I’m currently in isolation with my husband after our recent return from a trip abroad. The picture above shows some of the foods I’ve made since returning home. It’s hard to be away from my friends and clients, but at least I’m having fun in the kitchen!
Picture, clockwise from left: rye flour-seed crackers, roasted beets, hummus, zucchini-potato soup, and mung bean sprouts.]

Note: This information has been spiritually received.

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The year 2020 begins with Food 20/20

The Food 20/20 Plan

Now is the time to focus on eating properly to stay healthy, disease free, and youthful. Here is the way to eat to keep yourself balanced and full of vitality!

Eating well includes the foods we eat and the atmosphere we create when eating. Each of these aspects is important for our bodies’ well-being.

Let’s look at the Food 20/20 plan to understand it.

Moderation. Moderation comes above all parts of Food 20/20, because moderation is needed in consumption and in intention. Foods eaten in moderate amounts nourish properly.

Appreciation (violet). Appreciation, without excessive fixation on being appreciative, helps food be spiritually nourishing.

Uplifting eating environment (indigo). The atmosphere in which food is eaten influences physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. When food is consumed in the company of others, at a relaxed pace, and without stress, the food is received by the body optimally.

The Blue group: Water and liquids. Water is the basic external requirement that we need in order to live. It is the food group that cannot be skipped. Nourishing liquids, besides water, that provide vitality are good. Liquids that contain substances such as caffeine, sweeteners (natural or synthetic), and colorings, are wizening.

The Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes. These foods form the basis of substances that are satisfying and balancing.

The Yellow group: Eggs-Meat-Dairy-Seafood. These foods require additional appreciation towards the lives that produce them. When eaten, they supply nourishment and satisfaction; however, they are less balancing than the Green group. The Yellow group appears with a dashed, gray line, because of ethical and sustainability concerns.

The Orange group: Fruit. Sweetness is best eaten slowly and savoringly. Fruit contains nutritious elements and unbalancing aspects. The sweetness can be unbalancing and requires balance from the Green group.

The Red group: Herbs-Flavors-Oils-Spices. These foods are best eaten in small amounts. They add tastiness and tweaked accessibility to the main groups of foods. Flavors include sweeteners such as date syrup, maple syrup, stevia, and honey. This group is meant to enhance food and not detract from food’s nutritious role. This group does not include eye-catching additives that harm health.

Food 20/20 presents the importance of non-food aspects of eating. These aspects are enclosed by dotted lines to indicate their intangibility. Appreciation is emphasized with a double oval, because of its effects on health.

The food groups decrease in size to indicate the amounts to be eaten. The foods in the Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes are meant to be eaten as the main elements of a healthful diet. The other groups are meant to be eaten in smaller and smaller amounts.

Following the Food 20/20 plan opens our bodies to elevated health and fulfilling dining experiences!

Note: Food 20/20 was given to me by Spirit!

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Unintentional child abuse through sugar

My childhood contained many spoonfuls of sugar. It started off with sweetened formula. There were doughnuts and ice cream, sugar cubes and sodas. Lollipops and candy canes were gifts at doctor appointments and my parents’ business friends’ offices. Halloween provided weeks of sugary treats. The other holidays had their special sweet treats and customary sweet dishes. My family’s snack drawer was full of snack cakes, cookies, and sno balls. At school, lunches included a sweet treat and the food provided was often sweetened. For breakfast, I ate sweetened cereals, sweetened oatmeal, and instant breakfast drinks. Family trips to the local ice cream parlors and baseball games led to sweet celebrations galore. Iced tea was always sweetened as were the fresh strawberries. Sunday morning pancakes smothered with imitation maple syrup were the weekly food highlight. Crackers, canned savory foods, spreads, and fast foods were sweetened as well. My diet was sweet foods with occasional breaks for the unsweetened things. I think that my diet was typical of children growing up in the 60s and 70s in the United States. All that sweetness influenced my health, my eating habits, and my thinking.

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This blog post is written to parents and grandparents to make them aware that their choices to sweeten the lives of their children and grandchildren delivers misery instead of the intended happiness. Sweetening a child’s life is love misguided.

Note: This blog post is not my opinion although I do agree with it. The wisdom presented here is straight from Spirit.

Parents and grandparents,

“Most of our diet is meant to be non-sweet. The sweet part should be about 8%, and of that 8%, all should be from natural sources—that is how our bodies are designed. .” …from the post “Sweeteners: The Facts“

More than 8% sweetness leads to:

changed appetite (wanting foods for their sweetness rather than for their satisfaction of hunger)
emotional turmoil
malfunctioning of the processes that handle sweetness
reduced resilience of body parts (for example, teeth)
illness
compromised attention capabilities
over-desire for sweetness
reduced muscle activity
feelings of negativity towards self

from the post “The Facts: Living in a World of Sweetened Sustenance”

Through sweets, well-meaning parents feed their children emotional turmoil and compromised attention capabilities. These changes to natural temperament and attentiveness cause problems with peers and in school.

Through sweets, well-intentioned parents offer their children reduced resilience of body parts as rewards for good behavior and grades. Even parents who know the facts about sweetness succumb to societal pressure to provide their children with changed appetite and over-desire for sweetness. Combating the pervasiveness of sweetness in society is not easy.

Rewarding children using sweets that contribute to feelings of negativity towards themselves is building people who are unsure of themselves. Rewarding children with causers of malfunctioning of the processes that handle sweetness is mistaken gifting.

Sweets that are natural, such as fruit and pure maple syrup, are building unless they exceed the 8% limit. Sweets that are destructive, such as sugar and corn syrup, cause disruptions in functioning and in future functioning.

Going against the typical way of pushing sweets onto children is not easy. Defying the advertisers and makers of sweet things is work. Understanding what you are doing each time you give your child a soda or a candy bar or a sweetened cereal, might help you change your outlook on how you stock your house and how you supply nutrition to the children you love with all your heart.

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Eating at its best—Food 20/20

Food 20-20

The existing graphic presentations of balanced eating—the food pyramid, the healthy eating plate, MyPlate, Canada’s food guide, the Eatwell guide—are helpful, but they focus only on the foods.

Balanced eating requires more than consuming foods in nutritious percentages.

Food 20/20 is eating that is elevated and satisfying. Nourishment is more than consuming foods that supply nutrients to the body. Nourishment includes intention and atmosphere. Nourishment of the body nourishes the soul when the intention is appreciative of the food and the atmosphere is uplifting.

Let’s look closely at Food 20/20 to understand it.

Moderation. Moderation comes above all parts of Food 20/20, because moderation is needed in consumption and in intention. Foods eaten in moderate amounts nourish properly.

Appreciation (violet). Appreciation, without excessive fixation on being appreciative, helps food be spiritually nourishing.

Uplifting eating environment (indigo). The atmosphere in which food is eaten influences physical, emotional, and spiritual growth. When food is consumed in the company of others, in a relaxed pace, and without stress, the food is received by the body optimally.

The Green group: Vegetables-Whole grains-Nuts and seeds-Legumes. These foods form the basis of substances that are satisfying and balancing.

Following Food 20/20 opens the body to elevated health, relaxed malady responses, and fulfilling dining experiences!

Note: Food 20/20 was given to me by Spirit!

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Food and Its Magic

vegetable platter Food is incredibly magical! When it is tastefully presented, food is like art! When it is tastefully advertised (on a menu or chalkboard), food is an enticing seducer. When it is coaxed into magnificent displays of mouth-watering delights, food is unbeatable!

When food is rejected, it is ominous to the people rejecting it. When food is scarce, it is overly important. And when food is nourishing, it sustains life at life’s optimal levels.

Food is:

Calming,
Satisfying,
Entertaining,
Life-giving,
Inviting,
Dividing,
A calling,
Varied,
Simple,
Complicated,
Touchable,
Settling,
Disturbing,
and Natural!

Food is magic in reality!

farmers market haul

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My farmers market haul

farmers market haul

Every Monday I head to the nearby, one-day-a-week, farmers market and buy beautiful produce. The vegetables and fruit I buy inspire me to prepare nutritious and delicious meals.

Today I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the produce I bought, so I arranged them on my table to take a picture for sharing. You can see how inviting the colors and shapes are (although some people might feel overwhelmed by the thought of cooking all that food!).

Before I put the produce away, I’ve separated out the orange-colored veggies to make Orange soup. The soup contains pumpkin, sweet potatoes and carrots, which provide the beautiful orange color. I’ll put this delicious and not-too-difficult recipe on my Yumtritious Eating website soon. We’ll make a spaghetti sauce full of onions, garlic, eggplant, and cauliflower (didn’t buy zucchini today). For dessert–fresh strawberries and pineapple! Yummy!!

I’ve written about the value of farmers markets in the past. See the post “Farmers’ market balance“. Buying fruit and vegetables when they are out in all their glory is so much more inspiring than buying them packaged in plastic and styrofoam. Whenever you can, head to your nearest farmers market and bask in the magic of the wonderful gifts from nature!

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Dessert Substitutes

Sweetness can come from many places.

A relaxed walk after a satisfying meal can offer the body a “sweet” treat that aids digestion and boosts the mind. A conversation filled with smiles and kind words can satisfy the desire for security, even more than chocolate can. An after-dinner enjoyment of a favorite pastime or hobby can assuage the appetite for sugar. A meal that gives entertainment to the senses through appetizing aromas and flavors needs no aftertaste of dessert.

Dessert that is nutritionally sound provides sweetness within context of a nutritionally sound meal. Dessert that is nutritionally bereft tantalizes the eyes and pleases the mouth, but upsets the digestive system and causes myriad negative irritations in the body.

When the urge for sweetness overcomes sensible treatment of the body, remember that there are dessert substitutes that satisfy the calls for momentary gratification, escape from unhappiness, or sweet addiction.

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Eating to be Fine

Food is SO confusing. We want it to taste good. We want it to be appealing. And, oh yea, we want it to nourish us.

Actually, many of us forget about the nourishing part of food and focus on the tastiness. Delicious is the main word, not nutritious.

Tasty satisfies for the moments the food is in the mouth, but once it has been swallowed, tasty becomes irrelevant. Nutritional value becomes key.

If the food was tasty and nutritious, the taste buds, digestive system, and body are satisfied. If the food was tasty but devoid of nutritional value, the taste buds were satisfied, but the body feels betrayed.

Our bodies can’t understand why we would insert food that harms us. The body then has to process the harmful foods as best it can. Continuous consumption of harmful foods leads to mutiny by the body—diabetes, diverticulitis, stomachaches, constipation, inflammation, and blockages, among other ailments.

Eating to be fine means putting the body’s health first: eating an apple rather than an apple fritter; saying no to cola with the meal; ordering whole grain items from the menu to encourage restaurants to provide whole grain options; sharing dessert rather than consuming the whole thing; ignoring marketing attempts to get you to buy highly processed foods.

Eating to be fine adds years to life and wellness to years. Feeling good beats a momentary taste pleasure hands down!

The ingredients of tasty and nutritious meals!

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Destruction Through Food Consumption

Eating can be dangerous to your health if you eat way too much or way too little. Here is a discussion of too much and too little from the book Oneself -Living.

“In modern societies, weight control—or rather, weight-lack-of-control—is a focus, an obsession, non-sustaining. Obsessubstantiality, which is obsession about weight issues, wastes time, energy, resources, opportunities, relationships, and trust. Wasted efforts! Wasted moments! Wasted lives!

Caring for one’s health is an imperative. Purposely harming one’s health is ill-advised. Eating too much and eating too little have different causes, but they are cousins, related in a somewhat close way. T-t-t-too much! Too much food or too much restraint. Same thing—too much. Too obsessive. Too wasteful.

Moderation has been touted throughout the ages. Weight obsession has become more important than moderation because it generates revenue, buzz, and conversations. Moderation is thought to be dull. Overdoing or underdone-ing is interesting, gossip-worthy, distracting.

Moderation is actually fascinating! No easy feat is moderation. It requires attention and control and vigilance. And sometimes, rethinking and reworking. Moderation is the pinnacle of conscientious living. Moderation contributes to self-control, which in turn brings balance. The more one lives in moderation, the more one can accomplish.

Regarding eating, moderate eating provides the appropriate amount of fuel to run the body. Not too much, not too little. Moderate eating leads to enjoyment of food and to better digestion. Food that is not ejected or is not over-consumed is food well used. Food that is eaten for sustenance is food well used. Food that is eaten, not only in the correct amounts, but also in nourishing environments, nourishes the body and the soul. Soulful eating. Soul-fulfilling nourishment. Nourishing the soul includes the body’s nourishment. Enjoying the food, appreciating the food, understanding that food is for energy, all connect to elevate the process of caring for the body.

Obsessubstantiality is an affliction of people who have lost the importance of being themselves. Perhaps they care too much about other people’s opinions of physical attractiveness or perhaps they care too little. Perhaps they feel “in control” of something in their life—mistaken assumption—because obsessubstantiality is a loss of control, a turning over of control, a control coup. Other causes can be caregiver passing-on of obsessubstantiality, improper understanding of beauty, surrender of self-caring, or incorrect focus on food as a substitute for attention or love.

Too much or too little. Both are misguided. Is one worse than the other? Yes. Too little eaten on purpose (not in a famine situation) is more destructive than overeating, unless the overeating is done for the purpose of intentional destruction.”

Obsessubstaniality and other important aspects of modern life are discussed in Oneself -Living. It is available for purchase through amazon.com:

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The harm we bring when Fresh finishes last

A dinner at Restaurant A delivers a cooked meat portion, rice, and a fried vegetable portion. The parsley sprig is decorative.
A dinner at Restaurant B delivers a pizza with meat and canned mushrooms.
A breakfast at Restaurant C offers eggs with potatoes or eggs with meat. Bread on the side.
An on-the-run food chain provides the meat in a bun with a piece of tomato and lettuce. The tomato and lettuce were cut much earlier.
A bakery that serves meals creates dishes that tantalize the eyes and nose, but challenge the small intestine. Only the decorative fresh peach slice lessens the challenge.

Today’s dining specializes in challenges to the small intestine, pancreas, and brain (and other organs and systems in the body). The missing fresh fruits and vegetables harm the body’s ability to heal. Healing requires the qualities that fresh fruits and vegetables possess.

A vitamin and mineral tablet can’t replace the capabilities of the fresh fruit and vegetables. A meal-in-a-bar can’t replicate fruit and vegetable power. Fruit drink isn’t related to fruit in its peel. Ketchup is not tomato at its best.

When fresh finishes last, health becomes compromised. When fresh finishes last, emotions erupt. When fresh finishes last, future health is less secure.

The food pyramids that show fruit and vegetables at the bottom are correct. Fruit and vegetables are the fuel providers that our bodies need to function effectively. A balanced diet provides vegetables in salads, main dishes, and soups and fruit as snacks, desserts, and appetizers.

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Tangy Banana Ice Cream (dairy-free, sugar-free, vegan, raw, and gluten-free)

Giving up sugar doesn’t mean giving up sweet treats.

A couple days ago, I signed a contract to overcome cravings by giving up sugar (see the post “My Contract for Overcoming Cravings“). I still eat fruit and use sweeteners such as unprocessed honey, agave, and maple syrup.

Here is a recipe for a mock ice cream that doesn’t feed the sugar beast, and satisfies the desire for sweetness. It’s on my Yumtritious Eating! blog.

About one and a half cups, for 3-4 small servings

Ingredients

2 large frozen bananas

juice from 1 or 2 tangerines or clementines to make 1/3 cup juice

1 1/2 Tbsp carob powder

Steps

Juice the tangerines or clementines and measure out 1/3 cup juice. Pour into a food processor with the S blade.
Add the carob powder to the food processor.
Preferably, the bananas were cut into chunks before they were put into the freezer. If not, cut the frozen bananas into medium-size pieces. Add the banana pieces to the food processor.
Process the ingredients until smooth. Process the mixture quickly so that it doesn’t melt. You might need to stir by hand to mix in all the juice and carob powder.
Spoon into dishes and serve immediately! Yumtritious!

I’m going to make a sweet treat with strawberries this afternoon. If it turns out yummy (because for sure it will be nutritious), I’ll post it on Yumtritious Eating!

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Child Abuse with a Spoonful of Sugar

My childhood contained many spoonfuls of sugar. It started off with sweetened formula. There were doughnuts and ice cream, sugar cubes and sodas. Lollipops and candy canes were gifts at doctor appointments and my parents’ business friends’ offices. Halloween provided weeks of sugary treats. The other holidays had their special sweet treats and customary sweet dishes. My family’s snack drawer was full of snack cakes, cookies, and sno balls. At school, lunches included a sweet treat and the food provided was often sweetened. For breakfast, I ate sweetened cereals, sweetened oatmeal, and instant breakfast drinks. Family trips to the local ice cream parlors and baseball games led to sweet celebrations galore. Ice tea was always sweetened as were the fresh strawberries. Sunday morning pancakes smothered with imitation maple syrup were the weekly food highlight. Crackers, canned savory foods, spreads, and fast foods were sweetened as well. My diet was sweet foods with occasional breaks for the unsweetened things. My diet was typical of children growing up in the 60s and 70s in the United States. All that sweetness influenced my health, my eating habits, and my thinking.

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Note: This blog post is not my opinion although I do agree with it. The wisdom presented here is straight from Spiritual Presence.

Parents and grandparents,

“Most of our diet is meant to be non-sweet. The sweet part should be about 8%, and of that 8%, all should be from natural sources—that is how our bodies are designed. .” …from the post “Sweeteners: The Facts“

More than 8% sweetness leads to:

changed appetite (wanting foods for their sweetness rather than for their satisfaction of hunger)
emotional turmoil
malfunctioning of the processes that handle sweetness
reduced resilience of body parts (for example, teeth)
illness
compromised attention capabilities
over-desire for sweetness
reduced muscle activity
feelings of negativity towards self

from the post “The Facts: Living in a World of Sweetened Sustenance”

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The Facts: Living in a World of Sweetened Sustenance

Life in modern societies entails navigating sweetness at every food-intake turn:

Sweeteners are added to foods that don’t seem to be sweet. Sweeteners are added to sweet foods to sweeten them more.
Advertisements urge us to desire sweet foods as a way to live the good life. Retail establishments place sweets near checkout counters to up the items we buy from them.
Sweets are viewed as appropriate gifts for those who are ill or grieving. Sweets are viewed as expressions of love and caring.
Incentives to improve often include sweet rewards. Meals often end with sweets as the highlight of the meal.

Fact #1: Sweetness can be nourishing.

As written in the post “Sweeteners: The Facts”

“Sweets from nature nourish.”

The closer to nature the sweetener, the more it can sweeten without harming. Choosing fruit as a dessert instead of cake is caring for the body. Using raw unprocessed honey or pure maple syrup as a sweetener instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners is protecting the body. Eating whole grains, which contain natural sweetening, instead of processed grains, is supporting the body’s health.

Fact #2: Body-mind balance is unavailable when processed sweeteners are consumed.

Our bodies are designed to desire balance. The foods we eat contribute to the balance or cause imbalance. Natural sweets are processed properly and only upset the balance when they are over-consumed or when the body is challenged by illness or disease.

Processed sweeteners (which include sugar, artificial sweeteners, and corn syrup, among others) always cause imbalance. The body is not designed to handle them. Their effects can be felt if the body has an immediate reaction, which often happens the first time the processed sweetener is consumed. If the reaction is ignored, the body handles the sweetener through improvised processes.

Fact #3: Eating a diet of more than 8% sweet causes crises in the body.

“Most of our diet is meant to be non-sweet. The sweet part should be about 8%, and of that 8%, all should be from natural sources—that is how our bodies are designed. .” …from the post “Sweeteners: The Facts“

Design is design. Our bodies are not designed nor built to handle more than 8% sweetness in a day. More than 8% sweetness leads to:

changed appetite (wanting foods for their sweetness rather than for their satisfaction of hunger)
emotional turmoil
malfunctioning of the processes that handle sweetness
reduced resilience of body parts (for example, teeth)
illness
compromised attention capabilities
over-desire for sweetness
reduced muscle activity
feelings of negativity towards self

When the percentage is higher than 20%, all of the results listed above are equally affected. When the percentage is higher than 30% day after day, the speed at which the body is negatively affected quickens.

Design is design. The body requires nourishment that is nourishing.

Fact #4: The body’s processing of artificial sweeteners is convoluted.

Artificial sweeteners play so much havoc on the body that it is hard to understand the damage they do. Their processing in the body depends on the body’s state of health.

A person in stable health processes artificial sweeteners without involving processes that are not usually used if the person is not tired or hungry. If the person is tired or hungry at the time of artificial sweetener consumption, more processes get involved to neutralize the effects of the disturbing presence.

A person in compromised health processes artificial sweeteners differently than described for a person in stable health who is tired or hungry. Compromised health can be different depending on age, sex, and weather conditions so that the processing of the artificial sweeteners differs.

Artificial sweeteners have been studied and their ill effects have been documented. Artificial sweeteners are for consumption in these cases: when you are eating a plastic bag that needs sweetening or when you are eating tree bark that needs flavor. In other words, never!

These last three blog posts ( “Sweeteners: The Facts” and “The Facts: Sweeteners from natural to laboratory-made, Best & Worst”) have been offered to you so that you can choose your sweet treats wisely. The suffering that comes from overindulgence in sweets is not worth the momentary pleasurable sweet taste in the mouth. Resisting the call of advertisers and the lure of desserts that are too sweetened is not easy, but is kind to your body.

Note: The source of the information provided here is divine inspiration.

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The Facts: Sweeteners from natural to laboratory-made, Best & Worst

“Foods that are sweet blind us. Their charismatic taste overtakes our reasoning, and we crave their company. Our willpower weakens and we are held captive by our desire for repetition of the sweet sensations in our mouths.” …from the post “Sweeteners: The Facts“

Knowing that we are held captive by the irresistible pull of sweetness is helpful for us to feel less guilty about wanting sweet additions to our meals. The goal is to eat the sweets that nourish and not the ones that disturb the balance inside our bodies.

Note: Food intake is part of a balanced life. Eating well but ignoring emotional health will not bring balance. Over-focusing on food intake and ignoring community responsibility will not bring balance.

“Most of our diet is meant to be non-sweet. The sweet part should be about 8%, and of that 8%, all should be from natural sources—that is how our bodies are designed. .” …from the post “Sweeteners: The Facts“

With this fact in mind, choosing to fill the 8% of sweetness with nourishing sweets is wise.

Best sweets and sweeteners

Here are the best sweets and sweeteners to eat, in the order of nutritional value.

Fruit
Raw unprocessed honey / pure maple syrup
The least amount of processing provides the most nutritious sweetener.
Date syrup (also known as date honey)
Dates can also be used as a sweetener (as well as raisins and other dried fruit).
Stevia / blackstrap molasses / fruit juice
Stevia is sold in packets and larger containers. The packets are ecologically wasteful.
Agave / coconut sugar
Coconut sugar has societal implications, so use it sparingly.
Pasteurized honey / dark molasses

Worst

Here are the sweeteners that our bodies don’t want. They cause havoc inside our bodies and disrupt balance. Some of these sweeteners are accepted forms of sweetening, but they really shouldn’t be.

Neohesperidine dihydrochalcone (E959) / saccharin / sugar from sugar beets
Sugar from sugar beets are listed separately from sugar from sugar cane because of processing considerations.
Aspartame / Sucralose / sugar from sugar cane
Cyclamate (E952) / light brown sugar
Asesulfame potassium (E950) / corn syrup
Light and dark corn syrup are equally disruptive.
Evaporated cane juice
Light molasses

Sweeteners not ranked

There are many more sweeteners than those listed in this blog post. The following sweeteners were not listed above because of production or unresolved issues.

Xylotol
This sweetener is not listed above, although many people extol its usage, because it has unresolved issues. It has not been studied enough to deserve its praise.
Erythritol
This sweetener has unresolved issues. It should be used sparingly.
Rice syrup
This sweetener has unresolved issues. It is better than all the sweeteners listed in the “Worst” section. It is not listed in the “Best” section because of the unresolved issues.
Monk fruit
This sweetener is a “Best” sweetener when traditional processing is used. Non-traditional processing, which is how most of this sweetener is distributed, leads to societal issues.
Lucuma powder
This sweetener has societal issues.

8% is important

Choosing how we fill the 8% can affect our health currently and in the future. Some sweeteners cause immediate effects and some contribute to health issues in the future. Choosing from the “Worst” section is often not a real choice because many of those sweeteners are in processed foods. Sugar is such an accepted sweetener that people don’t realize what they are doing to their bodies when they consume it. Choosing from the “Best” section whenever possible is what the body prefers. Satisfying the sweet tooth with sweeteners that the body can handle adds to health.

Facts to come

The next post will present sweetness from a different view.

Note: The source of the information provided here is divine inspiration.

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Food & drink

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Sweeteners: The Facts

The Main Fact

Foods that are sweet blind us. Their charismatic taste overtakes our reasoning, and we crave their company. Our willpower weakens and we are held captive by our desire for repetition of the sweet sensations in our mouths.

The Source Fact

Processed sweeteners weaken our bodies. Sweets from nature nourish. Naturally sweetened foods—fruits and grains—satisfy the desire for sweetness without imprisoning us in the desire for more. They call our names, we eat them, and our bodies are captive, yet balanced.

The Added Sweetener Fact

Most of our diet is meant to be non-sweet. The sweet part should be about 8%, and of that 8%, all should be from natural sources—that is how our bodies are designed.

Added sweeteners upset the balance, and the 8% is overtaken by distancing from the natural appetite. Added sugar in a breakfast drink begins the day’s desire for more. Sweeteners added to breakfast foods continue the desire. The next sweet fix might come at lunch, but the call for more sweetness may encourage a mid-morning swallowing of sweetened food. And so the day goes. By nighttime, the 8% may have risen to 70%, depending on willpower and availability.

Above 8% skews reasoning and upsets balance.

Facts to come

The next post will present the ranking of best and worst sweeteners and the facts about the worst ones.

Note: The source of the information provided here is divine inspiration.

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Food & drink

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Serve the Booze to the Baby?

Moderate drinking during pregnancy? Wine? Beer? When celebrating? When depressed? With food? Instead of food? To celebrate the news? After seeing the first ultrasound? To forget the overwhelming physical changes? To get in the mood? To feel separate from the baby?

Doctors suggest non-consumption of alcoholic beverages during the entire pregnancy. Scientific tests are territorily bound, and what one study says in one country differs from a study in another country. The effects of drinking too much alcohol are well known. This post is about alcohol in relation to the baby and the mother’s responsibility for his or her care.

Reasons for drinking alcoholic beverages abound. To drown one’s sorrows is generally not a good idea, pregnant or not. To release good sense is definitely not a good idea, pregnant or not.

The fetus receives nourishment from the mother, and alcoholic beverages contribute to the contribution. The nourishing aspects of alcoholic beverages are minor, so from that point of view drinking alcoholic beverages is not helpful to the baby. The baby needs ongoing support, and the more the support is given with awareness, the further the mother can protect her baby.

The mood of the mother is important. Her excitement and her fears contribute to the nourishment of the baby. A celebratory drink to acknowledge the baby forming inside her body neither harms nor helps the baby grow. Using alcohol to get through life, whether to forget the pregnancy or to ignore the responsibilities of pregnancy, influences the baby depending on the amount of alcohol consumed and the amount of food eaten while the alcohol was consumed.

A woman chooses her actions based on her knowledge, her support system (partner, family, and friends), and her society. If her society condemns drinking during pregnancy, she is best off sustaining because of guilt feelings. If her society accepts drinking during pregnancy, she imbibes with the backing of her society.

Alcoholic drinks should not be pushed on a pregnant woman, and neither the father of the baby nor any other supporting person should encourage her to drink. Alcoholic drinks and other substances that induce detachment from the fetus growing inside of her should be limited by the mother and those around.

Note: Some of the information in this post has been scientifically investigated. Some of the information is divinely inspired.

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Food & drink, Pregnancy

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The way to diet

The world of dieting is fraught with quick-results claims and misinformation. Diets work for those who build an individualized plan, not through following the latest fad diet, but through understanding of food and its role in nourishing the body.

Moderation is the foundation of proper eating. Eating whole and nutritious foods builds on the foundation.

Here is a poem that will appear in the future book of poetry “Growth”:

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Food & drink, Poetry

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Eating Through Entitlement

Food is the substance that we all require to keep our bodies alive and functioning. Eating provides the way for food to enter our bodies. Eating is basic survival.

Eating through entitlement is eating that is beyond survival concerns. It is eating for fun or for reward or for companionship or for something to do. Entitlement eating concerns itself with taste, texture, and self-satisfaction. Entitlement eating relates not to hunger, but to the right to enjoy the food beyond its nutritional purpose.

Choosing a sweetened cereal for breakfast rather than oatmeal is an example of entitlement eating. Choosing salmon/veal for dinner rather than eggs/a bean dish is entitlement eating. Choosing a cappuccino frappe with extra whipped cream rather than black tea is entitlement eating. Eating three pieces of a delicious tasting pastry that lacks nutritional worth is entitlement eating. Eating a triple patty hamburger rather than a single patty hamburger is entitlement eating.

Creating tasty meals that are attractive and nutritious is not entitlement eating. Eating more of the tasty meals after hunger is sated is entitlement eating. Eating birthday cake is entitlement eating; however, eating it at a celebration with family and friends is positively received (unless too much is eaten).

Eating through entitlement.

Entitlement is part of our normal eating experience. Modern food production has enabled it to be so. Entitlement eating is very present, from the poor to the rich, in varying amounts of wastefulness.

There are ways to eat through the entitlement, that is, to eat without expecting the food to be more than the survival substance that it is. These changes in eating habits and in attitude can lead to better health and well-being.

Consider the healthful aspects of the foods you eat and change how you view the healthful foods.
Eat portions that fill but don’t stuff. (I use a salad-size plate at all meals to help me eat less.)
When you eat, look at your food and smile, and then think a thankful thought about it.
When you eat, notice the foods—their texture, their taste, their aromas, and their ability to satisfy your appetite. Even foods that have little nutritional value—notice them.
At events where food is served according to demand, like at buffets, fill your plate once and resist a second visit to the food.
Think of yourself as a person who eats to survive and then enjoy your food.

You can be a foodie and release the entitlement. By appreciating the foods you eat and by eating the amount that suits your age, sex, and activity level, you can enjoy the magic of food!

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Food & drink

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The fascination with food fads

Food fads create interesting news stories and limitless conversations. “This food is a super food!” or “This food is the answer to your health problems!”. “This diet will bring you your dream life!” or “This diet will help you feel younger!”. “This supplement will cure you of <fill in the blank>!” or “This supplement suppresses your appetite so you can lose weight easily!”. “ By following this regimen you can live longer, lose weight faster, or eat all your favorite foods!”

So go the food-fad claims.

The true food rule is moderation. Eating in moderation is the key to healthful eating. Even if you eat a food that is un-nourishing, as long as you eat a small amount, it will not cause harm.

Moderation is discussed in Oneself—Living:

“Moderation is actually fascinating! No easy feat is moderation. It requires attention and control and vigilance. And sometimes, rethinking and reworking. Moderation is the pinnacle of conscientious living. Moderation contributes to self-control, which in turn brings balance. The more one lives in moderation, the more one can accomplish.

Regarding eating, moderate eating provides the appropriate amount of fuel to run the body. Not too much, not too little. Moderate eating leads to enjoyment of food and to better digestion. Food that is not ejected or is not over-consumed is food well used. Food that is eaten for sustenance is food well used. Food that is eaten, not only in the correct amounts, but also in nourishing environments, nourishes the body and the soul. Soulful eating. Soul-fulfilling nourishment. Nourishing the soul includes the body’s nourishment. Enjoying the food, appreciating the food, understanding that food is for energy, all connect to elevate the process of caring for the body.

Paying attention to the amounts of food eaten, to the atmosphere in which the food is eaten, and to the quality of the food lead to well-being and elevated living. Moderate eating and eating atmosphere are presented in the book of poetry, Unfolding:

Food fads are simply fads. Moderate eating is for a lifetime!

To buy Oneself—Living: http://amzn.com/1495289451

To buy Unfolding: http://amzn.com/1508828229

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Food & drink

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A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Archive for the ‘Food & drink’ Category

About one and a half cups, for 3-4 small servings

Ingredients

Steps

Fact #1: Sweetness can be nourishing.

Fact #2: Body-mind balance is unavailable when processed sweeteners are consumed.

Fact #3: Eating a diet of more than 8% sweet causes crises in the body.

Fact #4: The body’s processing of artificial sweeteners is convoluted.

Best sweets and sweeteners

Worst

Sweeteners not ranked

8% is important

Facts to come

The Main Fact

The Source Fact

The Added Sweetener Fact

Facts to come

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