Saturday, April 30, 2011

Eat First, Then Breathe

It's been a long time since I've gotten excited about food. Most of what we buy at the grocers is enhanced with either color or flavorings of some kind. The more I look at how our food comes from farmer to table the less inclined I am to eat at all. Naturally, eating is an integral part of living. Much like breathing, we need to eat in order to survive. The problem is, every time we turn around, something we eat regularly is discovered to be detrimental to our health.


Back in the 90's there was a "fitness guru" with a program she called "Stop The Insanity". Susan Powter claimed that she had lost a great deal of weight simply by changing what she ate that made her fat, to a regimen of whole grains and fresh vegetables and fruits. Whether one believes she actually was ever fat depends upon which members of her family you decided was truthful. I never could make up my mind whether I believed her brother's claim that she was never fat, or her Dad's claim that she was. My interest in what she had to say waned due to the controversy surrounding her claims and now I'm kicking myself because of it. Essentially I should have overlooked the weight loss claims and focused on the issue of healthy eating. Had I done so, I'd be much farther ahead health wise than I am now. It may be that the current trend towards Whole Foods and Organic eating finds it's roots in her program. Much of what I am learning is what she was saying 20 years ago.

I figured that there wouldn't be a single thing anyone could find wrong with eating more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. Add to that the lowering of fat and I should live to be 100...right? Here I am well into the new habit I've acquired of eating a bowl of either steel cut or old fashioned cooked oats every morning when I find out that might not be as healthy as I thought. The problem seems to be that I'm eating American grown oats. According to this article I read the other day, oats are pure white. What I'm eating is sort of an ivory color. That color in my oats comes from mold. Mold that is intentionally caused simply to create color. I'm supposed to be eating Swedish oats from some company that doesn't create mold for color in their oats. Mind you, those oats cost upwards of $8 a pound plus shipping and handling, and are only available through mail order, online. I'm gonna get right on that. Suuuuure I am.

I look at it this way, so far, after having eaten moldy oats now for close to 5 months, I haven't accused anyone of casting a curse on me. I'm not seeing the devil in my coffee cup, nor am I hearing voices from the bag the oats come in. I'm not feeling that the mole, with the hair growing out of it, that has appeared on my elderly neighbor's face is any indication that she's a witch. I'm not feeling that anyone is out to get me, nor are my brain waves being altered by anything I need to wear a tinfoil hat to protect against. Bonus! The neighbors dog isn't telling me to kill anyone.

I don't have a runny nose. I'm not sneezing, coughing nor do I have a rash anywhere. I'm not tired all the time, I'm getting pretty energetic actually. I do have the normal joint aches that accompany arthritis, but I had those before I started consuming cooked oatmeal for breakfast. Not hardly anything that is being caused by mold. Plus I'm only spending $4 a pound for my oats.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one not paying attention to Susan's admonitions to "stop the insanity" To make up for my lapse, I am paying attention to another one of her catch phrases. "Eat, Breathe, Move". I've eaten, I'm breathing and now I'm moving out to check out a farm where I might be able to purchase grass fed beef, pork, eggs and poultry. I said that if such a place existed in our county, I'd find it. Who knew it might be a mere 15 minute drive away? Now, that's exciting!

12 comments:

  1. Yummy! Moldy oats...

    You're making me hungry over here, Sherry.

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  2. PaulV,

    Moldy oats with some honey and cinnamon really hit the spot.

    And the grass fed farm is the real deal. Prices even I can afford. The chicken is high priced, but I can live with it.

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  3. Sherry,

    You're moving in on the "locavore" movement!!! YAY!!! Good for you!

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  4. I'm a great fan of moldy oats with fresh apple or dried cherries. I'm a Susan Powter fan, too. I haven't entirely stopped the insanity, however, but I'm working on it. I love your new blog, btw. (I'd stick a smiley face in here if I had one.)

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  5. HD,

    This is in response to my finding out how damaging factory farm goods are to ones physical well being. I will also be buying fresh produce in the fall and blanching and freezing it myself. Trying to reduce the amounts of chemicals and hormones in my food.

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  6. Bupu2,

    She was right about the whole foods. I have a lot more energy than I used to and that's a good thing.

    I like the ability I have here to set up my blog in different ways and have different features on it, but I miss the rest of the gang from BS.

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  7. I don't know about you (u sound a few spaces behind me) but I arrived at my present 'mindset' about 3 years ago.

    What is it?

    Tired!

    Tired of finding a NO for every YES and a YES for every NO

    It's fricking disgusting!

    Moldy oats, bad fruit, what the hell?

    Pup's got the right idea - WHEN IT'S YOUR TIME (TO GO) IT'S TIME TO GO

    and her (Pup's) Father has it right too - when he says "YOU GOTTA HAVE YOUR STEAK ONCE IN AWHILE.

    Sherry - I'm just wore to the bone with NOTHING being black and white anymore.

    Coffee is good for you.
    Coffee is bad for you.

    Fruit is good for you.
    Fruit is bad for you.

    Eat Old Fashioned Oats
    Oops! Sorry - they're bad for you

    Eggs are bad for you.
    Eggs are good for you

    WHO THE F... KNOWS????

    ice

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  8. ice,

    I do know that the hormones and chemical preservatives build up in our bodies over time. There doesn't seem to be a way to completely stop that, so the deal is to minimize it by making wiser choices.

    My doctor said that Americans, since the 1950's, consume too much sugar, fat and salt. It's our reliance on prepackaged, processed foods. Manufacturers use those things to make their product taste good.

    It must be working since I feel better, am less tired and have more energy for the activities I want to do.

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  9. Sherry,

    I'm glad you found a place so close to you that offers goods at an affordable price.

    I sure could go for some of that grass fed chicken right now, expensive or not.

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  10. Sherry:

    Eating moldy oats is more healthful than eating those high-sugar cereals.

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  11. PaulV,

    Me too although I won't be getting my chicken cut up. A whole chicken weighing 4 pounds is going to cost me $12. Two chicken breasts cut is $11 a pound. Everything else is just a dollar or two over what I'm all ready paying so it's not so bad, but chicken is EXPENSIVE. LOL

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  12. Whit,

    It sure is and I will continue to eat those moldy oats. I actually like the taste better than the sugared cereals.

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