Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

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Does Food Matter for your Health, the Planet?

Monday, May 16th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, May 12, 2011

I admit, I’m into food – but it has to be good food. Not just taste good, but be made of wholesome, whole-food ingredients, prepared in someone’s kitchen (not in an industrial setting). But while I’ve always loved to eat, I’ve not always eaten as well as I do now.

When I was a young, poor, struggling graduate student, I ate a lot of cheap, junk foods: frozen TV dinners, canned soups, boxed cereals, pasteurized milk, and so on. And now I’m paying for it with health issues, which include insulin resistance (metabolic syndrome), arthritis and other inflammatory problems.

About 25 years ago, I decided to change the way I eat and take care of my body. These lifestyle changes were the beginning of my path toward sustainable living.

The changes did not reverse my problems overnight; in fact, I still have many of them. But I believe if I had NOT made these changes, my health today would be much worse than it is.

Food Matters

Have you seen the 3 minute trailer for the 90-minute movie: Food Matters? (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | Comments Closed

GMO crops On/Near Wildlife Refuges in the West?

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, May 3, 2011

Thanks to Sally J for sending me this information.

On March 1, 2010, the Center for Food Safety (with other organizations) “filed a suit in federal court against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seeks to compel the Service to uproot genetically engineered (GE) crops from its Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. As many as 80 other national wildlife refuges across the country now growing GE crops are vulnerable to similar suits.” For more, see Lawsuit Filed to Bar GE Crops from National Wildlife Refuge.

Now the Center for Food Safety wants our help regarding mountain-prairie national wildlife refuges in the west. Your action is needed by May 6, 2011. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, GMO, Health | Comments Closed

Cat’s 4-Day Grab & Go Emergency Food Pack

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 30, 2011

(photo of Trio Bar from MrsMays.com)

After learning from Lana Nelson about what sorts of things to include in a 96-hour (4-day) emergency food pack earlier this week, I decided to go shopping for my own. While her recommendations are fine for most people, I have special needs as a hypoglycemic (insulin resistant) person. This health issue (related to diabetes) requires a diet high in fat and fiber, and moderately high in protein, especially animal protein, to stabilize my blood sugar. And I need adequate magnesium for my heart.

I don’t want to stock things I would never eat in the absence of an emergency, so I spent more than Lana’s $20 pack. I tried to avoid products with added sugar, preservatives and artificial ingredients, which is very hard to do when dealing with packaged foods. And I tried to buy Organic when possible.

Here’s what my 4-day pack looks like (without the water and first aid kit): (more…)

Posted in Emergency Preparedness, Food-Nutrition-Health | 1 Comment »

Event Summary: Preparing an Emergency 4-day (96 hour) Food & Water Pack

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

4-Day Pack For 1

by Catherine Haug, April 27, 2011

(Photo of 4-day food pack by Lana Nelson; NOTE: fruit leather is missing from the photo)

This event was held on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7 PM in the Bigfork High School Music Room, and was hosted by the recently formed Bigfork Emergency Response Team (BERT), as part of their 2011 Community Preparedness work.

Topics covered at this event:

  • Welcome by Cheryl Richmond
  • Report on current situation, by Mark Noland
  • Ways to become involved, by Bruce Nelson
  • Emergency communication, by Jim Eddington
  • 96-hour Food Pack and Water by Lana Nelson
  • 4-Day (96 Hour) Emergency Kit (Food Only), by Lana Nelson (printable pdf)

In addition, I have added some recommendations from ESP community members.

Here are two news items about how other communities came together to recover from floods:

  • After Floods: Nashville Proud of Model Recovery (NPR News Item): As communities across the country’s midsection respond to potentially historic flooding, federal emergency officials say they could take some cues from Nashville. The city endured record-breaking rainfall and devastating floods one year ago, and FEMA continues to point to the local response as a model. From member station WPLN, Blake Farmer reports.
  • Community Preparedness for Flooding  in Vernonia OR (ESP post based on article in The Oregonian): A small, rural community organized to deal with, and recover from an oncoming, devastating flood.

(more…)

Posted in Community, Emergency Preparedness, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gathering Summaries | 5 Comments »

Foraging for Native Food: Event Opportunities 2011

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Wild Asparagus

by Catherine Haug

Can you really find adequate nourishment growing wild in the Flathead? Oh sure, you can hunt, fish and pick huckleberries, but what about salad greens, veggies, nuts, seeds and other fruits?

The answer is an abundant YES! Native Americans from our area were successful hunter-gatherers, at least until America moved west. Early pioneers also relied on foraging for their sustenance. And the day may surely arrive when we, too, must depend on our knowledge of what is/is not edible, and where to look for these foods.

To learn more, read on… (more…)

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Remedies | 5 Comments »

Alternative Sourdough Starters

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 15, 2011

Traditional sourdough was discussed in my post on Sourdough, and will be the topic of our May 2011 gathering. While alternative sourdough starters will not be a presentation topic at that event, several members of our community are interested in alternative starters including:

  • gluten-free
  • other cultures such as kefir (rather than traditional wild culture) (more…)

Posted in Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health | 1 Comment »

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