Rebel With a Fork Blog

What’s new this month in the Member’s Area?

Dog Days?   

Not around here! We are getting our fill of great cool, fresh, healthy, delicious foods of the season! It’s summertime, and the eating is cool and easy… 

Restaurant Quality Lunches for Less 

How can you do away with boring, unhealthy, expensive lunches at the office?

Who has time for canning?

Do you have a garden that is producing an abundance of great vegetables?

Did you buy too much stuff at the farmer’s market?

What can you do?

Be sure to login and check out this month’s features >>>

Related articles

• Farmers Markets Are More Then Just Vegetables (foodservicewarehouse.com)
• Protect Plants During Dog Days of Summer (paulasgardenpatch.com)
• Video Of The Day: Funny Dogs Argue About Playtime (q104.radio.com)

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Have you been enjoying all the sweet, cool delicious fruits and great vegetables and salads, and farmers markets this summer?

Again, Big industry is enlisting the help of Congress to try to take that away from us. The Leafy Green Agreement (what a joke that is…) is open for public comment. If you care, you need to speak up.

I just took action, telling Secretary Vilsack and the USDA to stop letting Big Ag write rules that harm family farmers that grow our local and organic food. It’s time that the Obama administration stood up for family farmers and the growing local food movement.

Today the USDA and Big Ag are conspiring to implement a set of rules that favor giant industrial growers while placing small, diversified farms at risk. Known as the National Leafy Green Marketing Agreement, this set of rules was designed by industrial growers to protect their market share while harming their main competition, the growing local and organic food movement. The Leafy Green agreement, drafted by the largest vegetable growers’ lobbyists in an effort to whitewash their growing food safety problems, would implement draconian practices that saddle farmers with one-size-fits-all rules and would drive local and organic farmers out of business with expensive regulations.

Tell Secretary Vilsack that it’s time to protect family farmers and stop letting Big Ag write the rules.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/leafygreens/?referring_akid=.97349.p_hBUT&source=taf

Image via Wikipedia

Have you been drinking a smoothie for breakfast?

I’ve been getting better about it. It always takes a little time to get into a new habit. Especially in the morning! I’m not a morning person. Anyway…

I have to tell you, I’m amazed at how much better I feel on the days that I have my smoothie. I guess it stands to reason since you’re getting a ton of nutrients.

I’ve been reading a lot about whey protein and all of the benefits of it. Since I’m lactose intolerant, it does upset my stomach a little because of the whey, but it tastes so good, and after the little bit of upset goes away, I feel great.

I am finding that when I use coconut milk and a whole banana it turns out too thick. I have to cut it with ice cubes which is a pain because I only have a regular blender. Almond milk and a half a banana solves that problem. I switch off because both the coconut milk and the almond milk have an abundance of keep you young and healthy nutrients.

If I’m doing the tropical one with orange juice, coconut milk, and banana, it turns out just fine.

I still haven’t gotten very good at having berries on  hand and ready to throw in. But it tastes great when you do. And I need to get more organic spinach. But just getting in the habit of making one everyday is a start.

As wel get better at it, we can maybe add more stuff. A lot of people add flax seed and stuff to give you even a bigger nutrient boost.

I know for me, just getting in the habit of making a great smoothie in just a few minutes is  accomplishment enough. I’m very happy with the results.

Have you tried them yet?

If you haven’t already, read the Breakfast of Champions article in the members area, and be sure to check out the smoothie recipes book.

We’re gonna be kickin some butt! We’re unstoppable!

Related articles

• The best breakfast banana smoothie (healthylivingvancouver.wordpress.com)
• Blueberry Strawberry Banana Bliss Smoothie (gingerbreadhead.com)
• Green Smoothies (skiingmama.wordpress.com)

Image by Joi via Flickr

  The Dalai Lama was in Chicago today. And what do you think was the big news on the radio this morning? The Dali Llama has to eat meat for health reasons. I’ve heard a lot of scoffing today – but we Rebels know the truth. Yes, you need the nutirents in animal products. 

Vegetarians have suffered from fatigue, heart disease, thyroid problems, and crumbling teeth. Yes, crumbling teeth is common for vegetarians. Doesn’t sound too attractive does it? Not that we ever wanted to eat nothing but vegetables. 

1/3 of all vegetarians stop because of health problems. 

I’ve been saying that this trend was ridiculous for years. While yes, we all need to eat more fruits and vegetables, you also need nutrients that you get from meat and eggs. 

Now with that being said, that doesn’t mean that we should look the other way when animals are being treated cruelly. And its been documented that animals that are raised in the healthy envorinment and allowed to run and eat the foods that are right for them, that the meat and eggs are much healthier for us. 

Lets face it – nobody really likes the idea of killing an animal to eat. But, that is the way its always been. The Prophets ate meat. So did Jesus. 

The problem is when people care more about animals than they do humans. When you put your health and your family’s health at risk – that’s a problem. When people care more about saving animals than they do about feeding homeless kids – that’s a problem.

When you financially support industries that are doing harm – that’s a problem. 

I understand that a lot of people eat the way they do because they think its cheaper. If you truly add up what you spend on food, and add in lost days at work, doctor and hospital bills, prescription drugs, stress on the family, and all the other things that come with poor health – I think it becomes obvious which is the cheaper choice. 

Maybe the best we can do as ‘enlightened’ human beings is to eat with dignity. 

Maybe if everyone would treat their body as a temple and attend to their nutritional needs, the world would be a much different place. Just think, a world without ADD, arthritis, asthma, Cancer, heart disease, and, and, and…Wouldn’t that be wonderful? 

Stop treating your body like a garbage dump.

 Worry about your own choices and quit pointing the finger at everyone else. Just do the best you can with what you’ve got. Its the best any of us can do.

Many of us have our story about how we came to want to start eating healthier. Our own little wake up calls. That one instance that makes us question what we are feeding ourselves and our families.

But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no! Then we want to change the world! We want everyone to know what we have discovered.

Unfortunately, most people are like the woman in the following video described herself before she got her wake up call…

Have you been reading and applying your small bites training?

Keep making your small changes!

Image via Wikipedia

A big study finds that Potato Chips pack on the pounds.

Really? Wow!

I don’t know about you, but I get so tired of this assinine crap.

If yodon’t know how to stay thin and healthy – here’s the basics

Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day

Eat throughout the day

Eat only real foods

Limit bad foods

Get some exercise everyday

Get enough sleep

Let Moderation be your motto

I think that’s worth millions more than another stoopid fat research study, don’t you?

Singing “If I only had a brain”

I can’t believe they waste our money on this garbage….

Related articles

• Study: Eating A Whole Bag Of Potato Chips Makes You Fat [In Brief] (jezebel.com)
• Fat substitutes linked to weight gain (layhitters.wordpress.com)
• Eating Fake Fat Makes you Real Fat, Olestra Study Finds (pdresources.wordpress.com)

Image by wachovia_138 via Flickr

The office lunch choice today was Taco Bell.

The co-worker gathering everyone’s orders says, I know you don’t want this – its the fat place.

Taco Bell is not the fat place. Its the fake chemicals layered with fat and sodium designed to be swallowed – not chewed – so you can eat more of it faster place. I don’t think they have a real piece of food in the place except maybe the tomatoes and the iceberg lettuce.

Call me a food snob, but I don’t like the taste of chemicals. Besides –

Tell me one organ in your body that can use the fake chemicals.

If your body can’t use them, where is it going?

You might think it just gets expelled, but that’s not true. It would be great if that happened. People’s bodies can’t process it as fast as they take it in.

So what does your body do with all this junk?

It stores it in your fat cells for safe keeping.

Its not a coincidence that obesity has been steadily rising since people started eating fake food.

But what really breaks my heart is when I see people with deteriorating health eat this stuff.

I wish I could save the world, but good health is a choice.

Login and find some better for you, better tasting choices.

Related articles

• The 10 Most Unhealthy Fast-Food Items on America’s Menu (dailyfinance.com)
• Fergie Insists She’s Not Pregnant, Just Loves Taco Bell! (khmx.radio.com)