if1hadwords's Profile

I have been drinking raw milk for 1.5 years now for the health benefits. It also tastes amazing. It is no less dangerous than spinach or PB - in fact, those things are statistically WAY more likely to get you sick than raw (real) milk.

I haven't been sick with a single infection or cold or sickness since I started drinking it. Before, I'd get sinus infections, strep throat, flu etc. 3-4x each year.

We love our milk and the small family that goes far beyond what's legally required, to keep their supply safe. They test every single batch of milk before they sell it. (As in, every single time a cow gets milked.) Pasteurization certainly needs to happen when dairy cows are kept in confinement. I would NOT drink CAFO milk raw. Those cows are sick and dirty (and pumped full of meds to keep them from dying) and yes, you'll get sick if you don't pasteurize that thin milk.

Also, pasteurized dairy has always given me stomach troubles, but raw doesn't.

If the government was as upset about giant outbreaks of salmonella and ecoli was it was about raw milk sicknesses, there'd be a lot less industrial food around because they would all get shut down.

gelatin!! it is so good for bones and cartilage! just get a can of plain stuff and sprinkle it on food, in beverages and smoothies, in soups, anywhere you possibly can! it's tasteless and oh so very healthy. especially when your body is rebuilding itself.

Whoa - strong feelings. :)

It doesn't have much to do with pomp or narcissism or retweets for me (hehe). I don't tweet about anything unless it's interesting, and since food interests me greatly I sometimes tweet what I'm eating. Because I love food. And I like reading what interesting things other people are eating, too.

It's very important to me that we buy and eat meat that has been humanely and responsibly raised. I almost went vegetarian when I learned the horrors and filth of CAFO meat, but when I realized I could satisfy my ethical concerns and still have the nutrients and culinary experience meat offers, we switched (pretty much cold turkey) to local and grassfed. We are part of a meat CSA now, and get most of the rest from a local co-op. And yes, it's more expensive, and yes, we eat less meat to make up for it. But it's very important to us that it be good meat raised by decent farmers. And it tastes a million times better too!

Not a bad idea! I usually line a colander with cheesecloth and set it in a big bowl, then dump the stockpot contents over that. One step draining. This would be easier for sure, if you weren't planning to strain it again.

I love the German mulled wine idea - I'll have to go out and get some cheap wine (OK, that's what we get anyways) just for this!

It's an interesting idea...but I'm with cbreynolds...I'm trying to get less chemical crap in my food, not more. :( Plus, I don't think soap can remove pesticides.

I try to buy organically grown produce for the most part, but local is just as important to me. Food loses so much of its nutrient profile within a short time of being picked, so that suspiciously perfect Certified Organic Kale from Brazil is probably doing less for you than the slightly imperfect bunch at the local co-op.

(If your greens have wilted a bit, trim the stems and put them in a glass of water, just like flowers - they'll usually perk up right away.)

Real, quality food will cost more, and I don't think there's a way around that. It's a matter of priorities for most (not all, but most). We don't buy beverages, snacks, premade foods of any kinds...to have room in our budget for grass-fed meats, local eggs, and organically grown produce. You can be creative, sure (like buying things on Amazon with your card points)...but you have to make food a priority. Oh, and you have to cook from scratch too!

I think it should say instead that corn doesn't count as a veggie. it's a grain. a super sugary one at that.

I never followed the USDA's silly pyramid and this isn't all that much better. Like someone else said, they shouldn't be in the business of telling people what to eat while still giving out subsidies and generally taking sides with big ag in every discussion.

But anyone who thinks we should be eating that much grains/breads is seriously deluded! It shouldn't be the bottom of the pyramid, and shouldn't be 1/4 of your plate. That is all SUGAR in your body. No reason to have grains at every meal (whole or not), and lots of reasons not to.

My pork shoulders usually go in the crockpot (at least during the summer so as not to heat the house). I don't spice it because I like to use the meat for different things. We might have BBQ pork with pinto beans, then a soy/teriyaki pork salad, then fried pork with eggs. (I really like to stretch the meat as far as it'll go.) So I just put it in the pot with a cup or so of water, and cook it all day. Just did it this weekend actually. YUM!