The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks For Everyone!

FINALLY...after a year and a half; the first cookbook is done and printed and ready to go! "The homegrown Gourmet Cooks for the Vegan" will be ready in about six weeks...just in time for Earth Day, 09 (May 2nd). Copies of "The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks for Everyone" will be available in Dr. Matt Herba's office at 158 Tuskawilla Road, Suite 1308, Winter Springs, FL 32708 or you can call and reserve a copy at 407-327-9000. I will be dropping off books there first thing in the morning (March 15th).

For the out of town friends; please contact me through my email jill@thehomegrowngourmet.com or you may call my cell. For those who need my cell phone number; drop me an email and I'll provide it for you in a more private forum.

The cost of the book is $15.99 plus shipping and handling ($3.99)

For Get Green Organics members; the cookbook will NOT be listed on the GGO website at this time. You will need to purchase directly from me. There WILL be a new book exclusively for GGO very shortly (within the next 6 weeks). The book will feature recipes created with foods available from the Co-op. You guys all know how wonderful our raw goat milk cheeses and Amish butter are so you can just imagine the YUMMY things that can be made from them! The book is due out by May 2nd as well and will be called, "The Get Green Organics Table" by S. Jill Anderson/The Homegrown Gourmet. That book WILL be available through the co-op order window.

I am very excited to finally be doing what I love to do! I hope everyone enjoys the recipes and gives me lots of feedback. If you have requests of old favorites that you would like adapted to a healthier way of cooking; please email them to me and I will see what I can do with them.

Please accept my apologies for letting the blog fall by the wayside for the last few weeks. It has been bedlam getting that book off the ground. Now it starts ALL OVER AGAIN! I look forward to some commentary and discussions from all my friends. You tell ME what you want to know about organic cooking and I'll do my best to help you out.

Until next time...have a healthy and happy week!

EARTH DAY.........May 2nd, 2009 @ Lake Eola Park, Orlando FL.
Taste of Oviedo..... ???????????? (the jury is still out on whether of not I'm going so I'll let you
know once I make a decision)

check out the latest article on http://www.ezine.com/ "The Incredible Hulk Smoothie"

Jill Anderson
The Homegrown Gourmet
Executive Chef, Get Green Organics

Thanks!

Hey, I'd just like to give a shout out to all my friends who have been reading my blog posts and emailing me! This is something I've always wanted to do and you guys are great. Please feel free to post your comments here so all the readers can enjoy them!

I have a couple of exciting events on the radar! This Friday, Feb. 27th, I'll be speaking and answering questions at the Winter Springs Rotary Club meeting! I am really looking forward to that.

Coming up in Mid-March, you'll be able to visit us at The Homegrown Gourmet's booth at the Winter Springs Mardi-Gras. I will post the exact dates when I get all the info. I will also be donating an appetizer to the dignitaries lounge....GOTTA LOVE THE ADVERTISING THERE!

I am considering doing a booth at the Taste of Oviedo in April but the jury is still out on that one.

It looks as though we didn't take enough of a beating at Central Florida Veg Fest back in October! We have decided to do a booth at the Orlando Earth Expo in April. It will be another joint effort between Get Green Organics Inc. (for which I am executive/consulting chef) and my own company, The Homegrown Gourmet! The rules are the same...all Vegan food. I've got a little time to work on a brand new Spring Menu for this festival. Turnout is expected to be around 20,000 (twice the amount of Veg Fest!). Yes...I know what I'm going to be asked...there WILL be The Homegrown Gourmet's now FAMOUS Vegan Cupcakes! I have a brand new one to introduce....Key Lime! Yes...we WILL have our equally famous "crack tea" (so named because people can't seem to stop drinking it!). I know we'll work our behinds off...as usual but it's all good! Hopefully, by then I WILL be bringing hard copies of my Vegan cookbook! "The Homegrown Gourmet Cooks For The Vegan"

Also on the radar screen is taping two podcasts tomorrow. I will post the URL and times when I get them! I'll be featuring one simple, quick and nutritious recipe in each podcast.

We DOOOOO have our sights on a local cable network cooking show! We've already been in contact with a producer (whom I have worked with in the past on other projects) and he feels it would be a huge success! Now I just need to find SPONSORS!

Right now, I'm a little crazy with plans and publishing and writing scripts for the new youtube series, which we SHOULD be filming next weekend...hopefully. I will need to film six episodes in two days so there is a lot of planning going into that. We are getting better at it though!

I have NOT forgotten about the new article on hydrogenated oils! My fingers are SMOKIN' right now because I have SO many things to type! Look for the new article either by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

Remember, there are several ways you can contact me and I love to get your questions and comments!

Use the blog!
Email me at jill@thehomegrowngourmet.com
Visit my website at www.thehomegrowngourmet.com
Contact me through www.getgreenorganics.com
Call me at 407-610-9513

Until next time....Health and Happiness to all!

My Soap Box

At the moment, I'm busy submitting articles for publication. Which by the way, one has already been accepted and is available to be seen under my NAME as S. Jill Anderson NOT as The Homegrown Gourmet. Go to www.ezinearticles.com and search under either my name or the article titles which is, "Dark and Leafy--Know Your Power Greens." That being said, I do want to let you know that a new blog article IS coming this week. I still have to cover another of my "Top 5" pet peeves; HYDROGENATED OILS! You KNOW that's going to be a hell-fire and brimstone (can I get an amen) post!

I would like to thank everyone for stopping in and reading. I encourage you to leave comments or questions. There is nothing I like better than dissing processed foods and ripping on prescription drugs. I will also (when I get finished typing it) post my story of how I came to be (self-titled) the F.D.A. which stands for "Food And Drug Antagonist". Of course, if you follow my posts you'll find that they are not always about the negative. Sometime I will feature a food that you SHOULD be including in your diet. My personal nominee is Organic Coconut products; especially the extra virgin cold pressed oil. We'll get to that later as well.

There will be links to some of my research sites posted from time to time. Don't take my word for the things I'm blogging about! Go to these sites and read and or listen to this stuff for yourself. Two of my all-time favorite health crusaders, Dr. Joseph Mercol www.mercola.com and Mike Adams (www.healthranger.org and www.naturalnews.com). Dr. Mercola's website is the largest site devoted to holistic living on the web with more than 5000 pages. Mike Adams is a total HOOT! If you've never watched any of his videos or seen any of his "counter-thinker cartoons", I hope you'll go check him out. He has youtube videos as well as a weekly live pod-cast. Another website that you should investigate is www.maximizedliving.com which has information that will help you improve all aspects of your life; emotional, physical, spiritual and psychological. Another thing on my mile-long list of things to do is to type out my personal horror story of a prescription drug reaction that nearly killed me, my severe addiction to nutra-sweet, a twenty year addiction to cigarettes AND mercury sickness (from the fillings in my teeth)...ALL of which were overcome through the help of a local maximized living doctor by the name of Dr. Matthew Herba (www.herbafamilywellness.com).

There will probably be so many links that I'll be getting posts and emails saying, "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Please, share YOUR links with me too! The thing I've always loved about the holistic community is the willingness to share resources. I find that to be the case both in "the real world" and the virtual one. Until next time: Health and Happiness to all!

Protein - From Fiction To Facts

Undeniably, protein is an important part of a healthy diet. Many Vegans and to some degree, Vegetarians worry about getting enough protein in their diets. This vital building block can be found in MANY food sources and many of those ARE plants. Do you really even know how much protein you SHOULD be eating?

Protein actually comprises about 16% of out total body-weight. Certain things like our hair and skin, muscle tissue (and connective tissue) are primarily made up of protein. It also plays a vital roll for our cells and bodily fluids. Even your DNA is partially protein. The same can be said for the enzymes, neurotransmitters and hormones.

Our bodies are pretty efficient at reusing or recycling protein but we use great quantities of it just to LIVE. Protein is made up of Amino Acids; sixteen of them to be exact. There are nine that our bodies cannot make so we have to get them elsewhere. Meat and animal by products (eggs, dairy, cheeses etc.) actually have all sixteen amino acids. But vegetables and plant bases food such as whole grains need to be eaten in combination to achieve "whole" or complete proteins.

If you eat the S.A.D (Standard American Diet) it is virtually impossible for you to be protein deficient unless you have an underlying medical condition. The dairy consumption ALONE would put most Americans at 2 or 3 times the necessary daily intake. Protein requirement is also dependent upon factors such as age, activity level and size. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. That means that a person weighing 150 pounds should be consuming 55 grams of protein per day. This formula can be used to determine your requirement based on your own weight.

There are some situations in which we may require more protein added to our diets such as pregnancy and lactation. Growing children, the elderly, post-surgery or severe stress (trauma) often need additional protein.

As you can imagine, there are supplement manufacturers SALIVATING at the thought of all the people they can convince of the benefits of protein powders, bars, pills etc. There are so many people seeking convenience in their busy lives that these preparations seem to make sense. I suppose if the choice is a quick protein shake or skipping breakfast, the former is the better choice. It may be beneficial immediatly after a workout (one needs to actually SWEAT during this session) when the body will absorb and use the protein rapidly. Protein supplementation may be beneficial to Vegans and Vegetarians as well. However, if you pay careful attention to your vegetarian diet and include a wide variety of plant protein sources you can guard against muscle loss from lack of protein. Remember: the first "fuel" the body uses when it thinks it is being starved is muscle.

Now, if you should chose to supplement your diet with protein shakes, bars, powders or pills; you are faced with the daunting task of selecting from an overwhelming number of products. You could always ask your doctor; assuming he/she has any idea whatsoever about nutrition! You can also pop onto the internet and research some of the ingredients on the labels (which is what I do for just about everything). The most widely used source of protein used in mixes and powders is WHEY. You may also see RICE, SOY or PEA. A lot of mixes actually contain a combination of protein sources.

WHEY protein is derived from MILK. That lets it out for the Vegans! It is the most commonly used supplement. Whey protein is easily absorbed and used by the body. However, if you have lactose intolerance or dairy allergies these products are not for you. Read the label to see which type of whey you are getting. The concentrated whey is the most widely used and least expensive. It can have anywhere from 30 to 85 percent proteing. You can see that is a very wide range. A good rule of thumb when choosing a protein powder is, the less expensive it is, the lesser the amount of whey protein you may be getting. Whey Isolate is the other form and is higher in quality. Containing 90% protein, it is VERY easily absorbed by the body. It generally contains less fat and lactose as well.

Rice protein is a great choice for Vegans, Vegetarians and people with allergies because it is hypoallergenic. It is derived from brown rice and actually is a complete protein with all essential and nonessential amino acids.

Pea protein is an excellent choice for Vegans. I has no gluten, lactose, cholesterol or anti-nutritional by products. It is a highly soluble protein which makes it very easy to digest. Pea protein is vegetable based since it is derived from yellow split peas. This form of protein is also hypoallergenic. Not to get overly technical but analysis of this protein reveals a "high biological value" of 65.4% which indicates the amount of protein actually absorbed by the body. High bilogical value proteins are also excellent for nitrogen retention and immunilogical support.

Soy protein is made from Soy flour. Similar to whey in that it comes in two forms; concentrate and isolate, there are some noteable differences as well. Soy protein mimics estrogen. Three cancer studies have found "estrogen dependant tumor growth increased as the amount of soy isoflavonones increased." These studies were conducted by the National Institutes of Health. There are also studies published in 2000 by the American Association of Cancer Research which compare soy to whey. "Whey appears to be at least twice as effective as soy in reducing both tumor incidence and multiplicity." When taken with the fact that soy protein seems to disrupt thyroid function, these factors are scaring a lot of people off soy proteins. For good and valid reasons!

Whether you choose to get your protein from animal or plant-based sources there are many options available. Even though animal proteins are concidered to be of "higher biological value", plant protein sources CAN be combined to achieve the same standards as an animal-based diet. Personally, I recommend avoiding soy but you need to make that decision for yourself.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

How do you like those insipid commercials about how High Fructose Corn Syrup is "just fine in moderation"? They conveniently forgot to mention that your body DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THAT SUBSTANCE. Once consumed, HFCS arrives IN TACT in the human liver which means you don't filter/process it. The word "moderation is a JOKE because people are comsuming this stuff by the GALLONS. It is literally in everything; even things labled as "health foods". It is the cheaptes and most widely used form of sweetener on the planet. HFCS was introduced into our food supply in the 1970's. Regardless of what the corn industry would have you believe, HCFS IS a man-made substance. It's relative inexpensiveness (compared to sugar) have made it the sweetener of choice because it increases profits for manufacturers. Some researchers believe that an astonishing 50% or MORE of peoples' daily calorie intake comes from HFCS! There are absolutely NO nutritional benefits from these calories by the way. Also, since HFCS metabolizes differently than sugar, it COULD cause an increase in triglycerides. It also blocks the the release of Leptin (the hormone our brain secretes that tells us we are full). Our tastebuds become accustomed to the exceptional sweetness of HFCS to the point that naturally sweet foods such as fresh fruits no longer satisfy. Again...the segment of our population MOST affected are our children because literally EVERYTHING marketed as a "kid food" is loaded with HFCS. It doesn't seem to be bad enough that they are being pumped full of MSG, Food Coloring, artificial flavorings, synthetic vitamins and trans fats but they need to get 100 to 200 pounds a YEAR of HFCS and sugar! No wonder the acronym for the "Standard American Diet" is S.A.D.

Unscrupulous marketing practices

I am starting my very first blog posting with a subject that ranks high on my list of pet peeves. That would be the DISGUSTING practice of marketing GARBAGE (disguised in the form of "food") to children. Researches now say that we could be the first generation of people whose children may not outlive us. WHAT?? Can you get your head around that? When one begins to do the research and delve into the specifics of a claim like that some viable arguments for that statement begin to emerge. Children are succumbing to a laundry list of diseases and ailments (once associated with adults/aging) at an alarming rate. Not the least of which are high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes (yes I AM aware that type 2 IS "adult onset"), morbid obesity, multiple chemical sensitivity, rheumatoid arthritis, elevated cholesterol, kidney stones, cancer, and various mental disorders. I have by NO means covered everything but it's a start. Plus, let us not forget that if a lable cannot be found for what ails your child...a diagnosis and a drug to accompany it are only a click away! Is there a website where your doctor can quickly run to his office and log into "inventanewsyndrome" (and it probably has a .gov on the end of it), and type in your childs symptoms? Junior now has a diagnosis: "Accute Mathmatic Aversion Syndrome" accompanied by Narcalepcy and IBS. One more click populates a list of suggested medications to prescribe and the percentage of kickback from the drug company is displayed so Mr. Md. can choose the most personally lucrative poison to dispense. How about this answer instead. Junior doesn't like math class because he is perpetually behind and doesn't understand the material. He has a poptart and a coke on the way to school so his brain has not received anything that it can acutally USE. His body is experiencing the typical post-sugar consumption crash so he nods off. He is jolted awake by a pain in his stomach and spends the remainder of the class in the bathroom or the nurses office with a stomach ache because the caramel coloring (which is an excitotoxin) in the soda has made it to his bloodstream and poisoned him. How did things get this way? CHILDREN GET WHAT THEY WANT AND THEY WANT WHAT THEY SEE! Parents give in because they can't compete with an industry that spends multi-millions of dollars a year to recruit consumers. I am reminded of a statment by Adolf Hitler (I can't quote it exactly without looking it up) that said, "Give me a child till he is seven years old and I'll have his loyalty/allegience for life" Pardon the paraphrase. Our children are innundated from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close them at night with advertising that is purposfully and maliciously TARGETED at them. We made child labor laws to stop unscrupulous employers from using children for cheap labor how long ago??? Why can't we do the same with unscrupulous food manufacturers and the ruthless marketing firms they employ? European countries have done it, and continue to take aim at more and more questionable advertisment. Get your panties out of their wad please because I am NOT suggesting sensorship of first amendment rights to "free speech." I am suggesting respecting HUMAN RIGHTS of individuals who are too young and uneducated to make choices about their health. Parents...educate yourself please! Would you let Johnny or Susie drink ethynol? Of course not. Would you let them eat Coal Tar, ground up beetle carcuses, arsenic, synthetic estrogen, neurotoxins, mercury, phtalates (plastic particles) ? Well..guess what? YOU ARE! This is not secret stuff that only "insiders" know. It's readily available to any lay person. You just have to read it. You also have to take charge and say NO to their requests. Start when they are young and always be prepared with healthy alternatives. If you keep them full of nutritious, high density foods there will be less room (and therefore less desire) for tater tots.