February 2009 Newsletter

Chris Bedford to show a film and lead the discussion

Chris Bedford is co-founder and President of the Sweetwater Local Foods Market – Michigan’s first farmers market to exclusive sell locally grown fruits and vegetables raised in a manner that enhances biological diversity and builds soil health AND meats, eggs, and cheese from animals raised humanely without antibiotics or hormones. His film, “What Will We Eat?” tells the story of a citizen’s movement to build a healthy, local food supply for Michigan.

From 2001-2004, he was the National Campaign Coordinator for Sustainable Agricultural Programs of The Humane Society of the United States. From 1998 to 2003, he served on the national Sierra Club’s Water Committee, helping to design and implement a nationwide campaign against the destruction caused by industrial animal production.

In addition, he is a nationally known advocacy film maker and strategic campaign consultant whose work has won three dozen awards for excellence. He is currently President of the Center for Economic Security, a non-profit located in Montague, Michigan that develops education and organizing campaigns to bring ecological intelligence to governmental and commercial decision making. He is currently organizing a Farm-to-School Campaign to feed all of Muskegon County’s school children 100% locally grown, Certified Organic food year round.

The Film Chris will be showing

“The Organic Opportunity”  (26 minutes) tells the story of how one county – Woodbury County, Iowa – took action to make local, organic food production a key to their community’s economic development. Woodbury County and its major city, Sioux City, have faced economic decline as a result of the industrialization of agriculture over the last half century. The number of farms declined. The meat processing industry almost disappeared. Rural towns faced extinction.

Today, this decline has reversed as the county instituted the nation’s first intentional program to encourage the development of a new local food system based on organic and humane agricultural practices. “The key to our economic future lies with the quality of our relationship to nature,” said Rob Marqusee, Director of Rural Economic Development for Woodbury County, “not the cheapness of our products.”

February Calendar

Click on the date to go to the calendar page on my web site to get more details for any of the events

• Feb 2 –6:00PM HIHO potluck 1001 Chester, Lansing First Christian Church. Free, bring a raw food dish to share.  Speaker will be Chris Bedford with the film “The Organic Opportunity”.
• Feb 3- Have you made a New  Year’s Resolution to improve your health? You can start by
  having Nutritional Counseling and Testing and DPA Testing done, to see where to begin.
• ASSEMBLY  OF YAHWEH                                                  WILLIAMSTON INN
  >     WELLNESSCENTER                      AND                           1133 W. Grand River Rd.
  >      7911 Columbia Hwy                                                          Williamston,MI   48859
  >   Eaton Rapids MI  48827                                                      Phone:   402-910-6040
  > Phone:  Margie  517-663-3427                                             Thurs & Fri Jan 29, 30, 2009. 
  Tuesday, Feb 3, 2009                                                    
   

• Feb 8 – 4:00PM Assembly of Yahweh potluck 7911 Columbia Highway, Eaton Rapids. Free, but you must RSVP to Hiawatha 517-663-1637 by the previous Mon.  Bring a raw food dish to share.

• Feb 18- 9AM to 7PM pH Testing and Blood Cell analysis at Great Lakes Wellness center call Jim Bertrau at 517-543-1112

• Feb 11 – 6:00  Not Cooking with Cricket $25.  We will be doing “what’s for breakfast”. Must preregister with Cricket 517-882-1033 4085 Bonnyview Dr, Lansing

• Feb 21 –11:00AM  St Stephens potluck 1007 Kimberley, Free, bring a raw food dish to share.  Speaker is Chuck Miller speaking on alternative cancer treatments.

• Feb 23 –6:00  Not Cooking with Cricket $55 4085 Bonnyview Dr, Lansing Fermented foods with the perfect pickler. Includes the pickler and 1lb of salt. Must preregister with Cricket 517-882-1033

• Feb 25-6:00  Riverview Church Raw Food potluck, 3585 Willoughby, Holt MI.  Bring a raw food dish to share with the recipe.  Contact Cricket Lott 517-882-1033 for more details.

• Every Sunday—2:00  Codependents Anonymous meeting Downtown Lansing Library contact Dave Ringlein  517-455-7842

• Every Saturday—9:00 Free yoga at First Christian Church, 1001 Chester, Lansing   

Conquering Food Cravings

I had the good fortune to be at the St Stephens potluck to hear Ellen Livingston talk about food cravings and ways to lessen their effects in our lives.  I have summarized her teachings here but you need to experience her instruction first hand.  She has a lot of knowledge and great ideas to share.  Her contact info is listed at the end of this article. 
Food cravings are for real and they can really sabotage your determination to eat in a way that is healthy.  There are several actions you can take to minimize these cravings and once you have overcome them on a few occasions I can tell you from experience they come along less and less often. 
1– Eat enough simple carbs in the way of fresh fruit.  Fruit is the ultimate fuel for our system and when you have enough you won’t be searching for those concentrated calories in nuts, seeds and avocadoes.  These foods also contain lots of fat, more than we need on a daily basis.  You may be surprised at how much fruit you actually need to consume to ingest enough calories.  The book “The 80-10-10” diet will give you all the guidelines you need.

2– Get enough rest and manage stress.  Sometimes a craving for rest is felt as a craving for food so go to bed early and sleep in a dark room so you can sleep deeply.  Not eating after dinner is a great way to improve your sleep.  When you are well rested you manage your food choices much better as well as managing stress better.
3– Get some exercise.  OUTDOORS!  Fresh air and sunshine in conjunction with exercise are great to detox your body, improve digestion and burn calories.  You may even sleep better.
4– Eliminate addictive foods.  Grains, chocolate and cheese are the worst culprits for containing addictive substances which cause you to crave more.  In addition spices and salt contribute to the crave cycle and you will find yourself better able to resist temptation without these foods in your diet. 
5– Remember what you truly want.  If you focus on the results of not caving in to a craving rather than how to feed the craving it will be easier to resist.  So write out your list of reasons for moving to a healthier lifestyle and pull it out when tempted.  This needs to be concrete emotional reasons, not just because you’ll feel better and will loose weight.
6– Try Yoga.  It is relaxing and helps to relieve stress.
Ellen teaches a popular 16-hour health seminar, Living Vibrantly! Level 1 on Saturday mornings.  The next session will be held in Ann Arbor on 4 Saturdays in Apr and May.  The course includes lecture, video, discussion, home assignments, and food demonstrations.  Participants will receive 3 books and food at each class.  For more info go to LivingYogaNow.com or call Ellen at 734-995-0875
 

Juice Combinations

I was sent this list of juicing combinations (of course it had all those cute pictures with it) and thought I’d pass it along.  You could also blend in a smoothie to get the same affect. 
I recommend when drinking juices or smoothies that you swish the liquid in your mouth to simulate the chewing action and mix it with the digestive juices in your mouth.


Carrot + Ginger + Apple -Boost and cleanse our system.

Apple + Cucumber + Celery - Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and eliminate stomach upset and headache.

Tomato + Carrot + Apple- Improve skin complexion and eliminate bad breath.

Orange+ Ginger + Cucumber - Improve Skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat.

Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon - To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney.

Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi - To improve skin complexion.

Pear &Banana- regulates sugar content.

Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango - Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization .

Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity & strengthen body immunity.

Papaya + Pineapple - Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism