Don’t you love variety

I have to go on a ‘road trip’ tomorrow for work.  It is a three hour drive each way, to pick up some samples.

I know the way well, driving the route at least 5-6 times a year.  It takes me through hills and forests and small towns as well as right through the heart of Melbourne.  On a rainy day, or a sunny day, there is always something to see.  Eagles and hawks hovering, rainbows, gorgeous  huge white and grey clouds trying to lift over mountains in the distance, sometimes the scars from bush fires, the ‘grey’ tourist caravans (retired couples spending the inheritance!) with ‘Oscar and Violet, channel 79’ inscribed on the side of their van; just waiting for your radio call.  Love it!

You know the best thing about it.  The freedom.  You can stop at a local bakery at any time, you can play your favourite songs on the CD player and blare out a few tunes.  I like to take my camera and stop to take photos of nothing and everything.  But the best thing .... I am actually working.

I love my job.  But the variety is what keeps me fresh and keen.  If I had to spend each day behind the desk I would go stir crazy. 

I go ‘bush’ sometimes, or to business lunches, or give presentations interstate, even getting the morning coffee.

In your  own job, don’t the events that happen infrequently make your day?  When I was teaching high school, all those years ago, sports days or student free days just shook up the routine enough to make the rest of the week feel shorter and better.

When I was packing bulk goods in London (that was really ALL THOSE YEARS AGO) every time a new product came and we had to package it, it was great because we could look at the new stuff and laugh about it (Val Doonican sings the hits, again...) or wonder if we could use it (socks with individual toes – bought them, wore them, hated them, donated them to the second hand shop).

So, my road trip tomorrow; bring it on.  

Privacy on the internet: how much can you reveal without giving away yourself?

  

When I started this blog several of my friends were concerned; because the internet is primed for bullying.  ‘Once it is out on the net you have lost control’ - even if you erase it, someone else may have copied it.  Fair call. 

I put a reasonable morsel of my own opinion in my posts, and, although I haven’t quite gotten onto really controversial topics that are close to my heart such as gay marriage, religion, green politics, women’s rights etc., there is much of ME in my blog.

Facebook gives me the horrors because of all the things that are posted, in a hurry and often with unconsidered thought. Criticising comments about others, photographs you wish were never taken; the anonymous-ness of bullying.   Too many times your own ‘privacy’ is not an issue... until it is too late. 

I read this quote by Katheen Hanna; It says it all. 

“Beyoncé isn’t Beyoncé because she reads comments on the Internet. Beyoncé is in Ibiza, wearing a stomach necklace, walking hand in hand with her hot boyfriend. She’s going on the yacht & having a mimosa. She’s not reading shitty comments about herself on the Internet, & we shouldn’t either. I just think, Would Beyoncé be reading this? No, she would just delete it or somebody would delete it for her. What I really need to do is close the computer & then talk back to that voice & say, F*** you. I don’t give a sh** what you think. I’m Beyoncé. I’m going to Ibiza with Jay-Z now, f*** off. Being criticized is part of the job, but seeking it out isn’t. That’s our piece to let go.” 

LIVING WITHOUT ADDED CHEMICALS PART 3 ORGANIC ... IS IT GOOD? WHAT IS GOOD?

MY PHILOSOPHY ON ‘EATING CLEANER’.

Organic sounds good, doesn’t it?  ‘Google’ organic and you get lots of anecdotal evidence for the health benefits, the taste, the reduction in toxins that you eat, the benefits for the environment ... the list goes on. But is it all real?

What is organic?

Organic produce is fruit, grains, pulses and vegetable crops grown without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, irradiation (a form of radiation used to kill bacteria), or biotechnology.

Animals on organic farms have to eat organically grown feed, aren't confined 100 percent of the time, and are not given antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones. 

Is organic better for me?

It is generally believed that organic produce is better for you.  However, research in this area is contradictory.  All fresh fruit and vegetables have health benefits.  Organic foods may (or may not) have higher nutritional value because fewer pesticides and fertilizers force plants to boost their production of the phytochemicals (vitamins and antioxidants) that strengthen their resistance to bugs and weeds; but...

I love the statement I read from one blogger ’ it would be better for you to eat two farmed apples, that you can afford, rather than one organic apple and blow your budget’. 

The Redbook website states that scientists are  “concerned about the antibiotics being given to most farm animals: Many are the same antibiotics humans rely on, and overuse of these drugs has already enabled bacteria to develop resistance to them, rendering them less effective in fighting infection”. The Truth About Organic Foods - Pros and Cons of Organic Food - Redbook 

Redbook have also posted a "dirty dozen": foods that need lots of pesticides to be grown; see their list at the end of this post.

James Duigan – author of the  ’Elle Macpherson’ clean and lean diet/lifestyle of eating; advocates eating organic, because toxins affect the way your body looks and holds onto fat.  I am not sure of the science involved with his claims, or whether eating more fruit and veg and fewer cream buns leads to a better looking body. 

Duigan has an attractive argument though; you can look like Elle by eating organic (and also by eating amazing amounts of smoked salmon; not your ‘budget’ diet by any means).  (If I were Duigan I would also add a hefty paragraph on how to choose the best smoked salmon to eat; avoid any brands that contains nitrates or nitrites and choose wild caught over farm caught.) 

Is organic better for the environment?

Redbook points out: “Organic farming reduces pollutants in groundwater and creates richer soil that aids plant growth while reducing erosion. It also decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking water and uses 50 percent less energy than conventional farming methods.”

What about food transport?  If your organic food comes from overseas, or even a bit closer say, in my case,  Queensland (a mere 2000 odd kilometres away), you are talking about a serious lot  of  ‘food miles’ per item.  Lots of fuel has to be used to get that organic strawberry to you, especially when strawberries are out of season where you live. 

In that sense, organic may not be much better for the environment than local food that's conventionally grown

Does it taste better?

The Herald Sun in May 2010 printed the following “New South Wales farmer John Reynolds, whose Nashdale Fruit Co sells naturally grown potatoes through farmers’ markets around Sydney, says he stopped producing commercial potatoes after tiring of being encouraged to grow oversized, flavourless crops.

“The supermarket type of spud is generally grown in a grey soil that’s very sandy,” he says. “They do that because they can feed them up with fertiliser, which makes them grow very fast and very big. And that’s why supermarkets charge $1.50 to $2 a kilo for them. They’re force-fed.””

I went to a farmers market the other week.  I purchased 12 organic apples, two each of six different varieties.  They were heritage apples, of types that are not commercially available because they either don’t crop in profitable numbers, or are fussy growers etc.  I have to admit, they looked pretty awful; misshapen, some with bore holes and flaws on the skin.  But, they were the most amazingly tasty apples I have ever eaten, the variety of flavours, all sweet, fragrant and delicious. 

I have eaten my sister’s home grown peaches (which can’t be transported at all, and have to be eaten straight off the tree).  Warm, ripe and juicy, their flavour just divine.  Also, my sister’s eggs from her free range chooks have bright orange yolks and are very, very tasty, just like eggs should be. 

The company I work for has a property near Nyngan in NSW. There is an orange tree growing there that produces the most magnificent oranges I have ever eaten.  It is an added bonus to visit there in winter, pick these ripe treats, and eat masses of them straight off the tree. Nothing is done to them, they just grow.  The locals also pick and eat them.

It may not be the organic technique, but that these potatoes, apples, peaches, eggs and oranges are grown the way nature intended, slowly, with all the flavour and goodness allowed to develop.   I grow my own herbs for cooking and the flavour of the fresh herbs in the cooking, with only compost to feed them, beats any supermarket bought herbs.

I make my own bread when I can, using a bread maker.  Yes, it takes three hours, but I know what goes into it, and it is mmmmm. I make my own yoghurt too, when I can, fresh, fresh, fresh!

So, my philosophy: what I buy/eat.

Organic is more expensive. However, I want to reduce the chemicals used in the production of food; not only for myself but also to benefit the environment.

• ©       We eat very little meat in my house, so I buy perhaps a few organic chicken breasts or organic mince every few weeks and freeze most of it in meal size serves until I need it.
• ©       I always buy free range eggs (for a number of ethical reasons as well as health benefits) and try to buy organic free range.
• ©       I always buy organic milk – permeate free and unhomogenised.  Parmalat is a good Aussie brand.  This way I can make yoghurt and cream cheese with it too (and I am going to try and make labna next!).  
• ©       I buy lots of fruit and veges and wash everything well before eating. If I can, I will buy organic, but I hate buying supermarket organic because it is all wrapped in plastic.  Farmers market organic, where you take your own bags, is better. So I try to mix it up, and mainly try to buy organic for the  ‘dirty dozen’ and supermarket stuff for everything else.
• ©       I will always try and buy local first (Safeway have signs that tell you if the produce is local, national or from overseas) and from small companies rather than big multi nationals.  This reduces food miles and, supports the smaller companies and helps preserve rural and ethical employment. (Although not local; Safcol (the tuna people) who’s fish are ethically line and pole caught, are not favourites of supermarkets... so buy them more and support their products.  P.S. their olive oil tuna is much nicer than the Sirena brand, and all olive oil, not a mix of oils.)
• ©       I look at the packaging.  Can I recycle the packaging?  Can I reuse the packaging? How much packaging is there? (mini bags inside bigger bags etc).
• ©       I grow stuff in my small shady urban courtyard.  Tomatoes are easy, so are herbs and baby spinach and rocket. The lemon tree doesn’t take much space and takes care of itself.  I am slowly de-weeding the ‘sea change’ and will put in lots of fruit trees and raised garden beds for veges and berry canes (dream, dream). Chooks will have to wait.
• ©       If a neighbour/relative etc offers you stuff they have grown or raised themselves, take it! With thanks. And enjoy it. 

I know it’s not perfect, but every time I consciously think about what I am buying and eating, a small difference is made.  Imagine if, every day, we all did one small conscious action about what we consume, cumulatively it would be very, very effective.

The ‘Dirty Dozen’

1

Apples

2

Celery

3

Sweet bell peppers

4

Peaches

5

Strawberries

6

Nectarines

7

Grapes

8

Spinach

9

Lettuce

10

Cucumbers

11

Blueberries 

12

Potatoes

Green beans

Kale/Greens

+ May contain pesticide residues of special concern

Clean 15^™

Lowest in Pesticide

1

Onions

2

Sweet Corn

3

Pineapples

4

Avocado

5

Cabbage

6

Sweet peas

7

Asparagus

8

Mangoes

9

Eggplant

10

Kiwi

11

Cantaloupe 

12

Sweet potatoes

13

Grapefruit

14

Watermelon

15

Mushrooms

Blue Zones: is diet really the key?

I was reading Sarah Wilsons blog – and she mentioned research being done in Blue Zone areas.  Of course, I Googled; because it was a term I was unfamiliar with. 

According to Wikipedia, Blue Zone is “a concept used to identify a demographic and/or geographic area of the world where people live measurably longer lives, as described in Dan Buettner's book, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from people who lived the longest." 

Phew, what does this mean?  That, in certain parts of the world, people live for longer. 

These places are:

Sardinia in Italy: the Islands of Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California: (Seventh-day Adventist ), Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and  Ikaria in Greece.  

In particular, the Island of Ikaria has the highest percentage of 90 year-olds on the planet and a 20% lower rate of cancer, 50% lower rate of heart disease and almost no dementia.

Now, Sarah is a huge advocate for the Paleo diet – lots of red meat and animal proteins, vegetables and limited bread and sugars. She has her own version of it that suits her health issues, with no grains or alcohol or sugars at all.

Peter D’Adamo is the author of the Blood Type diet, an interesting concept I 'sort-of' follow. I found it interesting that my blood type, A -, should be a vegetarian, which I am, but not because he said so. The things that D’Adamo says I should not eat are the foods I know upset my digestion.  Go figure. He also advocates that certain foods cause ongoing health issues and may trigger certain diseases.

There is a great deal of support for the Mediterranean diet too.  Eat like the Greeks: most - fresh veges and fruit, grains, legumes, fish, wine, less – cheese, chicken, eggs, olive oil, limit - red meat and sugar.

Now, if you ask me, the places where long life is expected have great diversity between their diets.  You have your vegan Seventh Day Adventists, your Mediterranean Sardinians and Ikarains, your low calorific eating Okinawans (where yellow and green veges dominate and most natives are low in their BMI) and the Chorotega diet of beans, rice and vegetables three times a day for the Costa Ricans. 

So, where are the similarities, for those of us who would like to live longer, healthier, and presumably happier lives.

Buettner has identified the following:

©      Active lifestyle- just keep busy

©      Purposeful outlook — have clarity about your role in life

©      Down shift on stress

©      Eat to 80% full

©      Plant slant — meat as a condiment

©      The occasional glass of wine

©      Belong to a community – lots of social engagement

©      Loved ones first

©      Right Tribe — have a social circle that promotes healthy lifestyle

©      No smoking

©       Legumes  - beans, beans, beans

©      Limit sugar

So, my personal check list for the above is not too bad; I have to work on the stress bit, love the idea of the wine! Sugar- hmmm does chocolate count?

It seems to me that it is not so much what you eat, but your total attitude to life and how you live it (inherent in  places of longevity through circumstance, not through premeditated decision making). 

Western Society, in so many ways, seems toxic. Not only the pace of life, the shallowness of our lifestyles and consumerist culture, but also the way we purchase and eat food; wrapped in plastic, pesticide filled, homogenised, coloured, flavoured........

Even the plastics and rare metals in the products we use (tv's, foam couches etc) exude a small amount of vapour that we absorb, not to mention the chemicals we slather on our bodies in the name of cleanliness and beauty. 

Our judgement on other people, molded through the plethora of 'reality shows' and other forms of media; the way people treat each other in everyday life (just read the news, which I now shy away from) erodes our sense of community and harmony.  

I have a lot to think about; the purposefulness of my life, the clarity of my role in family and society and what will bring meaning to myself.  Perhaps I should mull it over with a piece of chocolate and a glass of wine.