Healthy foods forum???

[Jiffer]

I've been searching the internet for a good forum I can go to for inspiration on healthy eating. I'm talking about organic whole foods type eating. Not counting fats and calories and using chemical sugar substitutes and "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". (Because I CAN believe it's not butter!)

I read a bunch of books and was all inspired about 6 months ago to change my eating habits. I even realized proof of my better eating when I saw my hygenist and she couldn't believe how my teeth and gums had improved since she saw my 3 months before. I have juvenile periodontist and have already lost all my upper teeth because of it, but I'm trying keep my lower teeth as long as possible. I told her I was confident it was due to the changes in my eating and she was impressed. However, I have found myself falling off the wagon more and more lately. I'm hoping to find a website that will inspire me to keep up the good work, just as this site inspires me to get on my bike and ride!!!

For anyone interested, I did find a really great site with tons of great info and recipes, but it doesn't have a forum. http://www.whfoods.com You might want to check it out.

Anyways, if anyone knows of a good forum for me to explore, I'd love to hear about it.

[Eden]

We could just start posting healthy meals here!
Here's an easy health dinner I like to make- quantities depend on how many you want to feed
cooked quinoa
canned chick peas reaheated in their own liquid with a little lemon and oregano added
zuchinni sauteed in a little bit of olive oil
yogurt sauce (grated cucumber, fat free yogurt, a little minced garlic, salt, cumin)
reduced fat feta (the fat free is icky... and a little fat is good for you)
chopped red onion
diced tomato

serve either in bowls or stuffed into pitas (I like the whole wheat ones, but they are fragile so I usually put everthing and a bowl and eat it accompanied by the pita) - equally as good warm or cooled

[Tuckervill]

vegsource.com has been around a long, long time and is tried and true. You won't find much about organic meat, I'm sure, but there is a lot of diversity there. They even have a huge homeschooling segment.

Karen

[pyxichick]

Hey, I've been doing the same thing for the past few months. Now that I've been eating mostly organic and locally grown food, I find that I actually enjoy trips to the grocery store (co-op or farmers' market, now.)

I'm not sure if they have forums where you can connect with other people, but here are two websites inspired by two of my favorite books on this topic.

Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope

John Robbins' Food Revolution

[DarcyInOregon]

I've been searching the internet for a good forum I can go to for inspiration on healthy eating. I'm talking about organic whole foods type eating. Not counting fats and calories and using chemical sugar substitutes and "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". (Because I CAN believe it's not butter!)

Jiffer, are you saying you actually use artificial sweeteners? That stuff is considered toxins and not healthy. Doctors will tell you that most artificial sweeteners remain in the liver, and it takes over six months of not consuming any for the body to flush it all out of the system.

I can't quite tell from the way you worded the sentence, if you intended to have a "not" in front of "using chemical sugar substitutes" because consuming artificial sweeteners is certainly not an aspect of healthy eating.

Darcy

[Torrilin]

Egullet is one of the better foodie sites out there. That means everything from starting a restaurant to how to make an enjoyable gourmet meal and still be within your Weight Watchers limits. Very diverse site.

There is plenty of discussion of treats (a whole forum on pastry and baking), so if that's likely to trigger you, it might not be the best place. On the other hand, members encourage each other to eat local, eat organic, and avoid heavily processed foods. Lots of encouragement for homemade lemonade, and none for diet Coke .

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Jiffer, are you saying you actually use artificial sweeteners? That stuff is considered toxins and not healthy. Doctors will tell you that most artificial sweeteners remain in the liver, and it takes over six months of not consuming any for the body to flush it all out of the system.

I can't quite tell from the way you worded the sentence, if you intended to have a "not" in front of "using chemical sugar substitutes" because consuming artificial sweeteners is certainly not an aspect of healthy eating.

Darcy

She meant she does not use artificial sweeteners.

[Kimmyt]

Not really related to discussing nutrition, but I like this website: http://www.localharvest.org

Check out the links on CSA's... I think they're totally a great way to eat naturally and locally-grown food products and support the farmers that try and make a difference.

K.

[smilingcat]

Hey, I've been doing the same thing for the past few months. Now that I've been eating mostly organic and locally grown food, I find that I actually enjoy trips to the grocery store (co-op or farmers' market, now.)

I'm not sure if they have forums where you can connect with other people, but here are two websites inspired by two of my favorite books on this topic.

Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope

John Robbins' Food Revolution

Jane Goodall's "Harvest of Hope" is a really good read. A must!

Adding to DarcyinOregon, yes some of the artificial sweetners approved in USA is banned in EU, Australia, Japan... If you do a search on Aspirtain (sp) and look at some of the technical journals, it has been linked to whole bunch of reall bad things ADD for starters.

We refused to buy anything made in China, not because we are racist, but rather because they have such poor safety track. Toothpaste sweetened with ethylene-glycol(anti freeze), dog&cat food, monkfish turned out to be puffer fish full of tetrodoxin (works on nerves and you stop breathing), other fish contaminated with fungacide, industrial red dye used in eggs...

Unfortunately, the labels do not indicate where the ingredients came from. So you could be eating something made in USA and have wheat glutin from China.

Needless to say, my housemate and I rarely eat any pre-processed food. Only processed food is ice-cream, pasta made in Italy, artisan bread (cause I been bit lazy about baking our own whole wheat bread).

Smilingcat

[Jiffer]

Jiffer, are you saying you actually use artificial sweeteners?

Hi Darcy. No, I haven't used artificial sweetners in at least 10 years, and didn't really use them much before that ... nor margarine, etc. Sorry if my post was confusing.

Yes, I am all about whole foods, organic and natural. I buy the least refined sugar. I tried Stevia, but I don't really care for it. I've been telling my mom for years how bad margarine and diet sodas are, yet just recently that she told me how bad hydrogenated oils are, so she won't eat margarine anymore. Ummm ... yah ... told you that 10 years ago! Sadly, I don't think she's truly caught on to the horror of chemical sweetners, though. She still has a diet soda from time to time. I'd rather drink water ANY day than a diet soda, not just because of the chemicals, but because I can't stand the taste. I allow myself and my kids one regular soda a week. Usually Dr. Pepper! Yesterday I tried to order one, but they didn't have it. I got Pepsi instead and didn't even finish it. It's just not the same! If I'm going to allow myself something so bad for me only once a week, it better be something REALLY tasty!

[Jones]

I know this isn't really whole foods but, soda sold in the U.S. is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, soda sold in other countries are sweetened with sugar. While neither of these are great choices if you are going to drink soda the sugar option is better, several U.S. retailers (including Wal-Mart) have started selling Mexican Coca-Cola and boy does it taste good.

[solobiker]

This would be a great discussion thread. I keep trying to eat better. It lasts for a week or two then I fall off the routine. I have been staying away from sodas and juice except for the occasoinal OJ. I drink primarily water. My weaknesses are the snack type foods. I love pretzles, nuts, and some sweet treats as well.

[Tuckervill]

Jones Soda rocks out with only sugar and no HFCS.

Karen

[DarcyInOregon]

Eating healthy is partially defined by keeping toxins out of the body, which are chemicals that remain in the organs and lymphatic system and are difficult for the body to excrete.

Toxins enter our bodies through three routes: 1)the environment, with respect to what we are exposed to on a daily basis such as pollution; 2)the skin, as in lotions, perfumes, soaps and so on, and 3)the food and liquids we consume.

To eat healthy, a person needs to eliminate or minimize the amount of chemicals they consume. It is why so many TE members will say don't eat processed packaged foods, or frozen processed meals, or hormone fed meat and poultry, or cola soda pops. Other substances considered to be toxins are caffeine, alcohol and nicotine.

The accumulation of toxins in the body is believed to cause a wide range of illnesses, including cancers, allergies and immune disorders. Many of the effects are long-term, in the sense that it may take decades of toxin accumulation for the body to show signs of distress. By then, the person is older and suffering, and is looking back and regretting the years of choices that lead to a specific avoidable disease. A blatant example is a chain smoker who eventually gets emphysema or lung cancer. A not-so-obvious example might be a person who is suffering brain damage from constriction of the blood vessels in the brain.

It is why drinking a lot of pure water everyday is so important, because the water helps to flush out the toxins that enter the body through the breathing, the skin and the food/liquid consumption.

I wish I could be toxin free. I am not. I minimize my exposure to toxins by limiting my consumption of foods and drinks that are man-made chemicals, such as artificial sweeteners. I don't smoke, drink alchohol, or take drugs. I don't drink coffee or cola drinks. My worse folly is eating Oreo cookies on my longer rides during the summer months, because the cookies don't melt in the summer heat; I should make my own carrot cake with raisins to take with me instead.

Darcy

[Jiffer]

My weaknesses are the snack type foods. I love pretzles, nuts, and some sweet treats as well.

Nuts are great for you! Especially almonds. Just today I was eating nuts and told myself I needed to eat more of them (instead of cookies and chocolate). Of course, TOO much of anything can be bad, and you don't want to eat them just to eat them out of boredom when you're not even hungry, but if you're gonna have a snack, nuts are a great choice.