.SOMETIMES RAW.

Why is organic expensive and why buy it?

Organic products are more expensive because of higher production costs. These include the cost of organic seeds and fertilizers, labor, lower yields of certain crops, and marketing. Organic products are also not subsidized by the government, as are commercially produced products. The growing of organic products prevents soil depletion and contributes to maintaining water quality; it uses less energy and keeps harmful and unnecessary chemicals off our plates. Organic products are not exposed to antibiotics: buying them means you help protect farm workers and support an economy that promotes biodiversity. Most importantly, the taste and flavor are so much better.

It is also wise to avoid crops that have been grown with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Check the source of the meat, eggs, and dairy you buy; milk, cheese, eggs, meat, and poultry could all come from animals that were given GMO feed. If you are concerned, choose organic or non-GMO verified. Certified organic products do NOT contain GMOs. Look for the no-GMO label. The five most prevalent GMO crops – corn, canola, soy, cotton, and sugar beets – end up as hidden additives in all kinds of prepared foods including corn syrup, oil, sugar, flavoring agents, thickeners and hundreds of other foods.

Feel good about frozen: most frozen fruit and vegetables are non-GMO unless they are one of these five high-risk crops: corn, Hawaiian papaya, edamame (soybeans), zucchini and yellow summer squash. Choose organic or non-GMO verified for those five and watch out for other ingredients that might be from a high-risk crop. Choosing dried beans, grains, nuts and seeds, while avoiding corn and soy, is a great way to go non-GMO.

How do I eat more sustainably?

Support local and organic when you can. Shop at farmer’s markets whenever you can. Buy directly from an organic farm (great for meat, apples, pears, berries – things that freeze and store well). Join a Food Coop, e.g. the Ontario Natural Food Coop. Support Community Shared Agriculture. Join a community garden or grow your own; a window and pot are enough to get started. Use the Dirty Dozen & Clean 15 lists as a reference. Use the Environmental Working Group’s website as a reference.

How do I save money and eat well?

Plan your meals. Buy in bulk. Batch cook. Make your own stock, milk, nut/seed butter, dips, and dressings. Buy local and in season. Preserve the harvest (freeze, dry, ferment). Eat and cook meals at home. Eat cheaper cuts of meat (organ meat, ground meat, soup chickens). Support the Ugly Food Movement; apples with brown spots can still be eaten.

Get in the habit of eating everything you buy. Older vegetables and leftover cooked rice or quinoa can make a great soup or a hearty casserole. Leftover bread can be made into croutons or frozen and saved for a yummy bread pudding. Borderline fruit can be put in the blender and either put in smoothies or frozen for another use.

What are the impacts of Climate Change?

Environmental impacts/What to expect according to research: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCP) predicts:

a rise in sea levels of up to 2 feet by 2100. Loss of freshwater (reduced snowmelt and saltwater intrusion), extreme weather patterns (hurricanes, droughts and extreme heat, floods, blizzards, tornados), forest loss due to fire and the spread of disease, oceanic acidification and dead zones, habitat change (cold – and vulnerable species) and potential mass extinction, and changing migration patterns.

Social impact: Coastal and island nations are at risk. Drought, crop disease, lack of water and food in vulnerable areas. Climate refugees and climate migrants have no international legal protection – 26 million people worldwide are displaced annually due to environmental disasters. Land grabs, land prices, global poverty, hunger, and increased social tension all contribute to the social impact of climate change.

Human impacts: Lack of food/diversity of food. Heat exhaustion. Nutrient deficiencies. Mental health. Crop failure due to extreme weather and rising temperatures. Lack of fresh water. Spread of tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever. A rise in insect-borne illnesses such as Lyme. Exacerbation of smog conditions such as asthma.

What can be done? Consume less. Buy better: Think locally, act globally. Support organizations that campaign to protect the climate. Recognize the connection of food to climate: we can make a difference! Get indoor plants. The top five houseplants that filter air are: Spider Plants, Peace Lilly, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Golden Pothos, and Aloe Vera!

Now, go outside and play.

Stay happy. Stay healthy. Part 2 is coming soon.

It is finally warm(er) in Canada which means for me, I want to eat light. One of my favorite things to prepare is (local, wild, Canadian) salmon. It is simple, delicious, quick and healthy. I fill my salad bowl with bright and fresh vegetables full of nutrients that my son enjoys as well. Feel free to adapt the recipe and include whatever you have on hand. Many veggies can be prepped ahead of time, so you can easily assemble your bowls on the fly when you come home late from the pool ha! Enjoy!

Salmon Veggie Bowl

Ingredients: yields one portion

3 oz. wild caught salmon
sweet paprika
dill, thyme
zucchini
cucumber
purple cabbage
lemon
fresh mint
olive oil
apple cider vinegar

How to:  

Wash veggies (actually, always wash all your veggies!). Chop carrots and cucumber or spiral your veggies. Chop or slice the purple cabbage and mint. Prepare vegetables any way you prefer. Mix in a bowl and set aside. Preheat over to 400 degrees.

While the oven is preheating, place salmon skin side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put a little olive or avocado oil under salmon if you’d like to so the skin won’t stick to the parchment paper. Or don’t, if you prefer the salmon without the skin.

Squeeze lemon over salmon and then season with sweet paprika, dill, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bake salmon for 12-15 minutes. Place desired amount of prepped veggies into a bowl. I like to chop a lot extra to use the veggies for quick meals over the next few days and they keep nicely in the fridge. Use a dressing of choice or use a drizzle of apple cider vinegar and olive oil. Once salmon is done baking, place it on top of veggies and enjoy!

I added sliced radishes, pickled onions, and sesame, ginger, carrots to my bowl (you can really add anything to your dish: sliced avocado, roasted veggies, brown rice, etc.).

My coffee is strong, I pour in some milk; the white substance plunges in and reappears in some odd looking pattern. I hold my hands around the cup to warm them. I think about the past, I think about her. Her face is horribly sad and she looks very tired. I have wanted to say something to her for a long time but decided to wait. The only reason I am writing this is that I am worried about her, worried about her wellbeing.

I blow into my cup before taking a sip; perhaps this just makes the time pass, while saying her name inside. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do but I start to write.

D.,

this is a letter to you. You, who is in an abusive relationship. The abuse you are living is verbal, emotional, physical and maybe even sexual. There are some things I want you to know, and the first and most important is that you are loved. The second one is that, even though I am far away, I am here for you. You are a good person. You are wonderful no matter what happened and what has been said. You are you.

You are valuable. Please do not forget that, even though he will try to convince you otherwise. You are stronger than that, do not be frightened by him. You have value and worth that he can neither give nor take away from you. You have a right to your reactions, a right to wear make-up and a skirt if you choose to. You have a right to have a Facebook or Instagram account if you want to. Nobody is allowed to tell you to delete all this just because you start a relationship.

He will make you feel bad. He will tell you that you are wrong and unreasonable and just misunderstood by everyone, including your family. But the family is here for you. Nobody left. He put so much bullshit in your head that you, at this point are probably not even sure anymore what is real. Maybe you feel like you cannot trust your own memories and you ended up agreeing with him. Of course, you must have misunderstood when he told you not to wear that dress to pick up your children from school. How come he beat you up so badly because didn’t he say he loves you? How come he does not let you have your own phone? How come he controls who you talk to and when? How come I cannot ever reach you?

So he tells you more lies and garbage and you end up agreeing with him. Of course, you do. He threatens you with more stuff. You also must have misunderstood when he told you you cannot spend time with your girlfriends anymore. You ask yourself how someone so loving, caring and sweet as he can be sometimes does such hurtful things.

You know why? Because the darkness in your partner won’t go away. No therapy can fix this. Ever. You are not imagining things. You do not have to punish yourself or bring yourself down. You are enough. Good enough. It is your okay to talk to family and friends on YOUR OWN phone. Just because you have some good memories with him does not mean the bad times are worth enduring. Don’t the good times usually always come when you almost had enough? Maybe you don’t see that you are abused or maybe it is hard because you love him but just because there may be love does not mean there isn’t abuse.

Abuse can take many forms and maybe you are too deep in it all to really see and understand. It may even have become normal to you. Even normal to the two of you. When you cry on the phone, when you whisper on the phone, when you have to hang up because he is coming home it is NOT OKAY. When your kids say that you cry a lot and are sad, it is NOT OKAY. When you have to hide things from him because you know it will upset him to the point that the anger terrifies you, it is NOT OKAY. When he does something that hurts you a lot, then apologizes but keep doing it and DOING it over and over again it is NOT OKAY. It is NOT OKAY that he punches you in the face so you have a black eye.

It must be so hard to see what is happening when you live in this abusive relationship and it seems impossible for family and friends to understand because we all just don’t see “his good parts”. But guess what? We all see what is happening. We all see it clearly in ways you cannot right now. This abusive relationship is changing and damaging you. Everyone can see it but you.

You probably still love and see good him. He says he loves you, the bond is deep, the relationship is real and more but that does NOT mean that the way he treats you is acceptable. That does not mean you should stay. Plus, it is not all about you anymore. You have children.

There is support out there! I will support you. We all will. I promise. Things will suck for a while, but it will all get better. So much better. I will help you and hold you up until the ache changes from being intense to dull to manageable and you can stand up on your own again. You also know where you can always find more help, safety and a place to stay.

Remember, abusive behavior is always a choice. He may be troubled but that does not absolve him of responsibility. It is also not your job to fix him. Looking at what you have been through already, it seems that he is just not a good person for you. You cannot change him! Keep that in mind. He won’t change because of you. I know you want to. I know you want to save this relationship because you put so much love into it and he is so nice sometimes. But you CANNOT! No matter how much you love him. No matter how good you try to be so he won’t get mad. NOTHING WILL EVER STOP THE ABUSE. IT WILL GET WORSE.

Talk to me. Let me know about your situation so I can be there to help if you need it. We always used to talk for hours. I do not want to lose you.