Not From Concentrate Orange Juice: Hidden Chemicals

I don't drink juice anymore but my husband does. So when I read this article, I was not surprised, but I was disappointed. Most "not from concentrate" orange juice is stored for about a year before being bottled and sold, during which all the oxygen is taken out of it after it has been heated up for pasteurization. Pretty obvious then that the flavors are changed. Sadly, companies add "flavor packs" made from "orange essence" to put their own taste-spin on OJ. This of course, does not have to be listed on the ingredients label. Yep, just another reason you can't trust the FDA's "standards".

Vanishing Of The Bees : Documentary Review

     Honey is essential to the specific carbohydrate diet; this is my initial reasoning on why I wanted to watch the documentary Vanishing of the Bees. As I watched, I learned just how important honey bees are to the world's food in general. Bees play an integral part of pollination, a process which without, we would simply have no food supply left, save some grains like corn and wheat. So even if you do not eat honey on a regular basis, and even if you find bees to be an annoyance, or picture them as mindless, raging stinging machines- you need to watch this movie.
     They basic synopsis is that since around the year 2006 the honey bee population in the United States has been rapidly declining. Entire farms of bees, or apiaries, were vanishing, (sometimes up to millions of bees at once) not even leaving behind the dead bees- but simply disappearing without a trace, and seemingly without a cause. This was labeled as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).  The documentary features beekeepers and their initial reactions and investigations into what was causing CCD. The main culprits were of course disease and pests, but those were rather quickly ruled out. These beekeepers then travel across the globe to France, to learn from their eerily similar circumstances that had happened just a few years prior. Of course, the French governments, and other governments in general, run very differently than the US government, so when the French beekeepers discovered that their bee deaths began rapidly increasing around the same time the Bayer company introduced systemic pesticides the French government outlawed them. These systemic pesticides are being used in the US and are of course produced by Monsanto. The difference of these newer pesticides is that the seeds (take sunflowers for example) are dredged in the pesticide even before being planted. Then as the plant grows these chemicals are essentially swirling around inside every part of the plant- the stem, the leaves, and yes, the flower itself. So when the bee goes to collect pollen from the flower it also collects the chemicals. The problem in stopping these systemic pesticides is proving that they are a real threat to anything- to bees, to us who eat the crops, to the environment. See, the bee does not die right away after collecting pollen from the tainted crops, but it is that that over time the chemicals build up and weaken the structure of the bee, eventually leading to its death. There is a particularly moving scene in the film where the French filmed a bee pollinating an organic sunflower- it moves around as you would expect a bee to, in a fast pattern. Then a bee was filmed pollinating a sunflower grown with systemic pesticides- the bee looks like it is having a seizure, it is trying to clean itself off but the poor thing can barely move, it is obvious that the bee is shutting down. I literally cried after seeing that. The condition of our food system is sad to say the least.

     The film also touched on the fact that so much "honey" is now being imported from China in giant barrels. The importers claim their goods to only be worth $.18 /lb. Which is absurd. These barrels have been tested and shown to contain lactose (which comes from milk) and high fructose corn syrup. These "honey" barrels are then sold to big distributors like General Mills, Kellog's, and others. So if you are not on SCD, I hate to break it to you but your Honey Nut Cheerio's are probably 0% actual honey. Just reminds me of my post from a couple weeks ago Watch Your Honey!

     What I also noticed is that the more I watch documentaries the more I see a link in all of the problems with our way of eating in the US. It has to do with the consumer, the producer, and the regulator. The producers use pesticides that are harmful, but they are cheap, the regulator is the FDA and the EPA, both of which are run by money, greed, and imperfect men (enough said). The consumers are each one of us individually. I will never forget a quote from Food Inc. which said something to the affect of 'every time you purchase an item at the grocery store, you are voting for that item' (I know it is not exact). Basically, if you don't want to eat genetically modified foods, grown with systemic pesticides, and known to harm animals and the environment in general (it probably does the same to the human body) then do not buy those foods. The grocers and farmers meet the demands of the buyers. If you buy organic, raw, unprocessed, untreated foods, that is what will be provided. As for me, though, I am beginning to think that all food is tainted. I have the strongest urge to turn my entire backyard into a vegetable garden, plant one of every kind of fruit tree, and buy a bee colony and collect my own holistic honey. I will let you know how that goes.

SCD Basque-Rubbed Chicken and Veggie Skewers & Chimichurri Dipping Sauce

 At times it can be discouraging to watch cooking shows and find that it is impossible to turn the recipe into one that is gut-friendly without killing the integrity behind the intended flavors. So the other day when I was watching The Nate Show I was elated to see that the cooking feature of the show was entirely SCD-friendly! Yay! So of course I made all of the dishes, here is how they turned out:

(btw: This is by no means my own recipe, I lay no claim to its originality. See here for original recipes)

Basque-Rubbed Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Ingredients

12 8-inch wooden skewers, soaked

3 whole chickens, cut into bite-size (1/2 inch inch) strips or cubes

2 whole lemons, cut into wedges for the skewers

1 whole orange, cut into wedges for the skewers

1 red bell pepper, cut into wedges for the skewers

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into wedges for the skewers

For the Basque Blend:

3 tablespoons dried finely ground orange peel

1 1/2 tablespoons ground chili powder

1 tablespoon sea salt

1/2 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Rub the chicken pieces with sprinkling of salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl or cup, stir together the orange peel, chili powder, sea salt and black pepper. Rub this mixture evenly over the chicken pieces. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas grill to high. (or bake them)

4. Thread skewers with 3 or 4 pieces of marinated chicken, alternating with small wedges of lemons, oranges, red and yellow bell peppers.

5. Place skewers on an area of the grill with no direct flame. Grill about 8 to 10 minutes, turning the pieces occasionally, until meat is browned on all sides and the juices run clear.

6. Arrange the chicken and veggie skewers on a platter.

Personal notes: I found I do not like orange peel on spicy chicken, doesn't blend well for my palate. I will omit the next time. Also, I used 2 chicken breasts, 1 orange, 1 lemon, and 1 yellow bell pepper and omitted the rest.

 Chimichurri Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 bay leaves
1 fresh ancho chile, with seeds, coarsely chopped
1 fresh Serrano or jalapeño chile, with seeds, coarsely chopped
1/2 TBS salt
3/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup finely minced fresh oregano
1/4 cup of minced basil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 packet Ranch Dips Mix (see here for recipe)
3/4 cup Greek-dripped yogurt

 Blend all the ingredients except for the yogurt together until becomes a sauce, then pour over yogurt and mix. Personal notes: I thought it was a bit parsley-ey (too much) and also too runny for my taste, I would 1/2 the amount of ingredients except for the yogurt next time to make it thicker. Also I omitted the bay leaves.

Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients
3 pounds Brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 TBS unsalted butter
¼ cup capers, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Directions
1. Prepare the Brussels sprouts by peeling off the tired outside leaves and cutting off the stem. Mark the core where the stem was with an X using a paring knife. Cut the sprouts in half.
2. In a 4 quart sauce pan bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Season with 1 tablespoon of salt. Blanch the sprouts for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.
3. In a 10-inch sauté pan, brown the butter and add in the sprouts. Cook on medium high heat, rolling the sprouts in the pan, until the sprouts are well caramelized on all sides, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, and add the capers and lemon juice. Sprinkle with cheese.


Personal notes: These are perfect! The lemon really cuts the bitterness of the sprouts I omitted the capers, but everything else turned out great! Yumm, I never thought I liked brussels sprouts before! 

(no picture of these, sorry; my husband and I ate them so fast!)

Sweet and Sour Candy-Like Fruits

I like simple recipes, and this is less of a recipe and more of just a tip I recently discovered. Now that I am following the outlines of SCD and the Page Diet I can not eat fruits in combination with any other kind of food. So I have learned to enjoy fruits as more of a dessert. Since citrus fruits are in season I decided to squeeze some lemon on my cooked pear & apple mixture. It really brought out the flavors and it tasted slightly like a Jolly Rancher. Needless to say, I have since been adding lemon juice almost every time I eat fruits and I can't imagine going back to the "plain" way. Just a tip!