Last night I decided to take some r&r time and started reading my latest book purchase: Slow Death by Rubber Duck, How the toxic chemistry of everyday life affects our health by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.

There I was soaking in my acrylic tub, leaning against my plastic pillow, within sniffing distance of my vinyl shower curtain, when I came to the section called “Plastic Free” beginning on page 49. As part of the experiment, Rick was trying to go for two days straight without eating anything that had come in contact with plastic in an effort to detox his body of phthalates and bisphenal A. These two chemicals are ubiquitous in everyday products, including food and the environment, and are thought to, and in some cases proven to be detrimental to our health (most notably crazy mutations in the development of male genitalia … read the book…)

As it turns out, I have also been thinking about doing an experiment where I didn’t purchase any food wrapped in plastic packaging. In fact I had already started to research the subject to see if it was actually possible.

After a restless sleep and crazy dreams about digging in a ploughed field wondering why the seeds had not sprouted, I woke up this morning and decided today was the day! From June 30, 2009 through July 29, 2009 I am going to conduct my own experiment: No food purchased that has plastic packaging.

Looking at the month ahead, there is at least one road trip in my plans, my birthday is in the middle of the month, several potluck gatherings are on my calendar, and its festival time in Calgary. I know I will be doing a lot of eating out.

Now I am unwilling to be a party pooper or hermit for the month, so the rules of my plastic-free-food experiment will have to take into account the fact that I cannot control what other people purchase and serve. For instance, I know that a meal prepared in a restaurant will use produce and other ingredients that are purchased in plastic bags and bottles.

With that in mind I will have only one rule for my experiment. I will not personally purchase any food item that has plastic as part of its packaging. The key word here is “purchase”, which means I am allowing myself to eat any food that is currently in my kitchen that has plastic packaging, as well as food that other people have purchased and prepared.

While technically I will not be eating plastic-free, what I hope to achieve is an awareness of just how much we rely on plastic for packaging.

Should be interesting month!

Quick, satisfying, easy cleanup. Raspberry Shake can also be frozen in popsicle molds for a nurishing cool off on a hot afternoon.

Raspberry Shake is:
- Low to medium alkaline forming depending on what nuts you use
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber

Ingredients
½ cup raw nuts (macadamias, cashews, almonds or your favourite)
1 or 2 dates, pit removed
2 cups water
1 cup frozen raspberries or if you want to use fresh raspberries, add ½ cup of ice cubes
Splash of Vanilla extract (optional)
¼ inch fresh ginger root (optional)

Directions
1. Place nuts, dates, water, and fresh ginger root (if using) in blender and blend until smooth
2. Add raspberries and blend again until smooth and frothy
3. Enjoy!

Have you been swatting at mosquitoes the past few days?

Well before you get annoyed and grab for a spray bottle of “who-knows-what-but-they-say-its-safe” concoction, take a moment to remember dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, more commonly known as DDT.

Its pretty unlikely that mosquito you’re swatting at is infected with malaria … that’s a good thing. And some people will argue that the use of nasty chemicals is justified; that the good they do in the world outweighs the bad. 

But I say that if we are smart enough to create something that useful, but harmful, aren’t we also smart enough to figure out a less harmful solution? 

But I digress … we were talking about DDT.

DDT was discovered to be a very effective insecticide that, among other things, stopped the spread of malaria by killing malaria infected mosquitoes. This discovery came about some 65 years after DDT was first created in a lab. In fact the fellow who discovered its efficacy as an insecticide received a Nobel Prize for his efforts.

One of those great ideas that seemed to work wonders for the world, DDT stopped the spread of malaria. Unfortunately it was also heavily relied on as an agricultural pesticide until some astute Americans were finally able to make their environmental concerns heard via Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring. This 1962 bestseller is thought by some to be what launched the environmental movement, although it still took a full 10 years for the use of DDT to be banned in the US (1972), and another 12 years after that for a ban to take effect in the United Kingdom (1984).

What was concerning these pioneer environmentalists?

Well it seems that DDT gets into the food chain, becoming more and more concentrated, eventually causing harm to those at the top of the food chain. Damage occurs to the liver and central nervous system, the risk of cancer increases and reproduction problems occur, notably eagle eggs, and the eggs of other birds of prey, don’t hatch because their shells are too thin.

Use of DDT today is mostly limited to controlling outbreaks of disease infected insects, and with the decline in its use, an expected drop in human and environmental contamination has also occurred.

Phew! Glad we figured that one out before it did really serious damage!

Oh … just one more thing … you see DDT likes to attach itself to the sediment in water, and when that water is frozen, the degradation of the chemicals into harmless bits is delayed … until the water is thawed out.

Enter global warming and the melting of ice caps. While it seems the worst of DDT contamination is behind us, this ‘good idea gone bad’ may come back and bite us in the butt for a few more years, with penguins taking the brunt of it. (source New Scientist: Melting glaciers release toxic chemical cocktail. May 7, 2008. Accessed June 25, 2009)

Actually … about that biting us in the butt thing … there is at least one other little DDT legacy that still needs to be ‘taken care of’.

For some crazy reason, a Californian DDT manufacturer used the Los Angeles sewer system to get rid of 1,700 tons of DDT between 1947 and 1971, resulting in 17 square miles of the Pacific Ocean being described as “the worst DDT hotspot in the entire U.S.” (source The Buffalo News: EPS plan targets vast DDT deposit off Calif. Coast. June 23, 2009. Accessed June 25, 2009.)

Oops!

This 24 year indiscretion is still contaminating fish that live in the area (near Palos Verdes, Southern California), prompting warnings since the early 1980s to not eat those fish. Almost 40 years later, there is finally a ($36 million) plan to lessen the problem by covering the contaminated area on the bottom of the ocean with 18 inches of sand and silt.

Ya … I’m not even going to comment on that proposed solution … I’m sure they know what they are doing …

So why should we remember the DDT story? Because there are potentially thousands of DDT-like disasters occurring today.

Some we know about, most we don’t.

For our grandchildren’s sake, its time to embrace the less harmful solutions.

I’ve had more than one person tell me that they don’t use reusable cloth bags for their groceries because they like to receive the ‘free’ plastic grocery bags to line their kitchen garbage can.

They say it saves them having to purchase plastic garbage bags.

I used to do the same thing, and when I started using reusable cloth bags regularly, I had a supply of plastic grocery bags for my garbage that lasted me for almost a year.

At first when I realized I was running out of the bags I was perplexed. How was I going to take out my garbage? Those plastic grocery bags were perfect for the kitchen garbage because they are just the right size, and you can tie the handles neatly together to make a tidy little bundle that gets thrown into the bigger garbage bin that the big noisy truck conveniently takes away for me every week.

Out of sight … out of … hmmmm

So I set about rethinking this age old habit. And let me tell you it was a bit of a challenge. Finding a new way to deal with the garbage was easy. Establishing a new habit took a bit more work.

I started by examining what I wasn’t throwing away … anything reusable, recyclable, or returnable.

Then I examined what I was throwing away: all those little bits of plastic food wrapping that are virtually impossible to avoid; the plastic strip security thingys that wrap around bottle and jar lids; the odd miscellaneous wrapper; meat wrappers and trays; food gone bad that is non-compostable and too big to flush; used tissue and paper towels (these would be composted if I had a bigger composting system); other ubiquitous bits and pieces of single use stuff.

Those things add up to about the equivalent of one plastic grocery bag full every week. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but still I am just one person on a planet of almost 7 billion who are also throwing away a bag or two each week.

Most of what I am throwing out is dry, so why do I need the plastic bag to hold it all? The bag does make it more convenient, but its really not necessary. So I bravely tried my first week with no plastic garbage bag liner.

The first hurdle came after I had finished washing the dishes. I drained the sink and automatically scooped the yucky stuff out of the sink drain and almost put it into the unlined garbage basket. I stopped myself in time, thinking what a mess that would have made.

Then I stood there with the guck in my hand wondering what to do now? I decided to throw it into the composter. Hopefully a little environmentally safe dish soap won’t harm the worms.

Phew … that’s one habit confronted.

The next challenge came after I purchased chicken breasts sold on a Styrofoam tray, with a plastic absorbent pad. (I know … that was breaking my own rule about packaging, and one of these days I’m going to confront the meat manager at my local supermarket.) But … back to my garbage story … I knew that if the raw chicken juice/blood soaked packaging sat unwrapped under my sink for more than a few hours the smell would be impossible to live with. So as soon as I had the chicken safely sizzling away on the bbq, I ran the container straight outside to the big giant garbage bin.

Inconvenient? Yes. But then change always is.

I pressed on.

I was now in the habit of running out to the bin and upturning the wicker basket every two or three days, usually as part of my cleaning up the dishes chore.

But there inevitably came the day when I was in a hurry and I was confronted with rethinking the “taking out the garbage on my way to work” habit. What was I to do with the empty wicker basket? I didn’t have time to run it back up stairs. I was walking to work and didn’t want to carry the basket with me all over town. So out of desperation I put the empty basket in my car and retrieved it when I got home. That worked perfectly and it has become a new habit.

Its been over a month since I stopped lining my kitchen garbage basket with plastic and so far it has been working very well.

Perhaps one day the kitchen garbage can itself will be ancient history.

A new website called “What’s On My Food” www.whatsonmyfood.org has been launched. Its purpose is “… to loosen the pesticide industry’s control over global agriculture …” by making information available to the public through the power of computing.

Created by PAN (Pesticide Action Network) North America, What’s On My Food cross-references toxicology data from the US Environmental Protection Agency with the US Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Data Program.

Brilliant!

One of the things that makes this website particularly exciting is it lists the pesticide residues found on both conventionally grown and organically grown food.

Featured are some 49 different foods in various preparation methods. For each of the 89 food entries you can discover if they contain residues which are:

1. Known or Probable Carcinogens
2. Suspected Hormone Disruptors
3. Neurotoxins
4. Developmental or Reproductive Toxicants

Yes … you read that right. Carcinogens, hormone disruptors, neurotoxins and toxins that disrupt human reproduction are all legally used to grow our food. 

That pisses me off!

Some of these chemicals are also finding their way into food grown using organic methods … we live in a closed system … everything affects everything else …

Let’s take a look at what this website says about one of my favourite foods, the Sweet Potato.

- 13 pesticide residues were found on the non-organic Sweet Potatoes; 4 of these same residues were present in the organic Sweet Potatoes grown in the USA; none of the residues were found in the imported organic Sweet Potatoes (there is no mention of what country this product was imported from.)

- The 13 pesticides included: 1 known carcinogen; 2 probable carcinogens; 1 possible carcinogen; 7 suspected hormone disruptors; 6 neurotoxins and 2 reproductive toxins.

Now I’m really pissed!

Eat organic. Grow organically. Hug organic farmers.

Let’s get real about what we eat.

Still on the subject of breakfast, I am a big fan of making a pot of rice every few days and storing it in the fridge (still in the pot … why not? …saves on washing dishes and cuts down on my use of plastic containers that may leach nasty stuff into my low crap food.) I eat that rice cold, like a breakfast cereal.

Rice is easy to cook. The trick is to have a pot with a fairly heavy bottom. You also need to know how hot the ‘simmer’ setting is on your stove. I always use the same pot and burner, so I know I can go away and leave it to cook by itself. If you have never cooked brown rice before, you’ll want to stick within sniffing distance of the stove during the last 10 minutes of cooking to make sure that first batch doesn’t burn.

Rice is made by combining 2 parts water with 1 part rice. I’m in the habit of washing the rice before I cook it, but that is not necessary.

1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water will make about 3 cups cooked rice.

My latest purchase of organic brown Basmati rice cost $1.35 for one cup of dry rice. That works out to about 45 cents per serving. Basmati rice is always more expensive than regular long grain brown rice, which makes this low crap food very economical.

Brown rice by itself is:
- Low acid forming
- Diabetic Friendly
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber

Ingredients
1 cup brown organic rice
2 cups water (you can substitute apple juice, broth, or other liquid)

Milk or Milk substitute: almond, rice, hemp seed milk, etc.

Optional Ingredients. Remember you don’t need to use all the optional ingredients. Just pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.
- Chopped raw nuts: almonds, walnuts, filberts, pine nuts, etc
- Seeds (whole or ground): sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, salba, hemp, etc
- Chopped dried fruit: raisons, currents, apricots, dates, coconut, etc
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, etc
- Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, apples, peaches, bananas, etc
- Dash of flavouring: cinnamon, ginger (fresh grated or dry powdered), dark chocolate (grated), allspice, vanilla extract, carob powder, lemon or lime zest

Directions
1. Put the rice and water together in a pot and turn the heat to medium-high.
2. When the water starts to boil, turn the heat to ‘simmer’ and put a lid on the pot.
3. Set your timer for 50 minutes.
4. Water may seep out of the pot through the lid. This is ok. It the pot starts to boil over, then you need to turn down the heat.
5. Don’t lift the lid during cooking as you will let out too much moisture and the rice may burn before its properly cooked.
6. When 50 minutes has passed, gently lift the lid and tilt the pan slightly to the side. If the rice holds in place, it is ready. If the rice starts to slide, there is still too much moisture in the pot, so put the lid back on and return it to the heat for a few more minutes.
7. To make the rice into breakfast cereal, simply spoon about one cup of either hot or cold cooked rice into a cereal bowl, add any optional ingredients you like and top it off with milk or milk substitute.

Cooked rice can be stored for a week in the fridge … if it lasts that long. Once you get in the habit of always having cooked rice on hand, you will be adding it to salads, soups, snacks and of course breakfast.

Recently a large breakfast cereal company began advertising that some of their boxed breakfast cereals cost less than 50 cents per bowl, including the milk.

Does that seem like a reasonable price for a mediocre breakfast in these tough economic times?

And how many people do you know who can fill up on just one bowl of boxed, dry cereal? I remember my kids motoring through 2 or 3 bowls before feeling some sort of satisfaction, and then pouring half of the milk down the drain … there goes that nutritional part of a healthy breakfast.

Then there’s that issue of the cereal’s packaging. While the outer cardboard portion is recyclable, the inner plastic bag may not be where you live.

A low crap diet strives to reduce the amount of garbage the earth has to deal with. While recycling is a great option for now, reducing really needs to be the ultimate goal.

But reducing doesn’t mean having to go without convenience or taste.

Here are two ways to have a low crap, convenient, nutrition-rich breakfast for less than 50 cents per person. Yup … I’m talking about good old fashioned rolled oats served hot as Porridge or cold as Muesli.

In keeping with a Low Crap tradition, purchase rolled oats in bulk, using your own reusable bag.

The cost for a ½ cup serving of organic rolled oats is about 25 cents. Add a few chopped nuts, raisons and a dash of cinnamon and you have a hearty breakfast that truly costs less than 50 cents per bowl because you will only need one bowl of it to feel satisfied for hours.

You’ll even have money left over to thrown on some fresh fruit slices.

Rolled Oats Raw is quick and easy to prepare. Mix it up before you go to bed and it will be conveniently ready to eat when you wake up.

Rolled Oats Raw are:
- Low to Neutral Alkaline forming
- Diabetic Friendly (use caution with sweeteners and fruit)
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber
- Raw

Ingredients
½ cup rolled oats per serving
1 cup water per serving
¼ cup plain yogurt or to taste

Optional Ingredients. Remember you don’t need to use all the optional ingredients. Just pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.
- Chopped raw nuts: almonds, walnuts, filberts, pine nuts, etc
- Seeds (whole or ground): sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, salba, hemp, etc
- Chopped dried fruit: raisons, currents, apricots, dates, coconut, etc
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, etc
- Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, apples, peaches, bananas, etc
- Dash of flavouring: cinnamon, ginger (fresh grated or dry powdered), dark chocolate (grated), allspice, vanilla extract, carob powder, lemon or lime zest

Directions
1. Place rolled oats and what ever optional ingredients you are using into a glass bowl
2. Add water and stir well
3. Cover with an upturned side plate and place in fridge over night
4. In the morning the oats and other ingredients will be plumped up by the water
5. Spoon yogurt on top
6. Serve and enjoy

Contrary to popular believe porridge cooks up quickly, in about the time it takes you to dry your hair or put on makeup.

You don’t have to buy those sugared up individual little packets to have porridge in a hurry. Purchase organic ‘quick’ rolled oats in bulk (using your own reusable bag) or buy the paper bagged version.

“Quick” oats are simply rolled oats that have been ground up a little so they cook more quickly. You can make your own by whirling steel cut oats dry in the blender for a few seconds.

Rolled Oats Cooked are:
- Low to Neutral Alkaline forming
- Diabetic Friendly (use caution with sweeteners and fruit)
- Gluten Free
- High Fiber

Ingredients
½ cup ‘quick’ oats per serving
¾ – 1½  cups water per serving (depending on how thick you like it)

Optional Ingredients. Remember you don’t need to use all the optional ingredients. Just pick and choose what you like and what you have on hand.
- Chopped nuts (raw or roasted): almonds, walnuts, cashews, pine nuts, etc
- Seeds (whole or ground): sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax, salba, hemp, etc
- Chopped dried fruit: raisons, currents, apricots, dates, coconut, etc
- Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, etc
- Fresh or frozen fruit: berries, apples, peaches, bananas, etc
- Dash of flavouring: cinnamon, ginger (fresh grated or dry powdered), dark chocolate (grated), allspice, vanilla extract, carob powder, lemon or lime zest
- Milk or Milk substitute: almond, rice, hemp seed milk, etc. If you make the porridge ‘sloppy’, i.e. you add a little extra water during cooking so it doesn’t thicken up as much, you won’t need to add milk. This is a great way to serve porridge to lactose intolerant individuals without incurring the expense of milk substitutes.

Directions
1. Stir oats and water together in a pan and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 3 – 7 minutes, stirring often
3. When enough water has evaporated so the porridge is the desired thickness, remove from heat
4. Add optional ingredients if using
5. Serve and enjoy

Hint: Remember to put the pot to soak right away to make clean up a breeze.

You’ve probably heard the statement “you are what you eat” countless times, mostly as an incentive for weight loss.

What you might not realize is that statement is not the whole story.

Here’s a more complete statement:
“You are what you take in, what you do with what you take in, and what you don’t let go of.”

Its easy to picture this in terms of what you eat (what goes into your mouth), what you do with what you eat (digestion and absorption of nutrients), and what you don’t get let go of (the difference between what went into your mouth and what goes into the toilet).

But we are not just eating machines. We are breathing, absorbing, sensing, emoting, thinking beings.

What we take in doesn’t simply involve what goes into our mouth through eating and drinking. What we take in also includes the air we breath; what we absorb through our skin; what we receive through our senses of sight, smell, hearing, touch; even information we receive through intuition.

All those things, the tangible and the intangible, have to be dealt with somehow by our bodies. And so we digest, absorb, store and ponder everything that makes it into our space.

The obvious ways we ‘let go’ are through the kidney and bowel processes as well as exhaling and sweating. The less obvious ways we let go are through verbalization, body language and emotional reactions.

If I was a mathematician, I might express this concept with the following equation:

You equal ‘What you take in’ multiplied by ‘What you do with what you take in’ minus ‘What you eliminate’

So there you have it, an Herbalist’s version of an overused and often misunderstood statement.