Buying Locally Grown

I can't stress the importance of buying locally grown goods.  Buying locally grown is like throwing a Molotov cocktail in the face of Monsanto and Bayer and Syngenta. And if you have a revolutionary nature like I do, then that alone is reason enough to start shopping at your local farmer's market or natural food co-op.

My daughter tagged along with her camera. I had to goof off for her!

BUYING LOCALLY GROWN- WHERE DOES YOUR FOOD COME FROM?

I am going to forego talking about the processed foods from the center aisles of your grocery store- I talk about this a lot, but for the sake of this blog, I am going to just say- Don't eat that crap. Trust me. Its bad. God only knows what havoc its wreaking on your immune system.

 Having said that, some people really do try to shop mostly from the outer edges of the grocery store, where the so called fresh food can be found. Even so, the food there has some issues that are not obvious. Produce, for example. We can now buy strawberries and seasonal produce year round. Sometimes its more expensive than others, depending on the season. Usually, the produce is shipped in from other states, and even other countries, like South America. What this means is that your produce was picked well before it was ripe, in order to get on the shelf in time and also allow it to sit on the shelf for another week or so. When produce is picked before it is ripe, it is lacking the natural processes that make it not only taste good, but deliver nutrients. The nutrients come in the maturation process, so when a tomato is picked several days before it is ripe, even though it will continue to ripen while its in a box on its way to the grocery store, it is not ripening on the vine and lacks the necessary sugars and sunlight to become a true representation of what a tomato should be. You can also see the difference with your own eyes. Cut open a tomato from the grocery store and its water-y and goopy and has lots of space inside it- often only the outer part is usable. But cut open a vine ripened fresh locally grown tomato, and its solid tomato meat all the way through.

My beloved Studio City farmer's market. Its also a fun way to spend a Sunday!

So, by the time it gets to you, its been picked too young, put in boxes and transported across states or even countries. It doesn't taste or look like a tomato that you bought that was picked the day before, as you get from a local farmer, and it lacks the full range of nutrients, too. It is a well known fact that in countries that eat a mostly plant based diet, there is a lack of the major illnesses that plague us in the USA. By eating the most nutrient dense produce you can buy, and learning to eliminate processed foods (I know, it takes time. Even I have a list of 5 that I am not ready to give up yet.) and reducing animal based foods (I said reduce. If you can eliminate them, then I totally salute you, but I am definitely not there yet. However, I now eat meat about once a week. My weakness is milk.) you can significantly decrease you and your family's chances of succumbing to such abundant ailments as obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Fresh fruit and vegetables contain what our bodies need to function properly and stave off illness and disease.

"Let food by thy medicine." Hippocrates said that. Every Dr has to swear a Hippocratic oath to this day in order to become a physician- that's how legit Hippocrates is. And how not legit many Drs aren't.

Check out this trailer from the documentary Forks Over Knives. Its a must see! And don't worry, so many people tell me they are afraid of seeing how animals are treated in meat processing plants- they don't really show all of that. They just tell you some amazing facts that everyone should know.

Another big factor is the cost to the environment to ship all of this produce all over the world. Often your produce has been in several trucks, planes, or trains before it gets to you. There is a lot of fuel used in this transport. When you buy local, you are not contributing to the exorbitant waste, or the emissions from said waste. Local farmers drive to the markets, but not usually from very far, with their fresh, vine ripened produce. So it tastes better, is healthier, and doesn't contribute to the consumption of fossil fuels.



Checking out the zucchini for some Bomb Ass Zucchini Chips!!!

You also don't get GMO produce, since you know where it came from. They don't sell Frankenfoods at farmer's markets. And those who created genetically modified organisms want the small farmers out of business. Its very convenient that they are killing off the honey bees, which farmers have relied upon since the beginning of time to pollinate their crops. When you support small farmers. you DO NOT support those power hungry assholes that are ready to sacrifice the health of you, your children and the planet for profit.

 

ITS NOT JUST FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

At all farmer's markets, you can find a variety of things besides produce. I get fresh eggs from hens that are free range. They left the hens only a day or two prior to my getting them, rather than weeks after. They taste amazing!!! I also get my soap at my local farmer's market in Studio City, spices, and fish. They also have meat from grass fed cows, handmade clothing and jewelry, organic chousehold cleaning supplies, organic coffee and honey, some cool herbal tonic drinks, fresh squeezed orange juice, locally grown nuts, and smoothies. I always buy a bouquet of lilies for $5. One of my favorite discoveries is Nary Dairy,  a cheese alternative spread made from cashew butter.  The Nary Dairy people are so super sweet, and I love eating food made by such great people. My favorite is the Chia Cheddar. I eat it with quinoa, flax and chia seed crackers.  No more chips, no more candy bars,  no more grazing on snack stuff from 7-11. This stuff is awesome!

With Suzanne from Nary Dairy. Such great people!!! So yummy!!

I now do at least half of my weekly shopping for my family at the farmer's market, and I continue to learn new recipes so that I utilize foods that I can buy there, like my Bomb Ass zucchini chips. It makes me so happy to eat food that supports the local farmers, does not support shipping produce all over the world, is ripe and fresh and nutrient dense and delicious. I love that I walk to the market to get it, use only my recycled shopping bags, and don't purchase anything in packaging- no waste whatsoever. I love that I am not supporting the giant food corporations that would like to jeopardize our health to keep Big Pharma fat and happy.  The revolution starts with making different choices in who and what your dollar supports. So its a big fat UP YOURS to Monsanto, and that makes me ecstatic.

Not everyone has a local farmer's market, and not everywhere has a climate where they can buy locally grown.  Here are two helpful websites that can assist you in finding what is in your area-

CLICK HERE for a farmer's market locator.

CLICK HERE for a natural foods co-op locator

Don't forget to use recycled shopping bags. I will soon have some snazzy Shake The Hive market bags, with little produce bags inside so you don't have to ever use any plastic bags again.  A friend of mine is helping me with the new logo, and I can't wait to unveil it!

Don't forget to March Against Monsanto! Check out the facebook page for the March nearest you

Shake the Hive!

Ashley Dane

Radical Recipes from the Anarchist Cookbook- Bomb Ass Zucchini Chips

Okay, so it isn't really from the original Anarchist's Cookbook, but it very well could be from the new and improved version, and I might be working on that as we speak. And if I were working on it,  embedded in it would be the message that its much more effective to create a meal with locally grown foods than to create a Molotov cocktail. Food is the new movement, because we can ALL take action. We can ALL stop buying what the powers that be are selling. Or, as my very eloquent and politically passionate friend Kevin Vaughn says-

The only way out at this point is collective change. I mean a serious psyche change of behavior by the masses, the complete dedication to be responsible and demand better from ourselves and the companies that "feed" us. To move away from "branded convenience" and into necessity. To move into cooperation instead of lustful competition. To refuse goods obtained, manufactured or altered by theft or genetic modification of resource. Collectively alter the "bottom line" and you will see change. Rapid change. Damn near overnight. So if you are not willing or are not already making this type effort...stop bitching about war. You are the war.

YOU are the war. I am the war. The war I wage is in my struggle to make choices with my dollars that support only those who do not have an agenda to damage anyone for profit. I am often shocked at how hard it is to make the correct choice- I was so hungry today after two hours stuck in traffic, all I wanted was McDonalds French fries. Sooooooo bad. But no- this isn't an option I am allowing myself. I have a short list of things I am not ready to give up yet, and I am allowing myself those few things. McDonalds is not on that list.  Something happens every day to challenge me. I am usually pretty vigilant to these temptations, and sometimes I fall flat on my face. But I get back up and try again. Its a process.

A good rule of thumb....

So when I got home, I made something that was not just equally satisfying, but WAY MORE satisfying that French fries. Fuck French fries!  I made zucchini chips, and they are the BOMB.  Bomb Ass Zucchini Chips!

Here is what you need-

A big ol' zucchini or two (from your local farmer's market if you can; organic if you can't)- seasonally you can get these pretty big in California, just get the biggest ones you can
Shredded organic parmesan cheese (Not the stuff in the green can. That's disgusting. Best if you shred it yourself)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut oil
chia seeds
Himalayan pink sea salt

So I cut the top off the zucchini so it wouldn't look suggestive. You know it woulda

Pre-heat over to 400 degrees
Cut the zucchini up into round chippy pieces, not too thick, not too thin
place on cooking tray
put a drop of EVOO on each slice, cover with parmesan cheese, top with chia seeds and Himalayan sea salt

See how easy it is to make bomb ass zucchini?

Cook in oven for 20 minutes. Keep checking on them, though- everyone's oven is a bit different, and everyone has their own idea of how thick to cut the slices.

One other version says to top with bread crumbs before cooking. To be honest, I did a little of each, and liked without bread crumbs better.

These are super quick and easy, which I personally like, as I always am starving by the time I get home since I am not snacking on crap all day long.  You can make a bunch and put in Tupperware- I don't know how well they keep in the fridge, but you can probably take them to lunch or to snack on for the day without worrying about them getting gross.

So good you could slap your grandma!

If you try this and like it, let me know! I love to get emails from people who have been enjoying these recipes. You have no idea how weird it is for me, who three months ago was eating like a 10 year old latchkey kid, to be suggesting recipes and having people thank me for them! One of the best things in life is change, when its your choice, and its for the better of you and others.

On that note, please find out where a March Against Monsanto is happening near you this October 12th. You can click here to look for an event on facebook in your city.  I will be at the one in LA. Meet me there!

Occupy yourself!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Microwaves are bad....and here is why

Microwaves.

Its hard to think of life without them, isn't it? About two years ago, I had a friend who didn't have one, and I can totally remember thinking they were so....odd! I couldn't imagine how they did it.

I've changed a lot since that time. I am currently sorting through nearly everything in my life, looking for the truth about what I put in my mouth, my body, and most especially my mind, which controls the rest of it anyway. Its not easy- it challenges so much of who I think I am, and what I find comfort in. Food, especially, is such a personal thing. We like what we like. Or do we? I have found that I am not to be trusted. If I know that I am eating something super processed,  filled with palm oil, genetically modified organisms, high fructose corn syrup, dyes, and a host of other things that are proven to be BAD, for me and for the planet- if I know this, and I still eat it, what is calling the shots in my head?  Some sort of programming that tells me the satisfaction I seek is in that bad food, which over rides all the other facts. I want my satisfaction. My taste buds want that thing, and they are not to be deterred. Usually, that's the case. But I don't trust my taste buds any more. The bad foods appeal to our taste buds, but we need to eat twice as much of that food to feel physically satisfied. That's how America became the home of the Super Size meal. And that is why our kids now suffer maladies once entirely the realm of older people, after a life time of eating poorly- things like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and heart disease. These diseases are on the rise in youth because so many kids' diets consist of the worst possible nutrition. 

MICROWAVES ARE BAD

So the issue of the microwave. Its another thing I have taken another look at. For the past few months, in my house, I have been on a campaign to reduce its use, but my kids won't let me get rid of it quite yet.  On the front of it, in Sharpie marker, I have written- DONT USE THIS UNLESS YOU HAVE TO! ITS BAD! and drew a picture of a skull and crossbones. Its helped a lot, it rarely gets used. One of these days, it will be thrown out, and by that time my kids won't miss it. Any day now. I don't buy food that is microwave friendly any more- that's a huge component to the success of living without a microwave. Eat fresh! We are eating lots of green stuff, and you can find lots of RADICAL RECIPES right here on Shake The Hive. (And watch the documentary Forks Over Knives if you really want to take it to the next level. Let me know what you think, if you do!)

My microwave, with warning written on the front in marker

Why would I not want a microwave? Here are some reasons, below. But what I personally understand is that the microwaves sort of blow up the molecules in food, making them unrecognizable to the body as the food you think you are eating.  That's my rendition, in a nutshell. So if you are nuking some processed crap, there isn't a lot of good stuff to destroy- but some of the findings below say that it doesn't just destroy good stuff, it turns cells in carcinogens, in some cases.

The first set of findings are a very DIY sort of control exeriment, done with house plants. The results are shocking. The second set of findings, under the plant experiment, are from a blog written by Dr Mercola, which can be found in its entirety by clicking here.  Its some amazing stuff, and if this doesn't stop you in your tracks, I don't know what will.

Below is a Science fair project presented by a girl in a secondary school in Sussex. In it she took filtered water and divided it into two parts. You can find the original article by clicking here.

The first part she heated to boiling in a pan on the stove, and the second part she heated to boiling in a microwave. Then after cooling she used the water to water two identical plants to see if there would be any difference in the growth between the normal boiled water and the water boiled in a microwave.

She was thinking that the structure or energy of the water may be compromised by microwave.
As it turned out, even she was amazed at the difference, after the experiment which was repeated by her class mates a number of times and had the same result.

It has been known for some years that the problem with microwaved anything is not the radiation people used to worry about, it’s how it corrupts the DNA in the food so the body can not recognize it.
Microwaves don’t work different ways on different substances. Whatever you put into the microwave suffers the same destructive process. Microwaves agitate the molecules to move faster and faster. This movement causes friction which denatures the original make-up of the substance. It results in destroyed vitamins, minerals, proteins and generates the new stuff called radiolytic compounds, things that are not found in nature.

So the body wraps it in fat cells to protect itself from the dead food or it eliminates it fast. Think of all the Mothers heating up milk in these ‘Safe’ appliances. What about the nurse in Canada that warmed up blood for a transfusion patient and accidentally killed him when the blood went in dead. But the makers say it’s safe. But proof is in the pictures of living plants dying!!!






FORENSIC RESEARCH DOCUMENT
Prepared By: William P. Kopp
A. R. E. C. Research Operations
TO61-7R10/10-77F05
RELEASE PRIORITY: CLASS I ROO1a
Ten Reasons to dispose off your Microwave Oven
From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, one can conclude this article with the following:
1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term – permanent – brain damage by ‘shorting out’ electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].
2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.
3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.
4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.
5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.
6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.
7). Microwaved foods cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumours]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in UK and America .
8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.
9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.
10). Eating microwaved food causes loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.


Twenty Years of Russian Research Supports Microwave Concerns
The Nazis are credited with inventing the first microwave-cooking device to provide mobile food support to their troops during their invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II [14] . These first microwave ovens were experimental. After the war, the US War Department was assigned the task of researching the safety of microwave ovens.
But it was the Russians who really took the bull by the horns.
After the war, the Russians had retrieved some of these microwave ovens and conducted thorough research on their biological effects. Alarmed by what they learned, the Russians banned microwave ovens in 1976, but they later lifted the ban during Perestroika in the late 1980's.
Still, 20 years of Russian research (and German studies as far back as 1942 Berlin) make a strong argument against the safety of microwave cooking.
Their findings led the Russian government to issue an international warning about possible biological and environmental damage associated with the use of microwave ovens and other similar frequency electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones).
I was not able to personally evaluate any of these older bodies of research, since those documents are now difficult to track down, so I can't attest to their methodology or conclusions. All you can do is weigh their findings appropriately, as best you can.
The Powerwatch article cited above summarizes the Russian research quite well, which I will duplicate below.

•Russian investigators found that carcinogens were formed from the microwaving of nearly all foods tested.

•The microwaving of milk and grains converted some of the amino acids into carcinogenic substances.

•Microwaving prepared meats caused the formation of the cancer-causing agents d-Nitrosodienthanolamines.

•Thawing frozen fruits by microwave converted their glucoside and galactoside fractions into carcinogenic substances.

•Extremely short exposure of raw, cooked or frozen vegetables converted their plant alkaloids into carcinogens.

•Carcinogenic free radicals were formed in microwaved plants--especially root vegetables.

•Structural degradation leading to decreased food value was found to be 60 to 90 percent overall for all foods tested, with significant decreases in bioavailability of B complex vitamins, vitamins C and E, essential minerals, and lipotropics (substances that prevent abnormal accumulation of fat).

I might add that this finding is supported by the 1998 Japanese study by Watanabe7 about vitamin B12 in milk, cited above.

The Swiss Clinical Study: Hans Hertel
Some fairly compelling evidence supporting the destructive effects of microwaves comes from a highly cited study by a Swiss food scientist named Hans Hertel. Dr. Hertel was the first scientist to study the effects of microwaved foods on the blood and physiology of human beings.

His small study, coauthored by Dr. Bernard Blanc of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University Institute for Biochemistry, revealed the degenerative forces produced by microwave ovens on the foods they cooked.

Dr. Hertel concluded that microwave cooking changed the nutrients in the food, and that changes took place in the blood that could cause negative health effects.

Hertel's conclusions were that microwaving food resulted in:

•Increased cholesterol levels

•Decreased numbers of leukocytes (white blood cells), which can suggest poisoning

•Decreased numbers of red blood cells

•Production of radiolytic compounds

•Decreased hemoglobin levels, which could indicate anemia

Not surprisingly, Dr. Hertel's study was met with great resistance from those with much to lose.
A gag order against Dr. Hertel was issued by a Swiss trade organization in 1992, which was later removed in 1998. But an American journalist, Tom Valentine, published the results of Hertel's study in Search for Health in the spring of 1992 [15] .

Occupy yourself!!!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane
Shake The Hive

Radical Recipes- Locally grown Asparagus with Asian sauce

In today's busy world, convenience is king. Convenience is the reason we have McDonalds and microwaves. Why TV dinners were invented. Why non perishable food items are such a staple in the American household. And convenience is also what is wrong with the modern culture- so much is lost, so much is sacrificed in order to make it as easy and mobile friendly as possible.

Having said all that, I have to say I completely understand. I have fallen prey to the convenience mindset- in fact it dictated a great bulk of my life. There was a short golden time when my kids were little and I didn't work that I was able to make real meals, not warm them up. It was lovely, but I had nothing but time. That's not most people's reality, and its not my reality now.

Being a single mom,  and also just trying to be a socially conscious consumer, I need recipes that are yummy, fast, inexpensive, and easy to prepare. That is why I call these recipes radical- I never thought I could feed my family organic, locally grown, fully prepared meals on my limited budget, after working a full day. I am learning how to do it, and sharing what I learn.

(And when I said yummy- I really do need my food to be very super yummy. I can't just eat some bland crap just because its good for me. No way. One of my greatest joys is learning that eating healthy doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yumminess!!!)

The beauty of today's recipe is that its super quick and easy. And oh my God, its so freaking good. I am eating it right now. I love to go to restaurants and try to make what I ate at home, and this is one of those dishes. For months I have been trying to duplicate the green beans at one of my favorite sushi places-  the sauce, mainly. I have tried to create some rather elaborate sauces, but as it turns out, this one is really simple. I finally asked them, and I was surprised when they told me exactly what to do. Today I tried it on some super fresh, super skinny asparagus I got at the farmer's market this morning.

Radical recipe #128, Asian Asparagus

So here is the recipe. it takes 5 minutes.

Asparagus locally grown organic
oyster sauce
garlic (one clove, cut up into tiny pieces)
sesame oil

I threw the all the above into a wok and added the asparagus and sautéed until it was cooked through but still al dente, not mushy or soft.

I can't tell you how much of each thing- its up to your palate, and I never consider cooking an exact formula. You can't go wrong no matter how much or little you put, and you will learn what you like.

What is so radical about this? For me, radical recipes are all about finding something that will satisfy a person, which can be a stand in for when our taste buds start luring us in the wrong direction. I frequently go into the kitchen and want something yummy and fast. Usually that isn't something that is in keeping with my lifestyle- and the temptations abound in a household with two teenage girls. I am really committed to training my taste buds, so I am no longer a slave to them. I want to crave fresh, healthy, locally grown food. But I wasn't raised to like that stuff, and so its an ongoing process of learning how to replace my usual go-to processed foods with better choices.



I love Michael Pollan

I have to tell you, today when I was hungry, the last thing I wanted to do was NOT eat something that was a go-to food. I really didn't want to eat something green or vegetably or fruity. I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich- white bread, Jif peanut butter and some grape jelly.  For me to choose to make this asparagus dish instead is kind of a big deal- it goes against all my programming.  That's the point, though. Occupying yourself means to switch gears, question everything, and re-program yourself in the way that is true to your core being. I dare say all our core selves are aligned with well being, and the sustainability of the planet, when you get right down to it.  Who, when stripped of all their bullshit, doesn't truly want to be healthy, and live peacefully on a planet that is thriving?

Google the MAM to find out where its being held in your area!!!!

OCCUPY YOURSELF!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane