Absolutely Thirst Quenching and Delicious!

The most thirst quenching, refreshing, delicious and satisfying mid morning snack, lunch or breakfast involves crisp cold celery with an accompaniment...... Years ago, the Medical Medium got the world juicing this innocuous vegetable that is a third party in the mirepoix involving carrots and onions for soups, stews and dips.

We juiced and juiced celery, buying 10 or more stalks, at a time, then. Some of us became tired of this trend wondering what to do with the fibre left behind among other things. Celery muffins? Cornbread? Or in my case, stuffing muffins. .. Healthy smoothies or juicing is not trendy. They are for real, energizing body treatments, saving us vast amounts of dollars not buying that latte, (Momsey does not drink coffee) hotdog or pizza slice at Costco in those early morning hours of shopping. Money saved is not just money saved but money invested, as well.

This morning I needed and craved celery. It was an emergency, too, for our Mr. Wiggles, this health detoxifier for us and them. Our dogs have had celery included in their diets for decades, an elixir must have for good health according to the Medical Medium. 

We have been dog owners for over 50 years, learning, early on, that sugar had no part in an animal's diet yet there it was up close and too personal in many dog foods back in the 70's when I knew nothing about dogs. Who was cooking/producing this garbage for our dogs? No wonder there is an expiry date on their lives of 10 years or less. There is a a breed living in Portugal, age 27. Imagine that! No dog food there, perhaps. What creature can subsist on junk for 10 years. A real diet is what is needed. There must be fake credentials, somewhere.

(Corn syrup does not belong in an animal's diet.) Our pets are not your guinea pigs. Was this simply a sick joke perpetrated upon us, unknowingly? But I digress. Today I was reminded of my own love affair with celery since I was young. This morning's celery looked so good. So I bought two stalks and processed one to be added, at will, on the food of my puppy. Then came its perfect accompaniment: a tuna sandwich! I was so excited about the lunch I was about to eat.

Celery is a great crunchy eating thing with tuna sandwiches. That is what I had this morning. Using  a certain brown bread is a must. And it fits right in. That carb profile matches certain fillings. Egg salad,  as does ham and salmon on brown or white. Pick the bread that works. But what must be included is the star: 2 inch celery sticks and carrots, too, with fresh and crunchy radishes. Oh my. such a delight. Chomp, Chomp and you're done. Lunch is done at an unbeatable price. Make a bunch with or without crusts and away we go. Satisfaction guaranteed. Freeze in small pieces and lunch is ready for the hot days of summer

Engaging in the long lost art of tuna sandwiches and others, if available, is simply wonderful. Have we  moved away from the lost art of making simple sandwiches at home? Cake anyone? Yes, of course. But I sort of had that first, didn't I?......Celery seems like cake at certain hungry times for me.

Use mayonnaise of your choosing. Mix some with a dollop of olive oil, the best in the world, add finely chopped chives, celery leaves with onion powder, or not, - olives - finely chopped, spinach?? A tiny food processor I use regularly for our Wiggler works fine to chop veggie add-ins for those magical sandwich moments. Devilled eggs anyone? Me, too.

With many teeth gone from our Mr. Wiggler he was looking at me quizzically wanting that which might be difficult to chew. I offered him the finely tuned celery sticks, I had been eating.. I held one as he meticulously and carefully chomped on it using the few front teeth with - two canines still intact and other 'helpers' - loving every moment.. Yet it was only celery.

Celery is so loved, needed and wanted in Momsey's life and my Wiggler's. Finely processed it satisfies and improves overall health. It is must in chicken soup, Chinese stir fries,. Its appeal is magnified, too,when sandwiches are present. With smoked meat, a very special treat, lightly steam in frypan with a mesh cover on top to steam slices of frozen rye bread with caraway seeds. Mustard anyone? Invite the celery sticks or coleslaw. Everything is welcome here. Especially the celery and mustard. Celery is never out of place. 

Coca Cola and The President

Glucose-fructose. He knows all about it and he's only 7. The MAHA movement is beginning to shed more light on the most important issue of our lifetime: manmade chemicals in our food. If human health is not uppermost in our collective minds then what is, I ask?

A recent article in a Toronto newspaper about the sweeteners in Coca cola and such has Momsey upset again. How many articles need to be written to showcase the dangers of glucose-fructose. Even Dr. Oz has spoken about it on his show. The journey of this malevolent sweetener – glucose-fructose - was clearly illustrated in the British journal, Focus, which came to my attention, dramatically, years ago, in a large scale center spread inside. This rather large scale magazine showcased the sweetener's destination throughout the body as it moved towards the body's major detoxifier, the liver.

The U.S. president's love of Coca Cola is well known. He's now professing the user friendly ingredient of sugar in his favourite soda pop, Coca-cola. Though he is using the diet version even the president knows that sugar is the better way - as is glass that contains the liquid! (Micro plastics are entering our DNA at an alarming rate, I have learned)....(Our son, a former graduate of an honours Kinesiology program from a well known university in northern Ontario, agrees. We have two brains, too; the other one being in our gut.)

The unpleasant glucose-fructose story has been around for decades. This manmade sweetener found in foods and drinks has been a cheap sinister food prop in our daily lives since forever. Why? We are told that G-F is similar to sugar but much sweeter tasting, made from corn. Sugar, its costlier cousin, is being ignored. Recipes/formulas can be reformulated, any time, by any company, no permission needed). The power we wield starts at the checkout, each and every time. We are in this sweetener's grasp from morning till night - if we are not paying attention. Good health is our only reward.

The body is a smart machine telling us what it knows, at all times, and doing its best to keep us healthy. When ingesting highly processed foods the organs do what they must as they attempt to dispose of or eradicate those additives mimicking food from our body. The liver, the body 's filtering system/organ, is waiting to do its best to deal with any and all foreign substances we have eaten.

Years ago, a small article lingering near the bottom of the newspaper, far from the reading public's gaze, told the story of an unsuspecting victim, a 10-year-old, whose only crime was drinking fruit cocktails laced with G-F. She was diagnosed with cirrohsis of the liver, an alcoholic's disease. At her age, I hoped that all could be reversible with proper treatment and diet. We may have no problem ingesting foods made with G-F but the body has a host of troubles processing it.

As he presented me with my favourite candy of all time: marshmallow strawberries, I looked at the ingredients listed on the back of the package. He knew it was my favourite. We both knew it was bad. He asked mom if he could have one to taste, knowing that glucose-fructose was #1 on that list. He smiled at me and I, him, as we sampled one. Fresh and yummy it was, of course, but nothing to brag about. 

Long long ago this favourite candy was made simply, no G-F, only sugar I told him, I thanked this wise 7-year-old for this gift of love, candy and insights, promising, sadly, that those days were over. He was watching me now. I could not disappoint. I followed his lead. Mom just smiled.

We trust till we trust no more.

Pet Food/Human Food, What's the difference? ...

R.F.K. Jr. is making haste in the U.S. food supply. It is gratifying for me that these man made additives /dyes are now being investigated or removed from the 'processed' foods we buy. The dairy industry is now under scrutiny by its own hands to clean up its own industry. But I worry. “Is the milk from the cow which is given antibiotics  being sold to the public? In Canada, this by-product is thrown out I discovered.

What ever ever happened to salt, lemon juice or freezing, when necessary, to preserve the foods that require preservation. It must be the cost, the cost of refrigeration. The trucks used, the freezers on both ends of transportation and refrigeration carry a mighty cost, I assume. Electrical power is not cheap. Sprinkling an additive or two on food products is simpler and cheaper, perhaps, but not healthier. The dyes added to make food look appetizing and seemingly taste better might seem innocent enough until they're not. 

I do not remember a time when an expiry date ever determined our fate at the dinner table. Processed foods/t.v. dinners and takeout foods had no prominence in our lives then. We knew a stale loaf of bread when we held it or tasted it. It was still a valid food.

Today's children, it seems, are the main consumers of highly addictive foods, its largest consumer group - if mom and dad allow. I reasoned that food scientists,  formerly university graduates, hired by food companies to deliver a quality standard to the company's inventory knew and understood their duty to society, didn't they? Their presence in the laboratory was to protect us in our eating journey, away from the produce aisle. I am so confused. Now we have everlasting plastic, dominating the food aisles, entering our bodies via the blood while taking up residence in our DNA. What about the children? What about them? Does anyone really care? 

Years ago I wrote about the food industry's imagination! Each year 10,000 new 'products' were being created. “How could that be?” I wondered, nervously. What am I missing? The food groups were few. Slogans on packages stating, “Made with real cheese or cream”made me think do they know what they are doing? I make assumptions about where the cheese/cream should be and shouldn't it be in the mac and cheese? There is an expectation for me. Where is the confusion? What are they saying? I shudder. 

Is the Twilight Zone slowly working its way into our lives through the food we buy? A little help in the kitchen can be a dangerous thing, perhaps. Then we have food-grade to describe those preservatives used in a processed food product.  Please explain. Is the non-human grade version, engine oil? What exactly is a food recall? What does it really mean?

Decades ago, there was a world-wide food scandal epidemic in the pet food industry. It seems that many companies played follow the leader using the same basic recipe from one evil source. How does that happen? Where is the oversight where food is concerned? Daily monitoring should have been in place? Prices varied considerably. It seems that premium dog food marketers got caught, too. How could that be? Their high end dog foods were costly and are sold in specialty outlets. 

Thousands of pets died or became terminally ill when melamine-laced wheat gluten 'found' its way into the food bowls of our trusting pets offered by us, the trusting pet parents.. A despicable event that killed pets everywhere. There was advance notice, clues that things were amiss. Was anyone on duty?

Boiled eggs are now a regular feature for our 12-year-old 86 pound retriever, ill since 2020, in addition to his 'pet food' alongside his daily 'processed' carrots, celery, peas and pineapple, among other foods. The processing step belongs to my tiny 2 cup food processor. Every day is a surprise but the additions are 'human-grade' and nutrient dense for him. Cucumber. a daily delight, is stripped of its seeds, as it should be, before being sliced or 'processed'. Some teeth are missing from root reabsorption so a little 'help' is needed.

Easy peasy is not costly, difficult to prepare or hard to find. Even an apple can get us and them through short term hunger. Turning a simple food into something unrecognizable with high heat, sauces and other ambiguities puzzles me. Why? What is the point? The food was fine, right from the start. Silly to ruin it for what? I do not understand. The shake up in the U.S. food industry is here.  I hope it stays. 

There is nothing more important in life than high quality food for man and beast. ...... Good Luck Dr. RFK Jr.