We eliminate processed foods and meat!!

Found this article about what processed foods are on about.com – enjoy!

Question: What are processed foods?
I am having a hard time understanding what exactly is considered to be “processed food.” Do you have a list or something that would help me?
Jen – About.com User

Answer: Processed foods have been altered from their natural state for safety reasons and for convenience. The methods used for processing foods include canning, freezing, refrigeration, dehydration and aseptic processing.
We tend to think of processed foods as bad, but it turns out that many processed foods are not unhealthy. For example, milk would be considered a processed food because it is pasteurized to kill bacteria and homogenized to keep fats from separating. While some people prefer to drink raw milk, most of us should consume the “processed” version we find in our grocery stores.

Another healthy example of food processing is frozen vegetables. While fresh may be best, freezing vegetables preserves vitamins and minerals and makes them convenient to cook and eat all year around. Fruit and vegetable juice is also an example of a healthy processed food. In fact, some orange juice is fortified with calcium to make it even more nutritious.

Of course, there are a lot of processed foods that aren’t good for you. Many processed foods are made with trans fats, saturated fats, and large amounts of sodium and sugar. These types of foods should be avoided, or at least eaten sparingly.

Processed foods that may not be as healthy as fresh foods include:

•canned foods with lots of sodium
•white breads and pastas made with refined white flour, which are not as healthy as those made with whole grains
•packaged high-calorie snack foods, like chips and cheese snacks
•high-fat convenience foods, like cans of ravioli
•frozen fish sticks and frozen dinners
•packaged cakes and cookies
•boxed meal mixes
•sugary breakfast cereals
•processed meats
Processed meats might be some of the worst of these foods. Eating these meats may increase your risk of colorectal, kidney and stomach cancer. Processed meats include hot dogs, bologna, sausage, ham and other packaged lunch meats.
These processed foods and prepackaged meals are very convenient and popular. If you do shop for these foods, be sure to look for products that are made with whole grains, low in sodium and calories, and free of trans fats. Make sure you pay attention to serving size, too, and balance out the processed foods you eat with a delicious fresh salad and some whole grain bread.

Sources:

Larsson SC, Wolk A. “Meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis of prospective studies.” Int J Cancer. 2006 Dec 1;119(11):2657-64.

Faramawi MF, Johnson E, Fry MW, Sall M, Yi Z. “Consumption of different types of meat and the risk of renal cancer: meta-analysis of case-control studies.” Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Mar;18(2):125-33. Epub 2007 Jan 22.

Larsson SC, Orsini

So this is day one of my dietary – mind – body – soul cleanse! I definitely had to embark upon this experience AFTER the soulfood thanksgiving weekend, however this was definitely too important to my life transitions to wait for a new years cliché.
The great Madame B Fly is assisting myself and a few others through this 14-day process of ridding our bodies and thus our minds of the toxins we often call “good food”. Today I am to only eat one meat for the day. This is part a gradual weaning from the bad. This won’t be too difficult for me because I have been fairly successful in the goal this year of becoming vegetarian.
I guess technically I am a pescatarian but who’s really keeping track, but the social labeling snobs! You know who I am talking about. Those often arrogant folks that correct you on the generally accepted technicalities of labels. “I am not vegetarian, I am better than that a vegan.” “I don’t use a PC , I drool over my Mac.” “I don’t drive just any car, I drive a Prius!” You know who I am talking about. I am thoroughly amused by these types, but secretly envy them during my capitalistic rages(well basically just the MAC users – especially when my PC is infected with a Trojan).
Why do we do this to each other? Can’t we all just get along? Can’t we all just be ourselves – whomever and whatever that may entail?
Oh yeah – well this wasn’t meant to become a social commentary. I digress. Back to my point, I am going to document my 14-day experience doing this cleanse. Given that I don’t really have a blog following, it will be more for myself than for the masses. But if you do find yourself following melodramatic saga (yes – I AM being sarcastic) I hope you will comment and have dialogue with me!
Stay tuned for more about the cleanse!

In general, I don’t formally make resolutions.  I may say I want to lose weight, workout more, make more money, travel more, more time, more and more (you know the story of american abundance and materialism) but what I actually need is LESS! 

So this year I have two major priorities (in the spirit of simplicity).

1. Eliminate any and everything that is counter productive to my life purpose, passion and priorities. i.e. if its not about my family, growing my businesses or my being (spiritual, physical and creative) I am not doing it! 

And sorry folks this includes idle hours spent on the web that aren’t productive for any of these purposes!

2. Be consistent. I have tons of notes on business ideas, concepts, hobbies, activities, contacts, etc…that see 3 minutes of fame from me.  I will continue to take note of these (one of them has to be a goldmine and I am welcome to share them for a small fee) but I will only bite off as much as I can chew – including my approach to blogging.

I have started to journal (again) because not all people close to me are comfortable with their own -ish so I can’t share everything with you but i will share the highlights.  I also am committing to sharing something – however simple – at least once per week on this site. It is pitiful that I have notes of random thoughts and topics listed in my crackberry notes but they have never found their way to this medium… i have got to get them here!

So that’s it!  Two things that in reality aren’t so simple to achieve, but instead of saying I am going to use 30 lbs that I might not, that I am going to make $30k/month that I probably won’t, I’d rather focus on those two things which will have a profound affect on my life and the lives of those closest to me!

What are your priorities for 2009???

“Think simple” as my old master used to say – meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.
Frank Lloyd Wright

It’s funny – you know he’s an architecht but what else? I read a bio on him on the net and learned that he had about 3 wives and at one point lived a somewhat double life balancing two seperate families and his career. Sounds like drama to me – it is no wonder he was thinking about keeping things simple. 

Some of his work can be found at www.wrightontheweb.net (in case you aren’t familiar)

So I like this one – it goes with the cliche “getting back to basics”.  So I like to keep things in life simple and drama free.  I think that my quest for this peace gets more and more difficult with each coming day. Whether work drama, family drama, and normal hustle and bustle – it is increasingly harder to accomplish the basic things that I feel would make my life more complete and balanced. 

If When, I get this balance ( I estimate february 2009), I will look to have these parts that make my life whole:

• REAL food – meaning not fake bs but real fruit, real veggies, real ish! I know I will feel better.save some money and probably lose some lbs.
• put first things first – okay I stole that from Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits – but it’s true - my ideal “firsts” are God & Family(my kids)
• Clear Clutter – while this includes actually doing the things I see being done on Clean House rather than just watching, this is a neccessity for my dwelling and my relationships – everything toxic HAS to go – even my bad attitude!

If all goes well, I will be back on a more focused track so I can focus even MORE energy on what matters most – God, Family and fulfilling my passion!!!

An almost perfect day

(well it’s only 3:00 p.m.)

Since there is an air conditioning outage at my 9 – 5, it was able to work from home today!  YIPPEE!

I was able to sleep a little later. Enjoy a quick breakfast with my son and retreat at the computer at my leisure.  Cleaning up my work e-mail box (nearly impossible), enjoy a healthy lunch with my husband all with the ease of not having to be “in the office”. 

It feels great to sit on my patio, turn on my music and just enjoy the beautiful day and occasional breeze – all while crossing out items on my to-do list! It is a beautiful feeling.  The taste of freedom is so sweet to me, it’s almost intoxicating. 

I am reminded today, more than ever, that I can achieve more balance being amongst the things I love most in the world, my family – nature and fresh air – and good music. Simple things that the average person does not have the opportunity to experience in the day to day rat race! 

It is time for me to exterminate any remnants of rats in my life.  This is a gentle reminder that my number one goal in work and life is to find MY way to make MY ideal amount of money without a traditional J-O-B! I am praying that will happen with my businesses this year!  Check them out:  www.adaru.com and www.thecharlymag.wordpress.com !