For non-toxic organic supplies for gardening, pest control, and animals –

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this podcast, blog, article, video is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.

Do not use the information provided in this blog, audio podcast, article, video  for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this email.

The post Creating A Functional Garden appeared first on Organic Healthy Life - Nancy Addison - Nutrition.

Fresh organically grown food provides more nutrients and more importantly, it does not contain toxic pesticides and herbicides that are used for growing and drying crops that you simply cannot wash off.

I started growing my own food as a child with my family, and I’ve continued it all my life. I really encourage everyone to do this, because it not only allows you to be in control of the quality of your food, but it makes it easier and less expensive to obtain healthy fresh food that has ripened naturally on the vine or tree.  It also decreases the amount of pesticides you and your family consume, and using less pesticides helps protect the environment in which we all live.

Food picked fresh in its vine-ripened state also has solvestrols in it. Solvestrols have natural cancer and disease-fighting components in them that are not present in foods picked green before they are ripe.

It is not that hard to start growing your own food at home, whether it’s sprouts in a small container in the kitchen, or leafy greens in a pot on the balcony or porch, or vegetables in a larger garden out in your yard.

I suggest starting by deciding what you wish to grow. What do you like to eat? With this lock-in, it is a good time to start something, even with just a single plant or two. Don’t worry if things aren’t exactly right. It can be fun and you will learn along the way.

Organic gardening means you don’t use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. There are many safe and less toxic ways to prevent bugs, slugs, and snails, or to handle weeds.  I will list some resources at the end of this article.

Organically grown fruits, vegetables and mushrooms deliver much higher amounts of the essential vitamins, micronutrients, and probiotics than those grown in toxic herbicide-doused soils. You want to start with rich organic soil, compost, high-quality water, and a good amount of sunshine.

You might consider testing your soil for heavy metals or an imbalance, but that isn’t essential. You can buy soil test kits through some gardening supply stores, which I will list below.

You can begin with the simplest garden (and the closest thing to instant gratification), by starting a window box containing a basic organic soil mix. You can find window boxes at most garden centers or order on-line.

I prefer small, reputable garden centers that are dedicated to carrying only approved organic soil amendments, as well as organic disease and pest management materials.

Place your window box, pots of soil, or garden in a sunny location. Next plant your seeds as directed on the seed package. I have found that herbs and salad greens are quick and easy to grow and full of flavor and vitality.

You can purchase seeds in bulk or in small packets. Simply make sure they are “Organic” and “Non-GMO.” I like to buy a couple of different varieties of my favorite vegetables or fruits.

I like to do this because frequently one will thrive more than the other, and it’s good to know which type can flourish in my soil and location. I also like to experiment with different flavors of the plants. This always makes it fun and you can make this a game with your children.

The quickest plants to reach harvestability belong to the cruciferous vegetable family or radish family. Radish varieties are vast. Be sure to find a good source for bulk, non¬treated, non¬GMO seeds. These are some of my favorite sprouts to grow for sprinkling on sandwiches, salads, etc.

Microgreens are a good choice of plants to grow, because they have 40% more nutrients in them than the full grown plant, so they are an easy way to get an amazing amount of intense nutrition in the diet.

Mints, oregano, and malibar spinach are good crops to grow in a container, because if you plant any of them in a garden, they can be very hard to manage and they can take over.

My children and I loved to grow our favorite herbs in little pots in the kitchen window, as they were so easy to cut and use in our recipes. One of the first things my son did when he got his apartment at law school, was to purchase some small pots of his favorite herbs for his kitchen window.

Fresh herbs and plants in a recipe can really make the flavor of a recipe pop. Using fresh herbs, leafy greens, sprouts, vegetables, mushrooms and fruits is one of the best ways to enhance the flavor of a dish.

I believe in getting children involved. They love gardening. The statistics show that children who garden have higher science and math scores. I have also found that they are much more likely to try eating the foods they have grown personally, than ones bought at a store.

I also recommend growing a few plants that attract pollinators and butterflies, like marigolds, zinnias and crocuses. You can grow herbs like lavender, sage, parsley and dill. Butterflies love dill for butterfly caterpillars to eat as food. I have some of the most beautiful Monarch butterfly caterpillars in my garden when I plant dill amongst my flowers. I love to watch them, so I always plant extra.

I have to warn and show the caterpillars and butterfly cocoons to my gardening helpers, so they do not kill them by thinking they are pests. You may want to put out a little sign, saying butterfly garden, please protect the caterpillars and cocoons.

The pollinators are struggling. They add such beauty to our environment, as well as helping to pollinate our food. I enjoy my garden so much more when I plant these flowers and butterfly-friendly foods in my garden. They make it more fun and interesting. I also feel like I am helping the environment and helping with their survival by doing this.

I made a short video on organic gardening. Click here to see the video.

Here are a list of my favorite gardening supply websites.

1. Organic Pest and Gardening Supply, Austin Arbico Organics
2. Sustainable Seeds has organic & non-GMO seeds
3. My Patriot Supply has organic seeds
4. Gardener’s Supply is another great resource for a variety of things for gardening.
5. If you don’t want to grow everything yourself, and you would like to order some freshly grown sprouts or microgreens, I buy mine from the Indoor Organic Gardens Of Poughkeepsie.

They can even overnight them to you, so they are incredibly fresh.

The broccoli powder doesn’t have much taste, so you can add this powder to all your foods before serving.  Don’t destroy the live broccoli sprout enzymes by getting them too hot, so add the broccoli powder after you have prepared the food, but before serving.

You will get that raw, organic broccoli sprout powder nutrition.

Here is their website link: www.iogopk.com If you put “Nancy” in the discount code box, you will get a discount on your order.

Being able to grow your own food can be empowering and in these times, it can provide a multitude of benefits you may not even imagine. Growing your own organic food can be an extremely enriching experience, as well as good for your health.

Love to you all, Nancy

copyright@nancyaddison2020

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With just a few simple kitchen tools, you will be on your way to preparing healthful, delicious meals for your family. Many of these are a good investment for your health and home. Some of them can last you a lifetime of use.

• A Blender. A blender is probably my most useful kitchen tool. I am really hard on my blender, as I use it almost every day. I was wearing out a blender about every three months. Then I bought a Vitamix. Though Vitamix blenders cost more than most, it is a good brand and has a seven-year warranty. Mine lasted over 15 years. I now have a Breville blender, and I love it as well. The Blendtec and the KTec Champ HP3 blenders are two other great brands.

If you soak hard foods (like raw almonds) in water overnight to soften them, they won’t be so hard on your blender when preparing.

• A Juicer. The Breville juicer is easy to use and reliable. I juice carrots, celery, and a cucumber in mine almost every day, but you cannot juice wheatgrass or sprouts in this type of juicer.

I tried the Green Star brand, but it wore out fairly quickly from overuse. Green Star was good for juicing wheat grasses and sprouts, but it broke easily and was very expensive. . I now use a smaller hand-cranked juicer for my wheatgrass and sprout juicing, and it only cost about $30.00.

The Hurom juicer works in the same way as the Green Star. One of my friends has the Hurom juicer and says it works great.

• A Food processor. Food processors are very useful for making large amounts of raw food or mixing dense or heavy foods, like hummus. Small ones work just fine for most jobs. If I was buying a large food processor, I would only buy a 10-inch one. My 12-inch has a gap that, in my opinion, doesn’t work as well.
• A Toaster or toaster oven.  (So you won’t have to heat up your large oven).
• A Paring knife and a large cutting knife.
• A Cutting board. Buy a cutting board that is dishwasher-safe, so that it can be sanitized completely.
• A Stainless-steel sieve.
• A Spatula and scraper.
• A Dehydrator. I use this to make raw food: breads, snacks, etc. It takes up a lot of room and is fairly expensive, but it is great if you wish to prepare healthy raw food recipes, where you can control how warm the food gets when you are dehydrating it.
• Glass, stainless steel, or lead-free ceramic baking dishes.

I prefer to use freezer  to oven  glass bakeware. Be careful about Pyrex dishes. The Pyrex company was bought by a Chinese company that changed the formula, and now some of the glass cookware has been exploding in heated ovens.[i] I look for vintage Pyrex at antique stores and estate sales, where you can find some really great kitchen equipment for a good price.

Regarding aluminum, please be aware that aluminum cookware can leach aluminum into your food. Aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s disease.[ii]

I also do not use non-stick cookware. Studies show it releases toxins into the air when heated to high temperatures. “There’s a whole chemistry set of compounds that will come off when Teflon is heated high enough to decompose,” says Robert L. Wolke, PhD, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. “Many of these are fluorine-containing compounds, which as a class are generally toxic.”[iii] Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan, PhD, an environmental toxicologist at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center, explains: “At temperatures above 500°F, the breakdown begins and smaller chemical fragments are released.”[iv]

According to the Consumer Safety Group, Teflon and nonstick pans are dangerous to your health. “Dangers : Increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers, as well as thyroid disease. Higher levels of exposure have been linked with miscarriage and fertility issues or birth defects.
Findings: Teflon (brand name) maker DuPont has been found guilty in several personal injury and wrongful death suits, after the chemical was found to have tainted water surrounding the plants where they made their nonstick coating for cookware. A paper released in 2015 called the Madrid Statement was signed by over 200 scientists from 40 countries and presented evidence that Teflon, created in part by chemicals called poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), is carcinogenic. Additionally, these toxins were confirmed (both by independent scientists and DuPont’s in-house team), to be released by the nonstick pans after just 2-5 minutes of heat on the stove.

Regulatory Status: The EPA has ruled that a substance closely linked to PFAS, perfluorinated compounds, is a likely carcinogen. In 2005, the EPA fined DuPont for hiding information on the health hazards associated with PFAS. In 2010, the EPA launched a voluntary program to encourage manufacturers to reduce, and by 2015, eliminate these chemicals in their products. Though the Teflon brand name is no longer used, non-stick coated pans containing PFAS are still widely available in the cookware aisle. “ v

• A Water Purifier. I use a reverse osmosis water purifier that sits on my kitchen counter. Aqua Tru  is a countertop reverse osmosis water purifier that is certified to create bottled quality water from your tap. No plumbing or installation required.AquaTru  provides great-tasting pure water. AquaTru, which is reverse osmosis, takes out virtually all toxic chemicals in your tap water. Almost all public water supplies have chemicals added, including chlorine and sodium fluoride—both of which are poisons.CostBased on a typical family usage of 1000 gallons of drinking water per year, after 5 years with your own water purifier, you can save from over $100-$2800.

  When you purify your own water and use your own glass, copper or steel water bottle, you will also avoid contributing to the huge plastic problem with the disposable plastic bottles.
  

I find it hard to believe that the EPA or FDA are still not truly looking out to protect the public from unsafe products. That is one reason I put this list together for you to use as a guide.

I know the kitchen is the heart of the home. I hope this helps you make your kitchen safer, healthier, happier and more productive.

If you like this information, you may love Nancy’s books. Here is a link to her author page with her #1 Best- Selling, Award-Winning Cookbooks.

copyright@nancyaddison2017

By Nancy Addison CHC, AADP

For more information go to: www.organichealthylifestyle.com

Like this article and leave a comment! Join in the conversation!

Sources: 

i    Gray, Theodore. (2011, April 26). “Video: They Sure Don’t Make Pyrex Like They Used To. A Change to Heat-Resistant Glass Has Had Explosive Effects.” Popular Science. Retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/gray-matter-cant-take-heat

ii  McDougall, John. “Alzheimer’s Again Linked to Aluminum.” Rense.com. Retrieved from http://www.rense.com/general37/alum.htm

iii  Schaffer, Amanda. “Nervous About Nonstick?” Good Housekeeping. Reprinted text retrieved from WebMD,   http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/nervous-about-nonstick

iv Ibid.

v    https://www.consumersafety.org/,  Consumer Safety.org provides consumers with information that can help them lead healthier, happier lives. ConsumerSafety.org strives to make information about recalls and safety-related news about drugs, medical devices, food, and consumer products accessible to everyone in a transparent, easily understandable way.

If you like this information, you may be interested in my award-winning books:
1. Diabetes And Your Diet (Winner, “Best Health Book of the Year, 2017” of the International Book Awards)

2. 2. How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian (second edition, Winner for “Best Specialty Cookbook of the Year,” 2017, Book Excellence Awards and Winner for Best Diet and Nutrition Book of the Year, 2017, by the Beverly Hills Book Awards!)

3. Raising Healthy Children, It is a cookbook and a health book. It was a double winner this year. It won Best Parenting Book of the Year and Best Family Book of the Year, 2017 in the International Book Awards.

4. Lose Weight, Get Healthy & Never Be On A Diet Again! (Finalist in the International Book Awards)

5. Feeding Tube Recipe For Optimum Health

6. Co-Author of Alive & Cooking; An Easy Guide To Health For You And Your Parents

copyright@nancyaddison2017

Leave a comment and join the conversation!

The information from Nancy Addison and Organic Healthy Lifestyle LLC is not offered for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease or disorder nor have any statements herein been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We strongly encourage you to discuss topics of concern with your health care provider.

Medical Disclaimer: Information provided in this article, book, podcast, website, email, etc. is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC, AADP. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.

The post Healthy Kitchen Equipment – Essentials appeared first on Organic Healthy Life - Nancy Addison - Nutrition.