Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Thoughts and Feelings

Thanksgiving has come again and I'm counting my blessings. Gratitude fills me up for good health and joy in my life. I'm blessed by sharing love with a special someone and appreciate my career, friends and family, and a calling to serve a Higher purpose in my life. I am thankful I live in a free country, where I create the space and time to make new discoveries about myself and others and be more truly who I was meant to be. And I'm grateful for blogging, which gives me the opportunity to write down how I feel and what I think.

Here's the quote for today:

"Half our mistakes in life arise from feeling where we ought to think, and thinking where we ought to feel." J. Churton Collins

Wishing you a festive holiday and the insight to sense when enough food (or anything) is enough.

Take Action with Your Food Shopping Dollars

This post was updated on May 10, 2018

When I crave plush parsley for Tabouli or juicy Pink Lady Apples for a snack, I go to my herb garden, my local farmers’ market, or the health food store, rather than journey to the supermarket. I take advantage of the simplicity, intimacy, and quality this way of meeting my food needs provides.

When plums, carrots, lettuce, and cucumbers aren't commercially prepackaged, my tactile, visual, and olfactory senses can determine the best buys of the day. I select fruits and veggies that smell garden-fresh, are vivid in color, appear unblemished, and are crisp or firm to the touch. Close examination increases my chance that the produce I get won’t spoil before I get to prepare, serve, and eat it. That’s why I check leaves, roots, peel or skin, and pick ripe but not mushy fruits and vegetables.

I shop in a local store that uses minimal packaging, thereby conserving natural resources and reducing the amount of new garbage dumped in our landfills. I bring canvas shopping bags whenever I shop for food or other goods, and reduce my carbon footprint even more.

My routine is to check ahead, so I know what days of the week orders are delivered. On food shopping days, I remain flexible with menu planning. I want to get those items that are in-season, at the peak of freshness, and that fit in with my nutritional needs. At a local market, I'm not forced to stock up and buy three prepackaged red peppers, when all I need is one. This allows me the freedom to buy no more than I can serve within a day or two.

In late summer, when Wilcox farms are resplendent with mouth-watering peaches, this locally grown fruit is unquestionably the best! Assembly line and out of season crops from South America or New Zealand may be in transit for several days and sit in warehouses for weeks, before they reach the mega stores and then my table. The local harvest may be too small to satisfy supermarket quotas, but when made available in neighborhood stores, far surpass bland cardboard tasting imports.  

Since these places are nearby, I don't waste gas. The errand is an opportunity to catch up on what's happening in my neighborhood and make other stops along the way. I enjoy the cordiality and informality of dealing with people I know. Lines are short, sometimes none-existent, and eliminate much of the impersonal nature of life in the express lane of the supermarket.

I love to shop at my local health food store and farmers’ market, because they sell organic. This is an important reason why my produce including tomatoes, grapes, potatoes, and kale are so tasty and healthful. These items haven’t been waxed, chemically sprayed, irradiated, or injected with additives. If a product is marked organic, I know it isn't genetically altered either. 

I make the conscious choice to eat foods that are in the original state Mother Nature intended. I also know that organic farming doesn’t use synthetic pesticides and pollutants. Each time I shop organic I save a small spot of the planet by not polluting the ground, water, air, or my body. 

For all the reasons mentioned above, I write letters, blogs, and pen articles that alert the public and you dear reader to those manufacturers, the FDA, elected officials, and stores that contribute to the sale of food products that help and harm the food supply. 

I put my money where my mouth is and boycott products that are genetically modified or I deem unsafe. 

An increasing demand for organics and non-genetically modified foods motivates farmers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers to pay closer attention to what they offer for sale. If we are vocal enough, organics can become more readily available and at a lower price.

Here's info from Eating Well Magazine that addresses this question:

Should You Buy Organic?

 Shopping and growing food in my neighborhood, gives me a feeling of continuity and community. Even more basic, it gives me a sense of history and earlier people, who hunted, gathered, and grew food for their families. I’ve noticed the path to my home vegetable garden reverberates with the sound of their steps as well as those of my ancestors’ footprints too. Being a part of the food circle, draws me close to the Source. I give thanks to the Earth in her richness and all the people who play a part in bringing this bounty to me.

Then, I reflect about those who may not use their power. Illness, poverty, apathy, fear, or lack of knowledge may be an issue for them. I am grateful that at least 25 years ago, I set the intention to do what I can to share a healthful meal with others, contribute to the Community Food Bank, and volunteer to do shopping for a shut in. In what ways do you share your abundance? How do you spread the word about local, healthful food? I challenge you to use your intelligence and find a way to be bold and take action. 

Positive change starts with that first right step. 

This is an older part of this post. I left it up, because some links to it still exist. I'm sad to say it passed.

Some of you may know that I'm passionate about an issue that is up for debate in the U.S. Senate. I hope my blogger friends and fans, social media buddies, and readers will help support my efforts.

Here's the deal... Please read it all, because there's still time to stop this bill from passing in the U.S. Senate.

The House of Representatives voted on and 

passed H.R. 1599, a bill that basically would 

block your right to know whether your foods 

come from genetically engineered sources 

(GMO's). This bill is also called the Dark Act

by many, because the politicians that wrote it 

and those in favor of it are agra-

businesses like Monsanto and Dow Chemical 

(who manufacture GMO's and herbicides they 

use in GMO seeds). They are companies that 

have spent mega-bucks lobbying for this bill to 

pass). They call it the "Safe And Accurate Food 

Act of 2015," but nothing is further from the 

truth.This bill would block your right to decide 

after reading a label whether you want to 

purchase and eat that product. 

Be a Valuable Part of the Solution

Contact your state U.S. Senators and tell them 

your opinion. Say no to H.R. 1599 and yes to 

your right to know. Here's a link to contact 

all the U.S. Senators 

U.S. Senator Contact Information

Please comment by emailing me at obloggernewbie@gmail.com or reach out through social media. Nancy-Andres-Health-Lifestyle-Writer-Author on Facebook and Nancy Andres on Pinterest.

I’d love to hear what steps you take or plan to take to shop local, grow local, vote with your food shopping dollars, and do your share to be politically responsible on food safety issues. The recent March 2015 Declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) to stop manufacture and use of glyphosate (an ingredient in Roundup), a carcinogenic herbicide used on nearly 90 percent of GMO crops, is critical evidence that GMO products must be labeled (and then outlawed) and this bill must be voted down.

Here's the link again Contact Information for U.S. Senate

This blog has been shared at Live It Up at the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Blog Hop #77

This blog has been shared at the Pretty Pintastic Party #65

This is what Lorraine Schwartz from NM shared with me.

"Your article on food choices was really good. Some of us need the reminder to support our local farmer's markets and natural grocers. We have one locally owned health food store in town so it is good to know that any purchases provide good paying jobs in addition to knowing the food is fresher and healthier. Cid's Market has been in business for over 25 years and is owned and run by a couple formerly from New Rochelle. Keep up the writing-it gets better all the time. So happy your book is doing well."

This blog post has been shared at The Plant Based Potluck Party Link Up #32

This blog post has been shared at Tuesdays With a Twist #84

This blog post has been shared at Natural Family Friday Weekly Link Up-Nov. 14, 2014

This blog post has been shared at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop #47  http://goo.gl/MXoOls

This blog post has been shared at Real Food Friday Link Up #64

The quotation for today is:

"I would like to see people more aware of where their food comes from. I would like to see small farmers empowered. I feed my daughter almost exclusively organic food."

Anthony Bourdain

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/anthonybou552939.html#rxk1C21pHAXMerrI.99