Chocolate Peppermint Tea!

After showing you my glorious over flowing garden, I figured I'd share with you my tea! (And I'll literally share it with you if you come visit!) ;-)

Peppermint oil has long been thought of as a tummy soother - helping with nausea, indigestion, IBS, and other such ailments. It also may be a cancer fighter! In animal studies, it stopped the growth of pancreatic, mammary, and liver tumors! Peppermint oil is also a natural anti-microbial, killing off nasty bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori (which may cause stomach ulcers), Salmonella, E. coli, and the "super bug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)!

And, take a big breath of fresh air, because peppermint oil can help your respiratory system!So here is it: a simple, beautiful tea - just a few peppermint leaves, two stevia leaves for sweetness, and warmed (not hot!) water. I crushed the leaves in between my fingers to help release their natural flavor, then let it sit in the warm water for a few minutes.

Simple, Sip, Ahhhh!

~Katie

More Restaurant Yumminess!

Well, I don't want to be too much of a food police, taking away foods you may like... but, I do think you may be interested in knowing what you're eating! So, first it was a study about the fountain drinks... now it's the burgers. I must admit, I enjoy the taste of a good steak, or the summer grill foods. But, well, always good to know what's going in to your body!

So, this article was sent on to me from a dietitian colleague who specializes in food sensitivities. The article was published in Daily Dose with William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

Enjoy! ...and maybe threat yourself to some good organic, local, natural-fed beef if you're really gonna go for that burger :)

~Katie

The ugly truth behind ground beef

I hope you're not having hamburger tonight...because this story might change your dinner plans.

One of the key suppliers of hamburger "meat" is coming under fire...as tests show a disturbing number of E. coli and salmonella pathogens, according to a disturbing report in the New York Times.

Want to know why I put "meat" in quotes?

Are you sure?

In an ideal world, a butcher runs a piece of steak through a grinder, and you get hamburger. That's how I get mine, and if that's how you get yours then you've got nothing to fear.

But fast food, supermarket and even school lunch burgers are made differently. They use "meat" from different sources, like trimmings.

Trimmings are scraps of fatty pieces left over in the slaughterhouse after all the good cuts of meat have been taken. Believe me, I love beef -- the fattier, the better. But this is awful garbage that I wouldn't touch.

Once upon a time, this stuff was destined for pet food. Today, it's added to burgers from coast to coast, thanks largely to a company called Beef Products Inc.

The company developed a technique that liquefies the trimmings, runs them through a centrifuge to separate the fat from the protein, then injects it with ammonia in an attempt to kill pathogens.

Then it's turned into blocks and chips that are used to beef up hamburgers. The company sells 7 million pounds of it every week, and school lunch burgers are now 15 percent trimmings.

Did I mention that it's really, really cheap? It better be -- after all, it was practically worthless when they found it on the slaughterhouse floor.

The Times found one message from a USDA microbiologist who called this junk "pink slime" and wrote, "I do not consider the stuff to be ground beef, and I consider allowing it in ground beef to be a form of fraudulent labeling."

Naturally, he was ignored. So were the other microbiologists who were disgusted by this process.

Instead, the USDA approved this technique and then decided it was so foolproof that they could leave the company in charge of its own testing.

You can see where this is going now, right?

The Times investigation found a disturbing pattern of E. coli and salmonella contamination...one that could force changes on the system -- someday.

But as of now, "pink slime" is still in your burgers -- and it's probably here to stay.

The lesson here is to avoid all factory meat. Buy only meat from grass-fed cows from a quality butcher or small farm -- and only eat hamburger when you can see a fresh cut of beef go into the grinder yourself.

Poop Pop

Mmmmm, with a title like that, you KNOW this is gonna be good!

I hope pop is something you try to avoid to begin with, but now, maybe you’ll have extra motivation to abstain from fountain drinks when you go out!

Pop is already a drink to skip as much as possible with all it’s chemicals and sugar (diet or not!) It’s a very acid-forming food (wrinkles! Akk!), and there are studies now linking soda intake with bad bones. Calcium is a very alkaline substance, so if you’re dumping acid pop (or coffee!) into your system, your body will pull calcium from its stores to help buffer it. And where is a lot of calcium stored? Bones and teeth, my friend. Bones and teeth.

Well, here’s what’s new with pop…

It may have poop in it.

Uh, say again?

The International Journal of Food Microbiology did a study that was published this month. They went to soda fountain machines and tested them for bacteria. In testing, they really did check all options: regular soda, diet soda, water, and even the ice dispenser. Ahhh, and what wonderful little things did they find? Thankfully, the ice water tested just fine. But 48% had coliform bacteria, which can be found in an aquatic environment, in soil, on vegetation, or most commonly… (dun dun duuuuun) in fecal matter of warm-blooded animals. Gross!

The report goes on to say over 11% of the beverages tested had Escherichia coli, and over 17% had Chryseobacterium meningosepticum. But wait! There’s more! A whole line up of microorganisms were waiting in line: Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Stenotrophomonas, Candida, and Serratia. And to top it all off, most of the identified bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested.

Awesome. Drug-resistant poopy pop.

Chances are your immune system can handle it, but still! So, if you’re eating out at a restaurant, well, now you have yet another reason to opt out of pop. Go for the water – it’s healthier, it’s cheaper, and it’s cleaner. Squeeze a little lemon in to help with that good ol' alkalinity and beneficial enzymes! And just sip – you don’t want to over dilute your stomach acid anyways, because that's what's going to help you digest your dinner better and faster, not leaving you feeling bloated and backed up.

Have a great day! It’s Friday Eve! :)

~Katie