struggling

June 8, 2005

In a message dated 6/8/2005 4:08:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

firesprite68@... writes:

I am somewhat restricted as we only have one supermarket anywhere near us and

as they have no competition they are a little slack.

I am in the same boat as far as selection. There is no grass fed beef or

organic foods outlet here and I must either buy what's best or grow my own food.

I'm already enjoying fresh spring vegetables from my garden and my body

reminds me of how nice it is to be detoxed and " tuned in " to enjoy really fresh

foods.

June 8, 2005

In a message dated 6/8/2005 12:48:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

meand@... writes:

my garden is just barely getting planted

Here in Georgia our planting season starts early. My house is on stilts and

I use earthboxes and flower pots on my back deck. Keeps the marsh critters

out and I can " move " my garden around if I want to.

June 8, 2005

Look for a book, " Against the Grain " by by Manning; he explains

how meat eating is more ecological; and how damaging grains have been

to the environment. A very interesting book.

Also " The Tender Carnivore " by Shepard is interesting, and

elaborates on how farming grains has damaged the enviroment, going back

10,000 years!!!

- T

--- wrote:

From: " \) " <firesprite68@...>

Subject: Re: Re: struggling

Thanks Robin and all else who have answered,

It's good to hear from another long-term

veggie's perspective. It's marrying up my ethical beliefs and cares

with the

diet and that is a mental thing.

I have been reviewing and trying to 'look in from the outside' at my

eating habits also and I think that when I am not sure about do's and

don't's I keep things very restricted and because of time constraints

and

stresses of the moment, things are staying that way which means very

little variety for me.

Thankyou for being 'so understanding' to an ex-veggie Viking ;o)

I will review and put up a list somewhere of all the beneficials

available over here to jog my memory I think. I am somewhat restricted

as we

only have one supermarket anywhere near us and as they have no

competition they are a little slack. Internet is always an option but

buying

from specialists over the web pushes up cost a lot and we are at the

stage where we have three teenagers eating us out of house and home and

another close on their heels and one who is not a big eater.

Thanks folks.

)

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June 8, 2005

" grow my own food.

I'm already enjoying fresh spring vegetables from my garden and my body

reminds me of how nice it is to be detoxed and " tuned in " to enjoy really

fresh "

Ohh, you lucky one. my garden is just barely getting planted and wouldn't ya

know we have

had constant wind and 2 days of steady rain here in the desert, well, we

need the moisture, but no planting today. It'll be a while before we get

fresh veggies, LOL. Enjoy your eats,

Emmi

-----

June 8, 2005

Just what kind of marsh critters are we talking about?

Vegetarians?

Maddviking@... wrote:

In a message dated 6/8/2005 12:48:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

meand@... writes:

my garden is just barely getting planted

Here in Georgia our planting season starts early. My house is on stilts and

I use earthboxes and flower pots on my back deck. Keeps the marsh critters

out and I can " move " my garden around if I want to.

June 8, 2005

I have a vegan friend who looks deeply into ethics and they have said that it is

less ethical to rear meat stock on pasture than have grain crops for the land as

pastures and cattle etc. need more water.

Have you looked at it from this angle.

Would be great to be able to show them a sound article from someone to be

believed [instead of someone like mercola with product to sell] which backs it

being more eco-friendly and ethical to have pastures with herds rather than

crops.

Will certainly lookfor the book but they are online so I would need something

online to show them.

thanks

)

http://www.freewebs.com/inspire/

June 8, 2005

I don't know but I just thought of something, as fertilizers for crops leach

into the water supply causing more problems down the road than

ethically-raised grass-fed stock animals. Factory farms are a whole

different issue though, I certainly couldn't want to live downstream of a

factory farm.

As far as water goes, the pasture cattle graze on usually doesn't require

irrigation, and giving water to animals doesn't involve as much water loss

by evaporation as irrigating crops does. Also, the soil doesn't need to be

tilled or disturbed at all and the native plantlife is left intact, though

nibbled on..

Re: Re: struggling

I have a vegan friend who looks deeply into ethics and they have said that

it is less ethical to rear meat stock on pasture than have grain crops for

the land as pastures and cattle etc. need more water.

Have you looked at it from this angle.

Would be great to be able to show them a sound article from someone to be

believed [instead of someone like mercola with product to sell] which backs

it being more eco-friendly and ethical to have pastures with herds rather

than crops.

Will certainly lookfor the book but they are online so I would need

something online to show them.

thanks

)

http://www.freewebs.com/inspire/

June 8, 2005

In a message dated 6/8/2005 1:24:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

monika_vidas@... writes:

Just what kind of marsh critters are we talking about?

Raccoons, opossum, snakes, rabbits, mice, etc. Alligators don't eat

vegetables so I guess they don't count. We even had a wild pig from an adjacent

uninhabited Island swim over here and dig up the neighbor's yards. He would

have

loved my garden. The police accidently shot him in the head 5 times. Very

small humane society chapter here apparently. The armadillos are coming north.

They just haven't figured out how to get to the Island yet. Snakes like to

crawl into flower pots and other cool places here. Sometimes they make the

neighbor ladies ballerinas when they're watering plants. Keeps the city people

away. I have little lizards in the plants that eat the bugs but sometimes they

make me a ballerina too until I figure out what they are.

June 8, 2005

In a message dated 6/8/2005 3:32:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

bloggertypeo@... writes:

I have a vegan friend who looks deeply into ethics and they have said that

it is less ethical to rear meat stock on pasture than have grain crops for

the land as pastures and cattle etc. need more water.

LOL--what water? A pasture takes care of itself and gets it's water from

rain. The cattle are also supplemented with bailed hay (and grain for the grain

fed). In the US the drinking water usually comes from wells drilled on the

property because it's cheaper than buying treated water. If we stopped raising

animals and the world had to live on vegetables, the cost for water,

fertilizers, pesticides, and land space would be prohibitive (not to mention the

hospital bills from all of the sick people).

June 8, 2005

Yes, my understanding of it is like this. I read in " Against the

Grain " that fertilizers from corn, wheat and soy have caused a huge

area of the Gulf of Mexico to be totally DEAD -- no fish, no nothing.

- T

> I don't know but I just thought of something, as fertilizers for

crops leach

> into the water supply causing more problems down the road than

> ethically-raised grass-fed stock animals. Factory farms are a whole

> different issue though, I certainly couldn't want to live downstream

of a factory farm.

>

> As far as water goes, the pasture cattle graze on usually doesn't

require

> irrigation, and giving water to animals doesn't involve as much

water loss

> by evaporation as irrigating crops does. Also, the soil doesn't

need to be

> tilled or disturbed at all and the native plantlife is left intact,

though nibbled on..

> Re: Re: struggling

>

> I have a vegan friend who looks deeply into ethics and they have

said that

> it is less ethical to rear meat stock on pasture than have grain

crops for

> the land as pastures and cattle etc. need more water.

> Have you looked at it from this angle.

> Would be great to be able to show them a sound article from

someone to be

> believed [instead of someone like mercola with product to sell]

which backs

> it being more eco-friendly and ethical to have pastures with herds

rather

> than crops.

> Will certainly lookfor the book but they are online so I would need

> something online to show them.

> thanks

> )

>

> http://www.freewebs.com/inspire/

>

June 8, 2005

guess I'm not that jealous any more, at least we don't have all those

critters here, maybe a snake or a wabbit, no accidental shootings of pigs,

hehehe. Ballerinas are nice though, LOL

Emmi

June 12, 2005

E. Andersen wrote:It'll be a while before we get

> fresh veggies, LOL.

You don't get dandelions where you live?

Thise have been my " fresh vegies " for months - I use them same as

steamed spinach in/with pratically anything.

.....IRene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.

www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)

Proverb:Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it.

June 12, 2005

It's good to 'see' you Irene.

Hope you're feeling better. I've been wondering how you were and noticed your

absence.

I've been told dandelion leaves are bitter - do they lose this when steamed ?

)

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June 12, 2005

) wrote:

> It's good to 'see' you Irene.

> Hope you're feeling better. I've been wondering how you were and noticed your

absence.

> I've been told dandelion leaves are bitter - do they lose this when steamed ?

Hi ,

I've been getting stronger thanks - for some reason a heart attack

(on 18 May) kicks the stuffing out of one so I am busy getting

re-stuffed :-)

I'm feeling much improved, it's just that the bills forgot to stop

coming while I was not working so list email time is less than I'd like

at the moment :-)

I am not fond of dandelion leaves as salad and I am not a salad person

anyway - but I have grown to prefer them to spinach even, as a

vegetable. They are strong flavoured, I am not sure I'd call it bitter -

technically maybe - but I like strong flavours and the freshness soon

gives biofeedback in a loud voice!!! Nothing I buy has sap oozing out of

the stems as I slice them :-))

I wash them under running water and cut them into inch or so pieces,

then cook very minimally in the microwave just using the water still on

the leaves, no extra. So a nice large batch will take 1.5 to 2 mins this

way.

The flavour has grown on me - I suspect many flavours would do that if

one gave them a chance. The first time I tried them was an experiment

and it was a " new " taste.

Now I like them with anything. If eaten plain I add 2 teasp olive oil,

and 1 each of lemon juice and chopped garlic. But mostly I add them to

whatever else is on the menu.

They are available in the organic grocery store in town for $5 a bunch

and the first time I ate them I actually paid that and got them from the

store! The ones that pass for a lawn here are much nicer :-)) People

look at me funny when I " weed " the lawn and take the weeds inside!

I often make a wok meal with ground beef (5% fat from my butcher)

olive oil, lots of herbs and spices and dried flavours/pigments, plus

rice bran to thicken the " gravy " and dandelions, tomato, onion,

mushrooms (or whatever veg is on hand that day) added in. If you find

them too strong flavoured at first, you might mix them with spinach and

or bamboo shoots etc.

Tonight I had a layered meal: salmon patties, grated cheese on them,

steamed dandelions on top of that, 2 teaspoons olive oil drizzled on

them, plus a couple poached eggs and a dash of red pepper flakes on top

again. I like to have a lot of flavours in a meal.

Try it? If you don't like them, there's not much to lose?

My neighbours probably think I lost it.

But I think I found it :-))

Namaste,

Irene

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.

www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)

Proverb:Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it.

June 12, 2005

In a message dated 6/12/2005 5:21:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

furryboots@... writes:

Thise have been my " fresh vegies " for months - I use them same as

steamed spinach in/with pratically anything.

Me too along with chicory. Way back in early spring, I took some tender

sprouts and ate them raw with olive oil and lemon. Delicious, and they make you

feel so good. As time went on, though, they got so tough and bitter that even

repeated boiling didn't work very well.

June 12, 2005

Good to hear from you Irene. Get well soon.

June 12, 2005

I'm so sorry to hear you had a heart attack - I had no idea.

I'm pleased you're getting better.

Thanks for the info. on dandelion leaves - I think I'll get a trough and grow

some myself.

)

http://www.freewebs.com/inspire/

June 12, 2005

I've been thinking about you a lot, too, Irene, as you'd mentioned earlier that

you weren't well. It is definitely good to hear from you on the list. Godspeed

your recovery.

Gretchen

----- Original Message -----

From: Irene de Villiers

I've been getting stronger thanks - for some reason a heart attack (on 18

May) kicks the stuffing out of one so I am busy getting re-stuffed :-)

June 12, 2005

--- In , Irene de Villiers <furryboots@i...>

> I've been getting stronger thanks - for some reason a heart attack

> (on 18 May) kicks the stuffing out of one so I am busy getting

> re-stuffed :-)

I had no idea either! I went on vacation on the 19th and only skimmed

the messages on the board when I got back almost 2 weeks later.

Sending you lots of healing energy!

-Robin

June 12, 2005

hehe, we have dandelions galore, I just don't like the bitter flavor, would

be better, if I ate them then trying to fight (weed)them

Emmi

PS. hope you are feeling better?

June 12, 2005

WONDERFUL to hear from you, Irene ! I've been thinking/worrying/wondering

how you are, and its great to know you are on the mend. Big hugs, Pat

Re: Re: struggling

Good to hear from you Irene. Get well soon.

June 12, 2005

Gee thank you to all of you who sent lovely messages of good wishes my

way - I much appreciate it - and it is great to start feeling better

again. Knocked me for six it did, but I'm no quitter :-) I'm swallowing

hawthorn berry and so forth etc, etc :-) Building up the exercise again.

May not have list time in the week yet, but hope things will go closer

to normal soon :-))

Have a great week, all!

Namaste,

IREne

--

Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.

www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)

Proverb:Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it.

June 12, 2005

Irene,

Did cook up the salmon patties ahead of time?

Re: Re: struggling

) wrote:

> It's good to 'see' you Irene.

> Hope you're feeling better. I've been wondering how you were and noticed

your absence.

> I've been told dandelion leaves are bitter - do they lose this when steamed

?