Our Natural Life

Recently we toured the Natures Harmony Farm in Elberton Georgia. This operation is less that 2 years old and it is owned by Tim & Liz Young. Cathy & I sat down with Tim & Liz after the farm tour and asked them to tell us their story. We did the interview in the backyard so there are some background noises such as the animals, airplanes, and rifle shots (it was the first day of hunting season). Here are the links we talked about on today's show. Eat Wild Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food Chicago High School Raises Crops, Career Hopes : NPR The Problem is the Solution | Seventh Generation Mexico City Plants Green Roofs : Red, Green, and Blue Rodale Institute, Leaders in Organic Solutions for Global Warming GoodGuide | Home //Jon

In this episode we discuss what we saw during our tour of the Natures Harmony Farm in Elberton GA. This farm is a great representation of a new farming model that is part of the sustainable and clean food revolution. In this show we will share what we learned about Nature's Harmony Farm about: Slow Food Philosophy Animals raised on grass Mimicry of nature's biodiversity within an agricultural model Challenges and benefits of raising heritage breeds Managing a farm by working with the animals Links to websites we discussed; Natures Harmony Farm Polyface Farms Local Farms Save Local Communities Lisa Ling Investigates Treatment of Animals on Farms

"Good broth will resurrect the dead", or so says a South American Proverb. In this episode we discuss how to make bone broth, the health benefits of bone broths, how they are used by other cultures for the medicinal value, and we conclude with some recipe ideas. We discussed the following links in this weeks show; 13waist.html e2 | energy | harvesting the wind | PBS Food Features: Why Broth is Beautiful "Essential" Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin Jewish Chicken Soup with Matza Balls Stock Making 101 - How to Make Soup Stocks - - FabulousFoods.com The magic of homemade chinese soups Healthy soup recipes - chinese soups Fish Stock Roast Duck with Cherry Reduction Sauce  Cheese Slave Reduction-Sauce Basics: The Splendid Table Demi-glace/demi-glaze recipe Demi-Glace Recipe To Prepare at Home perfect gravy recipe | gravy recipes //Jon

This is the second episode in our Slow Food series. We talk about Slow Food and the Weston A. Price diet, how to cook when you don't have time, and some meal ideas. We answer the questions; How do you incorporate slow food or a Weston A. Price diet into today's busy lifestyle? What if I don't have time to cook every day? What do I eat? Here are the links we discussed on today's show. Small Fry, Little Fish Are Good for You Wal-Mart Abandons Milk from Hormone Treated Cows Organic Food soon to be Cheaper than Conventional ? Artificial Sweetener information. Slow Food USA

We start our series on Slow Food and explain what it is, and why it is good for us. Jon rants about poisoned food from China (again!). This time it is powdered milk tainted with Melamine. Reports say 53,000 Chinese babies got sick, and the government covered it up out of fear of "bad press" during the Olympics. Jon also rants about how the long gas lines in Atlanta are an example of the problems that occur in systems that lack diversity. Here are the links we talk about in the show. Slow Food USA Slow Food International China Milk Recall (Melamine again!) Atlanta Local Food Initiative Seed Savers Exchange United Nations on Biodiversity David Suzuki Foundation - Why Biodiversity is Important What if "Bad Fat" is Actually Good For You? Local Harvest talks about heritage meats Minnesota Buying Club sets good example. Food Industry LIES About Corn Next week, more about slow food. //Jon

In this episode we discuss clicker training for your pet. It is a more natural way to train a pet that involves positive reinforcement contrasted against the older methods involving verbal and physical discipline. We answer the following questions; What is clicker training? What is natural about it? How do I get started? and we share some personal dog training stories. Here are the links we discussed on the show; What is clicker training Clicker training for all animals - even goldfish! Why a clicker and not your voice? 7 short YouTube demonstrations Just for fun, Kate and Gin on Britain's got Talent - awesome! US Dog Agility Association *** Mars Petcare recall due to salmonella. *** Toxic BPA plastic - FDA ignores warnings Our next few shows will be about 'slow food' and slow cooking, the opposite of fast food, but much healthier. //Jon

This is the second part of our series about holistic pet care and how it differs from traditional allopathic veterinary care. We discuss alternative treatment methods and share some real life experiences with that we have experienced with traditional remedies. In this show we answer the following questions; What is acupuncture? Why use Chinese herbs for pets? What are some problems with chemical products for pest control? What are some natural methods of controlling fleas and ticks? What are some problems with the use of steroids? Here are the links mentioned on the show. Animal Acupuncture - National Geographic Healing Pets with a Holistic Approach - NY Times Traditional Chinese Medicine in Veterinary Care - AltVetMed Dog Arthritis - Pet Care Tips - Dr Colleen Smith DVM Treating Arthritis - Susan Wynn DVM History of Rimadyl Antibiotics and Steroids Natural Flea Control- Diet, Exercise, Homeopathy - Jeffrey Levy DVM Diatomaceous Earth for Flea Control More about Natural Flea Control Flea Control Nematodes

In this episode we talk about holistic pet care and how it differs from traditional allopathic veterinary care. We discuss homeopathic remedies and share a couple of our real life experiences with them. We answer the following questions; How does holistic pet care differ from allopathic veterinary care? What is homeopathy? What is osteopathy? What are the problems associated with vaccination and medication? Here are the links mentioned on the show. Michelle Welton - Your Purebred Puppy - advice you can trust. Dr Kimberly Parker on Homeopathy Dr Kimberly Parker on Osteopathy Dr Charles Loops about vaccinations Dr Charles Loops about Vaccinosis and Chronic Disease Dr Gloria Dodd about hip displaysia And one more - off topic to today's podcast, but an important warning. Red Bull Can Give You a Stroke And finally, check out the video I mentioned about the battle of the hummingbirds in our back yard. Until next week! //Jon

In this show we talk about the benefits of feeding our pets a species appropriate diet of raw meat and bones. Some of the points we cover are; How we started feeding our dogs naturally Problems with commercial pet food Rationale and benefits of raw feeding Commercial pet foods are unnatural, unhealthy, and contain ingredients you do not want your pet to eat, including used restaurant grease and rendered, euthanized animals & even roadkill retrieved by local government agencies. Dogs and cats are carnivores designed by nature to consume a raw, whole prey diet. Animals fed a whole prey diet will be happier and healthier, have smaller stools, cleaner teeth, and fewer diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease. Keep reading - we have a list of links and 2 great videos on the next page. List of links to the articles we talked about; Canine Nutrition , Dr. Kimberly Parker Switching to Raw, Susan Johnson Holistic products for dogs and cats. Raw Fed Cats More about Raw Fed Cats What's really in pet food Cancer prevention for pets. "Prey" for your pets. Dr. Billinghurst's Biologically Appropriate Raw Food Diet More about what is really in pet food. Raw Meaty Bones How pet food is tested. 8 subjects, only 6 must pass! Videos. What's REALLY in Your Pet's Food!! Nick and Sheila dine on raw chicken. (Download Video)

In this show we talk about the health benefits of real raw milk and the hazards of industrially produced "dead" milk. some of the points we cover are; What is real milk and what are its benefits? What are some problems with industrially produced milk? What are some myths surrounding real milk versus industrial milk? Our website launch contest is still going on, please subscribe to our newsletter and then email us with your best guess for the date we will achieve our goal, subscribers in every state and 6 other countries. The person with the closest guess wins a $25 Amazon gift certificate. While our website has been visited from 47 states and 16 countries, we only have subscribers from 16 states and 2 countries. Remember, only subscribers can win! Here are the links to the web sites we mentioned. The Milk Blog 12 Foods you don't have to buy organic. California Law against factory farm cruelty Why Migraines Strike. We didn't talk about this on the show but my headaches have disappeared since I started the Enlita program with Cathy. Hope it works for you! //Jon

In this episode we finish our 2 part series on definitions of some of the industry terms and buzz words. We talk about CAFOs, Sustainable, Industrial Agriculture, Pastured food, and grass fed beef, and give examples of each. Here are the links to the stories we talked about. Michael Pollan - Argiculture - Disease Resistant Staph - Concentrated Animal Feed Operations - New York Times. Michael Pollan - Argiculture - Colony Collapse Disorder - New York Times What sustainability is really about. CDC - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) The Food Revolution reveals the truth about popular diets , genetically modified foods, mad cow disease, and the health effects of what you eat. News - Eat Wild - The clearinghouse for information about pasture-based farming. Life Begins at 30: Beyond Organic Union of concerned Scientists - Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions, New Report Finds Grass Fed Beef - Grass Fed Beef in Canada & "How To" Guides. Directory of Farms - a list of more than 800 pasture based farms in the USA & Canada. Bet there's one near you! //Jon

In this episode we start a two part series to define holistic, sustainable, healthy , and other industry terms and buzz words you may hear in our discussions. Here are two links that we discussed which relate to show #005 The Feingold Diet Program helps kids with ADHD MSG Update - there is a petition before the FDA to remove MSG from the list of "Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list of ingredients". This is HUGE! It means food manufacturers would have to stop using it. It is addictive and when added to our food it makes people eat more, and eat more quickly. Go here and enter P-0178 in the search box to see the petition and the list of public comments. Here are the links we talked about in show #006 Use those abundant cucumbers! Three ways to make pickles . Definition of holistic health. Is exercise making you fat? The health of your kids. Sustainable Agriculture - what does it mean? Maximum nutrition from the garden. Health - defined. -Jon-

Packing a Healthy Lunch Processed foods are full of hidden MSG, unlabeled GE foods, and unhealthy transfats. How can you pack a healthy lunch that avoids these dangers? This program explores processed foods commonly used in childrens lunches and advises healthy alternatives. Mercola.com: What's in That? How Food Affects Your Behavior We looked at this Mercola article on how food affects behavior and determined that glutamates such as MSG will negatively impact school performance. A high carbohydrate meal will produce glutamates in the brain. HolisticMed.com: Hidden Sources of MSG This site lists hidden sources of MSG and how to carefully read labels if you're avoiding MSG. Truth in Labeling.org: MSG Sprayed on crops This article reveals how glutamates are being sprayed on non-organic vegetables. Citizens for Health: Stop Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets Beginning in 2008, GE beet sugar entered the United States food supply. If you eat products containing sugar that are non-organic, you may be ingesting this substance never before consumed in the human diet. Let the major companies know if you do not want them to use this ingredient that is allowed to spray 5000% more of Monsanto's Roundup pesticide than previously warranted. Jonathan Campbell's website 50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods by Nathan Batalion True Food Now: Shopping list of food with and without genetically engineered ingredients Wonderful website with easy to read charts listing processed foods that do and do not include genetically engineered ingredients. Neat and color-coded. Tips for providing a healthy lunch (thank you to Lauren Bockish for assistance) Listen to show #5 for complete details - start with small steps: pack a lunch twice a week; choose healthy beverage; reduce packaged food - include protein, vegetable, and fruit with each meal (optional whole grain) - protein: no-nitrate turkey bologna from Trader Joes; chicken or tuna salad; crispy nuts and seeds (homemade or sprouted pumpkin seeds); hard cheeses; organic peanut butter such as Maranatha or Whole kids; whole milk cottage cheese; Stoneyfield Yokids yogurt; cheese sticks; hardcooked eggs - vegetables : organic baby carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, brocolli - fruit : bananas, organic apples, dried fruit - grains : Ezekial sprouted bread; no-gluten crackers - treats : Raw Revolution snack bars; Raw Crunch bars - filtered water in stainless steel Sigg bottles Parents or older children : - similar guidelines - take leftover dinner items in a thermos and keep wrapped or on a mug warmer if avoiding microwave -leftover cold chicken - salads with protein and home made salad dressing - egg salad - organic beef jerky - Bela Olhoa sardines - organic nuts - organic maca bars - fermented beverages Pack lunch in glass containers or waxed bags to reduce pollution and avoid off gassing. Be sure to write or call us and let us know your ideas for a healthy lunch. Enlita Program updates - We are losing weight and fat while gaining muscle and losing inches in our waistline. We've added a link on our "Go Shopping" page for the Enlita weight loss program and nutritional products so you can see the plan for yourself. Don't forget to bookmark this site and subscribe to get regular updates. We have a contest to guess the date we'll have at least one subscriber in each state.

Putting up the Harvest - Whether you are growing more food at home than you can eat, bringing it home from your CSA, or purchasing in bulk from your local farmer's market, you'll need to preserve it if you want to enjoy during the fall and winter months. Today we're discussing four methods of food preservation: freezing, canning, dehydrating, and fermenting. Freezing is a quick and simple method appropriate for fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, cheeses, breads, and prepared food. There are several articles on freezing methods at the University of Georgia Extension Service website. We enjoy using a nifty kitchen appliance called Foodsaver. You can find it and other food preservation supplies at our Amazon e-store. Please check these out and consider shopping here for your food preservation needs. The Foodsaver is a vacuum-packaging system that saves time, preserves food quality, and makes putting up your food very easy. We keep ours out on the kitchen counter for frequent use. Canning may be more unfamiliar to some of our listeners but is not mysterious or difficult to do. You will need a bit of equipment to get started (see food preservation supplies). Canning is a great way to put up tomatoes and tomato products because instead of losing nutrients and flavor, it actually improves flavor and increases the lycopene available. For more on the benefits of lycopene in your diet, visit this website. In order to best utilize this powerful antioxidant, be sure to eat some healthy fat such as extra virgin organic olive oil with your tomato sauces. A great description of canning and a tomato sauce recipe can be found in Barbara Kingsolver's new personal narrative, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Cathy just finished reading this book and it is a great read, inspirational, and full of great information about sustainable food and eating locally. The UGA website has pdf files on canning, as well. Canning of low-acid vegetable such as green beans requires a pressure canner. We prefer these foods frozen to retain texture and flavor. Dehydration of food can be accomplished by the sun in less humid climates, in a warm oven, or in a dehydrator dedicated to that purpose. Dehydrating is effective for making your own sun dried tomatoes (another recipe in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle), sweet or chili peppers to add to soups or stews, herbs, figs, liver treats for your pets, or crispy nuts (recipe pp. 513-516 in Nourishing Traditions. We use a 4-tray Excalibur dehydrator for our dehydrating. It has a fan to keep the drying even and does not heat up the kitchen like a warm oven. It's easy to use and clean and can be used to make yogurt. A good reference for dehydrating is Mary Bells Complete Dehydrator Cookbook. The UGA website sited above has pdf articles as well. Fermentation has been used for thousands of years by traditional cultures to preserve food long before the advent of freezing or canning. Fermentation has 5 benefits: preservation of food, removal of toxins present in some foods, improving nutritional value, making food more digestible, and promoting the growth of healthy flora in the human intestine. Ancient Greeks referred to these chemical changes as alchemy. Fermented foods are an acquired taste and largely absent in the Standard American Diet. Fermented foods and beverages include saurkraut, miso, tempeh, Korean kimchi, Japanese umeboshi, cheese, kefir, yogurt, sour doughs, kombucha, wine, beer, vinegars, and traditional chutney, ketchup, and pickles. The definitive book on this subject is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. Other traditional methods can be found here and in Nourishing Traditions. Sandor's website at www.wildfermentation.com will give you more information and resources. Cathy recommends Sally Fallon's fermented ketchup recipe on page 104 in Nourishing Traditions for taking care of a surplus of paste or Juliet tomatoes. More resources for fermenting are available from the Grain and Salt Society.

ANYONE can grow food at home - this podcast introduces listeners to micro gardening, a way to utilize small spaces to grow vegetables at home, even if only on a patio or deck. We include a history lesson on Victory Gardens from WWI and WWII in this country, and the Dig for Victory campaign of the UK in WWII. The new concept has been referred to as an Energy Garden, or E-Garden, as growing food at home is one way to reduce both trips to the grocery store and transportation of produce. We briefly introduce websites with videos that explore the ugly side of agribusiness. Micro gardening resources: Urban Gardening Help Wikipedia article on Urban Agriculture Square Foot Gardening ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening Other links we talked about: The Meatrix The World According to Monsanto - the film most American will not ever see. Other informative articles about Monsanto at Celsias.com. The Future of Food - Rent from Amazon Unbox The Future of Food DVD - Buy the DVD from Amazon Please watch these videos and email us with your reaction; we want to hear from you. Email us at ournaturallife@gmail.com. -end-