stock. I have to. And yes, that italicized I have to is supposed to sound as neurotic as it may have in your head. The stock must be at least two bottles deep. Otherwise, I become incredibly anal that the colds and fevers are lurking–yes, around every dark corner indeed–with weapons at the ready and I will be forced to surrender with only a box of tissues, not even the soft, downy variety, as my only friend. Unarmed, completely ill-equipped for battle. Take me sore throat, green snot. Take me now. Unless! Unless, Congaplex. Congaplex is my weapon, my best winter weapon to be sure.
Anyway, I walked into the office and there I saw Wheat Belly. There are a few books in the office and you know they’re like the pick of the litter books because this office doesn’t okay just any book. In fact, I always feel terribly validated when I own a book they have on display. Cause, you see, there’s only about five, maybe seven, books there. Out of every healthy eating, nutritional, crunchy, wellness book… only five, maybe seven! (Nourishing Traditions
Not a sponsored post whatsoever; does that need to be said?
I have a friend that has been doing the Wheat Belly diet. She's giving it a one month commitment. I'm not a crop scientist (just a general biologist), but what the knowledgeable lady says is true. Our crops are genetically modified and treated up the yin yang so they scarcely resemble the grains our forefathers made into pasta and bread. Our bodies haven't evolved enough to understand these mutant grains. That being said, going gluten (or carb) free is HARD. I've tried and clearly lack the will power (I write this as I eat delicious things surrounded by a wheat wrap). I look forward to hearing about your foray into "real" pasta! (Is it mean to want you to be my guinea pig?)
i read your comment as i ate two pieces of toast. mmmm, not ready to give up the gluten.
Please do report back as to what you think… I am thinking about this whole gluten thing and trying to figure out how to best deal with the information I am finding. I cannot imagine going completely gluten free but it is always good to be aware that most North Americans are eating way too much of it, especially if it is white flour products. But now reading this, maybe whole wheat is not even so much better for us??
i think whole wheat in its original state (before we went messing with everything) is better for you, but i think whole wheat these days pales in comparison to that of its predecessors… predecessors probably does not work when referring to whole wheat but you know what i am saying!
My mom and dad are both lovers of wheat belly book. Mommas gone completely gluten free, and I know she feels a lot better and has even more energy. I just can't fathom giving up wheat. i'm so attached it's sad! and yes to italian pasta being a thousand times better.
your mom is disciplined. mine is too. doesn't even crave sugar. it's ridiculous.
Something else for you to think about, My Son-In-Law is a farmer in Yuma, Az, and they sell all their wheat to Italy. It's all so confusing and drives me a little crazy, because I am trying to do the right thing with feeding my family.
this is interesting. can you tell me more? why does he sell his to italy? how does he raise it differently than other farmer's wheat??
Durum wheat is used to make pasta and it is true, the durum wheat produced in the US is shipped to Italy. Some Italian companies have opened production plants in the US so it doesn’t all go overseas, but it is all used for pasta. So to suggest Italian pasta is better for you than American pasta is just silly. I will email you more info and resources. Thanks for sharing your convo with the receptionist, I hope my email clears up any misconceptions about wheat production in US.
The funny thing is that restaurants/grocers in Europe offer more gluten free options than restaurants and grocers here in the US, yet their pasta is way more nutritional in Europe! Jovial sounds like a neat option, and plus its called "jovial" 🙂
I can't believe the limited amount of times that I comment on your posts because I read every one! hahaha! 🙂 Anyways, I would also love to hear your thoughts of what your find too! I also am curious if you have any suggestions to something comprable to congaplex that you have heard of? I used to LOVE it but unfortunately over the last couple of years developed an allergic reaction to a couple of the ingredients. Any thoughts on another product? Thanks again for such AMAZING and wonderful posts and your sweet blog!
🙂 Rebecca
http://www.caravansonnet.com
allergic to congaplex?! that's awful! so i don't know what congaplex's equivalent would be because i've never needed to try something else! if i were you, though, i'd contact standard process and mention it to them. they might have the answer!
The documentary "Dirt!" goes in depth about soil depletion and how it got that way. It was pretty eye-opening information.
i am so often hesitant to watch docu's like that because aftewards i'm all NEVER EATING AMERICAN CROPS AGAIN. you know? but… i maaaay check this one out. thanks amber.
You should be hesitant. Documentaries are not fact, just simply a film put together by a group of people trying to persuade your opinion. There is a lot of "soft" science in the news and media and people are trying to sell theories as scientific fact. It is true, improper farming techniques can lead to depletion of the soil's nutrients, however most farms (like my husbands) employ minimum tillage, crop rotation, and precision ag techniques to ensure soil health for generations to come. Farming does actually return a great deal of organic matter back into the soil that wouldn't normally be there. Just compare an Arizona farm field to the Sonoran desert and you can easily see that the farm fields are much healthier. If you don't believe me, contact your county or state Farm Bureau and ask if they would help arrange a farm tour. Ask the farmer what he/she does to ensure the health of his/her soil and I bet you won't be able to get him or her to stop talking.
I'm not sure when or why American agriculture started to get such a bad rap… is it because we are so awesome and produce an amount of food that other countries can only dream of?? Is it because we have more government regulations to monitor chemical residues and safety than any other country? Is it because our universities, government, and businesses spend more in research and development of better farming techniques than all of the other countries combined??
If Americans really cared about their health they would stop questioning American farmers and start questioning the medical industry. They prescribe medicines every day and rarely are they asked to describe side effects, potential long term effects, or where/who produced the pill, yet farmers are being asked these things daily by a population who doesn't care to hear the answer.
Sorry for the novel!
holly, you're totally right! fault certainly does not simply fall on the farmers (and, for many farms/farmers, no fault at all!)… what you said about the medical industry… yes! i couldn't agree more.
i'm sure it's incredibly frustrating that it's getting a bad rap seeing as your husband is in the business and is doing it responsibly!. are some farms being completely irresponsible when it comes to agriculture, etc. — obviously unlike your husband? i'm sure you'd know more about this than i do!
I don't think any farms are intentionally harming the environment. It is fairly common sense that if we take care of the land, the land will take care of us. If any haven't adjusted their farming practices according to latest research than they are either uneducated, don't have the money to invest in new equipment, or don't like change. I guess it is like any industry, there are always a few bad apples.
Sorry for the late reply!
ahhh totally gonna try that web site!! the bready stuff in italy is so much better. you don't get that heavy "my intestines are swelling shut now" kind of effect at all! and it's so hard to find good italian in the south anyway, boo, but there are a few places around here that use imported flour from
italy and they are geniuses. also ive heard that the way we make wheat now is so far from how it was in the bible times that our bodies don't know how to process the stuff we make now because it's so overprocessed itself. no wonder everyone has a gluten intolerance now, right! i love this post, bridget!!! oops too many exclamation points there. my enthusiasm is unpredictable before i have my coffee!
i like your enthusiasm brittany!
and this my friend, is why I hold you up there like you hold the naturopath woman behind the desk. I feel the same about you as you about her! i love a good discussion about food and the contents of what we eat and what we can do to be better consumers of what the Good Lord gave us. But sometimes I feel like there are SO MANY RESTRICTIONS and SO MANY GUIDELINES and, and, and. I sometimes just don't know where to start! BUT….I LOVE YOU and your desire to live healthy and clean. SO FIST BUMP to you and the 3.49 pasta! And Congaplex…I need to know more! We use a lot of Silver Spray, Thieves Soap and Kefir 'milk' from the amish…but I"m always up for new stuff! 😉 xoxoxo
annie, that is so funny that you think of me in that way because i am anything but. i mean, i've got a few tricks up my sleeve, sure, but excuse me while i go eat some potato chips for lunch.
I don't believe you. I think you eat spinach and dirt every meal! 😉 I just placed my re-order for our kefir. we're on a weekly delivery now. I feel like super woman! ha!
My husband and I are both Italian, and both of our families are like straight off the boat Italians. As much as we try to eat "healthy" Sunday dinner just wouldn't be the same without the pasta. And while I am at it neither would monday-saturday!! haha. Well we don't eat pasta that much but we do eat it a couple time a week. If you ask the older generations in our family what the secret to longevity it…they will tell you wine! More specifically their wine that they make every year. I do try and sneak in the plus pastas, or wheat pasta when I can. But I swear my husband and kids look at me like I am crazy!!
do you notice a difference between our pasta and their pasta? or do your families notice it (are they still living in italy?)?
wine! that is the answer!
WHOA. Game changer. Makes total sense, and probably is why my stomach so desperately revolts against pasta here. But mayhaps I will try this better pasta. I just want to enjoy some spaghetti without looking 6 months pregnant.
Now we just have to convince Trader Joe's to carry this pasta, because that would be nice! I'm glad you asked this question of your wise naturopath secretary because it's a good one. Thanks for passing on the knowledge. What are your thoughts on rice pasta (and what do you think hers are)? I know, in my experience, it seems a little soggier, I guess, but easier to digest than the wheat, right?
Congaplex is where it's at! That stuff is a legit lifesaver in our house! Nice to see another SP user! My MIL owns her own medical practice and sells SP, so you can imagine that our kitchen is stocked full of just about everything they make! Sometimes I wonder what guests think when they mistakenly open that huge drawer and just see pill jars as far as the eye can see…
First time commenter and this post has struck a cord with me…so glad to see others talking about the state of our food here in the US. My daughter has Celiac and I'm GF and Dairy free as well. When we got her diagnosis almost 5 years ago, GF Food left something to be desired….it has come leaps and bounds and we LOVE Jovial GF Pasta. We also buy a brand called Schaar, which I believe is out of germany. In researching alot of the GF foods, we've found that many of the grains that come from Europe are finer and here's the biggie…are also GMO FREE!!! They have higher standards put on their food and thus have less "processing" per say. I have become a staunch believer in the direct connection between the QUALITY of foods we put in our bodies and how it makes us feel! I spend a small fortune on food (being that GF cost 2-3 times what regular foods cost) and wish the US government actually supported more farms that aren't using GMO's and produce quality organic foods….the amount of $ spent on healthcare would drastically decline. It's such a simple formula, but so difficult to actually execute. With all that being said, I do agree with Holly that the farmers get a bad rap when they are doing the very best they can…we do have high standards here, but I think we can do better….it just needs to be done in a way that farms like her husbands can actually afford. I don't presume to know much about any of this and I'd love to hear more from Holly on how difficult it is for them to maintain the Gov't standards and what her husband sees as room for improvement.
Ok…jumping off my soap box now!!
Hi Traci! The amount of money spent dealing with regulations is astounding. For every dollar spent on food only 12-16% goes back to the farmer (http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/blogs/healthy-food/us-food-expenditures). With that they pay employees, buy equipment, land rent, food safety tests, water, fertilizer, etc. My husband mainly grows conventional and organic produce (with the exception of wheat, sudan, and cotton in the summer) so I think what he is providing is pretty darn safe and delicious, not sure what we can improve with those crops.
I think where people have the most issue with wheat (and corn) is in processing. How many flavors of pop-tarts exist these days? If we stopped buying so many processed goods then large corporations wouldn't make them (I say this as I eat some tostitos chips). I can definitely tell you importing our goods and going 100% organic is not the answer. Other countries have little regulation when it comes to pesticides and safety (some irrigate crops with untreated sewer water) and there isn't enough land or fertilizer on the planet to feed the world organically.
Holly, just want you to know how much I am appreciating all of your comments (and your email! I read every word and am meaning to reply!). It's so easy for a forum such as this to become aggressive and I'm so glad it hasn't even though we're coming at it from different perspectives (sort of! Though also, much the same, I think!).
HI HOLLY!! Thank you so much for your reply…I am in awe of how little the farmers actually get back AND still have to maintain their business on! I commend your husband and have the utmost respect, seriously I can't express that enough.
I do agree whole heartedly that processing is the issue…and probably what I struggle with the most. As a Mom of a child with Celiac, I think I'm hypersensitive to the food issue because I feel like all I do is read labels and am amazed and most of what's in our food…it's enough to scare the heck out of me at times! I understand that feeding the planet organically isn't possible, I think I just wish, dream, hope that people in this country will support OUR farmers so families like yours can prosper and flourish.
This is such an interesting conversation and I thank you again for responding so kindly.
oh! Einkorn! I have read about this and wondered about it. I hear these people (http://foodloveswriting.com/) talk about how they use it all the time. Since I'm sure I can't get it here, I never bothered to look into it. I'll be curious to see what you think!
Oh my gosh! I have to comment! How the heck does Giada east pasta every friggin day and have that waste?? So you asking the lady that question, I would so do that. I have tried einkorn pasta and seriously, it is so much better than I thought it would be. Plus my family and I discussed how we didn't feel bloated and weighed down afterward. The holistic squid and mommpotamus both always talk about it so I grabbed some when I was at wholefoods. Good stuff! And our soil situation is just plain sad!
You have to come back and let us know what you think about it!
As a total holistic nutrition nerd, I loved this post.
As a farmer's daughter from a 4th generation North Dakota grain farm, I have to comment. I think it's very important, before you start jumping to conclusions about our soil and how it's handled, to educate yourself very intensely on all that occurs within agriculture.
Broadly waving a wand saying farmers in the US don't take care of the soil is like stating that teachers in the US don't teach if one student in their class is struggling or dentists in the US don't know what they are doing if one of their patients needs a root canal.
I can only state what I know as fact from the farmers in this area of North Dakota and that's this: they care for the land more than anything. They bleed for the land. It's their life. It's working right along side their families. It's sacrificing. They take it very seriously to be stewards of the land, which includes the soil. I can also say this from personal experience. There's nothing like standing on the very same land which your great grandpa stood on when he came over from Norway and decided he was going to make it work in the wild plains. Nothing. And believe me…because of that, we care about the soil.
I understand where you are coming from in being frustrated with food. I am very much a proponent of the least amount of processing required to make what we eat. I believe in eating food in its natural state. The problem is not in the farmer. For what he grows does indeed come from the ground. The problem is in the makers of Captain Crunch and Poptarts and Wonder Bread.
This farmer's daughter had to say something…
And this is not meant to come across as negative. It's about education of what really occurs in the agriculture industry.
I'll end with this. Farmers in this nation are expected to grow enough food to feed everyone, which requires a much different approach than farmers of the first generations who were only growing enough food to feed their own family. This is why technology and changes and advancements in farming have occurred. There are people living in metropolitan areas with no access to land nor do they have the know how or the ability to grow their own food, so farmers grow it for them. This is a complex undertaking to state so simply, but we could go back to everyone growing their own food or being responsible for finding their own food through hunting or scavenging or trading.
That would prove to be interesting…especially for people who live in the East and don't even have a vegetable garden.
amy, not negative at all! i found myself nodding my head through much of your comment! i hope i didn't offend you — or anyone else, particularly those with deep roots in the farming industry like you and holly (an above commenter). i didn't intend to make a sweeping generalization of all farmers and i am so sorry if i have! i really just meant to share a story, and the idea that maybe our food isn't what it once was. i know it's a deeper issue than i address here and one i barely even have the knowledge TO address — i also believe, like you said, that farmer's are not solely responsible. that the demands of our nation, government's hand in things, etc. have played a role.
thanks for your comment, i mean that!
ps. steve's grandfather came over from norway–he will certainly appreciate the nostalgia you have. (he is the same way!)
Great post Amy!
Bridget- The ag industry needs to do a better job of telling our story so please don't apologize. However, the next time you hear someone comment on the sad state of agriculture in America I hope you will respond with all your new found knowledge. Also, make sure to eat lots of lettuce, spinach, beets, and kale this winter (sorry, shameless plug for my husband's farm).
My school kids are never getting sick but it's the little non-school ones and me that are always getting it! I think they have better immune systems because they're exposed to a lot more?
I went GF to support my thyroid, not because I'm well disciplined. It's actually easier than it appears, especially since there are so many resources online and in many groceries to help fill the loaf-shaped hole in one's heart.
They're basic, but I would love the Bess in Hot Pink! brookelhardin@gmail.com
Since you mentioned Barilla, I think you should read this: http://www.towleroad.com/2013/09/barilla-pasta-chief-we-dont-like-gays-they-can-eat-another-brand.html
Barilla CEO is anti-gay and says, "gays can eat another brand."
Let's ALL eat another brand!
I wasn't supporting Barilla, just providing an example of the fact that American wheat is used to make Italian pasta.
Holly, I think Amalia means me mentioning Barilla (in my post) — and Amalia, how terrible! I had no idea!
I'm really curious to try this and give it to Wyatt as a taste test (he use to live in Italy). We eat a ton of pasta, at least once a week, sometimes twice. The only thing Wyatt really requests is that I DON'T use wheat pasta. He says Italians don't eat wheat pasta and he thinks it ruins the dish. I have absolutely no (NO) education on this matter, but I would agree with an above commenter that it probably has more to do with their wine, and oils they use, and also what they don't eat. Still, I want to taste test this!
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