FDA Denies High Fructose Corn Syrup Name Change

The Associated Press reported today that the (FDA) Food & Drug Administration rejected a bid by the Corn Refiners Association to rename controversial sweetening agent high fructose corn syrup to corn sugar. This bid was an obvious attempt to divert negative publicity from high fructose corn syrup and trick consumers into thinking that the artificial sweetener is “just the same” as sugar.

I would like to give high praise to the Food & Drug Administration for actually doing the right thing in this case and protecting American consumers by not allowing the Corn Refiners Association to pull the veil over our American eyes.

The Corn Refiners Association recently began a marketing campaign to persuade consumers that high fructose corn syrup is basically no different from natural sugar which prompted a lawsuit from the Sugar Association on the basis that the advertisements were misleading.

I remember the first time I saw this commercial, I thought to myself, what a crock of bull:

[NOTE: I could not find this high fructose corn syrup commercial without the commentary, but this is actually better. It contains the entire commercial, plus the actual truth about high fructose corn syrup – the real truth.]



I already avoid high fructose corn syrup, and advise the same to all, but this makes me question the product even more. If the Corn Refiners Association is willing to take this kind of a side step to avoid dealing with the real issues, what else do they already know about high fructose corn syrup that they do not want the American public to eventually find out?

Michelle Obama Opens Conversation on Gardening Programs with American Grown

Michelle Obama was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight promoting a new book she wrote called American Grown. I have not read her book yet – I do plan to – but the message that she is promoting is something that I agree with and feel strongly about. Americans need to eat healthy, natural, whole foods. We poison our bodies with too much fast food, too many preservatives, and too much processed foods that over time, wear our bodies down, increase body fat, and make us susceptible to a plethora of health diseases including diabetes and various types of cancer.

On the show, Michelle Obama mentioned that children, when involved with the gardening process and contributing to their food preparation, become engaged and enthusiastic about the foods and the benefits they will receive from them. It also makes them more inclined to make healthier decisions regarding food when they are out on their own.

I also feel like this concept of gardening is something that should be encouraged within our school systems. These same values would be taught to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in such an activity. In addition to learning a gardening skill and learning the importance of good nutrition, the gardens can actually be used to prepare healthy, natural foods in the school lunch programs, which could even extend into economics and business conversations.

(The concept of gardening within school systems was first shared with me by Debra K. Norwood of Estero, Florida, who recently worked with a school in Miami to start a gardening program. She also shared other great ideas for enhancing the educational experience through gardening and farming with me like making sure every classroom has four or five plants in them to replenish the oxygen supply, helping to keep children more focused and productive.)

Teaching children to garden in schools and providing for the lunches that they will eat each day is the beginning of a lifelong system of values that could enhance the lives of each student and our communities at large. This system of values could organically help us reduce the demand for processed foods and the urge to overeat fast and junk foods, leading to a decline in health care costs related to illnesses spawned by obesity and unhealthy diets. It could even encourage more local farming and more people who seek natural, organic foods from local suppliers.

Simply put: teaching gardening skills and engaging children in their nutrition programs could help stimulate local economies and help reduce health care costs while creating healthier Americans.

This is definitely an idea that should be discussed within our school systems and we really need to start opening that dialog with Board of Education members, teachers, and local organizations that could help contribute with time, equipment, donations, etc.

North Carolina Threatens First Amendment by Trying to Silence a Blogger

Was Dear Abby columnist Abigail Van Buren breaking the law by sharing her advice with readers all over the country? The state of North Carolina seems to think so...



In December 2011, diabetic blogger Steve Cooksey created a Dear Abby style advice column where he offers his readers advice on diabetic eating and lifestyles. The state of North Carolina took issue with this and the State Board contacted Cooksey stating that he could not offer advice, freely or with compensation, as it was engaging in an unlicensed, criminal practice of dietetics. They also pointed out that private phone calls and exchanges of emails were illegal, as well as his paid life-coaching service.

I believe that this is absolutely asinine and a weak and pathetic attempt by the State of North Carolina to collect any penny they can find, in this case through licensing fees. You cannot take away the rights of free speech to Americans in this country. If I want to start an advice column on raising children (something I have never done and have no knowledge of) if is my constitutional right to do so. Any new parents have the option of reading what I have to say, considering that I have no education or experience in the matter, and take it for what it’s worth or laugh and keep moving. Either way, I would not be breaking any laws by simply speaking, or exercising my right to free speech.

At minimum, he should be required to have disclaimers stating that he is not a licensed dietician and that his comments have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Institute of Justice is working with the blogger to fight for his first amendment right.

North Carolina, leave this man alone!

Talking to Children “Like Children” Is Not Good

On Fox News this morning there was a brief segment about a six year old girl who won a spelling bee and qualified for finals. She is the youngest person to qualify, no surprise from a girl who began reading at the age of two. Her mother describes her as a teenager in a six year old body.

I have always had the theory that we raise children to be just as bright or just as dumb as they seem to be, based on how we interact with them, and as it turns out – it’s true! Now obviously, there are going to be unique circumstances and no two children are alike, but think about this:

When a mom walks up to a group of friends with a small, adorable, googly eyed little baby, all of the adults immediately drop down to the level of the small child. Even the most masculine of tuff, macho, manly men will coo, say cutesy little things, and talk in a silly sounding, high pitched voice.

Although it is acceptable and normal with infants, I do feel that it is sort of silly. A small baby is easily amused, and of course they need this kind of activity, and feelings of love and closeness from family, but I feel it should be very limited. I also feel like the way we “talk down” to children lasts far too long after infancy.

Studies suggest that talking to children “like chilredn” can actually be harmful to their ability to express themselves later on in life. According to Peter Ernest Haiman, Ph.D.:

When parents talk to their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, they should use complex sentences. Complex sentences have adverbs, adjectives, and modifying phrases and clauses. Rather than “bring me your shirt,” say “bring me your red shirt.” Rather than saying, “Mommy is coming,” say “Mommy will come as soon as she dries her hands.”

The optimum development of language is fostered if parents use complete and complex sentence structures when interacting with their children during their first five or six years of life. Numerous studies that focused on the language development of children have consistently demonstrated that how parents talk to their youngsters shapes the children’s language and ability to communicate. Language, in turn, shapes thought processes and mental problem solving.

I cannot say how the family of the little girl who won the spelling bee raised her, but I imagine that her creativity and desire to learn was sparked by positive, meaningful interaction from them.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to everyone out there! Almost each and every one of us can think of a close friend or family member that is either currently fighting, has fought, or has even died battling in the name of America.

It is no secret that I do not agree with the wars and the fighting. I do not think that we are fighting any current wars in the name of self-defense, exactly, but people are out there on behalf of America, killing, fighting, and sometimes even protecting this country (or at least its best interests, as directed by our government and key big ballers). People I know are fighting right now, and I hope they make it back home before they are also killed, fighting and killing people. I have also lost people that were dear to me, fighting and killing people in the government’s war.

I feel really bad for the people of the armed services, sometimes. I feel like at some point on the ground or maybe even after retirement that the brainwashing starts to reverse and they begin to realize that they are fighting for big business and government, and not the people. It has to be heart wrenching to know that you have killed another human being and realize that you do not even believe in a cause that killed them.

But you can’t deny the beauty and the honor of the sacrifice of perfect strangers willing to defend our country and freedom at the expense of their very lives.

May God rest the souls of all the innocent victims on all sides of the war and the souls of the troops that gave the ultimate sacrifice on all sides of the war. May the people of this planet one day realize that we must coexist and stop destroying the peace, taking from our neighbors, and killing our neighbors.

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Mermaids Exist, Are Descendants of Primitive Humans

I watched a program on Animal Planet tonight about this group of scientist from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, conducting studies on mass beaching of whales happening in different parts of the world, seemingly for no reason. As it turns out, the Navy had been researching sonic booms under water, the blasts of which effectively disabled all animal life around them. The first occurrence of this was in Washington and two young boys arrived at the scene before any officials or scientific investigators.

One boy had a video phone and the two actually capture footage of their experience. You see the boy reach down to pick up a stick and then walk over to this odd looking creature. The boy with the phone zooms in closer to the creature and it looks like the hand sort of moves a bit. The boy looks at his friend with the phone and you see the creature lift up and reach for the boy while shrieking, the boy gets freaked out and both start to run away.

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw the video I though CGI. I was almost certain the video was faked, but when I watched it again, I cannot see any signs of alteration or blurriness, it just simply looks like something that should be CGI. It also looked pissed and angry.

[NOTE: As I am coding this article and adding the video, I've decided it looks faked as hell, but I still think that what happened is real. I think all of the videos in the program were recreated. I do remember wondering how a video from a phone in 2004 looked so clear...]


The program also contains a former high-up member of the Navy, silhouetted and voice altered, who is corroborating this story of the boys being there (although he had no idea the boys captured this on video) and the fact that there was an odd creature captured from the beach that day and kept alive for some period of time thereafter in Navy facilities.

This creature was a mermaid.

They show another occurrence of a live mermaid caught on tape and although you only see a small part of it, it looked exactly like the other one. A third video was taken from a Navy crew member, and it just shows a webbed hand slap at the window of a boat or submarine. If all three videos are faked, the same person made them.

These scientists have concluded that these mermaids were actually primitive humans at one time that adapted to aquatic life. They theorize that this set of primitive humans was accustomed to fishing in the waters and living on the coast and volcanic activity forced them into the water. They evolved over time, becoming completely fish like.

There were many factors proving that these creatures were our ancestors and used to walk on land. Their tail fins had bones in them where no other sea animal does, recordings of their calls are unique and very complex – basically they exhibited dialog amongst themselves and with dolphins, something (yeah this is getting real technical, sorry) about their pelvic bones were shaped and formed to hold weight and was unique to them, their DNA was virtually the same as that of a human, they have hands and fingers, and there is more. All of the facts presented made me a believer today that mermaids are absolutely real, although the Navy may have (un)intentionally killed them all.

There is really a whole bunch more in the program, and I really suggest that you check it out!

After watching, I remembered reading something in a book that I recently started reading called The Secret History of the World. This book claims that there is a secret knowledge in the world that is protected through secret societies and it contains answers to a lot of the mysteries of human origins and life on this planet, and more.

What I remembered was quoted text from Berosus, a priest in Babylon at the time of Alexander the Great, describing a creature that emerged from the seashore named Oannes,

“whose whole body was that of a fish; under the fish’s head he had another head with feet also below similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish’s tail. His voice and language were articulate and human; and representation of him is preserved even to this day...”

“This monster was accustomed to pass the day among men, but took no food then; and he gave them an insight into letters and sciences and arts of every kind. He taught them to construct cities; to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth and showed them how to collect fruits; in short, he instructed them in everything which could soften manners and humanize their lives…”

“And when the sun had set this being Oannes retired again into the sea, and passed the night in the sea, for he was amphibious…” “After this appeared other animals like Oannes…”

There are also other references to mermaid like creatures from India, the ancient Phoenicians of the Dagon, Africa, and I’m sure there are more…

It is interesting to me just to know that they exist, but the writing above suggests that mermaids were unworldly. I prefer to think that they are just biological creatures, but maybe unworldly creatures intervened with certain ones and were empowered to give us messages.

The author goes on to point a reference to the book of Genesis, stating that that passage could be linked to the Berosus story, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Again, it makes sense to me that mermaids are our ancestors, but I'm not convinced that they were angels or extraterrestrials, which he goes on to assume. This also gives quite a new possibility to the City of Atlantis…

Healthy Snacking Good for Productivity, Weight Loss

When starting a weight loss diet, most people prepare to starve, but it is not good for the body or a weight loss diet! Not eating for long periods of time throughout the day can actually make the body retain more fat, not to mention sluggish, tired, and completely unproductive – you know, that 2:30 feeling?

Our bodies need a lot of energy to sustain our many functions and keep us focused and productive at work. We are physically and mentally active in our jobs and that takes a lot of energy out of us. Our bodies require fuel to keep us from getting sluggish in the afternoon and to allow our creative juices to flow.

When the body is hungry, we start to lose the focus and interest in our tasks. We start to feel bad, tired, and generally want to go home, which is never a good way to feel at work. Healthy snacking adds energy to the body, little by little, avoiding the common crash in energy and general loss of productivity we experience throughout the day.

Employee Managers Take Note

By creating a work environment that encourages and facilitates healthy snacking, productivity is also encouraged! When all team members are fully energized, excited about their work, and fully attentive, image how productive the whole team working together can be!

The key to the snacking, though, is keeping it light and healthy. The wrong kind of snacking will backfire and create a loss of concentration, sleepiness, and overall decreased productivity. Raw, unsalted nuts are a great, healthy snack food, but stick with ones that have already been shelled to avoid becoming preoccupied.

Other great snack foods include fresh fruits (avoid fruits in juices loaded with sugars and preservatives), berries, and cheese (limit diary intake; do not eat daily), to name a few.

Dark chocolate is also great to keep around the office because it is rich in antioxidants and is a stimulant, like nicotine or caffeine, energizing the brain. Snack lightly on the dark chocolate, though, the consequences of overeating it are obvious.

For weight loss dieting, try healthy snacking more through the day and reduce the portion of lunch and/or dinner to offset the calories. It should be easier to achieve your weight loss goals and the benefits of a clear, fully functioning mind can propel productivity and professional success!

Tracking Students with Radio Frequency ID Cards

Northside Independent School District in Texas is implementing a pilot program that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to track students within the school building and bus transportation systems. Supporters of the tracking devices state that this system leads to increased federal funding, as well as increased security and safety.

Privacy seems to be the largest concern regarding the program. Officials claim that the tracking system only works within the school and buses. The point has been made that the tracking devices are no more invasive than security cameras.

As long as the technology does not allow for the cards to be tracked at any location, only within the school buildings and buses, there really is not anything fundamentally wrong with the RFID cards, other than they are an unnecessary waste of resources and the program costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to run. The program claims to earn more in spending to profit from the program, but I am always against wasting money and resources.

I understand that this will allow students to be tracked at all times; I do not understand how this will improve attendance, which is what the federal funding is based on.

How do you feel about school systems using radio frequency identification systems to track the whereabouts of students?

Gay Nightclub Bans Straight Bachelorette Parties until Same-Sex Marriage Legalized

The Abbey, a gay nightclub in West Hollywood, California, has taken an interesting stance in the name of gay rights. They have chosen to ban straight bachelorette parties until same-sex marriage is legalized in the state of California.

The Abbey has always welcomed everyone, straight or gay, and normally hosts several straight bachelorette parties at night, but owner David Cooley says that the parties are over until marriage is fair for all in the state of California:

“We love our straight girlfriends coming in to celebrate one of the happiest days of their life, but it’s also a slap in the face to my customers and my life that we can’t have that same celebration.”

The stance taken by the gay night club has received mixed reviews from within the gay community and people all across the nation. Some relate to the fact that gay couples cannot be married and others have pointed out that it is a way of taking away rights of others, which is an unfair way to make a point.

I think it is a great idea and something that many people could support, but in the end I think it will cause the nightclub to lose a little money. How long do they plan to ban a major source of revenue? Gay marriage is still an issue that is heavily fought against by all the people who forgot about the separation of church and state, so I am guessing that they will have to be holding out for a while…

Near Death Experiences Seem True; Always Recounted Consistently

Before I saw this video, I used to watch a show called I Survived. In the show, people recall a near death experience and I noticed a consistency that was amazing to me: almost every person that explained what they experienced during a brief clinical death pretty much described the exact same experience, in variations. It is truly uncanny.

I Survived can be watched on Hulu.

My sister died at almost three years of age when I was younger. I remember my mother telling me about my sister’s last moments in this life. When she died, I experienced a sort of multi-location; I was in an adjacent room with my father, but I clearly recall “being in the room” with my mother and my sister during those last moments because I have a visual memory of everything she described.

(I also have visual memories of family members receiving the call to come to the hospital. I just felt like I was in several places at the same time, and I realized in the days that followed that I had overlapping and impossible memories. Years later I learned of bi- and multi-location and became comfortable with the idea that I had experienced that phenomenon.)

From what I “saw” and my mother recounts, my sister, who had been delirious and unresponsive for a couple of hours, suddenly began to look up into the air and sort of talk. She would mumble, as if saying something, and then pause for a while, occasionally nodding her head affirmatively before mumbling again. Her eyes were locked on something above her. She was having a conversation with someone that we couldn’t see.

After this continued for several moments, my sister turned her head to look at my mother, making a connection with someone for the first time since she initially became delirious, and she drew her last breathe.

My mom had strong feelings that my Grandmother, who died days before I was born, was in the room with everyone that day. She thinks that she came to take my sister. That is exactly what it “looked like” and felt like to me. I do know that she was talking to someone or something – someone or something came to give my sister peace in dying and to take her away from this world.

I recount this story because it seems to me to be consistent with the various near death experiences that I have heard recounted to me. I somehow witnessed my sister (while not physically in the room) have a conversation with someone, but she was not allowed to come back – she was only allowed to look back one last time.

Bain Capital is Relevant to the Romney Campaign

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It is absolutely an important aspect of the Romney campaign. When hiring an employee, the work history is always reviewed to get an idea of types of experiences and situations the potential employee has had in the past. When review applications for the President of the United States, We the People absolutely need to review the job history. If Mitt Romney has nothing to hide, he would be forth coming about his time at Bain Capital.

A good point was raised today by Governor Ed Rendell on the MSNBC show Morning Joe, stating that looking into Bain Capital is relevant to Mitt Romney’s campaign:

"Let me give you one example: Amped. $100 million in profit, lots of people lost jobs, but they also lost a good portion of their pension and health care. Did it ever occur to anybody, Governor Romney or anybody else, that maybe we take $80 million in profit and leave $20 million so these folks can have their pensions and health care? I think that’s a value judgment."

It absolutely is a value judgment and it is a value that I cannot accept in a presidential candidate! That is what Romney does for a living. That is why all Americans should be outraged that this man, who prides himself on raising capital for investors, thinks he is Presidential material. Mitt Romney does not care about you.

Mitt Romney is Fuel to the American Fire

Personally, I just don’t trust Mitt Romney; I think he is a snake. I think he is addicted to making money and he plans to do just that as President of the United States through regulatory benefits for the sake of his businesses and associates. I’m pretty sure he wants to do all his deeds and damages in one term, knowing that he could never be reelected for a second term.

I am certain that Mitt Romney does not have the best interest of average America at heart. He is so far out of reach with an average American that the loss and misfortune of most of us is but a joke to him. He cannot imagine the devastation of losing a job, or needing government assistance, or even just struggling every day to buy groceries and support a family.

With that said, I think he has a knack for what he does, although there should be legal stipulations to prevent that sort of vulture capitalism; a company tasked with raising investor capitol for another company or group should be fined hugely if that company fails as a result of the company’s intervention.

He generates wealth for the wealthy and I don’t really think that that makes him a good business leader. Business is not his business – making money is his business. I think he is well connected and I think he has alliances with all sorts of companies, organizations, associations, etc. with promises to keep. Again, none of this is good for Americans or the economy at large.

I agree with President Obama and his staff: being able to raise capital for investors is a talent, maybe, but it is not the objective of the President of the United States, nor should it even be a concern.

The economy is already at the point of total collapse. We are pretty much left with two options, fix it with band aids (bailouts) or simply watch some giants collapse. Mitt Romney would like to choose the third option: change the game for personal and associational gains, run the entire economic structure of America into the dirt in less than four years, and then jump ship with all his profits and cronies without apologizing for a thing.

Mitt Romney does not need to be considered for President of the United States.

10 Healthy Eating & Nutrition Tips

Most people are able to achieve and maintain weight goals by eating a well-balanced diet and taking moderate exercise. These 10 healthy eating and nutrition tips make a healthy daily diet easy and rewarding!

• Drink water to hydrate and replenish the body. Try to avoid sugary drinks and sodas and drink milk sparingly.
• Get enough calcium to promote good bone health. Milk is not the best source of calcium; leafy greens and dried beans are better sources of calcium.

• Avoid taking in too much salt. Eating more fresh foods versus processed foods is an easy way to reduce salt intake. Salt sparingly when seasoning.
• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables of various colors is an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants.
• Eat plenty of fiber, found in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
• Eat good carbohydrates and avoid bad carbohydrates. No carbohydrates in the diet is not the best solution for everyone; good carbohydrates like the ones found in whole grain are good for the body.
• Eat protein from fish, poultry, nuts, and beans.
• Eat healthy fats from plant oils, fish, and nuts, but limit saturated fats intake and try to avoid trans fats completely.
• Drink Alcohol or Wine Moderately. Drinking is not for everyone and you should talk with your doctor about drinking to see if it is good for you. For some, moderate drinking is recommended.
• Choose a good multivitamin to compliment your healthy diet choices.

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Source: Harvard School of Public Health

Civil Unions for All Americans, Weddings for Religious Ones

Gay marriage is only bad because the people of America have forgotten to separate church and state. People feel very strongly about their religions, as they should, yet all people need to be treated equally in our country. This is what our forefathers had in mind when they specified the separation of church and state. The two must always coincide, but one should never govern the other.

Gay marriages are not the only abuses to the sanctity of marriage: there are fraudulent marriages for economic and even legal statuses, marriages between heterosexual atheists, and the list goes on. Gay marriage is, however, the most obvious offender, and the offense that prompts the discussion and even voting on the issue.

Civil unions should be recognized by the government of the United States, and not marriage. Marriage should be recognized as a religious ceremony sanctioned by the church of that faith and that ceremony should not be altered to conform to a wider audience than the subscribers of that faith.

By taking “marriage” out of civil unions, we are simply taking “church” out of state. The marriage should be independent of a civil union, giving it the flexibility to conform to the needs of most of the people of the United States, rather than subscribers of faiths with marriage ceremonies.

Everyone living in the United States deserves the right to freedom and happiness, and nobody has the right to take that away from anyone! If a gay couple loves each other and makes a lifelong commitment to each other, they should have the ability to form a civil union and receive the same benefits as other couples in civil unions, without affecting the sanctity of sacred, religious ceremonies.

War Is Not The Answer

I really don’t understand war at all. It’s not even the people of the countries involved in the war that are fighting the war, it’s the government and the armies that are fighting – literally fighting, bombing, shooting, and killing.

The people suffer. The people on both sides want nothing to do with the war; they want the killing to end, they want their fighting family members to come home; they want the economic crisis of their country to not be further complicated by funding a war that they don’t even care about or believe in anymore.

We need to get rid of the corruption in our governments and downsize them tremendously. We need smaller governments that help keep countries united, that keep the world working together in harmony. We need small governments that support small, local economic growth and not huge corporations.

To thrive into the future, we have to make changes today that support our local communities, our cities, our states, our country, and our standing on this planet, which is shared by all.

War is not the answer.

Milk Not Calcium Super Drink it Claims to Be, Too Much is Unhealthy

We know how important it is to take enough calcium in our diet from early childhood on through our thirties, but milk, the calcium super drink of our childhood, might not be the best source of calcium after all!

Although milk does contain calcium, it is not the best way for the body to get calcium. Drinking reduced fat milk is a healthier choice, but milk contains high amounts of saturated fat and your diet should not contain too much milk.

A study conducted by Harvard University suggests that diets with too much milk consumption can lead to prostate cancer in men and possibly ovarian cancer in women.

To be sure you are getting enough calcium in your diet, be sure to consume lots of green, leafy vegetables like collard greens and kale, as well as dried beans and legumes. There are also a lot of products that are fortified with calcium, like orange juice. There are also many calcium supplements, but be sure to combine them with vitamin D so that your body can fully absorb the calcium from the supplement – many multi-vitamins contain calcium and vitamin D.

Let Big Business Fail & Let the Little Man Win

In order for America not fail, there has to be drastic change. It doesn’t necessarily have to be violent, drastic change, but it will be violent if nobody ever takes charge of the situation and provides solutions. The change that America quite desperately needs is for small business to become the new big business. It is a solution that really has the best interest of everyone in America at heart, a solution that in itself embraces and teaches tolerance and togetherness…

It may seem absurd to say that allowing huge industries to completely topple during a blunder or downtown is the best solution to create jobs and maintain a steady economy. But thinking in terms of small business, the little man needs this to happen. “Well, the Little Man can’t provide as many jobs as the Big Man!”

That is correct. And that is also the core concept behind my theory that the Little Man needs to shine! In order for our economy to truly work, everyone needs to play together. In our current situation, not everybody gets to play together. The same large companies that claim to have all of the jobs are contracting work outside of our country. The class divides are deepening and the growth rates are bottom fat. What this country needs is pride, dignity, and jobs right here in America!

This may mean letting larger industries that have built beyond the capacity of sustainability to fail – that is what is supposed to happen. Businesses are not supposed to thrive outside the ability to sustain itself.

We need an economy that is based on thriving local communities. We need smaller government at the federal and state levels. We need less grandiosity in our White House and government buildings and places of employment. Dare I say that this country needs some damn common sense!

One of the major problems with America and the world at large is our eating problem. Which directly correlates with our obesity epidemics, our diabetes epidemics, our cancer epidemics, our birth defect epidemics, our mental health epidemics, and need I continue.

By encouraging more local, smaller farms that can support small markets within our cities and communities, and by allowing our economy to shift in such a way that the Little Man can live within that system, we start a chain of events that encourage more radical, positive change. We will see less health problems by eating healthy, supporting our local economy by doing so, and seeing an end to the MegaStores and the processed foods and the excess that we currently condone, at the expense of our own dignity.

In a system where each community supports itself, the Little Man has to thrive. We need to limit an individual’s ability to own multiple businesses. A person cannot physically be in two locations at once, by owning two, does he not prohibit another from running that business? It’s greed.

Again this sounds radical, but it is what sets off a chain of events that ends up, well, like our current situation at hand. If we truly want equally, we have to live in a system that promotes it! The smaller systems are also going to promote other changes like better educational environments, increased community and national pride, and maybe a little more overall dignity.

Yes dignity. Our current system of struggles has robbed most Americans over there very dignity. Dignity thrives within the Little Man, we just have to allow him to survive, or continue to watch our big business model drive our country right into the ground.

Simple Eggs Florentine on Whole Wheat English Muffin (Without Hollandaise Sauce)

Here is a quick and simple take on Eggs Florentine served on half a whole wheat English muffin. This is a great breakfast about 179 calories and is easily modified to reduce calories. Take away the reduced fat provolone cheese and egg yolks and you have a fabulous breakfast at about 99 calories!

Ingredients:

1 Piece (Half) of Whole Wheat English Muffin
1 Tsp. Olive Oil
1/4 Medium Tomato
1 Cup Fresh Spinach
1 Whole Egg or 1 Egg White
1/2 Slice Reduced Fat Provolone Cheese

Preparation:

Toast one piece (half) of a whole wheat English muffin.

Measure out one cup of fresh spinach and dice one quarter of a fresh, medium sized tomato. Place a skillet on medium high heat and warm one tablespoon of olive oil. After heating for just a minute or two, add the diced tomatoes. As the tomatoes start to cook, toss in the spinach and sauté briefly.

Poach one egg, with or without the egg yolk, depending on your taste and the amount of calories you would like to consume.

For a quick and easy poached egg with the yolk, fill a bowl with about an inch of water, then add a whole raw egg – make sure the egg is covered slightly with water. Place in microwave and cook for about 1 minute and 20 seconds; microwave times will vary. Drain the water.

For a quick and easy poached egg without the yolk, place egg directly in bowl without water and cook for about a minute, or until cooked thoroughly.

Place the sautéed spinach and tomatoes on the toasted whole wheat English muffin slice. Lay poached egg over the sautéed spinach and tomatoes and cover with half a piece of provolone cheese.

Approximate Calories per Serving:

Whole Wheat English Muffin	60
Olive Oil	10
Tomato	6
Spincah	7
Whole Egg / Egg White	16 / 71
Reduced Fat Provolone Cheese	25
Total Calories per Serving	124 / 179

Stephen Colbert for President 2012 – Seriously Though, Let’s Write In Our Own Presidential Candidate

My fellow Americans, it seems to me that none of the candidates running for the President of the United States, including current president Barack Obama, are adequately suited for the job. I think the burden of the office itself and the situation that our country has gotten itself into is only attractive to narcissists who take more pride in their beautiful smile than my entire life of hard work and struggles.

I have a better idea! Let’s vote for who we really want for president in 2012 by organizing a national write in campaign for someone who we feel could really get the job done! Who better than my favorite American, Stephen Colbert!

Naturally you say that I jest and that Stephen Colbert is just an image and product of his show, the Colbert Report. I do, and he is, yet there is a real person under there and I feel that someone as successful as Stephen Colbert would really be able to tackle issues in the White House in a way that is fair and widely accepted by today and tomorrow’s generations, whether he likes it or not.

So do your part: register to vote and then write in Stephen Colbert for President of the United States of America in 2012.

Think Stephen Colbert Would Really Make a Good President? If Not, Who Would?

Let us know what you think about organizing a national write in campaign to have Stephen Colbert elected as the President of the United States of America in 2012. If you don’t think that’s such a good idea, tell us who you would like to see a national write in campaign organized for? No really, anybody is better than the current pool of participants…

Who is Enoch and Why Did He Have a Special Relationship with God?

I have always heard very little about Enoch, but what little I have heard has always interested me greatly. He had a special relationship with God and was taken by him to Heaven for an extended period of time. God taking Enoch with him supports my theory that our Gods were real and extraterrestrial, meaning that Enoch physically left our planet and went somewhere else to be with God and his angels.

Enoch is not mentioned too many times in the Bible, but it clearly states that he was translated by God and was no more. I am excited to learn that Enoch wrote a book, seemingly one that should have been included in the Bible – perhaps was indeed intended to be in the Bible – and I happy that I have the chance to sit down and read it. I will post more about the Book of Enoch after I have had a chance to read it all and wrap my head around it. Then I will try and tackle my own question, “Who is Enoch and why did he have a special relationship with God?”

Stay tuned, and I hope that you will share with me your thoughts about Enoch, his travels to Heaven, the prophecies he revealed, and why he was chosen to have a special relationship with God.

Have we been left behind already?

I always have the strange feeling that the prophecies of the Revelations have already been fulfilled. We are a group of civilizations spiraling out of control, waiting on God to come back and save us, and he has already come and gone.

That may sound silly, but it could give reason why we fail to witness great miracles like the ones described in the Bible and other religious texts. It is a pretty doomed outlook on life, but as far as we know the Mayans did just disappear – was that the return of God to collect his chosen people and take them away to Heaven?

It seems to me, from the little I know of the Mayan culture, that they were very much about pleasing entities that were very much real to them. I feel strongly that they interacted with extraterrestrial beings, and if you can wrap your head around that idea, then the idea that these extraterrestrial beings are actually angels isn’t so hard to imagine. Aliens that can travel to us from a place we cannot yet discover could surely invent the lie, at least.

Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip with Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins

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Our Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip is a delicious, healthy snack, appetizer, or light lunch and goes great with Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins

Ingredients:

1 Medium Avocado
3 Medium Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 Medium Onion
1/2 Medium Fresh Lime
1 Tsp. Olive Oil
Valentina Salsa Picante (Optional)
Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins

Preparation:

Cut the avocado into two halves. Scoop the halves out of the avocado shell with a large spoon and remove the pit. Save the pit for leftovers as it will keep the Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip from turning brown as fast. Slice the avocado into small pieces and place in mixing bowl, or directly into the bowl you will serve the Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip in.

Rinse and chop the cherry tomatoes according to your desired thickness. If you like a very soft and smooth Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip, be sure to chop the cherry tomatoes as finely as possible. Add the cherry tomatoes with the avocado.

Chop one quarter of an onion into pieces, again as large are as fine as desired, and add to the avocado and cherry tomatoes. Cut half of a lime into 2 or 3 wedges and squeeze the lime juice over the avocados, cherry tomatoes, and onions, then add the teaspoon of olive oil and optional Valentina Salsa Picante or your favorite hot sauce to give it a slightly spicy flare.

With a fork, mix everything up until the Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip has reached the desired consistency. Enjoy with Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins!

Approximate Calories Per Serving:

Our Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip with Reduced Fat Wheat Thins recipe makes four servings as a light snack or appetizer:

Avocado	69
Cherry Tomatoes	11
Onion	11
Fresh Cilantro	4
Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice	0
Olive Oil	10
Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins	65
Total Calories Per Serving	170

Our Authentic Mexican Guacamole Dip with Reduced Fat Wheat Thins recipe makes 2 servings as a light lunch or big snack:

Avocado	138
Cherry Tomatoes	21
Onion	22
Fresh Cilantro	7
Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice	0
Olive Oil	20
Nabisco Reduced Fat Wheat Thins	130
Total Calories Per Serving	338

Wine Wednesday Review: Charles Smith Kung Fu Girl, Columbia Valley Washington, Riesling, 2010

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Our Thoughts

Right from the start, this is a great wine with bold citrus flavors. Drinks very smoothly and leaves a zing in the mouth! If you like a good Riesling, you will love the 2010 Riesling Kung Fu Girl by Charles Smith. This is a great wine to enjoy by itself, but it would pair well with a fish or chicken dish.

Tasting Notes from the Winemaker

This girl rocks it!

Aromatic, smooth, vibrant and tasty. Think tangerine, pineapple wet stone, key lime, clove, and nectarine. Now stop thinking and start drinking… 'cause Kung Fu Girl kicks ass!

Professional Tasting Scores

90 Points by Wine & Spirits 2009
90 Points by Wine & Spirits 2008
88 Points by Wine Spectator 2008

Grilled Turkey, Portobello Mushroom, Spinach, and Swiss Cheese Burgers

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Ingredients:

Multigrain, Whole Wheat Bread Slices or Buns
Ground Turkey Meat (4oz per serving)
Freshly Diced Onion (Optional, 1/2oz per serving)
Freshly Diced Jalapeño Pepper (Optional, 1/2oz per serving)
Portobello Mushroom Caps (1, approximately 3oz, per serving)
Fresh Spinach (1/2 – 1oz per serving)
Sliced Swiss Cheese (1 slice, approximately 1oz, per serving)
Regular Mustard
Valentina Salsa Picante (Optional)

Preparation:

Start by shaping the ground turkey into patties – about 4 ounces per patty, 1 pound makes 4 patties. If you desire, mix freshly chopped onions and or jalapeño peppers in with the ground turkey before shaping the turkey patties for extra flavor and touch of spice.

Grill turkey patties and Portobello mushroom caps. The Portobello mushroom caps will cook much faster than the turkey patties, so wait until it is time to flip the turkey patties before placing the Portobello mushroom caps on the grill. Cook the turkey patties and Portobello mushroom caps evenly and make sure that the burgers are cooked thoroughly.

As the turkey patties and Portobello mushroom caps are finishing on the grill, place the inside sides of the multigrain, whole wheat bread slices or buns on the grill for just a couple of minutes until toasted.

To create the Grilled Turkey, Portobello Mushroom, Spinach, & Swiss Cheese Burgers, apply a little bit of mustard to the bottom piece of the multigrain, whole wheat bread slices or buns. For an extra kick of heat, mix a little bit of Valentina Salsa Picante in with the mustard. Add a thin layer of fresh spinach, place turkey patties over the spinach, then Portobello mushroom caps, and then slices of Swiss cheese.

Serve open to be enjoyed steak style or cover with another piece of multigrain, whole wheat bread slice or bun to serve sandwich style. This can be a standalone lunch or a complete dinner, well complimented with fresh baked sweet potatoes fries or grilled asparagus.

Approximate Calories Per Serving:

Multigrain, Whole Wheat Bread Slices or Buns	55 1 Slice / 110 2 Slices
Ground Turkey Meat	160
Freshly Diced Onion (Optional)	4
Freshly Diced Jalapeño Pepper (Optional)	1
Portobello Mushroom Caps	22
Fresh Spinach	1
Sliced Swiss Cheese	108
Regular Mustard	0
Valentina Salsa Picante	0
Total Approximate Calories per Serving	351 / 406

Walking, Jogging, Running – The Quickest, Most Rewarding Way to Lose Weight

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We love to help find healthy meal programs, natural supplements, and other weight loss tools to help you live healthy each day, but like it or not, walking, jogging, and running is the quickest, most rewarding way to lose weight and keep it off!

A brisk walk for 20 to 30 minutes a few times a week can have many powerful and rewarding benefits to your body and overall health. By committing to walking and staying focused on your weight loss, you’ll quickly see that in almost no time, extra weight starts to fade away and your clothes start fitting better.

Stepping up to a jog or running pace, even for short stints between your brisk walk really increases your heart rate, giving your cardiovascular system a great work out.

Not only will you see honest weight loss with brisk walking, jogging, and running in your weight loss routine, but you will enjoy the benefit of increased energy as well as knowing that you are helping to prevent heart disease and other diseases that can result in part to an inactive lifestyle. Research has even shown that women who walk, jog, or run regularly are less likely to suffer from breast and other cancers!

All you need to lose weight the honest, natural way is a great pair of running shoes and the motivation to lose weight and live a healthy, happy life daily!

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Find shoes great for walking, jogging, and running at www.BrooksRunning.com

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3 Great Nutrition and Weight Loss Programs That Work

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It can be very difficult to maintain a successful weight loss regimen, complete with healthy eating and moderate exercise. With the right tools and motivation though, it isn’t impossible. The following 3 nutrition and weight loss support programs are great tools to help you achieve your goals!

Bistro MD – Meals for a Lighter, Healthier You

This is a great nutrition and meal management system offering quick meal options for work week meals, weekly meals, or weekly meals with snacks! Meals are prepared by chefs under the supervision of Caroline Cederquist, M.D., ensuring the right balance of nutrients in each meal, all week long. Menus rotate every week and all dishes are prepared fresh and delivered frozen weekly.


Learn more about BistroMD – Meals for a Lighter, Healthier You

Smart for Life – The Healthy Way to Put Hunger on Hold

The Cookie Diet by Smart for Life is an awesome meal replacement system. Substitute meals for a delicious cookie, shake, muffin, soup, or other delicious Cookie Diet item made with all natural and 60% organic ingredients. The cookies are packed with nutrients and sustain your body, diminishing hunger!


Learn more about Smart for Life – The Healthy Way to Put Hunger on Hold

Diet-to-Go – Healthy Eating Made Easy

This is another great nutrition and meal management system offering low fat, vegetarian, and low carb meal plans. There are several options to choose, tailoring the program and cost to your needs and budget. If you live in the Washington DC, Greater Philadelphia, or San Francisco Bay areas, you can choose to pick-up fresh meals, or you choose to receive the meals delivered by FedEx.

Top 7 Dieting Mistakes You Should Avoid

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You've started a new diet. You've been good all week, making sensible meals, managing your portions, even exercising a little...then the weekend hits. You eat too much. You drink too much. You give up.

Not so fast! A couple of slipups won't undo all your hard work. The key is to know the dieting pitfalls you're likely to make and plan ahead to avoid them.

Here are the top seven dieting mistakes. How many are you making?

Skipping breakfast.

Research shows that people who don't eat breakfast actually weigh more than those who do. There's a mistaken belief that if you skip breakfast, you're saving calories. Problem is you end up snacking and eating more at other meals because you're body is so starved for food. Always begin your day with a healthy breakfast. Black coffee, an egg, whole wheat toast and a half grapefruit has only 250 calories and will stave off hunger pangs till lunch.

Too many liquid calories.

Did you know that a regular soda can pack on 15 pounds in one year? Not to mention lattes, fruit smoothies and alcohol. These liquid calories do little to satisfy any hunger and the calories add up fast.

Not exercising.

If 30 minutes is too much to even think about, start with 10 and see how it goes. If exercising is a drag to you, try something fun like bowling, playing ping-pong, or dancing. The idea is to get moving and have so much fun you'll stick with it.

Using extreme diets.

These don't work and can be very detrimental to your health. When you deprive your body of food two things happen: your metabolic rate slows down to make up for few calories and your desire to binge increases. In addition extreme dieting may lead to the bloating of fat cells, shrinking of muscle cells, accumulation of toxic fats and fatigue. Rather than thinking diet think lifestyle change.

Mindless munching.

Even if it's not on a plate, it sthealthy-eating-and-nutrition/top-7-dieting-mistakes-that-you-should-avoid.phpill counts. A couple of cheesy crackers before dinner, test-tasting a sauce, finishing food from your kids' plates while washing dishes, all adds up to more calories. On average figure 25 calories per bite. Do that 4 times in a day and you've just added 100 extra calories to your waistline without even realizing it.

Going overboard on low fat.

It's psychological. You pick a low-fat snack and you justify eating more of it because it IS low fat. Research backs this up. More food, even if it is non- or low-fat still means more calories.

Not taking vitamins and supplements.

In a perfect world, we'd get all the nutrition, vitamins and minerals from our three perfectly balanced daily meals. Truth is, few of us do. Even if you think you're eating right, modern food processing can deplete whatever nutrients were in the food originally. That's why many take daily vitamins and supplements. While it's important for everyone, it's especially important for those who are trying to lose or maintain weight. It starts with a good, high-quality multivitamin.

As quickly as the pounds add up, they can also come off. The key is knowing what your pitfalls are and how to avoid them.

[Editor's Note - For great vitamin choices, visit Botanic Choice.]

Wine Wednesday Review: Irony, Monterey County, Pinot Noir, 2010

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May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month and each Wednesday Healthy Choices Daily will review a heart healthy red wine for you to try and enjoy. We are starting The Wine Wednesday Review with a 2010 Monterey County Pinot Noir by Irony.

Our Thoughts

The first mouthful of this gem-colored wine delivers a kick of fruit to the tongue. The flavor is smooth and intense on the front but not overpowering. Very little aftertaste and a pleasant fuzziness is left on the tongue. It’s great with dark chocolate – but then again… what isn’t?

Tasting Notes from the Winemaker

Irony Monterey Pinot Noir is bursting with sweet cherries, fresh strawberries and vanilla accents with an earthy undertone that leads into a velvety finish. Enjoy this wine with grilled seafood, pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto, pizza, or on its own!

May is National High Blood Pressure Awareness Month

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Do you struggle with high blood pressure? Do you check your blood pressure periodically to see if it is high, normal, or low? Maintaining healthy blood pressure plays a major role in the overall health of your body.

This month is National Blood Pressure Awareness Month and Healthy Choices Daily will be highlighting areas of high blood pressure management, including heart healthy recipes, cooking tips, red wine revues, and more throughout the month of May!

Know Your Numbers

Around 1 in 10 Americans have high blood pressure and unfortunately, many of them do not even know it! High blood pressure can be a silent problem, even killer, for many people – most people do not know that they have a problem with high blood pressure until it has led to a major complication such as a stroke or heart attack!

The best way to fight high blood pressure is through periodic self-monitoring, followed by a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, and exercising regularly! Be sure to talk with your doctor about your readings and work with your doctor to plan your high blood pressure maintenance.

Comment About Controlling High Blood Pressure

We have lots to share with you this month and we look forward to hearing your thoughts, experiences, and tips with dealing with high blood pressure! Comment below: