Comments on: Pour some sugar on me

By: Liz

Liz — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:07:17 +0000

So, being post 130 probably means PQ (or JF, not sure what you go by here…) will never see this, but I’ll give it a shot.

I have been focusing on eating all-natural, organic if possibly, but absolutely non-artificial, non-chemical, non-genetically modified, etc for about 10 years. I applaud your efforts to do so. After reading your book (which I LOVE LOVE LOVE to death) I bet it will be hard for you to switch from sugar-free* stuff to sweetener-free and chemical free. It truly is a daunting task! But you know what, food really tastes SO MUCH BETTER and then you get the added bonus of feeling self-righteous about saving the cute pandas and baby seals and stuff, too. It is a win-win.

As far as the price, if you buy in bulk and try to get in on CSA (community supported agriculture) gig, it will save you tons.

You are absolutely, totally welcome to contact me if you want any tips on recipes, brands, substitutions, new ways to cook, etc as I have been doing this for years and have lots I could share, if you are so inclined.

Good luck either way and keep posting.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:31:37 +0000

I’m not commenting on your headache. I do have some ideas about eating organic, though. A lot of people mentioned Michael Pollan; he gives a great description of our pathetic food industry, but he doesn’t really get into the practical side of things (at least not in Omnivore’s Dilemma). For more help on how to eat this way, I found Sally Fallon and Mary Enig’s book Eat Fat Lose Fat and their cookbook Nourishing Traditions extremely informative. They revolutionized my way of looking at food. I’m a little surprised that none of the organic-eaters who commented here mentioned the website westonaprice.org. I highly recommend it! Also, Nina Planck’s book Real Food was very enjoyable.

By: Jennie

Jennie — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:07:20 +0000

I did not read all 127 comments, but did see the suggestions for stevia, so first let me third or fourth or 88th that suggestion. Additionally, I use honey all the time. I love it. LOVE it. Stevia can sometimes have a slightly bitter aftertaste, but honey is sweet as.. well… honey. I especially appreciate the variety available in honey – I particularly love orange blossom, which I don’t know if you can get or not where you live, but which I am always game to pay a little more for.

I would also entice you with the idea that honey is also a great allergy remedy – eating local honey allows a healthy way for pollens to get in and your body to deal with them – but lucky you – no allergies.

By: redhead

redhead — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:25:10 +0000

@Anna – Here’s a great source of natural beef, pork & lamb: http://www.nimanranch.com (all natural, no antibiotics, no added hormones, all vegetarian feeds, sustainable farming practices on many family farms in the US)

Trader Joe’s sells their ham steaks, and I’ve never tasted better! (Whole Foods does also, but much more expensive.) Can buy online, fresh or frozen.

By: s

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:29:25 +0000

@PastaQueen – lol. on the bright side, i’m learning a lot about migraine / headache remedies from all the commenters, and various diagnoses that could have been possible

By: Madison (FollowMyWeigh)

Madison (FollowMyWeigh) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:08:15 +0000

omygosh i’ve been having a neverending heachache as well and had been hoping to hear something like “eat more dairy and it’ll go away.” hm, maybe i should try this organic diet. well, ha i’ve been trying to eat clean as a part of my weight loss diet, but apparently losing weight isn’t movitavation enough to totally clean up my diet. so maybe getting rid of this headache will push it in that direction a little more…please update if it works and if your headache goes away!!! i feel like a blood vessel is going to pop any moment…

By: superpaige

superpaige — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:51:46 +0000

Ugh. Who knew “eating naturally” would be so gosh darn hard? Good luck in your endeavor. I would probably get so frustrated trying to avoid artificial stuff that i would just not eat. Which would also be good for me, right?

By: Rachael

Rachael — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:00:14 +0000

@PastaQueen – I just spit water all over my keyboard from laughing while taking a drink.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:25:27 +0000

I really believe in this type of “diet”. When I started losing weight (55lbs and 6 months ago), I gave up artificial sweeteners first, I was a total diet coke addict. I think it totally screws with your blood sugar / insulin, but man, do I miss it! I also mostly gave up pre-packaged food, except what I can buy at my local organic farmer’s market type grocery store, Wild Oats, and Trader Joe’s (thank you California!) – which has some really good food sans preservatives and additives. I still lost weight this way, and actually way more than I was able to while eating fake sugar everything. I think Americans in particular have really gone off the deep end in terms of what we’re willing to put into our bodies (myself included b/c although I’d rather not, I still eat things like lean pockets – they’re just so good), and I have to believe that if we went back to eating what was available prior to the commercialization of food, we’d all be a lot healthier.

I have to say my toughest choice was to give up soda. First I gave up diet and switched to regular, then I gave up regular. Every now and again, I’ll buy the all natural kind (which is really good though will probably taste weird when you are still transitioning from artifical sweeteners), but mostly I stick to sparkling water.

I didn’t follow any diet when I was starting to lose weight, or even really since, but I read three books that that really helped me better understand why real food was better for you: The Spectrum, You On A Diet, and In Defense of Food (great catch line – Eat food, not too much, mostly plants).

Anyways, lots of words- – bottom line, allergies suck, I hope you find your answer.

By: crockpot lady

crockpot lady — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:52:03 +0000

Hi Jennette, I just got caught up on your headache saga. I’m so sorry you’ve been suffering. You’re in my thoughts. lots and lots of hugs.

xox

steph