Food Facts

{Robyn O’Brien shares her personal story and how it inspired her to become a Real Food evangelist.}

TED rarely disappoints. I want to know all of these people. Part of me think I will be smarter for just being in the vicinity of such immense intelligence. This particular TALK is from TEDxAustin.

I genuinely believe there is something to be said for exposing yourself to information. All types. Different points of view, a wide variety of topics, new & different tidbits all the time. It has been a goal of mine for as lone as I can remember to at least keep an open mind about information that I come across. I don't always follow the principles being expounded on or the guidelines being laid out, but at least I can honestly say that I have listened. I certainly am not the type of person that is easily swayed to just believe anything I hear.

I am currently in a quandary over something I LOVE. For me, the negative evidence is mounting against this love of mine. I am growing more and more disappointed by facts that are being uncovered. Food that is. The more I learn about the food we consume as Americans the more frightened I become. It is truly unbelievable what lengths the government, food industry and society as a whole will go to to keep the average person in the dark about the health (or lack there of) of the things we consume. Frightening I tell you. This particular TALK is from TEDxAustin and it is another piece of the puzzle that is coming into focus for me about food. Amazing. Stunning. Disappointing. Scary.

I have been cutting things out of my diet that clearly have no purpose being there other than to satisfy my cravings and things I eat out of shear habit. It is a challenge for me. One I am not proud of, but one that I have little to no will power for. I'm trying though.

I'm just continuing to expose myself to information like this.
I'm using the "Scared Straight" tactic on myself.
It's beginning to work, even if it a slow and arduous process.

Just some other bits of food information that have blown my mind:
Food Matters
Food Inc. 
Nourish
The Gerson Miracle
The Beautiful Truth
Homemade Grits
{Check out my girl Lesley ... putting things into perspective & giving simple tips for application}

IT'S VEGAS BABY!!

A few months ago I compiled a six-page guide to Vegas for a friend who was going for the first time. Just trying to give her a wide-sweeping lay of the land out there. Keep in mind that my typical Vegas experience is a bit different from some who might be making their way out to sin city. That is to say ... I'm not really looking to do too much "sinning" when I'm out there. After all, I'm an old married gal and I have been to Vegas with the hubby every time. I'm more of the touristy, sightseeing, mild-mannered typeVegas visitor. I know, lame right?

Well, since I created the document I have actually sent it out to eight different people that were going to Vegas for various reasons. My friend Christy and her husband went recently for a conference. Since they were going to have some downtime everyday ... I sent the info her way. She sent me a message and suggested that I post it on my blog. Here it is.

Click HERE and it will take you straight to a printable Google Doc.
Enjoy & feel free to pass it along to anyone you think might like it.

Food = Body

One of my sweet aunts is the queen of the email forward. Helpful hints, photos, info ... anything she thinks could be useful to you in any way at all. She sent me this one about the foods we consume and the uncanny resemblance they hold to the parts of the body that they provide nourishment and development for. It is truly amazing how nature mirrors itself. Check it out.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Screen on the Green 2009

Screen on the Green is back for another exciting summer at Centennial Olympic Park. Check out this summers' lineup & mark your calendars now!

The June 25 Screen on the Green is VIEWER'S CHOICE.

You can vote as many times as you want between now and May 8. Just click the vote button to cast your vote for ...

1: Ghostbusters

2: The Princess Bride

3: Big

Meehan’s Public House

NEWS: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, January 12, 2009

Irish pub planned in former Macy’s building downtown

Meehan’s Public House has locations in Sandy Springs and Vinings. Meehan’s Public House will open a restaurant in the former Macy’s department store building in downtown Atlanta, the owners of the building said.
Meehan’s, an Irish restaurant and pub owned by Atlanta-based 101 Concepts, has locations in Sandy Springs and Vinings. The downtown restaurant at 180 Peachtree is expected to open in November.
The new location will be 4,200 square feet with a Peachtree Street entrance and interior entrance to the lobby of the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel. 108 Peachtree Retail Group, a partnership of Atlanta investors, bought the former Macy’s building in July 2008 and is redeveloping the building as a mixed-use retail, dining, entertainment and special events center.

Taking home the bling

I am so impressed with the movies and television shows that were honored at this year's Golden Globe Awards. As if I didn't already take in far too much electronic media, my list of "must see" movies and programs has grown tremendously after tonight's telecast. I may have to invest in Netflix after all since I don't plan on adding HBO or Showtime to my already premium cable package. I am also glad to see that so many of the nominated films are based on novels. I hope that the film adaptations do the original work justice.


Cheers to Kate Winslet who is amazing and so deserving of the TWO awards she won last night - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (Revolutionary Road) and Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (The Reader). Both of these films were already on my must see list!! Her second speech was so raw and sincere it almost made me cry. Almost.


My girl Tina Fey also got a nice nod for Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy (30 Rock). Her acceptance speech was my favorite: "... and if you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet...". Classic Fey, classic.

Some of the other films on my very long list:
Burn After Reading
Benjamin Button
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Gran Torino
Milk

Some TV shows that looks so good that it is probably best for my procratination problem that I do not have the ability to see them on my tube:
In Treatment
Mad Men
The Tudors
Weeds

Pssst. A little birdie told me.

As if we needed one more way to social network ... TWEET, TWEET ... along came Twitter. I am jumping on board. I have to be honest, I mostly signed up to see what other folks are up to and get tips on interesting things happening downtown. I'm going to try and keep up. So, if you need even more unnecessary information about me you can find me here on Twitter. 

Showin' some love to South Cobb High -- GO EAGLES!

Here's the scoop: South Cobb High School's Blue Eagle Marching Band was selected to be the ONLY band to represent Georgia in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade. The School was selected from over 350 applications to represent our state of Georgia. South Cobb High School and Q100 need your help to make this historic event happen.

The anticipated cost for this trip is approximately $700 per student, which totals a $71,000 expense. This expense includes everything from transportation to thermal clothing to wear along the parade route. We can't let this opportunity pass by for the students of South Cobb High School's Marching Band. Please make a donation quickly because South Cobb High School must officially accept the invitation by early next week. All payments must be sent no later than THIS Friday, 12/12.

I realize the economy is crazy and we are all strapped for cash, but if you can spare a couple of bucks please donate. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids. Most of them would never be able to pay the $700 without a little help. Think about all the times you (or your kids) sold candy bars, wrapping paper, popcorn, t-shirts OR did car washes, spaghetti dinners & pancake breakfasts to raise money for something. Think about all those people that gave $1 to help you with your cause. PAY IT FORWARD!!

** UPDATE 12/11 ** in one day the Atlanta community stepped up to this challenge and raised $50,000+!!! That is an incredible number, but they are still approx. $20,000 short of the necessary funds to get all the band members to DC. If you can find it in your heart to donate anything just click here.

EcoVille Georgia

Welcome to EcoVille Georgia, your on-line destination for local recycling and sustainability information.

This resource site is sponsored by Coca-Cola Recycling, LLC. For those of you who know me, you are well aware that my LOVE for the sweet nectar that is Coke runs deep & true. Not only am a I fan of their product, I applaud them for the efforts they make in communities around the world. Certainly some are more impressive than others and they have a long way to go considering what a huge conglomerate they are, but they certainly give it a greater effort than other big business, corporate America, industry giants with no conscious about the world at large. But I digress.

If you haven't heard the Coca-Cola company has launched a new "company-within-the-company". They are about to make big business (and hopefully an even bigger impact) out of recycling and setting some industry standards about being better world citizens as a company. Check out one of their vision statements for this initiative:

A couple interesting quick facts from the site:

*We've made an investment of more than $60 million to build the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant and to support recycling in the U.S.
*For our cold drink equipment, we've developed an innovative energy management system that delivers energy savings of up to 35%.
*We've set an aspirational goal to return to communities and nature an amount of water equivalent to what we use in our beverages and their production.

Whatever your views on this happen to be, I encourage you to check out the sustainability portion of their website. There is an incredible amount of information about their specific goals as a company and ways you can do your part. You can also click here to sign up for an e-newsletter.

BYOB

BYOB has taken on a whole new meaning in my life. BRING YOUR OWN BAG!!!

I now carry cloth bags with me to the grocery store almost every trip. If I know I am doing errands, I try to snag a bag and collect all the items in one cloth bag instead of several plastic ones. I have also drastically reduced the number of plastic bags I accumulate, when I do forget to bring my cloth ones along, by simply asking the person checking me out to kindly stuff the bags as full as possible. Most people have looked at me crazy and scoffed at my request, but still complied. I can tell a major difference at my house. No more bags piling up in the laundry room or under the sink. So freeing. I now keep one or two bags in the car, so for those last minute trips, I really don't have an excuse.

I know many people are making their own strides to live a more envitonmentally concious lifestyle ... the bags are a particular pet peeve of mine. Take a look at this for some factual data to back up the reasons why you should consider the BYOB lifestyle. It is astounding. I can't comprehend why we would do this to our world when there is such a simple alternative.

Click here for more information on how TERRIBLE plastic bags are.