Survival Seeds

I think you know about survival seeds and heirloom seeds. I am just writing to you to recommend one such company that I like... called Hometown Seeds. They are based out of Orem, Utah and have some great varieties of seeds - vegetable/survival seeds, perrenials, annuals, herbs and more. Check them out here:   HometownSeeds.com

(Tell them I referred you!)

Oh - and I almost forgot!!! They are offering a discount for a brief time! Here is what they have to say:

We at Hometown Seeds have been overwhelmed by the help given to us by the online gardening community.  From advice on products and tips to improve our website to help in developing exposure to our business, we sincerely appreciate all you have done for us.

In appreciation for your help, we would like to offer a 20% discount on all of our products to you and your web community.  By entering the coupon code thanks, 20% will be reduced from the total cost of any order.  The code will be good through July 31, 2010.  Feel free to offer this to your readers and visitors.

So, take advantage of that while you can! What a deal!  HometownSeeds.com

p.s. If you want me to give your my reasoning as to why heirloom seeds and "survival" seeds are a good idea, please leave a commenting letting me know you want more info...

p.p.s. I stole their graphic, but I hope they don't mind since I'm referring their company in this post and I want you to recognize it when you see it on their site. So, go here to see what they have:  HometownSeeds.com   

Thanks! Until next time.

Grain fed or Grass fed beef?

Okay - another one - this was really interesting to me, too. Do you prefer one over the other?

Meat scientists at Texas A&M University have reported that, contrary to popular thought, consuming ground beef from grass-fed cattle has no beneficial effects on blood lipids in people, while consuming ground beef from grain-fed cattle does have a positive outcome.

Dr. Stephen Smith, who led the team's work, said researchers first looked at previous studies and could find no scientific justification for statements that grass-fed beef is healthier and more nutritious than grain-fed product. 

Here is the rest of the short article - including the benefits to eating grain-fed beef.

Organic Food versus Conventional Food

Reading an article this morning about organic food, I thought this was very intriguing. I've heard this position several times, and think there are really some interesting points here. Read through it and let me know what YOU think. 
 

There currently is no substantive evidence that organic foods have nutrition-related benefits over conventionally produced foods, according to a new review by members of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Health.

They noted that the research on this issue is "disappointingly small" and that where studies have been done, they were focused mostly on short-term effects from eating organic foods -- mainly the antioxidant presence in subjects' bodies -- rather than longer-term health outcomes.

Furthermore, they said most of the antioxidant studies found no differences in conventional and organic diets.

The review, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, added to the researchers' work last year in which they considered 162 articles in the scientific literature over the last 50 years and reached similar conclusions.





Read more at their website

Don't forget to comment!

Can cookies be healthy?

I know, I know, it seems absurd to suggest that those little chewy sugar bombs could be, but, this week, it’s up to us to show you otherwise. Deep in the warm and cozy heart of our kitchen, we decided to bust the myth of unhealthy cookies and still make them taste scrumptious.

Now, what makes these cookies so incredible? Well, we took a basic wholesome oatmeal cookie recipe and then had some fun. Instead of the white flour, we used freshly ground whole wheat including hard white wheat, and spelt. Actually, let me tell you about spelt really quick and then I’ll get back to what’s in these amazing cookies.

Spelt is actually one of the first grains cultivated. (It’s mentioned in the Bible and was even found in the tombs of pharaohs.) It’s old, reliable, and free of tampering. Spelt is actually harder to grow than newer forms of wheat, but the specific health benefits of spelt make it marketable. It contains a more fragile form of gluten than other varieties of wheat. So, it’s easier to break down and digest; in fact, people who are allergic to gluten and can’t eat wheat can usually eat spelt. It also contains a lot of healthy proteins.

Whew. Okay back to the cookies. So, we used hard white wheat, spelt, Idaho-grown sugar (because that the way we like it), and flax. The flax is great too because it packs a healthy load of dietary fiber, and will give you all the Omega-3’s you need.

So, yeah, I’ll admit it. These cookies won’t lose weight for you. But, they also carry some great stuff like spelt and flax. We all need cookies. Yes, need. Living a healthy and happy life undoubtedly must contain cookies. Our bellies and souls need to be fed somehow, so let’s do it with some Omega-3!! (Because it’s better in a cookie than in an oily teaspoon, right?)

So, for the next few Friday’s, at the Farmer’s Market in Rexburg, come try one of our sample cookies! This week we will also be serving delicious, nutritious cinnamon rolls, Gossamer milk (which is surprisingly good), potatoes, rhubarb, and tomato and pepper plants. So come see us at the Ashland Produce stand and get a delicious and healthy cookie!!


In case you didn’t notice, this article wasn’t written by Jamie. My name is Patrick and I’ll be working for her this summer. Thanks!