Food

[dancerjodi]

I've been reading the Real Foods book pretty quickly. I've gotten through dairy, meat, fish and produce and have moved onto the fats chapter.

Do any of you take fish oil supplements? I'm wondering what a good supplier of them is. I don't eat as much fish as I should and Brian doesn't get any beyond the periodic tuna sandwich. The book mentions that there are good and bad suppliers of these in terms of how they are made and how many Omega 3s are in there.

We're still thinking of looking into meat, produce and milk shares somewhere. I want to get through this book and research the options out there (and figure out how it would all impact both our budget and our schedules). I paid $4 for two green organic peppers at Hannaford on Thursday night and when we went to cut them up for the pot of sauce I made yesterday they were bad - what the hell! They didn't have any organic onions that I could find, but I'm less worried about stuff with removable skins. I'm going to hit Russos for some veggies tonight and see if we fare better with them (or perhaps Wilson's in Lexington since its on the way - what do you think?).

Comments

[mizdarkgirl.livejournal.com]

I used a Cod Liver Oil from Whole Foods. (But I cannot remember it's name!) It was in a blue bottle & was lemon flavored which helped with the after taste and the burps. Also it was from the real fish from way up north. Farm based fish can have high level of mercury, PCBS or lead.

[cris.livejournal.com]

I don't do shares, but insofar as your question with Russo's v. Wilson ... I find Russo's to be marginally better value with their produce. Their prices are cheaper than Wilson and their quality has been just as good, imho. Plus Russo's tends to have more produce in stock than Wilson's.

However, the only reason why I go to Russo's is for produce. Their butcher is pretty skimpy. Their bread selection is rather thin and their dairy is perfunctory. Russo's delicatessen/charcuterie seems better than Wilson's but I'm not in a habit to shop for cold cuts ... ditto prepared foods.

Wilson's, on the other hand, tends to have more 'interesting' and boutique produce items. Their meat/chicken selection is much larger, though also way overpriced, and their bakery is much better.

I find that I shop at Wilson's more often than Russo's, but that's largely because of convenience. Wilson's is on my regular bike commute route, and it's pretty easy to just stop there and pick up something for dinner. I always have to make a special trip to shop at Russo's.

[roaming.livejournal.com]

Dr. Andrew Weil on cod liver supplements,

and on fish oil supplements in general

[nepenthedreams]

Fish Oil supplements can have a deleterious effect on one's breath. I know this from semi-personal experience. But maybe we just have bad fish oil capsules.

We should tell you about our meat CSA. Chestnut Hill Farms, I think. Awesome. Very fun to be a part of it.

[devina.livejournal.com]

We get ours from Chestnut Farms, too!

[cris.livejournal.com]

oh, also regarding bad organic produce -- it's a worthy caveat to remember that 'organic' isn't necessarily a guarantee against spoilage and mishandling. The healthiest peppers in the world can still be ruined by poor shipping. It still pays to feel, sniff and squeeze your way through your produce shopping (and, of course, never buy bagged unless you have no choice)

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"'organic' isn't necessarily a guarantee against spoilage and mishandling"

I know this, which is why I should have declined these peppers (but I needed peppers!). They were on a styrofoam tray and were shrink-wrapped, so I was only able to eyeball them. Outside they looked OK, inside was another story, blech!

Russo's is actually more convenient for me so I'll try them - thanks for the reviews!

[cris.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's one of the reasons why I hate shopping for produce at Trader Joe's -- almost everything is shrinkwrapped and styrofoamed -- let me squeeze the goddamn things, please!

[synaesthesia.livejournal.com]

Dr. Ron's Blue Ice Grade

I've been taking this for over a year now (cinnamon-flavored liquid) and it's done wonders for me. When I am taking it regularly my menstrual cycles are 28 days; if I stop or am erratic, my cycles shorten to 26. It really helps with my mental state as well. The "blue ice" designation refers to the fact that it's pretty much unprocessed (many others are treated to reduce the amount of vitamin D), and is what my doctor recommended I take (we'd originally been talking about enhancing fertility; I'm not concerned with that now but I am convinced of the health benefits it has on my body so I continue with one tsp daily).

Some people do have problems with the taste and the breath effects. Luckily I am not having problems with either -- the cinnamon flavor covers the fishiness. It's really the texture that is weird for me! But I've gotten used to it. I chose the liquid over capsules because I'd have to take a ton of capsules to equal the liquid dose. Also, the capsules end up being something like twice the cost. You can order a case of the liquid through Dr. Ron's at a bulk discount and it will last you well over a year! I initially ordered one bottle to see if I could stomach it, and then I ordered a case.

[lsl.livejournal.com]

We get fish oil supplements from Costco (they sell a couple of different brands), but I don't know if tey are good or not. How do you tell??

As far as organic produce goes, we try to buy locally grown stuff as much as possible (hence the farm shares). And in times when it's abundant, we can/freeze/etc... so we have stuff for later. It's cheaper that way and better than having stuff shipped from south america out of season. It doesn't work for everything though. Have you read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." by Barbara Kingsolver? Interesting read about her family spending a year eating almost exclusively local food and growing their own.

Fish Oil

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"How do you tell??"

I'm not quite sure. I know that some companies aren't so careful in their processing or where they get the fish from (so you still can end up with the PCBs, mercury and that kind of thing). Synaesthesia responded to my post here with a suggestion of oil that her doctor suggested.

Re: Fish Oil

[avon.livejournal.com]

Fish oil got me through my pregnancy and the PPD that followed. I asked many doctors about what brand to buy and I was told repeatively that it did not matter and they did not have mercury in them. They told me that however fish oil is made, it does not have mercury. This was by several different peds and obs.

FWIW, I generally take the costco brand. It has no effect on my breath and it works very well. I have generally been very impressed with the kirkland brand and the extents to which costco goes to have quality products. (Now, if only we could get them to sell non-CAFO beef.) :p

[isolatory.livejournal.com]

I just buy the cheap-ass Nature's Bounty capsules. They don't make my breath stink and they're easy to swallow. I've been taking them for about 6 months now and they've noticibly reduced my bad cholestorol.

Flax

[disownedheidi.livejournal.com]

I do flax seeds and oil for the Omega 3s. I add them to my salad. The oil is gross if you take it plain, but good in a sauce.