Monique7500

So how do we *really* know, on a scientific level, that plants don’t have feelings?

Like, does lettuce not feel pain? Nature is so beautiful, fruit, vegetables, a ripe red tomato. Then we just slice them up, and shove them in our mouths. Delicious. Poor veggies.

I had to stop eating a certain way for a cause. I still believe in animal rights, I still feel bad for the cows and chickens. I just realize I can’t change the world, and love things like cheese and salami. So I eat for my health now.

But so many little creatures, bugs too, die when you grow things that it’s all just really sad, no matter which way you spin it, or what you eat.

The world is a terrible, horrible place. However, I’ll keep my place here at the top of the food chain and eat lots of salad and the occasional chicken. And try not to think too much about the ugliness. It’s hard.

I also just don’t like big slabs of meat. But really, I planted a garden, and then started to feel bad at all the bugs and critters that showed up and wanted to eat everything. But overall it was fun, I just let it go when I got pregnant and haven’t picked back up.

Some vegans will kick your ass for eating a chicken wing. Gotta love their passion at least!

I have two miniature pinschers, and this breed loves raw vegetables. But there are some that are bad for them! Take note of these things if you have dogs and pets you feed table scraps!

Avocados
They contain a toxic component called persin, which can damage heart, lung and other tissue in many animals. This fruit is very toxic to dogs, cats and most animals.
Beer
Alcoholic beverages can cause the same damage to an animal’s liver and brain as they cause in humans. But the effects can be deadly on animals since they are much smaller than us. The smaller the animal, the more deadly the effects can be. Even a small amount of alcohol may cause vomiting and damage the liver and brain.
Nuts
Walnuts and macadamia nuts are especially toxic. Effects can be anything from vomiting to paralysis to death. Within 12 hours of eating the nuts, pets start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand or walk, vomiting, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog eats some chocolate with the nuts. The effect can cause kidney failure, often leading to death.
Chocolate
Chocolate contains theobromine, which can kill your pet if eaten in large quantities. Dark and unsweetened baking chocolates are especially dangerous. Giving your pup a piece of chocolate cake or even letting him lick the chocolate icing on the cake could cause him to become ill. Theobromine can also cause a dog or cat’s heart to beat very rapidly or irregularly, which could result in death if the pet is exercising or overly active.
Candy
Candy or anything containing Xylitol (a common sweetener found in some diet products) can cause a sudden drop in an animal’s blood sugar, loss of coordination and seizures. If left untreated, the animal could die.
Caffeine
Coffee, tea or any product that contains caffeine stimulates an animal’s central nervous and cardiac systems. This can lead to restlessness, heart palpitations and death, depending on how much the animal consumes.
Grapes and raisins
Grapes and raisins can lead to kidney failure in dogs. As little as a single serving of raisins can kill them. And the effects are cumulative, which means that even if a dog eats just one or two grapes or raisins regularly, the toxin that builds in his system will eventually kill him.
Onions
Onions are another common food that can be highly toxic to pets. They can destroy an animal’s red blood cells and lead to anemia, weakness and breathing difficulties. Their effects are also cumulative over time.
Medicine
Hide medicine from your pets just like you would from your children. The most common cause of pet poisoning is from animals ingesting a medicine or drug normally prescribed for humans.
And this is not just because furry pals are getting into their pet parent’s medicine cabinets. In many cases, pet owners give their feline and canine friends an over-the-counter medication to ease an animal’s pain. But acetaminophen and ibuprofen, the active ingredients in many common pain relievers, are extremely toxic to dogs and cats. They can cause gastric ulcers, liver damage, kidney failure and sometimes death.
Good news foods
There are a few things that you CAN give to your furry pal. However, you should always consult a veterinarian before introducing a new food item to your pet.
Although these foods are normally harmless, some animals have sensitive gastrointestinal tracts. So even these healthy treats should be avoided if they cause gastrointestinal upset for your pet. Keep in mind that these and other “extras” should not make up more than 5 to 10 percent of the pet’s daily caloric intake.
Lean meats
Any cooked lean meat should be fine for most dogs. High-fat meats, chicken skin and fat from steaks or roasts are not recommended. Ingestion may lead to gastrointestinal upset or even pancreatitis. This can be a very painful condition for dogs. In addition, most companion animals do not need extra fat in their diets. Never give your pet meat with the bone in it. Animals can choke on the bones, and they can splinter as well.
Vegetables
Carrot sticks, green beans, cucumber slices and zucchini slices are all OK.
Fruit
Apple slices, orange slices, bananas and watermelon are all OK. Make sure the seeds have been taken out; seeds are not good for your pet!
Baked potatoes
Plain baked potatoes are fine, but make sure they are cooked — no unripe potatoes or potato plants.
Bread
Plain cooked bread is fine; just make sure there are no nuts or raisins added.
Rice and pasta
Plain, cooked pasta and white rice are OK. Often veterinarians recommend plain rice with some boiled chicken when gastrointestinal upset is present.
In case of emergency
Despite all the precautions you take to keep your pet pals safe, accidents do happen. That’s why the ASPCA, Humane Society and animal advocates advise pet owners to keep the telephone numbers of their local veterinarian and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center — (888) 426-4435 — in a prominent location.

Remember, no candy or booze for dogs! They love it, but it can kill them.

Well looks like a holiday weekend is upon us. Being self-employed and a work from home Mom is great and my husband and I get a jump on the weekend. I prefer to beat the weekend crowds on Friday and get it done on Thursday so I don’t have to fight the crowds and traffic. Where are we going? To the Super Wal-mart of course. LOL I know some people don’t like wally mart, but when the other stores around here are nearly twice as expensive (we saw cheeze-its for $3.98, wal-mart has them for under $2) it just doesn’t make sense to give away your money. Being self-employed really makes you look at the world differently.

Being a former vegetarian, we just started eating meat again and I look forward to buying some roast beef. Yum!

I read and hear all the time about our modern day processed foods, and how they are responsible for people not living as long. I believe it.

When I was pregnant last year, I broke out in these terrible pinkish bruise bumps all over my legs from the knee down. I was having terrible pregnancy nausea and was on the couch literally all day, so I had no idea what they were from. A far fetched diagnosis was that they were flea bites, which I had seen none of, but they didn’t itch. So I went to see a dermatologist. I had previous to the pregnancy had a few bruises like this occasionally, one maybe two at a time. But I just thought they had something to do with going vegetarian, and were bruises that looked different. Who knows.

The doctor immediately diagnosed me with erythema nodosum. It is common for pregnant women to have this because it is somewhat of a hormonal reaction a lot of times, but in 50% of the cases they never find a diagnosis. It is not life threatening, although it can be an indication of life threatening conditions. It wasn’t something I wanted to hear being pregnant! I always did have some feeling that it had to do with becoming a vegetarian, with the main change in my diet being lots of soy milk. I had a feeling that it was the soy, and now a year later I am positive. The doctor said I had to have a few tests done to rule out some things like leukemia and a chest x-ray. Being pregnant this was really difficult, but several doctors told me it would be okay and due to the diagnosis it was pretty important I have it done. It was okay.

What I did, is I stopped drinking soy milk and switched back to cow milk. Pretty soon the bumps went away, and the doctor said although he hadn’t had a case like mine, whatever I was doing to keep doing it. I did. The bumps stayed away. My legs started to look better!

Now a year later my husband and I have veered away from being strict vegetarians and started eating meat again. We spent many months eating processed meat substitutes which really aren’t very good for you. You see, soy has a form of estrogen in it that has been said by some to encourage breast cancer. Not something I need to be consuming considering I have a terrible family history with that. My Mother, her Mother, Cousins, and several female relatives of mine have died from cancer. Sadly, I almost need more fingers to count them all.

Recently we had a huge bumper crop of blackberries in our yard. They are sooooo delicious. I couldn’t pick them fast enough or eat them fast enough. So I ended up bagging tons of them up and have them in the freezer. I finally thought how yummy would it be if I made some muffins. Being a Mom now, my time is limited, so I picked up some of that bisquick type of baking mix and found a quick recipe. I have a mini-muffin pan I found at a thrift store brand new for two bucks, and pull it all together and I had delicious blackberry mini muffins. Super duper good. I have been eating them like crazy. I am lactating right now and have a six month old baby, and it makes me quite hungry.

I haven’t been eating soy, and my legs looked just fine. No bumps. I mean, if my legs break out in these bumps when I eat soy, what is going on inside my body? It scares me to think of the reaction my organs could be having (think tumors), so I really don’t want to eat soy. Every once in a while I’ll run out of cow milk for my coffee and dip into hubby’s soy milk because it is soooo good in coffee, but even that caused me to have a mild breakout and I told myself to stop.

Then a couple days ago I noticed 3 or 4 fresh pink bumps on my legs. Great, maybe it isn’t soy? I thought about it. What have I been eating different? We’ve been doing a lot of tacos, with fresh salsa and corn tortillas. Lots of salad and organic tomatoes. Olive oil salad dressing. Then it occured to me. The muffins. I was lying in bed last night and would have gotten up to check if I wasn’t afraid of the baby waking. Sure enough this morning I looked, and the second ingredient on this baking mix is “hydrolized soy oil.” And I’ve been eating this stuff everyday. Sure enough, it is the soy once again!

As I type this, I am looking at the last couple of muffins across the room. They are calling me. I will probably eat them. However, I am going to look at labels more closely now (even though I usually do) and become more adamant about no soy in my diet. What a drag!

Time to focus on more fresh foods and cooking from scratch. I need a new muffin recipe!