Eating Close to Nature

Recent findings have concluded that a majority of our illnesses; mental and physical, can be traced back to the way we eat. In two words: ?Junk Food?. Most people know this. So why do we do it to ourselves? Do we all have a long a painful death wish? Why?

I believe in a majority of cases this has to do with exposure to these foods throughout our lifetimes. They become habit. A habit that seems to be the most difficult to break as we have to eat, and they do seem most convenient in our fast paced world.

We are living in a ?throw away society? where our values seem to be forgotten. The best foods for our bodies are vegetables and fruits. How easy is that? They come without fancy expensive wrapping, they are environmentally friendly, people are not dying from consuming them over a course of years, and at the end of the week, they don?t leave piles of garbage and recycling at the end of your driveway.

However it is easier to drive up to a window and mindlessly stuff a fried burger down your cake hole, and drive away with no thought or dishes to clean up.

Our bodies seemingly take on the role of garbage can, all because of convenience and the constant media push.

Very similar to drugs or alcohol, Junk Food becomes habitual. The solution sounds easy enough ?eat close to nature?. You need five to ten servings each day of fruits and vegetables. It takes a little bit of time to prepare your own meals but once you get used to it, you start turning your nose down to all those packaged foods. Once you get back to a natural way of eating, then you can start to be picky about organic foods including meats. Here is a very easy recipe for a healthy meal.

Enjoy!

Chef?s Veggie Burger

1 cup mushrooms and onions

1/2 cup corn and peas

1/2 cup diced peppers

1 cup cooked wild rice

1 cup cooked brown long grain rice

whole wheat bread crumbs

4 eggs; egg beater equivalent

cornstarch

pepper

garlic

olive oil

Saute vegetable and rice together and season to taste. Brown, then place in bowl. Add liquid egg and mix thoroughly. Dust with bread crumbs and cornstarch until a very thick burger like consistency. Season with pepper and garlic to taste. If you like fresh herbs, you can add them too. Form into patties about 1/2″ thick and grill or pan fry them (with little oil in the pan) in a nonstick pan. Add tomatoes, lettuce, onions and whatever other condiments you like.