I Used to Think MSG was a Designer Like DKNY

OK, so I'm joking about the designer snafu, but I DID think MSG was just a flavor enhancer and not something too harmful;  I also used to think that MSG was only in Chinese food.  Oh, how silly and wrong I am!  I stumbled upon a brilliant site called "Truth in Labeling" (not the prettiest of sites, but very informative) and it gave me a window into a world I had no idea existed.
"Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage to varying degrees."
-Russell Blaylock, M.D. Board Certified Neurosurgeon
"Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills"
Now, I do know corporate food is a bit evil because their only purpose in life is to get you to stuff your face with their processed junk, from Doritos to Cheetos, but I didn't know that they disguise MSG in their foods by calling it all sorts of different names like "natural flavoring".  What I find even more shocking is that MSG is also in a lot of "natural" foods, as well.  For example, my all-time-favorite, quick, go-to bouillon, Rapunzel's vegetarian organic cubes, contains "yeast extract" which is a polite way of saying, "MSG".  Another excellent site is MSG Exposed.

The following list was taken directly from the Truth in Labeling website:
Names of ingredients that ALWAYS contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG):

• Calcium glutamate (E 623)
• Monoammonium glutamate (E 624)
• Magnesium glutamate (E 625)
• Natrium glutamate
• Yeast extract
• Anything “hydrolyzed”
• Any “hydrolyzed protein”
• Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate
• Yeast food, Yeast nutrient
• Autolyzed yeast
• Gelatin
• Textured protein
• Soy protein, soy protein concentrate
• Soy protein isolate
• Whey protein, whey protein concentrate
• Whey protein isolate
• Anything “…protein”
• Vetsin
• Ajinomoto

After reading the above list I foraged through my "healthy" kitchen and was shocked, Earth Balance to Tofurky is littered with MSG!  No wonder they have that other-worldly tasty punch.  Into the trash they went....well, almost; I finished up the Tofurky slices and will never buy them again and the Earth Balance was in the trash, but then I quickly retrieved it as visions of buttered toast danced in my head.  It's still in the fridge and once it is gone, I will never buy it again either!

I think the big lesson I learned is to eat whole foods and this is pretty much what I do now.  I thought it would be daunting, but it gives me a greater appreciation and connection to my food.  I now laugh when I think I used to buy cartons of almond milk which tasted pretty horrible and now I whip up raw, soaked almonds and water in my high speed blender with a dash of vanilla and sea salt and it is dangerously delicious.  I also make my own salad dressings.  I cannot believe I used to buy that stuff.  Now I have total control of what goes into my concoctions and they taste better than anything I could ever buy in a jar at the store.

Never a Dull Moment

It's just me—no employees, no elves!  This is often how I spend my evenings, assembling my yoga decks and other RescueGirl products for customers.  This one was for the fabulous Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Arizona.  My adorable Isabelle who looks a bit possessed in this photo is always by my side, unfortunately she never offers to help, occasionally she licks a hangtag though.

Donuts

Tara Stiles: What's a donut?

My issue with Tara Stiles...
Tara has a blog called "Tara Eats" and I think she needs to rename it "Tara Needs To Eat".  I don't mean to bash lovely Tara, but I do think she could benefit from a donut or two and if that is too extreme perhaps she could start off with a few modest donut holes and work up to a whole donut.

Why Do Yoga?

Marilyn Monroe said that yoga made her legs sexy and fabulous.  That would be enough of a reason for many to jump on the yoga bandwagon, but the main reason I do yoga and always will is because it makes me feel better.  I get so stressed, depressed, freaked out, overwhelmed, resentful (why do I have to do laundry? Pay bills? Do dishes?).  And if that isn't bad enough, life feels really dull sometimes, like I'm stuck in some bad movie.  If I can convince myself to stop in that moment of madness and lay down and float away in corpse pose or stick my legs up a wall (legs-up-the-wall pose) and breathe and just stay there for a few minutes, my energy and mood usually radically shift which always amazes me—completely amazes me--like I'm someone who just found out they won the lottery—"you're kidding, ME? I just won 6 billion dollars?  Woo-ha!"  So do a little yoga and feel better!