C.S. Blogsmith

My favorite artist is my mom:
http://www.gwendolyn....com/index.html

When I was little she cleaned houses and worked as a maid at a B&B. She met a woman who was a painter, and cleaned her house for free for lessons. She's come a long way I'm really proud of her.

In keeping with the grander theme of the thread, I'm a huge fan of all things art nouveau. Its often hard to find out who did certain things, but the Musee D'orsay in particular has an amazing exhibit of the rooms and furniture of that time period. Alexandre Charpentier did some amazing room suites.
http://tiny.cc/l6Bfo
I tend to lean more towards objet's D'art myself.

*edited to fix the link

Wow. I love how you get the sense of a jungle just spilling over with plant-life. Her orchids are incredible. I wish I could get a closer look at the detail...

That is a wonderful story about her as well.

Thanks for sharing

Mygawd, don't get me started on sculpture!

oops, what's this?
Picasso "Guitar" (I like this sculpture because I know three fabulous men who play the guitar. My two brothers and my ex-boyfriend who was a guitar teacher)

I'm really lovin these paintings all of you are sharing! Especially the one's I've not seen before. There are a few I think I am going to put on my blog.

I tried the raw vegan diet after learning of my food allergies. I was vegetarian, but found out I was allergic to eggs and dairy. Although I liked the raw vegan diet, I have gastroparesis and after eating a large salad at my parent's house one day, became far too familar with a bucket as the salad kept coming back up, over and over again. I also discovered that if I don't eat meat occasionally, I get anemia. Bleh. So although the bulk of my diet is still raw and vegetables, I do eat some meat. I don't much like fruit and being diabetic, it's not that good for me.

I am sorry to hear that you have diabetes. Just now when I read that, I remembered something else I read recently (while looking on the internet for some hard to find raw foods). I don't know if it is of any importance. I am ignorant when it comes to the topic of diabetes, but I found it to be interesting... Perhaps you already know about it. (keep in mind they are talking about virgin coconut oil and not hydrogenated coconut oil which is dangerous)

There is one fat that diabetics can eat without fear. That fat is coconut oil. Not only does it not contribute to diabetes, but it helps regulate blood sugar, thus lessening the effects of the disease. The Nauru people consumed large amounts of coconut oil for generations without ever encountering diabetes, but when they abandoned it for other foods and oils the results were disastrous.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, coconut oil puts less of a demand on the enzyme production of the pancreas. This lessens the stress on the pancreas during mealtime when insulin is produced most heavily, thus allowing the organ to function more efficiently. Coconut Oil also helps supply energy to cells because it is easily absorbed without the need of enzymes or insulin. It has been shown to improve insulin secretion and utilisation of blood glucose.15,16 Coconut oil in the diet enhances insulin action and improves binding affinity compared to other oils.17,18 The Journal of the Indian Medical Association has reported that Type II diabetes in India has increased as the people have abandoned traditional oils, like coconut oil, in favour of polyunsaturated vegetable oils which have been promoted as "heart-friendly." The authors comment on the link between polyunsaturated oils and diabetes and recommend increasing coconut oil consumption as a means to prevent diabetes.19

One of the consequences of diabetes is a lack of energy. This is due to the inability of cells to get needed glucose. Without the glucose to power cellular activity, metabolism slows down and the entire body becomes tired.

Exercise has been recommended as a means to help diabetics control blood sugar. One of the reasons exercise is beneficial is that it increases metabolism. A faster metabolic rate stimulates increased production of needed insulin and increases absorption of glucose into cells, thus helping both Type I and Type II diabetics.

Another advantage of increasing metabolism is that more calories are burned. Coconut oil raises metabolic rate causing the body to burn up more calories and thus promote weight loss. Yes, you can actually lose excess weight by adding coconut oil to your diet. The MCFA in coconut oil are sent directly to the liver for conversion into energy and not into body tissues as fat. (See Chapter 10 of "The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil" for more details on the weight-loss effects of coconut oil).

If you are a diabetic or borderline diabetic, consumption of most fats should be avoided. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is different. Because it helps stabilise blood glucose levels and aids in shedding excess body weight, it is probably the only oil a diabetic should eat.

Adapted from Bruce Fife's book The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil.

Thanks for the reminder about lemon juice - yes it is good but I haven't had any for a few weeks.

I can't cope with any gluten-free grains either which is why I am following the SCD.

You should be able to find an almond flour pizza crust on one or other of the SCD recipe sites - I know there is one in the Grain-Free Gourmet book although I don't have it myself (I think someone on the SCD thread does though), but I did pick this one up that may be worth trying.

1/2 cup almond flour
1 egg
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325c.

In a bowl mix the above ingredients together add more flour as needed to form a ball.

Oil a pan (we use a small pizza pan) add the dough ball press with hands forming to the shape of a small pizza crust, don't worry if its not as big as the pan.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with whatever toppings you like. Bake again just long enough to cook the toppings through.

Enjoy.

Naomi Devlin has some good recipes on her blog - I have tried the Vanilla Pumpkin Pie and it is fantastic - topped with dripped SCD yogurt and coconut cream mixed together - yum. Apparently she is going to post a pizza recipe shortly, too.

http://milkforthemor...et-it-snow.html

Thanks for the recipe. The thought of Vanilla Pumpkin Pie especially got me drooling... Is pumpkin a legal SCD food? I know that sweet potatoes aren't and I just LOVE sweet potatoes.

If you aren't consuming animal products, you are depleting your body of B12:



of course...



source: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html

Thanks for your concern,
It's a big concern for me especially because B12 is so vital to brain function and I have numerous neurological problems. Interestingly, there are actually a few plants that do contain B12, the problem is that they are B12 analogs that fool the body and make it difficult for it to absorb active B12--so yeah that's kinda worse... I avoid those... Unfortunately I have been unable to take supplements without getting very ill from them, but rather than worry about what I cannot fix, I focus on things I can work on. Optimal health is not quite an option for me yet. Right now I am just getting by day to day. I'm a step up from when I could only eat bananas and I'm holding out for the day when my body gets back in balance. That will be a day worth celebrating!

Anyway, it's really great to get advise and support. Sometimes it's the strangest suggestions that give me an edge over my illness.

Thanks everybody