If you want to know more about the what and why of Kwanzaa, go to the website called Official Kwanzaa Website dot Org and look at the FAQs link.

/SB

/SB

Happy Kwanzaa!!!

I’m sorry I’m late with the Christmas and Hanukkah wishes for everyone else. So let me just say Happy New Year, Peace on Earth to all!

—–

Michelle, thanks for reposting about canola. I hope some took it seriously enough to think about it. After I learned about canola oil, I went through my kitchen and refrigerator.

I thought I was pretty good about knowing what I was eating. I like to prepare my own food. I have a local organic farm I belong to where I can pick my own vegetables. When I eat out, I make conscious decisions to support chefs and restaurants that practice sustainable, local, farm-to-table principles.

I shop too at a lot of “healthier” markets. Sometimes I do want to buy a prepared food, so I read labels. I personally try to stay away from wheat and sugar so I’m always looking at the ingredients. I suppose because canola seemed so innocuous, I hadn’t considered it to be a bad thing. It wasn’t a word my brain stumbled over when looking for bad and taboo ingredients on a label.

Well let me tell you I was crushed to have to throw out several items this weekend that I paid good money for! (And, between us, holiday food gifts from others.) All were marked organic. Quality(?) products from places like Whole Foods. Tossing the Trader Joe’s organic tortilla chips was personally the hardest thing to say to myself that I would not eat again. (My go to lunch several times a week is sardines, salsa, avocado and chips.) And let’s be honest, there are a billion people on the globe starving and here I am throwing away food.

I’m pissed! Yes, I take responsibility and admonish myself over my lack of knowledge about canola and that I thought I was more aware about my food choices, but I saw no disclosure on any of the half-dozen “organic, natural” products I had to throw away that informed me that I was eating an industrial solvent. Gross!

And I “supported” these companies when I went to the register and gave my dollars. Grosser still!

—

For all our African friends here, again, Happy Kwanzaa to you.

/SB
_________

I’m sorry I’m late with the Christmas and Hanukkah wishes for everyone else. So let me just say Happy New Year, Peace on Earth to all!

—–

Michelle, thanks for reposting about canola. I hope some took it seriously enough to think about it. After I learned about canola oil, I went through my kitchen and refrigerator.

I thought I was pretty good about knowing what I was eating. I like to prepare my own food. I have a local organic farm I belong to where I can pick my own vegetables. When I eat out, I make conscious decisions to support chefs and restaurants that practice sustainable, local, farm-to-table principles.

I shop too at a lot of “healthier” markets. Sometimes I do want to buy a prepared food, so I read labels. I personally try to stay away from wheat and sugar so I’m always looking at the ingredients. I suppose because canola seemed so innocuous, I hadn’t considered it to be a bad thing. It wasn’t a word my brain stumbled over when looking for bad and taboo ingredients on a label.

Well let me tell you I was crushed to have to throw out several items this weekend that I paid good money for! (And, between us, holiday food gifts from others.) All were marked organic. Quality(?) products from places like Whole Foods. Tossing the Trader Joe’s organic tortilla chips was personally the hardest thing to say to myself that I would not eat again. (My go to lunch several times a week is sardines, salsa, avocado and chips.) And let’s be honest, there are a billion people on the globe starving and here I am throwing away food.

I’m pissed! Yes, I take responsibility and admonish myself over my lack of knowledge about canola and that I thought I was more aware about my food choices, but I saw no disclosure on any of the half-dozen “organic, natural” products I had to throw away that informed me that I was eating an industrial solvent. Gross!

And I “supported” these companies when I went to the register and gave my dollars. Grosser still!

—

And again, for all our African friends here, a very Happy Kwanzaa to you.

/SB
_________

If you want to know about the what and why of Kwanzaa, here’s the FAQ page from founder Dr. Maulana Karenga’s website. http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/faq.shtml#1