Category : Health

This is a quick, homemade hummus recipe that is easy and tastes out of this world, not to mention cheap as hell and nutritious to boot – all of which are why it is so sexy. I’ve made it for unsuspecting guests, for parties…and sometimes I just make up a whole batch and eat it in one or two sittings over a good read.

It has just four ingredients: canned garbanzos, a little olive oil, one clove garlic and half a large lemon (or a whole small one):

*Note that I’ve not included tahini – neither you nor your wallet will miss it.

You’ll also need a blender or personal blender, such as the one I have…

First, I spoon out the garbanzos into the blender and pour about 1/3 the liquid in with it. I also reserve 5 or 6 whole garbanzos as optional garnish for the finished hummus:

Next, squeeze the lemon into the blender:

Once again, use about half of a large lemon (and note that mine had thin skin and lots of flesh to juice from) or a whole small one.

Then, slice up the garlic and add the olive oil (here, I’m eyeballing the olive oil, but if you’re looking for specifics, use a tablespoon, or 15 ml):

Now, swish or swirl the ingredients just a bit before blending. Place your blender’s cover on and blend using pulses until you get a uniform consistency…

Pour and/or spoon out the hummus into a nice bowl or ceramic cup, as I’m using here, and refrigerate what’s left over:

This makes for a great party or dinner snack dip, or even a small meal when you eat the entire following plate yourself:

So, what on earth are pork rinds doing in this mix? Try them with the hummus – you just may really like them, especially if you’ve gone keto or follow another lower-carb/higher-protein set of eating habits.

This hummus goes with just about everything – I’ve even used it on salads, chicken, and on homemade pizzas to cut the cheese (pun intended – garbanzos may have you going a bit gassy!) amount in half so it lasts me a bit longer.

Given that the olive oil was $4.99 for 16.9 oz, the garbanzos were $.99 for a 15-ounce can, the section of garlic came from a 50-cent bulb, within which there were a dozen or so cloves, and the lemon was $.75. So…here’s the price breakdown:

All told: $1.57 for about 15 ounces of homemade hummus … now, compare that to what you’re paying at the supermarket! They charge TONS for hummus you can make in about five minutes…and if you double the recipe, it’s $3.14 for about 30 ounces.

Have fun!

Bon appetit, stay safe…and eat healthy!
Alison

The first time I had braised tofu, it was at a local Chinese restaurant in Doylestown, Pennsylvania called Golden Chopsticks. It was served with a delicious veggie sauce on top. So heavenly – and so damn simple and inexpensive to make at home!

My favorite toppers for this quick and easy dish include tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, salad dressing, salt and vinegar – and ultimate fave Tasty Bite Indian Jaipur Vegetables. But really, any Indian or other sauce-based dish goes well with these delish golden-brown tofu squares, which resemble paneer, but with a snappy, crispy-soft texture that will have you making more batches of these on a regular basis.

They store quickly and easily into the fridge, where they’ll stay fresh for a few days – if they last that long. For meals and snacks, I take a few out, and pair them with whatever moves me – sometimes I julienne them onto an arugula salad and drizzle on some of Brianna’s awesome Creamy Balsamic dressing…or just place a few on a plate with some steak sauce, cut fresh carrots and perhaps a little cilantro on the side.

Not only are they easy and versatile, they only really have two ingredients – tofu and oil – in addition to whatever condiments you like:

*Canola oil was chosen for its low saturated fat profile (and as a money saver). Choose any oil that is right for your purposes, but be wary of the saturated fat content.

You’ll also need a skillet, a sharp knife, a stove or fire…

…and a small, broken, much-loved and handle-less spatula of your choice. I kid you not, it makes turning these little squares over in a hot oily pan a piece of cake:

First, set your stove burner to just about medium, then open up your package of tofu and slice it…I usually slice it long-ways in half first, then into sevenths width-wise, then blot the squares on a napkin to shorten the cooking time…

After blotting the tofu squares for a few minutes, carefully place them into your heated and oiled skillet:

I find that 14 squares fit perfectly into my 10-inch / 25.4 cm iron skillet…

Let the squares cook on medium heat for at least 5 minutes, if not 10. The first side can take some time to cook to the desired texture because tofu has a high moisture content.

When you start to see the browning of the squares at the bottom edge, that’s when it’s safe to lift these little babies up without tearing them apart to check for doneness:

If you don’t wait until you see the browned edges, you risk breaking up the squares quite a bit. A little patience goes a long way!

Take your broken small spatula and gingerly lift up the browned-on-the-bottom square like so…

If your squares look solidly golden-brown like in the picture below, they are ready to turn over!

Cook the other sides of the squares for several more minutes, keeping a close watch on them. Usually, the second sides take a little less time than the first.

Keep watch until you see the brown bottom edges again. When both sides are done, they are ready to be removed from the pan…

Serve them on a plate…sometimes I just eat them plain, or with a little salt and vinegar (if you find soy or tofu hard to digest, some vinegar really helps)…or even a healthy dusting of cinnamon and stevia:

These are quite good by themselves, the crispy-soft texture contrast is just fantastic!

…and these little beauties are a hit at parties (and poker games, as I found out around two months ago during the holidays).

They are wonderful with tomato sauce (or even steak sauce) and served on a pine-needle green plate…

…they also pair very well with salad dressings, and are a great topping for salads…

…and with one of my other faves, Tasty Bite Indian meals!

Any way you use these, they are a very tasty time saver…keep them in your fridge for when you want some quick, delicious protein!

Enjoy!

Yours in Great Health,

Alison

This fast, easy and naturally sweet, but very low carb and low fat chocolate chip cookie recipe uses two of my favorite things, almonds in the form of almond flour, and chocolate chips. These are not just any chocolate chips, however – they are sugar free, nothing but 100% chocolate, and amen to that. For a while, baker’s chocolate had to suffice – along with time spent chopping it up, which wasn’t pretty.

Sugar, along with sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners and other additive sweeteners like agave, are so overused in our food supply that it is truly rare to find an unadulterated, unsweetened product like Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate Baking Chips, which are 100% cacao, and nothing else. These chips are unsweetened, nut free, wheat and gluten free, and dairy and egg free as well as free from soy.

A product of Peru made for the Pascha Chocolate Company in Toronto, Canada, I found my curiosity piqued and visited their site to see the bag of chips on their front page along with that ever-so-important tagline: One Ingredient. One of their site’s main menu categories is “Free From.” It’s what I look for most of the time these days, simple things without all the BS in order to keep the “cup runeth over” diseases and syndromes at bay.

Recommendation made, so let’s get to the recipe, which is super quick and easy. You’ll need:

*Canola oil was chosen for its low saturated fat profile (and as a money saver). Choose any oil that is right for your purposes, but be wary of the saturated fat content.

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a medium-sized mixing bowl, like so…

…and mix all ingredients until the dough is uniform:

Next, add in your delicious, decadent-without-the-shite chocolate chips. Enjoy these photos…

…I could take an extended, slow, sensual bath in this stuff…

…and I’d do it all day if I could stave off my chocoholism for long enough. But, having preheated the oven to 375 Fahrenheit degrees on a hot day, I gotta get back on track here.

After mixing in the chocolate chips, take two regular flatware teaspoons and spoon out the dough in small dollops – about 2.5 cm or an inch or so in circumference each – onto a baking sheet or whatever you have available. As all my other baking sheets are out on other projects at the moment, I’m using the oven’s broiling pan, which turns out to be better than the baking sheets I’ve been using. It has enamel instead of that chemicalized non-stick material that is now lodged in all our body tissues, is better than that crappy non-stick anyway, and it also makes for a great contrast with the little No-No dollops. They kind of look like little space cookies, don’t they? Cute!

Bake these at 375 for 10 – 12 minutes, remove them from the oven and scarf them up before anyone else sees them! These are a great low carb way to answer the chocolate chip cookie craving, which is absolutely fierce and must be answered. The good news: These are entirely BINGEable – I have eaten half the batch in one sitting and had no blood sugar issues at all. I’ve found them to be priceless while working on reducing insulin resistance, often eating these on the days I’m not doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) when I find myself craving something sweet, filling and “carby” tasting.

The tally here is about 16 of these dee-lish little gems:

I’m also cooking up a gingerbread version of these…I’ll add that variation in when it’s passed the taste test. Enjoy!

Yours in great health,
Alison

In my constant pursuit of taming the sugar beast, I can be frequently found in the kitchen trying to figure out just how many goddamn ways there are to use stevia. As it turns out, there are a lot.

And now that Spring has sprung, I find I have a taste for something sweet and light to match the warmer weather. An added bonus is the gelatin in this recipe, which helps build up the gut lining for those of us who have dealt with leaky gut. Alternatively, consider using agar or other non-gelatin product if you are vegan or vegetarian. Seaweed has a benefit as well: It helps to clean up the heavy metals within the body, something which I’ve dealt with on more than a few occasions over years, including now.

Stevia is a no-sugar, no-calorie sweetener that is far sweeter than sugar, so a little bit goes a long way. But the challenging thing about it is that it doesn’t provide the bulk that white sugar or other sugars provide to a recipe. In the case of Lime (or Lemon) Wiggles, the bulk is just water and gelatin mixed with a bit of fruit juice, which is stored in the fridge for firmness’ sake.

This little recipe is fast, easy, sugar-free and light. There are no sugar alcohols, sugar, fats, artificial flavors or colors. It’s just a little juice, water, stevia and gelatin:

First, choose your fruit – lemon or lime. I find that using the juice of a whole, fresh lime is enough to satisfy my taste buds. If using lemon, I gauge it by the size of the lemon. If it’s on the larger side, I might use just half of it, but if I’m in a particularly sour mood, I’ll use the whole thing…and maybe a bit more than the usual 2.5 ml of stevia powder, which produces a mild, not overbearing level of sweetness.

Note as well I am now using metric measurements. I’ll probably add a conversion tool to the recipes on this blog, but I’ve decided to join the rest of the civilized world – actually, the rest of the world, period. Out of 195 countries on planet Earth (as of this writing), only three are still living in their colonial past: Burma, Liberia and the good ol’ US of A. Yep, we’re still acting like a British colony, all the talk about being “great again” notwithstanding.

But forward we must go if we are going to make it to dessert. To this end, fill your measuring container with 500 ml of water, then empty 300 ml or so into your pan and set it aside.

Then, cut your lime or lemon in half and squeeze the hell out of it over the remaining 200 ml to get all the juice you possibly can. This will help with your border frustration as well as your search for the imperialist equivalents to my metric measurements here. Next, add your 2.5 ml of stevia powder and mix it well with your newly-minted lime or lemon juice mixture:

And finally – and very slowly and evenly – pour in the contents of both packets of gelatin (or the equivalent agar, etc.). VERY IMPORTANT: Let the gelatin absorb fully into your juice mixture, or else you will find your self stirring for a long, long time to dissolve the little gelatin gummies that can form if it hasn’t sufficiently dissolved.

This may take several minutes (at least), so be patient, and please note that it is best to wait on boiling the water you set aside in the pan until all the gelatin has completely absorbed, as seen below:

Once the gelatin in absorbed and you see no more powder on the surface, quickly boil and pour the hot water into the gelatin-juice mixture and stir vigorously until you have silky-smooth liquid, which will be light yellow in color whether you are using lime or lemon.

Taste the stirred mixture to see if it is sweet and/or tart enough for your tastes, adding more stevia or fruit juice as desired.

Let the mixture cool and then cover and place into your refrigerator, or pour the gelatin-juice mixture into your gelatin mold(s) of choice. You may even add in things at this point, such as whole fruit slices. Note that I’ve simply poured the hot water back into my original glass measuring container and let it cool before covering and refrigerating:

I usually let it sit in the fridge overnight, after which time I always have a very firm, very, VERY wiggly gelatin to spoon out several generous portions. Taking it out first thing in the morning is always fun…and it leads to eating a breakfast-dessert (who says every meal can’t have a dessert?). In any case, these Wiggles can start your day off very brightly…they are truly a light in the darkness…

…and they can catch the first morning’s rays quite beautifully…

…and, of course, like Weebles, Wiggles wobble, but they don’t fall down…

In any case, enjoy…and this dessert is fantastic topped with vanilla yogurt, or even swirled in before refrigeration. Whipped cream is also great (the kind without the sugar!).

Yours in great health,

Alison

If you have issues with gluten AND sugar, wow. Sucks to be you!

And me, too!

One would think that in 2019, we’d have the sugar-free/gluten-free lifestyle covered as far as desserts and sweets go, but I’ve noted we’ve still got a long road ahead of us, and so I have come up with more than a few things that are sweet, but leave the gluten and sugar at the supermarket.

One such recipe is this little ditty, which I call Lazy, 4-Ingredient Chocolate Cashew Nibbles. And even though they are lazy, they have nuts in them, specifically cashews. So if you are not a fan of nuts, please take note.

This recipe requires melting some baker’s chocolate – the kind with NO sugar added whatsoever, that when you eat it plain, you’ll taste a whole lotta fatty-bitter melting in your mouth. Which I’ve done on occasion, being the chocoholic that I am. To sweeten things up, I use monk fruit and stevia, two zero-calorie, zero-sugar natural sweeteners that are NOT in the sugar alcohol family either.

You’ll want to gather:

First, grab your non-stick pan by the handle and put it on low heat. Add in 2 ounces of baker’s chocolate – this turned out to be 2 thick squares of the Dagoba…and no, I don’t always use the expensive stuff:

While the chocolate slowly melts, spoon out 4 tablespoons of cashew butter into a small bowl, and add in your stevia powder:

Then, add in the quarter teaspoon of monk fruit powder:

By now the chocolate has most likely melted, so just use a plastic or silicon spatula to scrape it all out of your non-stick pan and into the bowl for mixing together with all the other ingredients:

This almost looks like an ice cream sundae at this point before you mix it all together:

Next, get your silicon ice cube tray or candy mold ready for filling. I use a hybrid silicon/plastic ice cube tray that has silicon bottoms, which makes for an easy job of popping out the finished Nibbles:

Pour a little of your chocolate-cashew butter-stevia-monk fruit mix into the tray:

Some of the little compartments may remain empty, depending upon how big you like your Nibbles…note there are varying sizes in my tray, and that’s okay…

After you load up the tray with the chocolate mixture, let it cool for a few minutes, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.

And this is something I’m always working on with all things homemade and chocolate: These little Nibbles will remain firm to a point. If you live in a hot second floor apartment and make these on a summer’s day, maybe not. If your house is cool, they probably will stay firm enough without refrigeration to serve as is. So, I usually just err on the side of caution and keep them in the fridge, where they will stay fresh for at least several days.

These are GOOD!

Enjoy,

Alison

I think I’m in love.

No…really.

I remember when I was a little kid, and had pancakes for breakfast with maple syrup, and I poured so much syrup on my pancakes that they became these soggy-sweet things I just could not get enough of!

That’s what THESE remind me of…WITHOUT THE SYRUPY MESS OR BLOOD SUGAR SPIKE.

I most often eat low carb – and note this is not NO CARB – quality, highly nutritious carbs in low amounts is the key. I’ve been on a mission lately to ramp up the nutritional value of everything I eat, and wherever I can substitute vegetables for flour, I’m all in.

This recipe uses a vegetable – in this case, leftover baked acorn squash, a sweet and mildly starchy veggie known for magnesium, potassium, fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A content, among many other great things. It also makes use of the principle of heating and cooling a starch to increase its resistant starch (i.e., the kind of starch that has some health benefits and does NOT raise your blood sugar). This is called starch retrogradation, according to a healthline.com article titled, “Cooling Some Foods After Cooking Increases Their Resistant Starch,” by Grant Tinsley, PhD. Also check out a very thorough PDF on resistant starch and its benefits and role in healing insulin resistance and the gut.

The recipe also uses monk fruit powder, a zero-sugar sweetener (also known as lo han guo) that, according to Dr. Axe’s website, “has long been regarded as the “longevity fruit” thanks to its high antioxidant levels.”

Per Dr. Axe, it has also been utilized “as a treatment for diabetes, and as a way to clear heat from the body caused by both internal and external source.” This is of big interest to me as someone who experiences blood sugar issues as a component health issue – it seems to go hand-in-hand with the systemic candidiasis, cancer and hormonal issues I deal with. Not to mention my Chinese doc always told me I have a tendency toward damp heat, meaning foods and other things that clear heat are helpful.

Best of all, these little pancakes only have three ingredients, plus some butter or oil for cooking. As always, I prefer to use organic:

Skinning the baked acorn squash is really easy – it usually peels right off once it’s been baked and in the fridge for a bit. I then squeeze it into a 1/4 cup measure:

In a small bowl (even a coffee mug works), whisk together the skinned acorn squash and egg with a fork, this might take a few minutes. Mash any stubborn lumps of squash against the side of your bowl using the fork until the batter is smooth:

Add in your 1/4 teaspoon (or thereabouts) of monk fruit powder:

The finished batter should be very smooth:

Next, Add butter and/or healthy oil to a frypan, set on medium heat. Using a tablespoon measure, spoon a generous tablespoon’s worth of batter into your frying pan. Cook on each side until browned…the time to flip is when the outer edges become dry. These brown pretty fast, so keep an eye on them! Usually I’ve turned them at around the 2-3 minute mark, but sometimes the second side can take a little less time:

And here’s the final product! This recipe makes about six 2-3 inch pancakes, and you can do a lot with these. They’re great by themselves…

…or as a side dish. Try sprinkling some cinnamon over them, delicious!

And did I mention these are great for an impromptu layered desert, sans the added sugar? Here, I’ve topped one pancake with plain greek yogurt and a frozen strawberry, which defrosted perfectly by the time I was done my main course…

These pancakes are moist, and have a texture kind of like spongecake, which gives me an idea: Why not layer the pancakes with heavy whipped cream or plain greek yogurt (to which I might add some stevia or monk fruit powder to increase the sweetness as needed) and strawberries (or blueberries, etc.) in either clear plastic party cups or a round cake pan, then refrigerate. This would make a very nutritious party dessert without gluten or sugar…and plenty of protein.

Yield: Six 2-3 inch pancakes. These pancakes can be frozen for later use or stored in the fridge for a few days.

Variations: [Note: I haven’t tried these yet, so look for an update] I’m not sure if it will work, but if you don’t have a sweet tooth, try omitting the monk fruit powder for a 2-ingredient treat. Another variation is to use stevia instead of monk fruit powder, though I like the taste of monk fruit powder in these – it blends in rather well with the acorn squash.

Notes (Based on nutritiondata.self.com): The quarter cup of acorn squash in this recipe has 7.5 grams of carb, 2.25 grams of fiber, negligible sugars, negligible fat and .6 grams of protein. One large fried egg contains .4 grams carbs (no sugars), 7 grams of fat, and 6.3 grams of protein. And according to the container, one quarter teaspoon of monk fruit powder has zero sugars.

Enjoy!

Yours in Great Health,

Alison

January 20, 2018 – 11 am

The 2017 Women’s March was unforgettable. Never have I seen so many people on the streets in DC, or felt such a resurgence of energy for all things equality.

While it was Las Vegas, Nevada that hosted the main Women’s March in 2018, we who showed up at the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool for the 2018 Women’s March to the Polls in DC weren’t exactly disappointed, either.

It was cold, and just a day before, the anti-individual liberty, consumption-uber-alles crowd had shown up, leaving their “Defund Planned Parenthood” signs in the rubbish, right where they belong:

As I, along with my awesome, feminist boyfriend (a real one, not one of these gaslighters offering you praise on facebook and abuse-talk in private) made our way toward the Lincoln Memorial, I ran into plenty of kindred. Having been called a “witch” on several occasions by the woman-hating crowd, I really got into this person’s costume:

I’ve been called plenty of interesting names by those who purport to “wuv da wittle baybees,” including those who’ve lovingly told me in their best Jesus-loves-you voices they were “glad I got cancer” because I “would kill babies.” These woman-hating totalitarians don’t fool me with their claims of “sanctity of life” – it’s more like $anctity of the Almighty Dollar and its next-of-kin, consumerism.

Republican opposition to ACA (and its on-board birth control), and to programs like WIC and SNAP mean a baby’s life ain’t so precious, but it sure as hell is lucrative when, as of 2017, it means a $233,610 injection into Trump’s made-in-China economy. Yep, that is how much raising a child in the US costs. It’s no wonder having a kid plunges so many into poverty, which is the real shame going on here.

And regarding all those “heartfelt” pleas to adopt? Once again, please follow the money: The average cost of newborn adoption in the US through an agency is $43,239, while an adoption through an attorney is $37,829 (and yes, this would obviously be on top of the $233,610 figure, above, for raising a child). It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that many of these agencies embrace every two-bit piece of no-choice legislation, every roadblock to abortion they can get their money-grubbing hands on, complete with those tearful, bleeding-heart conservative cries of “life.” If you’ve fallen for those, congrats – you’ve been marketed to (or perhaps a better word, considering the times, is “conned”).

Having had a casual discussion with an adoption attorney years ago at a party who was hinting at having me bird-dog “marks” (iow, scared, pregnant girls) for him at Penn State, I’d say it’s the latter. He backed off when I told him to…and after I stated I was pro-choice and that he should just pull himself up by the bootstraps instead of cashing in on female bodies.

Adoption is big business, and no wonder I read about so many coerced adoptions these days. And – update – what about those 1500 “lost” kids separated from their parents at the US/Mexico border? If all those children were “relinquished,” what would they be worth to adoption industry profiteers, using the average agency cost of adoption of $43,239? Multiplying $43,239 by 1500, that would yield the nice juicy sum of $64,858,500.

Yes, that’s $64,858,500. Wow – and that’s just for adoptions. Adding in the figure to raise all of those 1500 children – or $305,415,000 – we get a grand total of $415,273,500. What a godsend those anti-abortion laws and family separations are to those running adoption agencies, government child support services, diaper manufacturers, clothing manufacturers (China, big time), and baby food…and, and, and! Coerced childbirth pays off, and it’s easy to see why and for whom. And – of course – it’s women’s bodies being used to deliver the profitable “product” – a newborn consumer.

But, the pussy-grabbers and money-grubbers left out some very important things, like individual liberty and, if you’re a believer, god-given free will. Those pesky things! And to think, women were actually born with brains, the nerve! We should just all be headless wombs for profiteering, bodies for the taking. No worries, mates – sexbots are on the way, but be warned: You will have to pay for them.

It is no mystery the fetishization of the fetus – i.e., all those signs you see, showing a disembodied, curled up embryo with the woman on whom it depends nowhere to be found – is all the rage among the profiteering right and their pornographic, wallet-driven obsession with my uterus. I was happy to stand in front of them at the March to the Polls:

[Photo by Matt Neufeld]

But, think I will, and choose I do. As the sign below says, My Pussy, My Rules. I make judgement calls every day, from all options available, my uterus being no exception. It’s called informed consent. I alone have the last word regarding what happens to my body, as well as who – whether it is cancer treatment or the right to end a pregnancy I don’t want…or who I share a bed with.

I’d say this lady sure as hell knows what she wants:

Not everything goes as planned, which is why freedom of choice rules. It is no accident that these times give us so many inventive forms of birth control just as we have a environmental and overpopulation nightmare going on (I’d say that’s what “god’s plan” is). Technology advances for a reason – to allow us choices we would not have had back in, say, the 1950s. (If you don’t like technology, then stay the heck off them airliners – god didn’t give you wings, right?)

Coerced pregnancy does not have a place in a free society. A theocracy, yes. A totalitarian society, yes. And in those societies, note how coerced abortion is the other side of the same coin as forced childbearing. It’s an easy flip of the switch, once the totalitarian machinery is in place.

But not here in the Land of the Free, at least, not for real Americans. Real Americans don’t vote against freedom of choice, or individual liberty, or god-given free will.

Reading the Roe v Wade decision, we see that there is no requirement to have an abortion. There are no protesters outside maternity wards, screaming at women not to have their babies. You are free not to have an abortion just as you are free not to have a kid. It’s the same “on all sides,” this freedom of choice thang. But, if legal abortion threatens your “faith,” then that ain’t a faith worth having – and I’m having none of it.

If you don’t have my back on all of that, you don’t have my vote:

We’re at a point in human history where we don’t need to have kids. They don’t complete everyone’s picture, and cost-wise, they are a luxury. I am not about to shirk my responsibilities in helping resolve some of humankind’s problems now, instead of lazily passing them off to the next generation of unknowns. We need clean air now, not 40 years from now, and it may be a woman who will solve this issue – if she isn’t saddled with another unplanned corporate consumer.

Motherhood – and parenthood – is only genuine and loving if it’s freely given. Otherwise, it is mere production. Thus, I err on the side of making this a society where every child is absolutely wanted and cherished, and dripping with their parents’ love and ever-present attention.

I wish the US was a country that loved children, but it isn’t. It has a fantasy-like love affair with fertilized eggs and beliefs, but no respect for the effort it takes to actually carry a fetus to term and then raise the resulting child in what can be a very harsh reality.

So, how can we love kids through meaningful action? Let me count the ways:

But don’t worry your pretty little head on that last one – you can still pay $1000 a month for insurance if you want to. I assure you, insurance firms will come up with a plan, just for you! And they will take your money, if that’s what does it for you.

As Nancy Pelosi, Tim Kaine and many others spoke in front of the Lincoln Memorial on this cold, but sunny and beautiful winter’s day, I snapped this picture of the woman in front of me, and it’s a perfect way to end this blog, reminding everyone to vote, because if you’re a woman or person with a uterus, your life is on the line. If you’re a man, just think of anti-abortion laws as mandatory fatherhood and child support payment laws, because that is just what they are, if you #FollowtheMoney.

Be Well and Free,
Alison

PS – Thanks to Matt Neufeld for two photos in this article, including the featured photo of me at the 2018 DC Women’s March to the Polls at the top of this blog, and where indicated via caption. All photos © Alison Lorraine or Matt Neufeld.

April 29, 2017 – What a too-hot-for-the-season People’s Climate March we had today in Washington, DC, where climate change was on display all afternoon! With so many people sweating and trying to stay hydrated, it was hard to believe this was a day in late April. It felt more like mid-July.

That’s been happening a lot lately, and that was the whole point behind today’s march – that climate change is real, it is caused in no small part by humans, of which there are approximately 7.5 billion now on the planet…in 1970, it was 3.7 billion.

The subject of human population is more important than ever, and it’s among the least talked-about things in popular or political parlance. I find it shocking that humans are still permitted – or even freely volunteer – to reproduce at the rates we do, without so much as a thought for the very environment that supports all things living. And then there’s the cost of raising a child, which in the US as of 2017, was $233,610.

I often think that if the high school sex education conversation included the real environmental impact of another baby on the already environmentally stressed on the world, we’d see yet another drop in pregnancies on top of all the successes in that direction under the Obama administration.

An excerpt from the Guardian article, “Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children,” says this:

The researchers found that government advice in the US, Canada, EU and Australia rarely mentioned the high impact actions, with only the EU citing eating less meat and only Australia citing living without a car. None mentioned having one fewer child. In an analysis of school textbooks on Canada only 4% of the recommendations were high impact.

So, considering this level of denial – and it goes on worldwide – how can we change the conversation? One way is to put a bumper sticker on your car, saying something to the effect, “Hate Traffic? Have Fewer Children.” It will apply every single time you’re in a tie-up, and I’m sure it will get some to think…and perhaps make a few traffic lovers very, very angry.

Another way is reading…and discussing books that deal with sustainability and population issues with others.

I’m with him…and wouldn’t you know it, there was a makeshift bookstand, right smack in the middle of the Mall, with many titles worth getting into. So, yes, dude-with-cool-sign, you can protest and read, too…

…and note the book near the middle, titled appropriately, “Too Many People?”

In an overpopulated world, it’s good to know I am not totally alone.

My mind spinning on all things population as I made my way through the thick crowd, I soon found my group, thanks to the the well-organized People’s Climate March map of where various types of groups were gathering. As I made my way to the Sierra Club contingent on Jefferson, I saw this:

This was right behind where Green America and Sierra Club were gathering…and doesn’t it just have Ben & Jerry’s written all over it? 😉

I’ve been a member of SC for a few years, as it meets the requirements for my investment and involvement: 1) Strong litigation capabilities, 2) Solid infrastructure for individual citizen action, and 3) Fun! But not just any sort of fun – there are groups in every state going out to preserve, protect and enjoy the planet, from hikes in local parks to (hopefully sustainable) group trips around the world.

Finally, the March started, and as we were rounding the corner from Independence onto Pennsylvania avenue, I turned around and saw this person, in costume and on stilts. Just stunning!

But it wasn’t long before I saw him, the Hottest Guy at the DC People’s Climate March, wearing a polar bear suit on a 92-degrees Fahrenheit late April day:

At least he had the sense to take off the top portion of his costume and breathe…and that was when I realized, yep, HE WAS TOTALLY HOT!!

LOL…but this little girl or guy wasn’t so lucky…s(he) was kinda stuck with the condition known as Permanent (Cute) Furry Head.

…but, s(he) had a message:

And, aren’t we all??? Don’t we all deserve policies that help us avoid the cancer, avoid the diabetes, avoid all the sickness brought about by overpopulation and pollution and their damage to our one and only climate?

It was just more proof that the dogs already know the secrets of the universe! I don’t see them picketing women’s clinics, or insisting that Dog/God hates gays, do you?

Next, the obligatory photo marching up Pennsylvania with the Capitol in the background…

…where an impromptu sit-in happened:

After that, the March marched on, and on until we got to the Washington Monument, the White House, or wherever your activist feet took you.

Along the way, I noted something very disappointing, and so here’s a reminder: Please make your signs with recycling in mind. I saw a lot of them simply dumped on sidewalks and streets (not even at Lafayette Park), forcing DC sanitation workers to gather and stuff them into trash cans. We’re supposed to be the good guys, right? Standing for environmental cleanliness and all? I’m all for leaving things better then we found them…

And speaking of signs, I’ll finish off with what I thought were two of the most clever signs…there’s something truly magical about a whole new word that really just says it all:

And this next one says it all, in a very familiar word: DENIAL. Those living along the coasts might do well to invest in a costume like this one:

Hopefully we’ll get our act together, throwing out all present and future Trumps, realizing that if we don’t, it is us who will be sidelined with not only rising seas from climate change, but cancer from the pollution that causes it.

In my case, it’s not “will be sidelined” – it’s “have been.”

Think…and be well,
Alison

April 22, 2017 marked the day of the outstanding Doylestown March for Science, and I can sum it up like this: The Kids Are Alright. Meaning the high schoolers from the Central Bucks School District who put the whole March together. Aside from the 2017 People’s Climate March in Washington, DC, this was the most well-organized march I attended all year.

Lots of people showed up with great signs, and the streets of Doylestown were filled to the brim near the intersection of Main and State Streets, where the crowd gathered for the short march up Main and onto Court Street, where a rally would take place that featured several speakers, all speaking up for the importance of science in our society – and the importance of sustained, effective activism.

Many causes interfaced at this march, immigration being just one:

It should be said that if not for the scientific advantage of the US, World War II might have been lost…to someone now emulated by Donald Trump, who was installed by that 538-member junta known as the Electoral College in the US.

The student emcees of the Doylestown Science March struck a non-partisan pose, but we know the deal. The Republican Party has descended from supporting science and the ERA back into the dark ages of a religious nature, but I have yet to figure out which religion it actually is.

As we marched to the Bucks County Courthouse, it became apparent how big the crowd was, to my left…

…to my right…

…and behind me…

…there were a few people in front of me, but I had a great spot to see the speakers, which included the emcee from CB West, Hina Rub, and Doylestown mayor Ron Strouse…

Soon after, we heard from an array of science-based business owners, scientists, educators and experts, along with environmentalists and other organizers:

And, of course, lots and lots of great signs populated the crowd, representing all stripes. One that caught my attention in particular was this gentleman’s sign, which put two and two together and illustrates how we are all interconnected:

And then, there was my own contribution, which arises from my experiences with science as it has been corrupted by money in the US pharmaceutical industry, where not all treatments for cancer are honored. Often it is only patented medications, which can be profited to the hilt from under the current healthcare system, offered to cancer fighters by mainstream medicine – and thus is its own form of ignorance:

There are many treatments for cancer, all science-based, but not – or no longer – patentable. That is all about the money, and if I am to be fair, I must demand fairness in medicine regarding medical treatments, along with the acknowledgement that sometimes the simplest things, like peroxide and vitamin C, neither of which are patentable and are too cheap for mainstream medicine to profit from with the long roster of players with their fingers in the healthcare pie.

Can we please have a system that is fair, scientifically-based and all-inclusive, instead of one where certain medicines and treatments are weighted differently according to profitability? This is one thing I’m working toward, because I never want to find myself subject to treatment by science which has been corrupted by money to the point where many simple and effective treatments are left completely off the table.

Resist on,

Alison

The 2017 Women’s March in Washington, DC, is billed by Wikipedia as the largest single-day protest in US history.

I’d say! Just check out my view of 14th Street, looking toward the Mall:

It was also the most feared – by potential marchers as well as others.

Countless friends and strangers told me I must be crazy to go to DC and march with Trump (illegitimately) taking over the Oval Office. “Be careful,” they admonished. Even some of the staff at the local UPS store looked at the sign I was printing up, and told me point blank, with fearful looks on their faces: “I would not want to be down there.”

I can only imagine how much bigger it would have been, if not for one thing: fear.

Fear of what, I wondered. Being arrested? Being bashed by counter-protesters? Being injured, or worse? Or – and this is my favorite in corporate-fascist-land Amerikkka: Being caught on facebook by employers for having gone and joined the “rabble-rousers” and “troublemakers?”

Apparently so – and which only made me want to go more. Because we had finally hit rock bottom.

Trump was erected US President by the Electoral College. I had nothing to do with it. The installation of a US President by 538 people, now THAT is something to fear – and something to change. I’d had an immediate conversion of that fear into anger and, even more importantly, action. Because the first woman president, who’d won three million more votes than do-nothing Don, was going home. And the most entitled white male I’d ever seen run for president – one who couldn’t even pull off the popular vote – was going to the White House.

It is no wonder so many people don’t want to work hard or try to win honestly. America is a bona fide rigged system. The scammers and cons and data scientists have figured it all out, right on up to the White House. Flawed democracy, yes we are. If all one needs to do to win the presidency is to “win here, here, and here” per the Electoral College’s welfare-like voting system, which awards more voting power per voter to those residing in less populous states – and not win the majority of our hearts and minds – that is reason enough to be angry as fuck.

The remedy for fear being deliberate, decisive action, I booked a bus ticket to DC, printed out some maps of the metro system, packed up my things, and rolled up my UPS store-made sign, which said, “RESIST” on one side, and “FORWARD” on the other. One word per side, each of which said it all.

I arranged a short stay through All Souls Church Unitarian in DC and landed on a comfy couch bed in Tenleytown. They next morning, I entered the metro station to the excited urgings of a metro worker reminding us – and to be fair, the entire station was full of women’s marchers – to “hurry up! 10 am, people!” A big smile stretched its way across my face. This was going to be a great day of batteries being recharged, of hopes being resurrected.

I rode a crowded red line train to Judiciary Square, and after spending a couple hours attempting to get to the March epicenter at 3rd and Independence, I encountered no cell phone service along with standing room only. I could just about see the large video monitor set up at that location when word came through the crowd that the march itself, at least along its planned, permitted route, had been cancelled. There were just too many people.

With all bets off and nearly a million marchers suddenly loose on the streets, we collectively headed toward the Ellipse and the White House on whatever streets or grassy sections of the Mall would take us there, permitting be damned. Along the way, DC Metro police officers showed up to partition the crowd. Yes, it was that big. I’ll never forget the look on the cop’s face as he put up barrier tape in front of my nearby crowd, which had just crossed the Mall on the way to Pennsylvania Avenue, and effectively sent half of us up Constitution and the other half up Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was fear.

Fear. There it was again, on the opposing side of a police barricade from where I was standing. He was not alone in being frightened by We the Pussy.

Fear of the vagina runs rampant among the American victim-entitlement class these days (largely white, and largely male…and completely insecure). It is the same fear behind all the taxpayer dollar-wasting abortion bans and restrictions, when we should be passing measures guaranteeing all-inclusive healthcare for every citizen. It is the same fear behind the bathroom safety arguments against passing the ERA, the same stupid argument being dusted off and currently used against transgenders having the individual liberty to use the facilities they feel most comfortable using. It is the same fear behind the lack of equal pay. It is the same fear behind the lack of transparency in so many things that keeps the large majority of us in some way screwed over.

I often imagine how great this country could be if there were true and full equality for everyone – and that means ridding ourselves of fear. It means women letting go of their inferiority complexes and the repeat-taught need to be taken care of, or spoken for, or installed into limited societal roles set aside for us. It means men letting go of their unearned superiority and entitlement – especially the attitude that women’s bodies are public property, and somehow theirs to do with or vote on or restrict as they please. Those who created the society where women must work twice as hard to get half as far now find they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and compete with women who answered that challenge, most often under the constant and rigorous scrutiny and second-guessing that always comes with a big helping of double standards.

And, it means we go to the root of where this bigotry came from – and that is none other than organized religion, or what I’ve come to call the men’s mythology clubs. You know, the ones where men design a god that looks just like them – and then relegate everyone else to second-class status using the concept of – and fear of – a supreme being to artificially inflate their value while minimizing that of all others.

But, like it or not, women have a LOT of power: Women create life. Women decide who gets born. With some exceptions, women raise the next generation. Everyone on this planet has a generous – some may say too generous – woman to thank for their existence. A lot of people live in fear of this reality, and, according to “god” – who I’ve finally figured out is “the little boy who lives in my mouth” from The Shining – they gottacontrolthosesluts. Sluts, of course, being women who enjoy their bodies, along with their nature-given – or god-given, depending on what or who you believe – capacity for multiple orgasm, and who can take care of themselves without needing a male hovering over their every move.

Currently in the US, there are far too many laws and attitudes which reflect fear of women rather than gratitude or respect. And, currently in the US, there are far too many women who fear and refuse to own their own power – and who turn around and vote against their own best interests. A lot of this has to do with what is falsely referred to as faith.

If one cannot view and experience the full menu of choices within a free society and adhere to one’s own faith without violating the freedoms, safety and well-being of other citizens, then that is not faith at all. It is something else. And once again, that something is fear.

Authentic faith has no fear. It does not dictate. It does not seek to control. It doesn’t need to.

I’ve never seen so many people lacking authentic faith as those who voted for Trump. And I’ve never seen as many people in Washington DC, as I saw on the day of the Women’s March, not ever. How appropriate on the day after Fear Itself took office.

For me, it was a reminder that when We the People put our boots on the ground and bodies on the line, we have real power. Imagine that same crowd going rogue. Imagine all of them armed, holding guns instead of signs. Then imagine this: The “scariest” thing I heard at the 2017 Women’s March on DC was “ooops, sorry” when someone inadvertently stepped on my foot, which happened quite a bit during the March, and on the way into and out of the Metro…and where Metro personnel were nothing but encouraging and helpful…and fearless, telling us all to get our butts in gear, and get to the March on time…and don’t forget your kids, your backpacks, your water, your maps…or your First Amendment rights:

In answer to the many concerned people who admonished me to “be safe” at the Women’s March and then asked me what it was like to be there, I told them this: Even with Trump taking office in our midst, I was among hundreds of thousands of my sisters and brothers in intent. I’ve never felt safer.

Nor have I ever felt more fearlessly charged up to go home and do even more – I made it my mission to make at least one call to a representative, senator, state legislator, mayor, council member, governor, etc, per day. And to go to as many protests as possible. And to contribute to causes with time, money and ideas. And…and…AND!!!

Please also see my video of the 2017 Women’s March on DC.

Resist On!

Be Well,

Alison