The Iguana Diaries

Want to know the truth about organic foods?

I’ve been reading  a book called Pandora’s Lunchbox and it’s absolutely frightening what goes into most of our store-bought food…

Powders, chemicals, emulsifiers, and other poisons… All to either prevent mold and increase shelf life, or to cut down costs for the food manufacturers.

Consider these disgusting and shocking examples:

• While cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola years ago, it’s still formulated to get you high. Each can of Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. Under normal circumstances, the extreme sweetness of this much sugar would immediately cause you to vomit uncontrollably. However, since all that sugar is addictive and keeps you coming back for more, Coca-Cola adds phosphoric acid – An ingredient that cuts the sweetness to manageable levels.
• Foods like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and bologna look like a disgusting pink goo before they’re “reformed” into the shapes you buy at the store. This sludge is made through a process called mechanical separation, which is a cost-effective way to ‘smooth out’ bone remnants left after the de-boning process. The process results in excessive bacteria, which is fixed by washing the meat in ammonia. To cover up that delicious ammonia flavor, the meat is then re-flavoured artificially to resemble meat.
• Chewing Gum contains lanolin, which is an oily substance found in sheep wool. Lanolin is touted as beneficial in tons of different lotions and skincare products because it softens up your hands… But lo-and-behold, it also softens up your chewing gum. Every time you chew, you’re chewing sheep sweat.
• Ever use Shellac to shine up your wood and furniture? Well, it’s also been known to be used  to improve the shine of certain foods like jelly beans. And those orange and purple jelly beans? Those colors come from chemical dyes that have been shown to slow down brain function.
• Did you know that Kraft Singles and other packaged cheeses are not allowed (BY LAW) to be called cheese anymore? They have to be called “cheese-like substance” instead because they have so many additives, chemicals and flavoring agents. Check the package the next time you’re in the store.

Right… I think I’ll stick with the farmers market!

So we finally got our Vitamix about a week ago, and man-o-man I’m loving it. In addition to smoothies, this bad boy makes sauces, soups, ice creams… You name it!

Here’s a super-simple recipe I made the other day with raw ingredients, straight from the garden:

Raw Zucchini Pasta With A Tomato Pepper Basil Sauce
(Yes, it’s healthy and friggin’ delicious!)

Ingredients (all organic):

5 Fresh TomatoesA Red Pepper
A handful  of Fresh Basil
A handful  of Cilantro
2-3 Zucchinis
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Rough chop the Tomatoes, Red Pepper, Basil, and Cilantro and throw it in the Vitamix, along with the Olive Oil and some salt and pepper. Run it down until it looks like a paste.

2. Julienne the Zucchini into pasta-shaped strings. If you need a tool, you can get one on Amazon.

3. Serve and enjoy. I like to put a little organic cheese on top, but that might not be your thing.

Some of the most common questions I get asked are about how our kids are taking up our new eating habits.

Really well, actually!

Here’s a meal by meal breakdown:

BREAKFAST: Everyone in the house is addicted to fresh green juices and smoothies, so we have those most mornings. That’s typically all they’ll have, but if they’re still hungry, I’ll make them a bowl of granola with almond milk or a couple eggs.

LUNCH: Since we tend to have smaller breakfasts, I try to make lunch really, really good. Here’s what they had this week:

Monday: Greek sandwiches. Pita bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Tazhiki sauce
with Feta cheese. Grapes and organic juice boxes on the side.

Tuesday: Italian vegetable sandwiches. All vegetables with a little oil and basalmic.
Apples, organic juice boxes, and chips on the side.

Wednesday: Spinach-Apple salad with Basalmic.
Organic juice boxes and pears on the side.

Thursday: Vegetable sandwiches with a pile of vegetables.
Organic juice boxes and a banana on the side.

Friday: Teriyaki grilled chicken salad. Pears and Organic
juice boxes on the side.

DINNER: We don’t eat much meat, so dinner always involves vegetables in some form or fashion. Sometimes we’ll do Boca Burgers with sprouts and tomatoes:

Sometimes it’s a big vegetable sandwich…

Or some sort of hummus/vegetable wraps or a giant gnarly salad:

About once a week, I just build a giant snack tray (olives, pickles, celery, carrots, some oil and vinegar with fresh bread) and just leave it out for a more Spanish-style snacking dinner.

We also make vegetarian chili, and plates of vegetables with wild rice or pasta.

SNACKS: Snacking is all about what’s handy. I keep carrots and celery washed and chopped and ready to go in the fridge. We also have a big assortment of nuts and granola, and always have apples and pears.

For saltier, crunchier snacks, we like kale chips and seaweed crisps.

Most of the time the kids eat quite healthy, but we do still let them indulge once in awhile. We buy chips for them sometimes. We still take them to McDonalds on rare occasions, and still we order pizza for them a couple times a month.

All things in moderation!

Erik

Well, I did it. I completed my first 5k run.

Actually, lets call it a walk, with a little bit of jogging thrown in. At no point did I run. So maybe it was a walk/jog… But whatever.

But I did it!

The event we picked for my first time was something called the “Color Vibe” and I highly recommend you check it out.

Based on Holi (the Indian festival of color), The Color Vibe run has “color stations” at various points through the course where volunteers throw powdered color at you.

So by the end, you’re basically a sweating, stinking rainbow.

I have to say, it was a fucking BLAST.

The kids, all colored up.

Wendy the wife, looking all colorful and happy…

We did it! I finished last… But I finished so HELL YEAH!

I’ve always wanted to check out the real festival of colors, which in India, announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter.

This was much closer to home and had the same air of renewal, and was certainly cheaper than flights to India.

Tickets were about $40 each, if memory serves correctly… But we each got a t-shirt, a pair of sun glasses, and some packets of color to throw at each other.

Find one in your area and sign up.

You’ll love it.

Eating out and eating healthy at the same time is a challenging proposition.

In fact, it’s proving damn near impossible for me to find a menu with healthy, raw choices on it.

Take Carrabbas, for instance.

We never ate there all that much, but when we did eat out, we  liked places like Roy’s and  Carrabba’s and Bonefish Grill.

Not so much anymore.

I can hear you now saying “Just get a salad, dude!” but it’s not that simple.

First of all – The portions are just fucking HUGE. And I have a big problem leaving my plate half full.

I was raised to “clean my plate” at every meal.  I hate wasting food!

Next – Everything is covered in way too much sauce or dressing.

And finally… Even if you get your sauces or dressings on the side…

There’s no guarantee the vegetables are organic or free from pesticides.

The last time we went to Carrabba’s, I skipped the bread. I ordered a salad and a Margarita pizza. I ate the salad (dressing on the side, and sprinkled on the salad in very small amounts) and one piece of the pizza… And still felt over-full

Frustrating.

I guess the best I can do is avoid the mountains of free bread… Avoid the pasta and cheese…

Stick with soup and salads, and maybe some grilled vegetables (NOT cooked in butter, please)…

And only eat a third of what I’m given. Or… Just eat at home!

I get asked all the time to recommend healthy natural weight loss supplements.

But it’s not happening.

Why?

Well, the obvious reason is because I’m not a doctor, and I don’t want to get my ass sued off when someone takes my advice and doesn’t get the results they want.

But believe it or not, I have a second reason…

And it’s one you should listen to very carefully.

Here it is:

Everyone of us is DIFFERENT.

We all have different allergies, different metabolisms, different blood types and different physical makeups.

We all have deficiencies in different things and an over-abundance of others.

And so (of course!) we all respond to different things differently.

Take Cinnamon for example.

Allegedly, hypothetically… Cinnamon is supposed to help regulate blood sugar in diabetics.

And yet I’ve spoken with several diabetics who see no benefit in adding cinnamon to their diet.

Why? Because we’re all different!

The same goes for Acai, Chitosan, Wheu Protein, Ginger, Ginseng, or any other natural weight loss supplement you may have heard about.

They NEVER work for EVERYONE, despite claims to the contrary.

Think about it like this:

If you called a mechanic and they told you over the phone, without seeing your car…”Oh yeah, it’s your head gasket…”

Would you believe them?

Same with a doctor.  If a doctor tried to prescribe something over the phone, without seeing you…

Wouldn’t you find it odd?

Of course you would.

And you should be very, very careful of businesses or health experts that sell “one-size-fits-all” weight loss in a bottle solutions for the very same reason.

My advice: Find a healthy natural weight loss supplement. Do some research, and give it a try for a couple weeks.

See how you feel, and see if it helps you lose a couple pounds. Then try something else if you don’t get the results you’re after. Rinse, and repeat.

What’s worked for me is a daily “multi-vitamin” (I recommend “Vitamin Code Men” by Garden of Life) and also a daily dose of B Vitamins (I recommend Garden of Life’s “RAW B-Complex”) because I’m getting to be an old bastard.

I also take a natural Testosterone supplement, a handful of Omega 3 Fish Oil pills, and drink a big shot of Aloe juice everyday.

Occasionally I’ll take Ginseng, Magnesium, or Chromium supplements because I’ve been told they boost the body’s liver and kidney function, control blood sugar, and also insulin sensitivity.

This works for me because I’m a Diabetic…

But it may not work for you!

That’s why it’s so important to find out what specifically your body needs and stick with it.

Sorry I haven’t been around blogging much lately.

I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire… I didn’t have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn’t come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car.

There was an earthquake… A terrible flood. Locusts!

Everything’s better now though, so I thought I would check in with a quick update

So what’s new around here?

Well, not much really. Weight-wise, I’ve been stuck at 275 for a couple weeks now. I’m not thrilled about it, but I’ve learned as I lose weight that my body needs time to adjust.

This isn’t an overnight journey.

So I’m just staying the course,  continuing to eat really clean, and work on the garden to help balance out all the time I spend sitting on my ass working on the laptop.

My son Evan is turning 9 today, and we’re taking him out to dinner later.

He got to pick his favorite restaurant, which happens to be a great little Korean/Japanese restaurant here in SouthWest Florida.

In the past, I would throw down a bunch of  Sake, several Sapporos, and a pile of Bulgogi…

Tonight, I’ll be having spicy vegetables (easy on the rice) with iced water on the side…

And believe it or not, but I’m looking forward to it!

Tomorrow, we’ve invited several of Evan’s friends (and our friends) over for a birthday party.

In the past, that would mean burgers and jerk pork and hotdogs and  a mountain of chips, chased with a couple Dr Peppers.

Tomorrow, we’re having fresh fruit salad and a couple whole wheat pasta salads, and throwing some Yves Good Dogs on the grill for the kids.
I might get crazy and have A BEER… And I’m looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend everyone

Erik

I’ll admit, I was afraid of gardening…

Primarily because I had heard (or formed) the following preconceptions:

1. I won’t know what to plant, or what time of year to plant it. My plants will die and I’ll feel stupid.
2. It’s too hot in Florida. The sun will cook anything I try to grow alive. My plants will die and I’ll feel stupid.
3. Bugs or mold will destroy everything. I’ll throw $500 bucks down the drain. My plants will die and I’ll feel stupid.
4. A rattlesnake will bite my ass.

Turns out, I was wrong!

Florida has a natural, year-round grow season and everything I’ve planted so far is doing great! The soil is for shit down here (a mixture of sand, shells, and rocks) but our compost bin has helped us cycle nutrients into the organic soil we do buy…

Other than that, it’s been easy. With a little encouragement from my old friend Theo, my son and I just bought some seeds and soil… Filled up some pots, and dumped the seeds everywhere.

Then we watered them.

Those that grew, we re-potted in bigger pots.

Taking care of them has been a breeze as well. If they look wilted, they need sun or water. If they start to turn yellow, they’re getting too much sun.

Adjust accordingly.

Behold the power of our epic starter garden:

Cucumbers. I think.

Not sure what this little bastard is either… I think it’s a melon.

Cabbage! Can’t wait for this guy to get the size of a Buick. Anyone know when I should pick it?
Should I pick the whole thing? Or just take leaves? Perhaps Uncle Google can help.

Our Papaya Tree! I bought this for Wendy for Mother’s Day two years ago… Since then, it’s
doubled in size and now it’s throwing off huge, beautiful Papayas. I like juicing them.

A small Papaya.

Aloe starters, and some palm-tree looking thing I found in the back yard.

Our Koi pond. Sounds all chill and relaxing and is the perfect backdrop
for screaming at my children.