So cute!!!!!!!!! Also love the freudian slip, where did you get that?

So here is my question…I’ve been listening to Jillian Michael’s podcast per your suggestion and I love it. Its uplifting. Though, I always get sad when she bashes veganism…I’ve been vegan for a while and I feel great so it really can’t be as complicated as she makes it out to be right? And she bashes soy A LOT. So I would like to hear how you feel about soy. I’ve heard from other sources (ahem T. Colin Campell) that soy has been proven to be OK. I know you do a lot of research so I trust your opinion.

Love the Freudian slip pun costume. A friend wore a shirt saying “I love ceilings!”… Ceiling fan!

Also, a question / point of interest. I’ve been doing some reading on Borax (and the use of it in home made laundry liquid etc) and apparently, it’s not so great. It’s not grey-water safe and it’s pretty poisonous and irritating, especially in the instance of animals and little ones. It’s also been known to interfere with male reproduction. In the case of my city, it flushes out into the Gulf of St Vincent and high traces of boron have been found in species of sea grasses. The Gulf is already at risk due to the desal plant (BOO!), so I’m not going to use it any more. Several places have noted that you can use baking soda in it’s place with very similar results, so that’s what I’ll be doing from now on.
How do you feel about it? Do you think it’s safe?

I’m new to your blog but I really loved the daily posting! Keep it up!

I like the daily posts, although I realize that pace may not be feasible to maintain.

i lovvved the daily posting, but totally understand that it’s alot to maintain :)

Great costumes! I loved the daily posting, recipes and of course the pics are always great. Farm market pictures always make me hungry :D

You are one of my favorite reads, so it was a treat to see you every day! I particularly loved hearing about your health journey and healing through foods. I’m going through my own personal journey at the moment (thyroid issues and have learned that I will have to have a LEEP procedure in December). Wake up call! My body is not the healthiest I want it to be, though I do pick up my produce from the farm directly, etc. I know there are changes and better choices I can make in terms of what I’m putting in (sugars, etc). Anyway, all that to say, I would love to hear more of what you’re doing/have done to heal yourself. Any sources on your research would be awesome, too. Any thoughts on Joel Furhman?

Did you make that baby owl? So cute. I liked all your posts. I am not sure I saw the orthorexia post. Do you mind linking to it? It is an interest of mine. Thanks.

Baby owlie costume!!!! You know how much I love owls. =D

I loved that you posted every day – I wish I had been able to read all of your posts! Still catching up. But two things: 1) The copy of Counterclockwise I requested through the campus library system *finally* arrived TODAY, so I will be joining the BBC next week, and 2) I was hoping to see a raw nut cheese recipe on here, and one on raw cupcakes, too. Hoping you post them before the holidays!!

I made the Freudian Slip! Just sharpie on an old slip (from my honeymoon, HA!)

Here’s what I think about Jillian and veganism: she has said in the past that veganism can be perfectly healthy (Bob is vegan and she supports him), but I think the problem is that Jillian is trying to help a different set of people, and she is afraid that veganism is too “out there” for people coming from a SAD diet with absolutely no nutritional background. Really she is trying to reach people who are just beginning their health journey. And I think she is afraid (probably overly-paranoid) that a person without proper knowledge and resources, would have a really tough time eating a balanced vegan diet on their own. I don’t necessarily agree with her, but that’s the sense I get as to where she’s coming from.

She has said in the past that she eats VERY little meat, and she promotes coconut milk over dairy milk. But she is big on supplements and can be a bit reductionist when it comes to nutrition, so I think she’s just worried about people who are not nutritionally educated and who are coming from a difficult economic place, being able to manage to get all their vitamins and minerals and protein. Does that make sense?

Regarding soy . . . man, I need to do a post on that. My general thoughts are: organic simple soy foods (tofu/tempeh/edamame/soy milk) in moderation. No non-organic soy (it’s GM) and no highly processed stuff (TVP, soy protein powders, soy protein isolate as an ingredient, etc). If I wrote an article on soy, it would read a LOT like this one: http://www.vegfamily.com/health/vegan-soy-information.htm

Hi Amanda, I will definitely be continuing the series on my healing journey! As for sources, honestly I’ll read anything, though i view *everything* with a skeptical eye. But i take it all in, from the primary research and straight up nutrition science, to the woo-woo raw gurus who have no official qualifications, to the Weston Price Foundation . . . from Atkins diets to low-fat-vegan diets and everything in between. I think my training as a scientist has made me pretty good at scrutinizing information, and my bullshit detector is nice and sharp. I always cross-reference and cross reference and look to the science. But yeah, I look *everywhere*! I think that makes me a better student – I don’t only read the stuff that reinforces my preconceived notions.

I adore Dr Furhman and I think his work is stellar. His book “Disease-Proof Your Child” is one of my favorite resources for feeding my bubs. =)

I did make the owl! Though I can’t take credit for the design – it was an Instructable

For the orthorexia stuff, the introductiont to my Great Grand Diet Trial is here, and that’s where I mainly talk about orthorexia in the blogosphere.

honestly? I really enjoyed reading new posts on a daily basis on bonzaiaphrodite! My favorites were the recipes (I’m eating the tahini dip every single day since you posted the recipe), the essays about your diet experiments and the cute pics of Waits:-) Enjoy your week and take a rest!

The borax-free modified one I use is a liquid/gel, which is all over internet.
It’s:
½ cup grated [Castile] soap dissolved in 1 litre of simmering water. Leave to cool for a little bit and stir in ¼ cup of Washing Soda and a ¼ cup baking soda. Stir in 3 litres cold water (I do this in a bucket) and a few drops of Tea Tree Oil (optional for scent, substitutable) and leave to cool and set into a gel. Once set, stir it so it becomes more fluid. I use an old home brewing spoon as it’s big enough, some people find using a ‘stab mixer’ (hand-held blender stick thing) helpful. Transfer to desired container, shake it well before use and use a ¼ cup for a full, not too dirty load.
Note: 1 litre = a splash more than a US quart, or 4 cups.
The recipe is able to be doubled, halved etc.

I prefer using liquid as we mostly cold wash, as hot washing wastes power and is generally unnecessary, and powders sometimes don’t dissolve so well in cold washes and leave a residue. Also, because I rent, our grey water system is pretty makeshift/non-structural, so it means the grey water can go on the fruit trees straight away. I made a small amount of this for a trial run, and it works pretty well in my opinion. You can also pre-soak with it for really grubby stains. And a baking soda paste helps with those stubborn stains, especially on whites.

Thank you so much for the reply! What you said about Jillian definitely makes sense. A post on soy would be great :)

I will miss your daily entries accompanying my morning coffee. It was my (first) treat of the day. But, I’m sure, I will get even more exited about every new post from you. Keep going! (Weiter so! Staying with the German context :-))

You’re totally right, I do sort of naturally go back and forth like that. I guess I’ll keep it up! =D