Got Goat?

“Most Americans are surprised to find out that  more people drink goat milk world-wide than any other kind of milk.
The most common misconception about goat milk is that it has a peculiar “goaty” odor or taste. Fresh properly handled goat milk has a delicious flavor and many people cannot distinguish between cow and goat milk. It is considered sweeter, lighter. It is essential to keep it cold - at or under 40 degrees.” (more info at www.redwoodhill.com)

Goat milk’s fat and protein content are easier to digest than cow milk (if you are not a cow). A study of 2000 people who suffered from food allergies found that 43.7% were allergic to cow milk while only 2.5% were allergic to goat milk. (publication by Kathleen G. Gorney)

People with ulcers or other digestive problems have found relief and benefit from drinking goat’s milk. For a milk drinker with skin problems, goat milk is touted as a fix.
This makes sense, if you realize that skin problems often suggest digestive problems.

Goats convert all of the carotene they consume into vitamin A. It is higher in vitamin A and in calcium than cow milk.

For young children and babies who are not breast-feeding, goat milk has been recommended as a better choice than cow milk products or formula milks, having plenty of some key nutrients, such as chloride, biotin, and methionine. It has even been said that cow milk and formula milks, because of the deficiency of these nutrients and because of their triglyceride structure, can set up future sugar dependence, because too much energy is derived from glucose.

So my dear readers, if you suffer from but cannot give up your milk, give goat milk a try.  Let me know how it goes!

Habit Forming - Forming Habits

image by Ron Leishman: http://www.toonclipart.com/

I have always found replacing “bad” habits to be much more feasible than quitting anything. Quitting just leaves a void. Want, need, longing, fury, agitation, frustration - just to name a few - were my new companions in the void. Why not just find something I enjoy to replace the thing I enjoyed but found to be detrimental in some way.  It isn’t so much a question of will power as of energy.  Energy constantly transforms, but it doesn’t go away.  A habit is a pattern of energy.  It is constructive to work with it, creating change and transformation.

During the holidays I found myself inundated with ambivalence about all the sweets and treats I was confronted with constantly at that time of year. What should I do? I was tortured by the ice cream, chocolates, and egg nog. They made me suffer! - I want! I shouldn’t! I mustn’t! I want I want!

Ice cream was always one of my greatest addictions. Great in quality and size and challenge. Recently I have found a substitution which I find full-filling and delightful, leaving me without cravings. I make a shake. Not a milk shake! Young coconut banana shake. Delectable.

1 young coconut - water and meat
1 banana
6 pieces of ice
Blend all ingredients in a blender or vitamix

For instructions on how to open a young coconut, you can search youtube.com or google.com. If you are a beginner, just be very careful!
The consistency of the shake will vary depending on the youth of the coconut - but I find all variations to be yummy.

Good luck and please post questions!

In Hot Water

I finally must speak up about something that has bewildered me for years.  I have seen numerous articles on the most efficient way to heat water for coffee or tea; Is it better to use gas? electricity? the microwave? (Microwave did not score highly overall, by the way) None of them, however, addressed what I term:

The Strange Occurrence of Volume

In the countless homes in which I have been offered countless cups of tea, I notice that the tea kettles were filled to the brim despite the fact that there are only two to four cups of tea, or the one small teapot being planned.

Full kettle.  The wait for the boiling water is endless.  And then, in the end, all that hot water sits in the kettle and becomes cool again.

My tea drinking darlings!  It can be so much easier!

Just put in enough water in your kettle for your current tea drinking needs!  You save energy (whether gas or electric) and time.  You will be surprised how quickly your kettle begins to sing!

Also remember your hot water temperatures for the various kinds of tea.  Boiling water is not so common a necessity as you might think.  Please review my article on water temperature for brewing tea.

The foregoing, however, does not necessarily apply to the world of Chinese tea.  If you are an avid Chinese tea drinker, you probably will want to fill the kettle, but add to your kitchen’s arsenal a large thermos to keep the hot water handy for hours of fragrant green, oolong, white, or black tea.   For more information on Chinese tea, read my article: A Short Introduction to Chinese Tea.

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