Superfood Girl

Peach Tarts & Spring Water Friends -- Episode #2

(Raw / Vegan Peach Tart Recipe coming -- please check back soon!!)  :-D

Spring Water is #1

I'm looking to buy more 5-gallon polycarbonate bottles for storing our water (for drinking), so naturally I do a search on the Internet for: Grants Pass water store...thinking I might find a water store somewhere in my area to get good quality polycarbonate bottles.  This didn't get me very far, so I put "Grants Pass" in quotes, for a similar search.  Apparently, I am THE Grants Pass water store, because Superfood Girl is the #1 link for this search; This doesn't do much for helping me find a water store, but makes me pretty stoked anyway for my blog being number 1 for something!

The reason I am so set on finding more 5 gallon jugs, is because we have been filling up our bottles at the river (as close as possible to the source, so as to avoid contamination).  This water is SO SO radically different than the good quality "filtered" water that we have been using for so long.  For a long time, I have been using Reverse Osmosis filtered water, because as far as filtered water goes, it's pretty much "top of the line."  I think some deep part of me has known that even R.O. (Reverse Osmosis) also isn't "ideal" water, and it isn't what my body really wants for hydration.

This has become increasingly apparent since we have been using living water...coming straight from the river, up in the mountains...not terribly far from where we live.  I know it's living, for a number of reasons...most importantly, it FEELS different.  Have you EVER ingested water that FELT as if it was really doing something for you, and you really were wanting to drink it...not because you were trying to fill yourself up with some quota of "drinking water" for the day?   I now understand what David Wolfe means when he talks about "oily" water...living, spring water has this quality of "heaviness", real density like it's actually performing some sort of vital function on the cells in our body; able to get in and DO something.  I took some AMAZING photos of what this water did in our freezer when we were freezing it into ice-cubes...it made all of these fantastically beautiful patterns of ice crystals; I have NEVER seen ice do this (at least not in a freezer, in ice-cube trays).

I have known for a few years now, of the power of giving different "energies" to water...based on Dr. Masaru Emoto's work, his book "The Hidden Messages in Water," and others.  Dr. Emoto's work has also been discussed in the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" - his basic message is that water "takes on" the energy of whatever energy is put into it.  What kind of structure would water "take on" if it was taken on a beautiful journey...from it's distilled state of falling from clouds to the earth, traveling down waterways fully embracing sunlight, touching the rocks and earth, and through how many vortices?  I'm inspired to say how profound it must be, because I've felt it!

This is a photo of the ice cube tray in the freezer; notice the crystal formations on the shelf ABOVE the tray...now how did that happen?  I've never seen other water/ice do this "jumping" trick.  I'm inclined to do a non-living ice-making experiment, just to remind myself what the ice didn't do before we were getting Rogue river water (we've only been using it for about a month).  This water must be loved...it's jumping for joy!

My experience with this river water makes me really reflect on the whole idea of living water in our plant foods as well.  Most of us are aware of the power of living water through the use of fresh juice...and the profound effect that can have on the body; and it's potential for healing.  I know that plants have a beautiful "structure" all their own (some of which is invisible to us); what kind of journey has living plant water (juice) been through...maybe similar to the journey along the river, vortices and all?

Here is an great video of David Wolfe discussing the power and consciousness of Spring water, and it's fructogenic properties:

Storage & Cookware

I recently received a message from a friend of mine, she says:

"I was hoping you could help me with something... We are planning on taking out all plastic food containers (and non stick pans) out of our house, but are trying to find good containers to store (and microwave) food in. Maybe glass? Do you know of any good ones (or sites) to look at?..."

Glass is definitely ideal when you are talking about food and/or drink storage (including water).  Pyrex is one company that I know of that manufactures glass storage containers for food (with plastic lids...but not to worry, since the lid isn't "touching" the food, it's not too much of a concern).

I'm also a big fan of using mason jars for storing things such as beverages, and soups (that go in the fridge), and dried goods such as nuts, seeds, powders (most of which go in the pantry).  I do have to say, though that I am not a fan of the metal 2-part lids that come with these mason jars.  Luckily, you can often find (in the same aisle of the store) separately sold plastic lids that fit onto these mason jars.  Both the glass jars and the plastic lids are very reasonably priced (even if you decide to "ditch" the accompanying metal lids).

I'm not sure about the "microwave-ability" of mason jars, however.  There are reasons for my not recommending that anyone use a microwave (but, that's a topic for another time)!

As far as mason jars, I usually buy Kerr brand jars (but Ball makes a similar type).  They are both intended for home-made canning goods.  I originally chose Kerr, mostly because they had writing on only one side of the jar...and since I knew that my pantry was going to be jam-packed (no pun intended) with these jars...I didn't want to be looking at a bunch of writing, artwork, and measurements every time I opened the cabinet.  Although most of my jars are Kerr brand, we have since acquired some Ball jars as well (we purchase one of our favorite honeys that happens to be packaged in Ball brand jars).  I'm finding that having a few Ball jars around the house has become useful, because it does have measurements on the side--I can see how much water I'm drinking and adding to recipes (and the little "fruit" artwork on the one side is sort-of cute).

Another decision as far as mason jars, is whether to get "wide mouth" or "regular" jars & lids.  This is more of a personal choice.  I buy the regular, because I'm one of those strange people that can yoga my fingers & hand in such a way to be able to stick my hand in to clean it properly.  I don't think most people can (or even want to) do this; I think most people go with the wide mouth, mostly because they are easy to clean.

It's almost a joke in the raw-food community...if you've ever been to any kind of raw-food event you probably know what I am speaking of:  So many people carry their drink around with them, it's usually either a mason jar, or a glass jar from what once was a superfood container...and the beverage in it might be water, but more likely some sort of superfood concoction.  This is always a fun conversation topic, "What's in your jar?"

As you can probably guess, glass is just not practical all of the time (and honestly can get quite pricey, when you start investigating non-mason-jar glass storage ware).  There are actually a few of good quality plastic-ware options out there, that is unless you are totally against it.  I avoid almost completely the VERY low quality plastics such as the kind you find water in on the store shelf (thin, flimsy, opaque looking white, not-so-clear).  I have to be in a real "pinch" for water to be motivated to buy those--plus you don't know how long they've been sitting on the shelf, and if it's been in the sunlight, or heat; these are the things that contribute to "leaching" of plastic into the water...not cool by me (you can even taste it, yuck)!

Sometimes glass just is not practical, such as when you're at the beach, or the pool.  Even for home use, there are some pretty good options for storing food in plastic-ware.  If I were to pick one really good high-quality plastic-ware to recommend to someone, it would be Rubbermaid's "Stain Shield."  If I am not mistaken, it is polycarbonate plastic.  Polycarbonate which, is currently debated in the health community to be a "safe" choice; still most people consider it to be a good choice; but there are viewpoints supporting both sides of this issue.  I personally have no problem with it; my Vita-Mix happens to be made of the same material (my Vita-Mix is my most important piece of kitchen "hardware").  I feel intuitively that the "harder" plastics, such as polycarbonate, and "Nalgene" are better choices than softer, more opaque plastics.

I'm not personally, nowhere near "beyond" using ALL opaque plastics...there are some fairly good quality ones that I own and use.  It is important however, that whenever using plastics (especially opaque ones) to please keep them out of the sun, and out of the heat.  As I've said before, sun and heat encourage "leaching" of the plastic, which is what we all want to avoid.

As far as cookware, I definitely avoid using any non-stick.  I own a really nice set of stainless-steel cookware that I have had for many years, and it has served me well.  If you want to get really fancy, invest in a nice set of glass cookware.  I own one glass pot, and I absolutely love it--I swear the food is quite different coming out of that pot.  It is pretty cool, too...to see your food cooking from the outside of the pot.

Good on you for wanting to make a "Greener" kitchen!  High quality glassware (or plastic-ware) will last you a long time; it's nicer (better quality), certainly more eco-friendly...and great for your family as well.

Happy Storing!   :-)

Water Store, Anyone?

It is a high priority to me, when moving to a new area, to scope out the "locale" in search of a good water store.  Most of us know that tap water isn't acceptable for drinking; heaven knows what they are putting in it these days.  The vending macine type water filtration devices are a step up...(maybe?), but it still isn't what I am going for.  Being interested in health, I can't help but have an interest in the purity of the water that my family uses for drink and food-prep.

The water store phenomenon is really catching on, actually...for those of you who haven't heard of it.  In many areas there are water stores sprouting up all over the place.  I love it!  Pretty much wherever I go, there is a water store waiting there for me!

Luckily, when we last moved (the end of this June...just a couple of months ago), I found a water store in Vista (California) that had just opened; their opening day being my scheduled move-in date, coincidentally!  Since then, I have also been so lucky as to have made friends with the lovely family who owns the business.

Their store is properly outfitted with all of the essentials; crocks, water coolers (which dispense hot as well as cold), every kind and size container you could imagine, and of course...the water!  (Ice too)

All right, we all know that we want clean water...but the idea behind a water store is that (at least this one) the filtration system is so good...probaby the BEST.  The system has quite a hefty price tag, so it's not likely that we are going to be outfitting our homes with this kind of system anytime soon.   The machinery is actually VERY LARGE, it pretty much takes up an entire room!  It's an 8-step filtration process including both pre and post coconut carbon filters, a .002 micron membrane Reverse Osmosis filter(R.O. for short, that many of us are familiar with), a U.V. sterilization process, an analog water meter with TDS reading (total dissolved solids)...and others.

Okay...a little technical, but the real "get-me" is in the taste.

I definitely prefer getting my water this way, even to high quality bottled waters...bottled water is pricey, and it's sitting on the store-shelf in less than excellent quality plastic (I'm not hot on the idea of this plastic leaching into my water).  Yeah, given the choice...I'd gladly make the initial investment in a crock (for dispensing the water, $21), and a couple of nice polycarbonate 5 gallon containers (roughly $12 a piece), to fill them up at 25 cents a gallon.

How nice to have a fun family outing once a week to greet a local business-family and fill up our bottles with the best water I know available.  Sounds like a good deal to me...maybe even the best deal ever!

So, if you live in the North San Diego County area, and you are looking for a water store, or at least want to check it out and have a taste, here it is:

AGUA PURA  (off of the 78 FWY and Sycamore Ave.)

750 Sycamore #E

Vista, CA  92083

(760) 727-2661