Being the documentary lover I am, when I heard about this recent one about what’s really in our food, as well as the high cost (to our health) of cheap (in quality and price) food, so I just had to share. It’s another great one you can watch with the whole family. What will you and your family do to support local, fresh and organic growing and eating?
April 22 is designated as Earth Day. We know as Muslims that every day should be dedicated to serving Allah (swt) by doing right by the earth- treating humans, animal and wildlife with respect and using them in the way that our Creator has commanded.
Last month I wrote an article about the award-winning, wonderful documentary, The Cove. The article was published on the Earth Eats blog, a wonderful blog of Indiana Public Media. The Cove, if you aren’t familiar with it, is about the cruel and inhumane dolphin slaughter that occurs every year in a small coastal town in Japan. Additionally, it’s about the pollution of our oceans and ultimately, our fish and seafood. To read my article, click here.
Watch the trailer:
I think it’s wonderful that the world is addressing issues facing our food safety and environmental degradation by dedicating a day to make this an outstanding topic of discussion and action. I’m spending the morning planting more seedlings for my balcony garden, taking a large amount of paper and other recyclables to the recycling bin and putting every bit of leftover food together to make a delicous meal for my family, insha’allah. What will you be doing today that sets a precedent for your children, your family and to help clean up and maintain our precious Earth?
I had a fantastic interview live on my Facebook page with the brilliant food and nature writer Eugenia Bone who edited and contributed recipes and essays for the Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook. You can watch the replay below. We discussed the magical nature of mushrooms of all kinds, their health benefits and culinary delight and how to incorporate them in your diet, even how and where to forage for them.
Below you can watch the trailer of the documentary of the same name, of which Eugenia is also imparting her knowledge and immense wisdom about the magical, fantastic world of fungi you didn’t know you needed to know.
You can get a copy of the Fantastic Fungi Community Cookbook here. There are SO many fantastic recipes in the book and one of the easiest and most simple ones is the Enoki Mushroom Soup recipe that I made and posted here.
Much of the world has been celebrating Christmas season since the beginning of December, but the really special days for those who celebrate are Christmas Eve (December 24th) and Christmas Day (December 25th). Much of society closes down between the late afternoon of Christmas Eve and all day on the 25th for church services, private family dinners and opening gifts. Christmas Day is usually when most stores, shopping malls and many other amenities are closed saved for gas stations and some restaurants. It’s a quiet and peaceful time, which is lovely in and of itself as an observer, but what about when you’re on the outside looking in and not partaking in any of the ceremonial or celebratory engagements?
Well, you can do all sorts of fun things with your family and friends during that time- in fact, it’s a fabulous opportunity to create special memories with your loved ones by doing something you might not otherwise have time to do over the course of a couple of days.
This year, Christmas falls over a weekend so there’s even more time to make it into an extended holiday! Here are just a few examples of ways to spend it:
At the end of the day, any of these quiet time activities can be used to get closer to those you want to spend time with and to create memories that will last a lifetime….
This post was sponsored by Zabiha Halal, a Canadian food company that I’ve come to know and hold in high regard. To follow their updates, you can “like” their Facebook page here and follow them on Twitter here and Instagram here. They also have a lifestyle blog called Living Halal, here. The contents of this post are the sole opinion and expression of Yvonne Maffei of My Halal Kitchen.
I found a pretty remarkable video online that I think really articulates a lot of what I’ve been wanting to share for a very long time, all compiled into a 45-minute piece of staggering information about the connection between sugar with consumer wellness and how industry associations and food manufacturers place it in food products in quantities that are pretty surprising to most consumers.
The Secrets of Sugar is a powerful documentary that discusses the sugar industry, research based on sugar consumption and what consumers are up against when eating the typical diet of processed foods where additional sugar is pretty hidden. They discuss a possible connection between high sugar consumption to fatty liver, diabetes, cancer and even possibly Alzheimer’s.
I’d love to read your comments about this documentary at the end of this post.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended as medical advice. Consult your doctor for further information on this and other wellness topics.