New Year’s Eve party ideas are numerous. But why not toast to good health by having organic pot luck to kick off your resolutions! Get a head start on the new health food bill that was passed by the government this week. It pledges to combat food borne illness, but you can do your part by pledging to only use wholesome, organic foods. In this way, the chance of food borne illness is lessened as you are buying from a trusted source.
New Year’s Eve Party Ideas Begin and End with Healthy Living
As the ball is drops in NYC for 2011, and festivities get into full swing all over the country, you can begin a program of healthy living by hosting a party that is replete with organic and sustainable goodies. Chunk out the high saturated fat, high sodium, GMO laced food, and high fructose corn syrup, and welcome a cornucopia of fresh, in-season organic food as part of your resolution to living a naturally healthy life.
Congress has taken notice of the gradual rise in food borne illness brought on by unsafe food handling all across the board. The new Food Safety Modernization Act promises to curtail the rising numbers of deaths associated with faulty food handling, according to Natural News. Although only about 5,000 fatalities from disease such as E.coli are reported, one death is too many. However, it won’t make much of a difference is one does not include organic foods in their diet. So, take the pledge and add fresh, naturally grown foods to your New Year’s Eve party ideas.
A Few Tips for Living Healthy in 2011 – Party Ideas from Your Farmer’s Market
Whether you’re planning some organic brownies with fudge and macadamia nuts, the following tips are designed to keep you healthy as 2011 approaches:
- Buy organic when possible - Markets such as Whole Foods and your local farmers market are good sources for quality earth-grown produce.
- Go green - Yea, you've heard it before, but when your New Year's Eve party ideas include things such as barley, kales, and lentil soup, it is best to source from wholesome products, straight from the Earth, the way nature intended.
- Recycle - You're never too old to recycle. You're probably going to have a mess of trash, so here's a great time to put things back into motion. Take your plastics, aluminum, and glass over to a place that recycles. You'll be glad you did.
- Organic pot luck - It's every man (and woman) for themselves, but the great part is you get to exchange some healthy choice ideas, hopefully all made from organic products.
- Go to the Whole Foods website for more creative ideas in planning your New Year's Eve Party for 2011. It's filled with organic pot luck ideas and recipes.
Above all, have a safe and joyous holiday season!
Comments
Hey Bruce,
Two great articles. Good reads!!! Am recommitting to writing for 2011.
Great to hear from you Celeste. Just do it! Write to life is what I say. Happy New Year my friend.
Bruce:
Can you explain the link between the Food Safety Modernization Act and organic food? As a food scientist, I was unaware that organic food is safer than non organic food. I would think that a journalist would research the facts instead of contributing to the public's confusion regarding nutrition and
food safety. The above looks more like an ad for Whole Foods, than a news piece.
Thanks for your comments Foodie4. As a food scientist, I hope to learn more from your take on how government, spending, organic, and contamination plays an integral part in our everyday lives. The FSMA has far-reaching implications, even beyond the scope of food. As a food scientist, I'm confident that you get the point. Thanks for your comments.
High fructose corn syrup is simply a kind of corn sugar. It has the same number of calories as sugar and is handled the same by the body.
The American Medical Association stated that, “Because the composition of high fructose corn syrup and sucrose are so similar, particularly on absorption by the body, it appears unlikely that high fructose corn syrup contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose.”
According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”
It is a popular misconception that high fructose corn syrup is more ‘processed’ than sugar, fruit juice concentrate, or agave nectar production. In fact, they all go through remarkably similar production methods that aim to refine the raw botanical material into a food grade standard sweetener that can be formulated into a wide range of foods and beverages. Read more at http://bit.ly/gez2Gl.
As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.CornSugar.com.
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association
Thanks for your comments. I plan to set some time aside in the near future to communicate more to you about this area of controversy. Until then, be well.
Bruce, I'm not sure you got foodie4's point. Organic may mean it is fresher, "healthier" and reduced chemicals or no chemicals but is has nothing to do with the "safety" aspects of the food.
You are perpetuating consumer confusion by making broad statements such as "but you can do your part by pledging to only use wholesome, organic foods. In this way, the chance of food borne illness is lessened as you are buying from a trusted source."
Do you have a reference for making a statement such as this? Please don't get me wrong, I buy a lot of organic/ local foods from my co-op., order from my CSA weekly and go to the farmer's markets when I can BUT that does not mean I am disillusioned to think these foods are automatically safer or reduce my risk of food borne illnesses!
Bacteria can be anywhere, a small or large farm. It is really that simple! In fact, ORGANIC BEEF, SPROUTS and EGGS have been recalled in the past 2 years and the peanut butter disaster from a few years ago? Pretty sure that was ORGANIC as well.
I think making statements such as you have with no proof to back it up could be very dangerous, esp. to people that may already have compromised immune systems and need to worry more than they average healthy adult. How do I know? Because I went through chemo and had to become educated on this topic to product my health.
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