December 2008

Monthly Archive

Truvia

Posted by admin on 28 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Food Manufacturing, Health and Fitness

We have been trying out the new “Truvia” for the past few days and this is what we have found…

First of all, Truvia isn’t new, Truvia is 3 grams of Erythritol, and sugar alcohol and trace amounts of stevia. Cargill is the main manufacturer of Erythritol and it is a very expensive ingredient as compared to table sugar.  It’s been used in the food industry since 1990.

We did find that there was a really nasty before taste and after taste.  The “before” taste was when we inhaled over the hot food.  The aftertaste lasted for about an hour and most found it unpleasant.

We also found that if “Truvia” was used as a replacement for sugar on a one to one, there was gas and diarrhea even though all the literature says that erythritol can’t cause these side effects if taken at 1 gram per killogram of body weight.  Now our family gets about 40 grams of fiber per day, which means that it takes a lot for us to have gastric side effects to anything, and its pretty weird that we only had that reaction when we used the sweetener.

We are pressing forward, even though the kids won’t consume the Truvia Sweetener, they just say it tastes bad and compare it to Splenda.

Thanks for letting me rant!

d

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Inflation and Recession

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Health and Fitness

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Did you know that in May of 2007, Large Grade A Eggs at Sam’s were .06 per egg. Did you know that just last week, Large Grade A Eggs at Sam’s were .15 per Egg? That is an increase of 150%, in 7 months! Did you know that since May of 2007, my family budget for groceries and gas (and I’m only talking about a compact car and a family sized vehicle) has increased by $200.00 per week, but my salary has not increase at all? Economist need to be whacked on the back of the head with a check-book. I hear them all the time on the news channels saying, “We are not going through a slow-down, we are not heading for a Recession. Inflation is under control, Cost of Living is keeping up with everything except housing, food and gas.” HELLO…isn’t that what makes the world go round for those of us who are not giving millions to a little white dog? So how do we live through this? First we have to look at the cause of the problem. Some of the problem is the Mortgage Crises, that is for sure. And what makes this such a problem. Pres. Bush this morning in his press conference said, “This industry isn’t like it use to be, it’s complicated now. It use to be when you were having problems with your mortgage payments, you could call your banker and work something out. But a few years ago, some financial genius said, “hey, lets put all these mortgages in a bundle and sell them as securities!”, so that’s what happened. When you sell Mortgages as a bundle and as investments, then it’s open to foreign markets. So now, we have Foreign investors that are holding the mortgage notes to American homes. You can’t pick up your phone anymore and talk to your banker and explain what is happening in your life, you have to address a board of foreign investors. Another thing people don’t understand is that with Foreign money owning our loans, homes and lands, we as US citizens lose our leverage in the world market. Greed motivates everything! So we have Foreign Investors that are buying up huge Family Farms that grow a large amount of food. What happens when there is a world food crises? Is the food the local farmer works all day to produce going to stay here and feed us? NO, it’s going to go overseas to the owner of the property. A wise man once told me, Earn a Dollar, Save a Quarter, Pay a Quarter, Tax a Quarter, Give a Dime, Eat a Nickle and Spend a Pennie, .10 left for all that’s fine. A Budget is what he is talking about, and I know that it’s tough, especially when cost’s are out of control. So how do you stay within the budget? First you have to take fixed expenses and pull them out of your income. Mortgages, Utilities, Bank notes. Then you have to take those things that are not fixed but considered “luxuries” like cable tv, subscriptions and impulse items and cut them out of the equations. You have to eat, and everyone should have a food budget. If you are eating out, you’ll need to cut back or stop completely. I have to say that until you really look at your budget, you never know just how much you are spending on “stuff”. My husband was going to Jamba Juice every day for lunch. Out of our family budget, just on Jamba Juice alone, in one year, he spent 2,700.00…Ouch! I went on line and bought some of the items that he liked in the smoothies, I bought a special blender (19.00 at Walmart) and now he spends maybe 100.00 per year in there. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jamba, but 2,700.00 a year for one person to spend on just a “lite” lunch is a little much! Also, cut back on running around using gas. In this “Green” age, we really need to plan better on where and how we are going places. I can walk to my local grocery store, but the prices there are high and the selection is not very good. On Fridays, my company processes orders that are delivered UPS. Since we don’t have a UPS pick-up come to our business, we go down to Idaho Falls to drop off our orders. The orders are usually big, so we take a large vehicle. We plan our shopping around these orders, and also any business that needs to be conducted at the same time. That way, Mom gets to see civilization and street lights, get the shopping done, the banking done, the hospital visits and family visits and maybe, if she’s lucky, a movie! All in one trip and I can rest for the rest of the week. I love to cook, so needless to say, our grocery shopping is for raw items. We don’t eat processed foods at my house, because I can make anything from scratch, which means its fresh and flavored to our tastes. I make big meals, then I split the meal and freeze the other half. It takes less time and effort to cook the left-over saving me not only clean up, but energy costs as well. Plan ahead…defrost, don’t microwave! With Christmas around the corner another good tip is, don’t do the predictable! Make Christmas…put some thought into it! My daughter just made her friend a Broncos Blanket. She found the fabric on line and did everything herself, and she is just 14! His room was in Bronco style so she decided to add to it. He loved it! One year, my girls made all kinds of goodies, dipped chocolates, family recipes of candies, soft drinks and pastries. All their friends and the neighbors loved it and are asking if they are going to get the same thing this year! Christmas isn’t about the money, at least it’s not suppose to be. It should be about sacrifice of a different sort, and love. You may also want to think about other things that cost money but can be made just as well at home…lotions, soaps, washing soaps, laundry soaps, perfumes(yes, I’ve made those too and they are wonderful!), dog biscuits and so forth, you’d be surprised how much money you can save! These are just a few suggestions, that and…please, please, live within your means. If you are single, make sure you have a saving account that you don’t touch for any reason except for emergencies. Make sure that you save your money every time you get paid. If you are married, live on one salary and save the other for things you can dump if you need to, that way if anything happens you can still afford to have a home, eat and pay for heat. Don’t use your credit cards. If you have credit cards, don’t carry them with you. If you use your credit cards, use them like a debit card and put the amount you spent in your check register and pay the bill off every month. It’s okay to have credit…just don’t use it, you know the bank will want that money back and it’s not free! If you have children, let them understand money. It’s okay to tell you kids that you don’t have the money to spend on something they want, as long as you give them the opportunity to understand what the money is going to pay for…this way when they get out on their own, they understand what it is to pay bills and save without getting into trouble. Thanks for letting me rant! d

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Economic Woes of the US

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Health and Fitness, Idaho Politics, International Politics, National Politics

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I don’t know about any body else, but today’s economy is scary! Last year, my husband and I toyed with the idea of moving to another house or building.  We looked at housing in the area…Subdivisions were being built all over this place.  Generally the smaller homes, like what we started out with, not built very well, usually by contractors that couldn’t stay in school or couldn’t get a job doing anything else.  The construction for the most part was shoddy at best, but the houses were flying off the shelf, so to speak, and these little contractors which are a dime-a-dozen around here, most not even licensed or registered, were making money hand-over-fist. The Real Estate magazines were small and there were very few houses available. I even signed up for Foreclosure lists, and found that only 3 houses were listed as foreclosures in my area and about 15 in the Idaho Falls area. The difference between now and a year ago is stark at best! 166 foreclosures in a single zip code in Idaho Falls in one month, and these are not the shoddy built homes…these are homes that are over 300,000.00 to over 1 million. The Real Estate magazines are huge!  You can get Vacations, Cars, Furniture as come-ons to buy these houses now. I looked at foreclosures over in Western Idaho and most of them were brand new, never been lived in homes.  $300,000.00 to 1.6 Million. I lived in Houston Texas during the Savings and Loan dive of 87′, and I got to tell you, it’s here again! Most of these problems were caused by Greed.  The generation that is coming up is into immediate gratification, which has huge implications and impact on their financial futures. They have to have the perfect home, the perfect furniture, the perfect SUV, the perfect town car, the perfect truck.  They have to have all the toys, all the appliances, the personal treatments, the vacations…they have to have all the luxury-RIGHT NOW!  Forget about years of working, investing and saving to be able to afford the “good life”. This has been a hard lesson, now that they have run up such a huge debt that they are now losing everything and having to move back in with Mom and Dad.  The problem with that is that they are bringing all their baggage with them. Money management been a hard lesson for my kids.  They were all required to have checking accounts and savings accounts early in life.  They had to earn the money they were paid.  They were required to give 10% of their gross to a charity and 20% had to be put into a savings account they couldn’t touch unless it was for health, school or a house.  They were not allowed to ask for advances on their pay or ask for “Credit”, they were required to save their money and then purchase what it was they wanted, giving them time to assess their wants verses their needs. Most have turned out to be misers.  One still doesn’t do money well, but at least she learns to do without because she knows that she was responsible for her financial decisions. The credit problems that this nation has is like all the other problems this nation has.  We are a nation of over-indulger’s.  We never seem to get enough, and when we do have enough, we don’t save for a rainy day, we seem to just throw it away.  This attitude not only has affected the US housing market, it has affected the credit balance of our nation, our health and obesity rates, landfills and environment, and human life.  Compassion and charity have no place in this society, conservation and restraint are idea’s in the minority and civility and ethics seems to be extinct. If we don’t start teaching our children that this type of societal lifestyle is detrimental…then our children are destined for attitudes of entitlement, greed, desensitization and non-remorseful  aggression toward others. The housing market bubble was people greedy for all they could get.  The housing market bust is a reminder that  “pride cometh before a fall” and that conservative living may be inconvenient and frustrating at times, but is better then regret you can never make right, loss you can never regain and humiliation or sorrow you can never overcome. Thanks for letting me rant! d

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Battell’s Nuclear Policies

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Criminal Acts, Idaho Politics, International Politics, National Politics

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October 1st, 2007, Diestie Savage wrote on the INL Fire Department and the hiring procedures of the DOE contractor, Battell, who has just been given the highest safety award offered by the DOE recently. Are you kidding? What the General Public didn’t know was that since Battell hired their new Fire Chief, the Idaho Nuclear Lab has had three safety accidents in 1 month. All the participants were interviewed and the training reviewed and found sub-standard under this new Fire Chiefs watch. Could it be that because he had no business being hired in the first place that these three people were injured? Could it be because Battell’s management policies are enormously flawed that a NATIONAL NUCLEAR SITE has a Fire Chief, the first line in Safety, that isn’t QUALIFIED for that position? I don’t know about the rest of the nation…but I am extremely uncomfortable with the fact that a non-qualified Fire Chief has been put in charge of a Nuclear Facility, and in his first month of duty, has had three accidents that injured three workers. Unbelievably incompetent! We as taxpayers shouldn’t allow this to happen. The DOE (Department of Energy) shouldn’t let this happen, and most of all Battell Inc. shouldn’t allow these policies to continue especially since they are dealing with a National Nuclear Facility! Thanks for letting me rant! d

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Gravel Pits not only ruin the landscape, they invite Terrorists to our Water.

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Criminal Acts, Health and Fitness, Idaho Politics, International Politics, National Politics

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My husband and I decided to take a drive the other day through the area we live in.  We have put some land up for sale and a house and went to take a look at the market. Just last month alone, in one zip code, there were 166 new forclosures listed.  Idaho has had such a strong market for the past 4 years that the difference is noted. In the small town of Rigby Idaho, in less than one year, the city taxes have doubled and are twice as high as Jefferson County taxes. We have real estate down by the Snake River that is beautiful.  We bought it with the aspirations of building our dream home there.  The large trees by the river are home to Bald Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks, Canadian Geese and Ducks.  It also plays a role in the deer population as well. We bought 10.99 acres a year ago to build our dream house on, unfortunately, this spring a development group bought out the 100 acre farm across the street and decided to put in a 100 acre gravel pit. The whole area fought the decision in Planning and Zoing meetings and with the County Commissioners.  There were elderly people that brought their health personel with them to the hearings and begged the County Commissioners not to allow the gravel pit to go in.  The Health Professionals told the county commmissioner that if the gravel pit went in, that their patients would “die” because of their lung problems and health.  The Bonneville County Commissioners allowed this huge gravel pit to go it, despite the fact that they know this will affect the health of their constituents. I submitted evidence of the concerns of EPA and the Environmental Commission for the State of Idaho, but it made no impact at all on these men. Despite the pleas of local constituents and the threat of lawsuits for Criminal Intent on those who will have their health affected, The Bonneville County Commissioner gave their blessing to the Gravel Pit Company.  Petitions were signed, attorneys were retained…it was clear and obvious to the Bonneville County Commissioners that the “voice of the people” was against the gravel pit…but in Bonneville County, it’s not the “voice of the people” that lays presidece, it’s power, it’s money and it’s greed. Idaho is the gravel pit for the west…Idaho, the once pristine and beautiful mesa area by the Bitter Root mountains has now been lowered to a measly gravel pit because of the greed and lack of vision by local authorities. I was the transportation commissioner for a municipality at one time.  I took my job seriously, so I called the retired transportation commission for the state of California for help.  He gave me some wise advise…he said…”look at all the problems that we are having here in California.  We didn’t plan, We came and squatted and developed where ever we wanted, and because of our poor planning…we can’t get to work, we can’t get home, we can’t evacuate very easily anywhere, we can’t breathe, we can’t drink fresh water, we don’t have enough power for everyone in the heat of summer.  Learn from our mistakes.  Idaho is a beautiful area, you need to plan and plan well to keep it pristine…and with all the greedy developers from this area and other over developed states moving up there, Good Luck!  Developers don’t care about the future of the area…they aren’t the ones that are going to end up living there.  They will go in, develop, get their money and move on…like Locust.  Insects don’t think, they act on instinct, they devour, they proliferate and then they die.  Give them strict guidelines and make them do what is right for all the people.  Step out of line just once, just once give in to their way, and they will chew down the walls that hold the rights of the people and devour anything you hold precious that happens to be in their way for the sake of money and their own egos.” Well said my friend, well said. Thanks for letting me rant! d

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Manufacturers Need To Create More With Functional Foods

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Food Manufacturing, Health and Fitness

I had a meeting the other day with an Ice Cream Executive.  We were talking about marketing and what to do with today’s foods.  He has an Ice Cream Store and he is best friends with a guy that owns a Jamba Juice.  He said that Jamba Juice is the fastest Up and Coming in the US market because they offer “health”.  “How do I compete with that?” Manufacturers have to start making their food more functional, period! Gelato is the best kept secret of the ice cream world.  Gelato is low in fat, and if you use a natural, low glycemic sweetener, its a wonderful treat that won’t come back to haunt you or your kids later in life. Jamba Juice can offer fiber and whole fruits, even vegetables in a raw form, which is far better and far more functional in fighting disease than McDonald’s shakes…obviously a better and healthier choice, but not far to compromise when you are negotiating with kids and their taste buds. I offered some advise for this executive and business owner…develop your products with less fat and low glycemic natural sweeteners like The Original SugarBlend or SweetR Gourmet.  Put your product in cones that are not only tasty, but high in protein and fiber like FlourBlend.  Put some function in the treats that your are delivering to the public. I had to laugh when the business owner said, “With the problems of Obesity in this nation, it’s a little hard to encourage them to come in and have a bowl of ice cream!”  So make it a functional treat! Ice cream stores don’t need to market soups or salads are anything like that to sell their passion, but they can add function to their menu. I had an uncle that is very into health issues.  When I told him that I was developing alternatives to processed foods, that were all natural and low glycemic he said… “you shouldn’t even be thinking about giving these people alternatives, they just need to stop consuming those products!” I told him that I am a mother, so I understand how hard it is to compete with the food industry and peer pressure.  I found it a much better way to compromise then to dictate to.  I cook with Whole Wheat Flour and add lots of fiber.  I cook with prune puree to replace fat and some of our ButterBlend which influences the thyroid and the metabolism(But cooks and tastes like Butter!).  I do a lot of compromising in the kitchen in order to give my family the taste they want, the texture they can deal with and the function that I demand for their health. My kids don’t eat ice cream…they eat Gelato, home made and with real fruit and low glycemic sweeteners (SweetR and SugarBlend).  If they get a cone, it’s made the old fashioned way with whole grains and nut flours…which sets the flavor of the Gelato off even more.  They don’t get Gelato every day, maybe a cone every couple weeks, they don’t eat treats everyday…but when they do get a treat, I make sure that it functions in their body to make them healthy and strong. Thanks for letting me rant! d

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Horses or Zebras?

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Criminal Acts

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There is a saying in diagnostics, “if it sounds like a herd of horses running, look to make sure they’re not Zebras”… In other words, don’t look or only see the obvious, it could be something else… This is not only true for disease, but in life itself. I have worked as a formulary for over 20 years, locked away in my little confined space, reading, researching, experimenting, looking at not only the obvious, but probing the unusual also. When I leave my confined space and go out into the community, I forget all about the parameters that are set in the work space…and that is when I get into trouble. We had a man that sought our company out in 2003, shortly after we had released a very nice product. This man came into our small company promising business expertise and so forth. We were cautious and would sign no agreement with him, hired our own business manager with a MBA, tried to do those things that are right, but, even that didn’t help. This man stole company checks from us, stole the managers social security number and name from company documents, he and his wife opened a commercial account in a name similar to our company, used the managers social security number and name, signed off the back of the checks in our company name and took the money. Then he came back and is trying to sue for 49% of our company and all of my formulas saying that he is “owed” it. Don’t worry, we paid a bunch of money to protect ourselves from him and the Idaho State Bank that allowed him to do all of this. It’s such a shame, to be victims of what is suppose to be federal crimes, and still have to pay and pay and pay again in order to protect yourself, your life works, and your home from people who don’t understand how to work but who know how to intimidate others with physical threats so as to avoid prosecution. Do you know that the FBI sent a directive out in the Spring of 2005 stating that if a bank fraud case is not worth 300,000.00, that they are not to pursue it, so if you steal 299,000.00 from a bank using the same methods, I guess the FBI doesn’t have to get involved, somebody is just SOL. Ed Wilton and his wife, Kelley as we will call them, seemed to be nice people, good people, wanting to help and be kind, but as you can see, they’re Zebras. Idaho being the back water state it is, is slow to press anything against these people. Mr Wilton and his wife have done this to at least 3 other companies in the state of Idaho. Why are they not pursued? Mr. Wilton has at least 10 million dollars in the bank, although the IRS can’t seem to find it as Mr. Wilton put the money in other peoples accounts, runs a pornography business, which isn’t illegal unless it is kiddie porn, which he is also suspected of (but the witnesses keep disappearing), runs fly-by-night finance businesses that seem to go bankrupt every other month, has other homes in other states that he runs to when the Prosecuting attorney here decides he doesn’t like him. However, Mr. Wilton was arrested recently for stealing Internet services from the local “Rape Crisis Center”, I believe he called them “A bunch of whining babies”. The Rape Crisis Center has said that Mr. Wilton has often threatened the women that work and visit the office. Can you say “low life predator?”. Allegedly, Mr. Wilton, his wife Kelley and Mr. Wilton’s other brothers, run the largest Escort Service in the US, called U.S. Leggs, which caters to all our State, Local and Federal Officials. Mr. Wilton has his girls take our politicians back to their rooms, which are wired with sound and cameras, have sex and afterwards, Mr. Wilton and his partners blackmail our leaders in order to run their prostitution rings, drug rings, and allow criminals to go without jail time when they get caught, because they work for Mr. Wilton. (Mr. Wilton has bragged several times about the fact that he not only has a US Attorney in his pocket, but also a couple of State Supreme Court Justices.) We knew nothing about any of this activity with Mr. Wilton, until the State Police knocked on our door one day with Mr. And Mrs. Wilton’s criminal file under their arms. The local authorities have not arrested Mr. And Mrs Wilton for identity theft, fraud or forgery, patent theft, extortion, racketeering or some of the other crimes he and his wife is suspected of, because they are afraid of Mr. Wilton’s connections to the State of Idaho, and being federal crimes, they don’t want to step on anyones toes. Unfortunately, the Federal Government doesn’t have time to clean up the streets of the US and save our own community from these kinds of terrorists that are home-made and aggressive in other ways, who’s sole intention is to bankrupt and steal any idea’s or company that may offer good jobs or benefits to our own hardworking citizens. The moral of our story to you is…they may look like good, honest, kind and benevolent people. They may say that they are only trying to help…they may look like horses, but before you get involved, better give them a good wash and make sure you see their true stripes before you get your saddle! Idaho is a good hiding place for all kinds of criminals if they can work themselves into our religious community, which, according to the FBI, they do. Idaho is not sophisticated in any way and their attitude is unguarded for the most part, they haven’t had to deal with white collar crime as much here, or the sophistication of that kind of crime. If you want to clean up our country from people like this, call your local, state and Federal officials,make sure that the banking laws in your state protect your business from anything like this happening again. Idaho is only one of four states that allow this type of banking, make sure your state is protecting you!!! Now-a-days, it can happen to anyone!

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The Legal System is for Sale!

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Idaho Politics, National Politics

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The Legal System is for SALE! You know, over the past few years, we have had to protect ourselves from the big bad wolves of this world in the court system, and I’ve got to tell you, there is a reason good people get stepped on in this country. You know the saying, “The Golden Rule; if you have the gold, then you rule!”…it’s true. First of all, a guy steals a 18,000.00 check from our company and deposits it into his bank, first using my husband’s name and social and a company name that is similar to ours. His secretary ratted him out and let us know. We go down to the bank, the bank manager gives us all the paperwork the guy gave him and says “we didn’t do anything wrong!”. Later the police arrive, and low and behold, the bank records have changed. The man and his wife opened an account under their names…but the check is still our property. The bank turns around and sues us! The District Attorney says, “well, I know it’s wrong but you’ll need to hire a Private Detective to follow this, and when you have the proof of wrong doing, give us the evidence and we will pursue it”. Hello? And what to do I pay taxes for? Why should I have to do your job? Why should I have to pay someone else to do your job? Isn’t taking a company check that doesn’t belong to you theft? We paid through the nose, only to have the District Attorney in Bonneville County, Idaho Falls Idaho, turn his nose up at us, because the guy that stole the check, has done this before and has amassed a 10 million dollar fortune doing it. It doesn’t matter that the money didn’t belong to him. It didn’t matter that this man has thumbed his nose at the law…it only matters that the former prosecuting attorney for the City of Idaho Falls(who is now doing time for this exact thing), was a really good friend of his and could manipulate the system in his favor. Now, on to the next thing. Back in the 1800’s, the Call family settled here in Rigby Idaho and dug the irrigation ditches all around this valley. they had livestock pasture, hay fields, grain fields, every form of farming. They had neighbors that they sold land to, and the neighbors had livestock and hay fields and everyone helped each other and everyone put gates between the fields, so they could help each other. The big farm was sold in 1972, and the smaller portion remained with 2 acres belonging to a friend of the family. Remnants of the Call family stayed on to manage the farm and asked the family friend for an easement across his land to move cattle and equipment. The friend said yes, if the easement was mutual. The Call’s put a 16′ gate from their property to the public road, and the family friend put a 5′ gate to the West so the Call’s could move their cattle to their north field, and a 16′ gate to the South for equipment and livestock to get out to the public road. In 1991, we moved here to Rigby and bought a small house. The house sat on ½ an acre in the city, but there was another ½ acre behind our property that was used to farm. The man that bought the house next to us, moved in only a few months before. he was a great guy and we all got along. He was older and sometimes needed help to get things done in the field behind us. We were obliged to do so, and he helped us out too. On Sundays, he would go to Mass and we would go to our church, and afterwards, about 4:30pm we would have him over for Sunday dinner. His health started to fail in 1992 and the Call family was still using the easement. Our neighbor liked his fences done right, so he built new fences and brought all the material through the easement gates, along with his truck camper, which he kept behind our house property. We used the property to board horses, and the payment was to help keep the property, and help him with some of his other chores. As our neighbors health failed, we asked him if we could buy the ½ acre property that we were helping him with. We closed on the property in 1996 after using it for 4 years. So we have this easement that was only recorded between neighbors and friends, but it’s been there since 1973 and used consistently. In walks a developer. He buys the 80 acres of land that surrounds us and walks all over the town’s people, demanding things be his way,…just a real gem of a guy, not from around this area, so he doesn’t really care what sacrifices have been made to get the City to this point. He used to be a developer for CalEd and likes Eminent Domain, and encourages government and businesses to use that method. This is a guy that is use to getting his way, no matter who or what he hurts in the process. (He has partners, One is a Real Estate Broker, One is a Judge in the area, One is a farmer turned developer, and one is involved with both insurance and real estate) This time his gets some opposition…people are demanding that he go by the law and ordinances. He and his partners can’t stand the scrutiny, so he sells the project to a poor, dumb farmer who won the lottery (one of the first one’s to win the PowerBall in Idaho) and doesn’t know what to do with his money. The Lottery winner isn’t much better. He and his wife come to my home to discuss our easement (which cuts right through the front of the development). His wife looks me in the eye as she is eating a piece of very expensive gourmet cheesecake I had brought in, and says, “If you don’t do what we want you to do, we aren’t gonna be to friendly to ya.” Come into my home, and threaten me? Your threatening me for being here first and living a life? So the developer puts the easement on the Registered Plat…Registered in the City, County and State of Idaho. We are doing okay for three years. We have our excavator of 10 years going in and out of the gate, maintain the back lot, cleaning all the manure up from the livestock, pushing and turning the mulch from years before. We have the Hay Farmer deliver hay 3 times a year through the gate so that we can feed our livestock. Then one day, the developer sells the lot with our easement on it, and they (The Developers Son-in-Law and Realtor) build a house, right over the top of our easement. Our excavator can’t come in this spring to clean the manure…which makes it smell really nice back there. Our Hay Farmer, can’t deliver hay so that we can feed our animals. So, it’s court time. First the judge asks for a $2500.00 TRO bond. We take it out of our savings, and pay in cash. The judge issues the TRO, but then in the preliminary hearing, he raises the bond amount to 15,000.00 BECAUSE WE ARE DAMAGING THEIR PROPERTY. THEY PUT A HOUSE ON OUR EASEMENT THAT THEY PUT ON THE REGISTERED PLAT!!! Tell me…who out there can raise $15,000.00 cash that lives in a little town, in a little house, with little of anything because someone is just mean and malicious and wants to own everything he can put his little puny brain to? So we go to get a Bond, but guess what…they tell us we don’t have enough liquid assets to get a bond. The Surety Company tells us that an Injunction Bond is not for the “Average School Teacher” type, and that normally “people” can’ get these type of securities, only companies or those with at least 150,000.00 cash can get a 15,000.00 Bond. (CNA Surety Company) Then to add insult to injury…there is a drive by shooting in a town not to far away. They catch the guys and their bond is less than ours! And WE ARE THE VICTIMS!!! (If you would like to write to the judge, it’s the District Court in Jefferson County Court House, Rigby Idaho, 83442) I think this court system is messed up….For the people, By the people…only the rich people. America, the land of the free? I don’t think so, we pay and we pay dearly, for justice, cause most of us can’t afford to defend ourselves. For Freedom, most of the guys defending this country are from the working class, we pay the highest price for these “entitled” Yahoo’s to have the freedom to screw us over. Most country’s go through a number of revolutions ’cause the working class get fed up with being treated like a punching bag. We had a revolution once…I think it time for another one. We need to kick out all the politicians and judges and start all over again. Freedom and Justice use to be affordable for all of us in America. The Working Class use to have a lot of power, but now the rich and the entitled have taken over and if you don’t have money…you don’t have anything!!! Thanks Madam Justice…you have been so fair to all of those working class citizens who put food on your table and a county to live in!

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Glycemic Index

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Food Manufacturing, Health and Fitness

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So what is the big deal about dieting, diabetes and Carbs these days? This is a big question that I get all the time. The big deal is this. Carbohydrates have not been defined by the FDA. And even if they are defined as to “what” they are, there is no way of telling what they “do”, with out a blood test, and most manufacturers do not want to pay for Glycemic Indexing of their products. According to the Calorie Control Council, a recent national survey shows that more than 163 million American adults consume artificially sweetened, low-calorie foods and beverages !” nearly double the number a decade ago. This wave of calorie consciousness has resulted in an exploding demand for low-calorie foods and beverages !” what has been referred to as the “light revolution”, typically because they’re trying to limit calories or because they have diabetes. There was a study done recently on SugarFree Candybars. Two candy bars are eaten by a panel of 10 to 25 people. The Glycemic Index. Or the rise of the blood sugar was almost the same in the “Sugar Free” candy bar, as in the one made with sugar. So does it make sense to eat the Sugar Free Candy Bar that not only tastes waxy, but also gives you gas and diarrhea, then to eat the one with Sugar? No. Just because something says Sugar Free does not mean that it is low in calories or that will not raise your blood sugar. Studies over the past 15 years have proven that sugar alcohols can cause gastrointestinal symptoms ranging from mild stomach discomfort to severe diarrhea. Symptoms can occur with intakes as little at 10 to 20 grams (1 or 2 pieces of sugar-free candy). For this reason, a few products, which are likely to cause someone to ingest 50 grams or more of sorbitol, are required to carry a label reading, “Excess consumption may have a laxative effect.” Still, there are no concerns about long-term ill health effects of sugar alcohols. The sugar alcohol has half the calories as sugar, and still will raise your blood sugar, so it isn’t wise to use it if you are trying to keep control of your glucose levels. Aspertame or Equal is made with the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic Acid and then with wood alcohol, you know, the poison stuff! A significant number of people have reported suffering ill effects as a result of aspartame consumption, this includes headaches, mood swings, changes in vision, nausea and diarrhea, sleep disorders, memory loss and confusion, and convulsions. Aspartame appears to be especially dangerous for children. *”Aspertame(NutraSweet): Is It Safe? H.J. Roberts, The Charles Press, 1990 People with PKU or phenylketonuria need to avoid Aspertame(NutraSweet or Equal) but also people with iron defidincies and kidney disease, diabetes and pregnat women, should also avoid any product made with Aspertame. You can go to the following link to find more FDA information on Aspertame and its approval process. <a href=”http://www.dorway.com/97recall.html.” target=”_blank”>http://www.dorway.com/97recall.html.</a> Is Spenda any different? We wonder that also since the studies could not be completed since the Rats refused to eat the product, so the clinical trials had to be halted. There is so much information on the dangers of Sucralose we will live you a link to the site with the most information so you can decided for yourself. <a href=”http://www.foodanddiet.com/NewFiles/splenda.html” target=”_blank”>http://www.foodanddiet.com/NewFiles/splenda.html</a> I have had many clients that have said that as long as they used the sugar substitutes on the market, they could never get their blood sugar under control. It would be better to have the Sucrose in your diet than the stuff that is artificial! Even as a manufacturer of SugarBlend, it is our advise to cut back on sweets. Teach your children and grandchildren this way of life; Eat whole grains, whole foods, drink clean water and exercise your whole life, and live better! It is our belief at Home Blend Gourmet, LLC (HBG) that everything we consume affects our health. As we enter the 21st century, studies indicate a constant degradation in the quality of health. We are surrounded by fast and processed foods lacking the vibrant nutrition found in nature around the world. HBG is poised to introduce revolutionary products to nurture our well being in uniquely effective ways. We will achieve this through affordable, healthy functional foods and ingredients. We strive be recognized in the global health and nutrition industries for our ability to effect personal lifestyle improvements.

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Basic Approaches To Weight Management

Posted by admin on 16 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Business to Business, Health and Fitness

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Being over weight is usually being 20 percent or more over the normal weight for his or her age, sex, build, and height. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a person’s weight is healthy if it falls within the acceptable range for his or her height and age; if the pattern of fat distribution does not place the person at increased risk for certain diseases; and if the person has no medical problem for which a physician recommends that he or she lose weight. What is important, is not how much a person weighs, but the percentage of body fat. For women, fat can account for as much as 25 percent of body weight; 17 percent is a healthy percentage for men. Females are designed biologically to carry a higher proportion of fat tissue to ensure that there is plenty of food for pregnancy and nursing, even if food is scarce. On average, we humans carry around 30 to 40 billion fat cells. All those excess calories we don’t use up as immediate energy, are stored as fat. If we lived in ancient times, and had to still hunt and gather food, those stores of fat would be essential for our survival in times of famine. Some researchers even believe that our seemingly innate love of high-calorie food may be a remnant of a survival tactic from ancient times, when we needed to store food for energy. But today, storing energy as fat isn’t necessary for most people. Most people wait maybe 3 to 4 hours between meals and snacks and instead of remaining a survival mechanism, the stored fat is now more likely to have a negative effect on health. As fat accumulates, it crowds the space occupied by the internal organs, and puts a lot of stress on extremities and organs causing or complicating many physical problems. Being overweight can increase the body’s resistance to insulin and can make the body more susceptible to infection, and increases the chances of developing diabetes, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other serious health problems that can result in premature death. The most common causes of obesity are poor diet and/or eating habits and a lack of exercise. Other factors that can lead to obesity include glandular malfunctions, diabetes, hypoglycemia, emotional tension, boredom and a simple love of food. Obesity has also been linked to food sensitivities and/or allergies. Food your body cannot use or that is a poison to your system is stored in the tissues and causes water retention. Ironically, poor nutrition may be an important factor in obesity. When there is inadequate intake of certain essential nutrients, fat is not easily or adequately burned and can accumulate in the body. Here are some basic approaches to weight management: *Reduce caloric intake to 1,200 calories per day. *Exercise !“ Walk, Swim, Dance, Jump, Ride a Bike !“ MOVE! *Do not use diuretic herbs and nutrients to reduce water !“ this is a temporary weight loss and throws off your electrolytes which can slow your metabolism. *The use of lipotropic vitamins, which have the ability to reduce cholesterol and fat, works only is the diet is low fat and low glycemic. *Eliminate all white flour, white sugar, white salt and white rice from your diet. All these ingredients breakdown very quickly in the system, and overloads the body with carbohydrates that the body cannot use at once, so it is converted to fat and stored. *Replaced processed ingredients with ingredients that not only take longer for the system to break down, but provide better levels of nutrients also *Whole wheat flour offers the body lecithin, antioxidants, fiber and vitamins that normal processing eliminates. FlourBlend is a blend of whole flours, vitamins, minerals, herbs and fibers designed to lower cholesterol and gives half the carbohydrates of normal processed white flour, with more protein and fiber. *Stay away from artificial sweeteners, these will only make you hungry and does cause some damage to the liver or pancreas. Try our Natural SugarBlend, which offers better taste and performance in cooking, because it is natural and slow absorbing, keeps the blood sugar steady, increases the uptake of calcium and aids in colon health. *Using Sea Salt, and mineral salt can be a better alternative to regular table salt. You use less and crave salt less if you use these e alternatives, you also receive the benefits of trace minerals in trace amounts, and these trace minerals can help in preventing some stroke and cardiac problems. *Brown rice offers a great many benefits to the system, and paired with beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains, provides a complete protein for the body to use. Brown rice also is a rich antioxidant, one of the best the world has to offer. It also provides lecithin and an abundance of wonderful fiber that aids the small intestine, the colon and the large intestine. Permanent weight loss requires a lifetime commitment to a healthier lifestyle in general.

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