Not long after I was born into this worldly experience, doctors diagnosed me with having allergies and asthma. My parents in their Loving Self-Educated Wisdom did not want me dependent on medication. They wanted their family to live a healthy life; so they decided it was best to raise me, my sister and our twin brothers (when they each were born), as vegetarians (we ate no meat/animals). Well I was vegan actually, because they didn't feed me any animal (dairy) products ie: milk, cheese, eggs, in the beginning either. As I got older, I guess around upper elementary school age, fish and cheese were added to our diet. After my parents separated, my mother kept us on the vegetarian path. But as we each reached our teen/young adult years we began to explore other food options mainly chicken, turkey, cheese pizza (nothin' like an New York Pizza Slice!) and lots of junk food! Ice cream and Yankee Doodle Cupcakes, (remember those?) were my personal fave :-) I experienced mild allergies and asthma symptoms here and there throughout this period by nothing really major, all manageable.
When my high school sweetheart and I married at 20 years of age (each) and moved to his military base in North Carolina, I couldn't cook a thing! I learned how to cook via long distance calls back home to New York City with my Mother and my Great-grand mother who we called "Motherdear". I remember during one call I was protesting and wining to Motherdear that I "didn't have time to be cooking!" She said very calm and matter of fact, "Well ok, but that lady down the street is gon' have some hot pots goin' and after a man works hard all day, he wants to eat. He's gon' be where those hot pots are." I remember standing quietly in my "stupidness" looking at the phone, exhaling, grabbing a pen and paper and asking, "Now how many eggs do I put in this ground beef Motherdear?" Lol! I was preparing meatloaf (my new husband was a meat eater and I was experimenting with it). Wow, I always love remembering that story. So anyway, I went on to become a fabulous cook! ;-) But as I ate more meat, dairy and junk food, and drank tons of soda, I became more ill, more often. We moved back home to NYC when his tour ended and started our family. I continued to suffer with allergies and asthma as I cooked fabulous meals with chicken (every kind of way), turkey, fish, a little curry goat here and there, my 7 cheese macaroni and cheese made with cows milk and eggs! And Bread! OMG, I loved Bread! And of course my box cakes for desert with a big wallop of ice cream on the side! And yes, we also ate out "as a family treat" in restaurants and "fast food" establishments! I suffered with intense allergies and asthma, wheezing daily (and headaches soon joined the mix), with trips back and forth to the doctor well into my 40's- through my dance and teaching career, pregnancies, babies, homeschooling, etc. I had albuterol asthma pumps in every purse and all over the house. When our offspring were young, they knew where the pumps were so they could help mommy when she made that wheezy noise. Wow.
BUT I NO LONGER SUFFER WITH INTENSE ALLERGIES and ASTHMA NOR DO I HAVE THE NEED FOR THE POISON PUMPS and PILLS THEY CALL "MEDICINE" SINCE I HEALED MYSELF! A FEW SHORT YEARS AGO, I DECIDED TO CHANGE MY FOOD TO EMPOWER MY LIFE! I noticed that the more poultry, meat, dairy and junk food I ate, the more my health deteriorated. So I did a lot of reading and study and went back to my vegetarian roots. I added bellydance, yoga and daily meditation and began to detox from people, places and things that did not enlighten, fortify, inspire, elevate and empower my Black Mind-Body-Spirit!
I CHANGED THE IDEA OF "FAST FOOD"
AND STARTED JUICING!
Today at 52 years of age, I am happily and successfully a transitioning vegan! I eat a mostly organic plant based diet, I juice veggies and fruits everyday, I drink organic herbal coffee and tea and I DO NOT eat any animal or dairy products or bi-products (my once beloved ice cream, cheeses, pizza and eggs are no more) and I FEEL AMAZING! I'm realizing that The Simpler I Eat, The Healthier Get! My husband, Vincent, also 52 is on the vegetarian path! And as for our now adult offspring, our son Hasaan 25, is a transitioning vegetarian! And I'm still working on our daughter Nakkiyya, she's 28 and fabulous:-)
My sistahs. On this personal journey, I have learned that TODAY, more than ever, GOOD HEALTH is extremely important for our people, our families and ourselves! Eating Good Healthy Food Supports a Healthy lifestyle. As Black Women, Homemakers, Moms and Wives we make the choices of how and what our family eats. But as a result of my reading and study, I must share a hard truth with you. Under the system of racism white supremacy, in which we all live, FOOD IS BEING USED AS A WEAPON AGAINST US. Our Collective Mind-Body-Spirit is under attack, in Dis-stress and Dis-ease. FOOD is a huge factor here. We need to cleanse and detoxify ourselves inside and out from people, places and things (including food) that do not enlighten, fortify, inspire, elevate and empower our Black Mind-Body-Spirit! And WE MUST EDUCATE OURSELVES to know that the Scientific, Synthetic Bio-Poison substances which are passed off as "food" (I call it "Franken-Food") in our communities, especially the ones we can get "fast and cheap" are extremely harmful to us. Supermarkets sell processed "foods" that are created in science labs. They combine sugars, salt and fats with toxic additives, dyes and synthetics that mimic flavors, even fruit flavors to manipulate our taste buds, tricking our minds into craving these mad scientist entities disguised as "food". (frozen dinners, sodas, all snack "junk foods", colorful non fruit "fruit juices" zero nutrition sugary "fruit cereals" are examples). "Meat", fish and dairy products from animals pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, additives, dyes and other poisons are no better. They anesthetize us and manufacture and feed many illnesses that plague Black People ie: diabetes, high blood pressure, allergies, asthma, heart disease, obesity, even cancer; when we consume them. Living and eating this way is NOT CHEAP, no matter what's on sale. We pay a hefty price with our family's health, financial wealth (through medical bills and poison pills), and our quality of life. And let's not forget the GMO, genetically modified organisms, sold to us as watermelons, grapes, oranges, lemons, grapefruit and cucumbers.
My sistahs, REAL FRUIT HAS SEEDS! Seeds that when replanted, re-germinate and grow again. "Seed-less" is "Food-less" and therfore "Nutrition-less". From my reading and studies I have concluded that under the system of racism white supremacy, in which we all live, FOOD IS BEING USED AS A WEAPON AGAINST US. This is a huge problem that we as Black Women attempting to raise and nurture our Black Families must solve. And I believe, in order to solve this problem, we must first ask questions. WHO is responsible for the food offerings and options available to me and my family? WHAT additives, chemicals and toxins are in the food that I am serving my family? WHEN should I begin to introduce more healthy meals to my family? WHERE do I get healthy meal and recipe ideas to cook? WHY Is this happening? HOW do I learn to identify "real, whole food" from "synthetic engineered, non food?" While I do not have ALL the answers to these questions, I do have one big one- SELF-EDUCATION in three parts: READ, WATCH and LISTEN.
READ
Books that teach specifically to the information you are looking for. Here are some great ones that I use:
You can see by the condition of my book, African Holistic Health by Dr. Llaila O. Africa that I really use it :-) Years of study and reference and still learning! Dr. Africa teaches me how to heal myself and my family from the unjust war of dis-ease waged against all non-white people by the system of racism white supremacy. Everyday I work to put my family's mind-body-spirit wellness back in balance.
I consult this book What's In Your Food by Bill Statham, frequently! I used to pull it out when I returned from a food shopping trip or purchased makeup and skincare products. I learned what those ingredients were that I couldn't pronounce and how they reacted in my body. I also scrutinized the products my husband, son and daughter were using too. This book, along with African Holistic Health, really inspired me to move myself and my family toward an Organic, Healthy Lifestyle. I remember I just kept silently asking, WHY? as I read poison after poison that was in the "foods" "most major beauty brands and products" "personal care products" "hair products" "baby foods and formulas". I studied further with other readings and found poisons in "household cleaning products" "cooking tools" even the toxic coating on the clothes that we buy to keep the colors vibrant and the cancer causing padding in the bras that we wear everyday. WHY? And the ONLY answer that made sense, the answer that came every time is, the system of racism white supremacy.
This book 25 Self Empowering, Health-Empowering Herbs by David Grissett is really informative! I started devouring it as soon as it arrived in the mail! I'm a supporting member of the Buy Black Movement and Black Business Network. Every month, I get a box of amazing healthy products of my choosing, that are made by and for Black People delivered right to my front door! This book came in my September 2016 supporter order! I really appreciate the journal pages that brotha David included for reading notes, reference and documentation because I always take notes in my books as I read. Click my invitation link buyblackmovement.com/TheDynamicMom if you'd like to purchase one for your family library and learn more about the movement! This book complements Brotha David Grisset line of organic nutritional herbal teas that you can find here as well. *Side Note: I also purchase my organic-vegan makeup, skincare, cosmetics, soaps, haircare and organic laundry detergent here too!
*By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide For Black Women Who Want To Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat by Tracye Lynn McQuirter, MPH- This one is on my Kindle. Purchased from amazon. This sistah is dynamic and fabulous! She offers extremely constructive information and she's so passionate and dedicated to elevating the health of Black People! I put her book in the recommended reading area here on my blog!
WATCH
Food Documentaries! Here are a few that I've watched on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Youtube: Constructive Information!-FOOD INC
-FORKS OVER KNIVES
-FOOD CHAINS
-FOOD MATTERS
-HUNGRY FOR CHANGE
-GMO OMG
-COWSPIRACY
-PLANT PURE NATION
-SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
-FARMAGEDDON
-SUGAR COATED
-URBAN FRUIT
-CAN YOU DIG THIS
-CAFFEINATED
-A SMALL SECTION OF THE WORLD
-GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
-JUST EAT IT
-SUPER SIZE ME
-RAISING RESISTANCE
-SUSHI THE GLOBAL CATCH
YOUTUBE VIDEOS!
-Do A Youtube Search for "BY ANY GREENS NECESSARY." You'll pull up the videos and interviews for Author Tracye McQuirter! She's been Vegan for over 2 decades and offers super constructive information for Black Women on healthy eating, fresh foods and recipes!
-Do A Youtube Search for "BLACK VEGETARIAN WOMEN" or "BLACK VEGAN WOMEN"
-Do A Youtube Search for "RON FINLEY" Dynamic Brotha! Passionate About Teaching People How To Grow Our Own Food! (This is my next step!)
-Do A Youtube Search for "PBS COFFEE DOCUMENTARY" It's 3 parts: Part 1- The Irresistible Bean, Part 2- Gold In Your Cup, Part 3- The Perfect Cup. Very Interesting Doc about the history of coffee for all my fellow sistah-coffee-lovers!
LISTEN
To Food and Nutrition Focused Audio Books, Conference Calls, Internet Broadcasts, Blog and Youtube Shows and Interviews. Here's the youtube link to one of my favorite interviews:-The Context Of White Supremacy (The C.O.W.S) with Tracye Lynn McQuirter.
Youtube Channel: Mr H Fox Channel 2 *Fantastic Interview and Information!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-qxqiNP__4
YES my sistahs! We MUST, We CAN, We WILL Change. I did not write this post or share my person food and health journey to say that what I'm doing is right and what you are doing is wrong. My intention in writing this post is to share information and resources with you, and inspire you to empower your SELF-EDUCATION! And because we are living under a Global System of Racism White Supremacy where white people have created and maintain a "scientific toxic industrial food industry" that willfully harms us and our families, I believe it is in our best interest to CHANGE OUR FOOD TO EMPOWER OUR LIVES! We MUST Transform and Elevate Ourselves and Our Families to Healthier Eating and Higher Living! We MUST detoxify ourselves from people, places and things that do not enlighten, fortify, inspire, elevate and empower our Black Mind-Body-Spirit! THIS is how we RE-ALIGN ourselves with Positive Energy and a Critical Thinking Constructive Mindset! And as we willingly and lovingly do all of this, we are actively participating in the Solution Oriented Work of Replacing White Supremacy With Justice!
WE CAN DO THIS MY SISTAHS! CHANGE YOUR FOOD TO EMPOWER YOUR LIFE! OUR HEALTH IS OUR WEALTH! CONTINUE LEARNING! RWSWJ! ASHE!
Asante Sana! (Thank You) Mother! I Love You!
"The DynamicMom"
Visit My Website DynamicMomEnterprises.com The Online Lifestyle Empowerment, Education and Inspiration Resource For The Black Woman Who Is Ready To Embrace, Inspire and Empower Her DYNAMIC Mom, Wife, Homemaker Life!
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