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Most-Read Posts of 2010 & Sustainable Goals for 2011

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I’m not a person who has ever been very quick to prepare new year’s resolutions and follow them, but not because I lack motivation, desire to improve, or good ideas. I’ve just always thought to myself: “why wait until the new year to make plans? Why not make goals when it’s appropriate and timely rather than when it’s perceived to be the right time?”

I’ve always sort of compared it to buying Christmas presents just because it’s Christmas. And it’s true, I’ve always had an infinitely difficult time organizing myself to go out and find the perfect gifts during the most horrendously busy and stressful time of year. Just like my goals, I want gifts to be meaningful, not obligatory.

However, there’s also something to be said about getting motivated after the holidays are over, when there’s finally a bit of time to collect myself and think about what kinds of projects I want to accomplish over the coming year.

What really makes this time of year easiest for me to start something new, is not because it’s the new year – but more because a huge amount of stress and activity has finally come to a close, and compared to the complete insanity of the holidays, the next few months should be more quiet and calm (note the operative word should).

And every new opportunity to plan something always leads to another open door…just like in the picture.  🙂

Here are the top 10 posts from Agriculture Society for the year 2010:

  1. My Home Medicine Cabinet – What I Use to Remedy Ailments
  2. 17 Ways to Boost Your Immune System for the Upcoming Flu/Cold Season
  3. My Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse Experience
  4. Common Myths About Food & Nutrition
  5. Is Cheap Food Really Cheap? The Hidden Costs of Industrial Food
  6. My Kitchen Staples – How I Keep My Family Healthy
  7. Allergies & Disease, Medications & Disinfection – Is There a Connection?
  8. Gallbladder Disease and The Standard American Diet – My Personal Account
  9. 11 Healthy and Nutrient-Dense Foods At-A-Glance
  10. The Truth About Raw Milk, Part I

I have never posted a top 10 on my site before this year – mostly, I suppose, because I am often so wiped out after the holidays and I want nothing to do with my computer for a few days.  After a cursory read of this list though, I started to realize that posting it might be useful as a tool to look at which topics my readers are most interested in seeing. This list definitely reveals common themes of detoxification, natural remedies, and using food to heal the body.

In all honesty, this is not too surprising given the fact that for the last 8 months or so, I’ve been thinking about creating an online detoxification course. This is also something which kept coming up in conversation with various people at the Weston A. Price Wise Traditions Conference in November as well.

Detoxification is certainly a topic I’m really interested in, and there are so many aspects of this topic to choose from, there’s no doubt it’s a great topic for a class.  Many people simply don’t know where to start. I’ve been detoxing for the last 5 years in one way or another – whether it’s my every day diet, removing things out of my home or other regular environments, or actively participating in some type of cleanse protocol. I have come a very long way from where I was in 2005 when I was just discovering how I could fix my own health through diet and cleansing, and it’s something I want to share with others so they can benefit from what I’ve gone through.

So, coming in the year 2011, you can expect an online detoxification class from me. I can’t say right now when exactly because I have full-time writing projects that are going to continue to keep me busy (and that’s a good thing), and most importantly, earning income for our family. Our family solar/green IT business is still getting off the ground, and in this economy, that hasn’t been easy. However, we actually made more profit this year than the previous year (2009, which was the year we started), and that is a promising occurrence. With my new job creating content for various clients, I think this year is going to be even better. We are constantly finding new ways to market our products and locate new customers who want to embrace sustainability in living.

More goals

I’m going to plant a garden this year again, and hopefully it will fare better than last year. I know a lot of people had failures with their gardens as well. I ordered from Heirloom Acres and planted about 12 different plants from seed. Our yield was that most of our tomatoes didn’t do well (although we did get some), and the only other plants that produced were lettuce, a few carrots, and a few peppers. I always use some type of organic fertilizer, and I think what I used this year – a Happy Frog fertilizer, wasn’t the same as what I used last year.

I’d like to take a moment and encourage anyone thinking of planting a garden this season to support Terroir Seeds, one of Real Food Media’s newest sponsors. I was fortunate to get to meet Stephen and Cindy Scott at the Weston A. Price Wise Traditions Conference in King of Prussia, PA in November, and what great people they are.  They have one of the prettiest catalogs I’ve ever seen, a great membership program for customers that’s quite stellar, and offer the best in heirloom/heritage varieties of seeds for produce including vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Stephen and Cindy live in  Chino Valley, AZ. Please visit them if you are ever in the area and also their site and support their business.

I’m also very committed to improving my digestive health in order to positively affect other aspects of my overall health.  I’m thinking about doing more liver/gallbladder miracle cleanses this year. I started a homeopathic protocol last year which made it necessary to put the continued liver/gallbladder cleanses on hold. I’m now thinking that might not have been the best decision because it delayed my liver/gallbladder cleanses which are supposed to be performed consecutively and until no more stones are passed. Fortunately I had only done one instead of several, and in this case it’s much easier to start again.

These are topics you’ll definitely be seeing more of in the coming year, as well as in-depth information about food politics and sustainability, and the science and application of nutrition towards health.

A thank you

I also spend a considerable amount of time supporting other blogs in our community who have important posts and messages to get out to the world, whether it’s leaving comments or posting information on Facebook or Twitter. And it’s critical to keep moving the message about real food forward and out. I have so many favorite food blogs that it would take awhile to list them, but any of those who are part of Real Food Media, which I joined as a featured blogger last year, are certainly included, as well as a variety of others. If it weren’t for many of these great people, I would not have been able to gain such a great network of like-minded people and friends with whom I can count on for support. Please know that I appreciate your support as readers, commenters, and fellow bloggers more than I can adequately express.

I also greatly appreciate those who came to my aid in December when I was under a stressful work deadline and agreed to guest post for me so new content was still available on my blog:

Lauren Snyder Grosz, a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator who produces content for Liberation Wellness. I had the opportunity to meet Lauren at The Weston A. Price Foundation Wise Traditions Conference in November of 2010, and I was very pleased to make her acquaintance. Lauren does fantastic work and I hope to be able to keep up on her posts in the future.

A Moderate Life – this site has so many great things to see – recipes, blog carnivals, regular features, and giveaways – all based around nutrient-dense diets and real food. Alex Clark has been a big cheerleader of my blog, and I really appreciate her support! I am planning to do a guest post for her in the next couple of months as a thank-you, and because her site is just so awesome.

Tender Grassfed Meat – author of the book by the same name, food activist Stanley Fishman does a great job of providing wonderful information about how to prepare meats traditionally and posts about the importance of sustainability and our food system. Stanley and his wife Keren have also been a huge supporters of my blog, and Stanley has left plenty of great comments over the last year. Thanks Fishman’s, I appreciate you and all you do for the real food community!

The Urban Homemaker – a family-run business dedicated to providing useful and practical kitchen equipment and much more as well as great articles on cooking and homemaking, with Marilyn Moll. Her site is truly a cornucopia of information, recipes, and other great articles about all kinds of things in the kitchen and cooking. Don’t miss checking out her site, it’s a wealth of interesting and useful information.

Nuturing Naturally – a brand new friend I’ve made recently, Ruth Ann Bowen, from Facebook. Ruth Ann and her co-founder Rebecca Wirtz have a great site dedicated to natural living, recipes, food, and much more. Please visit her site and tell her I sent you over. It’s pretty obvious Ruth Ann is committed to sustainability and healthy living, as she puts her heart and soul into her posts and information she writes.

All of these I’ve mentioned here are such dedicated people who are helping to carry on the message about health and real food. I appreciate each and every one of you so much. Thanks for all you do. Here’s to a bright and brave new year, where together we will conquer some of the challenges we face in the food politics realm and continue to educate and spread the word about food as a healing tool for the world.

Did you miss the first post of the year?

12 smart ways to go sustainable in the new year

Or how about the last five  posts of 2010?

Changing ingredients for a nutrient-dense diet– from Marilyn Moll

An inheritence squandered – by Lauren Snyder Grosz

Rustic baked chicken with cheese and bacon

How to get more calcium in your diet

9 reasons to make bone broth

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday, hosted this week by Culinary Bliss.

 

6 replies on “Most-Read Posts of 2010 & Sustainable Goals for 2011”

Hi Raine, for the garden don’t over look soil minerals. Here is a good primer: http://www.soilminerals.com
Soil mineral depletion was one of Weston Price’s greatest contributions, but surpriseingly, overlooked by most. In fact, in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, the chapter on soils minerals was perhaps the chapter that most piqued my curiosity. Other things to fertilzer garden: raw milk, wood ashes (do you have a wood stove or know someone who does?) animal urine as well as composted manure.

Hi Val! I have been doing fertilizer, but not the minerals, and I’ve thought about it more than several times. I wonder if that’s why my garden had problems this year. We do use raw milk and yogurt, but not very much because we don’t always have much to spare (we only get 2.5 gallons per week, and sometimes less). I will definitely check out the link you provided, many thanks! I’m still a fledgling gardener and need all the advice I can get. 🙂 Yes, the Weston A. Price information is very interesting and I need to read that section of the book.

Sounds like your pretty busy! Well, I probably will be busy, too. I write content also for money sometimes, and I’ve got a website dedicated to helping people learn to grow their own organic herb garden: http://www.organic-herb-gardening-help.com
I also should continue to write for my blog as I would love to do more research on natural health. Really growing my own food and knowing how to treat myself are some of the most wonderful things in the world because it allows me to be independent. I feel sorry for all the people dependent on mainstream medicine and food. It must be so disempowering not being able to care for yourself. maybe thats why our culture has gone down the drain so much in the last few decades. People feel as if they have no power.

This year I plan on learning how to identify wild plants, further improve my gardening skill, learn more about natural health, work on my emotional/mental issues (I have had a lot of trouble in that area), learn to live more sustainability, advocate the natural living life, and get the word out.

Hi Kelli – thanks for your visit! It’s great to be able to write and make some money doing it, isn’t it? It’s been my dream for many years, and now I am finally doing what I’ve wanted for so long. I feel very blessed and fortunate. Keep at what you are doing, and also with your site. Anything that is geared toward education about sustainability is worthwhile, in my opinion.

You are so right, those who are confined to the prison of conventional health are really living a life that is limiting and unsatisfying. That’s why we must continue to teach and inform, and get the word out that people do have choices, and they do have empowerment to take charge of their own health. And yes, I think many people do feel powerless. But we must keep going against this mentality and fight for what is right and just. So keep on with what you are doing. It has integrity and will make a difference! 🙂

Hi Allison – thanks for your visit! I am sorry the search box is so problematic, unfortunately there is nothing I can do since it is a WordPress-generated search box. However, since I upgraded to the new template we are now using about 2 months ago, I’ve noticed the search capability is even worse than it used to be, and the previous template was really only marginal as it was. Argh!

I did fix that link you mentioned, but what’s odd is that when I went to look at the HTML code in the post, the link was just fine. But for some reason when you try to click on it in the post, you are absolutely right, it’s a dead link. Sometimes I really hate computers!

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