First things first. BIG WIN against the pill-mills yesterday. I cried hysterically as I watched the busts go down in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties, on last night’s news. No two news stories agree upon how many places were closed down, or how many people were arrested, but in any case it was a big sting. Ironically, one of the doctors arrested is the son of our Broward County Medical Examiner. While 7 people a day die of a drug overdose from prescription pain meds, here in Florida, the examiner’s son has been one of the chief suppliers of those prescription drugs. What an irony. Another doctor, Calangelo, was arrested and it is said that he was making $150,000.00 A DAY! 46 cars! This morning I am rejoicing for all the “oxy moms,” (and dad’s and others) who have been peacefully protesting in hopes of this type of outcome, but it does sadden me that it is taking as long as it is. Since our governor doesn’t seem to take the issue seriously enough, I am certainly happy that the DEA is on top of this. They say they have been secretly pill shopping for the past year or so and all the pill-mill operators should assume they HAVE been shopped! If you weren’t busted yesterday, be scared, because your time is coming and your greed game is going to end badly. Not as badly as for the thousands that die each year, or their families, but it will end badly. It’s also a pleasure to see the DEA going after the real drug criminals, though I am so skeptical about who might be tied into BIG PHARMA. While I understand there is a definite need for pain meds for those who really need them, I feel BIG PHARMA has some responsibility in these deaths, too. They have to know what’s going on. Something is SO wrong, but this morning I am optimistic.
What an excellent salad base last night. Thanks, Judy, for the gift of romaine from your yard! I added some fresh herbs from my garden and with some fill-ins from the grocery store it was pretty much the main course for dinner. Yes, greatly appreciated and very tasty! Mitch had a slice of pizza and I had some Gardein chicken wings,on the side. For anyone who makes those wings, I always add some earth balance “butter” to tone down the HOT of the wing sauce. I love hot, but this sauce is HOT HOT HOT. That’s your warning.
For the first week in many, we did NOT make soup for tonight’s dinner. With Kyle and Nicole here, and family over for lunch Sunday, we skipped the soup project. Tonight I will make a pot of whole wheat pasta, some meatless meatballs, (from Whole Foods freezer section) a big salad with cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs from the garden and probably grill up some veggies, too. Fruit for dessert.
A note on nutritional yeast. I put some in a shaker you would use for grated cheese and put it on the table as one would salt, and/or pepper, but usually use it like grated cheese. I buy mine at Whole Foods and they don’t offer many choices. The one I buy so their own brand and it does have B-12 but it is not as nutritional as the one Carole found on line. I am sharing her info since she is the best online researcher I know 🙂 Thanks, Carole.
http://www.bragg.com/products/yeast.html
“YUM … And ALL THAT vitamin B…”
BRAGG PREMIUM NUTRITIONAL YEAST SEASONING BENEFITS
• Non-GMO
• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Gluten-Free
• Great Taste
• Salt-Free
• Nutritious
• Sugar-Free
• Vitamin B including natural Vitamin B12
• Kosher Certified
While I have never tried the following recipe (bottom of the page), one day when I am not counting calories, I would like to. Since Kyle added some very cool tools to this site, let’s try this link which popped up on my screen as I typed in the info on nutritional yeast. This will be a good experiment to see how the “related articles” tool works. Let me know that you were able to open the link at the bottom of today’s entry (or not!?!) Thanks.
Just a reminder to my SilverSneakers students that this Saturday’s book club event is postponed while Sylna nurses her back, back to good health. Sympathy pains, Sylna! Sympathy pains. Did Marcus give you his backache?
Since it is vegan Thursday, if you are looking for interesting recipes or a broad range of info regarding living the “kind” life, don’t forget to stop in to Alicia Silverstone’s site at www.thekindlife.com or find her link on my links page. Her site is chock full of everything kind. Thanks, Alicia for being such a great inspiration.
Remember, also, that all ads on the site are safe and secure as they are brought to us by our good friends at Google. They are generally quite relevant to the topic of the day and can offer further info on subjects that I just touch upon.
Happy Thursday. Be kind. Eat kindly. Pass it on.
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Comfort Cravings: Vegan Mac and Cheese (fitsugar.com)
WOW!! Bonni, your newsy blog was so interesting (as usual). I eagerly clinked on the link for vegan mac and cheese and presto…..it appeared. So…..Kyle and you are doing a stellar job. Thanks for the recipe and all the into on the pill mills.
Also, I can almost taste your scrumptious home-grown salad. That is sooooo cool. Enjoy your evening with your family and friends. 🙂
As Rita mentioned, the link worked! ‘Way to go Kyle and Bonni!!
Bragg products are distributed (and maybe produced ) by Bragg Live Foods in Santa Barbara.
And they’re delicious! Enjoy!!
By the way….the Bragg Unfiltered/Raw Organic Apple Cider vinegar is wonderful. I mix a tablespoon of it with honey into a mug of hot water. It is very relaxing and healthy. The recipe for this tonic is on the label. Cheers!