Top 10 Foods You Must Buy Organic

This info is courtesy of Organic Liaison & Kirstie Alley

When you eat organic foods, you reduce the amount of toxins, pesticides and other unhealthy chemicals taken into your body, and you give your body the best fuel it can get to make it function the most effectively. In today’s processed world, it may not be possible to make sure everything you put into your body is organic, but when you’re out grocery shopping, here are the top 10 foods that you absolutely must buy organic. Though the prices on organic foods might steer you in the other direction, your body will thank you for investing in these foods.

Peaches

Peaches are one of the fruits containing the highest amount of pesticides. The thin skin of peaches means that after they’re subjected to pesticides and herbicides, they really sink into the fruit. If you can’t find organic peaches, go for a fruit with a thicker skin instead.

Apples

Everyone knows you’ve got to wash apples thoroughly before you eat them, and most of us realize it’s because of the film of insect-killing poisons that are sprayed on the apples. Assuming you don’t want to eat poison while you’re trying to get healthy, stick to organic apples or thicker-skinned fruits.

Celery

All this time, you probably thought you were doing something good for your body by eating celery, right? Not unless you’ve purchased an organic brand. You read how peaches and apples need to be organic because of their thin skins? Well, celery has no skin. Think about how well it must hold the pesticides. If you’re a celery eater, organic is a must.

Grapes

By now the pattern should be emerging. Any fruit with a thin skin is one you should be eating organic. Organic grapes should be available wherever you buy organic foods, but if you can’t find any, consider some delicious organic blueberries or raspberries instead.

Potatoes

Potatoes look innocent, but not only are they subject to pesticides after harvesting, they can absorb fungicides from the soil as well. Go for the organic version and save yourself from consuming these unwanted chemicals.

Cherries

All cherries are bad when it comes to pesticides, but U.S. cherries are the worst. They have three times as many pesticides as the European brands!

Leafy Greens

Lettuce, arugula, collard greens, spinach and other leafy greens grown conventionally are often contaminated with potent pesticides and herbicides. Even kale, which is known for being a hearty vegetable that doesn’t suffer from pests or diseases, has been found to have high amounts of pesticide residue. 

It’s not just fruits and vegetables you need to watch out for. Here are some more types of foods that you absolutely must switch to the organic versions of:

Milk

If the cows you eat are ingesting unwanted chemicals, those chemicals going into their milk too. Organic milk will ensure that your children are getting the healthy benefits of milk like strong bones and teeth, not a glass full of growth hormones.

Peanut Butter

One look at the ingredients list of a standard jar of peanut butter should be enough to have you racing for the organic peanut butter aisle. Standard peanut butter is loaded with refined sugars, fats and pesticides, while organic peanut butter is loaded with... peanuts. Plus, more than 99 percent of peanut farms use fungicides to treat mold and other conventional farm practices. Which would you rather put in your body?

Baby Food

You’re doing a great job making sure the food you eat is healthy. Would you do any less for your baby? Baby food can be full of pesticides and other unwanted chemicals just like grownup food, and these chemicals can be a lot worse for a growing baby. Make sure your child’s baby food is organic and pesticide free.

True Test of Who I am...

These final tests, in these final hours

Truly testing my strength, and my inner powers.

Power of knowledge, gift of true ‘sight’

Are guiding me well, this late darkened night.

Some fear the truth, but no, not I

For what is the point, of living a lie?

Anger, fear, fanciful fables…

Only consistent authenticity will ever turn tables!

It is human to fear, it is human to doubt

How we HANDLE these feelings, is what gives us clout!

Ego, sloth, and greedy expectations,

Have no place in a life, without limitations.

Magick is power that we study and achieve;

Not found in a candle, but in what we believe.

I walk my talk, every night and day

Following through on all that I say.

For if we don’t commit to live fully and true

Then what do we expect the Divine to then do?

Give and reward unbecoming behavior?

Not make us learn, and still act the savior?

Magick and wisdom are one and the same

A commitment, a path….not just a game.

So as old issues come knocking, and wait at my door

I look them square in the eye, unlike before.

This song has been danced to, I tripped and I fell

I learned lessons the hard way, I detoured through hell

Be who I am, fully without reservation

Do what I must without hesitation…

So if you find fault, and find it too much

I fully understand…wish you well…and good luck.

©Nadia Romanov 2011

My Harvested Lessons

This past summer was quite a journey for me. I met some of the most amazing people and learned more than I had even hoped to.

It took just a bit of time for all the new info to stir and brew in my mind, before it was ready to be shared as a finished product.

Then  ~ as is always the case in life ~ my mind, body, and soul said “STOP! Weeks on overdrive, ambition fueled….time to slow it down to a simmer.” Some of that was about getting some rest, yet more so it was to truly let what had been learned and gathered, and formulated into my vision….it was to let all that simmer, and be RE-ALCHEMIZED into the truest, purest form of ME and what I am to share.

Autumn Equinox just passed, and I was fortunate to spend it with my children, our dearest friends, our cats, home cooked delicacies, laughter, joy, fun, magick, and the truest essence of hearth and home.

It was also a time to get real…solid…grounded…and to harvest the true product of these past many months. There I sat – literally on the tiled floor of my patio – with friends and family – cauldron in the middle – each of us submitting our request to the Universe that we now harvest that which we have worked for, intended, desired, and wished for. 

My wishes, my magick is private and sacred but one thing I asked for, I will share. I asked to harvest the TRUE lesson of this past year (the 12 months since last autumn). So much change, loss, gain, lessons learned, skilled honed, authenticity polished….but what was the true essence of it all for me?

Yesterday came and went – a lovely and productive day but with a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty still within.

I asked the right person the right question, he gave the answer that was so clear and poignant, that it made certain conversations, phrases, images, and decisions from the past year shine out in answer.

What was the ‘harvested lesson’…..keep an eye on ALL THREE of my websites (listed below) and Facebook pages….and you will see…and enjoy!

A special thanks to William Brown, Ben Starr, Tara Marino, Delia Blecka, Dorothy Morrison, & Kat von D!

Nadia Romanov - Official Website

By Light of the Moon

New Reality Life Coaching

Footsteps in Time...

July 15, 2011

I had the privilege of participating in a very special two day event, led by my mentor, shared with a total of 40 amazing women, and vital to my soul. 

One of the extraordinary activities that we participated in took place on the beach in beautiful Santa Monica, California. It changed me forever....and inspired this poem which composed itself divinely in my mind as we all walked silently back to Hotel Casa del Mar where our event was elegantly hosted.


 

 I walk barefoot, through the sands of time
Claiming each step - making it mine.
The waves, elegantly, powerfully roll right in
I know it is finally time, for ME to begin.
Clearing time and clearing space
Recognizing and LOVING my own face
Who am I? Why am I? What do I do?
I find that these answers, I always knew.
Speak aloud - be heard so clear
Live with passion ~ your dreams are near.
Fear is my friend - it is a sign
A measure of my will - clear and divine
I look inside and love what I see
Because...
...As it always should have been....it's ALL about ME!

Delayed.....

SO many plans. I always have so many plans. Plans for the future. Plans for writing projects. Plans for any and every given day of the week.

Then life throws me a curveball – it can be an uncooperative computer, a bad headache, new opportunities, more pressing priorities….you get the idea.

Delays – especially when I delay something – irk me terribly. It is like this domino effect that one little, possibly avoidable decision sets in motion, building to a cumulative backlog that feels insurmountable.

Truth is we can always catch up – and we have to trust the overall process that things work out for the best; that the way we will NOW do the delayed tasks will now be better than had they been done ‘on schedule’.

So here I go….yes AGAIN…catching up!

June raced by me.

My site has been sorely neglected….

Women of Wonder - My amazing interview with author Dorothy Morrison was not posted yet.

Top Shelf – I have not posted a book review since April. Shameful!

Well…once again…I am BACK on track…and with more goodies than ever before!

I have added ‘Eat My Words – Restaurants to Rave About’ (http://bit.ly/kMsJLI ) - returning to my early days as a restaurant critic for local papers. The first review up is Café Cordiale...even if you don’t live in LA, please click on the link for Café Cordiale and enjoy an evening there vicariously through my experience there.

One of my FAVORITE PEOPLE of all time – a mentor, a friend, wise, wicked, witty, and wonderful…author (and SO much more) Dorothy Morrison is featured in ‘Women of Wonder’ (http://bit.ly/m6vpkS) – Please come ‘meet’ Dorothy…you will be so glad you did!

Summer reading has always been an extra cherished activity of mine. This month I will be sharing SEVERAL books. The first is Rinnavation by actress, mother, wife, and entrepreneur Lisa Rinna. Delve into Lisa’s tips for revitalizing your life in all areas – health, beauty, love and more! You can read my review here : http://bit.ly/j21gUl.

Later this month, I will be introducing you all to the fictional novels of Caprice Crane – with three already on my shelf and eagerly awaiting her fourth novel being released this month.

As I said…..I’m backkkkkkkkkkkkkk….if you want more delays….sorry but you’ll have to try the airport!

Michael Jackson - Two Years Later

I first posted this piece on July 7, 2009 - the day of Michael Jackson's funeral. As today marks the second anniversary of his passing, all of the feelings I about his life - and death - resurfaced and I chose to share them again.

A local Hollywood Entertainment Industry Venue asked me to blog a social commentary as Michael Jackson's Memorial was aired. 

Here is what I wrote: 

I sit here bawling, heartbroken and bereft as I watch Michael Jackson’s memorial service. 
I was a teen in the 80’s and as we all do, have memories to which much of Michael’s music is the soundtrack. 
I was not a diehard fan. I had no posters, owned no albums, yet I was moved to dance and sing, laugh and cry with Michael’s music and work. I knew nearly every lyric of nearly every song. For as far from me and as mysterious to me as Michael was, he touched my life. He affected my world. And now – he is gone. 
Everyone’s arrival, presence and departure from this world, has meaning and reason. 
Michael in all his work – in song, in dance, in movies, on stage, through charitable acts and donations, through friendship, through his very presence in our lives – had much to teach us. 
His words called us all into public service as well as private personal reflection. He called us to look at ourselves and examine who we are. He sang ‘Look at the Man in the Mirror’ – see who you are and who you need to be. He encouraged an end to violence, a love of all mankind. 
I realize that as much as it is vastly emotional to witness the loss for so many more closely touched by Michael’s passing, and as much as a major part of my own history is about to be laid to rest, I realize what is really the truth about what makes me sad. 
I am deeply mourning lost childhoods, lost innocence, foundations carved by parents that mold who we are till the day we die. 
I watch a father – Joe Jackson – be comforted – this same father who used to tell Michael that he had a ‘big nose’ and we watched, as a result, Michael whittle away at his appearance not to seek his father’s approval but to whittle away how his father’s words made him feel. While we will never know details, we can see the impact of his childhood as we sat mystified by Michael’s perpetual efforts to live in a never ending childhood – a true Neverland. He was neither juvenile nor immature. He was consciously offering love, fun, comfort, unity, and peace to everyone because he knew so deeply what the lack of all of those essential basics, can do to a person. He never wanted anyone who he could possibly reach – be it with music or money – to ever lack what is the most important ingredient in life – true unconditional love. He was subconsciously trying desperately to find the same for himself. 
I watched Michael’s daughter in the last moments of the memorial bravely take the microphone and say how from the moment she was born he was the best father and that he always loved her and she loves him. More proof before our eyes how intrinsic and vital is unconditional love and acceptance in our formative childhood years. She is a lucky girl to be so securely sound in her father’s love despite her current loss. His love will be with her in every moment of her life. 
It brings home the magnitude of the importance of how we parent our children…and ourselves. 
Renowned poetess, Maya Angelou wrote a poem for Michael which was read today by Queen Latifah. One of the most poignant lines of this beautiful farewell blessing to Michael was: “Now we know that we know nothing”. We constantly seek answers in this life. Some sought answers about the mystifying life of Michael Jackson. Many of us – most of us – but yet still not enough of us seek answers about our own lives. Hoping that answers for the past will bring purpose and possibility for the future. In the finality of death we find the very truth of these words – now we know that we know nothing. Ignoring, justifying, rationalizing away the truth of the past does not build a foundation for our future. At some point – hopefully way prior to when death leaves us no more venues from which to seek answers – we must realize that truly we do know nothing. It is not for us to excuse wrong doings of others to us, but it IS ours to acknowledge our pain, our wounds, and to build our own foundations. Hiding from such realities only handicaps us and leaves us tormented and in pain, as it did Michael. 
Despite his anguish and inner demons, Michael embraced his gift and universal love and created beauty and joy, and generously shared it with as many as he could. 
Financial guru, Suze Orman commented today via Twitter during MJ’s memorial “I really hope when we are gone, we really can feel all the love that others have for us that perhaps was not expressed when we are alive.” That is a sweet sentiment, but watching the outpouring of love for Michael now that he has passed makes me wonder – were each and every one of these people this adoring of Michael prior to his death? Did they allow speculation of negative facts to cloud their adoration of him? Did they allow the (alleged) negative to negate and erase in their minds all of the positive that Michael gave to each of us and to the world at large? With the finality of his death, could they now freely adore him again, as he was no longer alive to be judged? 
Michael always said he wanted to be thought of as a person, not as a personality. He so deeply sought the acceptance of who HE was as a person. He knew and felt the love of his fans and friends and some of his family. Yet that void created by the lack of acceptance, the sadly very narrow and conditional love of his father, persisted in Michael all of his days. He escaped into his music; he escaped into his gift; he escaped in trying to make others happy, to save them from the inner loneliness he himself suffered from. 
But even Michael Jackson could not escape. 
He changed his appearance and yet inside he was still the same. A loving, amazingly gifted man, whose eyes never changed as the rest of his appearance did; Eyes that were filled with love, hope – and pain. 
Brooke Shields mentioned in her eulogy of Michael that a part of what bonded them in mutual understanding and friendship was that they “needed to be an adult too early”. As a result, in his adulthood, Michael still sought the innocence, joy, and love found in childhood. 
Doesn’t this make any of us sit up and realize what we must each be doing in our day to day lives? Not ignoring what has been our lives thus far. Nor using a shaky or broken foundation as an excuse to be sad, miserable or unfulfilled in our current lives. Not trying to be what others expect us to be for as Brooke Shields said about comments made regarding her ‘odd couple’ friendship with Michael, “what seems odd on the outside, can be very real on the inside”. 
Let Michael’s life teach us by some of the examples he set for us. As the Reverend Al Sharpton remembered Michael – He did not let others decide his boundaries. He never stopped dreaming. He never stopped working to create his dreams for the world. He out-performed the pessimists and naysayers. He out-sang his pain. 
Let Michael’s death teach us that we cannot wait; that we don’t have endless time to create the life we want, to be with our loved ones, to make our dreams reality. 
“My goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive; the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance”, said Michael many times. He used his gift. He followed his bliss. He found his connection to that which is greater. He knew that indeed – “We ARE the world” – it is in our hands to treat ourselves and others as must be for a peaceful loving existence and humanity. Michael was a man who gave more than he received, always responding to family and friends’ loving statements, “I love you more”. Michael gave to others what he himself never received – unconditional love and acceptance. He truly embodied the quote Brooke recited from childhood classic, The Little Prince: “Eyes are blind, you must look with your heart. What is most important is invisible.” 
Maybe I am rambling far off topic as I try to find meaning in such loss and pain. 
Does it matter? Be it what we are supposed to do with all life puts before us, or be it a personal exercise that helps us cope with this massive loss in our culture and world – either way let us learn something here. 
From his life – use your gifts, use your gifts as YOU feel they should be used, love limitlessly, see beauty and grace in every person, try and try and then try again to heal yourself, don’t take no for an answer, don’t let skin color, childhood, pain, naysayers or above all else fear – stop you – not ever. Your present, and your future depend on what you do NOW, not on your past. The world depends on each of us to love ourselves and each other. 
From his death – learn that time may be infinite but OUR time is indeed all too limited, that we get no notice of when it is going to end, and when we get a clue that our time on this earth or with a loved one is coming to a close, it is STILL not enough time, so don’t waste a second. What do you fear more – what keeps you from your dreams now, or forever losing the chance to have those dreams become your reality? Learn that pain and fear can indeed kill you – it can wreck havoc on your physical body, and rob your emotional and spiritual self of sanity and peace. 
Don’t live Michael’s life – just be sure to truly and full and authentically live yours. 
Above all else – do not die Michael’s death – loved, successful, and yet still in pain and torment. 
And Michael – may you now find the peace you always yearned for. Rest in peace…and….We love you MORE. 

A Day Missed - and - What is My Legacy?

Ok, so first I have to apologize. Yesterday was my day to fill in on the blog tour, and it was my honor to have a second ‘appearance’ along this wild Mom Blog adventure we have been on. I got in late, sat down to post my blog and blogger was not so cooperative. When I say not cooperating I mean in the ‘trying to put soaking wet panty hose on an octopus’ level of uncooperative!

 I finally stopped trying at 11pm PST, resumed trying at 6am PST today and well a few hours later….here it finally is.

Sorry that yesterday we were all blog-less. Sorry that today I am popping in to add my two cents and then pointing the way to today’s true blogger ….Kelly at Go Go Gadget Zen …. http://gogozen.blogspot.com/

And now…finally…(hopefully) without any further ado… my (day old) blog.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about LEGACY. Looking back in history, it has usually been the father, who has established a business, created an empire….to hand down to his children. Legacy of family name, reputation, status, money, power.

Yet, psychology finds that the mother’s influence is the one most sited for causing the lasting innate legacies of behavioral patterns – be they good or bad.

Maybe I worry over this more being a single mom….any lasting lessons, legacy, inheritance of both the material and the spiritual – lays on my shoulders to create and pass along to my children.

SO I started thinking….Is this part of why I want to build my own business? Maybe, but even if I don’t, my children will grow up, have their own careers, build their own professional paths.  Is this why I am so dogmatically strict about being authentic, honest, loyal etc.?  Of course those are traits I want deeply ingrained in my children…..still not legacy per se.

What would I want my children to remember most about me? Being tough as nails and surviving a lot? Writing multiple best selling novels? Helping numerous people through spiritual coaching seminars?

That is all lovely BUT….what kept resonating in my heart and head as my true answer….

I want them to remember their mom as the woman who bought a cup of coffee for the valet guy on a freezing, rainy day.

I want them to be proud that the homeless man at the nearby intersection knew to count on me to roll down my window and share a few dollars with him.

I want them to remember volunteering at LA Mission, and donating bags and bags and BAGS of clothing, books, toys….to those who needed it more than us.

I want them to feel the urge to do as I have done, and buy a gift card at Starbucks for the exhausted looking mom a few people behind me in line, who was juggling 3 kids under the age of 5…and needed the TLC of being treated to a cup of coffee, or at the grocery store for the elderly lady who was buying only day old products to still eat within her meager budget.

I want them to remember that their birthdays mattered more to me than any religious holiday, or personal milestone of mine….that I was so blessed to celebrate THEM….their existence and uniqueness.

Hopefully, even if they only hold memories of me as the eccentric writer with too many cats, who drank too much wine, and coffee….that they will find their legacy scribbled in the margins, and in between the lines.