I was at the Farmer’s Market this past weekend, and passed by one stand selling bags of tomatoes at a discount price. They were in good shape, fresh from the garden, no pesticides.

Farmer’s market produce is usually healthier than organic tomatoes in the supermarket. Firstly, there is no Apeel to deal with.  And then there is more nutrition in the freshly picked local Farmer’s Market produce than the organic produce that has traveled hundreds of miles cross country and has been sitting in the supermarket for days or weeks.

Never one to pass up a bargain, I bought several bags of the tomatoes with visions of making salads and homemade tomato sauce.

That vision changed. Came home late from work the next evening, too hungry to start cooking, looked at the tomatoes and “gazpacho” popped into my head.
Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold tomato soup, easy to make, loaded with nutrition and flavor. It basically is a tomato smoothie.

Gazpacho Recipe

Ingredients:

·      2-4 large ripe tomatoes

·      1 small cucumber

·     1/4  medium onion

·     1/2  bell pepper (any color is fine – red makes it sweeter)

·      1 clove garlic

·      1-2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

·      1 TBSP red wine vinegar

·      1/8 tsp sea salt

·      Handful of fresh cilantro

Ingredients for Gazpacho

 

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until super smooth.

2. Taste and adjust the flavor as needed, adding more salt for saltiness, vinegar for acidity, and garlic/onion for pungency. The soup should be creamy. If too watery, add more olive oil (or tomatoes).

3. Serve in a cup or bowl. Top with a cilantro sprig or chopped veggies.

4. Drink as is or refrigerate for later. Serve it cold.

5. It can be heated for a nice creamy warm soup.

I had mine at room temperature, and it was delicious. And it satiated my hunger enough that it became my entire dinner for the evening.

Gazpacho is packed with vitamins and antioxidants. It's low in calories but still keeps you hydrated. It’s perfect as an appetizer, snack, or light meal. Plus, it's super tasty and a breeze to whip up!

Well, it’s finally happening. Slowly but surely, fluoride is being removed from the municipal drinking waters. And it’s about time.

Utah was the first state to pass a law to remove it. And now Florida. Just a matter of time before your home state is next.

Recent studies have shown that Fluoride will lower the IQ of children by at least 5 points. Not to mention fluoride will adversely affect your health in so many other ways. (see the diagram below or read our many posts on Fluoride)

Effects of Fluoride

Historically, before fluoride was promoted as an anti-cavity medicine, it was added to the drinking water in the WWII concentration camps, to make the prisoners more docile.

Not only is fluoride a well-known neurotoxin (can cause seizures, can calcify your pineal gland thereby decreasing melatonin and disrupting sleep) but it is also a hormone disruptor (prevents uptake of iodine creating thyroid and estrogen related issues), and displaces minerals in the bones causing osteo-fluorosis (styrofoam-like bone). In addition, it can produce intrinsic brown stains in the developing teeth of your child.

Will it strengthen teeth and prevent cavities? Maybe. But only if used topically, not systemically. So why has it been put in our municipal water supply where it obviously has done more harm than good? Just using fluoride toothpaste and rinses would have been better choices if we were trying to prevent cavities. And even that has its negative side effects.

Fluoride has been added to the city water for decades. No one asked if you wanted it, no warnings, no informed consent. If a dentist gave you a fluoride treatment without your permission, it would be considered malpractice.

You have the right to decide which chemicals go into your body. I for one am glad to see that the government is finally “trusting the science” and doing the right thing.

Looking forward to seeing what’s next.



If you like this post you may also like: The Flaws of Fluoride

                                                    Is Fluoride Making You Sick?