So, I'm in frequent contact with a senior I admire, someone who is very picky about what foods she eats. She can afford to be picky. On the way over to visit with her, I saw some tents being set up near a school. Since in California there has been a move towards homeschooling or learning by virtual contact with a teacher and classroom, this same location was where hundreds of laptop computers were given free to students. I stopped to ask what was going on and it turned out the place had been selected randomly for a major food bank in Los Angeles to give away food because they had "too much." I was told that this food was not the usual cans and peanut butter. They had produce. I decided to accept some food to take to her.
This is what was in the boxes they gave me.
Onions - no brand
Apples - no brand (we assume Oregon)
Nectarines from the FAMILY TREE FARM in Reedly, California
Carrots from FRUTIA - KERN RIDGE GROWERS, Arwin, California
Celery from FOXY USA - Nunes Company, Salinas, California
Potatoes from IDAHO FRESH in Menan, Idaho
Lemons from BELLE OF PIRU, Fillmore-Piru Citrus, Fillmore, California
Strawberries from BEACH STREET FARMS, Watsonville, California
Lettuce from GREEN GIANT, Chuck Brothers, Salinas California
I was AMAZED. I also worried that the reason that there was so much produce donated or purchased by some entity of our United States of America government was that these things were going to go bad if they were not soon eated. My friend outright refused the strawberries, saying that they were on the top 20 list for foods that hold poisons and should only be eaten if organic.
I'm APPRECIATIVE.
The celery went into a soup heavy with celery.
The carrots into another soup, heavy with carrots.
She used the lettuce because it was Green Giant.
The nectarines were out of this world delicious.
How WONDERFUL - for now - that so many people are going to food bank giveaways in order to stay in ever shrinking budgets.
C 2020 Magyar- American BlogSpot
My dog is an itchy dog.
I understand that the number one reason Americans take their dogs to the vet is itching.
An itchy dog appears to be obsessed - unnerved - and it's difficult to watch too.
You want to relieve them of the itch.
The first thing you do is bath your dog.
You think shampoo - conditioner - and topical ointments.
You think fleas, bug bites - especially spiders.
You switch around their food.
"Grain Free" is popular.
However, what's the substitute for wheat or corn?
(Are "Gluten Free" people thinking DOGS should also be Gluten Free?)
So here is what my research and experience has taught me.
In nature dogs are lucky to breed once and are often dead before the age of 6. They don't get old enough to loose teeth or lay around. They are either contributing to the welfare of the pack or they are put out to die alone.
One dog is accepted as the leader, usually a good hunter. That dog gets to eat first. When they kill an animal whose meat they like, this pack leader goes for the stomach. THE CONTENTS OF THE STOMACH are gourmet food to the dog and it includes DIGESTED VEGETATION.
The vegetation is usually grasses and berries - think what a deer eats.
The number one meat dogs are allergic to is CHICKEN. But birds are not all alike.
So READ LABELS. And what do you read?
SOY. I learned that soy plants and beans and oils are a big export of Hungary to the United States. However popular soy is as a protein substitute for vegans and vegetarians, it can have an estrogen effect and should be avoided unless used minimally by people with cancer or danger of cancer that can be grown by estrogen. (How much soy or yams a person can eat is subject to debate.)
I read labels and I see things like TOMATO SKIN, BLUEBERRIES, CACTUS, ROSEMARY put into dog food.
I seriously question tomato in dog food. As for blueberries, see if your dog will eat one without the kibble. Mine rolls them on the floor not knowing what else to do. Cactus? Forget it. I hear of dogs who like bananas and watermelon. Mine could care less.
However she loves - cabbage - sauerkraut, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower (I hear there are cautions about how much of these), yams and pumpkin (I hear to avoid white potato and sweet potato), chick peas. She could care less about lettuce or other table greens.
So I indulge her. About a teaspoon full on the kibble. She will dig out the real food over the kibble.
I have a friend who feeds his dogs chicken and kibble every day. My dog likes to raid his dog's bowls.
Thus if you have a Hungarian-American dog and must give it people food, forget the spices, but give that dog some stuffed cabbage - but not anything with soy.
A sign that a dog has allergies is black discharge or tears from its eyes. A sign that the food change is working is the end of that discharge or tears.
C 2019 Magyar American BlogSpot All Rights Reserved including International and Internet rights.
