Our Lives Are Surrounded by War

In America, it’s easy to think that there is no war but I hear the sound of war when a fighter jet takes off from the nearby air force base. I’m very grateful for the peaceful existence I have in America and for those who “fought for our country,” but I see the damage done to our young soldiers when we watch the evening news and see how ill- treated many Vets are in hospitals created to take optimum care of them. We hear stories about friends and neighbors and how their lives were altered by war. And then I see it when I’m researching. Whether I’m researching genealogy or for a fiction I’m writing. Yesterday and today are surrounded by war. Can’t we get past it?

Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-IV-Native-Americans/dp/1500756105

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ocean

The Love of Gold Goes Back to the Stone Age

People love gold. I know because I live in the Sierras and I’ve met many modern-day gold miners. They will stand in the hot sun all day with their primitive picks and pans, happy with the thought that maybe they’ll find a nugget or at least enough gold “fines” to make the day worthwhile. Stone Age tools embedded with gold tell us that early man learned how to melt gold and craft with it. The Egyptians became highly skilled gold jewelers by about 5000 B.C.E. Fine specimens can be found in museums. You’ve heard of King Solomon’s mines? Those gold mines brought Solomon great wealth. The precious metal was pounded then stretched and worked into fine jewelry and maybe to decorate military armaments. The gold was used to reward his best soldiers and for the purchase of food and goods for the well-being of his people.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the historic novel The Celtic Prince Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Prince-Before-After/dp/1484086392

eBooks and computer downloads available through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ocean

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/celtic-prince-suellen-ocean/1102338307?ean=2940016618968

Gathering Acorns is Great Fun for Kids… Next Time Bake Acorn Cookies!

Kids love to gather acorns. I know because I have heard close to a hundred of these acorn stories. “When I was six,” people always tell me. These are adults, reliving their experience gathering acorns, probably when they were studying the Native American history of their area. I have yet to hear one of these stories without a smile on the teller’s face. Fond memories. What their schoolteachers did not know was that with a little more effort, the children could process the acorns and make cookies, bringing even bigger smiles. Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

 

People Who Eat High Fiber Diets Live Longer and Have Less Disease

Last night I heard a radio newscast that said that people who eat high fiber diets live longer and have less heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This is good news because food fiber is readily available, inexpensive, satisfying and can help with weight loss because it’s filling. How can we get more fiber? Fill your refrigerator with fresh carrots, apples, potatoes, sprouted wheatberry bread, broccoli, cabbage, grapes and other fruits and vegetables. Go to the natural foods store and purchase wheat bran and wheat germ. Add the wheat bran to your cornbread recipe and add the wheat germ to your favorite yogurt. Cook a lot of brown rice and stock up your cupboard with other grains like quinoa and polenta. Keep a wide variety of beans in your cupboard so you can make tasty vegetable soups. When you choose breakfast cereals, choose oats and if you go for packaged cereals, read the labels and only buy those with 100 percent whole grains and no added sugars or chemicals. These high fiber foods will leave you feeling full, give your body energy, and according to the radio newscaster… give you many more years of life.

Suellen Ocean is the author of the vegetarian cookbook, Poor Jonny’s Cookbook. Available here:

http://www.amazon.com/Poor-Jonnys-Cookbook-Suellen-Ocean/dp/0965114031

eBook or computer download through Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/260122

eBook through Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/poor-jonnys-cookbook-suellen-ocean/1102338251?ean=2940016618609

Nature’s Health… Are Acorns Medicinal?

I believe that acorns are medicinal and I’ll tell you why. Besides containing a little protein and many carbohydrates, some acorns hold as much as 13.55 percent fat and 8.60 percent fiber. Both necessary for an efficient body. In addition, acorns make good medicine because they contain significant quantities of calcium and magnesium. These two nutrients work together. Calcium is essential for strong bones and calm nerves and is lost from our bodies when magnesium is deficient. Also found significantly in acorns, is potassium, a nutrient vital to our well-being, a loss of which to diabetics is extremely dangerous. Sulfur is another element found significantly in acorns. It is such an important amino acid; the high sulfur content in eggs has given eggnog its reputation as good medicine for combatting sickness. If you have not tried eating acorns, I suggest you do. It’s good medicine. Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973

 

COOKING With Acorns… Are Acorns Safe To Eat?

I have asked this question myself, in the early days when I first wanted to eat wild foods. Are acorns safe to eat? The answer is yes. Acorns sustained Native Americans for thousands of years. Cultures throughout the world, living in temperate climates where oaks grow, also ate acorns. In Spain, they made spirits from acorns. In England, the peasants ate them. Pagan history shows a grand reverence for the oak and the acorn. Naturalist John Muir recorded his travels and left us with his belief that the acorn was “strengthening.” My biggest surprise is that the “civilized” world has overlooked them for so long. Sometimes I celebrate holidays with a bowl of acorn dip, made from the acorns of California Valley Oaks. It’s delicious and the next time I go to the store, I’m picking up the ingredients to make more. Suellen Ocean is the author of Acorns and Eat’em, a how-to vegetarian cookbook and field guide for eating acorns. Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Acorns-Eatem-How–Vegetarian-Cookbook/dp/1491288973