Exactly. That is why I brought it out that native American plants did just fine, thank you, before the white men imported honeybees. Bumble bees are good pollinators, and they can pollinate at temperatures lower than honeybees, and have less stringent water requirements. Greenhouses typically use bumble bees as pollinators because they are less aggressive! Honeybees were brought here primarily for honey production and their large numbers in managed hives were what led them to be used a pollinators commercially. The thing is that other bees may be solitary or ground dwellers. That is why I said that homeowners typically kill them when they find them present, as they see their large size and assume, often in error, that they are threats. Use of chemicals on turf and in gardens plays havoc with them as well. I've read that that bumble bees are often considered better pollinators than honeybees, more efficient and needed in lower quantities. I've also read, whether it is true on not, I am not sure, that bumble bees will go to a flower once, and not waste time trying to harvest a blossom more than once in the same foraging trip. But most homeowners see a ground or wood dwelling bee, and they head out immediately to the box store for an aerosol spray to kill them. sad.

chi83- I'll post my go-to cookbook titles and favorite recipes in them, as well as a few recipes. You may find copies of these, and other GF cookbooks, at your local library. -Grainlady "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook" by Elana Amsterdam - be sure to check out her web-site - www.elanaspantry.com -Pecan Shortbread Cookies -Cheddar Cheese Crackers -Banana Blueberry Muffins -Cinnamon Apple Muffins -Date Pecan Muffins (a HUGE favorite) -Zucchini Bread -Eggplant Parmesan -Savory Vegetable Quiche -Asparagus Onion Quiche -Kale Tart with Cranberries "Specific Carbohydrate Diet" \- Erica Kerwien \-Sour Cashew Cream (dairy\-free version of sour cream) \-Zucchini Sticks \-Parmesan Crackers \-Almond Saltine Crackers \-Tabbouleh (made with cauliflower) \-Sandwich Rounds (good sandwich bun substitute) \-Banana Bread (BEST recipe I've tried, and there have been many trials) \-Pumpkin Bread \-Roasted Ratatouille \-Recipes where cauliflower is substituted for high\-glycemic rice: Fried Cauliflower Rice, Roasted Cauliflower Rice "The No-Gluten Cookbook" - Series Editor, Kimberly A. Tessmer, R.D., L.D. -Crunchy Cornbread Squares (Can be used for sandwiches, especially good for grilled cheese sandwiches - as well as cornbread. Makes a 13x9" pan and is freezer-friendly.) "Cooking with Coconut Flour"\- Burce Fife, N.D. (many of these recipes are available on\-line; many have stevia as a sweetener option) \-Coconut Bread (An all\-purpose loaf, good toasted or used for French Toast.) \-Lots of good muffin recipes (make 6 muffins per recipe) \-Cream Cheese Squares (egg\-free) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My version of gluten\-free baking mix (Bisquick substitute) (makes 1\-cup) 1/2 c. almond flour (Honeyville or homemade) 1/2 c. hi\-maize resistant starch OR Jay Robb unflavored Whey Protein Isolate OR Pamela's Gluten\-Free, Wheat\-Free Baking Mix 1\-1/2 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1 T. coconut oil Place in a mini\-food processor, or in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer, until coconut oil is mixed into dry ingredients. (Note: you can use a pastry blender or fork, but the FP or mixer mixes it quicker and better.) I use this mixture for "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" (a crustless pumpkin pie recipe, and many other Bisquick recipes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes (Yield: 4\-6 small pancakes) In a 2\-cup measuring cup place: 1/2 c. quick oats (optional) 1 T. buckwheat flour OR Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Creamy Hot Cereal OR unsprouted OR sprouted buckwheat 1/3 c. buttermilk (or kefir, yogurt) Mix, cover and soak overnight at room temperature. Add and mix in: 1 egg 1 T. melted coconut oil Add dry ingredients: 1 T. palm sugar 1/4 t. baking powder 1/4 t. baking soda 1/4 t. salt Mix well. Add more liquid if the batter seems too thick. Make into small 3\-4\-inch pancakes. I make 4 pancakes at a time on my 11\-inch griddle. PEANUT BUTTER CRUNCH COOKIES 1 stick butter 3/4 c. peanut butter 1 t. baking soda pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 c. unsalted dry roasted peanuts 1/2 c. raw or roasted sunflower seeds 1/2 c. almond flour 1/2 c. palm sugar 1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut 1/2 c. cacao nibs (optional) Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets. Melt butter and peanut butter together (microwave or stove-top). Cool slightly, if hot, and place in large mixing bowl. Add eggs and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and blend using an electric hand-held mixer. Using a #50 portion scoop, place the dough on the baking sheets and slightly press to flatten. Bake for 12-minutes. Makes about 40 cookies. Place on wire cooling racks to cool completely. MICROWAVE GLUTEN\-FREE CURRANT BREAD (This is adapted from a recipe I found on\-line and reminds me of an Irish\-style currant bread I made before going wheat\-free, and what we use for toast for breakfast.) Mix well in a 2\-cup measuring cup, or small bowl, using a hand\-powered rotary egg beater or with a fork: 1 lg. egg 1 t. water 1\-2 t. agave nectar OR low\-glycemic coconut nectar\* (or other sweetener of choice) 2 T. buttermilk (kefir or yogurt will also work) pinch of salt Add: 2 T. all\-purpose GF flour (Pamala’s, Bob’s Red Mill, etc.) 2 T. almond flour 2 T. quick oats (or other gluten\-free flakes) After batter is mixed, add 2 T. currants and stir to blend then into the batter. Place the batter in a prepared dish (spray with PAM) \- use a ramekin, mug, or glass bowl that easily holds at least 8\-ounces of liquid. Straight sides work better than rounded sides (I use a ramekin.) Microwave for 2\-minutes on HIGH (more or less time, depending on your microwave \- you may need to adjust it 15\-seconds one way or another). Flip out of baking container onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely. When cool, slice the bread into rounds using a long serrated bread knife. TIP: I place the muffin in a shallow lid, like a cottage cheese container lid or other lid that will accommodate the bread \- anywhere from 1/4\-inch to 1/2\-inch deep. Use the lid as a cutting guide so you get slices about the same thickness. Toast the slices for serving. \* Coconut Nectar \- le$$ expensive homemade version: 1\-1/2 c. palm sugar, ½ c. water. Heat over low heat until dissolved. Store in a jar in the refrigerator. Almond Flour Bread (source: somewhere on-line, with my changes) 2-1/2 c. almond flour 1/2 c. oat fiber (I use hi-maize resistant starch, or spent rye flour or buckwheat flour) 1/4 c. unflavored whey protein powder 1 T. granulated erythritol (I use Swerve) 2 t. baking powder 1/2 t. baking soda 1 t. xanthan gum (do not omit) 1/2 t. salt 6-oz. Greek yogurt (I use drained kefir curd) 6 T. butter, softened (I use coconut oil) 4 lg. eggs 6 T. almond milk (I also use coconut milk or milk kefir or coconut kefir - whatever I happen to have) Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. Grease a 10x4-1/2 loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whish together the almond flour. oat fiber, whey protein, erythritol, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. In a large bowl, beat together yogurt and butter until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time and scraping down bowl and beaters as needed. Add almond flour and beat until combined. Beat in almond milk until thoroughly combined. Spread batter in prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 15-minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely. [Note: Slice in thin slices.] QUINOA PANCAKES (adapted from a recipe found on\-line) 1 c. soaked quinoa (or quinoa sprouts \- raw) made from 3/4\-cup of dry quinoa\* 1\-2 T. raw honey (agave nectar or coconut nectar) 1\-1/2 T. coconut oil 1 egg 1/2 T. coconut flour 1/4 t. cinnamon 1/2 T. baking powder 1/4 t. salt \*To make quinoa sprouts: Using 3/4 c. quinoa, thoroughly rinse in a strainer and soak in a bowl with enough water to cover the quinoa by an inch or two, overnight. In the morning drain the water (use a fine\-mesh strainer). Measure out 1\-cup and use with the following directions. 1\. Process quinoa sprouts in food processor or blender until a wet batter is formed, 3\-5 minutes. 2\. Add wet ingredients and process until blended. 3\. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add dry mix to batter and mix well. 4\. Heat greased skillet or griddle on low/medium heat. 5\. Using 1/4 cup of batter at a time, place on skillet/griddle. 6\. Cook for about 2\-minutes or until the pancake is golden. You should see bubbles form and then pop around the edges. Flip pancake and cook for a minute or two. \[Grainlady Note: Make the cakes small \- more like pikelets \- and cook slowly on LOW heat for best results.\] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUPER\-SIMPLE BANANA COOKIES 2\-3 mashed bananas 2 c. oats 1 c. chopped dates (or other dried fruit \- cranberries, cherries, blueberries, apricots snipped into 1/4\-inch cubes using kitchen scissors) 1/3 c. coconut oil 1 t. vanilla pinch of salt Preheat oven to 350\-degrees F. Mix ingredients well, drop by teaspoonful onto parchment\-lined baking sheets (I use a \#50 or \#70 portion scoop). Press the dough until about 1/4\-inch thick. Bake 20\-25 minutes until golden brown. Options: use 1/4\-1/2 c. mini semi\-sweet chocolate chips, chopped nuts, cacao nibs..... \[I usually make this recipe using 1 banana, 1 c. oats (I use sprouted oats I dehydrate and flake), 1/2 c. dried fruit/nuts/chocolate chips/nibs....or a mix of those, 2 T. coconut oil, 1/2 t. vanilla and pinch of salt. Makes 1 baking sheet of cookies \- or about 20 small cookies. I bake them on a parchment\-lined pizza pan in my Convection/Microwave oven or solar oven.\]

I call that the "Everything Must Have A Name" rule. None of this "poultry fat" stuff - gotta tell me if it's chicken or duck or whatever. Just "animal fat"? Run away screaming. On the "meal" issue... if your pet food contains fish meal, make sure it is specified as "ethoxyquin-free". Not that the entire pet food in total is ethoxyquin-free, but that that particular ingredient is. (Pet food manufacturers are not required by law to tell you what may have been added to an ingredient before it comes into their possession if they don't want to, so all kinds of preservatives, contaminants and such can be in there. They just have to tell you what THEY do to it.) By US law, fish meal not intended for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. A very few processors have been granted waivers to produce fish meal preserved with something other than ethoxyquin and usually it's trumpeted loud and clear as a marketing point when a pet food manufacturer uses ethoxyquin-free fish meal - Wellness is one of them, and it took some digging but Natura Pet Products (Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma Organic) is on board there too. "Digest" must be avoided at all costs even if it does have a species name although more often than not it's just on there as "animal digest". It's gods-only-know-what waste material chemically or enzymatically broken down - predigested - into a slurry in order to convert it into supposedly-bioavailable protein that a less-than-scrupulous pet food manufacturer can use to raise the "crude protein" content on the label. Not only does the animal usually get little actual nutritional value out of the substance but what can legally go into "animal digest" is gruesome to say the least - there is no control over quality, source, or contamination. I do have to nitpick just a little bit though - by-products are not necessarily always bad, but it's a case of Know Thy Manufacturer. See, people go on and on about by-products being whatever junk swept up off the factory floor when by legal definition it is just the stuff that isn't "striated muscle" (either skeletal muscles, diaphragm, or heart): "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of their contents" and specifically excludes "hair, horns, teeth and hoofs". If you've got a food company that gets that material fresh and handles it properly so it doesn't spoil, it's very good stuff. C'mon, people eat kidneys, brains, liver, blood (usually made into sausage - black pudding being a famous variety), stomachs (tripe), and intestines ("chitlins" and sausage casings), and many of the frozen-raw-diet manufacturers are all over the stuff. A hot trend in natural pet food is "green tripe", which is cow stomach without the contents removed, just ground up semi-digested grass and all. (The smell of it will clear a house though. Whoooo-eeee!) So really it's more a question of knowing your manufacturer than avoiding an entire class of ingredient. Many of the better pet-food manufacturers are avoiding brains entirely these days though, because of worries about BSE.

I lost the first 15 or so pounds on a crazy diet about 10 years ago. But, I kept it off, for the most part. I gave up diet soda a few years ago, and told my doctor I was going to lose 10 lb. in the next month...so I dieted and I gained a pound. I quit thinking about it and over the next year, I lost 30lb. It came off so easily that I thought maybe I had some kind of chronic illness, but the only difference in my life...which was a big one....I had a total knee replacement, and though I always had to walk quite a bit taking care of my animals, etc., being totally pain free has made a big difference in that I can get outside and do more and I don't have to sit around inside all the time....because, when I do, I eat more. The "crazy diet" was the Shangrila Diet, where you drink oil before every meal. (I told you it was crazy and I have been on every diet you can think of and some you can't.) Some things I don't eat on a regular basis...like bread. I almost never eat it, although I like it okay. I also don't eat dairy...or very little, except for butter. I keep ice cream in the freezer...several kinds but I eat very little of it. I live a long way from town, so if I don't have something, I don't go get it....so I don't keep snacks in the house usually. The main difference in my life is I don't think about food all the time. Sometimes I actually forget to eat. That is so odd for me because when I used to try to diet all the time, I became obsessed with food...especially the carbs I tried to cut back on. (Went on the Carbohydrate Lover's Diet too.) I still love to cook, and I go to Pinterest and save recipes I want to try and I usually will make a new recipe once or twice a week, but I just don't eat so much at one time.