Vegetarian Summer Grilling
By Sarah Kruse

Nothing says summer more than grilling outside. Buts what’s a health-conscious, vegetarian or vegan supposed to do? Join right in, of course!

Forget the standard, boring vegetable kabobs or fake “meat” products. Here are a couple of inspiring options.

For the traditionalist: Try a homemade veggie burger. Kristin has several yummy recipes in her cookbook and I’ll share my secrets for grilling success.

First, you need some fat. That’s often the missing ingredient when it comes to cooking veggie-based burgers. After I form my patties, I spread some coconut oil on both sides. The reason I use coconut oil is because it’s solid up to 78 degrees F and can be spread onto the patty without making it a soggy mess.

Second, I chill the burgers after I coat them with coconut oil. This helps chill the coconut oil and firm up the patties.

Third, a hot grill. My grill has a temperature gauge on it and when it’s around 450 degrees, I’ll put the burgers on. The oil keeps them from sticking, adds the fat to keep them from drying out and provides those nice grill marks.. Keep an eye on them, because the oil can catch fire and meatless burgers don’t need as much time on the grill as meat ones do. The time depends on how thick your patties are, but I usually allow 5-6 minutes per side. Top with all the usual fixings. Burgers can be prepared ahead of time.

To round out the standard fare, add some grilled potatoes. Potatoes will need to go on the grill before the veg burgers. The smaller the size, the faster the potatoes will cook. I usually dice the potatoes, toss them with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sometimes garlic powder, spicy seasonings or a mixed herb spice blend. Place parchment paper over heavy-duty foil and spread the potatoes on half the parchment paper. Fold over to make a packet and roll up the seams. Place on hot grill and cook for 20-25 minutes, shaking the packet every once in a while. Carefully open a corner to check for doneness.

Italian-inspired: Try grilled polenta and eggplant. This requires a little planning. First, prepare the polenta according package instructions (usually you bring 3 cups of water to boil, slowly add the polenta and stir, stir, stir until it’s stiff). Spread the cooked polenta onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate until cool and firm. Can be made the night before. Use the coconut oil trick above and spread the polenta with coconut oil. Cut into squares or triangles and coat the other side. Keep refrigerated until ready to grill.

For the eggplant, you’ll need 2-3 small eggplants. Cut off the stem end and slice in half lengthwise. Using a paring knife, score the flesh of the eggplant in a criss-cross pattern. Marinade in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some Italian herbs and garlic. Can prepare the night before. Just before grilling, lightly spread with coconut oil. Heat the grill to hot and add the eggplant, cut side down. Grill for 5-7 minutes, then flip. Continue cooking and flipping if necessary to avoid burning until tender.

Place the polenta squares on the grill for several minutes, then flip and continue to grill until heated through. Serve with whole-grain pasta noodles and top with warmed tomato sauce. Round out the meal with an inspiring salad full of fresh, seasonal veggies.

Keep the grill on for dessert too! A simple recipe is to grill peaches by cutting in half, removing pit and brushing with a light oil (such as sunflower oil) until warmed through and tender. More recipes are available online that include topping with sugar, using balsamic vinegar or alcohol if you want to explore more complex flavors.

Here’s to warm summer nights and delicious, healthy food with friends and family!

What Mom Could Really Use for Mother’s Day
By Sarah Kruse

In keeping with the previous post on eating for health and time-saving tips,
here are some gift ideas for mom to fit any budget.

1. A personal chef (a certified natural chef, of course)! Who wouldn’t enjoy a
break from cooking? Go to
http://www.baumancollege.org/our-graduates/hire-a-graduate.html and complete the
form to find a chef in your area.

2. A set of good knives. Having the right tools for the right job makes prep
work efficient. I have two sets of knives that make prep work enjoyable: a
German Furi knife and a set of Japanese Global knives.
3.  Stainless steel pots. No need to worry about leaching with versatile
stainless steel pots.
4. An organized pantry. Buy Mom some glass containers (canning jars work well
and are inexpensive) to neatly store dry goods in the pantry. Even better if you
offer to organize her cupboards for her!
5. Coupons to help Mom in the kitchen. Whether it’s washing dishes, cleaning
veggies, any little bit of help will be appreciated.
6. A copy of Kristin’s Therapeutic Chef cookbook, because giving the gift of
health is the best and most thoughtful gift of all!

Getting Dinner on the Table Fast!
By Sarah Kruse

Shortcuts are hard to come by when you’re committed to a whole-foods based diet, eating for health or on an allergy friendly diet. Take out, fast food and frozen entrees may save you time or money, but the cost to your health isn’t worth it.

Here are some tips for busy people to get a wholesome dinner on the table quick.

Planning and Prep Work
1. Plan the menu for the week. Not only does this help with grocery shopping, but it eliminates the frazzled “what to do for dinner” question at the end of a busy day. Confession: I personally have a hard time adhering to this tip, partly because I shop at the farmer’s market on Sundays and receive my CSA produce on Wednesdays. Still, I usually jot down a rough meal plan once I have my produce, centering the meal around a fresh vegetable. Friday or Saturday night is usually reserved as stir-fry or soup night (explanation to come).

Depending on your personality and confidence in the kitchen, your menu might be detailed, including main and side dishes, or loosely theme-related by cuisine (Mexican, Italian, Thai, Indian, etc). Or perhaps you prefer to designate Monday night as casserole night, Tuesday as soup & salad, Wednesday as beans, Thursday stir-fry, Friday pizza, Saturday tempeh, etc. How you design your menu doesn’t matter. The key is to come up with a framework that inspires and allows you to plug in easy meals for the week.

There’s nothing wrong with reusing your weekly menus either! Be sure to note the meals that were hits with the whole family, meals that took longer than expected, etc. After a few weeks of weekly menu planning, you’ll have a great collection to reference.

2. Prep ahead of time. This step will vary depending on your menu and schedule. I usually try to clean and cut hardier veggies once I get home from the market if time allows. Just peeling a head of garlic at once is a huge time-saver later in the week! Celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onion, squash, kale, etc., fare well prepped ahead of time. Plus having cleaned and cut veggies ready to go in the fridge is a great go-to snack for kids. Recruit older kids to help with some of these tasks.

Another option is to do a little prep each night. For example, if I’m chopping onion for a soup I’m making on Sunday night, I’ll chop the second onion at the same time that will be used in a recipe later in the week. Also, I save a handful of each vegetable used throughout the week to use later. By Friday or Saturday, a handful of broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, carrots and kale adds up to a no-prep stir-fry or soup.

3. Have a no-fail back-up meal ready to go for those days when nothing goes right. Having a no-brainer meal ready to go means you’ll be able to give yourself a break and stay on track with your healthy eating. I call these pantry meals, where a few staple pantry items become dinner. For my household, it’s gluten-free pasta, jarred spaghetti sauce and a vegetable (such as frozen spinach). I know everyone will eat it and it’s ready in 10 minutes. I’ll share some additional pantry meal ideas in another post.

Check back for more tips on getting dinner on the table fast in subsequents posts. In the meantime, what are some of your time-saving tricks in the kitchen?

Easy Cauliflower Soup

Here’s a perfect soup recipe that will brighten the transition from winter to spring. This soup uses a Moroccan spice blend called Ras el Hanout, which means “top of the shop” in Arabic. The spices used often varies per vendor or household in North Africa and can contain up to 30 different kinds of spices. This versatile spice blend livens up all manner of grain, potato and vegetable dishes. If you don’t have any on hand, try substituting with your favorite Indian-inspired spice mix or use a 1/4 tsp cumin, a pinch of ginger, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large Russet potato, diced
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1/2 tsp Ras el Hanout spice
1 medium tomato, chopped (or 1/2 cup canned diced tomato)
Vegetable broth (or water and vegetable bouillon) to cover
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice

In a large soup pot heat olive oil and onion over medium heat for a few minutes. Add potatoes, cauliflower and spices. Stir to coat ingredients with spices. Add chopped tomatoes and vegetable broth (or water and vegetable bouillon) to cover. Simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes). Allow to cool and transfer half the soup to a blender and puree.* Return pureed portion to pot, add salt and lemon juice. Stir well and gently reheat. Serve immediately, along with a salad to round out the meal. Serves 4.

* It is best to use a glass blender or stainless steel blender stick.  If using plastic, make sure soup is thoroughly cooled first.

What Did I Eat Today?

Breakfast:

Sprouted Grain Toast (Food for Life, Ezekiel) with Almond butter

1/2 a banana

1 cup Matcha Tea (Green Tea)

1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened

Lunch:

2 Peasant Pies (Moroccan Lentil, Spicy Eggplant)

Supplements:

Multivitamin by New Chapter

2 Vitamin D capsules

1 dropper full of Vitamin B12 (sublingual)

Elderberry Tincture- 1 dropper full

Dandelion Tincture- 1 dropper full

Snack:

3 clementines

Dinner:

1/2 cup barley (hulled not pearl)

2 cups steamed swiss chard and collard greens

3 oz. tempeh

3/4 cup roasted kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin)

1/2 cup mixed veg (carrot, beet, onion, garlic, celery and mushrooms)

Snack:

1 apple

5 mary’s gone crackers with 2 TBS babaganoush

How to Manage a Special Diet by Sarah Kruse

When we finally figured out that my son, then 14 months, couldn’t tolerate dairy or gluten, I was relieved and guilt ridden. Relieved that I finally had a reason why his little body had patches of bloody, oozing eczema, but guilt ridden that it took so long to pinpoint the cause. The remedy was simple enough: eliminate gluten and dairy from his diet.

No problem, I thought. Here I was a certified natural chef; quinoa, millet and amaranth already sat in my pantry. Going gluten free would be easy. My dairy was limited to butter, cheese and yogurt. Going dairy free would be even easier.

How wrong I was! Sure, it was easy to avoid the obvious items like bread, pasta, butter and cheese. But when I started reading every single label, I was discouraged and overwhelmed. Gluten in soy milk and rice milk and chocolate chips? Yep, barley malt is added as a flavoring in some brands. It was the hidden and not so obvious items that had me leaving the grocery store feeling defeated and as if I failed my son again. I soon realized the longer the ingredient list, the greater the chance of gluten or dairy. Packaged food, however convenient, was a problem.

I eliminated packaged food and began making bread, pizza dough, waffles, cookies and more from scratch. But it wasn’t easy and there were numerous gluten free disasters. Frustration set in as I was not used to failures in the kitchen. And then there was the disappointment when the taste or texture was off. Gradually the experiments paid off and I have a few decent recipes to fall back on. But the biggest pay off was finally seeing my son have normal skin for once.

Whether you need to make dietary changes to address a health condition or just want to improve your overall health, here are some tips for making the transition:

1. Clean your cupboards and get rid of the problem foods.
2. Focus on what you can have, rather than what you can’t. There are hundreds of fruits and vegetables to choose from and try.
3. Keep it simple: nothing is easier than focusing on whole foods: fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
4. Make it a goal to explore a new cuisine or try a new fruit or vegetable each week.
5. Learn to like certain foods. If you hated spinach as a child, prepare it in different ways until you can enjoy it.
6. Hold off on replacing your favorite food with a substitute. You’ll be disappointed and discouraged that it doesn’t taste the same. After your taste buds adjust, try introducing a substitute if you feel the need.
7. Review your cookbooks and find recipes that are already free of the foods on your avoid list. Invest in a cookbook (such as Kristin’s Therapeutic Chef cookbook) that supports eating for health or one that avoids your problem foods (vegan and raw foods cookbooks are great for dairy-free recipes).
8. Skip eating out until you have a handle on your new diet. Even “healthy” dishes may be loaded with fat and calories.
9. Accept that making changes is hard and if you slip up, resolve to do better the next day.
10. Seek out help or support if you’re having trouble sticking with your new diet. Use the comments section here to ask questions and we’ll do our best to support you on your journey to health!

–Guest blogger Sarah Kruse is a fellow certified natural chef and freelance health and fitness writer.

For more information, tips and over 300 recipes on how to eat healthy, vegan and/or gluten-free check out:

Therapeutic Chef:  Recipes to prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes

It is possible to have a Thanksgiving meal without a turkey on the table.

Here’s a look at what we ate this year.  For additional pictures check here.

Apple-Cabbage-Radish Slaw

Grapefruit-Avocado Salad

Carrot-Parsnip Soup with Parsnip and Leek “Chips”

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Steamed Swiss Chard and Collard Green topped with Savory Cranberry Granola

Pumpkin Dumplings with Radicchio and Chives

Cornbread-Amaranth-Chestnut Stuffing from Voluptuous Vegan

Harvest Stuffed Portobellos

Lentil-Sage Seitan Loaf

Mushroom-Miso Cashew Gravy from Therapeutic Chef Cookbook

Roasted Mini Potatoes with Rosemary and Thyme

Cashew-Banana-Vanilla “Ice Cream” from Vice Cream Cookbook

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

I try to get all the nutrition I need from food.  The best way to ensure this is to eat SLOW plant foods.  Seasonal, Local, Organic and Whole Plant Foods.  Brown rice instead of white (because white rice is not a whole food).  Beans over meat for protein. Asparagus grown locally when its in season (not in the middle of fall coming from New Zealand).  And always, always organic- because organic soil is healthier soil producing more nutrient dense foods – without harmful pesticides!

But of course there are times when I feel like I need a little extra boost, like in the winter when it’s harder to get a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.  So here is a quick summary of what’s in my “medicine cabinet.”

First of all:  If you’re going to take supplements you must always check with your doctor, especially if you are taking medications or being treated for a health condition.

Second of all:  It’s best to take supplements made from real food, organic food, and real herbs/plants.  Most vitamins, unfortunately, are produced synthetically in a laboratory, NOT from food.  The body knows how to use real food.  If you’re going to buy vitamins or supplements make sure they are made from real food!  My two favorite companies for vitamins and herbal supplements are:

• New Chapter
• Bear Wallow Herbs

This is what I take (in no particular order)

• Women’s Multivitamin by New Chapter
• Probiotic Capsule (for good bacteria)
• Elderberry Tincture (to increase immune system)
• Dandelion Tincture (to support the liver)
• Nettles Tincture (for iron and other minerals)
• Vitamin B12 spray (NOT Cyanocobalamin)
• Green Powder (spirulina, wheat grass, barley grass, chlorella, etc.)
• Oregon Grape Root (if I have an infection- it’s like a natural antibiotic).

Breakfast:

Gen Mai Cha green tea

Sprouted Grain Toast with Almond butter

1 Nectarine

Lunch:

Garbanzo Bean Soup with Lemon, Olives, Tomatoes, Barley, Kale and Parsley

Arugula Salad with Tomatoes and 2 TBS avocado

With Mike’s Flax Seed Oil Dressing

Snack:

Chopped Nectarine with 2 TBS red raspberries, and 2 TBS raw walnuts

Dinner:

1 Organic Corn Tamale filled with butternut squash and roasted chile pepper

pico de gallo

Mixed green salad with grated raw carrot, tomatoes, avocado, cabbage, onions and garlic

and more of Mike’s Dressing (see above for link)

Breakfast:

Oolong Tea

2 small Chocolate Chip Cookies from Therapeutic Chef page 417

1 apple

Lunch:

Red Lentil Dahl (Therapeutic Chef pg. 129)

Brown Rice (soaked first for 18 hours then cooked)

Snack:

1 orange

6 “Mary’s Gone Crackers” crackers

1/4 cup Hummus

Dinner:

1 sprouted grain tortilla filled with garbanzo beans, brown rice, minced onion, garlic, carrot, cabbage, cilantro, tomatoes, lemon juice and hot sauce, and avocado.

Some Steamed Artichoke with a dipping sauce of garlic, olive oil, mustard, parsley, salt, lemon juice and cayenne

Rosemary Ginger Lemonade from Therapeutic Chef pg. 86

Before Breakfast: 2 probiotic capsules and a large glass of water

then wait 1/2 hour

Breakfast: Green Tea with Almond milk (unsweetened)

Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Toast with Almond Butter and 1/2 Banana

Snack: 1/2 cup chopped strawberries and raspberries with minced parsley

1 slice of Apple-Cinnamon Toastie (From Babycakes cookbook).  Gluten-free and vegan!

Lunch: Brown Rice and Lentil Curry with Red Chard, Garlic, Red Peppers, Carrots and Jalapeno

Snack: 1/2 piece of the Apple-Cinnamon Toastie (homemade from Babycakes cookbook) Gluten-free and Vegan.

Dinner: Sweet Potato-Mung Bean Curry Stew

Steamed Broccoli

Millet and Rutabaga Mash

Miso Dressing (on the broccoli and millet)

Breakfast:

Water with lemon juice

Sprouted Whole Grain Toast (Ezekiel Food For Life brand) with 1 TBS almond butter

1 cup coffee with unsweetened almond milk -yes, I do drink coffee sometimes

Lunch:

Lentil Artichoke Stew (from The Cancer Project) over Brown Rice

1/4 of an avocado (on the rice)

Water with fresh lemon (from my tree)

Dinner:

Vegan ‘Coleslaw’ with Sorrel, Cabbage and Kale, hemp seeds, lemon juice and flax seed oil

Brown Rice

Channa Masala (Indian Chickpea dish)

Aloo Gobi (Indian cauliflower and potato dish)

Mango slices, fresh, for dessert

Ginger Tea

Late Night Snack:

Brown Rice Cake (lundberg’s seaweed wasabi flavor)

Breakfast:

Sprouted grain toast with almond butter and 1/2 banana

Green Tea

Hot Lemon Water

Lunch:

Brown Rice (cooked with a little coconut milk and thai curry paste)

Green Lentils and Vegetables simmered with Moroccan spices

Snack:

2 mandarins and about 5 pecans

Dinner:

Raw Cabbage Salad (massage cabbage with lemon juice and salt until softened)

Steamed Beets dressed with lemon, parsley and arugula

Sweet potato, crimini mushrooms, garbanzo beans, garlic and onions (cooked in a water saute with salt and red pepper flakes)

-I kinda mixed all of this together

Brown Rice  (same as above)

Breakfast:

1 piece of whole grain toast with 1 TBS almond butter

1 banana

Pu-erh Tea with hemp seed milk

Lunch:

1/2 cup raw cabbage salad (cabbage, carrot, ginger, sesame seeds, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, dulse flakes, flax seed oil)

1/2 cup cooked kamut (whole grain)

2 TBS black bean dip (black beans, cumin and salsa in a food processor)

Snack:

a handful of mixed nuts and seeds (raw walnuts, raw almonds, raw sunflower seeds)

2 squares of dark chocolate (alter-eco brand)

Water with ‘Amazing Greens’ – Green powder

Dinner:

Mixed green salad with avocado, olives, lemon and tomatoes

1 Roasted sweet potatoes topped with salsa and hummus

1/2 cup cooked kamut

(I kinda mixed everything together on my plate)

Digestion Tea before bed

Don’t believe me?  Watch this video…

http://www.icyou.com/topics/health-wellness/nutrition/dangers-trans-fats-partially-hydrogenated-oils-trans-fatty-acids

Things you can do to avoid trans-fats:

1.  Shop the perimeter of the grocery store

2.  Choose foods in their whole food form

3.  Avoid fast food such as fried chicken, biscuits, french fries, and other fried foods

4.  Avoid processed foods such as crackers, most cookies, baked goods, junk food

5.  Read ingredient labels.  Even if it says there are zero grams of trans-fats you still need to check the ingredient list.  If you see the words ‘Hydrogenated oil’ or ‘Partially hydrogenated oil’ that means it does contain trans-fats.  Don’t buy it.

6.  Cook at home.  Most restaurants use cheap oils.  Steam or lightly cook your foods over medium heat with olive oil, coconut oil, or sesame oil.  Also eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables too.

Doing this may seem hard at first since many foods contain a small amount of trans-fats.  But a little adds up to a lot!  And trans-fats stay in the body for months after you consume them, damaging your arteries and putting you at risk for heart disease and stroke.  But if you make an effort to avoid trans-fats you will be eating a lot less junk food and hopefully replacing those foods with real foods like beans, lentils, whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Off you go!

Breakfast:

1 piece of sprouted whole grain toast with 1 TBS almond butter

Matcha Tea

Lunch: Millet, cauliflower, lentils, carrots, rutabaga, and chard.  Also, a handful of “Mary’s Gone Crackers” – Sticks and Twigs, Chipotle -Tomato Flavor.  Yum!

Snack: Blueberry Smoothie:  3/4 cup of blueberries, 1 TBS hemp seeds, 1 scoop Vita Mineral Green Powder, 1 banana, ice and almond milk to make smooth.

Dinner: Brown Basmati Rice with 3 cups of spinach.  1/3 of a package of Tempeh.  The rice had soaked for 24 hours before I cooked it.  I steamed the tempeh before I marinated it.  Marinated for 4 hours in the fridge with orange juice and tamari, ginger and garlic.  Then reheated it in a pan with the rice and spinach. I wanted to have more vegetables but I need to go to the store.

Snack: 1 apple and 1 mandarin.

All day long tea: mixture of kukicha twig tea, tulsi tea, licorice tea, and goji berry tea.

So many people want to know, so here you go…

Friday:

Breakfast: 1 slice of sprouted whole grain toast almond butter and 1/2 banana.

Green tea (2 cups)

Lunch: 1/2 bean and potato burrito topped with salsa and 1/4 avocado.

about 3/4 cup of cabbage slaw with red onions, capers, mustard-agave-hemp seed oil vinaigrette.

Dinner: Braised Lentils with carrots, onion, celery, garlic, mache and chard.

Served over mashed millet and cauliflower (pg 278) – (with some rutabaga in there too).

And 1/2 cup cabbage slaw from lunch.

All day Tea: mixture of nettles, peppermint, rosehips and fennel seed.

Snack:

Smoothie:  1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 scoop green powder (vita-mineral greens), 1 TBS hemp seeds, 1 TBS raw cacao nibs, a dash of himalayan salt, and ice and water to reach desired consistency.  This serves 2 people and it’s awesome!!!

Hey!

Follow this link to read a review of my cookbook, Therapeutic Chef:  Recipes to prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

http://bit.ly/bDb26L

It’s from a blog called ‘Cooking for a Vegan Lover.’

Lindsay, author of that blog, is from Vermont and posts recipes, product reviews and other handy vegan tips on her site.

Check it out!

First of all- you will need to forget everything you ever learned from the corrupt dairy industry that milk ‘does a body good. ‘  That couldn’t be further from the truth!  Milk is full of unhealthy fat, cholesterol, hard-to-digest protein, cancer-promoting IGF-1, and does NOTHING to prevent osteoporosis!  In fact, if you look at any study that WASN’T funded by the dairy industry you will see the truth.  In countries where people drink the most milk and eat the most cheese- they have the highest rates of osteoporosis!!!  How could this be?  Let me tell you…

Most animal foods, including dairy products, are acid forming.  They might not taste acidic, but taste is not what matters here.  What’s important is what’s left after a food has been digested and absorbed; the ash.  And with most animal foods you are left with an ash that is acidic, leaving the body’s pH at an acidic level.  Any food that is acid forming (meaning the ash is more acidic than alkaline) will have a negative effect on the bones.  Your body must remain slightly alkaline.  The body has a protective mechanism built in that works hard to keep the body’s pH at the right level. When we eat foods that are acid forming the body has to find something that is alkaline in order to bring the pH back to an alkaline state. So what in the body is naturally alkaline?  Our BONES.  This means that every time we eat something acid forming (including milk and cheese!) our body has to release a little bit of calcium from our bones in an attempt to balance the pH.  After the calcium has neutralized the acidity it is excreted in the urine. So every time you eat a cheese sandwich or drink a glass of milk you are losing a little bit of calcium from your bones in order to keep the body alkaline. This has become a real problem with people on the high protein diets (very acid forming). They show high amounts of calcium in their urine (this is bad) which will ultimately lead to osteoporosis and kidney problems (this is very bad)!

Simply put, we need to eat alkaline forming forms most of the time for many reasons (see below for list of these foods).  This will keep our pH at a healthy level and our bones strong.  And we need to avoid acid forming foods so that our bones don’t have to give up little bits of calcium in an effort to maintain a healthy pH.  Ok, once you’ve got that down there are just a few other things you can do to help ensure that your bones stay strong.

Here are the rules to keeping healthy bones…

• Eat alkaline forming foods 70-80% of the time (more on this below…)
• Get calcium from alkaline forming foods (NOT milk or dairy) such as beans and greens.  Best sources are kale, collard greens, bok choy, cabbage and broccoli.
• Get weight bearing exercise, such as walking or running, to stimulate bones to keep working
• Get vitamin D.  This is important.  And don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors by drinking milk to get some vitamin D.  This is not the way.  Either make sure you get 15-20 minutes of sun on your hands and face during the hours of 10am-2pm – without sunscreen, OR take a Vitamin D supplement, 2000 IU’s a day MINIMUM!!!  This is really important, not just for bone health but for overall good health and a healthy immune system.  Buy a food-based vitamin D supplement (at a health food store) and take it every day that you aren’t able to get some sunlight.  Make it part of your life from this day forward.
• Don’t eat too much sodium.  This leaches calcium from the body. Packaged foods are loaded with sodium.
• Don’t drink too much caffeine.  This also causes us to lose calcium.
• Don’t have more than 20-30% of the diet be acid-forming foods (see below)

Acid-forming foods: Meats, Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Most dairy, Most grains (bread, pastries, white rice, pasta, most cereals, etc.), most beans and legumes (see exceptions under alkaline-forming foods), Refined sugars, Honey, Artificial sweeteners, Drugs, Alcohol, Food chemicals and additives, most vinegars (except raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar), coffee, chocolate, trans-fats, microwaved food and soft drinks.

Alkaline-forming foods: Almost all Fruits and Vegetables, Sprouted Grains, Sprouted Legumes, Herbs,  Buckwheat, Millet, Raw Almonds, and Avocado.

(Research on-line for a complete list of all alkaline and acid forming foods).

More tips:

* Drink hot lemon water every morning (1/2 of a fresh lemon squeezed into 2 cups of hot or warm water).  Wait half an hour to eat.  This will alkalize the body and aid in the cleansing and digestive processes.

*Soak whole grains and legumes before cooking to start the alkalizing sprouting process.

* Chew your food well- 50 times per mouthful.

* Drink alkalizing Kukicha tea between meals.

* Eat a lot of sprouts, raw fruits and vegetables, and green foods (like wheat grass, barley grass, etc.) everyday.

Remember- a diet full of white flour, refined grains, meats, cheese and dairy products, sugar, alcohol and coffee is a diet that is asking for trouble, and has been proven to be catastrophic in the US.  Unfortunately, that is the Standard American Diet (SAD diet), and not only does it easily promote osteoporosis but also obesity, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, depression, and auto-immune disorders.

Break the cycle!  Eat real foods, eat plant foods, get exercise and get your vitamin D.

Now, off you go!

References:

http://www.buildingbonevitality.com/page3/page3.html

If you have the time get in the practice of soaking your nuts, seeds, grains, beans and other legumes before consuming. This may sound complicated but once you get the hang of it it’s pretty simple.  It just takes a tiny bit of planning ahead…

Here is a little more info on how to do this (from FoodMatters.tv)

Why soak nuts, grains and seeds?

• 1. To remove or reduce phytic acid.
• 2. To remove or reduce tannins.
• 3. To neutralize the enzyme inhibitors.
• 4. To encourage the production of beneficial enzymes.
• 5. To increase the amounts of vitamins, especially B vitamins.
• 6. To break down gluten and make digestion easier.
• 7. To make the proteins more readily available for absorption.
• 8. To prevent mineral deficiencies and bone loss.
• 9. To help neutralize toxins in the colon and keep the colon clean.
• 10. To prevent many health diseases and conditions.

Soaking nuts, seeds, grains and legumes
Nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances found in nuts grains and seed can be minimized or eliminated by soaking. These inhibitors and toxic substances are enzyme inhibitors, phytates (phytic acid), polyphenols (tannins), and goitrogens.

What are Enzyme inhibitors?
There are digestive enzymes and metabolic enzymes. Digestive enzymes help break down food. Metabolic enzymes help every biological process the body does. Enzyme inhibitors will clog, warp or denature an active site of an enzyme. They may also bind to the enzyme, which will prevent the intended molecule from binding. “Once again, the habits of traditional peoples should serve as a guide. They understood instinctively that nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess.”

What are Phytates?
“All grains contain phytic acid in the outer layer or bran. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in unfermented whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

“Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize a large portion of phytic acid in grains. Soaking in water also neutralizes enzyme inhibitors, present in all seeds, and encourages the production of numerous beneficial enzymes. The action of these enzymes also increases the amount of many vitamins, especially B vitamins. During the process of soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.”

How long does the soaking process take?
Soak grains (brown rice, oats, wheat berries, etc.) for 12 – 24 hours.

Soak nuts and seeds for at least 4 hours or longer depending on the size of the nut or seed.  Flax seeds only require about 4 hours to soak.  Brazil nuts need longer, about 12-24 hours.

After soaking, rinse and drain the grain/nuts/seeds/legumes. Then either use as is to make raw milks or spreads (nuts/seeds), or you can place in the dehydrator to dry them out and then use in raw recipes (nuts/seeds/grains/legumes), or you can cook them until soft (grains and legumes). You can also place soaked grains and legumes in a sprouting bag and rinse and drain as directed until sprouts appear.  It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you soak them first.

How do I soak beans and other legumes?
One recommendation includes placing soaked kombu or kelp seaweed in the bottom of the pot when soaking legumes. Add one part seaweed to six or more parts legumes. This is for improved flavor and digestion, more nutrients, and faster cooking. “Soak legumes for twelve hours or overnight in four parts water to one part legume. For best results, change the water once or twice. Lentils and whole dried peas require shorter soaking, while soybeans and garbanzos need to soak longer. Soaking softens skins and begins the sprouting process, which eliminates phytic acid, thereby making more minerals available. Soaking also promotes faster cooking and improved digestibility, because the gas-causing enzymes and trisaccharides in legumes are released into the soak water. Be sure to discard the soak water. After bringing legumes to a boil, scoop off and discard foam. Continue to boil for twenty minutes without lid at beginning of cooking to let steam rise (breaks up and disperses indigestible enzymes).”

Source (pdf): wss.nourishingconnections.org

Thanks to Josh and the Folks at Pangea Organics for listing 10 easy things we can do that will have a beneficial impact on the planet and our wallets!  www.pangeaorganics.com

1.  Give Up Using Paper Napkins, Paper Towels, Or Both. Get (or make!) a few sets of organic cloth napkins. Do your cleaning with old towels and/or t-shirts cut into smaller pieces.  They are super-easy to throw in the washer to clean!

2.  Use Low-Energy Light Bulbs. Switch to energy-saving light bulbs. They may cost a bit more, but can save you up to 10 times the price over their lifetime and use at least two-thirds of the energy of standard ‘incandescent’ bulbs.

Read this article by George Lundberg, MD, former Editor in Chief of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) for 17 years, and the past President of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He is an outspoken critic of how medicine is currently practiced. He calls for sharp curtailment of heart surgery, mammograms, PSA testing, and much more in order to save money and lives.   (www.drmcdougall.com)

Seven Ways to Reduce Unnecessary Medical Costs— George D. Lundberg, M.D.
I believe that there are still many ethical and professional American physicians and many intelligent American patients who are capable of, in an alliance of patients and physicians, doing “the right things.” Their combined clout is being underestimated in the current healthcare reform debate.
Efforts to control American medical costs date from at least 1932. With few exceptions, they have failed. Health care reform, 2009 politics-style, is again in trouble over cost control. It would be such a shame if we once again fail to cover the uninsured because of hang-ups over costs.
Physician decisions drive the majority of expenditures in the US health care system. American health care costs will never be controlled until most physicians are no longer paid fees for specific services. The lure of economic incentives to provide care that is unnecessary, unproven, or even known to be ineffective drives many physicians to make the lucrative choice. Hospitals and especially academic medical centers are also motivated to profit from many expensive procedures. Alternative payment forms used in integrated multispecialty delivery systems such as those at Geisinger, Mayo, and Kaiser Permanente are far more efficient and effective.

Fee-for-service incentives are a key reason why at least 30% of the $2.5 trillion expended annually for American health care is unnecessary. Eliminating that waste could save $750 billion annually with no harm to patient outcomes.
Currently several House and Senate bills include various proposals to lower costs. But they are tepid at best, in danger of being bought out by special interests at worst.
So, what can we in the USA do RIGHT NOW to begin to cut health care costs?
An alliance of informed patients and physicians can widely apply recently learned comparative effectiveness science to big ticket items, saving vast sums while improving quality of care.
1.    Intensive medical therapy should be substituted for coronary artery bypass grafting (currently around 500,000 procedures annually) for many patients with established coronary artery disease, saving many billions of dollars annually.
2.    The same for invasive angioplasty and stenting (currently around 1,000,000 procedures per year) saving tens of billions of dollars annually.
3.    Non-indicated PSA screening for prostate cancer should be stopped. Radical surgery as the usual treatment for most prostate cancers should cease since it causes more harm than good. Billions saved here.
4.    Screening mammography in women under 50 who have no clinical indication should be stopped and for those over 50 sharply curtailed, since it now seems to lead to at least as much harm as good. More billions saved.
5.    CAT scans and MRIs are impressive art forms and can be useful clinically. However, their use is unnecessary much of the time to guide correct therapeutic decisions. Such expensive diagnostic tests should not be paid for on a case- by-case basis but grouped along with other diagnostic tests, by some capitated or packaged method that is use-neutral. More billions saved.
6.    We must stop paying huge sums to clinical oncologists and their institutions for administering chemotherapeutic false
hope, along with real suffering from adverse effects, to patients with widespread metastatic cancer. More billions saved.
7.    Death, which comes to us all, should be as dignified and free from pain and suffering as possible. We should stop paying physicians and institutions to prolong dying with false hope, bravado, and intensive therapy that only adds to their profit margin. Such behavior is almost unthinkable and yet is commonplace. More billions saved.
Why might many physicians, their patients, and their institutions suddenly now change these established behaviors? Patriotism, recognition of new science, stewardship, and the economic survival of the America we love. No legislation is necessary to effect these huge savings. Physicians, patients, and their institutions need only take a good hard look in the mirror and then follow the medical science that most benefits patients and the public health at lowest cost. Academic medical centers should take the lead, rather than continuing to teach new doctors to “take the money and run.”
Physicians can reaffirm their professionalism with sound ethical behavior and without undue concern for meeting revenue needs. The interests of the patients and the public must again supersede the self-interest of the learned professional.

Memorize these Lists or print this out and take it with you to the store.  You have an impact on the planet every time you shop.

(This is from www.GreenAmericaToday.org)

10 Things you should Never Buy Again:

5 Things you should Always Buy Green:

10 Things you should buy only if they have the Fair Trade Symbol:

10 of the Worst Corporate Criminals to Avoid:

10 Things you should Never Buy Again:

1.  Styrofoam cups

2. Paper Towels

3. Bleached coffee filters

4. Teak and Mahagony

5. Chemical pesticides and herbicides

6. Conventional household cleaners

7. Toys made with PVC pastic

8. Plastic forks and spoons

9. Farm Raised Salmon

10. Rayon

5 Things you should Always Buy Green:

1. Paint (look for low or no-VOC paint)

2. Paper (look for paper products with a high post-consumer recycled content)

3. Light Bulbs (look for compact fluorescents or CFL’s)

4. Appliances (look for appliances with the Energy Star Label)

5. Fruits and Vegetables (look for organic, local and in-season produce)

10 Things you should buy only if they have the Fair Trade Symbol:

1. Tea

2. Chocolate

3. Bananas

4. Sugar

5. Rice

6. Vanilla

7. Apparel

8. Wine

9. Olive oil

10. Coffee

10 of the Worst Corporate Criminals to Avoid:

1. Wal-Mart

2. ExxonMobil

3. Coca-Cola

4. Nestle

5. Monsanto

6. General Motors

7. Donminion

8. Citigroup

9. Shell Petroleum

10. McDonald’s

Why We Should All Eat More Organic Food (Organic Consumers Association)

Organic Food is More Nutritious

Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.

On the average, organic food is 25% more nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food’s shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production. Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.

Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991.

Organic Food is Pure Food, Free of Chemical Additives

Organic food doesn’t contain food additives, flavor enhancers (like MSG), artificial sweeteners (like aspartame and high-fructose corn syrup), contaminants (like mercury) or preservatives (like sodium nitrate), that can cause health problems.

Eating organic has the potential to lower the incidence of autism, learning disorders, diabetes, cancer, coronary heart disease, allergies, osteoporosis, migraines, dementia, and hyperactivity.

Organic Food Is Safer

Organic food doesn’t contain pesticides. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. One class of pesticides, endocrine disruptors, are likely responsible for early puberty and breast cancer. Pesticides are linked to asthma and cancer.

Organic food isn’t genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.

Organic animals aren’t given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.

Organic animals aren’t fed animal remains or slaughterhouse waste, blood, or manure. Eating organic reduces the risks of CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, as well as Alzheimer’s.

Organic animals aren’t fed arsenic.

Organic animals aren’t fed byproducts of corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli contamination).

Organic crops aren’t fertilized with toxic sewage sludge or coal waste, or irrigated with E. coli contaminated sewage water.

Organic food isn’t irradiated. Cats fed a diet of irradiated food got multiple sclerosis within 3-4 months.

Organic food contains less illness-inducing bacteria. Organic chicken is free of salmonella and has a reduced incidence of campylobacter.

Start the New Year off right!
When we eat the right foods we feel better and we stay healthy. Proper nutrition and getting regular exercise are both essential for preventing heart disease, diabetes, and for boosting our immune system.

Here are some nutrition tips for staying healthy in 2010:

• Eat Breakfast, but not one that’s full of refined sugar.  Aim for whole grains like rolled oats and top it with a sprinkle of walnuts and chopped fruit.
• Seek out foods that are naturally high in fiber, low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals.  Best examples are fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, lentils and whole grains.
• Drink plenty of water.  Cut back on soft drinks, coffee and alcohol.
• Eat smaller meals every 3-4 hours.  This keeps blood sugar levels even to sustain energy needed for an active lifestyle.
• For snacks choose fresh fruit and a handful of walnuts or almonds.  Or vegetable sticks dipped in hummus.
• Eat more vegetables!  About half your plate at lunch and dinner should be vegetables.  Aim to eat at least 1 green vegetable at lunch and dinner along with a variety of other colorful vegetables.  An example would be to have a mixed green salad at lunch with grated carrot, beet and sliced mushrooms (with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of olive oil).  Or sauteed kale and broccoli with tomatoes, onion and yellow squash.
• The other half of your plate should be a mixture of lean protein, whole grains and a small amount of healthy fat.  An example would be 3 oz. of sliced turkey (the size of your palm), or 1/2 – 1 cup of cooked beans (for lean protein), 1/2 -1 cup of brown rice or quinoa (whole grain), and about 2 TBS chopped avocado (healthy fat).  Don’t over-do-it on protein or fat.  And when choosing grains- always make sure they are whole grains.
• Avoid the foods that have no or little nutritional value.  Examples:  fried foods, chips, soda, candy, pastries, white bread, white rice, and foods with trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and colorings, and preservatives.
• Don’t over-eat.  Eat until you feel about 80% full.  Eat slowly and chew your food well, about 50 times per mouthful.

Healthy Recipe!

Lentil Vegetable Soup over Brown Rice
serves 6
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 bay leaf
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cup of dry red lentils, rinsed and sorted to remove stones
4 cups vegetable broth (may substitute water)
1 sweet potato, scrubbed and diced
1 small beet, scrubbed and diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced
1⁄2 tsp unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, use the fire roasted tomatoes, if available
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
10 oz. of chopped spinach, fresh or frozen (may substitute any green leafy vegetable)
2 TBS mellow, white, or sweet miso paste
juice from 1⁄2 lemon fresh parsley, cilantro and/or basil, minced
3-4 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

Sauté the onion in olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until soft, about 5-10 minutes. Then add the garlic, bay leaf, cumin and coriander and sauté another minute. Now add the drained lentils. Stir to coat with oil for 1 minute. Slowly add the vegetable broth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking. Now add the chopped sweet potato, beet and carrots with the salt and canned tomatoes. Simmer another 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove the bay leaf. Add the broccoli and cook another minute. Then add the spinach and turn off the heat. Whisk together the miso paste and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pour this into soup and stir to combine. Taste for salt and spice. Top with fresh herbs and serve in bowls over cooked brown rice.

Follow the link below to find local, sustainable and organic farms, markets, and restaurants near your house!  And check back often because more places are added each week!  It isn’t hard to eat healthy once you know where to go.

http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home

Brain Friendly Diet

The starting point for tuning up your brain is to follow an optimum nutrition diet and take daily
supplements. Here are the ten golden rules to follow to make sure your diet is maximising your mental health.

1. Eat wholefoods – wholegrains, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit and vegetables – and avoid refined, white and overcooked foods.

2. Avoid any form of sugar – in biscuits, cakes, confectionery and also foods with added sugar in the forms of syrups, dextrose and maltose.

3. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily – choose dark green, leafy and root vegetables such as watercress, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, spinach, green beans or peppers, all raw or lightly cooked. Choose fresh fruit such as apples, pears, berries, plums, melon or citrus fruit. Have bananas, grapes and potatoes in moderation only (they contain a lot of natural sugar). Dilute fruit juices and only eat dried fruits infrequently in small quantities, preferably soaked.

4. Eat four or more servings of wholegrains daily – such as rice, millet, rye, oats, wholewheat, corn or quinoa as cereal, breads and pasta.

5. Combine protein foods with carbohydrate foods by eating wholegrain cereals and fruit with raw, unsalted nuts or seeds, and ensuring you eat starchy foods (potatoes, whole grain bread, pasta or brown rice) with protein-rich lentils, beans, eggs or tempeh. If eating animal protein, choose lean, white meat or preferably fish, organic whenever possible.

6. Eat eggs – preferably free-range, organic and high in omega-3s. Aim for about 3-5 a week.  But no more.

7. If eating animal protein, choose cold-water carnivorous fish – A serving of herring, mackerel, wild salmon (NOT Atlantic) or trout once a week provides a good source of omega-3 fats and protein.  Vegans can just eat more flax seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds and cauliflower – these foods are also high in omega -3 fats.

8. Eat raw, unsalted seeds and nuts. The best seeds are flax (or linseed), hemp, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame. You get more goodness out of them by grinding them first and sprinkling on cereal, soups and salads.

9. Use cold-pressed seed oils. Choose an oil blend containing flaxseed oil or hemp oil for salad dressings and cold uses, such as drizzling on vegetables instead of butter. Don’t cook with these oils as their fats are easily damaged by heat.

10. Minimise your intake of fried food, processed food and saturated fat from meat and dairy to prevent damage to brain fats.

The good news is that mental decline is not inevitable and you can boost your memory and mental alertness at any age. Research shows clearly that healthy, well-nourished and well-educated people show no signs of declining mental function with age. What’s more, while it is true that brain cells die with age, you can also build new brain cells at any age. How? By feeding your brain, both with the right nutrients and the right information.

Source: http://www.patrickholford.com

It’s easy to enjoy the holidays without loading up on excess saturated fat and cholesterol.

Here’s my plan:

First of all I must give credit to Chef Bryant Terry from Oakland, Ca,  author of Vegan Soul Kitchen for the recipes. Yum!

Menu:

Seitan Medallions with Mushroom Gravy

Mashed Potatoes with Cumin and Caramelized onions

Toasted Almond Stuffing

Collard Greens with Orange Juice and Persimmon

Chocolate Pecan Pudding Pie

Check out his book Vegan Soul Kitchen or pick up a copy of Vegetarian Times Magazine (Nov/Dec 2009 issue).

New York (CNN) — Beyond the unhealthy influence that our demand for factory-farmed meat has in the area of food-borne illness and communicable diseases, we could cite many other influences on public health, most obviously the now-widely recognized relationship between the nation’s major killers — heart disease, No. 1; cancer, No. 2; and stroke, No. 3 — and meat consumption.

Or, much less obviously, the distorting influence of the meat industry on the information about nutrition we receive from the government and medical professionals.

What is hard to comprehend is why educators and government have, since the 1950s, allowed the dairy council to become arguably the largest and most important supplier of nutritional-education materials in the nation. Worse, our present federal “nutritional” guidelines come to us from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the very same government department that has worked so hard to make factory farming the norm in America.

The USDA has a monopoly on the most important advertising space in the nation, those little nutritional boxes we find on virtually everything we eat. Founded the same year that the American Dietetic Association opened its offices, the USDA was charged with providing nutritional information to the nation and ultimately with creating guidelines that would serve public health. At the same time, though, the USDA was charged with promoting industry.

The conflict of interest is not subtle: Our nation gets its federally endorsed nutritional information from an agency that must support the food industry, which today means supporting factory farms. The details of misinformation that dribble into our lives (like fears about “enough protein”) follow naturally from this fact and have been reflected upon in detail by writers like Marion Nestle.

Read more by going to this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/10/30/eating.meat.jonathan.foer/

It’s Flu season. Stay Healthy by remembering this:

* Wash your hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
* Decrease sugar intake. It impairs the immune system.
* Decrease dairy intake. It create mucous- where germs harbor.
* Decrease processed foods, fried foods, caffeine and alcohol.
* Avoid food allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, or anything else you are allergic to).

*Increase colorful fruits and vegetables.
*Increase vitamin C from citrus fruits, kiwi, papaya, berries or take a supplement.
*Increase onions, ginger, garlic and hot peppers to increase circulation.
*Increase Shiitake or Reishi mushroom intake (fresh, dried or capsules and tinctures).
*Increase probiotics (I take capsules made by New Chapter).
*Increase water and herbal tea intake to flush out germs and toxins.
*Take Amla Churna/Powder – 1 tsp in water, daily (www.znaturalfoods.com).
*Take Elderberry Tincture daily (www.bearwallowherbs.com)
*Get plenty of sleep.

Recipes:

Read More…

Hearty Miso-Vegetable Soup with Sesame Brown Rice

Serves 6-8
I could eat miso soup and brown rice everyday, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  This version here is hearty and complete.  Miso contains beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, but they can be destroyed when the miso is boiled so always add miso at the end of cooking, once the heat is turned off.  I buy mellow, sweet or white miso since it is less salty.
Rice:
2 cups of short grain brown rice
3 ½ cups filtered water
1 5-inch piece of kombu seaweed, or any mild tasting seaweed you like, rinsed
2 TBS sesame seeds, toasted lightly (stirring in a dry pan over very low heat)

Soup:
1 small onion, diced
1 cup of sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
1 6-inch piece of burdock root, scrubbed well, then diced small
1 TBS grated ginger
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 TBS unrefined sesame oil, optional
1 TBS tamari or shoyu soy sauce, optional
4-6 cups filtered water
¼ cup crumbled dry wakame seaweed (pulse in a food processor if necessary)
1 small red beet, scrubbed well, diced small
1 cup of peeled and diced butternut squash (1/2-inch dice)
4 large kale leaves, cleaned, chopped into 1-inch pieces, stems discarded
1 3-inch piece daikon radish, scrubbed and cut into ¼-inch thick half moons
1 small head of broccoli, chopped into bite sized florets
1 cup of cooked adzuki beans (could substitute green peas)
2-3 TBS mellow white miso paste, whisked with 2 TBS water to make a slurry
½ avocado, sliced, optional
3 green onions, minced
1 small bunch of cilantro, cleaned well and minced

To make the rice, place the rice in a bowl and cover with lots of cold water and swoosh around with a wooden spoon.  Let rice settle to the bottom of the bowl then pour off the water and anything that was floating on top of the water.  Repeat until water runs clear. Then let drain well through a fine mesh strainer.  Place rice and 3 ½ cups filtered water in a pan with the seaweed.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to very low and let simmer for 40 minutes.  Turn off the heat but do not lift the lid.  Let sit for another 10 minutes before lifting lid.  Add the toasted sesame seeds just before serving.
To make the soup, place the onions, shiitakes, burdock, ginger and garlic in a large pot with the sesame oil and tamari (if using, otherwise just add ¼ cup water to prevent sticking).  Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes being careful not to burn the garlic.  Now add the water (start with 4 cups and add more water if needed), seaweed, beets, and butternut squash.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Next add the kale and daikon and simmer another 5 minutes. Then add the broccoli and simmer for 1 minute. Finally add the cooked beans and stir to combine.  Turn off the heat and add the miso slurry.  Stir to incorporate then taste for salt.  Add a little more water and/or miso slurry if desired.  Just remember not to boil the soup once the miso has been added or the beneficial bacteria will be destroyed.  Now serve the soup in a bowl topped with avocado slices, green onions and cilantro, with a side of sesame brown rice.

Trail Mix
Makes about 6 cups

1 cup bullwhip kelp pieces, cut into small pieces (may substitute sea lettuce, dulse or 4 sheets of nori seaweed, cut into small pieces)
1 cup of whole grain pretzel pieces, such as spelt
1 cup almonds
½ cup raw walnuts
½ cup raw sunflower seeds
½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
½ cup dried cherries (may substitute cranberries)
½ cup goji berries
½ cup raw cacao nibs (may substitute carob chips)

Mix together and serve as an appetizer or snack.
Store in a covered container in a cool place for up to 3 days.

Rose Hip Tea and Rose Hip Lemonade

Rose hips are the fruit of the rose bush.  They are high in vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Rose hips are associated with helping to cure the common cold and boost the immune system.  They can also be helpful in the prevention of heart disease, cancer and urinary infections.

Boil 1 liter (or 4 cups) of water.  Place 2-3 TBS rose hips in a large glass mason jar or ceramic tea pot (something that can take the heat!).  Pour the boiling water over the rose hips and cover. Let steep for 15-20 minutes.  Strain into a cup and sip (you can just keep the rose hips in your jar if you want).
To make lemonade add freshly squeezed lemon juice and your choice of sweetener (I use 4-6 lemons for every liter of rose hip tea.  Then I like to add a dash of stevia powder or agave nectar, until sweetness level is reached).

Baby bok choy has a sweeter flavor than adult varieties. It contains calcium for maintaining strong bones, and it’s in the cruciferous family so it is beneficial for preventing cancer.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water or vegetable broth
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 2 TBS tamari or shoyu soy sauce
• 1 tsp agave nectar, or to taste
• 4 bunches baby bok choy (basically, 1 bunch per person)
• A few drops toasted sesame oil

Preparation:
Wash the baby bok choy and drain. Separate the stalks and leaves. Cut the stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
Heat saute pan and add the water or broth. Then add ginger and stir-fry briefly, for about 30 seconds, until the ginger is aromatic. Add the bok choy, adding the stalks first, and then the leaves. Stir in the tamari and agave and cook over medium heat for 1 minute.
Stir in the sesame oil and serve.

Serves 4.

http://www.foodrevolution.org/grassfedbeef.htm

Just read this.

I want you to be informed of how certain foods affect the environment, your health, the farmers, and the animals.  Once you have the information you are free to make up your own mind as to what you want to do. I completely respect your decision and your right to choose what you eat as long as you are fully informed on the matter. I am just here to provide information.  I will not criticize you for your decision and I know that you will not criticize me for being a vegetarian (not that you would because that would be silly). Anyway, just read this…
1. Avoiding meat is one of the best and simplest ways to cut down your fat consumption. Modern farm animals are deliberately fattened up to increase profits. Eating fatty meat increases your chances of having a heart attack or developing cancer.

2. Every minute of every working day thousands of animals are killed in slaughterhouses. Many animals are bled to death. Pain and misery are commonplace. In America alone more than 500,000 animals are killed for meat every hour.

3. There are millions of cases of food poisoning recorded every year. The vast majority of all those cases are caused by the bacteria from meat.

4. Meat contains nothing that the human body cannot obtain from a vegetarian diet.  The exception here is Vitamin B12.  If you eat 100% plant foods you must take this vitamin supplement.  But protein, all other vitamins and minerals, fiber, healthy carbs and healthy fats can all be easily obtained through a plant-based diet.

5. African countries – where millions are starving to death – export grain to the developed world so that animals can be fattened for the dining tables of the affluent nations.

6. Food sold as `meat’ can include the tail, head, feet, rectum and spinal cord of an animal.

7. A sausage may contain ground up intestines. How can anyone be sure that the intestines are empty when they are ground up? Who wants to eat the content of a pig’s intestines?

8. If we ate the plants we grow -instead of feeding them to animals – the world’s food shortage would disappear virtually overnight. One hundred acres of land will produce enough beef for 20 people but enough wheat to feed 240 people.

9. Every day tens of millions of one-day-old male chicks are killed because they will not be able to lay eggs. There are no rules about how this mass slaughter takes place. Some are crushed or suffocated to death. Many are used for fertilizer or fed to other animals.

10. Animals who die for your dinner table die alone, in terror, in sadness and in pain. The killing is merciless and inhumane.

11. It’s much easier to become – and stay – healthily slim if you are vegetarian.

12. Half the rainforests in the world have been destroyed to clear ground to graze cattle to make beefburgers. The burning of the forests contributes 20% of all greenhouse gases. Roughly 1,000 species a year become extinct because of the destruction of the rain forests. Around 300 million acres of American forest have been cleared to grow crops to feed cattle so that people can eat meat.

13. Every year 440 million tons of grain are fed to livestock – so that the world’s rich can eat meat. At the same time 500 million people in poor countries starve to death. Every six seconds someone in the world starves to death because people in the west are eating meat. Approximately 60 million people a year die of starvation. All those lives could be saved if the starving people were allowed to eat just some of the grain used to fatten cattle and other farm animals. If Americans ate 10% less meat world starvation would be a memory.

14. The world’s fresh water shortage is being made worse by animal farming. And meat producers are the biggest polluters of water. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat. If the meat industry in America wasn’t supported by the taxpayer paying a large proportion of its water costs then hamburger meat would cost $35 a pound.

15. If you eat meat you are consuming hormones that were fed to the animals. No one knows what effect those hormones will have on your health. In some parts of the world as many as one in four hamburgers contain growth hormones that were originally given to cattle.

16. The following diseases are commoner among meat eaters:  appendicitis, arthritis, breast cancer, cancer of the colon, cancer of the prostate, constipation, diabetes, gallstones, gout, heart disease, high blood pressure, indigestion, obesity, osteoporosis, piles, strokes and varicose veins. Lifelong vegetarians visit hospital 22% less often than meat eaters – and for shorter stays. Vegetarians have a 20% lower blood cholesterol levels than meat eaters – and this reduces heart attack and cancer risks considerably.

17. Some farmers use tranquillizers to keep animals calm. Others routinely use antibiotics to stave off infection. When you eat meat you are eating those drugs. In America 55% of all antibiotics are fed to animals and the percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin went up from 13% in 1960 to 91% in 1988.

18. In a lifetime the average meat eater will consume 36 pigs, 36 sheep and 750 chickens and turkeys.

19. Animals suffer from pain and fear just as much as you do. Most spend their last hours locked in a truck, packed into a cage with hundreds of other terrified animals and then cruelly pushed into a blood soaked death chamber.

20. Animals which are a year old are often far more rational – and capable of logical thought – than six-week-old babies. Pigs and sheep are far more intelligent than small children.

21. Many of the world’s most successful athletes are vegetarian.  My favorite example is Carl Lewis.  He was a complete vegetarian when he won all those Olympic medals.

P.S.  Albert Einstein was also a vegetarian!

Appropriate Planned Vegetarian Diets Are Healthful, May Help in Disease Prevention and Treatment, Says American Dietetic Association

FOR RELEASE JULY 1, 2009

Media contact: Jennifer Starkey
800/877-1600, ext. 4802
media@eatright.org

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on vegetarian diets that concludes such diets, if well-planned, are healthful and nutritious for adults, infants, children and adolescents and can help prevent and treat chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

ADA’s position, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, represents the Association’s official stance on vegetarian diets:

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.

ADA’s position and accompanying paper were written by Winston Craig, PhD, MPH, RD, professor and chair of the department of nutrition and wellness at Andrews University; and Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, nutrition advisor at the Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore, Md.

The revised position paper incorporates new topics and additional information on key nutrients for vegetarians, vegetarian diets in the life cycle and the use of vegetarian diets in prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. “Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle,” according to ADA’s position. “There are many reasons for the rising interest in vegetarian diets. The number of vegetarians in the United States is expected to increase over the next decade.”

Vegetarian diets are often associated with health advantages including lower blood cholesterol levels, lower risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure levels and lower risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, according to ADA’s position. “Vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and have higher levels of dietary fiber, magnesium and potassium, vitamins C and E, folate, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals. These nutritional differences may explain some of the health advantages of those following a varied, balanced vegetarian diet.”

The position paper draws on results from ADA’s evidence analysis process and information from the ADA Evidence Analysis Library to show vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. Additionally, an evidence-based review showed a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

A section in ADA’s paper on vegetarian diets and cancer has been significantly expanded to provide details on cancer-protective factors in vegetarian diets. An expanded section on osteoporosis includes roles of fruits, vegetables, soy products, protein, calcium, vitamins D and K and potassium in bone health. “Registered dietitians can provide information about key nutrients, modify vegetarian diets to meet the needs of those with dietary restrictions due to disease or allergies and supply guidelines to meet needs of clients in different areas of the life cycle,” the authors said.

The American Dietetic Association is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.

So my doctor says I should eat fish 3 times a week so I can get my Omega 3’s, an essential fatty acid (EFA), popular for helping to improve cholesterol levels, prevent blood clots, and good for your joints and the brain.  But let’s take a closer look at what this is all about…

Sounds Fishy

Fish do not naturally contain omega 3’s.  Omega 3 EFA’s are always orginally from plant foods.  So how does a wild salmon have omega 3 in it?  Well, WILD salmon feed on plankton that feed on algae.  Algae is a marine plant that’s full of Omega 3’s.  That’s why Atlantic salmon (AKA farm raised salmon) never contains any of the good omega 3 EFA.  Ok, so only wild salmon and a few other wild fish would contain this EFA.  But before you go off and grab your fishing pole let’s look at what else your expensive little salmon filet has in it.  It will always have a large amount of saturated fat.  It will also have a good deal of cholesterol.  That’s right!  Two of the things you are supposed to avoid if you want to have a healthy heart!  And on top of it you get to enjoy all the toxins that the fish took in while it swam around in our polluted waters.  All of those toxins (pesticides, chemicals, drugs, fertilizers, and MERCURY) are stored in the fish oil right there next to the omega 3 oil.  So, do yourself and your heart a favor.  Skip the artery clogging saturated fat and cholestorol ridden fish and get your prized omega 3 from the original source… plants.

Omega 3 EFA’s can be found in MANY plant foods.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

Flax seeds (please buy whole and grind only seconds before using, yes really!).

Flax seed oil (please keep refrigerated and never heat this oil.  Use in smoothies or salad dressings)

Cauliflower

Walnuts

Seeds

Whole Grains

Beans

Cantaloupe

Berries

Etc.  Eat plant foods, eat a variety and eat as minimally processed as possible.  Buy organic. Eat Simple. Chew your food well.

By eating a variety of colorful, whole plant foods and avoiding animal foods (meat, chicken, fish, dairy etc.) you will  get plenty of omega 3’s without ever having to take a fish oil or flax oil supplement.  You will also get all the vitamins and minerals that you need to stay healthy.  Plus you’ll be getting lots of fiber.  And, you’ll be avoiding the harmful cholesterol and saturated fat that’s found in animal foods.  Give it a try!  What are you waiting for?  Oh, you don’t still believe that you can’t get enough protein on a plant based diet, do you?  Good, I didn’t think you still thought that.  We’ve known for a long time that it’s easy to get all the protein.  Not a problem.  Just eat more beans, lentils and whole grains (not just whole grain bread, I mean whole grains; quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth, teff, barley, spelt, millet, etc.).  Just stay away from the fake “soy” meats… they’re gross and not that good for you.

Fish Is Not Brain Food

This article is from Dr. McDougall’s website, July 1, 2009

Please visit www.drmcdougall.com for more information and lots of great recipes!

Dietary intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids in relation to long-term dementia risk by Elizabeth E Devore published in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found, “In this Dutch cohort, who had a moderate consumption of fish and omega-3 PUFAs, these dietary factors do not appear to be associated with long-term dementia risk.”1 This study of 5395 people, 55 years of age or older, for 10 years, found people who never ate fish had a similar risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease, as those people who had a high fish intake (on average, one ounce—29.6 grams—daily). In the same issue of this journal, researchers reported on the findings of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.2 Blood samples of a population of 642 people were analyzed for substances found in fish: total n-3 PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and mercury. The results were then compared with the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer disease. No associations between n-3 PUFAs and dementia or AD were found.

A disturbing report was released on June 17, 2009: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Aquaculture by Robert P. Friedland published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.3 Scraps from slaughterhouses are used as food in the fish farming industries, and the authors of this report are concerned that consumption of farmed fish may provide a means of transmission of infectious prions from cows with bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans, causing variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease—commonly known as “mad cow disease.” These scientists urged government regulators to ban feeding cow meat or bone meal to fish until the safety of this common practice can be confirmed. The publication of this important news comes before a new FDA rule that would block the feeding of rendered cows to certain animals, but not fish.

Comment: Fish is not health food. The truth is fish is an animal muscle made up primarily of proteins and fats, with no carbohydrates or dietary fibers—fish muscles are nutritionally just like the muscles of cows and chickens. They are all loaded with cholesterol and chemical contaminants, and deficient in vitamin C. Fish-fat easily accumulates in the human buttocks, thighs, and abdomen, leading to obesity and type-2 diabetes. All that excess animal protein will cause bone loss (osteoporosis), and the pharmacological activity of the fats (omega-3) will suppress the immune system (cancer and infection) and cause bleeding. Fostering the myth that fish is a miracle food is a slogan many of us grew up with, “better living through chemistry.” In the case of fish, the miracle chemical is omega-3 fatty acids, which have been advertised to prevent and treat diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to strokes. The most thorough review ever conducted (48 randomized controlled studies of 36,913 subjects) of fish and omega 3 fats on health was published in the April 2009 issue of the British Medical Journal and the authors reported, “Long chain and shorter chain omega 3 fats do not have a clear effect on total mortality, combined cardiovascular events, or cancer.”4 Other research explains the origin of the felonious belief that fish is health food: people who choose fish are the same people who choose an overall healthier diet, consciously avoiding coronary-artery-damaging saturated fats—eating the fish does not prevent heart attacks, it is the not eating beef, chicken, and cheese that saves lives.5 The erroneous belief that these magnificent swimming animals will improve the health of people is at the root of the decimation of our oceans. People are eating more food from the sea every year and the result is industrial fishing has depleted the world’s fish stocks by 90% since the 1950s.6 I love the ocean and am saddened by this loss. Fortunately, I am not demented (from lack of fish consumption) and neither are you. We can stop this runaway destruction of planet Earth and return health to its entire species—but we must act quickly. One major step is to reintroduce the natural human diet of starches to people. If you want to know more about this one big simple solution then read the first chapter of my new book, The Starch Solution (to be published in about a year).

1) Devore EE, Grodstein F, van Rooij FJ, Hofman A, Rosner B, Stampfer MJ, Witteman JC, Breteler MM. Dietary intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids in relation to long-term dementia risk. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul;90(1):170-6.

2) Kröger E, Verreault R, Carmichael PH, Lindsay J, Julien P, Dewailly E, Ayotte P, Laurin D. Omega-3 fatty acids and risk of dementia: the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jul;90(1):184-92.

3) Friedland RP, Petersen RB, Rubenstein R. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Aquaculture. J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print]

4) Hooper L, Thompson RL, Harrison RA, Summerbell CD, Ness AR, Moore HJ, Worthington HV, Durrington PN, Higgins JP, Capps NE, Riemersma RA, Ebrahim SB, Davey Smith G. Risks and benefits of omega 3 fats for mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: systematic review. BMJ. 2006 Apr 1;332(7544):752-60.

5) Cundiff DK, Lanou AJ, Nigg CR. Relation of omega-3 Fatty Acid intake to other dietary factors known to reduce coronary heart disease risk. Am J Cardiol. 2007 May 1;99(9):1230-3. 6) Myers RA, Worm B. Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities. Nature. 2003 May 15;423(6937):280-3.

Yup, it’s true… organically grown food is healthier for You, the Farmer, and the Planet.  You’ll get more vitamins and minerals in organic foods, no toxic pesticides (that harm you, the farmer and the planet), and no GMO’s.  Buy Organic!!!

Here’s a link to a site where you can look up what non-organic food you’re about to eat/buy and how many pesticides you will also be eating…

http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=AP

For Example:  I looked up apples and it turns out that your average non-organic apple has 42 different pesticides on it.

• 5 – Known or Probable carcinogens
• 19 – Suspected Hormone Disruptors
• 10 – Nuerotoxins
• 5 – Developmental or Reproductive Toxicants

Ok, here’s a list to write down or commit to memory:

The Dirty Dozen:

Here are the most contaminated foods (and therefore you should only buy if they are organic):

Peaches

Apples

Bell Peppers

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Kale

Lettuce

Grapes (imported)

Carrots

Pears

This list changes as the use of pesticides change so check with the Environmental Working Group and www.foodnews.org regularly for the latest information on food and pesticides.

There are some foods that are not as heavily sprayed with pesticides, so if you can’t find them organic then I guess it would be ok to buy them non-organic.  But try to seek out a local organic farmer’s market to buy all of your produce.  It may be a little more expensive but a little prevention is surely worth it in the long run.

Clean 14:

Onion

Avocado

Pineapple

Mango

Asparagus

Kiwi

Cabbage

Eggplant

Papaya

Watermelon

Broccoli

Tomatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Red Meat and Dairy Products Significantly Increase Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

According to a new study, fat from red meat and dairy products is associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer. As part of the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, researchers followed and analyzed the diets of more than 525,000 participants to determine whether there is an association between dietary fat and pancreatic cancer. This same study found no association between plant-food fat and pancreatic cancer.

Thiébaut ACM, Jia L, Silverman DT, et al. Dietary fatty acids and pancreatic cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. J Natl Cancer Inst.

Get this book!  And discover that you can have your cake and eat it too!

Vegan baking has been taken to a new level.  No more tasteless desserts with strange textures – this book (and the little dessert shop in Manhattan with the same name) is full of kick ass sweet treats that will knock your socks off without making your doctor nervous.  No eggs, no butter, no cream, no white sugar.  Instead author/owner Erin McKenna uses healthy ingredients like flax seed meal or apple cider vinegar to make her baked goods behave as if they were made with eggs; and rice milk instead of cow’s milk for moisture without cholesterol; and agave nectar instead of high fructose corn syrup or white sugar to add sweetness without raising your blood sugar.  Amazing that something can taste so sinful – but it’s not!

Ok, give it a try, but remember… you still have to think of desserts as a special treat. Even though the baked goods from Babycakes won’t put you at risk for heart disease or diabetes you STILL need to eat your vegetables!  Fill up on whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits first but if the occasion arises for a special treat then always choose something from the Babycakes cookbook over the normal desserts filled with harmful butter, white sugar, white flour and worse…

I’ve heard a few people out there dismiss the vegetarian diet after trying it for a short time, saying that they just didn’t feel satisfied or complete unless the meal contained animal foods.  Most of this is psychological and it takes a few weeks for new habits to be formed and tastebuds to change. But for some people there may be some truth to them not feeling satiated if the meal did not contain all the necessary components.  And this could happen with any diet, not just when switching to a vegetarian diet!

You need each meal to contain the following 4 components to feel complete.

• A Whole Grain (BEYOND the bread):  think actual grain, like a bowl of  quinoa, millet, brown rice, buckwheat, barley, oatmeal, or  whole grain pasta.  These carbs will never make you fat, and are a vital source of fuel for energy and brain function.
• A Lean Protein:  Beans and Lentils are best because they have lots of fiber and are low in fat.  Next best sources are tempeh (a fermented, whole soybean product), seitan (wheat protein), or a small handful of RAW nuts and seeds (raw walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds).
• Fruits and/or Vegetables:  Choose a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.  Preferably fresh, local and in season.  If that’s not always possible then frozen is ok.  Skip the canned stuff if possible since nutritional value is somewhat lower (additives, sugar, salt, etc.) and the taste is not as good (canned spinach= YUK!).  Include all colors but always have something green and always have something from the cruciferous family (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, cabbage, rutabaga, radish, turnip, chard, arugula, brussels sprouts, etc.).
• A HEALTHY fat:  SMALL amount of avocado, raw nuts or seeds or nut butter (try raw almond butter, raw pumpkin seed butter), or a sprinkle of hemp seeds or freshly ground flax seeds.  Oils may be used, but sparingly.  Best oils: look for first cold pressed olive oil, flax seed oil, hemp seed oil, walnut oil, or coconut oil.  Don’t drown your food in oil.  Lightly steam foods and add a dash of oil at the end, if desired.  Cooking foods at high temperatures (above medium) changes the oil into something not so healthy and you end up losing some of the redeeming qualities of the oil (never heat flax seed or hemp seed oil or the omega 3 EFA will be detroyed).

Putting it all together:

• Breakfast:  1/2 cup oatmeal (whole grain) with 2 TBS of chopped raw walnuts (counts as healthy fat and protein), and 1/2 banana and/or 1/2 cup berries.
• Breakfast:  Sprouted whole grain toast (whole grain and lean protein) with 1 TBS raw almond butter (healthy fat and some protein).  1 Orange or apple.
• Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup berries, 1 TBS green powder (mix of chlorella, spirulina, wheat grass, etc.) or 2 fresh kale leaves, 1 TBS freshly ground flax seeds, 1 TBS raw almonds, hemp seed milk, to make smooth. (The nuts and seeds make up the protein and healthy fat).
• Lunch:  buckwheat noodles (whole grain) with steamed tempeh (lean protein) and steamed vegetables (cilantro, broccoli, carrots, daikon and shiitakes).  Top with 1 TBS hemp seeds (healthy fat).
• Lunch:  Sprouted tortilla (whole grain and lean protein) burrito filled with brown rice (whole grain), black beans (lean protein), salsa, 1/4 avocado (healthy fat),  arugula (green cruciferous).
• Dinner:  Quinoa Salad  (whole grain) and Lentil Stew (lean protein plus vegetables including green and cruciferous).  Drizzle with 1/2 TBS olive oil.
• Dinner:  Hummus (lean protein and healthy fat) with Tabouli Salad (whole grain, green vegetable) with steamed cauliflower.

High blood pressure is often caused by, or, can cause atherosclerosis, or arteriosclerosis which means the arteries have become hardened or thickened due to either fatty deposits or calcium deposits on the walls of the arteries.  If left untreated patient could have a heart attack or stroke.
Cause of heart disease: if the high blood pressure is a result of thickened arteries then the cause is diet, and it can be reversed with diet.  Arteries become thickened and hardened from eating saturated fat and cholesterol.  These are found in all animal foods, even low fat, even organic, even fish, even eggs.  A diet that contains no animal foods, and instead is full of whole plant foods (not refined or processed, and no trans fats) will reverse heart disease.
Sometimes a patient has high blood pressure from excess sodium or salt in the diet.  So removing excess salt, pickled foods, packaged foods, and restaurant foods should help.  When using salt at home to season whole grains, beans and vegetables, use a high quality salt (unrefined sea salt or himalayan mountain salt).  But even these should be used in moderation.

Here are some helpful hints:
Dr. Dean Ornish (check out all of his books and website).  He has reversed high blood pressure and heart disease with diet and exercise.  No drugs!  He also reversed prostate cancer with the same plant based diet (no animal foods).
Dr. John McDougall   www.drmcdougall.com   plus many books
Dr. Neal Barnard  www.nutritionMD.org, www.cancerproject.org  (plus his many books).
All of these websites have recipes!
Plus one of my favorite cookbooks :  Lorna Sass ‘Complete vegetarian cookbook’

Here’s a typical day on the low fat, high fiber, plant based diet shown to reverse this condition (plus reverse diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, etc.)

Upon Rising: 2 cups hot water with 1/2 a lemon squeezed into it.  Wait half an hour before eating breakfast.
Breakfast: 1 cup whole oat meal (not instant) with unsweetened almond or hemp seed milk.  2 TBS goji berries (very important) and 1/2 a banana.  Also add 1 TBS freshly ground flax seeds to the cooked oatmeal (always buy whole flax seeds and place in coffee grinder to grind seconds before consuming, and use immediately.  Don’t cook flax seeds or heat flax seed oil).

Green tea with unsweetened alond or hemp seed milk, if needed

Snack: Fresh fruit.  skip the juice

Lunch: 1 cup cooked quinoa, 3/4 cup beans, all the steamed or raw veg. that you want.  For seasoning:  Try this recipe for homemade dressing:

1-2 garlic cloves, pressed, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 lemon, juiced, 1 TBS mellow white miso, 2 TBS brown rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, a squirt of agave nectar, 1 tsp dijon mustard?, ¼ cup flax seed oil
1 handful of parsley or cilantro, minced

Blend all of the ingredients except the flax seed oil and parsley in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Slowly add the flax seed oil while blending, until desired thickness is achieved.  Then add the minced herbs. You can substitute water or more lemon for some of the flax seed oil for a lighter dressing.  Keep this dressing stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Use on salads or grains.  Please do not heat this dressing.?
*Always buy unpasteurized miso and keep stored in refrigerator.  It can keep for a year in the fridge.  Just remember not to boil miso.

Snack: 1/4 cup RAW or SPROUTED almonds, walnuts, or pumpkin seeds.  Not roasted.  Not salted.
1/2 cup goji berries (these are important)
More fruit or a smoothie (fresh or frozen fruit with green powder, ginger, almond milk)
Herbal teas
Or hummus with veggies.

Dinner: 3 bean chili (no meat), or lentil pumpkin curry with GARLIC AND GINGER, over a bed of brown rice or wild rice.  Don’t add oils to foods.  Add as many steamed veg or raw veg as you want.  Season with fresh lemon or lime juice.  Top with a couple avocado slices.

Chew your foods 50 times per mouthful.

Drink digestion tea:  mint, chamomile, ginger

snack: more fresh fruit

Try and buy high quality foods from local farms, and organic if possible.  Organic local produce WILL have more vitamins and minerals than non-organic foods.
Avoid the “fake meats” and cheeses, especially those containing processed soy.  Think natural foods, unprocessed and fresh.

For extra help take a multi-vitamin from ‘New Chapter’.  Their supplements are made from organic food!!!  WOW!

A diet like this works because there is no saturated fat or cholesterol to clog artery walls.  Plus the little fat that there is comes from healthy plant fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, flax oil)  Don’t add extra fat, like cooking oil.  Must keep fats low, and consume no trans fats or animal fats.  Sodium should also be very low.  A plant based diet is full of fiber – fiber helps rid the body of toxins.  Fiber is only found in whole plant foods, never in animal foods.  And finally, this diet is high in antioxidants and phytochemicals, also only found in plant foods.  These will help reverse disease.  You will feel clean, energized and look beautiful from the inside – out!
Please check the websites and books above for more detailed info.

The X-rays generated by mammograms have always been
controversial.  How can you best protect yourself from Breast Cancer?

What you should know:  Eat Foods that Help Prevent Disease!
Cruciferous vegetables powerfully prevent breast cancer (Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, chard, etc.)
Vitamin D powerfully protects against breast cancer. (You get vitamin D from the sun.  Morning sun is best.)

This is summarized from an article by Dr. Fuhrman.

www.drfuhrman.com

Mammograms cause some breast cancers, reduce deaths by almost the same
number of deaths they cause and overall do very little to extend lives.
A new study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
reports that women who are at high risk of breast cancer who are
advised to start getting mammograms as early as age 30, are at even
higher risk for breast cancer from the additional radiation exposure.
They reported that due to the risk of radiation-induced breast cancer,
mammographic screening may have a net harmful effect.

What to do…
Be proactive and adjust your diet and lifestyle to achieve a high level of health, so that any abnormal cells never can overcome your body’s powerful immune defenses.  Early, pre-cancerous changes in the breast can be normalized by nutritional excellence.  Women can prevent breast cancer, and even if they have cancer they can significantly increase their survival with nutritional excellence.   Read Eat For Health, by Dr. Fuhrman to understand nutritional excellence.

The best way a women can protect themselves from breast cancer is:

1. Do not drink alcohol and of course do not smoke anything
2. Do not take any type of estrogen, and avoid drugs (especially antibiotics).
3. Have babies and nurse them as long as possible,
4. Eat a high nutrient, vegetable-based diet, with loads of greens as described in my book, Eat For Health.
5. Take sufficient Vitamin D supplementation to drive the blood level to 35 – 50 ng/ml.
6. Use one tablespoon of ground flax seeds daily.
7. Don’t grill or fry foods.  Steaming vegetables or vegetable soups should be the primary modes of cooking.
8. Exercise at least 3 hours a week, and maintain a lean body with little body fat.

Green vegetables are the most powerful anti-breast cancer food. Take note that a vegetarian diet does not show protection against breast cancer as much as a diet rich in green vegetables, berries and seeds. Lot of vegans eat a high glycemic, nutritionally poor diet, and do not take sufficient Vitamin D. leaving themselves at high risk of cancer. It is the phytochemical nutrient density and diversity of the diet that offers the most dramatic protection against cancer, not merely the avoidance of meat or fat.  Close to 300 case-controlled studies show a protective effect of vegetable consumption against cancer and that cruciferous vegetables are the foods with the most powerful anti-cancer effects of all foods.  While eating fresh fruits, beans, vegetables, seeds and nuts have been all been shown in scientific studies to reduce occurrence of cancer, cruciferous vegetables are different.  Instead of a 1 to 1 relationship they have 1 to 2 relationship with a wide variety of human cancers.  In other words, as plant food intake goes up 20% in a population, cancer rates typically drop 20%, but as cruciferous vegetables go up 20%, cancer rates drop 40%.⁷

Bottom line, eat lots of greens and don’t forget to get your Vitamin D every day.

Read Dr. Fuhrman’s Book Eat For Health, to understand nutritional excellence; spread the
word and help change and start protecting yourself today.

This is a HUGE topic.  But I like to keep things simple, so let’s break it down…

There are 3 categories of soy foods.

A:  they are good for you without negative health effects:

• Miso paste (the refrigerated kind please), Tempeh, Natto

C:  they are ok, not great, but not the worst thing ever:

• Soy milk, Tofu, Edamame (ok, I’ll give edamame a B since it is a whole food)

F:  I wouldn’t even put these in my compost bin, let alone into my body:

• TVP (textured vegetable protein), TSP (textured soy protein), MSG (monosodium glutamate), Soy protein isolate, mono-diglycerides, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soy protein powder/concentrate, vegetable oil, and soybean oil.

How do I rate each food?

Well, basically if the food is a whole soy food AND it’s been fermented then it gets an A rating.  In general you should try to stick with foods that are in their whole form, like brown rice over white.  Most soy foods are not made from the complete soybean, but processsed and isolated bits of soy (sounds suspicious).  We have read how eating soy can be beneficial for our health (help protect us from heart disease), and that may be true, but there is also a dark side to soy, so choose wisely (refer to chart). Unless the soy is complete (whole) and fermented then some of the negative characteristics start to outshine the positive ones.  Unfermented soy foods contain a compound that interferes with the body’s ability to absorb iron and zinc, leaving us tired and immune deficient (sound familiar?). But if soy is fermented then the compound is neutralized and now we can easily absorb iron and zinc from our foods.  Soy foods MAY disrupt hormone balance, this has been controversial when deciding whether soy is safe for certain hormone-related cancers, like breast cancer.  The latest research indicates that as long as the soy food is whole and fermented that it has no negative effect on health and hormones.  So what does this mean?  Can I put soy milk on my cereal?  Should I switch back to cow’s milk?  Here’s the solution:  soy foods should never be eaten in excess.  They have some healthy characteristics but only those foods in the “A” category.  A little soy milk (C rating) on your whole grain cereal (soy-free cereal please) now and then is fine.  If you have breast cancer, check with your doctor.  I personally use unsweetened almond milk or hempseed milk on my oatmeal.  If you have a blender you can even make your own.

Summary:  Read your labels.  Most of us don’t even know that we are eating processed soy (F rating) all day long.  One way to avoid this is to buy food in their whole form, you know, so it looks real close to how it did when it first came out of the ground.  Yeah, that’s right, plant foods, and organic if you can!  If you do eat soy, go for the whole soy foods (tempeh, miso and natto), but don’t over do it.  Keep your diet interesting with a variety of different grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.  There is no “miracle” food.  And ESPECIALLY once they start ripping apart the poor little bean and isolating this and that and then trying to label it as health food.  Don’t be fooled by food manufacturer’s tricks.  They only have one interest, and it’s not on you becoming a more healthy person!

P.S. Always buy Organic Soy products.  No if’s, and’s or but’s.  If it’s not organic then you run the risk of consuming Genetically Modified foods (GMO’s).  More on that another time.  Just buy organic, thanks!

Bottom Line:

Avoid the Junk. Eat Real Food. I tell people they should make it a rule to stop buying anything that has the following ingredients:

Partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, aspartame, MSG, enriched flour, nitrites, food coloring and preservatives.

Well, there are a few more things I’d like to add to the list of things to avoid, but start here with these and notice how you’re grocery shopping experience will change… you can usually find healthy alternatives but it may require you to seek out your local health food store.

For more information continue reading below,

This is from an email a client forwarded to me from:

http://www.truthpublishing.com/GroceryWarning.html
Do you know which dangerous food ingredients to watch out for in your groceries? These dangerous ingredients found in many of the foods we eat may promote heart disease, migraines, obesity, outrageous food cravings, osteoporosis, diabetes and even birth defects.

The top three most dangerous ingredients I’ve found in my research are:

1) Sodium nitrite — causes cancer, found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).

2) Hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogentated, or Trans Fats — cause heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers, margarine and many “manufactured” foods. Used to make oils stay in the food, extending shelf life. Sometimes also called “plastic fat.”

3) Excitotoxins — aspartame, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and others. These neurotoxic chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They’re found in diet soda, canned soup, salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods. They’re used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have had the life cooked out of them.

Feeding children hot dogs increases their risk of brain cancer by 300%?
Strawberry yogurt, fruit punch and other red-looking grocery products are often colored with dead, ground-up cochineal beetles? The ingredient is called “carmine,” and it’s made from insects. It’s listed right on the label of many of your favorite foods.
Food companies now “hide” MSG in safe-sounding ingredients like yeast extract or torula yeast?
Many Florida oranges are actually dipped in an artificial orange dye in order to make them more visually appealing? It’s the same dye that’s been banned for use in foods because of cancer risk.
Girl Scout cookies are still made with hydrogenated oils that contain trans fatty acids?
Many so-called “healthy” or vegetarian foods also contain the very same offending ingredients as conventional groceries?
Eating just one serving of processed meats each day increases your risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%?
One artificial color additive causes behavioral disorders in children? And that 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD can be outright cured of the condition in two weeks by avoiding certain ingredients?
The #1 ingredient in Slim Fast meal replacement shake (powder form) is sugar?
Some guacamole dips don’t even contain avocado? Instead, they’re made with hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial colors.

So how do food companies manage to hide excitotoxins and taste additives to their foods? It’s easy: They just keep changing the words to confuse consumers. Once customers learned to avoid MSG / monosodium glutamate, the food companies started using yeast extract.
And now, two years after I started sounding the alarm on yeast extract, many companies have switched to “torula yeast,” which accomplishes the same thing. Other hidden sources of MSG include:

• Autolyzed vegetable protein
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• Calcium caseinate
• Sodium caseinate
• Textured protein

Then there’s a trick known as “stacking ingredients”. One company makes a ‘nutrition’ bar that’s absolutely loaded with sugar, but they way they’ve arranged the ingredients prevents sugar from appearing as the #1 ingredient. Instead, the first ingredient is rice. But looking down the label, you’ll find all the following forms of sugar, all in the same nutrition bar:

• Sugar
• Sucrose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Dextrose

Add all these up, and the #1 component in the bar is, indeed, sugar (or sugary substances). But the manufacturer has used ingredients stacking to make you think the top ingredient is actually rice. It’s a clever, dishonest technique used by food companies to lie with food labels.

Remember, the longer the ingredients label, the less healthy the food. Read those ingredients lists before buying foods, and if you discover chemical names that you can’t pronounce, don’t buy the food!

This post is an answer to a question that was posted after someone viewed our “popcorn” video.

Stove top popcorn is definitely better than microwaved popcorn but air popping is the best because you don’t have to use oil.  If the stove top is all you’ve got then make sure to use an oil that can take the heat, like tea seed oil:

http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=406
If you ever see  your oils start to “smoke” in the pan then that means the heat is too high and the oil has been heated to its smoke point.  This is a bad thing, the oil has been damaged and could be very unhealthy and toxic (that’s another reason fried foods are so bad for us!).
Stop, carefully wipe the oil out of the pan with a paper towel until clean, and start again, this time using lower temperature to heat the oil.
You may be able to pop corn on the stove top without adding oil, but I have not tried this since we have an air popper.

Hey man, we had a lot of views to our little video on “popcorn”.
Thanks for all the nice comments.  Glad to hear that so many people are interested in eating more healthful foods.  Here’s a link to our video on how to make popcorn.

http://vimeo.com/3179242

If that link above doesn’t work try this

www.dirtsalad.com

and look for popcorn video there.

Thanks!

Glenn cooked me the most delicious, healthy meal last night for Valentine’s Day. And he did it all on his own, without recipes and without going to cooking school.  This is a man who when we first moved in together his idea of ‘cooking’ was to heat up a veggie burger, or maybe make some pasta with jarred tomato sauce. He has watched me cook a few things (like you can do by watching our videos -more coming soon-), and listened to me talk about which ingredients are better to use (like you will read here on my blog) and he has gradually transformed himself into a healthy cook.

Ok, so here’s what he made for me last night…

Basmati Brown Rice (no recipe, just cook 1 cup rice in 2 cups water with a 5-inch piece of kombu seaweed and a dash of salt.  we have a rice cooker, but otherwise on stovetop it takes 40 minutes).

Sauteed onion, green garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, burdock, carrots and yellow squash.  Garnished with green onions.

Red Cabbage Salad marinated with Umeboshi plum vinegar and hot sesame oil.

Orange Juice and Mellow Miso Sauce (simply just whisk the two together until ‘gravy’ like).

Field Roast Seitan “Celebration Roast” – ok, this he bought and just reheated in a pan.

Homemade Kombucha (look for recipe beverage tag in another post).

www.cancerproject.org

www.edenfoods.com

www.thechinastudy.com
www.whfoods.com

You can decide for yourself after reading this article (follow the link below).  I’ll give you a hint though, NO!  Not even to heat up water.  Get rid of it, or at least move it out of the kitchen so you aren’t tempted to use it.  you can easily cook and reheat everything you eat on your stovetop or in a regular oven.  For reheating food like rice dishes or pasta, place a tablespoon of water in the bottom of your pan (preferably not aluminum or scratched up teflon) and then place the food you wish to reheat in the pan.  Cover with a lid and heat over medium heat for a few minutes.  The water prevents the food from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Other items like lasagna or burritos (made with whole grains of course) can be reheated in the oven.  Wrap them in unbleached parchment paper to keep them from drying out.  ok, go!

http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0601/sc0601-microwave.html

I’m a Therapeutic Chef.  What the heck is that?  Well, mostly I cook for and coach people back to health.  I am a registered nurse (R.N.), a certified nutrition consultant (C.N.C.), and a certified natural chef (N.C.).  I combine these 3 skills to create healing recipes for my clients who are interested in using food as medicine to reverse or prevent illnesses such as Cancer, Heart Disease and Diabetes.   Therapeutic Chef is a place to read about what foods are healthy and why.  It’s confusing out there with so many theories about nutrition and weekly fad diets that promise unrealistic results, so I sort through all of the jibber jabber and give it to you straight and simple.  See links to articles and videos plus recipes and stories from my work as a Therapeutic Chef.