Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Eating seasonally made easy: Late July-August

Grab some of this fresh produce while it is at its freshest!

Cucumbers: A great way to cool you off in the summer.
-Cut into slices, add a mixture of 1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar+2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
-Spoon the seeds and center out. Fill with herbed goat cheese.
-Cut into slices, with carrots and jicama, serve with guacamole or hummus.
-Chop and combine with chopped jalapenos, peppers, and mangoes. Serve with toasted pita wedges.

Corn: Eat corn fresh from a local source, once corn is picked the sugars turn to starch.
-Steam or grill until tender. Coat with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with Lawry's seasoning salt.
-After cooking cut kernels and mixed with chopped green and red peppers, chopped fresh basil, parsley and chives, toasted pine nuts. Drizzle olive oil, lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper on top.

Melon: Cantelope or Honeydew work wonderfully alone as a sweet treat or puree them in a blender, place in paper cups, place tongue depressors in the center and freeze for a cold treat.
- Wrap slices of prosciutto around cold honeydew, some also like a slice of Parmesan thrown in the mix, spear with a toothpick.

Arugula: The Italian favorite
-Create a salad with raspberries, mandarin orange slices, small slices of red onion and a balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, italian seasoning, minced garlic)
-Add to a wrap, arugula, smoked salmon, and herbed chevre cheese.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Delicious Vegetarian Chilli

Serves 3-4

1 Onion, Chopped
1 Large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini or summer squash chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pinch of chili pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teasponn ground cumin
2 cups ganned red kidney beans
1 can black beans
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup of tequilla or light beer (corona is good)
salt and cayenne pepper

To make the chili put the olive oil in a big pot, let it heat up and add onions. Cook until the onions become translucent then add the alcohol. Allow to boil until reduced to half. Add garlic, peppers, carrot, zucchini, corriander, cumin, cayenne pepper. Cover and cook until vegetables become soft.

Secret to cooking beans (never cook them in the water they originally cooked in or were canned in- thats what causes indigestion) Rinse very well then add to chili. Also add tomatoes and salt to taste, cover and allow to simmer gently for ten minutes.

Good Garnishes: Cilantro, sour cream, avocado, mexican shredded cheese. Serve and ENJOY!

The Dark Side of Soy



A few weeks ago I worked a rather large event in New York City that was being sponsored by a new “health food” which made claims to help with heart health, was high in antioxidants and was supposed to be really good for you. As it seems to be common knowledge in the US, and in my very health-conscious household, I didn’t question all the claims made, because for as long as I’ve been alive, I’ve been taught that Soy is good for you.

I arrived at 6:00 in the morning, in a cheerful outfit hand picked by the marketing company that hired the four of us. The cold morning air forced us to huddle together around the display set up that we would be posted at, handing out samples of the product the rest of the day. Our team leader came over to us and quizzed us on our knowledge of the products’ benefits as provided for us in a pamphlet the week before. She then went on to explain answers we should give if asked certain questions. One stuck out in particular: “If someone has cancer, and asks you if they can eat the product, tell them they should consult their physician, because really people with cancer shouldn’t be eating soy, it makes it worse.” I was rather surprised by this confession. Don’t human beings always have cancer cells floating around in their system and it’s only until something ticks it off that they metastasize and become malignant? Was this just a naïve notion of mine derived from years of random facts about cancer that somehow found its way together in my head?

The day began to warm up and thousands of people were flowing in and out of the busy event. We handed out hundreds of products while we rambled off its “benefits” and as the day progressed more and more women were pulling me aside to explain to me, Soy really isn’t that good for you. Especially not for menopausal women, or people with thyroid disease, it naturally contains toxins people explained to me, and some thought it was important that I know it causes premature development of young girls as they pushed the product back into my hand.

I began to discuss this with one of the girls I was working with and she explained to me her recent issue with soy milk. She discovered it a few months prior and was trying to lose weight so replaced her milk and soda intake with soy milk. She found her boyfriend was frequently complaining about the lack of sex they were having which never seemed to be a problem before, after a while she realized the soy milk was completely destroying her sex drive.

I went home that night and put “soy bad” into a Google search, the information that came up was shocking a very important link will follow soon but in summary raw soybeans contain potent toxins. (phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines) that are unfit for man and animal to consume raw. The reason the Chinese have no problems with their intake of soy products (tofu) is because they allow it to go through a natural fermentation process which eliminates toxins. Anyone who grows kidney beans or other specialty beans in a garden knows that you have to boil the beans for a good while otherwise they are toxic and will make you very sick. Same goes for soybeans (edamame is boiled or steamed and served very hot) this process denatures the toxins found in beans. But in modern soy products the quick industrial processing does not allow for this denaturing of toxins which leads to a whole slew of health problems. These toxic foods are being readily fed to Americans at large. The Soy industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and does a lot to protect its fortunes including conducting false studies, the FDA is currently re-evaluating these statements but it’s new findings may come out to late. The best thing to do is spread information.

To find out more shocking details about soy please visit this website http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

Green Tea- Miracle in a Cup


Reasons you should drink Green Tea every day…

-TESTED AND PROVEN-It’s been used for 4000 years in China

-BOOSTS IMMUNITY- Antiviral and Antibacterial properties boost resistance to disease and high antioxidant count means a boost for your immune system

- GOOD ORAL HEALTH- inhibits bacterial plaque

-LOSE WEIGHT-maintains a healthy active metabolism and circulatory system

-PROTECT AGAINST AGING-high antioxidant levels in Green tea(higher than vitamin C and E) protects against free radicals, which cause the body to degenerate and age.

-GREAT REPLACEMENT FOR COFFEE- Green tea has caffeine but is less detrimental than conventional coffees in the morning. A good lifestyle change!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Burdock Root- Cure all? I think so

In China and Japan people are always consuming this vegetable called Burdock. It's almost like the consistency of Jicama when cooked and it looks like, well, a root. It takes on the flavor of whatever it's cooked in, and is often served in Japanese restaurants. While many view it as a food item, it is in actuality so much more...

The lore of its curative properties stretches back for ages. While always being a huge component in Chinese medicine, Burdock was also used in the middle ages to cure a whole slew of things.
Are you ready for the list?
It's primarily known to be a blood purifier,
a remedy for measles, arthritis, tonsillitis, viruses like colds, throat pain, and as a diuretic. It helps with many skin disorders when taken internally as a supplement or used topically (acne, boils, eczema, psoriasis, and skin infections).
The Chinese use it as an aphrodisiac, and found it effective in treating barrenness and impotence. Hmph you say? Cure-all? What about cancer? Well some say it helps cure that too. Recently Burdock root has been employed by Russian and Indian doctors in the treatment of certain cancers. (However, this use of Burdock root still needs to be tested thoroughly.)

I studied natural remedies while abroad and a lot of old wives tales and remedies worked because people believed they did. A lot of "medicines" were all about the placebo effect. Well I'm not so easily a believer.

The people in my family are often getting upper respiratory tract infections requiring intense courses of antibiotics. We get sore throats, colds, fevers, skin infections you name it. I'm sure your family does as well! All we want is something that works! After trying Burdock for the first time I became a believer; over the course of two hours my glands shrunk from golf balls back down to normal. My father who gets killer upper respiratory tract infections and is out cold on the couch for a week straight (even with antibiotics) felt better over night after taking the Burdock pills (requiring no antibiotics) My sister who gets sore throats and colds every couple of weeks was better a day after taking this stuff. I started telling everyone I knew and thats why I'm posting it up here!

(Just a warning: the first time you take it you will sweat like you have never sweat before. Burdock is
used as a diaphoretic, which means it makes you sweat, a lot, which is essential for cleansing the body of toxins. According to natural healers, diaphoretics are vital for treating the flu, gallbladder or liver disorders, and to aid the kidneys in purifying the blood.)

How can a tiny supplement made from a vegetable do all of this?
There has been a lot of analysis of the chemical properties of Burdock root and what makes it so effective.
Some of the active ingredients of burdock are polyacetylenes, which are known to be really effective antibacterials and anti-fungals. Burdock enhances the performance of many of the organs whose main purpose is to purify the body and eliminate toxins (i.e. kidneys, liver, colon, etc). This brings your body out of whack.

Although, it is important to make sure that the herb is pure. There was a case where burdock root was contaminated with the plant belladonna, which contains atropine and makes humans sick. The key here is to purchase your supplement from a reputable source or brand(not picked out of someone you knows garden.)

I use Nature's Way brand. 6 a day, 2 with each meal when I'm not feeling well. I take it like this until I feel better.

So next time you're in a Japanese restaurant, go for the Burdock root ( the veggie won't make you sweat I promise) but it is chock full of vitamins and still gives some loving care to your vital organs.

Be well people!

OOOoh cookies (organic, vegan, gluten free, peanut butter cookies-that don't taste like old shoe!)


Living in a intentional community in the East Village with a bunch of vegetarians (some with crazy food allergies) you pick up some interesting recipe ideas here and there...These cookies are so great, and so easy! Try em out...

1 cup organic or all natural peanut butter
1 cup organic sugar
1 free-range egg
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon organic honey

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg, baking powder, and honey
Mix thoroughly, then form into balls about an inch and a half in diameter,
roll in granulated sugar
Bake 10 minutes.
Let sit on tray for 4min (I know it'll be hard, I'm sorry)
Let cool on a wire cookie rack

ENJOY!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Garlic Sautee'd Wild Mushrooms and Lemon Roasted Avocado Over Golden Rice

This gourmet recipe is a HUGE hit at dinner parties and a healthy protein rich meal that actually fills you up!

Serves 4

1 cup(250 g) brown rice
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon corriander
6 cups assorted wild mushrooms, cleaned
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 1/2 a lemon, plus an extra squeeze
extra sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 avocados

Preheat oven to 300F (150 C)

Put the rice into a saucepan with tumeric, salt, corriander, and 2 1/2 cups (600ml) water. Bring to a boil, then cover and leave to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave, still covered, for 5 minutes.

Saute' the wild mushrooms in the oil until tender, adding the garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice toward the end of the cooking time. Season with salt and pepper.

Halve, pit, and peel the avocados, coat on both sides with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Add the remaining lemon juice to the rice mixture--it will immediately brighten the color.

Fluff the rice with a fork, then spread on a serving platter. Tope with the avocado halves, cut-sides upward. Spoon the mushrooms onto them, heaping them up but leaving a rim of green showing. Leave in the oven for up to 15 minutes. But be sure not to let it get too hot--warmed is fine, but don't let them bake or they will spoil.


BON APETITE!

How To Make Eating Greens A Little Greener


Bring to mind the food that you put on your table today. Whether you had eggs for breakfast, or steamed vegetables for lunch, or even simply an apple to snack on; Do you have any idea where these foods came from? Even if you don't consider how they are made, think about how they got to your table. If you have no idea, then thank goodness you stumbled upon this article!

It takes trillions of gallons of gasoline to transport food in this country. That apple you ate, may be from Costa Rica, those vegetables, could very well be from Mexico which means, those foods had to be transported to your grocery store, by boat, plane, or truck which all involved burning up fuel.

In the current climate crisis, gas crisis, and economic crisis, with one easy lifestyle change you can reduce your impact, and improve the situation of your world and life.

The biggest benefit of purchasing locally grown food is the quality of food you get! The shorter the period of time between food being picked and being put in your mouth, the higher the nutritional content of the food! Fresh food is jam-packed with vitamins and the longer it sits out, the more rapidly the nutritional value decreases. When food is transported it takes days, so by the time it reaches the table your family is losing out. Additionally by purchasing locally grown food you not only get the highest quality food, you slice all of that pollution out of the equation.

Some great options are visiting local farmers markets. Farmers bring their products freshly picked and ready for you to eat. Its a great way to get involved in your community. For farmers markets near you visit http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/.

Another great option is joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which is a farm that offers memberships. So for a fee (significantly smaller than what you pay for food now) you get a weekly share of the farms organic crops for the growing season, which can be fruit, vegetables, fresh eggs, milk, honey, etc. With the looming recession its nice to know that changing our eating habits to pay less, doesn't mean cutting organic, or fresh out of the equation. You will actually save money by getting involved with a CSA.

By supporting a CSA you will be supporting organic farming practices which means you can be positive there will be no pesticides used on your food. Which also means there will be no pesticides leaching into the water supply in your area.

Your food will be pure food, no GMO's (genetically modified foods). The crop is turned over often so there is less disease and more diversity. They use natural compost so they dont have to use synthetic fertilizers that also leach into the water supply, and destroy the soil.

CSA's also offer seasonal food. During different seasons your body has particular nutritional needs that are met by the vegetables that grow during that season. It makes sense, the earth works with us in this way. One simple example would be in the summer time salads and leafy greens grow prominantly. They carry lots of water in them, which is great since you need water in the summer time so as not to get dehydrated.

To find a CSA near you visit http://www.localharvest.org/csa/.

By taking this simple step you will decrease your impact on the earth and take part in improving your land, community, and life.

Saturday, March 8, 2008