Gorgeous Food

Keen on Quinoa

2010-05-12T07:55:00.001-07:00

Quinoa gets a lift from crisp summer veggies in this simple, satisfying salad. By Deborah Willoughby

The ideal summer meal is cool, light, tasty, and bursting with garden-fresh vegetables. A main-dish salad is a good option, but if it’s missing a high-quality protein, you’re likely to find yourself casting about for a snack in an hour or two. But build a salad around quinoa and you’ll have a dish with staying power that’s still light enough for a summer day.

With a fluffy texture and a nutty flavor, quinoa is often thought of as a grain because it cooks like one, but it’s actually the seed of a leafy plant native to the Andes. It was prized by the Incas for its stamina-boosting effects and because it’s easy to grow—the plant thrives in poor soil, requires little water, and coats its seeds with a bitter substance unpalatable to birds and other predators. In addition to supplying a high concentration of all nine essential amino acids—making it a complete vegetarian protein—quinoa is high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and riboflavin. On top of that, it’s naturally gluten-free and easy to digest.

RECIPE HERE

A Yogi's Dessert

2010-05-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

A Yogi's Dessert
Satisfy your sweet tooth with kheer—a creamy rice pudding delicately flavored with saffron, cardamom, and nuts.
By Jon Janaka

Recipe Here

Ayurveda's Guide to Boundless Beauty: Food for your Body, Food for your Face

2010-05-12T07:37:00.001-07:00

India’s inside-out approach to skincare lets you toss the toxic cosmetics, luxuriate in herbal treatments, and tap into the source of true beauty.

Article Here

Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish

2010-03-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Really, really, great video...check it out.

Top Ten Reasons to Go Vegetarian :-)

2010-03-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

From GoVeg.com-visit the site and they'll walk you through it step by step :)

Many people's New Year's resolutions include losing weight, eating better, getting healthier, and doing more to make the world a better place. You can accomplish all these goals by switching to a vegetarian diet, and you'll enjoy delicious, satisfying meals as well. Here are our top 10 reasons to go vegetarian:

1. Slim Down While Feeling Good

Is shedding some extra pounds first on your list of goals for the new year? Vegetarians are, on average, up to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters. And unlike unhealthy fad diets, which leave you feeling tired (and gaining all the weight back eventually), going vegetarian is the healthy way to keep the excess fat off for good while feeling full of energy.

2. It's the Best Way to Help Animals

Every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals a year from horrible abuse. There is simply no other way that you can easily help so many animals and prevent so much suffering than by choosing vegetarian foods over meat.

3. A Healthier, Happier You

A vegetarian diet is great for your health! According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure than meat-eaters. Vegetarians get all the nutrients they need to be healthy (e.g., plant protein, fiber, minerals, etc.) without all the nasty stuff in meat that slows you down and makes you sick, like cholesterol and saturated animal fat.

4. Vegetarian Food Is Delicious

So you're worried that if you go vegetarian, you'll have to give up hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and ice cream? You won't. As the demand for vegetarian food skyrockets, companies are coming out with more and more delicious meat and dairy product alternatives that taste like the real thing but are much healthier and don't hurt any animals. Plus, we have thousands of tasty kitchen-tested recipes to help you get started!

5. Meat Is Gross

It's disgusting but true: Meat is often contaminated with feces, blood, and other bodily fluids, all of which make animal products the top source of food poisoning in the United States. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health tested supermarket chicken flesh and found that 96 percent of Tyson chicken was contaminated with campylobacter, a dangerous bacteria that causes 2.4 million cases of food poisoning each year, resulting in diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever. Learn more.

6. Help Feed the World

Eating meat doesn't just hurt animals; it hurts people too. It takes tons of crops and water to raise farmed animals-in fact, it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of animal flesh! All that plant food could be used much more efficiently if it was fed to people directly. The more people who go vegetarian, the more we can feed the hungry.

7. Save the Planet

Eating meat is one of the worst things that you can do for the Earth; it's wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution, and the meat industry is one of the biggest causes of global warming. Adopting a vegetarian diet is more important than switching to a "greener" car in the fight against global warming.

8. All the Cool Kids Are Doing It

The list of stars who shun animal flesh is basically a "who's who" of today's hottest celebs. Joaquin Phoenix, Natalie Portman, Tobey McGuire, Shania Twain, Alicia Silverstone, Anthony Kiedis, Casey Affleck, Kristen Bell, INXS lead singer J.D. Fortune, Benji Madden, Alyssa Milano, Common, Joss Stone, and Carrie Underwood are just a handful of the super-sexy vegetarians who regularly appear in People magazine. Check out our recent "World's Sexiest Vegetarians" poll for more hot, compassionate celebs.

9. Look Sexy and Be Sexy

Vegetarians tend to be thinner than meat-eaters and have more energy, which is perfect for late-night romps with your special someone. (Guys: The cholesterol and saturated animal fat in meat, eggs, and dairy products don't just clog the arteries to your heart; over time, they impede blood flow to other vital organs as well.) Plus, what's sexier than someone who is not only mega-hot, but also compassionate?

10. Pigs Are Smarter Than Your Dog

While most people are less familiar with pigs, chickens, fish, and cows than they are with dogs and cats, animals used for food are every bit as intelligent and able to suffer as the animals who share our homes are. Pigs can learn to play video games, and chickens are so smart that their intelligence has been compared by scientists to that of monkeys. Read more about these amazing animals.

Indoor Farming Year Round

2010-03-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Grow your own Farm inside your apartment! The organization, windowfarms.org (grown in Brooklyn, New York) has begun a movement that is spreading into crowded cities all over the world! Check out the videos to learn more about how you can become a window farmer yourself and get fresh, organic vegetables year round in your very own apartment! at

Super Shakti's Spanikopita

2010-03-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

1 hour prep/ 40 min cooking/ 9X13'' caserold dish

1 1/2 lb Tofu, extra firm, crumbled

1 pkg Phyllo sheets, spelt variety

6C spinach, rinsed well

2C Onion, diced

2 tbl Olive oil

3/4 C Garbanzo beans, cooked, drained and mashed

3/4 C Tahini, roasted

1/2 C Kalamata olive, chopped

1/4 C Garlic, minced

1/4 C Nama shoyu, or to taste

2 Tbl Italian parsley, minced

2 Tbl Basil, minced

1 Tbl Nutritional yeast

1 1/2 tsp Oregano, minced

1 1/2 tsp Thyme, minced

1 tsp Rosemary, fresh minced

1/2 tsp Sea Salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp Black pepper, ground to taste

1/4 C Corn or olive oil for basting

Prep

1. Steam spinach lightly for 3-5 minutes

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Palce 2 tbl oil in large pot on med high heat. Add onions and garlic, cook 5 minutes, stirring frequendly. Add the tofu and cook for 10 minutes, stirring requently. Add the reamining ingredients, except the phyllo dough and corn oil, cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

3. Lightly oil a 9X13 casserold dish. Place 1/3 of the phyllo dough (7 sheets) on the bottom of the dish one sheet at a time, lightly oiling each sheet with olive oil using a small pastry brush. Place half of the tofu mixture on top of the phyllo dough.

4. Repeat step 2 using 7 sheets of the phyllo dough and the remaining 1/2 tofu mixture. Top with the remaining phyllo dough, lightly brush with oil, and bake until phyllo is golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

From Vegan World Fusion Cuisine by Mark Reinfeld and Bo Rinaldi

Eating Raw- Getting Back to Our Roots

2010-03-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

Photo by: Amanda DiGiovanna

"What if you could live disease-free, lose weight and keep it off all while enhancing natural beauty and reversing the aging process? Sign me up, right? Well, you can do all these things by simply adding raw/living foods into your diet.

Raw food, what? Um, I promise it’s not what you think! There’s more to going raw than grazing on the grass in your backyard. Yes, it involves going back to our primal culinary roots—eating organic plant-based whole foods in their pure, natural state, as nature intended. But these foods can still be presented as culinarian AND sexy, and are delicious!

Raw foods are what we here at Regeneration Raw like to categorize as being in the “un” group: uncooked, unprocessed and unaltered food. We believe foods that heal shouldn’t lack in the taste department. Forget the health food adage: “Food that’s good for you can't taste good.” This, thankfully, doesn’t apply to raw foods. Actually, it’s almost impossible for raw foods not to excite and awaken your taste buds. Think about it, if you eat food before cooking the life and vitality out of it, the flavor profile is abundant—bottom line is that YOU CAN EAT FOOD THAT TASTES GOOD AND IS GOOD FOR YOU!
Get "Un"cookin!

Eating raw is easy. Besides, its “rawkin” taste, raw foods heal your body & soul both physically and mentally. Seriously? Yes! “Raw” regenerates you at the cellular level, reshaping and restructuring your body from the inside out by ridding your cells of toxins and unwanted stored fat."-- Excerpt from How2EatRaw.comBy Regeneration Raw’s owner, Andrea McNinch

Visit her site for raw food lessons and in person trainings.

HOW TO DO IT AT HOME??? Your online resource here.

Check out Living-Foods.com For Articles, recipies, and community recources!

Teaching Every Child About Food

2010-03-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

Sharing powerful stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, W. Va., TED Prize winner Jamie Oliver makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food.

Secret to Longevity: Restricting Calories?

2010-01-31T11:41:00.001-08:00

Secret to Longevity: Restricting Calories?

18 November 2005 - Called “undernutrition without malnutrition,” caloric restriction has been shown to extend both the maximal and average life spans of worms, insects and mice. Researchers at the University of Washington have recently found that the link between caloric restriction and longevity is related to a genetic pathway in yeast cells. They report their results in the 18 November issue of the journal Science.

The theory behind caloric restriction is based on metabolism rates. Imagine every individual is given a set amount of life to live. The more you eat, the higher your metabolism and the faster you burn through your life, shortening your lifespan. Conversely, the less you eat, the lower your metabolism and the slower you burn through your life, as a consequence extending your time here on earth....continued

Vegan Devil's Food Cake!

2010-01-31T10:14:00.000-08:00

This cake can go from "merely delicious" to "extraordinary" by splitting the layers as described in the Cherry-Filled Lemon Cake recipe and making four cream-filled layers. If you do this, be sure to double the Mocha Cream Filling recipe.

12 servings

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbs. flaxseeds

1/2 cup unfiltered apple juice
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 1/4 cups maple syrup
3/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbs. cider vinegar

MOCHA CREAM INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients

Makes 2 1/4 cups
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
3 1/2 Tbs. agar-agar flakes
1 Tbs. kudzu
2 cups vanilla soy milk
3 Tbs. maple syrup
2 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract
2 Tbs. almond butter
2 tsp. coffee granules
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

MOCHA CREAM DIRECTIONS:
In small saucepan, mix apple juice and agar-agar flakes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Bring mixture to slow simmer over medium heat, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cook, whisking often, 10 minutes, lowering heat if necessary (do not boil).
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, dissolve kudzu in 1/4 cup soy milk. Whisk in remaining soy milk, maple syrup, both extracts, almond butter, coffee, salt and cardamom.
Whisk kudzu mixture into apple juice mixture and cook over medium-low heat, whisking often, about 15 minutes. Pour into shallow dish and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Transfer to food processor and puree before using.

ICING INGREDIENTS:

Makes 2 2/3 cups
2 Tbs. unfiltered apple juice, or more if needed
1 Tbs. kudzu
10 oz. dairy-free chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup rice syrup
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

ICING DIRECTIONS
Place chocolate chips in top of double boiler over barely simmering water over medium heat. Stir until melted. Stir in rice syrup and vanilla extract until blended.
In cup, dissolve kudzu in apple juice; stir into chocolate mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until creamy and cloudiness has disappeared, 2 to 3 minutes. If icing is too thick to spread easily, stir in a little more apple juice. Use immediat

CAKE DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. In coffee grinder or small food processor, grind flaxseeds. Transfer to blender along with apple juice. Let mixture soak 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, sift both flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

To mixture in blender, add soy milk, maple syrup, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar and blend thoroughly. Gradually add maple syrup mixture to flour mixture and mix well with rubber spatula.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and is firm with a little spring to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in pan. To remove from pan, run knife around edge of pan and turn cake out onto wire rack. Cool completely.

Reserve best cake layer for top. Place other layer upside-down on serving plate andsmear thick layer of mocha cream.

Top with remaining layer and gently press into place. Pour Glossy Chocolate Icing onto center of cake. Using metal spatula, spread icing over sides and top of cake. Let stand 10 minutes to set.

ENJOY!

(adapted fromVegetarian Times Issue: May 1, 1999 p.49)

Macaroons

2010-01-31T10:08:00.000-08:00

Makes 30 cookies

1 2/3 cups (9 oz.) whole blanched almonds

1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 1/2-oz. pkg. almond paste

1/3 cup (2 to 3 large) egg whites

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line several baking sheets with foil.

Spread the almonds in a baking pan and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until the nuts begin to turn brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.

In food processor, combine cooled almonds and sugar and process until almonds are ground to a powder, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, add almond paste through the feed tube, processing until mixture is smooth. Add egg whites and continue processing until mixture is well blended, about 1 minute.

Transfer the mixture to a large heavy saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Let mixture cool 15 minutes or until slightly stiff but not firm.

Drop batter by level tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake until cookies are just beginning to turn brown, 11 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand on foil until cool. Then carefully transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

The Balancing Act- a Dosha balancing diet

2010-01-31T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Dosha Balancing Diet

The Ayurvedic approach to eating allows us to make intelligent food choices, avoid cravings, and satisfy our hunger.

By Miriam Hospodar

Why do we gobble down a chocolate bar when our stomach is pleading for us not to? What makes us reach for a third helping when we are already full? According to Ayurveda, when we are in balance, we automatically desire foods that are good for us. But if our mind, body, or spirit is out of sync, our connection to our body's inner intelligence goes awry. The modern afflictions that affect our eating habits, like excessive consumption and fast-paced living, can be looked at through the lens of the ancient science of Ayurveda.

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO DETERMINE YOUR DOSHA-The DOSHA QUIZ

Healing with Food- The Ayurvedic Lifestyle

2010-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Healing with Food

According to Ayurveda, an illness indicates that one's constitution, or dosha, is out of balance, a condition that can be exacerbated or improved by eating certain foods.

By Lizette Montgomery

When Chocolate and Chakra's Collide

2010-01-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

When Chocolate and Chakra's Collide

Food culture is infiltrating yoga, and not everyone is happy about it. By Julia Moskin

Dahl Soup

2009-07-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

My first experience with indian food has been a recent one but I've been hooked ever since! This soup is served at the beginning of each meal at this fantastic restaurant we've been going to in Huntington, New York (worth visiting if you live nearby- House of India) But if you don't live nearby here is a really fantastic recipe to make at home...

Ingredients:
25 g or 1 oz or 2 tbsp butter
2 garlic Cloves, crushed
1 onion, Chopped
1/2 Tsp turmeric

2 Tbsp of Curry powder
¼ tsp Red Chilli flakes
1Tsp ground cumin
4 fresh tomatoes chopped
175 g or 6oz or 1 cup red lentils
2 tsp Lemon juice
600 ml or 1 pint or 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
300 ml or 1/2 pint or 1 1/4 cups coconut milk
Salt and pepper
Chopped coriander (cilantro) and lemon slices, to garnish
Naan bread to serve

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring for 2-3 minutes.
Add the turmeric, curry powder, chili flakes and cumin and cook for a further 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomatoes, red lentils, lemon juice, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup, uncovered, for about 25-30 minutes, unit; lentils are tender and cooked.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish with chopped coriander (cilantro) and lemon slices and serve immediately with warm naan bread.

Delish :)

Food Inc.

2009-07-09T14:51:00.002-07:00

A very enlightening movie, exploring the origin and impact of American Food; how it effects our lives, immigration, the economy, and the environment.

Eating seasonally made easy: Late July-August

2008-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Delicious Vegetarian Chilli

2008-07-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-30T14:22:00.001-07:00

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!

Burdock Root- Cure all? I think so

2008-06-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

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!)

2008-06-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2008-04-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Recipe test

2008-03-08T13:16:00.001-08:00

recipe test