Healthy Eating

Skip the Christmas cookies, eat your fermented foods!

Fermented foods are so healthy! We enclosed a recipe for coconut yogurt in a previous newsletter. But my philosophy is to get as many good bacteria into your body from as many food sources as possible. Here is an easy inexpensive way to make sauerkraut at home.

Sauerkraut has been a food staple in many cultures. We will describe a simple recipe that can be made at home for pennies in mason jars. There is almost always a jar or two of this homemade sauerkraut in my refrigerator.

Before I started making sauerkraut at home, I thought I needed to have an expensive crock to make the recipe. Don’t let that stop you. Get some mason jars, the bigger ones may make things a bit easier. Just make sure whatever you choose has a wide-mouth.

Sauerkraut is made by lacto-fermentation. On the surface of the cabbage (and other fruits and vegetables) are colonies of beneficial bacteria. Lactobacillus is one of these beneficial bacteria and is the same bacterial family found in yogurt. We want to encourage these bacteria to grow. When submerged in a salt solution, the bacteria begin to convert sugars in the cabbage into lactic acid. The lactic acid encourages the growth of good bacteria and inhibits the bad.

Lacto-fermentation has been used for centuries to preserve seasonal vegetables beyond their standard shelf-life. The fermentation process itself is very reliable and safe. Sauerkraut can be kept for a couple of months in the frig.

At the most basic, all you need is cabbage, salt, and some sort of container. Metal reacts with the lactic acid, so use ceramic bowls, glass and wooden spoons.

Ingredients
1 medium head cabbage (about 3 pounds) I also like to add beets to my […]

By |December 10th, 2015|Healthy Eating, Recipes|

Pesticides in our Food

If you do not already purchase organic produce, you may want to consider organic when it comes to these items which have high pesticides.

Foods with the worst pesticides:

Apples
Celery
Strawberries
Peaches
Spinach
Nectarines (imported)
Grapes
Sweet bell peppers
Potatoes
Blueberries
Lettuce
Kale/collard greens

Foods with least pesticides:

Onions
Corn
Pineapples
Avocado
Asparagus
Sweet peas
Mangoes
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Kiwi
Cabbage
Watermelon
Sweet potatoes
Grapefruit
Mushrooms

By |June 25th, 2015|Healthy Eating|

Recipe For Coconut Milk Yogurt

Allergic to dairy and love yogurt? Here is a healthful delicious alternative

For those of you who love yogurt and cannot tolerate dairy, consider using coconut milk for the main fluid of your yogurt. Coconut milk can help as prevention for heart disease, diabetes, infectious disease and dementia. Coconut milk also has medium chain triglycerides, which can keep your waistline slim. Because it is such a powerful “medicine”, start with ¼ cup and go up to one cup of yogurt per day.

Coconut Yogurt

3 cans coconut milk

1 cup coconut flour

Heat on the stove until it comes to a simmer. Continue to simmer for another minute stirring until smooth. Take off the burner and cool down to 110 degrees. Add two capsules of non-dairy probiotic and blend. Put into the yogurt maker for 10-12 hours. Refrigerate until firm (6 hours or more).

You can add stevia (flavored or not) and fruit.

By |May 7th, 2015|Healthy Eating, News Tips, Recipes|

What does natural, organic, and air-chilled really mean on chicken labeling?

“USDA ORGANIC” is considered the gold standard for labeling. This label ensures that chicken eat organic feed (GMO-free) that doesn’t contain animal byproducts, are raised without antibiotics and have access to the outdoors (how much access…isn’t regulated).

“AIR-CHILLED” means that chickens were not water-chilled en masse in a chlorinated bath and the meat did not absorb any water during processing. (Water-chilled birds retain up to 14 percent water—inflating cost and diluting flavor) Instead, chickens hang from a conveyor belt and circulate around a cold room.

“RAISED WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS” are important; too bad they’re not strictly enforced. (The only rigorous enforcement is when it is USDA Organic).  Loopholes – like injecting the eggs (which will be used as meat birds) with antibiotics or feeding birds feather meal laced with residual antibiotics from treated birds.

“NATURAL & ALL NATURAL” beware of these ubiquitous labels.  The USDA has defined the term just for fresh meat, stipulating only that no synthetic substances have been added to the ‘CUT’. Producers may thus raise their chickens under the most unnatural circumstances on the most unnatural diets and inject birds with broth during processing.

“VEGETARIAN-FED & VEGETARIAN DIET” sound healthy, but such terms are not regulated by the government, you’re relying on the producer’s ‘notion’ of vegetarian, which may mean cheap bakery leftovers that may have preservatives and/or chemical additives.

“HORMONE-FREE” – When used with chicken (and pork) “hormone-free” is an empty reassurance, since the USDA does not allow the use of hormones or steroids in the production of either chicken or pork.

Full article…

By |January 22nd, 2015|Healthy Eating, News Tips|

Lavado can prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is predicted to affect nearly 16 million Americans by 2050. Researchers are hopeful that cocoa extract could be a possible preventative treatment.

Lavado, an extract from cocoa, may reduce or block damage to nerve pathways in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, thus reducing symptoms such as cognitive decline.

Researchers have long known that cocoa and dark chocolate have substantial health benefits, due to their sky-high content of polyphenols. In the past, studies have focused mainly on the general health-promoting and protective aspects of cocoa’s various antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

Now, a new animal study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the June 2014 issue of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease explores ways in which cocoa works at the molecular and cellular level to reduce damage to nerve pathways in Alzheimer’s disease. As nerve pathway damage can be seen long before patients even develop symptoms, there is hope that cocoa polyphenols may be able to help prevent the disease’s onset.

According to the researchers, lavado cocoa extract could pave the way for new treatments, but further studies are needed to better understand how the extract works in the human brain. NaturalHealth365

By |September 25th, 2014|For Men, For Women, Healthy Eating, Immune system enhancers, Therapy|

How Healthy is Soy?

Soybeans were used in China during the Chou dynasty (1134 to 246 BC). At that time, it was used for animal food and for crop rotation. Soybeans were then introduced as human food.

The Chinese fermented the soybeans and made tempeh, natto, miso and soy sauce..

The Chinese then learned to mix soybeans with calcium sulfate or magnesium sulfate to make a smooth bean curd called tofu.

This product was not fermented. In Asia, this non-fermented soy was not a large part of the diet.

Modern Americans however, are consuming large amounts of soy food in the form of soy milk and soy formula.

Non-fermented soy foods (tofu and soy milk) have high phytic acid which blocks zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron absorption. Non-fermented soy can also cause such hormonal problems as hypothyroidism (low thyroid), and can stimulate estrogen in all ages. With fermentation, the phytic acid levels are markedly lessened.

Soy can also cause allergies, hives, eczema, diarrhea, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), palpitations, panic attacks, and PMS type symptoms.

Soy does not provide all the essential amino acids (lysine). This is a large concern for infant formula.

TVP is a non-fermented soy product. It is processed at high heat and pressure, and harsh chemicals are needed. Artificial flavors are added to disguise any foul flavors. The artificial flavors are usually related to MSG, which is a potent toxin for the brain.

Fermented, soy is just fine. But be cautious about including significant amounts of unfermented soy in your diet.

By |July 18th, 2014|Healthy Eating|

The Great American Grocery Hoax

There is a big secret out there in the grocery store aisles that no one wants you to know.

There is a hoax of monumental proportions that is being perpetrated on the American public.The stuff sold there is not actually food.

I guess this depends on one’s definition of the word “food”.

Dictionary.com says “food” is:
any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.
Merriam-Webster says “food” is:
 material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy; also :  such food together with supplementary substances (as minerals, vitamins, and condiments)
The Oxford Dictionary says “food” is:
any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth
“Traditionally…and by traditionally I mean ever since there were humans on the planet eating stuff…food came from one of these sources: plants or animals.  It has been hunted, gathered, foraged, cultivated, and farmed.”

“But now these substances are being created in a lab environment. From purely synthetic ingredients, compounds are formed. Sometimes a bit of the original food is present, perhaps a small bit of meat or vegetable or grain, and that item is stretched with chemicals to turn it into a food-like substance. The substance is shaped to look like food. It is artificially colored and molded into forms like some kind of semi-edible play-dough.  Then scents and flavors, also artificial, are added.  This makes the substances resemble food even more because now it tastes and smells like food.”

“Because it isn’t immediately lethal to ingest, those noble guardians at the FDA slap a label on it that the substance is GRAS – Generally Recognized As Safe.”

“Then the substance is placed into little plastic trays, foil, bags, or cellophane. […]

By |April 17th, 2014|Healthy Eating|

Aspartame Being Re-Branded as AminoSweet

Aspartame’s presence in the world’s food supply has been the subject of great protest and controversy since the mid-1980′s when then CEO if Searle, Donald Rumsfeld, pushed for it’s approval to be sold on the market.  Aspartame has been consistently proven to harm whoever, or whatever, consumes it.

Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in many foods and beverages. In the European Union, it is codified as E951, and is most popularly sold under the NutraSweet and Equal brand names.

The possible association between specific artificial sweeteners and cancer?

Studies in laboratory rats during the early 1970s linked saccharin with the development of bladder cancer. For this reason, Congress mandated that further studies of saccharin be performed and required that all food containing saccharin bear the following warning label: “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.”

See more at theDailyShepple

By |April 17th, 2014|Cancer, Children's Health, Healthy Eating|

Did You Know?

Where’s the Beef?
What common fast food meat is 93% corn?

If you thought you were eating mostly grass-fed beef when you bit into a Big Mac, think again: The bulk of a fast-food hamburger from McDonald’s, Burger King or Wendy’s is made from cows that eat primarily corn, or so says a new study of the chemical composition of more than 480 fast-food burgers from across the nation. Fast food beef.

And what are the chances these same fast food burgers are made from beef fed organic corn? Probably none! Chances are all of that corn feed is GMO corn.

 

Which of these three mushrooms has the highest anticancer properties: the shiitake, morels, or button mushrooms?

More about the lowly white button mushroom.

 

What foodstuff overall has the highest anticancer properties, and how much do you need to ingest to get adequate protection?

Green tea (preferably organic), and drink 5 cups a day.

By |March 13th, 2014|Cancer, Healthy Eating|

Healthy Holiday Quiche

Here’s an easy, delicious brunch dish that won’t compromise your post-holiday waistline! For a gluten-free option, try Blue Diamond Nut Thins.

Spinach Mushroom Crustless Quiche
Serves 6-8

Preheat oven to 375
Butter a deep-dish pie pan, or spray with non-stick cooking spray

Ingredients:
2 cups nonfat yogurt
2 eggs
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
10 oz. fresh spinach, steamed and chopped, or 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
6 fresh mushrooms, chopped and lightly sautéed in 1 T. olive oil, or one small can sliced mushrooms, drained
12 saltine crackers, crumbled.
Paprika (optional)

In a large bowl, add yogurt, eggs, and feta. Stir to combine.

Stir in spinach and mushrooms.

Stir in crackers.

Spoon mixture into buttered deep-dish pie pan. Sprinkle top with paprika if desired.

Bake 45-60 minutes in 375 oven, or until top feels firm when pressed.

Allow to cool fifteen minutes to set. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.

By |December 18th, 2013|Healthy Eating, Recipes|
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