I’m more of a fan of avoiding anything in a package altogether … but if you’re going to buy something packaged, this rule from Michael Pollan is a great one!
Turmeric Green Tea – Antioxidant Blast!
This super-simple green tea adds a blast of flavor and healthy antioxidants with a shake of ground turmeric … delicious and oh-so-healthy!
Preferably, use a tea strainer (like this)
Simple Instructions (makes two cups);
Add green tea and about 1 tsp (more if you like) powdered turmeric to a tea strainer. Bring water to a boil, take off the heat and wait a minute or two to let it cool just a bit. Put the tea strainer in the first cup and pour water over all. Let the tea brew in the cup for about 2-3 minutes. Then remove the strainer and move to the second cup to repeat the brew, adding about a half of a tsp of turmeric to make up for the parts that strained into the first cup. Again, brew for about 2-3 minutes.
On the choice of green tea: any type will be good, but recent tests among common brands have shown Teavana Gyokuro Imperial Loose-Leaf Green Tea
Six Ways to Hook Kids on Real Food
With the world (meaning, food marketers) trying their best to hook your kids on their junky packaged foods, you’ve got to fight back hard! And we know – you’re already busy just trying to get your kids to school/practice/lessons/play dates/etc. … you don’t have time to give them food lectures (and lectures don’t work, anyway)!
Here are 6 fun, simple ways to help break the hold the food companies have on your kids, and instead hook them on healthy, amazing, REAL food:
1. Grow Food: Even if you only have room for a small pot of herbs in a city apartment, involving a child in growing has been shown to pay lifetime dividends in vegetable consumption. A child who helped grow the parsley will HAPPILY urge the whole family to taste their very own parsley salad.
2. Introduce kids to “ingredients” in their native form: If you’re making soup, keep little bits of the raw ingredients aside for a “tasting session,” then have them try to identify the celery, the onion, the carrot, etc. in the soup. Discuss how cooking changes the texture and flavor of the ingredients.
3. Keep herbs/spices and interesting condiments on the table, and encourage experimentation: I learned this when I left cinnamon on the table, and my son added it to an almond butter sandwich. It turned out to be a great flavor combo, and he gobbled down the sandwich that “he” had made. Hot sauces, flavored oils, fun spices like ginger and vanilla, and other tasty add-ins will help build interest and creativity around the whole foods you’re serving, and help kids personalize their food.
4. Build a family cookbook: Encourage kids to take pictures of their favorite meals/dishes (get family members in the pics, too!), name the dishes together, and keep them in a photo album. Keep it in the kitchen as a frequent reminder of the great real food family times you’ve had, so your kids learn to associate real food with great moments.
5. Celebrate with Real Food! Don’t fall prey to the seductive marketing message to use celebrations as an excuse to eat junk. That sends exactly the wrong message: that these foods are “rewards,” and these false “rewards” become anchored in the pleasure centers of your child’s brain. Instead, celebrate by making extra-beautiful, extra-fresh meals together during the holidays and other special days.
6. COOK TOGETHER: Nothing else will make your child more immune to the marketer’s siren song about “convenience” than this. When your child knows that an egg can be cooked, a salad can be tossed, a veggie can be braised, or a smoothie can be blended in literally minutes, you give them the tools and the tastebuds they need to resist the call of the microwaved Frankenfood that marketers want them to buy.
Most of all, make real food a centerpiece of loving family moments, and kids will grow up associating real food with great family feelings.
Six Ways to Hook Kids on Real Food, by Jennifer Silverberg, Eat Yourself Well
Michael Pollan
Super-Healthy, Low Carb Potato Cauliflower Salad
If a picnic’s not a picnic without potato salad … but you’re avoiding overdoing the potatoes, not to mention mayonnaise … give this simple recipe with a healthy kick of turmeric a try!
Super-Healthy, Low Carb Potato Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
1 large head of organic cauliflower, or two small ones
5-6 organic red new potatoes – medium-sized, like a small plum
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coconut oil
t tbsp turmeric
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
Ground pepper to taste
Arugula for base
Optional: Something pickled, like cucumbers or turnips
Cut cauliflower florets away from the stalk, and cut potatoes into about 6 pieces each. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. Add in a single layer to a 12″ fry pan, pour about 1/2 cup water over all. Add coconut oil, turmeric, and the bay leaf, then cover, and cook over medium-high heat until the veggies are almost fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove lid and continue cooking until water is gone and potatoes are just beginning to break apart, about 4 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Note: everything will turn a lovely shade of yellow from the turmeric – that’s good, because it makes you feel like eggs have been added for a more traditional potato salad at the end. Also, when warm, this mix has a sort of voodoo loveliness and you’re going to want to eat it now … and that’s fine if you want a warm salad side … but keep going if you’d like a potato salad stand-in!
Put whole mixture (remove bay leaf) in fridge and let cool. When cool, chop into smaller bits – I love to use Toss & Chop salad scissors for this, but if you don’t have them, just use a good knife and break down the pieces so that they mix really well. If you like the taste of something pickled in your potato salad, chop it up and add it now, and maybe a teaspoonful or so of the brine also.
Plate the potato salad over some fresh arugula or other lettuce and serve! You’re eating mostly cauliflower, but your palate will taste potato. Add some fresh coleslaw for a fantastic summer picnic feast!
Summer Watermelon Salad Bites
There are only so many days of summer … celebrate them ALL! These Summer Watermelon Salad bites provide a blend of unexpected flavors that combine to say SUMMER!
Ingredients
Organic Watermelon
Tiny bit of Ricotta Salata
Fresh mint leaves
Juice from half a lemon – preferably a Meyer lemon
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Slice watermelon into one-to-two-bit bits (squares, circles, or whatever you like – use cookie cutters if you like) and arrange on platter. Squeeze Meyer lemon over the watermelon; some of it will remain on the plate – that’s fine, the watermelon will soak it up. Place a mint leaf and a tiny bit of Ricotta Salata on each watermelon bite – seriously, a small bit – you want this to be a little salty, but not have the cheese overwhelm the mint and watermelon. Grind just a bit of pepper over all of it, and serve!
Nick’s Summer Ratatouille – Delicious!
For me, it’s not summer without ratatouille … and I usually just take the shortcut of dicing and sauteeing the veggies, throwing on a few herbs along the way. However, this recipe was perfected by the young son of a friend – and it takes my “casual” version up about 5 notches! I think Nick has a future in the kitchen, don’t you :-)?
I love this hot or cold, as a side dish with just about anything, and it’s a great dish to take to a gathering – trust me, it’s so delicious that no one will realize that what they are eating is actually super-healthy!
Nick’s Summer Ratatouille
How to make:
Add to pan over medium heat:
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tsp butter (for a vegan version, eliminate butter and double the olive oil)
1 tsp olive oil
Cook for ten minutes.
Then add the following to this mixture, cook for three more minutes.
2 green chili pepper, charred, peeled, seeds and ribs removed.
1 clove garlic
salt (pinch)
pepper (to taste)
Next, add the following, cook until bubbling (stirring occasionally), then reduce temperature and cook for 20 minutes.
28 oz crushed organic tomatoes – be sure not to buy the kind with added sugar!
2 pinches of thyme
While the sauce is cooking, mix the following in a small jar or glass:
4 tbsp organic olive oil
2 tsp minced or crushed garlic
2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
pinch of salt
ground pepper, to taste
When the sauce is ready, let it cool until it is safe to handle, then place in food processor with 2 pinches dried basil, or 5-6 leaves of fresh, and puree until thick. Pour into bottom of dutch oven or other large casserole dish.
Nick adding layers of veggies.
6 Roma tomatoes, sliced thin
2 yellow squash, sliced thin
2 zucchini, sliced thin
2 japanese eggplants, sliced thin
Gently and fairly evenly pour about half of the oil mixture over the vegetables.
Cook covered at 280 degrees for three hours. Pour remainder of olive oil mixture over dish, refrigerate until next day.
When ready to serve, warm for 45 minutes at 280, then drop to 225 degrees for another 45 minutes. Delicious served warm, or cooled.
Celebrate yourself!
The Power of the Plate
Researchers spend hundreds of millions of dollars on medications and other medical interventions for diseases that your body is already fighting every single day. To quote from one of my favorite Ted Talks, William Li, “Can we eat to starve cancer?“:”Autopsy studies from people who died in car accidents have shown that about 40 percent of women between the ages of 40 and 50 actually have microscopic cancers in their breasts, about 50 percent of men in their 50s and 60s have microscopic prostate cancers, and virtually 100 percent of us, by the time we reach our 70s, will have microscopic cancers growing in our thyroid. Yet, without a blood supply, most of these cancers will never become dangerous. Dr. Judah Folkman, who was my mentor and who was the pioneer of the angiogenesis field, once called this ‘cancer without disease.'”
For the most part, our bodies can handle foreign invaders and internal threats, as long as:
1. They are identifiable as an invader – meaning they aren’t some new bacteria/virus/compound that the body can’t identify, or to which it hasn’t developed a response. This is why new chemicals, GMOs, and such have the potential to be so problematic.
2. The body isn’t already so compromised from dealing with known invaders, injuries, etc. that it is too taxed to fight back. This is why it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including clean foods, regular exercise, stress management, etc.
Right this very minute, probably the best thing you can do to support – and thank! – the amazing systems that keep your body healthy is to go find the darkest, greenest, leafiest organic vegetable around, and eat it. Then in an hour, do it again – and throw in some cooked tomatoes – and blueberries for dessert. The beautiful thing is that you have 3-4 opportunities to do this every day, and every one can be health-supporting, beautiful, and absolutely delicious!
Chocolate Strawberry Protein Loaf
New recipe came in from a fan – I tried it, and WOW, it was amazing. I’m not usually a fan of protein powder, but for this use I think it’s better than the alternatives, and definitely pumps up the protein count for you athletes out there. As always, use organic ingredients, and if you are vegan, use chia and water to substitute for the eggs. Here you go!
DARK CHOCOLATE & STRAWBERRY PROTEIN LOAF
From: Ross Edgley at http://www.facebook.com/rossedgleywriter Visit his page for more great recipes!
This not only tastes great but all the ingredients are healthy, ‘functional’ and especially good after a hard gym session :- ) and here’s why. It’s made of foods that all have health and performance benefits. From the flavanoid content of the dark chocolate to the vitamin C content of the strawberries. Essentially it’s very nutrient dense! Plus, has a great carbohydrate to protein ratio to help the muscles and body recover immediately after training.
Ingredients:
– 30g Whey Protein (dark chocolate flavour best)
– 2 whole eggs
– 50g dark chocolate (ideally 85% cocoa since far healthier)
– 30g coconut flour
– 20g oats (can be gluten free oats)
– 200ml almond milk
– 1 banana
– 20g of strawberries and blueberries
– Baking powder (1/2 a teaspoon)
Method:
– Pre heat oven to 250
– Mix ingredients into a bowl (whey, eggs, coconut flour, oats, almond milk and ½ a tsp of baking powder)
– Mash a banana and add to mixture
– Whisk until mixture is light and almost frothy
– Add more almond milk to achieve the right consistency, like batter
– Then add dark chocolate and berries into the mixture
– Line loaf tin with greaseproof paper or coconut oil
– Pour in the mixture
– Place the loaf tin into oven and cook for 40-60 minutes (if you have a good oven it may be shorter so be sure to pay attention to your loaf whilst cooking and use a toothpick or knife to check as it’s baking)
– Remove, top with a few berries and enjoy
Nutritional Information (for 1/6)
– 190 Calories
– 21g Protein
– 38g Carbohydrates
Serving suggestions:
*Also goes very well with natural yoghurt. Especially if you find the texture too dry, this balances it out perfectly.
*Note: A little science to finish Some people are concerned about eating too many carbohydrates but the truth is immediately after training you can pretty much eat what you want and it won’t be stored as fat! It will only be used to help the body recover. This is because your muscles are depleted and your insulin sensitivity (how we absorb and use carbohydrates) is elevated so anything we eat is absorbed like a sponge by the muscles. Don’t believe me check out this study below Basically if you’ve trained hard, go home, eat and enjoy this completely guilt free. You’re body will actually thank you for it
References:
Veikko A. Koivisto, Hanele Yki-Järvinen andRalph A. DeFronzo (1986) “Physical training and insulin sensitivity” Diabetes/Metabolism Reviews, Volume 1, Issue 4, pages 445–481, 1986
