Update #8 – Will Your Family Eat Raw Broccoli?

Broccoli is one of those vegetables people love to steam. When pressed for time, I am reluctant to steam broccoli and then clean up the extra pot and steamer. Plus, steaming turns the water green, and unless I use that water in another dish, I’m discarding some of the most nutritious components.

Eating broccoli raw was never very appealing to me until I started using it as a finely chopped garnish. Buy the freshest, highest quality (organic when available), broccoli. Fresh broccoli is firm, if it is rubbery, pass. Wash the broccoli, then chop very finely. Depending on the length and thickness of the stalks, you may want to peel the tough outer stalk, and then chop.

Add as much as possible, palatable and acceptable to soup, salad, chili, coleslaw, or any inviting dish. If you have picky eaters, this is an easy way to sneak it in, under the radar. Try serving the chopped broccoli in a bowl with a spoon. Tell your family to use it instead of Parmesan cheese, sprinkle it on foods, and allow each person to determine her desired amount.

Google broccoli, and you will see it associated with the defeat of everything from asthma to cancer. It is hard to argue for a more nutritious vegetable.

Recipe #7 – Chickpea Salad

For those of you saintly enough to cook garbanzo beans, I salute you. Here, I must admit that as much as I try to avoid canned or processed foods, my lust for the chickpea keeps me reaching for metal.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 5 Roma tomatoes diced
• 2 cups fresh spinach, coarsley chopped
• 2 lemons juiced
• 1/3 c tahini (sesame seed butter)
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

Add tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlice to large mixing bowl, combine. Depending on the consistency of the tahini, you may want to add more lemon juice for a creamy dressing. The dressing is quite rich, it is only intended to coat a small portion of the salad, plus the chopped tomatoes add extra liquid. This is another reason why this salad tastes better on the second day.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir. Many of the chickpea salads I’ve tried in the past go overboard with onion, here I leave it out completely.

My Italian grandmother called chickpeas ceci beans, pronounced chee-chee. They are famous for their high protein and fiber content. I’m simply sold on their nutty taste, especially when married with sesame. Enjoy!

Update #7 – Food Impact on Chakras

When I first heard the title of her new book, “Chakra Foods for Optimal Health,” the scientist in me rolled my eyeballs. But, if you use the book to reflect on your eating habits and how best to improve them, then Deanna Minnich PhD has written a book that will give you great insight. For example, if you always eat on the run, and therefore make “bad” or suboptimal choices, what can you do to alter that behavior?

Watch her video:

http://www.foodandspirit.com/chakra-foods-for-optimum-health/

Update #6 – Strawberries, Dirty Dozen or Beauty Queens?

How important is it to buy organic ALL the time? How sweet is agave? Here are some lessons from strawberries.

With all of the hype about acai berries and agave nectar, look to fresh strawberries for a scrumptious, nutritious snack or sweetener. Strawberries are packed with Vitamin C, potassium, folic acid and fiber.

I was still able to purchase fresh strawberries today, although I must admit they are not organic. As a member of the “Dirty Dozen,” strawberries head the “don’t eat unless organic” list due to pesticide content. However, strawberries are my husband’s favorite fruit, and our organic fruit and vegetable intake varies based on availability. I aim to buy organic, but it does not always pan out.

Recent research has railed against organic produce, but just wait another month, and new research will come out to contradict it, and show that organic produce is equally, if not more nutritious. Besides, I’m just looking for lower pesticide levels when I pay higher prices for organic or locally grown fruits of the earth.

Agave nectar is simply another triumph of marketing over science. Most of it is heated, and is therefore not raw. It, is filtered and cooked from a carbohydrate-hunk of agave plant to produce a shelf-stable, enzyme-poor “nectar.” Agave is sweeter than sugar, and will train your taste buds to crave ultra-sweet, processed foods. Try some fresh strawberries instead – on top of cereal, spinach salad, or simple toute seoule.

Recipe #5 - Decadent Date Delights

The next time you need a decadent, yet healthy dessert or heartfelt gift, try this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• Medjool dates
• Walnuts
• Tahini
• Raw cacao nibs
• Cinnamon

Directions:

Slice the dates lengthwise with a sharp knife and remove the pit. Leave the date open for easy stuffing.

Drizzle or spoon ½-1 tsp of tahini (ground sesame seed butter) onto each date, sprinkle with cinnamon, sprinkle with raw cacao nibs, add whole walnut.

This version of stuffed dates features crunchy and smooth textures. It tastes sinfully rich, and can satisfy the most monstrous sweet tooth.

For a variation, if you are going to serve right away, add a slice of frozen banana before stuffing the walnut to add temperature variation in the mouth feel, and added richness from the banana flavor.

Recipe #4 – Kiwi Jalapeno Salsa

Kiwis, aka Chinese gooseberries, are universal fruits because their acidity and sweetness lend zesty flavor to a variety of dishes. The nutritional value is off the charts. What stopped me from consuming kiwis in the past? The hassle of peeling. Then, I learned a shortcut. Simply cut a ripe kiwi in half, and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Nothing could be easier.

Ingredients:

• 3 kiwis, cut in half, scoop out fruit, chop
• 1/3 c red or white onion, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (leave in seeds and white flesh for more heat)
• 1/4 c cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 c parsley, chopped
• Juice from ½ lime
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Sea salt to taste – anywhere from dash to 1/4 tsp

Optional garnish: avocado, chopped

Directions:

Add ingredients to a bowl, stir and refrigerate. Garnish with chopped avocado.

For variations, simply substitute kiwis for tomatoes in almost any salsa recipe. Kiwis are also champions in meat marinades due to their tenderizing actinidin enzyme content.

In a study of the total antioxidant concentration of fruits (not berries), kiwis placed in the top 10 behind pomegranates, pineapples and dates. One medium kiwi provides over 70 mg vitamin C, more than 100% of the recommended daily value, TWICE that of an orange. Kiwis also eclipse bananas for potassium, almost by a factor of two. Kiwis supply vitamin K, and the kiwi seeds contain small amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Bottom line: increase the variety of fresh fruits in your diet by adding kiwis.

References:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1934/2

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/132/3/461?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=kiwi&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

Recipe #3 – Blueberry Fiber Porridge

Is it time to discard the boxes of HFCS-infected All Bran or aspartame-laden Fiber One? What is a good substitute? Try this fiber porridge. Eventually you can exclude the wheat bran, especially if you eschew gluten. If you are trying to get your daily, recommended fiber, 25 grams for women or 38 grams for men, getting it primarily from boxed cereal is suboptimal. Instead, aim for a plentiful, wide variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Ingredients:

• ½ c blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 t chia seeds
• 2 T psyllium seed husk
• 2 T wheat bran
• 1 T sesame seeds
• 2 T sunflower seeds
• ½ t fennel seeds
• ¼ - ½ t cinnamon
• dash sea salt

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a 2-cup container. Add 3/4 c water, stir, refrigerate for 1 hour. Eat 1-2 T at a time depending on your fiber needs. Keep refrigerated for 2-3 days.

This porridge is excellent for those times your digestion needs a nudge.

I’m no fan of wheat, but I’ve tried oat bran instead of wheat bran, and wheat bran is far superior in terms of creating bulk. This is probably due to the fact > 90% of wheat bran fiber is insoluble. Compare this with oat bran; only 50-60% of its fiber is insoluble. You can buy wheat bran in bulk bins at most health food stores.

Travel tip – lose the blueberries, and put all dry ingredients in a baggie. Just add a small amount to water, one serving at a time; or sprinkle on salads or soup.

References:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/68/3/711

http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/nutrition/factsheets/fiber.html