Inflammation- Food and Lifestyle Ways to Fight.

Inflammation has been on the forefront lately as the culprit of many health problems and diseases.

We need inflammation in our bodies to heal but too much causes loads of problems.

What can you do to help your body function properly?

Food-

• Go organic! It will remove loads of pesticides from your diet. (plus it provides micro-nutrients not found in conventionally grown produce.)
• Stay away from GMO's, they wreck havoc on your system because they are unknown proteins that your body is not sure how to handle and is thus constantly battling.
• Eat only whole grains and mostly nut, coconut and gluten free flours and grains- like buckwheat, oat, quinoa, and brown rice
• Limit red meat and eat only grass fed to lessen artery inflammation
• Limit alcohol. 1 per day women and 2 per day men. and better to have red wine.  1 helps, more swells.
• Step away from the fast food! The fat and additives are terrible for you.  Make it at home instead if you're craving it.
• Eat whole unprocessed foods.  Those lucky charms are definitely not lucky. The chemicals and partitioned foods (like corn starch, corn meal, corn syrup and such) are taxing on your system.  Not to mention loaded with pesticides and GMO's usually.

Lifestyle-

• Clean with all natural products and remove the dangerous chemicals from your home.
• Give your office or school cleaning crew a gift of natural cleaning supplies and recipes.  They'll save money and protect their health and yours.
• Garden and Lawn care organically.  Pesticides and dangerous fertilizers should be far away from your home.  You're there the most!
• Stay away from smoke. Quit and stay far away from second hand smoke.  This is a huge stress on your organs.
• Sleep!
• Relax, do yoga, meditate, go for a walk, sit quietly.  Stress causes inflammation.  Control what you can and drop the rest.
• Exercise.  Pick something you like and do it at least 3 times per week.  
• Control your weight. Those excess pounds stress out your system even more than they stress out your jeans.
• Watch your textiles.  Don't go tearing into that old couch to reupholster it.  Don't get that super cheap carpet.  You'll breathe that stuff in everyday.  Pick carefully.
• Keep it dry! Mold causes your system minor to major problems, depending on your sensitivity.
• Heat electrically not with gas if you can.
• Try to minimize your exposure to car exhaust, industrial exhaust and the like.  This one is hard but whenever possible limit and distance.

hungry for more?
The Inflammation Syndrome, by Jack Challem

You are what you eat and you'll eat what you have.

You're starving... to the kitchen you mindlessly wander... your instinct is taking over...  

The question is will you find Cheetos or cashews?  Cheez-its or extra sharp white cheddar from grass fed cows? Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs or Shredded Wheat, with a little sugar even?

We've heard it a million times, "Healthy food tastes terrible!"

May we ask, "What on earth are you eating?!"

Roasted chicken?.

Thick cut bacon on occasion?

Sliced avocados on everything?

Olive oil in everything?

Roasted garlic everywhere?

Vegetables in season roasted until sweet with Parmesan. Any of them and all of them?

Pecans for an afternoon snack?

Apple chips crisped with butter and cinnamon?

Red wine to finish off each day?

Gold potatoes baked and then smashed with olive oil and sea salt until crispy?

Scrambled eggs with grass fed butter?

Salads with red leaf lettuce, rainbow chard, purple cabbage, sliced almonds, fat chunks of tuna & local honey and grainy mustard dressing?

Hummus on whole grain pitas?

Almond Turbino sugar cookies?

Dark chocolate laced with chili spice?

Pray tell are these the gross things of which you speak.

Perhaps you'd like your McDonalds Fries and your Fiery Dorito kindling now.

Fill your pantry and refrigerator with whole foods you'll be happy to gorge on.  Control your portions,  go for a walk, a run, an hour of yoga. And eat yourselves happy on really good food.

Get serious. Switch for the good stuff and stop eating processed inferior food.

Eat whole food.  Eat yummy food that makes you so happy to eat.  Reject the chemical 'food' and get real, Control your portions.  Stop eating fake scientifically made food and eat really good food. 

Enjoy your food. Demand good food.

Go read Real Food by Nina Planck.  Learn to LOVE food.  

Healthy Choices, Marketing Mayhem... The Vitamin Water You Really Need...

Photo: Kenny Louie
His pictures are gorgeous btw, you must go look.

You're trying to be healthy.  It's great.

                     But... (here it comes)

You may be susceptible to marketing claims that know they just need to sound healthy and look pretty to suck you in.

Vitamin Water.

Capitalizing on your great concern for your lack of nutrition.

Problem #1

"Most Americans aren’t vitamin-deficient" Marion Nestle

Problem #2

Vitamin water contains 2 Tablespoons fructose.  That's a lot- especially for a health claiming drink.
(This one's made from corn starch by crystallizing corn syrup.  Not only added empty calories but addictive and dangerous.)

Problem #3

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble... which means you need to add olive oil or other healthy fat to a food containing these vitamins- and that drinking them does absolutely nothing.

Problem #4

Over-fortification of foods can increase the risk of excessive intake of vitamins and minerals and pose health problems for children 8 and younger. (source EWG)

What Vitamin Water is...

-Something to drink with less sugar than soda.
-A drink with safer colors (They are from vegetables not FD&C dyes.)

But when we say "Eat the rainbow...This is NOT what we mean."

May we suggest hydrating from that source at your kitchen sink?
It's always the best source.

Hungry for more?
We suggest...
http://www.ewg.org/research/how-much-is-too-much/harmful-effects-excess-vitamins-and-minerals



Sources:

http://scienceline.org/2007/12/ask-intagliata-vitaminwater/

Foodie Friday- Halloween!

Foodie Friday                                                   Research all week, then put it into practice this weekend.

Ready, Set, Mmm...

Your Halloween Breakfast...

Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin Butter- this is absolutely what your toast has been missing.Head over to The Hungry Belgian for the yummy recipe

Photo: Alpha

Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

 Made all by yourself.

Beforehand...

Pumpkin Spice Syrup (oh the places you could use this.)

Simmer

-1C Sugar

-1C Water

when the sugar has dissolved add

-2T Pumpkin Puree

-1 T Pumpkin Pie Spice

Make you own by mixing ...

-3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon 

-2 teaspoons ground ginger 

-2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 

-1½ teaspoons ground allspice 

-1½ teaspoons ground cloves 

-½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Simmer 10 minutes.  Cool.

If you want to be really cool you could keep your pumpkin spice syrup in a cleaned Roundhouse Pumpkin bottle (since they're only 375ml) Just don't confuse the two!

Draw your espresso as usual.

Add Foamed milk to your liking.

Add 2 ounce syrup.

Enjoy the quiet.  This evening probably won't be.

Plan a dinner of protein and healthy vegetables.

Easy Guacamole with a twist.

Thanks to Amee's Savory Dish.  You're a genius!

Three Bean Chili (Don't worry, it has ground beef too!)

Head over to Whole & Heavenly Oven for the recipe.

Need some ideas for great vegetables to roast up?

Photo: ilovebutter

Roasted Vegetables

Vivid vegetables, like Red Peppers, Tomatoes & Carrots- rich in Carotenoids which reduce risk of heart disease. (Add a small amount of ‘good fats’ to increase absorption of Carotenoids- hey your olive oil!)

Green & Red Vegetables...Protect blood vessels, Help your Vitamin C work better, Prevent inflammation in your body, Help prevent osteoporosis, diabetes and other diseases. 

Cruciferous vegetables; broccoli, cauliflower, kale, watercress, cabbage and bok choy are the cancer warriors of the food world.

My favorite side- or sometimes as a meal itself.

Use any vegetables you want

Cut to approximately the same size

Drop them onto a jelly roll sheet and cover in olive oil & sprinkle with salt.
(and other spices if you like.)

Roast at 450 degrees until they are brown and sweet and crispy
- or until your liking.  

Happy Halloween!

Carotenoids, more than meets the eye.

Photo: Peddhapati

Did your mother bribe you to eat your carrots to protect your eyes?

"Here honey, these mushy canned vegetables are magic!"  Ya right mom.

Here's the lowdown on carotenoids...

They need fat to be absorbed.  Olive oil anyone ;)

Carotenoids simplified = orange vegetables. (Eat the rainbow!)

They have Vitamin A activity and convert to retinol. 1 Cup of pumpkin has 245% of your daily value of Vitamin A.  Wo!

Vitamin A boosts your immune system

They also act as antioxidants

In your eyes carotenoids stop blue and near-ultraviolet light from being absorbed to protect your retina. These lights can also cause cataracts. Dang it my mom was right! The degeneration of the retina is the leading cause of blindness in adults.  Protect those eyes! Don your giant sunglasses and eat those orange vegetables.

Carotenoids help your cells to communicate with each other.  This is especially important because cancerous cells lose this ability.

Carotenoids may protect against Cardiovascular Disease as they are very fat soluble and travel with lipoproteins in your bloodstream.  They have shown some reduction in IMT halting or reversing atherosclerosis. (sorry, big science words...are you still here? whew!)  This seems to indicate an anti-inflammatory effect, which is one of our highest goals to fight our modern diseases.

Eat up!

Eat raw vegetables and gently cooked too.  To absorb all the nutrients you can.

Alpha-Carotene Content of Selected Foods
Food	Serving	Alpha-Carotene (mg)
Pumpkin, canned	1 cup	11.7
Carrot juice, canned	1 cup (8 fl oz)	10.2
Carrots, cooked	1 cup	5.9
Carrots, raw	1 medium	2.1
Mixed vegetables, frozen, cooked	1 cup	1.8
Winter squash, baked	1 cup	1.4
Plantains, raw	1 medium	0.8
Collards, frozen, cooked	1 cup	0.2
Tomatoes, raw	1 medium	0.1
Tangerines, raw	1 medium	0.09
Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked	1 cup	0.09

Beta-Carotene Content of Selected Foods
Food	Serving	Beta-Carotene (mg)
Carrot juice, canned	1 cup (8 fl oz)	22.0
Pumpkin, canned	1 cup	17.0
Spinach, frozen, cooked	1 cup	13.8
Sweet potato, baked	1 medium	13.1
Carrots, cooked	1 cup	13.0
Collards, frozen, cooked	1 cup	11.6
Kale, frozen, cooked	1 cup	11.5
Turnip greens, frozen, cooked	1 cup	10.6
Pumpkin pie	1 piece	7.4
Winter squash, cooked	1 cup	5.7
Carrots, raw	1 medium	5.1
Dandelion greens, cooked	1 cup	4.1
Cantaloupe, raw	1 cup	3.2

2.

Now where will we find some orange vegetables around here?

Photo: Liz West

Warnings:

"additional β-carotene from supplements is unlikely to be beneficial and may actually be harmful" 1.

Sources:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2601/2

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carotenoid

2. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/carotenoids/

Tomatoes- How to preserve them and how they preserve you!

Photo: Francesco Bartaloni

There's a chance that you are knee deep in tomatoes right now- in a panic about what to do with all these tomatoes!  It's a love hate relationship.  You hate grocery store tomatoes and so you labor all summer to babysit those crimson globes until you have to drop a half a day to harvest and preserve all those beauties.

Today, we have great ideas to quickly save them all and nutrition notes so that you're motivated to do it all again next year!

How to save tomatoes...

The easy way...

-Bring a very large pot to a rolling boil.  
-Place a large bowl of iced water next to it.
-Drop in whole tomatoes (as many fit in a single layer.)
-Boil for 1 minute then drop into ice water while you refill your boiling water.
-Pull tomatoes from ice.
-Squeeze tomatoes gently to remove skin and remove most of the water.
-Pull tops off and drop into gallon ziplock bags.
-Freeze flat.


Photo: Klearchos Kapoutsis
The yummy way...

-Cut tomatoes in half and line a jelly roll pan.
-Drizzle with olive oil and salt.
-Roast at 425 degrees until sweet. ~ 20-40 minutes (depending on size)
-Eat lots and freeze the rest flat in bags.

The aren't I sustainable way...

Canning Tomatoes

This opens up a lot of options once you've learned it because it doesn't require a freezer and thus no thawing. Which is great because I forever forget to thaw things I need for dinner.

Head over to Pretty Prudent for great directions with pretty pictures to help.

Tomato nutritional benefits...

Now the motivation to do it all over. Or to go buy a bunch of in season tomatoes and heal yourself while you pretend you grew them.  'The yummy way' of cooking tomatoes (above) works all winter long, with all states of crappy tomatoes. fyi.

Tomatoes are full of vitamins A and C and folic acid.

They are high in antioxidants- which protect and heal your cells. Learn all about them here.

They are high in carotene- a "flavonoid compound, beta carotene has powerful antioxidant functions, helps the body scavenge free radicals, thereby limiting the damage to cell membranes, DNA and protein structures in the cell."1.

They pack a cancer fightin' Lycopene punch. Especially protective against prostate cancer.

They contain alpha-lipoic acid can aid in blood glucose control, improve vasodilation and protect against retinopathy in diabetic patients and may even help preserve brain and nerve tissue.2

Tomatoes are high in fiber which helps both heart disease and diabetes.

Alright, enough reading.  Those tomatoes are waiting.  You're burning daylight!

sources: 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273031.php
1. http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/beta-carotene.html
2. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalipoic-acid

Red Red Wine

Photo: Isante

What's better way to soothe your conscience on a  Monday morning than a post about how great red wine is for you?!

We've got you covered.

Red wine 

Is red wine good for you? In moderation (1-2 glasses per day)

Red Wine Health Benefits...

· Increases cardiovascular function- Reduces heart attack risks

· Reduces heart disease risk by 25-40% (1 glass per day women, 2 for men)

· Raises HDL (good cholesterol)

· High in antioxidants

· Contains Resveratrol- which appears to stop arteries from getting blocked by fat deposits

Foodie Friday- Tapas!

Foodie Friday                                                   Research all week, then put it into practice this weekend.

Ready, Set, Mmm...

Our new favorite thing- Tapas!

Platters of fightin' foods you can grab and wander with.

Smoked Paprika Almonds

head over to Devour to get the recipe

· High in poly & mono-unsaturated fats which sweep LDL into liver when they replace saturated fats.

Artichoke hearts are the ultimate tapas item.

Head over to Kitchen to Nirvana for the recipe

high in  fiber and anti-oxidants

cynarin and sesquiterpene-lactones...inhibit cholesterol synthesis & lower overall cholesterol.

folic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, rich source of minerals 

Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Bruschetta
Head Over to My Baking Addiction for a recipe

Garlic-
Several compounds in garlic stop carcinogens from becoming active and flush them from your system- maybe you should add a lot of garlic to your bruschetta. 
Allicin (an antioxidant) can protect and heal your heart,
Quercitin: A flavonoid or antioxidant fights inflammation

Olive Oil-
Contains oleocanthal which relieves pain.
Darker oils have more blood clot fighting polyphenol. Go find that pretty green!
Olive oil helps regulate blood pressure.
It reduces chance of breast cancer.

Tomatoes-

High intakes of total carotenoids = a significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer 1.
Lycopene reduces Prostate Cancer risk.
Vitamins A and C and Folic Acid
Alpha-lipoic acid helps the body to convert glucose into energy

Dolmades
Head over to My Greek Dish for the recipe

Grape Leaves
High in fat-soluble vitamins A and K. Vitamin A helps your cells develop
high in calcium and iron
high in fiber

Grilled Shrimp

Head over to Closet Cooking for the recipe


unusually concentrated source of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient called astaxanthin 2.
High in selenium. (selenium deficiency has been shown to be a risk factor for heart failure and cardiovascular disease. 2.)

Hummus & Warm Pita triangles.

Head over to Inspired Taste to learn to make your own hummus.

Olive Oil-
Contains oleocanthal which relieves pain.
Darker oils have more blood clot fighting polyphenol. Go find that pretty green!
Olive oil helps regulate blood pressure.
It reduces chance of breast cancer.

Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas
High in protein, fiber, folate, iron, zinc and B1.

Garlic-
Several compounds in garlic stop carcinogens from becoming active and flush them from your system.
Allicin (an antioxidant) can protect and heal your heart,
Quercitin: A flavonoid or antioxidant fights inflammation

Tahini
Very high in fiber
rich in minerals such as phosphorus, lecithin, magnesium, potassium and iron. 3.
High in calcium
vitamin E and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B15. 
easy for your body to digest because of its high alkaline mineral content 3.

Other great tapas ideas-

• Really good marinated olives. (Not those ones on your grocers shelf)
• Salted Edamame
• Those yummy garbanzo beans from last Friday's post make great tapas too!

Now go have a fightin food cocktail hour!

sources:

1.http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/carotenoids/
2.http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=107
3.http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6997/10-Reasons-to-Eat-Tahini.html

Garlic, Protects You From More Than Vampires

Photo: JE Norton

Does wearing garlic around your neck really keep the vampires away?

I don't know, if you eat tons, it will keep your spouse away. It's why we always eat garlic together.

Garlic is powerful stuff.  It may prevent cancer, protect your digestive system and help fight inflammation and protect your heart.

Cancer

Phytochemicals in garlic (and onions) may prevent the onset or progression of some cancers. (especially stomach and esophageal.) Perhaps because it protects and heals your digestive system.

Garlic may also protect against Lung, Breast and Colon Cancer.

Garlic fights something called Nitrosamines which are formed in our intestines and caused by food additives and cured meats.  This reduces the mutations in the DNA of your cells and protects them from damage, preventing cancer.

Did you need another reason to switch to whole real foods? Put the potato chips and deli meat down!

Compounds in garlic may also attack tumor cells and destroy them.

Several compounds in garlic stop carcinogens from becoming active and flush them from your system. (The cabbage family is good at this too.)

Inflammation Diseases

warning: another big scientific word coming...
Quercitin: A flavonoid or antioxidant fights inflammation in your body.  It repairs and protects your cells and prevents them from producing histamines (inflammation).

Heart Health

Allicin (another antioxidant) can protect and heal your heart, lowering blood pressure levels and lowering your LDL.  Plus, less inflammation is always great for your heart.

How to get the most out of garlic

-Crush your garlic- don't chop/cut it. It will release the cancer killing compounds better.  Like chewing does. (Your spouse and coworkers plead with you not to just chew raw garlic no matter the protection.) Cooked garlic is sweeter and calmer.

-Let it sit for a bit, up to 15 minutes if you think ahead.  (It allows the enzyme reaction time to finish.)

-Eat a lot of it!  Let this fighter loose! It will fight all this beastly damage to your cells. As we age our cells damage from lots of things.  Start adding lots of things to heal your cells now.


Forget the vampires these cell damaging beasts will be powerless.

Just stock up on the toothpaste.

Sources:

Foods to Fight Cancer

http://www.joybauer.com/food-articles/allium-vegetables.aspx

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/quercetin

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/unlocking-the-benefits-of-garlic/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

We love this garlic keeper from Chefs Catalog.

Plus it has the best reviews. Yay fresh garlic!

Creating a Fightin Food Culture...

O.K.  You've been researching a better way to eat: necessary vitamins and minerals, disease fighting foods and lifestyle changes to make.  And now... You're overwhelmed.  You can't remember which food to add to what to absorb more of a specific nutrient.  Or, how much you need in a day to protect you from that family history of that disease.  Your brain is starting to smoke. That can't be helpful.

It's O.K.  Relax.  Start somewhere.  

We do not recommend a fast change.  We are big believers removing negative emotional attachments to your food.  Diets create guilt and a feeling of forbidden things.  Never good.  

You should LOVE your food!

We are very fortunate to have the abundance that we have.  

Now... 

Slow down. 

Plan meals. 

Enjoy cooking- (always with a glass of wine)

Enjoy your meals.

Eat things that satisfy.

Think, "How can this taste so good?!"

But how.

Your taste buds are affected but things you eat and are accustomed to. 

Corn syrup kills your taste buds, sugar makes them very insensitive to natural sweetness- lactose in milk, a ripe strawberry.

The more refined, processed and fried food you eat, the less real good whole food actually tastes like anything to you.

So if you go cold turkey then an oily crunchy fresh pecan tastes like nothing.

You must take baby steps.

Change out items one by one.

Switch from canola to Olive Oil.  Toss your margarine and get crazy good grass fed butter.

Roast your own potatoes with lots of olive oil, salt and garlic and stop buying those french fries.

Soon those old terrible foods will taste... well... terrible.

Go read Sugar, Salt, Fat for a wake up call.  These poor foods create a craving for more.  Downward spiral anyone?

And, go easy on yourself.

You are not going to fix this poor eating culture overnight.

It would create too much stress and you'd feel like you were missing out on too much.

Find new foods you LOVE. Then incorporate them into your week.

Have them available. Stop buying those potato chips and start buying those nuts you love.

If you don't do it for life, then it won't work.

No crazy diets here.

Just good whole Fightin Foods!

Surround yourself with them.

Learn to cook really good things with them.

Have them ready to snack on. Starving desperate people eat anything.  Plan ahead.

Keep Fightin!

Now Switch! Fruit Roll Ups

Photo: Robert S. Donovan

"Yeah, I heard he got that hot new thing It's called "Switch" (switch) Let's get it going"

The times I hear a song when I post is excessive.  Today, I just couldn't stop myself.  I hardly think Will Smith was talking about removing dangerous ingredients from your food but we'll pretend.

Our new series, Switch, will help you to make those baby steps and remove dangerous and unnecessary ingredients from your daily lives to move towards a whole fightin' food life.

The best way to make a great impact on your health is to pick something you or your family consumes a lot of and either learn to make a whole healthy alternative at home by heart or find an awesome and inexpensive source to buy it.

Today: Fruit Roll Ups 

Switch from: store bought fruit roll ups.

Why:

The Danger:

The amount of sugars- not to mention it's corn syrup x2!

FD&C food dyes are connected to many childhood diseases.

Chemicals

Vitamin C- in processed foods this is often from a GMO source.

Hydrogenated Oil- It is especially important to stop lining your arteries while you're young.  Store bought fruit roll ups might look fun and festive but it's damaging their hearts.

Make your own and protect them!

Whole food, fruit servings, minimal or no sugars needed...What's not to love?!

It may sound very hard to make your own fruit roll ups, fruit by the foot and fruit leather.  but it's not.

You'll Need...

If you don't have a Silpat, then now's the time to buy one. I LOVE mine and use it several times a week.  Nothing gets stuck and it serves so many purposes.

You will also need a food processor.

You DO NOT need a dehydrator.  This was the greatest discovery for me! My oven can be set to 175 degrees!  Quick! Go check yours and see!

Time- these take 6plus hours but make your house smell great and make lots at once.

The Recipes...

1-The most whole food treat ever! Just mangos!

http://www.justataste.com/2013/07/healthy-homemade-mango-fruit-roll-ups-recipe/

2-Strawberry (Plus a yummy spicy adult fruit roll option)

This recipe brings two of my new favorite people together. Lisa Leake of 100 Days of Real Food and Alana Chernila of Homemade Pantry .

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/06/27/homemade-fruit-roll-ups-recipe-alana-chernila/

Now you just have to not eat them all!

We love our Silpats and use them for everything!