My Favorite Go-to Salad

My Favorite Go-to Salad

     I never used to be a "salad" person.  Until lately, my body didn't process raw vegetables well and I was always left bloated and with a stomachache.  Now my body craves raw veggies!  Ever since I cut out inflammatory foods my body has started the healing process and can finally start digesting nutrient-dense fresh foods.  This is my all-time favorite go-to salad.  I eat this salad usually as a side dish two to four times a week.  I  LOVE it!  According to the blood type diet spinach, avocados, and olive oil are anti-inflammatory foods for people with blood type A=).  Olive oil is beneficial for all blood types to eat as well, so enjoy this yummy, nutritious recipe!

Ingredients:

Spinach

Greens  of your choice (I use leaf lettuce from my garden a lot, but any lettuce is great)

Cucumbers

1/2 sliced avocado

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use half a lemon)

Kosher or sea salt to taste (optional)

Pepper to taste (optional)

Other options I may add: feta cheese crumbles, raw sunflower seeds, hard-boiled egg slices

pinterest@Foodblot

The Power of Lemon Water

The Power of Lemon Water

     This is such a simple, yet incredibly beneficial, thing to add to your morning routine.  By simply drinking 6-8 ounces of lemon water in the morning (first thing when you wake up), you can naturally cleanse your liver and kidneys, stabilize your body’s pH, kick start your metabolism (want to lose weight?  This helps with that!), boost your immune system, clear your skin, promote healing in your body, and hydrate your lymph system.¹  Isn’t that incredible??!  This is such an amazing thing to do for your body and it takes very little effort.

     When I do my weekly grocery shopping I always buy a few lemons for the week.  I try to buy organic when I can (they taste so much better – not even joking, they are sweeter and less bitter), but due to lack of availability in my town I usually end up with regular lemons.  Please do not let the rinds sit in your lemon water if they are not organic – you do not want chemicals leeching in your water because this will counter the benefits of drinking lemon juice in the first place.  I have a nifty lemon squeezer gadget pictured here that I bought at a store for about six dollars.  I cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice into my water and then drink it.  Tada!  That’s it.  This squeezer doesn’t let seeds get into the water and it gets more juice out of the half of lemon than my hand can by manually squeezing the lemon.  But, you can make your lemon water however you want=).  With the other half of my lemon I make a lemon water bottle for my boyfriend so he gets his natural, daily cleanse too.  You can also use a whole lemon in your water (pretty lemony-tasting though!) or save the other half in the fridge for the following day.

     Now I’m going to get a little scientific on you (Hey, Mom and Dad, see I’m using my chemistry degree now=).  Let’s talk a little about our body’s pH.  In biology pH is very important to the survival and function of organisms.  If an environment is too acidic or too alkaline (fancy word for basic) an organism either has to adapt or it will die.  Most organisms need a very specific pH for its metabolic processes and reactions to occur, thus allowing the organism to thrive.  If you ever had an aquarium you would know that you need to check the pH of the water periodically to make sure it is in the correct range so the fish can survive and be happy.  Well, the same is true for our bodies.  Our blood should have a pH around 7.4.²  If our bodies get too acidic (less than 7.4) acidosis can occur which is very serious.  Living in even a mild, chronic state of acidosis can cause cardiovascular problems, weight gain, obesity, kidney stones, bladder issues, immune deficiencies, hormone concerns, premature aging (due to free radicals being oxidized), joint pain, bone density loss, muscle aches, possibly lead to cancer, low energy, and slow digestion (just to name a FEW!!).  Foods that act like an acid once they are metabolized in our system are meats, dairy, refined sugars, refined flours, and soft drinks.  The typical American diet lacks in fresh vegetables and certain fruits which promote alkaline properties within the body.³ This link here: http://www.energiseforlife.com/wordpress/2006/02/10/lemon-water-alkalising-superstar/  explains how lemons (even though they are very acidic with a pH of 2) have an alkalizing effect on the body.  What the video in the link above explains is that the minerals in lemons (potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium) are alkaline salts and as they are metabolized in your body they dissociate and help reduce any excess acidity in your body.  So even though a food may be acidic in its natural state, once it is metabolized in the body it may have alkalizing effects.  Lemons are also very low in sugar (as are limes and grapefruits) and this is why they don’t act like an acid in your body…like an orange does (oranges have a lot of natural sugars and act like an acid in your body).  Click this link: http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/acid-alkaline.html to see a chart of foods and whether they have an alkalizing or acidic effect on the body.  Choose alkalizing foods for your diet!  Note, I’m not advising anyone to never eat meat or completely eliminate dairy from their diets!  Please just also include many alkalizing foods as well so your body can maintain a healthy, happy pH equilibrium.  Don’t forget to start your day out right by drinking your freshly squeezed lemon water=).

Resources:

1.       http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/01/lemon-benefits_n_2789780.html

2.       http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Buffer/Buffer.html

3.       http://www.naturalhealthschool.com/acid-alkaline.html

pinterest@Foodblot

Soba Noodle Bowl

Soba Noodle Bowl

     I love Asian inspired dishes.  They are usually pretty easy to whip up, can be very nutritional, and so tasty!  My father was raised in South Korea so as kids my sisters and I grew up eating kim, kimchi, rice with a fried egg on top, and stir fry almost weekly.  These dishes are still something I crave time to time - even though my boyfriend looks at me strange when I break the gooey yolk of a fried egg over my rice...mmmm=).  This dish was a spur-the moment, "throw it together" lunch I whipped up one day.  Soba noodles are very nutritional, extremely versatile, and taste delicious!  I served mine with a little side of kimchi (fermented vegetables have amazing health benefits and are full of probiotics!) pictured here.  Let me know some of your favorite childhood dishes!  Enjoy!

 

 

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 tablespoons oyster sauce (fish sauce would work too)

2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce

1-2 tablespoons of water

1 tablespoon water mixed with 1 tablespoon cornstarch to use as a thickener

Rest of Ingredients:

Soba noodles

oil of your choice for frying (I use grape seed oil)

granulated garlic

broccoli (or veggies of your choice)

green onions

onions

tofu

kimchi (optional)

Steps:

1.  Cook soba noodles according to instructions...don't overcook as they tend to get slimy.  When finished, strain and rinse quickly with cold water to stop cooking process.

2.  In frying pan heat a few tablespoons of grape seed oil. Add the chopped veggies of your choice (leave green onions out and use them as a fresh garnish on top). Fry the veggies for a couple minutes, then add a few table spoons of water and cover so the veggies soften.  Let them soften just a little bit, you don't want soggy veggies!  Set aside.

3.  Slice your tofu and squeeze out excess water in a paper towel.  Next, sprinkle tofu with granulated garlic and fry until slightly golden on each side in a little bit of grape seed oil.  Remove from heat and cube.

4. Make your sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Combine everything except cornstarch mixture.  When sauce first starts to boil slowly whisk in a little bit of the cornstarch mixture and continue whisking and adding mixture until the sauce reaches the thickness you like.  I like the thickness that most Chinese sauces are when you go to a Chinese buffet.

5.  Put your soba noodles, tofu, and cooked veggies in a bowl.  Drizzle the desired amount of sauce over and toss.  Garnish with green onions (sesame seeds if desired) and serve with kimchi.  Enjoy!

Foods that Cause Inflammation...Part Two!

Part Two - Inflammatory Foods

     Before I continue our discussion about inflammatory foods, I think it is important to make another note about sugar.  Refined sugar is inflammatory and you should not have more than the daily allotted grams suggested by the American Heart Association.  What about fruit, raw honey, and pure maple syrup?  I personally do not count these towards my 20 grams of sugar per day.  People should eat 1-3 servings of fruit or fruit juices (make sure it's 100% fruit without added sugar or squeeze/juice it yourself) per day.  One of my favorite fruits is a nectarine.  An average nectarine has 13 grams of sugar...If I had two of these a day I would be over my "sugar limit."  Every fruit has their own glycemic index so if you are concerned with raising your insulin levels too much you can pick fruits such as cherries (GI of 22), grapefruit (GI of 25),  and pears (GI of 33-42).¹  Since the sugars in fruits, raw honey, and pure maple syrup aren't processed, and because these foods contain so many other beneficial nutrients, I do not count them towards my 20 sugar gram limit. While these natural foods do raise one’s insulin levels, they do usually have a lower glycemic index than refined sugars.  Just make sure you are purchasing quality foods such as raw honey.  Raw honey has a glycemic index of 30-40 while commercial honeys usually have a glycemic index of 55-80.²  Pure maple syrup has a glycemic index of 54 while flavored maple syrups have a GI of 68.³  However, please note that this doesn't give me the green light to drench my pancakes or oatmeal in a cup of pure maple syrup, or drink 60 ounces of Welch's 100% grape juice a day.  These natural sugars still affect your insulin levels and metabolism so do everything in moderation.  If I want to sweeten my oatmeal I'll put a teaspoon of pure maple syrup in it along with some ground cinnamon.  If I want to sweeten my green tea I'll put a teaspoon of raw honey in it.  Now, onto more inflammatory foods!

3. Corn

     This may sound very funny that corn is an inflammatory food – but it’s probably not what you think.  Don’t worry; your farmer’s market sweet corn is safe to eat.  I’m referring to the GMO (genetically modified organism), heavily processed corn that you find hiding in the majority of processed foods.  The majority of the corn in the United States is genetically modified (88% as of 2012).⁴  There have been independent studies performed in laboratories that show that rats being fed a diet of Monsanto GM corn have developed tumors as well as suffered from multiple organ damage.⁵  Many processed foods that you find everyday in your grocery store contain GM corn.  In fact, unless the food product is certified organic or states that it uses non-GMO crops, you better assume that it is genetically modified.  Another dangerous thing to look out for is high fructose corn syrup.  There has been a lot of misleading marketing regarding high fructose corn syrup stating that there is no difference between regular sugar and corn syrup.  We have already discussed how sugar can be inflammatory if you eat more than the allotted amount per day.  HFCS is even worse for you than sugar because it is so heavily processed and there is no fiber accompanying the HFCS molecules like there is with the fructose in fruit.⁶  This allows the body to digest it faster, making you hungrier quicker, and less satisfied.  (If you want to see how HFCS is made click this link: http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/05/diy-artisanal-high-fructose-corn-syrup and in the article there is a short video for DIY HFCS...very informative and I found it comical:).  There was a Princeton University study performed giving one group of rats HFCS to eat and the other group of rats table sugar to eat along with the same amount of other calories.  The interesting thing was that the HFCS was half as sweet as what companies put in our sodas and that the rats that had access and ate the HFCS gained 48% more weight than the rats that ate the table sugar.  The rats that ate the HFCS also had developed more abdominal fat deposits and had higher circulating triglycerides.⁷  These traits in humans usually lead to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  The truth is that high fructose corn syrup is just a cheap sweet substitute that is horrible for our health.  Please look at your ingredient labels!  HFCS is in MANY processed foods.  Here are some labels from popular cereals.  Pay attention to all the ingredients that include corn.  Note: A very interesting documentary to watch is King Corn.  It is available on Netflix and explains all about corn from farming it, to how high fructose corn syrup is made.

4. Dairy

     Dairy is probably one of the hardest foods for me to avoid.  To be completely honest I haven’t completely cut it out of my diet yet, but I have made some major changes and feel A LOT better=).  The truth is dairy is inflammatory because most people have a degree of lactose intolerance.  I used to think that people who were lactose intolerant had horrible stomach pains, would vomit, and have diarrhea from eating a single piece of cheese – and some do – but you can have a lactose intolerance and not have these severe of issues.  You can simply feel slightly bloated for example.  Or you can have a mild acne break out.  The point is the symptoms greatly very so you may not even realize your body is having trouble trying to digest dairy foods.  At least 60% of people on this earth are lactose intolerant – that’s the majority!  Think about it…we are the only animals on this earth that continues to drink milk after we are weaned.  Our bodies naturally create less and less lactase (the enzyme necessary to digest lactose) as we age because that’s the way nature intended it to be.  Once we are weaned off our mother’s milk we really do not have any need to drink milk or milk products again.  An article in USA Today says that, "Being able to digest milk is so strange that scientists say we shouldn't really call lactose intolerance a disease, because that presumes it's abnormal. Instead, they call it lactase persistence, indicating what's really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk."⁸

     This is why I follow the blood type diet when it comes to dairy (I follow it in general as well, but especially protein and dairy).  The blood type diet is based on the science of anthropology as well as biology.  It looks at how different populations ate thousands of years ago and how their migration patterns as well as agricultural innovations changed the biochemistry of their blood and enzymes.  The different blood types (O, A, B, and AB) have different antigens and enzymes in their bodies and digest foods very differently from one another.   In Dr. D’Adamo’s book, Eat Right for Your Type, he discusses how people with blood type B can digest a lot more dairy products than the other blood types.⁹  He includes lists of all foods for all of the blood types that either fall into a “beneficial, neutral, or avoid,” category.  People with blood type A (which is me) should eat very little to no dairy, with the exceptions being goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, and low fat sour cream.  These are considered neutral.  There are no beneficial dairy products to people with blood type A so I try to eat as little as possible.  Instead of cow’s milk I now eat almond milk, and actually enjoy it more!  There are many little substitutions you can make, but I admit, once in awhile I do crave ice cream  from our local farmer’s store and I cheat and have a small chocolate cone=)

5. Pork

     Pork was not really that hard for me to cut out of my diet because the only pork item that I ate on any sort of regular basis was bacon.  Good thing for me is that I don’t mind turkey bacon so I made that easy switch and was pretty much set. 

      I listed pork as a food to avoid for a couple different reasons.  Scientifically, pork can be 30 times more toxic than beef.¹⁰  Pigs do not have a great digestive or lymph system that aide in getting rid of toxins.  Unlike cows, who have four stomachs and take 24 hours to digest their food, pigs may only take up to 20 minutes to four hours to digest their food.  Basically, whatever a pig eats can become part of the pig in 20 minutes.  Depending on what the pig farmer actually feeds their pigs, this could be very scary.  When talking about the lymph system, pigs do not sweat.  Sweating is a natural way many animals (including ourselves) get rid of toxins in their bodies.  Pigs do not have sweat glands – which is why they lay in the mud to cool off.¹¹  This is why pork tends to be a lot more toxic than other meats.  The blood type diet tells all blood types to avoid pork as well.

      I’ve also read, Our Maker’s Diet, and the author listed some scriptural references of where people were asked to avoid eating pork.¹²  Leviticus 11:7-8 says, “And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.  You should not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.”  I know in the Jewish religion they do not eat pork either.  Now whether you like scientific facts or if you are more of a religious person, my point is that there is evidence saying the same thing when it comes to pork – AVOID it.  (For more interesting, scientific facts on pork read this article by "The Real Truth": http://realtruth.org/articles/263-apt.html).

Resources
1. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/glycemicindlist_3.htm
2.http://milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com/2011/01/raw-honey-lower-glycaemic-index.html
3. http://www.livestrong.com/article/542305-glycemic-index-of-honey-vs-maple-syrup/
4. http://phys.org/news/2013-06-gmo-corn-soybeans-dominate.html
5. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/09/20/scientists-savage-study-purportedly-showing-health-dangers-of-monsantos-genetically-modified-corn/
6. http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/05/diy-artisanal-high-fructose-corn-syrup
7. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
8. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm
9. http://www.dadamo.com/
10. http://www.livestrong.com/article/474320-digestive-problems-with-pork/
11.http://www.draxe.com/why-you-should-avoid-pork/
12. http://www.makers-diet.net/

 

Herb Fried Rice

     We all know that brown rice is healthier than white rice.  It contains more fiber, less processed, and contains more nutrients (such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin E).  In order to integrate it into my household I actually mix white rice with the brown rice in my rice maker.  I started out with a 2:1 ratio of white rice to brown rice, then a 1:1 ratio, and now I'm at a 1:2 ratio of white rice to brown rice.  Soon we will probably just be eating organic brown rice, but I intend to use up all my white rice first!  This can help with kids or any picky eaters in the house:)  

     Here is my recipe for my herb fried rice.  I have an organic vegetable garden and my basil plant exploded so I had all of these huge, beautiful basil leaves to use.  That was my inspiration!

Ingredients:

(Use organic ingredients if possible)

Cooked Brown rice (or white rice or a combination)

Fresh basil leaves

Fresh chives

Green onions

Grape seed oil

Granulated garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1.)  Cook the rice (I use a rice maker...makes it very easy!).

2.)  Chop up herbs and onions. 

3.) Heat large skillet with grape seed oil in the bottom.  Put a liberal amount (I make sure the entire bottom of the skillet is covered...you don't want dry or burnt rice!).  Sprinkle granulated garlic in the oil and fry until it turns light brown and become aromatic.  Don't let it burn!

4.)  Pour rice into skillet and move it around with wooden spoon.  Make sure all the rice is covered with the oil and garlic mixture.  Add onions and chives.  Continue to stir.

5.)  Add salt and pepper to taste.  At this point I taste the rice and see if I may want to add more garlic too.  After you get your flavors right add the chopped basil leaves, turn off heat, and stir one more time.  Enjoy!

6.)  You can try this recipe with different herbs.  Sometimes I just use onions, garlic, and ginger.  This makes a very yummy, Asian-inspired dish!

Foods that Cause Inflammation...Part ONE!

Part One - Inflammatory Foods  

  I tend to follow the blood type diet by Dr. D'Adamo.  I don't always follow it exactly, but I do use it as a good guideline.  You must also listen to what your body is telling you.  If you eat something and you feel bloated and uncomfortable after you eat it I would try eliminating it from your diet in the future.  You don't want to feed your body things it has a hard time digesting.  Be kind to yourself!  The following five foods tend to cause inflammation in most people and should be avoided.  Everyone has a unique physical make up but when speaking to my herbal consultant these foods are red flags for inflammation for everyone.

1.  GLUTEN

     This was the first thing I eliminated from my diet once I started my healthy make over.  Gluten is found in all wheat products.  The hull of the wheat plant contains over 20 nutrients that are healthy and beneficial to humans.  What tends to happen is that manufacturers process the hull, squeeze out the gluten (which has no health benefits), make white, processed flour from the gluten, and discard the rest of the hull that contains most of the fiber and nutrients.¹  Gluten is a very sticky-stretchy molecule that acts like glue in your gut.  You might think back to kindergarten when you made glue out of flour and water.  If you eat white bread or pasta and drink water to wash it down you are left with the equivalent of kindergarten paste in your intestinal tract.  Talk about hard to digest!  This sticky substances causes inflammation in your GI system. 

     You might be thinking you can't give up bread, pasta, pancakes, biscuits, and bagels.  What kind of monster am I to ask of such a thing! LOL.  Truth is, there are a lot of healthy alternatives out there.  For example, I eat Ezekiel bread.²  This is a company that uses all organic ingredients (no GMOs, yeah!) and sprouts their grain first to ensure easier digestion.  Breads and pastas made from sprouted wheat and grains  are safe to eat as they contain many beneficial nutrients and a lot of fiber.  There is a lot less gluten in these types of food because it isn't the only molecule from that wheat hull being used.  Also, when you soak grains in water for a short time period and "sprout" them, the grain turns into a vegetable which makes it much easier to digest.  You can find sprouted grain bread, tortillas, pizza crusts, pastas, etc. in health food stores or the organic aisle in your grocery store. 

2. SUGAR

    Sugar, for me, was the not-so-fun "food" to cut out of my diet.  I was not as bad as a lot of people who wake up drinking Mountain Dew for breakfast and chomping on candy all day, but I did drink one or two sodas a day and liked sugary juices as well as chocolate cake and brownies.  Unfortunately, sugar is a highly inflammatory food and causes huge spikes in insulin levels, "bad" bacteria growth, and overall inflammation in our bodies.  The American heart association states that men should have 35 or less grams of sugar a day and women should have 20 grams or less a day.³  This is actually still a pretty lenient amount to be honest.  Think about it, there are about four grams of sugar in a teaspoon.  Ladies, we are still allowed to eat 5-6 teaspoons of sugar a day!  I actually think that's not so bad.  There is bad news for soda drinkers...one can of coke has 42 grams of sugar.  So soda is out!  It took me a week and a half to kick my soda habit.  I literally had to wean myself off of it slowly because otherwise I would get these horrible headaches...caffeine headaches, perhaps?  I'm not sure.  There is nothing healthy in soda, though, so please switch to water as soon as you can.  Your body (and pocket book) will thank you!  (I will post more on soda and some other healthy beverages later).

I hope this information was helpful...please stay posted for the other three foods that cause inflammation...=)

Resources

1. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=66

2. http://www.foodforlife.com/

3. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Sugars-and-Carbohydrates_UCM_303296_Article.jsp

Welcome!

     Hi, my name is Becky Holm and I created this blog to help people become healthier, more aware individuals.  My journey to become a healthier and happier person started about four months ago.  What pushed me to change things in my life and diet was the fact that I never had energy, I would get sick frequently, and had horrible stomach pains that kept me up during the night.
     I am twenty-eight years old and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when I was fourteen.  When I was first diagnosed I had been suffering from Crohn's symptoms for almost six months and was down to seventy-eight pounds.  My body was under attack and my intestines were so inflamed that I couldn't absorb any nutrients.  Everything I ate went right through me and left me extremely malnourished and anemic.  Fortunately, I've never had to undergo any surgeries to remove parts of my bowel (thanks goodness, as literature says that eighty percent of Crohn's patients will undergo a Crohn's related surgery in their lifetime).  I have had two colonoscopies though and have been prescribed a myriad of pills since then.  At one point I was taking 18 pills a day!  (I will make a post later discussing all the medication I've been on for Crohn's and discusss side effects as well).
     Needless to say, I wanted a change.  I didn't want my quality of life taken from me.  I didn't want to feel sick and yucky all the time.  I wanted to be able to get a good night's sleep and feel energized during the day.  I wanted my life back.  This may sound dramatic, but when the thought of walking from one room to another in my own home sounded exhausting - I know something needed to change.  So I did some digging and spoke with a certified herbal consultant as well as read many articles about what foods to avoid and what foods benefit our bodies the most.  I also read some books about healthy eating (some religion based, some science based)  and wrote down notes from them.  So this is my journey and I hope you enjoy these helpful tips and that they help you as much as they've helped me.  My life has totally changed.  Since I started the changes in my diet I haven't had a single stomach pain (no joke!),  I've been able to sleep through the night, I have tons more energy, and overall I'm a much happier person.  I no longer take any medication at all, and that can make one feel empowered;)  So happy reading!