Love your Heart

Heart Disease is the number one cause of death. And it's preventable! The most common heart disease in the US is coronary artery disease presenting as a heart attack.

February is National Heart Month so it's time to take steps to prevent disease and nurture your heart. It's not just frank heart conditions (like arrythmias, high blood pressure, and peripheral artery disease) that increase your risk of heart disease. Obesity, diabetes, smoking history, physical inactivity, and SAD diet (standard american diet) all increase your risk of heart disease.

Actions to take to Love your Heart:

Diet- Eat REAL food. This is the single best thing you can do for your heart. Here are some basic steps to making heart healthy decisions in the kitchen.

• Eat plenty of unsaturated fat. All fat is not created equal. Poly and monounsaturated fat raises your "good cholesterol," or your HDL. This type of cholesterol helps eliminate the "bad cholesterol," or LDL, in your body. Nuts, olive oil, seeds, avocados, and fish (salmon) are great sources of the mono and polyunsaturated fat.

• Cook with organic butter and coconut oil. Saturated fat (animal products, coconut) has gotten a bad rap all together. Moderate amounts of grass-fed meat (beef, chicken, lamb) and organic butter and eggs are good choices. In fact, its preferable to cook with butter and coconut oil because they are heat stable, thus minimizing the production of potentially hazardous free radicals. If you eat meat, grass fed meat is higher in nutrients and has a better fatty acid ratio as compared to its corn-fed counterparts. For more information on the health benefits of fat, see the Weston A. Price foundation site.

• Do not fear cholesterol-containing foods. If you have high cholesterol or are worried about your cholesterol, you may want to re-think skimping on dietary sources of cholesterol, such as eggs. Dietary sources of cholesterol found in animal products have a negligible effect on blood cholesterol levels. In fact, blood levels of cholesterol rise when there is inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. You can think of cholesterol as a patch or a band-aid to your blood vessel walls. A more effective approach to lowering one's cholesterol if it is too high is to treat the underlying inflammation that is driving cholesterol up in the first place. If a person has too low blood cholesterol levels, they are unable to synthesize sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone). Low levels of cholesterol also result in mood disorders and behavioral problems, such as ADHD. No reason to fear egg yolks any longer- embrace them and enjoy an omelet or veggie frittata for breakfast!
  

• Avoid smoking or grilling your meat. Cooking meat at high temperatures creates oxidation in your body, translating to increased free radicals in your body. This can lead to inflammation and chronic disease. See previous post on AGEs will age you.

• Minimize carbohydrates. A diet high in carbs (sugar, bread, pasta, rice, crackers) translates to a higher propensity to being overweight and obese. When carbs are not utilized by the body, they are stored as fat. This translates to high triglycerides. High triglycerides (more specifically a poor triglyceride to HDL ratio) means an increased risk of heart disease.

• Eat an abundance of colorful fruits and vegetables. You can't go wrong with fruits and vegetables. They are rich in anti-oxidants, which are cardio-protective. Aim for 8-10 servings of deeply pigmented fruits (berries, pomegranite) and vegetables (kale, collards, broccoli, eggplant) per day.
  

Exercise-

• Incorporate movement in your lifestyle everyday. Even if you don't have the time to go to the gym for an hour, a brisk 20 minute walk will do. Mild to moderate movement EVERYDAY is better than an intense workout once a week.
  
• Take the stairs.
• Park far away from the store.
  

Other Lifestyle Choices-

• If you drink, do so in moderation. Red wine is going to be the best option if you already drink. But if you don't drink, that doesn't mean it's time to start drinking wine.
• Quit smoking. Now is the time to do it. Seek help- acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, hypnosis are all great options.
• Keep an eye on your portion sizes.
• Get regular check-ups with your doctor. This entails regular physical exams, screening exams, and screening lab work. Some appropriate lab work that can tell you if you are at risk for heart disease is a Comprehensive metabolic panel, lipids, CRP, fibrinogen and Homocysteine.
  
• Love yourself and the ones close to you. Remind yourself why you are awesome everyday!

This is a great time to make some basic lifestyle changes to prolong your life and prevent chronic disease.

What I keep in my fridge and pantry

A gluten-free, dairy-free (cow dairy, that is) lifestyle does not have to mean bare cabinets. Here are some essentials to help you and your family stay healthy without going hungry.
Veggies

• Any fresh veggie is a healthy one- my favorites include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and zucchini. Zucchini and broccoli are Cece's favs.

• Frozen peas, frozen broccoli, frozen spinach are must-haves when you run out of the fresh toward the end of the week. Add frozen spinach to ground meat, spaghetti sauce, and smoothies.
• Avoid canned veggies- they are high in sodium and the cans can be lined with a harmful chemical called BPA.

Grains

• Millet- cooks quick and delicious (nice substitute for couscous)
  
• Amaranth- very high in protein
  
• Quinoa
• Brown rice, wild rice, and my favorite- FORBIDDEN rice!
  
• Teff flour- good baking flour
  
• Gluten free oats- make oatmeal or throw some oats in a food processor to make a flour
• Brown rice pasta
  
• Brown rice bread- tasty when toasted!
• Brown rice tortillas- great for wraps and mexican burritos.
  

Oils/Fats- see previous post on "The Best Oils to Cook With"

• Grapeseed oil- use this oil for high heat cooking
• Olive oil- use this oil for salads and other cold items
• Coconut oil- also use for high heat cooking
• Organic Butter- yes, thats right, BUTTER...never margarine! Butter can be full of gut-loving butyric acid. Buying organic butter means there are no hormones or antibiotics.
• Avocados

Fruit

• Any fresh fruit is good. Deeply pigmented berries are some of the best source of antioxidants.
• Frozen fruit is just as good as fresh. Great for adding to smoothies and to morning oatmeal.
  
• Moderate amounts of dried fruits. I keep raisins on hand as an easy snack
• Moderate amounts of freeze dried fruit. Again, this makes for a healthy snack with all the nutrients intact. But it can be a concentrated source of sugar.

Protein

• Dried and canned beans- see post on "Beans, Beans, Beans" for recipes.
• Tempeh
• Nut flours- great for baking. See post on "Cooking with Protein Packed Nut Flours."
• Organic beef and organic chicken
• Eggs- see post on "Why eat organic eggs?"
• Nut Butters- almond butter and sunflower seed butter are my favorite
• Tahini- a sesame seed spread
• Hummus
• Nuts- walnuts are highest in omega 3 fatty acids!
  

Cow Dairy Substitutes

• Goat milk- see post on "Goat milk vs. Cow's milk"
• Plain goat yogurt
• Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Goat feta

Snacks/Sweets

• Protein bars- great for on the go and you need a little pick-me-up. I like Lara bars, especially the peanut butter cookie one.
• Gluten free ginger snaps
• Bar of dark chocolate
• Blue corn tortilla chips
• Roasted seaweed snacks (great for teething babies who put everything, including paper, in their mouth. They might as well be getting nutrition while doing this!

Misc

• Salsa
• Stevia as an alternative, natural sweetener
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Balsamic vinegar
• Nutritional Yeast
• Any and all herbal spices- I like thyme, oregano, dill, tarragon, and curry
• Flax seed, ground- add to yogurt, salads, smoothies, and oatmeal.
  
• Hemp protein powder- throw in your smoothie for a nutritional boost.
• Braags Liquid Aminos- a nice soy sauce (contains wheat) alternative
• Miso- add to soups and stews. It makes them DELECTABLE with an added bonus of probiotics (good bacteria colonized in your gut).
  

Functional Foods

One of my favorite sayings, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," is getting renewed interest lately. Functional foods are defined as any healthy food claimed to have health-promoting or disease-preventing properties beyond the basic function of supplying energy or calories. Today, these foods tend to be processed and fortified with vitamins or minerals. An example of a popular functional food that has gotten some media coverage is Cheerios and its ability to lower cholesterol.

In 2009, the FDA said in a warning letter to General Mills that language on the Cheerios box suggests the cereal is designed to prevent or treat heart disease. Regulators said that only FDA-approved drugs are allowed to make such claims.

But there is in fact solid science behind soluble fiber and its ability to lower cholesterol, thus decreasing the risk of heart disease. Now, I am not proposing that everyone go out and eat Cheerios every morning. What I am proposing is that you consume soluble fiber from REAL food. And REAL food is what I call FUNCTIONAL foods due to their health promoting and disease-preventing properties.

FLAX
Flax is an excellent source of soluble fiber (you know, the kind of fiber found in cheerios). The soluble fiber found in flax can lower LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) AND can regulate blood sugar (ie. great for diabetes). In addition to soluble fiber, flax contains omega-3 fatty acids, which is anti-inflammatory. As if all this wasn't enough, flax seeds can help regulate a woman's menstrual cycle. A dosage of 2-4 tablespoons of ground flax everyday for the first 15 days of a woman's cycle promotes the estrogen dominant follicular phase. This is paired with 2-4 tablespoons of ground sunflower seeds for the second half of a woman's cycle to promote the progesterone dominant luteal phase. For ideas on how to incorporate more flax into your or your child's diet, see post on seeds.

FERMENTED FOODS
There are ads all over tv for Activia yogurt, claiming to regulate your digestive tract within 2 weeks. Jaime Lee Curtiss does make a pretty convincing argument. It's true- probiotics ("good" bacteria) do wonders to your GI tract. However, I am arguing a better source of probiotics is in fermented foods. These foods include tempeh, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, and kimchi. See post on fermented foods for more info.

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES
These vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower, and consumption of these veggies are linked to a decreased cancer risk AND the promotion of liver detoxification. Cruciferous vegetables contain a substance called indole-3 carbonyl, which promotes the induction of phase I and II detoxification reactions. In other words, broccoli loves your liver! Indole-3 carbonyl may also reduce cancer risk by modulating estrogen metabolism. Translation- brussel sprouts makes your breasts happy!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...it all comes down to eating REAL food. To me, a functional food is not sugar-laden yogurt in a green container with a catchy tune. Functional foods are foods that are natural, come from the earth, and are vibrant in color.

Cooking with Protein-Packed Nut Flours

Baking with nut flours adds lots of satisfying protein and heart healthy fat to your baked goods in addition to cutting down on carbs. These muffins are low on the glycemic index (ie. diabetic friendly) and gluten-free! And one more bonus- they have veggies in them! Can't beat that!

You can experiment with different nut flours- I used almond flour (also called almond meal) in these and they were delicious. Peanut flour is also readily available. I get both almond flour and peanut flour at Trader Joes. Be sure to store your nut flours (and any nuts or seeds for that matter) in the freezer due to the fragility of the fats. You don't want the nuts going rancid on you! See below how to make your own nut flours.

With just a hint of sweetness and lots of satisfying, blood-sugar stabilizing protein, they make for an ideal snack!

I doubled the batch and froze half. The first half of the batch was eaten in 2 days! And the second half is in the freezer ready to pull out as needed throughout the week.

Almond Zucchini Muffins

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups Almond Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups Shredded Zucchini
• 2 Eggs
• ¼ cup Grapeseed Oil
• ½ cup Honey
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease muffin pan.
   
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
   
3. Mix wet ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient bowl.
5. Bake for 20 – 22 minutes or until done in the center.

Enjoy!

Other ways to use Nut Flours:

• Use in place of flour when breading fish, tofu, or chicken.
• Use in place of flour to make pancakes.
• Add to smoothies or your breakfast cereal to add protein and fat to your breakfast. It'll keep you full longer!
• Add to soups to thicken them and make them deliciously creamy.
• Add to meat loaf or lentil loaf instead of bread.
  

How to Make Your Own Nut Flours:

This is so easy! You can use any nuts. The healthiest nuts are walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, brazil macadamias.

1. Pour frozen nuts (do not thaw first; always want to keep your nuts and seeds frozen) in small batches into your food processor, grinder, or blender, and process in pulses until the nuts are rendered into a relatively fine powder.

2. Check the flour after a second or two, stirring frequently. Because of the nuts' high oil content, nuts tend to form nut butter. The transition from nut to meal to flour to butter is rapid, so work in short bursts, checking often.

3. Due to the high fat content of flour made with nuts, it will spoil rapidly at room temperature. Store nut flours and meals in an air-tight container in the freezer. No need to thaw before using.

Read more: How to Make Nut Flour | eHow.com

Staying healthy for the cold and flu season

Building a healthy terrain

Do you ever wonder why some people always tend to get sick but others who are exposed to the same microbes can successfully ward off illness?

This is because those individuals who do not get sick have a healthy terrain. An alternative view of illness is based on the terrain theory. It suggests that it is the internal strength or balance of an individual that protects or fails to protect him/her from illness. In preparation of the upcoming cold and flu season, there are some very basic yet effective things to do to build and support a healthy terrain.

First, support your body’s natural barriers (skin, GI tract, lungs, kidneys, and adrenal glands) to support a healthy immune system. Follow the tips below:

Skin- Perspiration is essential for ridding your body of toxins. Take a sauna and do not suppress a fever. Fever is your body’s way of fighting infection.

GI tract- Take a probiotic supplement or eat fermented foods, like kefir, tempeh, and yogurt. Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that will defend your body from the “bad” bacteria.

Lungs- Take 100 conscious deep breaths per day. Breathe in through your nose for 6 counts and out through your mouth for 8 counts.

Kidneys- Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.

Adrenal glands- Have a daily routine. Go to bed and rise at the same time every day.

In addition to supporting your body’s natural defenses, eat a healthy diet. Aim to fill half your plate with colorful vegetables. Fill the other half with lean meats and whole grains. Adequate rest and regular exercise are also key factors in building a healthy terrain.

Collard Wraps

Are you gluten-free? Maybe trying to avoid carbs? Here is a delicious way to have a pseudo-sandwich and get a full serving of your greens in as well. No, the piece of romaine that you throw on your ham and cheese doesn't count as a full serving ;) . These are a great appetizer for parties or a good lunch entree when you have friends over for lunch. They are sure to impress (and so easy)! Good for kids too (toddlers and older- need to be able to chew well)!

Sunflower Seed Pate Collard Wraps

Ingredients:
1 bunch of collard greens, stems cut off
1 cup sunflower seeds
any seasonings of your liking-thyme, dill, oregano, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 avocado, sliced
3 carrots, shredded

Instructions:
1. Soak sunflower seeds in some water to cover them for 6-8 hours.
2. Drain the sunflower seeds of the water and throw in your food processor.
3. Add seasonings (i used dill, nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper) and lemon juice.
4. Blanch your collards in about an inch of boiling water for 1 minute (in a large saute pan). Remove from water and pat dry.
5. Fill collards with sunflower seed pate, avocado, and carrots on stem end of collards. Wrap like you would a burrito wrap.

Mushroom Walnut Pate Collard Wraps

Ingredients:
1 bunch of collard greens, stems cut off
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb firm tofu, crumbled
2 tbsp Braggs Liguid Aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cups walnuts
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsps Nutritional yeast
1 avocado, sliced
3 carrots, shredded

Instructions
1. Cook onions in olive oil. Stir until translucent.
2. Add mushrooms, cover and cook for 3 mins. Uncover, cook until mushrooms are slightly
wilted.
3. Process in blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients.
4. Blanch collards as above.
4. Fill collards with mushroom walnut pate, avocado and carrots. Wrap like you would a burrito wrap.

Power Smoothie

Is your little one hungry before bed? Maybe he didn't get enough protein today... Or it was a challenge to get him to eat his veggies today...if so, a green smoothie is the perfect "last snack." Try a smoothie packed full of nutrients that will keep your little one satisfied all night long. A much better choice than milk before bed! Here is a recipe we use, but feel free to play with it. You'll likely have extra after blending this all together so it makes a great snack for mama too!

I always keep frozen spinach on hand. I toss it in sauces, soups, hamburger meat, and SMOOTHIES! Trust me, your child will have no idea! The deep color of the berries will mask the green spinach. And with all the other goodness added to the smoothie, his taste buds will not be able to tell! Deceptively delicious!

Smoothie Recipe

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen organic berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 cup frozen spinach (can also use fresh spinach or kale)
  
• 1 tbsp ground seeds (flax or sunflower ground in coffee grinder- see previous post, "Give your child the seed of health."
• 1 tbsp hemp protein powder or 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any other milk substitute-hemp, rice, soy)-you may need more than this, just keep adding more liquid until you reach desired consistency
• Optional: 1 capsule of blue-green algae (Afa-gen). Just break open the capsule into the blender.
  

Blend and enjoy!