Tags: Shopping Guide
To read this newsletter in its .pdf form, click here to download the file: January 2010 Newsletter. Thank you.
In this newsletter:
- Cooking…The Culture’s Message
- The Gift of the Kitchen
- Zen and the Art of Cooking
- Yin/Yang: Time and Intention
- Shopping Guide of Quality, Organic Ingredients
- Recipes: Vital Choice Poached Salmon; Tropical Traditions Chocolate Coconut Cake, Anson Mills Rustic Coarse Style Oatmeal; Anson Mills Quick Grits
It is January again, a month that is easy to face with mixed emotions. Sadness pays a visit when we say goodbye to visiting family and friends and pack away holiday decorations. But, January can also be a month when we feel a sense of relief to return to routines, regular meals, and more wholesome food.
Since many of us make resolutions to return to healthier eating habits, I wanted to feature in this newsletter a shopping guide so that you can stock your pantry for the New Year. While the list is not meant to be exhaustive, the sources provided are what I believe from my own experience to be some of the finest organic, sustainably raised foods currently available.
I also wanted to reflect in this January issue upon the kitchen. The kitchen can be a very special place in any home. When we busy ourselves in the kitchen, we add positive energy to a household, especially for children in the formative, growing years. When we take time to shop and cook our own food, we give the message that wholesome food is important and worth spending the time and energy to prepare. Our presence in the kitchen can be steadying, both emotionally and physically, for all the members of our household.
Our culture devalues homemaking and time spent in the kitchen. Yet, when we care and nourish and nurture our children, we are really investing in the future capital stock of the nation. It is hard to think of anything more important.
I hope this newsletter leads you to some new shopping adventures and to quality foods you may not have thought to try before. I also hope that it inspires you to enjoy your kitchen in new and creative ways over the days, weeks, and months ahead, in recognition that a new year always brings a sense of new possibility.
Carol Kenney, M.S., Science of Natural Health
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Excitotoxins…Taste-Enhancing Additives that Disrupt Normal Neurotransmitter Function, Risking Silent, Cumulative Damage to the Brain
Excitotoxins…
• What Are They?
• What Do They Do?
• Antidotes…What Can We Do for Protection?
Over the last few decades, we have witnessed a dramatic rise of autism, hyperactivity, learning disorders, and speech problems among young children, as well as, for older age groups, dementia and neurodegenerative issues. We all know families, perhaps our own, that are touched by ADHD, dyslexia, sleep disorders, seizures, hormonal and endocrine problems, thyroid issues, specific types of diabetes and obesity, and perhaps, too, such degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, and Parkinson’s Disease.
The rapid rise of neurological problems parallels the introduction and escalating use by the food industry of excitotoxins, taste-enhancing additives like monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), and aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal). These do nothing to preserve foods. Their only role is to enhance taste. It is a bit ironic that at a time of rampant diabetes and obesity, we “need” food enhancing chemicals in order to enjoy, or perhaps “over enjoy,” foods beyond what nature intended. As we shall see, excitotoxins not only enhance taste, but can also disrupt the normal functioning of the hypothalamus, which helps to regulate hunger and satiety. Through creating “sensational” tastes and overriding the hypothalamus, is it any wonder that we have trouble pushing back from the table when we might otherwise be satisfied?
Excitotoxins are particularly insidious because the food industry disguises in labeling strategies these additives through such benign terms as “flavorings,” “spices,” and “broth.” They are also particularly insidious because, except for perhaps a rare headache from ingesting MSG, their damage to the neurons of the brain goes unnoticed: it is silent, yet cumulative.
Another insidious side to excitotoxins is the fact that they are difficult to test. This is not only because of their delayed and cumulative impact on the brain and nervous system, but also because humans are far more susceptible than is any animal to their immediate and cumulative effects. Of traditional test animals, monkeys’ brains are little affected by excitotoxins. Mice are the closest to man in excitotoxin sensitivity. Yet, compared to mice, humans are five times more sensitive: excitotoxins accumulate at much higher levels and for longer. So, even the very best laboratory testing efforts to reach unbiased conclusions about the safety of excitotoxins for humans needs to be questioned.
To this problem of testing, we can add the additional problem of political bias: the food industry and the glutamate manufacturers have organized into The Glutamate Association to fight any opposition to their profitable flavor-enhancing additives. The Glutamate Association, spending millions of dollars in their development and with much at stake, has effectively squelched opposition to the three major taste-enhancing additives: MSG, HVP, and aspartame. Since its introduction in the late-1940s, the use of MSG added to foods has doubled in every decade. Much of this goes into food products aimed at children and teens: Doritos, Cheetos, Oscar Mayer Lunchables, Hamburger and Tuna Helper, Nabisco flavored crackers, Sunshine Cheez-Its, Pepperidge Farm crackers, and most flavored chips and crackers. Meanwhile, over 800 million pounds of aspartame have been poured into diet products in the years following its introduction in 1983, with more than 100 million Americans consuming Nutrasweet on a regular basis
What are Excitotoxins?
Excitotoxins are substances, largely amino acids like glutamate and aspartate, that stimulate taste receptors on the tongue. While they enhance the flavor of foods, they perform no other function. Excitotoxins (there are more than 70 known today) are found in most packaged and processed foods, particularly soups, sauces, gravy mixes, frozen dinners, diet foods and beverages, chips, as well as fast foods. When added to foods and beverages, they “literally stimulate neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.” The primary excitotoxins found in foods include monosodium glutamate, aspartame (NutraSweet), cysteine, hydrolyzed protein, and aspartic acid.
Interestingly, amino acids, per se, are vital to life. Found in plants, and as the building blocks for the body to create proteins, we depend on them to sustain our health: The brain depends upon glutamate, aspartate, and glycine, three primary amino acids, of the 20 known today, as vital neurotransmitters to help excite the brain to carry out a variety of functions. Without glutamate and aspartate, our brains would be “mush”…we could not concentrate for learning or to carry out the simplest of tasks.
The food industry defends its use of excitotoxins by stating that they are naturally found in foods and circulate freely in our bloodstream. Food processors also argue that the neurotransmitters glutamate and aspartate are normal substances in the brain and are vital for the proper balance of brain chemistry. Finally, the food industry defends itself by pointing to the fact that the brain is “protected” by the blood-brain barrier.
Let’s look at some of the problems inherent in these defenses:
• Substances that circulate normally in the blood can actually be quite lethal to the brain.
• The body normally processes amino acids from whole foods in complex combination, not in isolation, nor in the massive amounts served up by the fast food and packaged food industry. The body is not programmed to handle amino acids in isolation. And, not in huge doses. The body is a system, designed to ingest whole foods, also a system.
• Glutamate and aspartate play the positive role of exciting the brain. We need them for the normal tasks of concentration, memory, and motor skills. Other amino acids, like tryptophan and tyrosine, are calming substances that play a counter role. Healthy brain chemistry is a matter of delicate balance, of excitatory and inhibitory systems. Excitotoxins in foods and beverages throw all the weight, and with great force, in only one direction.
• The blood-brain barrier protects only limited parts of the brain. It does not extend to the hypothalamus, the pineal gland, and the locus ceruleus. Nor does the blood-brain barrier function normally under the condition of strokes, tumors, head injury, or degenerative disease.
The food industry also makes no allowance for the fact that children are particularly at risk:
• A fetus has no blood-brain barrier to protect itself. This barrier takes years to develop after the birth of a child. Worse still, the placenta seems designed to deliver the optimum nutrition to the baby (perhaps nature’s effort to assure species survival), so nutrients, as well as excitotoxins pass readily and in concentrated form to the developing child: Studies show that amino acids concentrate on the fetal side of circulation, so the baby is more exposed to excitotoxins than the pregnant mother.
Women, cautioned by obstetricians to limit weight gain during pregnancy, often become heavy consumers of diet sodas and diet products laced with aspartame. Their safety for mothers-to-be has never been, nor would it be, easy to test:
“While a baby exposed to large does of MSG or other excitotoxins may not show signs of brain damage at birth, they may do so many years later. Like a concussion…with effects that can cumulate…repeated exposure may kill some brain cells and over many years the point comes when the effect is obvious.”
• The blood-brain barrier takes years to reach full maturity in the growing child. It develops in children over the course of many years, probably not reaching a stage of full maturation until well into adolescence. This obviously means that the toddler and the young child, whose brains are wiring and re-wiring (the “plasticity” of the brain) are especially at risk.
“The end result of exposure to dietary excitotoxins would depend on the severity and duration of the exposure, the age during which exposure occurred, and the child’s individual inborn self-control mechanisms. Yet, early, even subtle, damage to the brain of a developing baby, while silent at the time, could possibly cause severe changes in their personality several decades later. Because of this delayed effect, proving a direct connection to early exposure to excitotoxins in the food would be very difficult.”
The “Big Three” Excitotoxins are MSG, aspartame (NutraSweet), and HVP. MSG, which is derived from kombu (a sea vegetable) and first discovered by the Japanese almost 100 years ago, is toxic to the retina of the eye and to the brain, especially the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is vital to survival, since it controls hormones, emotions, sleep cycles, hunger and satiety, and the autonomic nervous system.
Aspartame, developed by Searle and with political maneuvering by Donald Rumsfeld (former head of Searle) finally gained approval in 1981 for dry foods, and in 1983 for liquid diet drinks. Aspartame, when absorbed, breaks down in the body into phenylalanine, aspartate, and methanol (wood alcohol). Adverse reactions to aspartame reported to the FDA include depression, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, vertigo, and memory, hearing, and vision problems…symptoms of methanol poisoning. Aspartame converts to methanol at temperatures above 86 degrees, so when cooked (e.g., Sugar-Free Jello), or stored at high temperatures, or just digested by the body, conversion takes place. “One liter of aspartame-sweetened beverage can produce 56 milligrams of methanol. Dumped into the bloodstream, this level is almost eight times the EPA limit.
Meanwhile, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is perhaps the most disgusting of all. Defended by the food industry as a healthy, “natural” product derived from vegetables and sold in many health food stores, it is in fact:
“a mixture…made from ‘junk’ vegetables…unfit for sale…naturally high in glutamate. The extraction process of hydrolysis involves boiling these vegetables in a vat of acid…followed by a process of neutralization with caustic soda. The resulting product is a brown sludge that collects on the top. This is scraped off and allowed to dry. The end product is a brown powder that is high in three known excitotoxins—glutamate, aspartate, and cystoic acid (which converts in the body to cysteine.) Additional MSG may be added to this brown powder. Adding particular amino acids gives it a beefy taste useful in barbeque sauces and fast foods. Adding other amino acids gives it a creamy taste to enhance the flavor of soups, salad dressings, and sauces. It is added by the food industry to everything from canned tuna to baby food.” (Blaylock, xx)
Excitotoxins…What Do They Do?
Both glutamate and aspartate over-excite brain cells, which can lead to their death. This happens when the brain’s own safety pumping systems, both outside the cell (designed to remove excess glutamate to nearby glia cells) and inside the cell (to remove excess calcium), become overwhelmed by a flood of glutamate from processed foods and drinks that contain excitotoxins. In essence, excessive glutamate (and aspartate) causes the cell’s calcium channels to get stuck in the “open” position, allowing excess calcium to enter the cell. This excess calcium sets up chain reactions involving destructive enzymes and free radicals. Exhaustion of ATP (cellular energy) reserves ultimately means that the pumping systems cannot check the flood of glutamate and calcium. (The pumps which cannot bail fast enough, similar to trying to bail a leaky ship, run out of energy.) Meanwhile as reserves of antioxidants are also spent, free radicals gain the upper hand, resulting in cellular death. It is a process that is not only complex, but also delayed, and cumulative.
Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon witnessed a plethora of brain damage in his practice. Dismayed, he ultimately took it upon himself to stand up and speak out against the profit-driven practices of the food industry. His book, Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills (1997), is written for the layman and is user-friendly. It includes a rich and valuable discussion about neurodegenerative diseases, with a particularly helpful section about Alzheimer’s Disease and measures that can be taken to try to stem its progress.
An incredibly interesting book, it is one I heartily recommend to you. Should you not have time to order and read it, I refer you to on-line lectures by Dr. Blaylock at www.video.google.com and to the reference list of excitotoxins on page 8,that follows.
Antidotes and Actions…What Can We Do?
The first step is obviously to read food labels. Familiarize yourself with popular disguises used by the food industry. For example, “natural flavorings” labeled on a box of chicken broth might contain 20%-60% MSG. Also, a soup that contains “broth” does not have to go further than that. We have no idea what additives are included in “broth.” Learn to distrust general terms like “spices,” “broth,” and “natural flavorings.”
Try to buy whole foods in their fresh, natural form. They are about the only foods you can trust to be free of MSG: “…the FDA works with the Glutamate Association by yielding to their lobbying efforts…so that the words ‘monosodium glutamate’ are not required on a foods label unless it is 100% pure MSG.” Shocking, isn’t it?
Try to plan ahead…we all get hungry and it is good to have healthy snacks on hand. The more home-cooked foods you can prepare, the better. Know where your food comes from and, when possible, avoid fast foods and processed foods.
Avoid diet drinks, they are particularly risky because: Excitotoxins in liquid form are more rapidly absorbed by the body. Also, because diet sodas contain no calories, they provide no glucose energy buffer for the brain (to run the glutamate and calcium pumps).
Diet drinks are self-defeating in two ways: When the false-sweet taste hits the tongue, insulin is released into the blood stream. With no calories for the insulin to work on, a person can soon, on the rebound, experience a drop in blood sugar and feel intense hunger. Hypoglycemia (itself a risk to brain cells) can lead to uncontrolled food binges, as the body rebels from the low blood sugar condition and sends a person to wolf down anything in sight. Also, recall, that aspartame in diet drinks disrupts the normal actions of the hypothalamus, in its role of helping the body gauge hunger and satiety.
Try to steer away from the major excitotoxin culprit foods: chips, diet sodas and diet products, fast foods, frozen foods, canned goods, TV dinners, sauces, instant soups, and salad dressings.
Read food labels carefully and “Google” to learn more about “strange” ingredients. With the FDA influenced by powerful food industry lobbies, we are really on our own much of the time when it comes to discerning healthy food choices. We must pay attention. We need to think for ourselves.
Meanwhile, try to make sure your diet includes:
A full spectrum of vitamins and minerals (use a good multi-vitamin/mineral if you do not have time to cook well-balanced meals). Vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene, along with the minerals selenium, zinc and magnesium are powerful free-radical sponges.
• A rainbow array of fruits and vegetables for good antioxidant protection (see July ’08 Newsletter for complete list and discussion).
• High-quality saturated fats (organic butter and coconut oil), since the brain is largely fat/cholesterol. Also adequate amounts of high-quality omega-3 fish oils, to cool inflammation in the brain (see February and March ’08 Newsletters).
• Adequate magnesium, because magnesium helps keep the calcium channel closed, thus protecting cells. Magnesium, a critical player in the functioning of over 300 enzymes, also helps contain free radical damage to stem neurodegenerative disease and aids the body to relax and sleep. Alzheimer victims are classically magnesium deficient. The body needs calcium to be balanced by magnesium in a ratio of 2:1. The emphasis in our culture on calcium requirements to build bone and prevent osteoporosis may be a factor in the prevalence of magnesium deficiency among the population. To correct a magnesium deficiency (see footnote 10) can take as much as six months, so it can be a slow process.
• Eat a wholesome diet, rich in complex carbohydrates, since glucose does help protect the brain from excess glutamate.
Hidden Sources of MSG
Below is a partial list of some of the popular names used by the food industry to disguise MSG. Also, as Russell Blaylock warns, remember that the powerful excitotoxins aspartate and L-cysteine are often added to foods, yet require no labeling.
Additives that Always Contain MSG:
Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plan Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Additives that Frequently Contain MSG:
Malt extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavoring
Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices
Additive that May Contain MSG or Excitotoxins:
Carrageenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Finally, for overall brain health, try to use a land-line phone whenever possible. Excitotoxins and cellular phones have come onto the scene in just a few short years, leaving our bodies and our brains with little time to adapt. Exposure to both means we are part of the experimental group when it comes to ultimately understanding what cell phones and excitotoxins mean in the long run for overall brain health.
Copyright 2008 Pathways4Heath.org
Cellular Health: Ideas for Using Cell Phones
Cell phones are a truly wonderful convenience. How many times do I recall when a cell phone instantly turned confusion and worry into clarity and comfort…travel delays, a change of plans, coordination with family and friends. Cell phones are the glue that connects us, as we live in a mobile, fast-paced world.
Some of you have asked me to write on cell phones, a topic I have resisted because I do not understand the technology and because the field is so young and untested. How I wish I could title this newsletter “Tips for Cell Phone Safety.” But realistically, we do not yet know what “safety” means when it comes to cell phones. As the first generation of cell phone users, we are the experimental group. Much research will ultimately be conducted on us, but it may be years before we truly understand the impact of cell phones on overall health, and particularly the health of the brain.
What we do know is that the brain is vulnerable to a host of threats from modern invention, from excitotoxins in foods to aberrant radiation from technology. This is particularly true for children and teens, whose brains are still in the formative stages of development. But, we also know that cell phones are an important and integral part of modern life, woven tightly into the social and professional fabric of our daily routines and lifestyle. As we continue to rely on them, we can try to raise awareness and take as many precautions as possible.
While definitive research remains sparse, in the course of some recent reading, I did discover some excellent advice about using cell phones. It comes from David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., an expert in cognitive neuroscience and the author of the just-published Anticancer: A New Way of Life. Dr. Servan-Schreiber, a cancer survivor and cell phone user, offers this:
“Existing epidemiological studies are insufficient to conclude definitively that the use of cell phones is associated with an increased risk of cancer and other health problems. The most recent studies, though, which include subjects with a history of cell phone use of ten years or more, show a probable association with certain benign tumors (neuromas of the acoustic nerve) and some brain cancers on the side the device is used.
Given the absence of definitive proof in humans of the carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic fields of cell phones, it is not appropriate at this stage to talk about preventative measures (as for tobacco or asbestos). But the existing data suggest that it is important to publicize precautionary measures for cell phone users. These measures are also important for people who are already suffering from cancer and who must avoid any external influence that may contribute to disease progression.
1. Do not allow children under 12 years of age to use a mobile phone except in emergencies. The developing organs (of a fetus or child) are the most sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.
2. While communicating using your mobile phone, try to keep the phone away from the body. The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is four times lower at a distance of 10 cm (4 inches), and fifty times lower at 1 m (3 feet). Whenever possible, use the speaker-phone mode, or a hands-free kit equipped with an air tube in the last 20 centimeters, which seems to transmit fewer electromagnetic waves than a traditional hands-free kit or a wireless Bluetooth headset.
3. As much as possible, stand away from a person using their mobile phone, and avoid using your mobile phone in places like the subway, the train or the bus, where you can passively expose your neighbors to your phone’s magnetic fields.
4. Avoid carrying your mobile phone on your body constantly, even on standby. Do not keep it near your body at night (under the pillow or on the bedside table), particularly if you are pregnant. You can also put it on “flight” or “off-line” mode, which stops electromagnetic emissions.
5. If you must carry your mobile phone on you, make sure that the face (key pad) is positioned toward your body and the back (antenna side – stronger magnetic field) is positioned toward the outside.
6. Only use your mobile phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting a few minutes (biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure). It is best to call back from a land line with a corded phone (not from a cordless phone, which uses microwave technology similar to that of mobile phones).
7. Switch sides regularly and, before putting your mobile phone to the ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up (which limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted).
8. Avoid using your mobile phone when the signal is weak or when you are moving at high speed, as in a car or train (this automatically increases power to a maximum as the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new relay antenna).
9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call (thus limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body).
10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR= specific absorption rate, which measures the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR rankings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available on several websites. (You can access these by typing “sar ratings mobile phones” in a search engine.)
Cell Phones and Children
Growing numbers of children are now using cell phones for safety, convenience, and connection. The benefits may out weigh the risks, particularly if we consider the number families with both parents at work and not at home and available, as well as the number of children who take themselves to and from school and to activities after the school day.
Mindful of the benefits, we still need to emphasize precautionary measures to the young: the developing brain is “plastic,” which means it continues to grow and re-program and mature well into late adolescence. Also, round-the-clock cell phone use is distracting, undermines study skills, and makes it difficult to develop a sense of sustained focus.
My daughters, now in their twenties, were truly among the first teens to grow up with cell phones. As a mother new to cell phone culture, I neglected to see the implications of cell phone social life on family time, quiet leisure, and concentration.
Looking back, I wish I had had the foresight to adopt a practice suggested by a friend: The mother of three active children who took themselves to a variety of afterschool activities, my friend placed a cell phone basket at the front door. Upon safe arrival each afternoon, her children deposited their cell phones in the basket, where they remained until school departure time the following morning.
I really like this idea. It allows for more quality evening time and slows the pace for all. Social calls can come through the land-line family phone and whatever family guidelines for phone use can be monitored from “on high.”
Cell Phones and Teens
Cell phones are a wonderful boon to teens and become an integral part of their lives as they go about the normal growth process of separation from family, individuation, and connection with the peer culture. A cell phone basket which might work for children may no longer “fly” with teens. A different approach might simply be to educate your teen about what science tells us regarding the adolescent brain, so that this knowledge might breed inner cautionary behaviors:
Research indicates that the communication networks based on chemical signaling processes are growing and expanding throughout the teen years. During these years, the potential for cellular excitement and chemical stimulation at synapses between neurons in the brain moves to higher and higher levels, a factor that allows for high skill attainment by teens in such areas as music, mathematics, and languages. But, as Francis E. Jensen and David Urion, professors of neurology at Harvard Medical School, point out, with the enhanced level of excitability in the teenage brain that allows for sophisticated learning, there is also a greater sensitivity and vulnerability to external stressors. Barraged by electronic stimuli, from computers, to video games, television, and cell phones, the teen brain has never been exposed to such sensory overload. Perhaps by helping our teens develop understanding and awareness, we can help them balance and manage wisely the myriad of sophisticated technological tools now at their disposal.
Nutrition to Support Neurological Health
Recall three facts about the brain: First, the brain is composed of fat, about half of which is cholesterol. Second, essential fatty acids (EFAs) are necessary for brain and neurological/electrical function. Third, while composed of fat, the brain actually runs on glucose. These three concepts suggest that to support a healthy brain, a varied diet should include:
• Healthy saturated fats found in butter and organic meats, poultry, and eggs from grass-fed animals;
• Good quality fats such as those found in wild fish, quality fish oils, and nuts and seeds; and
• Complex carbohydrates to fuel brain activity derived from such sources as beans, whole grains, and starchy vegetables, particularly winter squashes and root vegetables.
Why are omega-3s and omega-6s important for proper brain function, and why are they called essential fatty acids (EFAs)? Omega-3 and omega-6 oils are vital for our neurological health: Our body needs these to carry out sophisticated “electrical” functions involved with brain activity, cellular regulation, and nerve impulses. They are called EFAs because we cannot make them ourselves. We must depend on plants and animals to supply them to us.
Copyright 2008 Pathways4Health.org
Pathways4Health “Nutrition” Bars
1 cup boiling water Set aside ~ 10 minutes
1 cup unprocessed coarse bran
¼ cup honey or maple syrup
¼ cup coconut oil or melted butter Mix these 3 (or 4)
2 large organic eggs
1 cup grated zucchini (optional)
1 ½ cup oat or whole wheat pastry flour Mix and add, to 3 above, alternating
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda with the milk, below
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
1 cup buttermilk, sour milk, yogurt, or kefir
1 cup raisin or other dried fruits Add to above, along with
1 cup nuts or seeds bran mixture.
Fill greased muffin tins or bake as a large sheet cake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes for muffins or longer as a cake. Makes 18 muffins.
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Whole-Grain, Nut, and Seed “Milks” as an Alternative to Dairy
Silica is a trace mineral that helps maintain the health of bones, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels, skin, and hair. Silica is also thought to arrest the signs of aging, since it promotes tissue strength, elasticity, and firmness. It is even believed to penetrate tissues to expel stored toxins. Recent research also suggests that excessive intake of calcium, without adequate silica, can actually cause osteoporosis.
Silica is present in the soil and is the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust. It is found in the outside covering of whole grains such as wheat, oats, barley, millet, and rice. It is also present in beets, alfalfa, onions, dark, leafy green vegetables, cucumbers, avocados, and the herbs horsetail, comfrey, and nettles.
“Milks” made from whole grains, nuts, and seeds can be used as alternatives to dairy. They also provide good sources of silica and other co-factor nutrients to help build strong bones, teeth, hair, skin, blood vessels, and connective tissues.
The recipes that follow are simple and easy to do. You can find other recipes for making milks, but I choose these because they involve few ingredients and no special materials or equipment.
Oat Milk
3 cups boiling, filtered water
1 cup rolled oats
2 T. sweet white or barley miso
Dissolve miso in a bit of the boiling water. Then, add all ingredients to a jar, stir, and cover with a lid. Refrigerate overnight or for about 12 hours. Then, blend until smooth in a blender or food processor. Always shake before using. Keeps about a week.
Variations: For creamier texture, first grind oats in a blender or coffee grinder before proceeding. For a richer milk, add tahini or almond butter, to taste. For sweeter milk, add a few dates or other dried fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.
Source: Modified from Delicious Wisdom.com
Barley Milk
1 cup cooked barley
1 cup boiling water
8 cups water
Salt to taste
Place barley in a blender. Add boiling water and pulse, then blend for 1 minute. Add 8 cups of water and salt. Blend. Serve.
As an added source of silica in your cooking, this can be used in place of liquid in many soups.
Variations: Blend ¼ cup walnuts, ¼ cup raisins or prunes, 2T. rice syrup, and a bit of barley malt.
Source: Jackson Blackman
Rice Milk
2cups short grain brown rice
4 cups filtered water
• Rinse rice in water, swishing and pouring off til water runs clear. Strain completely.
• Bring 4 cups water to a boil and soak the rice for two hours, covered on the counter top.
• Remove 1 cup of soaked rice from the water and add it to a blender with 2 ½ cups of cold water. Blend the rice until it is coarsely ground and mixed, not perfectly smooth. Pour the blended rice mixture into a pot and repeat the process until all the rice is used up.
• Bring the rice mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer it covered, for 20 minutes.
• Line a sieve with two layers of cheesecloth and place the sieve over a large bowl. Pour the rice mixture into the sieve, allowing the milk to drain into the bowl. Gather the cheesecloth and squeeze it to drain as much liquid as possible into the bowl.
Store in refrigerator. Keeps for about a week.
Source: Ellen Arian
Almond Milk
1 cup almonds
Water, Divided: 1 cup, 1 cup, 6 cups
1 cup cooked brown rice
Salt to taste
1 T. barley malt
Vanilla extract, to taste (~1 T.)
Place almonds in a blender and blend to a powder. Add 1 cup water and blend for a minute. Add cooked rice and blend one minute. Add 1 cup water and blend a minute. Add salt and remaining 6 cups of water, barley malt, and vanilla. Blend, adjust seasonings and serve.
Source: Jackson Blackman
Easy Sesame Seed Milk
1 cup sesame seeds
Water
2-3 pitted dates
Soak sesame seeds in water to cover. Place in a blender or food processor with water and dates. Blend. Strain. Sesame seeds are high in calcium.
Source: Tonya Zavasta
Copyright 2009, Pathways4Heath.org
Plum Applesauce (A Dessert)
• 2 lb. gala or golden delicious apples, quartered, seeded and left unpeeled 2 lb. red or black plums, quartered and pitted
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
Cook all ingredients in a heavy pot, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally until fruit is very tender and falling apart–1-1-1/4 hours.
Force mixture through a medium mesh sieve using a spatula, discarding peels. Keeps covered and chilled one week.
Source: Gourmet, September, 2006
Peach Compote
• 2 lbs ripe fresh peaches
• 2 cups water or to cover
• 1 tsp vanilla Roasted nuts
Scrub peaches thoroughly and cut lengthwise, gently separating fruit from pit. Cut each half in 3 wedges. Place peaches in a heavy saucepan with water and vanilla, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer five minutes. Serve chilled or room temperature with sprinkling of roasted nuts.
Stewed Apples
• 6 apples
• Apple juice, or water; Sweetener, if desired.
Peel and core the apples and cut them into attractive chunks. Place in a saucepan and pour juice over them until it is about an inch deep in the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until the fruit is soft, stirring once or twice to insure against sticking. Check sweetness and add sugar or the sweetener you prefer, if it is needed.
Variations: 1. Raisins cooked with the fruit provide interesting texture and enough added sweetness for most apples. 2. Adding a stick of cinnamon gives bright flavor without the disagreeable catching in the throat that the ground spice may cause. 3. Ginger… add a long think slice of fresh gingerroot with, or instead of, the cinnamon, taking it out when the flavor seems strong enough. Both cinnamon and ginger parry sore throats and congestion.
Stewed Pears
Follow directions above, but use gingerroot, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel or dried cranberries.
Source: Laurel Robertson
Blueberry-Strawberry (or Raspberry) Tart
• 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup almonds, ground
• ¼ cup walnuts, ground
• ¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour Pinch of salt
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 T. cold-pressed vegetable oil
• 2 T. water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup fresh strawberries or raspberries
• 1 cup apple or berry juice
• 1 T. kudzu (or ¼ cup arrowroot)
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, combine oats, ground nuts, flour, and salt.
Add 2 T. of maple syrup, oil, and water; mix well. With wet hands, press the mixture into an 8-by-8 pan. Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Wash and trim strawberries and cut in half. If using raspberries, rinse and use whole. Mix juice and kudzu together in a small pan until kudzu is dissolved. Add blueberries and remaining 2 T. of maple syrup; heat mixture, on medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and clear, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in strawberries or raspberries. Pour mixture on top of pre-baked oat-nut crust.
Allow to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving. Serves 9.
Source: Cynthia Liar.
Cashew-Almond Cream …Topping for Any Fruit Compote or Dessert
• 1 cup cashew pieces
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 T. maple syrup
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• ¼ to 1/3 cup water
• 2 T. mirin (sweet rice wine) (optional)
In a food processor or blender, grind the nuts until pulverized. With the machine running, add the maple syrup, vanilla, optional mirin and enough water to make a creamy consistency. (This cream has a tendency to thicken as it sits; add some water as needed to thin it out.). Makes 2 cups
Source: The Natural Gourmet
Pumpkin Tart with Pecan Crust… Delicious!
Crust:
• 1 cup pecans
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/8 t. sea salt
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup vegetable oil or choice (ghee)
Filling:
• 1 ½ pounds winter squash, roasted and pureed (2 cups) 1 cup silken tofu
• 10 T. maple syrup
• 1 T. fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 T. finely grated orange zest
• ½ t. ground cinnamon
• ¼ t. nutmeg
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup arrowroot powder
Crust:
1. Adjust a rack to the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. In a food processor, combine the pecans, flour, and salt and grind to a fine meal. Add the maple syrup and oil and pulse a few times to form dough.
3. Transfer the dough to the tart pan. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and spread it to fill the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove the plastic wrap and prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven to cool.
Filling:
1. Combine the pumpkin puree with the remaining ingredients in a food processor and puree until creamy smooth.
2. Pour the filling into the tart shell and bake for 50 minutes.
3. Cool on a rack, then refrigerate until chilled.
Note: To make a pumpkin puree, preheat the oven to 375 F. Cut a small pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down in a baking pan and roast for 30-40 minutes until it pierces easily with a knife. Cool and scoop our flesh, puree until smooth.
Source: Peter Berley
Halloween is often the last fun “fling” of fall. It is a festive, creative time for young and old…a time for family and friends to join together perhaps in visiting an apple orchard or pumpkin patch in the weeks leading up to the night when witches and goblins of all ages get to parade about. Bobbing for apples, carving pumpkins, baking treats are all great ways for adults to get to share in the fun. The books of Halloween poems I read to my daughters throughout the month of October are still remembered, loved, and cherished.
Rehearsing a trick and eating a healthy, balanced dinner can get the evening off to a good start. A well-fed child can then focus on the excitement of costumes, decorations, and visiting friends as much as on eating oodles of candy.
To counter the excess of sugary treats, one strategy might be to give out art supplies for future creative adventures, perhaps some simple crayons, sticker sheets, a cookie cutter, etc.
Another idea is to give a decorated bag that contains a recipe along with one simple ingredient so your trick-or-treaters can look forward to creative cooking adventures and perhaps a recipe that just might become a family favorite.
With this in mind, we offer a set of recipes, any of which you might like to copy and use in this way. If you are artistic, you might enjoy mounting one on a decorated piece of construction paper and let your creative juices roll…all in the spirit of having as much fun as our children.
Pathways4Health Sugar-Free Oatmeal-Banana Cookies
4 cups oatmeal
6 ripe bananas
2-3 cups dried fruits (dried blueberries, cranberries, raisins, etc.), chocolate chips or nuts
Cinnamon/nutmeg/salt to taste
1 T. vanilla flavoring
Mash bananas in a large bowl and add all other ingredients.
Place by spoonfuls on an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.
Pathways4Health Barley-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies; Or Dessert Squares
This is a true family favorite. If you don’t have time to make cookies, just put the batter in a greased brownie pan and bake about 20 minutes.
1 cup barley flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 t. baking powder
1 T. cinnamon
Pinch of salt
½ cup buttermilk
2-3 T. honey
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips
½ cup dried cranberries, etc.
Mix dry ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients.
Fold in chocolate chips, dried fruits, nuts…your choice
Drop by tablespoons on a well-greased cookie sheet [or use a greased baking pan and bake about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pan and the depth of the batter. Cool and cut into squares.]
See also Snack Bars for other appropriate Halloween recipes.
Home for the Holidays
With the holidays go rich memories…for the good times shared together and for the traditional family dishes prepared and expected year after year. In our own family, a feast would not be complete without rich appetizer platters of sushi, jumbo shrimp, and cheeses, followed by the long-standing traditional favorites of turkey, pecan pie, chocolate chip cookies and a myriad of ice creams. While an easy formula, it is one without much balance or flare, so it leaves plenty of room for innovation to round out the meal.
Each year, I find myself a bit bewildered about how to add interest and variety to this expected list of favorites. If you are anything like me, you may be searching your cookbook shelf for some innovative side dishes to accompany your own traditional family favorites. I discovered Myra Kornfeld’s Healthy Hedonist Holidays, published just last year, to be a wonderful resource. Starting with fresh, seasonal whole foods, natural sugars, and innovative seasonings, she creates many side dishes to complement traditional holiday feasts, from Ramadan through the Fourth of July. Many of the following recipes are from her book. Front and center, we also place Kasha Varnishkes, a traditional Eastern European dish, for its richness, a splurge perfect for a holiday feast. In this dish, the flavors of onions cooked slowly in chicken fat meld with kasha to truly tantalize, while lauric acid (a wonderful anti-microbial) inherent in chicken fat, lend a welcome boost to the immune system at holiday time.
Kasha Varnishkes (serves 4)
2+ cups chopped onions
½ cup rendered chicken fat or olive oil
¾ cup kasha
Salt and pepper
½ pound farfalle (bow-tie) noodles
Put onions in a large skillet (with a lid) over medium heat. Cover skillet and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion is dry and almost sticking to the pan. Add fat or oil, raise heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is nicely browned, for 10 minutes or so longer.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a separate medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups water to a boil, stir in the kasha and a teaspoon of salt. Cover and simmer until kasha is soft and fluffy, about 15 minutes. Let stand, off heat and covered.
Salt the large pot of boiling water and cook noodles until tender but firm. Drain and combine with the onions and kasha, adding more fat or oil if you like. Season with salt and lots of pepper and serve immediately.
Source: Mark Bittman
Parsnip Latkes with Leeks and Thyme (yield: 12-14 pancakes)
1 pound parsnips, peeled
1 cup leek, finely diced, white and light green parts only
½ cup minced red onion
2 T. minced fresh thyme
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 T. unbleached white flour
1 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil, for frying
Preheat the oven to 200 F degrees. Grate the parsnips to make about 6 cups. Steam for 2 minutes until just tender. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the leek, onion, thyme, egg, flour, salt, and a generous sprinkling of black pepper.
Form a heaping tablespoon of batter into a patty by hand. (Do not overwork.) Repeat with the remaining batter to make 12-14 latkes. Place them on a large plate.
Warm a thin layer of oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet until it feels hot to your hand held 1 inch above the pan. Lay out 4 or 5 latkes in the oil, without overcrowding. Cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Flip to other side, pressing down the patties with a spatula to flatten slightly. Cook until golden, another 2 minute or so. Add more oil to the pan as you cook more batches. Spread on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven until you are ready to serve.
Source: Myra Kornfeld
Beer-Braised Brussels Sprouts (Serves 8)
1 ¼ pound Brussel sprouts (2 10-ounce packages)
3 T. honey
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup beer
¼ t. salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 T. butter
Slice off hard stems of sprouts and cut in half. Whisk honey and mustard together in a small bowl and set aside. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sprouts, cut-side down and sauté until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add the beer and honey-mustard mixture, along with the salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the sprouts are tender. Uncover and cook at a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and forms a glaze, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with black pepper. Melt the butter in a small pot 2-3 minutes until nutty and golden. Drizzle over the sprouts. Serve hot. Source: Myra Kornfeld.
Gingery Beet Relish with Horseradish (Makes 3 cups)
2 pounds medium beets (or 1 ½ pounds large)
1 T. minced fresh ginger
2 T. prepared horseradish
½ cup chopped parsley
¾ t. salt
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Wrap beets in foil and bake in a 375 degree oven until tender. Cool slightly and peel off skins under cool running water. Grate the beets to yield 3 cups. Transfer the beets to a medium bowl. Add the ginger, horseradish, parsley, salt, and vinegar and toss to combine. Serve as a zesty side dish.Source: Derived from Myra Kornfeld.
Watercress and Endive Salad with Apple and Blue Cheese
2 bunches of watercress, hard stems removed
2 heads endive, cut into ¼ inch-wide lengthwise spears
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. sherry vinegar
¼ t. Dijon mustard
1 t. honey
6 T. Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into very thin strips (1 heaping cup)
6 T. crumbled blue cheese (from a 3-ounce chunk)
Place watercress and endive in a bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice and sherry vinegar in a small bowl with the mustard and hone. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk to combine. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir the apple strips into the greens. Toss with the dressing and divide onto plates, sprinkled with about 1 T. crumbled blue cheese per serving.
Source: Myra Kornfeld.
Sweet Potato Gratin with Coconut Milk and Chipotle Chile (serves 8)
3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6 medium), peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds
One 15-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
½ chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. salt
1 T. Maple syrup
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, coconut milk, chipotle chile, lime juice, salt, maple syrup, and garlic. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish (8 x 11 inch Pyrex is ideal). Cover with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the sweet potatoes are just tender. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until the tops are browned.
Source: Myra Kornfeld
Crunchy Quinoa Salad
2 cups quinoa (your might try mixing red and white varieties)
4 cups filtered water
2 carrots, cubed or half-mooned
2 sliced scallions
2 stalks celery, washed and sliced
½-1 cup sliced or chopped tamari almonds
½ cup arame (optional)
Dressing: Equal parts Shoyu, Mirin, Tahini, whisked together to taste
Cook Quinoa separately and let cool. (Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and a pinch of sea salt per cup of grain, reduce heat and cover, simmer about 15 minutes.) Cook Arame separately (Follow package directions. Drain. Cool, set aside.)
Once Quinoa and Arame are cooled, mix them with carrots, scallions, celery, almonds and toss. (You may want to leave vegetables raw in summer, for a more cooling quality, and but blanch carrots & celery for these cooler times of year.)
Dressing: 1/3 Parts Each Shoyu, Mirin, Tahini — whisk together, add to salad, toss, and enjoy.
Source: Derived from Gina@theorganiccoach.com
