Whether you’re on a budget, a diet, or a really long road trip, sometimes you need food that will stick to your ribs, like Grandma used to say. Put down that extra-large bag of Twizzlers, though – what makes you feel full isn’t the amount of calories you consume, it’s the volume of food in your stomach.

Because of this, foods that are high in water or fiber take up more stomach space and fill you up quickly. An Australian study by Dr. Susanne Holt explored the satisfying power of different foods and measured these findings with the “Satiety Index,” which gave white bread a baseline ranking of 100.

Foods that were more satisfying than white bread scored higher than 100, and less satisfying foods earned lower scores. Next time you need to stave off cravings, turn to this list of hunger-fighting foods and herbs.

Potatoes

Baked potatoes ranked at more than 300 on the Satiety Index, which means that ounce for ounce, a potato is three times more filling than white bread (sadly, french fries and potato chips won’t fill you up quite as well).

Drizzle a baked potato with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and pepper, and pile high with broccoli or spinach. Add a fried egg on top if you’re feeling sassy. Trust us, it’s delicious.

Fish

Fish ranked higher than any other meat on the Satiety Index, and since it’s also full of omega-3s, it’s a great choice for nights when you’re starving but can’t overdo it. You can eat a large piece of fish for the same amount of calories as a smaller serving of beef, pork, or chicken.

And it’s so easy to make, a fish could cook itself. Try this classic recipe: wrap each fillet in a piece of aluminum foil, and add lemon slices, seasonings, and vegetables. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish flakes with a fork.

It’s the simplest way we’ve found to cook sometimes-tricky fish without making a mess…or causing your kitchen to smell like seafood.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal, the highest-ranking breakfast food on the Satiety Index, comes in many forms. Quick oats can be cooked in the microwave in minutes; steel-cut oats have a delicious, chewy texture, but take about a half-hour to prepare. All are delicious, and guaranteed to help keep you full until lunch.

Chickweed + Burdock

Chickweed is a European herb with tiny white flowers. When made into a tea, it’s useful for curbing hunger pains. It’s especially effective when taken with burdock – a type of thistle recognizable by its woolly leaves and purple flowers and known for its appetite – suppressing properties. To make a tea, simmer an ounce of dried burdock root and a few spoonfuls of chickweed in boiling water for 10-20 minutes.

Parsley

The springy, fresh taste of parsley is wonderful for reducing hunger pains. Throw a generous handful into your regular green juice (it pairs well with carrot juice), or finely chop and sprinkle on your baked potato or fish fillet.

Photo attribute: www.best-potato-recipes.com

You can always tell when I’m having a “no carb” day though because I’m on edge! I might physically look better, but on the inside I’m a crabby, lightheaded, jittery mess!

This sent me on the hunt for the proper balance of carbohydrates that will keep me slim, yet functioning happily.

But first, I had to understand…

What are carbohydrates and how do they work?

Carbohydrates are a type of macronutrient that we consume in a variety of different products.

There are three different types of carbs; Fiber (the good stuff that keeps feeling fuller and takes longer to digest), Starch (my booty is not a fan of this kind) and Sugar.

Now, there are three main types of sugar, too: Fructose – from fruit; Sucrose – a.k.a. table sugar (my booty isn’t a fan here, either!); and lactose – from milk.

Often times carbs occur naturally, like in our grains, milk, nuts, seeds, legumes, veggies and fruit. Other carbohydrates are added to our food and beverages in the forms of starch and sugar by food manufactures.

Our bodies use carbohydrates as its main energy source. When we digest high amounts of carbs, our bodies turn most of it into glucose (sugar). Our bloodstream transports the glucose throughout our bodies.

When our body detects a rise in our blood sugar (glucose) levels, then our pancreas starts to produce the hormone insulin to help moderate the glucose level. The insulin absorbs the glucose and transports it out of our blood stream. The glucose is then either used as energy or is stored, either as fat or as glycogen in your muscles.

It’s important to note that our bodies can only store half a day’s worth of glucose.

What are “net carbs” and what is a “glycemic index”?

The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate these two terms, so there’s no proper definition for them. But here is what most diet plans and doctors mean when they refer to them.

Carbohydrates that are not absorbed into our blood stream are fiber and sugar alcohol (Splenda is an example of a sugar alcohol). When figuring out products “net carbs” you would subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol from the total carb amount. This remaining number is your “net carb”, giving you an idea of the number of carbs that would increase your blood sugar level.

The glycemic index classifies carbohydrate-containing foods according to their potential to raise your blood sugar level. A GI value of 55 and below is low, 56 to 69 is medium and 70 and above is high. The health benefits of a low GI diet include weight loss, maintaining weight, prevention of cardiovascular disease and prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Most (but not all) naturally occurring carbs are on the low glycemic index side. Higher GI produce you might consider avoiding while dieting include: potatoes, parsinps, pumpkin, watermelons, and dates.

Any questions or anything to add, class? Share with us in the comments below!

When people hear the word hemp, thoughts of illegal substance association proliferated by Cheech and Chong run through their minds, but stay with me here. Hemp seeds are the newest energy super food to hit the market.

These tasty seeds are full of protein, iron, zinc and magnesium, which make them not only healthy but a wonderfully filling addition to your morning smoothie.

So why are they super? And, more importantly, why should you be eating them?

First, you should eat them because of the aforementioned zinc, iron, protein and magnesium this little seed boasts, which all provide amazing benefits for the body.

• Zinc is essential for immune function, helping to battle everything from the common cold to serious afflictions such as auto-immune disorders. And with winter around the corner, anything that can boost your immunity levels should be in your health arsenal.
• Iron is needed to transport oxygen to our cells; without it you’ll feel tired and listless – just ask anyone with anemia, a common but not harmful iron deficiency disorder.
• Magnesium is integral to the metabolization of carbohydrates, which is key for any weight loss or weight maintenance program.
• Finally, being that this little seed has almost 3 grams of protein per serving, adding it to your morning smoothie will have you coasting all the way through to lunchtime without the stomach grumbles and cravings that plagues so many of my days.

More about hemp as a health superfood

Hemp seeds lend themselves well to any weight loss plan because they are a whole food, containing essential fatty acids (EFA’s), protein, fiber, carbohydrates, natural vitamins and minerals, but no cholesterol. Also because of the many nutrients they provide, hemp seeds will leave you feeling full and satiated, and therefore less likely to fall prey to snack temptation.

And as if that wasn’t enough evidence of the prowess that is the hemp seeds, I must conclude with a nod to the vegetarians reading. Since hemp seeds are a complete protein, they’re perfect for a vegetarian diet.

There are very few foods that are complete proteins, which can make vegetarianism rather hard to adopt and maintain. But with hemp seeds, vegetarians can rest assured they aren’t missing out on the all-important protein.

Hemp seeds are amazing, and they should be a part of your life. They are available in all major grocery and health food stores, so get some into your life!

Do you consume hemp seeds? Got any tips/recipes you would like to share? Comment below!

I’ve written before about some symptoms of menopause and since I’ve started to have a few more myself, thought I’d catch you up on some more natural alternatives.  My hot flashes lasted (so far) a month or so.  Every day and night.  I try to drink some sort of smoothie every day and I always add ground flax.  I feel much better and recently read that flaxseed is a super-food and can help with menopause symptoms.  Women used flaxseed in ancient Babylon 5,000 years ago.  Greek physician Hippocrates recommended it back in 400 B.C.  Flaxseed contains compounds called lignans, which mimic hormones without the harmful side effects.  These lignans may, in fact, prevent both breast cancer and colon cancer.  This seed is commonly used as a laxative. Another benefit!  Flaxseed and flaxseed oil have both been used to reduce total blood cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.  The result? The reduction of the risk of heart disease.  Flaxseed oil is great too.  I sometimes put that in my green smoothies, however it doesn’t have the fiber that the seeds have.  You can buy whole seed in your store and grind it in a coffee grinder or seed grinder.  Be sure to store it in a glass, air tight container in your fridge to extend the life of your seed.  Also, grind only what you need if you can.  It will turn rancid more quickly in its ground form.

Flaxseed can be added to any smoothie; green, chocolate or fruit.  You can add this super food on top of your fresh fruit, in your oatmeal, cereal or on your yogurt.  Be sure to use ground flaxseed.  Nutrition experts agree that ground flaxseed is better.  Whole flaxseed may pass through your intestines undigested.  This means you won’t get all the health benefits. So grind it up girls.  Here’s what Ameriflax says about substituting flax in your recipes:

And then there’s your skin.  Hormones can wreak havoc on your skin.  I’ve started to notice my skin becoming thinner and it feels different on my face.  Sure enough, hormonal deficits associated with menopause, will start to change the skin.  Women, during their 30′s, begin to produce lower hormone levels.  The symptoms of this do not usually begin to appear until her 40′s.  This is the stage called perimenopause.  I wish I started some things before this time.  I’m here telling you this so you can!  At menopause, women experience a drop in three hormones: estrogen, progestin and follicle stimulating hormone.  The loss of estrogen has the most significant effect on the skin.  The amount of collagen and elastin in the subdermis breaks down and gradually declines, blood supply decreases, and the dermis thins.  This has also affected the strength in my wrists.  And the results of all of this please?  Dry dull skin, changes in texture and pore size, and additional lines and wrinkles.  Thanks.

There are also changes in skin tone.  More freckles or patches on the cheeks and/or around the mouth.  Your pigment cells decrease by about 10% every decade after the age of 30 and with menopause, women begin to see irregular pigmentation.  Estrogen promotes the permeability of blood vessels and the loss of that hormone can cause blood vessels to stiffen and break, which can create broken capillaries.  Hot flashes will cause further damage.

Here are some key ingredients to look for in your skin care products (you may want to begin treatments before the symptoms start):

Peptides -  These are bulky molecules made up of amino acids each with specific skin functions.  Palmitoyl pentapeptide stimulates collagen and elastin formation.  Argireline helps prevent wrinkles caused by muscular contractions.  Oligopeptide 34 helps combat irregular pigmentation.

Pytoestrogens – These naturally occuring plant compounds possess estrogen-like qualities.

Retinoids – Vitamin A in the form of retinol or retinoic acid, improves skin elasticity, re-texturizes and helps reverse photodamage and enhance new cell growth.  Retinol is one of the few skin care ingredients to be scientifically studied and proven in clinical trials.

Moisturizers - Dehydration is the number one skin problem (This is really noticeable on me, even though I drink ALOT).  Look for high powered humectants and emollients, such as: sodium hyaluronate, shea butter, vitamin E, natural oils, squalene and ceramides, in your moisturizers.

Skin, after menopause, will continue to degenerate.  Your skin could lose up to 30% of its collagen in the first five years of menopause.

Take the time now to replenish your skin, before menopause.  I’m learning and guess what I did yesterday?  That’s right, I looked for moisturizers!

Happy Holidays….Ring in the New Year!  Yes, my Vitamix is always with me.  Thought I’d help you out with some recipes for this season.  Of course, I use my Vitamix most for green smoothies.  It always surprises me that I can drink these on cold winter mornings.  Your body gets used to having them and starts to crave them.  The past few days I was able to purchase some great organic cukes from the local store and have been juicing them in my Champion.  A great start to a day filled with healthy eating.  Then a great way to end the day is with some raw ice cream from the Champion using the blank screen.  It’s tough to eat healthy, especially during this time.  Try eating raw veggies or drinking water before your big meal.  If I start the day with something healthy and then eat a big salad for lunch, I feel a lot better if I splurge a little at dinner.   Plus I’m not as hungry.  My body has already gotten a lot of good nutrients and vitamins for breakfast and lunch.

Banana Cream Pie (Raw)  This is for my brother!

Crust:  3 cups walnuts, soaked and dehydrated (you can buy these in health food stores)  1/4 cup dates, pitted and soaked (3 hours or more)  1/2 tspn Bragg Liquid Aminos or pinch of salt

Filling:  2 cups young coconut meat, 3 medium ripe bananas, cut into pieces  2/3 cup macadamia nuts, soaked   10 dates, pitted and soaked  2 Tblspns psyllium husks powder  1/2 cup water of one young coconut  2 Tblspns alcohol-free vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean  4 ripe bananas

For the crust: Using your food processor, finely grind the walnuts to a crumble.  Add the 1/4 cup dates and Braggs and process until combined.  The mixture should be slightly sticky.  Press the dough into a pie plate.  You can dehydrate overnight if you want a crunchy crust.

For the filling:  In a Vitamix or strong blender, combine the coconut meat and coconut water, bananas, macadamia nuts, 10 dates, psyllium, and vanilla.  Blend until very smooth and creamy. Stir in the sliced bananas and spread this filling evenly over the crust.  You can decorate the top with sliced bananas, tossing them in lemon juice to prevent browning first.

This is so easy, right?  Even if you do not eat a raw diet, all of these ingredients are found in your local store.  Treat your family and loved ones with something they’d never expect.  And they will be sure to love it.

Did you happen to catch one of the episodes of “Dinner Impossible”, where the chef was at Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in VT and he made these really weird ice cream concoctions?  Well here’s one that sounds weird, but is rather lovely!

Banana Ice Cream with Date Carob Sauce (Raw)

6 bananas, peeled and frozen

Sauce:  1 cup dates, soaked  1/2 vanilla bean, chopped  4 black olives, pitted  3 Tblspns raw carob powder  1/2 tspn ground cinnamon  1 cup water

Use your Champion with the blank screen to process the frozen bananas.  They will come out looking and tasting like soft serve ice cream.  For the sauce, in your blender, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  If it’s thick, add water.  Add anything else that sounds interesting to you for a sauce….strawberries, orange…you get the idea.

Thanks, Chef Kelly Serbonich for these great ideas!

Here’s a recipe from a Paula Deen magazine.  It’s simple and you can use store bought pudding or make your own with raw ingredients and freeze.  Use the recipe above for the vanilla ice cream and add carob for the chocolate.  I hope you’ll try the living food way, this is a great start.  You can also eliminate the nuts if you’d like.

Frozen Striped Mousse

1 3.9 ounce package instant chocolate pudding  2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided  2 cups milk, divided  1 3.3 ounce package instant white-chocolate pudding  1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.

In a bowl, combine chocolate pudding, 1 cup cream, and 1 cup milk.  Beat until thickened.  In a separate bowl, combine white chocolate pudding, 1 cup cream, 1 cup milk and beat until thickened.  Take 8 (7 ounce) paper cups and spoon 2 Tblspns chocolate into them. Add a layer of nuts then a layer of 2 Tblspns of the vanilla mix and repeat again.  Freeze overnight.  Invert the cups and peel back the cup.  Garnish with chocolate sauce or fresh fruit.

Enjoy your holiday!  And remember….less is more.  It’s nice to share.

Celiac disease is also known as gluten sensitive enteropathy.  Gluten makes bread doughy and sticky.  Gluten is also used as an adhesive on stamps.  It is found in grains such as wheat (not in wheatgrass juice), rye, spelt, barley, kamut, triticale, semolina and durham, but not in oats (although oats are often grown on former wheat fields causing cross contamination).  In celiac disease the immune system begins to produce antibodies when exposed to gluten.  These antibodies attack the fingerlike projections (microvilli) which line our small intestines.  This is where we absorb the nutrients for our body.  When these microvilli are attacked and destroyed, the body is unable to nourish itself with vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  The list of dis-eases associated with celiac are too many to list; from asthma to multiple sclerosis.  If you already have a known autoimmune disease, you could be at risk for developing celiac disease.  Someone can become sensitized to gluten at any time of life.  It also runs in families and women are more affected than men.  There is no exact cause of celiac, making it impossible to prevent.  However, we already know it is healthier for every part of your body to stay away from processed foods.

Wheat as a raw grain is unsafe to eat.  Wheat flour must be heated to destroy the enzyme blockers and lectins within the grain to allow for its consumption.  Anytime we alter food from its original nature state we are processing the food.  Some healthy alternatives to wheat are quinoa and brown rice which are much less processed.  The aisles of the grocery store are now stocked with gluten-free alternatives.  I just picked up some gluten-free pretzels, which someone told me are better than regular pretzels.  I also love the gluten-free fig cookies.

Eating a gluten-free diet will allow the intestinal villi to heal.  Read food labels and medication labels carefully.  Hidden sources of grains, wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats, are found in many products.  If you have some of these symptoms and you feel better if you do not eat gluten, please contact your doctor.  Being tested is the only way to diagnose this disease.  I have stomach issues when I eat gluten and when I’m under stress at the same time.  Other times, I fine.  I try to stay away from processed foods.  Left untreated, celiac can cause chronic inflammation eventually causing complete atrophy and flattening of the microvilli.

Gluten can also impact the brain.  When a patient has full blown celiac it can cause chronic inflammation of the brain and nervous system which will impact function of these systems.  Gluten also contains glutamate.  This substance causes excessive excitation of brain cells which ultimately results in brain cell damage and brain cell death. 

We need to protect the body with proper nutrition, exercise, relaxation and give the body what it needs to properly get rid of offending foods, toxins and microbes it does not need.  I’ve said many times the body has the ability to heal itself.  We’ve been eating unhealthy for many years, we can not expect healing to happen overnight.  New and improved versions of gluten make it harder and harder for our bodies to fight infection, inflammation and disease.  We need to return to a diet full of nutrients that promote health and longevity and prevent dis-ease.  Gluten is responsible for so many symptoms, that I believe taking gluten out of our diets can only benefit us.

Wikipedia states “…rice is the most important staple food for a large part of the world’s human population…..it is the second highest worldwide production…providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.  In early 2008, some governments and retailers began rationing supplies of the grain due to fears of a global rice shortage.”  Do you remember that?  We now know there are more varities of this grain available to us than just from the “Uncle”.  The increase in selections of rice opens us up to a larger variety of dishes and international cooking.   Each rice has a different cooking time, so be sure to read your directions.  You can also rinse to remove any starch or excess residue that can cause the rice to turn out sticky.  Cook with a heavy bottom pot to give the rice a thinner crust.  Do not add salt or butter as it will kill its natural sweet flavor.  Rice kept for too long in the cupboard may require more water and longer cooking time because of losing some of its moisture.  Soaking the rice in cold water will give it a softer, fluffier texture.  Saving any leftover rice is great for making fried rice.  However, try to avoid using instant or precooked rice.

Let’s start with an explanation of types of rice:

Arborio:  An Italian short-grain rice that is used for risotto because of its high starch content.  This makes it creamy and thick when it is cooked.  This rice can be used for crispy Italian rice balls.  I used to love it when my Mom cooked Risotto.  I knew it was a special night because that yellow powder was so expensive.  There’s a great Mushroom Risotto recipe here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mushroom_risotto/

Basmati:  This fragrant, fluffy and light rice is grown in the Himalayan foothills and is a standard in Indian cooking.  Jasmine and basmati rice can be used in sweet desserts and also fried rice.  Soaking this rice helps the rice expand to maximum length.  Drain thoroughly.

Bhutanese Red:  Similar to brown rice, this chewy short-grain rice is reddish in color and can be used in any recipe that calls for brown rice.

Brown:  White rice is polished to remove the bran coating, but brown rice has a nutty flavor that is a whole grain and high in fiber.  It can be sticky when cooked.  Read your directions.  Most brown rices should be soaked overnight.  Can be used in pudding, risottto, burgers and desserts.  It is high in fiber and B-group vitamins.

Jasmine:  This long-grain rice has a light and slightly floral flavor and aroma with a nutty flavor.  Perfect for Asian dishes with curry and seafood. 

Short-Grain White Rice:  Very flavorful.  Especially good when a creamy texture or stickiness is desired.  You can soak this grain for 20 minutes to relax it.  Use one part rice to one and 1/8 part water. 

Sushi:  This sweet, sticky short-grain rice is used in desserts and in risottos.

Texmati:  This rice is American grown cross between basmati and long-grain white rice and is light and fluffy.  It has a more neutral flavor than basmati rice.

Wehani:  This California created cousin of basmati, splits when cooked and makes a luscious choice for soups and casseroles.

 Now on to a recipe for Jasmine Rice Pudding….

1 14-oz can of low-fat sweetened condensed milk

4 Tblspns. toasted cocoa nibs

3 Large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup cooked jasmine rice

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Bring your condensed milk and 1 cup water to simmer.  Add cocoa and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 20 minutes.  Strain the mixture into a bowl and save the nibs for later. Whisk the eggs and vanilla into the milk and cocoa.  Stir in the rice and divide into 8 1/2 cup ramekins.  Put your ramekins in a roasting pan and fill with hot water up to halfway up the side of the dishes. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the hot ramekins  and cool. Sprinkle with the nibs.

There you go.  A great start to something new tonight for dinner.  Enjoy the day!

If you want to get good at anything, you have to focus, learn and invest some time in learning how it works, right?  Everyone needs to learn about taking care of their body because everyone has a body.  In addtion to your “day job”, you need to make the time to learn the basics of taking care of your body.  The reason we believe what the drug companies, media, agricultural and food and beverage companies have to say is because we are nutritionally ignorant.  So let’s learn a little bit more about the food we cook on a daily basis.

When you cook food on a grill, stove top, oven, camp fire or a microwave, you are changing the molecular structure of the food and change the nutritional content and digestibility.  This structure becomes denatured, deranged and degraded, and the molecules are changed into new chemical configurations and carcinogenic byproducts are formed, thereby promoting a broad spectrum of allergies, infections and degenerative diseases..  Certainly the degree to which this happens depends on the cooking time, temperature and method of cooking.  Heating food above 105-120 degrees F, destroys all enzymes and lowers the concentration of vitamins and minerals.  You body can produce the enzymes necessary for digestion and absorption of food, however this process requires a great deal of energy that would otherwise be used for  the process of elimination, fighting disease, and allowing you to function at an optimal physical and mental level. 

In cooked foods, fats are carcinogenized, carbs are caramelized, and proteins are coagulated and become virtually unusable by the body and fiber becomes barely usable in the colon.  Heating food also creates toxic byproducts.  Here’s a few of these dangerous byproducts:

Acrylamides:  Cancer causing byproducts of cooking carbohydrate food such as breads, potatoes, pastries and any other kinds of starch.  The FDA acknowledges on their website the perils of acrylamides, but the processed and fast food industry would rather you don’t know about these.

Epoxides, Hydroperoxides, unsaturated aldehydes:  These three are generated when you cook the fat from meat, milk, eggs and fish.  From Wikipedia, “An epoxide is a cyclic ether.”  The rest of the definition on Wikipedia was not even understandable to me.

Furfural/furans: generated when sugars are heated.  Wikipedia states, “Except for occasional use in perfume, furfural remained a relatively obscure chemical until 1922, when the Quaker Oats Company began mass-producing it from oat hulls….When heated above 250 degrees, furfural decomposes into furan and carbon monoxide, sometimes explosively… Furfural is also used as a solvent in petrochemical refining….” 

Nitrosamines:  When nitrogen oxides in the gas flame from gas ovens or barbecues interact with fats, these toxins are created.  Nitrosamines are chemical compounds of a chemical structure, some of which are carcinogenic.

Polycyclic Hydrocarbons:  These carcinogens are generated from the charring of meat. From Wikipedia,  ”PAHs occur in oil, coal and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning….as a pollutant, they are of concern because some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic….PAHs are also found in foods.  Studies have shown that most food intake of PAHs comes from cereals, oils and fats.  Smaller intakes come from vegetables and cooked meats.”

Hydrogenated oils and Trans fats:  These are man-made.  They are also called hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and were specifically developed to allow processed foods to sit on the shelf longer without going rancid.  Many of today’s common foods are now cooked in these trans fats.  Consuming these fats can lead to obesity, heart disease, an increase in bad cholesterol and lowering of the good.  Also keep in mind when you heat common cooking oils, the heat denatures the oil molecule and causes the oil to turn rancid.

Are you still asking yourself what happens to you if you eat cooked foods?  Digestive leukocytes is a term that refering to when your body produces an increase of white blood cells, indicating the body is on the attack.  This response also happens when you eat cooked food.  However it does not happen when you eat raw foods.   A build up of toxic, acidic waste materials, often referred to as “free radicals”, accumulates in the skin, liver, nervous system and brain when you consume large amounts of cooked food.  When you don’t get the proper nutrients in your diet, your white blood cells are always on the attack mode.  Toxic waste are circulating in your weak and overworked body, allowing it to breed common ailments such as allergies, headaches, sinusitis, diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, depression, arthritis, osteoporosis, and various cancers will thrive.  Unfriendly flora build-up is also a byproduct of cooked foods.  Unfriendly bacteria take over the colon, feeding on thick, undigested and uneliminated cooked food putrefying in the intestines.  This flora will give off a waste product that is a food for cancer cells.  Eating a plant based uncooked diet will decrease the toxic load on the colon and will also decrease unfriendly bacteria and its dangerous byproducts.

Not cooking your food will have the following benefits: Weight stabilization, increased energy, more restful sleep, radiant skin, enhanced mental clarity, increased immune function and prevention of illness.  You don’t need to eliminate all cooked food from your diet to have these benefits.  How about just substituting one meal a day with raw food for starters?  Or if you are already doing that, how about increasing to one day a week eating nothing but uncooked food?  Most people believe lunch or dinner is their best bet for raw.  Large salads with every veggie in the fridge, juicing a meal or sandwiches with sprouted grain bread (these breads are usually available in the frozen section.  They are baked at low temperatures to retain the nutritional content of their ingredients). Top your sandwich with all raw ingredients, like veggies and sprouts.  It doesn’t have to be fancy, just make it colorful.

Be proactive about your own health.  Stay informed.  It’s your job.

As always, consult your primary physician if you have questions regarding your specific circumstances.

1 1/2 pounds of wheat equal about 4 cups flour, 1 pound of oats equal about 3 cups flour, 1 pound of corn equals about 3 1/2 cups flour and 1 pound of millet equals about 2 1/2 cups flour.  Here’s that recipe:

Apple Raisin Squares

1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/4 cup corn, safflower or light olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups finely chopped apples, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, oil, sugar, vanilla and apples.  Add raisins and walnuts. Stir in flour mixture until thoroughly mixed.  Pour into 2 greased 8×8 pans.  Bake for 35-40 minutes and cool and cut into squares.

Check out these substitutions for some favorite baked good recipes:

Barley flour has a mild flavor and can be substituted in pancakes, cookies and quick breads.  You can replace up to half of any wheat flour in a recipe.

Buckwheat flour is the same for substituting as barley, but in baked goods it will be heavier.

Brown rice flour is great for those with wheat allergies.  You can replace up to 1/4 of any wheat flour. Rice flour absorbs more moisture, so you may need to add more liquid.

Quinoa flour is higher in fat and tends to make a moister baked good.  Replace up to 1/2 of wheat or white flour in your recipe.

Wheat germ can make for a more nutritious baked good.  Replace up to 1/3 of flour.

Spelt flour tends to make heavier baked goods so you would need to increase your baking powder.  I look for baked goods that contain spelt flour when I am shopping for treats.  People with wheat allergies can tolerate spelt and is great for making pasta and bread.

My favorite, almond flour.  Less carbs than white flour and they help raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and lower LDL (the bad).  Using almond flour instead of wheat flour in your favorite baking recipes will result in a similar taste.  Baked goods tend to brown more quickly with almond flour, so adjust your oven temp about twenty degrees.

This one I’d like to try myself….coconut flour.  It is the highest in fiber of any flour available.  It’s gluten free and you can substitute a quarter of your regular flour with it.  Add an equivalent amount of liquid to the recipe.  If you want to only use it, add one egg per ounce of coconut flour otherwise it may taste dry.

If you are allergic to wheat, try gluten free.  You can purchase great gluten-free products at most health food stores and now a lot of grocery stores have gluten-free isles.  You can even buy gluten-free flour.  When you substitute gluten-free for wheat flour, your best bet would be to stick with recipes that have a small amount of flour.  You can make pastry dough with maize cornflour, milk powder, coconut and butter.  Replace gluten in your baking with xanthum gum, guar gum or pre-gel starch.

Instead of oil?  How about apple sauce?  It may make cakes a bit heavier, but still good.  When substituting for sugar, honey for example, will taste sweeter than granulated, so you would need less.  When substituting with maple syrup, grade B is thicker and darker and better for baking and costs less.  Use 3/4 cup for every cup of white sugar and decrease the liquid by 3 tablespoons.  Date sugar, made by grinding dates, can be used exactly the same way as ordinary sugar.  I could write a whole blog on sugar substitutes like Nutra-Sweet and Equal, but I’ll just end with this, “The final report of a seven-year study by the Ramiazzini Foundation on aspartame (also known as Nutra-Sweet or Equal) has linked it to high rates of lymphomas, luekemias, urinary tumors, tumors of certain nerves and other cancers in rats.”

Here’s to substituting some good things with even better things!

Now the brain is no mere mechanical organ, nor is it simply a storage unit for the countless memories of a lifetime. It is the combination of these things and it also contains an enormous capacity for perception, empathy, reasoning, analyses and so much more. In some ways it could be said that “you” reside there. And without going far into a spiritual discussion about ego and identity let’s agree that whoever one “is” the destruction of the brains abilities through dementia or Alzheimer’s is devastating.

As people get older, globs of a protein called amyloid accumulate between our neurons (nerve cells) and we slow down mentally and become sluggish. Inflammation and oxidative damage accompany this protein buildup which nicks the cell membranes and interrupts the signals between neurons and as this happens we may experience a few “senior moments”. For many this presents no real problem but sometimes a downward dementia spiral can occur if over time too many proteins gunk together and too much inflammation and oxidative damage erodes cells.

How can this be prevented? Um… oh right! Overall, medical science is offering some hope. “For the majority of people, studies are showing you can probably slow down cognitive decline enough to escape disease altogether,” says Greg Cole, Ph.D., associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. And although no one knows exactly why, studies show that healthy eating habits can help. We’ve got some clues and tips. If I could just remember where I put my notes…

“Somewhere under the sea..” Oh right FISH! According to research one of the most powerful anti-aging nutrients is fish because it is full of those wonderful anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. An observational study of 3,718 elderly people in the Chicago Health and Aging Project found that eating just one fish meal a week is linked to a 10 percent slower rate of cognitive decline and other research has found that fatty fish like tuna or salmon are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

In another study on brain deterioration, research found that diets rich in vitamin-E-containing foods like grains, nuts, milk and vegetable oils were associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well. Ground whole grains and nut butters will still contain vitamin E so you can easily get plenty of these in your diet. Other antioxidants, such as the polyphenols found in colorful fruits and vegetables, the catechins in tea, and even compounds in herbs like sage and turmeric, are all showing promise in cell culture and animal studies so berry filled smoothies and fresh juice from leafy greens and carrots is a great way to get this into your diet.

The B vitamin folate is also effective. Some large-scale observational studies have linked high dietary folate in foods like leafy greens and beans with less cognitive decline so again get into the grain and juicing.

Well, I think that’s it… Is it?

Be Well,

Juicy Josh

www.877myjuicer.com