Red Lentils ~ Who knew?

Since we had a somewhat coolish day on Sunday I decided I’d make red lentil soup; a recipe I came up with a few weeks ago. I was having a particularly painful week with the arthritis in my right hand so using the food charts in ERF I decided to combine many of the foods that can relieve the pain.

I had red lentils in the cupboard so I chose that for the base vegetable, adding carrot, onion, celery, garlic and some chicken broth (powdered version from Vitamin Cottage). The final touch was about a teaspoon of sesame oil. It’s a light, yummy soup that I’ve come to enjoy. (This is the version in the photo above)

The recipe I made a couple weeks ago included other arthritis effecting food like; sweet potatoes and asparagus. I made a larger batch and ate it for a couple of days to insure the inflammation was reduced. Even after the 1st meal of 2 bowls, I had relief within a couple hours.

Here’s what I learned about lentils in a recent Prevention magazine article (Feb. 2012); Lentils help reduce blood pressure. They include a lean vegetable protein and fiber but also have folate, magnesium and potassium. According to George Mateljan, author of “The World’s Healthiest Foods”, he calls magnesium, ‘nature’s own calcium channel blocker’ – a type of drug that fights hypertension; helping to counterbalance salt.

I’ve added the exact recipe to the Recipes page.  enjoy! 

New Habits

The best way to create a lasting change in ourselves is to adopt a new habit for that change. The understanding is, it takes 21 consecutive days of doing a certain action to create a habit. Section 2 in ‘Eating Real Food Is Easy’ is where I list 5 Actions you can take to effect immediate changes to your health. The 3rd action is ‘tracking what you eat’.

The point of this exercise is to get you noticing what you eat everyday. So maybe the 1st change is to drink a bottle of water on your mid-morning break; rather than more coffee or a soda (both dehydrating) drink a cold bottle of water. You may be surprised that the water gives you more of an ‘awake feeling’ than the caffeine in either of the other options.

If writing is not your thing and keeping a food log seems unlikely then check out the many options for Food Tracking apps available for any smart phone; track your eating that way. Many of the apps not only have tracking options but offer reports, graphs, suggestions, calorie counting, reminder alarms, etc.

Finding ways to turn these changes into motivating challenges rather than duties, will keep you feeling good about what you’re doing and get your successful results sooner.

Comfort Foods Can Be Healthy…

This past week I was sharing with a friend about how we end up acquiring our eating habits; she mentioned that she eats salad almost every day. Not being much of a salad person myself I was inspired to pick up some romaine lettuce and using the fresh vegetables I eat on a regular basis anyway, I ate 4-5 salads this past week.

I made some homemade salad dressing that included fresh ginger and garlic, peanut oil, sesame oil and rice vinegar; then you add fresh orange juice and a little red pepper. For the salad I included carrots, green pepper and celery, along with the romaine lettuce. My intention in switching to salad was to replace some of my warm, comfort dishes that included chicken broth, cumin, veggies and sesame oil.

What I’d forgotten was that when I started eating many of the meals that have become a habit for me, I did so basing the ingredients on health issues I’ve struggled with the past 2 years. Arthritis in my right thumb knuckle has been my worst deterrent recently. Specific spices that help relieve arthritis pain are cinnamon, turmeric, cumin and nutmeg. My habits up until a month ago have included all of them everyday. I began to see how my pain had reached the level I was having…

I’ve begun eating more eggs for breakfast to include morning protein, but to the elimination of my typical oatmeal which I use the mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar as the topping. For lunches this week I’d replaced my cabbage, burger and mustard (turmeric) meal with mostly salads. For dinners I’ve been eating lighter and again steering away from my ‘comfort foods’ I’ve missed the cumin and sesame oil; both remedies for arthritis.  It became clear pretty quick that the changes I’d made, suggestions from well meaning friends, had completely undone my daily regimen of pain control.

We tend to associate cinnamon with baked goods and unhealthy, fattening foods typically eaten around the holidays. But here are the facts about cinnamon: it is effective for Alzheimer’s prevention, it has positive effects for arthritis, blood sugar, infections and osteoporosis. The mere smell of cinnamon creates a calming effect in us, relieving anxiety. It also helps us manage our cholesterol.

Nutmeg is another spice that creates amazing effects when we make it a regular part of our diet. It has many of the same traits as cinnamon for Alzheimer’s, arthritis and anxiety but also assists with our respiratory and circulatory systems and insomnia.

The point I make is not to say salad is unhealthy or all comfort food is, but to encourage each of us to find the balance of foods that heal our bodies daily. My mission now is to experiment adding some of the above mentioned spices into dressings so I’ll soon have another recipe to share with you.

The Food Charts and recipes in ‘Eating Real Food’… reflect the information I’ve given here and gives you hands-on information for incorporating healthy, healing foods into your everyday eating habits. I’ve recently updated some of the information in the book and the prices for both the print book and ebook have been set at great new promotional rates!  Check them out and get started on your pain free spring and summer! 

Oatmeal & Molasses Cookies

I’ve added a new recipe to the Recipes page – take a look.

These are my ‘no-guilt’ cookies. With only a 1/2 cup of sugar and the rich, toasty flavor of molasses as the other, slow-metabolizing sugar, the benefits outweigh the fact that they are still ‘a cookie’.

In ‘Eating Real Food’ I recommend these as a good night time snack along with a cup of Chai Tea. Oatmeal and Molasses both are beneficial to maintaining good blood sugar levels and the fiber of oatmeal, along with the natural laxative effect molasses has, can help keep you regular and full of energy.

Chai Tea with spices that include cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger and clove give you benefits for digestion, gall bladder health, acid reflux, anxiety, infections, Alzheimer’s prevention, arthritis and osteoporosis. Cardamom itself has detoxifying properties, improves circulation, relieves stomach acid, improves digestion and is used for a cure to halitosis.

In the original cookie recipe, shortening was recommended, 1/2 cup of it. I replaced it with 3 tablespoons of butter for a more yummy flavor and texture, less fat and all natural ingredients. I recommend making a batch, then freezing them. Take out 2-3 each evening before bed to eat with your tea.

Surprising Results

This is actually the title of Section 4 in the book and really tells the story most completely. I didn’t expect to get the results I did from removing processed foods from my diet. I found that I could more easily lose weight. I wasn’t focused on losing weight, in fact, in my effort to remove foods I’d been eating from boxes for years, like crackers, Mac & Cheese, even breakfast cereal, I’d added some foods I’d given up like 2% milk, butter and red meat back into my diet. I still wanted my food to taste good and it seemed hard to give up things like graham crackers and honey nut cheerios.

The surprising results were how much better I felt. I began eating more raw vegetables but wanted some type of dip. As I found recipes for dips that were made with healthy oils (sesame, olive) and real spices  I found another whole source of foods that added to my health. The oils seemed to add moisture to every part of my body and when I researched the food value in spices I was amazed how much nutrition and healing effects they brought me.  My skin looked better, not having the translucent look of seeing through to the veins on the back of my hands. My hair was thicker and shiny.

Stay tuned for more on the surprising results I experienced….

Eating Real Food.. is now available!

‘Eating Real Food Is Easy’ is now available for sale in print from Amazon and the ebook is available through Smashwords.com (see the links under Useful Links).

My inspiration for this book came from listening to family members and their friends who showed interest in doing something to improve their health but didn’t think they’d make time to read a book. I listened to friends my age who’d had the same eating habits their whole lives and just didn’t know how to change those life long habits.

I took the success I’ve had in improving my health by eating real food and put the information into a color coded, easy to read, reference manual. I refer to it as a cheat sheet. Each section addresses a separate issue. The book does not have to be read straight through to get the gist of how each section offers solutions to many conditions anyone may be struggling with. There are many photos and illustrations that help even a ‘skimmer’ get the main points.

I’m excited to share the surprising truths I’ve learned and success I’ve enjoyed since I began my own journey of eating real food 5 years ago. I enjoy better health today than I ever have…

Your Health Is Your Wealth…

I’ve used this phrase a lot over the years but it’s had new meaning in the last 3.  I’ve realized how much of a priority my health is to me.  At a time when gathering wealth is more of a challenge than it’s been in a long while the freedom and advantage of being healthy has brought me peace and hope.

What about you?  What are your most important values?  Are you taking the time to manage your health and eating habits?  I’ve found new ways to keep my health on track and on budget and I share many of them in my book, soon to be released “Eating Real Food Is Easy”

I’ll be giving more information to where and when it will be available ~ Stay Tuned