Foods to Highlight

April 19, 2010- April 25, 2010
This week's food is: Beans!

St. Jerome forbade nuns to eat beans as he though they were pearls of sin that 'tickled their gentiles'. Know as the magical fruit, I'm not sure beans tickle my gentiles, but either way, there are plenty of reasons to eat beans in all their versatility!
Five things I love about beans: they are cheap; versatile; healthy; fill you up; and a great meat substitute. I have two dishes that I remember making with my mother all the time and soon enough became my favorites: Vegetarian Chili and Bean Salad. Both were full of flavour, health, and many different types of beans. I remember admiring the utility of beans. 
Beans are loaded with soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber reduces cholesterol and delays entry of sugar into the blood. That's why eating soluble-rich foods keeps you satisfied longer. Insoluble fiber will keep you regular! It speeds up the process of which food is passed in the colon. This is very important for clearing toxins from the body and preventing colon cancer. Beans also contain potassium, folic acid, and B vitamins. Beans are also a rich protein source. I've heard both that it is important to combine beans with other foods to make a complete protein source, and I've also heard this is not as important as once thought. In the Middle East beans are combined with wheat and in Latin and South America beans are combined with corn to establish a 'complete protein'. One can notice the same food combining in India with lentils with wheat and rice, and in Indochina with soybean and rice.
This link gives four authentically tasting bean and lentil recipes from India, Lebanon, Egypt, and Latin America: Yummy Bean Recipes
 
 April 12, 2010 -April 18, 2010


This week's food is: Lemons!

Since I am doing the Master Cleanse this week, and lemons are a major part of the cleansing potion, I've decided to discuss lemons! Bright yellow like the sun, refreshing, tart with uplifting fragrance, lemons should be in everyone's fruit bowl and used everyday. The fragrance of lemons uplift the spirits of anyone and they are great from cleansing the body! Lemon juice with warm water in the morning acts as a tonic for the liver and promotes bile production (important for proper breakdown of food). Lemons are a diuretic which mean they elevate the rate or urination, clearing toxins from the body. Lemons are high in vitamin C and help keep infections at bay. Rub already-squeezed lemons on cutting boards to freshen them up and kill bacteria. Lemon is a cooling agent so one can also rub on burns to relieve the skin. If you want glowing, youthful skin, drink lemon water everyday. Lemons are a natural antiseptic which means that they fight against infection of the skin and body tissues. Drinking lemon water everyday is also believed to help one loose weight. It flushes the body and promotes for an overall healthier operating system all while controlling high blood pressure, treating rheumatism and arthritis, and purifying the blood! Victoria's Secret supermodel, Miranda Kerr, drinks lemon water every morning. Cheers to Lemons!  

April 5, 2010- April 11, 2010

This week's food is: Raspberries! 
Sweet, tart, plump and full of colour, raspberries are packed with antioxidants- almost 50% more than strawberries! Antioxidants protect cell membranes by neutralizing free radicals (pollution), and that is why antioxidants keep your body healthy and young. Raspberries are high in maganese and vitamin C, and in one cup of raspberries one gets 30% of their dietary fiber. Freezing raspberries does not affect the antioxidant levels, yet it cuts the vitamin C amount nearly in half. Anthocyanins give raspberries their deep, rich red colour and are responsible for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These antimicrobial properties help prevent the overgrowth of certain bacterial, including the common bacteria, Candida albicans. Candida is fed by white sugar and food metabolizing into sugar in the body- foods containing white flour. It is very important to keep Candida maintained in the body as its overgrowth is responsible for many health related concerns and problems.  Another great property of raspberries is they inhibit cancer and tumor growth in the body. 
~Check out Favorite Recipes for raspberry recipes including, My Everyday Smoothie, and Vegan Berry 10 minute 'Ice Cream'~