Monthly Archives: April 2013

Health & Wellness

How To Add More Greens To Your Diet

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Throughout my life I have experimented with quite a variety of healing diets.  Weather I was eating  a high protein diet, raw vegan diet, macrobiotic diet, low sugar diet, or any other type of whole foods diet, one thing that I have directly noticed improving my overall health and well being is making sure I get an adequate amount of greens into my body every day.  Leafy green vegetables are loaded with many health benefits. They are an excellent vegan, and allergy free source of minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and a wonderful way to get vitamins K, C, E, and quite a few B vitamins.
Although I love salads, eating the same salad every day can become boring, and often times hard to digest if your intestinal health is compromised.  There are so many amazing (and tasty!) green vegetables, herbs and salad greens available today, especially if you are fortunate enough to live here on the west side with all of the farmers markets, health food stores, and alternative restaurants.  Sometimes when we are really hungry or in a hurry it can be too easy to forget our nourishing greens and to get tempted to just go for something sweet, or whatever may be in front of us.  Luckily, there are many quick ways to get more greens into your daily meals and snacks, and once you get used to sneaking greens into your meals it can definitely become second nature. Below are some of my favorite ways to feed my body sufficient greens. I hops you enjoy!
Green Juices- are probably the quickest way to get in your recommended servings of vegetables. One of my favorite combinations are green apple, lemon, ginger, kale, parsley, and spinach. If you are avoiding fruit sugar then try parsley, spinach, cucumber, celery, and lemon.
Green Smoothies- great for when I’m pressed for time and want something green and nourishing on the go. Add a 3-4 de-stemmed large kale leaves or two or three large handfuls of spinach to any fruit smoothie and continue blending as usual. I love frozen blueberries, spinach, hemp seeds, unsweetened acai, banana, and almond milk together.  Spirulina, chlorella, or a good green powder are also healthy smoothie additions.
 
Scrambled eggs or omelette- quick, warm and savory, what more could I want? Add  cilantro or parsley to eggs while cooking and add in a couple hearty handfuls of spinach as well. Season with your favorite healing herbs and spices, like turmeric, or cayenne and garlic powder for extra warmth.
Kale chips – there are many amazing kale chip recipes online, can be made in a dehydrator or in an oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. Probably the most addicting ways to eat your greens.
Minty Desserts– if you are making a dessert with peppermint extract or any other recipe that might benefit from a green food coloring you can add a few drops of liquid or powdered chlorella without altering the taste of your recipe
Lettuce wraps– simply fill crispy fresh lettuce leaves with any nut pate, or a little avocado, tomato, cilantro and lemon. Roll and eat!
Garlicky chard and Kale (or any other greens)- Mince a couple cloves of garlic, chop 1/4 onion, and saute in coconut oil, after a couple minutes add greens of choice and saute until tender. add sea salt, cayenne or other seasonings to taste.
Nori Rolls- fill raw nori sheets with chopped avocado, baby greens, simple homemade dressing or dip of choice, and seal.
Health & Wellness

Infrared Sauna for Detoxing and Relieving Pain

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Last week, Tazmin and I tried out the infrared sauna at Tao Healing Arts Center. For $20 you get a 45 minute session in the sauna and 15 minutes to use the shower. You can also purchase package deals for a cheaper session. The sauna’s were in an area that was technically outside so you got a breeze, but were still under a roof. The facilities were clean, and the place was much more minimally decorated than an upscale spa, which I liked. It’s located in Santa Monica and parking is metered which is a downside, but the meters took credit cards so you don’t have to scramble for change.  Plus, we weren’t rushed out when we decided to stay in ten minutes longer and skip our shower – we showered when we got home.

I went into the sauna in a lot of pain, and when I came out I definitely felt better. By the time the session ended, I was dripping sweat. The infrared sauna isn’t as hot as a traditional sauna, and the heat is able to penetrate deeper. I’ve been to a regular sauna and I could barely stand to sit in it, so I was really surprised at how comfortable this was.

This is also another great way to detox, which can only help me in the long run. Plus, if I’m experiencing detox symptoms again I might come back and see if it deceases them. Overall, I think this is a repeat experience. I was looking for a way to bring this to my apartment, and I found a Infrared Heat Lamp on amazon, that seemed promising. My acupuncturist used a heat lamp on me, and it really helped me feel better as well.

Furthermore, I’ve recently read the book Pain Free in Six Weeks by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. and detoxing away pain from chemicals and heavy metals is something she goes into depth on, and her preferred method of detoxification is the infrared sauna.

Health & Wellness

The Difference between Good and Bad Carbohydrates?

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pasta

You may all know that I’m not a fan of the carbs, but that wasn’t always the case. My mom used to call me her carbohydrate queen. I grew up in northern New Jersey with a 100% Italian mother, who happens to be an amazing cook. I’m a complete food snob when it comes to pasta, and always preferred to eat it al dente. The first thing I cooked myself was cous cous. Pasta was a college staple for me, and then when I moved out to California I figured out how easy it was to use a rice cooker. I’ve never been a big fan of eating a lot of meat, and although I did enjoy fish every so often, like the majority of us carbs made up a big portion of my diet.

I’ve since learned that carbohydrates can be very controversial and confusing. Are all carbs bad? Then, why are some carbs considered a superfood? What about beans and starchy vegetables? Are they considered carbohydrates, or is it just seeds? Why do I need to go gluten-free? The reason this information is so confusing is because the carbohydrates found in processed food are subsidized. For food companies this is important, because if the ingredients are cheap and then they sell you that product, then their profit margin is high. That means there is lots of propaganda out there and misinformation about this food.

What is a carbohydrate? Most people don’t know this word really means. Here’s wikapedia’s definition:

“A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen…The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide. The carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groupings: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. In general, the monosaccharides and disaccharides, which are smaller (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars.”

“While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose. For example, blood sugar is the monosaccharide glucose, table sugar is the disaccharide sucrose, and milk sugar is the disaccharide lactose.”

Basically, this means the majority of my diet has been sugar.

So what do I eat?

Many foods contain sugar, so just be conscious of how much sugar is in what. If you are looking for whole grain food at the grocery store, the label needs to say 100% whole grain. Otherwise, they can just had a little whole grain to the mix but the majority is still processed grain. When you are shopping for processed food (anything in a bag or box), always double check the ingredients. Sugar is often added to whole grain products, even bread. For an ingredient, look for something like 100% Quinoa flour, bulk bins are great for this stuff. Whole grains are just seeds so if it’s a whole seed, it’s a whole grain. Example: Flaxseeds, Quinoa, buckwheat groats. Also check for gluten free labels, many people have different levels of gluten intolerance, which can negatively affect your health. I try my best to stay away from sugar in general, it just spikes your blood sugar, turns into fat in your body, and feeds dangerous bacteria and yeast. Check out my post on my Favorite YouTube Lectures for more information on sugar.

Source:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

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Natural Living

You Know You’re a Health Nut When …

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You know you’re a health nut when

… you don’t get sick, you get detox symptoms.

… the bacteria in your fridge is for probiotics.

… you go out to dinner at Whole Foods.

…. you’ve eaten a salad for breakfast.

… enemas & colonics become acceptable mealtime conversation. 

… you can’t easily find healthy food in your local health food store.

… you’ve carried produce in your purse.

… you don’t just order the healthiest item on the menu, you adjust it too.

… you don’t do diets, you do cleanses.

… even your poop goes green and you think it’s beautiful.

…. your DVR is filled with Dr. Oz.

 

Natural Living

Healthy Dinner at the Movies

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movie theater
Shameer and I went to the new Dine-in AMC Theater that opened in Marina del Ray for the first time. We saw Olympus Has Fallen, which turned out to be a great choice because dinner distracts a bit from the movie, and this movie wouldn’t be ruined if we didn’t pay close attention. The leather seats were really large and comfy, and the service was great. Eating healthy at the movies can be tricky. All the candy and the smell of popcorn can be a really big temptation. Usually, I pack a water bottle and healthy snacks in my purse, but at this place, their dinner menu had some healthy options. Plus, when I asked if I could make their Veggie Tray appetizer healthier by substituting the side of pizza bread and the ranch and blue cheese dressing for more veggies and hummus, they were very accommodating. Before I ordered, they asked if they could add a dollar extra here and there for the extra veggies and hummus, but it still ended up reasonable because it was technically an appetizer. And, they gave me a large portion size, which as you all know, is really important when you are eating healthy food. I couldn’t finish all the jicama by the end of the movie, that’s how much fiber I ate. I also ordered a glass of water and a Tazo herbal tea in the flavor refresh. At the end of the night, I was really excited that we had found another healthy outing, which Shameer and I can both enjoy.