Sprouting Or Fresh Grinding And Culturing Whole Grains

Sprouting Or Fresh Grinding And Culturing Whole Grains
        Sally Fallon, in her book, Nourishing Traditions, shows us why our ancestors had far fewer diseases than modern people. As I said above, they eat seasonally and regionally, with whole grains and vegetables as the basis of their diets, but the other huge key to their vital longevity is that they soak & sprout OR ferment their whole grains.
        Unsprouted OR unfermented whole grains and flours contain phytic acid, which is in the bran of all whole grains and will bind with minerals in our intestines and inhibit their absorption, ultimately leading to degenerative bone loss and tooth decay. Soaking whole grains for 24 - 48 hrs OR culturing (fermenting) whole grain flours / steel cut oats, etc. neutralizes the phytic acid making the grains nutrients available to the body and it’s complex carbohydrates easier to digest. People who eat sprouted or fermented grains as a staple have strong teeth and bones late into life. Some Examples: Vikings and other European people fermented their wheat flour to make sourdough. Even American pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes, and biscuits. African natives and the Welsh ferment corn or millet for several days to make porridges. In India rice and lentils are fermented to make idli and dosas. Indigenous Native Americans and Central & South Americans soak their corn with lime-water for days before it is ground - Mexican corn cakes (pozole) are made from fermented corn. Also, very importantly, they don’t eat processed & pasturized foods - refined flour, refined sugars, refined salt, refined vegetable oils, pasturized dairy products & honey, etc.
        Thanks to our years of study and experience, Don & I are more and more sure that living and eating in the ways of indigenous people is the way to true health & vitality of mind, body and spirit. Those of us who choose these ways are a healing influence to our friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, and even people we have only brief encounters with. If you are one of these people who choose to live and eat in harmony with nature, everyone inside your sphere of influence, as well as Mother Earth herself, is blessed by you.

MAY RECIPE: Amaranth Flour Stevia-Sweetened Cookies:
I recommend culturing the 2 cups amaranth flour 24 hrs ahead of time. Mix until just blended: 2 cups fresh ground amaranth (or packaged amaranth flour) with 1/2 cup water and 1 cup plain, cultured yogurt OR 1tsp acidophilus powder or two capsules of refrigerated probiotic opened & mixed with 1.5 cups water. Let the mixture sit for a day, covered, at room temperature so the yogurt cultures can neutralize the phytic acid in the whole grain flour and break down the complex starches. It’s much more digestible & the nutrients are better assimilated this way. The next day, make your cream mix in a small saucepan over low heat: 1 ½ sticks butter OR 2/3 cup virgin coconut oil, 15 drops Nu Naturals brand Vanilla Stevia,1 tsp almond extract and beat in one egg. Turn off the heat & whisk in ½ tsp each aluminum-free baking soda & whole sea salt, 1tsp ground coriander, & ½ tsp ground nutmeg. Combine cream mix with cultured flour mix until evenly blended & add any nuts, fruit, coconut, etc.(pecans are great!), so is unsulphered coconut, and dark chocolate chips (preferably malt-sweetened) or carob chips. Place heaping spoonfuls on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
    Also, instead of nutmeg/coriander/almond extract/dried coconut/nuts/chocolate chips, you can get creative and use: pumpkin pie spice & allspice/ vanilla or almond extract/Sweet Leaf brand English Toffee stevia/finely diced fruit like apple, pear or persimmon OR coriander/vanilla extract & vanilla stevia/fresh, dried or frozen berries. Have fun!

As always, Don and I welcome any questions you may have via phone or email. For more information on the ancient whole foods philosophies we teach about, see the “about the food” page of my website www.cookwell.org.
    We hope to see you sometime soon. Maybe on a Thursday night to share lots of learning, laughter and incredible food.

Namaste ~                           
Courtney & Don

May Newsletter 2011

Newsletter #4   May 2011
sprouting/culturing grains & getting low glycemic

Don & I hope this newsletter finds you feeling well in every way! This month, we’ve listed our May schedule for our Thursday night classes (including a TEA PARTY class with our sugar & gluten free desserts alongside The Secret Garden’s blended teas!). Next we’ve explained why it’s so nourishing to freshly grind and culture whole grains before baking them, and why getting low glycemic in your diet prevents most modern diseases. And at the end of this newsletter, we’ve included our recipe for amaranth flour stevia sweetened cookies!
Don & I have been updating our CookWell blog (LINK) with past newsletter content, recipes, and links to info we like. Don’s website for life path counseling is: www.gingerbuddha.com (click on "sustenance training" to see our collaborative course outline). And my website for solo teaching in whole foods cooking is: www.cookwell.org. http://www.cookwell.org),
Whether you want to have both Don & I, or just me, come to your kitchen for a private or small group CookWell session, OR if you just want to show up to one of our Thursday night specialty classes or dinners, we look forward to meeting you and helping you incorporate the whole foods diet & lifestyle that works best for you.
May Thursday Night Dinners & Specialty Classes
We hope you can make it to our home in Los Osos one of these Thursdays, to eat some healing food & learn lots of new information. Our CookWell specialty classes will cover current health concerns / topics, and will include a discussion (bring notebook & pen if you’d like to take notes), a cooking demonstration, and then dinner around 7:15. Our goal is that you have a great time & that all of your questions around the slated topics are answered. And we’re now hosting our foundational CookWell classes (5 sessions total) on the last Thursday of the month.
We look forward to getting to know you better, and you’re welcome to bring your own wine or beer. Please RSVP for directions: 528-8837 or courtney@cookwell.org
TEA PARTY CLASS! blended herbal teas from The Secret Garden alongside our gluten & sugar free desserts Thursday, May 19, 6-8PM cost: $30 We’ll discuss: the importance of and how to grind fresh & culture whole grains such as millet, oat groats and amaranth for baked recipes And strategies for getting lower glycemic in your diet as preventative medicineWe’ll serve:
ginger-orange-carrot cake made with fresh ground & cultured amaranth & oat flours, coconut oil, vanilla stevia, pumpkin pie spice & allspice
almond-amaranth cookies with coconut oil, brazil nuts, almonds, coriander, nutmeg & almond extract
lavender-lemon loaf made with fresh ground & cultured amaranth, millet & oat flour, coconut oil, lavender essential oil, lemon extract, lemon zest, coriander & poppy seeds
　
　
CookWell SESSION #2: Individualizing Your Diet & The Wonders Of Kvaas Thursday, May 26, 6-8PMcost for 2 hr class and dinner: $35 per personWe’ll discuss: practicing mindfulness as it relates to preparing healing food, the Ayurvedic body types and beneficial foods for each, maintaining proper body alkalinity through diet, protein/fat/carb ratios for different metabolic types, the pros and cons of soy, the importance of incorporating cultured foods such as beet kvaas into your diet, and knife skills for safety and achieving various textures and flavorsYou’ll get 4 handouts for reference:
Ayurvedic body types and beneficial foods for each
general principals re: Ayurvedic diet & lifestyle
list of tasty herb/spice combinations for seasoning
fantastic recipes #2
Then, together we’ll prepare:

kichadi (East Indian vegetarian mung bean stew)

red quinoa arugula tabouli (aka: tabougula)

beet kvaas (probiotic, mineral supplement, digestive aid, and liver tonic)

May Newsletter topics
Change Is Good When people realize that dietary changes need to be made for their optimal health, anxiety often follows. They have fears of not having enough time or money to prepare their own organic, whole foods meals, and fears of having to leave delicious flavors and truly satisfying food behind forever. Don & I are here to show you how, over time, we’ve incorporated eating & living in harmony with nature into our lives, as a way to support you on the path that works best for you, one step at a time.
Getting Lower Glycemic in Your Diet High-glycemic foods, consumed regularly over a lifetime, are now being found to be the culprits in not only insulin resistance and diabetes, but in cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol & heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammation, and in depressed immunity and thyroid function. Wow, right?
Different foods have different capacity to spike the blood sugar. The worst of them are the refined sugars like high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrates, etc. found in foods like candy bars, cookies, soda pop, etc. These refined sugars pull valuable minerals from our bodies, acidify our blood, and trigger extreme fluctuations in our hormones, brain chemistry and body chemistry.
Don & I believe that getting theses extremely high glycemic foods out of the diet is one of the first steps to healing and attaining vital health. We encourage people to work their way off refined sugars and toward: getting 60-90 oz of re-mineralized water daily depending on their body weight, eating little or no processed / fast / junk foods, getting enough exercise, rest & quality time with themselves and those they love, and taking time to maintain those healthy relationships. The next logical step in regard to diet is to gently ween themselves off of spiking their blood sugar with more than very small amounts (1 tsp max at a time) of other high glycemic foods such as honey, maple syrup, agave syrup/nectar, fruit juice concentrate, and to stay away from wheat flour, corn, white rice, etc. Eventually, they may even want to work their way off of large servings of yams, potatoes, wines, and dried & tropical fruits, as the final step in disease prevention through a low glycemic diet. Visit our blog to view an in-depth article by Dr. Ron Rosendale on insulin and it’s metabolic effects (right hand side under "health and wellness community" click on Dr. Ron Rosendale, and in his writings/articles it’s the last one listed). A diet centered around seasonal regional vegetables, low-glycemic whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and grass fed animal proteins / raw milk products when needed for warmth, for building strength, and during pregnancy, is the way of indigenous people who enjoy excellent health and vitality late into life. Our ancestors have eaten this way for thousands of years, and hardly ever suffered from brittle teeth & bones, diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure, heart disease and thyroid dysfunction. The Weston A. Price Foundation is a great resource for this research: www.westonaprice.org
Sprouting Or Fresh Grinding And Culturing Whole Grains
Sally Falon, in her book, Nourishing Traditions, shows us why our ancestors had far fewer diseases than modern people. As I said above, they eat seasonally and regionally, with whole grains and vegetables as the basis of their diets, but the other huge key to their vital longevity is that they soak & sprout OR ferment their whole grains. Unsprouted OR unfermented whole grains and flours contain phytic acid, which is in the bran of all whole grains and will bind with minerals in our intestines and inhibit their absorption, ultimately leading to degenerative bone loss and tooth decay. Soaking whole grains for 24 - 48 hrs OR culturing (fermenting) whole grain flours / steel cut oats, etc. neutralizes the phytic acid making the grains nutrients available to the body and it’s complex carbohydrates easier to digest. People who eat sprouted or fermented grains as a staple have strong teeth and bones late into life. Some Examples: Vikings and other European people fermented their wheat flour to make sourdough. Even American pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes, and biscuits. African natives and the Welsh ferment corn or millet for several days to make porridges. In India rice and lentils are fermented to make idli and dosas. Indigenous Native Americans and Central & South Americans soak their corn with lime-water for days before it is ground - Mexican corn cakes (pozole) are made from fermented corn. Also, importantly, they don’t eat processed & pasturized foods - refined flour, refined sugars, refined salt, refined vegetable oils, pasturized dairy products & honey, etc.
Through our studies, Don & I are more and more sure that living and eating in the ways of indigenous people is the way to true health & vitality of our minds, bodies and of our unifying spirit. Those of us who choose these ways are a healing influence to our friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, and even people we have only brief encounters with. If you are one of these people who choose to live and eat in harmony with nature, everyone inside your sphere of influence, as well as Mother Earth herself, is blessed by you.

May Recipe:
Amaranth Flour Stevia-Sweetened Cookies: I recommend culturing the 2 cups amaranth flour 24 hrs ahead of time. Mix until just blended: 2 cups fresh ground amaranth (or packaged amaranth flour) with 1/2 cup water and 1 cup plain, cultured yogurt OR 1tsp acidophilus powder or two capsules of refrigerated probiotic opened & mixed with 2/3 cup water. Let the mixture sit for a day, covered, at room temperature so the yogurt cultures can neutralize the phytic acid in the whole grain flour and break down the complex starches. It’s much more digestible & the nutrients are better assimilated this way. The next day, make your cream mix in a small saucepan over low heat: 1 ½ sticks butter OR 2/3 cup virgin coconut oil, 15 drops Nu Naturals brand Vanilla Stevia,1 tsp almond extract and beat in one egg. Turn off the heat & whisk in ½ tsp each aluminum-free baking soda & whole sea salt, 1tsp ground coriander, & ½ tsp ground nutmeg. Combine cream mix with cultured flour mix until evenly blended & add any nuts, fruit, coconut, etc.(pecans are great!), so is unsulphered coconut, and dark chocolate chips (preferably malt-sweetened) or carob chips. Place heaping spoonfuls on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Also, instead of nutmeg/coriander/almond extract/dried coconut/nuts/chocolate chips, you can get creative and use: pumpkin pie spice & allspice/ vanilla or almond extract/Sweet Leaf brand English Toffee stevia/finely diced fruit like apple, pear or persimmon OR coriander/vanilla extract & vanilla stevia/fresh, dried or frozen berries. Have fun!
As always, Don and I welcome any questions you may have via phone or email. For more information on the ancient whole foods philosophies we teach about, see the "about the food" page of my website www.cookwell.org. We hope to see you sometime soon. Maybe on a Thursday night to share lots of learning, laughter and incredible food.
Namaste ~
Courtney & Don

April Newsletter 2011

Newsletter #3   April 2011
radiation - foods which cleanse

Don & I hope this newsletter finds you coping well with news of the tragedies in Japan. We send prayers and blessings to you and to everyone in this challenging time.
This month, we want to give you a list of foods which are known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals from the body, along with the April schedule for our Thursday night classes & dinners (includes class: cooking with sea veggies to detox radiation & heavy metals) which we’ll be hosting at our home in Los Osos. After that, we’ve listed some descriptions & guidelines for each body type according to Ayurveda, which may help you further individualize your diet & lifestyle to maintain balance. Also, we’ve included a fantastic, sugar & gluten free breakfast/dessert recipe and linked to a radio show and column for people with celiac disease and others following the gluten-free diet.
We’ve been updating our CookWell blog (LINK) with our past newsletter content, recipes, links to info we like, and pictures of fantastic meals we’ve made together. Don’s website for life path counseling is: www.gingerbuddha.com (click on "sustenance training" to see our collaborative course outline). And my website for solo teaching in whole foods cooking is: www.cookwell.org. http://www.cookwell.org),Whether you want to have both Don & I (or just me) come to your kitchen for a private or small group CookWell session, OR if you just want to show up to one of our Thursday night specialty classes or dinners, we look forward to meeting you and helping you incorporate the whole foods diet & lifestyle that works best for you.
April Thursday Night Dinners & Specialty Classes We hope you can make it to our home in Los Osos one of these Thursdays, to eat some healing food & learn lots of new information. Our CookWell specialty classes will cover current health concerns / topics, and will include a discussion (bring notebook & pen if you’d like to take notes), a cooking demonstration, and then dinner around 7:15. Our goal is that you have a great time & that all of your questions around the slated topics are answered. And we’re now hosting our foundational CookWell classes (5 sessions total) on the last Thursday of the month, starting April 28^th with session #1.
We look forward to getting to know you better, and you’re welcome to bring your own wine or beer to both classes and dinners. Please RSVP for directions: 528-8837 or courtney@cookwell.org
CLASS: cooking with sea veggies to detox radiation & heavy metals Thursday, April 21, 6-8PM cost for 1 hr class and dinner: $35 per person
We’ll discuss: how sea vegetables in the diet bind & cleanse toxins
how they work to balance us mentally/emotionally, restore yin fluids to our tissues, and give us beautiful skin and hair
recipes for each kind of sea vegetable and the specific ways each one benefits us
We’ll be serving: black & adzuki beans with kale, carrot, and kombu & dulse sea vegetables
the best chicken tacos on the planet (yellow curry, rosemary, garlic, fennel & arugula)
green salad with extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice
coconut almond amaranth cookies (sugar AND gluten free!)
CLASS: CookWell session #1 Thursday, April 28, 6-8PM cost for 2 hr class and dinner: $35 per person
We’ll discuss: your goals in incorporating wholefoods, the basics of macrobiotic theory, neutralizing phytic acid in grains by sprouting or culturing, the nightshade veggies, oxalic acid & sulfur veggies, food-based vitamin/mineral supplements, better digestibility of beans, the CookWell list of wholefoods preparation staples for your kitchen and the best cooking oils, the importance of drinking enough re-mineralized water daily, and blood type diet & lifestyle basics Then, together we’ll prepare:

beautiful pot of adzuki beans with cayenne, sage and rosemary
sprouted then simmered whole grain millet & amaranth to incorporate with the beans
ghee to use as a stable cooking oil
dark leafy greens & seasonal veggie stir-steam
sweet carrot salad

you’ll get 4 handouts for reference:

list of whole foods preparation staples
list of natural food stores in SLO county and recommended reading list
blood type basics
fantastic recipes #1
　
April Newsletter topic:
Foods known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals Many prayers to our brothers and sister in Japan.
May our Hearts Be United as One in Healing.
Here on the west coast we’ve been subject to lots of information and miss-information about how to best cope with elevated levels of radiation in our atmosphere as a result of fallout from the Nuclear disasters in Japan. Shelves in the health food stores have been cleared of anything seaweed related. Taking Potassium Iodide tablets can do more harm than good. Not to mention the fact that potassium iodide may protect only the thyroid gland, leaving all other areas of the body vulnerable to radiation, and that there are considerable health risks in taking elevated levels of iodine. The fact is that in our modern world we are coping with levels of differing types of radiation on a daily basis, be it from our own power plants, wi-fi, cell phone relay towers, computers, etc...Craig Lane of Health Alkemy has recently addressed this issue in a recent news letter titled "Radiation: The Hype and Common Sense". We took particular interest in the portion of his news letter that focused on which foods can be beneficial to us in cleansing various types of radiation from our bodies.
What we all need to understand is that, ultimately, whole foods are beneficial to us at this time as well. Below is a list of foods that might lead you to discover that you have been doing many of the right things already, just by eating a quality and well-rounded Whole Foods Diet.Foods known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals:
Foods high in Iodine: kelp & dulse seaweeds are the best
Foods rich in vitamin P (bioflavanoids): Citrus Pulp, Bilberry & Blueberry
Foods rich in vitamin A: Sweet potato, Fish-liver oils, Butter, Dark green vegetables, Beef liver, Yellow & orange veggies, Carrots, Egg Yolk, Dandelion Greens/Root, Berries, Apricots, Spirulina, Chlorella, Blue green algae, Chilies
Foods rich in vitamin D: Fish liver oil, Butter, Eggs, Liver, Milk, Saltwater fish
Foods rich in vitamin E: Wheat germ, Wheat germ oil, Leafy green vegetables, Avocado, Nuts, Legumes, Raw vegetable oils, Sweet potato, Whole-grain products, Asparagus
Foods high in minerals : Dark Leafy Greens, Beets, etc.
Chlorella
Cilantro
Miso (good quality stuff from South River Miso or Miso Master)
Garlic
Eleuthero ginseng
Bentonite Clays if radiation exposure cannot be avoided (do not take by itself, always mix in later and add at least psyllium to it)
Raw greens & Sprouts
Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms
Burdock root
Raw beets
Celery root
Milk thistle, Dandelion or Artichoke Leaf
And Herbs specific for your constitution: schisandra berry, turmeric, aloe vera and triphala

Ayurvedic Body Types Basics

To eat in balance with our body type and the seasons is a wonderful way to align ourselves with nature and with our own changing needs throughout the year. In general, in winter eat more foods which balance Vata, in summer eat more foods which balance Pitta, and in spring eat more foods which balance Kapha. Excellent books for in-depth information are The Ayurvedic Cookbook and Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners by Amadea Morningstar.For more general principles regarding Ayurvedic diet and private consultations with my dear friend and Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Holly Padove visit: www.balancedlivingayurveda.com or email: hpadove@hotmail.com
Vata: usually thin with slight frame, long features, mentally quick, bright, creative, flexible, inspiring. When out of balance tends to be cold with cold hands and feet, dry skin, constipated, gassy. Challenged by worry, fear & anxiety, and overwhelmed by stress. To bring back to balance needs warming, moistening foods (, squash, rice pudding, plenty of ghee/sesame oil, and may need more building, grounding foods such as eggs and meat), and the flavors sweet (whole grains, root vegetables, maple syrup, raw honey, etc), sour (yogurt, kefir, citrus), salty (whole sea salt), and mildly pungent (warming spices such as medium curries, ginger, fennel, garlic). Vata balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~ simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes):4 parts fennel, 3 cumin, 2 cardamom, 1 coriander, 1 ginger. Pitta: medium build with ample musculature, deep set eyes, rosy complexion, moles and freckles, good memory, intelligence, and an analytical mind. When out of balance tends to be too warm and dislikes humidity, has loose stools, heartburn, sweats profusely, has itchiness, rashes and acne. Challenged by anger, jealousy, resentment, and control issues. To bring back to balance needs cooling, soothing, drying foods (salads and dark leafy greens), cooling herbs (cucumber, cilantro, dill), and the flavors sweet (whole grains, root vegetables, maple syrup, raw honey, etc.), bitter (kale, collards, dandelion greens), and astringent (pomegranates, persimmons, blackberries). Pitta balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~ simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes): 4 parts fennel, 2 cumin, 1 cardamom, 2 coriander, 1 ginger. 　
Kapha: large frame with round face and features, lush hair, lustrous skin and eyes, pale complexion, mentally methodical and a deep sleeper. When out of balance tends to be cool, moist and clammy, has sluggish elimination, phlegm, and fatigue after meals. Challenged by sadness, lethargy and attachment. To bring back to balance needs warming, drying and lighter foods (salads, whole grain millet, teff and quinoa, light on the fats/oils, etc.), and the flavors bitter (kale, collards, dandelion greens), astringent (pomegranates, persimmons, blackberries), and pungent(hot spices such as hot curries, cayenne, etc.). Kapha balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~ simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes): 2 parts fennel, 2 cumin, 1 cardamom, 1 coriander, 3 ginger, (½ cinnamon, black pepper or cayenne optional).　

April Recipe
Fantastic, Low Glycemic Breakfast Or Dessert: In a small saucepan over low heat add 1 cup water and 2 cups any leftover grain (brown rice, quinoa or millet are great!) and stir. Add any fat & flavoring you’d like. Maybe...1 Tbsp coconut oil or butter or ghee, 1 cup fresh or from frozen berries of choice (or any low glycemic fruit: tart green apples, apricots, cherries, kiwi, peach, plum, or papya), juice from ½ a ripe lemon, 1/4 tsp whole sea salt, and 1/16 tsp stevia powder or 3-6 drops Nu Naturals brand liquid stevia. Another great flavor possibility is: 2 -3 Tbsp carob powder, ½ cup dried coconut, ½ tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp whole sea salt, and 1 Tbsp grade B maple syrup or 1 tsp raw honey (honey is refined by bees and is therefore pretty high glycemic, so just use a little bit). Stir until mixed well & enjoy warm topped with more coconut, fresh pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts or almonds.
Wheat / Gluten intolerant?
Local health and fitness expert and entrepreneur Jeanne "Bean" Murdock, owner of BEANFIT HEALTH AND FITNESS SERVICES in Paso Robles, just launched the first health and fitness radio show and column for people with celiac disease and others following the gluten-free diet. Celiac Radio and "Ask Bean" will run biweekly and weekly, respectively, covering all aspects of wellness for everyone to learn. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder marked by a sensitivity to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Jeanne was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1995—just three years after starting her business—and has been consulting on the condition and the diet ever since. Visit www.beanfit.com to listen, read, and to ask Bean . . . for free. Contact Jeanne for more information: 805-226-9893, info@beanfit.com.
As always, Don and I welcome any questions you may have via phone or email. For more information on the ancient whole foods philosophies we teach about, see the "about the food" page of my website www.cookwell.org.
We hope to see you sometime soon. Maybe on a Thursday night to share lots of learning, laughter and incredible food.
Namaste ~
Courtney & Don
　　

April Thursday Night Dinners & Specialty Classes

       
April Thursday Night Dinners & Specialty Classes
       
     We hope you can make it to our home in Los Osos one of these Thursdays, to eat some healing food & learn lots of new information. Our CookWell specialty classes will cover current health concerns / topics, and will include a discussion (bring notebook & pen if you’d like to take notes), a cooking demonstration, and then dinner around 7:15. Our goal is that you have a great time & that all of your questions around the slated topics are answered.
And we’re now hosting our foundational CookWell classes (5 sessions total) on the last Thursday of the month, starting April 28th with session #1.
        We look forward to getting to know you better, and you’re welcome to bring your own wine or beer to both classes and dinners. Please RSVP for directions: 528-8837 or courtney@cookwell.org   
                                   
CLASS: cooking with sea veggies to detox radiation & heavy metals
Thursday, April 21, 6-8PM
cost for 1 hr class and dinner: $35 per person
We’ll discuss:
how sea vegetables in the diet bind & cleanse toxins
how they work to balance us mentally/emotionally, restore yin fluids to our tissues, and give us beautiful skin and hair
recipes for each kind of sea vegetable and the specific ways each one benefits us 
We’ll be serving:
black & adzuki beans with kale, carrot, and kombu & dulse sea vegetables
the best chicken tacos on the planet (yellow curry, rosemary, garlic, fennel & arugula)
green salad with extra virgin olive oil & lemon juice
coconut almond amaranth cookies (sugar AND gluten free!)

CLASS: CookWell session #1
Thursday, April 28, 6-8PM
cost for 2 hr class and dinner: $35 per person
We’ll discuss: your goals in incorporating wholefoods, the basics of macrobiotic theory, neutralizing phytic acid in grains by sprouting or culturing, the nightshade veggies, oxalic acid & sulfur veggies, food-based vitamin/mineral supplements, better digestibility of beans, the CookWell list of wholefoods preparation staples for your kitchen and the best cooking oils, the importance of drinking enough re-mineralized water daily, and blood type diet & lifestyle basics
          Then, together we’ll prepare:
beautiful pot of adzuki beans with cayenne, sage and rosemary
sprouted then simmered whole grain millet & amaranth to incorporate with the beans
ghee to use as a stable cooking oil
dark leafy greens & seasonal veggie stir-steam
sweet carrot salad
      you’ll get 4 handouts for reference:                       
list of whole foods preparation staples
list of natural food stores in SLO county and recommended reading list
blood type basics
fantastic recipes #1

________________

This month, we want to give you a list of foods which are known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals from the body, along with the April schedule for our Thursday night classes & dinners (includes class: cooking with sea veggies to detox radiation & heavy metals) which we’ll be hosting at our home in Los Osos. After that, we’ve listed some descriptions & guidelines for each body type according to Ayurveda, which may help you further individualize your diet & lifestyle to maintain balance. Also, we’ve included a fantastic, sugar & gluten free breakfast/dessert recipe and linked to a radio show and column for people with celiac disease and others following the gluten-free diet. 
             We’ve been updating our CookWell blog (LINK) with our past newsletter content, recipes, links to info we like, and pictures of fantastic meals we’ve made together. Don’s website for life path counseling is: www.gingerbuddha.com (click on “sustenance training” to see our collaborative course outline). And my website for solo teaching in whole foods cooking is: www.cookwell.org. Whether you want to have both Don & I (or just me) come to your kitchen for a private or small group CookWell session, OR if you just want to show up to one of our Thursday night specialty classes or dinners, we look forward to meeting you and helping you incorporate the whole foods diet & lifestyle that works best for you.



Foods known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals
Many prayers to our brothers and sister in Japan.
May our Hearts Be United as One in Healing.

Here on the west coast we’ve been subject to lots of information and miss-information about how to best cope with elevated levels of radiation in our atmosphere as a result of fallout from the Nuclear disasters in Japan. Shelves in the health food stores have been cleared of anything seaweed related. Taking Potassium Iodide tablets can do more harm than good. Not to mention the fact that potassium iodide may protect only the thyroid gland, leaving all other areas of the body vulnerable to radiation, and that there are considerable health risks in taking elevated levels of iodine. The fact is that in our modern world we are coping with levels of differing types of radiation on a daily basis, be it from our own power plants, wi-fi, cell phone relay towers, computers, etc...

Craig Lane of Health Alkemy  has recently addressed this issue in a recent news letter titled "Radiation: The Hype and Common Sense". We took particular interest in the portion of his news letter that focused on which foods can be beneficial to us in cleansing various types of radiation from our bodies.

What we all need to understand is that, ultimately, whole foods are beneficial to us at this time as well. Below is a list of foods that might lead you to discover that you have been doing many of the right things already, just by eating a quality and well-rounded Whole Foods Diet.

Foods known to cleanse radioactive substances & heavy metals:
Foods high in Iodine: kelp & dulse seaweeds are the best
Foods rich in vitamin P (bioflavanoids): Citrus Pulp, Bilberry & Blueberry
Foods rich in vitamin A: Sweet potato, Fish-liver oils, Butter, Dark green vegetables, Beef liver, Yellow & orange veggies, Carrots, Egg Yolk, Dandelion Greens/Root, Berries, Apricots, Spirulina, Chlorella, Blue green algae, Chilies
Foods rich in vitamin D: Fish liver oil, Butter, Eggs, Liver, Milk, Saltwater fish
Foods rich in vitamin E: Wheat germ, Wheat germ oil, Leafy green vegetables, Avocado, Nuts, Legumes, Raw vegetable oils, Sweet potato, Whole-grain products, Asparagus
Foods high in minerals : Dark Leafy Greens, Beets, etc.
Chlorella and Spirulina
Cilantro
Miso (good quality stuff from South River Miso or Miso Master)
Garlic
Eleuthero ginseng
Bentonite Clays if radiation exposure cannot be avoided (do not take by itself, always mix in later and add at least psyllium to it)
Raw greens & Sprouts
Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms
Burdock root
Raw beets
Celery root
Milk thistle, Dandelion or Artichoke Leaf
And Herbs specific for your constitution: schisandra berry, turmeric, aloe vera and triphala

Ayurvedic Body Types Basics

 Ayurvedic Body Types Basics
        To eat in balance with our body type and the seasons is a wonderful way to align ourselves with nature and with our own changing needs throughout the year. In general, in winter eat more foods which balance Vata, in summer eat more foods which balance Pitta, and in spring eat more foods which balance Kapha. Excellent books for in-depth information are The Ayurvedic Cookbook and Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners by Amadea Morningstar.For more general principles regarding Ayurvedic diet and private consultations with my dear friend and Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Holly Padove visit: www.balancedlivingayurveda.com or email: hpadove@hotmail.com

Vata: usually thin with slight frame, long features, mentally quick, bright, creative, flexible, inspiring. When out of balance tends to be cold with cold hands and feet, dry skin, constipated, gassy.  Challenged by worry, fear & anxiety, and overwhelmed by stress.
To bring back to balance needs warming, moistening foods (, squash, rice pudding, plenty of ghee/sesame oil, and may need more building, grounding foods such as eggs and meat), and the flavors sweet (whole grains, root vegetables, maple syrup, raw honey, etc), sour (yogurt, kefir, citrus), salty (whole sea salt), and mildly pungent (warming spices such as medium curries, ginger, fennel, garlic).
Vata balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~  simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes):4 parts fennel, 3 cumin, 2 cardamom, 1 coriander, 1 ginger.

Pitta: medium build with ample musculature, deep set eyes, rosy complexion, moles and freckles, good memory, intelligence, and an analytical mind. When out of balance tends to be too warm and dislikes humidity, has loose stools, heartburn, sweats profusely, has itchiness, rashes and acne. Challenged by anger, jealousy, resentment, and control issues.
To bring back to balance needs cooling, soothing, drying foods  (salads and dark leafy greens), cooling herbs (cucumber, cilantro, dill), and the flavors sweet (whole grains, root vegetables, maple syrup, raw honey, etc.), bitter (kale, collards, dandelion greens), and astringent (pomegranates, persimmons, blackberries). Pitta balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~  simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes): 4 parts fennel, 2 cumin, 1 cardamom, 2 coriander, 1 ginger.


Kapha: large frame with round face and features, lush hair, lustrous skin and eyes, pale complexion, mentally methodical and a deep sleeper. When out of balance tends to be cool, moist and clammy, has sluggish elimination, phlegm, and fatigue after meals. Challenged by sadness, lethargy and attachment.
To bring back to balance needs warming, drying and lighter foods  (salads, whole grain millet, teff and quinoa, light on the fats/oils, etc.), and the flavors bitter (kale, collards, dandelion greens), astringent (pomegranates, persimmons, blackberries), and pungent(hot spices such as hot curries, cayenne, etc.). Kapha balancing spice combo (for pots of lentils, stir-frys, etc. ~  simmer ground spices 5-7 minutes): 2 parts fennel, 2 cumin, 1 cardamom, 1 coriander, 3 ginger, (½ cinnamon, black pepper or cayenne optional).