Great Breakfast Ideas!    

SO MANY PEOPLE ask me what I eat for breakfast. Yes, I too have experienced that breakfast is a huge key to whether or not I feel great and have vital energy throughout the day.
For me, it basically breaks down to what I feel like eating that particular morning. Having the same thing every day would get old fast, and wouldn’t serve my body’s need for diversity of nutrients and flavors. Usually, I want a couple of over-easy eggs with some steamed fennel bulb, carrot, and dark leafy greens drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil. But often, I feel like having a complex carbohydrate-based breakfast on the sweet side...sweet, but still low-glycemic.

EGGS & GREENS   
Whenever I want a protein and greens breakfast, I wash, cut and steam my veggies and greens (recipe below), turn them out onto a plate, drizzle high-quality olive oil and lemon juice, and set them aside. Then, I fry a couple of high-quality eggs over easy in my favorite cast iron pan, in either a teaspoon of butter or ghee. I usually set my eggs right on top of all the luscious veggies & greens, so that when I break into them with my fork, the rich yolk drips down onto the veggies. YUM! Eggs from pastured chickens are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are only bio-available when the yolk is left runny....how ‘bout that!

RECIPE: Steamed Veggies & Dark Leafy Greens to alkalize the body
In a deep, medium sized stainless steel saucepan, place a fitting steamer basket and about 2 cups of water in the bottom. Wash and slice 1/3 of a fennel bulb, and a small carrot into 1/4 inch pieces. Burdock root (blood cleanser and overall body strengthener - pictured in photo above) is great here too, when it’s in season. Place all the root veggies in the bottom of the steamer basket, and steam for about 3 minutes until almost tender. Next, stuff two big handfuls of washed & chopped kale, collards, and/or broccoli on top of the root veggies, cover again and steam for another minute. Uncover to make sure all greens are slightly wilted and wet-looking. Steam another 30 seconds if not. Remove lid immediately, and carefully (so you don’t burn your hands with the steam) turn all the veggies and greens out onto a plate. Drizzle lemon juice and a high-quality virgin olive oil on top. After you eat this, you’ll feel invincible all day long!


BROWN RICE-BASED BREAKFASTS (these also double as desserts!)
Whenever I feel like having that sweet, carby yet low-glycemic meal (not just at breakfast, but often for dessert!), I’ll break into the leftover brown rice I always have in my fridge. I’ll put a cup or so of rice into a bowl, chop whatever seasonal fruit I have on hand, and mix the fruit into the rice. Lastly, I’ll sprinkle some fresh, raw nuts on top. With a bit of fruit and nuts in each bite of brown rice, I’m in heaven! Who knew such deliciousness could happen from three simple ingredients!

Whenever you’re feeling a bit more extravagant and you want more flavor, you can warm your leftover rice in a saucepan with several other ingredients of choice. Below is one of my favorite recipes I call Apple Pie Rice. Use this recipe structure to flavor your brown rice-based breakfasts or desserts in whatever way you please! Just choose a fat (coconut oil, butter, or ghee), a spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, carob, etc.), a salt (Himilayan pink, etc), a liquid sweetener (Nu Naturals vanilla stevia, Sweet Leaf english toffee stevia, or one teaspoon of raw honey or grade B maple syrup for a medium glycemic treat), and whatever seasonal fruit and raw nuts you like (or dried coconut!). Voila! You’ve got a delightfully flavorful, whole food breakfast or dessert!

RECIPE: Apple Pie Rice
This is a low-glycemic treat - better for you than apple pie, and tastes twice as good! In a small saucepan over low heat add 1/2 cup water and 2 cups freshly simmered (or leftover) brown rice, 2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, ½ tsp whole sea salt, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice and ½ tsp allspice. Simmer & stir for 3 minutes or so, adding more water if it’s too thick for you). Turn off heat & add 12 drops Sweet Leaf brand English Toffee stevia (1 tsp grade B maple syrup or raw honey if not using stevia). Stir until mixed well & add 1 medium diced fresh apple. Enjoy warm, and top individual servings with pecans, walnuts or almonds and possibly....raspberry drizzle! Here’s how to whip it up: in a small bowl mix the juice of 1 ripe lemon (Meyer lemon is best), 8 drops Nu Naturals vanilla stevia & 1 cup mashed raspberries from fresh or frozen. Wow! That tastes like apple pie with a raspberry drizzle!

Comfort Food, Human Connection, and Quantum Physics
                                        March 2013

    Ever find yourself magnetically drawn to the shelves of chocolate at the CoOp or New Frontiers? Ever think, “awe, to hell with my food-allergy restrictions today...I need that croissant!” Pleasure foods sometimes give us a very necessary, temporary comfort which can ground us in feelings of safety, help us move on with a stressful day, or simply help us access joy and gratitude. Let’s face it. The world can be way too fast-paced, hectic, and even frightening. When the pressure builds, letting ourselves enjoy our favorite foods, gives us that short retreat we may need to remember that everything will be okay.

    I’ve recently realized that eating pleasure foods can be key to cultivating joy in life. For some people, it’s one of the few pleasures we have left. I’ve also seen that eating with others is many people’s most common venue for sociability. I’ve come to understand this, only after 18 years on my path of discovering which foods make me feel best, day to day, situation to situation, emotion to changing emotion.

    For most people, it’s nearly impossible to eat a 100% whole foods diet, and ultimately, I don’t believe that should be the goal. Coming from being overly disciplined with my diet for many years, in finally allowing myself (with awareness) to indulge once in a while, I can now experience the wonderful blessing of tasting delectable foods! Also, I get tons of needed human connection in going out to eat about once a week with my husband Don, or when meeting a friend for lunch downtown, or when gathering with people at a potluck. Granted, I choose wisely based on my food-knowledge, but I don’t obsess about each ingredient anymore. I’m now uplifted emotionally by spending quality time with the people I love over delicious food. 

    I think it’s also sometimes important to experience these feelings of joy, contentment and gratitude with delicious food when we’re alone...whenever we need an emotionally-soothing deviation from our usual diet. Of utmost importance to having a healthy relationship with food, is the awareness of why we’re making certain choices. Are we being emotionally driven? When we’re aware of this, we can then either choose to indulge, or choose to re-write our patterns of eating for comfort. When we’re unaware, indulgence tends to happen so often that it leads to imbalance and illness.

    This food-wisdom has been bestowed upon me by my wonderful husband, who believes that the emotions we experience when we eat, are as important (and sometimes more important) than what we eat! To be always worried about whether the food we eat will cause or cure cancer, that we never allow ourselves to enjoy our favorite comfort food, or food shared with friends and family at the holidays, limits our experience of life’s pleasures, and can cause stress and social isolation, which can lead to illness.

    Science has lately proven that having good emotions while eating, aids digestion and nutrient assimilation, and tells our bodies that we’re safe and happy. According to quantum physics, whatever food we eat can be transformed into building blocks for a happy, peaceful human being with our thoughts, beliefs, and intentions. Now, that being said, since none of us are disciplined spiritual masters, I would not recommend eating mostly processed or fast food, thinking that a prayer will change it each time into beneficial nourishment. But I do LOVE my friend Karyn’s prayer. She says this to herself whenever she eats food that is less than ideal: “My mind is strong. My mind keeps my body healthy. Everything I eat turns to health and beauty.” She believes it, and voila! To a mysterious degree, it is so! Karyn is an extremely healthy, vital, glowing woman who’s approaching 70 years old, who can still squat easily while working in her garden or playing with her neighbor’s children. This food-prayer she’s offered us, is a wonderful tool, which each of us can use in today’s world full of refined and genetically modified foods.

    Of course, comfort foods are definitely not beneficial for people with illness. Someone with a progressed disease such as diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer will benefit greatly by preparing 100% of their meals with whole, organic foods and probably by also drinking green juices until they’re well again. Only when a person is well and healthy and in balance, do I suggest deviating form one’s healing, nourishing, whole food diet. The key in cases of illness would be creating a pleasure food which is emotionally satisfying from whole ingredients, like one of those amazing raw desserts sweetened with Nu Naturals vanilla stevia!

    So why aren’t each of us able to eat only the refined, packaged and fast foods, and willfully transcend all of the ill-effects? I don’t believe the answer is simple. Each person is dealing with a variety of factors other than what they eat and drink regularly, including stress, quality of sleep, regular exercise, regular connection with others, mental and emotional habits, exposure to toxins, etc...all of which add up to whether we are healthy or sick or any shade of grey between. And, lets certainly not forget the biggest factor: The Great Mystery of this life, with it’s physical challenges and lessons which cause us to learn and grow spiritually. Life is so humbling, and I am grateful every minute for my healthy body.

    In reverence of The Great Mystery of life, I have also seen lots of evidence that we can take a powerful role in our health by feeding our body whole foods regularly. In doing so, we are building the physical, structural foundation for a healthy body, which effects our minds, emotions and habits. Everything is connected. What’s most inspiring to me, is the fact that our bodies are designed to be self-regulating and self-renewing, and that cellularly, we are totally new every seven years down to our teeth and bones! Our bodies naturally balance and heal themselves when given the tools of whole foods. I’m also inspired by people who are able to consistently eat whole foods and maintain quality connections with others. I love the photos of tribal people with elders squatting around the fire at 90 years old, laughing and cooking with the rest of the tribe.

    In teaching people to CookWell, I hope to help them learn to use the natural flavors of whole salts, whole fats, herbs and spices, lemon juice, and the freshest ingredients, to create amazingly tasty whole food snacks and meals which also comfort them emotionally. As people begin to eat more and more whole foods, the extreme flavors of packaged foods become less appealing. Our taste buds eventually adjust to enjoy natural flavors. For me, my usual lunch or dinner of black beans, brown rice, seasonal veggie stir-steam, and avocado is deeply gratifying and comforting. I hope to re-define the words, “comfort food”, to mean food which is BOTH emotionally comforting and physically nourishing...food which is grown, harvested, and prepared with love, food which is totally nourishing and vitalizing, and food which is so delicious that it soothes our hearts and minds. I’d like to help make this experience possible for everyone in the world, for a healthier, happier humanity. I know it’s possible at the level of the individual, because I’ve done it for myself. I believe it’s possible for you too, in your journey of learning to cook with whole foods.

JANUARY ARTICLE

Praise To Water Kefir - How To Make The Easiest And Best Probiotic Drink Ever!

I can’t imagine what I would do without my favorite, new, cultured drink. I surely wouldn’t feel as well as I do right now! My new love is called water kefir, and it’s an amazing probiotic drink that has 30 different strains of beneficials. I’ve been culturing and drinking it regularly for about 3 months now, since my awesome friend Lauren Bell gave me a some kefir “grains” so I could start my own batch.

Water kefir is the easiest to make, and the most potent homemade probiotic drink I’ve experienced yet, and I highly recommend it to everyone, young and old. Kefir is traditionally made using raw milk, but a slightly different strain of kefir grains (called water kefir) can be cultured using water as a medium with organic sugar and molasses (or raisins) to feed the grains. Kefir has beneficial bacteria AND beneficial yeasts, while kombucha has just beneficial bacteria. I feel so good from having water kefir as a regular part of my diet, that as my kefir “grains” multiply, I’ve been giving them away to friends to start their own batches. Water kefir has kept my inner ecosystem in better balance than any probiotic I’ve tried so far. Also, it’s way less expensive to culture than buying pricey probiotic supplements. Hallelujah!!!

Water kefir grains usually look like tiny, jell-like, cauliflower heads, but sometimes they take the shape of cubes. I know. It’s weird, but water kefir has recently saved me from experiencing candida yeast overgrowth symptoms, even throughout the holidays!

Kefir grains need clean, filtered water (not tap water), as they are very sensitive to chemicals like chlorine. And, they don’t like metal, so always use a wooden spoon when working with them. They need fairly refined, organic sugar to multiply. Don’t worry about the sugar; the grains metabolize the sugar, and when the drink is ready after 1-2 days, there’s little to no sugar left in it (details below).

The ratio of kefir grains to sugar & molasses to water is:
1 cup of water kefir grains
1/3 cup organic cane sugar (sugar that’s almost white - not brown like rapidura sugar or sucanat)
4/5 quart of filtered water (or, as much water as will fill the jar with the grains in it)
1tsp unsulphured molasses to supply the grains with minerals (instead of molasses, you can use 1/3 cup organic unsulphured raisins, but it’s a bit tedious to fish them out & throw them away each time you drink the liquid and feed the grains again).

To dissolve the sugar and molasses into the 4/5 quart of water, either shake it up in a separate quart jar, or slightly warm the water in a saucepan and stir the sugar in until dissolved (be sure water is not hot to the touch when adding it to the kefir grains). Once you’ve provided the kefir grains with sugar water and molasses or raisins, it’ll take 1-2 days to culture. In warm temperatures (70-85 degrees), 1 day of culturing is sufficient for the sweet taste of the sugar to diminish significantly. If it’s colder, (55-70 degrees), it takes up to 2 days for the sugar to fully metabolize. I like it when it’s way less sweet (don’t get me started about eating low glycemic as preventative medicine!). Generally, after 24 hrs of culturing, water kefir has about 20% of the sugar you initially fed the grains, and after 48 hrs, it has only 5% of the sugar left. After the sugars are metabolized, it will develop about 1% alcohol content, and it’ll become higher in alcohol the longer you let it ferment (much like kombucha). I don’t let it go for too long into alcohol-land because the beneficial probiotic bacteria can’t survive for long in an alcoholic environment. But, like Lauren says about a slightly alcoholic kefir brew, it’s like having a beer that yields vitality instead of depletion!

To culture water kefir, place the jar on the kitchen counter or in a cupboard out of direct light (indirect light helps the grains multiply) with a loose-fitting lid so the fizzy gasses it produces can escape. When you estimate that it’s ready based on the temperature of your home, pour a bit of the liquid into a cup to taste. If it’s fizzy and no longer super sweet tasting, just discard the raisins if you used them (most of them will have floated to the top), and strain the liquid into a glass for drinking. Drink the liquid within a few hours or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. An easy way to strain the liquid is by holding your clean hand against the lip of the jar to hold back the grains as you pour the liquid into a glass for drinking. Or, you can strain the liquid using a hand-held strainer basket - just hold the basket over another jar or drinking glass and pour.

About every 2 weeks, you’ll want to transfer your kefir grains into a clean jar because there will be a film that has accumulated at the waterline at the top of the original jar. If you go away from home, just feed your grains fresh sugar water, and store them in the fridge for up to a week. The grains will even bounce back to life after being frozen, which is amazing to me!

Kefir grains often multiply quickly, so after about a month or so, you can give excess grains away to friends (one cup at a time) as Lauren did for me, along with the instructions. Lauren also taught me that excess kefir grains can also be given to pets as probiotic support, or tossed into your compost to add beneficial bacteria and yeasts to your future soil! Lauren Bell is an amazing woman, by the way, and I absolutely must share with you her local consultation & support business for helping make your home (or any building) energy efficient, water efficient, and toxin-free: www.globellgreen.com

I like to get 2 quarts of water kefir culturing 24 hrs apart, so that I can enjoy an entire quart of my amazing, fizzy kefir drink daily. Lauren has a family of four, so she has 4-5 quarts culturing at a time, each batch with its own post-it noting the estimated drinking time. Lately, I’ve been most enjoying the flavor and fizziness of a 48 hour brew because our kitchen has been cooler than usual in this wintery weather. Have fun finding your favorite water kefir culturing time throughout the various seasons. And big cheers to your abounding health this new year, and on forevermore into our budding golden age!

  

The 80/20 Principals
There are several principals I’ve adopted over the years, from the ancient philosophies of macrobiotics and Ayurveda, which have helped me to maintain a disease-free body with a healthy blood pH, better moods, and great digestion. These principals revolve around the ratio of 80:20. I encourage you to try some of them on for size, and see if you experience any pleasant surprises like your weight normalizing, or chronic symptoms disappearing for good!

The first 80/20 principal is this; if you’re feeling well and healthy and in balance, let 80% of your diet be whole foods, and the other 20% be an emotionally soothing deviation. Food has strong emotional effects, and also serves as a wonderful social bonding medium. In a stressful time, we may need to just go out to eat or have a sweet treat at a party, for the sake of preserving our sanity. When you do deviate from your whole foods diet, see it as an experience that feeds your soul, not as an unhealthy mistake. This is important to remember because the emotions you experience while eating are almost as important as what you’re eating. Just say to yourself, “everything I eat turns to health and beauty”, and if you truly believe it, it’ll be way more likely to be so...I love quantum physics!

The vitality-building bulk of a whole foods diet (the 80%) looks like this: seasonal, regional vegetables as 40-60% of the diet with at least 1 bunch of dark leafy greens per day, low glycemic whole grains (brown rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat or quinoa), soaked & simmered beans of all kinds, fresh raw nuts & seeds, seasonal fruit (avocado has completely replaced my desire for dairy!), moderate amounts of whole sea salts, extra virgin or “unrefined” natural fats & oils, and consciously raised (preferably organic) animal proteins in moderate amounts when needed for building strength and warmth like during hard physical work, pregnancy, weakness, coldness, deficiency-type illnesses, underweight, or if you have meat-eating ancestry (usually type O blood).

Right in-line with the principal above, is the idea of eating 80% alkaline-forming foods and 20% acid-forming foods to maintain an optimal blood pH. Disease cannot take root in an alkaline environment. So, if you can limit acid-forming foods to less than 20% of the diet (coffee, all forms of sugar, alcohol, meat, refined salt, white flour products, pasteurized dairy, and packaged & restaurant foods in general), you’re on your way to staying disease free! If you’re wondering how to counter balance your morning coffee (or other regularly-ingested acid-makers), here’s the list of foods foods known to be particularly alkaline-forming; leafy green vegetables and non-starchy vegetables, whole sea salts like Himalayan Pink & Celtic, Ume plum vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar, lemon & lime juice, sea vegetables like dulse and kombu, soaked & simmered whole grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat & quinoa, and certain beans like adzuki, mung, and lentils.

Another 80/20 principal is this: eat til' you’re only 80% full. Not overeating is a huge factor in the longevity of indigenous peoples. They tend to stop eating as soon as the feeling of being hungry has subsided. This allows room for digestive juices and the churning action of the stomach to more thoroughly break foods down, enabling easy digestion all the way through the intestines. This practice contributes greatly to vitality because when we have efficient, enzymatic digestion, our bodily energy is free to work to balance and repair all the other bodily systems, instead of having to work so hard on digesting food. So, eat til' you’re just 80% full, as healthy natives do, and “plant a seed of hunger for your next meal”.

Lastly, while I’m on this digestion note, it’s best to not eat a heavy, fatty meal at dinnertime, and always allow at least 2 hrs after eating before going to bed. This promotes health because our liver and gallbladder generally flush between 11PM - 1AM, so, heavy meals with lots of fat lingering in the stomach at bedtime, block this natural, body-balancing routine. Both ancient philosophies of macrobiotics and Ayurveda suggest eating lightly at dinnertime. Try luscious seasonal salads for dinner with brown rice and avocado on the side, or maybe a light bean soup with lots of seasonal veggies. Bon Appetit! And, may your taste buds easily adjust to this new and delightfully healing dance!

Positively Perfect Brown Rice

 This is our first video post!

Today Courtney will start out with some core basics, how to make not just perfect Brown Rice, 

But "Positively Perfect Brown Rice".

Enjoy the video as there is other great information about Whole Food Nutrition. Stay Tuned for our next Video which will show how to make amazing deserts with this rice you have now learned to make, Perfectly:)

And finally below is the written protocol for making the Positively Perfect Brown Rice. Enjoy!

_____________________________

Positively Perfect Brown Rice

The health benefits of organic brown rice are innumerable according to the book Healing With Whole Foods. Rinse 2 cups organic short grain brown rice and soak overnight under an inch of filtered water in the saucepan you plan to cook it in.
Soaking grains for a day before cooking initiates the sprouting process, which 1) makes it more easily digestible,
increases the grain's amino acid profile so it becomes closer to a complete protein, and
neutralizes it's phytic acid which would otherwise bind with minerals in the intestine and inhibit mineral absorption.

Okay, the next day, pour off the old soak water and refill the pot so that the fresh water level is about 3/4 of an inch above the level of the rice - measure it if you have to! (No ruler? It’s the length of your fore finger from the tip to the very first knuckle /joint just above your fingernail - not halfway up your finger). Soaked rice requires way less water to simmer than unsoaked rice.

In fact, this 3/4 inch rule applies to every pot of soaked rice, no matter how big the pot, or how much rice you’ve soaked. Okay, after you’ve got that 3/4 inch of fresh water over the rice, bring it to a boil, reduce to simmer, and stir in1/2 tsp whole sea salt for every 2 cups of soaked rice.

Put the lid on the pot at an angle so the steam can escape, and simmer for 40 minutes exactly. Comes out wonderfully fluffy every time. Enjoy!