Drink the Summer Rainbow

Good morning, everyone! I hope you've had a good week, and that your weekend is off to a great start! I know one way to get a good kick to your energy... c'mon you know what I'm gonna say... Smoothie!! :) (Do I sound like a broken record yet?)

I love Saturdays because they are Farmers' Market days here in my town! We have a humble little market with only about 8 farmers, and a few other entrepreneurs. You can also find soaps, lotions, baked goods, and crafts.

But before I restock my fridge with new produce from the market and the grocery store, I needed to make some room! So it was time to use up left over produce. I was surprised how much variety I still had! And it all looked so pretty! So this morning I did a rainbow smoothie. In produce, each color food carries its own health benefits - so get that variety!



So here's what I put in my smoothie:
Red: goji berries
Orange: peach
Yellow: pineapple and frozen mango
Green: kale and Romaine
Purple: strawberries and blackberries

Then I sprinkled in a few Tablespoons of flax seeds for some extra protein and omega oils.

Blend and enjoy!

This is a power-packed drink of fiber, vitamins and minerals, very alkaline and antioxidant rich... and a lot of great natural sugars to kick start the morning! It made a nice, thick, heavy smoothie - keeps me full for hours! (And keeps me skipping along as I browse the produce section at the store while being crowded among all the other Saturday morning shoppers.)

David Heber, MD, PhD wrote a book called What Color Is Your Diet? In it, he goes over the different colors and benefits.

White: Usually it is agreed that there is also the white color category - that would include things like onion, garlic, chives, and mushroom. Yeah... I didn't feel like putting that into my smoothie! I'm not that adventurous! Other white/green foods that I could have included, though, are celery and pears. These foods all contain flavonoids that protect your cell membranes.

Red: I talked about benefits a little bit in an earlier post during Valentine's Day. But, to refresh, bold red foods include tomatoes, watermelon, etc. Think bold bright, leaning more towards pink than purple. These foods are rich in lycopene, which helps fight cancer.

Darker Orange: carrots, sweet potato, and squash are great for the eyes! All the carotenoids help with night vision and are also great disease fighters.

Yellow-Orange: brighter colored oranges such as the orange fruit, nectarines, and papaya are phenomenal sources of Vitamin C - great for the immune system! Since Vitamin C is water-soluble, your body doesn't like to store it too much. So it's important to get vitamin C from food on a daily basis!

Yellow-Green: corn, spinach, avocado, and peas are part of this group. They are rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. These components are now being linked with eye health and protection from macular degeneration!

Green: And the darker greens - kale, broccoli, sprouts, cabbage... these are such an important part of health. I've talked about it a little before, but these are rich in sulforaphane and help stimulate the liver, enhancing your body's natural detoxing and cleansing processes. They also contain isothicyanate and indoles, which help your body break down cancer-causing checmicals.

Purple: now you move into foods that are a darker red, such as grapes, berries, and eggplant. This color comes from anthocyanins that protect the heart.

So do like Skittles and taste (or drink!) the rainbow; but go for the natural, healthy rainbow instead of the sugary nutritionally-empty rainbow! ;-) You'll find that pot o' health in the end!

~Katie

Winter Wonderland

I hope you're all having better luck with snow than I am! I about got stuck in an accidental parking spot yesterday! yep, accidental! :) I was making a turn to get to the spot I wanted, and slid into a different stop that I did NOT want. ...And then got stuck there (which is why I didn't want it - there was too much snow!) But, I was running late, so I parked it and hoped I'd be able to get out later after work. So after work, thanks to the wonderful boots I have, I was able to scuff down the foot of so of snow to the pavement, and managed to get enough grip on the tires to head home.

But boy, was I cold!

So, while I know I mentioned that cooking foods tends to cause nutrient loss, and normally I'm trying to help push natural, unprocessed produce that most people don't get enough of, I am happy to pass on any healthy help! And I knew I wanted a nice warm dinner.

Hey, it's still healthy and veggie rich!

Warmed Kale and Almonds

-drizzle healthy oil

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 sweet yellow onion, chopped

-1 bunch kale (about 10 leaves?)

-3/4 cup slivered almonds

-optional: sea salt to taste

In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion to lightly sautee, about 3 minutes. Tear up kale into bite-sized pieces, and toss in. Let steam just a bit to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add almonds and stir to warm, about a minute.

Enjoy! Just be careful: DON'T OVERCOOK IT! The kale will become soggy and mushy - yuck, yuck, and yuck! Like memories of middle school lunches... It's best when lightly steamed and still has some structure. Feel free to sneak little sample leaves to check as you cook it :)

This could potentially be 4 side servings; or Dave and I just split it as an entree. Quite warm and yummy! And the sweet onion and light cooking of the kale helps cut down on that green flavor, making it a good flavor combo!

Rich in antioxidants, loaded with vitamins, and liver-promoting kale. It also has a good dose of chromium from the onion - which is good for helping cells respond to insulin and helping keep down blood sugar levels. Onions may also play a role in many anti-cancer processes, so if you want to toss a whole onion in rather than half, go for it! Sometimes I do! If you use a sweet onion, don't worry, you won't be overpowered by that potent make-ya-cry onion power :)

Stay warm, stay safe, and see ya soon!

~Katie

Call on Kale

I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite leafy green: KALE!

("this is my faaaavorite!" -Denise Austin, when referring to about 50% of her exercises or stretches)

Look at that beautiful stuff :) Ahhh, like looking a the Garden of Eden (or Jurassic Park - whichever you prefer!) So dark, lush, and earthy looking!

Well, this is just one version of it - that's Dinosaur Kale.

There's also Curly Kale and Red Kale:

You can see the curled edges - these little nooks and crannies are great for holding pockets of flavor, if you use dressing, toss with some extra virgin olive oil, or other seasonings. You can tear the leaves off, toss with a little flavoring, then dehydrate (or bake at 350 for 15 minutes) to make kale chips! Of course, you may lose some of the nutrients with that high heat, but it's better than potato chips!

Kale is super rich in vitamins K, A, and C, (remember - that A and C combination is great for healthy skin!) It also has good manganese. Manganese is a component of many enzymes and antioxidants; it also helps with protein and carbohydrate metabolism.

Kale will deliver a wollop of cancer-fighting phytonutrients. Hoorah! It has glucosinolates and cystein sulfoxides that help activate detoxifying enzymes of the liver - which is your main fat-burning, cleansing organ.

In one way or another, make sure the kale is really well crushed - chew it well or add it to a green smoothie where the blender will really break down those cell walls and release the health benefits lurking in the cell! As the kale is chopped or chewed, sulforaphane forms, and then triggers the liver to produce even more detoxifying enzymes to help kill those cancer-causing chemicals! In animal studies, it essentially caused colon cancer cells to "commit suicide." Wow!

Let's give our liver all the help we can in clearing our bodies of years of built-up pollutants and toxins!

A word of caution - kale has a rather deep "green" taste, so start lightly. I like to add a leaf or two to a green smoothie, or a few leaves to salad. I hope to work up to being able to use the kale as my salad base, rather than the lighter Romaine!

So give Kale a try! Your body will thank you :)

~Katie