My goal of cook.preach.love is to help you learn, laugh and possibly cry. Every week I will share a healthy (but yummy) recipe, supply you with helpful nutritional advice and make you laugh with funny stories about my crazy life. I hope you like:)
Some of my best creations in the kitchen come from my complete lack of organization. For instance, just the other day I wanted to make poppy seed dressing for my salad. The recipe called for raw sugar but I wanted to try the recipe with honey instead. So I started throwing ingredients in the blender only to realize I was missing dry mustard. Then I couldn’t find the apple cider vinegar, remembering I left it at the cottage. And then the real kicker, I was out of poppy seeds. After coming to terms with the fact that there would be no poppy seed dressing, I put on my creative hat and this is what I came up with. I call it Honey Apple Dressing.
Honey-Apple Dressing
¼ cup honey
½ tsp cumin
1 tbsp red onion
2 tbsp red delicious apple
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup sunflower oil
Blend all ingredients except oil. Once well blended, keep blender running slowly. Add oil slowly so it thickens. Add to any salad that needs some pizzazz!!
As an infant, the benefits of milk are endless, especially if it is breast milk. However, when we were weaned off of this breast, ‘someone’ thought it was a good idea to just move to another. To a breast belonging to a species not even remotely similar to humans. I am asking you to step outside your box of norm for a moment and read this article from another angle. You may begin to see things from a different perspective.
The purpose of cow’s milk for its calf: Growth. That’s it. A cow grows to its full size by its first year of life which is approximately 1000 lbs! Unlike humans where it takes us any where from 15-21 years to reach our full size. Also, the protein in cow’s milk is completely different than that in human milk. Cow’s milk contains a much higher percentage of casein than whey with a ratio of 85%:15% respectively, where as human milk is much lower, 40%:60%. If one had to drink milk, goat’s milk is definitely a preferred source as the whey: casein ratio is much closer to that of human milk.
But, what I want to know is as adults, why do we need to drink milk at all? The answer I hear most often is for the calcium. What if I told you that there were much healthier sources containing even higher, more absorbable forms of calcium? You probably wouldn’t believe me. And why would you when all you heard up until now is cow’s milk will make you grow strong and healthy bones. And who were you hearing it from? Your Canada Food Guide and your school as they passed around a box of cow’s milk to every student each morning. Well, if I worked for the dairy industry, I would certainly be telling everyone that as well. The Canada Food Guide is fully supported & sponsored by the dairy industry.
There is a reason why over 7 million Canadians are lactose intolerant. Eventually, everyone becomes lactose intolerant as we stop producing the lactase enzyme shortly after puberty (when we are well weaned off the breast and don’t need the enzyme anymore). And yes, evolution certainly plays a part, helping us better tolerate milk as adults but does that mean its good for us? And while speaking of evolution, let me ask you this? Do you know of any other animal on the planet that has evolved to continue to consume milk as an adult? Or any other animal that voluntarily drinks milk from another species for that matter? I don’t.
Dairy is the most allergenic food next to gluten, as well as being mucous forming and pro-inflammatory. Any one suffering from asthma, allergies, arthritis and especially any inflammatory bowel diseases would greatly benefit by eliminating dairy from their diet. And I won’t even get into all the antibiotics, pesticides and hormones you are also ingesting when you drink cow’s milk.Oh, and back to that point about milk building strong and healthy bones; if that were so, then why as the highest dairy consuming nation do we also have the highest rates of osteoporosis? Hmmm…
So next time you reach for that carton because you think you’re doing your body good, you may want to think again.
P.S For all of you wondering what food I was referring to that contains a higher, more absorbable source of calcium, well sorry, you’ll just have to visit me again. I’m saving that one for a future post!!
References taken from Nutrition Action Healthletter, June, 1993
My first love post goes out to my parents. For all the obvious reasons, but mainly for making it possible for me to experience life. My life that is filled with bright, sun shiny days, as well as the terrible storms of my past, I am happy to have seen it all.
It is so funny how when you are younger, your parents are seen as these super humans. Never did it seem like my father or my mother carried any doubt about anything in life. They always seemed so confident & sure about everything, never experiencing a moment of weakness or fear. Obviously this was very far from the truth. That is what made them such amazing parents. Portraying to their children that constant image of confidence, courage and happiness, no matter how they were truly feeling. Saying “everything will be okay”, even if they didn’t believe it themselves.
My parents’ role transitioned from super human, to enemy, to best friend. I was very fortunate to always have an excellent relationship with both my parents and also very fortunate to know how much they loved me. Although they will be big shoes to fill, I have been shown what it is to be a good parent if ever life leads me down the path of parenthood.
So as I take this gift they have given me, and march on forward, eyes wide with excitement, I carry only one regret. That my parents are no longer here to march with me.
I needed a sweetener for some muffins but it was Labour day and everything was closed. I walked to my corner 'depanneur' with $5 in my pocket planning to buy some honey. Honey was $6 so I bought molasses instead. I haven't baked much with molasses but I will now. Molasses is a great source of iron, calcium as well as manganese, potassium, magnesium and copper. A lot more beneficial than that poisonous white stuff!!
Instructions:
In a bowl mix together rolled oats, yogurt and milk. Let soak for 10 minutes.
Mix oat flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
Add molasses, mashed banana, egg and oil to rolled oats mixture. Mix well.
Add dry ingredients to the rolled oats mixture. Mix well. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
My 'soon-to-be' father-in-law is one of the healthiest people I know. He is 66 and can make many thirty year olds relish with envy. In the summer, you will find him on the tennis courts and in the winter, you'd most likely find him in spin class at the Y. Oh yeah, and he probably jogged to the class! I have jogged with him a few times and even I have trouble keeping up. An ex football player and long time jogger, Bernie has been active all his life.
When it comes to his diet, Bernie really isn't that adventurous. He's come a long way but he really is the pickiest person I know. Coming from his English/Irish roots, he's always been a meat and potatoes type of guy, but he makes sure to include a salad with most meals. And you will never find him eating fast food, it's always fresh. He definitely enjoys a nice pint at dinner but has never smoked a cigarette in his life.
So what explains this supreme being having high blood pressure?
It boggled my mind for a while. Until I learned about the connection between high blood pressure and heavy metal. No, not the music genre (although many may agree there are health effects linked to this kind as well:) I am referring to heavy metal excess in the body - especially lead. Well, well, well. This explains everything!
Bernie owned a sign making business for many, many (30+) years. He dealt with lead paint on a regular basis. Not to mention the toxins that paint contained thirty years ago!
Heavy metal toxicity is more common than most know. Up to 25% of North Americans suffer from some form of heavy metal excess. Environment, pesticides, workplace pollutants, cooking utensils, amalgam fillings and even beauty products are just a few of the sources that contribute to heavy metal toxicity. The reason for this being such a serious issue is that heavy metals tend to accumulate around vital organs, such as the brain and they greatly affect the immune system.
Like most patients diagnosed with high blood pressure, Bernie was put on Coversyl, however he is interested in trying a safer, drug-free way. Lucky for him, there are options. Heavy metal detoxes vary from simple supplementation to more intense methods such as undergoing chelation treatments in a clinical setting.Vitamin C, calcium and glutathione are some of the best chelating supplements.
For more information on heavy metal toxicity, check out http://www.answers.com/topic/heavy-metal-poisoning or feel free to contact me with your questions.
