Eating Veggies Really IS Good for You!

I have done a lot of experimenting with my own body's natural alkaline balance and have found out the following:

1. Good water is a must! I drink the Kangen water by Enagic. I love my machine so much that I have become an Independent distributor and sell them. The Kangen machine is a water ionizer. It takes the tap water that we have going through 3 filters under our sink, runs it over several medical grade titanium plates, ionizes the water so that when it comes out the spout it is alkaline. The word "Kangen" means back to origin. The water becomes alkaline the way it use to be before the earth was polluted. There are still places in the world, places which boast of healing waters, that have this alkaline based water. The first thing I put in my body in the morning is 32 ounces of 9.5 pH water.

2. I eat my heaviest protein based meal at lunch. When I eat my meats or proteins earlier in the day and only eat vegetables or fruits in the evenings, I almost always wake up with a balanced pH. I check my first urination in the mornings to see where I am in my alkalinity. There are pH strips you can purchase to do this. Some people check their saliva. I use the liquid indicator that I purchase from Enagic. When I eat my vegetables and raw foods in the evenings, my morning pH is usually at 7.4. Perfect!

3. Too many acid foods such as beef, chicken, peanuts, refined sugars, and pasta's, even brown rice pasta's, make my body go more acid. A good rule of thumb for me is to eat at least 90% plant based foods and only 10% animal based foods. This is not always easy for me to do, I love meat, but I feel better when I do it!

4. Limit stress! Yep, limit your stress. How do I limit my stress? I schedule my time and allow private quiet time for myself. I am in charge of my life and what I do is usually of my choosing. If I feel that I don't have a say about all the "to do's" that come my way, things need to get done, I tell myself that I have a choice in how I feel about those things. I choose my path, I choose how I feel about my path. I can be mad, or glad. The other day I was shopping with my daughter and accidentally kicked over part of a display of aluminum drinking containers. They fell all over the floor and boy did they clatter when they fell! I remember thinking to myself, ugh, I am so embarrassed. And then I broke out laughing!!! Stressed? At first, for a spit second. Then the laughter replaced my stress with cheer, everyone in line laughed with me and someone said, "Don't worry, it has happened to a lot of people."

5. Eat fiber and keep your bowels functioning properly. I love the book by Bernard Jensen titled "Dr. Jensen's Guide to Better Bowel Care". Do you understand the function of your bowels? Most of us don't. I eat at least 20 grams of fiber each day from psyllium seed husk and the rest from whole grains such as brown rice, vegetables and fruits.

Here is a sample of one of our favorite evening meals. It's just a plate of raw vegetables and dip. I don't eat dairy so I make this tasty dip by taking some mayonnaise and unsweetened Almond milk, original flavor, equal portions, and add a touch of garlic salt and 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes. I whisk it until smooth and have a tasty dip I can eat. Even my husband likes it! In this photo I put a little mango sauce on the side. The crackers are brown rice with seaweed. Warning, an acquired taste is necessary for some to eat the crackers.  

Alkaline Food Cook Off!

A few months back I had the opportunity to teach a workshop for OLLI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, at Yavapai College. The theme was Alkaline foods. After our first hour of discussion and my teaching the students about alkaline foods and how good they are for our bodies, we had a cook off. It was a blast! Each contestant had several choice alkaline vegetables, some delicious spices and herbs, and a task of making an appetizing and appealing dish for all of us to eat and enjoy. They all did a great job. These pictures show how focused the contestants were and how amazing their creations turned out. Thank you everyone for a great experience!

Green Omelet

On occasion I get a desire for an egg omelet, but eggs don't always agree with me, especially the yolks. I had recently watched a food show where the chef added spinach greens to the eggs in his omelet so I decided to try this mix and to keep this recipe more alkaline and less clogging,  just use the egg whites. This is how it turned out:

First I chopped and simmered some onions, bell peppers, celery, peas, carrots and mung beans in the fry pan. I don't use a lot of oil, just some Bragg liquid aminos for flavor plus a little water to soften the veggies. After the veggies turn transparent in color, I add my eggs and cover the pan with a lid. I think the key to a good omelet is to blend the eggs in a blender until a little foamy before you pour them onto the vegetable mix. In this egg mixture I added two handfuls of baby greens and then did the blending.

Doesn't it look appetizing? It had a wonderful aroma while cooking and a delicious burst of flavor. What a great idea for getting more of those alkaline vegetables into your diet. Remember using just the egg whites is also more alkalizing. Good to know, right?

Green Drinks with Mung Beans and Baby Greens

When I was growing up my mother would experiment with all the greens in the garden. She loved being a creative cook. She got the bright idea of mixing spinach greens, lettuce, peppermint, chives, and anything edible that was green into a blender with some pineapple or apple juice. She even liked using dandelion greens. Then she would chug a lug like it was a delicious concoction! And it was! She was doing green drinks before the rest of the world even had the thought of them. My mom was amazing.

I followed her example and began making my own green drinks. I remember when my three gorgeous daughters began having their boyfriends over to the house for visits. I discovered a great way to get rid of these boys fast when it was time for them to go home. I would make a green drink and insist on them drinking some. One boy in particular would run out the door, jump off the porch and scurry on home just to avoid the green colored liquid! Too funny. I am glad he never tried it because he would have never left.

Since I have cut way down on my sugars I have discovered that I can make some wonderful green drinks with unsweetened almond milk. I almost like this better than the juices! I fill my blender 3/4 full of milk then I add my greens. My favored greens this week are the baby greens you can get in the grocery section at the store and my own home grown mung bean sprouts. The sprouts add a nutty flavor. I add about 2 hand fulls of the greens and sprouts to the milk, then I add some peppermint  and yarrow from my garden. I also add a good probiotic and some powdered calcium. I use the MegaCal by Young Living. If I need extra fiber I add a few spoonfuls of psyllium seed husk. If you need a little sweetener add some stevia. I blend this until smooth and drink it up. Yum!

Not only is this low carb and non dairy, but it's full of nutritional value and delicious!

Thanks mom, you are my inspiration!!

Tofu Steaks

I love tofu! It entered my life during a time of struggle and confusion. I had always been taught that dairy was good for the body but my body said it was not so good. Every time I would eat dairy I would have this feeling that someone had their hands around my throat and were choking me! 

Finally, in desperation I prayed for the strength to give up dairy and asked that if it were possible a substitute would manifest. And so it did! About a week after my heartfelt prayer I received a coupon and recipe book for Mori Nu tofu. In that little recipe book I found milk substitutes, puddings recipes, and many other delightful options that were dairy free! This new discovery led me to learn about all the different types of tofu that were on the market. One of my favorite alkaline recipes are these tofu steaks. 

I drain my water pack firm tofu then carefully cut it into steak size pieces. Putting the steaks in a fry pan, I then add some Bragg liquid aminos, you could use soy sauce if you prefer. To that seasoning I add a little bit of onion powder, black pepper, sesame seeds, and a squirt of olive oil. Cook this on low until it turns a light crispy brown. It is also good served cold.  

Millet Pancakes

I just LOVE the versatile grain called Millet! This grain is low in saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol. It is known for its high manganese, an essential mineral and important nutrient.  As one of the top ten most important grains in the world, it is highly nutritious, non glutinous and more on the alkaline side of the diet so it is soothing and easier on the digestive system.

Millet has a nutty flavor and makes some amazing tasty pancakes. Here is my favorite millet pancake recipe. Instead of making the pancakes from the dry milled grain, I thought that making them from the cooked grain would make a moist and delightful texture. It did! For those of you who have a pressure cooker, I cook the millet in my pressure cooker for 4 minutes, 3 cups millet with 5 cups water, and it comes out fluffy, not too sticky.

2 Cups cooked millet
4-5 eggs (my husband loves eggs. I don't so much. Often I substitute egg whites and not all whole eggs)
1 1/2 Cups soy or almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp stevia/sugar mix (you can use straight stevia, or raw sugar)
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

I blend this up in my blender and add enough milk to make my desired texture. I like mine a bit runny so that the pancakes are like a mini Crepe.

We eat ours plain, with homemade maple syrup, or maple flavored balsamic vinegar! My daughter suggested cream cheese and blueberries rolled up inside. Yum!

Spinach and Lime, Crazy Good!

Two of my favorite books are "The Enzyme Factor" and "The Microbe Factor" both written by Hiromi Shinya, MD . These books are very informative in an understandable way. In "The Microbe Factor", chapter 6, Dr. Shinya teaches us how to do the "Shinya Little Fast", a correct and easy way to fast and assist our bodies with a simple intracellular detoxification.

First you start your fast the night before by refraining from eating after 6 or 7 in the evening. After dinner and prior to going to bed all food should be omitted. Make sure you drink only good clean water. Dr. Shinya, and myself, only drink the Kangen water. He tells us in his book that drinking water at room temperature is best because too cold of water weakens the immune system. 

Next thing to do is instead of eating breakfast in the morning, drink the "fresh enzyme juice". This is my new favorite drink! In this green drink you will find one apple, a hand full of fresh spinach, the juice of one lime, to which I have added 3 drops of the Young Living lime essential oil. It is a great enzyme and detox stimulant. Today I am detoxing since I have a cold, and this tastes yummy while very nourishing as well!

According to the Berg list of alkaline foods, raw spinach is extremely alkalizing. By adding this to an apple, and lime, with some good 8.5 ph balanced water, you have a winner of an alkalizing drink! It doesn't get much better than this.

To your health,
Laina