Guava

Guava

Guava has been called"the ultimate superfood".  Guavas are known for their sweet and tangy flavor and many uses, but there's much more to this "magical" fruit than meets the eye.  It is considered to be one of the top antioxidant foods with loads of vitamin C, vitamin A, Lycopene and high in fiber.  Native to Mexico, Central and South America, they can be grown in any warm tropical climates all over the world.  Guava trees grow in groups and grow easily and freely, often overgrowing pastures and fields.  Most of the world's commercial suppl of guava comes from the wild!  It can be eaten raw, cooked, baked and most known for its jellies and jams.  Guavas can be eaten whole, as the seeds, skin and flesh are all edible, and each part contains essential nutrients for optimum health benefits.  Even the leaves can be used in multiple ways.  Most common is by drying the leaves for tea, using the leaves to make an extract for essential oil or even by simply chewing on them!

Here are some benefits when eaten:

* Boosts the immune system(over 350% RDA Vit-C

*Lowers blood pressure(high in potassium and electrolytes)

*Reduces risk of kidney stones, stroke and bone loss, caused by low potassium levels

*High fiber content(over 20% RDA fiber)

*Prevents and treats cancer(over 50% RDA of lycopene, which inhibits cancer cell growth)

Here are some benefits from the leaves:

*Treats and prevents Diabetes, drinking guava leaf tea has been used to reverse diabetes.

*Antimicrobial and antibacterial, especially in oral health, especially by chewing the leaves.  Crushed leaves can be also used as an antiseptic for cuts and wounds.

*Highly anti-inflammatory due to its high content of flavonids.

*Prevents fatty buildup in arteries, by inhibiting an enzyme responsible  many cardiovascular conditions.

The best part of guava is it available at most grocery stores, and you can be grown from seed at home. It will produce fruit in as little as two years and continue for up to 40 years! 

Nature always has our backs.  

It provides us with all the plants we need to live a healthy life.

"Mother Nature"

Almost 90% of pharmaceuticals are based on or inspired by substances contained in plants, most from the Amazon Rain Forest.

Have a great week. 

Be kind.

Judd 

"Eat like a peasant, live like Royalty" part three

"Eat like peasant, live like Royalty" 

Part Three

How to Eat

Every meal should fill us with joy.  We need to remember that the food we eat will soon be a part of us.  It will be absorbed by our flesh and blood and bone, it's life force will become ours.  We can no longer pretend that our eating habits aren't putting us in danger of a definite risk for disease.  Even affecting the quality of our life.  We need to be better informed on the nutritional value of what we consume.  Just remember, heart disease, cancer, stroke, hypertension, kidney and liver disease, osteoporosis, depression, type 2 diabetes are all caused by eating the wrong things.  The choice you make right now creates the next moment you will encounter.   It's really not that complicated.  Consume only food that feeds you with nourishing vitamins, minerals, plant proteins, fibers, enzymes, antioxidants, good fats etc.  Try to eat something raw with every meal. 70% raw-30% cooked is a good rule to follow.  Raw foods help our cells stay hydrated.  Steaming and sauteing veggies are the best way to prepare if cooking.  Tomatoes when cooked produce a higher release of lycopene then when consumed raw.  Don't just get stuck in a rut eating the same thing all the time. Eat the rainbow of colors in different fruits and veggies and try to eat what is in season ( also less expensive). Nature provides us with the nutrients we need at the right time of year when we need them.  

Here's a quick and nutritious meal you can prepare in less the 30 minutes:

Quinoa Black Bean Bowl(for 2)

Prepare 1/2 cup quinoa or Super Grain Blend (quinoa, millet, buckwheat)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained,

(seasoned with garlic and onion powder, cumin, chipotle)

Saute a couple of hands full of chopped kale in a tablespoon of coconut oil, with sea salt and pepper

until slightly wilted.

In a bowl top the kale with quinoa, black beans, sliced avocado, a hand full of sliced cherry tomatoes and season with nutritional yeast.

"A Bean, a Green and a Grain"

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd

"Eat like a peasant, Live like Royalty" part two

"Eat like a peasant, Live like Royalty" 

Part Two

"Healthy eating is too expensive".  I've heard that so many times and yes with some choices it can be.  But it doesn't have to be.  Shopping at "Whole Foods" used to be known as "Whole Paycheck". Yes they have high quality and hard to find products, but you will pay the price.  Their "365 Everyday Value Brand" is the way to go.  Both organic and natural products are available and the price is hard to beat.   Most of us don't have a store near us, myself included, but when I am near one... you can bet I will be walking those aisles.   If you have a "Trader Joes" near you, you can find many great choices to choose from at a low price.  We have a statewide distribution center ten miles from our house!  But the nearest retail store is forty miles away ! Crazy!  You can find everything you need to eat healthy and at a reasonable price at your local grocery store and even Walmart.  Walmart has been "talking" with Whole Foods on how they can provide healthy organic foods for their customers.  They now carry a wide assortment of organic products and even carry "Beyond Meat"  and "Hampton Creek" products.  Both of these companies are bringing cutting edge technology from the "plant-based" food industry into mainstream market.  

You can "eat like a peasant" by buying nutrient dense foods and not buying "crap".

Here's a quick easy way to keep a tight budget on your choices;

$20-25 on fresh produce: 

$5- a bag organic chopped kale or other greens

$3- head of broccoli or cauliflower

$3-a bunch of organic celery

$2-3 bananas or

$5- bag of organic apples (Why choose organic?)

$4- 3-4 avocados

$4 -5 sweet potato and an onion

$10-12 on bulk products:

$2-3 dry beans

$2-3 dry quinoa and wild rice

$2-3 raw nuts(almonds cashews

$12-15 on canned and bagged staples:

$3- 3 cans of chick peas

$3- 3 cans black beans

$3 bag of lentils

$3 bag of organic oats

$5 Badia ground flax seed (avail-Walmart)

$3 Non-dairy milk

Almond, soy, coconut or even cashew

$10 frozen fruit and veggies

"Frozen or Fresh" post

This is just a suggestion on what to purchase, we need to eat a variety of different foods.

And remember this only for a week, so fresh produce won't go bad.

You can make many different meals with theses combinations.

Creamy Tomato Soup

In a large saucepan heat:

1-28 oz. Trader Joe's Tuscano Marinara Sauce.

3 cups Vegetable broth.

1/2 cup raw cashews.

A handful of fresh basil leaves(10-12).

Divide mixture in half.  Blend half in a high speed blender(Vitamix) along with the raw cashews (this is what will make the soup very creamy) until smooth. Return to saucepan and blend the remaining half in blender. Return to saucepan and keep warm until ready to serve. Chiffonade the fresh basil and sprinkle on top of soup.

Homemade Croutons

Use your day old hard French bread or baguettes to make delicious croutons! 

just cut them into bite size cubes, toss with olive oil and garlic salt. Bake at 350' until brown, approximately 10 minutes flipping once or twice.

Since tomorrow is 4th of July, here's a recipe posted last year for "Watermelon Steak"

Have a great week.

Be kind. 

Judd

"Eat like a peasant, Live like royalty" part one

"Eat like a peasant, live like Royalty"

Part One

Worldwide studies have shown that eating a simple diet or "peasant" diet contributes to living a long and healthy life.  Cutting out processed foods, meat and dairy and drinking more water-based drinks instead of sodas etc. will be more beneficial for our bodies to battle diseases and environmental stresses that we face everyday.  It is also much less expensive in cost.

Peasants' diets consisted of eating beans, greens, potatoes, root vegetables, rices, grains and fruit.  Most of which they harvested for the more wealthy landowners they toiled for.  Although most didn't realize they were eating the best, they yearned for the meat eating diets of the rich.  Today, most lower income families spend their hard earned money at fast food restaurants, getting "happy deals", where with the right choices they could be eating a well-balanced meal for the same price. By making this decision they could live a healthier and happy life without long term effects in old age..if they get there.  Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona said: Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents."  

That's crazy!

Over the next several weeks I will be posting on "Eat like a peasant, live like Royalty".

With information on eating on a budget, simple recipes etc.

Here is quick and simple recipe:

Quinoa Broccoli Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1/4 cup raw sunflower and pepitos

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs lemon juice

2 cups Broccoli

1 sliced avocado

prepare quinoa with 2 cups boiling water, simmer covered until absorbed

lightly steam broccoli.

In a food processor mix seeds, sea salt and pepper.

Once quinoa is cooked, combine broccoli, seeds, olive oil and lemon juice.

Serve in a bowl topped with Nutritional Yeast and sliced avocados.  It's great hot or cold! 

Next week: Home-made Tomato Soup.

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd

Banana Raspberry "Nice" Cream

Banana Raspberry "Nice" Cream

For an awesome alternative to dairy ice cream you need to create your own blend of fruit cream. You must have some organic frozen fruit always ready, and bananas are the base for all the creaminess. Always keep some peeled thick sliced bananas in the freezer so that you can whip up that special treat whenever needed.  Here's a basic recipe which makes about a pint of "nice" cream:

3-4 frozen bananas

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1 to 1-1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1 tbl. maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 scoop plant protein powder(makes it extra creamy)

Place all in the Vitamix and slowly pulse until desired texture.

For a sweet/salty topping:

Blend together

1/4 cup chopped roasted almonds

1 tbl. maple syrup

Pinch of coarse sea salt

Serve in a small bowl

This is so good, that you only need a small serving to satisfy your sweet tooth! 

*If you don't own a Vitamix, you should consider purchasing one. Yes they are expensive, but they are the most versatile piece of  kitchen appliances. We use are everyday.  You can use it to blend, chop, make dishes from homemade nut butters, cashew creams and ice cream to hot soup, the list goes on.

Here's a link to a great video on "Body Hacking".  Can we really take shortcuts to a healthier, stronger body?

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd

Thirsty?

Thirsty?

Did you know that water makes up two-thirds of our bodies?   Water is the major component of every kind of tissue we have from blood to bone and everything in between.  We need to be hydrated at all times or else our bodies do not function properly.  Around three-fourths of our water is in inside the walls of our 70-plus trillion cells.  Water is involved in every system and every event in our bodies.  Nothing happens without it.  Inside our cells is where salts, electrolytes and water combine to create the electrical energy that fires up our mitochondria, the power plants of our cells.  Water controls our body's temperature,  responsible for removing waste matter produced in our cells past the cell membranes to be filtered and removed by our liver and kidneys, it keeps our joints cushioned in the form of Synovial fluid.  Water operates our immune system, transporting white blood cells from our bone marrow to our tissues to fight off disease. The lymphatic fluid carries toxic substances and carcinogens to the lymph nodes where they can be destroyed.  Our brains and nervous systems are nearly 85-90% water!  All "electrical" events that happen there need water to work.

We need to stay hydrated!

As much as we need water, we are constantly losing it.  Through normal bodily functions like sweating, urine, tears, saliva and even breathing we lose about three quarts of it per day.  And we don't store it, so we need to replenish it constantly. 

How much do we need?

A good rule of thumb is 1 ounce per 2 pounds of body weight.  The most important thing is to drink more than our thirst seems to require.  The more we drink, the more our bodies will use and the more we will crave it.  After your first pee of the day your urine should be clear or pale yellow.  It will be darker the first pee because your body is removing the waste from detoxing the night before.  If it is darker during the day, you are not hydrated enough!  Most important is you need to be drinking water, not sodas or even store bought flavored waters( which are usually high in sugars and artificial colors).  Drink filtered water or for something different try filtered water with a tea bag of green tea, No sugar, your taste buds will grow accustomed to and even crave it in a very short time.  Green tea is very high in antioxidants, which helped in cell hydration.  We like to use any type of tea that has Hibiscus flowers in its blend.  Hibiscus tea has been shown to contain an even higher concentration of antioxidants.  Celestial Seasonings  brand can be found most everywhere and there "Zinger" flavors have Hibiscus in them. One tea bag can be used over the course of the day. 

By drinking good clean water all day long, you will be amazed at how great you will feel!

Thirsty?

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd

Hard Work Pays Off

Hard Work Pays Off

There is a growing number of people, young and old, who believe that they deserve success.

They want the reward.  But they don't think they should have to put any effort into getting there.  They want to go to the top of the ladder without having to climb the rungs.  I am a firm believer in "hard work pays off".  It builds character, self esteem and confidence.  Most of the time you have to fail before you have victory. Not always, but most certainly a lot of the time.  Everyday we are confronted with different obstacles in our lives.  How we handle and overcome them defines us.

Love, family, health, work and play all deserve our full attention.  Live in the moment.

My father ingrained in me to "Never Give Up".  Whatever I was doing, always give 100%.

Your reward will be- "You'll know at the finish line"(Spartan Race)

We need to have "Grit" to not give up on the things that are most important to us.

Check out: Joe De Sena "Grit"

Also: Rich Roll "Stop Life Hacking" "Invest in the Journey"

At the end of the day, you can lay your head on the pillow and know you've given the best of yourself.  That's rewarding!

Have a great week.

Be kind.

Judd