9.09.2012

*Organic Coconut Banana Bread


I used this banana bread recipe from All Recipes.
Yum!

Banana Banana Bread

Submitted By: Shelley Albeluhn
Photo By: Paula
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Servings: 12
"This banana bread recipe is moist and delicious, with loads of banana flavor. It's wonderful toasted!"
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

To make it Coconut Banana Bread I used coconut oil in place of butter.
I also added coconut flakes. 

*Organic: coconut oil, coconut flakes, sugar, and eggs.
*Bob's Red Mill Enriched Unbromated Unbleached White Flour

Super good!

9.07.2012

Coconut Oil & High Heat Oil

 I love using coconut oil for everything from food to body care. The Wellness Mama has some excellent health info., especially here about never eating vegetable oil or margarine. Our bodies really weren't meant to consume these extremely unhealthy and unnatural oils. Coconut oil is, "filled with Medium Chain Fatty Acids and Lauric Acid, coconut oil is an all star of the saturated fats. Since the fat composition in cells in the body is largely saturated fat, it is important to get enough of it from healthy sources. Coconut oil does not oxidize easily at high temperatures or go rancid easily, making it a good choice for cooking and baking. It also makes a great natural moisturizer and can be substituted for butter." I love putting coconut oil in oatmeal, curries, baking, etc.

 I also use this to put on my toast. :)

If I do need oil for cooking at high heat I use this oil. I would strongly strongly suggest staying away from olive oil to cook at high heat. When cooking with olive oil at high heat it becomes rancid and extremely toxic to our bodies.

水 Water

Here are some benefits of drinking water found at this website...
  1. Lose weight: Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water reduces hunger, it’s an effective appetite suppressant so you’ll eat less. Plus, water has zero calories.
  2. Natural Remedy for Headache: Helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although many reasons contribute to headache, dehydration is the common one.
  3. Look Younger with Healthier Skin: You’ll look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity.
  4. Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and more concentrated.
  5. Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. That means you’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises. Water also helps to fuel your muscle.
  6. Helps in Digestion and Constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps in digestion. Fiber and water goes hand in hand so that you can have your daily bowel movement.
  7. Less Cramps and Sprains: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, so you’ll less likely get cramps and sprains.
  8. Less Likely to Get Sick and Feel Healthy: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack. Water adds with lemon is used for ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism and arthritis etc. In another words one of the benefits of drinking water is that it can improve your immune system.
  9. Relieves Fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, so are the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be exhausted and so will you.
  10. Good Mood: Your body feels very good and that’s why you feel happy.
  11. Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.
As soon as I get up in the morning I like to drink a big glass of water. I also don't like to drink water while eating my meals, I try to drink water 20 mins before or after eating food. Your body needs to work hard in getting all the nutrients from the food we eat and getting them to the right places in our bodies. When we drink lots of water/liquid with our meals, it acts like a Tsunami and wipes out and flushes away the nutrients that need to be used asap and causes digestion problems. This is a good point...

"HOW DRINKING WATER DURING MEALS INTERRUPTS DIGESTION

Guzzling down on water or other beverages during your meal can interfere with the digestive process because it increases the size of your stomach.  When there is too much liquid and food settling in your stomach, digestion can slow down.  Some experts suggest that drinking water also dilutes the gastric acid that your stomach produces.  Low gastric acid leads to incomplete digestion, and the extra liquid can also cause the fats and oils in the food to cling together which further prevents absorption. Experts say that, in general, four to eight ounces of water is permissible during each meal.  However, if you’re suffering from acid reflux disease or severe indigestion, you may need to scale back on the water completely."

Drinking cold water/beverages also causes bad digestion. The Chinese have it right there and know for good health drinking warm water is best.

 We drink lots of water at our house, in the sense that we don't drink soda, high fructose corn syrup fruit juice, etc. The only other drinks are the fresh vegetable/fruit juices I make with my juicer. Our do get other sugary drinks if someone else gives it to them outside of our house. 

Organic Chia Seeds

I really love using this and put it in most all of my dishes. I really am in need of some awesome omega fatty acids and calcium. "They are the richest plant source of Omega-3 (the vital fats that protect against inflammation—such as arthritis—and heart disease)." I don't have a gall bladder and after having all my kids I can hardly tolerate eating foods with oil . As long as it's good healthy natural fatty oils and I'm careful about how much I eat, my body is happy! Here is a great website with a post of "10 Uses for Chia Seeds."

Spices...

 These are a few of the spices that we like using. My kids love adding cinnamon to their morning oatmeal, we really enjoy using the Organic No-salt Seasoning, and the Sweet Mesquite is good on fish and chicken.

I prefer sea salt over any other salt.

I really like adding this to some of the Chinese Stir-fry's I make.

For some reason I crave this and love adding it to some dishes, like spaghetti.

9.06.2012

梨子 Pears

The pears on our pear tree are super sweet and so good. The tree is pretty small and the pears on the bottom branches hang low, so my youngest reaches up, pulls a pear off, and loves to carry it around and eat it. Check out this website for some awesome health facts about pears.
  •  Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Support
  • Decreased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Heart Disease
  • Reduced Cancer Risk
  • The pear is one of the more easily digested fruits.

Tortilla Soup

I made this soup in my Vita-mix Blender. Whole carrot, whole celery, some fresh onion, garlic clove, small bell peppers, cilantro, avocado, jalapeno, chicken broth, black beans, and tortilla chips. Add all the veggies in the blender, boil a cup of chicken broth in 2 cups water, then added the hot broth water the the blender, and turned on the blender. I didn't want to blend the beans up too much so I added those in later and just for a few seconds. You can also blend up the tortilla's with the beans, but we like using the multigrain scoop tortilla chips. Ha, I accidentally added the whole jalapeno. So ,it was pretty spicy, which I don't mind. It is also easy to add some cooked chicken and lightly blend it in with the beans and chips. As I am taking some photos of the food I make I sometimes think, "This was really good, but the coloring doesn't do it justice!" It's easier to understand why so many pre-made food has so many additives and coloring. Some people wouldn't dare eat this because of the coloring, but it really is tasty!