RECIPE: Creamy Cashew Milk

This is the only "milk" I drink these days. It's so incredibly easy to make and so much better than any other dairy-milk alternative on the market. I use this in my coffee and cereal. It also makes great homemade "ice cream". And the best part? It takes no time to make!

Creamy Cashew Milk

• 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 3 1/2 cups water
• water for soaking
• pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Method:

1. Before going to bed or leaving for work, place cashews in a small bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak overnight to remove phytic acid (more about this in a future newsletter).
2. The next morning, drain and rinse cashews. Place in a blender along with the 3.5 cups of water.
3. Blend on "liquefy" setting for a few minutes, until the cashews have been completely disintegrated.

There is no need to strain this nut milk, as is with other nut milks, so this recipe is a whole foods recipe.

Nature's sports drink - coconut water

Have you ever wandered around the produce section of a health food store and seen white, cylindrical/cone shaped items? The sign reads “young Thai coconuts”, but it doesn’t look like the typical coconut you’ve always known. This odd looking food-item has an amazing nutrient make-up.

Coconut water is the liquid that is found inside young, green coconuts, not to be confused with the brown hairy coconuts found at most grocery stores. Young coconuts, if left to mature, would eventually become their brown counterparts. As a coconut ages the water level decreases as rich coconut meat grows inside.

The water found inside young coconuts is among the purest water on earth and is naturally very high in electrolytes. In fact, the electrolyte make-up exactly matches the composition of human blood plasma and during WWII severely wounded soldiers in the Pacific received coconut water in place of a plasma transfusion. For those that may not believe this, doctors in Solomon gave a patient coconut water for 2 days when the hospital ran out of IV fluid. The patient suffered no adverse effects (see reference: Am. J. Emerg. Med. 18[1]: 108-11, 2000).

Nutritional Stats for Coconut Water (per 100ml)·

• Coconut water contains 15 times more potassium than a banana


• Coconut water has less sodium than sports drinks (coconut water has about 25 mg as opposed to 41mg in sports drinks and 200 mg in energy drinks


• Coconut water has only 5g of natural sugars, whereas sports and energy drinks have a high amount of processed and/or unnatural sugars


• Coconut water is high in chloride 118mg


• Coconut water is also high in vitamin C and B vitamins

So now you how amazing coconut water is… and you went out and bought a coconut. You might be wondering how to open it. I suggest watching someone else open one first. Most health food stores will crack the top for you and give you a straw and spoon (to scoop out the tender meat inside). It’s easy to crack at home with a good chef knife.

Health food stores also carry pasteurized and packaged coconut water. These are great as well, but I prefer water straight from the nut itself. It has a much different flavor and contains living enzymes that pasteurization destroys. Again, the packaged versions are amazing as well and do a much better job than unnatural sports drinks.

As a side note, I recently introduced my dad and his girlfriend to young coconuts. My dad is quite crafty and called me a few days later to tell me he sawed the shell in half and made me a rustic cereal bowl...so they can be re-used! I'll post a pic to my blog when I receive the bowl.

Spring cleaning with greens

Spring is a time of renewal and repair and is the ideal time to cleanse your body for the warm summer months that follow. Nature does a great job providing exactly what we need when we need it. Eating seasonally and locally is best because the foods available in any given season are generally what our bodies require at that particular time. Winter is a time for roots, heavier on starches, protein, and fats to help keep us warm. Springs provides us with foods that help to cleanse what winter built up. Summer provides us with cooling fruits and vegetables to combat the heat, and the fall gives us foods that will sustain us through winter.

Spring presents us with fresh greens, sprouts, berries, etc. and it's no surprise the fruits and vegetables that are in season during spring are very cleansing for the body. From an energetic standpoint greens grow upward towards the sun. They are filled with lots of light energy and eating them often makes you feel light (they are perfect for shedding those winter pounds). Eating an abundance of fresh greens is a perfect way to get a jump-start on spring cleaning your body.

Here is a list of greens to eat in abundance in the spring:

Arugula - add this green to salads for an extra kick. This spicy green is a cruciferous vegetable and belongs to the mustard family. Cruciferous veggies contain sulfuraphane, a compound that can help stimulate enzymes that aid in protecting against cancer. Arugula tends to be sandy, so make sure you rinse the leaves well.

Beet Greens - many people discard beet greens when they come attached to the beet, but you shouldn't! Beet greens are high in vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Beet greens taste similar to cooked spinach or chard and can be cooked similiarly.

Bok Choy and Baby Bok Choy - this cruciferous Asian green hails from the cabbage family but doesn't taste as strong as cabbage. Its leaves are chock full of vitamins A and C. Bok choy has a high water content and is great steamed, stir-fried, or in soups. You can also try it finely sliced in salads.

Broccoli Rabe - is a member of the broccoli family as the name implies, however it is best not to steam this green like you would broccoli because it can become very bitter. Broccoli rabe tastes best when cooked in water or wilting in a skillet. Broccoli rabe also needs to be seasoned! Try sauteeing some garlic with a tiny bit of olive oil and add the cooked broccoli rabe. Remove from heat and drizzle with olive oil, a splash of fresh lemon, and a sprinkle of salt. Throw in some white beans and you have a great side dish.

Kale - is another relative to the cabbage family and is a powerhouse of a green. It's very high in calcium and fiber, with 134 milligrams of calcium and 5 grams of fiber per cup. One cup of kale is also just 43 calories and contains the daily value for vitamins A and C. Kale tastes best when wilted quickly in a skillet or wok with a small amount of water and wet leaves. One of my favorite kale recipes is on my website: http://www.mellybeewellness.com/kale

Dandelion Greens - are a great addition to salads and are abundant in spring and fall (think of all those little, yellow flowers/weeds homeowners hate so much!). Assuming you don't use pesticides on your grass (or have pets that hang out in the yard) you can pick the young shoots before the flowers bloom. Dandelion greens are bitter, so to reduce bitterness, sprinkle freshly washed greens with salt and cook the greens in a skillet with only the water clinging to the leaves. 5-10 minutes later drain the liquid from the skillet and then saute garlic or onion in olive oil or clarified butter. Try adding the cooked greens to quiche, lasagna, or even on top of homemade pizza.

Please post your thoughts, experiences, and/or recipes for greens.

International travel/food experiences

So I recently got back from a vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A good portion of what I eat bothers my stomach...I am actually eliminating wheat for 2 weeks to find out if I have an allergy to it. However, I decided to wait until I returned from my trip to start the 2-week elimination. I had been avoiding it before I went away for about a week and felt very good. While in Mexico I abandoned my wheat restriction and ate what I wanted. Much to my surprise I had barely any stomach issues! I was eating more dairy, beans, carbs (corn tortilla's, white-flour quesadilla's, cookies). I think I even lost a few pounds even though I ate more than usual and didn't do much in the way of exercise.

I've heard of many people who are allergic to dairy or lactose intolerant have no symptoms when they travel to parts of Europe even the raw milk is widely used, but I didn't think my issues would go away because at home I buy raw milk products whenever possible.

Has anyone else had an experience where international travel has led to better digestion? If so, I'd love to hear about it. I eat pretty pure as a general rule so I am very surprised by my experience in Mexico.

Effects of Caffeine

I recently experienced insomnia the night before a day-long class and was exhausted the next day. On my way to class I popped into a PAX and grabbed a small cup o' joe to give me energy... now, I stopped drinking coffee regularly last May and have had a cup here and there because I genuinely enjoy the flavor. I must tell you, the effects of this one small cup of coffee were awful! It did not wake me up as I had hoped, but rather jacked my nerves up to full-speed ahead while my brain remained sleepy... so while I was falling asleep in class I was fidgeting like a maniac. The people behind me must have thought I was crazy!

What are your experiences with coffee? If you drink it everyday, are you willing to experiment what it is like not to live your life chained to your morning cup of coffee?

A lot people have said to me "oh, I can never give it up, I need it." No, you don't. You are addicted to it, and addictions make us think we need the object of our addiction. Coffee puts a lot of stress on your adrenal system. For those of you who think you need it everyday think for a moment... do you really need it?? If you are a normal, healthy individual there is no reason for you to need coffee to wake you up in the morning. You are just accustomed to drinking it every morning. Since I've stopped drinking coffee I find I wake up just fine, the same as I used to if I drink a nice cup of water or a cup of water with a packet of EmergenC in it.

There are cultural customs associated with drinking coffee... coffee with friends at the local coffee house, coffee on a lazy Sunday morning with your significant other, etc. You can replace coffee with tea. At first I was like "but I like sitting on the couch with my cup of coffee in the morning before getting ready for work..." Then I realized I could sleep an extra 20 minutes if I didn't drink coffee.

Cutting coffee can be tricky because withdrawal is no fun. BUT, if you drink many cups a day, start by reducing the amount you drink. If you drink 3 cups a day, go down to 2 for a couple of weeks, then reduce to 1 cup. When you are ready, drink half caf/half decaf for a while, then move to a cup of tea... this if what I did and really helped reduce withdrawals.

It can't hurt to experiment... see how you feel when you don't have that addiction. You can always go back... and it isn't like you can never have coffee again... And you may find you like not being chained to the coffee pot or the local coffee house.

Also, I would like to address the issue of some studies touting coffee's benefits... consider the source. Who is funding these studies? Most likely, the coffee industry. More on all this in a later post! Please post any experiences you have with coffee or caffeine. Be well!

The Food of Gods

Not only is February Heart Health month, but February 14th is Valentines Day. At first glance one might not think the two go together, but they do. How? The sinful answer… dark chocolate! I love chocolate. I don’t need an excuse to eat it, but after finding out it can be good for your heart some of my guilt for overindulging was eased.

The Greek botanical word for chocolate, Theobroma Cacao literally means, “food of the Gods”. I’m inclined to agree with this definition. For more on this article, click here. Please post your thoughts! Happy Valentines Day!

Follies of juice fasting

Well, this past weekend I decided to go on a short juice fast for a couple of days... Day 1 started pretty well...I was feeling really good with the juice and my skin started to glow (after only one day!). I decided to go to yoga and for the first time ever, forgot my mat and had to go home to get it... I should have taken this sign from the universe that I should have stayed home. I ended up running a bit late and *had* to make a light... I was running my late self full-speed down the sidewalk (to catch that light) on my way to my calming, 90-minute meditation bikram yoga class when I suddenly tripped over an abandoned Christmas tree and for 3 seconds, in slow motion, I flew through the air and promptly landed flat on my face (just like in the movies). Oh the pain. Both of my knee caps hurt a lot and are bruised, the top of my right foot hurts, and I think I bruised or slightly cracked a rib (it hurts to laugh or to breathe deeply). My back hurts too.

I still went to yoga class though! What a trooper. For the first time ever I had to leave after the standing series because laying on my tummy hurt my knees, foot, and rib. The only thing that saved me from more damage was the fact that I had on a few layers, a big down coat, and fluffy gloves. For once I say "yay for winter!".

What is the point of this post?? Well, when you decide to do a juice fast, take it easy... sometimes juice fasting makes you ungrounded and you end up hurting yourself really bad. As I said, I never forget my mat! The brief sensation of flying for 3 seconds was pretty neat though! But not worth the fact that 3 days later I still can't do yoga because my body hurts... juice carefully!