If you only know sugar for its sweet reputation, you’re in for a rude awakening. For anyone who abstains from consuming animals and their byproducts, or may be easily grossed out, finding out that the tantalizing sweet stuff may not be suitable for strict vegans could come as quite a shock. Personally, accidentally discovering this tidbit of information about five years ago was definitely a doozy.
Imagine a tree that cures almost anything that ails you. If there were ever a tree, Moringa oleifera – or drumstick tree - would be it. Referred to as the “miracle tree,” Moringa is used by Ayurveda practitioners to help prevent about 300 different diseases in patients. From the leaves to the bark, the tree can be used for medicinal purposes. Native to South Asia, Moringa is commonly used in curries and stews. It can be ground into a paste, powder, or enjoyed as a tea. It is so healthy, in fact, that it is said to be more nutritious than kale.
As a society, we are constantly bombarded by conflicting information as to what is “good for us” to eat—and what is not.
For example, a pervasive myth exists that “salt is bad.” While an excess of salt in the diet can be harmful, and in some cases a person may need to monitor salt intake based on certain health conditions—it is important that we don’t throw out salt altogether. Salt is actually an incredibly important element of our diet that we require to function, feel good and thrive on a daily basis.
The key here, of course, is moderation.
Spirulina and chlorella are gaining momentum, and not just in the nutrition world. From feeding livestock, to becoming biofuel, to fueling astronauts, and potentially combatting climate change, these two types of microalgae are becoming increasingly important in our future.
For so many of us, weight-loss diets rarely work. Stringent, restricted, and sometimes unhealthy, post-holiday crash diets often do more harm than good in the long-run.
Rather than beat yourself up to slim down, the end of January is the perfect time to try making subtle but powerful and lasting changes to your eating by adopting a more mindful approach to your eating. You will enjoy your food more, find increased energy, and see a more gradual but permanent and vibrant change in the way you look, feel, and approach your meals.
There’s a popular folklore about the man who made stone soup. While the man in that story was a hungry but quick-witted fibber, replace the stone with bone, and you actually have an amazingly nutrient-rich liquid which would please even Hippocrates – in that it’s food that’s also medicine. But seriously, what’s so great about boiling some bones in water, and then drinking it?
The benefits of bone broth
Have you ever walked down the spice aisle and really paid attention to all your options? Whole, ground, bulk, jarred, and every spice in the alphabet stocked on the shelf, waiting to be bought. Unless you’re doing the mad dash to the checkout line and plucking up your ingredients like a kid in a Toys “R” Us shopping spree, the spice aisle can be rather intimidating. Not knowing which to buy or how long they last, you may just spring for the cheapest packaging as to not feel guilty if it goes to waste.
Start off a cold winter day with this hearty breakfast hash! Simply seasoned with just olive oil, chili pepper and salt, this recipe allows each vegetable to shine. Sweet butternut squash is balanced by the mild flavors of cauliflower and potatoes, as well as the slightly bitter flavor of the Brussels sprouts. This blend of veggies would also go well on the side or as ingredients in another meal, but it makes for a delicious and healthy breakfast with the addition of tofu.
I am constantly searching out inventive ways to prepare eggplant. While eggplant parmesan is a classic, it can be a bit pricey and it takes quite some time to make. Messing around in the kitchen I decided to take one of my favorite seafood stews and turn it into a vegan dish. And I must say, the eggplant is so good that meat eaters are easily fooled.
If you haven’t heard of quinoa, the superfood, by now, it’s time to get out from underneath that rock. For those of you who are still unsure of how to say it (let alone spell it), it’s pronounced “keen-wah.”