Substituting Your "Bad" Habits with "Healthy"

When you are trying to be healthy, it is very frustrating when you "slip up."  You know veggies are the best for you, so you cut some up to make a delicious crudite, and then pour the ranch dressing from your refrigerator into a bowl.  Later on, you glance at the dressing ingredients, and lo and behold, the main ingredient is sugar, followed by a zillion other ingredients you cannot pronounce. Aargh! Did that negate all the good vegetables you just slaved over?  Not exactly, but it is definitely better to be prepared so this doesn't happen next time.

Part of what makes this work is advance preparation.  For me, Sundays are my day of thinking ahead about what food will be in the fridge all week.  I usually soak some rice, make some almond milk, make a salad dressing, and making some of this delicious dip to have on hand is great, too.  In the evenings, when you are preparing dinner, instead of grabbing for crackers and cheese, you can simply set out the dip and get some yummy vegetables on a plate.  Then you are filling your hunger pangs with absolute health, and tons of enzymes, too, since this dip is raw.

Nutty Pesto Dip

1/2 cup pine nuts or cashews, soaked for 1-2 hours, then drained
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic
1/2 Tbsp. basil
1/2 Tbsp. oregano
zest from one lemon
juice of one lemon
1/8 cup water (can add more water if you want it thinner)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Puree together in Cuisinart.

Serve with cut up vegetables of your choice.

This could also be a wonderful gift to drop off for a friend who has cancer, if you don't have time to prepare a whole meal.  She may be very grateful to have some "snacky" food.  You aren't always in the mood for a full meal, and this will allow her to be healthy and well-fed in between meals.

Wheatgrass

I was turned onto wheatgrass years ago because, in addition to being incredible for overall health, it is one of nature's best cancer fighters.  The regimen at some of the world's best cancer institutes mandate at least two glasses (2-3 ounces each) of wheatgrass a day.

Eva lurking in the wheatgrass.

I learned almost everything I know about wheatgrass from two sources.  1) The Raw Food Institute.  And 2)  The Wheatgrass Book, by the renowned expert, Ann Wigmore.

Lately I've become rather obsessed with wheatgrass again and recently re-read Ann Wigmore's book.  I'm growing several flats of it my dining room table, and let me tell you why.  Wheatgrass is filled with chlorophyll, which mimics human blood more closely on a molecular level than any other food.  This is tremendous for fighting cancer because drinking it is like getting a blood transfusion and crowding out the free-radical cells.  Wheatgrass has a tremendous anti-mutagenic effect, and also a anti-neoplastic ability, which means it fights tumors without any toxins or chemicals. It is also packed with enzymes, which results in increased circulation and better nutrition to your cells, along with more efficient removal of waste and toxins in the bloodstream.  Chlorophyll also regenerates the liver, which is the body's main detoxification organ, super important if you're fighting cancer.

And that's not even including the other health benefits of wheatgrass. It is a cleanser.  It stimulates healthy circulation.  It restores high energy levels. It bolsters the immune system. It can protect us from high and low levels of radiation.  It is a great source of iron, potassium, magnesium, and trace minerals, like selenium, which has anti-cancer properties, too.

Cut wheatgrass ready for juicing. 

You can buy wheatgrass at many health food stores and juice it at home if you have a juicer.  Some places even sell wheatgrass shots (as in: tiny glasses.)

It is also very simple and inexpensive to grow yourself.  All you need is a few trays, some organic soil, and hard wheatgrass seeds.  The steps are simple:

1. Soak a cup of hard wheatgrass seeds in a glass jar of water overnight.
2. Drain (using cheese cloth or a screen, secured to the top of the jar), for a remaining 12 hours.

3. Fill a tray with soil and scatter sprouted wheatgrass seeds evenly on top.  Water.
4. Cover for 2-3 days with another tray until shoots are about 2 inches tall.

5. Leave uncovered in indirect sun for 7-10 days, watering occasionally.
6. Harvest by cutting close to the roots, and use as soon as possible.
7. Seeds will have a second growth, though not quite as nutritious.
8. Juice your wheatgrass!

I like to bring my mom little glasses of wheatgrass in the morning.  While my husband and I truly LOVE the taste, I have to admit that my mom does not.  The taste reminds me of sitting on a picnic blanket on a warm spring evening and smelling the grass all around me.  The amazing thing about wheatgrass is that you only need a tiny bit to have incredible health benefits.  Like I always say to my mom: "It's better than chemo!"