The Secret You Should Know

This is a belted kingfisher.  They are fish-eating birds, and go plunge-diving, head first, 

to get their catch.  You could decide to plunge head first into healthy eating!

I was reminded of this idea today before yoga when I was having a conversation with my two friends Wendy and Carol.

In the early weeks of my nutrition program, people all around me would ask, "What is the secret for weight loss?" "What is the secret for lowering your cholesterol?" "What is the food I should eat to reduce my risk of Cancer?" "How can I prevent heart disease?"

I would scramble through my books every afternoon to try to find the "right" food for everyone's concern.  Slowly, it dawned on me:

It's the same answer for every health concern....we should all be reducing our dependency on animal proteins, and increasing (dramatically) our intake of vegetables.  

This idea carries over to the notion of who is reading this blog.  Some of you are reading it for ideas for how to be more healthy while you undergo chemo, or to get ideas of foods that cancer does not "like."  Many others of you are reading it because you would like to be healthier, and eat in a way that will decrease your likelihood of developing a chronic disease.  Again, it is really the same diet ideals for both of you.

A big emphasis of my program, however, is the concept of bio-individuality. Every one of us is different.  Our teacher always says, "One person's food is another person's poison", and it is true. This is why, once again, variety is key. Vary your diet and you will get exposure to so many things, but not too much exposure to one thing.

This recipe is, like so many of my recipes try to be, an adaptation of your favorite foods, but just somewhat healthier, and with some variety (parsley instead of basil, pepitas instead of pine nuts.)  Everything in moderation, right? (Including moderation.)  This take on pesto has a little bit of cheese, and pasta, but it is whole wheat. You could also try this on ravioli (but that will likely increase your animal protein if there is more cheese in there!)

Parsley and Pepita Pesto 
with black olives & roasted cherry tomatoes

1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
1 cup parsley, torn off stems
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 small garlic clove
lemon zest from one lemon
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1/3 cup more after combined
sea salt

• pulse in food processor (or Vitamix) until well-combined
• add additional 1/3 cup olive oil and mix again
• add in additional salt or lemon juice as needed

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup + black olives cured in olive oil

1 package whole wheat pasta twists

toasted pepitas

fresh thyme

• saute the cherry tomatoes in a pan with olive oil.  They are ready when they are soft and browned in places
• boil pasta
• when the noodles are done, add about half the pesto and combine well, while pasta is still hot. It will absorb the great flavor of the pesto.
• toss pasta together with cherry tomatoes, black olives and pepitas.
• serve with sprinkling of parmesan, more pepitas, and thyme leaves.

We had this with roasted brussel sprouts on the side--delicious!

*Unless otherwise noted, all recipes are (c) Christy Halvorson Ross.

Longing for your past diet...

I think I have heard it from every person I've worked with nutritionally, at some point or another: "I really miss eating [fill in the blank here.]"  It is hard to give up old habits, especially when they have to do with food.  There are so many ways to get around this, though.

1. Remember that your new, healthier way of eating really does make you feel better, and will have an immense long-term health benefit, too.  It is worth it.
2. Learn to substitute healthier choices in your favorite dishes (see recipe below!)  Don't just eat things you don't love all day--figure out how to LOVE healthy food!
3. Give yourself, as a reward for all your good choices, a treat every now and a blue moon (this is depending on your state of health, of course.)  Try not to make it an artificially flavored and colored popsicle made out of chemicals, though.  Choose wisely...an organic ice cream cone from your local hand-made ice cream shop, for example.  If it gives you joy, joy has health benefits, too!
4. Know that your taste buds do change.  Just yesterday, my husband had a bit of one of those aforementioned popsicles and could barely swallow it.  It tasted...NOT like food, which it wasn't.  You will stop liking these things, believe me!

When I went through the raw foods immersion program, my taste buds did change. Sugar, which I'd already reduced substantially in my diet, tasted really strong to me.  And green juice tasted TRULY delicious.

Here is a great recipe to have when you are craving your "old" diet.  Instead of a greasy beef taco with a teensy bit of veggies on top, and loaded down with cheese and sour cream, enjoy this:

Red Lentil Tacos

(serves 4)

1 cup dried red lentils
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 inch of ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. salt
2 cups vegetable broth

corn tortillas (8)
2 avocados
1 lime
1 can black olives
handful of arugula (or other green of choice)
salsa (optional! It's great without!)

• As soon as you measure out the lentils, soak them in water. Even if they just soak for 10 min, that's great, but a few hours would be even better.
• Sautee in a large pan with olive oil: 1 chopped onion and the minced ginger. Once they are soft (after about 10 min.), add in the garlic, cumin, coriander, and salt.  Saute for about a minute more. 
• Drain the lentils, then add them to the onion mixture in the saute pan.  Stir around to let the flavors meld, then add in 2 cups of vegetable broth.  (I like having Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cubes around. They are the best vegetable broth on the market, and so easy: in this case, boil 2 cups of water and add in 1 cube!)
• Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, checking for "doneness" and stirring occasionally. 
• Warm your corn tortillas in a large pan, and then assemble tacos.
• For each taco: a corn tortilla, a scoop of lentil deliciousness, slices of avocado, black olives, arugula, and a squeeze of lime on top.  You will find you don't even long for the cheese or sour cream!

Serve alongside spiced brown rice, a big green salad, or a tomato salad.

Health benefits of lentils: an excellent source of fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, and potassium.  They lower cholesterol, are great for diabetes because they don't cause blood sugars to rise, and are protective against cancer.  In fact, the Nurses' Health Study (II), which followed the diets of over 90,000 women for decades, found that women who ate lentils twice a week had a 24% reduced risk of breast cancer.